A Date With Plain Ivey Jane

This past Saturday The Girl and I spent the day together. Whenever that happens, there's sure to be food and fashion involved. In that order.

I got wind of a fashion show brunch tweeted by @2NDStDistrict and decided it would be the perfect place for us to hang out. 

You know it's damn near impossible to go to something like this without asking the million dollar question:

"What am I gonna wear?!?"

Prior to seeing the tweet, I'd never heard of Plain Ivey Jane. 

As if you didn't already know I'm a discount-shopping-non-couture kinda girl.  

When the show got underway, I was pleasantly surprised to see the models wearing wearable clothes:

 

My event photographer was invited to pose. She accepted:

 Since Saturday, I've been asking God to perform a miracle on my hips so they can accommodate this cute Hype charcoal washable silk dress:

Both me and The Girl's eyes lit up when this ensemble hit the catwalk.

Can you say, "Happy New Year!"

Sarah Reeves fulfilled her dream of having her own boutique.

 By doing so, she made it possible for women to have affordable designer goods without breaking the bank.

me and Plain Ivey Jane owner, Sarah Reeves

As you can see, Plain Ivey Jane carries a variety of apparel and accessories. Betsey Johnson, Diane Von Furstenburg, Vera Wang, and Marc by Marc Jacobs are just a few of the brands you'll find there. 

How do they do it? Sarah buys overstock directly from the designers and then passes those savings on to you.

She calls it Closeout Couture. 

I like that.

What's your favorite look from the fall showcase?

Guess what?! Due to the overwhelming response to this post, I started a personal style blog. But it's not just any personal style blog. Go on..click here to check it out!

A One Night Stand for Charity

Back in August I told you about my experience auctioneering a live auction for the first time. It was a charitable event hosted by the Interior Design Society Texas Hill Chapter to raise money for a room make-over for SafePlace.

That night, we raised close to $3,000.

The entire project has been made possible by the generous contributions of the IDS members, contractors, and regular people like you and me. Everything has been donated. From labor to materials to time. 

We held the finale event at the end of October to get the funds in order to complete the project.

This one was a silent auction complete with karaoke, costumes, margaritas, and a slew of vendors offering fantabulous door prizes. A local artist painted an original picture right before our eyes - the only item auctioned off live. 

me, a one-night-stand, and Chair of IDS Charitable Committee

 

Both events were mega-successes considering the fact that IDS has only been in existence here locally for not even a year. I'm truly humbled and blessed to be a part of such a giving organization. 

With just under $5,000 and a whole lot of teamwork, the make-over is in progress and we're all eagerly awaiting the reveal. I'll be there front and center...with a wad of tissues, as I'm sure there won't be a dry eye in the house.

With the holidays approaching, there'll be all kinds of causes for you to support. 

Remember, those in need can benefit from your time as well as your money.

*To my Facebook friends who inquired about my dress, I got it at Body Central.

Found Online: Friends, Girdles & Opportunities

Have you ever seen one of those enticing, yet spammy looking advertisements telling you you could get paid for your time just by completing surveys?

I stumbled across another one here recently that was offering a $150 Visa gift card to watch cable programming for five days. They were conducting research for a new online-only subscription service called HBO Go. About two days into the project, my logon got messed up so I wasn't able to complete the study. I answered like 10 questions and was surprised when I got an email saying my payment was ready to be redeemed. Turns out, those 10 questions were equivalent to $20.

I'd already decided what I was gonna buy had I gotten paid in full. I was heading over to Target for one of these:

photo courtesy of target.com

The remaining balance was gonna be used for Christmas shopping.

Instead of getting another muffin top reducer, I decided to support one of my buddies who's working her ass off to build her direct sales business. I've known this lady for almost two years now and she's one of my biggest cheerleaders. She sends me links to deals and shares all kinds of money saving resources with me. When I write a post about a challenge I'm facing, she takes the time to send an email offering encouragement.

And by the way...when I say "I've known her" for almost two years, that means we met on Facebook in March 2010...never laid eyes on her in real life. But that's how social networking works...when you're really building relationships.

I can't wait for my Avon to get here! I scored some pretty good deals by ordering from Jan online.

I remember when I was a little girl and the Avon lady would come by our house on Saturday afternoons. My my my have times changed.

Anyway, if you're in need of eye shadow or perfume or foot scrub or jewelry or Christmas ornaments or anything else, click on over and order from Jan.

I'll shoot a video and show you my goodies when they get here!

Discount Swag: Old Navy Back2School Edition

Shopping at discount stores works for me, but not so much for The Boy and The Girl. Old Navy isn't a regular hang out of mine, but as long as they're running specials like this one AND offering money saving coupons - I'm there!

