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Friday, April 26, 2013

LL Bean Shirt Dress

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LL BEAN STRIPED SHIRT DRESS
Do you “do” brown and blue?
I love it.
I've adored this navy and white striped dress for years. Of course, it was a thrifted find. While I can’t remember exactly where I bought it, the combinations of outfits that I've created using it as the base are countless! I know that I only paid three dollars for it, and with its stretchy nature, it fit me at a heavier weight and continues to be fairly flattering even though I’m smaller now! It’s definitely something I’ll gladly alter with my sewing machine if I drop more clothing sizes in the future.

The tan bomber jacket is a vintage London Fog that I bought at Hope’s Outlet for $3.99—it’s one of my new favorite pieces of clothing! The boots and scarves aren't thrifted items; they were online purchases. I've linked the boots here before. The scarf (pashmina) was an Overstock purchase years ago! Bag was also thrifted at Hope's Outlet in Grand Haven.

Hat was thrifted of course, and sunglasses are a cheap pair from Dollar Tree. OH—how I love my cheap sunglasses!

This was an office appropriate outfit but it also worked pretty well on a sunset bike ride I took last night. SPRING IS HERE! I rode to the beach in lovely Grand Haven listening to Frank Sinatra, and I'm sharing a song with you today.


Have a WONDERFUL weekend!


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Earlier in the day, I paired the outfit with a brown Fedora.


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The boyfriend says I shouldn't be afraid of my (bodacious--as in...big) rear. So...I'm trying. :D

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Upcyled Herb Garden and Home Made Dishwashing Detergent! (My late Earth Day post!)

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UPCYCLED HERB GARDEN and HOME MADE DISHWASHING DETERGENT!

Happy (belated) Earth Day! I had the best intentions of publishing my blog yesterday as the contents seemed most fitting for Earth Day, but after a day of outdoor activities and "lights out" inside to save energy (an act very much demanded by my inspired six year old), I promptly fell asleep at HIS bed time last night! Haha! Hmm, I guess modern day technology is contributing to my pseudo-insomniac behaviors...

But back to the planting at hand!

I love herb gardening. For one thing, I've found that, beyond simple container gardens such as cherry tomatoes, I'm somewhat incapable (or rather, my soil is) of harvesting a full fledge vegetable garden at this point. Therefore, I've found a scaled down garden--and herbs in particular--to be very satifsying! Both flowers and herbs are something I can grow indoors all year long, and I love having the freshness on hand to add to meals and drinks.

Currently, I am growing Rosemary, Sage, Basil, Mint, Cilantro, and Thyme, along with wheat grass.

However, until a week or so ago, all of my herbs were in ugly brown plastic containers on my front porch. I decided to remedy that with (surprise!) thrifted and vintage bowls and tins! I love the mix of color, pattern and diversity they added to my planting table and wanted to share how pretty they are. :)  I hope you enjoy the pictures below and, in honor of Earth Day, make sure you scroll to the bottom of the page to see my recipe for home made dishwashing detergent! It is very natural and I have been washing dishes successfully (with no notable harm to my machine or dishes) with it for a while now! Not only is it inexpensive, but it contains no harmful chemicals or dyes, and it is biodegradable. 

PS--stay with me this week for a little visual tour of my apartment! I wanted to share some of my (thrifted) decorating with you in this post but then I realized that I have too many photos to share--it's definitely worthy of its own blog posting!

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Dye Free, Biodegradable  Non-Toxic, Inexpensive, Petroleum Free, Animal Testing Free and Septic Safe Dishwashing Detergent!

1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 drops (literally, drops--as in eyedropper drops the size of a lentil) of dishwashing soap. You must use an all natural dish soap or the recipe won't be all that it's claiming to be above! :) I use Meijer Naturals Ultra Concentrated in Lemon Eucalyptus. It's powerful, safe, and smells wonderful, and it's affordable too!

DIRECTIONS: Mix ingredients with about 4-5 tbs of water (or a little more) to create a liquid. This makes ONE LOAD. 


I like to mix mine as I go, but I am certain that you could mix a little more ahead of time for ease of use. Salt and sodium bicarbonate, being natural though, do tend to break down...so I thought it might not be a great idea to mix up huge batches ahead of time. I shall report back on any developments that are made in this department!

ENJOY--my dishes in my machine came out sparkling clean! Each machine may vary. If you experience spots, you may want to experiment with a solution of vinegar water--a natural "streak free" agent.  I tend to skip this step, because I don't often see spots--and when I do, they don't bother me much. ;)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Take Me Away...To Tennessee

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TAKE ME AWAY...To Tennessee

It seems like life lately has been a mile long freight train for me...traveling at a bullet train speed. In fact, I've barely blogged all month because of all the life changes, good stress and events that have been stacking up one after another for months prior!

This last year has brought much personal change into my world, and some of it has been painful. Yet, the sting of transformation has blossomed into beauty and growth--much like the spring we are {FINALLY!} enjoying.

For that reason, the yearly family vacation that my mother, sister and son take together was especially welcome. Our respite this year was to Tennessee--first Chattanooga, then Gatlinburg! More specifically, the outskirts of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. The adorable cabin we stayed in from Hearthside Cabin Rentals was called "Take Me Away". Tour it here! 

I have so many wonderful pictures from our trip, I couldn't even begin to share them all here. I did document some of my thrifting adventures, and I hope to blog those very soon--along with (pathetically) an outfit post from St. Patrick's day almost a FULL month ago, and a weekend trip I took to Holland with my boyfriend for my birthday!

It's back to the grind on Monday...and looking forward to lots of fun fashion events this month! Look for more updates in my next blog. I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break!

OUTFIT DETAILS: I can't get enough triangles lately--which explains this kitschy and somewhat threadbare sweater. It was a thrifted find for $1.49 at Hope's Outlet, as was the skirt. Boots are new--Jackie Cognac by ComfortView. Diamond shaped dangly earrings were a clearanced item at--gasp--Walmart. Haha! Ring was a gift from my bestie and my nails are applique with a layer of silver chunk glitter for fun. Both nail items were $1 at Dollar Tree.


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