Back To School Isn't All Fun And Games.

Apparently, one kid at the table suggested the word "sad" and the hordes of impressionable classmates
all chimed in with ME, TOO! I asked Nora if she was really sad- she said, "Not really. I painted a great project!"

And yes, she was this sad. "Whaddaya mean we're just gonna LEAVE her here?"
"Whaddaya mean I don't get to PAINT A PROJECT?!"

Savers Thrift Stores And Unabashed Joy.

Yay for deals! This is a sponsored post by Savers Thrift Stores. I am le happy about this.

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There are few things in life more swoon-worthy than making A Find.

Fellow thrifters know what I mean: that heart-stopping moment when you discover The Perfect Item, realize it’s in your size/color scheme, and that it’s priced crazily cheap. Marathoners can keep their adrenaline rushes and 5k “fun runs”- I’ll take the tingle of winning deals any ol’ day. (Also? We need to stop referring to 5ks as “fun.” You know what’s really fun? Not running a 5k. Digress.)

Last weekend, I experienced a whole lotta winning and some downright amazing finds at the newest Savers Thrift Store in Franklin Park, IL. Guess what, Chicagoans? It’s totally close by (25 mins from my house in non-highway traffic!) and what awaits you there is worth every. Single. Block.

Here’s what I love about thrifting: the thrill of the chase, the discovery of the unknown, and the sheer potential for finding STUFF.

Here’s what I don’t love about most resale shops: sometimes that STUFF can be thrown about rather willy-nilly…and they tend to be more than a little filthy.

And here’s what I simply adore about Savers: It’s clean, it’s brightly lit, organized within an inch of its life (seriously, I saw at least five employees constantly shelving and re-hanging items exactly where they were labeled to live), and it’s a resale emporium that reads like a department store.

Wanna see my finds? (I know.) A smattering of the spoils which [briefly, safely] stopped my heart:

Nora's Halloween costume: purple dragon, $9.99. BOOM.

Itty bitty adorable clothes: Most were $3.99, max.

Mama's new shoes: And yes, those are Franco Sarto leather slingbacks...
which usually retail for $80...going for $5.99. YES, THOSE ARE.

Name brand baseball mitts! Sure, they're pink n' purple, but it's a start! 

An adorbs hanging frame- which I've been dying to find to hold
ultrasounds of my three teensy babies...all for a whopping 99 cents.

We also picked up a bunch o' clothes for P.J. (average of $5 apiece), a crazyadorablesecret Halloween costume for Susannah ($6), a supra-cute maternity sweater ($4), a buncha frames (.99 apiece), and the happiness that comes from scoring ALL of The Finds at ridiculously fabulous prices. (And my cashier informed me that stuff simply flies off the shelves there- and thousands of new items are stocked daily. Which made me want to return immediately.)

You’re seriously gonna want to go play at a Savers near you. (Check here for locations!) And tell them I said hi.

And pull aside anything in my size/color/décor scheme.

I’m totally not kidding.

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While this is a sponsored post by Savers Thrift Stores- and you know I would do just about anything for a thrift store bargain- you can rest assured that all thoughts, opinions, and AWESOME SHOES are my own. 

Back To School. Now With More Feelings!

I know a lot of you have been playing the Back To School game now for weeks...

But now it's my turn. With this kid.

...And her Back To School helper.

It's her second year of preschool (which is what happens when you start with a Young 3s program)...but I'm just as emotional as if she were going off to college. For very short, very young people. Okay, I'm not devastated sad. Of course not. Just twinge-y. Saddish. Hormonal.

And it's not like I think preschool is a hop, skip, and jump away from other-side-of-the-world independence (though some would argue that it is). No, I'm a bundle of Feelings for two reasons:

1. I miss her. Plain n' simple. I've gotten so used to this free-spirited little lady just wandering from room to room, reading her books, asking the occasional question, and always being game for a project or adventure. And while three mornings a week isn't the equivalent of a Peace Corp tour, it leaves a big (okay, smallish) Nora-sized hole in my day.

2. Each time she starts a new class or chapter in her life, it becomes glaringly obvious to me that one day- perhaps even soon- she'll be onward and upward and forward and not slowing down, not even the tiniest bit, and she'll never again just be my little kid at home. And it seems like she's already started that trajectory.

And I miss her.

Yesterday, P.J. showed me this commercial. Warning: If you're an easy crier, you'll cry. Easily.

So no matter how special I make each day and no matter how often (or infrequently) I document each little Pinterest-worthy milestone, she's well on her way to the rest of her life.

That's what I think about on each first day of school. And while I always want Nora (and Susannah and Roo) to be wildly happy and live with absolute freedom (from worry, from Mom-guilt)...

I already miss her.

Keely Steps Out (In Supremely Cute Orthaheel Boots).

I'm very very very thrilled to write this sponsored post on behalf of Orthaheel and Sole Provisions. Yay, boots!

Now that I'm safely ensconced in my 30s, it's easy to see that I've begun a trend of wearing shoes that are extremely good for my feet.

This is a welcomed change, as I spent the majority of my 20s clad in footwear designed to destroy arches (and fall apart at the first sign of weather).

And as a gal who for so long prized quantity over quality and so cute over pretty much all else, it's awesome to find boots and shoes that can be a) functional, b) supportive, and c) yeah, ridiculously cute. (I mean, I'm not dead yet. I still have some standards of looking borderline attractive. No, they really are there.)

I am neither Waldo nor a pirate.
Just in case it ever comes up.

I'm massively in love with my new boots from Orthaheel (the Nell, in black) for these very reasons, as well as the fact that they look vaguely motorcycle-y which, sure, I'll never be in any danger of riding an actual motorcycle, but I think we can all agree that it's an attractive look for Fall. (The boots. Not me on a bike. Because never.) The ruching by the ankle is a cute touch, and I love side zip boots. Love 'em. (So does P.J., who will be in charge of all things Footwear Removal within the next few months.) And the footbed is roomy and supported and ohmyword feels like a nice, footly hug.

Here's what else I dig about these boots and this company: the technology that went into creating this line of shoes and boots is clinically proven to reduce pronation (read: not walking like a normal person, KEELY), and can help your overall foot feel like a million bucks.

You can check out this wonderful line of footwear at Sole Provisions- where I got mine- which not only features some rather adorable shoes and boots, but also offers brands upon brands designed to make your bones and joints and extremities feel adorable, too.

As someone who's currently plowing through her third pregnancy, I'll take all the adorable-makin'/adorable-feelin' help I can get.

And cute boots, too.

Although I was compensated for this post by Sole Provisions and Orthaheel, all thoughts and opinions (and gushy love for footwear) are my own.