Blogger Luxury Award and Fifteen Frugal Blogs You Need to Check Out!

What could be nicer than a fellow blogger picking you for an award?  Thanks to Joandy at My Style by Joandy for giving me the Blogger Luxury Award!  I'm so happy you thought of me!

This is my first blogging award and I'm excited to receive it and just as excited to get to pass it on.  But first, here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who passed you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself

3. Award 15 blogs
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it

Following are the 7 random things about me:

1.  I love to sit outside and watch the tree leaves blow in the breeze.

2.  My birthday is on Leap Year so I only get a "real" birthday every 4 years.

3.  I always wanted to have three children so I did!

4.  I'm a night person.

5.  I once had a part-time job in college of sitting (in my modest outfit)  for the art class to draw but I was replaced by a girl in a bikini.

6.  I like to daydream about being on "Oprah".

7.  I'm a quote junkie.

Now on to the fun part!  I'm not sure where the Luxury Blogger Award originated, but to me living below your means is a luxury because isn't it wonderful to have things you love without being stressed over how you're going to pay for them?  It is for me, so I am going to award this Luxury Blogger Award to 15 personal style blogs that help us to live a beautiful life on a budget.  My picks are:

a thrifty LA life  Kris, of a thrifty LA life, always amazes me with her Goodwill finds and I love her motto, "building a wardrobe, one Goodwill thrift find at a time."

RAGS against the MACHINE  Terri, of RAGS against the MACHINE, has a thought provoking exchange of ideas in her posts and terrific thrifts in her photos.

Suitcase Vignettes  Dawn, of Suitcase Vignettes, always has enjoyable posts and some beautiful vintage still lifes.    

spunky chateau  Meagan, of spunky chateau, has been posting other bloggers thrifty finds in a weekly post and may soon be providing us a place to link up and show off our good deals.  

The Chronicles of Lady K   Kari, of The Chronicles of Lady K, has some of the funniest and most entertaining posts I've read.

two birds  Nora and Megan are sisters and the duo behind two birds.  I love them because they inspire me to dress like a celebrity each week for their inspiration monday.  (It's so much fun!)

Wrinkled Dollar  I've only found this blog recently but a few looks and you'll see why I added it to this frugal blogging list.  Awesome buys abound.

the Citizen Rosebud  Bella at the Citizen Rosebud has taken the Second Hand Pledge and you can, too.  Stop by her blog to get the code for the button.  I proudly display it on mine.

Silvergirl  Brett of Silvergirl has a great motto, "Just because you are getting older, it doesn't mean you need to dress like Aunt Bea!"

My Heart Blogged  Vanessa, the voice behind My Heart Blogged, believes in fashion blogging for real women in the real world using thrifted finds and good deals.

Fashion Over Fifty  Paula of Fashion Over Fifty has fabulous style and cute colorful outfits.

Annimal House  Annimal house is a recent find and is one of the most glamorous and fun blogs I've found.

Fashion. Makeup.LifeStyle  Marina at Fashion.Makeup.LifeStyle searches out cheap alternatives for name brand cosmetics and beauty products.

A Reason to be Fabulous  Tiffany at A Reason to be Fabulous mixes thrifted finds with inexpensive retail items to come up with her colorful style.

Fabulous 4 $50 & under  Tanyabell, of Fabulous 4 $50 & under, keeps the total cost of her outfits under $50 as the blog name says.  She has just posted a contest where you can link your under $50 outfit and I know I'm in!

Thanks again to Joandy of My Style by Joandy for giving me this award.  I hope you enjoy checking out some of the blogs I've listed.  Maybe you'll find some new friends.  Have a wonderful day!

Day 9: Demin on Denim

There are literally hundreds of bloggers doing the 30 for 30 Remix Challenge this month.  I was amazed at the long list Kendi posted on her blog kendieveryday.  Checking out what others are doing each day makes it even more fun.  Vanessa, at Big Girl. Small Budget. Tiny Town., and Tiffany of areasontobefabulous both have mad skills in using color.  Yesterday was full of color for me, so today I am going with denim on denim.

