Purple Rain



I wanted to go outside.sadface

 No, I'm not gonna be singing any Prince today, though, I could, if you wanted me to! Lise and I didn't plan to match today, but we did! We didn't even talk and both ended up in purple and silver! We are just THAT in sync with each other! LOL (Actually, we do this quite alot.) And it's raining and we can't get outside for pictures. Thus Purple Rain.

My husband actually said I looked pretty cute today! WOW! Usually when I ask how I look or if look ok, he'll just say Yeah, Fine, or nod. But today he said, you actually look pretty cute. That's a pretty good compliment from him! I'll take it!!

One of our vendors, Missy from Paul Davis Restoration, came by this morning and was nice enough to take a picture of the two of us together.

I've had this purple sweater since about JULY when Target put them out. I still think I got it on sale, though. I've been waiting for it to be cool enough to wear and FINALLY today it is!! YAY! You can't see it that well, but I have on a silver sequin tank from JCrew. It was clearance for $6! And those pants are from PS Too in Athens! I also wore them here, at Dragon*Con.  Lise's awesome silver sweater came from Banana Republic clearance for $10 and the skirt is from Ann Taylor Loft and she used her rewards cards to get it, so it was FREE!! And she has on the cutest Bare Trap shoes with silver accent. Another gift from her husband, Grant. I think all husbands should take a shopping lesson from Grant! See?

Tomorrow is the first day of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We have several exciting things planned, so be sure to check back with us. We want YOU to be a part of it!

I wasn't "Born" yesterday

HoneyBaked doesn't have as much ham as I do today! LOL

An unforseen benefit has come to me because of this blog. My husband was feeling like everyone out there would wonder if I have been FORCED to buy at thrift stores. So, he went to Macy's and bought this outfit from I.N.C. , AND....the boots. The boots are the bomb! Bombalicious even. They are from "BORN". There is supposed to be a slash through that "O", But, I don't know how to make it from my keyboard. I love their footwear! (love, Love, LOVE). They are ankle height and have a distressed look (so do I in this picture...hahaha). And of course they have buckles which I adore. So, no thrifting today, but WOW! Thanks for suprising me with a new outfit Grant!

I am sure I will be able to work much harder now that you paid full price for this........


......zzzzzzzzzzzz

So, why do I thrift? It is the thrill of the hunt, the joy in seeking and the gasp of suprise when I find a treasure! (I actually screamed when I found the Gucci jeans). And I love that I am helping others better thier lives because of what I do. My kids have been donating things (clothes, toy, their allowance, etc..) for years to Project Safe, so I hope I am teaching them to give back. And you never know when you may be the one in need sometime.

October is almost here and have we got a fun suprise for our readers....stay tuned for a Octoberlicious month!

It Started With a Cameo

From Michael's! I've been wanting a cameo pendant. I just didn't want to spend a lot of money on one, and I hadn't found one that I just loved yet. But Saturday, I found one at Michael's, of all places. It was exactly what I was looking for. And it was on sale!! So I bought the cameo and a velvet cord to put it on. I have $6 in the whole thing!! Look:

My outfit this morning was put together around the cameo. Have you ever done that? Put together an outfit around one piece? I've done it many times for a pair of shoes! Here's what I came up with. It's just a simple gray tshirt from Wal Mart. I love cheap t shirts because when they start to fade or look worn, I don't feel bad about tossing them and buying another one for $3. The cute skirt is actually a Faded Glory skirt from Wal Mart, too, but I bought it at the St.Mary's Hospital thrift store on Broad St for $5. The shoes were given to me by Lise. (Have I mentioned how fabulous it is that we wear the same size shoes. She has some boots on today that I really, really want to steal!!)

Can you see the little beaded flower detail?

 It's finally feeling a little fallish around here. We went from 95 on Saturday to 65 on Sunday. Is it too much to ask to get a happy medium there?!

