guest post: kristina | kristina in retroworter

Hey Goodwillista readers! I'm Kristina from Kristina in Retroworter, a blog about the happenings in my life and my own personal style, and boy oh boy I'm so excited to be here on Danielle's amazing blog today as she's off on her super awesome honeymoon with her new hubby, Larry! Congratulations, you two. :) Danielle and I have this somewhat parallel life thing going on right now.. she just got married, I got married in May. She had a vintage, shabby chic type of wedding.. I had a vintage, shabby chic wedding. DIYs for the win! She loves going to Goodwill and finding some serious deals on just about anything and everything (but especially clothes), I love a good hunt through Goodwill to find me some deals. Call us cheap-o's all you want, but there is something about the thrill of finding that perfect blouse or skirt or dress, and it's only $3! So, when Miss Danielle asked me to guest post for her, I knew I had to find something good to show the world that thirfting really does pay off. I have to thank her because if she hadn't given me this prompt, I most likely wouldn't have found this dress. Normally my local Goodwill store is absolutely terrible. I mean it's like the 1980's just blew up in there or something. Not fun my friends, not fun. But, I was on a mission, and by some crazy miracle I found this beauty for a whole ten bucks. Now, that's kind of expensive for Goodwill, buuuuut, this dress is from Free People! Who gives Free People clothes to Goodwill?! It was probably $175 to begin with, just crazy!

Dress: Free People via Goodwill | Shoes: Target

I just adore the low back, and the lace pattern adds a wonderful feminine touch to a more masculine colored dress. Plus, it's nice and light for the extreme Texas heat I have to put up with for the next couple of months. And this my friends, is why thrifting is the greatest thing ever invented. It takes a lot of time and patience, but it's worth it in the end.   I wish Danielle and Larry the happiest of marriages, and hope their lives are blessed throughout the years. And you better believe, I can't wait to see pictures! Thanks for having me everyone! 

guest post: nicole | writes like a girl

blouse: thrifted (originally J.Crew) // jeans: Gap // flats: Ross // bangle: Banana Republic

Hello lovely readers of Danielle's blog! I'm so happy to be here today while Danielle's off gettin' hitched and doing her birthday up big. She's the sweetest blog friend a girl could ask for, so when she asked if I could lend a hand with a guest post, I responded immediately while I was driving to say I was in.

Y'all know the Goodwillista loves a good deal and I'm no different. I'm not sure if Savers is a nationwide store, but in Austin, Savers is where it's at. I go about every week and a half with my boyfriend and we always leave with handfuls of gently used, discount goodies.

One of my most recent treasures is this orange J.Crew blouse. Since I thrift so often, I've added a new rule for myself where I prioritize name brands. Since tops can be especially overwhelming to search through, I can go from hanger to hanger much more quickly if I'm just looking for a tag with a recognizable name. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across this golden beauty, easily retailing for 40+. Since I donated a bag of clothes on my last trip to Savers (another rule of mine!), I had coupons in tow and scored this baby for only $6.

I love this top because I can dress up a pair of jeans if I'm heading out for drinks with the girls after running errands all day, or I can slip it into a pencil skirt for a networking event or interview.

I can't wait to see what Danielle thrifts with all her birthday money!

guest post: jenna | freckled fashionista

Hello there! I'm Jenna Brianne and I blog over at Freckled Fashionista. I am super pumped to be guest bloggin' for Danielle while she's off getting married and stuff ;) Goodwillista has been one of my favorite blogs since I started blogging and I definitely feel honored to be guest posting today!

When Danielle asked each of us bloggers to submit an outfit that featured a thrifted item, I knew I was going to feature an outfit with my J.Crew chino shorts. I got these shorts for $3.50 a few months ago and I swear I wear them multiple times a week! They may be "boring" but they are a great blank canvas to create so many fun outfits, like this one. 

shorts: J.Crew from Goodwill//top: Forever 21//sandals: Payless//necklace: eBay

I love me a good thrift store find, and I love finding quality pieces for so, so much less than I would have paid if I would have gotten them brand new. These shorts are definitely no exception!

If you wanna see more of my favorite thrift store finds and all the outfits I create with them, head on over to Freckled Fashionista!

Thank you, Danielle, for asking me to guest post! Wishing you and Larry all the happiness in the world :) 

guest post: lindsey | high heels & training wheels

Hello to everyone at Goodwillista! I'm the sarcastic, long winded rambler who blogs over at High Heels and Training Wheels. You can call me Lindsey though. My blog is style and beauty with a little DIY. My blog's motto is looking like a million without spending it. Girlfriend is broke ova hurr! My purpose is to encourage other women, like myself, to look and feel great even if you aren't rolling in the dough.

I am seriously excited about blogging for Miss (soon to be Mrs) Danielle. I have been a lover and loyal follower of Goodwillista for a long time. She is so adorable and sweet...much more than I am...and by some miracle, she's asked me to guest post! So if you hate it, blame her! ;) I kid, I kid!

This is normally the part where I talk about what I'm wearing but today we're here at Danielle's place! It's totally not my style but I'm going to have to go and get sappy for a minute. I owe a whole lot to Danielle. I was a mom of 3 who was stuck in a depressing sweatpant rut when I came across Goodwillista. I never went shopping. I never even stepped foot in a store because I couldn't afford it. It was because of Danielle, and Danielle alone, that I was able to see things differently and crawl out of that sad hole.

