thrifty thursday//polkadot

raise your hand if you've ever gone outside during a minnesota winter

with no pants on?

(if there was a luxurious hot-tub waiting nearby, you're automatically disqualified. babies.)

...

this skirt had no warmth factor whatsoever.

but hold up. for only 4 dollars at Unique,

I'll take it!

perhaps I'm just trying to entice Mr. Sunshine to come a little early

if I break out some warmer-temp clothes.

//

we'll see if it works.

HAPPY THRIFTING! :)

see?! you can practically see the wind whipping my hairs back and forth! one...

and two!

mhmm yea werking it again.

(note: purple-looking hands)

FREEZING.

shirt//levi outlet store
skirt//thrifted from Unique ($4)
boots (buried beneath snow)//thrifted ($9)
scarf//gift from the boyfrann's famjam (THANK YOU AGAIN! :))

wonderful weekend home//

soooo here's my weekend in a nutshell...

FINALLY (re)setting up our VCR at home and going through all of our old vhs. #puregold

getting to sit down and actually enjoy a cup of coffee.

finding a jackpot while thrifting this weekend! quick sneak peek....OKAY NO MORE PEEKING!

trying out a new hobby..we'll see how this goes....

and thennn getting to skype this cute boy and making our usual weird faces at each other for the majority of the date. or watching cat videos. or cuddling..through skype. don't ask.
*sigh* long distance sucks. the end.

already dreading this crazy crazy week.

exams, projects, quizzes, speeches out the waaazoo.

so i apologize in advance if I'm MIA for a couple of days.

and if it's longer than a week...

check the library. probably will be passed out beneath a pile of textbooks and papers.

okay Spring Break, I think it's about time you got here now!!

thrifty thursday//flannel love

Confession: I am a complete Scrooge when it comes to money.

...

...

...

...

...

Okay that may have been too extreme of an analogy.  But really... I am a stickler when it comes to moola.  I like to save a lot more than I like to spend.

Wanna go see a movie?...Naw. How about a Redbox instead?

Wanna go out to dinner?...Is it half-off apps?

Want some jimmy johns?..How about we make our own? I got some old bread for 50cents!

And in regards to clothing, I rarely buy anything if its marked over 20 dollars... which very much limits a person's options.

But there are these wonderful//magical places in the world which I so lovingly refer to as

HIDDEN TREASURES.

aka thrift/secondhand stores.

whatwhatwhatwhat. whatwhatwhatwhat. whatwhatwhatwhat.

//

(guess whatwhatwhatwhat song is stuck in your head now...)

Salvation Army, Unique, Goodwill, Platos Closet etc. etc....I've spent my fair amount of time in each of these.  May or may not even own a VIP card.....coughyescough.

I simply LOVE it.  The whole thrifting experience is a great way to be creative, find something completely one-of-a-kind, and make it your own masterpiece!

Plus, you're saving a couple of extra bucks, which is pretty dang awesome as well.

So, this is why I am creating a weekly post called....

BA DA DA DA DAAAAAAA!

ehhh ehhh do you love it?! <3 <3

each week, I'm gonna spotlight some of my finest finds and pull together an outfit that would make macklemore himself proud. 

But there are a couple of rules...

1.  Not all outfits are strictly thrifty.  Just a few pieces here and there.  (although that is a pretty good challenge...).  But yes, I do own items from other stores as well.  A girl's gotta have her F21 fix every now and then....

2.  I am a blogger. Not a model. Equals no judgment zone here.

3.  Now, go out and be inspired to find your own thrifing gems :)

Confession number two: Sometimes like to shop in the mens section...like for today's feature....



flannel//salvation army ($4)

hat//h&m ($5)

scarf//from the famjam

jeans//american eagle. secondhand at platos closet. ($15)

boots//bearpaw (an investment...)

awww yeaa. werk it.

soo...bright...outside....

admiring the wildlife. (squirrels).

props to the roomie/sister emmy for taking these wonderful pics!

Until next week...STAY THRIFTY! :)

something's cooking//

Recipe For A Perfect Blogging Brainstorm Session

some pretty nifty highlighters.

+

wild berry zinger, please.

+

no caption needed...

=

Some reaaaally sweeet ideas in progress!

I would definitely come back here tomorrow for the beginning of a weekly awesomeness post theme....

let me give you a hint.

I call it....

__________ Thursdays ;)

tee hee hee. try and figure THAT one out. 

...

(but please don't give it away if you do)

alright alright, I should really be doing something else. something school related. like homework. or studying poli sci. or my speech outline. or my art project....

naw. 

hey i just met you//and this is crazy//but wanna read my blog?!

Q: Um..do I know you?

A:  No, I don't think we've properly met! Hi there! *insert handshake* I'm Melissa!  Thanks for stopping on by!

Q:  Oh, nice to meet you too! So, this blog.  Looking pretty darn cool! What do you think you will be writing about exactly?

A:  Aw, you're too kind! Well, if you can't tell already, I'm still fairly new to this whole scene.  Just still a wittle baby blogger.  And everything is still under construction as I figure out the details. (HTML...the whatywhat?)

For now, I'm still brainstorming, creating, and organizing this site into something SUPER AWESOME POSSUM!

