Hospice care plant worker

I tend to send plants to the big greenhouse in the sky.  It's what I do.

I have managed to keep alive a spider plant, a (let's go phonetical which sounds close to fanatical but it is different) fill-oh-den-drun, and a Christmas cactus.

Today I went to Home Depot for 4 screws for my coffee station and I left Home Depot with...
1. Potting soil
2. Two succulents
3. Screws
4. A catnip plant

Expensive screws trip.

Needless to say - I had nabbed two little milk glass bowls (sugar bowls I believe) from the Agrace thrift & the Rescue Mission Thrift and I intend to keep alive 2 succulents.

The succulents' little instructional tag said, "Thrives in desert like conditions."

Perfect.  I shall neglect and forget to water them.  Done. 

Notes from an avid thrifter

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to introduce a friend of mine to the world of thrifting Angie Good style.  This is what I shared with her...

1st - You have to set the bar low.  Looking for extreme specifics when thrifting is only setting yourself up for disappointment which leads to consumption of a pint of So Delicious Carmel Chunk Coconut Milk Ice Cream.  Be general.  Look for tops or bottoms. Skirts or blouses. Etc.  There will be a story at the end of this post.

2nd - Stop throwing items for the size you hope to be in to the cart.  Shop for the size you are.  And if the size you are makes you sad, mosey on over to "Active wear" and get yourself some COMFY gym clothes and plan to hit the gym with meeeee.  I can bring a friend for FREE. 

3rd - If you like it, try it on.  You may be a medium and the sweater tag says small.  Try the small on.  You never know.  It might be a good fit.  Same scenario but the dress says XL.  Don't freak out.  It is just a tag with a size identifier.  Calm down.

4th - Make friends with a stranger.  You are not 5.  They are not offering you candy.  There's no real stranger-danger at the thrift.  Make a friend.  Joke about something hideous.  My friend Rita and I made a friend while discussing rabbit collared dresses.  They were womens dresses with the head of the Velveteen Rabbit slapped on the Peter Pan collar.  Talk about not ever wanting to grow-up.

5th - Only buy it if you love it and will wear it.

6th - Plan to turn your hangers the opposite direction at the beginning of the next season.  All unturned hangers get donated or consigned.  The thrift is gave and take = the perfect relationship. 

7th - Make a memo or note in your cellphone that is a revolving list of items to look for at the thrift.  I have a secret Pinterest Board called (cause I am soo  original) "Look for these pieces at the thrift."

Ok. As promised - my not having specifics story.  It ends well, in case you are like several friends who like to know the end first. 

For 18 or so months I have been on the hunt for Anne Taylor Loft black cropped pants.  Did you catch the "18 or so months" part????  I have come to the end of my thrift hunt and decided to use a 50% off coupon and buy them.  Wonder of wonders - Anne does not make my favorite cut of cropped pants anymore.  Sad day. 

Last week after sharing my wealth of thrift knowledge (my Mr Miagi-like wisdom) with my thrift apprentice, I threw caution to the wind and logged in to the ThredUp app.  I narrowed my search to Loft black cropped pants.  There on the screen were my cropped pants.  My size, the cut I like and they were from Anne Taylor's Loft.  I like to say it like she owns an actual loft. Maybe once upon a time she did and she loved it...like my cottage.  I should have branded my knitting / crocheting projects "Angie Good's cottage."  I suppose now it would be my duplex since I no longer reside in the cottage.

ThredUp had my cropped pants for 80% off the store's former regular price.  That's a great savings.  I added them to my cart and checked-out before you can say, "Cute pants!" 

It took 18 months and a memo on my phone to find my cropped pants.  They arrived and fit as expected. 

Stay strong and be patient!!! Fun finds come to those who thrift!!!!

I ♥ the Target Dollar Bins!!!!!!!

Found these in the Target Dollar Bin!!!  What cute additions to the doorprize basket!!!!

Randall Road

Well, it's official.  Stephanie and Julie have seen the REAL Angie.  They now know...
A) I do not have any qualms about performing U-turns...even on Randall Road. :)
B) I sigh dreamily when I am standing in Caribou Coffee.
C) I throw around the phrase "Eat your heart out!" 
D) Two Goodwill stores in one day is exhausting.
E) I'm crazy.  I think they might've thought I was crazy before our thrifting outing...but the outing afforded them confirmation of the this fact.

Our day began at (circa :)) 9 a.m.  We met at Julie's and began our roadtrip adventure to Randall Road.  Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at Caribou Coffee where we all partook of their finest hot chocolate.  One salted carmel hot chocolate, one milk chocolate hot chocolate, and one dark chocolate hot chocolate.  It was deeeeelish!!! 

