Celebrating My Mama with Clothes Mentor Bling

Today is my mama's 'un-birthday.' She's a lucky Leap Year baby! My mind boggles when I try to figure out just exactly how many 'real' birthdays she's had.........suffice it to say, I'm older than my mom :P

I love to get my mama sparkly stuff for her birthday. Someone's gotta fill up those fabulous jewelry storage drawers! This year I decided to stop in at Clothes Mentor in Westerville and check out their fabulous goods.

I've talked about Clothes Mentor in an earlier post. Brought to you by the same people who gave us Once Upon a Child (children's clothing) and Plato's Closet (junior sizes), Clothes Mentor is the resale store for gals like me who love the finer things in life, but would rather not pay full price. The store is organized by category and designer, and their stuff is just beautiful. Be forewarned: they are extremely picky. A buyer's paradise means they reject an awful lot of things brought in for them to buy to resell. That's ok though.......when I'm in the market for a beautiful purse or gorgeous jewelry, I'm glad they hold out for the really good stuff.

The earrings and necklace are what I bought my mama for her birthday. She is truly a turquoise gal, so I knew the color of the earrings would please her immensely. The chain on the necklace is beautifully textured, like a Lois Hill piece, at far less $$$. She was excited and thrilled by the jewelry, and I was amazed at what I was able to get her for such little coin.

Check out Clothes Mentor especially for their Vera Bradley and Coach collections. Drool worthy for sure!!

My Dream Job: Thrift Store Stylist

I'm posting an article about a real life thrift store stylist from Minnesota.......I would LOVE this job!

http://www.alreadypretty.com/2013/02/fascinating-and-fashionable-michelle-the-thrift-stylist.html

Bangin' Bangle Friday 2/22--'Tanks' For the Savings

Ah, the Cartier Tank watch. A sign of wealth and good taste. Jackie Kennedy Onassis had one. So classy, and they NEVER go out of style, which is a good thing, since the first watch above retails for &7,400.

I'll wait while you control yourself.

I have always been a big fan of the style of this watch. The price, not so much. I love the style of designer goods, but I also know a Timex is just as trusty, if not more so.

Timex and other brands of quality timepieces do a great job of emulating more expensive watches, but I never found one that had the easy going style of the Cartier Tank. Believe me, I've looked. Walmart and Forever 21 are two retailers that have beautful knock offs, but after years of searching, I'd still not found my heart's desire on their racks and websites.

Until this week, when I ran into Sears to buy my husband his work boots. And ran head first into a tableful of fabulous wannabees.

The second picture above is MY new watch. At $9.99, it's light years away from the thousands needed to purchase the Cartier Tank. However, I am thrilled with my purchase. It sits comfortably on my wrist and will go beautifully with everything I wear. The gold may wear off, but the replacement price will still go nowhere near it's designer counterpart. I could have bought 100 of these and not gone anywhere near that $7,400.

Good job, Sears. I'll add you to the line up :)

Sears? Yes, Sears!

Have you seen that commercial? Were you like me and thought it was just another last ditch effort on Sears' part to boost sales?

Were you a bit dismayed when you heard the Kardashians had a new line at Sears and swore never to set foot in the store again?

When I think of Sears, I think of the very first credit card I ever got. Back in the ark, everyone started out their financial lives with a Sears card. When my first husband and I bought our first house, we filled it with beautiful furniture from the 'scratch and dent' room at Sears. My former in laws bought us a washer and dryer from Sears, and those things ran for years and were beyond reliable. Remember the Sears Christmas catalog? It was required reading for my brother and I. I never understood why Sears carried Ouija boards. How could such a great company espouse the devil?

Anyway, not since I got that credit card have I EVER thought of Sears in terms of fashion. Their clothing looked like something from the "Golden Girls," no matter WHAT decade I stopped in. Pastel double knit polyester makes me break out in hives just thinking about it!

Last time I stepped foot into Sears, it was over a year ago, and Michael and I were in the market for a new stove. We found a really nice one in the 'floor model' sale area. That's how I think of Sears now: appliances and tools.

