The Magpie Collective

As you may have noticed, I been extremely absent from The Secondhand Magpie for the last few months. 

I have been grappling with a nasty case of Bloggeritis, better known as Blogger Burnout. It led to a slow deterioration of my motivation and creativity with outfits and posting in general. As my life/priorities/focus shifted, I found myself pigeonholed with the notion of a blog existing based solely on my tendency for being thrift minded. I realized I didn't have the time or funds to continue thrift shopping, as we were saving for our first home. 

In a lame attempt to stay relevant in social media, I Instagrammed and Pinned my daily happenings as a form of micro-blogging. I figured it would suffice until I knew I was fully committed to the responsibility of maintaining a blog with quality content. But I knew better. I started blogging to really connect with others, to share and learn from other women who loved everything creative and wanted to share their experiences like I did.

If I am going to continue to blog, I need a platform that allows me to fully expound on who I am, what I love, and why I love it. Stocking my closet and home with thrifty finds is a huge part of my life, but not all of it. I don't plan on sharing every nook and cranny of my life here, but giving a more well rounded view of life as I know it. There have been so many things that I have wanted to share, but was afraid it didn't fit my niche in blogging, so I left it behind. 

In keeping with the true Magpie spirit of things, going forward, the blog will be named The Magpie Collective. It embodies more of my life, as I am still that little bird flitting from thing to thing, store to store, activity to activity. I just have a bigger nest to fill, and want you guys along for the ride. It's about a life eclectic, a life full of an assortment of material possessions, shared experiences and stories.

So, in closing I suppose I should say, Welcome to The Magpie Collective.

Glad to have you.

How to Catch a Chicken

Yeah, I don't know how either. I did however, have to learn.

Dare I say, "On the fly."

A few weeks ago on a Thursday morning I was backing out of my driveway for work and glanced at my mirror in time to something red run out from under my car. I did a double take and realized I was looking at the back end of a chicken running across the street. Now, my everyday life doesn't normally include close interactions with barnyard life, so chicken wrangling isn't on my list of have-dones. In fact, it was on my list of hope-to-nevers.

As I continued to back out, I realized that the poor guy was probably going to get run over or poached by one of my rather aggressive cats, so I felt it was fate that I ended up spotting him on the one morning I was running a little ahead of schedule. Figuring he came from the neighbor's chicken yard, I got out of my car, strolled over to the neighbor's and bent over to help my new friend over the fence. Lesson #1: Chickens aren't fond of being handled. I was met with severe clucking, wing flapping and talon thrashing. I also found that this particular chicken was freakishly fast. Before I could grab on, the bird took off on a death run with in my opinion, excessive amounts of directional changes and head bobbing. 

Once I realized this wasn't going to be a walk in the park, I devised a strategy. I would use some chicken wire that was lying in the yard and lay it against the fence, creating a tunnel to herd the chicken into, and then placed a large empty trash bin at the end to act as the receptacle. My plan was to swiftly grab the trash can and dump the little red bastard over the fence. What I didn't plan on was the chicken exiting the tunnel early. Lesson #2: Chickens will peck the hell out of you. 

{Tee} Gap Outlet  {Skinnies} Rue 21  {Flats} Target  {Bag} Coach 
{Scarf} Forever 21  {Sunnies} Ray Ban  {Watch} Target

After multiple laps around the yard and a few attempts to scare it back over the fence, I had really had enough. Here I am trying to spare this tasty idiot back into a yard that I had no business being in in the first place. I decided to try the tunnel experiment one more time before giving up and saving myself some money on cat food for the next few days. I shooed him back into the tunnel, and as he popped out the other side, I grabbed him around the middle and in true shot-put style chucked that mother clucker over the fence in one fell swoop. 

Brittany: Wife, therapist, blogger, chicken wrangler.

Powerful

Perception is powerful. Words are powerful.  Our perception of ourselves can be a strong influence on the way we treat ourselves, and the way we speak of ourselves.