We discussed every topic and solved the world's problem.  :)

My favorite thrift find was a gray sparkly sweater with ruffles.  It's completely girlie and MARVELOUS!!!  I think my second favorite find is a black sweater that I wasn't completely sold on until I tried it on.  It just goes to show - you shouldn't judge a sweater until you've tried it on.  One would think I would know this by now...but I didn't. 

We finished at my favorite Goodwill (the one adjacent to Caribou Coffee) and then determined time permitted for us to go south on Randall Road to the next Goodwill.  The second Goodwill wasn't as "full" as the first...but we had no trouble finding treasures.

At the 2nd Goodwill, I saw the cutest dress.  On the hanger it looked fabulous.  It was teal with blue and khaki flowers.  Too be honest, I loved the fact that it looks "June Cleaver-ish" -- flowing skirt and I was picturing it with a little khaki sweater and white sandals.  Well, when I put it on -- it was too big.  Too big as in too-much-trouble-to-take-apart-and-take-it-in too big which made me sad.  All my June Cleaverish visions were crushed.  Stomped on.  I hung it back up and thought, I hope you find a good home, friend.  (And then I laughed because I was "talking to" a dress.)

I did find some just-like-new black chunky-heeled loafers.  (I'm pretty sure there should be a comma to separate those adjectives but when I switched the order around - in my head - it sounded odd so I won't use a comma!)  They are super cute.  My other purchases came from Anne's Loft.  You know, Anne Taylor.  :)  I found a red, 3/4-length sleeve top and a pink (a Reagan pink!) sweater...which truth-be-told, I have it in red too.  Actually the red one might've came from this very same thrift, now that I am sitting here thinking about it.  Hmmmmm....

We left the second thrift and sought nourishment at Jimmy John's before getting on I-90 and heading west.  We arrived back at Julie's at 3:30 p.m.  Everyone vacated Rosie and I made my way to Lowe's and purchased the oatmeal colored paint for my bathroom.  My last stop of the day was Michael's.  I used the 40% off coupon to purchase another skein of Starbella to make a Thinking of You scarf for a friend.  There's something fun about making scarves for people...  I'm not sure if it's the fact that I am afforded two hours to think about and pray for the recipient.  :) 

I hope you had a lovely Wednesday - Thanksgiving Eve.

The weekend

For some reason - today doesn't really feel like a Friday.  It kinda feels like a Tuesday which is weird because Tuesday was 3 whole days ago.  I wonder if my off-ness this week has anything to do with our Monday holiday - thus a 4-day work week?  Hmmmm...

Today is my favorite co-worker's 50th birthday.  For the past 52 weeks, I've encouraged him that turning the big FIVE-OH is not a crisis.  Infact countless times I have told him, "Fifty is fabulous!!!"  Well...today he turns 50 therefore ending my 52-week encouragement ministry.  (Sigh.)  It was exhausting.  (Insert laughter!)

This weekend is going to EPIC!!!  
Tonight - hit the gym and then I intend to spackle all the remaining holes at the cottage.  Did you notice I used the word intend?  I figure, if I say I intend to do these things and it doesn't happen, it was a nice thought and notion.  :)  

Tomorrow - I am going thrifting with Lauren and Kathy.  We're off to spend the day on Randall Road...Caribou Coffee + good friends + the thrift = a fabulous way to spend a Saturday.  Our thrift goal is to find the perfect outfit for Lauren's character Evelyn.  I have a feeling her outfit is going to be EPIC!  I will bring my camera.  Saturday night - a knitting lesson with two fun girlies.  My co-worker asked for a wool-blend simple knitted scarf for Christmas.  I'm using gray yarn and my birthday wooden knitting needles - they are size 8 and perfect.  I love wooden knitting needles...especially with this wool-blended yarn.  The needles are magical.  Not really.  In my head, they are magical.  :)

Sunday ~ the children will be learning about the first Thanksgiving and we have a little craft to do.  I tend to not allow enough time for the crafts sooooo this year, I've been praying that the Lord would help me know when to stop so our cornucopias aren't a rushed dealy-do.  

I did manage to remember to put in a request for a vacation day on Wednesday, November 21st!  Julie and Stephanie want to go a-thrifting.  Guess where we are going to go?  Randall Road!!!  It seems like all I do is thrift - thrift - THRIFT!  In all honesty, I haven't been thrifting much in the last 6-8 months...probably less than 10 times.  In the matter of 2 weeks, I will have been to the Randall Road thrift thrice.  I would really like to find an ugly Christmas sweater.  And if "ugly" is too strong a word, I would settle for a completely tacky sweater.  I'm a simple sort of girl.  Give me an obnoxiously tacky sweater and I will deck the halls!!!

Have a lovely weekend!!!

