Fell Off the Wagon: Shopping

This whole blog is about me being broke and trying to find a way to live/eat all while paying off my ridiculous student loans. I've been going strong for a while now but I am only human and not only am I human, I am a girl and there's only so long I can stay strong when it comes to shopping.

Some things you should know about me; I never throw clothes away. EVER. I have clothes from high school. If it still fits and is basically clean then it's mine forever and ever and ever. Unfortunately I am in an interesting period of my life. Adult puberty. I am going from a teenager/early 20-something to a 26 year old professional woman. The way that I dressed when I was 19 no longer reflects the person I am. Me at 19 = slip on ratty vans, tight cigarette pants, and Obey t-shirts. Think this:

Now, there is nothing wrong with this outfit or style of clothing (although, it could be argued that a pear shaped chick like me should stay away from cigarette pants but I digress) but it no longer is what I'm about. I still have these clothes but as the years go by I don't wear them as much and while my closet is filled with clothes my actual wardrobe is very small. I can't really pin point my style but I'm starting to drift more towards classic clothes and finer fabrics. Sometimes I border on preppy which is an entirely new thing for me. Here's some examples:

Photo courtesy of A Well Traveled Woman.

Photo from Pinterest

Due to my non-exisistent shopping budget I've just worked with what I've had and dealt with feeling unfashionable and sad (cue sad female drama). But I finally broke and my busted old cardigan is all to blame.

Despite living in Texas and dealing with unimaginable heat 9 months out of the year I am in love with sweaters. Cardigans, boyfriend sweaters, hoodies, and pull overs I own and love, love, love them all. I have one black button up cardigan that I wear constantly that is as near death that a piece of clothing can be. I've owned it since high school, it's missing a button, it's faded and peeling (is that the correct term?), and at one point I dropped it in my parking lot on a rainy day, ran it over with my car, and found it 8 hours later.

One day last week I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I chucked the old sweater in the trash and dragged my boyfriend to Highland Mall. Now, if you live in Austin you know Highland Mall is on it's last leg. I think there are like 5 stores remaining in it and there are constantly riots there (charming, right?). I figured I could swing by the mall, pick out a cheap sweater from the clearance Dilliards, and move on with my life. But like most things in my life this didn't go as planned. The only store left that had anything CLOSE to what I was looking for was Wet Seal. I  haven't shopped there since high school but beggars can't be choosers and it turned out to be a treasure trove of cheap, awesome finds.

Wet Seal is apparently so hard up for customers in this sad, empty mall that half the store was on clearance and they had a special deal where you buy one clearance item you get another for only a penny. I lost my mind a little. I bought a brand new black, lightweight button up, a thick gray cable knit sweater, a boyfriend style long striped cardigan, a striped flowing tank, a pair of southwest style slip on shoes, black strappy sandals, 2 pairs of panties, and silky gray camisole. All for only $32.48. That's 9 pieces of clothing for less than what my boyfriend and I spent at Taco Tuesday at Quality Seafood (best day to go IMO).

Now, I know I can't go shopping like this all the time but being able to pick up some new items for cheap made me feel so much better. My next plan of attack on my wardrobe is to buy a sewing machine and try to jazz up what I already own.

Here's a fashion show so you can see what I bought (all images from the internet because I'm too fucking lazy to take pictures).

Photo courtesy of Color Me Blue.

Tiny screenshot of sweater (but in black).

 I love this little slip ons so much. Comfortable and perfect for Texas summers. 

Haven't worn these yet but I'm excited to pair them with a fun summer dress.

Follow me on Pinterest so you can keep up with my future projects and inspiration. I have a bunch of new DIY in the works (it be coming sooner but I have to spend money on lame things like the dentist and car parts).

Photo Update: Food Addition

Clearing out a few pics from my iPhone folder.

Cherry Pie filled Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Chocolate Ganache. 

Vader Hello Kitty Cake Topper. 

Vegan and Gluten Free Hamburger Cake (love the irony in this one). 

Dessert screaming for mercy. I gave it none.  

"Kitty Litter" Cake my Grammy made this for my younger cousins. They totally loved it.  

Vacation Feast pt 1: French Toast platter of the Gods.  

Vacation Feast pt 2: Seafood! 

Kahlua Coco and Marshmallows. Recipe is here.

Hoping this week is a good one; I'm (temporarily) back on my regular shift which means normal hours and actually seeing my friends/boyfriend. 

I drank the Kool Aid

I started a Pinterest thing/account/whatevs to try to keep track of all the DIY projects I want to do. Follow me? (or Pin me? Is that accurate? I'm usually better at the internet then this).

Pour Girl on Pinterest!

Catching up

Truth.

I have like, zero time to update but it's been a while and I enjoy checking in. Lots of ups and downs this week.

-Car needed new belts or some bull shit -$150 (WTF car, I don't even own any belts and you got THREE new ones??? That's fucked up).

+Got a bump in pay due to a market survey, up $0.52 an hour!!!

-Went to the dentist and I need $650 in dental work because I brush my teeth like I'm cleaning grout from tile.

