I decided to make my Instagram updates a monthly feature. Although, true story, I didn't post on my Instagram account for half the month because I got booted out each time I went to upload a pic. It turns out the solution was to just turn my phone off and on so that all my apps would shut down (so that my phone wouldn't be so bogged down) but I'm not super technologically inclined and it took me literally half the month to figure this out. Most of the pics I uploaded to Instagram this month didn't even OCCUR this month, but that's when I posted them, therefore they get to be included in this post!

Top Row
1) While my mom was cleaning, she found this caricature I had done on my 11th birthday (in 1995) at Busch Gardens in Florida. I remember at the time, I didn't quite understand what the point of a caricature was and was quite horrified that I actually looked like that!
2) I took a picture of this painting after I finally got it framed (the frame is part of an early Christmas gift from my parents.) I got the print myself a few months ago from my friend, Justine. When I said I like cats in glasses, I'm not kidding! She has them for sale on her Storenvy account so if you would like one for yourself, that is totally possible!
Second Row
3) When going to the airport the other day to pick up my grandma, my mom made a pit stop at a CVS to get some Chex mix (which has mysteriously disappeared off our local shelves! NOOOO!) I saw these "Canada" mints and could not stop laughing. I know it's a super simple concept but I never viewed Canada as a novelty before.
4) This is my current Facebook cover photo and this was a scenario of me trying to look for anything to post on Instagram (knowing I was making this post today.) This picture is from when I went to Pittsburgh (on my trip centered around my visit to the Modcloth offices.) My ex, Mike and I also popped by the Monroeville Mall, the mall where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed. The food court used to be a skating rink. Therefore, I'm "skating" in the food court (and getting a lot of weird looks.)
Third Row
5) Modcloth had a fun little challenge on Instagram (hashtag "modweekofthanks") where each day, you posted a picture that fit that day's theme. This was my picture for the food theme. Because I love pizza. This was a picture from our anniversary dinner. In related news, the pizza giving up has not been going well, but I'll update more on that tomorrow.
6) More of the "modweekofthanks" challenge. This day's topic was a lesson I had learned (and it's a good lesson!)
Fourth row
7) Another "modweekofthanks" (if it weren't for that, I don't know if I would have posted anything this month!) The subject was "view or landscape that makes you feel at ease." It doesn't look like much of a landscape. It's not pretty, or a landmark but it's the bar where all my friends go. And that always puts me at ease.
8) One day while walking home from the library, I spotted this pop vending machine for sale in someone's driveway. I thought it was funny (especially since Molson is one of the selections!) but would only think that price was worth it if it came with an unlimited pop supply.
Fifth Row
9 and 10) On my blog post about the Retro Suites, I used a lot of photos of the hotel from the business Facebook page rather than ones I had taken myself. So I posted them on Instagram instead.
Sixth Row
11) A "modweekofthanks" post of an animal I like. And duh, that would be Skippy!
12) While cleaning out my closet, finding clothes to sell on my Trend Trunk profile, I kept falling in love with everything I was trying on. Oh, the life of a clothes hoarder! I don't even think I've ever worn this!
Seventh Row
13 and 14) What was supposed to be a Shenanigans Saturday post. And this was the material I had to work with.

That's all for me! I'm sitting down to write some goals for tomorrow's post and one is definitely to post on Instagram more! You can follow me @coinforthewell. Talk soon!

Vintage (and Black Friday!) Edition of Thrifty Thursday

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I hate the cold weather. I had read earlier in the week that it was supposed to warm up today, so I had planned to do a big photoshoot for today and get a bunch of outfits photographed so I could have some material for some upcoming entries. Instead it snowed. Since I had all my outfits planned out and packed up (was spending some time at my parents' house since my grandma just flew in from Florida) I decided to go ahead and photograph them anyway. Why dilly dally around? I can't wait for winter to warm up, or else I might be waiting forever! Unfortunately, not being a seasoned photographer at all, I failed to understand just how bad indoor lighting is. I'd heard rumours for a long time but never fully understood until I had something to compare it to. Yeesh. Sorry these pics look like they were taken on a cell phone but I tried my best!

I got this awesome dress for $10 (including shipping from Hawaii!) from my friend Camille of The Corner Sweetheart. I don't know if it's a vintage dress or an Asian dress that's fronting like it's vintage, but either way, it's super adorable. I got the shoes and bracelet on my most recent trip to Value Village. I'm not so sure about the shoes though. As cute as they are, they are too small. They are vintage Tender Tootsies and are marked a size 8 but they feel closer to a 7. I know this because I parade around in size 7 shoes. Often.

I recently opened an account on Trend Trunk (it's sort of a Canadian version of Poshmark) so don't be too surprised if you see these babies pop up there in the next few days!

Twirling when your tripod is a foot away is impossible to do without falling out of the frame.

Eyebrow plucking fail! But cute earrings!

Outfit Details

Dress - purchased from friend - $10

Shoes - Value Village - $5

Purse - Salvation Army - $6

Headband - found it in my mom's drawer while getting ready

Earrings - Ardene's - 6 pack of earrings for $3

Belt - from another dress

Bracelet - Value Village - $1

Legit the most expensive thing I'm wearing is my lipstick (which is Besame that I bought off eBay for $16)

In other thrifty news, many online stores have begun their Black Friday festivities early! I haven't been able to participate as much as I like because of lack of funds (although I do get paid before the Modcloth sale ends!) I thought I would show not only my top picks of Modcloth items, but my top picks of sales.

All of the Following Items Are From Modcloth.com

1) You Bow the Spot Socks - sale price $5.99

2) Presh is More Heel in Grey - sale price $31.99

3) Too Much Fun Dress in Tile - sale price $39.99

4) Hayride Tradition Sweater in Blue sale price - $29.99

5) Barista in the City Top in Red sale price - $18.99

6) Shoreline Soiree Dress in Kaleidoscope - sale price $38.99

7) Whirl Traveler Necklace sale price - $7.99

8) Loving These Leggings sale price - $13.99

9) Polished Pal Bracelet sale price - $6.99

10) S'Marvelous Heel In Scarlet sale price - $18.99

11) Great Wavelengths Dress in Red sale price - $25.99

Note, making wishlists is dangerous. In the end, I ended up buying the grey shoes, the red shirt and both pieces of jewelry. Hahah, but that's not surprising, right?

As for other sales, EShakti is having 30% off the entire site right now. Lulu*s is taking baby steps in their sale tactics and is having a Thanksgiving Day promotion with 15% off sitewide, but I'm sure there's more on the horizon. DollsKill have discounted a huge portion of their merchandise (my favourite are these mushroom shoes and these Hello Kitty Creepers) and Unique Vintage is also having 25% off everything (including sale items!) Happy shopping everybody! It's certainly better than being out in the cold, waiting for a Black Friday sale to drop at a big box store! Talk soon!

Edit - since many of the sales actually hit on Black Friday, I thought I would come back and update!

Anthropologie is 20% off sitewide.

Baby Girl Boutique is 25% off sitewide with code BLACK13.

BB Dakota is offering 30% off sitewide on orders $100+ with coupon code THANKS30.

Betsey Johnson has 30% off and free shipping (use code SHOP30) 

Dolce Vita is offering 25% off all apparel and up to 50% off shoes (plus a free tote with purchase of $150 or more!) Use code BLACKFRIDAY13

Emerging Thoughts has 20% off sitewide with code GOBBLE GOBBLE

Eva Franco has 50% off selected styles (use code BFSALE at check-out.)

Forever 21 is having deals starting from $3 (shop Women's here, Accessories here), 50% off Boots and Bags and an additional 50% off sale items with the code EXTRA50

40% off the entire Folter site with coupon code bf40.

Hello Holiday is having 25% off the entire store with coupon code BRIGHT (plus a free gift!)

Hot Topic has all tees for $10.

Joy the Store is having 20% off all party dresses.

Kate Spade has up to 75% off (but you had to sign in to see the sale and I couldn't be bothered.)

Lace Affair is having an extra 25% off all sale items with coupon code BLACKFRIDAY. 

Le Bunny Bleu is having 50% off their best selling items with code Bunny_BFBest13

Like Twice (an online re-sale shop) is having 40% off everything with coupon code MEGASALE.

