Accidental Glamour

 

Have I ever mentioned how weird it is
to have a million photos of yourself taken?

Because it is.

Inherently weird to me.

I think it stems back to childhood.
Like most, my parents would chronicle every first day of the new school year.
Didn't we all whine and complain?

And now outfit documentation is a thing! I.E. much of this blog.

So is this a paradigm shift in the case for vanity? 

 

Yeah, probably.

But I'm claiming this blog in the name of education and thrifting good-will.
These are real applications of my thrifty excursions and how pieces can work in your life.
Or not work, depending if our styles cross. 

This is what you call an accidental glamor shot. 

It's also Cory's first snap.
Or maybe I should say click since it's an iPhone.
A magical Beyonce-like wind blew up and gave my hair some life.
I have no idea what I'm doing with my hand but it turned out pretty. 

Because most of my photos turn out like this....

 

Eyes closed, mouth open, unnatural pose.

Seriously, why would a human twist his or her leg like that?
And don't get me started on the hand growing out of my stomach.

Welcome to real life. 

Now back to regular thrift programing.

 Necklace, $3, Goodwill in Blair Nebraska.
JCrew Tshirt, $2.50, Snooty Fox in Hyde Park

 

Purse, this weird second-hand store in Newport that no longer exists. $5

Shorts, Loft, $29, from last season.
I bought them during a retail therapy lunch break. It was one of those days.

Until next time, Bon Nuit!

"A New Day" Airs Tomorrow at 11 a.m. on Channel 9!

Tomorrow is almost here!

In fact, tomorrow is tomorrow!

If you missed last Thursday's post,
I had the opportunity to put my thrifting knowledge to good use. 

Phylicia of Black Girls Thrift Too and I took part in a five minute segment on thrifting in Cincinnati.

 And yes, she's as fun as she looks.

If you tune in Sunday she'll entertain your thrifted pants off!

"A New Day" airs Sunday morning  at 11 a.m. on WCPO channel 9 Cincinnati.

Don't they have a beautiful set?

 The lovely Jennifer Moore (middle) interviewed us.

Her easy-going nature helped me relax and hopefully made me avoid any deer-in-the-headlights faces.

I do know that at one point I scratched the right side of my face with about four fingers on my left hand.

Pretty sure it was as awkward as it sounds.

I guess we'll find out Sunday!

 

Getting miked on set by one of the crew members.

The same guy operated three cameras at once. Super impressive!

I must admit that I struggeled with outfit selection.

 

After an hour of trying outfits, I decided on a look that would be safe for TV.

Not that I have any real knowledge or experience on the matter....

Zara Blazer, thrifted at St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $5.99. 

Purple t-shirt, $3.99 Goodwill

J.Jill Jeans, St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $4.99

Purse, St. Vincent de Paul on Glenway, $4.99

Necklace, Blackberry Exchange in Columbia, MO $3

The shoes I bought at Target 10 years ago.

The embellishments are actually vintage clip-on earrings, a gift from my mother.

It's hard to tell from this angle if I made the right outfit call. What do you think?

Whatever the outcome, I had an amazing time! Thanks WCPO!

And thanks to my über supportive fiancé who played the part of entourage/photographer.

He captured all the shots above. Thanks Cory!

Don't forget to tune into Channel 9, ABC tomorrow at 11 a.m.! 

Are you as nervous to watch recorded me as I am?

AH!

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Kitchen Décor

I'm no chef. In fact, Cory does 99.99% of the cooking in our family.

I say 99.9% because he's tried the few meals I know and vetoed them all. Not that I'm complaining...

 But where I DO contribute is thrifty kitchen décor.

 

Matching glass canisters. $5 for a set of two at Goodwill.

 

Beer growler reused as a container for rice.  A glass vase ($2) re-purposed as a straw holder.

Straws are one of my favorite luxuries. Not to mention they make every drink more fun! You have have to hold onto some childhood wonder, right?

 

Paper towel holder. $.50 Goodwill. Coffee saver, $3, Burlington Thrift Store.

Set of four valances purchased from St.Vincent De Paul on Glenway. $2.50 

They perfectly match both the grey and the red wall colors.

 

Fell in love with this needle point the moment I saw it. So happy and '70s. $2.00 at Goodwill.

 

Obsessed with anything '60's and yellow. This potholder was in PERFECT condition. $1.99 at St. Vincent De Paul.

 

Speaking of yellow...

 Not to be dramatic, but this scalloped trim table cloth is EVERYTHING.  $3.00 at Goodwill.

Family artwork is always a great way to add to a space.

As a renter, we have to work with existing paint colors.
Luckily, this painting was the perfect fit.

All the artwork was created by Cory's grandmother, Nana.  Thanks Nana!

