What I Wore while feeling New Years Eve-y

sweater dress: thrifted / skirt: thrifted / belt: from a thrifted shirt / necklace: gift (Chicos) / shoes: thrifted

I didn't do laundry last night. You can tell by the fancy-pants skirt I'm wearing. When I start wearing glittery stuff you know it's because I literally have nothing else to wear. Not that glittery stuff isn't pretty, but I generally keep those pieces for special occasions and usually feel quite uncomfortable in them when I wear them on a normal day. For some reason today though I don't think I'll have that hang up. I'm really digging this outfit.

The black turtleneck is a dress, really, but it's kinda short...the kinda short that requires leggings. My leggings are currently all in the laundry pile. I'd been looking at how other bloggers wear dresses and one of the things that I like is how many gals out there will wear a dress over a dress. Smart. After donning this sweater dress, I looked back in my closet and spotted this skirt. I thrifted this little lady during the summer, but it's fully lined and moderately heavy, so it didn't work well for a muggy Chicago summer day. With New Year approaching I figured it wouldn't seem quite so out of place at work today, so I threw it on and asked G what he thought.

"That's really cute!" was indeed the correct response.

An outfit was born.

This goof was born many years ago, however.

Gluten Free French Bread - Adventures in Baking

This looks a bit...liquidy. Hmmmmm.

Risen? heh. Not so much.

FLATBREAD!!!

Gluten free french bread. That's right, kids, today's lesson will be all about how to mostly follow instructions and thus miff on your gluten free french bread. First, make sure you have a bottle of wine handy...this will come in to play after you've mixed your wet ingredients and before you "proof" it by not putting it into the oven like you were told. It's important that you have a few glasses in you by this point so you can miss that part of the instructions.

Once that's happened, it doesn't matter what you do, your gluten free french bread will not rise. Since it does not rise, but still tastes like french bread should, you will be left with gluten free flat bread. I recommend drizzling it with olive oil and parmesan cheese and accompanying it with oil cured black olives. Sound good to you? Tasted pretty durn good to me too.

See? Simple. And yes, that is how it went. The french bread that was intended to be part of our new traditional fancy-pants homemade Christmas Eve dinner was instead Christmas Eve flatbread and that was just fine by us. :)

Recipe from: Celiac.com a great web site for those going gluten free.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins: Adventures in Baking

Every year for Christmas the entire clan gets together at Grandma's for feasting and white elephant gift giving fun. By entire clan I mean almost all the aunts and uncles, nearly all of the cousins, all of the second cousins (and nephews) and all of the third cousins (seconds cousins once removed? I don't know, my second cousins' children.) There's anywhere from 30-40 people in the rec room at Grandma's apartment complex and we get very loud. It's a lot of fun. It's high energy and exhausting, but it's a lot of fun.

The only part of this I don't look forward to so much is the food. It's not that the food is bad. It's excellent - it's every hot dish/casserole/jello salad ever introduced to Northern Indiana in one location. Lots of cheese. Some broccoli in cheese. Some rice in cheese. All of it as tasty as family can make it...and my family can make it tasty I assure you. The reason I don't look forward to it is because G and I are the lone vegetarians and G's allergies really limit even the vegetarian things he can eat. The fam does their best to accommodate, but they shouldn't have to. G and I try to bring something he can eat so he's not starving and we supplement with cake. Cake is good for you, right?

Anyhow, these blueberry muffins were the offering we brought this year. Gluten free, though you'd never know it, and no butter (we used a vegan butter-like spread instead). It has eggs in it, because, as mentioned, until I get a spice grinder we won't be making egg alternatives, but the recipe's otherwise vegan as well. Score!

These are some seriously good blueberry muffins. Soooooo tasty and they hold together like regular muffins would, though you do have to be more careful getting them out of the muffin tin (that stuff all over the top of the tin is sugar...sweet sweet sugar). Overall a success and a recipe I will certainly use again. I think I mentioned it in a previous post, but this recipe is unaltered from Gluten Free Girl, one of my new favorite Gluten-Free recipe blogs.

