Confession

Forever 21 dress (worn as top), thrifted vintage skirt, belt from Wish (closed),
Seychelles wedges from PB&J Boutique (giveaway win), necklace from Matt

Yesterday night, I was cleaning out my closet and made the mistake of trying on a pair of jeans I hadn't worn since last summer. Mind you, they're skinny, non-stretchy, white jeans and I've been drinking beer and eating fast food all weekend (don't judge me). Anyway, I got the jeans up to my hips and they felt TIGHT. I have no idea how I ever managed to get them on before. I successfully squeezed myself into them, but it was not a pretty sight.

Although it didn't make me break down and cry, it got me thinking about how lazy I've been in the last year. At this time last year, I was practicing yoga 5-6 times a week. I stopped sometime during the fall semester and subsequently gained about 10 lbs., which is a lot of weight on my 5'1" frame. When you add in not-so-healthy eating and drinking decisions, I'm not that surprised.

Bottom line--I'm not saying I'm fat by any means. I'm quite proud of my body (here's proof!) and all that it can do, but I should probably be treating it a little nicer. I feel comfortable in all my clothes except those damn jeans and it's time for a change.

Our New Addition

thrifted blouse and skirt, Banana Republic heels

The past week and half have been a total blur. After my fact-checking project at Texas Monthly ended, I spent a week at Canyon Lake celebrating my best friend's graduation. When I got back from my much-needed vacation, I started my 38-hour-workweek at the bridal salon. It's great for my finances, but not so great for spending time with our new puppy. Yes, we got a puppy!

Our lives have been turned upside down (in a good way) since getting Charles, our 8 week old Cockapoo. He needs a lot of attention because he's so young, but we're training him so he's not needy and whiny. He's already making a lot of progress. It's definitely taking a lot of patience and time, but it's going to be worth it. I mean, just look at this face!

I seriously hadn't been on my computer for longer than 10 minutes since before all this happened. Now that everything has settled down, I finally have time to get back to blogging. I have to admit that it was a nice break, not having to make time to take pictures outside or come up with something to say about my outfits. I was able to get dressed without thinking about whether it was a good enough outfit for my blog or if I'd worn something too similar recently. I'm happy to be back, but it's definitely made me think about why I blog and if it's all worth it. Hopefully, I'll figure it out soon.

Sentimental Clothing

H&M shirt (five years old), thrifted skirt (gift from my stepmom),
Forever 21 earrings, Banana Republic wedges

I used to wear a version of this outfit all the time before I started my blog. But instead of this conservative skirt and my grown-up wedges, I'd wear my short, black American Apparel pocket skirt and flat sandals. In fact, it used to be one of my go-to outfits in college. It's funny how easily you can grow out of certain styles. Now, I only wear that American Apparel skirt as a swimsuit cover up. It just doesn't feel like me anymore.

On the other hand, I have a special relationship with this particular red-orange top. I bought it in Rome when I was 17 years old and I'm so glad I still have it. Unlike the American Apparel skirt, this shirt makes me feel youthful in a good way. I wanted to wear it the other day, so I decided to recreate my old go-to outfit in a more "grown-up" way. I'll always consider this top to be an essential piece of my wardrobe. It has too many memories!

My Adult Life

The last four days of my life have been crazy. For starters, I got a new car! My beautiful, dark grey Toyota Corolla is a huge step up from my falling-apart Jeep Cherokee. Matt and I drove the new car to Houston on Friday to test it out over the weekend. To be truthful, he drove and I sat in the passenger seat almost the entire trip. I like being chauffeured.

We went to Houston to hang out with some good friends as well as check out potential neighborhoods for our future move. Neither of us know the area that well, so we wanted to drive around and see if anything caught our eye. We really liked the Museum District, Downtown, Montrose, and even Midtown. It's going to be a seriously hard decision choosing a place to live. It looks like we'll be going back a couple of times over the next few months to decide. Wish us luck!