Going to a Goodwill or thrift store had never occurred to me. Sure, I donated every year during spring cleaning but going to buy things? Never in a million years! But here was this adorable girl rocking these fabulous ensembles that were from Goodwill!It is because of this one cute little blonde that I opened up to the possibility that maybe I didn't have to live in sweatpants. Maybe, just maybe, I could afford to look nice.

Then I started frequenting thrift stores all over the place and my life changed. That sounds a little dramatic but think about that for a second. If you are avoiding mirrors and not going out because you feel so bad about the way you look, making the step to transforming that is life changing! I owe this wholly to Danielle.

 Danielle is one of the most inspiring and influential bloggers I have ever come across. I started my blog with the purpose of reaching even one person the way Goodwillista has helped me. My style and my blog are both indebted to Miss Danielle. Thank you so much, lady! You've helped me more than you know!

I hope you stop by and visit High Heels and Training Wheels sometime. Stop by and check out my thrifty finds or just stop in to say "Hey"! You can also find High Heels on Bloglovin', Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest!

guest post: ginny | my new favorite outfit

Hi, everyone! I'm Ginny and I blog over at My New Favorite Outfit, a blog about fun and affordable fashion. I'm so excited to be guest posting while Danielle is off on her honeymoon! Danielle is a fantastic thrifter and I'm a big fan of it too. Recently I did a post about "Tips and Tricks on Thrifting", and today I'm going to show you one of my favorite thrifted looks. 

Back in the fall I found this dress for $.99 at Goodwill.  Score! I wasn't crazy about the length though,  it hit me mid-calf. Because of the soft jersey fabric I knew it would be easy to hem. I grabbed a dress that had a length I loved, pinned this one up, then did a quick straight stitch and cut off the access. Super simple, and definitely one of my favorite dresses. I paired it with this great cardigan, also thrifted, and recently wore it to a BBQ with friends.



Cardigan: Target $3 (thrifted)

Dress: Target $.99 (thrifted)

Necklace: $6 Very Jane

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Chimera, Triple Wrap, and Christina Link (now)

Shoes: Target (now)

Thanks again, Danielle for having me over her today and lovely readers, I'd love if you'd take a chance to stop by and say "hi" to me at  My New Favorite Outfit!

i do

Today is the day! I'm not going to get all mushy on y'all so all I want to say is that  I have never been more ready for this day. I thank God everyday for this amazing man he put into my life.

Mark 10:9- "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate"

a few wedding diys

I can't believe that in less than 5 days I will be Mrs. Wallace. I get to marry my best friend in the entire world. The beautiful wedding I've always dreamed of will be here. It's just crazy and so surreal to think about. I just can't wait.

I don't have any time for any outfit posts this week, but I wanted to share with y'all just a few of the DIYs we've made for the wedding! My entire wedding is shabby chic/antique/DIY. I'm so ready to go decorate the hall on Friday!

1. All of the wedding party will be doing the toast in the mason jars we made. Us gals will probably drink out of it all night, but I doubt the boys will!

2. I found this old floral box at a thrift store for $2.50! Just a little sprucing up and a little banner, and wa-lah! The perfect card box!

3. At the bottom of our wedding invitation it says "dinner & dancing to follow" so I thought it would be cute to have a sign! Mom and I pulled apart some pallet boards that she got for free, and then she painted it (and how cute is her handwriting!).

4. My mom and stepmom found these little burlap sacks for like 30 cents each I think! My sister wrote on the tags and mom filled them with birdseed there will be a sign that says "to shower the lovebirds" for our exit! 

5. I had a lot of excess/old jewelry pieces and all I did was hot glue them on to this wooden W from hobby lobby!

6. I made these signs on picmonkey.com for the reserved tables, and I put them in thrifted frames, of course!

this fabu-less dress

Mossimo Dress: Goodwill $5.99 | Wedges: Target $20 

Total Outfit Cost: $25.99

I found this dress on one of the many shopping adventures in the Cleveland area. Y'all know I couldn't go to a new city without making a trip to the Goodwill! That's one of my favorite parts about traveling! This Goodwill we went to was one where Target sends things that didn't get sold which is just plain awesome. I really wish the Goodwills in my area did that! This dress was new with tags! I got another Target dress there too.. you'll be seeing it soon! I seriously loveee this dress. I've been looking for a dress with this neckline, and this dress makes me want more! It was a hit with the gals at my office too ;)

Linking up with: Dare to Wear: Stripes

still alive!

Shirt: Gap $5 | Skirt: Target $22 | Target Flats: Goodwill $3.49 | Necklace: Garage Sale $2

Total Outfit Cost: $32.49

Oh hey, here I am! Sorry about my slight absence in blog land! Life has been quite hectic for me! 

On top of my wedding being 11 DAYS AWAY (OMG :D) I'm studying to get licensed to be a claims adjuster so I can actually do my job.  My entire wedding will be filled with DIY, so we had to finish everything by this past weekend because this weekend is my bachelorette party!! Busy busy busy!

These pictures are from my trip to Cleveland. My little group and I spent this day shopping.. oh wait, we spent everyday there shopping... haha! I got back home last week and when I got off of work, I was like "Wait I don't get to go to Marshall's when I'm off??" I swear we went to Marshall's like 5 times in two weeks.. and to the mall like 6. Needless to say there really isn't much to do in Cleveland!