What I Wore 12/27 - Back to work

blouse - $8 thrifted
tank - $5 Target (many moons ago)
jacket - gift
skirt - swapped
tights - $5 (or so) Hue via Marshall's
boots - $85 (or so) Bare Traps (Bear Traps? it's a good brand. I like 'em)
earrings (not shown) - gift from Grandma's collection

I need to do laundry. I need to do laundry in a bad way. When I was in college the impetus for this statement would have something to do with a stunning lack of clean underwear or pants, as the Brits like to call them. I AM that person who went on a Walmart run to buy new underwear rather than take the 2+ hours and $5 it would have cost me to launder my existing unmentionables in the dorm laundry room. It took less time and it was probably cheaper...though I don't honestly remember how much it cost at the time. Those days are now behind me. I have enough underwear to last me a month at least. There's that excuse out the window. Onto the new, more adult, excuse: I have no clean shirts to wear. I do Not have 30+ shirts that I like wearing.

And so, yesterday's outfit was based on the white ruffled blouse...one of only 3 or 4 shirts I feel good in that was also clean. While the overall effect of the outfit is cute, I am actually quite proud of the maroon top/white blouse combo. Why should I be pleased with something so regular? so ordinary? Well, I'll tell you (would it be horrible if I just decided not to tell you? To just leave you hanging like that? No? Oh. Well.) it's because I have never used a tank top as sweater vest before and I found that I rather liked it. Now, the tank is old enough as to be a bit too blousy, but it was inspired (for me) and has opened a whole new batch of possibilities with regard to my extensive tank top collection. Sing it with me, "A Whole Neeeew Woooooooooorllllld" I am on a magic carpet, kids. A magic carpet OF TANK TOPS!

So it started with the blouse and progressed to the tank top/blouse combo. When the time came to put something on my legs, I thought I'd like to wear a skirt. Now, this skirt is really white and black, but it's really hard to tell...and it feels rather more like it should be white and brown...so I treat it as a brown most often. This skirt meant brown tights were needed and my winter boots would keep my feet toasty all day long...besides my work bag was full already and I couldn't bring along other shoes. At least that's what I tell myself.

The blouse is as sheer as sheer gets while still a cotton. I knew, winter coat or not, that I would freeze if I didn't have something more substantial on my arms. Thus, brown velvet jacket. I heart this jacket so much. Vintage, warm and soft. Yum.

Welcome back. Hope everyone had excellent holidays.

Back to Work - Teaser

Bonjour!
So this is a teaser since I'm not near my camera or anything else needed to make this blog post anything more than text. Tonight I will be posting:

- pictures of the glorious blueberry muffins G and I took to Grandma's Christmas Brunch
- an outfit post from today (What?! I know, contain your excitement
- possibly also pictures from the holiday party set up and maybe Christmas morning. Depends on what actually came out well on the ole camera.

Hardly fair of me, is it, to entice you this way. Come back after 7p CST for all the goodness.

What I Wore - Purple & Greys 12/23

Jacket: Casual Corner from 2000...that's right, kids, this was my move-to-the-big-city purchase 11 years ago ($50?)
Tank: Hanes Men's from Target ($2)
Skirt: Old Navy ($15)
Tights: Hue via Marshall's ($6)
Boots: Bare Traps via DSW ($85?)
Earrings: unknown brand via swap
Belt: Target Gift Card purchase

Again, I did not have time to get a picture of my outfit actually ON me this morning, so you'll be getting the next best thing...sort of...with this scrapbook look at the elements of my outfit today.

For once I'm wearing mostly clothing bought at full price from retail stores. I'm not going back on my serial thrift lifestyle or anything, but I should point out that even though these pieces were all bought retail, they have all also lasted me multiple seasons, so the cost per wear at this point is minimal. Also, I bought most of these items before I discovered the joy of thrifting, so go a little easy on me, here, K?

