Thift store haul! Salvation Army $2 sale!!

Brrr!  The temperature in Northwestern Ontario has dipped to -22 degrees Celcius (that's about -2 Fahrenheit).  All this chilly weather makes me yearn for warm weather. I want to wear sun dresses, sandals and light jackets.  But instead I have to stay bundled up in thick, warm layers so I don't freeze  ;(

The good news about this time of year is that people typically clean out their closets and the thrift stores are fairly bursting with good stuff.  I have had not one, but THREE great thrift hauls recently. The following haul was from the Salvation Army $2 sale (yup, everything was $2 each - great deal huh?).

I'm going to show you a closeup of this beaded, wool cardy by Talbots.  Its gorgeous lambswool (soo soft and warm), with impeccable beading.  This is a cropped sweater. I play to pair it with an untucked, long flowy shirt and jeans.  Or wear it at the office with a white blouse and a blush colored, midi-skirt.

(sorry again for the sideways pics,, Blogger you are not my friend)

I love lace tops. I think I may have far too many.  But this one from Van Heusen was absolutely gorgeous. 

This blazer had me when I spied the windowpane check pattern peeping out amongst all the other blazers.  It's a vintage CW blazer. It fits long and lean, reaching all the way past my butt.  I plan to pair it with a short, red plaid skirt.

I hemmed and hawed over this skirt.  I have far too many long skirts as it is...but this was is soooo wearable.  I love the colors and the patchwork print.  It's polyester (which I love) and it has fabulous buttons. I packed it away with my spring clothes....I can hardly wait until the weather warms up and I can wear it!!!

skirt closeup

 I love me a good blazer.  This blush colored blazer was just the right shade of pink.  It's a silk linen blend by Land's End. I think it's vintage because it has that looong 80's fit.  I think it will look FAB with the skirt (shown above), or shorts.  I wear blazers a lot...so this will get good use. I have to confess I own a LOT of blazers - so I really have to justify buying another one.  I also found the identical blazer in yellow.  I didn't buy it at first, but later on I went back and bought it - I couldn't stop thinking about it (yes I know, I have a problem).

A pair of charcoal, velvet jeans. I can wear these at the office. 

I adore it when I find clothing that still has the tags on it!!  This vintage wool skirt has never been worn. It's a little crumpled, but will look amazing once I steam it out.

closeup

This pair of Ellen Tracy dress pants were wayyy too small.  But I tried them on anyway and I was pleasantly surprised when they fit (yay vanity sizing!!).

These Levi's camo pants still had the tags on!!

Another pair of velvet pants - soo nice with a cozy warm sweater!!

  I really debated about buying this skirt.  It has a lot more color that I'm used to.  Then I said to myself, "what the heck, it's only $2".  Plus its a vintage Eaton's skirt...ah Eaton's, how I miss you!!

Well, a lot of this clothing is getting packed away for when Spring arrives.  I can hardly wait!!!  I hope you stay warm, thanks for tuning in.

happy thrifting ;)

Red is for love, thrifting finds

Here we are trudging through January 2015.  Lately the weather has alternated between mildly cold with soft fluffy snowflakes, and blistering cold.  I sigh when I read fashion blogs.  The women in those blogs can drape a coat over their outfit, while wearing high heels with cropped, tight pants.  If I were to do that, I'd get frostbite on my exposed ankles, or slip and fall on the snow and ice.

The good news is that I'm gearing up for Valentine's Day with these latest finds.  A cool, jet necklace with matching earrings (only the beads are crimson red instead of black), and 2 decorative boxes.

All these goodies set me back $10 at the Salv Army.

Then I found a whole whack of sewing notions. Some were quite old.  I snapped up some binding tape, and stretchy lace.

happy thrifting ;)

What I found thrifting ..vintage promo glass goodness

Lately the thrift store gods have been smiling on me.  I found these beauts in the housewares section.  It's like they were waiting for me. 

2 glasses from a set of six 7-Up glasses

These glasses were in MINT condition.  They looked like they were never used.  I snapped up all six of them.

Then I found....

More glass goodness!!

Two more promotional glasses!!!  With my 50% off coupon, the eight glasses came to $12.

These glasses went to youngest stepson.  He was sad because his beloved, Disney glass was chipped.  These glasses will replace it nicely.

happy thrifting ;)

When the going gets tough, the tough sew blocks!!

