how to thrift without going insane

Thrifting can be exhausting. For a while I promised myself to only buy new clothes because thrifting was so annoying, and... why would you want to spend money on things that were already worn out? Well...

Lately I've had a change of heart. It could have something to do with my new thrifting technique/stamina. See below for my 100 step guideline on how to thrift. Just kidding. But seriously, read on.

I've been having a lot of success thrifting these days and a lot of energy to go (success begets drive)(that sounded like poetry).

Like any good "how to" on the internet, the strategy is simple and something you probably already thought of.

Before I go into a thrift store, I decide what I'm looking for.

I imagine one or two things I'm hoping to find, and then only look through sections that would have those pieces. For example before I got these pants (up there ^), I decided I wanted navy blue, thick trousers, and then I went to goodwill. I walked straight to the pant section, and only pulled out pants that were navy blue and had a thick texture. I brought all my top nominees to the dressing room and found a winner. I won. And I wasn't even tired because I was searching for like 15 minutes. Then I left. 

Look at all those saved pictures on your instagram, and pick one or two pieces you really want, then give yourself the goal of only looking for those things. It narrows down what your eye sees and leaves you feeling less overwhelmed which in turn keeps you sane in the long run.

Another important tip, don't get something if it's really worn down or you find yourself saying "I can fix it". You're not going to fix it, okay? Get something that's intact. 

When I don't have success, I don't stress because I didn't just spend hours and hours searching through every section, and I know I'll find what I want next time.

The end.

(jacket from h&m, sweater thrifted from vintage pink, pants thrifted from goodwill, loafers thrifted from goodwill, bag...you can't really see it, but I got it from a friend who sells vintage)

green olives please

I love green olives. I love any kind of olives actually. Do you?

(blouse: thrifted, pants: thrifted, bag: thrifted, jacket: h&m, boots: creatures of comfort, leaves: fall)

i like clothes

I’m a little too obsessed with what people think of me, and I’m obsessed with thinking I know exactly what you’re thinking about me. I probably don’t know what you’re really thinking about me, but either way I’m exhausted.

When I tell people I like clothes and I like fashion, I think you’re thinking, “that is really superficial…you’re really superficial…how can you care so much about something as trivial as what you wear?…”

 Well guess what people! I LIKE CLOTHES! I’ve always liked clothes and fashion and I’m always gonna like it. It’s taken me a long time to fully admit this to myself (but c’mon, my very first email was fashionfreak4U@hotmail.com). 

Because it’s taken me so long to admit this, I’ve always felt insecure about “dressing up” or wearing exactly what I want for fear of being mocked. Every time I’d wear something “out of the ordinary” my family or someone would make a comment about it, and I didn’t have the guts to ignore it. So because of this, I’d just wear a cool outfit for some photos, then change back to “normal” clothes before anyone could make fun of me. That’s how my first fashion blog went back in 2011. And it wasn’t successful.

Last winter, when I started this blog, I went through a process of allowing myself to like fashion, my personal fashion, again. It felt so right, and I’ve never enjoyed instagramming and blogging so much in my life. That doesn’t mean that I wear something worthy of fashion week every day, but I am letting myself be myself and work with what I have to wear something I like. Get it?

Things I like about fashion:

1. Everyone participates in it every day whether they want to or not.

2. It sends a message to people in one glance.

3. It has the power to make you confident (or insecure).

4. It’s always changing, evolving.

5. It’s an everyday art form; it flows and has movement, can be practical or not.

The End.

shoes by intentionally ________, jeans by levis, top, jacket, and purse thrifted, glasses from the frankie shop

anniversary six

Monday (May 29th) was our sixth wedding anniversary. 

(Insert something sappy about love).

We went out to a really nice joint called Le Pigeon where we ate rabbit, wasabi fried chicken, a pigeon wing sprinkled with cinnamon toast crunch, and desserts inspired by peanut butter and jelly (my description is not doing it justice - also, I don't even like pb&j but the dessert was one of my favorite parts).

In all honesty, as much as I hate being "sappy", I love my husband with the power of 10,000 suns. Everyone likes to say they married their best friend, but no one can know how very true that is for us.

I like myself best when I'm with him. He's my soulmate.

dress was found at goodwill for a photo shoot we did last year - it came in handy again, jacket from h&m, sandals from madewell, bag and sunnies thrifted

sick

Hey Tuesday. 