This outfit was put together this morning starting from the skirt and jacket. It was a bit of a chicken before egg scenario. I'd been thinking about the jacket off and on thinking I should wear it again sometime and while I knew I wanted to wear a skirt today, I hadn't thought very far through the process to pin-point Which skirt I wanted to use.

*Standing at closet door, staring at skirts.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmm"
*Stall by playing with Williams who would rather be left alone.
*Look back at closet.
"Hmmmmmmmmm. Haven't worn This skirt in a little while. Why not today?"
*Grabs skirt
"Oh hey, there's that jacket I've been thinking of. I bet I could wear these two together."
*Grabs jacket
"But with What? Hmmmmmm. Well, if I wear the skirt as a dress and put a tank underneath, that should work OK."
*Grabs tank
"Crud. Skirt needs a belt."
*glance at belts
"Black!"
*grabs only black belt noting with annoyance the chewed off end *mumbling about omnivorous kitties
"Needs a slip for warmth *yoink and tightssssssssbut in what color....the outfit's a bit grey, so boost with color is good..."
*looks through minimalistish tights collection, "black, black, black, brown, black, nude, maroon...I think we have a winner!"
"HONEY?"
"Yeah?"
"What's the weather today?"
"Cold."
"Boots, then."

And that's how that went.

What I Wore - 12/22 Plaid and woven brown

Plaid shirt - F21, $5, via Crossroads Trading Company
Black Jeans - brand unknown, $12, via Crossroads Trading Company
Necklace - brand unknown, $3, via Crossroads Trading Company
Undershirt (not shown) - Hanes men's tank, $2, Target
Belt - came with the shirt, yo
Shoes - So, $9, via Ebay

Hello Hello. Please contain your shock. Yes, people, two posts in one day. You see I can't always get a snap shot of my outfits. It's dark when I leave for work and it's dark when I get home. I work in a bad part of town so there's no way I'm traipsing around taking snapshots of myself during lunch. Plus I like eating, and lunch time is for eating...or going on imgur. Or both.

Anyhow, above is my outfit for today as best as I could find on the good ole interwebs. I wanted comfortable pants, so the stretch skinnies came on. Soon as those were decided I hunted for a shirt. My hips being my least favorite part of my body at present I like to downplay them a bit by wearing longer shirts (especially when I have skinnies on).

"Let's seeeee here....what is clean that would be longish...,"*rifles through shirts...*explains predicament to surprisingly unperturbed kitty...*stares at closet...,"Plaid'll do." And so it was that the plaid shirt was chosen.

Shapeless plaid shirt, that is. Hmmmm. Belt. Needs a belt. Skinny belt. harumph. All I have is a shiny black belt a cat tried to eat and my woven brown belt. Woven brown belt wins!

"Well, hell. Now I have black pants and a brown belt on. I should add more brown so it doesn't look like I got dressed in the dark," *casts eyes onto shoe collection, "Brown woven flats, FTW!"

"Now. Hm. Finishing touches...necklace? eh. Why not. Wood bead necklace!!!"

*steps on edge of bathtub to get a view of lower 2/3 of body in bathroom mirror. "Cool. Not terrible." Done and done.

And yes, this is kinda exactly how I plot my outfits on a daily basis. Drives my husband nuts.

Blueberry Muffins and my Jerk Phone

I win. Not to sound too proud, but I totally win.

G has been seeing this nutritionist, see, because he was talking to his GP about his food allergies and after explaining everything he was allergic to (apples, bananas, all nuts, avocado...the list goes on and on) and describing the reactions he has to them (mostly very upset stomach) his doc suggested that it might be gut related rather than a real allergy. G started seeing a nutritionist to get to the bottom of it all. The nutritionist, to get his stomach back to a healthy level, she had G cut out all kinds of things. We basically became gluten free vegans. At first it was something we Had to do to follow his doc's orders. But now, after blood tests revealed he's only actually allergic to egg and cow products, we've been enjoying how we've felt on this modified diet. I think it may stick for life. That's cool. But not why I win.