I guess that's life. You get a little more money but you have more expenses. I only have $75 left to pay off for my car and I'm going to do the dental work in chunks so I can make payments. In other news my boo moved closer to me and his new place is swanky. Wood floors, two levels, tile back splash in the kitchen. I've already planned a million parties to host there, much to his delight, I'm sure.

I'll be back soon, this week I'm all graveyards PLUS multiple shifts at my second job. Luckily, a mix of sugar and delirium keep me steady through my 13+ hour shifts.

Feelin' the Love // Sushi

Oh man. So this little blog of mine has been getting TONS of traffic since my last post. This makes me incredibly happy. Not only because I honestly enjoy this whole blogging thing but it's nice to know that I'm helping to spread the story of Officer Padron. Yesterday was his procession back to San Angelo and seeing the streets of Austin lined with citizens paying their respects was so moving. Through the 4 hour drive to lay his body to rest emergency crews and officers would line the streets in far away towns to honor him and his service.

Want a good cry? Take a look at how Austin Texas pays tribute to a fallen hero:




Thousands of officers followed his body home until he was finally laid to rest. It was so incredibly moving to see how everyone in this town came together to show their respect.

SOOOO. In order to stop the crying here is a little how to make Sushi post.

I've recently decided to try to get healthy/healthier. Here's the thing; I've never really been un-healthy (except in my childhood when I was a little fat rolly poly of a kid) but ever since I started dating my fella there's been a lot more ice cream and pizza nights and a lot less salad and running. I decided to cut out ALL pizza and ice cream for the month of April (doesn't sound drastic at all but when you go from eating it like, 3 times a week to nothing, you start to get with drawls).

I've always really liked Veggie Sushi but my poorness prevented me from buying it ($5 bucks for one roll!!!). Turns out it's not that hard to make it and getting started wasn't that expensive. All you need is the ingredients (rice, rice vinegar, sushi paper, veggies) and if your fancy you can buy a sushi rolling mat which is only a few bucks (or just use saran wrap like in this blog). Here's a How To article that provides some great instructions.

Veggies: carrots, cucumber, and avocado. YUM.

Sushi paper on Sushi rolling mat.

Cook rice and then combine it with a mixture of vinegar and sugar. Then let it sit until it's cool/room temp. It should become very sticky which can be a pain in the ass. Apply it evenly over the rice paper making sure to leave room on the sides and the end. Then add your veggies.

Roll it up, cut it up and serve with pickled ginger and wasabi. Pickled ginger is some of my favorite stuff in the world. Also, home made wasabi kicks you right in the face so if you don't like spicy/bold just avoid this stuff.

Fun fact: Don't buy $7 Saki even if you think it would be totally cutesy to do a whole Asian theme. Perhaps this is a fact that every adult knows but me but $7 Saki is the worst tasting thing ever. It's just frothy and bland. I LIKE alcohol and I can stomach a lot but I couldn't make it through a glass of this stuff.

All in all, this whole recipe cost less than $25 dollars and that was for everything (rolling mat, pickled ginger, wasabi, all the veggies, rice, ETC). You get tons of sushi out of it and once you invest in the tools you can make delicious sushi whenever you want.

On a serious note

This blog is named in homage of the fact that I enjoy drinking. I have made several posts where I either use alcohol in recipes or in daily life (SXSW, Valentine's Day, and Booze Ice Cream). As much as I enjoy drinking and having a good time I want to get serious for one moment.


This is Senior Officer Jaime Padron of the Austin Police Department. He was brutally murdered last night. He went out on a "routine" call to a local Wal-Mart and within the first minute of approaching the subject he was shot twice; once in his protective vest and once in the neck.

So what was the call about? What made the suspect act so crazed and with such indifference to human life? Wal-Mart employees had called because the suspect, Brandon Montgommery Daniel, who is only 24, was drunk.

That's right, this individual MURDERED an officer and took shots at employees and most likely doesn't remember much of it because he was wasted. He's being charged with Capital Murder which in Texas makes him eligible for the death penalty because he had too much beer/wine/liquor/whatever. If it hadn't been for the brave actions of two Wal-Mart employees who tackled Daniel and disarmed him there could have been far greater carnage.

My heart is broken, not only for the officer and his family (which include two young daughters, 6 and 10 years old) but for young Mr. Daniel who for all intents and purpose died last night as well. His life is over all because he had too much to drink and acted with grave indifference.

I love booze and drinking but I do it with EXTREME caution. When I go out I have a two beer maximum if I'm driving. Not just because a DWI could ruin my career and could costs upwards of $17,000 but because I never want my choice to drink to negatively effect anyone else. My safety and the safety of those around me is far more important than getting drunk. Drinking should be a glass of wine or whiskey while curled up against your honey on the couch or beers at a BBQ or out on the lake. Drinking should not be hurting others or making grave, permanent choices. The worst consequence of drinking should be a wicked hangover or making out with someone inappropriate, not death.

If you have the extra cash please donate to Officer Padron's family at AustinCrime.org or the 100 Club of Central Texas.

Just a quickie...

Who just paid $2000 on their UT loan? This chick. Oh yeah, 2 more months and that sucker is done and then I can set my sites on destroying my Wells Fargo loan.