Thrift Style Thursday - Sporty Chic

Today's Thrift Style Thursday theme was a CHALLENGE.  I was totally on board when the other gals suggested we do "sporty chic" this week and then later was like, what was I thinking?  Here's the thing.  I am not sporty.  Not even a little bit.  So I was like, how am I going to do this and also make it work for work??  Well, I pulled a little something together I think works pretty well.  And it's my Friday today, so if there was ever a day to have a little fun with what you're wearing to work it's on a "Friday", amiright?

I knew I would wear these comfy canvas shoes I bought at a consignment store a few years back.  I also decided I would attempt to dress up a sweatshirt for work as well.  I pulled out this denim skirt and some knee highs and here we are.  Nate said I look like I'm ready to go play tennis.  I can dig that I guess.

Sweatshirt - Mossimo (Target), Skirt - Loft (thrifted)

Shoes - Dansko (Consignment), Necklace - Swap 

The whole time I was putting this together I kept thinking of the Spice Girls for some reason and Sporty Spice - she was never my favorite.  I felt kind of bad for her, she wasn't really as pretty as the other girls and didn't get to really wear as many fun clothes.  I guess someone has to be the tomboy though right?  I was never that girl!  Nate was not sporty either.  We often wonder what Ollie will be like - he has already taken a liking to all sport type balls - soccer, football, baseball - so who knows!

For other Sporty thrifted looks, check out the other Thrift Style Thursday gals at their blogs below.

Being Zhenya/Buttons and Birdcages/Lipstick and Yarn

Alligator Toe/Spoolish/Littledyknow

And check out our Facebook group to join in the fun yourself!

Just Between Friends sale

I've talked on here a little bit before about the awesomeness of the Just Between Friends consignment sale. It's a periodic sale that comes up about three times a year. It's a great place to get deals on secondhand kids clothes and gear and also for moms to be to get maternity items or nursing items.  I went to my first sale last October while I was still pregnant and then to my second sale in March when Oliver was three months old. The deals are just too good to resist especially with the speed that kids grow out of things sometimes!
The latest sale near me is just wrapping up and this time I decided to take a chance and actually try to sell some of the stuff Ollie has outgrown and also my fall and winter maternity clothes.  We are likely one and done on kids (more on this another day) and if we aren't, well, most of these items are cheap enough to replace and I just don't have storage space, so I figured, let's just see what I can get for it if I try to sell it and it'll free up room at home!  I will say - it was a bit of a hassle getting everything ready though I have learned a great deal to make it easier on myself in the future.  Basically you can price everything yourself which is awesome.  If you're willing to let the unsold items go for half price on the last day and then be donated at the end, you also have a $12 consignment fee waived.  The pricing is a lot of work, you have to enter in all your items into their specially set up website and then print the tags on white cardstock.  However, you can enter your tags into the system all year long, not just at sale time.  Now that I know this, I could easily just enter in items as Ollie outgrows them instead of trying to enter in a bunch of items at once.  
The other sort of annoying thing is that all the clothes must be hung on plastic hangers and you have to pin the tag a certain way and the items must be hung a specific way.  I didn't read the directions well enough before going to drop off my items and when I showed up, they had me re-do almost everything.  I know, you're probably thinking, I would have just walked out the door at that point.  I was tempted to do that, but since I was already there, I just went ahead and made the fixes.  It was all worth it in the end - I can check my progress online.  Today is the last day of the sale and I've already made over $100.  Yep.  I'll be doing this again!  I have knowledge for next time to make it way easier on myself!
Of course, I did spend some money at the sale, but I'll still come out ahead in the end.  We made a nice haul for Oliver for fall and winter. He'll have plenty of warm clothes.  And he has a couple of new toys too.  It's a great place to look for some of the bigger, interactive type toys.  

Overall it's a really great program I feel.  I know that there are perks to volunteering with them as well and I think for the spring/summer sales I just might try doing that as well!  I highly recommend looking into whether or not your city has a JBF program if you are a mom or mom to be - not just to shop, but to try and offload all the things you no longer need - they take clothing all the way up to junior sizes!
*I am not being compensated in any way for this review, all opinions and thoughts are my own and just wanting to share my experience.*

Hipster mom and son

It's the return of Hipster cat!  I knew when I bought this sweater that I would absolutely be pairing it with this skirt. I still can't believe all the ways I've found I've been able to wear this bad boy!

Sweater - Mossimo (Target), Skirt - two birds vintage (b. resale)

Tank top - Zulily, Sandals - Merona (Target)

Bracelet - Bead for Life 

I was pretty excited this weekend - when I went to Once Upon a Child, I found a larger size of one of my favorite onesies that Oliver had outgrown - this adorable fox one from Old Navy.  So, since I was wearing Hipster Cat today, I decided he had to wear Hipster Fox.

