Hepburn and Houndstooth

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Pretty Fun is an Etsy shop by cool-gal Sara.  She creates jewelry and purses that are to die for and there truly is something for everyone!  Check her out here and here.

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I have been itching to go thrift-store shopping for a few weeks and I finally had the opportunity for a quick trip before an appointment this morning.  I only got to spend about half an hour in the store, which wasn’t nearly long enough.  I didn’t even get to look at men’s clothing or furniture.

I still came out with some goods!

These stereotypical vacation souvenir is so perfect!  There were two Florida plates, but I chose this one because it features the Citrus Tower, which was right near our apartment in Clermont.  We had a view of it from our balcony.  This has now sparked a new collection.  I want to collect plates from the states where either of us has lived.  Now we need Mississippi, Texas, and Missouri.  I think I’ll do Alabama too, since I was born there.  Technically, I should have Maryland, but I don’t have the best memories of that place.

Nick has decided he wants to be a soccer player when he grows up, so when I saw these like-new Umbros in his size, I knew they were coming home with me.  I mean, I had these in 7th grade!  in every color imaginable!  For Harper, a little tee in my high school’s colors.  Looks like I’m having a bout of nostalgia, right?

Speaking of nostalgia… I bought a couple of skorts!  I got this same one in white.  Now, to be clear, these are not the kind that look like shorts from behind.  These are the ones where the shorts are hidden completely.  This a total Mom item (they are even by St. John’s Bay).  But hey, I AM a mom.  These babies are super practical for crawling around on the floor with kids.  I hate shorts because of my chunky thighs, so at least I can stay comfy and a bit concealed.

You really can’t tell from the pictures, but this linen shirt (Chaps – Ralph Lauren) is the most beautiful fabric.  I absolutely love linen for summer.  I love the slit-cuff 3/4 sleeves and the amazing fit.  What sold me though was the tiny Chaps logo embroidered on the chest.  I forgot to take a pic of that, but it’s basically a little box with a C in it.  Perfect for celebrating my new last name!

This is by far my favorite find!  Perfect colors, fit, and fabric weight.  It can be worn belted or unbelted.  The belt shown is actually no belt at all.  It’s a purse strap, the only belt-like object within grabbing distance.  I don’t use it as a strap and it has now become my new belt.

Thrifting is so much fun to me.  I love the thrill of a good bargain!

1. I started the morning out with killing some time at the thrift store before an appointment.  $11 dollars later, I had 2 skorts (oh yes, SKORTS!), 2 shirts, a pair of shorts for Nick, a shirt for Harper, and a decorative plate.

2. After this morning’s appointment, I finally got a library card at my hometown library.  The last time I had one there I was a teenager.  I checked out Kristen Chenoweth’s A Little Bit Wicked and Jennifer Weiner’s Best Friends Forever.

3. Yesterday, I swore to everything holy and not that I would work out after the kids went to bed.  I did not.  I would like to say this was the first time I reneged on my promise.  It was not.  But TONIGHT!  Tonight is the night!

4. I now have a tv-watching app on my phone and I got to watch Big Love for the first time last night.  I am so excited that I will now get to watch TV in bed!

5. I have ideas.  Lots and lots and lots of ideas.  The problem is, about 79% of the time, I don’t follow through with my brilliant ideas.

6. So I have finally decided on a camera.  And I chose it based solely on aesthetics.  My photographer friends are probably rolling their eyes.  But I’m going to look so cool using it once I buy it!

7. I made a decision many years ago that still haunts me sometimes.  This is one of those “haunted” days and I’m bummed over it.

8. I am very slowly getting some organization going on in the house.  There’s only so much I can do with my dad’s clutter everywhere, but I’m organizing to maximize storage more than anything.

9. Forgiveness is one of my strong suits.  Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so forgiving, but I am.

10. With the exception of Sunday, I have continued showering and dressing in the mornings to boost productivity.  I’m so proud of myself!

