Scars: A Learning Curve

Scars.

I was just sitting here thinking about them while looking at the scars on my leg. They have been keeping me from wearing short shorts and skirts to show off my shapely gams. I know that it is now the season for covering up, but here in Cali it has been intermittently in the 70s so I have yet to put away my warm weather wardrobe. (Actually, who am I kidding? I just use my summer cloths to layer, layer, layer away the cooler months.)

This feeling, it's reminiscent of the emotional scars that kept me from wearing skirts and dresses just a few short years ago. Those emotional scars kept me wondering, worried that people would judge based solely on my appearance.

And now there are these very real, very visible scars that represent the depth of the trauma and pain that I have experienced. And I'm afraid once again that someone will judge me harshly based upon their notion of what my scars may represent.

But still, I want to feel about my scars the same way I feel about my fat. I want to apply the same 'I don't give a fuck' attitude and just wear whatever the hell I want. And it dawns on me right this second, as I am writing this, that the only way I am going to get there is to just say 'fuck it!' I am cute as hell and wear what I goddamn well please.

The Thrill of the Hunt

I can only imagine that this is how men hunting wild game must feel.

I get this feeling, passing a thrift store that has something meant for me. I know this because I am an experienced thrift hunter. I get this feeling...I can't describe it, but I just know.

I walk in and head straight for the racks, as my adrenaline begins to climb. I know exactly where she is dangling, just waiting for me to pick her off. I sculk up softly, so as not to spook her. She and I know this dance all too well. I finger through the hangers...not to quickly, now.

As I grasp the hangers and pry them gently apart to expose the length and breadth of her, I know she's the one. I let'er lead me to the fitting rooms, even though I already know she's the one. Once she's in my sights, that's it. She'll be coming home so I can show her off, my trophy. My day's kill.

The high is like none other.

TFC: Halloween 2013

I went to visit my sister for Halloween this year and took a whole bunch of my new thrifty finds with me to do a photo shoot. I was using the '2 birds, 1 stone' philosophy. I should know by now that these types of plans don't really pan out. But, as luck would have it, I ended up with a treasure trove of Halloween pictures.

I also didn't expect to get to see our other sister and her miniature gang of thugs, aka my nieces and nephews.

My crazy sisters: the Giraffe and the Manly Man

Needless to say, a party was had....3 adult women and 8 children between the ages of 4 and 14 on a trick-or-treating adventure through the tough streets of Modesto, CA.

Let the candy swap begin!

And now the cuteness of me:

My new asos dress made a perfect doll dress for my costume

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

I am so super excited. I went to the post office first thing this morning and picked up my asos package!

I ripped open the silvery bag like it was Christmas morning and to my delight everything looked even better in person than on the website. I cannot wait to try them all on. I swear, I nearly called in sick to work this morning just so I could stay home with my new little babies.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I could just die

How Does Gina Marie Find Such Amazing Deals???

I know many of the fat fashion blogging universe has been a HUGE asos fan forever. But I just placed my very first order!!! I am so excited I could implode.

I've know of the existence of asos for a while; I mean, I may live under a rock but I still have internet connection. The reason I've never looked into shopping the site before is because I thought it was way too expensive. For me. After all, my forum isn't called Thrifty Fat Closet for nothin.

I waaaayyy underestimated my discount shopping abilities.

Last night I was stalking some of my favorite fatty bloggers and saw a few pieces that were amazing! I figured they were super pricey, but decided to investigate a bit further. On the main asos page was some advertising for a 70% off clearance sale. Holy hell! That is definitely a discount I can get behind.

I was overwhelmed. There was so much cute stuff, I didn't know where to begin. After a few deep breathes I found the Curve section that is their plus size, sorted the results from lowest price to highest, and got to shopping. After a few clicks I discovered a magical feature: View Runway. There is an actual moving runway walk so you can see how the fabric hangs and flows in motion. Fuck me running. I hope every site follows suit. This enabled me to find shapes that will work on my real moving body, in real life.

I LOVE YOU ASOS!!

So, after much digging I came out unscathed with 5 new pieces that are currently working their way to my humble abode. Before I get into the how much, here is the what:

These are the leggings that drew me in in the first place.

One pair of leggings led to a second....

Which led to a dress...

...and another dress....

.....and a third dress....
At first I thought this one a little cheesy, but after seeing it on the runway feature I fell in love!

Ok, now here are the juicy bits. The bits that get my juices flowing. All 5 of these lovely babies totaled out to $97.89 including shipping. Most people would be over the moon at the savings and proceed to checkout, but not me! My last stop before payment is ALWAYS Retail Me Not where I look for any applicable coupon codes. On this occasion, I found a promotion for $10 off for signing up for their email newsletter. 

And, PRESTO!

All of this gorgeousness will now be mine for just $87.89!!!!!!

EDIT: Just out of curiosity, I decided to add up to see the actual retail value of my goodies. The total of all the above goodies before all the discounting was $251.59!!!!!!

Getting (Thrift) Centered

I have found the holy grail of thrift stores in sunny Santa Cruz, CA. Every. Single. Time. I trek over the hill to this fair town to visit Thrift Center I find so much good stuff! I have only ever paid over $20 on one occasion.

 This sign is out there every single day!

My first time here I was so overwhelmed...now I'm a seasoned veteran.

Today's adventure yielded several pieces, but I'll get to that in a moment.... This morning started out a bit rough. I was rousted out of bed by banging on my front door. The handyman for my apartment complex had to get in to fix my leaky shower. After scrambling to slip into yesterdays clothes that were lying next to my bed I let him in and felt an immediate need to flee. So I did. Quite abruptly and awkwardly.

So there I was: sitting in my car in yesterday's clothes, unshowered, with quite possibly THE worst bedhead I've had in some time. What's a girl to do?

Get caffeinated and go thrifting!!!

(and maybe a little inebriated)

That's not coffee...

I had such a good time riffling through those racks. It's one of those stores that isn't organized by size AT ALL. It is organized by type of clothing, then color blocked within each type. Normally this would get on my last nerve, but the overall feel of this place is comfortable and I never leave empty-handed. On this trip I walked out with a pair of jeans, workout/sleep shorts, 4 tops for myself, and one top for a friend all for under $16.

After saying goodbuy (ha! I love puns) to the holy grail, I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch and cocktail at Capitola Diner because they serve these:

And then, because I could, I planted my butt in the sand and thought about all the amazing ways I was gonna wear my recently acquired babies. Stay tuned....

It's just so SMALL.......

How does time get away from me? Life becomes all-consuming, that's how. A complete upheaval of every aspect of my home life has robbed me of square footage and home cooking.

My thrifty fat closet shrunk. I went from having two enormous walk-in closets with plenty of room to grow to having one very small closet that has had a bite taken out of it in the form of a built-in mini fridge that wedged its fat ass into where my wardrobe should live.

My closet did not magically shrink into this misshapen box out of nowhere, I moved to a whole new place, town, area...a place of life and activity, just blocks from the heart and soul of downtown San Jose, CA. A huge contrast from the sleepy village of Aptos, where my former HUGE closets live.

I had to make many sacrifices, let go of pieces I had held on to for mostly sentimental reasons (I have to admit, that stung a little). The dresses and skirts got the prime real estate, hanging in the closet, where the rest of the clothing that made the cut were banished to the two large dressers lining the walls of my studio apartment.  I think my silence here at TFC has been a mourning period...I could not bear to look at my babies crammed into such small places. Such dark little places.