Wow all that only cost how much!?

Now that you all know I got a job and will be starting in less than two weeks (from when I started shopping) I have a LOT to share with you all about my thrift store finds! Once I got the job I realized I did not have very many clothes for work. One reason being when we moved to Arizona I only brought summer clothes and now I am moving straight from Arizona to Virginia where most of my summer dresses will not be the best work attire. Also, at the end of last fall/winter I consigned some clothes to buy some new spring clothes. Usually every 3 or so years I notice I need to replace some items in my closet and make room for new things! That brings me to now, a week prior to starting a full time position and needing clothes... bad!

I knew it was not in our budget to go out and buy a bunch of new stuff from the usual stores, J.Crew, Banana Republic, Gap, Target, Ann Taylor, you know... SO I took to the thrift stores. I grew up going to thrift stores with my family and my stepmom Deidre really taught me how to get the bargains. I hit the town, 4 thrift stores and 2 consignment stores in total. I had been to the thrift stores before a few times looking for household items for our hotel so I was familiar with the store policies and discount days. Each had a different day for military discount (10-20 percent) and they all had 50% off week for items that had been there for a certain amount of time.

First, I had started pinning outfits I liked so I had an idea of what kind of pieces I was looking for. I wanted to buy pieces that I would know how to wear or know what to piece them with. This helped me a lot to know what to look for in terms of style, fit, and color. I would reference my pinterest board multiple times to see what kind of items I still needed or new ideas for cute looks.

Once I knew what I needed I set out. Thus far I have been to each thrift and consignment store 2-3 times because their inventory changes daily. I am SO PROUD of all the deals I got. Below I am going to post all the pictures and brands I have found so far and then at the end I will post how much I spend total.

Disclaimer: I did go to Ross one day and found a few cute pieces that were still good deals but not AS good. I also consigned a few of my summer dresses and 2 pairs of shoes I was no longer wearing and used the consignment credit toward my new clothes.

Merona Dress and Nude Wedges

Merona Dress

Dress from Dillards, originally like $80

Some target designer- brand new

Adorable top- no tags but super soft, more for home than work

Ann Taylor top- like new

J crew top- like new

J.Crew top- like new

new- Gap top

J.Crew top- so soft

Merona Dress and belt (found separately)

Target-like new

The Limited- Brand new $90 originally (I did put a few dollars in alterations)

Merona (I know I love target clothes)

Forever 21 New with tags

Gap- like new

Forever 21

Target

H&M Like new

Okay so that is 22 items (if you include the belt and shoes and one not pictured)

For these items I paid a whopping $102.97!

That is $4.68 an item!!

No lie. I wanted to prove it to you so I took pictures of my receipts below.

Now that does include about $30 in credits from selling 4 dresses and 2 pairs of shoes to the consignment. However, there is also one shirt not pictured so its really 22 items! I am just SO excited about all my purchases and what I was able to get for that amount. I mean these are not shabby clothes, these are my favorite brands, some of them still with tags! 

Now I realize these receipts add up to 133.29 for any of you who did the math, however there were a couple things belonging to my husband on the receipts and one store did not properly credit my trade-in and had to fix it, thats how I got to $102.97!

I also did cave and purchased a few things brand new from Ross. Those deals are not as good but they are decent and the pieces are classics:

I love this skirt, right at the knee but pleated, a change from the traditional pencil

Did make sure to get a traditional pencil too and this cute shirt

I loved this flowy soft skirt, it has pleating on the right side so its just makes you feel like you can twirl!

All of these clothes ended up being $77.15. Like I said, not as good but also not too shabby. 

All in all I ended up with a TON of outfits for less than $200. I hope everyone is now inspired to run out to their Goodwill, I will say, it take patience but in the end it is totally worth it!

Happy shopping!

My job story.. Part 2

Alright who is ready to read part 2 of my "I got a job" story? (In case you missed part one read it here)

After my second phone interview I was feeling pretty confident about getting through to the next round, which was in-person interviews. As I said, I had a lot of questions as to how the in-person would work because I was in Arizona (they knew this) and they were in two different offices in Louisiana and Texas. They were planning to conduct the in-person interviews in the Capital One Conference Center offices in McLean, VA. I had looked into the cost of flights and said if it was necessary I was willing to fly myself to Virginia to show my seriousness about the position and so they would have the opportunity to meet me as a job candidate.