Saturday, my mom and I took Nick to his first movie, plus we went to lunch and did some light shopping.  For this momentous occasion, I made shirts with iron-on transfers.  It ws a little dorky, sure, but Nick was tickled over them.

We got into Hattiesburg over an hour before Misty Island Rescue‘s starting time.  We wanted to stop by the crafter’s mecca, Hobby Lobby, but Michael’s was way closer, so we stopped there to kill time.  I was on a mission to buy supplies for my new business.  This was my first stop:

I was debating individual sheets versus bundles when I was approached by a woman.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could feel her looking me up and down.  I looked over at her and she told me her car was out of gas, she needed to get to her next job, and she needed a few dollars.  Instead of saying, “no, sorry, I don’t have it,” I made the mistake of telling her that I don’t carry cash, only cards.  She then told me how she was cleaning floors and the chemicals on her shirt were burning her skin.  She asked me to buy her one of the $2.50 t-shirts.  I said yes and while she made her selection, I took my debit card out of my purse and hurried across the store to give my mom my purse to hold.  Maybe I was being paranoid, but I didn’t know if this woman would snatch my purse and take off.  We went to the check-out where she called the cashier by her first name and then asked me if she could try one of the truffles at the register!  In shock, I agreed and paid for it too.  She then thanked me profusely, but it didn’t stop there.  She asked if I could give her a ride to Main Street (on the other side of town).  I finally put my foot down and told her that I was killing time before an appointment and had done all I could do for her.  I am not sure if this is something she does all the time (I mean, the cashier seemed familiar with her) or if she had been in here awhile trying to help to no avail.  In any case, I did my good deed for the day!

By time I got finished clothing the con artists of the world, it was time to head to the theatre.  Not before checking out with my goodies though!

Grammy bought the little capsules that “grow” into dinosaurs (more about that later).  I got this awesome journal ($1!) to carry in my purse, a strand of beads to make into a bracelet ($2.99) that matches my sheets perfectly, and a “C” applique ($.49) to gussy up a boring cardigan I have.  The koozies were $1 each.  I love the dollar section at Michael’s!

At the theatre, I let Nick carry his own ticket to the usher and he was just so excited about the whole process.  We went to the concession stand and he chose some chewy Sweetarts.

We found seats in the theatre and surprisingly, Nick did really well waiting half an hour for the movie to start.  On the other hand, a grown man behind us (I’m guessing he was mentally handicapped) talked throughout the entire movie, calling out all the character’s names and narrating everything. Nick was absolutely riveted throughout the cute movie.

After the movie, we went to Chili’s for lunch.  Nick ordered his usual, chicken crispers and fries and as usual, only ate a couple of bites, then took the leftovers home and ate like he was starved.

After lunch, we headed to Target, one of my favorite places on earth. We hit the dollar spot and got stuff we didn’t need.  My prizes:

Raleigh got a new collar for summer.  Her usual kelly green collar was faded to a nasty seafoam shade.   I actually did need the ribbon because who doesn’t need ribbon?!

I also bought a new shower curtain, which I desperately needed, but always forget to pick up. I added to my collection of Sally Hansen XTreme Wear with the color Flirt.

There were two things in Target that, true to character, I fell in love with but didn’t buy.  What can I say, I’m cheap.

This swimsuit was so cute and I was dying over it.  People, I’ve been wearing the same swimsuit for FOUR YEARS.  Yes, the elastic is stretched out and no, it doesn’t fit well anymore.  The color and style of this swimsuit was sooo me, but it was $30 and I just couldn’t go there.  The wedges?  Darling.  They were perfect.  I loved everything about them, except that they weren’t on sale.  They were so, so comfy and I wear leopard as a neutral, so I would get lots of miles out of them!

By the time we left Target, my eyes were really irritated and I could barely see.  We went to Hobby Lobby, but Nick and I stayed in the car while mom ran in for some acrylic sheets.  She came out with some things for a project I’m working on.

