$20 Challenge Roundup

If you can't see Friday, this combo photo is formatted to be viewed in full in Google Reader.

I really enjoyed Kasmira's $20 Challenge. I managed to wear all new pieces every day, with the exception of wearing my black skirt twice. This was a fashion choice because I wanted to wear my plaid shoes on Thursday and my other low-cost skirts would not have matched. The toughest part was finding work appropriate shirts that fit into my budget. Some days I managed to squeeze in a purse, and on other days I barely managed to fit in any jewelry. I feel like I had an advantage because a few years ago a friend was cleaning out her jewelry box and I took a lot of her cast offs.

My most expensive item: black patent heels & brown/cream A-line skirt -$10

Least expensive (but not free) item: silver circle earrings $0.26

Thanks, Kasmira! I can't wait to see everyone's looks!!

Slow Day?

Friday morning Rand was distracted from taking my photos for me. What caught his eye? This -----> little guy. Or big guy actually. He's a little smaller than a golf ball. He was out for a morning cruise.

This concludes my week participating in Kasmira's $20 Challenge.


What I Wore While Rand Took Nature Photos:

• brown & cream linen A-line skirt (Target) $10
• yellow short sleeve blouse (thrifted, Goodwill) $3
• brown flats (Old Navy) $5
• brass earrings (Xmas gift from Aunt) free
• Amber necklace (birthday gift from Rand) free
• brown leather & brass belt (thrifted, Goodwill) $1.50

Total for the Day: $19.50

Gimme My Dietgirl!!

I read. A lot. Due to space and monetary constraints, I now get all my books from the library rather than Amazon. Recently I put a book on request from the library and I've been waiting and waiting to get an email telling me to come pick it up. Finally today I went back online to check the status and I found out...GASP...they weren't going to send it until I paid some fines. I have been waiting for almost 3 weeks and I am sick of waiting, so I went to the library as soon as I got off from work today.

In case you are wondering, the book is The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl. A few months ago I discovered a blog by the same name. It's one of those blogs that is so witty and compelling that you go back and read it from the very beginning. I, ahem, most certainly did not do that at work, or during my reading with Rand in bed time. Ahem, no. Anyway, I WANT THAT BOOK!

I feel bad that I can't buy the book, b/c I would really like to support the author, but I am damn well gonna read that book, even if it does cost me $4.60 in fines. Man, buying the book is looking better and better. Stupid fines. But seriously, if you are trying to lose weight, go read her blog for inspiration. She's who made me realize I didn't have to wait until I was thin and in shape to go to Zumba or to hula hoop. She made me want to get out there and do stuff.

What I Wore While Paying Fines At the Library:

• black pencil skirt (George/Walmart, new at Goodwill) $3 *
• red tank (CAbi, thrifted Goodwill) $1
• blue T (Old Navy) $5
• blue/green/white plaid pumps ($9.99 Shoe Store) $7
• red wicker purse (thrifted, Goodwill) $3
• green necklace (Target, new stock Goodwill) $0.79
• gold earrings (hand-me-down from Mom) free
• mother of pearl & silvertone bracelet (Xmas gift from Stacy) free

* At first I felt like it might be cheating to wear the same skirt twice this week. I've really been trying to wear different items for my each of my $20 Challenge outfits. But then I realized that I wore this skirt twice last week too. So it's not like I did it just for the challenge. I just love this skirt.

What I Drank As Payment For Dog-sitting a Racoon Killer:

Maria went camping last weekend, so we watched her little dog. As payment for doing this, we get beer. I told Maria to pick something random. We ended up with Buffalo Butt Beer, which is made right here in Ft. Worth. It's a good thing she picked such an amusing beer after all the raccoon killing scariness that happened. Hi, Maria! We loved your choice! The beer was only so-so but the title and label more than made up for that.

Total for the Day: $19.79, F-ton of calories, no exercise

Don't Look Down!

Recently the window washers have been doing all the buildings in our area, my office building included. These guys are sitting on a wooden board about 1 foot square, hanging from a rope. They don't even use a rope to keep their brushes attached, which could really be a problem if they ever dropped one, since the are up so high. This photo is of one guy abou 16 stories up. It was fascinating to watch him get over the wall and onto the little board. SCARY!



What I Wore While Watching the Window Washers:

Clearly, I need to go get fitted for some new bras. The high waist of this skirt combined with this bra is a bad combo. Other than my need for support, I was happy with this outfit.

• black/white geometric skirt (thrifted, Goodwill) $3
• black short sleeve gathered T (Old Navy) $5
• black patent shoes (Payless) $10
• turquoise fabric belt (via Ross) $1
• white seed bead necklace, worn as bracelet (H&M) $1
• two tone circle earrings (Target, thrifted new stock, Goodwill) $0.26
• black embroidered purse (inherited from grandmother) free

I could have skipped the earrings and been completely under $20, but I felt that it was within the spirit of the $20 challenge to wear earrings that I got new for 26 cents. Also, I debated wearing te necklace as a bracelet or as a necklace. I think made the wrong choice. My top looks very barren. And it just occurred to me that I could have worn 1/2 of the strands as a necklace and 1/2 as a bracelet. Doh!

