MI, Face Paint and Double Dose #1

Hi, I'm in Michigan again. So far, fun times.

My brother is here too. We got into town on Thursday and started the trip out right with some Karaoke. We love Karaoke. We also love singing duets from High School Musical in a dive bar.

Today I took off work and hung out with the family. We did a little shopping, had dinner, played euchre and enjoyed some face painting.



My brother is a super talented face artist at Universal Studios. He does face painting and airbrush tattooing. He writes a blog about it called Structured Faces. Check it out. Don't I look like the witch doctor from the end of Beetlejuice?



For the next 3-4 days while I'm hanging with my bro you will be getting a double dose of wrinkled dollar; two outfits, 1 male AND 1 female.



I got my watch back!



Tuxedo Blouse: I purchased this top the last time I was in MI from the DAV Thrift Store. It was marked down to $.99! One more week and it would have been only $.25, but I was going back to IN so I snatched it up. I really like the detail (which you can see much better in the face painting photos above).



And now David's debut.



Button Up: This men's cotton button up is a Target donation from Goodwill. It was purchased on $.99 Sunday!



Tomorrow is David's 30th Birthday bash! I look forward to sharing photos of our costumes!



Time for bed. Have a great weekend everyone!

Inspiration Via Text Message

Since starting wrinkled dollar, I hear so many awesome stories from friends and family about the amazing deals they are finding. Photo text message is just one of the ways I get to enjoy these stories. Here are a few...

My mom has sent me multiple photos of her work outfits. One day she was telling me about great deals she got at Macy's so I said, "Take a photo and send it to me". Now I get photos every so often. I love them. She also tells me about the compliments she gets from her her patients and co-workers. Looking good mom!


My best friend Catherine sent me the photo on the left last weekend and told me that I inspire her to dress like a girl, ha! She got a great deal on that Maxi dress at Old Navy - I think 30% off the clearance price!

The picture on the right is a snow suit she purchased for her unborn baby boy (looking forward to his arrival)! She found it at a resale shop. What a great find!



I've gotten two awesome text messages from my friend Krystle. The first is her DSW receipt showing she saved $149.04!
The second is a pair of $200 wedges she got for just $30! Really makes me want to go shoe shopping with her!



It makes me so happy that wrinkled dollar has inspired them to shop-for-less and in some cases encouraged them to go thrifting. It is feedback like this that keeps me blogging on the days I feel like giving up. Thanks guys!

Blue Pants & Rain Love

Due to crappy weather, unshaven legs and work being nutso, I'm postponing my Inspiration Monday participation. My plan is to work it out sometime before next week's challenge. This saddens me greatly, because I have a perfect pair of white shorts that I got at Goodwill for $.99 cents.

Instead I will show you these pants that I also got at Goodwill for $.99 cents.



Blue Pants: I found these pants at Goodwill on $.99 cent Sunday. Target donated multiple pairs so there were options in several sizes. I like them as a jeans-alternative. They are full length, but I folded them up to a cropped length so I could show off my favorite boots.



I wore this outfit on Friday. I have been wearing pretty much an identical outfit (pants + sweater/shirt + blazer +boots) since then because the craptastic weather hasn't changed. Have I mentioned the weather sucks yet?



You may (or may not) remember this red striped top. It too was purchased for $.99 cents, which means this pants top combo equals a total of $1.98!



Sorry to complain. In an effort to channel my (new) love for rain I will focus on these movies with happy rain scenes:

1. Singing in the Rain (too obvious)?
2. The Notebook (guilty pleasure).
3. Dirty Dancing (When Swayze breaks the car window..."You're Wild")
4. Garden State (When they yell in the big pit)

Can you think of any others?

The Rain, A Cardigan & My Dad.

For those of you who celebrate, happy Easter!

I'm back after an unplanned three day hiatus. The rain makes is pretty dang difficult to clothe myself in anything other than jeans and a cardigan. Also, the last thing I want to do is go outside in the rain to take photos. Unfortuantely the rain is not done; the weather report says we are getting dumped on M-TH.

A few things I want to say really quick:

1. Thank you for all of the fabulous costume ideas! I selected a bunch that I liked and thought about which have thrifting potential. There were some suggestions I loved, but time is too limited so will I put them on the backburner for potential Halloween ideas. I will of course post photos of the costume after the party next weekend!

2. This weekend Joe and I went to a Goodwill Outlet (again). There are three in Indianapolis, but we only went back to one - the least intimidating. We found some cool things! I would say we bought approximately 15 items (mostly small accessorie type things + some housewares and electronics). The total weight of was 3.75 lbs. At $.69 a lb our total bill was $2.59. Oh man, I'm glad this place is a 45 minute drive away, because I fear it could become addicting. I'll plan to show you some of things I found on an upcoming post this week.

Despite the weather I tried really hard to dress Spring-y in honor of Easter.



We were able to snap some photos during a rain break.

I pinned a pink decorative flower to my clutch. I've also worn it as a head band and a brooch.



I'm so happy to see green on the trees again!



You may be seeing a lot of my favorite umbrella this week.

