Good Bye 2012

Wow, this year went especially fast! Lots of great memories, hard work and time enjoyed with my girl. 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog over the year, I appreciate your support, friendship and comments. Looking forward to a great 2013!

Utility Jacket: Brooklyn Industries (gift from my sister-in-law) Jeans: Earnest Sewn-thrifted  Shoes: Target

 

Today, as well as most of the days in the last week, I have dressed very casually, mostly for the need to stay warm. This is just the outfit I wore all day and then added boots and a warm coat for a walk.

Coat: Michael Kors-thrifted

Boots: LL Bean

Hat: Hand made Gift from a friend (the dean of the university where I teach)

Winter Wonderland

The snow has arrived!

 It began snowing on December 22nd and in the time since we have accumulated close to three feet!

 In a common spot I pose,  you can see all of  the snow with the flakes falling all around.  I dressed in prettier outfits but this is what I am wearing outside and most frequently as I enjoy the snow, the sledding and all the wonder of this glorious holiday season.

A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Cool enough for a hat?

Winter is always great for a nice cashmere hat.

I've been seeing lots of bloggers sporting knit hats in their posts and I thought, ah-ha, what a great way to hide a dirty head of hair, I've got to try that!

I'm not sure if I am young or hip or cool enough to pull it off...but, oh well I tried! It gives this photo a certain wintery holiday feel.

Hat: cashmere from TJ.Maxx (old)

Vest and shirt: Walmart (old)

Cords: J.Crew

Linked up with two thirty-five designs!

Blue Velvet

I love blazers, they pull a simple outfit together. I picked this blue velvet one up a few years back on a post Christmas J.Crew sale. I paired it simply with a white shirt and some colored jeans, put on a necklace and popped the cuff for some color contrast.

I quickly snapped these pictures in my office...I look so weary...it's that mountain of grading that I've just finished tackling!

Aren't these vintage anatomy posters so cool?

Blazer: J.Crew

Shirt: J.Crew perfect shirt

Jeans: thrifted

Necklace: old (Target, I think)

Pizza Party!!

I wore this outfit out with my husband, daughter and two friends for a Sunday afternoon pizza party. A chambray, striped shirt, jeans, a military inspired blazer and link necklace: how can you go wrong!

I brought the camera along to highlight the joy that comes out of these three little girls, and my husband liked my outfit so he ended up taking photos of it; thanks babe!

 Silly girls!

  

 I threw this outfit together quickly and it worked. Sometimes you hit it just right and pull off something stylish.

Shirt: J.Crew-thrifted

Chambray: F 21-thrifted

Blazer: Lucky Brand-thrifted

Jeans: Joe's (honey fit)

Necklace: J.Crew Factory

Watch: Walmart

Linking up with Penniless Socialite and The Tiny Heart for Look what I got:

And All Things Alisa

Peplum-Fun: dressy & casual

I paired this peplum blouse with a dark bottom each time and got two very different feels out of the outfit.

In the first dressy version, I like the way it looks, pretty conservative and understated, maybe even a little elegant.

Here, it was much more fun and comfortable way to wear this blouse. Skinny jeans and pointed pumps keep it modern and still classic.

Unfortunately, neither one of the pictures does any justice to the pretty pleated detail in the top.

A warm December day and a fun look for a Christmas party!

I always avoid any Forever 21 items in the thrift store mainly because they don't last and rarely fit me. I was flipping through the rack of jeans and came to these brand new F21 denim skinny jeans and thought, for $4.00 it might be worth giving them a try, off to the dressing room I went, they fit and I liked them even though they were a little short, (they're cropped, right?). A word about fit...in most jeans I am a 27 and these were a 29, I'm a little worried what will happen when I wash them, they may go back to the thrift store.


Peplum top: Elizabeth and James-thrifted
Jeans: Forever21 denim-thrifted
Skirt: J.Crew-old (2005)
Clutch: vintage-thrifted
Pumps: Tommy Hilfiger-old (2004)

Hand knit vest

I found this hand knit vest and knew I had to make it part of my winter wear.

There is just something so special when you pick up a piece in a thrift store (for four dollars, no less) and know it was made by hand. For some reason I often have the notion that I need to rescue these pieces from some untimely demise or neglect.

This sweater vest is just beautifully made and an item I will wear and love as I appreciate the hours that someone put into crafting it!

For me it is a perfect piece of extra warmth without adding the extra bulk of a full sweater.

Vest: thrifted (no label and a hand stitched zipper)

Cords: J.Crew

Embellished

I saw this brand new embellished leather jacket over the span of a few trips to my favorite thrift stop before I actually convinced myself I should spend the three dollars to buy it. Your first response to that sentence may have been, "what, are you crazy, not buy it for $3?"

I live and teach in a small rural area with a very upscale liberal arts university that draws people from all over the globe. In the shop I frequent most often they set prices very reasonably and the merchandise can be very high end. I know this and only buy those items that I will wear and use. I don't do resale (nothing against those who do, I just don't have the time) and I shop with my taste and needs in mind. 

