As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, I need to remember to be thankful for the girl time I do get. Of course it never feels as if it's enough, and sometimes I just long to permanently live my life as a girl, but I always need to remind myself how lucky I am for what I do have, and for that, I am indeed grateful.

So, on that note, I guess I should start out by saying how grateful I was for a few hours this morning to dress like a girl and dash to the thrift store to see if I could find some new treasures. I'm always on the lookout for a new pair of jeans or capris, and then I love to browse the racks and racks of tops for name brand items that fit within my established look of an everyday mom or the girl next door.

For some reason I really felt like wearing a skirt today, and I know a forty-something woman visiting a thrift store at 10 AM usually doesn't wear a skirt, but sometimes we girls just get the urge to do something special whether it's trying a new hairstyle, buying a new dress, or as was the case today...feeling as if I wanted to wear a cute skirt. One of the skirts I wasn't able to wear this past summer is one of my favorites with a pretty vertical floral design and fun horizontal floral pattern at the hem in red and then a light green. This skirt is a bit dressy for hot weather tops like camisoles and super short sleeves, and so I'm glad for the cooler weather when I can expand on my wardrobe just a bit.

I paired this skirt with one of my favorite tops, a simple 3/4 sleeve white cotton blouse with a round neckline. Not only is this top super comfortable, but it gives me a chance to really present my bra underneath, and so this morning I slipped into my Maidenform padded cup bra in 36C. I remember first finding this bra at Ross for $6.99, but I passed on it thinking that I already had enough bras in my collection. I suppose a girl can never have too many bras in her collection, and I just couldn't get this bra (and the price tag) out of my mind. The following summer when I had my two weeks of girl time, the first place I visited was Ross, and I was ecstatic to see that they still had this bra on the rack in my size. The rest is history, and I think I've worn this bra more than any other the past year.

Due to the chilly weather outside, I decided that I would wear nylons beneath my skirt, and so I chose a simple pair of L'eggs pantyhose in a nude shade. In this pic above that I've posted, my pantyhose really stand out, but I think it's due to the low angle of the November sun streaming into my room and capturing my pantyhose at just the right angle. Regardless, it felt great to be in nylons yet again, and I finished off my look by slipping into my black ballet flats. I made a mental note to myself that I could probably use another pair or two of cute flats, but I rarely find good shoes at the thrift store.

With my outfit in place, I kept my hair super simple by parting it to either side and just letting it fall straight to my shoulders, and after popping in my favorite hoop earrings, I was ready to go. The particular thrift store I visited today opens at 10 AM, and so I had plenty of time to get ready in the morning and make the short drive over. I actually arrived in the parking lot about 9:55 AM, so I waited with the other customers for the doors to open. When they finally did open the doors, I scooped up my purse and headed in with the rest of the crowd. One of the greeters had decided to be funny this morning and tell each of the customers walking through the door, "Welcome to Walmart," or "Welcome to the Home Depot." I gave him my best smile and said thank you as I headed for the women's section. One of the best things about shopping at this particular thrift store is that the employees are usually a few ruffled layers short of a true petticoat, and so I rarely have to worry about face to face transactions. :-)

My first stop was the denim area where I looked through the racks and racks of jeans. I'm primarily looking for something from Banana Republic, the Gap, or Old Navy because I know my exact jeans size in those brands. I will pause on other brands, however if I see something that might work. I wasn't having too much luck with the jeans, and so I next focused my attention to the racks of capris. Along the way, I came across a section of beige denim capris and in the mix I found the perfect pair of knee length cargo pants. My girl friend Aimee and I are always talking about perfect soccer mom outfits, and one of the items that we both love are cargo pants for women. They're cute, they have lots of ties and bows, and they're so comfy. These particular cargo pants were by Calvin Klein and came in a size 12. Since sizes vary among the different brands, I held the cargo pants out and monitored the waistband hoping that I could slip into them. They looked as if they would work, and so I put them over my arm and headed towards the tops to see if I could find something fun to match.

One of my favorite finds over the summer was a simple Minnie Mouse t-shirt, and I was amazed at how often I found myself wearing it whether it was around the house or out in public running a simple errand. I think that tee helped me realize the true joy that can be found in simplicity, and so ever since, I've been on the look out for simple tee shirts with or without graphics. This particular store groups many of their tee shirts by color, and so I looked through the various colors for something that really stood out to me, and something that would be fun to add to my collection.

I didn't find anything worth adding to my collection, so I next moved over to the rack of casual tops and began searching through the L sizes. I came across a simple cotton top from Old Navy with horizontal white and orange stripes, and it looked perfect for my style. The size was a Medium, but I actually own a top from Old Navy in small, so it just depends on the garment itself. This particular top had a pretty vertical swath of ruffles going down the front, so I added it to my cargo pants and headed for the fitting rooms an excited girl.

I didn't have a lot of time this morning to spend hours and hours trying on tops and then skirts, and so I was hoping I'd have a new outfit with this top from Old Navy and cargo pants. I wanted the cargo pants more than I wanted the top, and so I slipped into them first. My legs went in fine one after the other, and I was delighted the instant I secured the top button in place. The fit was perfect!! Ecstatic at my new discovery, I retrieved my cell phone and then started posing in the cargo pants thinking the whole time, "I can't wait to show these to Aimee!" I already knew from visual inspection that the top was going to fit, and so I eventually changed into the top as well and then proudly stood in front of the full length mirror of the fitting room and took a few more poses both from the front and from behind. In the behind pic I have posted below, I love how the band of my bra falls perfectly inline with one of the white horizontal stripes.

I was really sorry that I couldn't stay in this outfit for the rest of the day, but I have another dressing day coming up shortly, and so I can definitely wear it then. I slipped out of the top and cargo pants and then dressed back into my cotton blouse and skirt, and once I felt I was put back together properly, it was time to check out. The comedian who welcomed everyone at the door was busy at his register, and so I took my things to a lady named Angie at the next aisle over. Angie was short and stocky and wore thick glasses, and she was quite content on getting my items scanned and bagged. We enjoyed a bit of small talk, and I'm positive she didn't suspect anything as we chatted. I scanned my debit card when Angie gave me my total, and then just like that, I was literally skipping out into the Autumn sunshine with a new outfit in hand.

It was such an enjoyable morning of shopping, and I wish it didn't have to come to an end, but I did have other duties to take care of on the day, and so it was back home to change back into my drab guy clothing. I must keep my chin up, however, because I already know what my next activity will be. I have this wonderful girl friend, Wendy, and I gave her a tricky dare saying that I would buy her a new bra and panty set if she accomplished it, and wouldn't you know it...Wendy not only accomplished the task but she shattered it. So...stay tuned as I next go out bra and panty shopping for Wendy to keep my side of the bargain.