Thrift Shop Haul

Thrifting has always been something that has fascinated me, but it was one of those things where I just always said, “eh, it’s not really for me”. To be completely honest {and this is going to make me sound insane}, when it comes to wearing mysterious used clothing, I wonder a little bit too much about it’s past. It’s life. It’s story, if you will. I always come up with these crazy tales about it’s potential previous owners and the things they MAY have done in the shirt that is now on my body. Such as… what if the girl who wore this last was a crazy murderer and killed someone while wearing it? or what if she drowned a puppy while wearing it? HAHAHA… I know, it’s ridiculous- but my mind just goes there. It’s kind of chilling, right? Anyway- I’ve donated a lot of clothing in the past, and it’s typically things that look well-worn and outdated, so I figured… isn’t that the case for everyone else donating? Nevertheless, one random afternoon I decided- what the heck! I’ll just go out and see what I can find!

When I first got to the Goodwill, I really didn’t find much. However, I think this was because I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t have an open mind. I walked away with four items. My next trip, I think I walked away with ten! I taught myself that it’s important to have a good eye for WHAT COULD BE, not necessarily what IS. You can easily alter things and make them more your style, or make them appear more modern and “in-style”. I plan on making a new video series where I show you guys how I alter some affordable pieces! I’m super excited to experiment with this :)

The only strange thing about thrifting is that sometimes you will see that the pricing is quite odd; I can’t seem to figure out the strategy behind deciding the price of the items! I saw some old stained shirts that were $3.99, but a perfectly good NICE jacket for only $4.99?! Also, I have been informed that many Goodwills price their things differently. I visited one that seemed to have MUCH lower prices than the one that was next to my house. Either way, I think thrifting is so fun and I’m very excited to continue to find nice things at very affordable prices!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

01.04.2013

{ITEMS}:

-Teardrop Earrings, Forever 21

-Moto Jacket, Urban Outfitters

-Ivory Tank, Forever 21

-Black Bandeau, Urban Outfitters

-Chest Wrap, Kalel Kitten

-Gold Locket, Forever 21

-Fingerless Gloves, Amazon

-Knuckle Ring, Forever 21

-High-Waisted Pants, Forever 21

-Thigh-High Socks, Urban Outfitters

-Lace-up Boots, Forever 21

-Maddox Handbag, Fossil

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

DECEMBER UPDATE

A new month, a new update! Not just a new month, but a new YEAR! Yippeeeee! *^_^* I have to say, I am freaking pumped for 2013. I even joked on twitter that I’m going to make this year my bitch… ahahaha. But in all seriousness, let’s dominate this year! Dream big, go hard and most importantly HAVE FUN. As strange as it sounds, people really do tend to forget to have fun. We get so wrapped up it the seriousness of life that we slowly abandon our childish mentality… which is amazing, don’t let that go!! Remember- any day can be turned into a fun and memorable day, YOU hold the power! :)

December was a really exciting month; I made major progress on my book, Anthony & I finalized our moving plans, we went to Disneyland, I met an amazing new friend and we had a very special Christmas. I would say the best thing that happened was probably the progress on my book. I truly hope to finish writing it this year! I never thought I could be so deep into writing a story, but I just love this book with such passion. I shared the entire storyline with Anthony one morning, and he loved it just as much as me. I was so happy. He even told me that he thought I was a creative genius and that he felt very proud of me. It was very reassuring and wonderful to hear, because I’m typically pretty hard on myself when it comes to judging my work. I mean, after working for so long it’s pretty common for people to think something is amazing, when in reality it’s disappointingly average. So it feels really good to think that maybe this time I really did get it right! I will keep you updated on my progress! :)

I hope you guys are enjoying watching my monthly updates. I think one reason that I really like doing them is because they act as a reflection exercise for me; it’s mentally healthy to look back and take note of your accomplishments and progress. So even if you don’t make YouTube videos, it may be a cool idea to start a journal and answer these questions every month! Another thing it may help with is self-discovery. Self-discovery is one of the most difficult things to achieve in life, but finding out exactly who you are and what makes you happy is very important. Answering these monthly questions can help you understand definite facts about yourself: what you like, what you’re interested in, what you’re doing right, and so on. Another thing that can really help you find yourself {I’m going on a tangent here… oh god} is to create an extremely detailed list of 100 facts about yourself. It is quite possibly the best self-discovery exercise under the sun. I personally keep one and I was considering sharing it with you guys in a blog post as a way to help encourage you to write one as well. Would you like to see it? Let me know!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

For whatever reason, when I was a little girl, I was convinced that I could write my Christmas wish list to leave for Santa on the EVENING of Christmas Eve. As if he could make last minute adjustments for me… lol. I guess I just assumed that his magic bag truly could hold any and everything. I even remember this one time {I think I was about 6} I asked for a snake!! hahaha… Anyway- for nostalgic purposes, I thought I would continue that tradition and post my Christmas wish list for you guys to see! I actually don’t think I’m getting any of this {maybe one thing}, but eh, it’s all in good fun :)

Although, I am VERY excited to wake up and open my gifts tomorrow! Actually, I think I’m probably MORE excited to watch Anthony open up his gifts. I just love giving things to people and seeing their faces light up. I plan on vlogging all day tomorrow, as I did today, and release a special “holiday edition” rewind vlog! So you guys will be able to watch us open our gifts :P

I hope you guys all have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow. Be sure to comment below and let me know what your favorite gift you received was!! I’m nosy… hehe. Anyway, here’s my dream list for you guys to enjoy! :)