In-person interviews have always been my specialty. I love to talk to people and somehow do not get nervous. Now this may change someday, I have only ever done 5 or so in-person interviews but as of now I think it is how I shine. That is why i was willing to spend almost $300 to fly to Virginia and do the interview if needed.

At this point I had been told they would call me in a few days and let me know if I would be moving to the in-person round. On August 13th, Omar called me and said they would love to move me into the next and final round however they were unsure about how to conduct the interview. I once again told him I was willing to fly to Virginia and he said that would not be necessary. They wanted to see if there was a facility around me where they could do a video teleconference. I was surprised they did not want to do the in-person and at this point I did not know what to think. I figured it either meant I was their top candidate and they felt confident in the two prior interviews and they wanted to video conference just to make sure I did not look like a freak.. OR they saw me as the "candidate we need to interview so they could offer the job to the person they actually wanted". Either way I really wasn't too worried. God was able to calm me and He truly stayed with me throughout the whole process. I recently saw this on another blog I love (Biblical Homemaking) and thought it fit perfectly in my life right now, and really anyone's life.

As I was following this advice I realized how much this job journey really is part of a much bigger journey. I was learning through practical experiences how much to trust in God and know that He will take care of me and that He has a plan. I was actively living the bible verse I had learned at a young age and truly understanding what it meant to trust in His plans for you.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

I was in a great place and ready to see what would happen next! I called around (literally everywhere in this little town) and was unable to find video teleconferencing other than skype. I returned Omar's phone call and told him and he said he would get back to me tomorrow about whether they wanted to do third phone interview or have me fly out for the in-person. 

Wednesday, August 14th around 9AM my time I receive a phone call from Omar stating their decision: "We have decided that since you are our TOP candidate and are in a different state and travel can be difficult, we would just like to base it off your previous interviews". Question answered. I was their top candidate. At this point I was feeling really good about getting the position. He had also asked if they could call my references, which I knew would be a home run. I don't really understand the whole reference thing. Who would give someone the name of a bad reference? I mean I would like to think I do not have any bad references but if you did I would never give them that name! But anyways, my reference were top notch so I had a feeling my life was about to change! 

Upon hanging up with Omar he told me they would be calling the references and I should hear something next week. Which brings us to Monday, August 19th: the day I was offered the job. 

This day also happened to be my husbands 4 year Army birthday (4 year anniversary of joining the Army) so we were already celebrating. David had told me he thought I would find out about the job today but I was not so sure. Next thing I know the phone is ringing and within 5 minutes I had a verbal offer to work at the Learning Events Manager at Capital One Conference Center through Benchmark Hospitality. 

I accepted the job that evening and agreed to start two weeks and one day from then. My first day will be Tuesday, September 3rd! Needless to say I have had a LOT to do to prepare for starting work. I am moving back to Virginia on September 1st, the day after David and I watch the Tigers beat the Dawgs in Death Valley. I have been busying tying up loose ends in Arizona, thrift store shopping like a mad man (get excited for that post tomorrow), and making plans for my new life in Virginia. 

The saddest part of this very happy story is my hubby will not be able to join me in Virginia until October 21st. The good news is I have already been approved time off (I made this a condition of my employment) to fly out here on October 11th and spend the week with him at his graduation, welcoming his family to Arizona, then taking an awesome road trip back to North Carolina with them. I will hopefully be able to fly out in the middle of September to see him and the fatzo (Bones) which would really help to break up the 5 weeks apart. 

If you all would just keep us in your prayers in our time of apart and as we start these new journeys we would really appreciate it! There are a lot of exciting times coming up and we are so blessed. 

Talk to you all tomorrow... (I am super stoked about my thrift store post in case you cannot tell... Prepare to be amazed)

My dad came to Fort Huachuca... oh and this little job thing

So I have this little job thing to tell you all about but first I want to finally talk about my dad's visit to Fort Huachuca!

Last Sunday, August 11th, my dad came into town for the first time to check out our new scenery. David and I had a long list of things to show him and fun stuff to do before he had to leave Monday night for his business meeting in Phoenix on Tuesday. Thankfully we were able to do everything and had a fabulous time showing him around!

