~ smart shopping ~

Last year I started to notice that getting dressed in the morning (or, let's be honest, the afternoon) took way longer than it should.  This, I determined, was not due to a lack of clothing but rather an overwhelming number of options and various styles, none of which matched.  Thus began a personal mission to cut down on the number of garments coming through my door and stop testing the limits of how much my closet walls could hold.

For a new years resolution, I have to say I did pretty damn well!  Usually these types of things fizzle out within the first month or two, but this one has stuck.  (there was a dark period where I bought random things that didn't go together just because they were on sale while I was working in retail, but we won't talk about that.)

After a lot of thinking, I've come to the conclusion that my shopping problems come from just one issue:

• I don't really have a style.  I've always just bought random things that I like at the time, only to find that I have nothing to wear them with.  So my first goal is to establish a concrete style - somewhere between Mrs. Robinson, Ulyana Sergeenko, and a suave spy from 1964 (with some Annie Hall thrown in for fun).

It feels damn good to go through my closet and take out clothes that I've only been hoarding because I a) there's a 2% possibility I'll wear them again, b) I got them MAJORLY on sale at JCrew (even though they're too small), or c) I got them as a hand-me-down or present and worry that the person who gave it to me will ask me if I've worn them and I don't want to lie.

However, since there isn't an Anthropologie or SUPER amazing vintage clothing store in town, shopping trips are mostly online, from either etsy or modcloth - and occasionally I'll hit the local thrift stores and vintage shops.  Even though it's more expensive (and often more difficult and time consuming), I figure I end up saving money because instead of buying poorly made crop tops (seriously, why do I own so many crop tops?) that'll fall apart by next week, I save up until I can buy that one spectacular item that'll last me until my 37th birthday, like these shoes I just got on mega sale from Modcloth...

The last few times I've gone shopping, things like looking at the hems of dresses (to see how well made they are) and checking that zippers are sewn on straight have crept into my routine - I like to think my meticulous grandfather would be very proud!

So the moral of this story?  Now that I've limited my wardrobe, thrown out crap from Forever21 that I've had since I was 14, and stopped blowing my budget on multiple pairs of $9.99 leggings from Target, I don't only feel lighter, but more confident that if the house begins to sag it won't be entirely my fault.

xoxo,
Eliza

~ savannah ~

Tonight I'm blogging from my hotel room in Savannah, GA!  After two failed previous attempts to make it up here, we finally packed up the car, made a picnic, charged the camera battery, and made the drive.

It was cloudy this morning but the sun finally broke through at lunch time.

After we checked into the hotel and rested up a bit, we explored the downtown area and found many beautiful things...

The first stop?  Savannah Bee Company!

Then we found a really neat little shop, but I didn't catch the name.  I'll try to find it tomorrow!

We spent the rest of the day exploring and then met up with one of my best friends for dinner!

Tomorrow I get up bright and early to explore the Savannah College of Art and Design!  I'll post more pictures later...

xoxo,
Eliza

~ nyc day 03 part 02 ~

Let me tell you a little story.  Once upon a time a girl with frizzy hair and Atticus Finch glasses went to New York City and felt a little lost.  Then one day she went to Soho and fell in love.

It seemed that Manhattan was too big, Tallahassee was too small, but Soho was just right.

Okay, don't get me wrong - I love Manhattan!  But there's something about Soho that is simply amazing.  Maybe it's because of the bookstores, vintage clothing shops, handsome men with bikes and beards, and 5 million coffee shops.  Whatever it is, I love it.

Fanelli's cafe.  Try the black bean pesto burger - SO good!

Evolution - an awesome (and slightly spooky) store where you can buy everything from human skeletons, earrings made out of beetle wings, various bones, etc.  

     

I also went into a Chanel store, which was gorgeous and terrifying!  Since I couldn't afford to buy their doormat, I went down the street to the Housing Works Thrift Store where I found an amazing vintage dress.  Much more my style!

I could have spent four weeks photographing everything that inspired me!  I'll save that for next time.

xoxo,

Eliza

~ suit up ~

My favorite piece of vintage is coincidentally the first piece I ever purchased.  A gray wool 1950s suit straight from vintage heaven.

When I bought it, there were a few small moth holes but they eventually got worse.  I spent the last few nights carefully repairing all the holes and now it's as good as new!

{one of the invisible patches - can you see it?}

After working at an event at a local museum, my mom and I went out to lunch and visited a few favorite thrift shops.  A perfect day!

{and a perfectly pink sunset}

Stay warm everyone!

xoxo,

Eliza

~ day 02 ~

Today after breakfast we literally shopped until we dropped (the dropping part happened in IKEA, but I think that would happen to anyone).

{scooped up these Anthropologie pants for 7 bucks - major score!}



{Anthro has the pretties dresses}






{amazing falafel for lunch}

After lunch we braved the two story IKEA and I fell in love with everything I saw...

{I freaked out when I saw all the fabric!}

Such a fun day!

xoxo,

Eliza