Goodwill 85th Anniversary!

Today is Goodwill Arkansas's 85th Anniversary. Blue tag items are/were 85% off. I don't think I ended up with many blue tags but my bounty was amazing! I'm going to update with more pics later. I couldn't wait and threw stuff in the washing machine as soon as I got home.

I am so happy I have a dinner party to go to Thursday night where I can wear these bow heels.

Also, if you think all I do is go to thrift stores and volunteer at the Clinton Library, you would be correct.

But hey- My hard volunteer work is paying off and I got an award at the Gala last night. Rookie of the Year!


My award. I've got a Michael's coupon burning a hole in my pocket thinking about a display case for this.

The toughest game in thrifting: Jeans

When I was at my college homecoming's step-show a woman on the floor (a spirited spectator) had on such a mesmerizing outfit- She had on extremely acid-washed, high-waist, tapered-leg jeans that I knew came from a thrift store. They were too amazing for retail.

She had them on with a mid-riff top. She was too cute.

This turned over a new leaf in me, or un-blocked a mental block about sifting through jeans at thrift stores. I had to get over this.

I'm over it. I found perfection in these vintage Guess triangle-butt-tag skinny leg jeans.

And they were made in the U.S.A., y'all. Damn, right?

I got over this block a while back and have found several pairs of thrift store jeans that I'm very happy with. I think it's worth the sift-time too since thrift store jeans are typically so cheap.

Sometimes I make the focus of my thrift store visit just to seek out and even try-on jeans. It's easier that way because pants-hunting at thrift stores truly is, in my opinion, the toughest game there is.

Floral Shirt Up-Cycle

GITANO vintage-ish blouse with denim collar found for $3 - Yes, three whole dollars at Goodwill. I'm hot for these 90's looking Laura Ashley-type florals but the sleeves were just too much. It's still hot here too! I chopped her up using this DIY tutorial.

The thrill of the old GITANO tag

I'm easing back into sewing. I finally have a decent space again! I haven't had a good sewing situation since we lived in North Carolina five years ago and I had to turn my house into a necklace factory.

Probably the best $32 I ever spent

When I walked into the thrift store it was like "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

Then I scored all this awesome stuff for $32. Not $32 each piece, but for the whole freaking lot of items. -Just wait for the grand finale!

Made in USA too.

Vintage black Umbros. I know you're jealous.


Gloria Venderbilt jean skirt for conservative times.





Both pairs of these printed shorts are vintage brands and made in USA.


Brand spankin' new Sevens in a light wash - Made in USA!


This looks like a karate kid workout top, and maybe it is, but it fits cute and would be great for some iron-on letters or a patch.


The Big Kahuna snag of the day was this gorgeous black coat with fur trim. Sorry, I usually don't mess with fur but-


Tag details. And yes, the fact that she was five dollars had me jumping up and down at the register like a maniac. (Jumping up and down in my crazy head.)

This coat is so rich black, classy and divine I almost wish for a split second we still lived in NYC because this coat would strike people down on the streets it looks so good.

The new photo background is an assembly of FLOR carpet tiles. We don't yet have our furniture so we're basically camping in our new apartment and that's for a different post.

Insides & outsides

Getting dressed in the winter is hard because you have two different outfits. You've got your outside look and your inside look and they have to sort-of make sense. 

Green coat is vintage, Jeans are from that spot in the mall where everything is stretchy and under $20, booties are from Forever21, Leopard fingerless gloves are from K-Mart. Bern Helmet. Forever21 polka dot blouse. 

I love that little toto dog running through. When I ride through the park to go to work, the unofficial "off leash" time for dogs is still going on. 

Black coat is vintage, jeans are J Brand, flats are H&M, black tee & belt probably also H&M. 

Witch's Titty Times

This mangy polar bear coat was made in the USA and purchased at the Libby's R.O.S.E. thrift shop in Malvern, Arkansas. My Grandma introduced me to this gem of a shop. 

