Fashion.

I've been wanting to do a fashion post for a while but never really thought I had enough material to make it interesting.
It still might not be but I don't care.

Recently, I've had a string of good luck in consignment stores, rummage sales and even my own closet.

I think it's worthy of sharing.

If you've been following my 2011 TDL you'll know that #24  is to make more of our clothing or buy second hand.

I picked this little number up at a rummage sale. It's Laundry by Shelli Segal. Silk and cotton. $20.
I'm in the process of taking up the hem so I can wear it with tights and boots in the winter and a strappy heel or sandal in the spring/summer.

I wore the hell out of this white dress while I was pregnant. Afterwards it just seemed to long to be functional for a mommy on the go. My intention was to remove the bottom, raise the hem and reattach it. But once I removed it I realized it would be a really cute skirt. So I just hemmed the dress and bought a zipper to turn the bottom into another whole piece of clothing. Genius.

I just like this. I have a really great 

vintage (as in, I found it in the back of a cupboard in my husband's office) leather messenger bag.

But I love the canvas/leather combo of this one.

Here's mine.

This little beauty came from my favorite consigment shop, Greene Street Consignment in 

Lambertville, NJ. 

It's Kimchi & Blue. $16.

I wear it ALL the time.

Sometimes I belt it sometimes I don't.

It's sheer so I wear a little gray dress underneath, usually with tights and boots.

I also scored a pair of Paper Denim Cloth boyfriend jeans for $16.

They are not pictured because they're in the wash.

I looked on their website and they retail for $90 and up. 

Score.

I have also been making pajama pants for the nugget out of her old recieving blankets.

Way to upcycle!

More on that later.

A little recap.

If you read yesterday's post you know that the past few days have been a challenge.

Which brings me to my next topic... Challenges!

This one and this one to be exact...

I blew my budget on the "$400 Grocery Challenge" and, due to no electricity, I haven't been able to work on my "Pinterest Challenge" project.

Boo Hoo!

This doesn't mean I'm giving up!

OH NO!

I'm going to give that grocery challenge another whirl this month. And with what I learned this past month, I think I can pull it off.

I will complete my pinterest project also, just not in time to post it to all the fabulous blogs hosting this event. 


katie - Bower Power
sherry - Young House Love
ana - Ana White Homemaker
erin - House of Earnest

Hence, not getting all the blog traffic that this sort of thing generates.

I heart blog traffic, it's sorta the point. Right?

The Pinterest Challenge. Take Two.

It's on people!

 I'm excited to be put to the test again and see what everyone else is making too.

Ever since the last challenge I've been mentally earmarking things on my boards as possible contenders for the fall edition.

Here are some of the pins up for consideration:

                                                     

 

                                         

     

                                                         

                                            

                                       

                                                       

I'd love to do something more home oriented but funds are a little short for that sort of thing.

Sewing tends to be my go-to because I already have all the supplies and fabric.

Plus, I feel awesome after I've created something for one of us... like a real renaissance women!

This time it will probably be something for myself.

The big reveal will be next Wednesday!!!


These are the lovely ladies hosting the challenge:
katie - Bower Power
sherry - Young House Love
ana - Ana White Homemaker
erin - House of Earnest

Please visit there blogs for more details and inspiration.
You can follow me on pinterest by clicking the badge in the sidebar!
Please follow.

The Pinterest Challenge.

If you're just getting on board you can read about what this is here.

Well here it is. My adorable little jumper project. Here is the original pin.

I cut the inseam in a wide U shape to create a harem pant effect.

I cut two pieces. A front and a back but this could easily be done by cutting just one piece and sewing the seam in the back. I'll do that next time.

I hand stitched around the edges to create the cinched look. I don't know what the technical term for this is but I remember seeing my mom do it for something. Then I sewed the bias tape over that.

My camera battery died while I was doing the bias tape and neck tie so I'll just tell you I used a 2 inch strip of an old tablecloth in my repurpose pile. It was soft and had a nice contrast with the vintage sheet I used for the actual jumper.

Is she nuggaliscous or what!? 

Check out all the challengers and our gracious hosts below.

Sherry from Young House Love

Emily from Style by Emily Henderson

Katie from Bower Power

Lana from Making a House a Home

Thanks ladies! This was really fun!

#9. Check.

If you missed the sneak peek you can read about that here.

Let me first tell you I ended up buying the bookshelf new. Why? Well, the person I was going to get it from on craigslist took to long to get back to me and in the end I would have had to drive too far and it came with a coffee table that I didn't know what I was going to do with. In my book it was a wash. I still got the desk for $20 and sold my Trofast system for $50 so I only ended up spending $20 total in the end. Not too bad!

The next thing is I wanted to use the desk in a formation that it was not made to be used in. I new I'd have to do some retrofitting of my own but in the end I would have exactly what I wanted.

We used metal brackets to secure it to the book shelf and I leveled it (since the bookcase on it's side was a little taller than the desk) by shimming it up from the other end.

I also want to address why I chose the dark brown bookshelf with the white desk. 1) I didn't want all dark wood in that room as it is already lacking in natural light. 2) I like the idea of a simple white worksurface especially with patterned fabrics and sometimes small objects that could be hard to see on anything but white. 3) The dark brown and white combo is the same as Iris's furniture and I thought it might one day make a good place for her to do homework if we ever decide to move it into her room.

I spent alot of time rearranging, repurposing and reorganizing all sorts of things so that this new configuration would work for all it's purposes.

This person didn't help much.

Just to name a few... I moved a hanging organizer out of the closet to use as storage for fabric and took what previously resided in it (pants, pajamas, etc.) and placed them on the shelves (pictured below) of the ikea closet system that I was not utilizing (bad girl). Then I moved Iris's old yet organized clothes (you can read about that here) into her closet and also maximized some use of space in there. That freed up a three drawer rolling storage (bonus) which slipped perfectly under the desk. For now it remains empty but will soon house some of the clutter that still lingers.

This room is doing overtime and busting at the seams (puns are fun) but for now it works for me. 

It's like a puzzle. You just have to experiment and find where all the pieces go.

Tomorrow is the reveal of the Pinterest Challenge! I've been working feverishly to complete my challenge and so far I'm pleased with the results. I hope you will be too! Betcha can't wait to see what I chose to do. I'll give you a hint...You'll find it on the board titled Nugget.

More Fab Fabric!

The vintage gods must be smiling on me because this vintage fabric showed up yesterday via my BFF Danielle. She picked it up at an antique outing a few years back and never did anything with it and thought it might have better luck in my hands. She was right.

 Thanks Danielle!

I'm not exactly sure what kind of fabric it is but my Mom is coming to visit today and she can probably tell me with better accuracy.