 We still had snow hanging on after a frosty night of 15 degrees, and more snow expected tonight.

I piled on the vintage pins.  I am wearing clip-ons that match this one.  Now...this snow's for you!

What I'm wearing today:
Denim Jacket, CHEROKEE, Target
White Shirt, Coldwater Creek, Thrifted
Faded Wash Bootcut Jeans, Faded Glory, Walmart
Brown suede shoes, UGGS, B&H Shoes
Vintage Costume Jewelry, Gifted
Blue Gloves, Target

Winter 2011 Remix Time

Snow on the ground...snow in the air...snow in the forecast. What do you do when you're tired of your winter clothes?  Take the 30 x 30 Challenge, of course!

What's the 30 x 30 Challenge you might ask?  I discovered the challenge on Kendi Lea's blog at http://kendieveryday.blogspot.com.  It's where you pick 30 items of clothing (including shoes) out of your closet and for the next 30 days you wear only these 30 items, mixing and matching to create 30 different looks.  Check out her blog for the complete story.

It's an interesting idea.  Being limited to 30 items forces you to figure out which items look best on you and which ones work well together.  It's also a fun way to get your creative juices flowing.  Accessories are not limited at all, so it's up to you to figure out how to get tons of new looks out of a limited number of tops, bottoms, dresses and shoes using scarves, jewelry, hats and belts.

The 30 x 30 Remix starts on February 1st.  Here is what my closet looked like before picking out my 30 items:

You can't see the bottom rack, but it's completely full, too.  Next, here is my closet after picking out my 30 items:

It's an oxymoron, but when I look in my closet now I see outfits that I could wear.  Before, with everything jammed in together, sometimes I couldn't find ANYTHING to wear.

 If you're interested, here are my 30 pieces:

Orange LIZ BAKER twinset, gifted
Pink liz claiborne shirt, thrifted

White Coldwater Creek button down, thrifted
Cream Eddie Bauer knit top, outlet mall

Black Van Heusen knit top, outlet mall
Black/white striped MADISON STUDIO knit top, thrifted
Black ABstudio knit top, Kohls

Royal Blue Eddie Bauer long cardigan, outlet mall
CHEROKEE denim jacket, Target

Brown Van Heusen button-down, outlet mall
Brown FIRST ISSUE (a liz claiborne company) knit top, thrifted
Brown MADISON STUDIO cardigan, gifted

Lime LIZ BAKER twinset, gifted

Beige print liz claiborne knit top, thrifted
Beige Faded Glory knit top, Walmart

Faded Glory denim vest, thrifted
Olive rue21 military inspired vest, rue21

Black norma kamila jersey dress, walmart.com.  I love, love, love this dress.  And I love that designers are now putting out inexpensive lines through Walmart and Target to name two.

Camo Faded Glory skirt, Walmart
Black CRICKET LANE straight skirt, thrifted
Denim CHEROKEE skirt, Target

Gray Faded Glory bootcut jeans, Walmart
Dark Gray BRIGGS dress pants, thrifted

Faded wash Faded Glory bootcut jeans, Walmart
Dark wash Faded Glory straight-leg jeans, Walmart
Vintage wash Faded Glory bootcut jeans, Walmart

Black patent leather UGGS, B&H Shoes
Dark brown suede UGGS, B&H Shoes

So, if you see me out in the next 30 days...well, you know what I'll be wearing!  And let me know if you decide to take the challenge to.  Happy closet shopping!

Planner for the Fashion Lover in You

 This is the best datebook/planner for anyone who loves fashion.  There are daily pages and monthly calendars to enter your to-do lists and appointments.  There are sections to sketch or list your wants and looks for each season.  At the top of each day, there is a place for you to write in your outfit for the day.  This planner is made by Beth Jones and can be found on her site:   www.bjonesstyle.wordpress.com.  I would also encourage you to check out the rest of her site.  There's lots of good stuff there.