Party In Your Parka Recap

What I wore (shown above): A vintage shift dress that I've worn before here, vintage black wool beret with vintage brooch and (not pictured) some super fun hot pink tights and high heel booties! (Very impractical footwear, yes, haha!). Naturally I layered that outfit with a warm vintage winter dress coat, scarf and gloves.

With the exception of my shoes, my entire outfit was thrifted!

PARTY IN YOUR PARKA RECAP!

Wow, am I ever impressed with the skills of local Muskegon event gurus Watermark 920 and many other amazing folks that made the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex into a snowy oasis of fun, music and winter sports last Saturday!

It was SUCH an awesome turnout! I saw many fashionable winter folk enjoying coffees, beers, Michigan-made music and so much more around fire pits and winter sports activities (like the luge!). It was a blast to see people randomly ice skating, cross country skiing and sledding around. What an amazing idea this whole event was!

I know I had a great time and enjoyed bringing my son, who walked around with me sipping hot chocolate. We capped off the night with a soft pretzel inside! It turned out fantastically!

Check out my Pinterest board to see some more fun iPhone shots of guests here and also see

BlinkPhoto's fantastic shots from the day. Stop by the Official Fan Page, too, so that you can stay updated for next year's dates! You won't want to miss it. :)

Happy statehood birthday to the glorious mitten--my favorite place to be!

This colorful group of friends had the highest number of likes on my Pinterest board! Lots of fun colors and I'm diggin' this dude's hair! :)

My son eats (and really enjoys!) his first warm and soft pretzel! (It was a hit!!!)

Looking forward to seeing everyone next year! Stay warm for the rest of the season. I'll be posting more thrifted winter fashion soon!

Contest Winner and 16 Ways Scarf Tutorial #5:Statement with brooch!

It’s as simple as pinning…

And that's how you do it! All I did to achieve this look was take a longer, sheer, rectangular purple scarf from Hope's Outlet in Muskegon, Michigan and arrange it doubled around the neck, tying it in a loose, pretzel like knot. I then pinned the ends together with a cute brooch!

This look is easy to do with any size scarf and the right accent pin. Personally I think it looks more put together than the casual "tie" of a hankerchief or scarf around the neck, and I prefer the weight of it as well. It looks like a statement necklace in a way.

Find a scarf and try it out yourself!

DON'T FORGET, YOU CAN WIN THIS SCARF TODAY!

Also, congrats!

To Nicole, the winner of this last week's bracelet in the vintage jewelry giveaway posts. .

Enjoy!

Would you like to have this scarf and brooch?

It can be yours! It is waiting at the Hope's Outlet on 1974 Sherman in Muskegon. Take a thrifting trip (they are open until 6 p.m. tonight and tomorrow) and ask for the purple giveaway scarf from Thrift Trick.

Enjoy!

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Hope's Outlet Thrift Stores are located at:

2424 Glade St., Muskegon, MI 49444

1974 E Sherman Blvd, Muskegon, MI 49444

1100 Washington Ave, Grand Haven, MI 49417

Find Hope's Outlet on Facebook!

Thrift Sessions: Besties in G-rap

I hope everyone had a fantastic Valentine's day! I threw in a picture of the tulips the hubby got me; I've always loved them so much!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of a lovely afternoon of lunch, cocktails and thrifting with one of my best gal pals, Jenna. We went on her "route"--which was recently established when she moved to Grand Rapids. This thrills me because 1) I love thrifting in Grand Rapids and 2) Jenna used to be more of a retail gal, and now she is turning into a thrift addict...and I'd like to think that I'm a small part of it! Haha! :)

We both found some great thrift finds! Over the next few days, I'll be posting thrift finds and outfits from our adventure. I'm starting with some of the things that I picked up!

I TRIED to resist this vintage royal blue dress with a plunging neckline and lavender suede accents in my size because it was $5 (you know I like my dollar dresses!)...but I simply couldn't.

The beer steins and mention of pretzels sold me on this record for .50. Can't wait to put it up in the bar! It is pictured here with the vintage red gingham short sleeve blouse I bought for 1.29 the same day. It is late 60's and I can't WAIT to wear it.

Jenna spotted this little white clutch for $2 (overpriced, I think) and thought it was cute, there wasn't much drawing me to it until I saw the quadrilateral way it opens and the little sliding clip at the top. Cute and interesting! It is pictured on a vintage scarf I bought as well.

