Monday, January 31

The Camera Esta Aqui

CAMERA IS HERE!
Just wanted to let you all know. :)

 

Also, I lied about despising Mondays. 
It seems that God is trying to prove me wrong. 
Because today was absolutely, completely, and wonderfully fantastic.
I hope yours was too!
See you in February!

The Chosen 30

Here we are, less than 24 hours before the 30 for 30 Challenge begins. I picked out the items I wanted to use quite a few days ago, so here they are now:

6 Pairs of Shoes
 (plus one of the pairs of boots I just ordered...holding a place for it because they should arrive this week)

3 Dresses

6 Jackets/Cardigans

2 Skirts

9 Shirts


3 Pairs of Jeans


Sunday, January 30

Sunday Blues


 
Top: By Forever21, from smashion.com, $7
Skirt: Thrifted from Goodwill, $3.50
Tights: Forever21, $5
Shoes: Thrifted from Goodwill, $2.50
Belt: Thrifted from Goodwill, $1 
Total Spent: $19

Sundays and I have a love-hate relationship. On one hand, I get to go to church, see so many lovely people, worship, and of course, dress up all nicely while I'm at it. But for some reason Sunday afternoons makes me ridiculously drowsy, and I don't know about you, but waking up on a Sunday evening realizing that Monday is less than 12 hours away is a rather depressing thought.

So have a wonderful rest of the weekend guys! Savor it while it lasts. 

Also, 2 days until 30 for 30! Did my last little bout of shopping yesterday when they had an online flash sale, $15 for any pair of boots. I got two pairs and will be happily awaiting their arrival in the mail this week. I also ordered a pair of purple tights while I was at it, since I've been wanting a pair for a while now.

Saturday, January 29

Love Me Some LACE

So you know when you find something you like so much that you buy it in multiple colors? Guilty as charged. Thanks, lack of self control, for yet again being there for me. I got this lace top from JCPenney's on clearance for $5.97.

I broke my $5 rule. I'm ashamed. But only a little, because I love this shirt. As well as the white version which also came home with me. I'm really happy about this find because I had my eye on a similar top at Rue21 a couple of months ago, which I almost paid $24 for, before talking myself out of it. Now I have two for half the price of that one. :)


Top: JCPenney's, $5.97
Jeans: By Forever 21, from TJ Maxx, $7
Shoes: Nine West, from Ross, $16.99
Necklace: By Forever 21, from Smashion.com (NWT), $5
Total Cost: $35

I also ordered a couple of things off of Smashion.com the other day:

Pendant from Forever 21...(worn backwards in the photos above... I don't like the iris pattern so much so I might try to refashion that later.



 Cute yellow flats...new w/o tags.
.
And my favorite, a vintage print Forever 21 top, NWT. It's a large, so I'll have to do a quick downsizing alteration before I wear it, but that will take 2 minutes.
Photo credits to kitsparrow2 via Smashion.com

Friday, January 28

A Different Kind of Shopping Spree

Today I paid a trip to JoAnn's, the craft store. I went with the intention of getting some pins and a seam ripper, and of course that's not what I came out with. In fact, I completely forgot about the seam ripper. I did get some pretty cool things though:

I purchased some jewelry making items and finished my first project within 10 minutes of arriving back home. I'm not even sure I should credit myself with having created anything, because a four year old could probably do this. I just threaded clay beads onto a gold chain and then closed the chain back up with a pair of jewelry pliers. I added a bow for an extra touch.



I also purchased several other things, including a pink invisible zipper that is for a project that I will post upon completion, and some black lace. The lace was for this easy DIY project.



This is an H&M puff sleeved top I purchased this summer for $8. Really cute as it is, but I thought the lace would make it even better. Also, I'm going to use the excess lace for another project, hopefully, inspired by this tee, from Delia's.

The giraffe print is actually lace patterns. Crazy right? I love it. So I'm going to see if I can whip up my own variation of it!

I'll end this post with an outfit:

Cardigan: Charlotte Russe, $5
Top: Hollister, $7 (but used a gift card)
Skirt: Charlotte Russe, $5
Tights: Forever21, $5 ish? 
Boots: Deb, $10
Total Spent: $25

Thursday, January 27

30 for 30

I just signed up to do the 30 for 30 Challenge, as seen on Kendi Everyday. It starts on February 1st, and I'm rather excited about it!

