Salvo Wednesday - Christmas Edition!!

It's that blessed time of year - the time where I get a week off and can go to the Salvo on a Wednesday! I didn't do as well as I had hoped, but any Salvoing is better than no Salvoing at all. I had an early post-Lasik appointment across the street, so I was sitting outside the Henrietta Salvo at exactly 8:55, waiting for them to open their doors.

Take Out, $2

I tried on 7, count them, SEVEN dresses and didn't like any of them. This is extremely heartbreaking to me. I was about to walk out with just a pair of shoes (below) when I saw this hanging on the reshop rack. It's no dress, but cute nonetheless.

Mia, $2.50

I headed to the Greece Salvo next. My favorite part of this trip was that while browsing through some shirts, I heard this sentence in the next row over: "This is like that ugly-sweater style... only without the ugly." It made me giggle and I posted the quote immediately on Facebook. I continued on, only to discover that the people in the next row were Amanda and Gretchen Roesch and I had just posted the words of someone I knew. It's going to be one of my favorite Salvo stories for some time. Anyway, here's what I found:

Ya Los Angeles, $5

I can completely, utterly, 100% guarantee that my husband will HATE this shirt. I can also predict with about  90% certainty that this will be in one of the next rounds of Ann-me-downs and it will be greeted with a good deal of mocking. I don't care, I'm going to wear it with a black pencil skirt and boots and enjoy it at least once or twice. It's fun and crazy and too bad for my husband.

Lux, $2

 Those rainbow stripes are sparkly. YES.

Gap, $2.50

This sweater-ish shirt is light and green, which makes it tolerable, considering it's a sweater.

The two items that made this trip feel like a success instead of a mild disappointment were not clothing items. The night before I had done two things while sitting on my couch. One, I had spent considerable time googling bread slicers. I have been baking my own gluten-free bread and it turns out I stink at cutting even slices. I hadn't found any with more than mediocre reviews and the cheapest ones were $20 before shipping, which seemed steep for something half the reviewers didn't like. I resolved to look at the thrift stores - something which never turns out well for me - and this seems to have been the exception that proves the rule. Behold!

It even folds down - something that $20 model didn't do, and I don't think even the $50 model did. And it cost me a whole whopping dollar. BAM!

Two, I was about to start a new knitting pattern and realized that I could only find one of the two required size 3 knitting needles. I didn't even think about looking for them, but as I was standing in the line behind the Roesches, I saw needles in the miscellaneous basket on the counter. Guess what size? It was a Christmas miracle!

So no dresses, which always is a disappointment to me, but still a good day, all things considered. I have a Wednesday off in February, so I'll see you all then! Happy New Year!

Salvo Wednesday, Thanksgiving Edition!

I had my first Wednesday of the school year off, so of course I took the opportunity to hit up a couple of area Salvation Armies for half-off Wednesday!! I started at Henrietta, and even though I was in a hurry (didn't even take the time to try these on!), I did pretty well if I do say so myself.

Wet Seal, $3

 It's that time of year, folks. Despite how beautifully warm this fall has been, I've already started realizing how woefully few sweaters I have. This one doesn't make me hate it, so it had to come home with me!

IZ Byer California, $4

 Finding a dress is always my favorite! Obviously this one needs a belt.. poor lonely belt hole!

Covington, $1.50

I love how drape-y shirts are in this year. Not the suck-it-in skin-tight shirts of the last few years. It's flattering on everybody, and the materials they're made from feel amazing. Love this one!

Mossimo, $2.50

 I always have a hard time with stripes. I see them, love them, buy them, and then never wear them. It doesn't help that Greg was in the room when I tried this one on and called it "fashionable prison wear". I am going to wear it! I am!

Bedo Femme, $2

 I love the shiny part around the neck. Of course, when Greg saw it, he said it was a great shirt except for the "shiny junk." *sigh*

Old Navy, $1

 I never have enough black tops to go with all my fabulous skirts, so at $1, how could I resist?

