Red Wool Pencil Skirt - $.90 Cents!

No activity to report this evening. I was suppossed to go thrifting with Joe's cousin Sarah, but I canceled so I could stay in with Annyong (my cat) who unfortunately is still not doing very well.

A little while back I mentioned how I bought a $.90 cent skirt. Well, here it is.


Red Wool Pencil Skirt: Not much to say about this one. I found it sifting through the racks at Value World. $.90 cents was the actual price marked on the tag, no discount. Gotta love Value World for their everyday low prices.

Is it a faux pas to wear wool in Spring? I'm not sure that I care. I figure as long as I sneak it in before April I should be okay. I really wanted to get at least one wear in before the weather turns and it goes up on the shelf until late fall.

I've been living out of a suitcase/laundry basket for almost 4 straight weeks and I'm on the verge of going nutso. Back to Bloomington this weekend. I will miss my family and friends, but it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and dress from my own closet. Most importantly (ok maybe not) I will be back for the 'first Saturday of the month' sale at Goodwill!

A pencil skirt may be the easiest article of clothing to find thrifting. If you are a thrift novice I reccomend making a pencil skirt your first conquest. Get your feet wet. There are soooo many in soooo many sizes and colors.

Thanks mom for taking my photos today!

In case you missed them before you can read about my top (here) and my scarf (here). My tights are from Banana Republic Outlet, probably at least 3 years back. My shoes are from Urban Outfitters clearance, $9.99.



Gonna stream something on Netflix now. Later.

$.64 Cent Dress!

Good News: I already have enough points to solidify a first place position in my work March Madness bracket tournament. Total winnings to equal $125.

Bad News: I just got back from taking my cat to the vet. She has a pulled ligament in her knee. Total $ damage (examination, ex-ray and pain meds) equaled $173.

Happy Monday, I'm in the hole $48.


Hi, I would like you to meet my bed head. These photos were taken after a 2 hour nap on Sunday. The nap was well worth the messy hair.



Striped Dress: I literally paid for this dress with change. It was only $.64 cents, I have witnesses! My best girl and her daughter were shopping with me at Value World a couple of weeks ago when I found it. I of course used the 50% off coupon. I don't know whether or not to call it 'vintage'. What's the criteria anyway? I can say it wasn't sold new in the last, mmmm 15-20 years? That is a guess, because the tag doesn't provide an clues. The condition is pretty sweet though and the striped pattern is fun!

I don't know, do you guys like it?

That's all I have to share. I need to tend to my poor cat - feel so bad for her right now. :(

WD Spotlight #5

Wow, brunch at The Breakfast Club was delicious this morning. I made good food choices and really enjoyed the company of two lovely ladies, Amy and Sandi.

And now, this week's wrinkled dollar spotlight.

Stacey @ Goodwill Huntingg (love that blog name) is raising my Spring fever to new heights with this outfit! Glam it up Stacey! Thanks for participating!


If you want to participate check out my wrinkled dollar spotlight page for details.

I went back to the DAV Thrift Store for Super Sunday. I bought a skirt and a blouse, each $.99. Unfortunately no $.25 items today. I also found this pretty Ralph Lauren top, but it was Small/Petite so I had to pass. It is always a bummer when you find something great, but it is not your size.

Last time I was at DAV I saw the sign about free garments so today I kept my eyes peeled. I ended up finding 4, but none were worth taking. Let's just say they are free for a reason, BUT if you are looking for scrap material for projects they would be perfect. In most cases the fabric is great, but the shape or size is odd.

While shopping I was confused to hear someone call out my name. I immediately thought, "oh crap, who knows me"? Luckily it was Joe's cousin Sarah, which was a very pleasant surprise! She is a fellow thrift-a-holic and had already found some great items, including an awesome coat. Sarah and I are teaming up for a shopping trip this coming Tuesday, which should be a lot of fun. Here's a photo of us just before I cut my finger on a staple and started bleeding everywhere.



That's about it my friends. Now I'm going to chill for a bit and watch Joe play Contra. I'm hoping for a Dr. Mario marathon this evening.

25 Cent Shoes!

In the future I must remember that planning two consecutive days of brunch is not a good idea. We celebrated my father in-law's birthday this afternoon and I am still stuffed. Being stuffed means I have pretty much no motivation to do anything. Tomorrow I'm off to another brunch at the Breakfast Club. So, that's pretty much my whole weekend.