So what is this challenge? Basically, I choose 30 articles of clothing and can only wear those 30 items for the 30 days of the challenge. This doesn't include scarves, belts, jewelry, purses, and coats, which can be worn without limitation. After 2 hours of analyzing, I've picked out my 30 pieces, a mix including shoes, skirts, tops, cardigans, dresses, and jeans.

There's another part to the challenge--no shopping for 30 days. Quite convenient actually, considering how much I just spent on that lovely camera coming my way. :)

So check back February 1st to see me tackle this beast of a challenge!

Now I'll just treat you to an outfit before I end this post...most of the pieces are from my most recent Goodwill haul, from last Friday. :) 


Top: Butterfly Print Top by Tramp, thrifted, $3.50
Skirt: By New York and Company, thrifted, $3.50
Belt: thrifted, $1
Cardigan: TJ Maxx, $12 (free with gift card)

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty proud of the fact that this whole outfit cost me $8. I love it when that happens. :)

Wednesday, January 26

I. Hate. Grainy. Pictures.

This fantastic little thing will be arrive at my doorstep in a matter of days!
What I actually had my eye on is a 60D, but $1300 is a little steep for a teenager to be able to afford. So I'm settling on the T2i. This is the biggest financial splurge I have ever made, by far. Which means for the rest of eternity I will be attempting to recover from this sudden depletion of funds. In order to save up the $800 I just spent all over again, I'm going to have to avoid clothing stores at all costs. This may require a human blockade or a house arrest anklet.

The $5 Dollar Rule

I decided a few weeks before the holidays that I would not spend more than $5 on an article of clothing. An exception to this rule could be made for, a pair of boots or a peacoat or something, if it were reasonably under $15 or so. But shirts, dresses, shorts, skirts, etc.? Only if under $5. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up, but so far it's been going tremendously well. Thanks to the lovely presence of Goodwill nearby, and a sale at Charlotte Russe over winter break that caused practically the entire store to be priced at exactly $5, I have been able to buy a tremendously large amount of cute clothing while still sticking with my self inflicted challenge. :) Unfortunately this also means it's not restraining me at all...

Also, yesterday I finally tackled the dreadful task of cleaning out my closet, in order to fit in the piles of new clothes I had sitting around on every possible surface in my room To make room for the new stuff, I have tons of old clothing to sell. If you guys are interested in any of it, you can visit my store on Smashion right here.

Here's some of the stuff I've cleaned out...it's made me realize how much stuff I buy and never really wear! I really need to work on my tendency to purchase on impulse.

Saturday, January 15

GOODWILL! The love of my life.

So...I made one of my typical trips to Goodwill today. I bought $25 dollars worth of stuff, which actually shocked me quite a bit, because I usually don't spend more than $15 there. Today I went on a quick 30 minute spree and bought quite the stash of vintage/old lady articles of clothing. And a few other things. As pictured below....


Yes, I look ridiculous. No, I'm not embarrassed. I was really, really excited.

I intend to do lots and lots of altering with these things, now that I have my lovely new machine. I've actually already altered the vintage floral dress...as shown below:


Oh, how I love Goodwill. :)

Also, I guess this means I don't have 49 dresses anymore...ha. Oh well!

Thursday, January 13

49 Dresses


Outfit Above:
Dress: Vintage Lace Dress from Goodwill
Belt: Also thrifted from Goodwill
Shoes: Black Flats from Payless


49. That's how many dresses I have in my closet. I am, in every possible way, in love with clothes. My mother thinks it's a problem, a disease of sorts, and sometimes I have to admit she's got a point. But I see it as "treasure hunting". You see, I am one of those girls who excels at finding ridiculous sales. I'm one of those girls who absolutely adores thrift stores, and considers spending $10 on a shirt a splurge. I am one of those girls who has found a 49 cent sweater dress in the clearance section, or the perfect part of black peeptoe heels for $2.50 at the local Goodwill. My name is Bri. Welcome to my blog.

I am here to share my lovely fashion adventures with the world. My closet is stuffed to the max (okay, in my defense, I have a tiny, tiny closet), so I decided that I might as well make the most out of it. Plus...I just got this large package from UPS today...and guess what was inside? Well, you don't have to guess. It's right here:


 
So not only am I here to share with you my crazy outfits and amazing finds and whatever else just happens to pop into my head, I am also going to share with you a new challenge I'm taking up: to sew and alter clothes! I have been wanting a sewing machine for so, so long, and now I've finally got one, so I thought it was the perfect day to start a blog! 
And so it begins. Welcome to 49 Dresses.