What are your favorite pieces to build an outfit around?

We've been getting feedback from y'all thru email and on FB but you aren't commenting here!! We really want you to comment! We'd like to make this a little community to share ideas and such. Please comment!!

The Maxi Dress (It comes full circle)

Everyone needs a maxi dress** in their closet. Yes, it's a rule, or law or something. This one had "LISE" written all over it! I bought it to go on a cruise with some friends. Unfortunately, they had to sail without me....sigh. My father-in-law passed away recently, and it was just not the right thing to do. B U T, I was dying to wear it, (its flowy, and the colors are perfect). However, this wasn't ready to go to work either. No problem...I will MAKE it work. I threw on a cute shirt underneath to prevent any wardrobe malfunction. Next came the perfect necklace from Coldwater Creek and sandals from BR. Voila! I am work ready!



What is that you are saying? Where is the thrift in this?



Glad you asked. The dress was in the window at PS Too (the thrift store that benefits Project Safe). It was brand new with the tags on and I paid $9! But I feel like a million!


Yes, at some places they take a smoking break. I don't smoke, but I feel smokin' hot rockin' this look! I am enjoying this Reeces cup though.
What? It looks like more than 1 cup? F I N E...you're right. It is the King Size pack and I am eating ALL 4!!!!!

** What is a maxi dress? Years ago we called it a sundress and it usually had a ruffle along the bottom. It can be found with or without straps. It is a longer length and can be worn casual or dressy, and you can toss it over a swimsuit or.........

So, How what did I mean by it has come "full circle"? Feast your eyes on this picture of me from around 1981. Now do you see what I mean????

My sister, Charlotte, had a matching dress. (I really need to find that picture, heehee)
I sure am smiling big for someone wearing such a scary outfit!!! Joy said I look Amish! LOL

Happy First Day of Fall!

So, yeah, it's the first day of fall. Really. That's what the calendar says. The weather, however, says it's still July. It's 92 as I write this. But as I said yesterday, I am tired of my summer clothes. I tried to be a little more fallish today. I don't know if you can see the teal stripe running thru those pants, but that is one of the reasons I bought them. They are Worthington's and they were new, with the tags at PS Too. I paid $8!! They'll look cute with boots, too, I think. But since it's still hot, I wore my $5 Carlos Santana sandals. I rolled my cardigan sleeves up above my elbows and as long as I'm inside in the a/c, I'm not really hot. I needed to wear something fallish for the first day of fall! My little bottlecap necklace there came from one of my favorite stores, that I don't get to often enough, called Sparkle. It's in Lawrenceville, kinda across from the courthouse. They have some really cute, unique things. They had a booth at Dragon*Con that I had to be, literally, dragged away from! But I wanted everything and couldn't decide!!

Here's a close up of the necklace. Isn't it cute?!

Speaking of cute and Dragon*Con. I got my daughter, who has NEVER wanted a doll in her life, mind you, the most unique and precious little plush doll. It would be a cute Halloween gift, I think. It's called a  Vamplet, or vampire baby. There was much oohing and ahhing at their  booth.

Happy Fall, Y'all!!

I'm Tired of My Summer Clothes!!

I love summer. I love hot weather. Anyone that knows me, knows this. But even I get tired of summer and summer clothes, after a while.  I can't even remember the last day that the high for the day was under 90. I think it must have been back in May. I don't know about where you are, but where we are, we don't really have a true fall. It seems like we go from summer to winter overnight. One day it's 90 and the next, bam, it's 50! It hasn't even been cool enough in the mornings or evenings to even wear layers! And I have lots of cute cardigans, too!!