Fast forward to the present day. My hubby needed new work boots. He'd found some at Sears, and sent me to the mall yesterday to pick them up. I had to walk through the jewelry and purses to get to the shoe department.

THAT was a revelation.

Designer-look purses in lush fabrics and colors. Fabulous sale prices worthy of Kohl's. Absolutely beautiful jewelry and watches for rock bottom clearance prices. I have been looking for a (much) cheaper version of the Cartier Tank Watch in silver and gold, and found one reduced to $9.99!! It's spectacular! I will post a picture of it, probably for 'Bangin' Bangle Friday.'

I should have known things were getting better fashion wise at Sears, when Claire's bestie Kelli wore a beautiful formal to the winter dance that she bought there. Will wonders ever cease?

The Economics Of A Good Haircut

Those of you who are my Facebook friends may notice today's 'do is a little more relaxed than when I had it done this past Saturday. We can blame the snow for that.......but I'm still happy!

By now, you should know I'm a pretty low maintainence gal. I do things as DIY as possible. For most things in my life, that works perfectly fine. Until recently, the same went for my hair.

At one time, I was able to spend $150 on a haircut and highlights. Wow, that was a looooong time ago. For the past 8 plus years, I have had my mom color my hair, and she does a fabulous job. As for the haircuts, other than a very short blunt cut I got in 2009, I have managed with yearly trips to the First Choice across the street from my house, and, yes, I'll admit it........I've been cutting my own bangs :X

In the past year, I've noticed my hair has been going through a teenage rebellion. Troubling, since I'll be 49 this year. I have cowlicks and odd stuff happening all over my head. All my usual tricks aren't working, and good hair days are very rare. Most days, I'd rather not look in the mirror.

My family is very nice to me, and they don't say anything about this change in my 'do. Maybe it's not as noticeable to the world as it is to me. I know my husband and kids are on top of things though.......they let me know when we ate out yesterday I had something questionable hanging out of my nose. Thanks, gang.

A couple weeks ago, after pretty much going crazy trying to get my hair to behave, I had finally had it. And I decided to call Saki.

Everyone should have a Saki in their lives. I met her when I was 18, and my regular hairdresser had left for California, leaving her clientele in Saki's able hands. I came to be grateful my original gal left!

I have followed Saki through numerous salon changes, a stint getting my hair done at her house, and ending up working for her as my second job back when Phar-Mor cut my hours for a few months. I have ALWAYS been thrilled with her work, and she even did my hair for both my weddings. She's a keeper.

Back to being a tightwad, low maintainence gal. I pretty much cut all beauty services out of my life a couple years ago, when things got tight. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had Saki cut my hair, and it was beginning to show.

Sometimes, you have to suck it up and spend money to look good. As we age, we need more help. Clothing needs to be cut differently, things need to be covered up, shoes need to be more comfortable, and we need to have flattering hair.

Saki does NOT charge that much for a haircut. At $40, my hair looks fabulous with just running my fingers through it, and I was a big girl and made an appt. for 6 weeks. I am determined to make sure I keep it, and that I put aside $10 a week so it won't set me back that much. Those of you at home are probably going, 'Duh, Erin,' but aren't we all like this? Things appear so expensive until we save manageable amounts weekly (monthly? bi-annually?)toward our goals.

When you find a good hairdresser, you'll know because they listen to what you want. That's what Saki does. She knew my aging hair needed some good layers to make it lay correctly. She uses marvelous products to make it behave. An added bonus was getting to catch up with a very good friend. I'm so glad we reconnected.

The best part of my haircut? Having my husband call me 'sexy.' That alone made my trip to Saki worthwhile <3

A Beautiful Wedding for less than $1000

This weekend, Michael and I attended the wedding of some good friends from our church. The bride wore a gorgeous gown that looked vintage and very expensive. When I found out she got it off the clearance rack for $100, it just reinforced my opinion that you do NOT have to spend yourself into bankrupty to look beautiful at your wedding.

A couple hours later, we were driving to dinner. We happened to pass the Salvation Army where I suddenly remembered I had bought the sport coats and dress shirts for our boys when Michael and I got married, almost 8 years ago. Memories......