I ran across this video the other day and found myself greatly impacted by the words of these women, and how powerfully their words altered their image to a stranger. My heart wrenched for women, these women, as they were described so beautifully by those who were strangers merely moments before.

We as women and bloggers find ourselves in constant comparison with one another. So many colors, shapes, sizes, styles, ages, etc. We compare our looks, our pants size, our hair, skin and clothing. We nitpick photos, zapping them with photo retouching, Photoshopping our perceived imperfections at 75% zoom. What would we say about each other? How would we describe each other in the eyes of another woman, another blogger?

I think this video sends a powerful message, one that bloggers resonate with. We follow along with each other, cheering each other on, supporting the ventures and aspirations of our virtual friends. We feel so much a part of each other's lives, spreading a net of support wide across the interwebs. The support and camaraderie that we share is enviable, something of dreams to find so many women willing to support each other without ever meeting.

I hope this serves as an encouragement to us all, to continue to love and support each other, as well as ourselves.

Temporary Nest

Plenty of life things have been happening in the absence of my blogging. Big ones. 

We recently met with a mortgage broker to get an idea of what we need to save/spend in order to end up in our first home. It looks like we have to do it fast. The time to buy in Austin is yesterday, and every few months home prices rise 10%. The market here is saturated in the summer, which is great considering that on average, homes get snapped up within 48 hours of hitting the market and buyers will put an offer on anywhere from 3-6 homes before they actually end up with a place to live. This gives us a better chance of finding something within our budget that we can get in before someone else. Also, our realtor has told us to write a 'love letter' to the home owners with information on us and why we want this home. 

Seriously? This is what home buying has come to? It's an inappropriate joke, but it feels like trying to adopt an American blonde haired, blue eyed baby. 

All of the home buying process aside, the idea of moving out of our little bungalow is hard for me. Yes, home ownership allows me to do bigger projects that make our home more personal. Yes, we build equity and have a return on our investment. But a starter home in Austin will not be our little urban rental, chock full of character in our ideal neighborhood. It will be a fixer upper miles away from everything we love. 

I have poured a lot of love into a rental. I know that may be a mistake, but I have to nest where I land. And so far, this is has been my most favorite nest. My first real big girl house that I've been able to spruce up with my big girl paychecks. It isn't exactly ours, but it sure feels like it. And it sure doesn't feel great to leave it. 

Maybe once we see other houses and I combine my own ideas with my Pinterest boards, I can get more behind this idea. Time will tell.

Heavy

Sometimes we don't need a tragedy, breakup or loss to feel overwhelmed. No big work obstacles, no big disappointment. Just life. My life seems to have gained significant weight in the last few weeks. I can't be sure if it's loading up its pockets with extra complications, more responsibility or general loose change. 

Maybe it's just growing up.

I'm finding myself at a crossroads in my just-past-quarter-life-crisis and am on the verge of retreating into a Disney movie and footie pajama induced hermit life. I feel as thought lately I've been scrambling to get things together, but end up just rearranging things in the same space. 

I also find myself in a completely different positon in life. Gone are the days of weddings every weekend and engagement pictures by the dozen. I now peruse baby shower registries and catch myself giving doe eyes to miniature cashmere sweaters and tiny human suspenders. I find myself delirious when I discover the perfect ottoman or side table in my ever increasing need to expand my nest. I spend my weekends cleaning and catching up on work instead of nights out with my girls. Oh, and don't even get me started on my nights. Ever the night owl, I now find myself impressed to see 1am.  

Maybe I have hit a bit of a rut, or maybe the reality of an adult life is slowly sinking in. Either way, I am determined to find a way to regain part of that old joy, that old me. That may mean letting go of some things that I let define me and exploring different sides of myself that have since gone into a recession.

And I think I have just the blog to do it.

Stay tuned. 

