I saw someone else wearing a similar outfit a few months ago and I loved it, so I jotted a note to myself because I knew I could recreate it. I was happy that today was actually warn enough for me to expose my ankles, though the wind made it a bit chilly (and is also the reason my slightly damp hair looks crazy in these photos).
See how I styled this sweater last time right here.
Yup, I walk that fast in real life.
top: secondhand J. Crew pants: secondhand Loft shoes: Crown Vintage via DSW bone bracelet: (fair trade) Original Good gold bracelelts: free gift from a conference earrings: secondhand
I’ve hit a milestone number of official followers (people subscribed via Bloglovin’, email, WordPress, or other feed reader), so to celebrate, I made some buttons for my blog to share with you! If you have your own blog and have a list of favorites or daily reads somewhere, I’d love your support! Click here to see the buttons and get one (or click “GRAB A BUTTON” in the menu above). I have several lovely color options available, as well as a couple sizes. If you just have a list of links to blogs you enjoy rather than image buttons, I’d love your support that way as well if you’re a regular reader.
If you follow my blog but don’t use one of the methods under the “FOLLOW ALONG!” section to the right, I’m now getting into the habit of sharing about new posts via Instagram. So follow me @maggarama to stay informed about my blog. I may start tweeting about them, too.
And while on the subject, if you use Google Reader, I’m sure you’ve heard the news. I’ve been using Feedly since last fall, and I highly recommend it as an alternative. Right now it’s connected to Google Reader, so you can easily import all the blogs you follow when you sign up. When Google Reader eventually shuts down, however, Feedly will switch to a new system, and you won’t have to worry about losing everything. I actually wrote about how much I love it on my design blog: read here.
If you have a blog you think I might enjoy, share in the comments! I keep a blogroll page with my regular reads. I update it about once a month. And definitely let me know if you use one of my buttons – I’d love to see them in action!
So these photos are kinda hectic because right as my sister started taking them, I noticed some people walking down the street. Being that I still feel awkward taking pictures of myself (or even having my sister take pictures of me, for that matter), I started panicking and insisting that we wait until they pass. My sister just kept on snapping. BUT…they turned out pretty good, I think. Thanks, Marion, for ignoring my plea to wait.
I’ve worn almost this exact same outfit before. The only difference is the jacket, earrings, and hair length. I think looking back, though, this is a great example of how adding just one more layer, whether it be a jacket, scarf, necklace, or even a belt, can really make an outfit look more fun or pulled-together. I like the details (buttons, pockets) of the shirt on its own, but the jacket really makes it feel more “me.”
top: secondhand Express jacket: secondhand Old Navy jeans: secondhand J. Crew shoes: secondhand Missoni for Target earrings: Sedona, Arizona
Above image – the only four leaf clover I’ve ever found was in Ireland. My friend was searching for one in a patch of clover, and I just looked down and there one was. Not even ten minutes later, I found 20 Euro on a solitary beach. Coincidence?
I’m switching up weekend links and doing it today…I should have an outfit for you tomorrow. Today was a sweatpants and t-shirt day for me. This week’s links are St. Patrick’s Day themed. If for no other reason, I like this holiday because it reminds me of spring and of Ireland. It also reminds me of that time I studied abroad in London and our faculty-in-residence scheduled us to go to a four hour opera in Italian on St. Patty’s Day…not many of my classmates were very happy about that.
Bailey’s Irish cream and Guinness are of course popular choices for this holiday. I’d prefer mine incorporated into a desert, though – this Bailey’s pound cake sounds good, as do all of these desserts. Or you could make some Irish whiskey fudge.
Meet Honey Bump Maternity in Layton, Utah! This is the fourth interview in the Secondhand Shopping Guide series. I interviewed Nicole, who introduced me to her unique store catering specifically to new and expectant mothers. When she herself struggled to find cute and affordable maternity wear, she decided it was time to open her own store. Read on to find out more about this awesome resale boutique!
Honey Bump Maternity
Recycled fashion for the kid in you! Address: 1155 N. Main St. #4, Layton, UT 84041 Founded: 2010 Contact: (801) 444-0900 Website:www.honeybumpmaternity.com
1. Tell us a bit about you. Fun fact?
I’m a crazy second hand shopper. Few things excite me more than finding a great bargain!
2. Why did you decide to start a consignment store?
I had always wanted to own a second hand shop since I was 17. It was only during my last pregnancy that a light bulb went off in my head…a resale maternity and nursing boutique… Really…YES!
