Thread Up

Finally I'm writing my post about Thread Up - only two weeks after my order arrived and I said I'd write a post telling you all about it!  Anyway, one of my fellow MN bloggers, Lindsey from Like It or Lurv It, was talking about Thread Up in a post of hers and how awesome she thought it was and I told her I'd have to check it out, and then she told me "by the way, they have maternity" and I'm like "sold!" It's been hard to find cheap maternity items at the consignment and thrift stores as you've heard me lament a million times already.

So anyway, Thread Up is an online consignment store.  And it's pretty slick.  They have women's, juniors, boys and girls, infant and maternity clothing.  Selling to them is really quite easy too - I'll get to that in a minute though, let's first talk about my purchases.  

I have been saying over and over I'm going to stop buying maternity stuff, but who are we kidding?  I can't wear the same thing every day!  When I find a deal, I strike.  I found this Japanese Weekend maternity dress (never heard of the brand but we looked it up online - it's spendy stuff) for about $4.00.  And I'm in love with it!  It fits my bump, looks stylish and trendy and really not like a maternity dress at all.  The colors are fun and I can extend it into fall with a sweater and tights.

I also found the shirt I wore here.  I can't remember how much the shirt was.  What I do know is they offered a discount to first time buyers - so by the time I was done I was more or less paying for shipping.  It took about a week for my order to show up, so it was a little slow, but I wasn't in a huge hurry.  I laughed every time I checked the tracking on it - it seemed to touch down several places across the country on the way to me!  At any rate it showed up in a nice package, everything was clean and in great shape.  I'm pleased!

Dress - JW Maternity, thrifted

Sweater - Tribal, from cousin

Bag - Jenna Lou Designs

Necklace and bracelets - S&D

Sandals - Italian Shoe Maker 

So then I decided after my purchasing went so well that maybe I'd try to sell a few items.  It's quite simple.  You request a bag, they send it to you, you fill it up with your items and send back to them.  They keep everything - but will only pay you for what they want.  They pretty much want the higher end brands - think Ann Taylor, LOFT, Banana Republic, etc.  So far I have filled up a bag, I have yet to see how the stuff sells.

You can request for them to send back the items you don't want, but I figured, I'm going to just send it all and I don't really care what they do or don't want to sell.  I hope to make a little money, we'll see how it goes!

So overall, I think it's a pretty great online deal - especially if you don't have good consignment shops near you. I'm lucky to have great consignment and thrift shopping near me, but this is another good option too!  Check it out, you might be surprised by what you find!

As always I link because I love, I am receiving no commission from this review of Thread Up.

Rainy day

It was raining this morning, so pictures had to happen inside.  I've had my fill of rain after this weekend I tell you.  As I mentioned yesterday, we bailed on our garage sale on Saturday due to rain.  On top of that - it was COLD.  Weirdly cold for July.  I had a sweatshirt and jeans on and was still freezing.  Today it isn't as cold, but it is rainy.  And I wouldn't necessarily call it warm!  Such an odd summer we're having.

After all the garage sale madness of Thursday through Saturday, I treated myself to a "me day" on Sunday.  I started with a haircut, it was shaggy and gross again.  It doesn't take much, but of course those darn pre-natal vitamins don't help (though they sure do not make my nails grow more!)  I'm back to my spiky pixie happy place again with my hair.  After my haircut, I meandered a bit.  I hit up World Market because they have good coffee and I needed some for home.  Then I hit up Gordmans.  I had read online that they sell Motherhood Maternity brand for cheaper.  Sure enough, they had a rather large department.  And a clearance rack.  The deals weren't as good as what I've found via consignment or at the thrift store, but I managed to find a couple of things that were decent - including this tank top.  It's actually a nursing top, but it fits my expanding bump nicely too and it's nice to know it'll be a good shirt for after the baby is born too.  I just loved the colors!

Shirt - Motherhood Maternity via Gordmans

Skirt - Hang Ten, from friend

Sweater - Mossimo, Target

Shoes - Rampage, DSW

Bag - Jenna Lou Designs

Necklace - Stella and Dot

If it was warmer I'd go without the sweater.  I'll just have to do that on another day!  Honestly though, I don't mind this cooler weather.  I have a friend who is further along than I am - she is due next month - and I know she's been miserable in the warmer weather, so I appreciate this weather for her sake if nothing else!

Thanks for all the congrats on my little man yesterday too!  A couple of you asked if I suspected I was having a boy - the answer is yes, I actually was pretty sure, so I guess my mother's intuition has kicked in a little bit!

