Thursday, January 31, 2013

Village Thrifty...




Last weekend, we put together a small budget and went thrift shopping.  Matt came with me, but he has a lot to learn about thrifting.  He said he would take photos of me, but refused to carry a big camera and then when I started to shop, he was nowhere to be found for a good 30 minutes.  He is good to me in about a billion other ways, so I let it slide.
Village Thrift is located in Camden, NJ just over the river from us and it is ginormous.  I always find good things here and I haven’t been in almost a year.  They used to not have any changing rooms so I would have to truly dress stealthily to try things on in the aisles, but now they have a couple that they added and it makes it a lot more enjoyable, albeit less exciting.
I was pretty giddy as we drove over.
 











Historically, I have always gone on Saturdays, but I thought since we are trying to make the money stretch, I’d go on Sunday because they have 3 tags that are 50% off.  It was pretty crazy, not quite unbearable, but it was definitely picked over and I left wondering if it was really worth it.  I think I’ll stick with my Saturdays.
We had fun though.  Matt had fun rolling his eyes at me going back to the jeans section multiple times.  I had fun looking for lost treasure and we had fun just being together.
It was also probably good for my pocketbook that it was picked over.
Here are some of the things I tried on.  I tried on a few other things that didn’t fit at all or were just varying shapes of jeans. 

Nothing super special this time, but that’s why we keep thrifting, isn’t it?  Just wondering what will be there the next time…
Scroll down to see what I chose and what I left behind…


Those yellow pants are from j.crew and although they are about 3 sizes too big, I could not pass them up.  I have been on a hunt for these for years.  Great fabric, clean, wide leg.  I will have to take them in, but you know how much I love a project! 
The white jeans were also just a little big, but I’m hoping when I dry them they will shrink up.  I liked that they weren’t skinny jeans though.  I have tried on a number of white skinnies and I am not a fan so far, but these were great – thick denim, straight leg.  I wasn’t sure, but the photo I took convinced me. 
The red boots were a no-brainer.  Nine West, perfect fit. 
And that heart-tie-dye-sweatshirt – love!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Fricken Chicken...

On Sunday, we went on a little adventure.  Matt had heard about Federal Donuts and we needed to give it a shot.  They sell three things: coffee, donuts and fried chicken - a strange combo for sure,

But WELL worth it!

They have a method and it works for them.  They have a certain number of donuts and a certain amount of chicken they cook and when they run out for the day - they close up shop.

On their website, they have FAQ's and my favorite is
Q: Why don't you make more chicken?
A: Why don't YOU make more chicken?

Hilarious.

Each 1/2 chicken comes with a doughnut - just a basic one, but it was soo good.  And we were super lucky because someone ordered 4 cinnamon doughnuts and left without them, so they asked if anyone wanted them, and well - duh, free donuts - we did!  They were possibly the best I've ever tasted.  As you can see - no photos because I didn't want to set the d-nut down in order to photograph.

Highly recommend.

It was small and quaint and made me wish I had a place where I was a regular and they knew what I wanted every time I stopped by.  With only a few doughnut and chicken flavors - this could be the place.  Even if they don't remember me - they could take a guess and have a decent shot!







Sunday, January 27, 2013

Fake Spring...

Last week the weather went crazy and jumped into the 60's, so we quickly got out to FDR park and took a nice stroll.  For an hour or so we pretended that winter was winding down and spring was on the way.

I read an article that surveyed married couples that have been together for 40+ years and many of them spoke about how they shared both an indoor and an outdoor activity to keep them learning and growing together.  Matt and I spent our walk talking about what outdoor activity we would want to share.  


Matt touted the merits of kickball and dodge ball while I leaned a bit more heavily on tennis since 1) It's pretty cheap 2) There are courts nearby and 3) It isn't dependent on anyone else (like softball or another team sport). 

We also considered running but we've totally tried to take up running about a million times and we pretty much hate it, although I would love some of the hot pink running shoes that are on trend at the moment.

How do you go about keeping your relationship fresh?







Friday, January 25, 2013

Snow...

It snowed today!

We haven't had a good snow in Philly for a few years and it was the first time we ever had to shovel since we moved into our new place last June.  We probably didn't have to shovel yet, but Matt is always pre-empting and they are saying we might get 8" or so.

