Outfit Post - By the Lake

Last Saturday, I was driving around picking up some things for a couple of DIY projects I want to try. I thought it would be nice to show you a place that I used to go all the time as a kid, Lake Johanna. My friends and I used to ride our bikes down here and hang out by the beach. Those were the best days. No worries, no responsibilities. Just hanging out with friends and enjoying the lake.

It was REALLY windy and cold the day I was here (hence the red nose) but because of that, I was alone at the beach save for a couple of runners and people driving by. I love beaches in the cold weather and wish I had brought some cocoa and a blanket or two with to enjoy it more. Empty beaches also make for very easy and non-awkward photos shoots so enjoy the plethora of photos :)

  

Also, if you couldn't tell, my new remote came in the mail! Yay! Back to better photos. I'm hoping to get better at going places when I take photos but I can't promise anything :) I started a notes page in my phone to write down outfits that I come up with when I'm looking at Pinterest or thinking about my closet. This is one of my ideas come to life! If you want see more of my outfit inspiration for Fall/Winter, follow my board here! I think the top half came out better than the bottom half but I'm sure I'll wear this again soon.

Outfit Details:

Shirt - Old Navy

Jeans, boots, necklace - Target

Blazer - Vintage, thrifted

Hat - Forever 21

PS. I was wearing a coat and gloves with this before, during and after these photos. Brrr!

Product Review - Fall Leaves

I finally got a chance to crunch around in the leaves. This past Sunday was sunny and gorgeous so I thought it was the perfect time to try out my new dress from eShakti. The last dress I got, I loved and this dress is the same! You can't tell so much from the pictures but it is this beautiful dark green. The tuxedo front has enough interest so you really only have to wear minimal jewelry (my favorite) but I could also see a great brooch looking nice as well. I can't wait to style it again for the holidays!

  

Like last time, I picked a standard size and it fits like a glove. I customized the length to hit at the knees which is great option that eShakti provides. I have a really short torso and long legs so to being able to customize the waist and length is perfect for me! I left the sleeves on this style alone because I like the cap style but you can pick whatever sleeve length you want on the site. Everything is customizable! I braved the cold for a couple seconds so you all could see how cute the sleeves are!

I hope you all head over to eShakti and look at all of their great new styles!

Outfit Details:
Dress - c/o eShakti
Boots - Lulu's
Cardigan - Old Navy (old)
Tights - We Love Colors
Scarf - gift (I think it's from Target)
Sunglasses - Forever 21
Earrings - No clue! I've had them forever


*as always, the product reviewed here was provided free in exchange for the review but the opinions expressed are my own. Thanks for supporting the companies that support Babes in Thriftland!*

DIY - Magnetic Spice Rack

This isn't my invention at all. I saw this on A Beautiful Mess and it was one craft I knew would work for me. I've said this a bunch of times but my place is small and doesn't really have much in the way of storage. Everything has to be out so it also has to look nice. I wanted to display my spices more so because of my deep cupboards and forgetfulness (see my cupboard re-do from yesterday). Now I know exactly what spices I have, what I need and I can clearly see when I'm running low. It's awesome! I think I will use spices more now because they are right next to the stove and clearly visible.

On ABM, they used a magnetic board to display their spices but I decided to use my underutilized fridge. I have a stainless steel one so only the side is magnetic. The only part that is visible is between the top of the counter and the bottom of the upper cabinet. Perfect spot for spices since the fridge is right next to the stove!

Before:

You can consult the original DIY on ABM here but this is what I did. I ordered the jars online here and ordered 25 (I linked to the specific jar I bought). They were actually pretty reasonably priced and I will have extras for when I want to add more spices down the road. Then, I just picked up a basic set of circle labels and a perfect green sharpie from Staples. I ordered circle magnets online but they didn't come soon enough and I wanted to get this project done. When I was organizing my craft bins for this DIY, I found some magnets I had ordered on Etsy a long time ago. I just taped them to the back of the jars with clear tape. That was it! I might swap them for the ones that just came from Amazon or leave them as is for now.

The jars are the perfect size for the smaller spice jars you get at the store. If you buy one of the larger ones, just pour what you want in the jar and put the rest in the back of the cupboard. I think this will also be a lot easier when baking because it will be much easier to get the measuring spoon into this jar opening than the tiny one they come in! Plus, I can buy spices from markets or specialty stores now. Since they usually come in bagies, I was always hesitant to get them before. Horizons=expanded! haha

PS, I also alphabetized mine cause I'm cool like that...