Happy New Year friends!!!  I hope that everyone in blogland had a restful and enjoyable holiday.  Here I am all bright-eyed and bushy tailed (hmmm, maybe it's all the caffeine).  And I'm fairly bursting with New Years goals (gosh, maybe I should start by finishing those late Christmas presents ;).

 

2014 was a good year, I'm hoping that 2015 will be even better.  Lately I've had a few poopy days - you know, where nothing seems to go right, and when everything seems against you.

 

So what do tough people do, when the going gets tough?

Erm, pardon the sideways pic.

 

 

 

Nothing vents steam like ironing :)

 

 

Log cabin blocks baby!!

You betcha...a couple of sessions cutting strips for log cabins, a couple of visits to the gym - where I rowed ferociously, and the rhythmic Zen-ness that is piecing and ironing.

Don't ever let life get you down.  Find something that you love, that is mindless and soothing (not TV) and JUST DO IT!!!

 

happy thrifting ;)

failure, Jacob's Tears

Hello friends!  Have you ever had a moment when you had to admit defeat?  Last week I experienced such a moment. After spending months lusting over a spectacular Jacob's Tears quilt, I decided to make my own.

I played with fabric and figured out my color scheme.

fabric

When I had a quiet moment, I cleared off the kitchen table (that was a feat in itself!) and started my calculations.

Hypotenuese

Despite my careful calculations, and allowances for diagonal seams, my pattern wouldn't draft properly, and I was left with this.

Argh!

So for the first time ever, I'm going to work from someone else's pattern.  I have given up trying to draft my own pattern.

I've asked Santa for a special quilting book this year.  I won't tell you the title yet.  Let's cross our fingers and hope that I was nice enough to get this book.  My intent is to read the pattern (and read the pattern all the way through, not just ooh and awww over the pictures), and diligently follow the pattern (which is going to be very tough for me).  

happy thrifting everyone ;)

Birthday OOTD What I wore out to dinner

I had exactly 6.57 minutes to get dressed and out the door for my birthday dinner.  My gorgeous guy, and some friends and I were going to an upscale, trendy restaurant to dine on delicious food.

The weather was cold (as usual), and incredibly windy!! Holy cow, I think I saw Toto and a couple of cows flying through the air.  

Here is what I threw on to brave the elements.

Danier leather hoody jacket (end of season sale, $200), Jacob white sweater (ancient, $15), thrifted merino wool maxi skirt ($3), Coach orange tote (clearance, $100), Aldo sparkly flats (thrifted, $3).

The picture of these shoes doesn't do them justice.  They are cheetah print with sparkly bits..I always get compliments when I wear them.

This was the perfect outfit for dining and staying warm.  Happy Birthday to me.

happy thrifting to you ;)

Blingy Birthday jewelery finds!!

hello all!  I hope everyone has been keeping warm.  It's been unbelievable cold AND damp where I live.  The weather went from let's throw on a denim shirt and jacket over a nice flowy skirt to "Get out the thermal underwear...it's COLD!!"

It is seriously cold.  I've been frantically digging through boxes searching for hats, mitts and scarves. It just seems wayyy to early for this to be happening.  Oh well.

I've been wasting biding my time watching Sherlock on Netflix.  I imagine the cold, damp fall weather here in Northwestern Ontario must be similar to the winter weather in London (actually I checked - the temps here fluctuate between -5 and 9 degrees Celcius, the winter temps in London fluctuate between 2 to 5 degrees - correct me if I'm wrong).

Nonetheless, I've been curled up in bed watching Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman work their magic.  I love Shelock's uniform of dark pants, white shirt, scarf and a sweeping tweed coat.  I plan to wear a similar look (but without the deerstalker hat ;)

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and I treated myself to some birthday thrifting.  Here are my jewelery finds.

Thermoset jackpot!!!

Pink moonglow

T

Yup, I managed to find some vintage thermoset pieces - they're unmarked but I imagine they are Coro.  The pink moonglow necklace was $4.99, the blue flower necklace was $6.99.  The 2 pairs of earrings were 99 cents each.

Gold and pearls!!

The gold necklace was $3.99, the large pearl necklace was $4.99, the outrageously large clip earrings were $2.99.   I clipped one of the earrings to the pearl necklace, and I plan to wear it layered with another gold choker.  Love gold and pearls worn together!!  The bigger the better.

happy thrifting ;)