Thanksgiving Recap - Biscuits, Balls and Black Friday

Friends! How was your Thanksgiving? We had an awesome time at home with my folks and extended fam.
Some highlights:

• My secret-family-recipe/bain-of-my-holiday-existence-rolls turned out FABULOUSLY (after years of disappointment)! Busted out the new kitchenmaid mixer, with help from sous-chef Matt and all 7 BATCHES turned out miraculously well. 
• Seeing long-lost cousins, their adorable children, and a surprise NEW girlfriend (brave soul to date into this family, I tell you.)
• Stuffing Balls - sound gross, taste AMAZING!
• Lots of car naps. So glad Matt's a safe driver :)
• Spending a lot of good quality time with a bunch of people I've missed seeing lately, from the 'rents, to good friends, family and event some iphone face time with the in-laws to be! I'm a lucky, lucky girl to have all these people in my life!

here

Big question of the day, though: Did you shop? 

Mom and I sneaked out of the house Thursday night to see the hullabaloo at Target. I say sneaked out, because we'd spent the day earlier complaining about how gross it is that stores open on Thanksgiving. Yeah, major hypocrites. The deals were pretty good, but you know what? We felt GUILTY. Yeah, not so fun after all. Sorry all Target  red rangers, we won't do it again :(. Other than a little trip through Macy's on Friday, we stayed out of the fray after that. Cyber Monday was also a disappointment today - some Gap treats and that's it. (Though if you're into Kate Spade, you should check out her site. I was tempted.) So the retail guggernaut that is Thanksgiving was mostly unaided by my pocketbook. Oh well, I'm sure I'll catch up in the weeks to come.

Hope you're well, all! More posts this week, I promise.

Wardrobe Refresh

I have a confession to make. Today was one of those days where getting dressed takes multiple tries and results in half the contents of your closet ending up on the floor. We all have those days. But even worse was the fact that half of this mass of clothing dismissal was caused by broken zippers, holes, and worn out clothing. I must admit it, friends, my wardrobe is getting just a little bit shabby.

What my wardrobe feels like. here

I think I've fallen into a bit of a rut and I contribute this mainly to my budget-friendly, thrifty-store-loving shopping style. I tend to buy things because they are such a great deal and go to places (goodwill, salvation army, target, etc.) that mainly stick to my I -won't-pay-anything-over-$20-for-a-damn-shirt rule. In short, my clothes are half-way worn when I buy them.

This post by Sherry from Young House Love really made me think. She says she's able to convince herself not to buy something just because it's a good deal by thinking about the average awesomeness of her closet. If you only by things you absolutely love, your closet average is a 10. If you start buying things that are meh - maybe just an 8 on your scale - your closet average goes down. The goal is to be able to close your eyes, stick your hand in your closet and pull out something you love every time. And right now, I can't do that. There's too much meh in the way.

So this weekend's goal: clear out the meh, get it out of the way, and start shopping for some 10's. I want to love getting dressed again and not feel like I can't spend some money to look the way I want to. 

P.S.: I'll be taking style inspiration from these ladies:

Stripey lady - perfect sassy work look. here

Kendi knows how to do easy chic.

Gwyneth, obv. Gotta love those pants! here

Oh, and my stylish friend Mer who I want to publicly peer-pressure into having a style blog.

Wish me good shopping karma, friends!

Parisian Flea Markets

I LOVE a good flea market, don't you? Something about the hidden potential, the possibility for greatness and miracles, all dressed-down in a shabby exterior. Get's my heart pumping, y'all.

Paris is home to The Largest Flea Market on Earth. It's called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen and it's located way out in the boonies of Paris. It's actually really hard to find, if you don't know where you're going, so this map from Oh Happy Day! may just save you on your next visit.