I win because of the blueberry freakin muffins I made (gluten free) yesterday that would satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. These things are seriously serious. They're good. I found the recipe via the Gluten Free Girl and didn't modify anything this time. Next time (and after I get myself a spice grinder) I'll be able to replace the eggs. The yogurt doesn't seem to bother G, so that may stay and these may never been fully vegan because of that, but I'm OK with that for now. I still win.

And once my phone decides to send the pictures I took of the glorious muffs to my email like I kindly asked it to 30 minutes ago I'll even be able to show them off to you.

Also made yesterday, was a test batch of tofu scramble. Again with the yum! Perfection on a plate. This time the recipe was grabbed from this site which I also found just yesterday. Yesterday was a good day, it would seem. Again, a picture will be forthcoming as soon as my phone stops being a jerk.

Red and Pink

Black Sheath Dress - Express from loooooong ago ($?)
Pink Cardie - unknown brand from Crossroads Trading Co. ($8)
Belt - Target ($10)
Tights - Hue via Marshall's ($6)
Shoes (not pictured) - Clarks from 2008 ($75)

I'm sort of glad I remembered to take pictures of this outfit, because now (almost a month after I wore it) I didn't recall putting this combo together. And I like it! Red and Pink have been fall/winter colors along with orange and black this year and while I don't set out to trend along with anything, I do like how this turned out. I've also lost some weight recently and the dress I have on is one I bought early on in college and hasn't fit for a number of years. I'm pelased as punch to say that now it's even a little big. Just a little. I love the dress, so it'll be seeing quite a bit more wear.

The cardigan is a purchase I made after the most recent ladies clothing swap and the red belt is a Target purchase from years ago when wide belts first really came back in. It too is getting too big to really wear, but I'll keep on putting it to use until it starts to look slovenly. I just bought my first few pairs of Hue tights and I totally agree with every other blogger out there that these things are awesometastic. I kid you not. My CATS can't even snag these puppies. Winners.

The shoes, which are not pictured, are my old trusty Clark's. I haven't taken very good care of them, but they still take incredible care of me 3 years after the purchase. I can wear my own arch support in them and they are incredibly comfortable. They deserve a good polish and shine. Maybe in 2012.

Farmer's Markets - 11/12/11

So, this is what I wore to go to the Farmer's market today. It was a mild fall day and I'd hoped the sweater would keep me warm enough with the help of the sun. It was a good thought. Sadly I was prepared for the ambient temperature, but not the wind. The cold, cold wind. Again I focused on comfortable walking shoes, leg warmth, overall comfort, and cuteness.

Oh, Hi Thoven.

A close up of the knit on the sweater I was wearing.
Sweater - Target thrifted $2
Turtle Neck - unknown brand via Crossroads Trading Co. $9
Leggings - Victoria's Secret $12
Denim Skirt - Abercrombie & Fitch thrifted and altered by me $5
Shoes - Privo by Clarks via DSW $35

V and I have made a habit of visiting the Farmer's Markets in Chicago - Chicago has an amazing number of neighborhood markets during the spring, summer, and fall - and this week we started going to a new market that's open through the coldest months. I'm excited that we can continue our new ritual even though the weather is getting cooler. Sadly, for me, this was not to be. Like I do, I remembered my train pass, but not my cash. So I got to walk around the new space and get a feel for the stalls I like and the prices to anticipate. All was not lost.

Chicago's Green City Market did not disappoint.



The gourds and peppers are beautifully in season right now. G and I have been trying a few new things each week and really enjoying coming up with new recipes to use it all.

It's a cat in a box. This is our oldest, Williams. She's named after and American composer and yes, she's a she. Most folks assume she's a he because we call her Will. I brought some new flatware and dishes home from work in this box and, as cats are prone to do, she found the empty box entirely too tempting to leave alone. I fairly often get free things at work. In this case the boss-man wanted new dishes for the office so the old ones were set out for the taking. Um. Okay. I'll bite.
When the evening had just started, G and I went to our favorite local coffee house to read and pass some time. We each drank a press pot or two of tea and I had a chocolate and lemon macaroon. Yeah. Those didn't last long enough for me to get a shot of them. As we were sitting there a musical group came in to play a set and raise funds for a trip abroad. We chipped in and joined their raffle cause why not, and wound up winning a gift card to Starbucks. Good day.

