Thursday 31 July 2014

Thrift Store Finds-A Ruby Red Convertible (dress)

I wish I thrifted an actual convertible, how cool would that be?! The closet I'll get to it is a Hot Wheels car...

Where I work at the moment is a hop skip and a jump from my favourite thrift store. I have gone there at least once a week since the summer started, and I have never left empty-handed. They have two sales every week. Items labelled with one type of coloured tag are 50 percent off, while a different coloured tag are marked down to be $1.

I have this thing...I love convertible dresses. A dress you can wear a million ways, just by tying it differently each time. The only problem is they're definitely not a thrifter's dream. Good quality ones start at $100 and up if you buy them through online companies, such as Dessy or Henkaa.

They have never been in my budget until this year. I bought teal ones for my bridesmaids dresses, and I thought that I was being smart and thrifty-ish by getting them off of Etsy! However, I wasn't smart enough, I should've bought one for myself too!

Well....yesterday was my lucky day.

I went to the thrift store just for a browse, and I saw this beautiful, silky red material peeking out from behind the coats. I decided to investigate. It was a convertible dress for $18! Of course, I had to grab it up. 

I got to the register after picking up a couple of books, started checking out-and got really confused when the cashier told me my total was $14. 
"Wasn't the dress supposed to be $18?" I asked
"Originally, yes. But yellow tags were on the half price sale this week" she told me. 


Hello wardrobe wonder! 


Halleujah!! I was pretty excited. I only have three red things in my wardrobe-a crazy fancy floor length cocktail dress, a cozy rust-coloured cardigan and a red sweater.

This is definitely a purchase that I can see myself re-using over and over again. I'm already dreaming up outfits...

Sarina

Tuesday 29 July 2014

Foodie Feature!

Hello there!

As a kid, my first introduction to reading was...different to say the least. My mother had a collection of cookbooks that was about the size of me (at the time) that she never used! So my little tiny self went through all those books, looking for the yummiest things. As I got older, I actually started to read the recipes instead of just drooling over the pictures (and wondering why I couldn't have only chocolate cake for every meal...I mean, it sounds perfect to me...right?) 

I started really getting into cooking and baking around the end of grade eleven. I enjoyed the process of gathering ingredients, mixing, and achieving my well deserved result-delicious things! Around this time I also started watching a certain Canadian chef on TV-Bob Blumer

I got to meet my favourite chef earlier this year at a Food and Wine show-he gives the best hugs! 

I guess this cooking thing became a hobby of mine over time, because I'm still crazy about it! I've always wanted to go to culinary school but took music as my 'safe' option.  Instead, I watch the Food Network like it's my job, create disasters (and miracles) in the kitchen and treat my friends as guinea pigs to my latest concoctions. I knew my fiancĂ© was the One when he bought me a cookbook for our first Valentine's day together. So much more useful than flowers! 

Over the past couple of years, I've amassed my own small collection of cookbooks that I've read a million times, and tried recipes out of. The newest addition to the collection is this beauty-generations eats by Amy Rosen.
New books make me happy

It effortlessly combines catchy titles, yummy recipes, and movie recommendations as an accompaniment! I perused this book at a thrift store today and quickly realized that it was a never-used copy . When I took it to the cash register, I had sticker shock-instead of being the dollar it was marked as, it was fifty cents!! There was a flash sale, with all cookbooks being half off. So much excitement! 

I want to introduce a new feature to my blog-Foodie Features! Once a week (well, I'll try) I will feature a recipe from one of my many cookbooks, complete with photos and a recipe. This blog started off as a food blog, and I haven't posted much of that lately.

Sarina 

Sunday 20 July 2014

#ThriftStyleThursday-Delightfully Dainty

Hello there!
This week's theme is delightfully dainty. When i think of dainty, I think of teeny weeny things, like rings and small patterns. 
This week I'll be featuring one of my favourite patterned items

Indian suit- free, birthday present, earrings- $5, Ardene

The pattern on the top and pants of this suit scream dainty to me. Even though the colours seem to take up most of the suit, if you look carefully you can see quite dainty little patterns.

What do you think? Does this seem dainty to you?

As always, visit the delightful dainty divas to see how they styled this weeks Dainty theme!

Monday 14 July 2014

Wedding prep and my Something Blue

Hey there!

Ever since I got engaged, my fiancĂ© and I have figured out a ton of wedding stuff. It's only been a month but we have our chapel, venue, caterer, and photographer. Being a thrifty gal, I wanted to keep the costs down as much as I could. 

One thing I didn't waver on were my brand new wedding shoes! I always knew I wanted Fluevogs for my wedding, ever since a friend introduced me to te brand. The only problem is...their shoes START at $200 and go up from there. What's a girl on a budget to do? Go hunting of course! There a ton of places I 'Vogs for cheaper. There's the Fluemarket, Amazon.com, eBay and even kijiji.ca! 

I ended up finding the *perfect* pair of shoes. Blue pebbled leather, pointy toe, 3 inch heel. Did I also mention they're the comfiest shoes I've ever worn?! 

Best purchase ever.  

I can't wait to rock these down the aisle!

What are your favourite shoes?

-Sarina