She Works Hard For Her Money (& Spends It On Clothes)

One of the more challenging parts of being unemployed has been the lack of shopping. I used to shop all of the time, whenever I got out of work early enough, from the comfort of my couch while wearing my PJs, while out competitive shopping for my job. I love fashion. I love clothes. But that's probably pretty obvious seeing as I was buying clothes, on a very large scale, as a career. But now it's a simple equation: lack of incoming income to my bank account equals lack of incoming dresses and shoes into my closet.

Sure, I've added a couple things to my wardrobe since this chapter in my life has begun. And I've done a lot more window shopping at all of my usual haunts. Bloomingdale's, Anthropologie, H&M, Urban Outfitters. Lucky for me, and my savings, I haven't seen a lot of stuff in the stores lately that has caught my fancy. And for the things I have seen that I like, I already own a variation of from some point in time. A pair of gladiator sandals I picked up at TopShop when I was in Stockholm a few summers ago still can't beat anything I see in stores now. A white lacy dress from H&M I bought years ago still gets me tons of compliments. My beat-up denim jacket that I had to leave with my design team for a few days last year because they wanted to check out the natural wear and destruction on it. The lightweight AE army jacket I bought ages ago with money my grandmother sent me for Christmas is just like styles that are showing up on Who What Wear and Refinery 29.

So now, I've been digging into the back of my closet and finding things I completely forgot about. New goal: put together different combinations and get a completely new look out of items that have been in my wardrobe for years. And it's working! For example, when going out last weekend, instead of using that as an excuse to go shopping, I dug around in my closet. A Forever 21 dress I bought for Halloween 3 years ago that still looks as good as new (maybe because I'd only worn it twice before, yikes!). My favorite Dior high-heeled booties I picked up year and a half ago. The army jacket I mentioned before. A purse I picked up at TopShop in NYC last summer. Random accessories, some of which I've had since high school. An outfit that made me happy and all from things I already owned, and nothing that was even close to being new. No need to go out and spend more money as I would have 6 months ago.

So maybe being unemployed is teaching me something: how to be more responsible with my money. I still love fashion, but the trick is to know when to spend, when to save and what to hold on to. As long as pieces aren't extremely trendy or over-designed, it's usually worth keeping stuff in my opinion, which is partially why I save so much.

And contrary to popular belief, you can still be fashionable and not spend a fortune.

People who come to my apartment are often amazed by how much stuff I have. I have a hard time taking anything to Goodwill. My closet and dressers are overflowing and I've just about exhausted places to store shoes and purses. But the trick is to buy items that you know you're still going to like and that will hold up through the years. And it doesn't have to cost a ton. I get compliments on my clothes often and get asked where they are from.

Me: "Thanks, the dress is Marc Jacobs."
Girl X: "No wonder it looks so good!"

Me on another night with another dress: "Thanks, it's from Forever 21."
Girl Y: "You're kidding, right?! I ever find anything like that there."

Yes, Forever 21. It's not about the price or the brand or the store, I buy plenty of stuff at H&M and Forever 21, the trick is picking items that are well made and don't look cheap, which is entirely possible. And it also helps to mix lower priced trendy items with higher priced classic pieces.

Going forward I'll still always spend good money on shoes, purses, jewelry and classic pieces of clothing, but I'll definitely think more before dropping money on random stuff that I just "like" that will only get worn a couple times like I have in the past. The amount I used to spend on clothes per month sounds embarrassing now. And always remember, it's much smarter to spend $500 on a pair of classic shoes that you'll wear all of the time, than a trendy $60 dress that gets wore twice.

Thursday

 

 

 

It was gorgeous out yesterday, so I decided to run errands on my bike instead of with my car. 

Finally got a library card, dropped off a ring at the jeweler's to be repaired, stopped by a vintage shop I've been meaning to check out and enjoyed the sun and the beach.

1: me (Oliver Peoples Zooey sunglasses, H&M dress, Maya Brenner Bi-Coastal Necklace)

2: my bike <3

3: sat on the beach for a bit and watched a surf contest

4: saw a really cool bird, some sort of crane or egret, in the marsh, but scared it away when I pulled out my camera

5: a snack when I got home and my new library card

6: vintage slip I picked up

There are a few more pictures on Flickr.

Get in Shape, Girl

At the end of February, I was contemplating getting a gym membership. This was a big debate because since I'm unemployed I'm trying to be more wise with how I spend my money and we do have a small fitness center at our apartment complex that I can use for free.