Alright, let's feature something.



Light Summer Cardigan with Flower Detail: I often wear thin cardigans like this over sleeveless tops during cool summer evenings. This one was just $3.97 on clearance at Old Navy. I love the feminine detail. My guess is I'll wear it a lot - I kinda have already.

And now some important news. Today is my Dad's birthday! He is "53 and still cool as can be".

Here is a photo of him as a youngin - one of my favorites.



And, here is a recent one. Fatha & Daugtha.



Happy Birthday, Dad. Love you!

HELP! + Thrift Your Next Costume!

I've made it pretty apparent that I like to shop second-hand and clearance for my everyday wardrobe. Something you may not know is that I love to shop for costumes as well. My family and friends (especially my brother) often throw theme parties so I have a lot of great opportunities to shop for disguises.

Guess where I shop? Goodwill/Value World/Salvation Army, of course!

So Here's the point of this post. My brother is turing 30 and to celebrate he is throwing a costume themed birthday bash. I NEED YOUR HELP! The party is on 4/30 and so far I have no ideas.

Check out a selection of my old costumes below with some details on where I purchased various items.


1. Halloween: Joan Holloway (Mad Men). One of my faves. I found the vintage dress at Salvation Army. It is awesome! I really want to get it dry cleaned and altered. I loved the hairdo too. Jewelry was from Value World.
2. Halloween: Doc (Back to the Future). I remember putting the cotton balls on my eyebrows with a glue stick, probably not the smartest idea. My best friend went as Marty. The shirt was thrifted, but I borrowed the lab coat.
3. Halloween: Frida Kahlo. I made the head wrap with some fake flowers I bought at Salvation Army. The top, scarf and earrings were borrowed, but the skirt was bought at Salvation Army.

4.Halloween: Crazy Cat Lady. Everything I wore had cats on it and I got all of the items from Value World. Oh, except the magazine, Catmopolitan, which I borrowed, hilarious. I loved playing this character all night. I even hot glued pieces of litter and cat food to my robe. Ahh, only a true cat lady would go to such lengths...;)
5.Halloween: 40's? I don't really have a name for this outfit. It was just an opportunity to wear a bunch of sweet vintage items I borrowed from a friend. It was costume #2 the year I dressed as Doc. I needed something feminine after being old, male and gray the night before.
6. Halloween: Swine Flu. Sorry I know this is gross and maybe a little insensitive, but at least it was relevant...? All of the clothing was purchased from Value World. The ears and nose I had to get from a costume shop.

7. 80's Theme Party: Robert Palmer Girl. I've been to a few 80's parties, so I decided to choose a specific inspiration instead of the standard crimped hair and hot pink dress. The dress (hemmed by my mother) and belt were both from Salvation Army.
8. High School Stereotype Party: Artsy Fartsy Girl. This costume was inspired by "She's All That". Everything I wore was purchased at Value World (including some pink fake converse shoes). I splattered them all with paint.
9. 90's Theme Party: This was a total last minute costume shopping experience, but I of course found inspiration from one of my favorite shows, My So Called Life. Sharon Cherski might have worn this dress, no? I found it at Salvation Army.

10. Jersey Shore Theme Party: The Illusion. I named myself the Illusion, because that is totally NOT my body showing through that dress, it was an optical "illusion". I bought the dress (as is, yikes) at Rue 21 for $5. I bedazzled "ILLUSION" on my butt.
11. Pop Star Karaoke Party: Gwen Stefani. I'm not sure I pulled this one off very well, but I had just recently dressed as Gaga for another party so that was out. I got the belt and the arm bands (cut from the sleeves of a sweater) from Value World. Everything else I already owned.
12. Gods & Icons Theme Party: HELP!?

Now here's where you come in. Can you help me think of some ideas for the upcoming party? The theme is GODS AND ICONS.

My brother created the collage below to help inspire costumes.



I would like to shop this weekend with some ideas in mind. So far I have considered Medusa or Rosie the Riveter, but would love to hear what you guys come up with.

Thanks in advance. :)

I'm gonna have to plan a giveaway soon to thank all of you lovely readers!

Say Anything About My Blue Tights

Ever seen "Say Anything"? One of my faves. Do you remember that part where Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) says to his sister (Joan Cusack),

"Why can't you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?"

I don't have the answer (neither did Joan Cusack).

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm feeling a little blah today. No reason in particular, just feeling a little stir crazy. In my experience working from home can make you a little batty. At the end of the day I crave a new environment, which is why I'm writing this post from a coffee shop.

I wore this outfit yesterday. I took a photo with my car, because it matched my tights.



The original plan was to feature my cardigan, but since I forgot to take a photo of it, I will feature these tights instead.



Footless Tights: These are Target tights that were clearanced out and then donated to Goodwill. I Got them for $1.99. There are so many Target donations at the Bloomington Goodwill stores!

That's all I've got for today.

I leave you with more Lloyd Dobler logic.

[on choosing a career]
How many of them really know what they want, though? I mean, a lot of them think they have to know, right? But inside they don't really know, so... I don't know, but I know that I don't know.

and

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

(Paparazzi) Inspiration Monday & WD Spotlight

Double duty post today.