Nasty Gal is trying the theme route and everything that is black is on sale 40% off.

Oasap has up to 75% off items plus 30% off with code BLACKFRIDAY

Pinup Girl Clothing is 30% off site wide.

PlasticLand is offering gifts with purchases over $50.

Ruche is having 20% off sitewide in addition to their under $5, $10, $15, and $20 bucket deals.

Sephora has $10 palettes in their "Dealtopia" section.

Shabby Apple is having 20% off sitewide with code BLACKFRIDAY. 

SheInside is having an up to 80% off sale (although I took a quick peek and noticed most items hit at about 20% off. Still alright by me!)

Shoes.com is having an extra 30% off sale shoes with code BLACK

Storenvy (aka Hipster Etsy) is having 30% off selected merchandise.

Summerland is 25% off sitewide with code PUMPKINPIE

Tulle Clothing is having a huge, nearly sitewide sale of 75% off. Modcloth carries a lot of this brand and I spotted so many things that I wanted that Modcloth had discontinued!!! Coupon code THANKSFORU takes an additional 10% off.

Urban Outfitters has huge discounts and has an under $20, under $30 and under $50 section. I haven't scoured the whole sale yet, but in the under $20 section, some things look to be discounted up to 80% are the section is 16 pages!

If you'd like to see all my best looks from the season, check out my wardrobe wrap up post!

Movie of the Week - Marley and Me

A few months ago, when my sister was making the switch-over from paper books to an e-reader, she let me take a look at her library to see if I wanted any books before she donated them. Most of the items I felt apathetic about (except the "how-to" books, I'm ALL ABOUT THOSE.) A few books I took because I figured I would at least read them before donating them myself. One book that fit this criteria for me was Marley and Me. However, the book exceeded my expectations and so did the movie. It will legit make you bawl. I think the book is even sadder, however it's not a tragedy exactly. Ninety percent of the book/movie is straight comedy, detailing instances of a dog so bad, you'd think it was made up. The "make you cry" segments, sadly are just a part of life, dealing with aging pets and *spoiler* the eventual loss of them.

Photo Credit

I thought Jennifer Aniston was perfect casting for Jenny (and not because they share the same name!) Just looking at the pictures of Jenny Grogan in the insert of the book, it was a really good pick. I was kind of enh when I first heard it was Owen Wilson. (Well "re-heard." Reminded myself I guess. I vaguely remembered he was in the movie from all the tabloid gossip I read circa 2007 but had forgotten.) Turns out he did an alright job in the end. The Marleys did a good job (apparently there were 22!) although I thought a lot of them looked too different to be the same dog. 

I'm a dork and while reading the book, I kept dreaming of the show, Dexter. It's also set in Florida and when the Grogans originally lived in their shoddy neighbourhood, it's shown in a horrible light. I'm pretty sure there were multiple murders and robberies on their street. They did make mention in the movie of the huge event of their neighbour girl being stabbed and John going to her aid, but I liked imagining it all gritty and Dexter style. When they moved to Boca, I would picture my grandparent's house in Florida because they live in a gated community and although it's no Boca Raton, to me it's a pleasant idea of Florida.

Photo Credit

I also took this gem out from the library but ended up not watching it. I think I made the right call.

Once upon a time, I had my own "Marley" - a clearance puppy (although she was nearly full grown by the time we got her) that we not only threatened to give away to a farm, but actually did.

Scanner technology was crappy 15 years ago

Her name was Emily and we had purchased her from the Classifieds in the newspaper. She wasn't scared of thunderstorms so much as being left alone. She chewed through all of my dad's new woodwork that he had just put up, my sister's toe shoes and all sort of other things. We had her less than 2 months and didn't have the patience for the expenses she racked up. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that I think, but my dad is the type who jokes about me not being able to come over anymore because I'm such a slob. Watching Marley and Me reminded me of Emily so much. I think if we had kept her, our lives would have been just like that. The scenes that reminded me most of Emily were when Jennifer Aniston was walking Marley. Yep! Been there.

