Design, Thrifting, Step-Parenting, Growing from Experience... and a little bit of everything else.
Yesterday I popped into GW, just to look and ended up finding THIS. This normally retails for $29.99 at Best Buy and I was able to grab it $4.99, brand new UNOPENED. What a great way to start off the new year! Helping me with my fitness and saving me money! Happy New Year! WHOO!
http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/products/gps_app/
Hubby and I, after having a bite to eat last night, popped into GW to pass some time.
I found a few items, but ended up picking up this… OK, let me just say, I am NOT a fan of the Kardashians. Like, AT ALL. But I have to admit, the colors, aside from the glitter one, are pretty nice. It was brand new, unopened for $2.99. Not a bad deal since I’ve seen these go for between $8.00-$19.00. So don’t judge… but I think I have shame.
http://www.sempleandsemple.com/us/opi-kardashian-mini-s-sophisti-cuties.html
Lately, it seems the local GW has decided to raise their prices. Not much rhyme or reasons to what’s marked up higher. I’ve seen some GREAT Banana Republic items (not in my size) for fantastic prices, then some Gap items, not in the best shape priced much higher. Something is going on there. It doesn’t stop me from looking of course, just makes it harder to rationalize what’s being sold and if it’s a good purchase. Some items however HAVE slipped through the pricing cracks.
When I started back to work, I needed a new “work” bag. Not a purse, but in addition to a purse. Hey, I carry a lot of crap with me.
The one I had found back then at GW was something I could work with for the time being but after spilling coffee in it a few times? It’s now the boys SPY bag.
SO this last weekend (yes, before christmas) I hit the local GW and found an all leather, black Banana Republic messenger bag.
Here’s a few pics (these are not my pics, but this IS the bag below)
My purchase price? $24.99. I know these leather bags from BR can cost anywhere from $150-$250 so this was an amazing price.
Here’s a link below for the same bag selling on ebay for $49.99, and I must say mine is in WAY better shape. SO, a great purchase!
I’ve been busy since going back to work. Adjusting to working full time, 3 boys, schedules, etc. has been a challenge to say the least. However, I have a few awesome things I’ve wanted to share that I still managed to find thrifting in the past few months.
I hope everyone had a great holiday!
I leave you with a sleeping pup!
I have to admit, this is one of my favorite wedding pics.
Ok, so it wasn’t big and hell, even on my wedding day I felt fat, but I am going to tell you all how I afforded my wedding by being insanely cheap (I don’t like the word cheap, but hell, it works too). My 1st marriage, I didn’t wear white. This time? Screw that, I was going to wear white.
The DRESS.
I’ve had many people tell me, “Don’t tell people how much you paid for your dress!!!” But I can’t help it. It was such an insane price and I don’t think it makes me any less of a bride. I paid… get ready… you ready? Ok… $7.50. Yes SEVEN dollars and fifty cents. I went CRAZY trying to find something that was “me” and I sure as hell wasn’t going to pay a ton… I couldn’t!
So here it is…
I wasn’t sure how it would come off the day of the wedding, but it worked great. White, fancy and lace! Perfect!
One of my good friends prior to the wedding day, sent me a bridal shower in a box! This allowed me to get a beautiful headband and shoes from amazon… total cost, $75 from the GC she sent me!
The boys were a different matter… They had no real dress clothes to speak of and after looking ALL OVER for attire for them I ended up at my favorite place… Goodwill! I got them all suited for about $75. Three kids… Not bad! They looked great and were incredibly happy with their items… they looked so cute too… maybe I am biased?
The Groom. This was sort of hard. His jacket was purchased at GW for about $15. A REALLY nice jacket at that. Pants, tie, shoes were a bit more difficult. We ended up going to Marshalls for those items and I think we spent about $75 total. His white shirt we got at GW for about $7.
Flowers – Ok I had made some calls about this. I wasn’t confident enough to think I could do this by myself. I was told that a bouquet would cost me about $75 min. Ugh… So I searched out a you tube video and decided to do it myself. Easy. I went to the Fred Meyer here and picked out my flowers. I think I spent about $20 on the various bouquets. The end result was one bouquet and four boutonnieres for the groom and the boys.
Ok, so we are all dressed! Now what?
Pictures! This I wasn’t sure about but thanks to my Uncles, Bill & DJ, I have the best wedding pictures! The cost? My undying devotion! There was no charge! I am so grateful to them for this, I can’t even begin to thank them!
The Cake. I had also called around on this.. Holy CRAP is a wedding cake expensive! I wasn’t having it! I ended up hitting the Fred Meyer here and getting a FANTASTIC 6″ cake for about $20. The trick? DO NOT TELL THEM IT IS A WEDDING CAKE! (a little secret I picked up). It was 2 layers, chocolate & white with raspberry filling and all those roses you see on top. And it wasn’t that crappy frosting either. There was about 10 of us and we had some left overs. Perfect.
There were a few extra things, dry cleaning, hose… but not enough to break any budget…
So total for my wedding? About $300… Total. I’d also estimate about a misc $100 cost for various things. Still a wedding for under $500? Wow.
I thought it was perfect… 
We’re so cute.
So I post this 2 months into my marriage. Yes, I still am in bliss!
Whew! The wedding was last month and I have been so busy, I haven’t had much time to focus on this blog. I will be back and I’ll share with you how I created my wedding on the cheap, what GW buys I’ve made, (and they were good ones!) and some interesting things I’ve encountered. Stay tuned!
I have a phone interview today and a regular interview on Friday. When it rains, it sure the hell pours.
And I am conflicted. I REALLY WANT to get back to work – Freelancing is great but it’s so sporadic (we’d like to buy a house!). However on the flip side of this, I am not alone anymore. I have 2 dogs, 3 boys and their father I am joined to. I can’t be out of the house 8+ hours a day anymore unless I am close. Kids get sick, kids need help getting off to school in the morning and kids need someone to be there when they get home and sometimes, things just happen. Not to mention all the housework and chores, errands, etc. that need tending.
WHY IS THIS SO DAMN DIFFICULT? I suppose that is a question for the ages and will never get answered.
A huge shout out to my good friend at The Outside Lane for the mention! Love you doll!
http://theoutsidelane.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/do-you-think-im-sexy/
The past 2 weeks have been a bit crazy and I haven’t been able to focus on much and in any spare down time I have I found myself letting my brain go numb just to ease all the thoughts I have going on in that huge cranium of mine.
2nd time around. Yes, this will be my 2nd (AND LAST DAMNIT) marriage and of course I am a bit nervous. I know I am doing the right thing, I just think I am having normal wedding “jitters”. No, my brain isn’t telling me things like “OH SHIT! RUN!” or “ARE YOU INSANE?”… it’s just normal things I suppose. I’ll deal, that’s what I do.
And with the wedding coming up soon, we have a few guests coming. My mother of course wants to be here and my uncle and his partner are also driving up for a few days. I am really excited to see my mom & them and it will be nice to have them here for our wee little ceremony at the courthouse. Of course, having company just makes you run around like a crazy person MORE than you already are. LOL I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep.
And to add to the fun, the school district here is prepping to strike… which means the kids are going to miss AT LEAST 2 weeks of school. Lovely. And there is a bit more added stress. And what’s the deal? Do they add this time to the end of the school year? WTH are we to do with them for 2 weeks? I am so glad I am not working right now!!! GAH.
And now I shall exit with images by Hana Pesut and my favorite breed of dog, Italian Greyhounds. Go show her love, she’s amazing.
http://sincerelyhana.com/projects/dyamond/
