A Thrifty Sort of Day

A few weeks ago, a good friend from high school and I met up again for the first time (to have breakfast) in more than 10 years. When we went off to college, we drifted apart. Then, out of the blue, she emailed me (via myspace) and come to find out, she worked for the State, too, and lived all of a 1/2 hour from me! So today, we decided to hit Rockland for a bit of thrifting.

We visited several little shops downtown (The Grasshopper Shop is one of my fav's)
I found this at a wonderful little consignment shop for $25!
Check out the detail
At Goodwill, I found this sweater (it's an L.L. Bean) for $2.50
and this one for $4.99!
These two scarves are from Mace's, which sells India inspired clothing. They were total bargains ($6 each!)

I also found several books at Goodwill that I will share with you as soon as I scan some pages. I was very excited to find them. One is a how to in making soft toys ($1.99), one is a Halloween book ($.99), one is The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Divakaruni ($1.99) and the last one blew me away. It's called Living on the Earth, published in 1970 by Alicia Bay Laurel. It's handwritten and hand-drawn (very reminiscent of Sark's books, only sans the color). It's a hippie life handbook...and it's freakin' great! I love it!

Autumn Wanties

I’m feelin’ the closet woes as I assess my fall wardrobe...or lack there of. Hmmm…black dress paints, black dress pants, black dress pants. Uh...black and white pinstripe dress pants, charcoal dress pants, grey dress pants and oh look, another pair of black dress pants…are you sensing a pattern here, yet? The sad thing is that I’m really feeling the budget pinch right now (yuck!), so all I can do is online window shop.

In about a month, I'm hoping (keep your fingers crossed for me) to hear some really great news that will lead to the end of the budget pinch and the ability to get a stable financial leg beneath me come January. When I have some positive news, I'll be sure to share.

Anyhoo, this year's autumn wanties are (and no, I would never-in a million years-ever pay these prices. I’m too cheap thrify...yes, thrifty, that's it...thriiiifty):

this sweater

these two coats

this top

this suit

this jacket and skirt combo

this dress (the one to the farthest right)

these boots

and these shoes in cordovan

Ah, to dream! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be so financially solvent that I could blow $10,000 on clothing spree and not worry about it. And again I say, ah to dream!

Clothes Horse

Now that my garden is growing and requires little attention other than watering, fertilizer and admiring (for the time being), I'm in a summer clothing making mood.

I’ve been scouring the internet for freebie patterns and had to share what I’ve come up with:

* Amy Butler's Café Wrap Skirt (scroll to the very bottom - it's so cute!)

* Hancock Fabric's Poodles in Paris Skirt/Dress (don't let the name fool you into thinking it's some cutesy poodle skirt kinda thing. It's actually quite lovely! Though I'm not one for strapless, that can be adjusted)

* Burda's Empire Top (love it! sooo comfy looking!) and skirt

And have you ever been to the Naughty Secretary Club site? Yes I know it sounds vaguely pornographic, but they have some really nifty bracelets (I'm lovin' the blue bakelite), hair clips and purses! Oh my!

~:o:~.~:o:~.~:o:~.~:o:~

Tonight, Melissa and her girls are coming to visit. YIPPEE! I may have to suggest a trip to my fav ice cream place, Webbers, for homemade ice cream! There is nothing more fun than watching little kids eat ice cream...especially when you're not the one who has to clean them up afterward!! ;^)

Have a fab evening all!