Thriftanista in the City

Blogs   My Google reader contains mostly blogs. Mainly fashion and foodie blogs so I'm basically looking at pretty pictures and reading captions and recipes. I have a ridiculous amount of subscriptions. I love reading blogs! Kindred by Octavia Butler I downloaded it onto Kindle ages ago and I read a few pages but never got into it. Maybe I need to listen to the audio version. I'm not ready to chuck it completely.  Have you read it? Did you like it? Bad Girls edited by Ellen Sussman My BFF loaned this one to me in June 2010. I was visiting her and had just finished reading the book I came with. She loaned this one to me for the plane ride home. I don't normally read short stories but this is a good one. I love hearing the bad girl stories written by bad girls like me *wink, wink*. Unfortunately I sat it down and got busy preparing for baby. I'll pick it up again. The stories are funny and definitely bad girl behavior.   ...

I found this vintage  Diane von Fürstenberg dress in a small local thrift shop. It was my first time going in and I'm glad I stumbled upon it. I found so many great pieces but I put them all back except for the dress. I snatched it up without trying it on. I had V with me and she was fading fast. It has a button front bodice with an attached neck tie and a self tie belt. The fabric is so nice and soft. The print is very autumn. Don't you think? It has pockets. Yay! The flare of the skirt is very flattering and good for twirling! The top part is a little tight on my full arms and back. So alas, I will be selling this one on eBay. I guess I have the sad face because I'm selling it. I also lucked up on a 50% off sale at Unique last Saturday. They're normally half off on Mondays and it is INSANE. I can't take V. She would have an instant meltdown. This Unique is not the one I normally go to either. The prices are normally higher. At 50% though? They're ...

As I sit on my couch watching television, I'm remembering last Friday's much needed night out. It's a week later and I'm still thinking about it. Girl's nights out are so much sweeter now. I savor them all. Post-baby I can count on one hand how many times I've experienced the night life. I wasn't sure what the night would bring so I pulled together a casual look with an animal print, of course. There's always a party when I put on an animal print. Top, belt, and necklace thrifted Cargo leggings Black oxford shoes I started the night at BlogaDelicous - a blog networking event hosted by Little TechGirl held at Kenmore Studios. I was able to meet some of my twitter friends face to face. Most of my friends live in the computer so I'm always thrilled when I have the opportunity to see them in person. Me and GirlGetALife were late but we did see the end of a ladies vs. gentlemen cook off. I just love the facial expression of the guy on the right. I don...

V and I went to a meetup at Kookaburra today. I wanted to be comfortable while scooting around on the floor and following V around. The shorts are from the epic thrift haul with BFF and I recently bought the sweater over the weekend. The bow is a scarf I thrifted a long long time ago. During the epic thrift haul I was looking specifically for shorts. I thought it would be a nice way to show some leg this summer and also avoid showing all my bits playing around with V. The temps are dipping fast over here so I added tights for warmth. I don't buy a lot of scoop neck sweaters but this one is a super soft acrylic/angora blend. It's from an expensive thrift store that was making room for their new fall items by having a sale. All the clothing in the store was either $5 (upstairs) or $2 (downstairs). I got the sweater downstairs. The original price was $12. Woot! Woot! SN: They were also selling Louis Vuitton handbags for $50 on sale. Good but definitely not Woot! Woot! I don't ...

Books Mirrors Toys I love this place! Let's take it home.

Yes, I did just quote Ace Hood. I was raised to believe that a woman should always have her own. Now that "my own" is seriously low (it's been 2 years since I was laid off), I'm thinking more and more about what I'm going to do for cash. I'm not ready to enter the workforce. I want to stay at home with V. I have some hustling to do. I'm not talking about doing anything illegal just doing what needs to be done to make money. My brainstorming list of hustles:  - sell my newly paid off car  - sell some of my belongings on ebay, craiglist, etsy, and amazon  - sell crafts  - 3rd shift virtual call center gig  - participate in research studies It's a personal question but hey we talk bewb, poop, and lady things, why not? My question is for the SAHMs, the WAHMs, and the unemployed...how do you generate income?