I'm just so tired of my summer clothes. I'm ready to start wearing cute fall things. I'm ready to start wearing my boots!!! I'm ready to start wearing the cute winter skirts that I thrifted this past weekend! Today I am actually wearing long pants, but I rolled them up above my ankles to make them look a little more summery. I love that pearl and chain necklace. It's big and jangly and I just love to wear it with everything! And I have on my favorite plaid wedges from Payless.!! These pants were clearance at Ann Taylor for like $9.99!! Woohoo! SCORE!! Oh, and yeah, behind me, that's my "new" car!! It's not new, new but it's new to me. And it's fully insured by State Farm....like a good neighbor! :)

I will admit that summer clothes are my favorite clothes, though. I'm just tired of trying to make them look different every day. I'm ready to change out the wardrobe!! I did pack a bunch of shorts and capris up this weekend. I thought if maybe I showed fall I was ready, that it would come. If you pack it up, fall will come.

What season is your favorite, for the weather or the clothes?

It's a Wrap!

OK, not a bad outfit. The skirt is from Christopher & Banks, and the shirt is BR (Banana Republic, but get to know the BR, because I get bored writing it all out all the time). I originally had on khaki brown sandals from BR, but on the way to work saw an amazing yard sale and had to stop! I braved a hill of fire ants to get at a jacket. Rrrrrgh. But, I bravly let them bite as I grabbed my find of the week. A brand new black, leather, 2 button jacket from the GAP!! $4.00!!! It's the bomb. But, I did have to grab these 9 west sandals and some Benedryl before heading into work....late....again. :) It was for a good cause.


But, I am feeling as bland as a naked baked potato! I need some bacon bits, butter or sour cream for this. Do you have an outfit that just seems....well, blah? Neutrals are one thing a lot of people have a hard time with. Many times we look like camouflage and blend into the office jungle. So, what to do? When you have a white and off/white combo, browns are always safe. I am not a safe person. Red is fun, but I don't look so hot in red. That is Joys color (she looks chic in red!) My red is CORAL. No, not the pen at the dude ranch that they put the horses in(corral)....the color! Give me dark rich peach, watermelons and peony!!


So, I pop on a scarf and...Viola! I feel more perky already and ready to take on even the most cranky of customers! Bring it on! Scarves are always a good buy and there are a 100 ways to wear them. This particular one came from ATL (sigh....not Atlanta) Ann Taylor Loft. I have worn it doubled over around my neck, and as a belt...so versatile!


Have a fabulous and fun weekend! Have fun shopping and we would love to see any "finds" you come across this weekend!!!

I think I Have A New Belt Obsession

All of a sudden, I LOVE belts. I used to never wear belts. But I keep finding all these cute belts and I must have them. I still feel kinda fat wearing one, though. I don't know why, though. I carry all my weight right there in the middle-and now whenever you see a picture of me, you're going to be looking at my stomach!

Lise gave me a belt a couple of months ago. This one:

I wish I had a picture for everytime I've worn it. Actually, I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've worn it! I'm really wondering how I ever lived without it!

I wore this belt at DragonCon. I really like it. It's stretchy in the back, so I don't feel constricted in it. And it's going to be a nice addition to a Steampunk costume next year...if I ever get around to making one. (And I'm still not over the couple that told me I looked like Bea Arthur in this. Seriously?! BEA ARTHUR! In what universe is that a compliment?!!!)

This is my newest find. It's a Ralph Lauren belt that I found at Agora in downtown Athens. It still had the tags on it. $8! Score!! It's so prettiful! And it matches my ring!! This picture is VERY red. I tried to fix the color. Oh well. Hopefully the camera I broke at DragonCon will be mailed back to me SOON and I can use a real camera instead an iPhone to take pictures!!

So do any of you have a new obsession? Tell us all about it!!

Virginia/ DC Thrifters!! There's a great event coming to you!

It's called Dani's Duds. It's a HUGE recycling, upcycling, consignment, resale event. They have everything from toys to clothes to furniture!! Check it out. And if you buy something good, come back and tell us!!

