Goodwill Clearance Center Score - Version 2

Last weekend, I went back to GCC and made another score. This was definitely a mixture of more items and not just clothes oriented. 

Here it all is: 

This first shot shows a baseball I was wanting to make into a bracelet- thanks Pinterest! I always wanted one of those tape dispensers but refused to spend the money on them. This was under $1. Someone tried to customize it with gaudy odd bits and pieces but I just took it off before going up to the register. Love it! Beautiful little leather bag. Glass cover. 

Glass Cloche, mini leather bag, baseball, and the shoe tape dispenser!

This Old Navy dress is so comfy! I immediately loved it and got tons of compliments at work, probably because I super rarely wear dresses at work. 

Old Navy Dress. 

I was thinking about K when I found these. The flannel still had the tags on it and the others are Murano and Banana Republic brands. 

Shirts for K.

I'm wanting to make a strapless top from these for the summer. So here are the befores: 

I found some men's shirts for me!

Detail shot of the light colored men's shirt. 

These are just some tops I saw, I need to stop buying tops! No. More. Tops. 

Misc. tops, already wore the pink one- BIG ole hit!

This is the 3rd top that I have only bought for the buttons. It was so lightweight that it was worth buying for $1 just to get the buttons off. 

Bought for the buttons. 

Pop these baseball hats into the wash and then take out, reform the bill, dry and will be perfect for when I cut the grass. 

Misc. baseball hats.

 I like to keep snacks readily available so why not buy a jar that can hold a big bag of peanuts? Super nice guy gave it to me for free and only charged for the mason jar. 

New Goober Jar and Button Jar

Father's Day is coming up soon, need to finish a project:  

Ties.

 I like the idea of being able to wrap a scarf around my head to keep the crazy curls at bay. 

Misc. scarves.

Now this little gem was peaking up from the bottom of a canvas bin. I can see why no one would want it- it's broken and needs a new lamp kit installed. But they make them easy to install so I'm looking forward this beauty shedding light on my life. 

This is kinda what this sad puppy looked like at the bottom of a bin. 

It's so delicately designed that I'm amazed it wasn't busted with all of the grabbing and throwing that goes on at the clearance center. 

New lamp kit and this little one will be so cute and unique!

And there you have it. 

Now, before I leave to trot off to go do something else crafty, I just want to share something that I don't think a lot people seem to think of when they go to these clearance centers. 

I see a lot of the same faces everytime I go there so I feel as though I can say something. You can get out of control so super easy. You think about how cheap things are and how can you pass up a good deal? It's a legitimate argument that I know I've almost reached that tipping point. That's why I'm done shopping for clothes. 

Please understand that I've never been a clothes horse. I just couldn't afford it. But now, I think I've found enough to really give me a good selection to choose from. So now, I'm to the point where something has to really stand out for me to want to buy it and work on it. 

Plus, I think I have plenty of projects to share for a long time. 

Hugs,

A. 

Frumpy Dress Refashion

I'm seriously a goofball. I bought a dress at the Goodwill Clearance Center (let's just go with GCC from now on, okay?) and I was so stinkin' excited to get to ginghering that I forgot to take a before picture! 

So. Frustrating. ....grrr...

I mean, I was half way lopping off the top of the dress before my brain whispered "Camera. Pictures." 

So, yeah...sorry for the really 'awesome' before shot. Eesh...

Frumptastic Dress. Pretty print and the rayon feels so good!

Now, looking closely, you see that the entire top of the dress, sans the sleeves is smocked. Smocking is cute for babies not dresses. But I don't care because this is the Dress of Christmas Past. It'll just keep giving and giving. Just you wait and see. 

The top might not be working for this dress but I'm still going to hold onto it- it's going into my stash!

What I have planned for this dress is a simple skirt from the bottom part of the dress. So I just measured a skirt that I already have and just increased it for a waist band. Easy right? It is because I'm using the original hem! So smart :)

For the waist band, I first turned down a half inch of material and ironed it down. Don't ask me why I pinned it when I still had to fold and press again. (I'm telling you- super goofy!)

Next, I folded down an inch and pressed again- this time pinning for reals yo. 

Sew it up and leave a gap for the elastic. 

Weave the elastic all the way through (I used 3/4" cause I already had it!)

Pin together and sew. 

Then open and I like to sew the flaps down so as to not cause any weird bumps.

Sew the rest of the waist band closed. 

And wear...

wedges are Vince Camuto

This skirt is so roomy and comfy that I know I'll be wearing this a lot this summer. Gah! Can't wait! :)

Hugs, 

A. 

Cover that bleach splatter!

Sooo...remember this seriously cool tunic-y top from my GCC score? 

Woo hoo!

I finally got around to trying it on and maybe it's the bloated feeling talking but I'm totally digging this shirt as is. I mean, doesn't every girl need a few pieces that are perfect for bloated days? Well, this piece is going to be one. 

The smocking panel is the same on the back as it is on the front so it actually pulls it in just enough to show that a waist line does in fact exist and I'm not simply giving up on my body. But it's so roomy that I can't bear to even mess with the sides right now. Yes, it makes me look like I'm in the early stage of pregnancy but I don't give a flip. I'm bloated and nasty feeling and I just want to be comfortable and I'm not. (Want cheese with that wine?)

As I was trying it on and wanting to sleep in it I immediately noticed 2 things. 

One- the tag would not lay down in the back! The top is simply too big and the back gapes between my shoulder blades and that tag just flips out and dangles there like a dog on a hot day. Ugly. So off it came. 

Pick pick pick and toss. 