I haven't had a gym membership since I was 20 and living at home. Up until the point I was laid off, I used the fitness center we had at our office, which was awesome, especially for the 3 years I commuted from Glendale to Anaheim. Working out after work helped me miss traffic and work off the stress of the day. And before that I used the gym at UC Santa Cruz which had an amazing view of the ocean.

So to join 24 Hour Fitness or not was the question. But then I started thinking. I own a bike. I live a mile from the beach. I have a few good workout DVDs. There is a fitness center here that I have free access to. Okay, so maybe I didn't need to pay a grip in gym fees, I can just use what I already have.

After some more thought I decided that maybe I should give running a try. But I hate(d) running. I was the kid that would more or less walk the entire mile during the Presidential Physical Fitness Test in elementary school. I bought Nike+ awhile ago because I would try to run on the treadmill occasionally, but I always got terrible shin splints, so I never worked up to running very far at one time.

So I decided to give the Couch to 5K program a go, again. I had actually started it once a couple years ago, but busted up my foot/ankle so I stopped and never started again. This time I wanted to do it and see it all the way through. Since I already had the Nike+, all I needed to do was to buy some new sneakers and download the C25K app to my iPhone. Much cheaper than an initiation fee and monthly dues. And I can run to/along the beach. Not so bad.

March 1st I started. The first week is 3 days of alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes (plus 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down walks). This was doable, but definitely a workout at the time. My muscles were strong, but my lungs, not so much.

(I love my Nike LunarGlides! Super light and comfy.)

Fast forward to yesterday and I finally completed the program! (Although 2 weeks late because of being sick.) It's kind of amazing to me that I can run 3 miles straight and not want to die. Actually it's really amazing. And I'm actually starting to enjoy it. Sure, some days still suck and I would rather just walk or do something else, but at least I know I can do it.

What's great too is no more shin splints! Not sure whether it's the new sneakers or the fact that I'm running on pavement and not on a treadmill, but no complaints here. And hey, I also lost 10lbs, which is always nice before bikini season.

So, it may be ambitious, but I'm hoping to work up to 8 miles by the end of the summer, which would mean running to the pier and back. And maybe even run a half marathon at some point...but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Rock 'n' Roll Star

1: Unhandled Exceptions

2: band #2 (can't remember their name)

3: the boys

4: band #3, who won the whole thing (not sure of their name)

5: band #4 (yeah, not sure who they were either)

6: Black Eyed SCVs

7: The Arthas Formerly Known as Prince

8: me and my Canon Rebel

9: the 3 final bands

On Friday afternoon, I attended the 3rd Annual Blizzard Battle of the Bands. It's the video game equivalent of the classic Battle of the Bands. "Bands" rocking out with Guitar Hero while we sit on the lawn and drink beer. Works for me!

More pictures on Flickr.

Surf City Nights

Earlier this week, Steve, Matt and I went downtown for Taco Tuesday. It turns out Tuesdays are also "Surf City Nights" in Huntington Beach. Main Street is turned into a street fair from 5-9pm with merchants, a farmer's market, food booths, music and other sorts of nonsense. I had heard about it, but forgot about it, so this was my first time. Definitely a great opportunity to take pictures, but I was on more of a mission to find a margarita this week. More shots on Flickr.

They Say It's Your Birthday

Happy 6th Birthday to my nephew, Z, over at We Be Reading!

And also congrats to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, on Lucas, the new addition to the family!

photo via google

For Saints & Sinners

Last Saturday morning we went down to The Lost Abbey brewery in San Marcos for their 4th Anniversary Party. For those of you not familiar with them, I highly recommend checking out their beers (all of which are fantastic) and their website, The Lost Abbey.

The day started at the train station in Santa Ana at 8am, which sucked because it was super early, but was awesome because you can drink on the train.  I am a believer that any day that starts with mimosas is going to be a good one. After a second commuter train and a short walk, we made it to the industrial park where The Lost Abbey is located. 

 Once at the party, we got to taste some very delicious beer and devour fresh from the oven pizza. Beer and pizza, a combination you can never go wrong with. 

And since it was a party and not just regular tasting hours, we got some special treats. One was that we were able to try some new releases, my favorite being the Framboise de Amorosa, a raspberry framboise. But probably the best part of the day was that we got the opportunity to get a tour of the barrelhouse with Tomme, their brewery director, and taste 3 versions of Older Viscosity, one from the bottle and 2 straight from the barrels. Tasting beer from the barrels?! That is certainly not something I thought I would get the chance to do.

Judging from the fact that I was rendered pretty much useless by the time I got home and that I fell asleep before 9pm, I would say it was a successful day. 