Last night I had a great time at a family wedding (congrats Nancy & Eric). I meant to take a photo of my dress, but by the time we got home all I wanted was bed.

Enough about food and sleep. Today's feature are these shoes I got for $.25!



25 cent shoes! I found these at the DAV thrift store. If you missed my raving love post about this place you can read it here. These shoes had a "G" marked on the bottom, which means they were part of the Managers SUPER SUNDAY Special. The inside has a pretty cool plaid pattern too. Other than that, I don't know much about them except they fit and are in pretty dang good shape. I usually don't have much luck when it comes to buying used shoes, but things are looking up!

I can't wait to check out the SUPER SUNDAY special again tomorrow.



Today my whole outfit is thrifted (excluding sunglasses, watch and unmentionables): blazer and cardigan from Goodwill, Pants from Salvation Army and shoes (of course) from DAV. I'm also wearing the DIY necklace I just made the other day.



Do you guys like these shoes? How cool would it be to go to the SUPER SUNDAY special at DAV and put together an entire outfit for $1.00? Hmmm, sounds like a challenge. I already have the shoes. I also bought a $.25 blazer (yet to be featured). I will have to think more about this and get back to you...

On Thursday I introduced Value World to some lovely ladies from my work. We scored some sweet stuff (using the 50% off coupon, of course).



While shopping I noticed the Value World Hall of Fame wall. I'm not sure what you have to do to get your picture up there. Maybe one day I can achieve that status.

One can dream.

My First DIY: Pearl Rope Necklace

I have been on the hunt for DIY projects. Here's the first I actually completed!

While I was in San Francisco I saw this necklace at Banana Republic. It was marked $69.50. I stared at it and thought, "I can totally make that". So, I took a pic with my camera phone (below) to remember how it looked.

I was hoping I could link to the actual piece on the Banana Republic website, but sadly I can't find it.

Jewelry making isn't really my forte, because I don't know how to work with metal, but this necklace only requires braiding. I probably made 349,034,850,948 friendship bracelets between elementary and high school so I've got some mad braiding skills. ;)


Here is the wrinkled dollar version!


Here's a quick summary of how I made it.

I started with some leftover yarn (I always have extras from crochet projects). Make three separate braids. In order to create the tiered look the braids should vary in size, the bottom being the longest and the top the shortest. Then, use a basic knot to join them at each end.



For the next part you will need eye pins, beads and needle nose pliers. The beads should thread top to bottom, not side to side.


I bought the eye pins at Michaels. They were $2.99, but I used a 40% off coupon and got them for $1.79. There are 150 in the pack so I have plenty leftover.

The beads are from Michaels too. They were $2.99 (on sale 50% off) for a strand of 30. I bought two strands.

Ok, all you have to do is thread the eye pin through the bead, stick the pin through a braid loop and then use the pliers to bend the pin so it hooks around the braid. I hooked a bead to every other braid loop.


Is this making sense? I have to take more photos next time.

I eyeballed the number of beads for each braid. The top should have the least and the bottom the most.

I used some ribbon I had laying around to create the closure. I basically just hot glued the ribbon to the knots. Ribbon closures are awesome, because you can adjust the length so easily, which makes the necklace more versatile.


What do you guys think? I'm pretty pumped. If you decide to make one, let me know! I would love to see some photos.

Blue GAP Blouse

The weather is craptastic and my mood is not far behind.

Luckily I have a little cheeriness leftover from yesterday. Jill @ Spoils of Wear asked me to participate in Blogtrotting (a feature on her blog where she introduces bloggers). The post about me was published yesterday. Very cool, thanks Jill!

We had a vendor visit the office today so I had to dress all business-casually. Don't I look amused?!



During todays photo shoot I got about 20 photos deep before I realized my belt was not sitting right. Saggy belt. Gotta fix that.



That's better.



You can all wave goodbye to these purple tights, the stinking table in one of the conference rooms at work ripped a hole in them when I crossed my legs. That's what I get for being modest and lady-like.

Gap Blue Pattern Blouse: This is another find from my weekend thrift extravaganza. It is originally from GAP, but I found it at Value world. It was marked $2.40, but I had a 50% off coupon, which made it $1.20.

Loving this outfit combo cost.



The belt ($.99) and skirt ($2.15) are both from Goodwill.

I'm very excited to share my first DIY project (hopefully) tomorrow, come check it out if you wanna.

