Day 123. 242 days and $238 left to go.

I was anticipating rain today, as that was allegedly on the forecast for Los Angeles. Unfortunately there was no rain, my car still looks like a pollen covered mess and I’m sneezing my face off each time I go near it . Thanks Dallas Raines. (Looks like I’m only sticking to Hurricane Schwartz from now on – Julia Gulia gets a little shout out for that intro – thanks JG!!)

Dallas!!

Seriously, when you make this allergy-ridden girl think that there will be inches of rain by a certain time and then nothing comes down, you can understand her frustration. With that being said, I went with longer sleeves in anticipation of the waterworks from the sky that were not seen.

Day 123 - Before

Are you thinking that this looks a little Friar Tuck-ish?

The Friar

It’s cool – I was just thinking that myself. I mean our robe-ish ensembles are in different shades and I’m not a cartoon, but we still looked rather similar.

Day 123 - Before, Take II

Not so keen on looking like a rotund mammal, so I needed to get rid of that baggy neck action.

Seam ripping the neck off!

I took a seam ripper and got to unstitching the entire thing.

Detached neck

Now that it was in two separate pieces, I took the fabric that was the old neck and threw it in my bag of excess material. I’ll use it somewhere and at some point, just not as a neck covering…ever. The waist was a little large but instead of cutting and sewing to tighten it up, I took a vintage pin, cinched my waist, and pinned the excess material together at the small of my back. Quick, easy, and newly fitted.

Day 123 - After

Getting rid of that baggy neck changes everything! I don’t look like a monk anymore, not that there is anything wrong with that, and feel more alright about having a dusty sheet of particles from the air of LA as a top layer film on my green vehicle.

My New Necklace! (Get it...Neck Less??)

This lass is feelin’ way more Maid Marian now. But totally the non-cartoony version. More like the Cate Blanchett version coming out in May. I mean Russell Crowe is her Robin Hood so yeah, I’ll take that.

PS – it’s “allegedly” supposed to rain tomorrow as well…we’ll see how that pans out.

Day 122. 243 days and $239 left to go.

Hello doily-esque collared dress that has a tag with the clothing brand “XPRESS” on it. I think I actually bought the dress solely because of that and well, it was a dollar so I really couldn’t pass it up. OOH, there were pockets too! That was the other selling point, for sure! It was warmish today, with a slight bit of wind, so I felt this was a good piece for a warmish-windy Tuesday.

Day 122 - Before

Now I’m obsessed with lace and ribbons and trimmings, oh my, but I wasn’t so keen on the edging of this dress. Here, the lace, which was more like a thicker cotton eyelet trim, was a little too girly for my tastes. Slightly Holly Hobbie, and I wanted to funk it up, just a smidge. First thing was to cut that eyelet off and shorten the puppy.

Getting rid of the extra lace!

Now, the waist was still rather large on me but I opted to use a wider belt to cinch instead of sewing it tighter. The doily-esque collar wasn’t looking so hot, so I unbuttoned the top few buttons down to my chestal area and pinned each edge of the collar to the top of my sleeveless arm hole. It kind of gave it a cap-sleeved look which I was definitely on board with. A pair of boots and a cardi (which I took off for the pic) and I was ready to go.

Day 122 - After

Love the way this looks now! It’s completely current, as light denim is back in, and there’s a lovely spring vibe going on. During my little photo shoot, a few gusts of wind swooped in…

My slightly Marilyn moment

Yes, I felt a little like Marilyn Monroe for a moment, but then I got cold and went inside where my Vanilla Latte from Coffee Bean was waiting for me to sip. The timing couldn’t have been more perf

Day 121. 244 days and $240 left to go.

It’s a tuxedo shirt for us today friends. Frilly and fance for a Monday, you might say, but why not start the week out with a black tie optional or prom look, right?? When I saw this shirt I knew it was mine. It was a buck, so I really couldn’t pass it up.

Day 121 - Before

Now, I’ve never owned a tuxedo shirt – I mean, they’re kind of retro and have a more masculine than feminine vibe, but I’m totally down with androgyny. Less of an “It’s Pat” vibe…

Did we ever find out what Pat really was?

More like the Rihanna, Dolce & Gabbana vibe. (Totally sans a puffy sleeved jacket though – you can really only pull that off when you’re going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s Gala and I’m definitely not headed there today.)

Don't be rude boy, I'm in a ruffled shirt!

So my main ish with the shirt was that the ruffles just kind of blended in with the rest of it. Size, rockin’. Length, rockin’. But, those ruffles are the best part and they weren’t as pronounced as I would have liked for them to be. So, out came my trusty dye kit and in the pot went some boiling water, a little mix of RIT’s denim blue and black dye, and my tuxedo shirt. Out came this…

Day 121 - After

Wham, bam, thank you ma’am!!! I mean, seriously? RIT dye, I think I may want to marry you. The ruffles now stand out exactly the way I wanted them to! I think I’m on the hunt for more of these to transform!

Ruffles!

I paired my new top with some fave striped jeans from a little trip to the Gap Outlet about a year ago and heels which you cannot see. It kind of doesn’t matter what shoes I’m wearing, because I’m not taking my eyes off those ruffles.

PS – I’m gathering pieces for an upcoming dye tutorial! Stay tuned, as we’re going to have a fun day very, very soon Just need to grab a few more white/stained/dye-worthy puppies to transform!

Day 120. 245 days and $241 left to go.

The muumuu returns!! It’s been a little while since we had a muumuu appearance and I thought it was about time. March is almost over and there’s got to be at least one muumuu this month. March Madness & Muumuu was the theme of this Sunday, but perhaps a themed “Muumuu May” will be just around the corner… I wanted a little dress for today and I was going to crank one out from the below.

Day 120 - Before

Again with the one pocket, this green floral muumuu was bold, bright, and botanical garden-y. I have to say that I liked the neckline and all I was worried about was the wretched length. I’m all about hanging out and lounging in this, but not when it hits me at my ankles. So, out came the scissors…

Hike that Skirt!

I ended up taking about half of the length off – I thought it was going to hit me a little above my knees, but it ended up being a more mid-thigh length. I had no issues with that, however I did hear, “that’s a bit short, don’t you think” from the peanut gallery I think that went away as I began to help out in the garden.

Day 120 - After

It was a great Sunday sundress to enjoy the rays along with one of McDonald’s Vanilla iced coffees, Duke beating Baylor, and a little more spring cleaning which included finding this puppy…

Looks like a pickle, feels like a pickle

Um, it’s nothing other than a pickle pen!!

Pickle Pen!!

Hello working pen from 1992 that was scored in a Wendy’s kids meal by the broham. I mean it couldn’t be more random and awesome all in one. Plus it matches. Drum sticks were the accessory yesterday and the pickle pen wins today. The bangles are back tomorrow, promise