Friday's Finds... #06

TGIF Peeps!

Thank the good Lord, because I don't think I could take another 6 am wake-up 
with the way little man (who is feeling much better BTW) has been sleeping all week!

Today's Friday's Finds is not the usual...  I went shopping!  Like, for real shopping - not thifting, so I'm going to tell you about the really fun items I picked up for our family pictures.  I'll save my thrifting treasures for next week, with the exception of a little tutorial at the end... Because after what I spent yesterday, I'm going to be holding off on any purchases for a while.  :P

DISCLAIMER:  Its a loooooooong one.

I braved the sun yesterday (I feel like a vampire with my injured eye's sensitivity to light) and headed out to the mall with Little Man in tow.  

Shopping =  Fun!

Shopping With 3 Year old =  Not so much.

As you'll remember from Tuesday's post, our family is having our pictures taken and I'm going for a vintage funk vibe.  Think this:

But instead of having an urban funk feel, we're going with an older chippier background - with similar clothing.

Its not too often that I have great success shopping for myself.  And I haven't quite gotten used to being a reasonable size again.  Six children back to back (and one miscarriage) has taken its toll on muscle tone and weight, as I kept on 10-15 lbs with each pregnancy.   Last year, I got serious about getting some of it off and have managed to whittle my Size 22 (225 lb) body down to a Size 16 (189 lbs).  For some, a Size 16 might not be considered reasonable, but for me its a huge deal.  I'd like to eventually be back down to my pre-pregnancies size of a 9, but I don't think these hips are ever going to go back there.  LOL! 

I still am jealous over all the skinny-minnies out there, but then I just remind myself how far I've come and hopefully since I've had a tubal ligation, my weight will eventually fall to a lovely Size 12.  At my largest in 2004, I weighed a whopping 260 lbs full term pregnant with the diva.  

Anyhoooooooo...

So, yesterday I'm at Dillard's (which is kind of like a Belk for those of you back east - Its an upper end department store, but not as upper end as say... Macy's) with a bored 3 year old duct taped strapped into a stroller.  I know exactly what I have in mind...  Pencil skirt, belted sweater,  and neck scarf.  For once I'm not going to try to hide my curves, I'm just going to flaunt what I got.  And believe me, there's a lot of junk in this trunk.  Just sayin'.  ;)

I had a wonderful associate helping me and when she asked me for my size, I paused and said, "Ummm...  18?"  She kind of looked at me dubiously and I thought, "Good grief.  Just how much have I gained back?  I know these jeans are getting tight, but geez."  (I haven't been exercising or watching what I eat too well for about 9 months - You know, life?  It got in the way.)  And she says, "You're at most a 16."  Whew!  Kind of had me worried there.  Then she asked for a shirt size, "XL?",  I said.  This time she just shook her head and started pulling XLs.  

So, for about 3 days 30 minutes I was trapped in a cell dressing room the size of a matchbox the eye of a needle with a vicious tazmanian devil three year old who figured out if he leaned his weight forward enough and reached out with his feet, he could tip the stroller forward and pull himself around on his toes to open the door, while simultaneously trying to try on about 20 5 different outfits and look at them long enough to decide if they were the look that I was going for.  Fun times let me tell ya.

The XL shirts swam on me.  YAY!

The XL and L leather jackets hung on me.  WOO-HOO!

The Size 16 skirt was too big in the waist and hips.  SCORE!

And the M/L belt which was the only size they had in the style I wanted actually fit!  DOING A TOUCHDOWN DANCE!

Its the little things peeps.  It really is.  :)

So, this is what I ended up with:

I did end up going with the Size 16 skirt.  The 14 was a bit snug through the thighs and rear-end and it wouldn't be a problem if I didn't want to sit down...  Ever.  LOL!  But at least I got it on!  I haven't been able to fit into a size 14 since I was 21.

