A Thrifty Christmas

Sorry I am a bit late in posting these, but I promised that I would share some pictures of the vintage gems I found for Christmas presents, so here they are! I decided to incorporate my thrifty vibe into my wrapping paper and I used old paper bags, because much store bought wrapping paper is not recyclable. I added some pretty bows with some leftover wool from my knitting and beautiful glittery gift tags.

For my mother I got an amazing gold brocade dress from Beacon's Closet, as well as some dishes which are the same pattern as her wedding china, such a great find! I also got her a coronation plate because she has quite a collection of them. For my father I got an old copy of The Wrecker. My sister received some beautiful Italian leather shoes and a bow brooch. The only person I didn't manage to thrift a present for was my brother. I ended up getting him the latest Teton Gravity Research ski video, Light The Wick, which still goes to a good cause because it is a small company and their videos are amazing. The only person left to get something for is my sister who lives in Vietnam. I have been racking my brains trying to think of something small that would also be useful and easy for her to travel with. Any ideas?

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years. Any exciting stories for me?

Christmas-y

Wow! I'm sorry for having strayed from the blog for so long, work has really been catching up to me! This is our busiest season with so many tourists coming up to go skiing. It has been really tiring (I swear I've been eating about 6 meals a day to keep up, energy-wise!) but I love seeing my students improve. It's so exciting that for some of them my class is their first memory of getting out on the mountain. I still love teaching older kids with a bit more experience because I can take them on the lifts and on more difficult terrain (we do lots of making our skis into 'pizza' and then 'french fry' and they follow me down the mountain in a big train shape doing turns) but teaching the younger kids is rewarding too, because they go from never having skied before to being able to make it down the bunny slope.

This was my Christmas outfit, which I of course only wore inside because it was snowing hardcore outside! The skirt I found in Beacon's Closet; it is from Saks Fifth Avenue and it is really lovely velvet and satin. I figured the only time I could ever wear it is at Christmas and I really wanted to pair it with some different textures so I added a lace DKNY top (also thrifted) and lace Accessorize tights. The belt is one of my favorite wardrobe items and was thrifted by my awesome mother. The shoes are Kelsi Dagger and were a TJ Maxx bargain. All in all a pretty bargainous outfit!

Remember, it is pretty much time to start posting your Little Women inspired outfits if you're joining in with The Pickwick Ladies. Check out our facebook page for pictures from our last book, Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales.

How was your Christmas? Do any of you ski or snowboard?