Inspiration Monday - Spilling the beans

Hey everyone!  Sorry for my radio silence on Friday and through the weekend.  It was a lot of work running the garage sale!  I'm actually happy to be back to work and kind of back to normal today!  I know you're all on pins and needles to hear what I'm having - but let's start with Inspiration Monday because I'm evil like that.

Here's gorgeous Anne Hathaway in a nice casual ensemble.  Band t-shirt, skinny jeans and flats - definite weekend look!  I was happy to copy this for my Sunday - my one day to recover after all the garage sale madness.

 I have yet to find any cute skinny maternity jeans, but I wore my current favorite pair of regular maternity jeans!  This is also one of my favorite concert t-shirts ever.  It's from 2010's Rock the Garden at the Walker Art Center.  We haven't gone now for a couple of years and I miss it, it's a great summer event here in Minneapolis.  2010 had a really fun line up, but I also love how trippy and fun this t-shirt is.  I have a close up in another picture I'll show you.  The best thing about this shirt is it currently fits over the bump too!

Shirt - 89.3 The Current's Rock the Garden 2010

Jeans - Gap Maternity, thrifted

Hat and shoes - Target

Necklace - Charming Charlie 

Here's a close up of the print of the shirt - you can see my fun owl necklace too.  I just love all the colors in this shirt!  It's one of those tried and true shirts I'm sure I'll wear until it completely falls apart.

So let's see, what else can I talk about?  The cold weather we had this weekend?  The fact that we closed up the garage sale early on Saturday due to rain?  Oh that's right - you want to hear my big news!  All right, our families know now, so without further ado, the baby is....

Yes he most definitely is a BOY.  We had no question at all at the ultrasound!  We're very excited - I know every mom says she just wants a healthy baby and yes, that is definitely true in this case, but we're super happy it's a boy.  And I have been finding that boy clothes are just as adorable as girl clothes, so I can't wait to dress this little man up!  He's going to be one stylish dude!

 Tank top - Motherhood, thrifted

Sweater - F21

Pants - Liz Lange, thrifted

Our families are just as excited as we are and now I feel like I can finally start shopping and planning his room now that I know what I'm working with!  We have a couple of name ideas but whatever we decide on will be secret until the birth.  Gotta leave one element of surprise!

Now I need to dive back into the grind, lots to catch up on after another almost week's worth of vacation. Doesn't feel much like a vacation after working that sale though, that is for sure!

Make sure to stop by two birds over here for more Inspiration Monday outfits!

Garage sale day one

I'm still alive today! It's day one of our garage sale, so it's been a little hectic.  It's going well so far though, I've sold more than I was expecting!!  The weather has been holding too, though we had a passing sprinkle a few minutes ago.

I'm in love with this dress.  My sweet friend Jes dropped off a handful of things for the sale and offered this to me - she bought it at last year's Cliche 4th of July sale, I'm surprised at the time we weren't fighting over it.  Anyway, she offered to me and also this shirt and I thought, ooh, instant outfit!  It's been comfy for the somewhat humid day we're having here!  And it fits the bump too!  (A little secret though, I figured out halfway through the morning that my shirt was on backwards...keeping it real friends.  Keeping it real.)

Shirt - Ruff Hewn, from friend

Dress - Cliche Mpls, from friend

Shoes - Minnetonka Moccasin

And now back to haggling, selling and getting rid of stuff!  Wish us luck!!

Prep work

See, told you I'd have a regular post up later today!  Just got back from our OB appointment.  I so desperately want to share the news, but we won't be able to announce to our immediate families until Friday evening, so, I'll have to keep you in suspense a wee bit longer.  I'm so mean, aren't I?  For now, just know everything is on track and baby is very healthy, which makes this mama very happy!

I'm off of work the rest of today to attempt to finish preparing for a garage sale that we are having tomorrow through Saturday.  Gotta clean out and get the baby's room ready somehow right?  Not to mention, my awesome Pants Monkey has dropped about 100 pounds in the last year and has a lot of clothes that are just far too big now that he only wore once or twice.  So, we're getting rid of those too.  I also am trying to pare down my wardrobe just a little bit!  It's hard, but necessary.  If you're local and want to stop by, let me know, I'd be happy to message you my address!  Keep your fingers crossed for good weather - Friday and Saturday are supposed to be nice, but tomorrow they're threatening rain.  Eek.