I had to leave the Henrietta Salvo quickly for an eye appointment, but afterwards, I still had time and energy for a little more. I took myself to the Greece Salvo. In general, I didn't find as much there, but they are more likely to put the price tags onto the shirt tag instead of on the material of the shirt itself, so they get two thumbs up from me.

 

Ann Taylor Loft, $1.50

Adorable.

Apt 9, $2

Can't wait to wear this tucked in to a black pencil skirt!! If you can't tell, it's polka dots!

MKM Designs, $2

I saw this one on the reshop rack after I tried on everything else (and rejected most of it). Didn't bother to fight for the dressing room again... just took it home, where it belonged.

Claiborne, $2

I'm sure you can't tell, but this is ribbed sweater material. I found one like it at the Henrietta store, and was so disappointed that it wasn't in my size. I was SO surprised and pleased to find it again, but in the right size this time! Can't wait to wear this with sweater tights when winter decides to do its worst.

However... it's clearly not happening yet. Thanksgiving was nearly 60 degrees and sunny. I got to run the Turkey Trot in sunshine and near-warmth, and then Greg grilled turkey and we ate it... OUTSIDE. It made me giddy with joy, and I've warned him that he probably won't hear the end of it for the rest of our lives. "Remember the year we got to eat outside on Thanksgiving?!?"

I will see you all again after my next Wednesday off... Christmas break!

Ann-Me-Downs

You must be wondering (and some of you have asked) how, exactly, I have enough room in my closet for all my fabulous Salvo finds. Do I have an enormous closet? (No.) Do I cram them into a space too small for them? (Well...ok, a bit.) Do I pack up and put away off-season clothes? Most definitely. But mostly, there is the bi-annual event called Ann-Me-Downs.

Twice a year, I sort through my clothes, pack away clothes I likely won't be wearing for months, and sort out the ones I'm going to get rid of. My rule is that if I haven't worn it in a year, I have to get rid of it. Once in a while, something squeezes by this rule, but usually I'm very strict about it. And my friends reap the benefits. We call them "Ann-Me-Downs" and they get to sort through my leftovers and walk away with a nicely supplemented wardrobe for free.

This Saturday we had brunch at my friend Sarah's house, and Ann-Me-Downs ensued. This usually entails Sarah displaying all of the items one at a time, while people claim things (or demand that someone else try it on).

Sometimes someone else takes a turn displaying, but usually not for long, because Sarah likes things done just so.

Sarah and her mom (my other mom) also brought jewelry to share. I nabbed some for myself (the orange and white jewelry to the left are mine).

Afterwards, everyone has to try things on. If they don't fit, they go back into the pile and passed on to other Ann-me-down fans who couldn't make it.

She's keeping the skirt, despite what the face implies.

Definitely keeping the sweater.

Mother and daughter and adorable new skirts.

Checking it out in the mirror.

Plaid and pearls? Please. She's not from the country.

Aside from my beautiful jewelry, I also nabbed a rather fabulous pair of heels.

But I tried to restrain myself. Mostly. Obviously, the point was to get rid of stuff, not take home more than I left with... but not leaving with those shoes would just have been crazy.

Now that I've made a little space in my closet, I'm thinking ahead to that Wednesday I have off in November before Thanksgiving... and how thankful I would be to hit a few area Salvos. I'll keep you posted...

Back to School

My beautiful, magical summer is coming to an end. Tomorrow brings the best and worst of summer: going back to school. It's the worst because my leisurely days are over, I have to start setting an alarm and exercising after work, but worst of all, it means winter is on its way. *shudder* Fall is fine by me, but take note: It has an unhappy ending. This downgrades its beauty (and deliciousness) substantially, in my opinion.

But here's the best part: There is always a beautiful moment at this time of year when I suddenly comprehend that I'm going to see my kids again, and I. Can't. Wait. I have a desperate desire to walk down the hall and see their faces smiling at me, to watch the room fill up with kids I've known for six years and kids I'm meeting for the first time, to laugh with them, and best of all, hear them sing.