In the 36 hours he was here, we showed him around base, went bowling, went to the movies, taught him all about Active Duty life, and went hiking!! Below are some pics of our fun.

We hiked the mountain behind our hotel (aka David and my home base). it is about 6000 feet in elevation. David and I plan to hike to the highest peak sometime soon!

SOOOO about the job. I GOT A JOB!!! I did not want to post too much while I was in the interview process but now it is official and I can spill the beans (man I wish I could eat at Spill the Beans in Clemson- but thats a whole different problem). Anyway, this is how the whole job process happened:

On August 1st I happened to be searching the web for jobs, nothing serious just looking around. I figured since it was August I was getting closer to being able to apply for jobs and hopefully get an interview around the time we get back to VA in October. I came across a job description for an event planner on HospitalityOnline.com I decided I would apply because the job looked pretty good and had good benefits. I wasn't really sure at first but then I saw that they offered "company travel discounts" and I was sold. As silly as it sounds I just figured "hey we love to travel so why not!" 

I truly believe God was behind me the whole time pushing me to apply for this job. Despite the "travel discounts" I found so appealing, I had not really applied for formal jobs before and found the process slightly daunting. I was not sure about my resume and cover letter, I was not sure about the looming "salary requirement" question and I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to plan events but I really did not want to work 60 hours a week with 4 nights a week and every other weekend. Although this is generally what happens when working in the event field, I was determined I could find something that did not consume my life and left me time with my family, even if I had to start my own business (which I may still like to do someday). Then this job was brought to me by God, through one of His blessing across the screen of my Macbook. He gave me the extra push and encouragement to apply and truly held my hand through the whole experience through giving me excellent mentors like my Uncle Gregg, my old boss and friend Zach, and of course my friends and family cheering me on (Dixie, Alicia, Cara, Kellee, and both sets of my parents (I know I am lucky to have great parents and 'in-laws'). 

So on August 2nd, I got an email (less than 24 hours after applying) that said my resume and application had been viewed. I was not sure what to think of this but I was interested because in the experience I had with the hiring process applications generally were not pulled until the position closed. But I did not think too much of it. THEN that same day I got a voicemail from one of the hiring managers asking to set up a phone interview! I could not believe it, a phone interview less than 24 hours after applying! I called her back about an hour later and left her a voicemail (it was after business hours her time) letting her know I would love to set up a phone interview and she could call me back anytime. 

August 3rd and 4th were the weekend (our wonderful Anniversary weekend), then Monday the 5th and I did not hear anything, I figured well maybe tomorrow. So Tuesday morning I had not heard from her and decided I would call back since last time I had left a voicemail. I wasn't that nervous about calling back because I thought it was a legitimate reason, I called and left a voicemail after business hours and had not heard back. So I called and as it turned out she never received the voicemail and was happy I called, she was going to call me back later that afternoon. So we scheduled the phone interview for the following day, she explained it would be she and I for the first stage. 

August 7th: First phone interview

My first phone interview went fabulous. I was totally confident and just felt really good about everything. I had done some practice interview questions, wrote down questions of my own I had and said a quick prayer before the interview to calm any nerves and make sure I present myself in a clear and honest way. I wanted to company to want me for who I was and I only wanted this opportunity if it was right for me and for David and I. The interview lasted about an hour, which I thought was a pretty long phone interview! She asked the typical questions about strengths and weaknesses, and a few scenario questions about dealing with difficult clients and gaining people's respect as a young professional. I felt really confident with my answers and got to ask the questions I had for her. I learned all about the company and what I would be doing.  I would be working as an event planner for Capital One Bank through Benchmark Hospitality, a company that runs their conference center. The conference center is located in Mclean, VA and I would be working from 7:30-4:30 planning events for Capital One employees. The best part is that I would not have to work weekends, nights, or overtime. I would not have to work bank holidays and get all paid holidays and vacation time. All of these things were exactly what I was looking for. At the end of the interview I asked what the next step in the process was and she said she had approved me to the next round of phone interviews and I should be expecting a call from "Omar" within the next few days. 

August 7th.. still

Omar called! I received a call from Omar, who is the boss of Tina that I had spoken with earlier (Tina would be my boss). Omar scheduled the phone interview for the next day, August 8th and said he looked forward to speaking with me tomorrow. 

