Sunday, March 31, 2013

thrifty: Easter weekend outfits

I try to incoporate something thrifted into my outfit everyday. It's really not that hard for me to do because so much of my wardrobe is thrifted. My outfits for Easter weekend are a combination of thrifted and non-thrifted items... but if I buy something that isn't from a thrift store, it's always on sale! I never pay full price unless it's something I know I will use a lot.

Good Friday:
Shirt: Old Navy, clearance
Jeans: Target, thrifted
Shoes: American Eagle, old
Necklace: Groop Dealz
Julianna and I made a quick stop into Goodwill before getting groceries on Friday and I found this beautiful floral tulle skirt. I paid about $3.50 for it!
 
Saturday Egg Hunts:

Shirt: Target, thrifted
Jeans: Target, clearance 50% off
Shoes: Target, clearance 50% off
Jacket: Gap, thrifted
Necklace: Groop Dealz
Easter Sunday:
Shirt: J. Crew, thrifted
Skirt: Coldwater Creek, thrifted for $1 on Dollar Day at Goodwill!
Necklace: Sassy Steals
Boots: Dexter, thrifted

family: Easter 2013

We began our Easter festivities on Friday. We spent Good Friday as a family. Shopping for things for our garden, eating lunch at Chick Fil A, and going to church on Friday evening for a special Good Friday experience. It was such a great day!
Saturday was a fun filled day too! We started the morning with an Easter celebration at our church for the kids. Singing, dancing, bubbles, chalk, coloring, cupcakes, hula hoops, the story of Jesus, and an Easter egg hunt with friends!




 
Our second festivity of the day was an Easter Egg Bash thrown by my nephew's mom. She did a great job planning such fun activities for the kids. Cupcakes, egg pinatas, candy, egg dying, an egg hunt, and fun playing on the playground. It was a fun day with family!




And last night, the Easter bunny visited our house in celebration of the resurection of Jesus Christ. We are spending Easter Sunday celebrating Jesus! We went to church this morning and the rest of the day we will spend as a family. He is risen!




 

Monday, March 25, 2013

thrifty: denim with a pop of floral

Here's how I styled one of my most recent thrift store finds...

Floral top: Izod, thrifted
Jeans: Target Mossimo, thrifted
Jacket: J Crew, thrifted
Boots: Dexter, thrifted
Tank: American Eagle
Necklace: Groop Dealz

Outfit total... less than $20!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

thrifty: purple & yellow

Today's outfit is similar to Friday's- skinny jeans, bright colors, boots, and a bubble necklace. Since the temperature isn't Spring like yet- I'm using color in my outfit to make me feel like it's actually Spring.

The sweater in today's outfit was one of my thrift finds when I went to Goodwill on Friday. It's from the Prabal Gurung collection for Target. This sweater is actually still available at Target for $29.99 but I paid about $3.50 for it! I recognized the sweater from seeing it at Target, saw that it was my size, and quickly threw it into my cart. Such a bright color and it's so comfy, too!

The purple jeans are also from Target- clearance for about $8.00, boots were a birthday gift last year, and my necklace is from Groop Dealz for only $10! Even when I buy things that aren't thrifted, they are on sale!

This bright yellow and purple outfit makes this rainy day a little brighter. Happy Sunday!

Friday, March 22, 2013

thrifty: thrifting 101

I love thrifting and you definitely know that if you follow me on Instagram (http://instagram.com/emily_soto). I love posting my daily outfits to show off how I've styled my thrifted items. You don't have to spend a fortune to dress fashionably! I get asked pretty often what my "secret" is to finding good stuff so I'm going to share a few tips.


