Year End Wrap Up

Wow has it already been a year since we started this crazy challenge?! Yes it has, one long, crazy challenging year. Not only did we start the "thriftygrlchallenge" but I started a blog, which happened to be more challenging than I thought!

My sisters & I started this "thriftygrlchallenge" a year ago & we did it!! We got creative & stuck with it to see it through. Even my older sister Marie who found out she was pregnant, started shopping at consignment stores for maternity clothes!!

I had someone ask me if I was able to save a lot of money, my answer is yes & no. I would answer yes because being able to get name brand tops & a pair of name brand jeans for $20 at Goodwill is more than I would've got at a regular store even from a good clearance rack. I answered no because I just found other things to spend the money I saved on! Ha ha
However I love how my style has changed! I feel like my style really reflects who I am now & that is how every woman should feel when you get dressed every day!

So the "thriftygrlchallenge" is officially over but not forgotten. We have decided to continue with it for the most part but if I want to buy a $6 perfect yellow color sweater from Old Navy at an after Christmas sale I will and/or have!! Besides it was fun and I think it will be more fun when we don't have any specific rules to follow. I will continue my blog. I hope to only improve my entires & to post more, which is a lot easier to do with my Christmas present!

So for now I leave you with the outfits that didn't make it into a blog post! Thrift on thriftygrls!!!

Goodwill Hunting

Since I started the "thriftygrlchallenge" blog, I have had a lot of people ask to go thriftiness with me. So a couple of Sundays ago some friends & I decided to take a field trip after church to a Goodwill we had never been too. We picked one of the Goodwill stores in Atlanta which is about a 30-45 min drive for us but totally worth the trip!

There were about 5 of us that went and some of us brought our daughters. We had a blast! We helped each other look for stuff and helped each other pick out outfits!

I had a list made up of a few items I was looking for. One of which happened to be a tweed jacket. I have been searching Goodwills & thrift stores for a few months now looking for the perfect one. I had even looked at this Goodwill & had no luck. While I was waiting in line for the dressing room m good friend LB yelled across the store to me & held up the most beautiful piece of clothing. There it was the perfect tweed jacket!!! I had totally overlooked it!

I have worn that jacket twice in this week already! I seriously love this jacket!!! I can dress it up or go casual but I am still looking chic & polished!!! If I hadn't gone with a group of girls I would've missed out on some good times but also my jacket! Two sets of eyes are always better than 1 especially when you are shopping for thrifty finds! Nobody left Goodwill that day empty handed. We are already planning our next trip!

Oh so denim

I LOVE denim! It really is a very versatile fabric. You can always dress it up or dress it down.
On a recent day I decided to really test this theory and wear it to work. So I got my denim shirt as seen here 2012 and paired it with a pair of trousers or work pants as I like to call them.

 I really don't know why I waited so long to do this. Lately I've really been trying to mix up my "work" wardrobe. Something like this denim shirt looks nice but it is still comfy. Therefore I have a better day because I'm not uncomfortable in some stuffy outfit. Well at least that's my reasoning.

 skinny trousers: Express on clearance about 3 years ago; denim shirt: Walmart 2 years ago on clearance; purse: Flea Market in Sea Haven, CT; shoes:bought by my hubby on our 1st date( he knew the way to my heart) on clearance at Target.

I know I've said this before but it is amazing how creative and stylish you can get with your wardrobe when you just recycle and reuse your same clothes you already have. I love my style now more.

Fall

Wow it really has been almost a month since my last post! After being off work for a week and completely unplugging I am feeling pretty good!  I was lucky enough to spend some time at the beach this past weekend and some time with family. It is stuff that is good for the soul you know?!

This week I sat down with a friend and she said it's something about the fall, with the leaves changing that makes you kind of want to turn over a new leaf and start new. I totally agree & Fall is one of my favorite seasons!!! I love the summer but when it comes to an end I am not sad to see it go because I know it's boot season!!!! Not to mention it means pumpkin spice lattes make their appearance on the coffee scene! I am a true fan of anything pumpkin but that is a topic for another day.

Today we are going to talk about Fall in Georgia. Sometimes we get a good cold front and sometimes we are left with summer. Try wearing boots in the summer temps it ain't pretty people I don't care if it is Thanksgiving . Luckily we have had a hint of some cooler temps and so boot wearin ain't been so bad.