The Joy of Thrifting

I've never really been label conscience. Not to say that I don't like some designer brands, but it hasn't always mattered to me. I'm not a person who labels someone's worth by how much they paid for something or where they bought it, and I don't think my friends value my worth that way either. My worth comes from being a good friend by being a shoulder to cry on, picking up someone's child, laughing together at the movies, or just window shopping together.  It doesn't come from buying designer brands in a boutique at full price.

Thrifting is a fun way to spend time with your friends, hunting down that true bargain and finding that designer label for a fraction of the price. Why pay full price when you don't have to? AND when you shop in thrift stores, you aren't limited to a store's view of what's fashionable. You can use YOUR imagination to restyle it! You find unique things that you aren't going to find mass produced in the mall. And if you are shopping in places like PS Too or Goodwill or the St. Mary's Hospital thrift store, you are helping others while finding bargains for yourself.  These places also take donations. So take your gently worn items and gently used items and donate them!! Help these places out!! That's what being a "Good Neighbor" is all about!!

There are those that turn their noses up at those of us that thrift, saying we can't afford to shop any other way, or thinking that there is just something wrong with it.  Sure, part of thrifting IS saving money. Who doesn't like to save money?! It does take some patience.  But thrifting is just FUN! It's addicting! There's nothing like finding the perfect piece! I also wonder how some wonderful vintage pieces make it to some of these stores. What's the story behind that fabulous dress being here? What fabulous place was that vintage fur worn? Who wore these pearls? What was her life like? 

There's also a green side to thrifting. You are recycling instead of throwing away. You are helping keep things out of landfills!! Actually, I believe it's called upcycling, recycling something but adding value or valuing it differently than before.  

I've had several friends change their mind about thrift stores lately. They've seen the things that Lise and I have found and can't believe it! They want to find their own treasures. I love the emails and messages I get where someone is telling me about their latest find!  So get out there! Check out some thrift stores and then come tell us about YOUR  treasures!!

We're Off Too See The "Thriftzard", the wonderful...

OK, so my ability to transform words from "thrift" may be a bit off. BUT, my ability for finding bargains is right on!

This weekend I was husband less and was packed tight with activities for the kids. But, Joy dropped by, and we were able to conquer 2 birds with one stone by bribing 2 teenage boys to sit tight after one of their activities (which was right close by to PS Too). They waited and we stormed this thrift store as fast as we could. We only had minutes as PS Too was close to closing time and we had limited time before getting lots of kids lots of places that evening.

This outfit proves that you can be short on both time and $$ and come out looking fabulous!
The silver chain sandals I already had from Banana Republic. But (drum roll please....)

Jeans-GUCCI (New with tags)
Cost: $15 Score!
Silver sequined gray top $7
Aqua shrug (wet seal-new) $5
Total: --------
$27 (remember the jeans were Gucci and still had tags)

I was feeling so sassy today that I stopped by "Zaxbys" and got the Birthday Cake milkshake.
Heaven in a cup I tell you!

Bonus Question: Guess where this picture was taken? I know it looks like Arizona. sigh
But this is actually 12 steps outside our State Farm office here in quaint Madison County, GA!

Anyone in the Athens area please go and check out PS Too. This thrift store benefits Project Safe (70% of the proceeds goes to Project Safe) which helps women and children in abusive situations rebuild and better their lives!

The Sounds of my Life

(This is me having a "leg up" on the competition.)

I have 2 amazing step-sons and then had 4 more. At any given day you will find anywhere from 1-22* extra kids at our house. All boys, except our youngest who is a daughter. I have tried to make our house the one that all the friends want to come to. This way, I would always know where my kids are and who they are with. This is all good for me........HOWEVER,

Recently a friend drops by to say hi. After about 20 minutes she announces (laughing) that she is going to need medication to stay at my house. She asks how I can stand the noise, and I honestly ask "What noise?"

