A Thirty Shopaholic

Unlike most shopaholics, I’ve always been thrifty. My family’s never had a lot of money to spend around, but that never stopped us from having fun. We found plenty of ways to have a good time with our low budget. So I was able to do the same thing when it came to shopping. Thrift stores became my life.

I know a lot of people are bothered by the fact that the clothes have been used, but I grew up on hand-me-downs. For me, it’s always been about the style and the look. Who cares who wore it before, just so long as it looks great on you. I also like to think of it as a passing on of the torch. Who ever owned this red polka dotted dress before me had great taste and style, and now, so do I.

Another reason people won’t often shop at Thrift stores is because there’s never a guarantee you’ll find what you’re looking for. This happens to be one of my favorite things about Thrift stores. There are times that I won’t find anything and all I can do is go home disappointed. Then there are those times when every other item on the clothing rack is just what I need! I love how it comes as a total surprise! It makes shopping so much more exciting!

I’m also the kind of person who’s willing to scour each and every rack in the store for hours. Most people hate that you can’t just walk into a thrift store and find something perfect right away. For me, it’s like a scavenger hunt! The only requirement I usually have when I walk into a store is that it be something unique. I don’t want to try on a skirt that comes in different sizes for every other girl out there. I want something that fits me and me only. Not just in size, but in style as well. So searching endlessly through the mixed bag you get at thrift stores is totally worth it for me!

Now, when I say I like things that are unique, that doesn’t mean I’ll wear ANYTHING that unique! My friends will go shopping with me and point out clothes and say: “oooh Miranda! This is soooo YOU!” Usually they’re wrong. Really wrong. To clarify I guess I should say that it has to be unique and very. . . me! Which can actually make it even more confusing.

I can’t really put a finger on exactly what it is I like (and this goes for more than just clothes, like music and movies etc.) I never know if I’m going to like something till I just do. Most people have a genre of music, a type of movie, a style of writing, or a line of clothing that seems to have been made just for them. That just isn’t me though.

I guess that's why thrift stores seem to have been made for me! They’re filled with so many different clothes from different people and different eras. I love that I can find the perfect everything and anything there. One minute I’m Joan Jett , the next I’m Molly Ringwald, Jacqueline Kennedy, or Katharine Hepburn. I just love being me, whichever me that might be at the moment!

Sorry these have been soooo wordy lately!

Hope you still enjoy 'em,

Loverly! :3

A Newly Single Adult

It still hasn’t really hit me yet. I don’t feel old enough to graduate! I really do feel the same as I did freshman year, and the only real improvement I’ve made is that I’ve had my braces removed since then.  And yet I did walk down the aisle as the band played Pomp and Circumstance and I did throw my mortar board along with the rest of the class of 2012.

Graduation is particularly a funny thing if you’re a mormon. In our church we have the Young Women Program for girls from the ages of 12  until they graduate. Once you graduate high school, you kind of graduate from Young Womens. The funny thing about it is that the next step from there is the Single Adults group.

I remember my friend Becca commenting that “single adult” sounds like a term you would give to an older person who is desperately in want of a husband. And that is pretty much exactly how it is! One minute I was a young woman, learning to grow and develop, and the next minute I was thrown into the world of “what are you doing with your life? when are you going to get a job? get a boyfriend? get married?”. To be honest, I’m kind of exaggerating. Sort of.

It is true that marriage and families are extremely important to the my religion, which is fine by me since those are things I personally want. Yet, without really meaning to, it does put a bit of pressure on us “single adults” of the mormon culture. Suddenly every church activity might be where you meet “the one” and every boy you meet just might be that “one” and eternal companion.

Knowing all this to be ridiculous, and yet feeling like it was true with every fiber of my being, I was still really nervous about my first Single Adults’ activity. It was just a simple little picnic dinner in the park on Memorial Day where we could mix and mingle, but I still spent an hour picking out my outfit. What if my one day future husband was there? I didn’t want him to see me for the first time looking like the princess of drab!

Finally I picked out a skirt and black top, a mix of casual and classy, and set out with some gal pals to the picnic. The other funny thing about Single Adult groups is that the ages range from “I just graduated high school” to “I’m about to get my PHD and start my life career”. So when I first arrived all I could see was how much more facial hair and muscle all the guys had compared to the boys I was used to seeing. I felt like 5 year old trying to play grown up.

Luckily my bestie Jessica came and pulled me out of my awkward shell.

“Miranda, let’s make it a goal to meet as many people as we can tonight,” she said as we passed by three guys talking together. She immediately turned to me and half whispered, “what about them?”

“I don’t know. They’re too attractive,” I said hesitantly. As mean as it makes me for saying it, it’s definitely easier to talk to boys who weren’t . . .as physically blessed. Pretty boys in general make me feel inferior.

“They didn’t seem THAT cute,” she insisted. As I looked at her and how confident she was, I knew that that was what I wanted and decided to go for it.

“If you walk up to them I’ll follow,” I told her. So she did, and was right there along with her, talking to these three guys I’d never met before.

It turned out that we happened to be extremely lucky on the first shot! All three of them were nice guys and were easy to talk to. Though they were all awesome, there was one in particular that I liked talking to, and even better than that, he actually seemed to like talking to me. Rather having me ask all the questions he actually asked about my life and seemed genuinely interested in what I said. What girl doesn’t love it when that actually happens? It also didn’t hurt that he had the most adorable freckled face.
I found out he had recently gotten back from his mission - a religious calling that lasts two years - in England, which gave us something to talk about. I asked him what he liked about Europe and shared that I’d lived in France for a year. It was nice how easy it was to chat with him, and i don’t mean to sound creepy or anything, but he had a great smile.
Later, after having been pulled away from them, Jessie pointed out what a cute couple we’d be! So naturally I spent the rest of the night thinking about him and wishing I’d gotten his number. I was still thinking about it as I drove back with my friend Caroline.
“Maybe I’ll meet him at another thing and I’ll get his number then,” I remarked.
“Maybe,” she said.
“Do you think I’m too young for him?” I asked, which was weird for me since I’m usually worried about looking too much older than I am.
“No, this is the time to get married Miranda, you won’t be like this forever. Soon we’ll be too old and who will want marry us then?” she joked, laughing, “And, actually, this could be the perfect time. ‘Cause return missionaries feel pressure to get married when they first come back.”
“Well, I’ll get his number next time,” I laughed, “that is, if he isn’t already engaged by then. You never know with mormons.”

*sigh* . . . it's amazing how fast I've grown up

- Loverly :3