Holiday blues

Hello lovelies! Hope you're all doing well. Can you believe that it's almost Thanksgiving?

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of this time of year. Sure, I love the holidays, the decorations, giving gifts and being around my loved ones (although my family always seems to have trouble getting along, and even more so around any major holidays.) But stores and restaurants are over-crowded, people seem more pushy and aggressive just because they want to get a good deal on the latest gadget, and the cold weather makes me sad. 

Lately, I feel myself slipping back into my old, sluggish, "Winter habits." I've been sleeping way more than I really need to be, I'm eating more junk food, and when I'm not working or taking care of household chores I'm sitting my butt on the couch watching t.v.

I want this year to be different. I don't want to hibernate anymore than I already have. So, what am I going to do for the next few months? Glad you asked :D

• Cut back on junk food! 'Tis the season for sweet treats, but that doesn't mean I have to eat my weight in cookies everyday. I love Santa, but I don't want to look like him.
• Stop procrastinating. Give the house a GOOD cleaning, finish some of my smaller craft projects, and paint my dresser (I'll post pics of the dresser as soon as I finish this).
• Exercise. Get up and move. Go to the gym, play DDR, anything to get my butt off the couch for a little while.
• Me time. I know this is the season for giving... but I need to find something to do for myself that doesn't involve shopping, eating, or sleeping in. Haven't decided what I'm going to do yet though.
• Salt lamps. These are used as negative air ionizers. For those of you who don't know, negative ions are supposed to make you feel good. These are fairly inexpensive and I figure that if it doesn't work, at least I'll have something pretty to look at.

 I'd love to know how all of you combat the "Holiday blues." Feel free to leave any suggestions.

<3 Aina

Aina's guide to thrifting

I was recently going through my closet and I couldn't believe how much I'd purchased from thrift stores. A lot of people don't like thrift store because they consider it to be "other people's junk". But most of us know the saying "one person's trash is another person's treasure." So, I'm going to post a guide on how I like to shop.

1. Try not to limit yourself. For example, if you go in and only want to look for a black cardigan, you will miss all kinds of really great things. Instead, try looking through all of the sweaters and cardigans, not just going straight for the black ones.

2. Try to find things that will match the rest of your wardrobe. (Although a thrift store is a great place to buy things if you want to experiment with a new style.)

3. Check the size, care instructions and brand labels. Duh! 

4. Check for any holes, tears, loose threads, missing buttons, stains, unpleasant smells, etc. Decide if you can live with the damage then determine if it can be easily and cheaply fixed. If not, put it back.

5. Stay away from shoes. You never know who had them before you. Did they have Athlete's Foot? A toenail fungus? Or maybe their feet just smelled bad? I always get creeped out when I see used shoes, or when I have to rent bowling shoes. That's just my personal preference though.

6. Stay away from undergarments. Yuck. Again, who knows where they came from.

7. Look through EVERYTHING! A lot of things get misplaced. You could find an adorable purse hiding in the children's section because someone decided they didn't want it and was to lazy to put it back where they found it.

8. If you think something is cute or has potential, buy it. It can always be altered. You can have it tailored to fit you body better, add or remove bows, lace, etc.

9. Many thrift stores give 20% - 50% discounts on certain days. Find out when they are and try to go then.

10. Have fun!

Here are a few of the things that I've purchased.

I thought this skirt was super cute. It's kinda lolita-ish (maybe?) and super feminine. $4

 A long red/burgundy dress. I really loved the tree pattern and it fits nicely. $9

A cute lavender purse. Perfect color for fairy kei. $4

And we've all seen these pretty sweaters with the fur trim...

(The above image was taken from here.)

Here are a couple that I found. This one caught me by surprise! I never expected to find such a gorgeous shade of pink. And the fur is even removable. I noticed a small hole in the lining of the fur trim, but no one can see it. A great find! $5

Here is another one that I found. The label reads: 79% Silk, 14% Cashmere, 6% Nylon, 1%Spandex. Because of the cashmere this is needs to be dry cleaned. And unfortunately, the fur on this one cannot be removed. But still, another great find. Cost of the sweater: $5. Cost of dry cleaning: $6.50

Adorable star shaped vase! I decided to put my make-up brushes in it. Total cost? A whopping 75 cents!

Winnie The Pooh honey jar!!!!! I haven't decided what I want to do with this yet. But I love Pooh, so I HAD to get it. Only $3

Thanks for reading. I would love to hear about some of your thrift store experiences.

<3 Aina