It was so very beautiful
















This week has been so cold, all I have been thinking about is how we managed as kids - standing at the bus stop in the mornings and going out for recess during the day.  The high this week in Vermont was zero degrees and I am shivering and suicidal at 20 degrees here in Philly.  We never knew the difference as children.  No one every told us we should be freezing, it is all we knew.

The snow made me forget for a moment how very cold and bitter it is, and to forget for a moment how very much pain my body is in.

I try not to write about my back pain because it doesn't really help anyone, it isn't all that interesting and it's much more fun to take pretty pictures and write about something  fun, but if I am to be true, then it is only right to mention what I am thinking about so often lately. 

Today is a really bad day for pain.

Pain makes you fuzzy to everything else - not quite forget it, but to not have the energy to re-focus on the things that are right and good and true.  It makes me snappy and easily irritated and sometimes bitterly jealous at others around me who move easily and don't cry out when they bend over.

In my heart, I trust that God will rescue me from this pain at some point.  I know that he can heal me and so in the meantime, I cling to Him and his promises in my life - that He is enough for me and He will deliver me as no one else can.

The snow is often a symbol of newness, of starting afresh and I needed to remember that possibility today!

Also it was fun to wear the hat I bought when i went to the Arctic years ago...

*I also have a number of doctors appointments so if God chooses to heal me that way, that would be fine too!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Post Christmas Deals...

I'm still not really shopping because we are waiting patiently for God to find Matt a job.  (Matt is looking too, don't worry!) But I thought I'd do a little wish list of some cheap finds.  The best thing about after Christmas - besides taking down the Christmas tree and feeling like your house is 10x bigger - is the amazing sales!  I got a few cheap pieces at Kohls (like this one I snagged in store for $14!).

All of these items are under $50 - ENJOY!



Monday, January 7, 2013

Small House Projects...

Here are a few of the small projects we've been working on around the house (although compiled, we've been quite busy!)...

Pillows:
I have made a number of these as gifts but have really wanted to make one for our home for a while now.  I pretty much love anything that entails smocking - although it is sometimes tricky to incorporate into clothing - since it makes things puffier.  I have a skirt that looks pretty nice and I have a vision for a jacket...


These are just some easy ones that I banged out for our new basement TV area.  I also have an enormous amount of stuffing from former art pieces that were disassembled and re purposed, so I've been trying to utilize it instead of having 5 bags of stuffing in the closet!




I threw away one that used to be on our bed because it had gotten so bedraggled - here is the new replacement that I made...


And here is another I made for our living area...



I'm am terrible about taking 'before' photos, but this chair was mint green with purple seating and a purple back.  This is to tie into our new guest room. 

Photos on the guest room coming soon...
 


I was able to coerce Matt into painting our boring front door into bright green (as mentioned here).  We were rushing trying to get everything done before Christmas and his parents coming and because the door was fiberglass, we had to use oil paint.  I had no idea that Home Depot or Lowes won't mix oil paint for you, so we had to go to a local paint store, they were experts and helped us out.  The door didn't dry by the time we went to bed, so we put up paper in the doorway (we do have a screen/security door) and then Matt had to sleep on the couch to keep guard.

I think it looks great.  The funny thing is people probably think we did it for Christmas because it is green, but it was just a coincidence!


Here is what it looked like before
Grey Primer
In Progress
From the Street

Friday, January 4, 2013

Artwork Around the House...

One thing we have been focusing on is the artwork in our home.  We bought our house last June and have done some projects, but we were also gone for a good part of 2012, so we never quite got it to the stage where it feels perfectly homey.

Artwork can be tricky because you want great pieces, but sometimes you have to wait until you find them and let the space develop over time.  I have a lot of my old sculptures from grad school in storage in our basement, so we went through those and pulled a few that could be hung and some that could be repurposed into other things (Christmas gifts!).

Here are a few things we have hanging around...

This is a piece we purchased in Australia at a local fair - just a simple piece for one of the hallways

This is part of a piece from my grad school sculpture collection.  Full piece here


This is our walkway, one of my favorite wall areas, I love these old vintage mirrors that were a gift

This is our one true piece of art, from my dear friend Lauren Scott - best piece in the house
This is a new addition - a small gallery of our most recent trip (currently Australia)
Here is a piece that I have been eyeing on Etsy.  When Matt gets a job, I think we'll buy a few larger paintings to round out the house... Here is the link to this one if you can afford it before I can!