Resolved

This year has been quite the whirlwind with celebrating our first year of marriage, starting a new career, starting the blog, diagnosing and treating my hormonal nightmare, adding a new dog to the family, and moving once again. It has brought many successes and joys with a fair share of failures and struggles that I count as learning opportunities.

As always, we hope for more in the new year. 

More success, more peace, more happiness, more joy. Some write lists, some pray, some plan. I have never been much of a resolution type person, but this year, I think I have come up with a few tangible things to start, improve upon, and end.

Hopefully #2 will keep body parts above from blocking out any more light.

1. Learn to sew
2. See the inside of a gym at least twice a week
3. Quit comparing myself to others
4. Continue and improve the blog
5. Begin saving for our first home
6. Take more style risks
7. Explore new photography skills
8. Only buy things I love
9. Stay on top of work documentation
10. Pay off last bit of school debt

Are you a resolution maker? Are you looking to this new year for improvement? If so, what are some of your resolutions/promises/hopes?

Help For Minda

This isn't something I normally post on, but I firmly believe people are put in your path for a reason. Now it's time for me to return the favor.

About 3 years ago, I did a project that involved doing something unexpected for someone of my generation. I wanted to do something that was maybe considered 'taboo' or 'hush hush' but still stay within the lines of appropriateness. So I signed up for E-Harmony and Match.com. People in my generation are so connected to social media, and it seemed that people's views were imbalanced to the idea of dating online. You order presents online, you can adopt a dog online, get your groceries, find a house, network with business partners, find potential job prospects, etc. So why not see who you aren't meeting while you're busy with all of the other things above?

Anyway, long story short, I signed up in a city where I used to live, and monitored and recorded who was stopping by and what level of communication they used. I never actually met any of the fellows, just wanted to see if it was truly a viable option for someone my age, or if it was just old man predator town. (Results: lots of sugar daddies, but some good guys thrown in the mix). After the project, I took a road trip to Chicago to see family and forgot to shut down the account. The last email I received was from a relatively good looking guy in law school, and once I explained what I had been doing on there, he was intrigued. We emailed back and forth about the project for a couple of weeks, and he eventually furthered communication by finding me on Facebook, which led to 6 hour phone conversations and eventually, a trip to visit.

I was incredibly anxious during my plane ride up, and on the second leg of my trip, I was seated next to a beautiful girl around my age who I immediately felt connected to. As soon as the plane took off, we got to talking and I spilled the reason for my flight. She was instantly curious and I explained the entire story to her, complete with pictures and emails. She doled out advice and encouragement, and offered to be my wingman in case he was actually an ogre. We chatted about her trip, a family reunion of sorts, and I was immediately drawn in to her sweet spirit and warm disposition. Her family seemed like such a strong, bonded group, and part of me wanted to be a fly on the wall at their place! We laughed about the irony of the in flight movie (He's Just Not That Into You) and eagerly anticipated our landing. 

Minda and I ended up staying in touch, and after the law guy and I broke up, she emailed me and we exchanged 'oh wells'. 3 days later, I had a box of custom brownies from a bakery sitting on my doorstep, her friend from afar way of making me feel better. You don't meet people like this every day. She is such a rare find in today's world: a beautiful, confident and radiant woman who loves her family and God. She never allows circumstance to bring her down, this is event is no exception.

Minda Corso, a sweet friend and fellow blogger, has lost everything she owns in an apartment fire while she was out of town for work. She didn't have renter's insurance, and is left with just what she had packed for her trip. She is going to have to replace her entire life. Her furniture, her beloved kitchen supplies, her closet. Now, I hear the blogging community is strong, and this is because we all stay in touch and stick together. I feel like as a friend and blogger, I have a double duty to help Minda, and wanted to call in backup. Blogger backup. If my readers could spread the word, Twitter, Facebook, anything, I would be eternally grateful.

Minda lives in Tallahassee, Florida but is originally from Paris, Texas. If any of you live in the area, or feel compelled to donate, I have included the link below to her donation site. 

