second hand outfits

Before you snub your nose at thrift shopping let's talk about how good second hand buying is for our world & economy:

"1,142,000,000 lbs

IF 1 IN 100 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

SHOPPED RESALE, IT WOULD SAVE OVER 1.1 BILLION POUNDS OF CO2 EMISSIONS EVERY YEAR

that's the equivalent of planting 24 million trees per year

$1,460,000,000

IF 1 IN 100 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

SHOPPED RESALE, THEY WOULD COLLECTIVELY SAVE OVER $1.4 BILLION EVERY YEAR

that's enough for each of those households to pay for 2 years of college

99,400,000,000 gallons

IF 1 IN 100 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

SHOPPED RESALE, IT WOULD SAVE OVER 99 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER EVERY YEAr

that's about the same amount of water those same households use in a year

95,000,000 lbs

IF 1 IN 100 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

CLEANED OUT, IT WOULD KEEP 95 MILLION POUNDS OF CLOTHES OUT OF LANDFILLS EVERY YEAR

that's the equivalant weight of 1,500 recycling trucks

140,000,000 items

IF 1 IN 100 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

CLEANED OUT, THEY WOULD COLLECTIVELY GENERATE 140 MILLION ITEMS THAT COULD BE RESOLD OR REUSED

that's enough fabric to create a blanket big enough to cover the island of Manhattan

Did you know? 85% of all clothing that gets donated ends up in landfills. A meager 15% of what we donate ends up being recycled and most of this recycled product ends up overseas. 

ITEMS IN THE TYPICAL CLOSET: 93 

TOTAL COST $8,500, BUT MORE THAN 70% IS NEVER WORN!"

 info taken from ThredUP.com

These outfits and shoes were all purchased at the thrift store and I cannot wait to wear them this spring. 

Gap dress: $3.99

no label: $3.99

Isaac Mizrahi for Target: $6.99

Kenneth Cole: $6.99

Lucky Brand: $3.99

Forever21 dress: $4.99

Tahari jersey dress: $5.99

Vince Cashmere Sweater: $6.99

Ann Taylor Loft skirt: $3.99

All that totals up to $47.91, my bank account will take that any day.

 Of course there are some pieces that I still love to invest in, but thrift shopping is not only the cheaper option, it's a fun one too. I love to take a Saturday morning and go looking for clothes. It's a bit therapeutic for me. 

If you in my neighborhood and ever want to go call me up and I can give fantastic tips for smart thrift store shopping! 

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CLTIVATE + Giveaway

I am so thrilled and honored to share this story on Daily Brunch today.
Zack Gudzan founded CLTIVATE, a non profit organization, to help people recover from alcohol addiction but the story doesn't start or stop there. Here are a few lines taken from Zach's blog on the CLTIVATE website. Really take 3 minutes to read his story, you'll be blown away. 

"Everything was fine. I had a new job, enough money to do what I wanted, and plenty of friends. People knew me as a dude who just really liked to party. My weekends always started on Thursday nights…I never understood why people waited until Friday to celebrate. It was my third week on the new job, and I was really itching to go party. So I did. I got blackout, per usual - probably went to 3 bars, smoked a pack of Marlboro Lights, and drove home. I didn’t wake up until late Friday afternoon…I missed work, had several missed phone calls, and a miserable hangover.

Long story short, I got fired. This wasn’t the first time I had been fired, but it was the first time I had nowhere to turn. I had nothing. I spent my entire paycheck on partying the week before, I had already sold my furniture for cash, and I had already borrowed money from friends.

To me, the only logical option was to start stealing. So, I hopped in my truck and started scoping out some nearby neighborhoods. It was the middle of the day, so I knew most people were probably at work. I noticed a box on someone’s porch, parked my truck on the street, looked around to make sure no one was watching, pulled out my phone and pretended to be on a call, walked up to their door, took the box, and drove away. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t even feel bad about it – I was excited to get home and see what was in there!

That day stands out in my mind as the real turning point for me, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Things went south. My morals, my attitude, my relationships, my work ethic, my desire to live – it all faded in a hurry. I stole like that for the entire summer. If something was valuable, I’d sell it. If it wasn’t, I’d throw it away. 

It’s pretty tough to even put this in writing. I was such a terrible human being. Even 2+ years into sobriety, it’s hard to shake those feelings of regret, sorrow, and shame. A big part of my recovery involves “making amends” to others, wherever possible. That’s the real challenge, in this context, because I honestly don’t even know who I stole from – I don’t know how to make things right.

