Red Sweater Re-Vamp

Have you ever had an article of clothing that just doesn't fit? Whether it was given to you, a thrift-store find or if you simply just bought the wrong size, don't despair.


Before: doesn't really fit.
Kinda' big

Here is the how-to, on altering a sweater.
When I purchased mine, this fabulous cherry-red sweater from Dress Barn, (actually I got mine at Goodwill, no big surprise) it was an XL, which was a stitch too big, so here is the how-to.


Supplies: ruler, scissors, seam ripper, matching thread,
straight pins, fitted sweater and sweater to-be-fitted

 

How to alter sweaters

Supplies needed:

• Sweater needed to be altered

• Well fitting, similar sweater (to use as pattern for sizing)

• Sharp scissors for fabric cutting

• Pins

• Ruler (optional)

• Sewing machine

Sweaters, reversed, seams to the outside,
 and stacked, big on bottom, small on top

Step 1

Reverse/turn inside-out both the fitted and to-be-fitted sweater, make sure the shoulder and side seams are lined up on the folds, and it is buttoned or zipped up.

 

 

Pin, using pins as an outline and a guide for the next step, cutting

Step 2

Lay the fitted sweater on top of the unfitted, the top sweater should be smaller than the larger. Using the upper sweater as a sizing guide, with your long-pins, start pinning at the bottom of the sweater (sharp side facing up), pins about 2” apart, giving ¼” allowance on either side of the pins. Depending on the fit of the pre-fitted sweater, you may want to allow a slightly larger seam allowance, just in case.



Cut it!

Step 3

Once you have pinned both sides, go ahead and cut off the excess fabric, not cutting directly next to the pins, again, giving yourself a ¼” allowance on each side of the pin.

 

 

Step 4



All cut and ready to sew!

After threading the bobbin and threading the sewing machine with matching thread, go ahead and start sewing, not forgetting to back-stitch within the first inch of the beginning and end of the fabric, so the thread doesn't unravel. Then, once finished, cut off any loose thread ends, turn right-side in, and voila'! Done!

So after, it's fabulous and it fits!!!

BEFORE

AFTER

 


 

The Pound Store!!

Today I took Jason to the Tacoma pound store for the first time ever! Walking into the pound store is always a bit of a culture-shock for first timers (myself included).

I gave him these tips to help him keep from getting overwhelmed.

         #1. First thing, get a cart, then find a blanket, park your cart along the wall and cover the cart.

          #2. DO NOT take your cart down the aisles unless there are less than 12 people in the building. Do your digging and treasure-hunting, and take mini-trips back to your cart, and drop stuff off.

          #3. DIG!! Don't be afraid to dig, toss stuff out of the way, don't fixate on sizes of condition of the clothes, but if you like the look of it, grab it, toss it in your cart, then go back later, go through and purge. You want to get through the bins quickly but thoroughly.

          #4. If you are a germaphobe, or just have dust allergies, you can totally bring/wear a dust mask and or gloves. And I recommend headphones to listen to your favorite tunes. If you love the pound store, it just makes it that much more fun!



 

Here are my finds. I spent a grand total
of $4.62 on all 5 items! Score!!!

So, the breakdown of the store layout is..

Half the store is clothing, in rows of long, blue bins; 2x4 per row. The workers will start by taking away the picked-over bins, clearing that row. When they do this, you must clear the entire row, even if you are not standing within the taped area that the new bins will sit over. They will "yell" at you to clear the aisle if you don't get completely out of that space. Don't take it personally, just get out.



Sea foam-teal shirt with flirty elbow bow ties

The other half the stories purses, brick-a-brack, and furniture... all, totally chaotic, all in bins to literally DIG through. This place is NOT for the faint of heart, the germaphobes, or the "casual browsers". This place is awesome, but for the treasure-hunters!

Oh, and by the way, the pound store is aptly named because all items are sold, not individually,  but by weight!!

Grey tie-dye print tee with side gathers.
 Love it!


