Frivolousless Update: Week #1

Frivolous-less February

It's been about a week of Frivolouslessness, and I decided to reflect back on the week...

It hasn't been too hard, especially since I didn't leave the house from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon. Not many opportunities to be frivolous in my house! I did go to Chic-Fil-A on Thursday for lunch but only spent $1.38 on my meal (thank you, Christmas gift cards).

The hard part came Friday after work when I stopped at The Land of Great Temptations (aka: Target). I had something to return (which I actually left in the car - oops!) and a few (non-frivolous) things to pick up. Here are my stories of frivolousless victories at Target (who knew it could be done?):

1. I needed a stapler (thank you, naughty first grader, for breaking mine on a day there was a sub in the classroom). Instead of buying the cute, purple one, I got the basic black for $2 less.
2. I was starving, but instead of getting a chocoloate-peanut butter heart like I really wanted, I got a banana - A BANANA! Cheaper and healthier!

These may seem like small victories, but for a girl who regularly spends more at Target than she should, it was quite impressive!

I also realized this weekend that if I am really sticking with my rules of spending no extra money, I will have a very boring month! Saying no to the movies and dinner out all the time and sitting in my house all alone doesn't seem like a good time. The gift cards alone just aren't going to cut it! So I am revising the frivolousless rules a little bit:

1. The no extra spending rule definitely still applies to clothing, accessories, shoes, etc... Nothing new to wear. The challenge is to clean out the closet, not add more to it!
2. A little bit of entertainment (going to the movies, going out to dinner, etc...) frivolousness is ok. Use gift cards as much as possible, but don't become a hermit just to be frivolousless.
3. No extra spending still applies to all shopping! If you don't need it, don't buy it!

Hopefully these rules will be a better fit. I'm not planning on any more changes!

Meet the {Other} Teacher

Since Allison linked up with The First Grade Parade, I thought I might as well join the party.  After all, I'm a teacher too.  So as Allison mentioned in her post, our blog really isn't about teaching, but little bits and pieces related to our jobs might be thrown in here and there.  We started our little blog to document our journey through January when we attempted to wear only six(ish) items of clothing, creating new outfits with our accessories.

I'm on the left, Allison's on the right.  We had to share a few accessories throughout the challenge!

We survived and (I think) passed with flying colors, and since we had so much fun blogging about it, we decided to keep our blog going with a new February challenge: Frivolous-less February.
This month we are trying not to spend money frivolously & we're also trying to clean out our frivolous closets by wearing everything inside them.  If we don't wear an item, it gets sent to the thrift after February.  So far, Allison's doing a great job, and me - well, I'm doing okay (but I only made half-hearted commitments to this challenge!)

Alright, onto the Q&A from The First Grade Parade (minus one because I couldn't think of a good answer):

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?                                           
A:  I don't know because there's about a zillion things I want to do (and I'm always thinking up more).  The truth is that when I'm not a teacher, I'll probably be a stay at home mom.  But in my dreams, I'll ALSO be an author, a co-owner of that little bakery Allison mentioned, a photographer, an etsy shop owner, a tutor for kids in the inner city - starting all kinds of programs I have in my head, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I just can't remember I want to be!  

Q: What are your hobbies?                                                                                  
A: Right now: blogging & crafting.

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?                   
A: A teacher (we loved playing school) & a singer (we also loved singing on the fireplace with our hairbrush microphones).

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?                                                              
 A: Diet Coke.  And chocolate.  And ice cream.  Okay, anything sweet.

Q: What is your biggest fear?!                                                                   
 A: Squirrels.  Seriously, they kind of freak me out.

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?                               
 A: There's no set place.  But my favorite kinds of vacations are the ones in WARM places, the kind where you mostly just sit on the beach and do nothing.

Q: What do you value most in others?                                                                 
A: I love people who just genuinely love other people, even if those other people give them nothing in return.  (Does that make sense?)

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?                                                                                                      
A: I think I have to say almost the same thing as Allison, but one of the things I love about our family is all the fun little things we do.  The other day, I was telling Nate about all the fun things my parents did for us when we were little (dying lunch foods green for St. Patrick's day, Decorating our rooms with crepe paper for birthdays, hidden buddies for Valentine's Day, etc., etc.) - Fun, inexpensive, but unforgettable!  I hope that fun-ness continues with me and is passed down to my kids.  Showing love (to our families & others) in little, thoughtful, genuine ways.  I know that's not really a personality trait, but close enough!

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?                                                                                                            
A: Well, I love lunch with my husband, but I don't think that's the idea behind this question, so maybe... oh dear!  This is pathetic.  I can't think of anyone.  So, yep, lunch with the husband would be the best for me!

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

Well, I told you I like to blog, so I guess my random fact will be that I also blog over at Someone's Gotta Pay.  This is my little blog devoted to another passion of mine - little choices I can make to love people around the world, simple ways that I can try to live ethically.  Check it out if you want!

Hope you had fun learning a little bit more about me, and be sure to check out all of the other fun blogs in the linky party...

