Everyone seems to be graduating Oh wait, it’s that time of year, so everyone is GRADUATING! Except for me, because I did it 5 years ago, from a school in Russia called Vladimir State University (the what? – yeah, I know)
I was trying to dig out my high school graduation photos for you, but I think I don’t have any digital copies, only actual prints that are still in Russia (maybe I’ll ask my mom to scan them – please let me know if you’d like to see what I looked like when I was 16 and graduating! I personally think it’s a hillarious idea!)
As some of you may know I graduated from high school in 2003, college graduation came 5 years later in 2008. And even though it’s been 5 years since then, I kept the dress I wore to my graduation! Isn’t it lovely?
Now if you have noticed, it has all this bling on it, the sequins, the fake rhine stones, a bow! I was originally going to cut it all up and turn it into a skirt! I am glad I didn’t take the scissors to it right away though, but removed all the bling instead! And when I put the dress on, I ended up with an amazing, versatile and quiet wearable dress! See for yourselves:
I AM WEARING:
Dress – unknown brand (bought in Russia) // Shoes – Unknown brand (from Russia as well)//
Jacket – Club Monaco (thrifted)// Watch – Marc by Marc Jacobs //
If you really look close, you’ll notice that nothing has really changed that much over the past few years, oh wait, it has. I moved to the other side of the world, got married and became a fashion blogger, but really nothing else has really changed
Xo,
Z
PS. Don’t forget to let me know if you’d like to see my high school graduation pictures! No, really
I have done it, I have found the perfect mustard pants! And since I didn’t know what to wear them with today I went for my Ralph Lauren denim shirt. It’s my go-to shirt for almost every occasion, a comfort cloth of sorts! I used to have another “comfort cloth” piece of clothing before that, a gray American Rag cardigan I got at Macy’s a long long time ago! I think it’s still there somewhere in the depths of my closet in Russia!
Do you have any items in your closet that are like this? Let me know, would love to hear what everyone else is obsessing with!
I am wearing:
Shoes – Target // Pants – NoBo (don’t judge now, nothing wrong with a WalMart brand!) – thrifted
Denim Shirt – Ralph Lauren // Sunnies – Lucky The Weekender // Necklace – GoFavor.com //
Watch – Marc by Marc Jacobs
Also, check out my latest thrift haul (I will admit, I was too lazy to take pics of everything, so I took a video instead)
Today’s post is probably not going to be something you usually see on my blog! I am sure by now some of you have the impression that I am a girl who spends all of her paychecks thrifting! And I can see where this can come from! I’ve been posting a lot of hauls and outfits lately! Let’s be honest, I do sometimes get carried away at a thrift store, and I need to watch my budget, but most of the time it really is not that much compared to a grand scheme of things, or let’s say a recent study by InStyle magazine that says – An average woman spends about $15,000 on makeup during her lifetime, and that’s not including skincare!
Before Sam and I got married, I lived on the East Coast nannying for some families. I wasn’t making a lot of money, in fact I was barely making anything (I never thought of myself or my family as rich or poor, I knew I had enough, and I think that attitude helped me a lot in life) through the Cultural Care Au Pair program, but I had my ways! When I moved to New York, I learned about Freecycle.org, and almost all of my clothes, books and health care products came from there! I also went to monthly swap meet ups organized by GrowNYC, where I would bring all the stuff I didn’t want, and go home with something I liked. Sam had a hard time believing I had all that clothes, without spending as much as a couple bucks on the subway ride, but I had my savings account to speak for me!
I was an Au Pair for 2 years, making under $200 a week, this is the time when Sam and I were in a long distant relationship. So even though I didn’t get to see him that often, I spent a lot of money flying to Minnesota almost every other month! But by the time we got engaged I had saved up over $12,000. Then I went to Russia for 10 months, where I was able to work from home and add on to the savings.
Now that we are looking into buying our first house, having saved enough for a downpayment, I reflect on where I came from and can’t express how thankful I am for everything I’ve been given!
I was born in a small town 3 hours east of Moscow. My mother was a civil engineer, my dad was a college drop out. My grandfather was a retired military man, a former KGB agent as I discovered later in life, my grandmother was a pediatrician, and if you ask me, the biggest workaholic I’ve ever known! We never had much! When I was in 6th or 7th grade I wore the same pair of jeans, the same turtleneck and the same sweater my mother knitted for me to school every day! And I couldn’t care less, until one of my friends, who was a year older than me came up and asked why I was wearing the same clothes everyday. To this point I am still grateful for that comment! This is when thrifting and hand-made clothing came into my life! My mom went above and beyond herself knitting and sewing outfits for me! Going to fabric stores was exciting! Going to thrift stores was an adventure!
By the time I was in 9th grade I was getting constant compliments on my outfits from peers and even teachers, even though I had the same pair of jeans as one of the guys in class! But that’s when unisex was in, so I didn’t care! I also never said no to hand-me-downs, and even though I didn’t have older siblings, I had plenty of friends and knew enough Missionaries who always left clothes behind!