If you can't see the video below, CLICK HERE.

Since this is the first time I've purchased boys jeans from there, I'm going to pay close attention to the quality - how long they hold up and if they shrink in the dryer, etc. 

Let me know of any other Old Navy finds I might be missing out on. 

Thanks for watching & sharing your thoughts!

Today's Video: Reverse Shopping Haul

I gotta be completely honest and tell you I just learned what a shopping haul video was. All this time, I've been calling them a shopping-show-your-stuff-how-to.

This is a bit different. Hence, the word reverse.

If you can't see the video CLICK HERE.

The store employee said they only take items that have been in stores the past 18 months. Not the case when you browse the racks. There was some outdated stuff up in there. I suggest they go through and purge it all and donate those items to Goodwill.

I didn't find anything there that I couldn't get brand new for the same price at Ross or on clearance at Kohl's. They paid about $2.68 for each piece they bought from me which is close to what you'll get at a garage sale.

If I see another shop around town, I'll stop in and give them a try.

How to Raise $3,000 in a $23 Outfit

You know how people get honorary college degrees and stuff? I haven't gotten one, but I'm kind of like an honorary member of the Interior Design Society Texas Hill Country Chapter. The president appointed me on Thursday night.

I've spoken to this group twice, most recently last month. Somehow, my name came up as the person to auctioneer their charity event. I don't think this skill set is listed anywhere on my Put Me to Work page. File it under other duties as assigned.

No, I didn't do the "fast talk". Despite that, I did manage to create a couple of bidding wars!

The temperatures here in central Texas have been consistently hovering around 100-and-close-to-burning-in-hell so picking the ideal outfit was just as important as figuring out how to fulfill my job duties. I looked at it this way: if I'm a total bomb, I better at least look like a bombshell. Or the equivalent. Whatever that may be.

Choosing accessories can literally determine if I'm going to arrive somewhere 15 minutes early or 10 minutes late. I've learned now that this part of getting dressed slows me down. Partly because of my mild-to-moderate OCD which makes me try on at least three different pairs of earrings and two different bracelet combos.

My neighbor friend Jamie started tinkering and launched Jewelry by Jamille. Everything is handmade. When she had her first trunk show I was flat broke and couldn't buy anything. When she had another one, I was less broke and came home with these beauties:

JewelrybyJamille.com

This was my first time wearing them and they were perfect, very light weight and comfortable.

Definitely a statement piece.

My photogs haven't quite mastered the full-body shot, but I'm sure we'll eventually get there.

Here's the complete outfit minus me. I really wanted you to see the contrasting hem on the dress:

Maxi dress and Steve Madden sandals from Ross

 Black maxi dress, $7.99; Steve Madden sandals, $12.99

Ross Shopping Pro Tip: the price of shoes are written on the bottom, rounded to the nearest dollar.


I bought these when gladiators were all the rage. I don't like the gladiator look that comes all the way up your ankle. Ross is my go-to place for keeping up with trends without going broker.

OUTFIT GRAND TOTAL: $22.71

That's 3Xs cheaper than this dress alone:

Camille maxi at soma.com $75

Here I am with my friend and fellow speaker Evelina Solis. She's a certified life coach, radio personality, and co-hosts a tv show. She was recently a spokesperson for Macy's National Hispanic Heritage Campaign.

I can truly say losing my live-auction auctioneer virginity was a huge success. Every item donated was sold and we raised just under $3,000 (in a few short hours) to go toward the makeover project for SafePlace.

There are so many ways to get involved and make a difference in your community.

Moral of the Story: Spend Less. Give More.

Guess what?! Due to the overwhelming response to this post, I started a personal style blog. But it's not just any personal style blog. Go on..click here to check it out!

I Don't Blog Naked

Major benefit of being a blogger: you don't have a dress code. Most days I roll out of bed, wash my face, brush my teeth, and grab my laptop. Now don't go spreading internet rumors - I don't blog in my birthday suit.

I've had to "get dressed for work" twice this month. I share pics of my outfits on Facebook, so I figured why not share them here with you too.

photo courtesy of Body Central (bodyc.com)

 I had my eye on the vest pictured above for about two years now. I kept waiting for it to go on sale, but it never did. Until now. It's on clearance.

I already had the other pieces to recreate this look, but I couldn't find a vest at a price I was willing to pay. Until now. Thank you, Ross Dress for Less!

 

I picked up my shrug for $8.99 which is still a buck less than Body Central's clearance price. Scored the tank from Rue21 (two for $10) - my favorite spot for tanks because they don't lose their shape and are always on sale. My black wide leg pants are from Gap...got em a few years ago when a store was closing at a local mall.