I plan to put the alphabet on a wall for the kids once we move into our own place. The wooden letters are from Hobby Lobby and the glittery foam Q was another find from the Target dollar spot.

When we got home from Hattiesburg, Nick wanted to play with his dinosaur capsules.  Now, when we were kids, you bought these little capsules, put them in water, and they quickly grew to a large size.  Dustin even remembers having some that grow as big as the container you put it in.  These… well, they weren’t that.  They were just like small sponges and they took forever to open up.

It was such a fantastic day, one that Nick really deserved.  He has been so good about sharing his time since Harper was born and this was really the first time I have had the opportunity to take him on a date.  Dustin and I are going to take him to see Toy Story 3 next!  Can’t wait!

I always love seeing how others live and seeing what people have in their medicine cabinets, purses, or makeup bags.  So today I randomly dumped out my makeup bag and took a quick pic.  I have a big organizer-type box full of makeup too… this is just my most-used stuff.  I have a wide variety of brands and some of my stuff is really old (yeah, I should toss it).

1. Avon eyeshadows, about a hundred years old. I only use a couple of these colors, and only occasionally.  Should probably just toss it.

2. Mirror the hubby gave me years ago.  Can’t remember the online vendor but I’m going to see if I can find out, because they are awesome compacts!

3. Clinique eyeshadows, maybe 105 years old.  Never wear these.  Why are they in my bag?

4-7. Makeup brushes.  Three of them are cheap and horrible.  The only good one is the white one, a Sonia Kashuk for Target.

8. Avon Glimmersticks in Starry Night.

9. L’oreal eyeliner in Kohl, use it a lot obviously.

10. CQ liner in Charcoal

11. Fingernail clippers

12. Clinique colour surge lipstick in Orchid Shimmer, so so old

13. My beautiful collection of L’oreal HIP eyeshadows.

14. Tweezerman slant tip tweezers

15. Clinique eyeshadows, SO OLD.  I definitely need to replace some makeup.

16. Sonia Kashuk Beautifying Blush in Melon.

17. Cover Girl TruBlend powder foundation

18. Almay mascara in Black

19. MAC Select Coverup

20. Almay Bright Eyes concealer

so what have we learned?  We have learned that I need to go makeup shopping!  I don’t have it in the budget to just go replace all this old stuff, but I definitely need to gradually buy some new stuff!  Now I wonder what’s in my makeup box that’s a million years old!

Every once in awhile, I have a day where I spend an hour salivating over material things online.  Well, this week, I’ve had several of those days.  Some of the things I’m obsessed with…

My dream is to own the Christian Louboutin Simple in both nude and black.  Who am I kidding?  My dream would be to have them in all available colors!  However, for an attainable substitute, loving Nine West Ambitious pump ($69 from Piperlime).

I love quirky things for the home and it’s important to me to remember where I came from and where I’ve been, no matter where I go.  I would love to scatter these on a huge white sectional, in all the states where either Dustin or I have lived or were born in.  These are from Etsy seller lovecalifornia.  The part is that you choose the color of the state and the location of the heart!  ($42)

We are not ready to buy a house just yet (I really need to start bringing in some money first), but this little hidden gem is just right for us.  And at $45,000, the price is right too!  I know it’s not much to look at (and you should see the inside!), but we want a bit of a fixer upper and it’s a good size in a perfect location!

Since we decided that we want one more baby, several friends and family members have announced pregnancies.  Naturally, I start obsessing over pregnancy.  We have never planned a pregnancy, so I’m really excited for the opportunity to actually try to conceive.  As much as I hated being pregnant with both of my boys, I know it’s a blessing and an honor to create new lives.  I look forward to facing the next pregnancy positively!

1. Please don’t complain about being $60,000 in debt if you just came from a 4-week cruise in the Mediterranean.

2. I have a little summer cold and saying something about it on Facebook was the biggest mistake of my week.  I won’t get into it here, but I am in a rotten mood now because of it all.