{EDITION CARPENTER BAG}: This is actually a men’s bag, but I am so in love with it. I’ve been wanting it for MONTHS. I think it’s very unique and it looks like a vintage doctor’s bag. I just adore how it’s aged.
{VINYL POP FIGURES}: Oh man. You guys know I love these damn Funko Pop figures. I need them all.
{GOLD CHARM BRACELET}: My mom actually bought me a gold charm bracelet from Fossil {it’s currently wrapped under my tree, however, it will be mine in a few hours… muahaha}, but I would definitely like some more charms. I have a silver necklace with four charms, but I really love the gold for the bracelet!
{WILLIAMS SONOMA COOKWARE}: This cookware would make me cook much more often. Enough said.
{A SERVAL KITTEN}: ahjsdfgidufhkd.
{IPAD MINI}: Still trying to figure out why I want one of these so badly. It just seems handy.

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

A MERMAID’S NAIL POLISH

This nail polish. THIS NAIL POLISH. I think I’m in love! I’ve never seen something so beautiful {other than when I first laid eyes on baby Kabuki}. But for real, I can’t stop obsessing over this polish. Actually, as soon as I get done writing this post, I am driving to Rite Aid and buying FOUR more to have as back-ups. I’ve never been one to purchase back-ups, but I’m seriously considering wearing this nail polish for the rest of my life… well, maybe for the next year. Anyway- the polish is in the shade “Glee”, it’s by the brand Jesse’s Girl and it’s a part of their High-Intensity line. The polishes from this line are just STUNNING; I actually think I’m going to buy a few in different colors as well! The shades are so lovely and the shimmer in this formula is TO DIE FOR. Not to mention, it wears SO well. I’ve experienced no chipping at all! Granted, I have thin acrylic overlays on my nails {which helps so much, I highly suggest doing it if you keep short nails}, but still- not even the edges have chipped!

I first came across this little gem a few weeks ago, while I was browsing the beauty aisles at Rite Aid, and it instantly caught my eye- as if it was just meant to be. I will admit, the $3 price tag made me question the quality… but I am so glad that I chose to ignore it. I typically only use MAC cosmetics, simply because I’ve grown addicted to them and they’ve always worked wonders for me {and because I have a MAC Pro card, which pretty much allows me to purchase MAC items at drugstore prices}. But this experience REALLY has me wanting to try more drugstore stuff!! So please let me know if you have any suggestions in the comments! :)

{UPDATE: So I went to Rite Aid and they only had two bottles of the Glee polish left! Thank god I snatched them up! But then I got two others: Confetti {a beautiful purple with blue-green duochrome sparkle} and Fire Fly {pearl with purple/blue/green iridescent sparkles} HOWEVER, a new mystery has arisen! While I was there, I noticed the Julie G polishes {also produced through Jesse’s Girl} and that there was a shade IDENTICAL to Glee! THE EXACT SAME!! …and I shit you not- it’s called “A Mermaid’s Tale”! O.O I’m so upset that I didn’t see it the first time around! I’m personal friends with Julie, we spent time together while in NYC for Fashion Week 2010, and I would have loved to support her by doing the blog post on HER polish opposed to this one :’( But on the bright side, now I can get lots of back-ups! Yippeeeee!}

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

TEARDROP EARRINGS

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered these little treasures from Forever 21 and I am just so surprised by how beautiful they look on. The design of these earrings are so lovely; they remind me of something that you would see on a chandelier. But I would have to say that my favorite thing about them is the coloring of the iridescent pieces. I am such a freaking sucker for anything that sparkles rainbow in the sun- or I suppose, anything rainbow in general… heh.

It’s really hard for me to find stores that carry items that work with my style. However, Forever 21 is probably the most consistant place that I can go and always find at least one item {Urban Outfitters is the other, but their price tags are delusional}. I’ve noticed lately that Forever 21 has really been getting in some amazing pieces. I used to be hesitant to purchase things from there because I’ve always struggled with the poor quality, but I think they’ve stepped up their game! And what’s even more impressive, the prices have stayed low. Bravo! Bravo!

Thanks for stopping by! Come back and see me soon if you get lonely.

-Kalel

DIY ANTIQUE NECKLACE

This is something that I’ve been dying to make since I first began this blog. I’ve always loved the look of old, layered charm necklaces: keys, coins, crystals… there’s just something about the style that seems so mysterious and magical. And I just adore anything that is extremely distressed… the older looking the better! So I decided to go pretty crazy with the distressing on this piece. It might be a bit much for some peoples’ taste, but hey- you can always bring it down a notch.

I think the coolest thing about this creation is that you can quite easily change it to go with whatever you’re wearing; you can make alterate strands to mix and match into the spacer pieces. I want to make SO many!! Maybe one with a compass, a purple crystal? an hourglass? The possibilities are endless. If you guys end up creating this, PLEASE send me a photo on my twitter! It would make my day. And as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I will do my best to answer!

I hope you liked this DIY! I want to slowly start moving into doing some “stranger” creations soon. When I first decided to make this blog, I had so many outlandish plans… however, I have yet to find the time and/or energy to execute them. But one day… ONE DAY, this blog will become what I had planned for it to become!!! hahaha :P But for real, I want to do some clothing DIYs, some complicated jewelry pieces etc. And then, most importantly, I want to build a “wardrobe” of these creations so that I can create outfits made almost entirely of things I created myself. SOMEDAY! *sigh* Once I get more into the groove with my videos and such, I will get there. So stay tuned!