1. Inspiration Monday via Two Birds

AND

2. WD Spotlight: Megan of Two Birds

Two, Two Birds. ;)

First, take a look at this Spotlight.



I'm naming this outfit, funky and fearless. Another example of the ladies at Two Birds finding cool one-of-a-kind pieces. Thanks for participating Megan!

Now, for Inspiration Monday. Here is today's inspiration:



And here is my take. I totally got caught by the paparazzi yesterday while leaving Goodwill.



Not sure who leaked that I would be shopping there...cus I'm never there on $.99 Sunday. ;)



Speaking of $.99 cent Sunday at Goodwill, that's where I got this top.



I didn't even attempt to make the 'undies hanging out' work - that is one look I definitely cannot pull off. To make the pants cuffs look clean I busted out the iron and went over them a couple time. Other than that, I found this challenge easier than last week.

Also, this is not the first time I've dressed like Gwen. Check in later this week for a post about Theme Party Costumes for details.

Blue Tee, Records, Antiques, Outlets and my Watch

Saturday was Record Store Day. Joe and I went to Landlocked, our favorite local record store in Bloomington, to grab a few things. It was pretty chaotic. Similar to the Goodwill Outlets, you have to be a little aggressive and lead with your elbows if necessary.

After we managed to get out of Landlocked we headed east to hit up some antique stores, thrift shops and the Edinburgh Outlets.



There is this one antique store in Brown County that I love because they have complimentary coffee and cookies while you browse. Can't beat that! I stopped for a photo opp with this mannequin modeling schlitz shorts. There was a lot of cool antique jewelry that I would love to own, but unfortunately the price wasn't right.

I didn't really buy much. At the outlets I got a few pairs of tights at Banana Republic (3.99 + an additional 40% off), but that's pretty much it.

We did however find a really cool abandoned house/building in Columbus (Indiana) to take pictures by.




It was cold and rainy yesterday so I wore a simple comfy outfit - nothing special, but very typical of what I like to wear when I don't feel like putting much effort into dressing myself.



The side of this building was very overgrown. You couldn't even see the brick because of the vines. Very pretty.



Blue Tee: I bought this shirt at the DAV Thrift Store in MI. It is just a simple Tee (Urban Outfitters brand), but I love the color and the fabric. To me, definitely worth $.99 cents.



I haven't mentioned it yet, but I have been pouting for about 3 weeks over the loss of my favorite watch. When I got home from Michigan it was no where to be found. My plan was to write a "missing" or "tribute" post in honor of the watch, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. It was a gift from Joe for Christmas and was NOT wrinkled dollar worthy, so it was really bothering me.

This morning at 7:45am I woke up to Joe putting my phone in my face. A text message from my mom read "I found your watch". I was very happy to say the least, thought I was dreaming. I'm not sure how it got in the back seat of my mom's van, but don't really care. We will soon be reunited.

See you guys tomorrow for Inspiration Monday & a new wrinkled dollar spotlight!

H&M Skirt

Hello out there, anyone reading this? It is Friday night and I'm writing this while you all are out living life! Kidding, I had a fun evening with Joe, which is still going, but I'm taking a quick break to write this short post.

Work sucked pretty bad today, sucked so hard that I proceeded to stress eat a Stromboli. You know, one of those days when you just want to "go to the mall, have a calorie-fest and see the new Christian Slater".



Post Stromboli we had coffee and cookies at McDonald's while discussing what the heck I should write about on this here blog. Still haven't come up with anything...



My forehead is making a first wrinkled dollar appearance resulting from a much needed bangs cut.



...and I'm still loving these $.25 cent shoes.

H&M Skirt: Nabbed this skirt at a Goodwill in San Francisco. One of my rare moments buying an item at full price, it happens.

Shoes and Blazer are both $.25 cent items. Future pieces of the $1.00 outfit (if I ever achieve this goal).



I'm also wearing my DIY necklace.

Tomorrow is Record Store Day - support your local record store!

I'm gonna take this coffee buzz and...I don't know...do something. See y'all later.

First Vintage Vogue Purchase!

I'm just waiting at this bus stop.



Waiting for an imaginary bus to pick me up and bring me to CT to see my Grams, my friend Chelsea and Chelsea's baby who is growing up too fast.



I also need the bus driver to grant me some get out of work for free (and get paid) passes. Maybe I could hitch a ride with the Magic School Bus.

Still waiting.



Since I'll probably be here awhile I can tell you about my first Vintage Vogue by GW purchase.


In case you missed it, I blabbed about Vintage Vogue by GW here and here.

Gold Striped Top: Stripes are everywhere this spring, but these particular stripes were found on the 50% off rack! Oh yes, already finding great stuff on sale at Vintage Vogue. This was marked $5.99, which is a pretty dang good price to begin with, but $3.00 is a wrinkled dollar price for sure.

Just realized this stop is for a Bloomington city bus...aww man! Hmm, maybe it can take me to Vintage Vogue...

Bye!