Obviously, we had been married before. My first wedding had been pretty big: 250 guests! I had no desire to duplicate that when I married Michael. In fact, I wanted it to be as low key as possible. I had already bought a nice top, skirt and heels to wear when we married at the courthouse.

A chance comment from little 9 yr old Claire, wishing we could have a 'real' wedding,' with dresses and cake, made me start thinking we COULD have a nice ceremony, minus the hassle and $$$.

Michael and I both wore brand new outfits. Michael needed a new suit, so we outfitted him at spectular savings from Men's Wearhouse. I happened upon a fabulous cream and gold strapless gown at Macy's for $179. I wore the pearl drop earrings my mom had given me when she married my bonus daddy Harold, and I found jeweled flip flops to complete my look at Payless (it was a hot July wedding!).

Brent and Brendan already had khaki slacks, so at the aforementioned Salvation Army, I found them very nice white dress shirts and blue sports coats. At Walmart, I found them similar but not matching blue patterned ties. Brent already had dress shoes, so I found Brendan a great pair, also at Payless.

What to do with little Claire? She still wore girl's sizes, but I found a junior sized prom gown at Plato's Closet ($16) that my mom graciously hemmed and adjusted the spaghetti straps. Claire was thrilled with her 'big girl' dress!

I made my bouquet, Michael, Brent and Brendan's boutonnieres, and the flowers for our parents. I was all set to make a bouquet for Claire too, but a chance stop at Goodwill allowed me to find a ready made bouquet in the same colors as her dress, for $1. It was perfect!

We married at Weddings R Us, a wedding chapel on Mccutcheon Rd. in Columbus, just south of Easton. I'd recommend this place to anyone wanting a nice, low key wedding. We had 30 family members present, and afterwards hosted a late lunch at our new house. Actually, it was originally Michael's house :) My parents bought us a beautiful wedding cake from Schneider's Bakery in Westerville as their present to us.

We spent no more than $1000 total on our wedding. I realize that this wasn't our first wedding and we could be a little more creative, but honestly, why are we bound by what others do for THEIR weddings, and think we must do the same? Unless you have $40K lying around, why would you go into debt spending that much on a gigantic wedding? Planning a ceremony that highlights the vows you are taking, and enjoying your guests afterwards, should take precedent.

I'm not saying don't have a big ceremony if that's what you want. Go all out with the full buffet, open bar and all night dancing if you choose. I AM saying LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS. Marriage can be expensive with furnishing a new place and everything else involved with starting a new life together. Why add unnecessary financial stress that keeps you up at night?

Covet Alert: Michael Kors East West Tote

Yeah, I said it. COVET. This beautiful tote bag speaks deeply to my love of all things gold and and shiny. It's. Just. GORGEOUS.

Friday night, at Claire's school play, there was a TEENAGER walking around with this fabulous tote. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Oh yes, it's beautiful. I finally had to walk up to the girl and compliment her. She seemed surprised and pleased I had noticed.

Tonight, I looked it up online. Well goodness. Only $198. Hmmm......I think I'll be drooling over the picture a while longer.

In my responsible, always-on-a-budget adult life, $198 pays an electric bill during the summer, when it's so hot we run the air conditioner all the time, plus the pump on the swimming pool. $198 takes a dog to the vet. $198 stocks the fridge when the electric's been off and everything inside spoils. Yeah, $198 for a beyond beautiful tote bag? Not so much.

Never fear, gentle reader. The picture of this tote has been filed away, never to be forgotten, and I will be on the look out for it at all my favorite thrifting and resale haunts. Because, sooner or later they all end up there.

I just have to be patient :)

I am a firm believer in showing love to your family on a daily basis, many times a day. I don't think you have to wait for a special occasion! That being said, I am married to a man who LOVES to shower us with gifts on holidays. Not only that, he always gets us just what we want. He is an excellent listener.

For Valentine's Day, I got 3 very nice candles (I'm a candle addict), a couple boxes of chocolate yummies, and this gorgeous watch. I have no idea how much he spent, and if he has his way, I won't find out! It is the jewelry trifecta for Erin: yellow gold watch with bling and orange straps. Holy Moley. Plus! An extra special added bonus: TWO clasps that are removeable by the mechanically challenged (ME!) so I can make it the perfect length. For my freakishly small wrists, this is a huge perk! I had that watch out of the box and securely on my wrist in no time. Usually I have to have my husband use tools to take the links out. I think the watch manufacturers are getting wise!

