June 13, 2012

Birchbox June 2012 Unboxing

 What was inside:

  • Borchese “Botanico Eye Compress” (EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. 5 out of 10 – 1 being the best for healthy)
  • Jouer “Luminizing Moisture Tint” (dimethicon breaks me out)
  • Scalisi Skincare “Anti-aging Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30” (can’t find ingredient list)
  • theBalm Cosmetics “Stainiac” in color: Beauty Queen (EWG 5 out of 10 –  1 being the best for healthy)
  • Band-Aid “Cynthia Rowley Dress Up BandAid


Unboxing video:

Embedly Powered

wearing: Express thrifted blouse and Chico’s hot pink tank

 

June 12, 2012

Outfit of the day: Yellow, Black & White

  • Yellow is a thifted tank top & vintage costume jewelry bracelet from my late great aunt’s stash.
  • Black is the short sleeve jacket from Target (purchased a few year ago) & Bauble Bar bracelet via on of my Birchboxes (though I didn’t participate in this contest and it creeps me out a little that Justin Bieber apparently wears this bracelet.)
  • White is the stripes in the tank top, another vintage bracelet, & the earrings I made from a pair of vintage clip on earrings.
What do you think? Good combo? Overkill on the arm candy? 🙂

June 8, 2012

Question :
Anyone using Shout color catcher?

Question : Anyone using Shout color catcher? Do you think it actually helps keep color from getting on the other clothes or do you think it simply absorbs some color to make you think it might work?

I have used a few of these but haven’t yet committed to throwing a brand new, bright or dark color garment in with a regular load because I’m just not sure yet.

 

June 8, 2012

Another thrifted clothing haul –
June 7 2012

So I needed a break from a particular project yesterday and ended up shopping for 3 hours … 3 hours was a little more than I was going for but I found some good finds.

Let’s start with my favorite piece that didn’t fit – the neon shirt. I SO wanted this to fit!!! I have been obsessed with neons and neutrals and this is SUCH a cute shirt!

Baltimore Design Group which I think is a Chadwick’s line.

Next up the black with tiny polka dot golf shorts. They’re a little higher waisted than I like so I’m debating whether these will go to consignment or not. I also don’t wear a lot of shorts. :/

Next up, the green skirt and the navy gap shirt. I have a picture of the skirt on me but I look like a watermelon because I was trying everything on with the hot pink tank. Which reminds me – the reason I put the clothes on the mannequin today was because my allergies are acting up and the scented detergent on them was bothering me.

Next up I have the Merona pink knit dress. Basic but something I can dress up or down. It will look better with a cardigan and some jewelry I think.

While I’m on a roll with pink, I’ll go ahead and show you the Gap Body sweater hoodie. A little out of season but in good condition and I didn’t want to pass it up.

And then the Talbot’s linen crop pants in mint. They’re a mint color that’s also hard to get a good photograph of but they were new with tags and a nice find. They have a bow tie that I’m thinking about converting to a D ring belt because I think the bow is a bit awkward looking on me. I’m also not a huge fan of cropped pants and typically try to avoid them but I kinda liked these a little too much to pass.

A couple more that I’m selling because they’re too small: BB Jeans blue tunic with embroidered detail, Ann Taylor tunic, Talbots pink skirt (new with tags again.)

And then a few more I’m keeping: Tommy Hilfiger black button up blouse with tiny polka dots (see a theme?), Express light flowy tank with black and white flowers, and The Limited short sleeve with gray stripe blouse.

And then the Talbots black and white skirt

And a couple more shirts – I can’t remember the brands at the moment but they’re both super soft and in great condition:

So yeah … about $50 worth – quite a nice haul for $50
(though I think they miscounted and my total ended up being $41.34 oops!)
Adds a lot more variety to my wardrobe.

And one more thing, not purchased yesterday but about a week ago,
the ties we thrifted for Tim.
$1.50 each plus $3.50 drycleaning (just gotta clean the thifted items.)

These were Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Club Room, Gap and DKNY!

I’m thinking about trying to take more photos of the outfits we’re putting together for Tim. Any interest in guy’s outfits posted here too?

 

May 29, 2012

Zappos VIP?

So … how are they deciding this? I know Zappos was bought by Amazon so I get some sense that because I have some zappos items in my Amazon wish list I might have gotten this invite to: http://vip.zappos.com/

or maybe it was the white men’s shoes Tim just bought using my account. Yes, Tim will own white dress shoes (and it scares me just a little.) 🙂

http://vip.zappos.com/trends

Anyone have any experiences with this yet?

May 14, 2012

Make something Monday:
spring / summer scarf

Inspired by the Forever21 scarf I bought (as seen in my May Birchbox unboxing video and below), I decided to make a few more.

Forever21 scarf

I will note that it is actually cheaper to just buy a scarf from Forever21 because you will need 2 yards for the length scarf I made. You however get a larger choice in fabrics by learning to make your own.

Here are the two scarves I made:

   

 

Try and ignore the purple shirt under the sarong. I didn’t want to change to demonstrate some possible tying options. 🙂

Supplies needed:

  • Sewing machine. I’ll try and do a few no sew projects in the future but this you probably need a sewing machine for.
  • 2 yards fabric. Something that’s thin and drapey. Chiffon, silk, even a light polyester. This is where going into the store and feeling fabrics is actually a good idea. This will be against your skin so if you don’t like how it feels, don’t buy it because you’ll be less likely to wear it if you don’t like how it feels. You’ll be using the full length for the scarf but you will only need a 16-17 inch strip for the size scarf I made. Both of the fabrics I chose were $4.95/yard. You can use the remainder for a sarong like I did above or to make scarves for your friends.
  • Thread to match. Around $3 each. Don’t forget an empty bobbin if you don’t have one at home.
  • Rolled hem sewing machine foot. Between $9 and $30 depending on your machine. Again, I already had this at home. I can’t imagine doing this project with a regular foot however you might be able to do a single tiny fold with zig zag stitch depending on your fabric but it’s not going to give you quite the same clean finish.
A couple of quick photos mid-process:
 


Videos I referenced:

Sewing a rolled hem:

I found this video useful to correct some of the mistakes I was making on my first attempt at sewing a rolled hem on light fabric. I’ve actually done a rolled hem on cotton before and the machine foot did a lot of the work but with the lighter fabrics you have to pay attention to the details more.


Scarf tying (European Loop is my favorite, then fake knot and braid):


Sarong / pareo tying:

Pareo and Sarong Tying for Womenhttp://pareo.com 20 Ways How Women can Wear a Pareo or Sarong from pareo.com.