College Roommate, Hangers, The Marble, Trudy, Plant Killer, and Thrifting

Do you ever have a day that seems to just fly by and at the end of that day, you can pinpoint little tasks that you completed but nothing really big?  And it seems like all the little tasks you did don't really add up to the amount of time you were at your place of employment.  That happened to me today.  I'm not exactly sure what happened.  (Ok, when I typed "I'm not exactly sure what happened" - I have this voice in my head that says it like my college roommate, Brenda.  College was HOW long ago, Angie Good?  Seriously though...that's something Brenda, aka: Ol' Girl, would've said.  And actually she would've began the sentence with "I do believe..."  Oh the funny memories that pop into my brain at random moments and then get typed in a blog post.  It's scary what goes through my pretty little head, isn't it?  And yet, you still come back for more...some of you DAILY...my stalkers maybe even hourly.  No worries.  I'm not creeped out that you stalk my blog.  I'm honored that you actually wonder, What will the girl with curly hair say today?  It's like that moment in the movie, You've Got Mail when Meg Ryan types to Tom Hanks, "What will NY152 say today?")

I need to focus.  Wow!

I'm doing pretty well with the whole switch-the-hangers-after-you-wear-and-wash-your-summery-article-of-clothing project.  I think tomorrow I will wear something that I haven't worn.  I am, however, starting to notice that I have favorites...  I know, I know.  You aren't suppose to have favorites but I think that rule only applies to teaching...right?  

Speaking of teaching, I get asked if I miss it.  I don't really miss it because I work with grown-men who sometimes act like 2nd graders.  I have one particular co-worker, who happens to be my absolute favorite...perhaps because he frequently picks up our coffee tab at Starbucks...  This favorite found a glass red marble.  It's slightly larger than a golf ball but not bigger than a tennis ball.  He (said co-worker) believes we should ask the marble what we our goals for the day should be.  He also randomly will pick up the marble and hold it up to his temple and contemplate a question that I have posed to which he will begin his reply with "The marble says..."  He's crazy but honestly, he really is my favorite!  Tomorrow I am going to adhere a sticky note to the marble that says, "You should really pick up Starbucks for Angie on Friday.  Sincerely, the marble."  The marble has good manners.  :)

There - I have officially blogged about the marble situation.  I don't want to forget this weird moment in time.

I had the most amazing thing happen yesterday.  My friend Trudy was on my mind all day so I went to Hallmark and purchased a "Thinking of You" card because I had a $5 coupon and I wanted to find just the perfect card for her and my card stash is kinda low.  After purchasing said card, Trudy called me.  Apparently I had been on her mind all day.  We have determined that it's been too long since we last go together, so tomorrow night we are going to sit on her patio and drink decaf coffee.  Oh happy day!!!!  Also - she remembered that I want to attempt to keep alive another aloe vera plant so she graciously transplanted one of her aloe babies for me.  I really don't want to be known as the girl who kills aloe plants.  It's not becoming.  I mean - I don't have to have a green thumb...but to be known as a plant killer...well, that's just sad.  Downright sad.

On another random foliage note, I cannot wait to post a picture of my lilac shrubbery as in the my-neighbor-chopped-it-down shrubbery.  Guess what?  It's growing back and it seems to be slightly out of control.  Perhaps the thing needed a near-death experience...I don't know but I am thrilled to see the hearty green shoots coming up!!!!!  

Tomorrow is Thursday which is not quite Friday but oh so close!!!!  This Friday I am actually leaving work 2-1/2 hours early to meet my friend Sara for therapy/thrifting at our favorite thrift in Janesville.  And then after thrifting, I am returning to Rockford to watch Reagan and Jackson which I am sure will provide me with an excellent blog post.  Reagan is 3 and Jackson is 5.  I love the marvelous children in my life.  They sure do liven things up!

Well...I am going to publish this post.  I do apologize for the randomness this evening.  

Have a delightful Thursday!

True story

We didn't have church tonight which is going to thoroughly confuse me tomorrow. I already know myself. Any-who...tonight Rhonda and I went thrifting. 

At the thrift, in the midst of a sea of dresses, what should appear?  The same cute black sundress...and the tags were still attached!!!  What a blessing.  I got the $20 dress for close to 75% off the store price.  [Moments before thrifting, I considered purchasing this very sundress at the red bull's eye but I just couldn't do it.  I heard that voice in my head say, "Angie Good, Target donates to the Goodwill.  Why don't you wait?"  Funny -- I only had to wait about 20 minutes.  

I am thankful that I exercised self-control and did not over-spend.

After thrifting, we almost got hit by the Kishwaukee Baptist Church bus. 0.3 seconds after the near-death-experience, we both cracked-up...LOIS laughter... I then said, "Can you imagine Pastor B telling people how we died?" [Insert more laughter...]


And just so we're on the same page...when I do depart this earth, I want fabulous songs at my funeral.  Fabulous as in...