What I Ate After Exploring Jewelry With Maria:

• 2 oz. whole wheat linguini
• 3/4 c. pasta sauce
• 1 oz longhorn beef meatballs
• roasted brocolli

What Maria and I Did When We Were Supposed To Be At the Gym:

I was supposed to meet Maria at the gym after work but she was running late, so I decided to stop by her house to pick her up. This is never a good idea. When it's time to go to the gym, you go to the gym. Actually going inside a friend's house is a recipe for disaster. While she put on her workout clothes, I started digging through all her vintage jewelry that she has to make purse hooks out of. Uh uh. She sat down next to me. We never made it to the gym. Instead we pulled out piece after piece, then tried them all on to see if we could "rock it" or not. We each selected a couple of items to wear next week. And Maria didn't believe me when I said she could rock a certain item, so she challenged me to wear it and not look stupid. I brought it and several really cool items home. They will all make their appearance next week. Feel free to guess which one is the challenge.

Total for the Day: $20.26, 1746 calories, 5 glasses of water, 1 hr jewelry inspection "exercise" hehe

Tip: Dairy Should Stay in the Fridge

Today I made some bad food choices, but not te kind you think. My calories were within range, but I ate some yogurt that had been sitting out on my desk for quite some time and I added some cream to my coffee that had also been sitting out. I'm pretty brave about things like this, and today it was the wrong choice. Enough said.

What I Wore While Eating Questionable Food:


This is day 2 of my attempt at the $20 Challenge.

• black pencil skirt (George/Walmart, thrifted new Goodwill) $3
• aqua tank (Mossimo/Target) $4
• aqua/black/white paisley dolman sleeve wrap shirt (La Vita, thrifted Goodwill) $3
• silvertone/turquoise bead stretch bracelet (thrifted, Goodwill) $0.79
• silvertone/black bead necklace (hand-me-down from a friend) free
• aqua earrings (Target) $2.66
• black wooden bead belt (thrifted) $2
• black scarf (thrifted) $1 *
• black buckle pumps (Circa by Joan & David, hand-me-down from a friend) free
• black snakeskin clutch (thrifted, Goodwill) $3

* I attempted to wear a scarf in my hair a la Diana but it didn't work for me very well.

What I Ate While Watching Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels:

• jambalaya
• turkey sausage

Total for the Day: $19.45 outfit, approx 1800 calories, 6 glasses of water

Thanks for all the stuff, Grandma!

I've decided to take up the $20 challenge. In fact, I'm going to make an attempt to compose not one $20 outfit, not two $20 outfits, but an entire week of $20 outfits!! I do not have them all planned out yet, so there is a real possilibility that I will hit Wednesday and have nothing to show. But I'm going to give it the old college try. Wish me luck!

CAUTION: Squinty-Eye McGee coming up...

What I Wore While Heading to My Favorite Bar One Last Time Before It Closes:

• fushia linen pencil skirt (Lord & Taylor, thrifted Goodwill) $3
• cream shell (Target) $4
• fushia geometric scarf (thrifted, Goodwill) $1
• pink strappy heels ($9.99 shoe store) $5 *
• goldtone/faux pearl necklace (thrifted, new stock Goodwill) $0.79
• goldtone chain (H&M) $2
• goldtone/faux pearl earrings (gift from grandparents) free**
• goldtone/faux pearl bow brooch (inherited from grandmother) free ***
• faux pearl clutch (inherited from grandmother) free

* I decided not to wear these shoes to work b/c they are more "going out heels" than "work heels" however the shoes I wore insead were some basic black pumps that I got free from a friend, so I did not go over the $20. in fact, I was under even more.
** My grandparents gave me these earings when I was about 13, way back in the 80s when BIG earrings were in. I thought they were horrible and boring. I never wore them. Fast forward 20 years and they are perfect for work. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!!
*** the brooch is holding my scarf together in the back. I took a pic of it, but it just blends into the print of the scarf.

What I Did Not Eat At My Favorite Bar on My Last Ever Trip:

We found out that a bar that we go to regularly is closing it's doors due to the economy. So we clearly had to go one last time. We experienced the worst service, worst food, and worst enviroment ever. Clearly everyone who works there just doesn't care any more. (I don't blame them, but it was frustrating.) I ordered fish and chips and ended up just leaving it on my plate. Rand left his shepherd's pie too. It was so bad (after waiting over an hour) that we came home and ate PBJs instead. Not a good sign.

Total for the day: $15.79, extra calories for a really bad meal at one of my two favorite bars.