Until next time, Bon Nuit!

The Cubicle Makeover

I knew I wanted to transform my brown cube

because it looked like this...

 

As you can see, it was very brown. 

Brown walls, brown desk, brown cube walls, brown carpet.

All that fine and dandy for an office setting but

personally, I need color.

 

 

Thrift stores are often a box of puzzle pieces. 

Luckily, I'm a person who enjoys solving problems.

This fun, bright curtain was clearly the answer.

Curtain, $3, Target brand, Goodwill where Beechmont and 275 meet.

 The vertical pattern appealed to me.  

Who doesn't want their space to look taller?

 

Before

 For Christmas, my family gave me a heavy duty sewing machine.

It's sort of magic. However, I am not yet magical at sewing.

 As you can see my cube has panels.
I cut the curtain into four equal pieces and hemmed all the edges.
  I thought this would be an easy project. 
While it wasn't too difficult pinning the hem did take patience, a skill I'm still acquiring.

 After

 

 

Before                        After

 

 

Color energies me and lets the creativity flow.

 

 

The cube walls are a cork-like material.

The ease of attaching anything to the walls was the source of inspiration for this project.

Sliver thumb tacks were used to adhere the fabric and gave it an upholstered look.

Thumb tacks, $2, Michael's

 

 I did visit a fabric store during the search,

and similar prints were 4-10 dollars a yard.

I'm waaaaaaay too thrifty for that. 

While sitting at my desk,  I wanted to feel inspired not think to myself

was it worth the money?

It took about four different thrift stores trips to find the right fabric.  

Of course thrifting is a hobby of mine, so it didn't feel like work.

I suggest making thrift lists so you don't feel like you're finding nothing.

Bonsoir à partir Cincinnati Thrift!

The Plaid Yellow Jacket: Part I

Sometimes when you go thrifting you think,

"HEY. This could be REAL interesting."

Then you get home, and suddenly, it's a different story.

It's like every other item in your wardrobe speaks English and all this item knows is Pig Latin.

So, I'd like to call this segment...

making the crazy work.

(as many ways as I could think of at one moment in time).

The Plaid Yellow Jacket

originally mentioned in this Oakley Thrift-ing

$3.50

The "crazy" item in question. The swing style helps calm the look down -- it' has a boxy shape,  hits at the natural waist and the sleeves are 3/4 length.

Part I: The Professional Approach

The Modern Suit

As you can see, this first outfit is very suit-like.

The twist in this outfit is the polka dot shirt underneath.

Purchased at the Village thrift store in Newport, KY last fall.  Sadly, this store is no longer open.

Shoes, $29 (Marshalls) Skirt $10 (Gap Outlet)

 

Color Blocking

(for the business woman)

The bright magenta helps deflect
the bee-like color scheme.

With the jacket open, you can see the top's trim
peeking out underneath.

As you can see, the only difference in this outfit is the top.

This flower lattice work feels very Marc Jacob circa 2010.

Stay tuned for Part II!

Shopping with...Evan

Today, I went shopping with my good friend Evan.  He had previously mentioned, via text message, that he hates all the clothing he currently owns. Thus began my begging him, and eventually convincing him, to join me in my thrifting adventures.

And so the blog segment of 

Shopping With..

was born.

Evan and I focused on the area of Florence Kentucky, approximately 20 minutes from downtown Cincinnati.  Evan, a native Kentuckian, showed me two great places I had never heard of before, The Burlington Pike Thrift Store, and The House of Curious Treasures (more on these later), but our main target was Goodwill in Florence on Tanner Lane.

Evan's before shot outside Goodwill.
His shirt was so sad, it crawled up into his mouth and made him frown.
That quickly changed to a smile when we learned it was
50% off everything in the store today!

There are 5 dressing rooms and no lines...FANTASTIC!

This Goodwill, is bright, open clean AND fits more than one person in an aisle! 
This shot shows approximately 80 percent of the clothing section.
The quality of their items was above average.
  They also had a large shoe section (mostly black), a small furniture/kitchen appliances section, and a couple racks of purses.
  I would say the main draw of this store is its vast clothing selection.  There is also a donation drive-through.

THE RESULTS

MEN'S DKNKY SWEATER

$6.99 

And look, a smile! As you can see, the key to any great thrift store purchase is FIT and QUALITY.

If you can believe it,
these photos were shot on a small patch of grass next to the thrift store parking lot.

MEN'S GRAY HALF-ZIP SWEATER

$2.50

Smart and thrifty.

What a model.  Ladies, he's single, loves the great outdoors, watching Criminal Minds,
and pondering the reality of mermaids.

 Thanks Evan!

Hopefully, I can convince others to join me for future thrifting adventures!