3. What’s the best part about your job?
I struggled with myself about returning to work after I had my baby. I could not leave him… Now I never have to. Aside from that, I love to hear the delight from customers who realize what a great little business we are. Not only the merchandise and prices, but the support we provide during pregnancy into breastfeeding and classes we provide such as cloth diapering.
4. What types and/or brands of things could a shopper find in your store?
We specialize in trendy maternity and nursing clothing and accessories. We also sell natural body products for moms and baby, cloth diapers, baby carriers, teething necklaces, and we’re always adding new items to the mix.
5. To give readers a better idea of what great things they can find, what is one (or some) of your favorite pieces in your store right now?
My most favorite item is the Undercover mama. A local mommy owned company with a product that is the most useful thing I have ever owned for breastfeeding.
6. What is one thing that sets your store apart from the rest/makes it unique?
So many different things but the one that stands out the most – there is no other maternity specific resale store in the state of Utah.
7. What’s the best part about being in the location (city/state) your store is in?
Utah has the highest fertility rate in the nation. We have lots of babies which means we have a really big mommy community and we love working together.
8. Quick! You have one minute to convince someone why they should start shopping secondhand…go!
Gone are the days when second hand shopping was only for those who couldn’t afford new. Second hand shopping is the smarter thing to do!
Save the planet, save your money, what else is there to say?
9. Do you have a website, Facebook page, Twitter, or blog where readers can learn more or stay informed about events, sales, etc.?
If you’d like to offer some input on locations (cities/states) I should cover in the future or if you are a resale store owner, please let me know in the comments or go enter your location in this poll.
My sister Marion is on spring break this week and the weather is beautiful, so we went to the park for a while. The below pictures are at the veteran’s memorial, baseball field, and river walk trail. I was supposed to be working (freelance), but I had just gotten an email from the Architecture department at the University of Oregon letting me know I’ve been admitted into the master’s program for Interior Architecture! I was really excited and couldn’t force myself to sit at the computer and write/fill out a bunch of forms and contracts for projects I’m working on, so I gladly agreed when my sister suggested going to the park. I need to suppress the excitement though, because I can’t actually afford to go unless I get a graduate teaching fellow position (tuition waved + stipend). I’ve got to do a lot of emailing in the coming days/weeks.
My sister’s outfit was really cute today. The sun is reflecting off her shirt so badly, though, you can’t really tell that it has neon yellow stripes – so now you know.
To see how I’ve styled my skirt in the past, check out this post.
Marion’s outfit:
all secondhand, not sure about brands.
My outfit: shirt: secondhand Hollister skirt: secondhand Gap belt:DIY tights: Target shoes: secondhand Minnetonka thunderbirds
Remember when I said I love avocados? Remember when I said (in that same post) that I love trying weird foods? Well it’s true. The day I discovered that avocados can be used in desserts, I had to try it. So I whipped up this avocado pie. When my mom got home, she looked in the fridge and saw the green pie. She asked me what I used to make it green, because the only green food we had in the house at the time was avocados. “If you put avocados in it, I’m not eating it,” she said. Now, many years later, it’s one of our favorite desserts.
It may sound weird, but trust me, it’s delicious. In Vietnam, there’s a beverage called sinh to bo, and it’s made with avocados, sugar, and milk. In Indonesia, they add chocolate or coffee and call it es apokat. In the Philippines, Brazil, Morocco, and India, avocados are traditionally eaten in sweet rather than savory dishes as well. In many countries, it’s mixed with other chopped fruits to make fruit salad.
Avocados are a rich, buttery, creamy fruit, so it makes sense that they’d be great for desserts, right? Just forget about guacamole and California rolls for a while. If you like lemon- or lime-flavored desserts, you’ll enjoy this. It’s similar to key lime pie. Here’s the recipe for avocado pie:
Ingredients for filling:
1 large Hass avocado
1/4 cup lime juice
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
Ingredients for crust (you could buy a graham cracker crust, but homemade is so much better!):
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (If there are pecans in the house, I’ll do 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup ground pecans – delicious!)
1/4 cup brown sugar (sometimes I reduce this or leave it out just to cut down the amount of sugar in the pie. I compensate with more graham cracker crumbs or ground pecans. The sugar does help hold the crust together, though, so if you choose to leave it out or use less, just expect a more crumbly crust.)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Steps:
Preheat oven to 360˚F.
