30 x 30 Recap

We made it back to Indiana and then to Michigan. We had much better luck this time around with our flight, thankfully.

I finally found time to put together my 30x30 recap.



It is fun to see it all together. Looks pretty obvious to me that I started to get the hang of it toward the end.

My favorites are: 8, 11, 20, 21, 22 and 27...I think.

I wish I could have a re-do on 4 and 18.

Some of my favorite items to remix:

Yellow Skirt
















Gray Blazer
















Gray Dress















After reading some other 30x30 recaps I'm realizing many people came to similar conclusions; some items I thought were versatile, were not, and some items I thought were difficult to pair actually worked more often than not. I tried to balance the number of times I wore each item, but there were some I barely wore once.

The best thing about the challenge - it forced me to get dressed everyday

The worst thing about the challenge - the no shopping rule stinks! I may have cheated a few times. Come on, this is wrinkled dollar, I can't pass up a good deal!?

What I'm taking away from the challenge - Accessories can make an outfit feel fresh. Also, be brave when pairing colors. If you believe, others will too.

What I would do differently next time - Avoid items because they appear 'safe'. Choose pieces that I love and figure out how to make them work together.

Honestly the hardest part of the 30x30 was taking a photo EVERYDAY. I definitely learned a lot about myself, that's for sure. Some days were good and some days were...not so good, but I did it and I'm proud.

That's that.

Tomorrow it is back to featuring items I bought with wrinkled dollars.

But before I go, a quick tip: Check your junk mail for coupons! Look what I found today.




bye.

P.S. a new wrinkled dollar spotlight coming soon...

Polka Dots - Everybody, Everywear

Today is Polka Dots day on Everybody Everywear.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I'm still out of town and living out of a suitcase, which means I unfortunately do not have any polka dots to wear today. Instead I'm going to showcase (once again) the awesome purple polka dot blouse I got at Goodwill for $.99!



I wasn't sure about this blouse when I saw it hanging on the 'color of the week' rack. I grabbed it, brought it to the dressing room, tried it on. For $.99 It was easy to take a leap of faith and I'm glad I did! The color and pattern make it a great layering piece. I included it in my 30x30 and worked it in the mix 4 times.



















And here is the one I'm submitting for Everyday, Everywear. It is the best showcase of the polka dots.

Currently this blouse is the only polka dot piece in my wardrobe. I'm keeping my eyes open for some new additions. In particular, I would like to get my hands on a polka dot skirt or dress. The perfect find would be red with white polka dots. Looks like I have a mission. A new challenge, perhaps?

Well, tomorrow is the first day post 30x30, which means I can 'legally' shop again. And, my brother and I have some plans to do some thrift/vintage shopping. Maybe I will get lucky. Wish me luck.

I can't wait to see all of your polka dots!

30/30: Yes!

Phew!! Today is my last day of the 30 for 30 challenge. I feel so relieved.

Let's just get this last outfit out of the way really quick.

30/30


I wish I could have ended the challenge with a 'wow factor' outfit - instead I'm masking my blasé-ness with some beautiful California vegetation.

It's pretty nice out so I'll probably take off my cardigan.



I learned a lot from the 30 for 30. I plan to write a recap post about the challenge sometime next week after vacation is over.

I will say that as much as I enjoyed participating, I'm really glad it is over. I want to refocus on what wrinkled dollar is and what my initial visions for this blog were, before the 30 for 30. If I decide to do the 30 for 30 again I will have to tweak it so that I don't feel like I am compromising my own ideas in order to experiment with someone else's. Please don't get me wrong. I think the 30 for 30 challenge is awesome! It teaches you so much about your closet and how to really get use out of your clothes. I recommend everyone participate, whether you have a blog or not. I think I will take a season off and try it again in the summer.

Meanwhile I'm very excited about Polka dot day tomorrow at Everybody, Everwhere

Tomorrow is my last day in CA. We'll take the red eye to Indy tomorrow night and then head to Michigan the very next day. From sunny CA to snowy MI. I need to go enjoy the warm weather while I still can.

Happy Monday.

29/30: Meetup

Another sunny day in California.

I awoke this morning to a picture text from my mom. They got another 5" of snow last night in MI. Joe and I are headed there after CA. Ugh, not ready to make that weather adjustment.

Today was very exciting, because I experienced my first blogger meetup! Yep, I had brunch with Lidi of Eclectic Flair. Everything was fantastic.

Great food



and awesome company



Lidi is great! I'm so happy I had the opportunity to meet her. It was nice to hang with a fellow blogger and talk shop about the joys and pains of the 30 for 30 experience.

We also had a little photo shoot. Thanks Lidi for shooting my 29 of 30.



After brunch Joe and I went to Santa Monica. Later we had Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles for dinner. Stuffed.

Just one more day and the 30 for 30 will be complete.

That's about it. It's vacation.

28/30: True Vacation

I'm having trouble remembering what day it is. I think that means I'm on vacation.