Luckily, God has started to show me how...

I initially started hand-delivering CLTIVATE orders just to save some money on shipping. If an order came in from anywhere in Charlotte, it made sense for me to just hop in my truck and drop it off. It’s so bizarre, but I realized I legitimately enjoy doing that. And now I know why:

With every package I leave at your door, I’m replacing something I stole. I get chills every time an order comes in, because it’s another opportunity to clear away the wreckage of my past. CLTIVATE has grown to a point where I can certainly focus my time on other things – delivering packages myself is just not a sustainable practice. But guess what? I don’t care. I’m going to keep doing it, because it’s so freaking cool, and I owe this world a lifetime of service."

CLTIVATE has a story like none other and the man behind is no exception.  This is the perfect example of God's amazing grace and authority. If you have ever met Zack you know you are instantly treated like family and loved like family too.
Go follow him on Instagram and Facebook too!

Head on over to my Instagram for a giveaway of one of his shirts that have meaning behind them. Also head to his blog now to donate if you feel led, he's come a long way and I've seen how hard he is working 

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breakfast recipes + meal prepping

On the days I have to work, I try really hard to meal prep my breakfast. It is so important to eat breakfast on days that I work because I might not be able to step away until lunchtime. Getting something into my body that will hold me over is super important. 

Here are a few of my favorite recipes for breakfast: 

Country Breakast Bowls from Budget Bytes 

I make these all the time, they freeze really well!  I am going to live off these when we do whole30 minus the cheese of course. 

Tropical Yogurt Parfait from Budget Bytes

These can be made ahead and enjoyed all throughout the week. Plus you can add/take away so many options! 

Whole30 approved Frittata - made by me! 

This is my favorite recipe because it can be adjusted so much to fit whatever you are feeling! This usually lasts my 3-4 days depending on how hearty I make it.

I would love to hear if you guys have any other go to breakfast recipes that I need to try! 

Comment below with your favorite go-to breakfast recipes! 

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favorite posts of 2016 + thank you

I've compiled a few of my favorite posts from 2016. It's so cool and humbling to see how far I've come on this journey called Daily Brunch. I am so glad I've kept going even when it was hard to do so. Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. 

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Thank you again to all who read and comment on my posts. I love interacting with everyone and think it is amazing what community can bring to the table! 

with love,

Jessica

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currently

watching: The Bachelor just started! I've been hooked for the last year. It's my reality TV fix, back off. What do you guys think of Nick? I'm also excited for game of thrones to come back this year as well.  

reading: I'm actually reading a couple of books right now which I usually never do. I just finished The Couple Next Door, which I could not put down! Next I am going to start The Nest. Lately, before I got to bed I've been getting out Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein and scrolling through some poems. They are really cute but some have some deeper meaning that's actually inspiring. 

planning: Taylor's 30th birthday trip! We are getting a bunch of friends together and heading to the most magical place on earth next week. We are pretty pumped for some 70 degree sunny weather. 

eating: Because Taylor's birthday is in the middle of January we can't really participate in whole30 January so we are starting the 20th of this month. I plan on devoting every Friday during that time to whole30 tips and recipes. 

loving: The new year! I love the feeling of January. It's a great time for refresh and restart.

Have a great weekend everyone + I hope it snows here! 

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peace + calm + disconnect

Taylor and I recently made big boy purchases and bought new chairs from West Elm, but not just any new chairs, recliners.  We love them. Now, on any given night you can find us laid up in our recliners with white russians or bourbon in hand watching a favorite movie or reading a book. 

Luckily Baker hasn't figured out how comfortable they are and still refers to the couch for her afternoon nap.

This time of year is a lot of people's favorite time of the year, something about cuddling up on the couch brings that homey feeling of nostalgia. We are lucky that Alabama actually has weather that can allow us to do that sort of thing. For the most part.
It was a cool 70 degrees here on Christmas. Taylor wore chacos and I wore short sleeves.
We still had so much fun with family, the typical dirty santa arguments, long hugs hello and longer hugs goodbye.

I was sad to see 2015 go because it was such a great year. This time I am so ready for what 2017 will bring. 2016 was a weird year, I never fell into a routine. Things were changing and just weird.
In 2017 I'm going to have peace, calm, and disconnect.
I took a month long break from the blog in December and it was so nice to not have any deadlines. It allowed me to rethink the blog and what I want it to look like in 2017.
Here's to looking forward. 

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