 

Shirt - LOFT, thrifted

Jeans - Motherhood Maternity, consignment

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Shoes - Target

I love these shoes I bought at Target right before my trip up north.  I wanted something other than sandals or tennis shoes to kick around in while we were up there and these were on sale for $9.99.  They're pretty comfy and you can never have too much leopard in your closet right?  I also love this shirt, it was a favorite pre-pregnancy and it's a favorite now as well.  I'm sure I'll still love it post pregnancy as well!

All right, better get to work.  Those clothes aren't going to price themselves!!

Love and thanks

I'll have more of a blog post up a little later today, but I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for showing so much love and support on my post yesterday.  I feel very uplifted and refreshed.  I shouldn't keep being so surprised by how supportive this community can be, but you do all continue to floor me with your kindness!  So, from me to all of you, many huge hugs through the interwebs!  More stuff coming later today!

Truth

Today I want to get a little personal for a minute.  I keep things pretty upbeat here and often if I'm having a bad day I just put on my mask and I don't really put it out here.  But I came to a realization yesterday and I want to talk about it just a little bit.  Grab a cup of coffee.  Let's chat.

My outfit yesterday started out as a bit of a fail for me and it was very simple to fix, but in the process I learned something.  I've got some mild body image issues right now.  Yes I am thrilled to be pregnant and yes I realize a changing body is part of that process - but I think I've been kind of trying to hide from it a little bit.  I looked back over the last month or so since I've been showing more and I've been very hit or miss with my style.  Some days I think I've hit the nail on the head but others I can tell that I'm almost trying to disguise or hide the bump.  There really isn't any reason to do that.  Everyone knows at this point.  What am I ashamed of?

I'm not ashamed at all.  I think part of it is, I said from the beginning I wouldn't turn this blog into a pregnancy blog.  I didn't want to inundate you guys with all that stuff because I know some bloggers find that to be a turn off.  So I think I was letting that spill over into how I was dressing - "I'm not talking about the pregnancy too much so I should disguise it in what I'm wearing".  I don't have to do that.  I can still dress appropriately without sharing every last detail about what's currently going on.

The other thing is it has been an adjustment.  I prided myself on being someone who was in shape and who worked hard at maintaining their body type/weight.  And this has been a very easy pregnancy, to the point where I even forget at times that I am pregnant - then I look in the mirror and it's a little shocking to say the least.  I have to remind myself - there is a reason for this change and it's only temporary.  I know my body may never be exactly the same, but I can work at getting it back after the fact.  And the reward - a sweet cuddly baby of my own to love forever - is worth every last bit.  Gotta keep my eyes on the prize.

Sweater - Arizona Jean Co, JCPenney

Tank top - Old Navy

Skirt - Liz Lange Maternity, consignment

Necklace - Swap w/CC

Sandals - Italian Shoe Maker, from cousin 

So, I think I've reached a peaceful place where I am going to embrace my bump and try to dress more without fear.  And you know what, I may still crash and burn some days, this is a total learning experience, but I'll keep learning as I go.  And the further along I'm getting, the more and more this pregnancy is a part of my daily life and it may get harder to not talk about - and if that loses me some readers, so be it.  It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.  Or something like that.  I so appreciate the love and support so many of you have shown me so far.  And I especially want to thank Cara for her comment yesterday and the blog she pointed me to that truly helped me realize it's time to start embracing this phase of my life.  You helped me more than you can know Cara!

And that ends our serious coffee chat for today. Thank you for letting me put it out there.  In more upbeat Bethie news, today is my Friday already, you can't beat that - a short week right after a week's vacation?  Heck yeah!!

Inspiration Monday - Back to the grind

And just like that my vacation week is over.  Of course it went too fast.  Taking the sting off of being back to work though is the fact that I only work two days this week thanks to my garage sale this coming weekend and that we get exciting news this week in learning the gender of our baby.  

Inspiration Monday with two birds also always takes the sting off of Monday.  Today's look is from Olivia Palmero.  I fell in love with her necklace!

My look is a very loose interpretation - I just can't do all white!  So, I chose a white shirt, a fun new skirt I picked up at the Tandem Vintage sale right before I went out of town and a necklace that I felt matched the interpretation pretty well!

I like the way it looks in person and it's definitely comfy, but these pictures are making me look like frumpy pregnant girl (EDIT - scroll down for a better look).  Oh well.  I gave it my best shot!  It doesn't help that my hair also feels like a hot mess today.  I think it'll be time for another haircut already.  Darn prenatal vitamins.