Sans Pictures

Hey all. And by that I mean, hey me! And maybe L? G is off visiting a grad school today and he has the camera, so this will be a pictureless post.

I admit I'm feeling a bit at loose ends. It's weird when G's not there. When he's around I find myself sometimes wishing I had more alone time - not that I don't absolutely LOVE spending time with him, but sometimes you want your own time, ya know? - and now that I have an evening of unmitigated alone time I'm not sure how to spend it. I find myself missing him already. I know that feeling is absurd to a certain extent - I don't Normally see him during the day and I did see him just this morning as he left - but I'm already pining for the lack of him I will experience this evening.

We're not the kind of couple who needs to spend every waking hour together and never have been. We go for quite a few days sometimes seeing each other only as we get ready in the mornings. It's only when he's physically incapable of going home that I find myself feeling homesick for him.

I suppose that's kind of nice actually. I am not one for love at first sight or anything thunder-clappy, but I honestly can't imagine my life without him. He's my best friend, closest confidant, and best of all makes me laugh at myself. He is my true love.

Perfect Weekend

I had absolutely the perfect weekend last weekend. I didn't have any morning obligations so I was able to wake up whenever my body wanted me to, I found a beautiful dress on super sale for an event I have coming up which also allowed me to spend time with one of my closest girlfriends (always a bonus), I got some laundry done, I was able to clean the house...it was just good.
Sweater Dress: Brand unknown ($11.50)
Boots: Aerosoles via Piperlime (giftcard)
Sleeves and socks: Target ($10.00)
Tights: Target ($5?)

Whilst shopping I was wearing this thrifted sweater dress which I'd found only a couple of weeks ago at Crossroads Trading Company. I do enjoy that store. The boots were worn as much for comfort as fashion since I knew I'd be doing a fair amount of walking from shop to shop on State street. The just-this-side-of-chilly weather had me donning my trusty sleeves which are really socks that I cut the toes out of. Very handy for large sleeves that don't want to go in a jacket. Plus when it got warmer as the day wore on I was able to simply take the sleeves off.

On Sunday, G had a "thing" in the morning and I needed to work on some invitations for a holiday party my girlfriend (I'll call her V) and I host each year. This year it's a joint venture with the event planning company V created (and with which I am involved), VKH Events (www.vkhevents.com), but that just means that our own little party gets a little fancier and will see itself on the web site come January. So I hunkered down on the couch to watch romantic comedies and make invitations. That's a great day to me, to be sure.

Without G there I needn't worry about using eggs or dairy in my cooking (it's an allergy of his that keeps us from eating them regularly), so I whipped together this little treat for myself for breakfast. Organic spinach and potatoes cooked in a little olive oil on the stove top along side scrambled eggs with a little fresh Farmer's Market thyme and salt and pepper. Coffee and OJ on the side. Yurm.

And, also this weekend, our youngest, Thoven, found the joys of the bathroom sink. He's a beast but we love him. Here. Have a picture of our cat in a sink.

Some Medical Words of Wisdom

I get a newsletter from my GP (General Practitioner - non-specialist MD) every once in a while. Please note, I freakin' Love my doctor and the entire office of doctors he works with. They aim for holistic solutions before invasive ones unless you request something invasive. Holistic healing, I feel, should be a cornerstone of healing in the West. Sadly, it's what's most often missing in our medicine and the whole healthcare industry.

Today's newsletter's lead article was about stress in the workplace. I think we can all relate to stress in the workplace, especially now that the recession seems to be dragging on to infinity and beyond. I have been dealing with my own bouts of depression and mood swings and everything that corresponds to too much work cramming into too little time with coworkers who are awesome, but grossly over-worked. Tensions runnin' high today at the ole office.

Article can be found here.