Just over in the Gloryland

Wonderful Grace of Jesus

Amazing Love

I do not want Amazing Grace and Old, Rugged Cross.  They are not bad hymns.  They are just funeral hymns.  And since I am going to be walking on the streets of gold...I want you to be happy for me.  Happy that I am finally Home.

Thrifting with my bestie on my b-day :)

Here are my fabulous birthday thrift finds...

Anne Taylor Loft Coral Sundress 

I thought it would look great with my jean jacket and white flip-flops!

Ummmm....who doesn't love a fru-fru navy t-shirt???

And we can thank my friend, Leah, for 

forcing me embrace horizontal striped t-shirts!!! 

Lastly, this cute embellished t-shirt...Sara found it for me!

5 items

Our ladies day out began at 10 a.m. as we gathered at the church to carpool to Janesville.  Lauren, Kristen and I ventured in one vehicle.  Leah, Bobbi, Sue, Sue's friend, and Luella in the second vehicle with Tabitha and her mom in the third.


What a fun group of gals!!!!


Our first stop -- the Goodwill.  I love how their bags say, "Goodwill.  Amazing."  If it were up to me, I would put three exclamation points after the word "Amazing!!!"  Like that.  :)


Okay -- while still in Kristen's vehicle, I told Lauren and Kristen, "Under no circumstances am I to leave this store with any summery skirts.  I'm serious.  If you see me with summery skirts, rip them out of my hands."


I do not...DO NOT...need anymore summery skirts and/or dresses.  Until one of these fabulous skirts gets compromised (let's hope they really don't) or until I sort through and re-donate (and by re-donate, I believe some gals from church want first dibs :)), I do not need to purchase another summery skirt and/or sundress.


Having said that outloud...I knew that I had no business going near the skirt section of the thrift.  Soooo when we entered the store, I let the others make their way to the skirts and dresses while I remained in the front near the shirts and sweaters.  (Sweaters...also another weakness but not nearly to the extent of summery skirts.)  


I found several blouses and when I meandered to the sweater aisle - looking for a black sweater with 3/4 length sleeves - I happened to find a cute pale blue faux wraparound dress.  It was crammed inbetween a bunch of sweaters...  My first thought was oh dear, it's polyester which has the potential to look dreadful (clingy) or marvelous (flowy and covering flaws).  Unsure which one of these two categories the dress would fall into, I put it in my cart.  


Turns out - the dress fit fabulously and wasn't clingy at all.  Plus BONUS...it's a faux wraparound which means I won't have to tie and re-tie the dress.  

My second find came from the skirt section.  I know, I know...I said "no summery skirts."  This black GAP skirt is hardly summer only.  It's actually an excellent fit.  Seriously -- it's like the little people at GAP knew my exact measurements.  How fun!!!!  I don't own (can you believe THIS?) a black A-line skirt.  I was actually able to cross it off my "Thrift Wish List" which I keep tucked in a small notebook inside my purse.  You never know when you will stop at the thrift on the way home from work, on your lunch break...and how many times have I stopped and perused all the while thinking, I wonder if I have something to go with this fabulous blouse???  I no longer have to wonder...I went through my closet and made a list of pieces that I would ideally like to add.

This third item -- a cute raspberry-ish blouse -- was just something random that I found in the blouse aisle.  I like it because it has tiny butterflies.  I'm thinking it will be super cute with my denim Bermuda shorts or my khaki skirt.  Plus I have those butterfly earrings that I picked up on the Target clearance...and who doesn't love fun butterflies on a top AND as earrings.  :)

The last two items purchased are not pictured.  The first is a black 3/4 - length sleeve sweater.  It's a black sweater.  Let your imagination go crazy picturing a BLACK SWEATER.  :)  And the other item is actually super cute...but it's in the washer...and since I don't feel like endangering my life trying to remove it while the washer is spinning out and I'm kinda tired and want to click "PUBLISH" and go to bed, you are just going to have to wait to see my super cute fru-fru tank.  It's not quite mauve and it's not pink.  It's kinda both.  There are white horizontal tie-dye stripes and it's very modest.  I think it will look cute with my brown skirt, sandals, and my denim jean jacket and a CUTE scarf.  :)


So there you have it...my Saturday thrift finds.  What did you do today?

I am posting this outfit on my blog for a couple of reasons...

a - I want to remember it. 

b - I want my Mom to see it.  :)

c - Just thought I'd share my idea. 

All items were found on various thrifting outings...

Skirt:  $3.00

Blouse:  $0.49

Scarf:  $2.00 (Galena trip -- oops, not a thrift find)

Tote:  $1.49

Shoes:  $4.99

Not too shabby, right?

Curtains

Sooooo I've been contemplating making curtains for my bathroom.  At JoAnn's, I saw a pattern that caught my eye -- The Idiot's Guide to Sewing:  Curtains.  It was written for the non-sewer.  Now granted, I can semi-sew but nothing anything fancy.  I figured I could give sewing a valance for my bathroom a whirl.  And actually I saw a super cute striped sheet that I thought would make a lovely curtain...but I wasn't 100% sold on it so I had not yet purchased it.