The ice cream man showed up, I couldn't resist a ChocoTaco!

 I called to Steve to turn around and instead Nick looked over and gave me this face.

 

 The menu board.

 Our crew.

The back of my new shirt. I don't wear a ton of screened tees these days, but I had to get this one. 
There were some problems between the Health Department and San Diego breweries a couple weeks ago that I won't get into to on here, but, yes, Port Brewing/Lost Abbey certainly deserve an "A for Awesome" in my book!

 

The (un)Happiest Place On Earth

Last Tuesday I had to go to what is quite possibly one of the unhappiest places on Earth. Jury Duty. Yeah, yeah, I know. There are a lot worse places to go on Earth, but I had plans to actually go to the "Happiest Place of Earth", Disneyland, the same day, so I was quite crestfallen when I got called in. 

After arriving at the courthouse (at 8am! I am not a morning person) and checking in, the waiting game began. Wait in the jury room. Wait in the hall upstairs outside the courtroom. Wait in the courtroom. After what seemed like hours, but was more like 90 minutes, I, along with about 17 other people, was called up to the jury box as a prospective juror. More waiting as the judge explained why we were there, etc, etc. After answering some basic questions, (occupation (unemployed), spouse's  occupation (sr. game producer), ever been convicted of a crime (no), ever been on a jury (no)), the DA and defendant's attorney had the opportunity to speak to us and ask their own questions. More waiting as they, along with the judge, went to his chambers to discuss and decide collectively who they wanted to excuse. Then more questions and waiting as new potential jurors were called up. Once they passed the "test", the lawyers had an opportunity to excuse anyone they wanted. without citing a reason. I'm sitting there thinking, "Pick me! Pick me!" 

DA: "Juror x, you are excused."

Defendent's Attorney: "Juror Y, you are excused."

DA: "Juror Z, you are excused."

Wait, that's me! I get to leave?! And it's only noon? I can still go to Disney?! I could still salvage my day. I'm still not sure why I was excused, if she didn't like the answers I provided her with for her hypothetical questions or maybe it was my pink streaked hair and long floral dress that didn't fit her criteria for a potential juror, but either way, I was free.

Fast forward a couple hours to go home, change my clothes, get lunch and drive up to Anaheim, but I made it and met up with S & C (and a special thank you to SP for signing me in!)! Captain Eo (first time seeing it!), Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain and Finding Nemo (my first time on that ride, it was fun!) were all waiting for me with open arms. Okay, and some more waiting (in line).

We even ventured over to California Adventure, which was also a first for me. After some persuasion I even got talked into going on the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Let's be clear here, I HATE rides. And by ride I mean anything that goes upside down, drops from high up or anything that makes me feel like I might die. Tower of Terror is a ride in my book and therefore terrifying to me. I rode it once before at MGM Studios (which is now called Disney's Hollywood Studios apparently. When did that happen?) in Florida with my family shortly after it first opened when I was about 14 or 15. I thought I was going to die at that time, so I'm not quite sure why I went on it again. But alas, I did and I thought I was going to die again. I even bought the photo of us at the top (which I will scan at some point) because I look so ridiculous.

Okay, so obviously I didn't die, but I certainly got my fill of that feeling for the next 10 years. Next time I go to Disney, I will stick to Fantasyland.

Glitter

At some point in early elementary school, I know it was before the second half of 4th grade because we moved at that point and I no longer took the school bus, I decided to put glitter in my hair one morning before running off to the bus stop on the corner. Nowadays putting glitter in your hair may not be an everyday activity, but you probably have done it, or seen someone else with it for a party or perhaps Halloween. But back then, for a 7 or 8 year old, this was unheard of. 

Once on the bus, a friend sitting nearby had climbed up on her seat to talk to me and at some point in our conversation about Barbies, homework or whatever else young girls talk about, she exclaimed, "Ewww! You have glitter in your hair." I'm not sure what my exact response was, but being shy, and apparently ahead of my time, I probably just blew it off.

Fast forward 20 or so years and I get an email the other day from Vital Juice about a stylist in Santa Monica that will weave pieces of tinsel into you hair. Definitely a step up from the coarse glitter I once sprinkled into my blonde tresses. Check it out for yourself.

Photo via Google

Party Time!

Lots of birthday parties lately. Here are a few pictures from the last two I went to. Jeni's Birthday Joust at Medieval Times (my first time!) and Roman's Cowboys & Indians Karaoke Bash!

We were cheering for the Red & Gold Knight. But he didn't win. :(

With the girls and the chancellor after dinner and the show.

With a Cowboy 'stache and a Native American headband at karaoke.