Then I stop and look around and try to see my life through her eyes. There are my 4 and 7 extra. (11 kids at the house? hmmm not bad). They are racing up and down and through 3 floors of the house with various Nerf items, laughing, squealing, doors opening and shutting in the kitchen, and to the outdoors. Sounds of music are floating up from the piano and the drums. Someone in the background is suggesting riding bikes and a herd of children is following them.

With the kids outside, we take our chat outdoors as well. The herd is out there on the bikes, scooters, skateboards, and a pogo stick. My oldest is jumping 4 skateboards he has stacked on each other and does it with a twist and flip of the board he is riding. Bubbles are floating around us in various sizes and to my right a "gaggle" of girls are shrieking with delight over their sidewalk chalk masterpiece. I am pretty sure we are about to be hit with water balloons.

What is all this noise? They are the sounds of my life.

And sometimes I get to work and turn to Joy and say "It is waaaaaay to quiet in here"!

So, here is my question to all of you..... What are the sounds of your life?

Joy caught me with my "It's too quiet in here look". Here let me come into your office and sit by your tree and bug you. LOL! And I am growing my hair out and apparently it thinks that it is 1982 because this is the same stupid thing it did way back then.
*yes, 22

What We Wore At DragonCon

So, the thing about DragonCon is, everything goes. There is no wrong or right thing to wear there. I saw a girl dressed as Princess Leia and it was made of duct tape! I saw girls in nothing but pasties-really small pasties-and a tutu. And there are tons and tons of costumes of every kind. You are only limited by your imagination.

I think the number 1 rule of attending, though, is wear comfortable shoes. Next year, I'm wearing a pedometer so I know exactly how many miles I walked. My husband says he doesn't even want to know how far we walked. His feet are STILL hurting. Take some sort of bag. I had a messenger bag that I could easily get into to get my phone or camera. It's a good idea to take along some snacks and bottles of water because snacks and drinks are EXPENSIVE in the host hotels. And it is very important to stay hydrated while doing all that walking, standing and waiting.

This is Ben on the first day.  He dressed as Jayne from Firefly. He looks great! He got stopped a bunch of times by people wanting to take his picture, and he even had the Jayne song sung to him once! He's wearing boots, though, and by the end of the day, he could barely walk. Ben had most of this in his closet! The pants are a Goodwill $4 find, the hat came from Ebay and included the a copy of the note that Jayne's mother sent with the hat. Very nice touch, I thought. The t shirt is just a $5 shirt from Old Navy. I think he already had the gloves and he bought the gun belt. You don't have to spend alot of money to come up with a costume and you don't have to be elaborate.

On Saturday, we dressed as Lois Lane and Clark Kent. Again, Ben got some attention. I've learned that Lois is nothing without Clark!! But, apparently my fake press pass was pretty good because I got stopped 3 times and asked what it was like to cover DC as press. Umm...Daily.Planet. I liked watching them finally get it!! LOL  The suit I have on is one that's been in my closet for 3 years and I've never worn it. I paid $15 for it on clearance at Macy's! The tank top and shoes, I already had. Ben already owned everything he has on, except for the glasses. We bought the "Clark Kent" glasses at Claire's for $7.

We always came back to the room at night and rested and took a bath, to get that Con funk off of us, and changed to go back out and people watch. Here's what I wore two different nights. You can see I'm in flip flops both nights, but they are sequin flip flops and I was comfortable!! The night I wore the outfit on the left, someone asked me if I was dressed as Bea Arthur. BEA ARTHUR?!! What.the.heck?!! They assured me it was a compliment. Um, yeah. Not so much. The shirt is a new, with tags, Caribbean Joe that I got for $4 at Goodwill. The pants came from PS Too and were like $7, they are are New York and Company. The belt was $5 on Ebay!! The other outfit is a silver sequin shirt from Ann Taylor that I got on clearance for $8 and the scarf is Ann Taylor clearance, too for $7. The pants are, again, clearance, but from Land's End and were $12.