I had my mom take our picture together this morning - the result wasn't perfect, but we tried!  He's getting rather distract-able these days, so it can be hard to get good pictures!

We're hip together!  Or just nerdy.  Or maybe we're both!  Either way, I think he's pretty cute, I'm excited to have this onesie again and hope he can wear it for a bit longer!

Thrift Style Thursday - Cute and quirky

This week we're showcasing something cute and quirky for Thrift Style Thursday.  I don't think it gets more quirky than loud plaid pants!  Long time readers of my blog will know I thrifted these bad boys a couple of years ago now and they're one of my frequent flyer pieces - I don't even know if I could count the number of ways I've styled them at this point!

For "cute" I added in one of my other thrifted closet staples - my famed "suicide shoes" (named as such by the Pants Monkey because I used to trip in them).  I tend to not wear these shoes much in the winter since they're clogs (clogs plus ice and snow just equals no).  I also didn't wear them much last summer due to being pregnant, so I'm kind of excited to be able to wear them again!

And finally the other "thrifted" piece is actually from a consignment store - but it's also cute and quirky I think - at the very least it's unique - and that would be my favorite leather Coach bag.  It's not their typical style and I think that's why I like it, I love the braided detail on the top of the handle and I love the metal hardware on it.  This is definitely one of my favorite bags.  All in all I think this is a fun look for work today and also for the Twin Cities Mom's Blog Mom's Night Out event I'm going to tonight after work.  Any other local moms going tonight?  Look for me!  I'll be hard to miss in my crazy pants here!

Shirt - Dress Barn, Pants - No Boundaries (thrifted)

Necklace - Charming Charlie, Shoes - Steve Madden (thrifted)

Bag - Coach (consignment)

Be sure to check out all the other Thrift Style Thursday participants at the links listed below!

Spoolish//Sandpaper Kisses//Sincerely Miss J//Confessions of a Refashonista//Alligator Toe//Buttons&Birdcage//Snippets With Alex//Eclecticity//Being Zhenya//Erika's Style Diary//Sistas from Cali//Rachel's Lookbook//Muddy Flowers//

The Two Cent Chick//Lipstick And Yarn

Fur sure

Another cold snowy day yesterday called for a faux fur vest.  Well, I don't know if this is a vest or a little jacket, but either way, it felt appropriate for the weather.  Of course I had a co-worker teasing me "is that sheep or llama? Did you steal it from the Michael Jackson ranch?"  It was all in good fun, he and I have a good working relationship, he actually filled in for me a bit while I was on my maternity leave in fact.

Every time I wear these pants I say I'm going to be done with them - they're so old and one of the pockets has a hole in it.  But you can't see the hole and I just can't seem to quit these pants I guess!  I am so tired of pants - been back at work two weeks and no skirts yet.  I hear the mercury is going above freezing this week though - so I just might pull a skirt out yet!

I had a gift card to Target thanks to singing for a funeral vigil, so I treated myself to this cute little bag - I know I have a problem, I never said I didn't - but was also able to get a couple of little things for Oliver too. And a sweatshirt or two for myself because they were way on sale.  I might attempt a DIY project with one of them, you never know!

Sweater - Ruff Hewn, consignment

Vest/jacket - Swap

Pants - Maurices, very old

Shoes - Mudd, Kohls

Purse - Merona, Target

Necklace - Bead for Life 

Still got the shaggy hair going on.  My hope is to get a haircut before Oliver's baptism on Sunday.  It will happen!  It's funny the things you really struggle to find time for when you have a baby!

The argyle sweater

These are some of my first pictures from the office - it's a little weird getting dressed for work again!  I wore a similar version of this outfit last spring - seen here - during the Pantone color challenge week.  And funny story, when I wore it, I knew I was pregnant, but I hadn't told anyone yet besides Mr. Monkey!

I love argyle, so I love the pattern on this sweater and it's nice and bright which helps on a dreary winter day. And cardigans and nursing camis are kind of my best friend these days.  It really makes things easier for nursing and pumping!

Sweater - Talbots, thrifted

Cami - Motherhood Maternity

Pants - Express, consignment

Shoes - Etienne Aiger, consignment 

Speaking of argyle sweaters - that is one of my favorite comic strips, The Argyle Sweater.  I have a "cartoon of the day" calendar on my desk that is The Argyle Sweater and I love it.  It makes me laugh.  I've been known to keep my favorites and pin them on my bulletin board at work.  You have to make your workplace fun right?

