After Spring Cleaning Comes Spring Shopping

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I finally did it. After several weeks months of putting it off, I opened my closet door and faced the shelves and drawerfuls of clothes shoved inside. Within a couple hours, I had bagged up some things I don't really wear  to give to my church and said adios til next year to bulky coats and wool sweaters. Also made two other piles: things that need dry cleaning, things that need altering/new buttons/zipper.

It wasn't really so bad. Kind of refreshing. Out with the old.

And, speaking of old, it's time to bring in the new: my now empty hangers are just itching for something new to hang on them.

Luckily for us post-grad, first-job-doesn't-pay-too-much gals, there are tons of websites with wallet-friendly spring fashion. Here are a few of my personal faves:

Lulu's

Real McCoy Coral Dress, $34.50

Delicious Dex Fuchsia Party Shoes, $35

Heath Music Teal Top, $26

 

Mrs. Nice Stride White Lace Shorts, $31

Go Jane 

Shirred Sleeve Blazer, $26.50

Multi-color Striped Dress, $31.70

Chunky Studded Peep Toe Heels, $24.95

Printed Ruffle Romper, $20.70

Ruche

Venture To Guess Stripe Top, $33.99

Out For A Walk Linen Skirt, $37.99

Sweet Citrus Ring, $12.99

Don't Let Me Down Belted Chambray Dress, $36.99

Do U Speak In Abbrevs? Most Def

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I sat down with a glass of ho-cho to write this blog post when it hit me - typing  or heck, even saying, full words is so last year. Fo reals. As ridic as it may be, it's just the way our Fb chatting, BBMing lives are.  During a convo with a coworker about where our families live, he said, "So you're from sofla? What's that like?" I prob asked him to repeat that three times. "You know - sofla. As in South Florida. Sofla."

Never in all of my life have we called it that. Now I do currently live in NoVa, which is right outside of D.C. and part of the surrounding D.M.V. area but SoFla? That's NTM [new to me].

Btw, I abbreve LIMJ [like it's my job]. The great thing about it is that any time you want to line up a random combo of letters next to each other and CIAD [call it a day], it's totes acceptable. I Googled "ciad" to see if it's already in use, and wouldn't you know it, it def already is. GTK - I mean, that's good to know.

Are you pro-abbrevs? Heard any good or silly ones lately? [Side note: when I went to spell check this post, every few words was highlighted yellow due to the large usage of words only seen in the likes of Urban Dictionary. Awesome].

Silly Rabbit, Easter is For Jesus

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"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.'” Matthew 28:5-7

I know this is a day late but I was visiting my family yesterday and didn't have access to a computer to post.  Click here for more Easter-related verses. Hope y'all had a wonderful time with your loved ones and friends, reflecting upon and celebrating the resurrection of our amazing Savior!

He is risen indeed!

Dessert & A Movie for $1.50

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The washing machine in my apartment started churning out icky, brown liquid yesterday. As the maintenance man stopped by to assess the situation, he let a ginormous bumble bee into the bathroom.

I don't do bees. Or leaks. No, thank you.

For a quick and inexpensive way to put motor oil floods and hostile stinging insects out of my mind, I met with some lovely friends and we used loose change to our sugary benefit. After strolling across the street, enjoying the [at the time] beautiful weather, we arrived at what we consider to be the best, although unexpected,  cheap but delicious fro-yo in town. I'll give you a hint: it's in a warehouse and they card you at the door. Okay, that was two hints.

Some of you may have guessed it:  Costco. May sound like a funny place to get your sweet tooth fix but one look at the customers lined up by the dozen pushes all doubts away. They have chocolate and vanilla fro-yo by the cup, plus different flavors of gelato. A generous helping is only $1.50. Take that, Coldstone.

Add in two free Redbox DVDs, courtesy of money-saving promo codes, and let's call it a bargain night.

3-Inch Stilettos = Winning

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"And she always wears high heels because, according to her, 

flat shoes are for quitters."

30 Rock

Sign Of A Good Day

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When your morning activities sound like the beginnings of a cheesy joke - how many people does it take to unlock the front door of a coffee shop? - it's pretty much a sign of a good day.  If that weren't enough, just imagine standing in the chilly 5:30 A.M. air for 50 minutes, waiting for your boss to try her key in the door, only to discover that doesn't even do it. Knowing that just on the other side of the door there  was warmth and coffee - did I mention coffee?- is enough to make you want to try your best stealthy ninja move on the thick glass pane that separated you from caffeine.

The solution to the mysteriously bolted door and laugh-out-loud punchline? Turns out only the milk delivery man had what it took to jiggle the key and save us from a frigid, decaf nightmare.

So here's to you, Mr. Milkman, we raise our delightfully warm lattes in gratitude for your assistance. Feel free to step in and save the day any time.

Post-Grad Spring Break? It Does Exist

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Let me break it down for you: if you work for a school - middle, high school or the like - as a teacher or even administrative support like I do, there is this amazing chunk of time [usually in March or April] where everyone gets the week off. As in spring break for grown-ups. Yes, please! 

It's as if they're saying, "Go ahead, pretend you're still in college. We're giving you five days where you don't have to set your alarm, wake up early and work for us. Enjoy!" Just another of the many benefits of working in education, in addition to molding and shaping the next generation, snow days, the seriously never-ending supply of free lunch and homemade food, adorable sixth graders who barely get out a peep when they shyly walk into the main office, and Casual Friday every day [at least at my school].

Since I've traveled quite a bit already this spring for two weddings, I'll be having my first ever  . . . drum roll, please . . . spring-break-in-Virginia staycation. Although it's no Caribbean cruise or Utah ski trip, it will be pretty fantastic. 

If you, too, have some time off from work this month, here and here are two links that list creative ideas for vacationing in your place of residence, sans piles of undone reading for class and crowds of drunken co-eds.

As for my plans, I'm thinking: shopping, napping, letter-writing, baking, running, movie-watching, reading, museum-visiting. And blogging, of course.