So I'm trading in my sundresses and sandals for pencil skirts and heels, early mornings of running for early mornings of show choir, the quiet warmth of my back yard for a classroom filled with laughter and music. And, as you all know by now how much I adore summer, you'll understand how much I love my kids and what I do when I say this: It is an extremely fair trade.

Best kids ever.

Final Salvo Wednesday

Well, this is it, folks. My last Wednesday of the summer was spent in Dansville (my hometown). I always do well there, and I am surprised by it every time (I mean, after all, it's Dansville!) But, be that as it may, the Salvation Army in Dansville always does right by me. (Of course, now that I've said that, it won't next time. Jinxed myself!!)

Top, Old Navy, $1.50
Skirt, Old Navy, $2.50

The skirt still had the tags - you can tell because I'm pointing at it. 

Before I move on to the next item, I'd like to take a moment to discuss price tag placement. If any Salvation Army employee ever reads this, please, please, PLEASE, will you do us all a favor here? If you MUST staple the things on, could you please staple them to the tag instead of to the delicate fabric? I mean... it's right there. Wouldn't have taken you two seconds longer. Advice to all my fellow thrift-store friends... if your local store does this too (Salvation Army stores staple, but to my knowledge everything else in Rochester uses the plastic tags), take great care removing the price tags. Don't just yank. You will regret it. I use an old pair of tweezers and pull the ends up on the staple and then gently remove the staple. Trust me on this... you do not want a big hole in a Banana Republic shirt! Even if you did only pay $1.50 for it (half off day, remember) - to me, this makes it all the more precious.

Banana Republic, $1.50

Express top, $1.50
Old Navy jeans, $2.50

Ann Taylor skirt, $2

White House Black Market skirt, $2.50

Limited skirt, $2

Vitta Luna dress, $3

The dress was the first thing I found on entering the store - it was on the reshop rack, so thank you to whomever tried it on but didn't buy it. I'm pretty sure this is what I'm wearing to my cuzbud's wedding in a week! 

My mom joined me for this trip, and she got some stuff too (mostly clothes for my dad, I think) and she gave me a coupon for $5 off a $25 purchase. So my already-half-off purchases had another $5 knocked off! Thank you Mom!

I moved on to a very brief trip to the Henrietta Salvo just because I need new work pants and hadn't found any at the Dansville store. I found two pairs of black pants. I'm only posting a picture of one, because really you can't tell the difference in the pictures (one is for heels and one is for flats, obviously). The unpictured pair were from Old Navy and were $2.

Express, $7.50

I really broke the bank on these (SEVEN FIFTY?!?!?), but as you can see, I am helpfully pointing out the tag again. Still has all the original tags! Since the tag tells me they're originally $69, probably it wasn't so bad to pay $7.50.

Forever 21, $2.50

I'm sad to say that my beautiful summer is coming to a close, so I bought a sweater. I. Bought. A. Sweater. It had to happen. At least it's cute and not bulky. *sigh*  Dear Salvation Armies, you and I have had a beautiful summer together. I'll see you over Thanksgiving break.

Grilling

I'm rather fond of my husband. He's funny, smart, athletic, takes care of the dogs and the house and me (in that order), managed to kick cancer in its backside last year, and is just basically my favorite person to hang out with. (Of course, he has an evil sense of humor, so I should probably not say such nice things about him or it will go to his head and he'll find some way to torture me with it later.) Even if none of these things were true, if he was stupid, lazy, and boring, I might still have considered marrying him for his grilling abilities.

Grilling - or rather, sitting around while Greg grills and then eating what he produces - is my very favorite summer activity. Above and beyond every single other activity I have listed thus far and could even invent later on, this would be #1. There is no way to beat the healthy deliciousness he makes, and to top it off, I get to hang out with him and the dogs, read my Kindle, drink some summer-in-a-bottle, and just generally enjoy the warmth in a very laid-back way.

In no particular order, allow me to share some of this summer's highlights.

Catfish tacos. The catfish has been seasoned with a blend of a Wegmans marinade, some of his homegrown Kung Pao peppers, and magic. It is topped with a tomato/avacado/lettuce/lime/heaven blend. On the side we have white zucchini and homegrown green beans that he grilled in Adobo seasoning and some red spicy stuff.