Attractive Nursing Wear

My outfits these days are pretty much based on what I can easily nurse in.  This means a lot of camis and sweaters pretty much.  I was excited to find this sweater/tank combo at Motherhood Maternity shortly before Christmas.  I think it's funny, I pretty much avoided shopping at Motherhood the entire time I was pregnant because of cost - I just didn't think it was worth it when I could find items from Motherhood at the consignment and thrift store.  But when the Pants Monkey and I went mall walking with Oliver the week after he was born I found that even the big department stores were kind of devoid of nursing wear.  In fact, most of them were devoid even of maternity wear.  So, we ventured into Motherhood and they happened to be having a good sale.

Top - Motherhood Maternity

Jeans - LOFT, consignment

Shoes - Clothes Mentor consignment

I got this top and several others thanks to a buy three, get one free deal.  My in-laws found the same sale and ended up giving me several tops for Christmas too.  The nice thing about this one is it's stylish, but very practical for nursing the babe!  I like things that are stylish while being practical!! 

Thanks for the supportive comments re: yesterday's post.  We will see how things work out, you just never know.  In the meantime, shirts like this will be great for pumping when I'm at work too!

Inspiration Monday - Birthday Girl

Hello everyone!  It's my birthday!  I'm 32 today. And we had a good weekend of pre-celebrating!  First up though, is Inspiration Monday with two birds.  Today's model is Sienna Miller in the cutest leopard dress ever.  I'm seriously going to look for something like that for post-baby!

My take on the look is pretty laid back - but I do what I can at this state of my pregnancy!  I'm comfortable, so I guess that is good right?

So back to my weekend, I started my day on Saturday with a manicure and pedicure with my bloggy buddy Lori - it was fabulous.  We had bought Living Social deals awhile back and I tell you it was a great deal and I'm so glad I had it done this far into my pregnancy - it was the best treat to have my feet done!  I highly recommend it if any of you ever find yourselves pregnant, do yourself a favor and get a pedicure, seriously.

After that I met back up with my Pants Monkey and we headed off to the fancy theater to see Catching Fire. Worth every penny I swear, the seats were comfy, they had gourmet snacks, Mr. Monkey was able to have some alcohol, no kids, best way to watch a movie!  The movie was fantastic too, maybe even better than the first.  I really can't wait for Mockingjay now even though I've heard rumors they're splitting it into two parts.

Shirt - Oh Mamma!, thrifted

Sweater - Style and Co, consignment

Pants - Liz Lange, consignment

Necklace - S&D

Shoes - Mudd, Kohls 

We finished out our evening on Saturday with dinner at a nice Irish pub near the movie theater.  Sunday we slept in, had a great breakfast at home and then headed out into the frigid, but beautiful day to have our maternity photos done.  I think they're going to be really nice based on the one preview I already saw!  Then we went to Babies R Us to return a few things we got duplicates on and were able to purchase a few items off our registry we hadn't received but really wanted.  Did a late mass with our music group and then more or less crashed!  Good kick off to our birthdays though.  Today after work we're just chilling at home and then tomorrow we'll celebrate both of our birthdays with our families since tomorrow is Mr. Monkey's birthday! We've always shared our birthdays but I wouldn't have it any other way!

For more Inspiration Monday looks, head on over to two birds over here!

Improvement

Well hello again!  Thanks for letting me be a crankypants yesterday - today has started off much better.  And yesterday improved as it went on.  Oh the trials of a pregnant woman.  

The biggest bright spot in my day yesterday was getting our tickets in advance to the new Hunger Games movie.  We're going to go on Saturday and treat it as a birthday celebration since we both have birthdays next week.  We're splurging and going to a fancy movie theatre - they have fancy snacks, nice seats and a bar.  How can you beat that?  It's expensive, but it will be worth it!  Probably will be the last movie out we'll get to in awhile too, so might as well go all in!

I really love how this sweater still has tons of room for my expanding bump.  Some of my maternity items are getting a little snug already, but this one I know I can wear pretty much to the day I deliver!  It's so comfy.  And so are these dress pants actually.  I'm pretty much to the point that I'm wearing them to work about once a week I think!  Love them.  I also love that once again, I'm rocking high heels.  And I decided to bring out my favorite thrifted find ever - my patchwork Coach bag.  I thought the colors were screaming Fall, so it was time to pull it out of storage.  Just goes to show you never know what you'll find at the Goodwill!

 Sweater - Oh Baby, consignment

Pants - Liz Lange, consignment

Jewelry - Stella and Dot

Bag - Coach, thrifted

Shoes - Merona, thrifted

Also helping my mood yesterday was Mr. Monkey and myself getting a bunch more done off of our checklist for baby, every little thing we take care of makes me feel good!