I ended up spending more on the outfit than I planned...  Ummm...  A whole lot.  Probably more than I'll spend on the pictures.  LOL

Here's the breakdown:

NyGard Black Skirt:  $39.20 (20% Off)

NyGard Leather Jacket:  $127.20 (20% Off)

(The NyGard line was 20% off both items if you bought two.)

Investments V-Neck Sweater:  $29.00

Jessica Simpson (Ugh.  I know) Belt:  $36.00

Jessica Simpson Scarf:  $22.80 (30% Off)

(She might be an idiot, but her designers rock)

Total:  $271.99

I can't believe I let myself get talked into the leather jacket, but I saw it and fell in love.  Plus it was a Medium...  (Holla!  I haven't worn a Medium since high school!) You can dress it up or pair it with jeans and heels for a night out.  Plus, I love the statement it makes.

Here's a close-up:

The most fun thing about losing some weight has been the ability to wear stuff that's out of the ordinary for me and surprise the hubs.  Usually I'm wearing jeans and some type of sports t-shirt, so when I put on something like this and come down the stairs, the look on his face is priceless.  And then he usually asks me how much it cost.  (Way to kill the moment, dear.)  LOL!

I mean, before I lost 30-some pounds (60-some pounds total), I would have never gone for anything like these kick-butt shoes because my knees wouldn't have been able to take it:

Are those not sweet or what?!  I wish they had them in the same blue as my scarf!  That would have been awesome!  And I love me some heels!

I just hope the entire outfit looks as good in the pictures as it did in the mirror!

While I was out, I also picked up a few things for the kiddos and the hubs.  Unfortunately, the battery on my camera went dead before I could take pictures of all of their outfits.  :(  AND for some reason my camera is not taking a charge.  What is up with that???  Guess I'm going to be taking a trip to the camera store.  Great.

But, I was able to snap a few off before the battery went completely dead...

For Ian (Believe it or not, found at Sears.  Hat - The Children's Place):

Paired with a jeans, this is going to rock!  And I love the fact that he's not afraid to sport a fedora.  You should have seen him putting it on at an angle and down over one eye.  He's such a ham!

And for the little man courtesy of The Children's Place:

I'm pairing these with jeans, as well.  I tried to talk him into a hat too, but he was having none of that.  Poo!

For Noah I got a gray V-Neck sweater (The Children's Place), which he'll be wearing with a white undershirt and jeans.  Very understated, as is Noah.  Funnily enough, he wants a fedora too.  LOL!

The diva's outfit is totally the bomb and I wish I had had enough charge left to take a picture.  For her, I went to Justice.  Dummy me, I figured they were on par with The Children's Place pricing, so I didn't even look at the cost when I grabbed stuff.  OUCH.  I did a double take at the sales associate when she gave me the price.  Black tulle knee length sequined skirt, gray tank, black embellished long sleeved shrug, and a blue sequined flower headband (that I totally saw the exact same one at Walmart last night for an 1/8 of the price!  DOH!) was $100.23.  O.M.G.  But Children's Place didn't have anything that I liked in her size.  She'll be sporting a pair of black Calf high boots and the entire ensemble is smokin'.  A friend told me, after the fact, that the mall has this new store called "Crazy 8" that has way cute stuff for half the price.  Darn it.  And of course she took all the tags off.  Smart girl.  ;)

For the hubs I found a peacock blue shirt at Rue 21 that matched my scarf exactly.  However, he's really broad through the shoulders from all the physical work he does and it was too tight through the chest and arms.  Shoot!  And Greyson's gray button down with black pinstripes that I found at the same was too big.  Guess where I get to go today?  Yep.  Clear back to W'loo.  With the little man.  Lucky me.  Not.

So, now you'll know what I'll be doing today.  Ugh.  And my house looks like an F5 tornado blew through it because I was home all of 5 minutes yesterday.  Swell.

For all you crafty types that are totally disappointed with today's Friday's Finds, here's something for you.