So, I had a blast! Jason; not so much. He has horrible dust allergies, so he could only handle about 45mins before he had to get some fresh air, and he likes the more established, organized, stores with racks. I, however, love this place!

Each item was pre-marked with Goodwill tags. Each shirt was marked $6.99 and the shoes were marked $7.99, so the in-store cost would have been $35.95.

I looked up certain items online, and the estimated total (since not all were per-item listed), or guestimate was about $250.
Guestimated online cost = $250         Savings $245.38
In-store goodwill cost    = $35.95       Savings $214.05
Price actually paid         = $4.62         Super SCORE!!!

Xhilaration pink/yellow/brown-flecked shrug
Super cute!!

My favorite find. "Life Stride" sandals;
Online $60, I paid $0.75!! Savings: $55.25

"Speigel" beaded blouse;
Online price $115, I paid $0.75, Savings $114.25



The Hunt for Red.. Sweater :)

If you truly think you know me, you'd know that I would rather wait 6+ months to buy something, and save money on it (finding it at a thrift store) than to waste money unnecessarily on something because I can't wait for it. I once waited a years worth of waiting until I finally found a king-size yellow duvet cover. :)

So, that leads into my latest find. I've been searching for a red sweater for 3-4 months, and just the other day, when Jason and I went on our first thrift storing trip together, I found an awesome red sweater that met all my criteria, 

Criteria:

1. Cherry or dark cherry red

2. MUST have one of the following: ruffles, flowers, embellishments or something girly/feminine

3. Long sleeves

4. Good condition

5. Good fit (not a deal-breaker)

The one I found with him met 4/5 of them...and then Jason talked me out of it. True, it was two sizes two sizes too big, but I'm getting pretty good at tailoring/taking in blouses and sweaters. So yeah, I've been kicking myself ever since. So I went back two days later, looking for it, and found this one!

So... now all I have to do is alter it!



It's a miracle!!



Now, all I have to do is to alter it!



 

 

A Long-Awaited Journey; To the Thrift Shop!!!

I had never heard of Macklemore until Christmas Ever 2012, when I sat around a family-members table and watched the music video for the (now) top-hit "Thrift-Shop". Being a long-time hater of rap and lover of thrift shopping, I was pessimistic at best. I figured what does a wealthy, white rapper know about the joy of thrifting? Well it only took me a listen or two to realize that I love this song (despite the profanity), and that brings us to todays blog post.

The first inaugural Unofficial Macklemore Thrift-Shop Challenge!

So Jason and I took on the challenge. We each had $20 in our pockets, and we were off and running!

Unfortunately we didn't set any further ground rules and I didn't explain the proper thrift-store etiquette to him, but he really got into it! I guess the rules were, there were not official rules :)

For the first challenge, we visited the Spanaway Goodwill, one of my favorite, mostly due to it's size and variety. The store is currently under construction, so we unknowingly limited our search to clothes, since the housewares and furniture were in a separate section of the building. I limited my search to a few items that I'm looking for to take to our Hawaii trip in March.

 My list: brown shorts, tan, grey or brown peep-toe semi-fancy flats, swim suits, sun-dresses and cute, printed tank-tops. Since it was still only January they had NONE of my searchable items even out on the sales floor! Grrr, so I stuck to general tops and sweaters, which are my latest obsession. Incidentally I have been looking for a cute red sweater for about 6 months. I found one, but didn't buy it due to some bad advice from a certain someone (why??? sob, sob, sob!!!)

Jason dove into the sports-jackets section, and probably tried on nearly every jacket there! He looks so good in practically everything, that I can hardly blame him.

We had a great time, searching on our own, modeling our finds and making our purchases. I kept my final tab to $22.47, whereas Jason spent about $80, although he tried to convince me that Men's clothes cost more (which in general is true, but he also chose sports jackets! That's like choosing to shop for semi-formal dresses for women!).



