Thrift store Thursdays-Budget Fashionista

I'll take photos of anything and everything. Something else I've been doing on my hiatious is getting spending under control. Thrifting has become an major part of that. Especially since I've lost 52lbs. I needed a new wardrobe and couldn't afford to buy one. 

Since I am back down to a medium shirt and size 4 pants. I want to find the sexy again. I'm tired of cheap frumpy clothes. I want to wear cool and beautiful clothes. Only problem is that I can't afford the designers and brands that I really like. Here comes in one of my favorite pastimes ever, shopping in thrift stores. My mother and I used to have our best bonding moments together in thrift store riffling through the piles of discarded goods. So I've decided to take this skill my mother taught me and use it to create a stylish and hip wardrobe that is current but appropriate for where I am in my life. I'm always so proud of my finds that I want to photograph them anyway, here's my excuse. Also, I'm trying to break myself of my fear of being in front of the camera. So is born Thrift store Thursdays. I'll talk about what I found that week and share at least one look of the week that has been created with my thrift store finds. I plan on Thrift store Thursdays becoming a weekly event. For no other reason than to keep my Thrifting in check. 

Let's start the maiden episode with some accessories...

A must have essential for every woman's closet are belts. Every woman should have a basic black and brown belt in her wardrobe arsenal. Always take a couple of minutes to look at the belts. A good leather belt can last a life time, and if you look for simple designs they will always be in fashion.

Both of these belts I purchased at Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio - VOAGOon Henderson Rd. The brown belt is a Calvin Klein leather belt with silver buckle ($3.99) and the black belt is a Ralph Lauren Italian leather belt with a heavy silver buckle ($2.50). Both are made of high quality leather that will stay in style season after season and will look great with almost any trend.

I'm also a sucker for the shoe department. Hip styles can be expensive. Especially summer the hot wedges styles that incorporate natural elements like wood and basket weave designs. Platform wedges are all the rage this summer, but they can be rather expensive. Starting around $50 new for a good and comfortable pair, you can blow your entire clothing budget on one pair of shoes. This is especially bad when your monthly clothes allowance is only $50. These shoes I found at Volunteer of America Henderson location are the height of fashion without braking my budget. In fact both pairs only cost a grand total of $5.00. Leaving me plenty of money browse the racks. 

Both of these styles go well with this summers fashion trends. The wood and leather Boho chic shoes from Mia ( $4, on the left) look great with cuffed crop pants or short shorts paired with a peasant blouse or finishes off any boho inspired dress. Teamed with an awesome hobo bag and you have a look straight out of the magazines for less than a fraction of the price. Perfect for a modernized version of the 70's look that is hot right now. The Global inspired shoes from Rampage ($.50, on the right) are a must have basic. Not only will they complement this seasons globally inspired fashions, but they are a wonderful statement pieces that will make your legs look great in anything you wear.

Some tips for shoe shopping in thrift stores. Try them on, It may say the size you wear, but the last person who owned them may have had a wide foot turning that size 8 into more of a size 9. Another thing to check, especially with sandals, are the buckles and straps. Make sure that they are in good shape and not fraying or broken. With platforms this is especially important. The last thing you want while walking in a heel is for the straps to brake. This could lead to injury.

It's summer and the sun is bright so everyone needs sunglasses. Next time you need a pair check out the thrift stores first. I found these awesome Kenneth Cole sunglasses for only $1. You can't buy a cheap pair at Wal-mart for that.They are still in awesome shape with no scratches and they usually retail for around $50. A deal like that is definitely worth the side trip to the glasses department of your favorite thrift store.

Note- Thrift store stocks vary from day to day. Use this as a guideline for what to look for. If you go into a thrift store knowing what you are looking for,then its easier to sort through the 

racks of miscellaneous items and find what you is perfect for you.

If you would like to get a sneak peek of  next week's installment of Thrift store Thursday check out and like my thrifty facebook page Sage Living.

Along came a spider

I was on the phone with my BFF when I found this guy. Here's how the conversation went.

Me: OMG!!!
BFF: What?
Me: You should this spider I just found. He's the size of a Silver dollar!! He's so big that I can look him in the eyes and count the hair on his legs.
BFF: OMG!!! Kill it!Me: I'll call you back I've got to get a picture of this.
BFF: (lots of uncomfortable laughter) Dumbass! Talk to you later.

Which is what I did. I definitely used a zoom for this one. Didn't want to risk pissing him off and him doing some kind of crazy spider attack move on me. This photo makes him look nicer than he actually look. I quickly and carefully took my shots, then let him go on his merry way. I mean how often do you run across a tarantula sized spider in the suburbs. I swear he was posing for me. What a ham

I haven't seen him since our brief encounter, but I do have to say after meeting him I'm much 

more careful when I move things around in the yard these days.

  

I am a paleontologist....

Besides the photography and baking I also love to Thrift. It's almost an addiction, my husband is just grateful that my shopping addiction rotates around thrift shopping and not more expensive stores. I've had a page on facebook I used use for an e-bay business had that I sold my son's old clothes. Since I don't do that anymore and I have some followers already I changed the direction toward talking about all the wonderful things you can find in thrift stores if you just look. Check it out and like it at Sage Living. 

My favorite fashion piece to shop for when I'm out Thrifting or Garage sale shopping are handbags. I don't care what they say about shoes, purses are a women's best fashion friend. They carry all your things without complaining, you can take out your frustrations on them without hurting their feelings and they never make you feel fat. My absolute favorite brand of hand bags is Fossil. I love the warm rich earth tones they use and their simple tomboy style. I'm always searching them out. 

These are a couple I've found on my second-hand shopping adventures. The dark brown handbag I found at an Ohio thrift for $4.50. It is great for and everyday bag and it is large enough to carry juice, snacks and the occasional dinosaur around for my 4 year old. The red bowling bag style purse I purchased at a garage sale for $3. It is one of my signature pieces. It was in almost new condition when I bought it. The leather tag was broken off the main zipper, but I replaced it with a large camera charm (I'm also a freelance photographer). That just made it all the more special.

The Gone in 15 Minutes Brownies

Besides photography another one of my talents is baking. It is actually one of my favorite things to do. There is a Zen in the art of baking. You can't bake in a foul mood, or everything tastes foul. So when I'm having a bad day I like to bake to clear my head. As many of you know I've recently lost 52 lbs, so baking hasn't been going on in our house. Not since Christmas, with the exception of my son's birthday cupcakes, has a confection past through my oven doors. Last night was National Community night out and my neighborhood had a big cook-out at the neighborhood park. Since we are new to the neighborhood and I thought this would be a good event to try to network at and also make a good impression on the other mommies in the neighborhood. So I decided to pull out the big guns. These brownies are better than any restaurant brownie I've ever had (trust me I've had a few). I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I brought a batch of these to the cookout and they were gone in 15 minutes. Granted there were a lot of people there, but we were 45 minutes late, and they were sat on a table full of confections that had been there since the beginning and mine were still gone in the blink of and eye. Maybe I made them too good. Heee Heee

I know your dying for the recipe, but if I told you I'd have to kill you. Sorry. =-) This is one of my family secret recipes I've started squirreling away to past down to future generations. If you would like to try and find it, I cut it out of one of my grandmother's Family Circle/Woman's Day magazines dating back to around 1971. This recipe alone was worth going through boxes and boxes of old mags cutting out recipes and decorating ideas. So good luck finding it, but if I'm coming to your potluck you can always request them. Otherwise they never get made.