you want this.

ATTENTION ALL!

beth from the vintage society has this dress available in her etsy shop and someone needs to buy it immediately, if not soooona.

i want it sooo badly but unless i stop eating and loose a bra size, it's not gonna happen. so someone do me a favor and head over here and buy it now! then report back and show off how amazing you look in it for my enjoyment slash jealousy-fuel.

thankyouverymuch.

petite me.

i think i'm tall. i'm not.

the proof is in the pudding folks... or in my case, the jeans. i found the perfect pair of j brand jeans on sale (but still expensive) at anthropologie a couple of weeks ago and tonight i went online to see if i could find more. i love these jeans so much that i want to buy enough pairs in enough sizes that i could possibly wear them for the rest of my life (even if i get fat and/or preggo). i don't care how much they cost.

as you can see from the image above these jeans are supposed to be cropped - almost capri style- on normal people... i did not know this until now. on me they hit right at the ankle, are the perfect length and i love them. guess the name "seven eighths" should've tipped me off huh?

i feel like a short fool.

i want! but don't need....

first things first.

i want/need these shoes in the most urgent, desperate way... they are so ugly cool.

unfortunately for me, my pocketbook and i are not in agreement on this point... not yet anyway... i'm gonna see if i can convince it soon!

but before i do that i have a different expense to set my sights on (pun intended!):

i got these glasses at the thrift store several months ago and have been meaning to get my prescription in them but my busy "summer of life changing events" kinda got in the way... :)

well, coming across this photo of the lovely grace kelly made me pull my glasses out of hiding and wear them around the house til i got dizzy from the strong lenses that are in them currently!

isn't she just so perfectly geek-chic here?! i looove it! i am going to try to drop mine off by the end of the week so i can start wearing them headache-free asap!

(thrifted head to toe - click to enlarge)

PS- here's my few favorite thrift find. for some reason the weather here has decided it's not ready to be autumnal so it's gone back to feeling like summer... hmmmm.

good hair

today i went to go see chris rock's "good hair" and i learned a lot. it's an awesome film about african-american women and their pursuit of their ideal (which usually means caucasian-like) hair. i personally have always thought that the natural look was super cool for black ladies to sport. i mean, who doesn't love an afro right?!

well.... apparently black women, that's who. there is a scene in the movie where chris interviews a few high school aged girls and asks them about their hair in light of their just graduating high school and getting ready to go out into the world. the general conclusion is that the girls think they wouldn't be taken seriously or get a good job if they didn't relax their hair..... it's CRAZY!

i can relate in some ways to what the women in the film are talking about even though i am caucasian. i have never thought i had good hair. i think it's thin. and the natural color is just a "nothing brown" and it's straight without much body. and it just kind of hangs there.

well now that i've done everything in the book to it: colored, permed, cut, bleached, tortured and even worn extensions... i realize that if i'd just stuck to what nature gave me i'd probably love it! i look at all of these photos from the 60's and 70's and see all of these gorgeous women with long straight hair down their backs and realize i could've had that all this while if i'd just had a little perspective and appreciation for what i had naturally. such a shame.

i've grown so used to the instant gratification of dying it drastically or cutting it off. that way everytime i feel a bit bad about myself there feels like there's something i can do to make it better - or at least different. i'm sure it's a very thin veil for my self esteem issues but it's also a lot of fun at times. i've enjoyed shocking people, playing dress up, trying on new looks and feeling the freedom of not being afraid to cut or change my hair. it has made me feel brave and daring.... but i've also used it as a bit of a crutch at times... a way to escape when i felt like just being "me" wasn't enough.

these days i'm back to brunette (it's actually a shade just a bit lighter than my natural shade) and i'm planning to stay there. i know it's going to be a long hard road, but i'm still going to try to grow it as long as possible too. i'm trying to do as little as possible to my hair for as long as i can... and it's SO HARD but i know it will be gratifying in a whole new way to stop worrying with it, spending money on it, and generally being dissatisfied with it.

today i played with wearing a long scarf and it was a nice way to change up the look and get a bit retro and it also made me feel like i had long hair with the ends of the scarf hanging down my back.

here's to the journey ahead and the hopes that i can stick with it!

last night's costume

i was really distracted this year and didn't really feel like i was in the halloween spirit at all... which is totally unlike me. i was much later than usual putting up my decorations and then when i did, i did about half as much as i used to.

every halloween that p and i have been together i have planned and made our costumes to coordinate: zombie prom king & queen, the rhinestone cowboy & an indian girl, good & evil unicorns....

but this year i just didn't have the spirit :(

luckily, halloween is a time of miracles and mischief and magic! not only did p pull a great costume together all by himself (he went as his brother - which if you know them is much funnier than it reads) but i pulled together costumes for myself and miss lou too!

sadly, i was cameraless so i only have pics she sent me from our photo session of hilarity - none of p - but when i get some other folks' pics i'll be sure to post a pic of the two of them together just so you guys can see! he was a big hit!

i found a wig at the drug store on halloween day for $2.50 and decided i would go as marsha brady:

in an effort to save money, i decided i didn't want to buy anything much for a costume this year but just work with what i already had. lucky for me, i already own lots of great vintage i could pull from. i decided to wear a cute little outfit that i got last year off etsy because as much as i want it to fit, it's just too small to wear out as anything but a costume.

here are the results:

(click to enlarge)

we were under some florescent lights so everything looks all washed out, but my wig was more "marsha" colored and i think it worked out! what's funny is that i looked less like marsha and more like MY MOM in that wig... so funny! here's a link for you to see what i'm talking about!
ooohhhh, how it made me wish i had kept to the original plan of not cutting bangs and growing my hair out this way! **shakes fist** whyyyyyyy???? did i do that?!