Vintage pink rhinestone clip-ons...just had to.

This crazy bird brooch HAD to come home with me for .99 cents.

Yellow rhinestone clip-ons! I know...I need to stop.

This crab tie called out to me...and I responded. I'll post an outfit shot with it soon; pictured in the background was a book I picked up for my son that is a favorite, Lous Ehlert's Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf.

Jenna also talked me into buying this glass loose leaf tea pot and at $2.50, it wasn't too hard to convince me. I'm already excited about some fun "infusions" I am planning on making this week--I was rifling through my spice cupboard yesterday while making chai and got some great ideas!

Look for more entries this week on our Grand Rapids adventure, including an outfit shot with Jenna and her thrifting finds as well!

See you then...

-C

$17.50

Things started off on a good note with this $2 Otagiri vintage owl mug. Tea time!

This cute little vintage suitcase fit my laptop perfectly! I am a sucker for vintage suitcases. I have a huge Samsonite collection. I seriously find them impossible to pass up!

There is so much great lace and monochrome going on this season, I couldn't pass up this stretchy lace top.

When I saw this yard of super vintage polyester I had a flashback to 1979. I decided I would take it to sew a dress and I saw this in my mind:

All I did was wrap it around my dress form but now you get the picture! In all reality it looks great just gathered this way. Hmm...shall I dare make my own pattern?

This was a vintage "In The Mood" suit. It came with a matching skirt for only $1.59! You might think it looks matronly but I love this. I will rock it proper.

Vintage polyster.

Nice little vintage brooch for 99 cents!

Just some cheap little chains that I intend on doing other things with...I liked them because they were both under a dollar and very long!

Laurel Burch earrings! So adorable. They caught my eye right away. I'm posting a picture of my swans (also Laurel Burch) that I bought last year for 99 cents. I just LOVE these and I've gotten many compliments on them. Check out a bunch of fantastic vintage Laurel Burch here on Ebay, if you want to drool a bit.

Cute little pearl vintage clip-ons!

Vintage Rhinestone clip ons! $3. Your cheapo gal deliberated over this; my big purchase of the day, lol...

My friend is a registered dietitian (R.D.) and bought this pin for her. How perfect, right?

All in all it was a great thrifting day! I also bought some board games and books for my son, along with a neat children's chair!

I must admit; I've been spending about thirty dollars a week thrifting in the last month. That adds up...for a family with a modest income. I don't smoke, and I don't really drink. I also don't go out to movies or spend much of anything on entertainment. Since thrifting is my main source of clothing and household items as well, I'm justifying my habit. Please...tell me what I want to hear? Hahaha!

In lieu of my guilt, I think I'll force myself to simmer for the rest of December and save my remaining pennies for Christmas. The rest of my blog entries this month will be craft and outfits. Unless...of course...there is something too good to pass up.... :D

Teal With It

OUTFIT: Vintage "Buey Too" dress. This dress was $2. It has a super light floral pattern that you can barely see until you get up close. So cute. SCARF: was another thrift find--just 99 cents. BROOCH: is vintage. My boss gave it to me and I LOVE it. Have you tried arranging a simple winter scarf this way? It goes from being a plain scarf to something so pretty and decorative. A pin or brooch keeps it in place. BELT: is a vintage belt that pops up often in my posts. Today I accidentally broke the band off the side so I put a teeny tiny black rubber band on one side to hold things into place. I don't like "tucking" the end in because it is uncomfortable for me and makes the belt twist. For this reason. I usually choose belts that are small because I know I will be belting high up on the waist. BOOTS: are from 2 years ago. I bought them at Walmart for $20. This year I re-purposed them by cutting off some braiding, moving things around, and fixing some broken things. They were a super cheap pair of boots but I made them last two seasons! They will be around next year but I'll likely retire them. A good pair of brown leather boots will be something I will have as a bigger purchase next year. BAG: Vintage Samsonite. I am a sucker for it and collect them. I can't help it. I have this same bag in fire engine red! It's just so cute. GLASSES: 99 cents, Dollar Tree. BRACELETS: The teal bracelet was from the dollar store--a funky independent one I frequent near my house. The awesome chain mail bracelet was hand made for me by my jewelry making friend, Penny! Check out her beautiful stuff at her Etsy store, Firewater Jewelry!