Although orange isn't a color I wear every day, I DO wear a lot of it. My number one favorite color is peach: it is my pink. Variations like coral and orange are also favorites and in heavy rotation in my closet. It took no time at all to find something to wear to work yesterday that would complement my new watch.

I know Michael got the watch at Kohl's, and they have one of the best selections of watches for every price point. Plus, you gotta love a Kohl's sale. I'm sure he took advantage of one!

Because of the bling, layering this watch with a bracelet may or may not be an option. I'll have to find out.......and I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Kitsch-Free Holiday Jewelry

Valentine's Day is a fabulous time to rock as much red and pink as possible. Today you can wear your giant red heart earrings and matching socks and strut your stuff. Until tomorrow. Then your over the top heart accessories seem..........sad. Or, they can make you look like an extra on 'Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.' I'm not talking the tiny, understated silver heart on a chain we gave Claire today. She can wear that forever and be classy. Not so much if we'd gifted her the 8X10 neon flashing number.

It's a free country, right? If you wanna wear your Valentine's jewelry every single day of the year, WEAR IT! Today though, my post does NOT apply to you.

I'm as celebratory as the next girl, but I prefer my jewelry to be something I can wear all year, without it screaming a certain holiday. Hence, I am always on the look out for things I can not only wear on Valentine's or Christmas, but also on the first day of summer. It all goes back to getting as much bang for my buck as I can.

The 'ruby' earrings in gold 'tiffany' settings were SUCH a win. I have always wanted rubies, but you really walk a fine line when you buy thwm in costume jewelry. The red color can seem a little 'off' if it's not real. Not these earrings. Sparkly to the max and a true red! Bonus? $3 on the Kohl's clearance jewelry racks. BOOM!

As much as I love these, I will not be wearing them with a red shirt or pants/skirt. That's too much red for me. Again, I know that's open to discussion and I won't judge anyone else for doing an all red ensemble. It doesn't work for me personally. I picture them more with a white shirt, as a pop of color.

The bracelet was also on the Kohl's clearance jewelry rack, for $6. Not only red stones, but also purple and gold. Perfect with the earrings! I am very happy with these pieces as I celebrate Heart Day. I love that I can wear them tomorrow, too.

A final Valentine's Day note......I know this holiday is hard when you don't have someone to celebrate with. I've been in that boat many times. If you find yourself single today, celebrate anyway! Eat your favorite food! Watch the tv show marathon that no one else can stand but you. Go see a movie, go out to eat, get yourself a manicure or a tattoo.......celebrate this day with YOU. After all, if you can't stand your own company, what will you bring to a relationship?

Mascara To Make You Look Like A Million

All you Sephora fans, listen up: you don't have to pay a lot for fabulous mascara! All you have to do is head for your favorite discount store.

I'm going to be 49 this year. I've lived a long time. During a great deal of my existence, I've wasted countless tubes of mascara, looking for the one that delivered on it's promises. Although God blessed me with a sparkling personality and stunning sense of humor, I came up a little short in the eyelash department. Sparse, short lashes are my lot in life. So, I've always been in search of a mascara that would lengthen my lashes without clumping or driving me completely crazy. Or, bankrupting me.

I've bought the familiar pink and green tube of mascara for most of the years I've worn make up. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. I don't know exactly what it was that made me switch in favor of the the electric yellow tube shown above, but I'm very glad I did. Bought in Glam Black, this marvelous goop lengthens my lashes without clumps! I don't feel as if I'm walking around with weights on my lashes, either. This stuff is light.

I realize that you might be incredulous at this point, so I called in my make up expert, AKA Claire. My daughter has worn make up since she started dance lessons at 5, not to mention going into a cosmetology career, so she knows her stuff. She also has much nicer lashes than her optically challenged mom. She started borrowing my mascara this past week, as she had stashed hers in her make up box for the play at school. She LOVES this stuff! She's going to switch too.

