2.06.2011

frugal finds...

i've never been a fashion forward person or a shopaholic or that concerned with how i look (especially now that i have kids!). add to the fact that my closet for the past 6 years has looked like an official mom closet with my multiple sizes of wardrobes for "just in case". combine marriage, nursing school, and 2 pregnancies and you just get one mess of a yo-yoing 20-something!

this past july, our church took part in a faith challenge. there were 17 different challenges that were "randomly" handed out. i say "randomly" because after seeing my card and hearing testimonies of others who received the perfect card for them, they weren't so random. my challenge read "don't buy yourself any clothes for 6 months. find a way to honor god with that money."

i started to tear up when i read it. i had felt convicted about the way we were managing our money. i took the challenge as a way to get back on track and be wise. i also chose to commit to the clothes part.

i, seriously, thought that it wasn't going to be hard since i had different size clothes. i did know i'd struggle with "special occasion" buying. i'm notorious for running out to buy a new shirt or something for an event.

about this time, i was still losing baby weight. late summer, i reached my "me" size. unfortunately, i didn't have any "me" sizes left in my closet. i obviously needed new clothes and had reason for new clothes, but didn't get any new clothes. we, also, had family pictures taken in the fall which usually would've constituted a new outfit! i had to be resourceful and borrow from our photographer and my sister!

as extreme as it seems, everytime i thought about breaking it or just thought how nice a pair of jeans that fit would be, i was overwhelmed with thoughts of those in africa and haiti and other "poor" countries where it doesn't matter if it's cute or if it fits. clothes are a necessity that are hard to come by.

i don't want this to sound prideful or like i'm bragging. this is just what i've been processing for the past 6 months. i'm thankful for the lessons i have learned. i'm thankful for god's grace when i'm self-centered.

all this to say, my 6 months were up mid-january. my mom hooked me up with several complete outfits for christmas. she hit up a major sale at LOFT. her words as she entered the store to the sweet sales associate..."my daughter is a 24 year-old mom of 2 who needs help looking cute and putting together cute outfits!" thanks, mom (no, really! i do need help so i'm thankful for that girl's fashion abilities!)

rarely, do i pay full-price for any piece of clothing or housing items. it's a game to me. i sign-up for e-mail alerts so stores alert me to sales and coupons. on my birthday, ledger and i went shopping. we ran into ross to pick up a pair of shoes lauren had picked out for the bridesmaids to wear in her wedding. they were only $10.99!! that made me so excited. i hate spending money on things i'm more than likely only going to wear once. and since i was already in there, the ledge and i browsed a bit and came across a doormat for right inside the front door for $1.49!! who can't use a new doormat?!

next we ran into old navy to grab a gift card for a birthday gift. i had received a super cute houndstooth scarf the night before and needed a balack long-sleeve shirt to wear with it. when we walked in a girl had said that all clearance items were an additional 50% off. i browsed the clearance rack and ended up finding a cute, great-fitting black shirt AND a plaid shirt dress! i paid $5 for both.

this past monday, while we were at target stocking up before the big blizzard, we found a pair of snow boots for canon on clearance...for $3.74. unfortunately, he hates going out in the snow and the drifts in our yard are taller than him! but, nonetheless, great find!
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1 comment:

Amy said...

We had to get Lily those exact same (blue) boots right before the storm b/c they were out of girls boots! She actually looked super cute in them!