Blast from the Past

dress from Langford Market, Gap cardigan,
Forever 21 earrings, Banana Republic heels

It's hard for me to wear red and black together without being reminded of high school. I was a Cardinal, which meant I wore red and black almost every Friday for football games, on my letterman jacket, at graduation, etc. Since I left high school, I consciously tried not to wear this color combination. I must be falling out of the habit because I put this outfit together earlier this week without even realizing I was wearing Cardinal colors. I guess I kind of miss being a care-free high school student.

Thinking about high school always reminds me of Matt. We've been together for over six years and it just keeps getting better. Sometimes, I can't believe how lucky I am.

Happy birthday, Matt! I love you!

Fancy Pants

American Apparel t-shirt, thrifted pants and flats,
Gap denim jacket, Forever 21 earrings

I like to think of these as my "Audrey Hepburn" pants. I feel dressed up and glamourous even I wear them with a t-shirt and denim jacket. Red shoes and elegant earrings definitely help, too. I'd been searching for the perfect pair of black high-waisted crop pants for awhile and was so happy to find a perfect-fitting pair at Savers for $7. Come to think of it, these flats are from Savers, too. If you haven't been there yet, I highly recommend it. I usually recommend Savers to new thrifters here in Austin because it's so organized and clean. Some people even consider it to be the department store of thrift stores. I don't know how much I agree with that, but just know that it's almost always my first stop when I thrift. If you're interested in checking it out, read my post about thrifting at Savers that I wrote a couple of months ago.

Truth Be Told

Gap dress, thrifted Anne Klein cardigan, thrifted Nine West wedges

Today's post is a little different and longer than usual. I was tagged by Kate from The Perpetual Student's Wife in the 11 Random Things challenge. This means I'll be sharing a bunch of random facts with you, my readers. I hope you're interested in learning more about me because I'm not leaving anything out.

Here's how this is supposed to go down:

1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you’ve tagged them.

My 11 Random Things

1. The most-played artists on my iPod include Blink 182, Elis Regina, and Jimi Hendrix. Clearly, I have eclectic taste in music. 

2. I once got a ticket for running a stop sign...on a bike. 

3. My absolute favorite show is I Love Lucy.

4. I feel weird about leaving the house without at least a little makeup on.

5. I really hate driving and wish I lived in a city that had a subway.

6. I honestly have no clue what I'll be doing career-wise in a year.

7. After working at Subway in high school and creating the perfect sandwich, I can't eat there anymore because they just don't make it right.

8. One of my favorite book series is The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jane Auel. Please don't look it up because then you'll know I'm a huge nerd.

9. Matt and I still haven't taken down our Christmas tree. 

10. The first time I went to Las Vegas, I won $420 at a random slot machine while I was waiting for Matt to use the restroom.

11. Someday, I'd like to own my own vintage clothing shop. 

Kate's 11 Questions: 

1. The strangest day trip you've ever been on.

There was that time I took a hallucinogenic drug in Zilker Park. Enough said.

2. Favorite Flower: both cut and planted.

Classic roses are always my favorite.

3. Allergies?

I'm allergic to whatever is in the air in Austin. I never had allergies until I moved here. 

4. Ideal pet: type, personality, color, name.

I want any dog that will get along with my cat, Angus. 

5. Worst outfit you've ever worn in public.

Definitely my go-to outfit in high school: flare jeans, my red Hurley hoodie, and white Etnies sneakers. I looked like a wanna-be skater.

6. What do you currently use for transportation?

I drive my mom's grey Jeep Cherokee.

7. Favorite gelato or FroYo flavor. (Or strangest)

I love anything coffee or espresso flavored. 

8. Where/ in what circumstance have you been the most physically uncomfortable?

I spent a week in bed with a stomach flu while I was studying abroad in Spain. It was disgusting.

9. What food item or flavor combination did you unexpectedly like and have intentions of hating?

I used to think I didn't like tarter sauce, but I tried it recently and was proven wrong. It's delicious with fried shrimp! 

10. When was the last time you ate a homegrown piece of fruit or vegetable? (Farmer's Market only kinda counts)

I re-grew my own green onions after seeing this on Pinterest.

11. How did you come to the conclusion that you should start a blog?

I wanted to show everyone that it's entirely possible to dress well and feel good about yourself without having to spend a lot of money.