August 8th: Second Phone Interview

I had my second phone interview with Omar. It went really well once again. He kept saying he thought my answers were really good and that he thought I had great experience (thanks Clemson). He asked me about salary (which I had prepared my answer by looking at glassdoor.com and doing some research about the average for that area). I felt really confident and was starting to think I was actually a top candidate for this position. It was all so exciting and a whirlwind all at one time. I could not believe I was knee deep in an interview process and could potentially have a job soon, one that I really had grown to like. I knew they needed a candidate soon because they informed me the position was currently vacant. I also had some looming questions about the in person interview process. How was I going to fly to VA for the interview? They already said it was not in the budget to fly someone out for an interview because they were looking for a candidate with knowledge of the local area. So needless to say there were a lot of questions still and I had to rely on my faith to ensure it would all play out.

So I just realized this blog post is getting REALLY long and I need to make my hubby some spaghetti so I am going to leave you here wondering how the rest of the story plays out.....

All the rest of the last post...

Hello everyone!! I did it! I am posting as promised. Woo-hoo!

I wanted to write the rest of my last post, since I am so wordy I figured I should break it up. So, this post will be about our new budget, my dad coming to Arizona, and my job interview!

David and I have been blessed to have little to no expenses while in Arizona and a steady income. We decided to call USAA and use their free financial planning service to set up a budget for savings and debt that would help us get closer to reaching our goals. We thought that with our anniversary and looking back on what we had done over the past year, we had a lot of improvement that could be made in the financial department. We are suckers for going out to eat and traveling and realized we were spending a ridiculous amount of money on those things, often times money we didn't really have to spend. After talking to USAA and getting hooked up with the planner we felt really good about where our money could take us over the next year. Currently we have student loans, a little credit card debt (mainly from traveling to Arizona which we don't get reimbursed for until October), and minimal bills such as car insurance, food/gas, and Bones expenses. As I said we are blessed to not have any expenses right now because the Army pays for most everything while David is training (housing, health insurance, and dental).

So after we evaluated where we were with our money we decided to make some goals for the future. Our biggest goal was probably to buy a house. We also know we will be needing a car and would like to either pay cash for the car or be able to pay it off within a year so we will need plenty of savings for that. Our financial planner also wanted us to be sure to have an emergency fund of 3-6 months income and suggested we not purchase a home before having this in place. With all of this advice we ended up making a 4-way plan.

1. 10% is put to tithe (before taxes)
• We believe in tithe before taxes for the simple reason: God comes first
2. 30% of our income is put into savings
• We split savings into emergency fund and "house fund" (house fund gets 2/3rds, emergency fund gets 1/3rd of our allotment)
3. 30% of our income is put into debt
• Primarily paying down student loans and building credit (we payed our credit card down to 25% balance and are making regular payments on it)
4. 30% is put into living expenses
• We budgeted our expenses like food, Bones, gas, and misc (to include some entertainment since we are in the middle of the desert) and anything that is left over from this amount at the end of the month is rolled over into savings

So far we have done REALLY well budgeting. This month we are definitely on track to roll over a good bit of money into savings (primarily thanks to good meal planning and not going out to eat). I think it is more thrilling to have a purpose for our money and know where it is going than it ever was to go out to eat all the time and plan fancy trips. Now, I am not saying it isn't hard to not go to Outback all the time and Buffalo Wild Wings and think about "oh look those cruise deals are so cheap" or "ya we definitely should buy this thing on Groupon its only ___ dollars!!". Those things do come up and tempt us but when we think in terms of "that is x amount of dollars that could go toward our future home it is a lot more manageable. We also do let ourselves little cheats like going out to eat once a week and going bowling or something like that. I will keep you all updated on how we do! 

Along with our budgeting there is the question of "what about life after Fort Huachuca?" David and I have been applying for jobs and hoping we can continue our budget and "plan" when we get back to Virginia. Thankfully, we are SO blessed to have our loving family take us in for the next little bit and we will have much less expenses than we would have had trying to live on our own in some overpriced apartment. Anyway, back to this "plan". First off let me start by saying how ridiculous it is for me to even say we have a "plan". Only God knows the plan we will embark on and only he can make our plan. We are the clay and He is molding us to fit into His plan and carry out His will. With that, we have been trying to do our part in applying for jobs and keeping our opportunities open. We pray about the jobs we apply for know that the right opportunity will present itself. Currently, I am in the interview process for a position in McLean, VA as an event planner at a private corporate conference center. I am really hopeful about this opportunity and should find out this week if I get the position!