The Denim Dilemma

Confession: I secretly want my 6 item challenge back. The challenge of wearing each article of clothing just once is much harder than having only 6 to choose from! I am trying to ration some things so that I will have them to wear later, and trying to wear others so that I will be sure to keep them at the end of the month.

Example: Jeans. With the 6 item challenge, I knew had a pair. It was always the same pair, but at least I could wear them whenever I wanted! I haven't even been doing this challenge for a week, and already jeans are becoming a big problem! We had two snow days this week, so one of the days I wore jeans. Poof! Into the forbidden laundry basket they went. Then it was Friday, a typical jeans day, and since it's sooo cold, I really didn't want to put on tights and a skirt. So, jeans again. Ahhh, another pair gone! Now it's Saturday and I can't decide if I want to waste another pair. See what I mean about the problems?!

Perhaps the rules on denim will have to change (and soon)!

I'm In.... Well, Kind Of

Maybe you've been wondering if I've decided to join Allison for "Frivolous-less February"  (or maybe not), and the answer is yes.  Well, kind of yes.  I'm in for bits & pieces of it.

Here are the commitments I'm making:

(1) The closet challenge - YES - with my own rules:

• I can wear items more than once.  (In case you don't know Allison, her closet is bigger & more full than mine!  While she may have enough clothes to dress differently everyday of the month, I'm not 100% sure that I will.)  I'll try not too, but I already know that my jeans will be worn more than once.  For sure.
• This probably goes without saying, but just in case, clothes that are out of season don't count.  Of course I won't be sending all my summer clothes to the thrift after the month is over.
• I will be sending a pile of the unworn clothing to the thrift (or to my crafting collection for some upcycling) at the end of the month.
• Same as Allison - accessories don't count, special occasions do, and this is for clothing worn most of the day.

(2)   The spending challenge - HMMM..... It's not that I plan to be frivolously spending this February or anything, but I'm just not sure I can totally commit.  After all, I already went to lunch at Chick-fil-A today - with Allison, I might add, but while she had a gift card, I was spending real money!  So, I think I'll commit to semi-frivolous-less (that's a mouthful) February for this one.  I will TRY not to spend very much money.  But the husband & I are known to make trips to Qdoba for taco salads when we don't feel like cooking.  (Can I count that as frivolous-less since teachers get free drinks?).  I don't know if we'll be throwing that one out the window.  So I'm leaving this challenge with a half-hearted "I'll try", and I'll just keep you posted on what happens.

I told you I was in.... well, kind of!

   

Meet the Teacher

If you've been reading this blog for the past month, I bet you're probably thinking, Meet the Teacher?? That doesn't have anything to do with your clothing challenge this month! And you're right, but one of my favorite teaching blogs, The First Grade Parade, (Thanks, Meghan, for getting me hooked), is having a Linky Party (oh, the things you learn about once you enter blogland) and I wanted to join up, so here goes...

A little bit about me...

I've been teaching 1st grade for the past 6 years (with one year spent in 2nd grade). I love teaching on days like this when we have 2 snow days in a row and I can just hibernate in my house while it's freezing outside!

As a diversion from teaching, my sister and I have recently been blogging about our fashion adventures. Last month we tried a 6 Items or Less challenge where we picked 6 items and wore only them for the month. This month, I'm trying to simplify my wardrobe by wear different items of clothing everyday and donating most of what I don't wear at the end of the month. Check out our other posts on this blog for more info.

Here I am, modeling a couple of outfits from my February challenge...

Now onto the Q & A:

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?                                             
A:  I would have a cute little bakery/coffee shop/craft store with my sister, cousin, aunt, and cousin-in-law. It is our secret dream to quit the jobs we have and open this little store!

Q: What are your hobbies?                                                                                    
A:  My new hobby is definitely blogging and blogstalking. I have been posting and reaing blogs A LOT these past 2 snow days. I also love baking and knitting. (Check out my baking blog here)

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?                     
A: I can't remember ever really wanting to be anything - this definitely caused me problems when I got to college - it took me a year and a half to declare a major!
  
Q: What are your guilty pleasures?                                                                 
 A: Diet Coke, Netflix (I can watch almost anything!), and those frosted animal crackers with the round sprinkles - I could eat the whole bag at once if I'm not careful!

Q: What is your biggest fear?!                                                                      
 A: SPIDERS! I used to have dreams nightmares that I would come home from vacation and my room would be covered with them. Gives me shivers just thinking about it!

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?                                  
 A: I love vacation! I really love to go and explore places I've never been before. In October, I went to San Antonio with the fam, and it was so fun (and warm), and this Spring Break I'm hoping to go to Italy to visit my cousin who's spending the semester there.
                                                         
Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?                                                   
A: I love that little sign that seems to be everywhere these days - Keep calm and carry on. The best advice is to live in the moment instead of wishing for what could be.

Q: What do you value most in others?                                                                   
A: I value creativity because I don't have a lot of it myself! I also value friends who are loyal.

