[138] Garage/Yard Sale

If it weren't slightly embarrassing, I would share a photo of my bedroom's current state of mess. I have 3 different sized hampers overflowing with clothes, and two dressers with clothes in each drawer (although, not overflowing).

Ever since I lost all my weight, I have had piles of clothes that are just way too big for me. I'm the type of person who holds onto old clothes, regardless of if it has gone out of style. (I've never been one to care much about that.) If it fits well, why get rid of it? Right?! Well, now they just don't fit well... at all.

I have been considering putting (super low) prices on all the clothes I no longer wear and selling them off to anyone who would like to wear (or upcycle!) them. In fact, just today, I was talking with my co-worker about creating a Facebook page to serve as an online garage/yard/closet sale. She and I both are interested in selling clothes and accessories for low prices. (This way, we can both avoid sitting in the heat just to sell off these items. Genius!)

I picked up this adjustable rolling garment rack for $19.88 at my local Walmart. Pretty good price for what this rack offers. Adjustable bar as well as two storage shelves for shoes, etc.

The plan is to use this to hold all my sale items before I donate what is left over. Eventually, I'd like to use this as a home for whatever pieces of clothing I am wearing for the appropriate season.

To make room for this clothes rack, I'd like to get rid of my dresser (which is currently being used as a computer desk). When I switched out my twin bed for a queen bed, I lost quite a bit of space. Things are getting quite cramped, especially with my mess of clothes.

Hoping to get things cleaned up so I can setup my little garage/yard/closet sale.

Happy Wednesday!

[124] 36 pounds, and I ain't talkin' currency

In 6 weeks I will be coming to the end of a goal I set for myself 1 year ago.

Original post: Goal: Drop 50 lbs in 1 year

Last January, I weighed 210 pounds. I have never felt an extreme level of embarrassment and disappointment in myself until that moment. Often questioning myself, "How did I let this get out of hand?" Last March I weighed 197 pounds and decided, I've had enough of this. I must get this under control. I've lost a total of 36 pounds since last January and I still have another 27 pounds to lose before March 25, 2012. That's 6 weeks away! How do I plan on busting down those last 27 pounds? Staying positive, continuing to eat fresh & homemade foods, and quite a bit of cardio.

"I've had the urge to go running lately. I'll probably make it to the corner and have to turn around.
...I live on a corner house."

Quoting myself because I'm real cool.

When I started this journey I was wearing sizes 12 and 14. I'm now comfortably wearing sizes 8 and 9! In fact, I only have two pairs of jeans in 8's and one pair in 9 (which happen to be my yellow jeans from my Pichu costume). I honestly can't even remember the last time I was in the single digits. (Single digits for the single girl. Haaaay!)

I have received numerous comments and messages about my progress. People I haven't talked to in years have started to contact me just to say congrats and keep going. All these positives keep me going! Not that I'm relying on others to push me towards my goal, but it sure does help. So, thank you to everyone who has helped me through this. Thank you for taking a moment out of your day to let me know that you have seen and support the improvements and changes I have made in my life to better my health.

I love being able to walk into a grocery store or a restaurant and say "no" to something I don't need.

This picstitch photo sums up how I feel about myself.

I often get the urge to play dress-up now that I feel as beautiful on the outside as I do on the inside. :) Love yourself because there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing so.

1½ years vegetarian & 13 months soda free.

[065] Dinner, beer, new clothes, and a few questions

Tonight was a date night for my boyfriend and I. I decided to get a little dressed up since we haven't really been able to go out on a Friday night in some time. A typical Friday night for me usually consists of working the closing shift. A typical Friday night for Shawno usually consists of him coming home late from a busy day of updates at work (he's a programmer), coming home late only to telecommute to tackle more tasks, or getting in some hangout time with his best friend whenever they're both available. So tonight was our night to have a nice dinner together without having to throw "What's for dinner?" around until one of us cooks something, haha.

Top: Wet Seal

Tank: American Eagle

Jeans: Wet Seal

Belt: American Eagle

Necklace: (Christmas gift) Forever 21 I think?

1. What time did you get up this morning? 9am (EST)

2. How do you like your steak? If I still ate beef, medium or medium-well.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Hangover 2, it wasn't that great. I saw Bridesmaids before that and loved it!

4. What is your favourite TV show? Will and Grace, iCarly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files (It's hard to pick just one.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Guam. I'm desperate to go back.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Yoplait Apple Turnover yogurt

7. What is your favorite food? Baked potatoes with various toppings, especially veggie toppings.

8. Foods you dislike? Water chestnuts and anything with a heavy amount of bell peppers.

9. Favorite place to eat? Texas Roadhouse is my favorite place to go out  for a nice dinner.

10. Favorite dressing? Newman's Own Light Raspberry and Walnut

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? 00' Pontiac Grand Am

12. What are your favorite clothes? I love a nice pair of jeans and a comfy cotton t-shirt.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Wales, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Italy, Germany, China, Japan, and the Philippines

14. Cup ½ empty or ½ full? Really it depends on the situation but I try to lean towards ½full. After all, my blood type is "b positive". Wiiink!