When I went to buy her a tube, it was on sale at Kroger for $4.99. That's a pretty awesome price for good mascara. How much did that Chanel make up set you back?

As always, I recommend using an eyelash curler. Yeah, I know you can accidently pinch your eyelid, but with practice and the right mascara, you can have some fab looking lashes without wearing falsies :)

Lest you think I'm a Sephora hater, I'm not. I LOVE my Hanai Mori Parfums tote bag. It totes my stuff in style! Of course, I bought it for $4.99 at Goodwill...........

Fleece! Fabulous Fleece!

I'm a little more excited about this post than I should be. Sigh. I really need to get out more!

Yesterday, on the way home from running another errand, I stopped by a Goodwill in Sunbury. I've only been to this store once before, a year ago, and bought some really nice jeans that I still wear. It's not as large as the Goodwill in Delaware, but there's some nice nuggets just waiting to be discovered.

I was originally on the hunt for a skirt to wear to a wedding Saturday, and I ended up getting two because I couldn't decide which I liked better. At $3.29, I could afford it! As I poked through the various racks, I happened upon a black ProSpirit fleece zip up jacket. My size and hardly worn. This is a major, coup, people!

I've talked before about having to wear black to work every day. It's the color of our company shirts and other uniform items, and I hate it. Black washes me out like nothing else. At least I can wear my scarves close to my face. Anyway, I buy a new black fleece every year, because it's cold in here and a cold Erin isn't a productive Erin. I should say most years I buy a new one, because here it is February and I'm still wearing the 2011-12 edition. I just couldn't find one I liked this year, and it was getting a little desperate because my elbows get thin and shiny after a year of wear. I wasn't all that thrilled about the one I had, because it was thinner, but it was better than nothing. I'm pretty easy going.

I've looked for second hand fleece before, but before I tell you the reason I've not bought any, I'm sure you know why. Fleece gets, well...GNARLY after a while. Even North Face. Who wants someone else's cast off fleece? Hence, this chica always goes brand new in this area.

Yesterday however, this ProSpirit looked GREAT. Nice and heavy, NOT gnarly, and at $5.29 it was too good a deal to pass up. It fits marvelously, and the sleeves are long enough that my wrist bones don't freeze. I have gorilla arms, by the way. It's hard to find sleeves long enough sometimes.

I washed it up and wore today for the first time, and I am THRILLED. It's also heavier than my previous fleece, which means I am a happy, warm, productive Erin. Never say never in the thrifting world, folks! Sometimes, when you least expect it....there's FLEECE.

Happy and warm :)

Wearing What You've Got: A Primer to Rotating and Wearing ALL Your Jewelry

Yesterday, as we were getting ready for church, I looked in on Claire as she was putting on her makeup in the bathroom. She was wearing a beautiful pair of silver chandelier earrings I had never seen before, so I edged closer. As I did, I realized I had bought them for her months ago, off the Meijer clearance jewelry rack. She had never worn them, and I promptly forgot about them. 'Those are gorgeous on you, honey,' I said. 'I know right? I'd forgotten I had them,' was her reply. As is the norm for most items in her room, they got buried under.......whatever.

I reminded her I had bought her a storage square with various see thru, plastic pockets, to hang on the wall and put her earrings in. Then she could see them at a glance, and always know where her best stuff was. She's far too busy to deal with it right now......much less eat and sleep on a regular basis. Oh well, maybe on spring break!

This got me thinking again, about how important jewelry storage is. Not only to keep it unbroken and tangle-free, but also in plain sight so you can rotate your pieces. What good is jewelry if you never wear it?

In my big dresser, which is part of our bedroom set, the mirror hides a wall of hooks to hang my necklaces, and the sock drawer also has a secret, multicompartment area for earrings and rings. I store jewelry there that I don't wear on a regular basis. It's nice to have those items out of the way.

This is my big earring and ring storage unit. It sits to the left of my sink. It's actually an antique tiered appetizer dish that I bought at Goodwill. The downside? It gets dusty. The upside is that all the earrings and rings I wear on a daily basis are right in view, so I can quickly see what matches my outfit (or scarf, for work!) and get on with my day. Extremely handy!

