Clothes Swap Weekly Wrap Up

Hi there.  Frugal February has been moving pretty quickly. In a little over a month I will be eating my way through New Orleans! In the meantime I managed to add some new items to my wardrobe without spending any money. On Sunday night I attended my first Naked Lady Party. While that phrase conjured up a Revenge of the Nerds style pillow fight in my head, a naked lady party is actually just another name for a clothing swap. You bring clothes and accessories that you are no longer using and "shop" the items that the other women brought. Anything that is left unwanted at the end is the responsibility of the host. In this case the leftover clothing will be donated to a woman's shelter. It was a lot of fun and I brought home some great things. I also found new homes for some of my unwanted things, which was a surprisingly satisfying aspect of the evening.

Without further ado here are last weeks outfits.

February 14 -

Sweater: Moda International - Online 201?  Pants: The Limited - Purchased here in 2016

The Stuff - A small nod to the holiday with my tiny heart earring

Earrings: Mom Necklace: Gift from the GH Bracelet: Mom

February 15

Top: American Rag - Retail 20??  Jeans: Chicos - Last seen here (1st outfit)

The Stuff

Earrings: Chicos  Bracelet: Janet Necklace: Gift

February 16

Top: Tahari - Thrift 2014 (?)  Pants: Gloria Vanderbilt - Last seen here (2nd outfit)

The Stuff

Earrings: Unicef  Necklace: Online Bracelet: Mom

February 17 - I think I'm looking at a branch that hit my face
  

Dress: Style & Co - Thrifted 201?

The Stuff - I seem to really like these pieces together

Earrings: Mom  Necklace: Chicos  Bracelets: Morocco

February 18 - Pretty much a lazy Saturday Librarian outfit

Shirt: No label - Thrifted here in July 2016 Cardigan: Croft and Barrow - Thrifted 201?  Jeans: Levis - Last seen here (3rd outfit)

The Stuff

Earrings: Mom Necklace: Gift  Bracelet: Mom

And here is what I took home from the Naked Lady Party

  

  

  

  

  



And I will leave you with this picture taken in my front yard this morning. He had a meal in my grapefruit tree and there are feathers all over my yard now.

As always thank you to blog photographers BB, Mr DC and the GH.

See you soon!

Unplanned Spending in Frugal February

Hi there. Why does it seem that when you are trying your hardest to save money, situations arise that require spending money? On Saturday night I was going to run a quick errand but I could not turn the key in the ignition of my car.  I asked the GH to try, just to make sure I wasn't imagining things, and sure enough he couldn't turn the key either.  After some Googling and WD-40, not only would the key not turn, the steering wheel was now locked in position so the tires would not turn either. Rather that completely freak out about something I couldn't fix on a Saturday night I decided that I would call AAA in the morning and have a locksmith sent out.  The locksmith tried all of the things that the GH and I tried and couldn't get anything to budge.  He ended up calling his boss who had to drive out and walk the original technician through rebuilding my ignition.  This is a prime example of why it is a good idea to have money in savings and why I religiously renew my AAA membership annually. I was able to pay for the work done without using a credit card and I also received a discount for said work through my AAA membership.

The weather has been a bit schizophrenic here in the Sonoran Desert which makes it harder to plan a weeks worth of outfits in advance.  I have ended up switching outfits a couple of times in the mornings which sort of defies the purpose of choosing what to wear ahead of time. And as it seems to be exceptionally windy this morning it looks like I'll have to modify today's outfit as well. The best laid plans...

And now onto the outfits.

February 7

Cardigan: Mossimo - Last seen here (6th outfit)  Jeans: Chicos - Last seen here (3rd outfit)

The Stuff

Necklace: Gift from Mom  Bracelet: Gift from Reyna  Earrings: Gift from T in high school !?!

February 8 - Ah, the faces

   

Skirt and Top: Max Studio - Last seen here in May (1st outfit)

The Stuff - Almost the exact same as the last time I wore this outfit

Earrings: Retail  Necklace: Retail Online Bracelet: Mom

February 9

   

Top: Banana Republic - Thrifted here in January Skirt: Attention - Also thrifted here in January

The Stuff

Necklace and Earrings: Gift from Mom  Bracelets: Morocco

February 10 - I love a dress with pockets!