The last paragraph is what really hit home for me. I don't know if I am capable of just letting go the way the article proposes, but the thought of it actually brings a certain amount of peace to my little island of inner turmoil. Recently, my husband (I'll call him G) and I have been talking about how we can be happier and healthier people for ourselves and for one another. He mentioned something last weekend as I was rushing from one obligation to another that hit home in the same way the article has done. He said we have to take stock of what we spend our time on. The things that add to stress that we don't enjoy doing, we should really reevaluate. Life is too short to spend our time on things that offer us no benefit or worse add to worry and stress and actually make life harder. Maybe it's a sign of my age - I used to be able to go to work, be in a show, help run a company or two, entertain friends, and so on without a second thought. I'm having a hard time doing that anymore.

So what's my grand plan? I don't have one yet. I'm going to start cutting back, though...and adding in. Exchanging one stressful activity for a relaxing one - and maybe that's all the goal I need for now. How about you? Does that article hit home for you? What're you going to do about it?

A Change is in the Air

I've just been inspired to regroup and re-imagine this blog. So watchout! Yes. All one word.

I'll be retooling this blog a bit in light of recent life and lifestyle changes to highlight a few more things and allow for more frequent posts (fingers are crossed on this one) and things that apply to more of my life. That's the trouble with building a blog around thrifting. That's not what I feel my life is about at all - though I do only clothes shop in thrift and resale stores. I shop for clothes maybe twice a year with the occasional ebay purchase thrown in for good measure. So while thrifting (literally speaking) does apply to my life in a big way, it's not a constant enough to make it worth reading about (or blogging about).

However, my husband and I have had some recent adventures in vegetarianism, wait veganism, wait what IS this diet we're eating and I'm thinking that a daily food post with the occasional clothing post with the occasional thisisourlife post might just be a good way to go for this blog.

I'm not ready to give it up just yet, so hold on to your ergonomically resplendent seats and let's go for a ride. Giddayup!

Out of Hand!

How did I let this blog get so far out of hand?! I'm going to try and turn things around in the coming weeks. It takes me several weeks of repetition for a new task to become part of my routine, so I'm hoping that if I can really stick with blogging regularly for the next little bit I wont' have to think about it so much.

Wish me luck?

Backlog! What I Wore - plaid gone mad?

plaid shirt - thrifted
grey tank - Target (Hanes men's tank)
grey sweater - thrifted
green skirt - thrifted
grey leggings - Victoria's Secret
rain boots - Sporto (6pm.com)
black belt - Target (gift)

Whu happuhhh?

Finally getting to one of the outfit posts from maybe last week...maybe the week before. Sorry I haven't been the best at posting these. That's sometimes just the way I roll. This is going to be short.dress - Express (10-11 years old)
sweater - ummm...Gap?
cardigan - TJMaxx
socks - Target
belt - thrifted
boots - Aerosoles (Piperlime)

Embarrassing Moments - 3/9/11

You know how sometimes you hit Reply when you mean to hit Forward and you type in a nice short message that should be read by the person you want to forward to and NOT the person you reply to? Yeah. That just happened.

Sad sad stupid clown.
o<:o(

I am a liar

Have I mentioned that I'm a liar. Well, not really. I'm actually a really rotten liar, but what I suppose I mean is that I fairly frequently over-estimate my own capacity. When last you heard from me I was going to post all kinds of wonderful things. Instead of doing that, I napped. Sure it felt good, but I let you down. I have a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers out back for later.

In the meantime, and since my outfit pictures are on my computer at home instead of the one I'm at right now, I'll send you some pictures I've been taking with my phone...of food!

Last night, true to my thrifty ways, I made dinner. Big Whoop, you say? Yes indeed, says I. Typically my husband and I leave for work at 6:45a and if we're in a show, we don't get home until 11p or later. We're so beat at that point that if we cook anything you better be on the look out for four guys on horses, if you know what I mean.

Anyhow, last night I got home right after work and actually made dinner. We still ate late, but that's not the point. The point is this bee-you-tiful fritatta I made. So gorgeous, so delicious, so easy!