I got to meet Colin Ferguson from Eureka and I was dressed pretty comfortably when I met him. I was wearing a black t shirt, palm tree pants and flip flops, of course. He was super nice!! You can see my whole outfit in the picture of me and the Weeping Angel.

Weeping Angel from Doctor Who. SCARY and CREEPY!!

When Ben wasn't dressed as Jayne or Clark Kent, he was in comic book t shirts and jeans. He was very comfortable!!  We gave blood while there. We got a free DC t shirt, drinks and snacks!! Woohoo!!Here he is in his Thundercats t shirt. Ben also gave platelets!! 

Ben with Chewbacca!! He looks 12, doesn't he?!

We had a fantastic time. And even though we are still tired and worn out, we are ready to do it all again next year. And God help us, next year, we are taking the kids!!! We've already got our room booked!!

DragonCon 2010-Steampunk

By far, my most favorite costumes of the weekend are always the Steampunkers. They put such detail into their costumes. You can see how much hard work and dedication goes into them. Steampunk is a genre of fiction that is, basically, the Victorian era meets....well, scifi. Lots of corsets, clocks, and goggles. Think anything by Jules Verne, A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, The Golden Compass, Wild Wild West, Sherlock Holmes.  Here are  some of my favorite examples from the weekend.

How awesomely adorable is this Steampunk family?

Steampunk Family

Steampunk Safari

See all the details that go into these costumes? They are just so amazing and inventive. Almost makes you nostalgic for the Victorian era, doesn't it? Look at the detail of the ship on her hat!!


  DragonCon has a Steampunk fashion show every year. Go to Flickr and just do a search and look at all the fascinating costumes. You'll be hooked just like me!

Steampunk Superheros

What goes around, comes around.....really.

The forecast? Sunny with a chance of State Farm!

Harrison (my son) found this great skirt for me at Old Navy. It is my favorite color...yellow! Its so sunny and fun and makes me feel good and looks...terrible. Seriously, I have seen better looking corpses than me with yellow near my face. But, a skirt? Super idea because I have my yellow and it is not right up to my face. I got a lot of compliments on this with the prairie look and the white underskirt peeking out of the yellow at the bottom! I kept to gold accessories and neutral brown.

One of our customers said "I love this new look". New? Hmmmm..... I seem to remember something....what is it? (get ready for it)

1982!! And there I am in California with some friends and I am wearing a prairie skirt with a little white petticoat sticking out from underneath! Oh yeah, it all comes back folks!

(see? ruffles)

This was spring of 1982, the yellow skirt was bought spring 2010. I rest my case. I am going to have to find some more fun fashions to share. Next week. LOL

Also, Joy and a few people have given me some challenges with wardrobe that I am going to complete. 1. Find something from your husbands closet and re-make into something you can wear. 2. Wear a complete outfit that costs no more than $50. (including shoes?) Yikes! But with the economy the way it is and in the spirit of re-use and recycle? I am on it! If you have any challenges for me, let me know because I love this kind of stuff.

Have a fabulous weekend!!!! Oh, And DRIVE SAFELY!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOO BLAZERS!!! GOOOOO CONNOR!!!

Our boss' son plays football for UAB in Birmingham.  Tonight is Connor Boyett's very  first college game!! He is a freshman and has earned a STARTING position for tonight's game. We are all very proud of him and wish him the best of luck tonight!! We're all rooting for you, Connor!! Go #77!!

We wore our Blazers shirts today just for Connor. I even bought green jewelry just especially for this occasion! It's a green necklace and earring set that I got for $6 at Target! And Lise has on the cutest earrings that her daughter, Kaja, made for her!!

I think I mentioned before that football is a religion in the south, right? Well, wearing your team colors is very, very important. I guess this year, we will be alternating between green and gold for Connor and red and black for Georgia!

Tomorrow, I go to Dragon*Con. I hope to be able to post lots and lots of pictures. I will probably post a few here and then link you to my Flickr account for the rest.