Hump-Day Revival

As you might (or might not) know, I go thrifting almost every Wednesday. I've decided to include a new blog segment called "Hump-Day Revival" to share my latest finds with you all. I will do my best to post every Wednesday afternoon/evening, but be forewarned that treasure-hunting is not a total walk-in-the-park. There are certainly days where I return home empty-handed. In instances like these, I might "save up" a couple week's worth of finds in order to present a hearty entry.

Let's get started!

Today I found...

This scarf. How I love a graphical representation of a good idiom.

This green dress. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been really into shift dresses lately(/wearing XXL shirts as such). I think they're very mod, not to mention, extremely comfortable.

This sweater. Kinda thinking this is a little boy's sweater. Regardless, it makes me wanna shake some pom-poms in the air and do some cartwheels or something.

These pins. I finally scored an enamel flower brooch (been looking forever). Happy about it.

Some more elephants for my elephant collection (see closeup). Since I was little, I've had an inexplicable attraction to elephants. Since then, elephants, like owls, have become somewhat trendy. Today, a lot of girls claim to be elephant-lovers, but I just want everyone to know that when it comes to the elephant-obsessed, I was (and am) the OG.

Bananers

Behold my bright yellow, high-waisted chorts! Vaulting these babies for awhile, as I have a feeling they are going to be a summer staple. This whole deal-io reminds me of Andy Warhol's banana. What do you think??

Striped shirt, H&M; belt and shorts, thrifted; cut-out Oxford sandals, Jeffrey Campbell.

Virgin

I've got ants in my pants.

It's been 9 days and 18 hours since I made the decision to try to quit smoking. According to Quit'n'Tell, an iPhone app I downloaded to track my progress, I would have smoked an extra 87 cigarettes if I didn't quit. I've also saved approximately $23. The first few days were relatively easy, but then the withdrawal symptoms started to kick in. Dull headaches, sudden hot flashes, intense cravings, extreme anxiety, etc.

Luckily, these symptoms come and go quite quickly, and all-in-all, I feel better. I can breathe, taste, and smell better. I guess if I could describe the way I feel in one word, it would be clean. My hair smells good and my skin looks healthier. I feel more feminine.

It sounds silly, but I almost feel like a new person. I've been smoking for 7 years. Since I was 16, smoking has been a great friend. We had a relationship. Cigarettes were there for me through thick and thin - when I was stressed, when I needed some time alone, when I was drinking coffee, when I was drinking wine, when I was driving, when I finished a big meal. When you've been in the habit of doing something for so long, not doing it is a foreign thing. I feel naked sometimes.

The hardest thing to deal with right now during this process is the anxiety. I can only eat so many sunflower seeds. I feel like I need to do something out of my comfort zone to take the edge off.

Here's where the ombre comes in.

I'm a hair virgin. Aside from the one time I tried to go dirty blond in 8th grade (resulted in orange hair, in case you were curious), I've never had my hair colored. Here's the look I'm going for:

I think altering my physical appearance during this time might help me come to terms with my new, smoke-free self.

It's a start, anyway.

SNAIL PORN

Unfortunately, embedding is unavailable for this AMAZING VIDEO OF SNAILS DOING IT.

Sneak Peek!

It's about time! I didn't want to admit it, but the past month or two, I've been having kind of a hard time at the thrift stores. Either I've become pickier, or I've been unlucky (or possibly a combination of the two). It's very frustrating when you dedicate the whole day to sifting through the racks and have to come home empty-handed. Today, however, was decent. Here were some of my finds:

Hungry Eyes

Kicked off the summer solstice last night by (re)watching the 80's classic, Dirty Dancing. Baby's got some serious swagger. Whipped together a little set on Polyvore to emulate the look. Apparently, it's all about Keds, high-waisted cut-offs, peasant tops, ballet flats, striped tees, and white mom pants. Sounds like summer to me!

OMG, shoes.

New favorite shoes. Best part? Found em at the Goodwill for 5 bucks! They just about go with everything (or maybe it just seems that way because I love them so much).