Check out some pics:

here

I dragged my parents there the last time we were in Paris. It was my one request. And it was AWESOME. A little overwhelming - we got stuck in the outskirts where a bunch of North African guys were selling knock-off sunglasses and hoochie clothes. But once we got into the real fray it was great. Some stalls had mountains of bric-a-brack - old photos, frames, ash trays, keys, postcards -- just the general mass of ephemera that collects in closets and attics and eventually finds its way, through death or taxes, into the hands of the dealer. Then there were the specialists - stalls full of vintage clothes, antique furniture (big deal stuff) and art. These last two are where designers and retailers from around the world come to stock up on unique pieces. Way out of my price range, but still fascinating.

I came away with three purchases (the Euro is not kind to us Yankees):

A vintage dress

A vintage pair of awesome sunglasses

A vintage key with an aged sea shell on the ring. Probably the most charming in my collection of near one hundred keys.

Here's some photo evidence of the aforementioned dress and sunglasses. Sadly, the dress proved hard to style with those crazy shoulders and is now too big, but I still love it and keep it as a great memento. Someday, I'll get around to having it altered - maybe in time for it to return to Paris!

This time around, I'm toying with going back to Les Puce or trying another market. Our apartment rental company recommended the market at Porte de Vanves. They say this market is a more relaxed, traditional street market. The pictures (and those reasonable price tags) are tantalizing:

here

Paris has a plethora of other street markets: flowers, rare birds, local foods, textiles, you name it. Here's a great list.

I try to hit up a flea market or antique store everyplace I go. I search for antique keys (it's fun to have a collection to add to) or just walk and enjoy the shuffle. I found markets in Peru, India and China (check out the ones in Shanghai). It's a fun tradition I like to do - either alone or with forced companions ;)

What do you shop for on trips? 

Throw a Wrench In

So, this weekend wasn't quite what I expected. I had an excursion planned from this post - my plan was to take The Boy on a much-needed mini-escape to Three Rivers, MI. Billed as a quaint town with interesting shops and attractions, the town seemed like the perfect place to spend a Saturday. So, after sleeping-in and grabbing a delicious Cracker Barrel breakfast (do you eat there too? We're always the youngest couple there, but I. Don't. Care. It's SO good.) we headed north, 'cross the border to the Great Lake state. 

We love a road trip - listening to music, squealing and pointing out cute houses (me), and putting petal to the medal on two-lane country roads (him). So the drive up was great, and then we got to Three Rivers and....

<crickets>

<tumbleweeds>

Ghost town

Yeah, it was a bit dead. Appropriately, we took a tour of the old, old cemetery (I like old tombstones and how blissfully quite a cemetery is, even in the heart of town.) Then we headed over to main street, which promised to be hotbed of independent shops and cafes. There were about 4 cute shops, one really cute cafe/bookstore, and the Riviera theatre, which would have been cool to see a show in, if we'd been there in the evening. We also stopped by the bodyguard academy, where The Boy got a quick training...

The cat is working out, too.

All in all, we hit pretty much every single shop with an "Open" sign, plus the town petting zoo...



 then checked our watches and said, uh, now what? "Well, I could go home," said the Boy, "There's always Sherlock to watch." And you know what, that sounded just find to me. 

It's fun to make plans, but whenever you do, there's about a 100% chance that someone will throw a monkey-wrench in them. I'm not always good at dealing with that - I can imagine a time when I would have been down right mad that Three Rivers was a bust of my idyllic-small-town-day-trip-dream. But what the hell, we been there, done that. On to the next thing. Even if that is an afternoon  watching Sherlock, eating hot wings and shopping at the Gap. 

That was a popular choice.
Life. IS. Good. 

How was your weekend, folks? Any monkey wrenches?

SPRING!!!

via Pinterest

Spring is here! Gauging by the weather, it's been here for several days now but who's complaining? The change in season always makes some changes in life - less gloomy, moody days and more time for fun! This spring I want to:

Inject some new-growth colors in my house, like a pollen or bright bright green...

here

here 

And sweeten the air with these!

here

 I'll read every day on the porch 

(currently loving Lisa See's "Shanghai Girls and "That Might Be Useful" by Naton Leslie)...

 

while sipping these!

Pineapple Limeade, from here.

Do stuff with my hair, like this maiden's braid ...

here

and when I give up, throw on one of these...

here

I'll wear turquoise as much as possible...

here 

and always have my toes out!