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?                                                                                                        
A: Hmm...no kids yet, but thanks for rubbing it in! Seriously, I would want my kids to have a sense of fun and be able to create fun in their lives. Example: All of the crazy traditions my family has like, Thanksgiving Projects or Celebrating Groundhog day at Portillo's (check it out here or here for more details).

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?                                                                                                               
A: Definitely Jimmy Fallon and my roommate. We know that if he just gave us a chance, we could be BFF's! LOVE HIM!!

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

I love being an extra in movies. So far I've worked on The Express (you can see me walking across the screen in a hideous blond wig), The Dilemma (you can see my car for about 5 seconds, but not me), and Contagion. You meet tons of new people and it's a lot of fun, whether or not you end up being in the final cut of the movie.

Hope you had fun learning a little bit more about me, and be sure to check out all of the other fun blogs in the linky party...

Groundhog Day: Snow Day Edition

2 great things happened today... 1. SNOW DAY! (no school) AND 2. The groundhog DIDN'T see his shadow so we'll have early spring! Hmmm...since this is the view out my front door today...

...I'm not sure I believe that spring will ever come! You can see in the left picture especially how the entire street is covered over with snow. Someone tried to start plowing, but didn't get very far. And yes, we still have Christmas lights up outside, but they're not plugged in, so please no judging!

Since this is day 2 of Frivolous-less February, and also a Wednesday, I decided to link up with The Pleated Poppy again and share what is already in my "Off Limits Laundry Basket". If you haven't read about February's challenge, check it out here.

I was SO excited to finally get to wear this skirt yesterday:

One of my good friends has been teaching in Ghana (Africa) for the past 2 years and this year she brought me this amazing skirt home as a Christmas present. I love the bright colors, plus it has pockets! Unfortunately, I didn't get it until January, so I had to wait until 6 items or less was done to be able to wear it. Sad. But it was the perfect thing to wear after all of the blacks and blues from January. I wore it with this black sweater from Ann Taylor Loft and some black tights: 

For today, it wouldn't be Groundhog Day without wearing one of the shirts we had made a few years ago to celebrate the day. We are mildly obsessed with G-hog Day in my family. Yes, we have shirts and every year we meet at Portillo's for some chocolate cake to celebrate. A few years ago, we even made a trip to Punxsutawney, PA to see Phil predict the weather in person. Not kidding, see for yourself...

All that to say, I am definitely wearing my Groundhog Day shirt, with some sweatpants - after all, it is a snowday. I might put a sweater (and some shoes) on if we make it out for cake tonight.

Here's a close-up of the front and back of the shirt...

 Happy Groundhog Day 2011!

New Month, New Challenge

Welcome to...

Frivolous-less February

Make sure you read the title correctly - It's not frivolous February; It's frivolous-less February!

This is a two-part challenge...

Part One:

The rules are simple and few: Don't spend any money that you don't need to.

Example #1: Groceries at Target = Allowed. Cute shoes on clearance at Target = Frivolous

Example #2: Wedding shower gift from Anthropologie = Allowed. A little something for yourself from Anthropologie = Frivolous

Example #3: Dinner out for a special occasion (Birthday, Groundhog Day, etc...) = Allowed. Dinner out because you are lazy and don't feel like cooking = Frivolous

I think you get the idea...

My one exception (so far) to all of this frivolous-less-ness is using gift cards to be a little frivolous. So if you'd like to go out to dinner with me, I can do Panera, Noodles, or Chic-fil-a (I've been saving up my gift cards from Christmas).

Part Two:

This part of the challenge comes from just having finished a month of wearing only 6 items of clothing. All of the rest of my clothes were just hanging around, waiting for me to wear them again, and I started to think that it's pretty frivolous to have a closet full of clothes that aren't being worn.

Then I started to think that a lot of my clothes are never worn even when I'm not limited to just 6 items. That's when I decided on this month's clothing challenge.

The rules are a little more complicated than part one:

1. I am going to wear something different every day in February. Once something is worn, it can't be worn for the rest of the month. It goes in the "off-limits laundry basket" (OLLB).
2. When the month is over, I am going to look at the clothes I didn't wear (plus the ones that I wore and didn't like) and donate (or at least seriously think about donating) them to Goodwill.

Like the 6 items challenge, there are some exceptions:

1. Like last month, accessories don't count. Wear your shoes and scarves as many times as you want.
2. Unlike last month, special occasions do count. Wear it to a wedding, and it's done.
3. I think I'm only counting items that are worn for most of the day. Example: The clothes I wore to work have to be put in the OLLB, but the sweatshirt I wear only in the house to keep warm can be worn more than once.

I think both of these challenges sound pretty do-able. Let me know if you're joining in on either one, and feel free to add your own exceptions to the rules to make them more your style!











P.S. I know this new challenge doesn't really fit with the title of our blog anymore -maybe this is the MORE part. Aimee thinks we might need to change the title - any suggestions?