8 Fingerling potatoes (or 6 red new potatoes)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup torn spinach
2 green onion stalks, chopped
1 Portabella mushroom cap
6 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Heat some olive oil in a skillet on medium heat and slice and add the potatoes. Cook covered for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, recover, and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring as needed (until potatoes are tender). Add onions and garlic cooking until aromatic. Add spinach and allow to wilt.

In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Add to skillet.

Cover cooking on medium to low until eggs are set in the center.

Uh-Mazing.

A Teaser...

I'm feeling badly that I haven't posted anything in the past several days for my reader. Singular. I'm trying to stay on top of this blog as much as possible, but the weekend wasn't as eventful as it was planning on being, so no new pics. I lounged and performed in a stellar show...to which I wore anything comfortable (does not correspond to being picture-worthy). Perhaps I should take pictures of those outfits as well, but for now I'll spare you.

So what's with the title, you ask?
Well, I'll tell you!

I have things to come to come to come.
Today: Outfit post!
Tomorrow: Dinner Party Post!!! - this one will be fun including food shots as well as centerpiece shots - and this centerpiece promises to be uh-mazing.
Tomorrow: Outfit Post

It'll be fun. I promise. Just keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times.

Wednesday - Nifty Thrifty Wardrobe

So much of what I wore on Wednesday was thrifted. I like Wednesday's outfit much better than I did Tuesdays, probably because it involves color (shock) and a necklace that I adore.

This is the first and so far only pair of skinny pants I own. I tried them on at the shop on a whim. One of those these-will-look-terrible-on-me-but-I'm-trying-them-on-anyway-if-for-no-other-reason-than-to-have-a-good-laugh kind of things. I was so surprised when they worked! Though, to be honest, I often try on things I think will look terrible because more often than not, those pieces wind up working on me much better than my stand-by shapes.

jeans - Crossroads (don't know the brand)
white shirt - Gap (this one is positively ancient)
green shirt - free from a commercial shoot
necklace - Junior League Thrift

The cat in the corner is really our kitten. He's grown to appreciate the taste of knit things, mostly clothing, so we have to keep him away from the closet, hall coat tree, and laundry. He's eaten (and by eaten I mean ingested) 2 gloves, parts of one of my favorite sweaters, parts of my pajamas, a pair of socks, etc and so forth. We call him "The Beast" for obvious reasons. Don't worry all you kitty-lovers out there, we're watching him to be sure he's passing all this grand stuff and that his behavior isn't changing or anything. So far so good.

What happens when you feel self-conscious taking your own picture in your office before jetting off to work? You laugh at yourself. That's what.

Make-up:

Tuesday - Show 'em what your workin' with

Stepping into new and embarrassing territory here, this marks my very first "What I Wore" post. That's right - this is me - in all my sometimes-awkward glory. I don't know why this unnerves me so much, posting pictures of me...wearing what I wear. I'm clearly not so disturbed by what I wear that I can't go outside of the house. I mean people See me...Wearing things. Somehow I guess it's just more intimidating on the big ole 'net where so many bloggers are great photographers or seem to have budgets of Rockefellers.

I am happy being me and working with what I got, though. So there we are.

And here I am.


sweater - Gap (10 years ago or so now)
dress - TJMaxx (5 years ago)
tights - Target
socks - Target
boots - Beartraps from DSW

These boots are one of the few things I paid retail price for. I live in Chicago. Good snow boots are a must. Not that you can't find good snow boots on clearance or sale or whatever, but sometimes you need boots in a hurry and that was the case with these.

I'm not disappointed with this outfit so much as bored by it. I think the proportions are fine and it's certainly comfortable, but it's just "meh". A colorful belt might have helped or a different sweater, perhaps.

Close-up of the makeup. I don't do foundation, just a little concealer, blush, eyeshadow, and mascara. I usually don't wear lipstick as I can never remember or be bothered to reapply, but I do wear lip balm and sometimes lip tint. Hm. I need a haircut.