Last Tuesday, I felt like I was getting sick. This Tuesday, I'm still getting over that sickness.

Seems so long, but both Joe and I have been sick for a week! At least we've been sick together. At first it was sort of fun to eat crackers, jello, and drink soda (the fizz felt heavenly on our throats), but now it's getting old. What's more is that our dog got sick on Thursday. He hasn't been eating (just a few pieces of chicken here and there), and vet hasn't been able to figure out what's wrong :(

Maybe next week we'll all feel better. 

Anyway, this week I'm wearing all white - which is really hard with a black dog. I found the tee at a vintage shop in Seattle, and it's sooooo soft. Sorry you can't feel it. See you next week!

tee: thrifted in seattle, white jeans: thrifted at artifact, portland, bag: from the portland flea, sandals: madewell, sunnies: céline, yay.

seattle

We just got back from a trip to Seattle where we were able to shoot with some Seattle models (my husband and I are fashion photographers 💁🏻). We also ate a lot of food which I will now tell you about. 

Portland definitely has better food options than Seattle (but that's just my opinion - my opinion is usually right). With that being said, here are some places we went/liked.

I'm sure you've already heard of Oddfellows. We've been before, and we went again this time because we were in the neighborhood. I've never been too crazy about its breakfast (like coffee and eggs/toast), but right before we left, we met a friend there for brunch/lunch. I got a Bloody Mary, and it was sooooo good. I was thinking about it all the way home (and I'm still wishing I could have more). 

Another place we liked was General Porpoise for donuts. I got the chocolate/marshmellow one, and I have to say that I would definitely go back the next time I'm in Seattle. 

We went to a cool coffee place with some other friends called Vif. This is another place I'd be happy to visit again. It had really good food, too. Another coffee shop we visited was Union Coffee. It was good, but too instagrammable if you get my drift. Sometimes coffee shops try too hard. 

We really like burgers, so one of the models recommended 8 oz. Definitely go there if you like burgers! We almost went twice while we were there. 

about a month ago, i found this amazing striped shirt at goodwill and last week i found these amazing jeans at artifact. i can die happy. 

the rest: coat by jcrew found at goodwill, bag also thrifted, boots by creatures of comfort

blinking

I blink in 80 percent of the photos taken of me, so it takes that much longer to get photos that are usable.

That's why I should always wear my sunglasses.

Also you're going to have to wait another week for that second Unicorn post.

Sorry.

P.S. Please enjoy the photo of me taken next to a usps box.

coat by jcrew, but found at goodwill, tee from wildfang, jeans from asos, boots by creatures of comfort. i love you.

streaks

I’ve been using this app called “Streaks” lately, and it tracks how many days/weeks in a row I do my daily/weekly goals. 

For example I have one for practicing French, one for tidying for 10 minutes, one for DOING MY TUESDAY BLOG POST (yay), etc.

Practicing French and taking my garlic vitamin (long story) every day has been going good. As you can see, my water phase has reached it’s end. I tried drinking 96 oz of water a day for 24 days in a row, and nothing changed, except I had to pee all the time! I don’t know what people are talking about when they say “my skin was glowing after I started drinking more water!” NO. WRONG. I initially drank a gallon a day for a whole week, and felt like it was a little too much for my body….

I’d highly recommend the 10-minute daily clean. My best streak for that was 12 days in a row. Our apartment stayed really clean and fresh during those days, and you’d be surprised how much you can do in 10 minutes! Just set a timer on your phone and listen to music. 

I have a workout streak on there. It’s grayed out in the picture because I only have to do it Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. And today is Tuesday, duh! I missed yesterday’s workout so I’m back down to 0. At first I thought the bump down to 0 times in a row was depressing, but I’m getting used to the app, and it’s keeping me more motivated than without it. 

Not a sponsored post….please sponsor me….

sunglasses from céline, jacket from h&m, sweater thrifted from house of vintage, jeans from need supply by cheap monday, boots by creatures of comfort. 

haircut

Hello Tuesday!

I got a haircut this weekend. My regular stylist changed salons, but I really loved the location of his previous salon, so I called and scheduled an appointment. Dumb. Why did I not research the other stylists? I found out I'm with a girl who just started working there and has just come back from a break from cutting hair. 

I brought reference photos. The girl seemed really confident. Okay let's do this. 

Haircut {

Cut, cut, cut...

"I feel like your hair would look really cute with curls...should we curl it at the end?"