For 25 cents, I bought this little heart dish to store my stud earrings. They might get lost in the bigger dish, so this is perfect. It sits on the right side of my sink.

A second hand Mary Kay pocket organizer hangs on the back of my bathroom door, and hold all the bracelets I'm currently wearing. Bracelets especially tend to get messy and out of hand, so this clear storage system is fabulous for showing me exactly what I've got. These are the bracelets I wear during the winter, with my long sleeves and work fleece.

Finally, another thrifted storage system hangs in my closet. These are all the bracelets I wear with short sleeves. When the weather warms up (oh the anticipation!)and I switch my clothing wardrobe around, these bracelets will enter back into rotation. I miss them.......but they bug me with my sleeves. At least they know they aren't forgotten :)

Once I started incorporating these storage tricks, it became so easy to rotate and wear ALL my jewelry, and my choices expanded greatly. It's not a good idea to buy a bunch of stuff and then stick it in a dark box somewhere, never again to see the light of day, while you wonder where in the world it is...........!!

It took a few good hours to get this system working, so I know it's going to take an afternoon or two of helping Claire to get hers going, too. Once it's in place? It saves you gobs of time.

Bangin' Bangle Friday 2/8: Bollywood!

Today's bracelet makes me want to don a sari and paint a bindi on my forehead! Bought for $1 at Goodwill, it's a pinkish brass color with shells and beads that's really very pretty, and calls to mind something you might find at a bazaar in India.

I may never walk the streets of Calcutta, but I can look like I did :)

Weight loss update: I had lost 4 pounds.........and then Brendan ordered Marco's pizza and cheesy bread last night. I had already eaten my good girl dinner, and I wasn't tempted by the pizza. But, that cheesy bread. Oh, goodness. I finally succumbed. I'm sure I didn't put on 4 pounds, but I'm going to wait a couple days before jumping on the scale again. Oh well, what is a healthy diet if I can't indulge at least once in a while!

Goodwill Gold: Vera Bradley and Unity by Carlos Santana

My latest Goodwill run yielded some wonderful finds. 3 great books at $2.00 each, a large straw tote bag with leather binding for $4.99, and a brown crossbody with brass hardware, also for $4.99.

The best pieces? Two name brands that I bought far below their normal retail value.

First, the Vera Bradley cosmetics case. I needed one since the zipper on my dollar store case broke after one zip! This lovely case had a large, crusty dark stain on the side.........looked like Coke. It was marked $5.99, which is a true bargain since they retail brand new for $26.00. I wasn't going to be scared away by a little stain, either. Came home, rubbed regular laundry soap onto it, and threw it in the wash (love that about VB!). Came out clean and beautiful and fits all my essentials.

The shoes are Unity by Carlos Santana. They weren't even on the regular shoe shelves, but in a huge bin I had to dig through. WELL WORTH IT! They fit me perfectly and were $3.29. They retail new on average $78.99!! SCORE!! Made up for the fact that the beautiful pair of Minnetoka moccasins I also found were so large they fell off my feet. Boo. Hiss. The bling factor on these gorgeous flats are BLINDING. Oh yeah, I'm happy.

My total cost for this visit came to $27 and change. They give you a blue card that you can get stamped with every purchase of $10 or more, and I had a filled up card, so they took $10 off my order. I paid $18, and you know those two items alone would have run me over $100.

Tell me again why you don't like to thrift?

I'm Going to Save You Gobs Of Money!!

How's THAT for a headline? Yep, it's true. I can save you 50%-75% of what you now spend on clothing. All by doing one simple thing.

TRY ON YOUR CLOTHES BEFORE YOU BUY THEM.

You can read that last line as many times as you want, but it's still going to say the same thing. Too simplistic? Impossible? No way, I know this first hand.

Back when I started thrifting, I was a thin gal who looked good in pretty much everything. Even so, oftentimes something I'd bought at the store and NOT tried on didn't fit quite right. So, unless I was planning another trip to that store, that item of clothing sat, lonely and unwanted and unworn. So sad.

When I pulled this at thrift stores, that piece MIGHT be taken back, if I remembered. Or, I would just turn around and donate it back. At least I had the tax write off. What a pain, though! And I'd spent more money than I should have.