Grind graham crackers (and pecans if you want) in a food processor. Mix the crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter in a small bowl.
Pour your crust mixture into a pie plate. Press the mixture to the bottom and sides of the plate.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes. It will bubble and the sides will probably melt down a little bit, especially if you choose not to use the sugar.
While the crust cools, scoop the avocado meat into a blender. Add the lime juice and blend until smooth.
Add the condensed milk to the blender and blend again until your mixture is a consistent pale green.
Pour the avocado mixture into the crust. Spread it evenly.
Refrigerate the pie for three+ hours – it’s best after it has had time to chill and get a bit firm. Or if you’re impatient like I sometimes am, pull it out after half an hour.
Serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream…or both!
(I didn’t have ice cream OR whipped cream. Sad! But it was still delicious.)
I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award by Miss Hannah Marie! Thank you, Hannah! This is an award that’s passed around the small/new blogger community. Every blogger who receives the award nominates 11 more bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Interesting fact: Liebster is German for “beloved.”
The rules:
Post 11 things about yourself.
Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 11 more bloggers.
Ask 11 questions for your nominees.
I think this is a great way to learn about other bloggers as well as discover new great blogs!
11 things about me: (1) I love musicals (movies and live performances) – Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins were childhood favorites, and I’m a big Fred Astaire fan. (2) I interned with Discovery in 2011 and got to work on web content for Shark Week! (3) I prefer to eat organic, local, and/or fair trade. (4) I love trying weird foods (yup, I tried the haggis in Scotland and the black pudding in Ireland). (5) When flared pants first became popular when I was in middle school, I hated them – I wore “carpenter” jeans. (6) My musical preferences mostly fall under the genres indie rock, indie folk, and vocal jazz. (7) I have a not-so-secret desire to move to the Pacific Northwest (anyone know a company in need of a graphic/web designer? ). (8) I used to be terrified of dogs (even tiny ones), but now I adore them. (9) I’ve loved art all my life. My profession is graphic design, but I love painting, drawing, and pretty much everything else creative as well. (10) I love to write and was one class away from having a creative writing minor in college. (11) I enjoy hiking (one advantage of living in the foothills of the the Appalachian Mountains)…and climbing trees.
Answers to Hannah’s 11 questions:
If you could take a vacation anywhere, where would you go and who would you take with you? – Right now I’m dreaming of Switzerland. I’d take either my sister, my mom, or my friend Hannah because I’ve traveled with them before and know they’re great travel companions.
What is your dream job? – If I were to choose a job outside of my current field, I think I’d go with interior design. I love upcycling, renovating, organizing…and HGTV.
What is your favorite book? – To Kill a Mockingbird. And the Harry Potter series. And everything F. Scott Fitzgerald. I could name books all day. I love to read.
Favorite movie or TV show? – Doctor Who! I may be a fanatic.
What did you want to be when you grew up? – When I was REALLY young, I wanted to be a hair stylist. Throughout most of elementary school, I wanted to be a travel agent. In high school, I got really into video production and wanted to be a post production editor.
What is your favorite article of clothing? I have a purple and blue tie dye skirt that’s super comfy, yet really cute. It was my go-to Saturday piece in college, and I still love it.
If you could have lunch with anybody, who would it be and why? – Because “famous” wasn’t specified, I’m going to say my closest friends from college because I miss them DESPERATELY!
Favorite food? – avocados, mmmm (one of my favorite recipes is coming to the blog soon!)
Favorite childhood memory? – My family went to Germany and Italy to visit my uncle in the Army when I was 9, and we went to Sandpoint, Idaho and Canada when I was 11 to visit my great grandparents. Both were amazing trips and are probably part of the reason I love traveling so much now.
How did you get started blogging? – Check out my Q&A and About Me!
My 11 nominations (some probably have over 200 followers, but I tried to choose blogs that are smaller – under 1000 I guess – that may have not had as much exposure as some of the better known fashion blogs around. I also wanted to choose blogs I actually enjoy myself):
I didn’t want to wear black shoes because I’m wearing navy tights…and that looked awkward. I don’t have any navy shoes that would work with this outfit. So what do I do? I just throw another color in the mix – brown. I like that these shoes make the outfit a bit more casual (as does the hat). I haven’t worn this dress yet because I always feel like a structured silk dress is too formal for my everyday life. I really love the way this outfit turned out, though, and I think it’s perfectly acceptable attire for sitting at a computer all day doing graphic design.