Five plain wood blocks picked up at the local thrift on Tuesday for $1.25...

Painted with paint on hand (Chalkboard White, Smooth Slate, and Fairytale)...

Add some handmade stencils...

Traced onto the blocks and painted with a black paint marker...

Distressed and glazed for this final product (I have no clue why the blocks showed up blue instead of aqua, but no camera for a retake.  :P)...

I'm lovin' it!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and we'll see you back here (hopefully with a fixed camera!) on Monday.  Take care, y'all!

Friday's Finds... #01

Today I got a rare opportunity to have the day to myself.  WOW!

While the hubs took the little man with him for the day, I had a whole entire day to do whatever I wanted.  WOO-HOO!

After volunteering for an hour at our middle school's book fair, I had a wonderfully indulgent hour sipping a Turtle Mocha Latte and chatting with two of my favorite people and fellow wrestling moms.  Can you believe I've never done that before?  Clearly I need to get out more often!

Well, what else does a mom that has freedom for the first time in who knows how long do?  S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G!  Oh yeah!

What started as little stop off to grab a couple of cards from Hallmark, ended up being a full blown shopping spree - for me!  No football cleats or wrestling shoes or boys clothing or girls clothing or groceries!!!!!!!!!  YIPPEE!  I get so excited about the littlest things!  LOL

Here's my haul:

I found a fantastic chippy pitcher and bowl set at our local Hallmark that was an absolute must-have:

I see them making a new home for themselves on my soon to be painted (carefully!) pre-Civil War mantle.

Then, once I got to thinking about it (which is sometimes a bad thing in my case), I decide to drive to this really totally absolutely wonderful shop that I love but never hardly ever get to.  Taking a three year old in there would be akin to taking a bull into a china shop, so I get there maybe once a year.  And for this year, today was that day!  If you live anywhere in eastern Iowa, you should definitely make the drive to "Country Collections" in Dumont.  She has a fantastic collection of vintage and new items that are out of this world.  I could spend HOURS in there - which, I did today.

Here's some pics for my new weekly blog post:  Friday's Finds.  Considering I just conceived this idea about two seconds before I started this blog post, it's a pretty sweet idea.  Look for it each Friday!  What a great reason to buy myself a little something each week!  But don't always expect a haul like I got today!  ;)

These sweet little picture frames are going to get some spray paint, but for $1.00 each, who could resist?  The little box was $2.00 and the milk glass vase, $3.00.

Luh-ove the vintage wooden blocks!  I sat down indian style in the middle of the floor and sorted through her basket of blocks to find green ones that spelled our last name.  And the little miniature subway sign - LOVE!  LOVE!  LOVE!  The glass bottle, vintage books, and iron stars were must haves for the vision I have for our office space.  And the little iron votive candle holder was just because it was cute.

But I was a wee bit upset when I unwrapped the glass bottle and found this:

Hopefully, I can glue it back.

And for $1.50, I'm sure I can use these old horseshoes and this vintage matchbox somewhere...

I came across sheets of metal like this laying up against the side of the building.  $15.00 was a little steep, but I've got an idea for it...

And the piece de resistance:

   And old potato bin.  LUH-OVE!!!!

Check out the handle...

NEAT!

I found these pillows marked 50% off...

  $14.00 for the both of them.  

And this white one is so soft!  A perfect accent for our bed...

While I absolutely adore the crochet on this burlap feather pillow.  That's just a shadow on the bottom, its in mint condition.

These little letters that spell out WELCOME will be perfect on our mantle...

Speaking of the mantle, here it is...

The hubs says I can't paint it white because it has its original flaking and peeling paint on it, which gives it character.  Yeah...  Because its more than likely lead paint!  I want to seal it and then paint it.  What do you think????

Well, I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.  This has got to be the fastest post I've ever done.  Please excuse any typos!  We're off for more Friday night lights to cheer on our Go-Hawks!

Hope you'll tune in for next week's Friday's Finds!  :)