Well, yesterday at lunch, I wanted to get out of the office -- mostly because it was a lovely day!!!  I went to the Rescue Mission resale store (which just so happens to be right down the road from my place of employment).  Someone had made and donated the cutest pink and lime green valances.  There were actually quite a few pairs of these.  


For $2.59, I have new bathroom curtains.  

I think I might put sheer curtains behind these...not sure...

:)

Helloooo!  Can you believe that it's already Monday?  Wow -- where did the weekend go?  

Friday -- I took the Gear kids to see Beauty and the Beast at Rockford College.  About 45 minutes into the play, Jackson turns to me and says with an adorable smile, "Funny Angie, this is not a movie!"  Too which I replied, "You are absolutely right, Jackson.  This is a play.  Those are real people up there."

Saturday -- I stopped in and saw Missy for a few minutes.  She worked wonders with my eyebrows!  :)  And she was gem and saved me a bottle of "Behave" hair gunk...which just sooo happens to live up to its name and make my straight hair obey!  (Happy dance.)  

My Saturday afternoon was quite productive...all (ALL) summer skirts and tops and sandals were sorted through and purged.  One large bag was filled and dropped off at the thrift on my way to hit the gym.  I love sorting through mounds of clothing and asking myself, "Do I love this article of clothing?  Could someone else love it and wear it more than I am?"...and getting rid of what I don't need, want, and/or use.  It's invigorating!!!  For me, anyway... :)

Sunday -- Our lesson was on Judas betraying Jesus.  What convicts me the most is that the Lord reveals an area(s) in my life where I have acted/thought/behaved in a way that although I did not sell Jesus to the religious leaders for 30 pieces of silver...yet, I have betrayed Him.  

After church (and after perusing the Weather Bug website and seeing the forecasted spring showers for our area), I headed to the thrift in search of a raincoat.  One was found...it was the wrong size!  DRAT!  Again -- this is another reason why I wish the thrifts in our area would hang items up by size.  How difficult would that be, really?  It's not complicated...small, medium, large...  Anyway...after the thrift, I did take a quick perusal of Burlington Coat Factory -- as I figured they are a COAT factory and since I am searching for a raincoat/spring jacket...(sigh) Nothing at BCF screamed, "Buy me, Angie Good!"  Oh well...it looks like spring is here to stay -- so I will just have to continue searching for said raincoat.

There you have it.  My weekend.  I hope your weekend was equally as adventurous!!!  

Happy Monday, Blog-Stalkers!!!!

Fabulous idea!!!!

Several years ago, I received a gift subscription of the magazine, Real Simple.  I love that magazine.  I peruse it while waiting in the check-out at Woodman's.  Many of their helpful tips on cleaning, organizing, finding the perfect black skirt, etc., I have used.  I thoroughly enjoy my few minutes of perusing while I wait to purchase groceries.

Well....I am now beginning to bring in (from storage in the garage) my spring/summer clothes.  I like to take an inventory and see if anything needs repairs.  Oooooh last near-end-of-winter when I brought in my storage totes, I discovered that a mouse had managed to get inside one of the totes.  The little twit even ate holes in some of my springy towels.  Too say I was not happy is an understatement.

Where was I?

Oh yes, Real Simple magazine and my spring wardrobe.  Soooo I remember reading an article about purging your closet.  In the article, and forgive me for not remembering the author's name...as I really can't remember what I ate for breakfast last week, the author said when you switch over to the next season's wardrobe, hang your hangers backwards.  As you wear each garment, hang them up and turn the hanger the right direction.  At the end of the season, you will know what your favorite pieces are.  Donate the clothing that never got turned.

I'm super excited to try this!!!  I was lamenting to Ruthie tonight that I have a couple of dresses with sentimental value (I am a girl, remember!!!!).  Ruthie's reply was priceless and absolutely wonderful...all-be-it PRACTICAL!  Ruthie said, "Angie, just wear those first!!!"

DUH!

So there you have it.  I plan to try out this hanger trick.  I'll let you know how it goes in the fall when I am putting away my summer stuff.

P.S. If in the fall, there are a couple items that I just can bear to part with, will you please cut me some slack and not judge me?  :)

Loyalty:
- the state or quality of being loyal; faithfulness to commitments or obligations

Tonight while sitting in overstuffed chairs next to a fireplace, Sara and I discussed loyalty and friendship.  And how there are some friends that you just know will be there for you -- no matter what.  Unfortunately, there are some that will not.  We did not dwell on the not-so-loyal ones but we rejoiced in the loyalty that we have with one another.  I mean, REALLY, it was the coldest night of the year and here we were...relaxing after thrifting, sitting at Higher Grounds, drinking coffee, laughing, celebrating our friendship, being there for one another...  Friendship, a loyal friend, is the greatest gift ever. 

