More bang for my buck!

I need a whole new wardrobe. One that actually fits so I don't have to feel like a stuffed sausage all winter this year.  I did that last year & ME. NO. LIKEY.
BUT I do not have money for a whole new wardrobe.
Or at least not one from a regular source, like Addition Elle, H&M or Voluptous or Old Navy. And I'm tired of having shapeless formless sweatpant type things from Walmart as my 'entire' wardrobe.
I want some decent stuff.
But even when I do come into some extra cash, I'm trying to be 'thrifty'.   We are, after all, trying to save for a trip this winter & hopefully some baby-making assistance in the near future.

So I thought & I thought...

And I donated a tupperware bin full of designer clothes that are too small to my local Value Village
and then... BING! An epiphany!

If I'M donating all this primo stuff that I barely wore (because I sadly outgrew it once I became a happy, cozy & comfortable house wife type:read, I now wear sweats 75%... 85%.... ok ok ... 95% of the time) then there MUST be OTHER women (who are perhaps at the OTHER end of the process that I am just now beginning, of losing weight & shedding the shlumps that sometimes come with a finally-forever-comfortable-relationship) who are also donating their stuff....

AND BEHOLD! THERE WERE!

*bonus to shopping at Value Village? Recycling clothes is good for the earth AND your wallet!*  So, I only spent $72.29 and this is what I got:

 H & M T-shirt dress to wear with leggings - pant style of choice for me to accommodate my tensor bandaged knee - was so unflattering 'cuz 'till now I only had one longer top to wear with them...

 Green fleecy high-necked sweatshirt...

me likey, for those comfy loungy days, so I don't have to look so shlumpy....

 Danskin sweats -  great sturdy material, for those same comfy/shlumpy days...

 Dark Rinse 'curvy cut' jeans, to make space for the bootay ;)

 I LOOOVE this wooly grey sweater - 

the lines are so perfect for my figure, accentuating my smallest part - my waist!

 Old Navy long sleeved waffle tee - can never have too many of these. 

And this one is in my fave colour! It matches the inner rim of my glasses!

 A Big Long comfy sweater - again, to go with my leggings & Uggs..

.Maybe a big braided leather belt...

 Another one... this one is actually a really great teal colour... the picture didn't really show it that well. I plan to wear this one  with a slinky long sleeved tee under (the cable knit part is kinda peek-a-boo, and it's got short sleeves), and with black leggings and my black slouchy boots or uggs.

And, of course my two helpers, Blue & Topper...

making sure that I make the right choices to keep the fashion police away! 

And for my next blog post? Look forward to pics of all the fur babies -

in their matching Halloween getups! :) 

But for now...  what do you think of my shopping spree at Value Village? 

Wishful thinking....

I've settled into a sort of strange mental cave, driven to spark a change but still physically restricted.
I'm learning to let my brain & my fingers help me imagine what I will do once my knee gets better...

Let me share some of my wishful thinking.

D and I wish to go out into the country to roast a turkey on an open fire for Thanksgiving (for my American readers, Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up this weekend!)

The venue yet undecided, I just want to see trees.  I have no stipulations, just nature & more nature. And a comfy chair by the fire & cozy blanket ;)
The fewer humans the better (other than our immediate posse).

I wish my parents would want to roast a turkey with us.
I'll leave it at this. I'm not even going to open this can of worms during this post....
lets leave the family drama outta it...... 
 
But more than that, I wish that we had a family of our own to take.

I long to see vibrant autumn reds, smell the smoky crisp air, feel the fingertips of October chill on my cheek & snuggle in warmth of my cozy fall layers.

I long for hayrides, corn mazes, face painting and apple bobbing.

I long for a tradition of picking & carving pumpkins, striving for the most ghoulish, glowing gaze. Roasting seeds. Pies.

What do you long for? What are your family traditions for Thanksgiving?

One other thing I long for? Sharing. Caring. Togetherness.

NaVe goes back to the school of life!

So I didn't quite return to my blog with the gusto I had hoped for.

So sue me.

I led a fairly unblogworthy existance for the remainder of the summer. We went on one last camping trip to Pinery (and forgot our camera, but it should be arriving back soon thanks to U.P.S. and pictures will be posted!)

Now, it's fall... the crisp smell of leaves turning is back in the air, the mid-morning silence reminds me that all the kids are back in school, and it leaves me wanting a fresh start.

But this fresh start I desire is no where to be found. I have no fresh pile of books awaiting a semester of studying & highlighting. There's no supplies to be purchased for my bright & bubbling back-to-school-er either. I used to LOVE going back to school shopping, despite my uniform and ridiculous amount of ginormous textbooks to be purchased. And I still miss the annual "book sale" of my old high school, seeing everyone again, rushing around to find the least beat up copy of the texts you need, no uniforms left so there was always still that hint of summer in the air...) My old high school always had a really nice feel in the fall, many old and grand trees in the courtyards changing colours.... Fall and Christmas were my favourite times there. I can almost forget the bad parts about my high school years when I remember back to that 'fresh start' feeling.

But I digress.

This year there is no clear cut fresh start for me so instead I'm decidedly creating my own. Or, that was the plan before this unhappy knee adventure of mine (follow me on twitter if you wanna hear that daily whine/rant!).

So now I've got some time in couch city during which to plan this self-appointed fresh start.
I've been feeling really resentful, negative, bitter and jealous lately. I don't know exactly where it all started but it was really really starting to wear me down.

So this year, instead of going back to school I'm going back to basics and re-learning the lesson I used to live by.

Love + Laughter = Love.

Any thoughts?