The dog we got right after Emily is my current dog, Skippy. He's mostly well-behaved (although a little cranky in his old age) but he's what my boyfriend calls "high maintenance." He's definitely a prissy little thing, has a preference for pillows, needs to be carried up and down the stairs (but that's only because he's blind) and always has to wear his kerchief.

He's also definitely a solo type dog. He didn't really like my hamster and he doesn't like my niece and nephew or my sister's dog, Freddie. I think it's partially because of his disabilities though and he can't see or hear them come up behind him and it scares the crap out of him.

The reason that I bring up Skippy though is because reading Marley and Me and watching the movie, it reminds me that Skippy is not going to last forever and it makes me so sad. He's 14, deaf and blind and limping a lot. His deterioration is a lot like Marley's in the book and seeing it so plainly in print made me sad, even when Marley still had years of living yet to do. Because you always know what's at the end. I guess I'm a bit in denial because I haven't had to deal with death very much, and I find myself making really immature wishes (like wishing Skippy could be a vampire or something equally impossible) but I guess I'll cope with it when it comes. 

Wow, downer post! But to sum things up, Marley and Me - thumbs up. Having pets - thumbs up. Them having a shorter lifespan than humans- thumbs down.

I guess that's all for me! What did you all think of Marley and Me? Have you ever had Marley type pets? Talk soon!

Confessions of a Blogger

Ella from Paper Umbrella tagged me last week in a "Confessions of a Blogger" post so I thought I would answer some of the questions for you. I don't really have a day of the week that's for personal posts so I thought I would stick it under the Shenanigans section. Close enough, right?

1. When did you first start blogging and why?

I started this blog in the middle of August this year. I started it for a few reasons. One reason was that I felt I wasn't well rounded enough - I spent all my time online on Modcloth and eBay. As much as I loved doing that, I wanted some motivation to do other things. I felt if I had a place to document my adventures, if I had something to hold me accountable to going out thrifting, going out with friends, watching and reviewing movies, then I would be a more rounded person. Also, in contrast, I kind of wanted it as a justification for my shopping (admittedly, a total shopaholic here!) I used to DJ once a week and had a good excuse for a new dress all the time. Now that I wasn't going out as much, having new fancy dresses seemed kind of pointless. If I was photographing them for a blog, at least they would be getting some mileage.

2. Have you had any past online presence?

I have accounts on just about every platform there is! Of course, the usual suspects like Facebook and Pinterest but I used to have a pretty lengthy journal that I wrote daily on a FitDay account when I was 16-18 years old and another daily journal written on MySpace when I was 20-21.

3. When did you become serious about your blog?

I tried to take it seriously from the beginning. I paid for blog design after the first week (after about 3 entries) and read tons of other blogs to see what I could learn from them. I tried to treat it like a job, although it's nice because when I lose my motivation, I can take breaks or days off whenever I please.

4. What was your first blog post?

It was a very, very short blog post just explaining where the name of the blog came from. I wrote a Factoid Friday post shortly after but deleted it because it was absolutely terrible, mostly because there were too many downer facts about death and spiders.

5. What have been your biggest challenges blogging?

Getting out to take pictures! I wake up really late (total night owl here) and by the time I get up, it's dark out. On days I do get up early enough, it's often too cold. Canada is not the greatest place for blogging.

6. What is the most rewarding thing about blogging?

I love the networking and socializing aspect. I love when I comment on people's blogs and they comment back (although I'm admittedly bad at doing that, oops!) But I also love when I'm not sure how to do something (usually certain HTML type things) and I google it and then follow it step by step. And it works. I know it's laid out for me, plain and simple but seeing it work and doing it for myself just feels magical.

7. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging?

Most people I know don't take it seriously. They think it's no work at all. I try to emphasize that it's a lot of work, hours and hours a day, but they just think I laze around. It's hard to change people's opinions of me, but c'est la vie.

8. What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

I take motivation from so many people! The blogs I find most inspirational are Scathingly Brilliant, mermaidens, Ahoy Miss,  Keiko Lynn and The Clothes Horse. I take a little bit of inspiration from all the blogs on my blog roll though. They all have such great fashion, photography, writing and blog layouts.