I have needed some new inspiration in my wardrobe so I took a trip to the Goodwill. I got lucky and found some really cute pieces. One of which I wore today with some boots to church.

Top- NY & Company $4.94

Jeans- Old Navy skinny from about 2 years ago
Boots-Bass Outlet from about 3 yrs ago


Can you tell alot of my clothes are ones I've had from forever?!! However one piece I am wearing is something that is very special to me. My mother in law gave me that cuff, it belonged to her mother. It is a copper cuff and it is absolutely gorgeous!
So there you have it, a few new pieces from the Local Goodwill & I have new inspiration for  my Fall wardrobe!

Southern Chic

 I had wanted a Gingham print shirt for about a year before I actually got one. I had seen one in the J crew outlet and I patiently waited for it to be on sale. So a year later the same gingham shirt in the Jcrew outlet was still more than I wanted to pay for any shirt. It was only like $36, but still that is way more than I want to pay for any shirt. Every time I go in there I would look at it and all the other button up shirts around it would be 15% off but not that one! So when I walked into the Bass outlet last September and they had one on sale with an additional 20% off I finally bought my gingham shirt.

 I wore an outfit to work this week that I have seen in many different variations on Pinterest.  I paired my gingham shirt with a black bubble skirt I scored at Wal-Mart of all places years ago. I only paid $5 for it and no I am not ashamed of shopping the clearance racks at Wal-Mart, just sayin!

Gingham shirt-Bass Outlet $17

Bubble Skirt-Wal-Mart $5

Shoes-Goodwill $6

 

I got so many compliments at work on my outfit. It really makes a girls day, ya know?! One co-worker said I looked very "Southern Chic",  I like that term! I did feel like I could go watch a SEC football game and look every bit of a southern bell. Only thing is my team colors are Red & Black so this outfit won't work for my team!!

GO Dawgs!!!

Edgy

So remember when I said I went on a road trip to unclaimed baggage but ended up doing better at the Goodwill in the town? Today I'm going to show you how accessories can give an extra ump to any outfit.

 While at the Goodwill I lucked up and found these really cute belts for $2. One particular one kind of reminded me of something Carrie off Sex in the City would wear so I bought it. It has bronze studs & is every bit of " edgy". For $2 it was worth buying & finding something to wear it with. Doing the "thriftygrlchallenge" I've had to learn how to use accessories! It has made such a difference in my wardrobe.

I have actually been able to wear it with more things than I thought. With in the past 2 weeks at work I've work it twice! Once with pants and once with a dress that I got at a certain Clothes Swap.

 Multi colored shirt-  GAP clearance last Christmas-$6 this might work also Multi colored shirt
Navy Ann Taylor Trousers- Goodwill-$4.92 I refuse to put a link to the real price because I only buy my work pants at Goodwill. They are so cheap & just like new!
Belt- Goodwill $2

Dress- Target Free via Clothes Swap
Wedges-Vera Wang for Kohl's clearance last year- $13

So there you have it...work style with a little edge!!! I can't help but feel sassy with that belt on!

P.S. I don't put links with comparable prices because I would like to encourage you to look at a Thrift store first for an item you might be hunting. Then go to retail stores as a last resort! You really do find plenty of good items you just have to be willing to look!

Confession

I have a dirty little secret that I have to tell you....
I have cheated on the "thriftygrlchallenge". It only took me 7 months! Here's how it all went down...

I was shopping at the outlet malls with my kids & sister. My sister wanted to go into Banana Republic outlet so we did. Then I saw it an awesome wrap dress on the clearance rack for...$12!!!!!!!!! I took it in the dressing room just to see if it would look as good as I had hoped it would. Of course it did. It fit perfectly, even better than I could imagined!! It hid what it needed to hide and hugged what it needed to hug! To say it fit like a glove would be an understatement!

I made a decision to just buy it. It would be a great investment and it was only $12!! That is how I am justifying it no matter how wrong it was! I am only human here people and that is the reality of this challenge. We all have things that are our cryptonite & Banana Republic Outlet clearance happens to be one of mine!


Dress- $11.97 Banana Republic outlet:; shoes-$5.94 Nine West from goodwill

So one of my coworkers told me it wasn't really cheating because I got it at such a good price! I feel guilty about it anyways so I am going to not tempt myself anymore! I will be sticking to the "thriftygrlchallenge" for the rest of this year! I have gotten so much out of it and I am proud of us for making it this far!! So what do you think Worth the cheating?!!!!