 Shirt - Gap Maternity, thrifted

Skirt - Tandem Vintage

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Shoes - Clothes Mentor

I do absolutely love the print on this skirt - fishies!  Too much fun.  I think next time I'll pair this with a more colorful top and I think I'll like the overall feel a bit better!  This skirt will work post-pregnancy too.  It has elastic and a drawstring.  You just can't beat it.

Well I'd better hop to it, lots to catch up on!  Make sure you head over here to two birds to see other interpretations for Inspiration Monday that I'm sure are far better than mine!

EDITED to add -  So, based on feedback I already received today, I realized the answer to my frump feelings was simple - TUCK IT IN!  It always makes a huge difference!  See?

WAY happier with this look.  Thanks to Sharon of the Tiny Heart and Heather from Style Journey for that super simple suggestion that I should have tried right away!!

I'm ba-ack!

Hello! I have returned from the North Country of Minnesota!  I still have today off from work, but was excited that my ThreadUp package came while I was gone, so I am wearing the top I bought and wanted to share it here.  ThreadUp is an online consignment store that has many types of clothing - including maternity - and I'm pretty impressed with how it worked.  I'll blog a separate post to share more later, but as of right now, I highly recommend!  Also, I had to wear these new moccasins I bought up north - they were a steal, 30% off at this little hole in the wall gift shop.  SO comfy.  Love.

We had a great time up north, save for some heat, rain and bugs.  We still got out and did some fun things and it was nice spending some time with the Pants Monkey's family.  It's even nicer that we still have today and the rest of the weekend to recover.  Today we're actually going to work a bit though, we're helping some dear friends move to their brand new house.  I am super happy for them.  Of course being the preggy one I will not be of too much service other than lifting light things and holding doors, but they'll definitely benefit from Mr. Monkey's muscle power!

Shirt - Motherhood Maternity via ThreadUp

Capris - Simply Vera, Kohls

Shoes - Minnetonka Moccasin

Necklace - S&D

And it's Friday and that means another week gone by on the pregnancy countdown!  We're 19 weeks today.  Next week we'll be halfway there and we get to find out the gender!  It'll be an exciting week, we're also having a garage sale next weekend, so things are going to get a little bit crazy town I think.

I'm slowly making my way to all of your blogs and catching up!  I missed you guys!  Have a great weekend!

So once upon a time it was winter and I was skinny

I was going through photos on my iPhone the other day and found an outfit I never shared here - mostly because the quality of these pictures are not the greatest, but I figured, why not share an outfit from winter when I was definitely not pregnant, while I'm away from the blog for a bit?

This outfit was worn to dinner for my dad's 60th birthday in December.  And the jacket and sweater dress both were from a two birds garage sale event that very same day.  I got these two items home and realized, I really want to wear these together!  The outfit was comfy and yet dressy enough for dinner at Erte, our favorite steak joint in NE Minneapolis!  I really wish these pictures had turned out a hair better, but I think you get the idea.

 Dress - H&M, two birds garage sale

Jacket - F21, two birds garage sale

Leggings - Target

Boots - Payless

Necklace - Stella and Dot

I think I had just gotten a haircut that day too.  It looks pretty fresh and chic here.  I don't think I'll be looking quite this chic and put together come this December though!

Blooper reel

So for laughs, I thought one of the posts I'd throw out while I'm gone would be a blooper reel.  I've been saving my oops photos for awhile now and thought maybe people would get a kick out of them.  Here we go.

 There's the time that the tripod fell and then the camera timer went off.  Hello face!

 I don't even know what I was thinking in this one.  Cut off head, no amount of editing would fix it!

 At least you can see my arm party - set the camera to two second delay by accident

 Tried like crazy to edit this one.  Looked like an alien no matter what I did.  It was a cute outfit, maybe I'll try it again sometime.

Another ill timed camera timer shot.  I don't even know what happened here!

What can I say - I try to keep it real you guys!  I'm FAR from a professional, that is most definitely true!

While I'm away

I'm getting myself some much needed R&R this week so the blog will be a little quiet.  I do have two posts scheduled though - one of some blooper pictures I've been saving and the other of an outfit I found from last December!  I would also encourage you to check out the following while I'm not around:

two birds Inspiration Monday - I didn't get a chance to pre-blog a picture for today, but do check out what other people are wearing for this fun activity.

ThreadUp - a cool online consignment shop that I'll be talking more about next week.

And in case you missed it over the 4th of July, I did another Vlog for Influenster - link can be found here.

Also, I haven't updated my Link Love tab in a while, but I believe a majority of those blogs are still active too, so give it a looksie for some other fabulous blogs I enjoy.

