What I wore... details make the outfit.

Plaid top thrifted, bow sweater F21 (love the bow detail), jeans thrifted, boots bcbg Macys, earrings from a fundraiser.

I do apologize for the blurriness of these pictures. My photographer happens to be ten years old and has better things (according to him) to do than take perfect photos of mom. 

House cleaning day. Nothing special here but I at least got out out of my pjs, that counts for something, right?
Green tee thrifted, sweatshirt with lace detail F21, jeans Lucky thrifted, belt Lucky from Lucky, hat thrifted, Uggs gift from the hubby charm necklace Stella and Dot.

Super blurry but I really liked this outfit. Denim top thrifted, polka dot skinnies Old Navy, belt Marshalls, scarf thrifted, same boots, watch Fossil Ebay.

I had to show you the cutest part of my boots. The back. Love the detail on these babies! 

Blessings, Nicole

Linking up here: The Pleated Poppy
Wardrobe Wednesday~Create Hope Inspire
Lily Among Thorns

Beauty Products Worth Blogging About

I am going to be thirty next year (cringe) and I take my skin care  regime seriously. I have read that the most important products to use for anti-aging are sunscreen daily and a night moisturizer with vitamins and antioxidants.
So, I found this at Ulta but I think they sell this brand at CVS. It was reasonably priced (around $20)  and I liked that it has vitamin C and Glycolic acid. It's not to heavy and a little goes a long way. My skin is super soft after using it a couple weeks. I will buy this product again!
Vichy Normaderm anti-aging.

I am loving Stila products more and more. After reading great reviews I decided to get this and I am so happy I did!  It fills in my bows without that penciled on look. It's supposed to be water proof but I would call it more water resistant. I love it!
Stila Stay all day brow color.

I don't know why my brows have thinned so much but I hear it's part of aging.  As if wrinkles and grey hair isn't enough....Bummer.....

See how well it fills in the gaps? I add a little powder to set it. Perfect brows!

Another product I read great reviews on. This has reflecting pigments that brighten under my tired eyes. I like how light feeling it is too.
Benefit Ooh la lift.

I told you Stila is my new fav! This makes liquid liner application easy peasy. It also stays put all day.
Stila Stay all day waterproof eye liner in intense black.

This is so yummy! I like sweet scents and this one is the most delish smelling  perfume ever!  I also found this at Ulta.
Pink Sugar.

My Sweet Valentines Mantle

I heart my Valentines mantle!

It is so cheerful and LOVE-ly. 

A plain candle with some burlap and a sweet little Valentine embellishment  hot glued on. Easy peasy.
Some glass birdies and pretty china added some pretty color.
The wicker heart was thrifted and I spray painted it white.

Scrap fabric heart made by me here: Scrap Fabric Valentines Heart
I really love it in front of this mirror, it frames it perfectly.

You can never have too many birdies around. I love the red color of these guys.
 I  used a candle holder as a perch.

Have you all started to decorate for Valentines day?

Send me your link in the comments I would love to see!

XOXO!

 Blessings, Nicole

Fabulous Thrift Store Finds

My recent thrifted goodies.

If you know me you know I LOVE my wine! So I had to get this!

From Goodwill Outlet $1.

Seven for All Mankind jeans. 

I love the sequence on the pockets. They need a new zipper and to be hemmed but it will be well worth it to get them tailored. 

Goodwill Outlet $2. Cost of repairs $25. Retail price $150!

I love this quirky boars head. Don't know where to hang it yet but it will soon have a home.

Goodwill Outlet $1.

And my very favorite thrifted purchase maybe of all time! 

Frye boots! These retail for $300 ya'll!

Redwood Gospel Mission Thrift $7. Yes indeed $7!

I love the bright color and ruffles of this top. Cute with jeans and boots for sure!

Elle top $2 Goodwill Outlet.

Cute cotton wrap? Thingy? I like the open weave back.

Velvet (an Anthroplogie brand) $2 Goodwill Outlet.

