Long time...again

I have the flu :-(

I'm weak, feverish, dizzy, congested, coughing, sneezing, achy, fatigued and just all around sick. But guess what else?

I have a job! I've actually had the job since the beginning of February, I've just been to crazy busy and tired to blog about it. I also reconciled with the love of my life and my best friend in the whole wide world :-)

We broke up in 2007 but never really gave up on one another, now we're back together and better than ever and I'm happy as a Lark :-D

I would go on but I'm still not recovered from the flu and I have to go back to work tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be back with more sooner than later. Until then, cheerio!

Thrifty Thursday: Village Discount, Unique & Junior League!

It's that time again! I hit up three different thrift stores over the past few weeks and raked in some goodies! I also stopped by Crossroads Trading Company to unload a few things that I no longer needed/wanted (in order to fund my thrift addiction and other expeditions). Without further ado, let's get to it...

I*N*S*I*G*H*T (per the tag) = $2.50 at half off Monday at Unique.

This cute little light weight blazer, although a size 8, will be perfect for summer with my white jeans or a nice skirt.

100% Silk Casual Corner Blouse = $1.50 at half off Monday at Unique.

Given my love for stripes, I couldn't pass on this sweet little number. This can be dressed up with nice slacks and a blazer/added under a suit or dressed down with jeans, a denim jacket and some cute black leather moto boots/brown leather engineer boots.

(Can't make out the name on the tag) Dress = $3.00 at half off Monday at Unique.

Though I can't place the decade, there was no way I was leaving Unique without this vintage and COMPLETELY sheer gorgeous dress. It's so feminine (and a little tight) and delicate and just awesome! I'll mos def have to wear some kind of slip or something because like I said, it's completely sheer from the rooter to the tooter.

Ilie Wacs Blazer = $2.50 at half off Monday at Unique.

This can't be anything but vintage 80's awesomeness! As soon as I laid eyes on this blazer it was on and poppington! Though the sleeves are a bit short for me, I am still going to rock this like no one's business...yes indeed. Oh, and this blazer and the dress are made with good ol home grown labor.

100% Silk Joseph A Cardigan = $2.00 at half off Monday at Unique.

This cute chunky cardi was one of those right on time finds. My closet/rack are in dire need of warm threads for the sub-zero Chicago temps ahead, and this 100% silk (yep!) is sure to keep me nice and toasty.

Amber Sun Collection Knit Sweater = $3.00 at half off Monday at Unique.

Purple + Chunky Knit = Win...right? Yeah it does until you wash it and it gets lint on EVERYTHING! That's my fault though for not explicitly following the care instructions on the tag. Otherwise, I love this sweater. It mostly comes to my wrist and is nice and snuggly. Oh, and I LOVE purple.

Steve & Barry's Faux Sherpa and Denim Jacket = $3.50 at half off Monday at Unique.

Absolutely none of my fellow thrifters liked this jacket, but I did not and do not care, I love it! Denim and faux sherpa...what's not to love? Actually, I didn't love the way it smelled after I washed it. This thing smelled worse after I washed it than it did before and it also made everything else I washed it with smell awful too. I rewashed everything with double the detergent and a good measure of baking soda and peroxide and that did the trick.

H&M Black Blazer = $2.95 at Village Discount

After weeks of hunting I finally found the perfect black blazer! This beauty made my day, I may have shed a tear when I found it, lol. Bonus? It's machine washable, BAM!

(No Tag) B/W Marled Sweater = $2.50 at Junior League Thrift Store.

I have a love/hate relationship with this sweater. I love the fit, color and warmth of this sweater but I hate that it's itchy, hairy and it sheds on EVERYTHING! It's like a dog, lol. Very similar to the Joseph A cardi in terms of color, but that's where the similarities end. With a long sleeved undershirt, this promises to be a winter staple for me.

British Crown Colony 100% Silk Blouse = $5.00 at Junior League Thrift Store.

