$.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?