Wonder how I score such great loot?
Check out my thrifting tips here: Thrifting 101, Thrifting 102

Blessings, Nicole

Thrifting 102

I posted: Thrifting 101 (check it out) a while back after being asked many times, "How do you find such great stuff at the thrift store?" There I gave you all my basic thrifting tips. But there are so many tips I have acquired over the years that I decided I needed to write a thrifting 102. So here it is.

How To Identify Good Quality Clothing

You don't have to memorize the name brands. If you are not sure that what you are buying is a quality item here are a few tips that will help you identify a well made garment. 

Check the tag and see if it reads hand wash, dry clean, or gentle wash. This is because it is made with a nice fabric that requires special care.

Is is imported? Tags will say made in Italy or Spain etc..

Is the fabric soft or nice feeling to the touch? Quality fabric feels luxurious.

Anything made with modal, cashmere, silk, leather, or organic cotton are a sure sign that it is a quality piece.

Is it embellished? Beads, sequence, nice buttons, embroidered? 

See beads and embroidery. Free People top retail $65, $2 thrifted.

Reselling 

I resold thrifted clothing, handbags and shoes on ebay for years in the past. It was a lot of work for me so I decided I would sell to local consignment stores. I simply drop off my clothes and pick up my check about every two weeks. It is easy, works with my schedule, I make good money and it's fun.

This really needs a full blog post of its own (someday) but, here are the very basics you need to know when reselling.

Where to  resale: Amazon, Ebay, and local consignment stores. These are the best for used clothing.

Find the value. Look online and see what the item (or a similar item)  is selling for. I look on Ebay at the SOLD price NOT the listed price. If you cant look up the value you can assume it will sell for 50% or less of the retail price depending on the condition of the item.

Buy only top name brands and quality garments to resale. Using my tips above you can identify these items if you don't know name brands. Don't wast your money to resale cheep clothing because it is not worth the effort. Things from Old Navy, Target etc..... I only buy such brands only if it's for myself.

Get to know your consignment store. Ask what they sell most often or what they need in stock. Buy items that match the store. If its more conservative buy conservative clothing, or if its funky buy clothing to match,.

Damaged Goods

Sometimes it's worth buying a damaged item when it's a good price for the value (does that make sense?)  But how do you know if its beyond repair? Or how to repair it? Well....

If there is a rip in a seam this is super easy to stitch up. A hole on the other hand in nearly impossible to fix.

Pants with holes near the bottom hem are not a problem because a tailor can hem them above the hole. This only works if you are short (like me) or the pants are too long, obviously.

Missing buttons? Replace them all with new matching buttons.

Broken zippers? A zipper is easily replaced. My tailor only charges $10.

Stains on the other hand are much harder to fix. White is often easy because it can be bleached. My rule with stains is if it is saturated all the way through the fabric it's beyond repair. Things that wont come out are paint, bleach, and armpit stains. At least I have had no luck getting them out.

Faded items can be dyed. Like jeans for example.

A pair of Seven jeans for $3 (retail $150). The cost of a new zipper $10.

Knock Offs

This mostly applies to handbags and such, but there a a few ways to tell if an item is fake.

Check the stitching. It will be nearly perfect on well made items.

How does it feel? Real leather will be soft and nice to the touch. Fake leather will rip and can be sticky feeling.

Look up the same model from a reliable website.

Is the hardware heavy duty? Does is have the brand printed on it? Nice bags will have good hardware.

Does it have a ID number? Most quality name brand bags will.

Maybe there will be a Thrifting 103 in the future because there is so many tips and tricks when you are thrifting.

Hope you enjoyed them all!

Blessings, Nicole\

Scrap Fabric Valentine Heart

I saw this on Pinterest and I just loved it.

Lucky for me today I saw a bundle of scrap fabric in the perfect Valentines colors.

All that you need is a wire hanger, wire cutters, scrap fabric, ribbon, twine and some tulle.

Shape wire and tie away.

Clip the bottom wire and hang with some twine.

Love it with my Valentine mantle!

10 things you may or may not know about me

1. I absolutely hate mushrooms! I consider myself a very un-picky person but I simply cant stand that fungus stuff. The texture, the smell, how they look..... Yuck!