If you try on everything you want to buy, you eliminate a LOT of unnecessary buying, not to mention saving on gas when you DON'T have to return to the store. I am striving for a much simpler lifestyle, and having less things goes along with that thinking. I find that when my closet is crowded, especially with unworn items, I just can't think straight. I can't find something to wear. Not worth it to me in the least.

Claire has found this out for herself. When she was invited to her very first prom, we went shopping for formals at Goodwill (of course). I talked her into one beautiful mauve gown that didn't impress her at all. Obediently she tried it on, and couldn't believe it when it zipped right up, fit her like a glove, and made the most of her figure. If she'd gone with her initial first impression, she would have missed out on a gorgeous gown that garnered numerous compliments and disbelief when others found it was a $10 dress!

So, in this busy day and age, do yourself a favor.

Utilize those dressing rooms!!

Claire's Winter Dance Ensemble: The Breakdown

We did it again! Pulled together a classy outfit for my girl to wear to her latest school dance. This one sure wasn't the cheapest, but still not bad. The total outfit came to $86.02. In my research, comparable dresses alone cost on average $129.

First of all, that dress.

Claire and her bestie, Kelli

This silver stunner was found on the clearance rack at Toujours, a consignment store in downtown Delaware. Only being $8 made it a must have, even though the bodice was HUGE......a little strange as the bottom half fit Claire perfectly. Thankfully, our go to gal Lucinda did a masterful job of making sense of a completely botched 'home alteration' from the former owner, and the result cost us $53. Still a bargain. The last step was a clean and press at Minarchek's in town. The pressing was especially necessary, as the back of the dress was an intricate frosting of pleats. That set us back $11.74. Total for the dress: $72.74.

Ssssnnnnnnnaaaakeskin!

Claire's cute shoes were a Goodwill purchase back in the Spring. I had no idea what they'd go with, but at $3.29 we couldn't pass them up. When we bought the dress, the choice of the shoes fell into place. I had thought Claire would go bare legged, but due to our snowy weather, the opaque black hose were a good choice.

Unique earrings

Jewelry choices for this dress stumped us. Should she go glam with pearls again? Maybe something vintage in silver or grey for a monochromatic look? How about something bold to match the shoes? We had NO idea what to do, and hadn't found anything at any store, until the day I was browsing in my trusty go to, the Meijer jewelry department, and found these lovely, unique steel and floral patterned drop earrings on the clearance rack (AGAIN!) for $4.00! They were PERFECT! No other jewelry was needed that night!

Remember this purse? It was the subject of a blog post several months ago. Brand new with tags that read $30, but I snapped it up at Goodwill for $4.99. It was the perfect complement to Claire's dance ensemble. She could either wear it as a clutch or on a thin strap.

Now......while this may not be the cheapest outfit we've ever put together, the fact that it took us 6 months to assemble it proves how valuable planning and buying ahead can be. When you find a good deal, but you have no idea what you'll wear it with (the shoes), buy it anyway! When it came right down to the wire, odds are I wasn't going to be able to duplicate the fabulous shoe buy. I have several very dressy clutches in my closet, awaiting just the right dress purchase. How nice it will be to find we already have that finishing touch!

The Calming Effect of a Daily Planner

So, I finished watching the 'Woodstock' documentary, and loved it so much. I was only 5 when the decade ended, but had I been about 10 years older? I would have made a great hippie. For most of my life, I was the original spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants gal. Always up for a party, stay up all night and pay for it all the next day. Marriage to my first husband reined me in a bit, since he was a no nonsense finance man, but I still loved going wherever the wind in my hair took me.

Until I had children.

AFter I gave birth to Brendan, and surveyed the shattered bits of my former life lying strewn around a house also littered with baby paraphenilia, I took stock and adapted. I think most people do. I still loved a good time, but now I had a purpose to set some goals and achieve them. I will never be a 100% organized to the teeth Martha Stewart type, but I'm still light years away from where I was back in the 80's. Ah, the 80's.

Anyway, one of the tools that has helped me add order to my life has been a daily planner.