DIY - Organization

Whenever I throw a party, I somehow decide to tackle a bunch of house projects right before. Do you do that? I feel like it's the push I need to get stuff done but it also makes me stressed out. I am happy that I got around to doing some organization though. In my quest to be more organized, I decided to head over to the Container Store the other day. Oh boy. I did not know what I was getting myself into. Have you ever been there? PS it's heaven. I never knew all the things I needed to organize before I walked in there. I bought so much stuff. One thing I picked up was a lazy susan. My cupboards are quite small but very deep. Since I only have 3 upper cabinets, I wanted to make better use out of at least one of them. I'm going to show you the before but don't be scared...

Notice how you can't see anything in the back? Yeah, that's a problem. I have like 5 bags of chocolate chips because I keep buying them since I don't know they are there. Enter the lazy susan (cue angelic music). 

I know it still looks kind of crowded but I can spin that lazy susan and see everything that's in there. All the stuff I don't use it way in the back and my peanut butter (Jif holla!) still has room to be front and center. You don't know how many things I pulled out from the back of the cupboard and said, "I KNEW I had ____" or "Huh, I didn't know I had _____. Could have come in handy that one time." Now everything is much more accessible and my forgetful brain is happier.

What made this possible is what I did with the spices. Stay tuned for that tomorrow!

Outfit Post - New In!

A couple weekends ago, I went to visit my brother in Chicago. He just recently moved there from LA so it's nice to have him so much closer! We never really get to hang out just the two of us so it was really nice to do just that. While I was there (and he was working), I stopped at Market Supply Company. I had heard about this new store because I follow Merl's blog and her Instagram. She is a very talented jewelry designer and has teamed up with Deathrose Vintage and Midnorth Mercantile who both sell vintage clothing and accessories. I was blown away by how great the store looked. I wanted to own every item and also have my condo look exactly like it. It was very hard but I narrowed it down to this pale green dress. It fits me perfectly and I can't wait to wear it over and over! Maybe next time I will get a new remote and have much better photos for you :)

My boots are a recent purchase from Lulus and they are really comfortable! I love how much they look like real leather but were very reasonably priced. My jacket is a recent acquisition from a swap I hosted a couple weekends ago.

I'm obviously terrible at this whole self timer thing...

Outfit Details:

Dress - Market Supply Co

Boots - Lulus

Coat - via Swap

Tights - Target (I think)

Scarf - H&M (old)

Mad Scientist's Lab

This past Friday, I hosted a mad scientist themed party at my place. I didn't take too many photos but I thought I would share my costume and my favorite part of the decorations with you!

For my costume, I took the pockets off of a lab coat that I got at Ragstock. Then, I sewed black buttons on it to make it look more like an old style coat. I cut the collar off and sewed on snaps so it would close off to the side. It wasn't the best made but I think it did the job. I braided my hair into little braids but I should have done it much earlier because my hair was still wet when I went to take it out. I ended up using a lot of hairspray and it all worked out. I added a little brown eye shadow to make it look like there had been an explosion in the lab. Add black rubber gloves, goggles and a black skirt and you have your costume!

This was the part I was most looking forward to! I thrifted a bunch of different size glass jars and also used all of the ones I had laying around the house. I bought the strangest looking vegetables I could find at the store for the specimens. If I had more time or money, I would have liked to do more but I think it turned out really well.  I filled the jars with water and food coloring and then added the "specimens". Behind the jar were orange colored lights behind to make them seem more eerie. I mixed in some of my old books as well. Let me know what you think! Also, if you want more specifics of what I used, let me know in the comments!

  

Sorry this is so blurry!

DIY - Painted Boxes

I have to admit, this DIY isn't hard or complicated. I do really like the results though so I thought I would share with you! I needed some new containers to hold things on my bookshelf but still have them look good because they will be out. Since I only have 3 closets in my place, there is really no place to hide anything. I wanted the storage to be nice and fit in with the decor/style I already have. Plus, I didn't want them to be clear, plastic or open on top. Filling all of these criteria was harder than I thought! Then, I found these unpainted wood boxes at Michaels when I was halloween shopping and thought they would work well.

Materials: 2 colors of paint (one for the base and one for the stripes), sponge brush and wood boxes

Step 1: Paint both boxes white (or whatever you want your base color to be). I let mine dry overnight before I started the next step.

Step 2: Tape off the design that you want. I did one with a chevron pattern and one with different sized stripes. The horizontal stripes were much easier to tape FYI.

Step 3: Paint the color you want for the stripes

Step 4:

Let dry for a couple of hours or overnight, then remove the tape. Voila!

Optional Step 5: My taping wasn't perfect so I did get some bleed through. I went back with my white paint and tried to touch up some of the spots where the lines weren't perfect.

I made one box my sewing box and one for my emboidery. This is a big upgrade from all the different places I used to store all this stuff. Now it's all in one spot!

I got this plastic container from the container store for about $3 or $4 and it's been working well so far.

This little plastic box was from the dollar section at target and works great to wrangle all my thread.