 

from here, here and here.

Happy Spring!!

Consume

Shopaholics unite, from here.

Do you every randomly get on shopping binges - where you just feel the need to obtain and consume? I do. I know that's very un-progressive and entitled of me, but I can't help it. When I'm stressed or bored, I like to buy things. My wallet doesn't always agree, and so I've found these solutions to deal with my shopaholism.

First and foremost, PUBLIC LIBRARY:

You know all those magazines and books and movies you buy? And the music you waste all your bandwidth to illegally download? Yeah, they have all of that at the library - for free! As a young college radio dj (shout out to all Hodge Podge listeners) I got all of the latest and greatest music via the Indianapolis Public Library. But you just love to own the books you read, you say? Check out the book sales where the library gets rid of extra inventory of older books, best sellers, and randoms. Last weekend we went for the bag sale where you can fill a grocery bag for $7 dollars. Be still my heart.

THRIFTING:

I've already told you about Goodwill and their amazing 50% off sales, but have you tried Value World? Same idea, just a little more on the seedy side - ie no changing rooms, and the last time I was there a woman threatened to have her kid pee outside the door if the manager wouldn't let him use the employee only restroom. But the prices are great, the clothes are awesome and if you actually check your junk mail before throwing it out you might find a 50% off your entire purchase coupon. I went last week and got 10 items (including a Calvin Klein jacket and several work shirts and sweaters) for lest than $20. 

FREEBIES:

Slightly embarrassing admission: I cleaned my closet this week, for the first time in oh...a while. And it was like Christmas! All these clothes I'd completely forgotten about, lost in the recesses and dark corners of my closet. Eureka! Free clothes, baby.  Plus, I gathered a whole bag of stuff to donate to Goodwill ... darn, I guess I'll have to make another trip....

So, yes, I'd rather just be Cher... from here.

Another great freebie? Window shopping. And no, you don't have to stroll down Michigan Ave. to do this. I like trolling Target. It's my happy place.

Any other suggestions of beating the shopping bug without busting your bills?

PS I like alliteration.

Mark Your Calendars...Now



Via Pinterest

 Ok everyone. I'm going to tell you something, even though I may regret it later. Here goes: On the first Saturday of every month, Goodwill offers 50% off everything. That's right, a sale at yours and my favorite smorgasbord of used and unusual things. Just imagine. That lovely vintage skirt that was $3.50 --BAM--$1.75. Or the designer label coat that was $9.00 --SHAZAAM--$4.50. Or the $.99 knickknack that has no use but fills you with inexplicable joy so that you just have to have to have to buy it --KABLAAM-- just $.45.

I tell you this because I am a generous person. But I warn you. Get in my way on first Saturdays and

I. Will. Cut. You. Legit.

So here's a breakdown of my haul from this Saturday.

1. Pair of dueling snowball makers. Watch out, winter.

2. Raincoat. Gap, tan, average. Watch out, fall

3. Bronze Owl. Amazing. Also found out The Boy's school mascots were the Hooters or something ridiculous like that. Oh, California.

sHOOT, I'm cute.

4. What's also ridiculous? This chair. Yeah, it's broken. But I wants it! and it was only five dollars. It fills up a corner for now and may make a very elegant plant stand someday when it grows up.

wouldn't you wants it?

5. We also purchased two large, framed art pieces. One was really just for the frame- so The Boy could finally hang the artwork he loves so much he's been keeping it in a closet rolled up the entire time I've known him. The other was a lovely framed print. I can't share it with you because it is a special, holiday gift for someone who may be reading this right.now. Could it be you??

6. I should also include that The Boy was very excited by some grey wool dress pants that "must've cost a hundred dollars!" Yawn.

So, yeah, all this for around 30 buckaroos.

Sharing this better give me good karma points for the next First Saturday, all I'm sayin'.

BTW, shout out to Fab Finds Under $50, another Indy blogger. She finds pretty amazing stuff at goodwill and brags, I mean, blogs about it often. Check her out and share the bloggy love.