How did I buy my planner? Second hand, of course. I don't believe mine was ever used. I got it for $5 at a consignment store in town. Chocolate brown with gold hardware, yeah.....it spoke to me. As for the calendar and 'to do daily' pages, I got them at Goodwill. A thrift store is always a treasure trove of unused planners.......for 50 cents. I have quite a good selection awaiting me in the months ahead, and I won't have to spend a red cent at Staples or Office Max. Have you put off buying your own planner because of their prohibitive prices? Yeah. Office stores are NOT the most thrifty places to shop!

I have the 'month at a glance' pages, and then the 'daily' pages. I have plenty of blank paper for notes, and also an address section. My planner is small enough to keep in my purse, and it has a plastic holder inside for stamps, a nail file, and business cards. My planner also has a section for my checkbook. I keep a list of monthly bills to pay in my planner, and when we get paid, my checkbook and my list are right at my fingertips. Most bills are paid online, but the last hold outs that demand a check are easy to keep in my planner, too.

How does my planner calme me? Today, I am anticipating making a dinner for Claire's play cast and crew on Monday night. Gestating in my mind, the whole thing is stressing me OUT. So, I sat down with my planner and started writing out the whole meal.........how much to buy, how many I would be serving......right down to the last questions I need to ask the lady in charge. BOOM! It's out of my head, onto the page, and.......mmmmmmm. I'm breathing easier. I know exactly what to get and make. No more stress.

Does it seem a bit simplistic? Yeah, reading it now, it does to me too. However, my planner works. Whenever something hits me and I don't want to think about it yet, but I do down the road, I write it down and file it for later. Speaking of cast dinners, last Spring when Claire's school performed 'Legally Blonde,' several moms and I served a fabulous Chinese meal from a restaurant in town. Because we want to repeat that dinner this year, I wrote down everything having to do with the dinner.......from the name and phone number of the restaurant, to the dishes and amounts we ordered, to the tablecloths and decorations......right down to the number of serving utensils we'll need. It's all there, waiting to be a huge help to some frazzled mamas who are not only dealing with the day to day of our girls being in a school musical, but also juggling schoolwork, getting ready for the prom, and, oh yes, that's when the money for Claire's summer camp is due, too! I always forget, but NOT THIS YEAR!!

Try a planner and see what happens. It calmed my life, and it will yours too!

Bangin' Bangle Friday 2/1: Erin's Wish List

Yesterday, I wrote a whole blog about buying fabulous fakes that look like the real thing. That's one of the goals of this blog: rock the look with bankrupting yourself or living on Ramen. Today's blog deviates a bit from that outlook.

Sometimes, the only thing that will do is the REAL thing. Sometimes the price isn't all that much different from the look alike. Sometimes it's light years higher. Your mission is to see if having the real thing is better than the fake. For instance, how is a North Face fleece jacket, at over $100, any different than the nice JC Penney brand fleece on sale for $25? I have to wear a black fleece zip up jacket all winter long here at the lawnmower shop, and at the end of the year my elbows are starting to get shiny. Will paying more for the North Face prevent that? I would hope so! Hard to justify the price difference if the wear pattern turns out to be the same! I have a sneaking suspicion 99.9% of the people wearing a North Face at the mall aren't going on a Canadian snow expedition: they just want to wear the name brand. I honestly can't judge, because...........

I love Tiffany bracelets. You already know I'm a bracelet addict, but there's just something about a Tiffany bracelet that rocks my world. It's not ALL Tiffany bracelets though, just these 3........

For me personally, there just isn't anything like the feel and look of these bracelets. Love how they layer with a watch or another bracelet, love the weight.........just yummy.

Now, do I have one of these bracelets? No. I can't justify the price at this juncture of my life. I can't rule out that I'll ever have one, though. Someday, Michael and I may be living in 'we have enough to get by and a little left over' land, and then I'll consider making that big Tiffany bracelet purchase. In the meantime, it's awfully nice to daydream and drool over the pictures :)

By the way, I've lost 3 pounds. Baby steps, but in the right direction. So glad I'm starting this in the dead of winter, so maybe when Spring comes I look half way human in some warm weather clothing!