I have about a dozen new items to share, and I promise I will do that in the near future. For today, I want to share this outfit which includes a few of those new items, plus many things I love.

I suppose a good camera, or at least a camera not attached to a phone, would be helpful.

I'm starting to get the hang of how to shop for my body! Yay! Even better, I'm gradually defining my own personal style, which as I've mentioned has been nonexistent for years, and was highly questionable before that. On top of all that, I am pretty quick to grab items from the racks that I would never have considered wearing before. Case in point: this vest.

This is what I wore to meet my daughter for lunch today, and I love everything about it. The jeans, vest, and booties were thrifted on my last trip a few days ago. The vest was $7, which is at the higher end of what I'm willing to pay per piece, but it fits like a frikkin' glove and has some cute detailing which I'll show when I list my recent additions. It's also a beautiful peachy/rusty/orange that doesn't properly show in this pic. I love how it nips in just a little at the waist, and I have to say, I've never been a vest girl but I am won over. I wore it over my previously thrifted turtleneck.

The jeans ALSO fit like a glove, and hug my booty, which my 20-year-old son wouldn't have captured if I begged him, which I wasn't about to do anyway. I'll also save that for a future post, but needless to say I squeeled a little when I put them on. They feel like pj's and the length is perfect for me. Since I usually wear flats, jeans like this that just skim the floor end up being just right.

They are actually darker, like in my full-body pic.

The booties (is that right?) are a caramel-brown and super soft, so comfy, and were brand new with the stickers still on them. I finished off the outfit with a bangle that I got for 50 cents on the same trip. Anyway, I just wanted to show this outfit that I felt so good in. :) I'll list my recent purchases, including these, soon. I know I've said it a few times now. I'm trying to convince myself.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I love wearing orange and brown together. That's all I have to say about that.

Vest: Coldwater Creek $7
Jeans: Merona $3.50 (1/2 off)
Booties: Franco Sarto $6
Inlaid bangle: 50 cents

Argh.

I bought both of these last weekend, and I like them both, but I just can't decide about the grayish one. It's vintage wool. I feel all kinds of powerful with those sweet, sweet shoulders, and I love the single button at my smallest waist area, but I just don''t think the length suits me. Maybe with heels? Hmm. On the other hand, the red one strikes me as being better proportions for my body, but I actually look wider in it. Hmm.

I actually went back to Garland Road Thrift today with the intention of exchanging the vintage jacket, but I brought the wrong receipt, so it's still here with me. I wore the red one, and people kept trying to steal it from me! Once, I went in the dressing room and came out to find it gone. Gasp! I asked the closest employee, and she had grabbed it from my cart and stuck it on a rack and wheeled it out of sight. The second time, I was trying on scarves in front of a mirror and turned around to find it gone. Gasp! A 20-something "girl" had it at the counter asking about the price. I walked up and said, "There isn't one, because I wore it in."

It was in the cart right behind me, woman! Who does that? Sheesh.

Anyway, got these last Saturday.

Total spent - $14 ( $7 each )
Number of pieces - 2
Favorite item- red jacket
Remorse? - maybe? I still have time to return the vintage one. 

PS-I scored like crazy today. I'll post tomorrow.

This is what $5 worth of thrifted earrings looks like.

Last weekend, I hosted a thrifting class at one of my favorite local shops, Garland Road Thrift Store. It was a fun experiment, and I intend to blog about it, but my life is pretty hectic with an active employment search, so an in-depth post will have to wait. I went in with the intention of finding a few tees and a blazer. Maybe I was just tired, but I didn't have any luck there. I did end up with a jacket which I adore, and I'll post pics of that soon, but my favorite finds were in a bin at the register. 

99 cent earrings, for the win!

These are my fav! Aren't they groovy? 

I'm not even going to add these into my $200 total budget. These are bonus. :)

This is the outfit I pulled together for the class. I *really* love the chambray dress I snagged for about 4 bucks - it's so versatile, and I have to resist the temptation to wear it too often. Actually, I already owned everything else in this outfit, some of the few things that made the cut when I raided my wardrobe and got rid of everything useless or total crap. The blue dress brought them all together.

The actual dress is this piece: