Did you notice I was absent? Did you notice my lack of posts? Are you ready to throw me in the bad blogger pile? Please give me another chance!
I was overcome by teaching duties and life. It seemed as if my teaching duties had actually become my life! My students are right in the heart of (sigh) standardized testing, but prior to testing I had spent nearly 10 hours a day in my classroom teaching and preparing teacher created documents for review. Yes, that’s right from 7:30am to 6:00 pm I could be found in my classroom slaving working away. I had little time to exercise, blog, or enjoy time to myself.
Once spring break rolled around I was more than ready to enjoy some “Chandra” time. Luckily, I got to spend my spring break in northern California with Brandon. Here’s a brief recap of my break in pictures:
Brandon and I went to the Golden Gate Bridge, and after we snapped a few pictures we decided to attempt to run across the bridge. Yeah, well, let’s just say the wind nearly blew my dress/skirt over my head. We had to nip that lil’ spur of the moment fun run in the bud. You may not be able to tell, but I’m actually wearing a mini dress. The dress has short sleeves. I wore the dress over a knit skirt and paired a tailored blazer on top.
We got the grand idea to have a picnic at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga and the picnic was a success. The grounds are beautiful. Everything was in bloom and simply perfect.
Since I pack so often to visit Brandon I no longer pack my entire wardrobe. Gone are the days of 15 pairs of shoes, 13 skirts, and a million accessories. I basically pack black and accessorize around it. I hate to pack and I hate unpacking just as much. Unfortunately, I packed an outfit for Easter and left an integral part of my outfit (coughSPANXcough) at home. Fortunately, I picked up a stellar vintage dress while vintage hunting in Santa Cruz. I wouldn’t normally wear red shoes, but I had these shoes in the trunk of my car. I actually had them in a bag that I was about to donate to Goodwill. So, while I would have loved to wear my pastel green and pink dress for Easter, I wore black instead. I love the geometric print of this dress, and the fact that the print shows underneath a black skirt that is also attached to the dress. I thought this was a great find for $23.
And here are a few more recent pictures that I took today. I found a full skirt at Goodwill in San Francisco for $13. I’ve made peace with the fact that San Francisco second hand stores charge an arm and a leg. I know for a fact that this skirt would have cost me about $3 at my local Goodwill. I gritted my teeth and purchased the skirt because of the color and the $685 Nordstrom price tag that was still attached to the obviously new/old vintage Carmen Marc Valvo Collection skirt. The price tags were not recent; they were faded, but I could still make out the MSRP price.I had some old flowers laying around and I quickly used some felt and glue to attach them to a metallic headband.
Last but not least, here is a picture of a fur capelet/stole that I bought at Goodwill yesterday. I walked into Goodwill and on my way to the dresses I saw this fur sticking out from the coats. Once I saw it I knew I had to have it. I asked two sales associates how much the fur was. It had a red tag and according to the posted signs all red tags were $4.50. I didn’t want to get up to the counter and here an associate say, “Ohhh, it’s fur. So it’s, um, like $200.” Of course the associates played “duh” and said, “We have to ask our manager.” I roamed around until I found another sales associate and asked her the same question. She looked at the red tag and said, “$4.50.” SOLD. BAM. DONE. MINE. I bagged up this precious baby and left. I felt as if I had robbed them. The best part about thrifting is when people really don’t know what they have on their racks. All of the furs (4) I own are vintage and from Goodwill and I’ve never paid more than $15 for them. I know some people are iffy about furs, but there’s no way I’m passing up vintage fur if I can afford it. I think the fur will pair nicely with a dress, or even a black merino wool turtleneck and one of my leather skirts. C’mon old man winter!
Be sure to check back Tuesday. I have a great Modest Beauty post featuring Morgan of EW McCall, plus a Winsday giveaway featuring EW McCall products!
Love your outfits! I have a mink stole and matching mink vintage hat that I never wear. Can’t figure out how to style it.
Thanks, Bekki! I’ve been meaning to send you a FB message. I need you as a guest blogger here on my blog and I’d love to feature you in a modest beauty post. I’ll message you in a bit.
It can be SUPER difficult for me how to figure out how to style fur. It’s very much over the top, but I’ve browsed a few blogs and magazines to gain inspiration. When I wear this fur I’ll have to post pictures of how I wore it.
Thanks for your comment!
Chandra
Yay! I’m so glad you’re back. I’ve missed your blog terribly. I am so jealous of your thrift store finds. Every time I read your posts I want to go thrift store shopping that instant. =) The black dress you wore for Easter is simply stunning. You look absolutely gorgeous. If you’re willing to share, what are some of your favorite thrift store shops in L.A.? Thanks for sharing your pictures. Blogs are much more fun to read with pictures.
Chanel
Chandra, I am truly AWED & INSPIRED! I loved how you were uncertain of the price points in San Fran (that still had the TAGS ON IT OMG—did you keep? can you send me a picture?) and then you found a stool for $4.50! Like you said, that was a STEAL and especially in NYC they would have hiked that price point up baby! It’s off season, but GWs in urban settings KNOW their stuff and sell appropriately
Wow wow wow wow wow! xoxo
Glad you’re back posting Chandra! You always have the nicest outfits.
I love that black and white dress! The attached skirt is interesting. I like it!
Wow. $4.50 for fur? Our Goodwills over in my area overprice fur. Fur could be from $40-100. That is such a steal! Have fun with your new things!
I love the idea of the mini skirt over the longer skirt. I’ll have to try that. I have bird legs that do not work well with mini skirts, lol. That fur stole looks like the one I got that belonged to my great aunt.
I promise you I have that same exact fur stole!!! My mom gave it to me along with one of her other fur coats. She received it from my dad as a gift during the beginning of their marriage (about 35 years ago). I’ve only worn it twice: to a fancy Christmas party and out to dinner the night R proposed.