3. I do not need toxic people in my life, but they are there at every turn.  I definitely am ready to make some huge changes in my life, starting with deleting people from my Facebook.  For real this time.  After that, I have a couple of letters to write to people I am harboring anger against.  It’s just not healthy to hold it all in.

4. Harper is in the process of phasing out his 2nd nap and I’m really sad about it.  I’m less sad about the quiet time I’m losing and more sad that this is another sign he’s growing up so fast!

5. On the topic of my kids making me sad by growing up, Nick has been at my mom’s for two nights and is at the point where he decides when he wants to stay and when he wants to come home.  When did he get old enough to make decisions?

6. Reconnecting with old friends is amazing.  I have had the wonderful experience this past week of finding an old friend on Facebook and having some wonderful conversations with him.  This reminds me of why I use FB.

7. The only thing better than being addicted to buying something cheap is finding a store where it’s sold even cheaper!  I discovered Saturday that Target sells my favorite nail polish (Sally Hansen’s Xtreme wear) for $1 less than WalMart!

8. I can’t do this anymore.  I have had some serious drama go down in the last hour and I’m shaking from anger.  I need coffee and I need to do dishes.  I can not focus on coming up with more things to write here.

Get ready for some great style and the best hair you have ever seen. Seriously, this girl has my dream hair!

Oh, and there’s more to her blog than just her hair.  I just happen to be hair-obsessed.  Her style is just so amazing and I love the way she wears her clothes!

Please head over and check out her blog.  You will not regret it!

Wal-Mart isn’t exactly my first stop for new clothes.  However, ever since that little kid Miley debuted her line for Max Azria at WM, I have found myself tossing clearance items into my cart, like this little sequined tank I scored for $3 about a month ago.

It is really cute tucked into a satin mini i got for $4 at maurices recently.  I haven’t worn either of these pieces, because I haven’t really gone anywhere.

In the last couple of days, these three items really caught my eye.  I think I’ll definitely get the jacket and hope to get the sandals and denim shirt (can’t believe this is in again!).

If you had told me two years ago that I would be yearning for some Miley Cyrus clothes, I would have laughed at you.  But yeah, here we are.

For what it’s worth, you can get almost the same thing (and exactly the same thing, in the case of the sequined tank) at Forever 21.  Can you get them on clearance for $3?  Doubt it.

I spent the entire afternoon and evening Monday braving torrential, heavy winds, and COLD.  I was on a mission for shoes.  I needed a cardigan too, but the main objective was to find the perfect shoe to match my dress.  I wanted a round or almond toe pump with at least a 3-inch heel, in black patent (to match the patent belt on my dress).  Simple, right?  Not so much.  I went to at least ten stores, including discount department stores such as Marshall’s.  I couldn’t find a single shoe I liked under $50.  I won’t bore you with all the details of how I didn’t eat all day, was cold and wet, so tired that my eyes were sunken, and I had a meltdown in Target.  Short story: I ended up in Target where I found the perfect shoe for $20.  The problem was, there was one in my size…with GUM ALL OVER IT.  Good grief.  I gave up and went home for some sleep.

Today I lowered my expectations from “perfect” to “suitable” and set out in search for shoes.  I made a quick run into Cato where I used to work.  A lot of times, I can find some great treasures in there.  There, sitting in the clearance section for $9.99 was a pair of shoes exactly like what I wanted, except in suede.  They were reasonably comfortably, wonderfully priced, and with the shiny heel to match my patent belt, I was sold!  I haven’t taken a picture of them, but these are close:

source

I am in love with the cardigan I bought.  I found it in Forever 21 and I just know I’ll wear it over and over!

I am so excited to be done shopping for outfits!  I can’t wait to do a lookbook on our outfits, complete with budget breakdown!  Now I just have to get my hair cut (tomorrow!) and do my nails.

I’M GETTING MARRIED FRIDAY!!!!