MINDA CORSO FIRE DONATIONS

RSV... no P

Sorry folks. 

Tis the season for catching everything under the sun. One of the perks of working in pediatrics is catching everything they have, including the nasty RSV. Think of the lovechild of the flu and a cold, but with the genes from their grandfather Bronchitis. Yeah, that. So give me a couple of days to compile some outfits other than flannel jammies and mismatched wool socks, and I'll be back in the swing of things. A week of snot and coughing and fevers has left me under prepared for blog posts, but over prepared for any Cosby Show trivia games. 

See ya soon.

For the Love of Dog

There is something to the love of a dog.

I was watching a homeless man sitting under a highway overpass with his dog the other day at a red light, and got a little choked up. The dog was lying on his side with his head draped over the man's lap, and the man's hand was resting on the dog's shoulder. At one point, the dog raised up his head and licked the man's elbow and he scrubbed the dog's head affectionately. Here is this man who hasn't showered in who knows how long, he's living under a bridge, and the dog thinks he hung the moon.

A dog doesn't know how much you make, what tag is sewn into the collar of your shirt, how many friends you have, or if you haven't been on a date in 6 months. They don't care that maybe you aren't the most popular or very funny. They could give two shakes whether or not you have a great singing voice, sweet dance moves or have the perfectly accessorized home. In fact, they usually revel in the moments when we smell a little ripe or need to burn off some stress and vent. To them, you smell extra tasty and you're talking to them. No questions asked.

There is something to having this living, breathing thing in your home that looks to you for all the answers, without ever trying to correct you, change you or fix you. They know you keep them fed, keep them warm and keep them company. In return, they protect and love you unconditionally. They wait patiently until you arrive home from work, they keep guard while you shower and they eagerly anticipate the moment when you return from slumber with a yawn chock full of morning breath. My dogs are the one thing in my life that I know will never judge, reject or mistreat me. I can tell them my deepest secrets and they'll never tell, they're the only ones who appreciate when I spill food and don't mind sitting in traffic with the windows down.

This is my "What did you hear?" face.

Sometimes I wonder what the world would be if people treated each other more like our dogs treat us. We would accept our differences, live in the moment, love hard and forget quickly. Granted, we'd also sniff each other's butts in greeting, eat shoes for breakfast and drive with our heads out the windows. Even then, I think the tradeoff would be a positive one.

Dogs are more than just pets or animals. They're companions. They're protectors. They're souls. They may leave scratch marks on the hardwoods, nose prints on the windows or the occasional present on the carpet, but they also leave a lasting mark on our hearts.

Ranch Dressing

{Shirt} Forever 21  {Skirt} Thrifted  {Belt} Thrifted 
{Boots}  Sheplers  {Necklace}  Forever 21
{Headband} Gap Outlet

1. Vinegar is my kryptonite. The smell of it elicits some overly dramatic gagging and wretching. Think Hollywood B-movie poisoning scene. I'll actually avoid going into the house if Micah has cleaned the coffee pot with it. Once I thought it was a great idea to put mayonnaise in my hair as a deep conditioning treatment. No one told me it will glue your hair to your head. The only fix? Vinegar. I shudder when I remember the day.

2. I cried on a roller coaster a couple of weeks ago. Like, covered my eyes, hyperventilated and then burst into full on boo hoo sobbing. I hate big drops, but somehow got talked into riding the tallest coaster in Texas. You'd think I have enough sense to say no. I do. But I don't have the pride to say no.
The roller coaster photo is mortifying. 

3. Sometimes I think up a completely random string of words or do a 'unique' little jig when no one is looking, and then wonder if anyone else in the world has done the exact same thing, move for move or word for word.

4. I'm loving the yellow trend right now. However, I'm not loving the name. Mustard? Ew. (See #1 for my reason.) So, blog world, as of now, I'm renaming this color trend. It's marigold. It's so fetch. Spread it like wildfire.

5. Dog paws smell like popcorn to me. And it's the greatest thing in the world.

Linking up with: MMB, Still Being Molly, 

When the Leaves

Autumn is my most favorite time of year. 

The air gets crisp, humidity goes down and the holiday season begins. Blazers, boots and scarves become wardrobe staples and the occasional sweater makes an appearance. Comfort food is at its prime, and you're allowed to burn candles that smell like leaves and pumpkin.

Autumn has also been the most heartbreaking of all the seasons for me. Every major break up that I have gone through has been between the months of August and November. While the light dims and the air cools, my heart flutters with excitement, but also with a sense of impending sadness. I remember watching the leaves change and the earth settle in for a long hibernation, and thinking that I'd be spending the holidays alone, left to snuggle up in cozy sweaters and down blankets instead of the arms of the one I was missing. Just as the cologne of a love or the smell of mom's pecan pie can conjure up memories of a love past or childhood holidays, the diminished light and crunching leaves occasionally remind me of a lingering sadness. Yes, I am now happily married with a wonderful husband, but the sting of a love lost never really disappears. 

This could be because I had no real variation in when I experienced a breakup, or have a tendency to tie my memories to smells or seasons or even a specific location.  But for whatever reason, this season has held a bit of melancholy for me.

After many fall seasons spent picking up the pieces of shattered expectations, it has been incredibly refreshing to experience fall with consistent joy and fulfillment. This year, Micah will be helping set up our Christmas tree and will be hanging lights around the house. I will have someone to rave over my spice cake for Thanksgiving, and to explore a pumpkin patch with. I am building new memories during my favorite time of year, and now I'll smile and remember that the seasons past are what brought me here today. 

I'm not a very 'mushy' person who gushes over her love for her husband, but felt like I should share this. Yes there are arguments and power struggles and miscommunications. But at the end of the day, I've got my love to keep me warm.

Dog Days

If you have ever had a dog that falls short of the incarnation of Mother Theresa and Ghandi's love child, then you understand why I laughed so hard I cried when I read this. 

I figured I can't say it any better than this.

Promises, Promises

I consider myself a very giving person. 

I am the one on your porch with my three main men Ben, Jerry and Jack (Daniels) at the first sign of a breakup. You can call me and be guaranteed that I will be in on any painting, running errands, watching pets duty, no questions asked. It's a rare instance when I find myself being stingy or less forthcoming with my assistance, but when it happens, consider me stuck in the mud. Not budging. 

Sometimes this happens when I'm pushed to do something, or if I feel taken advantage of. Or when I have to give up clothes. I know I don't wear things anymore, I know they don't fit, I know. I know. That doesn't make me any less inclined to dispose of them.

 I've received a few emails about the Shop My Closet post, and when I will be putting up a link for some pieces. I have a few in mind and have set up a BISTM page this week. It won't be a lot, but it will be some little or never worn pieces mixed in with some fabulous thrifts that I bought because they were just that... fabulous. Maybe not for me, but for you.

So, please, hold me accountable. Because I know once I hold these pieces, feel the fabric between my fingers and think of all the beautiful pretend memories I have in each piece, they may never make it up and into your closet.

Humble Brag

Aside from my ever growing home and closet improvement projects, I've been warming up my camera skills after nearly a month of neglect. 

After doing my original post on Max's Haus in New Braunfels, I was invited back by Norma, the owner of the shop, to take some updated photos of the store. She not only asked me to return every couple of weeks to take updated photos of stock, but she asked that I help run the photo section of the shop's website and Facebook. I was beyond flattered, and couldn't believe my little old photos made the cut! 

To add to the excitement, she wants to compile my best photos and submit them to Texas Monthly for a feature on her store! I was completely speechless when she delivered the offer. Granted, even if the photos never make it past the website, I'm beyond honored that she saw something worth representing her beautiful little space.

If you find yourself 'round these parts and have a need for some antique lovelies, check her out. 

This is the new shop kitty. She needs a name.

Sleep tight, shop kitty.