Dress: Calvin Klein - Thrifted 2015  Cardigan: Banana Republic - Last seen here (2nd outfit)

The Stuff

Necklace and Earrings: Gifts from the GH  Bracelets: Chicos

February 11 - These are obviously my new favorite jeans

    

Cardigan: Elle - Thrifted here in 2016  Jeans: Chicos - Last seen above

The Stuff

Earrings: Gift  Bracelet: Gift from Mom  Necklace: Etsy

See you soon!

As always a giant thank you to blog photographers BB and Mr DC.

Frugal February Has Begun

Hi there. Sorry for the delayed blog post but I was sick for a few days the week before last and also stressed out about my oldest dog, Fiona.  On the bright side of things both Fiona and I feel much better.  Fiona is also a good couple of pounds lighter after having a needle aspiration in her abdomen. For the past few months, due to her less than perfectly working heart, her stomach had been inflating like a balloon. We tried treating it with medication but that stopped working.  As a last ditch effort my wonderful veterinarian suggested draining the fluid that had accumulated and hoping that the diuretics would prevent her from filling back up too quickly. Half a liter of fluid lighter and a week later and Fiona is perkier, hungrier and happier than she has been in months.

        
Here is a close up and a top view of the newly skinny diva princess.

I am now 7 days in to my self declared Frugal February and, as with life, it has not been entirely smooth sailing.  There are a couple of events that I really want to attend this month that are not free.  In order to do so, and still feel fairly frugal, I decided that I would withdraw $40 per paycheck to use as spending money. So far this has worked out well (yeah I know it's only been a week).  On the non-frugal side of things I stress shopped while Fiona was at the vet last Monday and bought new shoes. This was technically January 30th and not February but I should know better than to go to nonessential stores when I'm worried. That particular emotion can impair my judgement. Oh well, done is done and my old sneakers were close to ten years old (!).

                                                               Here are the new shoes

And now for the stated purpose of this blog. Onto the clothes!

January 26

I was still under the weather and have no idea what the look on the right is about.
     
Sweater: Lands End - Thrift 2015  Pants: Alfani - Thrifted here in January

The Stuff

Earrings, Necklace and Bracelet: Chicos

January 27

Feeling better but a little sleepy maybe?              

 
Top: Ann Taylor - Thrifted here in January  Skirt: Merona - Last seen here (3rd outfit) Cardigan: Banana Republic - Last seen here (5th outfit)

This is what I look like mid-laugh

The Stuff

Necklace and Earrings: Gift

January 28

Sweater: INC - Maybe retail 200?  Jeans: Chicos - Last seen here (4th outfit)  Scarf: No label - Thrifted 2015

The Stuff

Earrings: Chicos  Bracelet: Thrifted

January 31

Sweater: INC - Thrifted here last May  Skirt: Club Z Collection - Thrifted here in 2016

The Stuff

Earrings: Chicos  Bracelet: From J   Necklace: Graduation gift from Grandma

February 1

Not sure what the look on my face is.

Top: Banana Republic - Hand me down from T  Jeans: Chicos last seen above.

Here's a smile.

The Stuff

Earrings: Gift from J  Necklace: Online  Bracelet: Mom

February 2

Again with the faces, I just can't help myself.
  
Sweater: Eight Eight Eight - Thrifted here in June 2016  Pants: BCBG Max Azria - Hand me down from T

The Stuff

Earrings: Gift from the GH  Bracelet: Rosetta

February 3

I got nothin here. I failed to get pictures of my outfit on this day and I have no idea why.  It was bound to happen eventually.

February 4

I have no idea what BB said to me to make me pout like this.
   
Top: APT 9 - Thrifted 201?   Jeans: Levis - Last seen here (1st outfit) Scarf: Christmas Gift from my MIL The pattern is titles of banned books!!

The Stuff

Earrings: Christmas gift   Necklace: Etsy  Bracelet: Cost Plus

As always a huge thank you to blog photographers BB, Mr DC and the GH!

See you soon.