My Father, The Hero

Happy Father's Day to one cool Daddio! Had so much fun today hitting some tennis balls and spending some quality time with my one and only dad! Love you, Sparrow!

Over It

Just a quick little blog post this morning before I have to leave for work. I just wanted to share some of the things I'm over right now.

1. Sandwiches

This could possibly be because they remind me of work, which I'm also over. I guess it could be worse. I could work at a sushi restaurant and be sick of sushi. That would just be a tragedy.

2. Feather-heads

I will admit, I hopped on the trendy-train a couple of weeks ago and picked up some hair feathers at the Indian Store in Vista. A few days after Noel installed them for me, I was kind of over them. You know a trend has passed when 50-year-old women from RSF are wearing them. I'm sorry, unless you are between the ages of 8-25, or you just so happen to be Stevie Nicks, it is not okay for you to wear feathers. Besides, it's extremely annoying to brush your hair when they are in.

3. Les Cigarettes

Now, don't get too excited. This is not a formal declaration. (After all, I wouldn't want to set myself up for failure now, would I?) I've been really over cigarettes lately. The act of smoking just isn't as appealing as it used to be. Neither is the taste, or the smell for that matter. In fact, this is day 3 being smoke-free. It is very hard sometimes to abstain at times. I feel that if I quit smoking for good, I'll be losing a good friend. There will be mourning. But I know that smoking is gross, not to mention, very bad. So for now, I'm seeing how long I can go without it. Sunflower seeds, keeping myself busy, and primping are my saving graces right now.

INCEPTION SALE

The Inception Sale starts today! Through the 22nd, receive 20% off all sale items! It's a sale within a sale! Shop now!

Sack Race

I love the raw, organic quality of burlap. I still regret the time I stumbled across a variety of old feed bags at a thrift store and did not bring them home with me (especially now, when I think about their versatility):

These upcycled totes are made by White Apple Threads. I actually picked one up for myself at Fiesta Del Sol a couple weeks ago. It's the perfect beach bag!

I spotted these amazing burlap-covered planters at Anthropologie awhile ago. I took a picture of them but I can't seem to track it down. After a thorough google search, I discovered that somebody else also admired this display and took the liberty of making their own (complete with tutorial).

Etsy Love

collageOrama, based out of Tucson, Arizona juxtaposes these beautiful antique illustrations with pages from old dictionaries. This seems like a rather easy DIY project (perhaps that's why there are a few sellers on Etsy that are doing the exact same thing). I'm sure that many of these images are royalty-free on websites like this one. (Careful with that link ... I got a little carried away last night for an hour or so saving images to my desktop).

Swimming with Sharks

The Jam: Johnny Cash - Cut You Down

This song is so hard. When Johnny Cash walks down the hall, Chuck Norris gets out of his way.

Fury Duty

Today (my day off from work), I fulfilled my civic duty and reported to the Vista Court Complex for jury duty. I've reported to jury duty before, so I knew what to expect and brought some reading material. The last time I showed up, we were all dismissed before noon. This time, my name was called.

Luckily, I was not chosen as a juror, however, I did have to endure a painstakingly long voir dire. I tried not to snicker at the name of one of the potential jurors (Gaylord), not to mention the kid who "worked at a mushroom factory" (huh?).

By the time I was dismissed, it was 2:00. The only good that came of the day was that I got to take advantage of my foreign surroundings and scour some thrift stores in the area.

Let me tell you, it's been slim pickings lately ... well, at least in the clothing department. Today seemed to turn out to be a textile sort of day.

My first stop was at an antique store next to a Goodwill. In the back room, everything was on sale. I dug through a big cardboard box of old linens and eventually, these embroidered beauties materialized:

When I uncover handmade goods at a thrift store, I can't help myself - I must rescue them. It makes me sad to see an embroidered handkerchief or a crocheted blanket collecting dust on a rack when I know, from a personal account, just how much time and love goes into making things with your hands.

Like these hangers, for instance:

Or this quilted swatch of fabric/soon-to-be pillow-case:

Or this table-cloth:

What can I say? I am an advocate of the arts (and crafts).