Christmas Blessings

I  want to thank all of my readers for their love, support and prayers over the past 10 months and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Patterned skirt

I've missed posting here. I often think that lately I go to doctor appointments like it is my job! Given that I'm working, too, it doesn't leave a lot of time for other activities, especially blogging.

So, I took advantage of a big mirror and snapped an iphone photo of my outfit while I was waiting in the doctors office.

I really liked this outfit, not only was it comfortable but I also felt put together, stylish and pretty.

Shirt: J.Crew
Skirt: Talbots-thrifted
Booties: Arizona-thrifted
Leather Jacket: ZouZou-thrifted
Bag: Longchamp-thrifted

Family Photos

A post I forgot to make live...and some pictures to share with all my blog friends. 

 Many thanks for the continued prayers, love and support.

I am thankful for so much this holiday season. Love to you all!

Photos by Stephanie Antshel Photography

Mommy, let's make a skirt

This is the first blog post that solely features my daughter. She is an artist and a little fashionista...wonder where that comes from? 

Together we watch Project Runway and independently she "designs" clothes, i.e. she makes drawings of elaborate gowns and asks me to help her sew them.  We went to the fabric store she picked out some fabric and What I was able to do, was help her sew was a simple skirt. She was thrilled!

Such a serious pose, I should know, this is serious business. Note: we had a really warm Saturday morning for November (50 F) so it was easy to take these photos outside. Now, we are back to snow!

Look, I have hair!

These are the most recent pictures I have, I took them yesterday. I was stunned to see my image with all that hair!! You might even think this was an intentional hair style. It's a little bit curly but it is too short to see. I am also amazed that my eyebrows are visible with out any extra makeup. You'd be amazed at what eyebrows do for your face; you don't realize until you lose them!

You can see from the following pictures that snow has arrived and the days are shorter, it is difficult to get photos after work.

I've pulled out the boots, hat and gloves.

Jacket: J.Crew
Pants: LOFT
Purse: Coach-Clothes Mentor
Hat: J.Crew-thrifted
Scarf: thrifted
Boots: Frye via Zappos
Gloves: Aris-thrifted

Many thanks to my readers for your continued love and support through prayers and well wishes. I had my post radiation CT and bone scans and the metastatic cancer is still present but, it has NOT spread. My doctors define it as "stable metastatic lesions". I take my blessings as they come and live one day at a time. I continue to receive monthly infusions and will indefinitely to keep the bone metastasis stable.

Final Fall

I found these pictures on my camera and realized I do have something to post! Our apple tree was very productive this year.

This will be the final post where it looks like fall...we've had snow the last three days with temperatures in the teens (17 F)!

Long gone are the days of a silk blouse and a light jacket with flats and no socks!

Jacket: Brooklyn Industries-gift

Shirt: LOFT

Pants: J Brand

Commentary on Thrifting

I am behind in my blog posting and I have had many good outfits come and go without pictures. I like to take pictures of me actually wearing things; it seems more authentic than just posting a picture of the clothes or adding a polyvore set. So my lack of posting is linked to my lack of photos.

I've taken some time out for thrifting, consignment shop buying and resale store visiting. This activity has got me thinking "what is thrifting?" and how I present the goods I purchase. I don't frequent a lot of different stores but the common theme is that they contain second hand clothing. So, I wonder, how do we define a shop as a thrift shop? Does a consignment store or a resale shop fit into this definition? The online dictionary defines thrifty as: "wise economy in the management of money and other resources; frugality". At all of these stores I pay a fraction of retail (20% or less), so I would consider all of them "thrift shops" where I practice the art of buying fashionable items at a fraction of retail. If you want to call me out on my designation of an item as thrifted when it comes from a consignment or resale shop, go ahead, I'm ready to defend my position.

These are the local shops I frequent, they are located in the town I live or work or are within 10-20 miles:
          

The Key- a church run shop that takes clothing in on consignment and also sells donated clothes.

Worn Again-a church run shop that takes in donated clothing and resells it. (They also have a voucher program where people of need in the community can come and select items for free).

Salvation Army-a full selection thrift store that sells donated items.

Plato's Closet-a franchised resale store for young adults, in general they buy and resell brands that are popular for teens.

The Clothes Mentor- a franchised resale store for women, they buy used items that are up 24 months old.

EcoChic- a consignment store for women's clothing.

Sunshine shop-a church run shop that takes in donated clothing and resells it. 

Encore-a local shop that takes in donated clothing and resells it to donate money back to local symphonic and orchestral groups.

Sandy's Thrift Shop- a women's clothing shop filled with used clothing purchased elsewhere by the owner.


The only place I haven't purchased anything from is Sandy's, the prices are higher than I would pay for the type of merchandise she has selected. I can get those same items at the Salvation Army for a fraction of the price. I totally love that she set up a shop like that in the University town where I teach but, I seriously think she could use me as a consultant or buyer!

I'm really into the Clothes Mentor lately, I find great quality items in brand new condition so I don't mind paying $14 for a J.Crew skirt that retails for $108, or the same for a Tibi dress that retails at around $300.

Love this skirt! Stay tuned for my styling.

I also picked up for $10 a gorgeous Stella and Dot necklace (on left) that retailed for about $200.

I've been to Plato's closet once and came home with unworn black suede Coach wedges, a Longchamp bag and a pair of J.Crew leopard patent leather ballet flats! Not your typical teen brands so I will definitely go back!   

Coach Wedges-$30

Shopping at The Key, trying out a pair of lace shorts, I scored these for four dollars.  Wearing a pair of $1 J. Crew espadrilles purchased at Worn Again.

                                    

So there you have it:  where I get my clothes, what I pay and why I thrift!