I'm linking up with Everbody, Everywear this month. Every month there's a different clothing challenge. This month is colored pants. I haven't worn colored pants in ages. I remember having red, green, and purple cords at least a decade ago. This summer I picked up 3 brightly colored ones.  #1 - I call them my crazy pants (the ones on the left if you haven't figured it out). They are as out of the box as it gets. I love the colors and print. I haven't quite found the proper styling yet. These pants also make great eating pants. They're a little bit big PLUS there's an elastic waist! #2 - The yellow ones. They're brand new from the 80s. Deadstock, maybe? The top is also thrifted. Another tunic. Surprise, surprise. The purse made an experience in a previous post. This time you can see the shell closure. #3 - The red ones. High waist, elastic waist with a snap button closure. The sweater and jacket are thrifted too. I was really excited about th...

This weekend I: Went out for indian food with 4 of my favorite people - GirlGetALife, Laila, goldhoneebee, and Latiffany . You'd think I'd have a picture considering the photos below but no. Trust me though, we had a good time. I was well fed by the two trips I took to the buffet table. We also got to enjoy a little bit of tribal fusion bellydance. I so wish I didn't suck at bellydancing. Bought V new shoes. She has officially outgrown her itty bitty baby shoe collection. I don't think she wore half of these. Yes, I know there's a missing shoe in the picture. I'll find it before donating them. The new ones - black, brown, and pink. Baked a vegan chocolate cake with a non-vegan frosting using this recipe . I substituted banana for egg and coconut milk mixed with vinegar for buttermilk. I also used cocoa instead of chocolate chips for the frosting. I am so proud of myself. It is the best tasting baked good I've ever made. It's rich and...

Button up shirts don't normally work for me because of the ironing involved. I rarely iron anymore even though I kinda like it. It relaxes me. I offered it to my shopping BFF girlgetalife. She put it in the cart but nixed it when it was time to re-evaluate purchases before hitting the register. Of course, I couldn't leave it behind. It's purple. It's J. Crew. It's nursing friendly. It's brand new and it doesn't need ironing. I pulled it out of the wash and there weren't too many wrinkles. Love it! The belt is also thrifted. I can't resist clasp belts. I buy them whenever I see them. I have quite a collection. The skirt is me made and very simple. Sew 3 squares together (1 front and 2 in the back). Add elastic. Sew up the hem. Bam! You're done. I've also worn it as a top too. This is my first attempt at pattern mixing. I like the way it came together. I'll be trying it again. Do you pattern mix? Do you have a thrif...

How do I put these on? Oooo..I remember. Is this right? How about this? Hmpf! I'll just use them as a prop to look deep in thought.

She always looks like she's getting the good sleep in the Boba. Last week V had her 12 month pediatrician visit. This was her first time with a new ped too. My girl has a very big  head  brain (77 percentile), average height (48 percentile), and a slender frame (10th percentile). I thought she was at least 20 pounds. She's only 18 though. The pediatrician suggested I supplement with cow's milk because she needs the fat. My belief is that she can get fat from other sources. She wasn't trying to hear that though. V had lots of shots including her first flu shot. We've always declined it and I should have declined this time too. I have never had one and don't think it's necessary. Her new pediatrician gave me the gloom and doom speech and I caved.  That night she developed a fever. That's never happened with her previous vaccinations. She had trouble getting comfortable and cried every time we tried to leave the room. Ugh. I should have stood my ground. Tha...

I found these buttery soft Nordstrom loafers last week at the Salvation Army. They were $2. The color wasn't my favorite but I loved how soft the leather felt and they were in really good condition. While I was thinking of what I could do to spruce them up, I found and re-pinned these Steve Madden Loafers. They became my inspiration. I went to Blick , bought fabric paint pens (plus some other goodies) and went to work. I still have some tweaking to do and mistakes to correct. I think they are super awesome though. They add a bit of interest to the mom uniform . I will be trying this again, maybe zebra print next time! Any animal print fans out there? And in related news: I've created my own disinfection system for the un-washable thrift items. Sunshine (uv rays); a disinfecting spritz (mineral deodorant spray, lemon juice, vinegar, and cheap vodka); 15 mins in dryer with a dryer sheet (cloth only). Works great! How do you clean/disinfect your thrifty finds?