butterflies

shirt: thrifted, skirt: thrifted, belt: thrifted, 

shoes: thrifted, watch: thrifted, necklace: jcpenney

{total outfit cost $48}

dear diary, 

you know those butterflies you get in your stomach when you are in the beginning stages of dating someone?  how nervous/excited you get to see them?  how your heart skips and beat and flutters because you are so happy to be around them again?  well, i am one lucky gal because i still get those even after being with my hubby for 3 years now.  

i'll be honest, i don't feel those little fluttery guys in my stomach every day, but when patrick comes home from being on a fire i sure do.  i get all giddy and nervous just like i used to when we had only been dating for a few weeks or months.  it's so much fun.  it makes me realize how much i really do love my husband and how much i love this man who makes me laugh more than anyone, makes me feel like a million bucks, and provides so much for me.  

so patrick, if you're reading this, i love you!  and thank you for being such a sweet and loving husband. as nacho libre would say, "you are THE BEST!!!!"

a car? at a thrift store?

top: thrifted, jeggings: target, belt: thrifted, 

shoes: thrifted, watch: thrifted

{total outfit cost $35}

dear diary, 

welp, the time has come.  i have had my little honda civic for 8 years now.  i bought it when i was 17 years old.  it was my baby.  my pride and joy.  it was EXACTLY what i wanted and i was SO excited when i got it.  and it's life with me has finally come to an end.  patrick and i have decided that it is time to sell this little piece of my life and get a new car, or at least a newER one.  

this is where you come in.  we just barely started looking at new cars.  we know we want to get something like a small SUV size, or a tad bit smaller like a Scion xb or a Kia Soul, but we don't know which one.  we are trying to get something that will accomodate kids within the next few years.  and obviously reasonably priced.  unfortunately, i can't find a good deal on a car at a thrift store :(  would be nice tho.  i know i could find the perfect one if they did have cars there.  i'm pro at that, but shopping at a dealership for a new car?  NOOB right here.  might as well stamp it on my face.    

so, any suggestions?  so far we like the Scion xb, but we haven't really looked that much.  we still want to check out jeep, kia, and a bunch of others.  please help!  let us know what you have like and not liked about the cars you have experienced...it would be greatly appreciated!  

saturday woes

shirt: thrifted, top: thrifted, necklaces: forever 21, 

bracelets: thrifted, shoes: thrifted, watch: thrifted

{total outfit cost $48}

dear diary, 

it's the weekend!  patrick and i are sitting here on our sofa trying to decide what we are going to do today for our last saturday off together.  any suggestions?  neither of us can decide and both of us are telling the other person that we want to do what they want to do.  this is how it always goes with us when we try to decide on something to do.  it usually gets us nowhere.  i wonder why.  

it's funny how you can live somewhere that people come to for vacation because it's so fun and there is so much to do, but you yourself think there's nothing to do.  how does that happen?  we have LA, the beach, hiking, renowned shopping malls, disneyland, but yet, we can't think of a thing to do on our day off.  

anywho, what do you guys have planned for the weekend?  anything fun?  maybe some thrift store shopping?  :)  whatever it is, i hope you have a wonderful day!  

one lovely blog award

dear diary,

my little bloggy here has been nominated for the "one lovely blog award" by this little lady. this is the first recognition and first award that my blog has received so far!  a big thank you to Lissa at the looking glass for this nomination!  it's always nice to hear that people actually appreciate what i write and enjoy hearing about my crazy thrift store shopping details.  thank you so much to all of my loyal and faithful readers, because if it weren't for you, i wouldn't have this blog :) 

that is all.  

{happy thrifting}

 

thrifting 101

shirt: thrifted, undershirt: thrifted, jeans: nordstrom rack, shoes: thrifted, watch: thrifted, bracelets: charlotte russe, earrings: target

dear diary,

it's that time again...thrifting 101!

so heres the deal, i get questions from people all the time about my secrets to finding amazing things at thrift stores. well, today i'm gonna reveal one secret that many people have probably never thought about. 

 who do you think is able to help you get even better deals on things that are already priced so low they might as well be giving it away? that's right, my friends, the store employees! one of the best kept secrets to thrifting is making friends with the people behind the counter. if these people like you, guess what? they are gonna give you the deals. here are some of the perks i have experienced from befriending the employees:

• if there isn't a price tag on an item, often   

  times they'll give it to you for even 

  cheaper

• if there is a sale that day on a certain  

  color tag, and you find something that 

  doesn't have a color tag,  they will 

  sometimes give you the sale price

• if you buy a dress that can't make up it's 

  mind and decide if it is a dress or a shirt 

  because it's that in between length, they 

  will ring it up as a shirt (meaning it will 

  be cheaper)

• if you have to wait and come back to buy 

  something later, they will hold an item for 

  you, even though they are not supposed to 

  hold items

now, for the employee friending award of the year...once, while at goodwill, I saw an employee telling two girls how he had saved some clothes for them in the back that he thought they might like.  do you people see how amazing this is?  they were such good friends with this employee that he was saving out clothes for them!  now, my friends, I have never gotten THIS close with an employee, and don't know if I ever would because i'm kinda that shy girl that stands back from the crowd, but this sure is an awesome way to make sure you get the cream of the crop before it's put out for everyone else to snatch.  and that, my fellow thrifters, is devastating.  one of the worst feelings in the world is seeing someone else find something in a thrift store that you want so bad where you actually contemplate ripping it from their hands and running away with it.  this has happened to me on multiple occasions.  the contemplating that is.  not the stealing from people.  

