Like New

Almost a month ago, Jenn helped me purge my closet. Two girls that are friends of a friend had donated some really awesome clothes to me so I was able to get a whole new wardrobe! There were a few shirts, though, that just didn't work for me, primarily because the arm straps were too long. You see, I don't have enough up top to do these shirts justice (thanks a lot, Mom) so they just sagged really badly. But they were so cute!!! I kept them, telling Jenn I was SURE I could remedy them.


Fortunately, Leila agreed with me. Now I just have to find the time to convert these shirts into something I can wear. I finished one today.


I didn't take a "before" picture because I didn't want to show everyone my bidness. But after taking in the straps, I can comfortably wear it, just in time for weekends at the beach!!




I know I look awkward in these pictures but it's about the best you're going to get. So thankful for my sewing machine and my newfound ability! Although my ability is small right now I know with practice I can use the machine more and more!

Like New

Several years ago I bought these shirts from American Eagle. I bought two in different colors because I loved the style and fit. Unfortunately, about a year ago (or maybe even longer!) the ribbons which tie in the back of these shirts came off, basically from being washed so many times probably.

The Issue:

The ribbons were literally hanging on by a thread. For a year (or more!) they sat in my closet, and every time I looked at them I thought, "I'm sure I can fix that. I hate to give away two great shirts that I know I can fix." But I never took the time to do it.

Enter awesome new sewing machine from my in-laws. That was the motivation I needed to pull out these shirts and repair them!!

The Repair:

I have now worn each of these shirts for the first time in a year (or more!) and yes, the ribbons stayed intact while I wore them and after being laundered. Victory for Amanda!

#92 - Purge Closet & #96 - Go through Jeans

I posted a plea to Jennifer on her Facebook page - basically, PLEASE, PLEASE come show me the error of my ways when it comes to clothes! I had probably 15-20 items of clothes that I just wasn't ready to get rid of yet but I just needed a push one way or the other. And I owned probably 13 pairs of jeans and wore three consistently. Oh, and P.S. one of those is getting altered because the zipper broke, so that means down to two pairs of jeans. Yeah.

She was super excited because she is awesome like that and that is why she is my BFF.

Even more exciting - we had two extremely awesome offers of clothes come to us just a few days apart. Stephen K.'s girlfriend offered us her throwaways and then Cindy's friend Megan offered us her throwaways! Hallelujah! A new wardrobe for free!!

So she lugged her bags and boxes of clothes over here today. She sat and watched me try on every pair of jeans I own. Every shirt I was unsure if it was too short. Some dresses I pulled off the hanger and she said "No." before I could even blink. She assured me I could pull off some of the clothes. She was amazed that I don't own more shoes. She helped me piece outfits together.

And almost three hours, one pizza, and four tired children later?

Closet purged.

Jeans purged.

New clothes in piles around the house, waiting to be sorted for laundry or giveaway.

I took pictures of the piles and then decided there is such a thing as too much information.

I now have ONLY jeans that fit me. I have shirts and skirts I'm not ashamed to wear. Clothes that make me feel GOOD! And thanks to two lovely ladies giving their clothes and one lovely lady helping me sort through them, I got a whole new wardrobe for absolutely NO COST!!

I went through Megan's clothes as soon as I got home from church on Sunday. As soon as I went through them I put them in the laundry so I could begin wearing them to church Sunday night. After I got dressed for church in my new clothes, Stephen took one look at me and playfully smacked me on the butt. Brianna grinned, walked over, and followed suit. I laughed so hard as I told Cindy that story, and she said, "Now that's the response we were looking for!"

Thank you so much to generous people. Now what am I going to use my TJ Maxx gift cards for.... oh the possibilities!

Baby Clothes

If you don't care about baby clothes, you can skip this post. :) These are the cutest ones from Kohl's. At 80% off, they came out to be less than $2 per onesie. No, I cannot just be a normal person and not tell how cheap I got them. (Did that sentence make sense?)

These were the cutest ones I got from Goodwill. Each was $1.69!

These are the onesies special-made by Jenn. I LOVE THEM!!! You probably won't get the first one. I doubt anyone gets it except me, Jenn, and probably Mary D.

I love baby clothes!! (Especially cheap ones)