2. I can't fall asleep with out cleansing my skin of make up and oil. Even if I'm dead tired or sick I HAVE to wash my face. I guess there could be worse night time habits, right?

3. I am extremely gullible. I take everyone's word for the truth not matter how unbelievable it may be and sometimes it's really embarrassing.

4. I believe I married my soul mate. And that may sound so cleshay but its's true.

5. My dream career I would be a photographer/nutritionist/interior designer/cosmetologist. 

6. My worst fear is I will be a failure as a parent.

7.  I am a wine snob. Nothing makes me more relaxed than a good glass of wine.

8. I love to be outdoors and I'm not afraid to get dirty. I love to shoot guns, fish and camp. That surprises people since I am such a girly girl.

8. I am a certified scuba diver and I have around 50 dives under my belt. It's a hobby Kevin and I enjoy together.

9. I always get bored with my hair. I often go from blond to brunette, short then long again, bangs then no bangs. I need change often.

10. I need to use my creativity or I get grumpy. 

DIY Framed Scrabble Valentines Decor

I love to decorate for Valentines Day. 

The shades of pink and red make me happy. Love, hearts, chocolate and sweet sayings...... 

whats not to like?

I I made this sweet little project today.

I spray painted some thrifted frames white. 

Then I looked through my scrapbook paper stash and found the perfect Valentines paper.

I used my trusty hot glue gun to attach the Scrabble letters (also thrifted).

A little tulle and sateen flower just adds the right amount of embelishment.

So sweet!

Blessings, Nicole

My tattoos and some great life advice

One thing you might not know about me, I have three tattoos. Two of which have deep meaning to me and one "I turned 18 and I can! so I did!" 

I don't regret any of them not even the "I turned 18 and I can! So I did."  (I decided to opt out on a pic of that one because I don't want 100+ people staring at my tushy). It's not horrific (thank goodness), it's an abstract sun with a celtic knot around it. The funny thing is I am not even Irish. I picked it out of the tattoo book in my 18th birthday. Believe it or not I was quite the rebel in my day. 

 My favorite of them all  is my skeleton keys on my wrist. I got this one about 2 years ago.

The middle one is for my wonderful and loving husband. The one on the left is for Caleb and the right is for Deacon, my sweet little guys.

Each one is unique and individual just like their own personalities.

I chose my wrist so I can see them every day. 

Some people "wear their heart on their sleeve."  But I wear the keys to my heart on my sleeve.

My foot tattoo is a funny story. On my 21st birthday Kevin and I went to Reno. The casino we stayed at was having a tattoo convention. On a whim Kevin decided he wanted to get tattooed. Well, we only had so much cash (I'm cheap) and I thought it would be fun for us to get one together. So I asked if he could throw in a little foot tattoo for free. The tattooist agreed and asked his tattoo buddy if he could do my foot while Kevin was getting his back tattooed. The buddy reluctantly agreed rolling his eyes (this should have been a warning sign for me). I sketched a small floral tattoo with some twirly vines. And he tattooed away. The idea and shape was somewhat what I wanted, but that was about it. The vines were not pretty and twirly and the flowers more resembled mangled starfish than the dainty flowers I drew. It was a disaster. The moral of this story? Don't, I repeat, DON'T ever get a buy one get one free on a tattoo! 

Life lesson learned!

Finally last summer I had it covered up with a sparrow and orchids climbing up my ankle. I added the text Jeremiah 29:11 which is my life verse (also under my blog header). I love it! It hurt like nobodies business, but it was worth it. No more mangled starfish!

I want more tattoos, lots more. I love them! I would get half sleeves if my hubby would let me. But I figure he looks at me more than I have to look at me, so I value his opinion.

My next one I plan to get is a paisley pattern in black with white ink highlights on my side torso and back. Very classic and timeless. That one is husband approved!

Any tattoo stories you all want to share? 

Love to hear!

Blessings, Nicole

DIY Polka Dot Chucks

I love my chucks and I adore polka dots.

But together?

A match made in heaven!

Or made by myself. ; )

A pair of chucks...

a little white fabric paint.....

the eraser tip of a pencil.....

and a whole lot of polka dots later....

adorable polka dot chucks!