I love these shoes! See also how I wore them here, here, and here.
dress: secondhand Diane Von Furstenberg tights: Target belt: secondhand shoes: secondhand Miss Sixty hat: secondhand Gap earrings that you can’t see…I always forget to take detail pics: secondhand
This week for the Secondhand Shopping Guide series, we’re going to Ohio. Paula, owner of Encore Resale in Canton, Ohio, is sharing a glimpse of her fun and fashion-filled shop. The history of her store is really interesting, and I love that her 92-year-old mother still works there – that’s love and dedication! Her business just started a really unique venture in the world of resale. Read on to find out more!
Encore Resale
Resale Shoppe for Designer and Better Women’s & Men’s Fashions Address: 4125 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton, Ohio 44709 Founded: 1973 Contact: (330)492-7004 Website:www.encoreresalefashions.com
1. Tell us a bit about you. Fun fact?
We are Encore Resale Fashions in Canton, Ohio. Thank you for allowing us to share our resale journey of 40 plus years. In addition, we are just introducing our newest venture in the world of resale, Encore on Wheels. We are providing a traveling fashion show and shopping market (boutique style) to the senior citizen market. We travel to the senior independent and assisted living centers by appointment. So far the reviews are encouraging beyond our original projections.
2. Why did you decide to start a consignment store?
Forty years ago, two sisters, Ruthmary and Joyce, decided to start a consignment store. Both their husbands were accounting types and required the girls to have a projected sales and expense plan. Their claim to fame as has been told at each and every family gathering for decades goes like this: They both ponied up $500.00 and recovered their individual investment PLUS before they opened the doors for business. People in the community who did NOT receive a letter introducing the store and asking for consignments wondered WHY their clothes were not GOOD enough for the new consignment store. We continue to operate in the pay as you go fashion and it makes for many sleep-filled nights.
My mother says my aunt started in business because she liked to wallpaper. The old house on the main drag they choose to locate in had several walls in need of pretty coverings. This is the original creator of the resale phrase, “if it is so so, say no no”. Way to go Aunt Joyce, many quote your original thoughts and you have created a great standard to help the intake of inventory process. My mom says this was her retirement job, and at 92 can still can be seen selling in the store every weekend and entertaining all those who come in contact with the 92 year old, 5’0″ in her 4 inch heels (really) and 98 pounds.
3. What’s the best part about your job?
The absolute best part of this job is the joy it provides to so many. We say “Experience Encore” and see what the buzz is all about! A reality show about the inner worlds of shopping should be shot in a busy consignment/resale store because there is no better way to demonstrate the real world of shopping like this 2nd tier industry. The icing on the cake is that we can make a green living and be a proud member of the community in which we serve.
4. What types and/or brands of things could a shopper find in your store?
Encore’s niche is selection. We carry Ralph Lauren, Jones, NY and Co. Tan Jay, Peter Nigard, Coldwater Creek, St. John’s, Saks, Coach, LV, Target, J.Crew etc.etc.etc. We bill ourselves as a clothing and department store, and if somebody wanted a size 10 black trouser, they would likely have 10 choices of manufacturers/label/designers to select from.
Encore also carries a wide product category. We are an excellent source for new bridal gowns with wallet friendly prices. Also, we carry several rooms of business and casual attire for men, women, and junior shoppers.
8. Quick! You have one minute to convince someone why they should start shopping secondhand…go!
Experience Encore. We love selling and recycling clothes and accessories. We continue to search for the best way to make our customers and consignors come in for fun and fashion. As a result, we operate a fun retreat for clothing and accessories searches.
9. Do you have a website, Facebook page, Twitter, or blog where readers can learn more or stay informed about events, sales, etc.?
With 25,000 resale/thrift/consignment stores in our country, Encore welcomes the growing and new way to shop and save for current fashion trends at yesterday’s prices. We are proud to have grown up in the pioneer time of resale, but we are much more excited about the fact that we are still in business serving our customers and consignors and….God- willing, we will continue to thrive as we serve the clothing needs of the present and future recycling shoppers.
Thanks Paula!
If you’d like to offer some input on locations (cities/states) I should cover in the future or if you are a resale store owner, please let me know in the comments or go enter your location in this poll.
Yup, I walk that fast in real life. 
). (8) I used to be terrified of dogs (even tiny ones), but now I adore them. (9) I’ve loved art all my life. My profession is 