 With that being said, the jacket was a large (14) and too big for me, I tried it on and thought that the shoulders looked okay even though it was quite roomy in the body. This jacket smelled wonderful, that real leather smell that doesn't quickly go away and was well made and beautifully embellished. Well, I thought it may be perfect with a sweater under it and the lady working that day agreed and convinced me to buy it and try it.

Then, once at home, I became curious and I wanted to know more about the brand, Margaret Godfrey. A quick search online turned up this same jacket at overstock.com for $169.99 and this exact one for a suggested retail of $486.00. All that was amazing but, I really wanted to know if there was a Margaret Godfrey who potentially designed it or was the creative expression behind it...then I found this archived newspaper clipping from the Montreal Gazette, Aug 18, 1970 and got some history about a young English woman, Maggie, who immigrated to Canada and landed a job with a clothing manufacturing company and worked her way through to being a successful designer. She now owns and operates Bagatelle International in Quebec.

So, now I have a story to go with this jacket that makes it so much more interesting and one of the many reasons why I thrift!

Leather Jacket:Margaret Godfrey-thrifted

Boots and Jeans: Target

Snood: LOFT-consignment shop Clothes Mentor

Linked up Today with:

Puffy Coat

In my previous post I featured the shirt and outfit under this coat but, I thought this coat deserved a post. Incidentally, my daughter saw those pictures and said "Brrrr, Mommy aren't you cold?"

Well actually, I was not cold,  and the reason why was the warmth of this Michael Kors down puffy coat with faux fur trimmed hood.

I was fortunate to pick this up a few weeks ago for nine dollars. It is so cozy and warm and pretty stylish, too!  I promise, this will be getting a lot of wear this winter season!

MICHAEL Michael Kors Down Coat-thrifted or you can find it here at Zappos.

The good, the plaid, the ugly

I'm sure many of you have seen a current trend and thought, "I could thrift that"! I have that thought often, even though it doesn't always turn out as I plan. The recent trend was plaid...everyone has plaid shirts, everyone gets rid of plaid shirts...so onto my list of items to thrift, plaid.

Let me tell you, it wasn't that easy because fit and quality are always key priorities with me. I tried on a lot of plaid shirts. Boxy ones, tight ones, flannel ones, tiny pocketed ones (seriously have you ever seen those American Eagle shirts with the one teeny, tiny pocket on the chest? Is it me or is that just ridiculous!) 

I had given up until I happened to walk through the boys section and there I spotted it, in all the colors I had envisioned. A size 12/14, I held it up and thought well maybe it'll fit and off to the dressing room I went. It fit, not too boxy, too short or too cute. Pretty much just right!

 So, the moral to this story is "leave no stone unturned", you may just find what you were looking for in that unexpected place.

Cords: J.Crew

Shirt: Nautica-thrifted

Necklace:local boutique

Linked up with Tara at Penniless Socialite for look what I got....

And Get your pretty on!

Let it Snow

 Welcome December!

In the spirit of the season, I wore this wool winter white and mint snowflake sweater I thrifted about 6 months ago for a Saturday afternoon out with my daughter.

It's always fun to pull off an item you had styled in your mind and then are able to execute. I wore this with my boots for the cold and then changed into these vintage Salvatore Ferragamo loafers I thrifted last week.

The boots worked better with the outfit but, I just wanted to show these off! I think I'll get my $2 worth of wear...thinking of other ways to style...

Skirt: Vintage Berman's leather-thrifted
Shirt: J.Crew chambray
Sweater: Gap-thrifted
Shoes: Vintage Salvatore Ferragamo-thrifted

Linked up today with Monday Mingle, check out all these fabulous Moms!

Work attire?

As you can see these photos were discretely snapped in my office with a tripod and camera. You may question my choice of leather as work appropriate attire but, really, I think the look was smart and stylish.

Let me tell you of the awesomeness of this leather, it is just so beautiful! So Soft! I had to wait six months to wear this since I thrifted it in the summer and I was thrilled to finally wear it.

The yoke front detailing of this pencil skirt gives it such amazing lines and a great fit.

Paired with a tweedy sweater, tasseled necklace, tights and brown boots, I think it totally fits into the category of work attire. Even if it doesn't, I'm still wearing it!

Sweater: local boutique

Shirt: J.Crew tissue Tee

Skirt: thrifted

Necklace: Walmart

Bracelet and earrings: thrifted

Boots: Frye

Why I thrift...an awesome orange skirt!

I thrifted this skirt and immediately knew how I was going to wear it. That's not always the case when thrifting, sometimes you pick up something that you otherwise would not have chosen, and then it takes a while to incorporate it into your wardrobe.

In this case the skirt does all the talking and the other things just accompany it.

Black cashmere, black tights, black boots.

Quality essentials that can elevate a $2 skirt. Not that it isn't in it's self quality, it is. Dense wool, fully lined and a flattering drape.

With this title for a post you may have expected more...I thrift because I find gems like this...a simple answer for a longer post I may someday write...

Skirt:  Banana Republic-thrifted
Sweater: J.Crew
Boots: Frye Durango's

Linked up for What I wore Wednesday on the The Pleated Poppy.