Thrifting in Orange, Virginia

Every time I go to Charlottesville I have passed by this over flowing thrift store in Orange, VA, but had never managed to stop by and take a look. Finally after 2 wedding trials I decided I needed to stop in and check out what this place had to offer before I headed back home.

 It was quite a treasure trove filled with so many odds and ends! I got a few wonderful pieces and a stack of art history books, I had to restrain myself because there were many other things that I wanted, but did not need yet. 

 The Sunday following this solo adventure I actually had a day off, so Jon, my mom, my dad, aunt and I made a little day trip to Orange, Virginia to check out the thrift store again, D&J Thrift Shop. We also had a lovely lunch at the delicious Silk Mill Grille, which if you stop in Orange you must go here because their food is absolutely mouth-watering!

I went away from this place a second time with some amazing treasures and can't wait to go back again! They are always getting new items, so I am sure if you are looking for something you will be able to find it there! 

Go check it out and let me know if you found any treasures of your own! 

p.s. if you haven't already seen on my instagram or fb accounts, my dog Bryan (boo-bear) passed away last week on Thursday. I miss him so much! 

We had him from November 16, 1997 till June 12, 2014. RIP Bryan Boo-Bear and say hi to Chloe and all the other pups! 

My Fate with Cars

Outfit Details:

top: Express

shorts: Loft

shoes: Aldo

sunglasses: Target

bracelets: Charming Charlie, Emitations

As you may be able to discern from the title of this post, my fate with cars is not a tale of unicorns and rainbows. It is more a tale of tears, pounding on the dashboard and phone calls to my mom or boyfriend when I need a ride away from a disaster. 

I do not consider myself an unsafe driver or a madwoman, but somehow disaster follows me when I am in a car, or even if I just own the car. Where to begin.... After college I brought a slightly used Mazda 3, a beautiful sleek machine that drove amazingly; until a stupid truck drove me into the guard rail on 95 N. And I had only had that car for about 4 months :(, our life together ended too soon! 

So unfortunately I had to move on and look for another car, a horrible task when money is limited and your tastes exceed the amount of money available. I eventually settled on a Dodge Caliber. It was comfortable, basic and fit a lot (so great for toting all my kits). Of course this amicable relationship did not last for long, within the first 6 months of having this car came the first expensive repair, this trend continued every 6 months that I owned the car. Within the two and half years that I suffered with this car (granted it did get me to most of my jobs and kept me safe), during a huge storm half of a tree smashed only my car in a driveway full of 5 cars and I got in an accident when my brakes failed, among other little mishaps. 

The most recent incident is what made me decide to finally move the car on.... I was on my way to a last minute photo shoot, when my car started having trouble accelerating. All week I had a bad feeling that something was going to happen, since it had been about 6 months since the last mishap, and not to mention I had broken a mirror. So to continue, I was about a mile away from the location I needed to be at, all the while the problem getting worse and me praying just to be able to get to a parking lot and then deal with it, when the car just stopped working while I was on a hill at a light in a pretty busy intersection. Lovely! Just my luck! Thank goodness Jon was close by and could help with the car while I went off and did the photo shoot (the amazing designer picked me up). Everything worked out in the end, but damn it was a rough afternoon! 

Last week I sold my car to Carmax after getting the clutch replaced (and shelling out $$$$), and am now finally onto a more bright and less messy fate with the cars of my future! 

How are you all with your cars? Destined for trouble?