November 1st

Happy first day of November!  I can hardly believe it's November.  I'm not going to make any nonsensical statements (like I did at the beginning of October) such as "Wow -- November does not look soo busy -- this is going to be nice!!!"  A. That would be a lie -- because my November does appear to be quite busy;  B. I don't want to set myself up to have to eat those words. 

I'm not exactly sure where the year has gone.  It seems like it was just last week that we were LITERALLY knee-deep in snow.  Do you remember the blizzard?  Wow!  How quickly time flies by...

The past two days at work have been crazy-busy for me.  For those of you who have the blessing of chatting with me via email, you have probably wondered what on earth has happened to the girl with curls.  No worries -- I am still alive and all is well.  I've just been busy.  It sure does make the day fly by!  I clock-in at 8 and the next time I glance up, it's 11 and time for a break!  Then it's 1:30 - lunch...shortly thereafter it's 3:30 and then BAM - 4:30 and I am clocking-out for the day!!!! 

Tonight I had to run to Woodmans after work.  One would think that by owning the same cellphone for close to 15 months that I wouldn't still randomly dial my contacts, right?  WRONG!  While looking for the beloved Skor candy bars (for a filler in Rhonda's birthday present), I threw my phone in my purse without locking it.  Apparently said phone decided that it would call a former co-worker of mine, Big Tuna.  Yep.  And I didn't notice until somewhere around 3 minutes into the faux call.  I'm sure on his voicemail he heard me saying, "I don't understand why they don't make miniature Skor bars?"  Poor guy.  I sent the appropriate apologetic text...all the while thinking, Angie Good, you have got to remember to lock your screen before shoving your phone in your purse!!!  What if I would've called my boss?  Two words -- Danger-danger.  Atleast with Chad, he has a good sense of humor.  But sheesh -- this could've been awhole lot worse.

After this incident, I had the fabulous opportunity to meet up with Rhonda and celebrate her!  I love birthdays.  They really are a wonderful way to celebrate our friends!!!  We met at Panera for supper and then went thrifting -- her two favorite things.  Technically her three favorite things - if I may be so conceited as to proclaim that I am her third favorite.  Helloooo!  I know 'tis true.

Oh - did you listen to the new music on my blog?  It's Christmas.  I told you that I was going to change the music on November 1st.  You didn't think that I would let you down, right?  If there wasn't Christmas music on my blog, then you would worry...

Today was National Thrift Store Day!  No joke.  I like going to the website www.brownielocks.com to see what silly, goofy holiday it is...  The website does an amazing job listing out monthly, weekly, and daily holidays.  Most of them are random...and if I were completely honest, I would like a fabulous job like that!  My other "dream" job...naming the Crayola crayons.  I mean - FOR REAL - how hard would it be to be swimming in a sea of color?  Or even better yet -- a crayon tester.  Have I told you that I love the smell of a new box of crayons?  I love opening the top flap and seeing all the pointed little heads.  I love the colors.  When I was a kid, I would organize my crayons into color families and keep them together in the quarters of the box.  The red-pink family has always been my favorites, but let's not tell the others.  It's not nice to play favorites.

Where was I?  Oh yes....sooo this morning, I clicked on the Brownie Locks website and saw that today is National Thrift Store Day!  A whole entire day set-aside for thrifting?  And tell me...why is this NOT a national holiday...as in, day off of work...banks closed....no mail service.  Let's show some respect for the thrift.  :)

Rhonda had this lovely notion that we should thrift before church.  Ummmm...hello!  Yes, I would love to run to the thrift for a few minutes.  Mostly we go there to chat...which it's great that in an area the size of Rockford, the clerks at two of the four thrifts in town know us.  As in - "We haven't seen you girls in awhile, we hoped nothing was wrong!"  Sooo we ran to the thrift somewhat close to church...and there we both found a couple items.  My favorite purchases were two tops - both tagged with the color of the week (for the untrained thrifter that means half off!!!!) - one is brown with this ultra-girlie ruffle and the other top was one that I really wanted when it was at Kohl's but apparently some other lady decided to purchase it and then donate it for me...I love when that happens.  I'm so willing to let someone else pay upwards of $30 for a cute top...only to wear it once or twice and turn-around and donate it to the thrift where I will pick it up for 90% off.  How can you not love this vicious little circle?  I mean really....can I get an "Amen"?