Well, this once again is a really long post and I still have not gotten to my dad's visit. I will just go ahead and admit now, if you are going to read this blog you will have to put up with the fact that I am long winded. I will post again this week about my dad's visit and some cooking adventures! 

Until then... you can laugh at this ridiculous picture of me buying Bones food!

Oopsie!

Well as you all can tell I completely disregarded my blog for two weeks! I have so many things to post about but somehow I got so wrapped up into life I forgot, in fact I even forgot how to get to my blog... cue the oopsie. BUT I am here now and have done a lot over the last few weeks!

The biggest few happenings are what I am going to update you all on today...

• One Year Anniversary!!
• Starting our budget
• My dad coming to Arizona
• My job interview

First and foremost: our anniversary! It was such a fun experience. We had been looking forward to the day for some time now. Our anniversary was Sunday, August 4th but Sunday is usually our low key day so we decided to do most of our celebrating on Saturday. From the beginning of talking about what we wanted to do for this special day we had thrown out all sorts of ideas like going to San Diego, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Phoenix, or the Ritz Carlton in Tucson. Although we would have LOVED to do any of these things, all of them came with a price tag of AT LEAST $450. At first we said, "Oh well its just a one time thing, it is our anniversary!" but then we realized what was really most important and that was our future goals. As you will hear about in a bit, we started a strict budget on August 1st and we really felt strongly about sticking to it. At one point we actually had a reservation at the Ritz (which really wasn't that expensive) but we decided to cancel it and save the money. So, once those decisions were made we were back to square one. I told David that what was most important to me was that he planned our day and took the lead on that. A lot of the time I am the planner, mainly because I love to plan things, and also I know our schedules a lot better sometimes. But for our anniversary I really wanted him to lead us and make plans, just as he is the leader of our family. It was also a good learning experience for me and a time to show my trust in his abilities. 

So come Saturday, August 3rd we had a whole day of anniversary celebrations planned! First, we went hiking at this really pretty area that had trees!! I haven't seen real looking trees in such a long time. Then to my surprise THERE WAS A RIVER!!! A real body of water! (it is pretty pathetic to get this excited about a body of water but we are in the desert for goodness sake) So after the wonderful river hike we went on a drive (kind of one of those drives you see on the movies through long windy roads that don't lead to anywhere. It was such a simple thing but so fun, windows down singing my favorite Christian songs and talking. Then next thing I know we are in this old Wild Wild West town called Tombstone. We walked around the town and saw some of the shops, old western costumes, and art. We plan to go back to Tombstone and maybe see one of the gun fights or go in the gold mine! After Tombstone we drove back home and played some games, and relaxed until our big event of the evening. I wanted to get ready in separate areas so I could make a big reveal of my cute outfit that I traded my sister for. I had no idea where we were going to dinner, all I knew was it was the "nicest restaurant within 45 miles" which in this area you don't have too many choices. Ta-da big reveal, David loved my dress, now let's head to dinner! David drove us to Bisbee, this really neat artsy mountain town about 30 minutes from here, and we ate at a famous restaurant called "Cafe Roka". It was a four course meal with seasonal specials that are changed weekly. I loved it. We had the best food and a really memorable night. 

The next day we just had a really great relaxing Sunday filled with church, Yahtzee, watching Scrubs, and some cake eating! When I flew home from Alicia and Clay's wedding I brought our wedding cake with me on the airplane. I really wanted to take some cute anniversary pictures so our friend Rebecca in David's class said she would take them for us. Around sunset we went up to our favorite place, "The Lookout" and had fun take pictures, eating our wedding cake (which actually was really moist and descent), and then chucking our wedding cake off the side of the mountain.  You can see all the pictures from the weekend below (because I know you have been dying to):

Well it seems that I have practically written a novel so maybe I will save the rest for later this week, and actually post it :) 

Until next time...