Designer on a PBR budget

Today is my Friday & thank god it's here! For the next four glorious days I'll be relaxing (inside), do a little day drinking, get a little tattoolde, thrift a bit & sleep in! Side note I just looked down at my legs & now I know why J has started to referre to me as Casper. I'm ok with that, I prefer not to have skin cancer.

I resisted the urge to thrift most of this week even though I know I was missing two 25% off days. Ugh!

As I said yesterday I had to sneak out the house to go. I always tell J that I'm not going to buy anything, lie, but he's caught on to my little game of stashing the goods under my Jeep back seat. So I kindly reminded him that I don't complain about his obsession with the Miata. I always win with that line.

My go to thrift store did not disappoint this time..

Tupperware has become my current obsession

The Simpsons Twin Flat Sheet

2nd only to the coolest phone ever

This ladies & gentlemen, is now our new house phone.

We get zero reception on our bottom floor so we keep the land

line for emergencies. Now I just might have to start using the land line

This maxi dress is AMAZING!

It's a size 2 so I listed & within 2 minutes it was sold.

J thought it was the ugliest thing ever.

To date this might have been my most fashionable score yet.

This the "Phoebe" dress from Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Not only is it from a recent collection it hasn't even really been worn!

This dress retails for $165 & I got it for 95% off!

I've toyed with the idea of keeping it but, I decided not to.

This right here is why I love the rich people of Northern Va.

They wear it once then donate current season designer clothing.

Awesome for all those that have champagne taste with a PBR budget.

The most adorable little girl's gingham dress!

I'm pretty happy with my haul over all.

 Now I'm just waiting until Monday when I get to hit up that 50% off day.

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!

In the Land of Easy Bake Ovens

 The last couple of days I've been staying away from thrift stores in effort to save a little money since I'm getting tattooed Friday. Yesterday I had a break down & snuck out for about an hour to get my fix. I was surprising good & only managed to spend $5. Heck I even walked out with nothing at the first one. So unheard of I know.

After hitting my second thrift store I started to notice a common theme for that week, Easy Bake Ovens. I found two at the 1st thrift store & the 2nd had shelves full of them & they ranged in era too. Seeing them sent me right back to my childhood. I remember being so excited that Santa brought me an Easy Bake. I distinctly remember I also thought I was the coolest kid on the block because of it. Even though I loved the Easy Bake I just wasn't cut out for it. Some how everything I ever put into it came out completely burnt & inedible. I should have taken the hint early on that I wasn't cut out for domestication.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to bring one home. But I've got a "big girl" oven that I never use so this toy would only be collecting dust. What surprised me is the fact that they still make Easy Bakes !

Easy Bake Oven's were first invented by a guy named Ronald Howes back in 1963. Funny since I won't have pegged a guy to invent a toy like this. He got the idea when he learned how street vendors roasted their nuts to sell. Thus the Easy Bake Oven was born. It was originally made to look like a mini oven but they've since transitioned into a more microwave look. They are currently on their 11th model  & even have ones for boys called the "Queasy Bake Cookerator". Take that Gender Roles!

The OG Easy Bake.

The model I had

You can start to see the transition to a more microwave feel with these

The newest Easy Bakes look like the purple & pink one's on the third shelf

All this talk of baking makes me want to whip out the Kitchen Aid Mixer

& make a pie or two.

Good bye Diet!

Day Dressing it Up

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the tragic events that happened yesterday. We're all sending positive thoughts and prayers OK's way. If you want to help those in need but not sure how the Red Cross is accepting donations for it's disaster fund via text. All you have to do is text Red Cross to 90999 & a $10 donation will be made. You'll then see the charge on your cell bill at the end of the month. It's the easiest way to help & takes less than 2 seconds to do.

Ever since I thrifted that 50's swing dress last week, I've been on a 50s dress kick.

Virginia gets super hot in the summer & dresses are a nice alternative to wearing shorts or capri pants 24/7. The only draw back is how hard it is to find a 50's day dress in a Plus Size & under $80. Normally my go to would be eBay but those are mostly auctions so I went to Etsy instead. They have so many choices it's hard to make up which ones I like the best.

Here are a couple of my favorites that are both affordable & Plus Size.

Us big girls need to look cute too!