"Sure, why not. I'm usually too lazy to do that at home."

End of haircut and style }

My hair turned out a little shorter than I wanted. Whatever, it'll grow. I'm home now; my hair is straightening. Why do the layers not look like what I wanted? Next day. Washed and dried hair. Why is my hair so choppy and uneven in the back? Oh dear. 

I have another haircut scheduled for tomorrow with my original stylist. Lesson learned. 

Next thing: My boots. I bought these boots👇🏻 because my friend Laura (who owns a shop) has them. She's really cool, so everything she has, I want. 

blouse from madewell, pants + boots from creatures of comfort, trench from goodwill, purse from a friend who sells vintage✌🏼

come as you are

I always get so stressed about what to write on these outfit posts because rather than bore you with details of the look, I'd much rather tell you a funny story or dazzle you with my...wits (10 Things I Hate About You reference).

But always, right before I have to write, I think of something to ramble about. 

Two things:

This morning a friend texted me. 

Friend: Hey.

Me: Hey.

Friend: It's Tuesday...

Friend: Are you going to post an outfit today?

Haha. YES. Second thing: 

I look so happy in these photos (and I was - I mean c'mon, the sun finally came out...also I got a sunburn, but let me get out of these parentheses). This day did not start out great. We woke up grumpy, walked to coffee, tried to sit outside, but had to leave because our dog was whining and barking at all the other dogs sitting outside with their owners. As we got up, defeated, Joe spilled all his blazing hot coffee on his light jeans (the only time he doesn't wear black!). We walked home, him with coffee jeans, me trying not to say anything about it - too soon, too sensitive. 

But you know what? You can start your day over in the middle of the day. We drove to a different coffee spot and bought Coffee Round Two, and everything was okay. 

Here's the part where I post tons of pictures of myself. This outfit is so eeeaaasy.

(I think I'm blinking in half of these pictures tho)

this last one is my favorite. sweatshirt from scotch & soda, sunnies from céline, tee from wildfang, levis from the portland flea market :) and sneaks...you know.

that blogger girl stance

Hello everyone. Just another Tuesday outfit post (who am I kidding - this is my first Tuesday outfit post)...

I was out and about on the streets of Portland today practicing my blogger girl stance. I don't think I quite have that 'looking-to-the-side-hand-tucking-hair-behind-ear-legs-crossed-at-the-ankles' position down yet. I really don't know how they do it.

Oh well. Maybe next time. 

sunglasses from céline, coat from mango, sweater from zara, jeans from asos, sneakers from vetements...just kidding...you know they're vans.

my first outfit post + uncomfortable face masks

Wow. So incredible. My first outfit post to this blog. I have so many people to thank for this. Me, for getting dressed. Joe, for taking these pictures. Me, for editing them. And me, for posting them. Never thought I would make it here. 

:)

Have you ever tried a bentonite clay mask? Joe (Joe is my husband in case you didn't know) and I do them sort of frequently. They are supposed be really good for sucking all the gunk out of your pores and making your face really smooth (we haven't noticed a lot of benefits tbh, but we like doing masks together). On the jar we have, it recommends that you mix the powdered clay with apple cider vinegar, but if you have sensitive skin, mix with water. We usually do some sort of half and half mix. This last time, we decided to use full power acv to get the "full effect" or the "best results". We mixed it up, put the mask on, and reclined in bed to watch a show (The Great British Bake Off) on our laptop. Our eyes start to WATER. We are both crying and having to close our eyes for 30 seconds at a time to rest them. I look over at Joe, and his eyes are totally red and bloodshot. At this point we are laughing and crying and asking each if it's time to wash off the mask yet. 

Was it worth it? Nah, but we'll probably do it again ;)

coat and boots from urban outfitters, pants from need supply co, striped shirt from scotch & soda, bag from abarrotes delirio.

hello

Hello. “I’m starting a blog” sounds so last year (a few years ago), but I’m starting a blog. Hello, this is me. I’m Katie, and I live in Portland Oregon. I’m a fashion photographer with my husband, Joe. Recently I’ve been missing blogging/writing, so I'm creating an outlet (yay). 

In this blog you will find fashion, skincare, etc., things I like, weird stories, sarcasm, and my opinions selfishly shared. It's going to be a great time.

jacket: h&m, blouse: madewell, boots: urban outfitters, pants and bag: vintage, peace sign: idontknowwhattodowithmyhands.com