I hope you all have a great week and I'll catch up with you soon!

*Also, because I won't be able to approve comments for a few days, I'm turning on captcha just for this week - I know it's a pain, but this way I can keep the spambots out and not have to worry about moderating for a few days.*

Shady

 I swear I'm not too cool for school in my shades this morning - I woke up with one very puffy and swollen right eye.  Lucky me!  I think it's probably an allergic reaction to something, but I'm going to take a little side trip to my doctor's office this morning just to be sure since we won't be in town for a few days.  I'm not letting it rain on my vacation parade though!

I get the feeling today could be hectic, since I'll scoot away for that appointment and then need to tie up loose ends at work.  And of course, my mind is going a mile a minute of all the things that need to get done at home between tonight and tomorrow.  It will all come together though, it always does!

Shirt - Motherhood Maternity, thrifted

Jeans - Liz Lange, from a friend

Necklace and bracelet - S&D

Sandals - Italian Shoe Maker, from cousin

Sunglasses - Old Navy

And here is our weekly bump check.  18 weeks today - my kid can vote!  I'm definitely starting to pop more, even these jeans I fear are not long for my wardrobe.  They have some stretch, but not that much.  That's ok though, I have other options in the wings!

So anyway, I won't be around much next week, but I do have a couple of scheduled posts so hopefully you won't miss me too much!  Have a fantastic weekend and I'll catch up with you all soon!

Just call me Blossom

When I got this dress at the two birds garage sale last summer I immediately felt like it was something straight out of the sitcom Blossom.  But that's ok.  It's super comfy and sometimes I want to party like it's 1999....or really 1995 I guess!

What's funny is last night, the Pants Monkey decided to play a ton of 90's alternative music.  He's bored with music lately.  He started complaining about how there just isn't good music like that anymore.  I had to laugh, he just sounded like an old man.  At any rate, this felt like a semi-appropriate outfit after that conversation!

 Dress - via two birds garage sale

Sweater - Old Navy

Bracelet - Bead for Life

Necklace - DIY by me

Sandals - Mootsie Tootsie, from cousin

In other news I just have to get through today and tomorrow and then vacation!  I'm not counting the seconds at all, nope, not me!

Tropical

So I'm going to brag.  I totally love how this outfit turned out today.  Creativity knows no bounds with my wardrobe these days!  I love the shade of blue that this shirt is, but I was a little worried I wouldn't have enough in my closet to put with it - after a quick check this morning I already have two other outfit ideas in addition to this one.  

The countdown to vacation continues.  This dress (worn as skirt) always makes me think of a tropical destination.  I could see wearing it on a beach on some tropical island.  No tropical getaways in my future though.  That's ok though, I love my MN Northwoods and am more of a beer girl than a drink with an umbrella in it girl (even if I can't have them right now), so it all works out.  I can just pretend for a day when I wear this dress that I'm really off to some enchanted island!

Dress as skirt - vintage, Salvaged Strawberry 

Shirt - Old Navy Maternity, thrifted

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Sandals - Merona, Target (old)

Speaking of this dress, I found it last year at one of Amanda of Salvaged Strawberry's awesome pop up sales.  If you're local, she and her thrifty partner in crime Ashley are having a Tandem Vintage clearance pop up sale at Glam Doll Donuts this Saturday and Sunday from 9 to 5.  I don't leave town until Sunday, so I'm totally heading over there Saturday afternoon cause she's even got vintage for kids!  Although I guess it would help if I knew just what type of child we're actually growing here.  Oh well, two more weeks and we'll have that answer!

D'oh

It was threatening rain this morning, so I opted to take my pictures when I got to work.  I'm glad I did and thankfully I made it in before it started downpouring.  It was dark as night out though I swear!  Makes you want to just go back to bed!

 Shirt - A. Byer, thrifted

Pants - Liz Lange, thrifted

Necklace and bracelet - S&D

Sandals - Mootsie Tootsie, from cousin

Speaking of bed, I was so proud of myself because I had decided I would get up early and do a workout, turned my alarm on last night and got to sleep at a decent time.  Then this morning, Mr. Monkey's alarm is what woke me up - a good 15 minutes after my alarm was supposed to go off.  I looked over and my alarm was still set.  Now I'm confused.  I bet you're all thinking I set it for PM instead of AM.  Nope.  I hadn't changed it from the time I had it set for over the weekend when I wanted to get up by a specific time one day.  Oops!  Oh well, best laid plans.  The extra 15 minutes of sleep was kind of nice!