New Things

Oh Friday. How I love you so. 

This week has been crazy, so thank you guys for hanging in there and being patient with me! 

I've got some pretty cool things to show you soon, like the plane-shaped cookie I made last night. It's pretty fantastic, you'll see. 

But for today we'll stick with a good old outfit post. :) 

Top: thrifted, DIY ($0.27)

Cardigan: Merona, thrifted ($3.50)

Pants: Rugged Wearhouse ($17)

Shoes: Target, $6

I got these fantastic polka dot pants last weekend. They were actually a bit of a splurge, at $17. Of course, I use the term "splurge" in a relative perspective, compared to my typical budget, not the typical retail price for jeans. But I think they were worth the price. :)

Did I mention they're reversible? They're reversible. Which is a little bit weird, but also pretty cool. The other side is just plain dark wash navy. I told myself I was technically buying two pairs of pants for $17.

The shoes are also new! Got them on clearance at Target for a little less than $6. I love the color, and they're suede. Classy. 

Findings from the Weekend

I've been MIA for days, sorry about that! End of semester craze is starting to set in. 

Hope you all had a great break, anyone get good deals this weekend? I bought a few things on Friday, but they weren't actually part of the Black Friday sale, I just happened to run across them in the clearance racks. 

Target, $7

Old Navy, $9.99

Target, $24.98

Be back soon with more!

Black Friday!

In the spirit of Black Friday, I figured I'd post the discounts for some of my favorite stores:

• Modcloth is having a 'Tis the Season Sale, with 50% off newly stocked items. They're pretty darn cute. I waste way too much time browsing their website.
• Shabby Apple has a 20% off sitewide sale, just use the code JOYFULSEASON.
• J. Crew has 25% off sitewide and in stores. 
• Extra 25% off all sale items from Anthropologie. Again, so much time about to be wasted on my part. 
• Madewell also has 25% off with a code, TREAT. I sense a pattern here. They're also offering free shipping. 
• Gap has 60% off the entire stock, and 20% off your purchase.
• Nordstrom has a pretty good sale section going on! 
• Target, Macy's, and Old Navy may be worth checking out as well.

 Someone also share this interesting infographic with me, so I thought I'd toss that in as well. :) Have a great Friday, hope you find some great deals if you're hitting the stores today!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all get the chance to relax with family and friends. I'm about to get to work on cooking up the inevitable food coma, so I thought I'd go ahead and do an outfit post before that. :) 

 

Top: Old Navy, thrifted ($3.50)

Pants: TJ Maxx ($9)

Sweater: JC Penney ($6)

Boots: Ross ($17)

Scarf: from Italy ($5)

The scarf is actually a rectangular wrap-styled one, I just tied the ends together to make it like an oversized infinity scarf. I think it works pretty well!

Enjoy your turkey and stay warm!

Painting Adventures, Part 2

Going off of my last post, I also painted this set of drawers for the same project. I'd seen projects like this on Pinterest before and loved the idea, so I was super excited when I had the chance to try it out myself!

So originally they were plain white...

And this is what the end result looked like: 

This took less than an hour and less than $10 in paint. It's also rather fun, if you like painting and whatnot, so be warned--you might feel the urge to run around the house and just paint everything in sight once you get started. :)

A Splatter of Paint (DIY Project)

A couple of months ago I worked on some craft projects for a family, basically involving repainting some nursery items. I completely forgot to write a post about it until now! 

This is an easy project that only costs whatever the price of paint at the crafts store is. Michael's always has weekly coupons, so if you look those up before heading to the store, you can get a really good deal. 

So. I repainted a dollhouse that had seen better days...

And a toy chest with some rather strange rabbits on it:

I also painted a dresser drawer, which I will post tomorrow for you guys to see! 

Hope everyone's having a great Monday! I don't know about you all, but I'm beyond excited for Thanksgiving. I'm so ready for a break.

Barley Risotto

The other day I had some free time on my hands (for once in my life) and I decided to get fancy and cook some real food. I found this fantastic recipe for barley risotto and tried it out. 

Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups pearl barley, rinsed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• Ground black pepper

Procedures

1. Bring the broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan; reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, combine the onion, carrot, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the barley, and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned and aromatic, about 4 minutes. Stir in the wine and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the wine has been completely absorbed by the barley, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in the thyme and 3 cups of the warm broth and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, 20 to 22 minutes. Stir in 2 more cups of the warm broth and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the bottom of the pan is dry, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
4. Continue to cook the risotto, stirring frequently and adding 1/2 cup of the remaining broth at a time as needed to keep the pan bottom from becoming dry (about every 5 to 6 minutes), until the grains of barley are cooked through but still somewhat firm in the center, about 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan and butter, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately in warmed shallow bowls, with wedges of lemon and/or fresh parsley.
   Recipe from Serious Eats.
   
   A few substitutions: I subbed in basil for thyme and broth for white wine. Worked out just fine. :) 

It's Not Easy Being Green

Top: Anthropologie, thirfted ($3.50)

Jeans: TJ Maxx ($8)

Boots: Rack Room ($17)

Jacket:  Maurice's, thrifted ($5)

Belt: thrifted ($1)

Decided to wear my rather Kermit-colored Anthropologie top today. I got it last month at Goodwill, and I have to say, I'm rather pleased with it! 

I love the crochet pattern at the top. :)

Also, today is boots day at Everybody Everywear, so go on over and take a look at all the fabulous outfits!

Tights and Knee Highs

These days, I'm usually so busy in the mornings that I just get up and throw on a pair of pants without a second thought, for the sake of not freezing to death. Yesterday I actually had the time and determination to dig out my tights and put together an outfit with a skirt. 

Shirt: thrifted ($3.50)

Skirt: thrifted ($3.50)

Tights: free

Legwarmers: free

Boots: Rack Room ($17)

Riding Boots

Okay, I gave in. 

I've been looking to invest in a good pair of boots for a while now...and Gilt is having a flash sale today on riding style boots. So I may or may not have purchased a pair for $147. 

They better be worth it.

If you're looking for a good pair of leather boots for the fall too, you might want to take a look! I got free shipping as a new member, and the pair I ordered were originally $300...

I talked myself into it essentially by convincing myself that they were Frye quality boots for half the price. I'll let know what I think when I receive them!

These are the ones I ordered...thoughts?

 Also, happy election day! If you haven't gone to vote yet, PLEASE GO VOTE. I cannot stress enough how important I think it is for people to go out there and exercise their rights. Don't let your voice go to waste, not today. Go go go. :)

Refashioning a Refashion

I got this skirt about two years ago in the form of a brand new Forever 21 dress that I found at Goodwill for $4. I cut off the top of the dress because it was ridiculously short and I figured that turning it into a skirt would give me the ability to wear it lower on the waist, therefore making it more modest.

I wore it a few times like that, but there's only so much you can do, and it still seemed short to me. 

So I turned it into a girl's skirt and gave it to my sister. 

 

This was a super easy, 5 minute alteration. I just sewed in the waistband as needed, along the red dashed line as indicated in an image above.

The stitch could easily be taken apart and adjusted to fit as she grows. And this adorable skirt now be worn as it deserves to be, without being awkward and short. 

Now...if someone can find me an adult sized version of this skirt as it fits on my sister, please tell me. Because I'd probably buy it in a heartbeat.

New Dress

I hope everyone enjoyed their extra hour of sleep today!

 I got a new dress in the mail this week, courtesy of eShakti, an online clothing line that has a ready-to-wear line of women's clothing that is fully customizable. You can select your preferences on the site in terms of length, sleeve style, bust/waist measurements, etc, or you can just order in a standard size.

I personally think that's pretty cool. :)

But anyway, I'm really happy with the dress. I can be pretty weary about ordering things online, especially from brands I don't know well. So this turned out wonderfully! 

Dress: eShakti (free)

Shoes: Banana Republic, thrifted ($6)

Tights: Charlotte Russe ($3)

Belt: thrifted ($1)

All dressed up for Sunday. Hope you guys enjoyed your weekend!