Big Boy in Fashion

Have you guys ever been to a Big Boy? They are famous for their double decker burger (basically a Big Mac w/out onions) and most importantly their mascot "Big Boy" who sports red and white checked overalls. Personally, I'm partial to the breakfast buffet and chocolate shakes. I'm not sure if franchisees exist outside of the midwest, but the headquarters are in Warren MI. I thought this might be a fitting locale for photos because...

1. I'm still in Michigan and 2. I'm wearing a blue and white checked top.

Honestly I can't take credit for this Idea, it was all Joe.

Did I mention that it is right across the street from a thrift store? Big Boy keeps his eyes peeled when the towns folk make donations. He lets me know if anything awesome gets dropped off. That's how I find the deals. I'm revealing all my secrets tonight. Unfortunately Big Boy had no say in the price increase at this Salvation Army.

Oh yeah, my brother used to work at this Big Boy too. AND, he once dressed up as Big Boy for Halloween.

Anyway, this is what I wore today.


Blue Gingham (?) Top: This is one of my finds from last week. It is originally from GAP, but I found it at Value World. It was marked $3.20, but I had a 50% off coupon, which made it only $1.60. Gotta love it.




Hey Big Boy, thanks for having my back.




Like two peas in a pod.

Bunnies and Squirrels

What a great weekend of thrifting.

Here's a sneak preview of my findings.


A couple exciting highlights - $.64 dress & $.25 blazer. I can't wait to show you!

In between my thrifting I splurged a little and bought this skirt at F21 for $13.50. I'm justifying the purchase, because I have been looking up and down for a good lace piece and this skirt was totally calling my name.

Back to thrifting. The other day my mom told me about this thrift store that is near her place (yep, I'm still in MI) that I have not been to before. We decided to make a quick trip over to check it out today. That quick trip turned into a two hour long stay. Check out this sign that greets you upon entering...



The $.25 green tag deal was awesome. They have a LOT marked down and they organize the place so well that the deals are pretty easy to find. Plus, it is probably the cleanest thrift store I have EVER seen.

I'm in love. In fact, I decided to make it my photo location for the day.



Whoa, I didn't even see that sign until I left. I have to go back and see what this "free garment" thing is all about. Oh by the way, the place is a DAV (Disabled American Veteran) Thrift Store. For those of you expecting I reccomend you check it out, because they have a pretty decent maternity section. I got my best girl some nice maternity jeans for $3.98.

Okay, now to the feature item, which is NOT thrifted, but still wrinkled dollar worthy.



Blue Madras Skirt with Bunny and Squirrel Print: The Urban Outfitters in Bloomington has an awesome student sale once every semester. The sale is only one day and just between the hours of 4pm-10pm. During this time all clearance items are an additional 50% off! The place is NUTS during those few hours. I found this skirt in a mad dash. You literally had to wait in line to even look at the clearance racks and the checkout line took about 45 mins. This is not for the severely or even slightly claustrophobic folk. According to the tag this item was originally $135.00. Not sure why. I just thought the print was cute.

All I know is it was marked down to $9.99 and I got an additional 50% off (thanks to Joe's student ID).

Phew, that's a a lot of blabbing. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. Closet clean out time when I get home. Quite a weekend. What did you guys do?

Wrinkled Dollar Spotlight # 4

Check out wrinkled dollar spotlight #4! Renee at ohrenee*design can really spot the deals. Boots for $4?! Now that's worth blogging about! ;)



She has a great smile too, dontcha think? I highly reccommend you visit her blog! Thanks for participating Renee!

Now it is your turn! I want to see how you are spending your wrinkled dollars! You can feature one, two, three, etc item(s) or a whole outfit. Check out my wrinkled dollar spotlight page for more details and to see past participants.

My thrifting extravaganza went well today. Part II will commence tomorrow.

I hope you all are having a great weekend.

White Tank with Ruffle Accent

Goooooood morning! I'm still in bed and it feels AWESOME. My horrible cold is on its way out. I definitely feel well enough for a full day thrifting extravaganza.

Must rest now. Will need shopping strength later...

Thanks to my mom for being my photographer yesterday!



I decided to feature this tank, even though my boots, pants and striped cardigan have yet to be featured. I'm sure the boots will be featured soon since I wear them basically everyday of my life.