Q:  So...do you like cheese? (lots of "shes the man" quotes to come....)

A:  Why yes, my favorite's gouda swiss!

But there are also like a whole lot of other things I like as well!

Cool pictures.

(dunkin donuts) Coffee.

Dark chocolate.

Planning/Organizing/Cleaning

Nick Jonas. foreverandalways.

Snazzy outfits.

Thrifting (equals saving big $$)

 Running-outside.

College-life (minus the homework).

FOOD. nuff said.

Learning design.

And being sometimes crafty.

Pinning. *addict*

Laughing. A whole lot.

Being a general goofball.

Q:  Just curious, why "melissa grace//in progress?"

A:  I believe....

"Yet You, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand."

-Isaiah 64:8

Me=Lumpy form of clay.
I have absolutely no clue what I am going to become in the next few years...months..weeks...days even.  Cool thing is? I don't have to figure it out myself.  I've got the Great Artist turning my life from the mushiness that it is and making me into the artwork He intended me to be.

I'm all just a A WORK IN PROGRESS...ehhhh? ehhhh? catching on yet?
So, while He does that, I will continue to discover the talents, the passions, the life He has given me each and everyday.

And if you're curious as to what those may be (I AM!), stay tuned for more :)

snowy trees//red roses//chocolate baklava

HAPPY (belated) VALENTINES DAY!!

Oh how sad February 15th can be..Another valentines has come and gone so quickly, another year to wait until i can stuff my face with as much dark chocolate as humanely possible...
(never mind. happens daily)

but even though its sad the day is over, it was still a great one to remember!
first off, woke up to the most BEAUTIFUL snowfall, making our entire campus look like a winter wonderland. and after i just start complaining about sick i am of snow...LOOK AT THESE BEAUTS!

Then the sisters and I traveled back home for the night for the annual valentines dinner my dad always puts on.

Each year my dad has been making dinner for us (mom, my three sisters, and I) on February 14th.  But these are no ordinary dinners; each year hosts a new theme.
For example, our very first dinner was solely Asian culture.  Chopsticks, fortune cookies, and red paper of origami donned the table.
Another year, was hawaiian, completete with grass skirts and drinks from real coconuts....
Then Genovia (Princess Diaries)..."you've got pears in your plant"
Winter Olympics...
Monte Cristo...
 President Election season...
American Idol...
Cruise...
Wild Wild West...
and finally last night....A Taste of Israel! (mom has been there and my dad longs to go..)
And on and on the tradition has been going on.

Basically my dad is the most creative, amazing, loving, and wonderful man in the whole wide world and I am so blessed by him each and everyday. <3 LOVE you daddy <3

 very first valentines dinner. (sorry emmy!)

Hawaiian dinner! rockin' the cool glasses yet again.

 count of monte cristo. (and no, that is not his real beard)

American idol night. we were only joking lexi.....

last year's wild west theme...including....

fake gold teeth. loooooking goooood.

 and last night's delicious dinner! ta da!

he wrote in Hebrew on all the cups!

decorated the table with a map of Israel, sand, rocks, and Bible verses.

after a delicious night of shawarma, tabouleh, hummus with pita, and baklava, we returned back to school and found this little prezzy of roses waiting for me from the most wonderful boyfrannn ever :) :) :) MWAHH!i "likee" you handsome <3

with that, I say...

 חג אהבה שמח

(happy valentines day)

 or more specifically, happy love feast!

hope you all had a wonderful love day as well :)

i have no idea what i'm doing...

Welp.  Here it is.  My very first post.

.
..
...
....
.....

TA DA!

 (how I feel on the inside right about now)

I don't know what's finally gotten into me.
Maybe its the constant obsessing over other people's blogs?
Maybe I'm needing another form of a creative outlet?(Oh how I've missed writing for myself...)
Maybe its a strong surge of courage to do something unexpected?
Or it could be the possibility that I am bored to tears at school and DO NOT feel like doing homework. Ew.

Either way, this is it! My very own blog!

I kinda feel a little lame typing this post cause I don't think anyone is really gonna read it..
Like I'm sitting alone at my own party, confetti strewn about the floor, a party hat atop of my head, and I'm blowing one of those kazoo(?) things all by myself.  BUT I DON'T CARE!

It is all probably for the best because this page is going to be under construction for quite some time as I figure out this whole blogging ordeal. ...like maybe a new name?...I don't know.
And honestly, I still have no idea what I'm going to be writing about.
Clothes?
Photography?
Food? (yes.)
School?
Family?
Life?

...
How much I love my intro to environmental science class and how it is forever going to change my life?!

That's a no. Never.

Basically this blog is open to a world of possibilities and may it change and evolve into something I never even expected.

Funny how that basically describes my life right now, being the ripe age of 20 years old and having absolutely no idea what I want to do or who I want to become in life...

But alas, we shall save all that fun for another time!

For now, I am going to bask in the glory of finally taking a chance and doing something I've always reaaaaaaaally wanted to do.

Oh, by the way...

Nice to meet you blogger world. I'm Melissa :)

 

 (this is me...capturing the raw emotion of creating this blog

...maybe not the best way to start things off...)

There. That's a little better!