Next is a little more serious. Bleach splatter. Yep, four of them. How did I miss those?! Gah! But no fear here. I can totally cover those up. 

What. The. Heck. ?!?!?!?!?

Enter Tulip Fabric Markers. Black to be specific. This top may be navy but remember my last experiment with black and how it made the blue all better? Well, I'm applying the same principle here. 

Don't forget to use that 40% off coupon code @ Hobby Lobby. 

All I did was just use my lessons from Daycare- color inside the lines. Let it dry 24 hours and then washed and dried. Just looky..

Ready to wear. 

I must say so far I'm impressed. I was about to just use a sharpie but decided against it when I read that the black ink can leave a yellow ring after awhile. I didn't want to risk it so I figured this was the best bet. 

I even did another top that I bought at GCC and was willing to put some effort into it considering that it's linen and Cubavera brand. D has one of these shirts and loves it, it's classic and the style is characteristic of Ybor/Tampa. 

And here is that shirt: 

I refuse to give up on this!

Color. 

Much better!

Hope this helps. 

Hugs, 
A.

I insist upon finding the good

Over the past few years, I've noticed a change in myself. I'm more apt to cry when I see something that bothers me. I hate to see how bad the world can be. It brings me to sobs. But today when I heard about the young soldier attacked and killed in London right after seeing news about the EF5 Tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, sometimes I need to look through the rain and see the blue skies. I have to tell myself that. 

I feel as though I'm the Little Engine-That-Could and keep telling myself "The world is still good, just keep looking." Just keep looking. It's not as hard as it seems.

I think that's what everyone and everything should look for when things seem at their worst. 

Granted, I'm grateful for not having to witness horrible people run innocent people down and demanding that their message be video taped. I'm grateful for a warm home still standing. I'm grateful for being able to do something as simple as stand on my own two feet. 

That silver lining is so important. The small things in life. Those are the important moments. They add up to make a lifetime. I want mine to remember the little moments. 

The rain is steady while I'm typing this; the sound is soothing. So as the sad thoughts ran through my mind, I go outside and stand on the front steps in the rain. The water feels good. The neighborhood was quiet when I stepped outside. Peace.

Thank goodness moments of peace ground me. 

And then something caught my eye. 

Hope. 

Perseverance.

This little plant is making it despite the odds against it.

Imperfectly perfect. I'd want it no other way. 

Keep looking. You'll find the good. It's the little moments. 

Hugs,

A. 

P.S. As soon as I clicked 'Publish' and walk to the window to check on the rain, I see that it's stopped and instead am greated by this. 

Definitely brought a smile to my face. 

Breakfast Re-do

I've been in a rut lately and I've fallen off of the bandwagon of Weight Loss. I got really sick and was out of commission for 3 weeks and then add overtime at work, etc- that meant I was MIA at the gym.

Now that my health is getting a lot stronger (hey, I was strong enough to brave the Florida heat and humidity for those ducks and didn't collapse after doing so) I'm cutting out coffee and breakfasts from our cafeteria at work. Yes, I was good most of the time- omelet with tons of veggies and meat and feta cheese but my energy isn't what it was before getting really sick.

I'm needing to spice up my meals so I stumbled across a breakfast sandwich recipe that can be made for a full week on Sunday and frozen until the day of. Microwave it and BAM! Breakfast. Done. Healthy.

Taralynn McNitt @ Undressed Skeleton shared the recipe I decided was totally worth duplicating.

So here are the ingredients I used:

I wanted to use up some veggies that were getting close to having to be thrown out so I grabbed them and ended up using the red jalapenos, red onion and tomatoes. I love veggies. Love them! Anywhere I can use them, I definitely want to.

Got the pan filled with bacon and froze the rest. Freezing ensures I'll use it next week and not let it go bad.

Cooked everything till it was done and then start the assembly line.

Press in the Panini Thingy.

Cool off.

Freeze.

Sorry, Taralynn- I'm not making any labels. My OCD would kick in and I'd  have to organize them to where they'd be in order otherwise I'd make sure I'd grab the right day. Plus I have some other things in the works. As in 4-5 things and I gotta get going.

Otherwise heat it up and eat on the run.

After enjoying it, I'd have to say that I really enjoyed it! The veggies of course made it super delicious and the best part? I wasn't noshing on all of the wrong things this morning.

Yumm!

Hugs,
A.

Clean that Thrifted Purse

I finally found a straw purse that I like. The price of this GCC find is what I like. And it's pretty classic. It'll do for summer. 

But, as I've expressed on my little corner of the internet, I get super duper heebie jeebies thinking about what could be lurking on the items. 

So follow along and I'll show you how I clean stuff up pretty fast with just a little bit of elbow grease. 

First: a good look at the purse: 

le sac

Pretty faux tortoise latch piece. 

derriere. Not bad, huh?

This is actually more scary than the rest of the bag.

Alright, to clean the outside: I'm going to use the following: 

Leather cleaner, paper towels and Lysol Disinfectant Spray.

Spray the entire outside with Lysol. 

Then clean all the of the leather. 

I like to spray on a towel and then rub onto the leather. 

Yuck!

Now the really narly part- cleaning the inside. 

I used the following: 

Just drizzle it on and then start working into the lining of the purse with the nail brush. Wet your brush so as to make sure the color safe bleach spreads over the entire surface. 

Leave on for 10 minutes and then rinse. 

Then hang up like so to allow the lining to dry. 

Once dry then hang up like so with some weight in the purse to straighten out those whompy jawed straps. 

It doesn't have to be a lot, just enough

After that, use, use, use! 

Hugs, 

A.