People say "dang, that's a cold-a$$ honkey"

His finds: three sports coats; grey, charcoal and dark blue (probably worth about $300 each), one black-leather jacket and two pairs of dress pants, all which looked "incredible" on him :)

So, in conclusion, I don't love thrift store shopping because of Macklemore, but I do love thrift store shopping MORE because of him and his song. And hey, he's a Seattleite and huge Seahawks fan!

My finds: a Romy brand tweed sweater-coat and a dark paisley printed skirt.



Also, a tie-dye-print and studded tee, (which looked fabulous when paired with) a flowy, aquamarine vestie-thing

The “Better Bod” Project, part 2

Originally posted on June 23, 2012    

 

We are now 22 days (days actually working out) into the project. Current weight about 124

• I am just two short days from completing 4 weeks-worth of work outs ( 6 days a week, with one rest day). I am just eight days away from completing my first of three goals.  The ultimate goal is completing 3, 30 day mini-goals, 90 days total.
• How am I feeling?
• I am super excited about my progress. I’m definitely not where I want to be YET, but I am working towards it. I feel really good, and I AM seeing changes in my body and my performance. These motivate me more than the scale.
• So, the changes I am feeling in my body…
• Holster – I am a massage therapist, and in-session, I wear a holster to hold my oil bottle. I’ve noticed in the past work-week, that my holster is slipping more and more down my waist, to the point where I had to tighten it tonight! THAT is a little-win.

 Hips – Every day, as I work out, there are moves I have to put my hands on my hips (as part of the move), and it is a PERFECT reminder as to how I am progressing, how my body is changing. My waist feels SO STINKIN’ SKINNY! And I care how much or how little weight I’ve lost, I FEEL THAT!!!Win!

• Improvements in Push-ups – When I do push-ups and planks in workouts, they are solid! I don’t fall, stop or compromise my form. I go until the trainer says stop. That feels good. I can’t wait until I can move on to REAL, military-style push-ups. Win!
• Weights – I recently had to purchase 10lb weights because 8s are starting to feel too easy! Win!

Pitfalls/challenges

• In the evening, after dinner, I get the munchies. Seriously bad munchies! With Jillian’s plan, I am supposed to eat every four hours and I’m supposed to eat my snack after lunch. But I know myself, and so I have to bend/change her rules to eating my “snack” after dinner, otherwise, I’ll slip up big. And the biggest pit-fall: CHCOLATE I am not going to lie, chocolate is becoming a daily necessity. (BTW, if you want the recipe for this this cake, that is Julia Child's golden-goddess almond cake, leave me a comment and I'll post on it! It is NOT low-fat or healthy, but it IS delicious!!!) Chocolate is my little indulgence. Jillian’s meal plan includes breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, and one of the snacks are banana pops! That is, chocolate covered banana, or a third of one, but it’s a GOOD amount of chocolate. I used to really enjoy celery and almond butter, but since this discovery, NOPE, it’s banana pops all the way!
• Also, I am NOT calorie counting and I think that is affecting any weight-loss that I may be aiming for.
• More than anything I’m just trying to implement daily habits that will become regular, healthy active lifestyle that I will carry with my for the rest of my life. Ultimately yes, I’d like to lose a few superfluous LB’s, but the real goal is seeing if I can be disciplined enough to complete the 90 days, get in better shape, get stronger and if I happen to lose weight or inches, that’s definitely a win!

The “Better Bod” Project Part 1

Originally posted on @ http://followmeg.com June 2, 2012    

I don’t know how many of you have ever tried starting a new diet or workout regimen, only to slip up and then give up due to feeling bad, getting down on yourself, losing willpower or coming up with lame-yet-legitimate-seeming excuses. I know I have.