Oh.Em.Gee. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this vintage blouse! 100% sheer ivory silk, fits like a dream, slit tail back, hi/low cut hem...LOVES IT! The label on this blouse intrigued me, so I did a little research (Googled it) and found these interesting tidbits.

Magenta Foxcroft Blouse = $3.25 at Junior League Thrift Store.

My homegirl Naimah actually brought this hot magenta number to my attention. I wasn't going to get it at first, but in the end I did...and I'm glad I did. I love the color and think it will look amazing with my navy blue blazer. It fits well and it's wrinkle free...always a bonus.

French Blue Eddie Bauer Blouse = $3.50 Junior League Thrift Store.

Last but not least, a French Blue Eddie Bauer blouse. This is another of my fave colors and a wardrobe essential IMO. This blouse can also be dressed up or down same as the striped and magenta blouses.


Whew, that does it for this week's edition of Thrifty Thursday. I did pretty well once again and am, for the most part, very pleased with my finds. Have you gone thrifting lately? Find anything good? Let a sistah know!

Walking In Sunshine!

My favorite tree/outdoor meditation spot

Those of you who live in Chicago know how rare sunny days are in Autumn/Winter, even more rare are mild weather days. It just so happens that for this "photo shoot" in the Sculpture Park, I got very lucky!

Many thanks to my BFF and the greatest love of my life (besides my children and Alexander Wang) for shooting these awesome photos. 

Now on to the OOTD...

This recycled blazer and scarf may look familiar because I love them and wore them together here, lol. 

Notice the mixed patterns and colors? Yeeeeah, I'm experimenting y'all, lol!

Scarf from F21

I love wrapping this scarf around my neck/shoulders. Look at my crooked smile, so endearing :-)

Gold earrings were a gift from my Grandmother.

Full length of the entire outfit.

From the back.

Me next to one of my fave sculptures in the entire park.

Another of my fave sculptures.

Sunnies from Target ($5)

 My skin was all kinds of yuck in these pictures. It's clearing up little by little though. I'll blog about my skin care regimen sometime in the near future.

Don't the booties look 3D, lol? Want a closer look?

You like? I've worn these once and I'm pretty sure I'll never wear them again. My feet are way to big and wide for these babies :-(


I'm creating a shop to sell some of the items I can't/don't wear or use. My Pink Clarisonic Classic will be another one of the items in the shop. I paid $195 for that brush and can't use it, my skin is just way too sensitive :-(

Blazerless and enjoying the weather and scenery.

Now let's look at the accessories...

Closer?

The Deets:


Leopard Satchel = Alloy.com
Necklace = F21
Leopard Print Faux Pony Hair Belt = ASOS
"Gold" Flake Ring = Charlotte Russe
Faux Stone Ring = F21
"Gold" Three Row Spike Bracelet = Gift from my bestie Shan
"Gold" Pyramid Stud Bracelet = F21
BDG Shirt = Crossroads Trading Company
Kate Hill Blazer = Crossroads Trading Company
Super Skinny Twill Pants = Delias.com 
Brown Booties = Alloy.com
Sunnies = Target
Tribal Print Scarf = F21
Gold Earrings = Gift from my Grandmother

And that's that. What do you think of this outfit? I love what I did here as far as the mixing and matching goes, uber proud of my self :-D


Though I'm sure you've seen enough of my pictures, here are some bonus shots!

Don't they look all Secret Garden-ish, lol? My BFF did a totally FAWESOME job with the camera, I was honored and impressed. He made editing the pictures for this blog super hard (as evidenced by the amount of pictures in this blog, lol). In honor of him and his work, I'm posting his picture...

Well not him exactly, lol. Those are his custom Nikes that he designed and received shortly before the shoot. He's so in love with those shoes it's kind of ridiculous, lol. He even has his name on the back of them (you can just barely see it).


Okey dokey, that's enough. Do you like the outfit I put together? Dislike it? Let a sistah know!