15. Where would you want to retire? Texas, Washington, or Oregon.

16. Favorite time of day? 9am. 7am if I'm at a lake or a beach.

17. Where were you born? Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Mississippi

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Soccer and I really enjoy watching hockey with my boyfriend.

19. What is your favorite fragrance? I've used Curve perfume for so long (because I barely use it) that I don't even know what anything else smells like. If we're talking about room/air fresheners I love hazelnut and pumpkin spice fragrances.

20. What is your favorite face cream? Honestly, I don't use a cream specific for my face. I use my fragrance-free Aveeno body lotion. Every face cream I've used has dried out my face or I've had an allergic reaction to it.

21. Favorite baby/kids products? Baby Bee by Burt's Bees is great! Other than that, I love Johnson & Johnson baby products.

22. People watcher? I'm real big into people watching. Sometimes I start staring without realizing I might be bothering people, haha.

23. Are you a morning or night person? I'm an in betweener. If I'm on the right schedule, I'm a morning person, but I also have a habit of staying up late.

24. Do you have any pets? Not since Maloney Long-fins and Mahoney No-legs passed. Shawno's not ready to move on yet. Also, I'm allergic to so many animals. Bummer.

25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? My page views has been pretty consistent over the last couple weeks. Considering a giveaway if traffic keeps itself up.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A dancer/ballerina/gymnast.

27. What is your favorite memory? I have this faint memory from when I was a toddler. I kept trying to throw a snowball at my grandma's window, but I was too small and I couldn't quite throw it high enough.

28. Are you a cat or dog person? I'm definitely a dog person, but if I could find a hypoallergenic cat I would easily adjust.

29. Are you married? Nope.

30. Always wear your seat belt? Always. I had a little scare in ~1997.

31. Been in a car accident? Yes. Two and a half years ago I was driving a rental car when I was hit by a van. Zero injuries, but I had post-traumatic stress for almost a month after the accident. 

32. Any pet peeves? Inconsiderate drivers. Trashy dressed people.

33. Favorite pizza toppings? Pineapple, roasted garlic, spinach, and various cheeses!

34. Favorite flower? Calla lilies in any color.

35. Favorite ice cream? Peanut butter ice cream with fudge swirl and Reese's peanut butter cups.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway sandwiches or Wendy's baked potatoes

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Zero! Passed on the first try.

38. From whom did you get your last email? 20 Something Bloggers group update

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Best Buy

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? Not really.

41. Like your job? I'm content.

42. Broccoli? I love broccoli!

43. What was your favorite vacation? Virginia 2010. It was mine and Shawno's first long-distance car trip together.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? Shawno

45. What are you listening to right now? King of Queens on TBS

46. What is your favorite color? Kelly Green, any shade of green really.

47. How many tattoos do you have? Three and wanting more.

48. Coffee drinker? I'm real big on coffee and drinking it.

[061] I Love Clearance Sales

Where do you go when you walk into a clothing store? I head straight for the clearance rack. I love seeing tags with markdown, after markdown, after markdown. The same goes for online shopping. I love it even more so when clearance is an additional 50% and free shipping with the purchase of jeans. Thanks Wet Seal!

Over the last three years I've slowly ventured from American Eagle (AE) jeans to Wet Seal (WS) jeans. While I still wear AE jeans, WS provided me with comfortable black jeans for work. If you know anything about American Eagle, they rarely offer black jeans. And when it comes to sales, WS seems to offer the "buy one get one 50% off" on their jeans every couple of months. That makes my wallet happy!

If you were to check all the labels on my clothes, you'll find "American Eagle Outfitters" on roughly 75% of these tags. When I find a piece of clothing I like, it tends to stick around in my wardrobe for 5+ years. If it becomes damaged, I usually buy a similar item to replace it.

Back to the reason behind this post.

Space Dye Crochet Top - paid $7.99 (Regularly $22.50, Clearance $15.99)

Space Dye Crochet Top by behindthecanon featuring crochet tops

Lace Crop Top - paid $6.99 (Regularly $19.50, Clearance $13.99)

Lace Crop Top by behindthecanon featuring lace tops

Showstopper Skinny Jean in Med Potassium - paid $14.99 (Regularly $26.50)

Showstopper in Med Potassium by behindthecanon featuring skinny fit jeans

Free Shipping + $0.00 Tax = $29.97 total
This package came in the mail today! I plan on going out to dinner Friday night with the boyfriend, which might serve as the perfect opportunity to wear one of these new tops. :]