White Tank with Ruffle Accent: Gotta love Old Navy Clearance! I think Old Navy may be the only place (other than thrift stores) where I can purchase clothing for under $2.00! This is a simple white tank, but the ruffle adds a lot of interest to an outfit.



My brother may recognize the hat I'm wearing (wink wink). Look out people, I may steal your things AND I will find ways to rationalize the crime...He lives in CA, he doesn't need a wool skull cap.



My husband calls this the "Penniless and Tired Hat". I'm pretty sure that's NOT a compliment.

Ok, time to get out of bed and get ready.

Check back today for another wrinkled dollar spotlight!

Green Dress

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.

I'm still sick. It has only gotten worse. I was in bed most of the day yesterday. I didn't really get dressed, so no post. Today, I went into work, but it was a struggle. Despite feeling like crap, I still put on my green.



Green Dress: My photo location is in honor of where I found this dress, Target! I love Target clearance. I kinda ran into this dress one day when I wasn't digging. It jumped out at me when I was walking down the main aisle. There it was, just sticking out on the end of one of the clearance racks. It came with a belt, but I swapped it out for one of mine.



I could have fastened the belt better. Ugh, I'm sick. That's my excuse.

If I could have my way I would stay in bed all day tomorrow and someone would come over and read The Princess Bride to me. I would listen without interruption - especially during the kissing parts.

I hope I get my strength back by Saturday. I'm planning a thrifting extravaganza with some girlfriends.

Red Stripes

It is late. I'm tired. My mom is currently making chocolate chip cookies upon request. I'm still feeling crappy, but not too crappy to feature this item. An item I have been very anxious to share.


Red Striped Shirt: I only paid $.99 for this shirt at Goodwill! It was a Sunday and the tag matched the 'color of the week'. I guess no one else grabbed it, because it had a stain on the front. This problem almost made me put it back, but then I started examining the stain and assessing the potential clean-up. Joe thought I should put it back too, but I was confident that the stain would come out and even if it didn't it was worth the try for $.99. I took it home and went to town with stain removal stuff and bleach. After two rounds of scrubbing it came up. So happy.

I wouldn't call it 'vintage', but it definitely isn't new. Based on the tag I would guess it is from the 80's. The condition (other than the stain that went buh-bye) is nuts. The white is really vibrant!



The jeans I got about a year ago from Salvation Army. I don't remember the price, but I would guess they were under $4.00. The boots are new. I can't wait to tell you about the deal I got on them!

My little sister said it looks like a shirt you wear on Christmas. This is the same sister who calls me scarf lady (I can't win with this kid). However, when she got dressed this morning for school she said she felt like a "mini-Jessica". I decided to document the occasion.



Cookies are done! See you guys on Wednesday. I'm taking a day off to celebrate my best friend's B-day.

Vest

My nine year old sister is now referring to me as Scarf Lady. Should I take a hint?


Green Vest: Remember about a month back when I said I was looking for a sweater vest? Well, voila. It is originally from F21, but I found it at Value World. I probably spent a good hour in the store that day, but I found the vest in the first 5 minutes and it was the only thing I actually bought. I'm really happy with the color. It wasn't on a special discount, but it was only $4.00, which I think is pretty fair.

Here is a shot without the blazer.



After my rant yesterday, I'm happy to say that the prices at Value World are still reasonable. My mom and I went today and I purchased a mug, book and skirt. All for a whopping $2.65. Love that. The skirt was only $.90. I'm still trying to figure out why. I can't wait to show you all.

I also look forward to featuring the animal print scarf I'm wearing in the photos above. I have no doubt that this scarf lady will be wearing it again real soon.

I caught a cold and I'm feeling a little worn down. Activities for tonight include tea and Star Wars on Spike. I kinda hope it is a marathon.

Wrinkled Dollar Spotlight # 3

And now another wrinkled dollar spotlight. Many thanks to Michelle at Wishful Thinking for participating. She is one amazing thrifter. This is just one example of the plentiful deals on her blog. Check it out.



After my horrible shopping experience today, Michelle's $.75 shirt is helping repair my faith in thrifting. The Salvation Army near my parents place in Michigan raised their prices...a LOT! I'm talking like $7.99 for a shirt. This hike up in price is part of their new branding scheme and slogan - "The Absolute Finest in Upscale Resale".

I'm not one to rant (via blog), but I'm bumming. It is not like the quality of the product has changed. The clothing remains the same, but now it is being branded as upscale?