 Grilled summer squash, grilled corn (he does it in the husk on the charcoal grill and I can't believe I ever thought that boiled corn was the best thing on earth after tasting this!!!), catfish (done cajun this time). Just so you can see it before it reaches the plate. :)

As usual, our summer squash blend and corn (grilled in the proper way), and that lovely tortilla contains buffalo chicken, tomatoes and lettuce from our garden, and light bleu cheese. Let me tell you about the sauce. That sauce is the product of about two years of Greg growing hot peppers obsessively. I don't know which ones are in there, but I know it contains some of the ones he dried and ground up last year and some of the ones he picked this year. Yum.

Another one of my favorites - this time the corn is accompanied by a quinoa/orzo/garbanzo bean/something else delicious blend made by Wegmans called Golden Jewel. It's amazing. There are so many different textures and I LOVE it. I had it first at my coworker's, when she and I ran together between school and dress rehearsal for The Music Man (which I vocal directed and her kids were in). YUM. The split chicken breast is marinated in Chiavetta's. If you haven't had this... I pity you.

 OK, so we're on a BIT of a catfish kick this summer. This time he did it in Wegmans Mojo sauce (he keeps correcting me when I pronounce it "moho" but it seems more fun that way!). The sauce is light and has some nice spices which I can't identify. If I could, I would be doing some of the grilling instead of Greg (in truth, he really doesn't even trust me with the vegetables. Rightly so. I forget about them). Obviously, we have my delicious Golden Jewel blend there again, some mixed vegetables, and the best part of this plate is the corn - we grew it in our back yard!

This is obviously just a FEW of the wonderful things we've eaten this summer... but you can see why I love it so. If I'm lucky, all the stars and planets line up correctly, and I keep my fingers and toes crossed properly, maybe winter will hold off long enough for us to grill for another couple of months. *fingers crossed*

Salvo Wednesday #5 - Atlantic City!!

When we visited Atlantic City last week, I made a point to visit their Salvo on Wednesday. I wasn't sure what to expect - amazing stuff? Hilarious items from casino performers? Terrifying items from the many, many girly bars? What I found was a small but jam-packed store with an entire wall of dresses. A WALL of dresses. The aisles were so narrow that everybody was leaving their carts at the end. Very few people were speaking English - mostly Spanish and Russian, from what I could tell - and I was pretty confident that no one would be competing with me for the clothes I wanted, since I was the youngest person in there by a couple of decades, easy.

I made out like a bandit, though. I didn't take pictures of a couple of layering tank tops, some yoga pants (and a running skirt - $2 for a running skirt is very exciting!), and a skirt that I didn't try on because it was my size and Kenneth Cole, but turned out to look like the skirt version of Hammer pants. Very weird. Anyway, the dresses and skirts were pretty great...so here they are!

J Crew, $5

What you can't really see here is the white embroidery. Pretty pretty pretty! And since I'm tanned for about the only time in my life, I wore this one right away. This will NOT be good on me when I'm back to being pasty white.

Bitten, $2.50

Continuing my mission to rescue the entire SJP Bitten line from extinction, at least in my closet. It's a nice stretchy knit and is SO comfortable and breathable!

Old Navy, $3.50

I wore this right away in Atlantic City. Love the off the shoulder, love the flowiness and stretchiness. The green wall makes it hard to tell, but this is a true blue color.

$3.50, Forever 21

Just can't get enough of that stretchy knit material. It's my favorite material for a summer dress, since it's so comfortable and cool on a hot day. Which, incidentally, I could use a few more of.

$3.50, Banana Republic

OK, did NOT realize how much this needed to be ironed until I took the picture. Anyway, I love the top and it is a really soft, shiny metallic skirt. 

Banana Republic, $3.00

It's hard to see the print but it's little shades of gray and purple boxes. Nothing makes my day more than finding Banana Republic at the Salvo!

Express, $3.00

It's scratchy wool, so this one will definitely be for winter, paired with tights.

Atlantic City's Salvo gets two thumbs up from me!