My 11 Questions:
1. What's your favorite holiday and why?
2. Coke or Pepsi?
3. What sort of hair have you always wished you had or are you happy with what you have?
4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
5. What is your favorite accessory to shop for?
6. How old were you when you had your first kiss?
7. What kind of dress did you wear to prom?
8. Who do you call or talk to first when you have exciting news?
9. What is your dream designer item?
10. If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you?
11. What color are your toenails and/or fingernails currently painted?

I tag the following bloggers:
Cactus Collective
Thrifteye
Fashionable Collections
Uncharted Style
Style by Santina
Dress with Courage
A Little Bit of Lacquer
Kitsune-kun
The Lovely Cup

I hope you enjoyed getting to know me a little better!

My Dashiki Dress

 

vintage dress from Cream Vintage, Banana Republic wedges, Forever 21 earrings

I wore these wedges on Wednesday for about 20 minutes, 10 of which were spent outside taking these photos. It started raining while I was posing and it became awfully hard to walk on the wet ground. I didn't slip, but it sure felt like I was going to fall flat on my face. I switched to flat sandals when I got back inside my apartment, but didn't want to stand outside in the rain again to re-take pictures. The dress is the most important part of my outfit anyway. It's one of my favorite vintage purchases because it's comfortable, easy to throw on, and perfect for summer.

I did a random search for dashiki while I was writing this post and stumbled upon this pattern on Etsy:

vintage pattern from Jeanie's Shop on Etsy

How awesome is this? It's my dress! The pattern is from 1972 and although my dress has a tag, it looks eerily similar to the dress pictured here. Seeing this makes me love my dress even more!

The End of SXSW

Langford Market dress, thrifted denim vest,
Forever 21 earrings, Banana Republic wedges

SXSW has finally ended, which means everyone in Austin needs a new reason to party. I only went downtown twice last week and the first time was because I'd actually been invited to an event. I took Sarah's SXSW style advice and put this outfit together for the maurices Rock 'n' Shop at Terrace59.

Every Avenue played a free show. They aren't my cup of tea, but they were pretty good.

A screwdriver is always an excellent choice for breakfast. Drinking two is even better.

maurices had drinks, snacks, swag bags and music. It was everything you could ask for at SXSW. Thanks again for the invite, maurices.

Monica from maurices was super nice and showed me the way to the free swag!

Modern Dorothy

Forever 21 earrings, thrifted blouse from Goodwill, thrifted pants and shoes from Savers

I didn't actually wear these red heels with this outfit. Instead, I was wearing a pair of red leather flats that I bought on Saturday during the Texas Style Council thrifting session at Savers. I've been wearing them for the last two days because they're so comfortable and hello, they're RED! Here's an Instagram of what they look like...followed by the reason why they aren't in my outfit photos.

I was at work when I realized the bottom part of the heel was breaking off. It didn't affect my walking that much, but I was very aware that one of my legs was about a half-inch shorter than the other. I'm really in love with these flats, so I decided to take them to the Austin Shoe Hospital. I had a pair of vintage boots from Ebay fixed up there about a year ago and they came back looking brand-spanking-new. In the end, I'll be paying $30 to improve these flats that only cost me $4. It might sound silly, but I think it's going to be worth it. Once the whole bottom part of the show is reinforced, they'll be as good as new.

By the way, I've been getting really into Instagram lately. Follow me @nataliebgarza to stay up-to-date on the not-so-exciting things that happen in my life. You never know when another one of my shoes might break down on me.

A Little Honesty

Old Navy tank top, thrifted pants, Gap jean jacket,
Montego Bay wedges from Payless, Forever 21 earrrings 

I have to admit something...I haven't gone thrifting for what feels like forever. I've been taking advantage of my awesome employee discount at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, but it's still way more expensive than thrifting. I think I've been using the excuse that I don't have time to thrift. Well, I'm officially putting a limit on how much retail I can buy because I want to get back to my old ways. I miss the digging and decision making that goes along with thrifting. I'm really looking forward to the Texas Style Council thrifting workshop on Saturday. I usually thrift alone, so it's going to be really fun to thrift with 100 other style bloggers!