{happy thrifting!}

vogue

dear diary, 

so i've already shared with you a few of our engagement pictures to show you the clothes we both wore in them that were thrifted.  now, i wanna show you the engagement pictures we took INSIDE of a second hand store.  that's right people, patrick and i love thrift stores, second hand stores, and vintage stores so much that we took some of our pics in one.  (thank you to amelia lyon for the amazing photos)  it's actually our favorite vintage shop, called "out of vogue."  it is amazing, people.  the owner is SUPER rad and everything in his store is straight up vintage, legit, and glorious.  we have bought some accessories for our house and some clothes here.  if i had all the money in the world i would decorate my whole house with the stuff that the owner, mike, has here.  if you are ever in the area around downtown fullerton you have to stop by.  check out how amazing it is for yourself....

thank you

shirt: thrifted, jeans: nordstrom rack, belt: thrifted, 

watch: thrifted, shoes: thrifted

{total outfit cost $73}

dear diary, 

i would like to dedicate this post to all of you!  this blog would not exist if it weren't for all of you loyal readers.  thank you so much for all of your sweet feedback.  i am so glad to hear that you are enjoying reading my blog and looking at my pictures.  i have been wanting to start this blog for a while and i am SO pleased with how it has turned out and how well it's being received.  i never thought that i could get MORE excited about thrift store shopping than i already did, but i stand proven wrong.  i look forward to it even more now because i can't wait to share what i find with all of you!  

i would also like to give a special shout out to my main man, patrick for taking pictures of me.  he is so sweet and patient to be willing to take all of these pictures.  he is the best man i know and saves me from a lot of embarrassment of taking pictures of myself.  

{happy thrifting!}

billy bob and mr. security man

shirt: thrifted, skirt: thrited, belt: thrifted, 

shoes: thrifted, watch: thrifted, pearl bracelet: gifted, 

flower bracelet: charlotte russe, glasses: target

{total outfit cost: $42}

dear diary, 

have you ever taken photos of yourself on a tripod in public?  no?  well, don't.  ever.  it is SO incredibly awkward.  usually patrick takes the pictures for me, but since he's been at work lately, i have had to take them of myself before the daylight sneaks.  and i hate every single minute of it.  let me give you a glimpse into my awkwardness.....

the first time i tried doing this was in an empty alley behind target.  i got everything set up and right as i was ready to take the pictures, a security guard walked up.  he asked me if he could help me find anything, as if there is anything to find in an empty alley behind target.  i proceeded to tell him no and that i was just taking pictures.  he then decided to stand around and watch me.  seriously?  could you make it any more awkward mr. security guard man?

one of the other many times i had the pleasure of experiencing this humiliation was today.  i was taking pictures by an abandoned old truck on a forgotten trail, thinking i would be safe of embarrassment there.  well, i was quickly proven wrong.  all of the sudden i saw a truck pull up into a hidden drive way.  the truck disappeared relieving me of the worry of more humiliation.  then, out of the corner of my eye i saw billy bob walking towards me.  i could not believe this guy actually lived in california.  he was straight off the farm way in the back country of arkansas.  as he started talking to me with his backwards accent, i discovered that he, along with his 9 siblings, were the owners of this property, furthermore proving my arkansas redneck theory.  he wanted to take me in his backyard to take pictures with their goats and donkeys.  as much as i wanted to be kidnapped by billy bob and be forced to live in the mud with the goats, i packed up my tripod and left.  

i hope that these pictures are worth the humiliation and that you enjoy them.  i'm sorry that the ones today are a little blurry.  i can't figure out why the pictures from the tripod always turn out blurry.  

welp, that's all for today, folks.  hope you had a great monday!

{happy thrifting} 

awesome photo shoot

shirt: thrifted, jeans: forever 21, shoes: gifted, 

watch: gifted, earrings: forever 21

dear diary, 

today was a perfect day, so let me tell you about it.  

it started out with breakfast in bed from my sweet hubby.  blueberry pancakes and a banana on the side.  

then we hung out with our adorable pup.  i love our little dog so much.  if any of you ever want a REALLY good dog then i highly recommend a king charles cavalier.  they are SUPER loving and really obedient.  ok, sorry, enough about Hurley.  

we ate lunch at el taco which is this really good little mexican place in anaheim.  if you ever eat there, get the red quesadilla.  

we spent some time with patrick's family, whom i love so much.  i love them just as much as i love my own.  they are some of the best people i have ever met and i can't imagine fitting into another family any better than i fit into theirs.  

patrick humored me with shopping at TWO thrift stores.  yes, two!  he really is a great husband for putting up with my obsession.  every where we go i am on the look out for a thrift store and patrick is nice enough to pretend like he wants to go with me.  i am one lucky girl, people. 

next we took a hike up to this rad abandoned and empty pool in trabuco canyon.  that's where these graffiti pictures are from.  it was so cool.  i wish it was closer so i could take pictures there more often.  i wasn't really planning on taking pictures of my outfit today, so i must apologize for my kinda boring outfit.  i was actually wearing a different shirt, but once patrick decided to show me that empty pool, i couldn't pass up taking pictures there, so i actually changed into this vintage linen shirt i bought at one of the thrift stores we went to.  in the end, my boring outfit kinda ended up working out, though, because the graffiti background is so busy.

we also got to stop by patrick's fire station for a second since it's rigtht below the pool.  i love that my husband is a fire man and i love that he is such an outdoorsman.  

last but not least, we went to dinner at this delicious thai restaurant, called Thai River.  patrick and the guys at the station go to this place all the time and rave about how good it is, so patrick decided to take me there.  it was DELICIOUS.  some of the best thai food i've ever had.  the owner is awesome.  he actually sat with us during our whole dinner and helped us figure out what we want to do in our future trip to thailand.  anyways, you have to try this place if you're ever in rancho santa margarita.

{happy thrifting}