I wore these - part of my collection thanks to lay-away at T.J.Maxx:

Franco Sarto shoes from T.J.Maxx

I think I got them two summers ago. Maybe, but don't quote me. I just know they aren't brand spankin' new. I checked the bottom to get the price, but it was torn off. My guess is they were between $29.99 - $39.99. Not bad considering similar sandals are $69.99.

I wore this outfit to the Do You Naturally Expo yesterday where I presented a topic on entrepreneurship. 

Here I am with author and speaker Erika Gilchrist:

Here I am again with KXAN meteorologist Rhonda Lee who talked about her natural hair journey as a media professional, along with expo host, Veola Jolly.

I can't remember the last time I shopped for something to wear to an event. Whenever I see affordable, versatile pieces that would compliment my wardrobe I pick them up. It's so much easier and cost effective than running out buying something every time you have to make an appearance.

I'm gonna get my 8.99 worth out of this shrug! Not only will I wear it again, but I'll be photographed in it too!

Guess what?! Due to the overwhelming response to this post, I started a personal style blog. But it's not just any personal style blog. Go on..click here to check it out!

My Mid-Life Addiction

Remember when I won that gorgeous bag from Bangle and Clutch? Well, Nannette Bosh Inc. liked my video so much they returned the favor and invited me to write a guest post. They ran into some snags getting it up on their site and that's why I'm sharing it here so you can read it:

I thought long and hard about adding the word ‘Strange’ to the title of this post, but decided against it since I don’t eat toilet paper, sleep with blow dryers, or play wife to a man blow-up doll. Is my addiction real? Oh hell yes. Is it strange? Hardly not..

I was raised in the south by a woman who had three daughters. I’m the youngest. As part of our upbringing, we walked with books balanced on our heads because ladies have good posture, ate properly with a knife and fork (even if your food didn’t need to be cut up) because ladies have good table manners, and if we left the house without earrings, we were subject to lose an ear. Because a lady would rather die than get caught without earrings.

Somehow, over the past 39 years, the urge to have a foreign object dangling from my lobes – hoops are my drug of choice…the bigger the better – has spiraled out of control.

I’ve always had the potential to become a heavy user and I got strung out about five or so years ago. I didn’t start off doing the hard stuff. I had enough sense to know that could be deadly. So I’d just throw on a necklace here and there. Then another. And another. Before I knew it, I was mixing and matching and layering every chance I got. I couldn’t step foot out the door without experimenting. I was never a designer kind of girl. I found myself gravitating more toward the recreational, costume stuff.

As I added more poison to the almost fatal concoction, it became harder to function. The only thing I could focus on was my next fix. Everything I did centered around picking the right ring, bangle, and/or cuff. I thought I’d hit rock bottom when I got introduced to scarves and the mere thought of a trendy handbag sends me into a cold sweat.

Then the dealers started playing dirty. The got more creative with how they marketed the goods to defenseless addicts like me. They turned to twitter and Facebook and used giveaways to lure you in.

I refuse to seek treatment though. Either inpatient, outpatient, or otherwise. I can beat this thing. Single handedly. One rhinestone and clutch at a time.

Today's Video: Winning - Bangle & Clutch

Ok..last Tuesday I entered to win this cute clutch bag on Facebook from bangleandclutch.com - it was my second time trying. Never giving up applies to so many things in life - accessories included!

I wanted to share the experience with you so watch the video to see my reaction:

If you can't see the video CLICK HERE

Today's Video: I Ain't too Proud to Save

While most people won't even bother to clip and use coupons, in this video not only do I use mine, but I redeem it days AFTER I made my purchase!

To put things into perspective, let me give you a scenario: If you found out a store was giving away $10 bills, you wouldn't hesitate to go stand in line to get yours. Don't dare say you wouldn't because I waited in line with at least a hundred people to get a free Whataburger. Doing what I did in this video is no different and in all actuality, it's more justifiable because it was my $10 to begin with!

Here are just a few things $10 will buy me:

• 2.5 Dark Cherry Mocha Frappachinos from Starbucks
• a domain name
• an eyebrow wax
• 1/2 of the items on The Boy's second grade school supply list
• a rotisserie chicken & 2 bags of frozen veggies
• a matinee movie ticket
• a dress from Ross (a cute one...seriously!)

You can judge me if you want to, but don't call me asking to borrow $10!

Guess what?! Due to the overwhelming response to this post, I started a personal style blog. But it's not just any personal style blog. Go on..click here to check it out!