 

one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight // nine

Apparently I'm a fan of polka dots & blue. Go figure.
All these dresses are sizes Large - XX Large!
They can also be belted if you're in between sizes.
My personal favorites are number three & number eight.
Which are yours?

                 

Freight Train

Oh Monday, once again you've smacked me in the face head on.

I've finally come to grips that I'm not that spry 18 year old anymore.

After dropping 10,000 hints J bought me tickets to see Alkaline Trio in Baltimore. I didn't care that we would be sitting in 3 hours worth of traffic to see them. When Alkaline Trio is in town you always go, no ifs, ands, or buts. Failure to see them is not a option. I feel a little embarrassed that I agonized over what outfit I should wear. Every outfit I picked out was either too young or too old. I'm 28 so dressing head to toe in black with a studded belt & fishnets just doesn't cut it anymore. I tend to look like I'm trying out for a part in Rocky Horror rather than being hip. It's ashamed too since I still have fishnets in every color tucked away in my sock drawer. Instead I opted for a subtle but grown up look of bright blue & black. I even pulled out & dusted off my trust pair of black Vans.

Once I stepped into the venue (Rams Head Live) it became painfully obvious that a bunch of us were trying to relive our youth. I've been listening to these guys for over 10 years & I now understand what my mom was telling me. That music brought me straight to back to my teenage angst days. For every song they played it trigged my memory of my early 20's & failed relationships. There were a lot of those. But I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. The guys still have the exact same voices as they did back then & they look the same. I didn't want the night to end but J and I were both literally falling asleep standing up. Fun Fact I learned I can't be up for 20 hours straight & wake up before noon the next day. Even though I had exactly one beer, bloating is a biotch, I was what I like to call sleep drunk. At this rate I need to start practicing before Jen comes up for Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake.

obligatory crappy cell phone concert picture.

The rest of the weekend was spent recovering & cleaning up around the house. I've decided to drop the hint that we should get a bit of cleaning help every other week. We'll see if J goes for this. And yes people I want a maid cause I'm too lazy/busy to do it myself.

Oh and as if I didn't already feel old I get this in my inbox today

Seriously The Knot?! Why would you wish this upon me right now?!

I'm too busy crying over the fact I can't wear my damn fishnets in public to even think about this.

Knot I think you're a little drunk on breast milk, time to go home

Hope you guys had a killer weekend!

Quite possibly the most awesome gif ever?

Reseller isn't a Bad Word.

There's no denying that thrifting and antiquing have started to become popular past times over the last year. I'm not sure if it was the crappy economy or a simple hip hop song that caused it to explode into what it is now. There are a few people who don't get the whole idea of thrifting & think you shouldn't shop as much there if you're financially well off. While I can see the point these people are trying to get to, I couldn't disagree more.

Thrifting & antiquing has become a hobby of mine over the past year or two. When I say hobby I really mean it's a hobby. I don't do it for the money I do it for the thrill of the hunt and find. Even though J and I fall into a higher tax bracket than most I don't think that I should stop what I love doing simply because I should be paying higher prices for an item because of my financial status. J and I are cheap b!tches, him more so than me. Heck he's so cheap that he wanted to paint our house in the wrongly mixed paint that they discount at Home Depot. J grew up no as well off & always freaks out whenever we spend big money. So much so that he will feel guilt over buying an item to the point where it makes him lose sleep over it.

Until I met J I always bought new. I'm ashamed to admit that I looked down on people who bought second hand. I always thought that the quality wasn't good enough or obviously something was wrong with it. I'm not sure whether it was the price of living in Northern Virginia or the fact that J always bought second hand but some where along the lines I got over my fear of "second hand."

I constantly hear people complaining that there isn't enough good stuff left in thrift stores thanks to resellers. But to be honest there is still awesome stuff, you just might have to spend a little more time digging for it. Since I've pretty much have no life & minimal friends, thrifting gives me something to do.  

My Father is a reseller of metal so it's only natural I fell into it.

Some people price gouge the heck out of  their stuff. The main difference between them and I, is I refuse to do that to people. I always try to find a middle price for the item I'm selling.  I'm constantly being told I don't charge enough but as long as I make my money back plus expenses & a profit , I'm not really worried about it.