9. What is your blogging dirty secret?

I don't really have blogging dirty secrets! I'm still learning from everybody else. However, if you are into Etsy and have Etsy weekly or monthly favourite picks, whenever you come across an Etsy store that a blogger owns, look at their items, plus their favourites (items and stores.) Seeing picks from other fashionable ladies is a good way to add to your own favourites. I do this all the time and my "likes" on Etsy have grown substantially!

10. What is your current goal as a blogger?

I'm kind of vague on the goals right now. I'd like to reach 100 posts to show that I can commit to something (I'm really bad to sticking to anything.) I also would like to reach 1000 monthly views through banner swaps and advertising on social media.

11. Have you learned or become passionate about anything through blogging that caught you by surprise?

I'm interested in HTML and want to learn it for real. Also surprisingly have become interested in stationery (must be all that browsing on Etsy!)

I'm tagging

Camille of The Corner Sweetheart
Pamada of just.pandippo
Christine and Jenna of 2 Girls 1 Outfit
Elana of Room 334

That's all for me! Talk soon!

Meh - Bits of Minorly Bizarre Facts

I've been feeling meh about everything. Maybe worse than meh. To be honest, I'm sooo not excited about writing this entry right now, but I try not to leave the blog for more than a week, no matter how I'm feeling. It's gray outside, I feel run down and sick and everyone around me is cranky too. I'm also in full hibernation mode. The other day, I slept all night, then took a "nap" at 2pm. That lasted 11 hours. It was legit a nap too, because I went back to bed "for real" a few hours later. It's 7pm right now and I just woke up. I slept all last night too! It wasn't even like I suffered from insomnia last night. I just really like to be all snuggled in bed and not doing anything. Plus, this might be emotional, bi-polar Suzy, but I keep crying at the drop of a hat. I cried in the mall food court the other day and on the bus. I look really pulled together! Woot!

But let's focus on the positive. I finally went out and took some pics at the thrift shop for Treasure Tuesday (well not so much AT the shop - it was swarming with employees and customers for the holidays, but at least I got out, bought some things and have some material for upcoming Tuesdays) so I can cross that off my list! Also, Modcloth has been going crazy with the sales. I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. They had a "find Winston" promotion, where a coupon code was your reward, Stylish Surprises and an early Black Friday sale! In the course of just over a week! Having no money personally, I had to have my parents sponsor me for early Christmas gifts (also purchased my mom's Christmas gift in the Black Friday sale) and I'm really hoping they don't mind too much! I'm hoping the next sale can wait to drop after I get paid.

The book I'm pulling my facts from this week is called "100 People Who Made History - Meet the People Who Shaped the Modern World" by Ben Gilliland (with Philip Parker as a consultant.) I got it from the library and I'm almost certain it's a children's book, but I learned quite a bit from it and it's perfect for pulling random facts.

Photo Credit

The book is really cute and has a lot of pictures (so it makes for a quick read.) It is also really good to put a face to people you might have only heard about. Look at these lovely page lay-outs!

Photo Credit

Things I Learned From This Book

Nelson Mandela's great grandfather, Ngubengcuka ruled as king of the South African tribe called the Thembu people.
LEGO were not the first block toys. Wood block toys were invented in 1840. Interlocking blocks came next in the 1860s. In 1882, Friedrich Richter invented his wooden Anchor Blocks and in 1908, BRIO launched their line of interconnecting wooden trains. LEGO the company was founded in 1934, but the toy as we know it today came along in 1958.

 Photo Credit

Thomas Edison was almost completely deaf by the time he was 12.
The Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370 BCE) suggested that everything was made up of atoms which means "indivisible" in Greek.
Suffragette colors were purple (for dignity), white (for purity) and green (for hope.)

 Photo Credit

Charles Darwin wanted to be a doctor, but hated the sight of blood. He instead decided to study Natural Theology, which is the study of how God designed life on Earth. But we know how that turned out for him.
Queen Victoria's 42 grandchildren occupied the thrones of most of Europe, earning her the title, "the grandmother of Europe."

 

Photo Credit 

*Note - several of these facts were pulled verbatim from the book, as it was already written as a "factoid," and didn't give much information to re-write it. Of course, I could have wiki'd, things to get more information, but I already alluded to how lazy I am today. Also, I wouldn't have exactly been learning these facts from the book. So credit goes to Ben Gilliland for some of these facts.