I never used to workout. At all. Probably the first 25 years of my life I never worked out on any kind of a regular basis, except maybe in gym class in high school. And if you are reading this, thinking “I just can’t get started” or “I’m not that athletic of a person” or “I don’t like working out” or “I just can’t find the motivation” or any other of the nearly endless lame excuses, know that I say that with love, and not with judgment, being a master lame-excuse giver for never working out up until a few years ago. It started out with the famous last words “Oh, I’ll get into the best shape of my life before I get married.” Well that deadline came and went, and though I’ve always been thin, I haven’t been as toned or muscular or healthy as I’d like to be. So, then the new famous last words became “Oh, I’ll do it before I have kids.” Even now reading that I realize how idiotic it is.  That’s like saying, oh, my new-years resolution is to… “get in the best shape of my life”. That’ll be my new year’s resolution this next year. The reason?

Listen and listen well. If you don’t start today, you’ll NEVER start.

That’s my theory anyway. Really. I tend to always say “oh, I’ll start tomorrow” or “I’ll start next Monday” or “I’ll start on the first of this next month”. But ask yourself the question “when are you thinking about starting? Not planning to start, but thinking about starting? Answer: NOW!!! So why not start?

And trust me, I can come up with a plethora of excuses to answer that one. Just to make you feel better about yours, these are all REAL excuses I came up with that I felt I had to have in-place before I could even start.

• *Oh, well, I need to get organized first, with months of meal plans, shopping lists and workouts.
• *I need to get new workout clothes before I start.
• *I need some good workout equipment.
• *I need a good variety of workout videos, or I’ll get bored.
• *I need a gym membership.
• *I need to join another gym that has free classes. and more equipment. and a pool.
• *I need to have a personal trainer.
• *I need to have a great playlist to listen to while I workout.
• *I need to make a motivation board with points I can earn and rewards I can spend them on to help keep me motivated. (true story) What am I? Five?
• *I need a friend to work out with me and help to keep me motivated.
• *I really need a treadmill at home.

(By the way, these are ALL excuses that I actually came up with.)

• *I need to get my bike tuned up so I can ride and burn more calories while still having fun.*
• *I need to join a co-ed softball team first, so I can get more exercise doing something I want to do.

Whew! Geez! I mean wow, I am a lazy, silly BUM. And that’s not even touching on the classic excuses. Such as…

• I don’t have the energy to workout.
• I’m too tired, I think I’m getting sick and need to go take a nap instead.
• Ooh I’m too sore and tired from yesterdays (the first day’s) workout.
• I have to go to work later today or tomorrow so I don’t want to be too sore and tired to work.

So, the embarrassing and bewildering truth is that every single one of those excuses I listed (except of the one about the bike) has been a true, honest-to-God reason that I’ve put up as a legitimate excuse to not start or continue working out (and the bike thing has been on my mind). The good news is that ultimately NONE of those excuses kept me from working out and changing my eating habits as of now. And no amount of complaining, excuses or slip-ups, mess-ups, give-ups and start-overs have lessened my resolve to get into the best shape of my life. To start NOW! I am proud to say that I am actually 4 days in to a 7-day metabolism jump-start diet change and exercise regimen.

You see, the fact is, I will never “arrive” at being in the best shape of my life; a bikini-wearing bomb-shell, unless I chose to start one day. And then do it the next day. And the next day, and the next until a habit is formed and I have disciplined myself to work hard for it!That’s the bottom line. (I will touch more on this idea in a later blog to come.)

That’s why I’ve started. You have to start a journey before you can get to where you are going. Day after day, one step at a time, one good decision after another, one dedicated, disciplined meal and workout after another. AND, you have to have a good reason to do it and continue doing it.

Here are just a few of my reasons.

• *I have self-confidence issues (don’t we all?) and I think looking and feeling better will help me be more confident.
• *I have Crohn’s disease, so making poor food choices makes me literally sick in the short-term and could shorten my life literally in the long-term. Plus I don’t like taking pills, so I am determined to manage the disease with diet and exercise.
• *I am going to Hawaii in March, and I want to look HOT in my little black bikini.
• *It is item #1 on my 30 before 30 list (listed in a blog to come).
• *I always said I would. It’s a good idea

Somebody call the Waaaammbulance!!! Wow, what a whiner!!