The other two tops I got were not half off....but one was a brown sweater.  I've been searching high and low for one...infact I went to the red bullseye the other night and was going to shell-out the big bucks for a brand new one...only to find that even Merona has came out with a plain Jane brown sweater....I'm soo glad I waited.  And the last top is an orange, light-weight, 3/4 length sleeve, semi-sweater-ish top.  It will be great with three of my fall-ish skirts.  Again probably $30+ at the Dress Barn.  Okay...typing Dress Barn here reminds me of a day a couple years ago when Lauren the (then) secretary and I were working at Terracon.  On the radio, Steve Summers was saying how Dress Barn commercials should say, "The top is twenty buck-buck-bucks!"  (He said the "buck-buck-bucks" like he was a chicken.)  It was sooo funny....and now when I see Dress Barn items at the thrift, I think of Steve and that day laughing with Lauren.  Goodtimes.

So there you have it....I celebrated National Thrift Store Day!  And I think....if Rhonda and I remember, we will more-than-likely celebrate in 2012.  Do you really think we are going to wait 52 weeks to thrift again?

Oh the things you can hear at the thrift....

While walking through the thrift, I heard the following conversation.

Daughter (approximately 4 years old):  "Mommy, this is pretty" said while pointing to a cute polkadot dress.

Mom:  "Honey, you need to learn now..." (I am waiting for some fabulous fashion advice to be imparted like, "Dear, wear things that are modest and make you feel feminine."  Or even "Isn't it fun to be girlie!")  But nooooo.....this is what I hear instead,

"Honey - you need to learn now....POLKA-DOTS MAKE YOU LOOK FAT!"

Now, I am not one to judge or put in my two cents, but I couldn't help but notice that said mom was wearing a TUBE TOP and SHORT SHORTS.  Hmmmmm...it seems to me that this super cute, MODEST polka-dot dress would be a step in the right direction for said little girl.

A quick glance into my cart and you would've seen a cute white with navy & sky blue polkadot skirt.  Really?  Polka-dots make you look fat?  I suppose if they were clown-proportion......but really...a tube top and short shorts? 

MODESTY PEOPLE! 

LET'S EMBRACE MODESTY

AND OUR (if you are a girl)

GIRLIE-GIRL SIDE!!!!!! 

Oh and FYI - this polka-dot comment from mom to daughter is probably going to land the daughter in therapy when she is an adult...

This detour sign cracks me up...mostly because I know the mastermind who is behind the wording.  And needless to say -- He puts the "Crrrrrrrrrrrrrr...." in CRAZY!  LOL!

After our first failed attempt, Ruthie and I pulled out the big guns (and by "big guns" - I mean our real camera and not our poor-quality camera phones) on Friday evening when we returned from a very successful Janesville roadtrip-thrifting adventure.  I say "successful" because I obtained 2 cute skirts (one Old Navy and one New York & Company), black capris, and a cute, fru-fru girlie top that I plan to wear with jeans!!!! 

What a fabulous way to spend a Friday night....Red Mango smoothies + Ruthie + thrifting + TJ Maxx + laughter.  Goodtimes.  :)

It all started with an iced strawberry latte...

Higher Grounds (this cute coffeeshop in Freeport) had me at "Iced Strawberry Delight!"  Just the name made my heart go pitter patter...

The ingredients:  vanilla (there's nothing wrong with vanilla), strawberry (it's summer, afterall), and havelnut.  Granted - I do realize that this beverage probably contained more sugar than I have consumed in the past MONTH...and did I stop and ask myself, "Is this beneficial for me?"  The truth would've been NO!  NO, THIS IS NOT HEALTHY!  But the reality...I only see Sara once a month and I have been sooo good that I did not feel in the least bit guilty about enjoying this summer-ish iced beverage.  It cost me a pretty penny.  And I am happy to report, I no longer make it a point to stop for coffee multiple times during the week.  Since I started at the District (almost 2 years ago), I have enjoyed the fresh brewed coffee at work.  We have a BUNN machine there.  And that fine piece of equipment brews coffee like none-other.  I would even say, it brews coffee better than my deceased coffeemaker...and well, you know how I felt about him. 

After purchasing our coffee splurge, we headed out for the subdivision garage sales.  Sara found many more treasures than her trusty sidekick...but no worries, I did purchase a couple items.  I was looking for purses, totes, and shoes.  I found a pair of black heels...well, TECHNICALLY Sara tried them one and I saw how super-cute they were.  They didn't quite fit her feet so she handed them over...reluctantly...but she did hand them over.  :)  What a good friend.  Oh - and did I mention they were black?  She and I both have a thing for black shoes...her more-so than yours truly...but I don't get me wrong, I love a good pair of black shoes.