I felt visible because of the enormity of this coat. It was 13º on my ride to work this morning when I took this. I feel like a polar bear on wheels. 

My back got so sweaty, oh my god. But I did not get a watery-eye and have black tear fears.

I've been seeing some helmet-wearers with a knit cap under their helmet and it looks bulky and un-safe. I recommend this for a happy ear situation and a proper frontal lobe protection. 

Rainy Day Cute Commute

I look like I'm pushing a shopping cart! I did transport a lot of stuff this morning.
The forecast for today was bad, but I would have been pissed going to work on the bus because there wasn't any rain on my way... Going home was a different sad story.

Let's talk about my outfit! It looks cute from a few feet away. If you look closely, my belt and the plaid of my shirt need to stay the hell away from each other.

Jacket - Best jacket! Thrifted in Tampa, Florida.
Plaid Blouse- Vintage ESPRIT Found in Hot Springs, Arkansas at the Good Goodwill on Grand Ave.
Belt - H&M - Matches the Jessica Simpson gray suede wedges
Jeans - Citizens of Humanity... can't think of the style name (I LOVE the denim bar at Barney's! I get all my fancy-brand jeans there and usually on sale.)

But this morning I was fresh! These jeans are creating illusions about my legs. These jeans plus 3" wedge heels are tricking your eyes into thinking my legs might be this skinny.


I did a big cargo ride this morning. Had to pack & ship it today.


I totally underestimated the wetness falling from the sky on my way home and got really angry pretty fast.

I bought SIX Boxes of GirlScout Cookies today and they stayed at work. (1 box of each flavor + 2 boxes of thin mints.) I can't jeopardize their well-being by bringing them on my bicycle and in the rain! I care too much. I also got 4, yes FOUR pair of sample sweatpants -Don't worry, they're cute, cropped ones like LL Cool J - for FREE today and decided they weren't urgently needed at home.

If I have to ride in the rain, I have to leave the things I love in safety.
It's enough to worry about myself in the rain - can't be worrying about stuff.

It was kind-of distracting riding in the rain. I caught myself being caught up in the misery of things like drips falling off my helmet onto my face or my hands being cold and wet or thinking "is this rain ruining these awesome suede shoes?" and realized it was distracting me from paying attention to the cars & road. Should have left the bicycle and taken the Subway.

Lesson Learned!

Good Outfit - Lazy Pics

I've been kind of lazy about taking outfit photos, but this was a good combo- especially for a Monday! I'm also wearing a new Birthday Gift necklace! I swear I had the best birthday of my life this year.


Glamorous bathroom pic. I was busy. We had a "The Bachelor" watching event to get to!

H&M Leopard coat that I'm running into the ground lately with a sample jacket underneath
Mossimo/Target tank
New bow necklace I got for my birthday
Vintage Leather skirt WITH POCKETS!
Dolce Vita Pax boots

The glamour of my tiny steam-boat-style bathroom is the real treat.

Winter Sanity Holiday

The heatwave in New York City on Friday was truly a gift. I got to boast that at the end of the work day, I had a fantastic bicycle ride awaiting me!

For months now I've been getting sympathy and "You're crazy" comments for riding through the fall & winter.

I forgot how fun it was to be envied for my bicycle commuting.

I wore a tank today because I knew I would be hot at work.
I also wore these great vintage snake-skin (faux) disc earrings.

As my hair gets bigger, the earrings will get bigger.

This new tank happened the other night at Forever21. I love the shape and size way more than I love the print. The disc earrings were thrifted, most likely in Arkansas.

My hair was very feathered. I went with it.


I needed SUNGLASSES because that crazy ball of fire in the sky let us see him!
I only had to wear a light jacket. I want so badly to refer to this as a jean jacket, but it's not denim at all.


These jeans look really dumpy and I didn't wear the keds all day at work- I put on wedges and hopefully made the legs look sleeker.


My hair is feathered and my jeans legs are wide. I went with it.


During the week the magazines and catalogs pile up, so I carried them to work.