College came around, and I made sure I got good grades to get a monthly stipend through the University. Yes, I got paid to go to school! This is probably going to fall into the “Only in Russia…” category. This was also the time when more and more thrift stores popped up all over our town, and they often had great sales, that I couldn’t resist!
Thrifting is what helped me continually save up money for my trips to Europe and the States, and now that I live here, it’s becoming my meal ticket! Finding a great thrift store takes time, so today I am going to share some of my favorite locations here in the Twin Cities, and the best times to shop there!
- Salvation Army in the Warehouse district – 900 N 4th St, Minneapolis, MN - every day is a 50% off a certain color, so stop by often! Plus they offer 50% off clothing during most major holidays! I am not even going to mention the Target overstock located in the basement – you have to see it for yourselves!
- Steeple People on Lyndale and Franklin – 2004 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN – I blogged about it before, and I will do it again – they have great vintage selection, beautiful artwork and prints, great household section, etc., etc. The only downside is – they only take cash or check!
- Goodwill in Hopkins – 1025 Hill St, Hopkins, MN - This was my go-to Goodwill when I used to babysit for a family in St.Louis Park! And I always referred to it as the Hopkins Goodwill, or Goodwill on Excelsior Blvd. Now why this particular Goodwill? – It’s cheaper, it has more vintage and authentic items, it’s been good to me! Generous if you want to put it this way! I can always find something that I like there! Now why am I not mentioning the Goodwill in Minnetonka, or Goodwill in Roseville, you may ask? The Minnetonka Goodwill will always be famous in my book for the Xanax pills I found in a pocket of one of the sweaters bought there! And Goodwill in Roseville is too good for me to be sharing it with you, but now I did, and now you know!
- Savers – I am yet to find a Savers that I don’t like! Seriously, they need a Savers in every state and county! They never overprice vintage items, and the only pieces of clothing that can be pricey are the brand new ones, with original tags still attached. And don’t forget to sign up for a Super Savers Club Card, they will send you emails with special promotions and coupons!
So here you have it, the story of my life that revolves around thrifting! And I couldn’t be happier! After all, it’s not all about the money!
Happy Thursday everyone! And don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for a DIY friday fashion and style project and an important BeingZhenya announcement!
XO,
Z
PS. Please keep in mind that my husband and I don’t have any student loans to pay off, our monthly expenses are limited down to rent, groceries, gas and car payments, plus the occasional going out and thrifting shopping sprees!
In the next post on money related subject, we’ll talk about freebies and the best websites where you can get them!
Tonight Sam and I went on a little adventure to Coon Rapids. We rarely go up there, but this time we had a perfect reason – the opening of the new Savers! I received a special invitation and a gift certificate to jump start my spring shopping!
The store was packed! Everyone who is a Savers Club Card holder got an email to attend this event! The parking lot was filled (good thing it was a big one!)
My number one goal was to find the store manager and get my hands on the rewards certificate! I also ran into another Minnesota blogger – Jackie of Teal and Lime!
We got a quick tour of the store, (THANK YOU, HEIDI! You were amazing!) and went on to shop!
As some of you may know I have an exciting event coming up, which is 100% blog related (I had someone ask me if I was getting married the other day ) Anyways, there were a few things that I pulled off the racks, which included a size M Sisley blazer, a French Connection dress, a few vintage pieces, but I ended up not buying anything, because the line was ridiculously long! I think Sam and I are going to hit another Savers this weekend, and hopefully it’ll be a more calming experience! Plus I had to go pick something up from FedEx (again for my upcoming mystery trip! – are you intrigued yet?)
As usual there were rows and rows of clothing, shoes, books, household goods, anything that you can imagine! And there were people everywhere!
As it also turns out one of their first sales that night was Leaves of Grass signed by Walt Whitman himself! I was just thinking about him and that book a few days ago, his poem “I hear America Singing…” was going through my head…
It is a great store, reminded me a lot of the one in Oakdale (size wise especially)! There is so much to look for, that I know I wouldn’t have possibly had time to look through everything in the few hours that it was open! And even though this store is out of the way, I will definitely considering coming back here in the future!
I hope you all had a great day, keep on spreading thrift love and joy!
Happy Earth Day everyone! What better way to take care of our planet than reuse?! And today I will be sharing one of my 100% thrifted outfits!
I hope you all had a great weekend wherever you are! I shared with my Facebook followers that I have some very exciting news for you! And I will share the first one today! I was invited to the Opening of the new Savers here in the Twin Cities, and I couldn’t be more excited! I get to go in the store 2 days before it actually opens to the public, snap some pictures for you and of course thrift shop! Now I will be shopping for another special even, that I am going to keep SECRET for just a few more days, but it’s even more exciting and I can barely hold it
Everyone knows that these days it’s the baggier the better, to a certain extent of course! When I put something oversized on top, I make sure to go skinny on the bottom, and this is how it usually turns out:
Top – Old Navy size M (it’s HUGE!) but since it was bought on sale for a ridiculously small amount of money, and they didn’t have size S anywhere, I got it. It’s comfy and soft, almost at the point where I want to wear it around the house with a pair of sweats, but am fighting this urge!