It Happened Today

In 1963, US president John F. Kennedy is assassinated.

Image Credit 

In 1718, famous pirate, Blackbeard is killed in battle.

In keeping with the morbid subject, some other famous deaths today are of the literary sort - both C.S. Lewis and Jack London died today.

Photo Credit//Photo Credit

In 1954, the American Humane Society is founded.

In 1858, Denver Colorado is founded.

In 1995, Toy Story is released and is the first movie made using entirely computer animation.

Today is Jamie Lee Curtis, Mark Ruffalo, David Pelletier (any figure skating fans here???) Scarlett Johansson and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' birthday. I shall leave you with one of my favourite Yeah Yeah Yeahs songs as a send off. Talk soon!

Retro Wedding Fun Time

This past weekend, I attended an out of town wedding (okay, slightly out of town, it was about 45 minutes away from me in Chatham, Ontario) with my boyfriend Logan. It was the first time I met his extended family and it was quite a hoot! I didn't take pictures of them (because that would be weird) but they are a bunch of pranksters. I see where Logan gets it from. They spent most of the night pulling my leg and laughing at how gullible I am.

Later in the night, we retreated back to where we were staying, the bride, Stacy's house (or was it her husband to be Donnie's house? I wasn't sure. Either way it doesn't matter.) The ladies stayed inside and drank copious amounts of wine (and juiceboxes for me) and the men partied outside in the shed. However, the one bridesmaid, Melinda is in my camp and is not a frequent drinker. She uh... got tanked and went outside to try to party with the gentlemen. My boyfriend, a bouncer, tried to throw her over his shoulder bouncer style, and being too drunk himself, dropped her into a bunch of tools. So the matron of honor had a black eye for the big day. Oh, and my boyfriend also fell asleep completely naked (being drunk, he lost his clothing piece by piece throughout the night. I urged him to at least sleep in his boxers but he didn't seem concerned.) Sleeping on the basement floor in an open area with 3 teenage children, girlfriends sleeping over, and bridesmaids crashing for the night made for lots of laughs in the morning... because I'm a total covers hog.

Now for the wedding itself, I was in LOVE with the location. It was at the Retro Suites and the place is totally up my alley. I took a few pics but realized mine are really crappy compared to what the Retro Suites has posted on their Facebook and business page so I decided to borrow some of their's. Check this place out!

We actually never saw the front (that's the back pictured above) but it looks pretty cool.

My boyfriend and I are thinking maybe for our anniversary next year we'll go here. They have a bunch of different themed rooms and it seems really fun. Who would think that someone would intentionally travel to Chatham?

Outfit Details

Dress - Prettiest of All Dress - Modcloth

Shoes - Mel Shoes
Necklace - vintage
Coat (further down) - Miss Patina
Jeans - Stitches
Purse - vintage

I don't know about you, but at weddings I take tons of selfies. I just don't know what to do while I'm sitting there. I look like crap in these. I didn't even try to edit them to make myself look good. I wanted to show how tired I was. I had my dog earlier in the week and he's a pro at keeping me up. So no sleep while he was visiting.  I didn't get much sleep with the drunken shenanigans (my boyfriend crawled into bed at about 5am and then the ladies were up at 7am to start getting their hair done.) I was so, so tired. But I'm pretty sure I always am at wedding. Most weddings, I sneak out and nap in the car.

I amused myself for awhile with the jelly beads from the centerpieces (what IS this?) and then looked terrified when my boyfriend caught me. Haha. I think this should be my Facebook profile picture. I still have my Wednesday Addam's look posted as an homage to Hallowe'en.

We didn't take many photos of the bride and groom (seriously, most of the camera were of my boobs.) I am narcassistic. And Logan's a pervert.

Photo Credit - Retro Suites

Photo Credit Retro Suites

Photo Credit Retro Suites

Right before leaving, I snapped some shots of the lobby. They have so many cool things! The red thing in the Retro Suites photo was this really old flip book type thing. It looked pre-1900s. You cranked it and it would flip images of a girl dancing. So cool!

That's all for me! Talk soon!