They were pretty OK in the basket. The streets are totally fucked after all the snow plows this winter. Bumps are moving to the #1 biggest enemy spot for me, just ahead of garbage trucks.

When it's hot-hot for real, garbage trucks will be my #1 enemy again, I'm sure. It's a stinky monster that I want to stay far, far away from.

Last night we tried a new bar in the neighborhood and actually spent a little time on our terrace later in the night. It's been ages since we got to be out there! It was a wonderful little tease of springtime.

Today there are frigid gusty winds and there have been snow flurries. Friday was like a winter-sanity holiday.

Valentine's Day Thankfulness

Today was awesome and I'm thankful for these great gifts...

I have an adorable, old lady dog.


I got to ride my bike to work and wear this thrifted heart-print button-up shirt.


I wore MAC Ruby Woo lipstick and kept it on so well all-day I got asked a few times what my secret is. (Concealer, powder, liner, lipstick.)


We decided to get a heart-shaped pizza and sit on our new sofa as a family and watch The Bachelor (and Jersey Shore and Big Love to catch up!)


But the most amazing news is this -

THERE IS DAYLIGHT WHEN I'M BICYCLING HOME FROM WORK! THE DAYS ARE MOVING TOWARD MORE DAYLIGHT!!! THIS REALIZATION IS THE MOST TREMENDOUS GIFT MOTHER NATURE OR ANYONE COULD GIVE ME THIS VALENTINE'S DAY!

-To emphasize what a huge gift this sign of spring is to me, I also found out today that I don't have to work on President's Day. Longer hours or daylight is the BIG BIG BIG news & gift!

New Brown Cowgirl Boots - Dolce Vita Pax

New Cowgirl Boots. I like these boots. They're meant to replace my Dollhouse brand Cowgirl boots of absolute love. I loved them so hard, they look like hell, so I found these.

They're a decent substitution. I can never let these go- they just look super-bad right now and need to be taken out of the work place. They're 4 years old and need to rest a little.

I don't recognize my bicycle looking this clean. Sad. That was back in August. 


I think the rounded-edges of the tops are more flattering than straight-across boots, if you know what I mean. This magnificent tiger tshirt is an Arkansas thrifted piece from my recent Christmas visit. The rainbow belt too. The corduroy pants are from my recent Gap Clearance extravaganza.

Bonnie is enthralled! She is resting on a gorgeous Mexican Blanket I thrifted in Arkansas as well, from Savers!

I'm Keeping My Baby!

Here's what my hair is doing TODAY.


My hair hasn't been colored in forever to the point that the FedEx guy asked if I changed it (because it's so faded & stale.) But I turned out some cute plain make-up today with a quickness!


In 2010 my hair photos on Flickr were popular like wildfires. That's why I created my "Julie's Hair History" set of photos showing that my hair has been so many different lengths & colors. (With brief installments of fake hair too!)


It's too cold and my outerwear is repetitive, so I just took some strategy photos. (My overall outfit today was kind-of wacky.)

Exhibit A. New headband/ear-warmer. I'm not sure.


Exhibit B. Works like magic under the helmet! Looks super-cute too!


I was riding East on 72nd street and felt something fall off my bicycle. Fuck. Never good. I realized it was a pedal piece. By the next stoplight more stuff fell off. Then by the time I was at 3rd Avenue, my whole freaking pedal was almost all gone.


Luckily, my mid-high-heeled booties hooked onto the "peg" that was left-over.

I got these at Forever 21 last night. 


And when I realized my freaking pedal came off and I could have crashed, I was panicking that this is what I get for riding such a bargain-bin bicycle.

My husband lectured me (briefly) for not ever checking my bicycle to make sure my stuff is staying together.

I'm going to take this to the shop first thing Saturday, or maybe even tomorrow night after I use public transportation to get to and fro work- and get this puppy fixed and tuned-up and keep riding her! I don't need some crazy fancy bicycle! We've come this far together- I'm keeping my baby!