ANYHOW.... for lou, we pulled together a very respectable peggy olsen look. again, everything is from my stash of vintage and everyday stuff:

she wears vintage so well!

we had such a good time goofing off in someone else's basement while everyone else was upstairs having a party that i think people thought we were up to no good down there. the process of getting this shot was enough to make both of us almost pee our pants :)

i don't know why, but it was the funniest thing ever last night!
oh well! i hope all of you had super fun halloweens... already looking forward to next year :)

"punkin" time!

last night we had my best friend and her husband over to hang out and carve pumpkins. it was fun and a lot easier than i'd remembered! here are the results:

(in order L to R: mine, C&R's collaboration, and p's)

here's a close-up of mine:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!!!

water fell

it's taken a few days but here are the pics from our visit to desoto falls this past sunday.







the day was GORGEOUS! crisp fall mountain air and warm sunshine make the heart smile... and being with my HUBBY makes me smile - isn't he just the cutest?!

i was worried that my thrifted oxfords would be too slick to climb around on the rocks and such safely (and they were) but there was a great trail along the top of the lookout so i got to enjoy the view too!

my grandma had a surgery today so she can begin dialysis immediately. i'm really going to try to get back into blogging but lately i've been in a stage where being a part of my day and not just reporting on it seems like the thing to do.

sunday funday (kinda)

sunday snugglies with the puppies are the BEST!

now we're off to brunch and then to north alabama to see my grandma... it's a gorgeous day and the leaves will be changing in the mountains and i'm very excited! unfortunately, my grandma is very very sick and that's the main reason we are going. i hope our visit can cheer her up.

photos soon!

random musings after red wine consumption

1- miss hathaway on the beverly hillbillies was way ahead of her time. that fur and those glasses?!

(yes, i took a photo of my tv with my phone... sorry for the blur)

um, hello mk olsen! (or maybe this is ashley... i'm confused. did i mention the red wine?!)

2- i colored my hair and cut bangs.

these days i wanna look like carey mulligan in "an education"

(this movie's going to be amaaing - i can't wait to see it!)

now, grow hair! grow! (and maybe i need to cut my bangs shorter as it grows longer... nes pas?)

3- i bought 3 amazing items at the thrift today: a(nother) faux fur, a sequined wiggle dress, and a totally cute 50's inspired dress that i am currently in l.o.v.e. with! i may just wear it while i paint the house tomorrow!

4- i lusted over these shoes for a week and tried to get p to buy them for me - and he almost did, as a belated wedding present... but i got online today and they were sold out in my size. i am heartbroken and pitiful in the worst way now. even after p kissed me on the head and told me i was "so pretty i didn't need shoes" (suck up.) i still grieve. they are still full price at victoria's secret... i'll keep and eye out.
psst: i got him this as my wedding present to him/us

it's H...U...G...E... and ohsobright and wonderful! now i just have to pay a butt load to have it professionally framed! i want to hang it in our entryway so that everytime we come home or leave home we are reminded of our wedding vows and our love... sweet :)

remember me?

i'm sorry i haven't kept up the blog for the last few months. i thought i would blog about the process of planning the wedding and moving into the house and such but the stress of it all and the effort of just doing everything was too much and at the end of the day i just wanted and needed to turn my brain off... not rehash everything online. hope you understand and will welcome me back with open arms cause i can't wait to tell you about it all :)

okay, so here are a few updates:

WE GOT HITCHED!

the wedding was great, meaningful, fun and unique - i'll be sharing more details as i have time (and photos). i might even start a third blog dedicated to the wedding recap... we'll see!

here's a sneak peek at our AMAZING (if i do say so myself) engagement shoot

and here's one taken during our ceremony

(spoiler alert: i totally said "with this WING, i thee wed!)

promise, i will spill all the beans soon but until then i will assure you that i am staying true to my aim of not contributing to the landfills of the world by buying pre-worn! the outfit in the engagement pic, from head to toe including shoes, is totally thrifted and everything with the exception of shoes in the wedding photo is vintage! (i say "totally" but you know i don't include undies in that evaluation - i don't buy used undies! ewwww!)

our baby puppy is growing and growing and amusing me more and more every single day. she has such a feisty and funny personality and is totally different from her big sister. and since this is supposed to be a blog about being frugal i'll give you a tip: if you want to save money, don't adopt a "special needs" puppy. she's been very expensive - but totally worth it. here she is chillin' in the sun on the sofa today:

(please click to enlarge cause it's funnier when you can see it better)

we LOVE our house. sometimes i can't believe i get to live here! i never thought that my first house would be this nice or this perfect for us. i promised those who know me and love me that i would resist working myself up into a neverending manic episode by resisting the temptation to begin work on the house until after the wedding. this means that i basically unpacked (mostly) and just left stuff wherever it landed. so now the process begins. i will be sharing house renovations and little DIY projects as i take them on... it's gonna be a lot of work and a lot of fun.

life is good and the month of october is going to be packed with exciting things. i am SO ready for fall clothes and hats and boots, aren't you?! i'm going to try to get back on track with my frugality but in the meantime the blog may be a bit more scattered and random... not so much about saving money but how to spend it wisely to create an inspired, amazing, beautiful and enjoyable life.

remember: it's not how much you have but how you use it!