Breakfast Scarves

Clearly it's been a week since I last posted. The intention was to post daily or at least every other day and while that's not quite managed to happen yet, I'm not gonna let it get me down. I mean, I do have excuses if you care to hear them - tech week, a sick colleague, a friend in from out of town etc, and so forth. But at this point, why don't I jsut get down to the nuts and bolts of posting what I have.

My hope is to be able to include an outfit post when I get home tonight and to make up for yesterday which I missed. In the meantime, since this is an everything blog, here's a breakfast and scarf update.

I have the same thing for breakfast every day of the work week. This is due partly to its quick nature and partly to the fact that I LOVE it. It satisfies on emotional levels as much as physical levels.

I have Irish Oatmeal (the quick cooking kind) with frozen wild organic blueberries (and a touch of sugar) with a side of green tea. Every day. It's like a blueberry muffin in a bowl. And warm. Yum! I put the still-frozen blueberries in the hot oatmeal and mix it all up. By the time I get to my desk the blueberries aren't frozen anymore and the oatmeal's cooled enough to eat.

I do love my coffee, but I love it with enough sugar in it to label it dessert. So I do tea in the mornings instead since I'm OK with that being straight or with the very smallest amount of sugar. Trying to keep myself honest.

And now on to scarves. I have something of a love affair with scarves as you may notice in posts to come. I have quite a collection. My husband doesn't understand but that's OK, I love him anyway. This is the newest in my collection. My friend, L, crocheted it for me. I can crochet too, but I'm stuck on a project for my nephew and won't let myself start a new one until I finish. So L stepped in and made me this for Christmas. Ain't it lovely?

Please pardon the picture quality. For now these images are pics I've taken with my Blackberry.

It's a Glasses Kind of Day

Right now, because I'm working my regular 8a-5p job and in tech week for a show requiring me to be at the theatre from 6:30p to 11p or so, I'm rocking the glasses look. I only need to pull them out when I'm serious amounts of tired and you'd better believe that I am seriously tired right now.

I've never been someone who can pull an all nighter. Not even in college could I manage it. Of course, as I've figured out in the years since, I am also not someone who can function well on 4 hours of sleep. The jury is still out on which is actually worse.

So for this week I'll be working my readers and trying not to sleep through my train stop. Fun. Now, don't get me wrong, I like them. I just don't like being tired.

I purchased mine at Dominicks (Chicago area grocery store) in the pharmacy section since I didn't need anything terribly strong and they set me back...I can't remember but it wasn't much compared to prescription glasses. The case came from Target in the $1.00 bin. Love the $1.00 bin!

I feel like I should apologize for getting off to such a slow and uninteresting start, but seriously. Any spare time I have is devoted to sleeping or eating dinner. Please just bear with me. Mayhap this weekend will bring something interesting...

By Way of Introduction

Here I am setting off on a new adventure. It's nothing too grand, but at the same time it's exciting. Here I am starting a blog...about something (gasp) personal! And I'm not just going to keep it private. (BIG gasp)...(sound of coughing on own phlem)...("hold on a minute" finger going up)....(turn away *cough, cough cough)...(clear throat). Man, I really have to watch out when I gasp.

Be forewarned: I have no end goal in mind.
I want to try and chronicle my life and I've gotten addicted to style and design blogs in the past year. So much so that I figured I'd give it a bit of a go myself. Because I'm not busy enough already.

Why Serial Thrift? Because I'm a cheap Pantalone, that's why. I pinch my pennies to a fault when it's a "want" purchase. That being said I can also be a two-faced hypocrite and have been known to totally befuddle my husband with pointless purchases. In other words, I'm a perfectly normal woman with a penchant for thrifting, style blogs, packaging design, event planning, and theatre. So this blog will showcase a little bit of everything.

On this blog you'll hopefully be seeing: outfit blogs, thrift store finds, ideas for remixing furniture/clothing/etc, beautiful design inspiration, and anything else I can dream up and make fit into this site. Square peg, please make the acquaintance of round hole.