Today's outfit of the day: thrifted Gap sweater and Target leopard print jeans with a bubble necklace from Groop Dealz, boots from Belk, and a t-shirt from the Target clearance rack.
Thrifting 101:
  • Go often! To find the best stuff you have to go thrifting on a regular basis so that you don't miss out on any great finds. I go at least once a week to my regular thrift store.
  • Check out the racks of stuff that hasn't been put out yet. I always find amazing stuff there because no one has looked through it yet. Last week, I found brand new Target and Gap items on that rack- with tags still on!
  • Find out if your thrift store has a customer savings program. For example, Goodwill has a Preferred Customer program. For about $15 per year, you can save 10% every time you shop! It will pay for itself in no time if you shop regularly.
  • Most people say they don't have the patience to go through all of the stuff so here's a trick I use. I look at the fabric. You can tell a lot about the quality of an item by just looking at the fabric. I don't bother even looking at anything that looks worn out, faded, or the fabric doesn't look like it's of good quality. Josh makes fun of me for this one, but I also just go down the aisle and touch the fabric to see if it's good quality. Good brands = good feeling fabric!
  • Speaking of brands, I have a list of brands on my phone that I look for. This list would vary depending on your taste in clothing but some of my favorites are J. Crew, Gap, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Lucky, Guess, and anything from Anthropologie. This brands generally have great quality clothing so even if it's second hand, it's typically going to be in good condition.
  • Look everywhere! I've found women's clothing in the men's and children's sections of the stores.
  • Sizing is so different from brand to brand so don't be afraid to try on a large if you typically wear a small. I've found some really great items by giving an item that wasn't my size a chance.
  • See if you thrift store runs any sales. I have a favorite thrift store that has daily deals but they also take 50% of all clothing on Mondays. I love a good sale!
  • Shop for the whole family! About 80% of our wardrobe is from a thrift store. I find amazing clothes for the girls at thrift stores!
  • Styling your thrifted items is the fun part- I love mixing my thrifted items with items that I've found at regular retail stores. You can make a thrifted item work with the latest trends!
  • Being patient is essential. You won't find a ton of stuff that works for you everytime but don't get discouraged. A piece or 2 at a time is fantastic and sometimes I leave with nothing. Don't buy if you don't love it because it will just hang in your closet and end up back at the Goodwill in a few months.
And here are my thrifted finds for today:
J. Crew button up for Josh and a floral Izod button up and a yellow Prabal Gurung sweater for me. All for less than 10 dollars!
Happy Thrifting!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Julianna: 3 Years

I took Julianna to the pediatrician on Monday for her 3 year checkup. She's such a tiny girl! She's only 26 lbs. and about 36 inches tall! Super petite but she's also super healthy so it's all good. She started out very small too though- she was 5 lbs. 8 oz. and 18.5 inches when she was born. She wasn't too thrilled about standing on the scale but she did great with everything else. I can't believe she's already 3!



Julianna: 3rd Birthday

This past weekend, we celebrated Julianna's 3rd birthday. I cannot believe our JuJu is already 3! She's turned into such a beautiful, smart, and spunky little girl and we are so proud of her.

We celebrated on Saturday with a Hello Kitty themed bounce party with our family and friends. Julianna had an amazing time playing and bouncing with her buddies- and daddy did too! We are so blessed to have such great people in our lives!





On Sunday (St. Patrick's Day and Julianna's actual birthday), we went to church in the morning and then headed to the Greensboro Children's Museum for a day of fun. All 4 of us had a blast playing at the museum. There was so much fun, interactice stuff for the kids to do! It was such a cool place to take the little ones!



 
We had such a great weekend celebrating our sweet Julianna Hope! Happy 3rd Birthday!
 
 


Sunday, March 17, 2013

Olivia: 10 months

Olivia Grace is 10 months old! She weighs about 18 lbs. and is 27 inches long. She still has beautiful, big blue eyes and her hair is getting lighter everyday. She's crawling everywhere and getting into everything. She can stand on her own for a second or two. She pulls up on whatever she can reach and is cruising along the furniture. She'll be walking in no time! Olivia's sleeping is getting better. Last month, she was still waking up twice during the night but recently it's just been once. Olivia has graduated out of the baby bathtub and now takes her bath sitting right next to her big sister in the tub. They have a blast splashing each other! Olivia is still a breastfeeding champ. 10 months and going strong! She also LOVES food. She hasn't really rejected anything so far but her favorites have been bananas, cheese, ham, chicken, apples, carrots, and tons more! She's a good eater! Olivia adores her big sister and the feeling is mutual.

Happy 10 Months!