Reselling has created so many small businesses it isn't even funny. Just look at eBay & Etsy. There are tons of ladies & guys who make it a full time job & support their families off of it.

Some day I hope I can do the same for mine.

Until then I'll just keep doing my hobby while wearing my reseller badge proudly.

Thursday Thrifted Finds

I swear Wednesdays just aren't my day. J's out of town which means I'm the one in charge of the "pack" aka fur babies. Even though Texas is now 8 months old he's still wildn' out like it's his job. And he's pretty much a boss at it. I honestly can't wait until he gets his little operation so I can send him back to doggie day care to get out all of his puppy energy. Last night I had to literally chase him around the room to put him in his crate for bed. He wasn't having it & decided to scratch my face big his gigantic paws.

That dog's so lucky I love him.

He's the reason I had to have a venti at Starbucks this morning.

Ugh kids.

I also managed to burn the heck out of my tatas yesterday at the work when I was making popcorn. I dumped the popcorn maker & a stray kernel decided to play pinball in my bra. Pretty sure my coworkers thought I'd gone crazy since I was dancing all around trying to get it out. Yay for Wednesdays!

Yesterday wasn't all that bad though. J got us tickets to Alkaline Trio in Baltimore this weekend plus I scored a few awesome pieces from the thrift store. Retail therapy was needed after the day I had.

These are really more of eBay finds but I got both bowls for a freaking steal .

The Pyrex gods must have heard my prayers & answered in the form of Balloons.

Federal Glass Bowl

I'm in love with both of these dresses!

The one of the left is a evening gown from the 60's

& the one on the right is from the 50's.

I've been searching so hard for a 50's day dress but most of them I find cost a ridiculous amount.

This broke girl ain't got time for that.

Normally I don't thrift toys or model cars but this gem had all it's parts & was still factory sealed.

The tea towel has to be one of my favorites.

There's nothing like pure linen towels to hang around the kitchen

My dedication to thrifting knows no bounds.

I went straight from the gym to the thrift store.

I do not recommend this since you'll get unsolicited cat calls &

Oh Hey Pretty Senorita thrown your away multiple times.

But hey a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

These two love sitting on the balcony watching what goes on

in our neighborhood.

This has been a life saver when I'm trying to wrap all

my packages.

Thank God it's Thursday!

Have you found anything interesting at the flea markets or thrift store lately?

Sometimes you gotta just Redneckognize

No I'm not talking about Honey Boo Boo, though she is a sweet heart.

I'm talking about my weekend.

What do the beach, monster trucks, rednecks & baby strollers have in common?

Why Virginia Beach of course!

This weekend I saw one too many tramp stamps, confederate flag bikinis, bud light cans, & tribal tattoos to last me a life time. When we went down to my parents for Mother's Day I completely forgot that the annual Monsters on the Beach was also happening that weekend. No this doesn't involve actual scary monsters, I'm talking about crushing sh!t & taking names. There's nothing more Southern than Monster Trucks. WWE does run a close second though.

Once or twice a year all the off road & diesel truck companies sponsor a huge Monster truck fest at the beach. They transform the beach into the biggest Redneck party I've ever seen. Dirt mounds are built up, cars are crushed, & people get belligerent. Once J heard about it he pretty much insisted/pleaded that we go.

There were about 10,000 other things I wanted to do besides that. So we all went. If i had to suffer then someone else needed to share in my misery.

We decided not to actually by tickets to the event since it looked like the bottom was about to fall out at any moment. Who wants to be stuck in on a metal bleacher when it starts pouring anyway?

You could still see some of the show just by walking down the boardwalk though.

The absolute best part of the whole experience was people watching. It was one hott mess right after another.  I tried to take photos of the event but I ended up forgetting or being too distracted to remember.

Even though I'm a fan of Monster Trucks I think I'll head back just to people watch the next time.

via

Fun tid bit about Grave Digger, my family knows the guy who owns it.

He routinely buys metal from my Dad for his projects & Grave Digger.

If you ever find yourself on the way to the Outer Banks in North Carolina

you can get your picture taken with it & go on a joy ride.

Heck it even has it's own diner too.

The madness that ensued when it started raining

This is only a small park of the stroller parking

Coolest truck/car there

This is Otis.

While he's not a monster truck he's still a cutie.