Salutations!
Every time I think of the greeting "salutations" I think of the book Charlotte's Web. Is that everyone or just me and my teacher brain? My mind automatically goes to catch phrases in children's literature. Charlotte's Web is a classic! I always think about Charlotte's Web even more during this time of the year when all of the 4-H and FFA kids start getting ready for the fairs and festivals. I used to be one of those FFA kids and I loved getting "school business" to help my friends out that were showing their animals at the festival. I always tell my husband that we probably walked past each other 20 times during those days and we never acknowledged each other. My go to is always, "would you have dated me in high school?" We were supposed to go to the same high school but I was on special assignment at another school. I guess we never know what could have been between 2005-2009! Lets be real though, we have been together for 8 years now so it doesn't really matter.
I am not sure about anyone else but this past week was a hot mess for me! I am a perfectionist and there was nothing perfect about last week. I don't know if this sounds contradictory or not but I am a disorganized perfectionist. For example, my desk might be a mess, my classroom might look a mess, but inside my brain I have everything put together exactly how it needs to be. As a teacher, I want to be perfect. I want to be the top of the top and the cream of the crop. I feel like I should be able to do anything and everything perfect the first time I do it. This makes it extremely difficult as a teacher because nothing is ever perfect. Perfect doesn't really exist in the realm of education but that is the expectation I hold myself to. So, this week really tested my perfectionist side because I felt like I was constantly screwing up all week. On the flip side, my husband just got home from a 45 day hitch and I feel like balancing the perfect teacher life with the perfect wife life has been a struggle. I know all of you with kids are probably laughing at me saying just wait until you have kids! Then you have to balance being a perfect mom, too. On top of my stress this week I have been on hormone replacements so yeah...do I even have to elaborate on that one? Stress + hormones = one cuckoo week. This week is already looking better!
Now I will actually go in to what I was planning on talking about in this blog! Clothes! I LOVE clothes. I want to look cute on the regular and that means a lot of shopping. However, it does not have to mean spending a lot of money. You can get cute, trendy clothes for a fraction of the cost if you know what to look for. I am going to highlight a few of my favorite places to get clothes on a budget down below.
1. ThredUp
Ladies, have you ever heard of ThredUp? If not, stop what you are doing and look now! ThredUp is an online consignment shop for all shapes and sizes. You can get designer clothes that are new with tags for a fraction of the cost of retail stores. I have purchased some fantastic dresses on ThredUp for very cheap! They also sell gently used items and they always tell you the condition of the item before you buy it. Plan on spending some time looking through the website because they have a ton of stuff. You can apply filters with your sizes and favorite brands to make it easier to browse but you will still have to browse for a while to find the best deals. They also offer 40% off your first order! YouTube fashion bloggers always have a running promotion with ThredUp. You can just google 40% ThredUp purchase and I am sure a code from a fashion blogger will pop up. Check it out!
2. Target
Target is my jam! I am sure that many of you already shop at Target but have you been recently? I just went today and they have had a HUGE overhaul on their clothes department. I have always loved the Ava & Viv brand at Target but now they have 4 or 5 new store brands that offer inclusive sizing for everyone. Universal Thread is their newest brand and they have great quality denim for a low price. I always browse the clearance section too because I love a great deal! If you have not been in the past few weeks, definitely go check out their new brands and shop a little (or a lot).
3. JcPenny
I always remember shopping at JcPenny with my Mom as a kid and she always had a great coupon to use. A bunch of my school clothes always came from JcPenny when I was younger and then once I became an adult I never shopped there. However, I have made my way back to shopping at "pennies" as my Mom would always say. It is funny how I would always pick on my Mom for saving money and now saving money is my goal as an adult. I know she laughs at me on the daily in Heaven when I pull out my coupons or shop at Big Lots. You were right, Mom! If you are like me and haven't shopped at JcPenny since you were a kid, check them out! I get 60% off coupons from them all the time in my email. They have trendy clothes with a low price tag if you catch them on a great sale. They are constantly running sales so be sure to join their email list.
4. Amazon
That's right, Amazon! We buy everything else we need from Amazon so why not clothes? They don't have a huge selection but they have cute clothes that are affordable. I actually bought the dress for my cousin's wedding from Amazon and I paid less than $20 for it. You can't buy everything your heart could ever desire from Amazon, but if you are looking for general clothing items check it out!
Other clothing ideas....
I will be the first to say that I don't always buy everything at the lowest price point. Sometimes I gift myself things from my favorite stores just because I want them. However, I never pay full price and I always have a coupon of some sort even if it isn't the world's greatest coupon. One of my favorite things I do every other month is get a clothing subscription box from Dia & Co. The Dia box is for sizes 14 & up but it is the same concept as Stitch Fix. Basically, you take a style assessment and they send you clothes that fit your style. I choose to get a box every other month but you can get them once per week if you want to. I do not have that much self-control when it comes to clothes so that is why I only get one every other month. I love being surprised by what my stylist picks out for me and giving her feedback on what I love and what I didn't love. The only time you ever lose money is if you don't keep anything. You pay a $20 fee for each box but that always comes off of your order. If you buy everything you get 25% off and that seems to be the standard rule for any of the subscription box companies. If you are looking to spoil yourself a bit, try it out! Like I said, it is not the cheapest option but the items I get are always quality pieces that I can wear multiple ways.
Hopefully, you will be able to try out some of the stores/brands that I have suggested. They are a few of my go-to brands when shopping on a budget! Thank you for stopping by my blog and have a fantastic week!
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