Joe and I haven't been able to catch up on sleep since our flight debacle. We fell asleep early last night, but woke up wide awake at 7:00am this morning. Since we were awake we went and got breakfast. I had some yummy french toast. After stuffing myself and feeling insanely bloated I got to pose for a photo. Joy.

28/30


It was a little chilly in the morning so I layered my blazer over a sweater. I also threw on a cowl. No jacket required.



Our room was in the corner of the 9th floor. There was light pouring in from two huge windows. We soaked it up and relaxed in true vacation form.



I had to share that photo, because it was cracking us up. Joe is hugging his coke like a teddy bear. Pretty accurate.

Then it was time to pack and head to the airport. Leaving San Fran too soon. We'll miss you.



Hello LA. What's up?

Only two outfits left in the 30 for 30. I've been trying not to complain, but I seriously cannot wait. I'm looking forward to sharing more wrinkled dollar worthy items.

Oh yeah, I also have another wrinkled dollar spotlight. I normally post them on Saturday, but 1. I'm out of town without my computer and 2. I think I'm going to choose a different day to feature the spotlight. I want more people to see you guys and how you spend your wrinkled dollars.

As of Tuesday I'm allowed to shop again. Any must shop vintage stores in LA?

Ok, My brother just got home. Time to get some Pinkberry.

bye.

27/30: San Fran

We made it to San Francisco!

I'm a little low on resources while I'm on vacation. Outfit 27 of 30 is being brought to you today by the self-timer on my point and shoot.



Pretty cool view, huh? well it gets cooler.



Oh yes my friends, a beautiful view of Banana Republic.

Mufasa: Look, Jessica. Everything the light touches is your shopping kingdom.



ahem...(tapping microphone)...no Lion King fans here?

Anyway, around the corner is H&M and American Apparel. I'm kinda loving this hotel location.

So today has been a pretty chill day. I spent most of my time walking around window shopping, but I did check out the SFMOMA, which was pretty awesome!

In an effort to be positive I decided to tell you all of the good things before the bad. I guess it doesn't matter now anyway, because everything worked out. BUT, just in case you are interested, here's my story...

Joe and I were SUPPOSED to fly from Indy to Minneapolis then to San Fran. Our Flight to Minneapolis had a long delay so they had to redirect all connections. We were moved to a flight going to LAX, then would have to switch airlines to get to San Fran from there. Ok, we can handle that. At that point we would still get into town around the same time as the original plan. THEN, there was a mechanical issue with the plane and we had to wait 45 minutes on board while the issues were resolved. By the time we got in the air our estimated landing time in LAX was 10:05 and our connection to San Fran was departing at 10:25 (in a different terminal). We still had hope until we landed and there was no gate available for our plane. we taxied for another 45 minutes before we could exit. You can imagine our frustration at this point. After waiting in a long line to reschedule a flight for the next morning, we got to bed in our (free) hotel room at 12:30am and had to wake up at 3:30am to go back to the airport.

Did you seriously read all of that? Sorry. To make a long story short, it sucked, but we recovered. Please refer to the first sentence of this post.

Despite all of the travel frustration I'm truly happy to be here right now. And, if it wasn't for our messed up delays we wouldn't have flown in to San Fran just after sunrise and had the opportunity to see these awesome aerial views.





Oh yeah, I also met a new friend on our horrendous flight from IND-LAX. Love that. Her presence helped ease some of the stress.

I'm pretty tired, but I'm pushing through. Joe just got back from his conference so I have to go meet him at the hotel.

Back to LA tomorrow evening...see you then.

(please stay tuned - normal wrinkled dollar format will return post-vacay)

25/30 AND 26/30

I started my 30 for 30 late, because I was stuck in California. Now I have just four outfits left and I'm already headed back. Yes, just four outfits left, because I am sneaking two in today. Technically the first is what I wore today and the second is what I'm planning to wear tomorrow.

25/30


Creepy Blair Witch woods.

I figured I'd get get my last 30 for 30 wear out of this dress before I leave so I don't have to stuff it in my carry on. It has been remixed three times. Below, here and here. Pretty dang good for a $5 dress.



This will also be the last appearance of my ($.99) purple polka dot shirt, which got a LOT of action in the 30 for 30. I think I might do a post about all the remixes for that top...coming soon.

Ok, now on to outfit #2. This is a very comfy outfit, because I will be flying across the country tomorrow.

Items when originally featured linked here -> Cardigan, Gray Top, Jeans, Boots.

26/30


How do you guys dress while traveling? Back in the day flying was such an event that people put on suits and dresses! Now you see a lot of people hanging out in their PJ's (not that there's anything wrong with that).



My outfit is dictated by what I don't want to pack. That's why I'm wearing my big black boots. I want to bring them, but I don't want to pack them. I normally use this strategy with bulky sweaters as well.



The Bloomington sun was really pretty today.

Bye Bye Bloomington. See you in a week.