Are the traditional thrift stores trying to align their pricing with boutique 'vintage' stores?

Exhibit A: They were selling used rubber flip flops for 2.99!? Old Navy sells them new for $1.00.

I'm curious to see what you guys think about this. How much are you willing to pay for a used item at a thrift store that isn't technically "vintage"? Do you think that raising prices like this will alienate regular shoppers, or do you think people will eventually adjust to the increase? Have you noticed drastic price increases at your local thrift store?

Ok, rant over. I have a $4.00 item to feature tomorrow and then I'm going back to a $.99 item. The wrinkled dollar will remain strong even with the current economic uncertainty of thrifting in 2011. ;)

Help restore my faith in value-shopping; consider participating in the next wrinkled dollar spotlight. Show me how you spend your wrinkled dollars. You can feature one, two, three, etc item(s) or a whole outfit. Check out my wrinkled dollar spotlight page for more details and to see past participants.

Sweet dreams of $.75 J.Crew Shirts...

Gray Velvet Dress Pants & FBFF

I'll be in Michigan for the next 2 weeks, which means I will be working in the office. My company is pretty relaxed when it comes to dress code, but I still find myself struggling to put an outfit together. What can I wear that is 'nice' casual and appropriate for work? The office is not very fashion forward so I'm a little reluctant to bust through the doors wearing crazy heels or zany colors. I'm working on my courage.

If i were the king of the ooooffficce, with a woooooof and a wooooof.


This is what I wore on Thursday. Pretty simple. Nothing too exciting. Kinda wrinkly since I sat in it all day and took the photo after work. Please forgive?



What is exciting is the deal I got on these pants!

Gray Velvet Dress Pants: These are from the GAP Outlet. They were on the clearance rack, of course. I was floored when I saw the price tag - look at all the pretty colors! I peeled off all of the tags to see the progression of mark downs. This is how it went.

$44.99 - $16.99 - $9.99 - $7.97 - $4.97.

Love it!

There was a black pair too, but I liked the gray better.

This week's FBFF is about finding the balance between life and blogging. Go to Modly Chic to see other responses!

1. When it comes to prioritizing your life, in what place does blogging fall?
This is a hard question. It is really not a priority over things like family, friends and work, but I have been choosing it over some of my other hobbies lately. I'm trying to find a good balance so I can make some time to spend on (non-fashion) photography, crocheting, reading, attempting to write music and exercise. Yes, blogging has been a really great excuse to NOT work out...eek.

2. We all wish we had more free time to dedicate to blogging and all it entails. What are your tricks for taking advantage of the time you do have to be as productive as possible?
I like to post individual pictures of clothing items on top of an image of me wearing the item. This editing process takes a little longer than simply posting one photo. To make it more manageable I try to plan ahead. On the weekends I spend time taking photos of the clothing items I want to feature in the near future. I log them into a spreadsheet with all of the details (where I bought it, for how much, was it on sale/clearance, etc). When I'm ready to do a post I can easily grab the item image, toss it together with the photo of me wearing it, quickly look up the price, throw down the wrinkled dollar and then pull them all together (using Indesign). A lot of pre-work on the weekends saves a lot of time during the work week.

3. Have you discovered any short-cuts that makes blogging easier or more time efficient?
Sometimes I write my post in a word doc or e-mail draft and paste into blogger when it is complete. I'm not sure why it is more time efficient, but it seems to help me. Other than that, I'm at a loss. I need to read other responses to this question, because I obviously need help with blogging efficiency.

4. Do you have an editorial calendar or something similar that helps you plan ahead?
No, but I'm curious to see how others use an editorial calendar. The only thing I use is my master clothing spreadsheet (mentioned above), but I don't ever plan my outfits in advance. I decide every morning what to wear and try my best to incorporate an item I would like to feature on the blog.

5. If time wasn’t an issue what would you be doing on your blog/for your blog that you aren’t doing now?
Ugh, so many things. There are some DIY projects that I have on the back-burner and also a couple tutorials I've been planning to share...eventually. Crocheting is a hobby that I would like to showcase on wrinkled dollar, but I haven't had ANY time to pick up a hook. I would like to post more informative posts with useful tips. Lastly (and most importantly) I wish I had more time to read and comment on everyone else's posts.

I'm done with the next wrinkled dollar spotlight. Look for the post tomorrow!