So, before this blog becomes EPIC tonight, I’ll pause there and continue later on. More on this subject another day. All I can say is (four days in) I feel fantastic! More energy and feeling great, inside and out!

My Favorite Latest Goodwill Find

Hello blogging world! Apparently it's been over a year since my last post! Yikes!!! Talk about procrastination!

So, today's topic: As anyone who knows me can tell you I have a passion for frugality, namely shopping & treasure hunting at Goodwill!! Ahhh, the smell of bargains in the morning.. or afternoon, or at night, heck, I will use ANY excuse to stop in the local goodwill and just look around. I never feel compelled to buy, (like going in thinking “I have to spend money, or find something”)> I know that there is a stereotype of women that we shop just because, or that we spend money because we have to, (emotional shopping and the like) so I know there are those of you who think going to Goodwill is like that, as if thrift-store shopping is an excuse to spend money, just because it's cheap. Not so with me. True, I do get a natural high or thrill from finding something for a great price, or finally finding an item that I've been looking for for a long time, but no, I don't go for the reasons most women do.

Recently my sister-in-law turned me on to a song by Maclemore called “Thrift Shop” that says it best (although I won't repeat the expletives). “This is ****ing awesome!!”. The song is a bit crass in spots, but I do appreciate a fellow thrift hunter and the song captures some of the main reasons I like to shop the thrift-stores. Reason #1, as I previously stated, there is an element of fun in hunting the shelves and racks to see just what you can find. Reason #2, there is an equal exhilaration and even pride in buying a whole outfit (including accessories & shoes) for less that $20. Reason #2, shopping elsewhere is a WASTE OF MONEY!! When you can spend less than $20 on a whole outfit at Goodwill, (granted, slightly worn/used) where you would spend at least that much on a single article of clothing brand-new at all other stores, it stands to reason.

 

Side note* I LOVE my dog. My dog Bear is a pure-bred West Highland White Terrier and he is a spunky, fearless, BIG dog in a little dog body. So naturally he is always in the back of my mind when treasure-hunting.

I also love Pinterest. I currently have over 22,000 pins and 100 boards. Amoung them is a board entitled “For the Dogs” where I pin all things related to dogs. Dog beds, toys, home-made treats, breeds (I also love Scotties, Bull dogs and Bull Terriers), cute pictures, and anything else having to do with dogs.

So, why do I mention these things that have seemingly nothing to do with the other? Well during my random searches I saw the cutest Westie bookends that I wanted SUPER bad. I looked them up on Ebay and Amazon, and they were going for between $40 and $80. As much as I wanted to buy them, I have a bedrock internal principle; “Don't spend too much money on something you know you can find cheaper at Goodwill!!” And I LOVE shopping at Goodwill. So basically, I would rather wait to buy something, in order to save money. And I would definitely rather wait to buy something if it means it gives me an excuse to shop at Goodwill... are you catching my drift when I said I LOVE GOODWILL!!!

So, you can imagine my shock, surprise and delight, when I found THESE beauties!!!

 

I've been looking for bookends for six months. Via Pinterest, I've seen ideas to take ugly & outdated thrift-store bookends or inexpensive plastic toys and attach them to blocks of wood and then spray paint them. Fortunaly, I found absolutely ADORABLE Scottie/Westie bookends (one of which I will spray white/Westie, one of which I plan to leave as-is/Scottie). I am THRILLED!!

And my point? Amazon price? $80. Goodwill price? $16!! Savings? $64

THIS is why I love Goodwill shopping!!

BOOM!!

Thrift-store Lyrics by Maclemore

“I'm like yo, that's heck'a tight.
I'm like Yo! that's $50 for a _________ (fill in the blank, whatever)
Limited edition lets to some simple addition
$50 for a ______ that's just some ignorance
I call that getting swindled!“

This is ****ing awesome!!!