Jeans – X2 Denim by Express, thrifted at Savers, $8
Scarf – Christmas gift from a few years ago
Floral necklace – Gofavor.com, that necklace was ordered for about $4 back in the day when I went through – Let’s order as much cheap crap costume jewelry from China as I can. If I could, I would return every single product I ordered there, because… well you see the crossed out word above! The metal is so cheap it fades away after 2 or 3 uses. This necklace has been kind of okay, but I don’t want to jinx it here! So I’ll keep wearing it out and about, and maybe later you’ll see it in one of my DIY projects!
Boots – Christmas gift from Sam <3
And of course my Marc Jacobs Watch! I have to wear it, everyday, yes, that’s how much I like that watch!
On the other note, winter isn’t going anywhere here in Minneapolis. After a snow thunderstorm last Thursday I am hopeless, on the verge of depression, someone please help! At least this blog is becoming more bright and colorful, I’ve finally figured out how to create a row of social media icons on my blog, yay me
In other news, I have a lot of DIY projects coming up for you dear readers, so stay tuned!
Love,
Z
PS. Did you notice I am not wearing any make-up in this picture?
Hey everyone, I hope you all had an amazing week and a Happy Easter I know a lot of my friends and readers in Europe will be celebrating later this spring, so get ready for the Easter Bunny to hop overseas!
Today’s blog post is about furniture, and since some of you know my minor (*COUGH* yeah, right) obsession with Freecycle.org, the post is going to be about “not so new”, but beautiful, vintage and FREE furniture!
I finally got tired of not having a coffee table in our living room, and wrote a Wanted post on Freecycle, and here is what I got:
The lady who gave it to me was so nice, she even delivered it to my apartment building! I am serious! I was shocked too! Trust me! Most of the time it’s your responsibility to go and pick something up off of freecycle, but this time I guess I got lucky! It’s a wooden table, definitely vintage! I looked under it, and it said Massachusets! I am such a sucker for vintage furniture! It’s so beautiful and elegant, that Ikea and Target simply become a blasphemy!
I’ve acquired another piece of furniture this week – a night stand/end table, thanks to my mother-in-law! Since our bed is so high, very few nightstands work with it! I have been looking for a tall nightstand for months, because that corner between the bed and wall started to feel more and more empty with every day that went by. So Sandra, dropped off this beauty last Tuesday, and it fit right in!
I love it, don’t you? I immediately took Sam’s old green lamp out of storage, and placed it on the table:
Now it reminds me of a short story by a Russian writer Alexander Green, called the Green Lamp, which I am planning on translating and posting on here this week! I love Russian literature, makes me feel nostalgic, but at the same time appreciate my background and culture!
An oldie, but a definitely goodie is my console table, which has been recently featured in my “Early Stages of Hoarding” post, and is another great freecycle find, that I got from a woman, who said her husband was a hoarder (Oh-oh!)
Some other items that I have freecycled include (but are not limited to )
- books
- clothes
- vintage
- kitchen appliances
- arts and crafts supplies,
and the list goes on!
It really is a great source, but don’t forget that it’s not all about getting, it’s all about GIVING!
Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by for today’s DIY post!
It’s going to be an easy “Get Ready for Spring/Summer 2013″ refashion/sewing project:
Start with picking your fabric! I got this curtain/table cloth material at Goodwill for only $2.99
Don’t you just love it?
Then I laid it out flat, and as you can see the front is shorter than the back (yes, I intended it to be like that! ) and placed a shirt on top of it, to see where the seams would approximately go:
Then I cut along the lines, pinned it like so:
And here you have it! A very chic and shabby swimsuit cover up!
- Our living room carpet looks like this 6 days out of the week…
- Console table…
- Crafts central
- Random piles of stuff all over the bedroom floor
- Closet space
And I know exactly what it is – I am lazy, I don’t like to clean, I don’t like to pick up, for some reason I want to save every scrap of paper, every ribbon, every magazine.
I keep telling myself that once we move into a house, it’ll get better, but who am I kidding – it won’t.
But nothing motivates me, I guess I am just a slob. And it’s the availability and accessibility of products here. I can go to a store, spend some money, get more stuff, but it won’t solve the clutter solution!
I have recently started an Etsy store, and one of the main reasons was to downsize my vintage collection. And yes, I have made some sales, but what’s 1-2 purses compared to a walk-in closet full of supplies, patterns, coats?
Yes, let’s talk about coats. I have an obsession with coats, I think I have about 10 of them! That’s the problem thrifters have – you walk into Savers or Goodwill and see an awesome coat say for $30, and of course you want to pick it up, because in your head you are already putting together outfits, and creating InstaCollages! And at this point you don’t realize that you have another dozen coats waiting to be worn, photographed, pinned, instagrammed, facebooked, etc.
Maybe I just need to vent, but I also function better, when more people know about my issue. I don’t need anyone to hold me accountable, I need to publicly tell everyone that modern day social networks are giving me an ADD, and that my real life is starting to go god knows where!
It’s a 1 bedroom apartment for crying out loud, how difficult could it be to clean?
So here you have it, I fessed up, and am now going to go and vigorously clean the apartment, making several trips to the dumpster!