As the humidity level went up, we decided to go to the Goodwill and enjoy some air conditioning.  We perused every rack.  I had about a dozen things I tried on...but only LOVED two items -- a long, green, big button-up the front, long-sleeved green wool sweater from Anne Taylor's collection.  I love her Loft.  :)  I love it LOTS at the thrift.  My second item purchased was a lime green and white sundress - perfect for work or to wear downtown on Friday to the outdoor market and free movie.  (Anyone game?)  I did try on a brown dress from Dress Barn that was utterly-delightful...however I felt that it was too dressy for church.  It was brown v-neck with camoflauging around the waist (it had an extra band of material).  It was knee length with a swingy skirt.  It was beautiful however I didn't love it.  I tried it on and thought, If I had some place special to wear a dress like this, I would totally buy this....I just can't shove you in my closet and leave you there.  It's wrong.  You belong on someone fabulous!  And that fabulous girl was not me.  I did observe a moment of silence when we parted ways.  I believe Sara observed it too. 

We determined that we needed lunch.  Too quote Sara, "After we try this on, I must take sustenance." 

We left the thrift and enjoyed lunch at Culver's.  For me, there's something sooo addictive about their cashew chicken salad.  It is lettuce, snap peas, cashews, cheese, chicken breast, cherry tomatoes, and raspberry vinegarette.  Well - guess what?  I put all of those items on my grocery list.  I am going to copy their recipe and probably have enough for a week!!!! 

After nourishment, we went to Twice As Nice.  It's a cute thrift store nestled in downtown Freeport.  This was my second trip there.  My first trip there was last summer....and I still remember purchasing these super cute red heels that made Sara sooo jealous.  :)  Jealous in a good way...  Anywho -- I forgot that they don't have carts...so I had to carry around 8 (or so) skirts, a couple dresses, and some tops...it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Rosie was parked at Higher Grounds.  We retunred only to lament the fact that the coffeeshop closed at 3 p.m.  You see, we had to learn that lesson the hard way last summer during our fun day out in honor of Sara's birthday!  We now know. 

My trip back to Rockford was uneventful and rather boring.  I did find a house that sold farm fresh eggs!!!  Yeah!!!  There's something soo wonderful about having yolks that are actually the color of yolks and not pale yellow...

Upon returning to the city, I felt kind of sluggish and chalked-it-up to the heat and humidity and perhaps all the bad stuff I have consumed in the past 24 hours...so I got out my gym bag and headed to the gym.  Unhappy to be there, my hour eliptical time went by surprisingly fast.  I figured because I was sulky that it would drag on and on and on and on...but it didn't. 

After working-out, I had to run into Target -- thankfully I did not see a single soul that I knew.  It's funny - I can run into Target or Woodman's when I look decent and presentable and not see a single soul I know.  Other times I run in after working-out...and I am not looking presentable or delightful and I see 3 or 4 people I know...Murphy's Law, I guess. 

Thankfully no one was at Target...

I was unable to leave Target without a small container of plain, unsalted cashews.  I told myself, "You are buying these for the salad..."  But let me just stop right there -- I wasn't.  I was buying them because cashews are the new dark chocolate for me.  And I have to be careful that I don't consume my body weight in them.  I mean over the course of my lifetime -- that would be fine.  But in one week...not a good idea. 

While rummaging through my wallet in search of my debit card, I saw my $10 coupon for Kohl's.  (Thank you, co-worker O'Mine!)  Since the coupon expired today, I ran in and bought a cute purple t-shirt.  It's kind of dressy-ish...and it cost me...Are you ready for this?  You'd better sit down.  A whopping 44 cents.  I must say - that's way better than the thrift prices plus the shirt is brand new.  Thanks a bunch, fabulous co-worker!!!!  I love it when she gets those coupons in the mail because she doesn't ever go to said store so she is always passing them off to me.  Normally I purchase accessories but I wasn't feeling accessories tonight...infact I was kind of tired by the time I worked-out and ran through Target. 

Soooo here it is 10 p.m.  What a great Saturday!

Did the math!

I'm the type of girl that does the math when it comes to purchasing items that I use everyday.  I will stand in Woodman's and weigh out the cost ounce-per-ounce.  I also do this on items purchased at Ulta.  Did you know -- I spend $30 (gasp) on moisturizer with sunscreen!  Yes -- I do.  Because it's lasts me 6 months!!!!!  $5 per month?  Are you kidding me?  I spend that on Wednesday night espresso before church.  Why in the world would I not save money on moisturizer with sunscreen!!!  Hellooo!  NASA called and informed me that I was more than qualified for their Rocket Scientist program! 

Another thing I buy and weigh-out the cost...dish soap.  Ounce per ounce -- you ain't savin' any more by purchasing it at the Dollar Tree.  Sorry Dollar Tree.  Large bottle at Woodman's:  $5.  Lasts 6 months.  And I do dishes obsessively -- every night...I hate leaving dishes in the sink overnight.  Let's face it, Maggie isn't going to learn to wash dishes.  She's got her priorities.

Sooo I'm the girl you will see in Woodman's, Target, etc figuring out the cost per ounce and what the better deal is.  FYI - paper products are alot cheaper at Woodman's and Target than at Wal-Mart.  Don't believe me...you do the math!!!!!!