The Girl Who Cried Chainsaw

{top} forever 21  {skirt} laundry by shelli segal from Marshalls
{necklace} edisen pendant, forever 21 chain
{bracelet} forever 21  {sandals} target

Stickin it to the man. Can't keep me and my outfit posts away.

 I used to think I would the first one dead in a horror movie, seeing as how my fight or flight response is touch and go, at best.

I woke up from a nightmare Tuesday morning, sweaty, confused and terrified. I was being chased by a group of men with a chainsaw, and had taken shelter in a neighbor's house shortly before my nightmare came to an abrupt halt. What woke me up, you ask? A real chainsaw going outside our window. I shook Micah awake, went to flip on the lamp, only to find the power was out, which we all know is the first thing chainsaw wielding crazies do before they slaughter their victims.

I was in a full blown panic, sure that some man wearing a suit made from someone else's skin was out there ready to chop us up. Being a patient and startled husband, he gathered the dogs and my shaking self into the car, pistol at his side . Because we all know the major error in the character that dies first is that they stay put. 

Micah drove us around the dark neighborhood for a good 10 minutes, soothing me and two dogs like cranky infants in a car seat. Come to find out, the great city of Austin decided it was a fine time to trim trees.

No more scary movies for me. Ever.

Shop My Closet

 UPDATE: I have opened up my BISTM page! You can see what items are listed here!

As many of you may know, I am constantly thrifting. Not only do I buy things secondhand, but I'm always trading in lesser worn pieces for cash to buy new things! Most of the time, I find that I don't have enough time to sit and wait for an hour plus to have someone go through my things and decide what's worthy of resale.

So, I wanted to propose an idea to you guys. 

Would you be interested in shopping my closet? I would include both new and thrifted pieces, and nothing would be well worn, damaged or outdated. I have finally surrendered to the body changes, and know that my wear-size-two-comfortably sized hips may never return.

I have also thought of extending the shop to a mini online thrift boutique, with thrifted higher end items, like Anthro, JCrew and other higher end retailers. I'm always surprised when I run across a $6 Anthropologie skirt in Goodwill, or a $5 pair of new with tags JCrew colored skinnies that may not be my size or something I need, but love anyway and wish I could share with someone!

I'm also a big online shopper who always orders an item in two sizes, and sometimes, it's more of a hassle to return the item via mail. I usually have a friend buy the other piece that I don't end up needing, and I'm always happy to share!

This Francesca's top would be added to the shop! New with tags, size small. Size medium seen here.

Thrifted this skirt for $6

Thrifted maxi dress: $8

Totally thrifted outfit found here

What are your thoughts? 

Want to go shopping?

August Sponsorship

It's official. 

After quite a few emails asking if I had started accepting sponsors, I decided to go ahead to give it the old college try, I am now accepting sponsors and button swaps for the month of August!

Button swaps are done with other bloggers with a similar size (or more) following that are interested in making new bloggy friendships, increasing exposure and traffic and doing the same for someone else!

If you're interested, check out my sponsor page for more information, as well as current stats, or email me at

thesecondhandmagpie {at} gmail {dot} com

So, send Secondhand Magpie some love. We'd love to have you!

{Sponsor Spotlight} Meet Rebecca

This is it. My first official sponsor post. 

I stumbled across Becca's blog, Love Always on complete accident. And then I instantly fell in love. Becca, a fellow Austinite, is a junior at the University of Texas and studies magazine writing and editing, so blogging is a natural second step.

She's gorgeous to start, has fabulous style, and mixes in a healthy dose of life, thoughts and dreams into her posts. And the girl can run. Holy heck, she can run. She makes my customized running shoes jealous, because frankly, I don't let them live up to their full potential. 

 Here's a little sampling of what she has going on over there.

How Blogging Restores Her Faith in Humanity

The Big 2-1 in Vegas

Her Love For Live Music

{blog} {twitter} {instagram} {pinterest}

Wednesday What Have You's

{Entire outfit from Forever 21}

 {1} I went and saw Magic Mike on Friday with Jenni, and let me just tell you. I can't even call what I saw a cougar fest. It was straight up silver back fest. And by silver back, I mean 65+ old women lusting after a bunch of men in thongs. The woman in front of me in the ticket line even asked to use her senior discount to buy her ticket. As we were leaving, the woman in front of us left with a rolling walker with a bench, and another behind us had just had her curler set done in the silvery blue hair. You go girl.

{2} I may or may not have eaten 3 large bags of edamame in the last week. It's the healthiest microwave dinner you can make. And how can you say no to that much yummy, plant based protein??

{3} I am beyond fascinated with the secret and taboo. Lately, I have been reading/watching anything I can about arranged marriages. Lo and behold, Our America with Lisa Ling just aired an episode on just that. I also can't get enough of polygamy, the Amish culture, extreme religious lifestyles, etc. I find it so fascinating to peek into the lives of others that are such a departure from my own. Sometimes I lose perspective and forget that so many other think and live so opposite from myself.

Summer Bummer

Sweat. Frizz. Mosquitoes. 

Yeah, I can't say I'm a huge hot weather fan. If my constant hiding under the shady areas and running a dead sprint for A/C isn't enough of an indication, my summer wardrobe should be. My rules for summer clothes are as follows:

{Don't stick to me}

         
             {Keep me covered}                     {Don't showcase the non-tan}

{Keep me cool}

So this leaves me with just a few things. Maxi dresses, maxi skirts, skirts of any kind if we're being honest, loose fitting tops. And wedges. Lots, and lots of wedges.

 What would you say your summer staples are?

Old Is New Again, And Again, And Again

I'm a big fan of re-purposing. Remixing clothes, re-purposing furniture, using things not for their intended purpose.

I have a sick love for house cleaning products. I geek out over sweet smelling soaps, fancy packaging, eye catching labels and inventive ways to use ordinary things. For instance, the other day, I heard someone talking about putting a paste made from baking soda and water on areas where they have blackheads. The baking soda acts as a gentle scrub, and the process of drying out the baking soda pulls out the gunk in  your pores. I tried it, and it works!

So, after a week of being stuck inside with all the rain and roaming aimlessly around my house, I thought I'd put a list together of some unheard of uses for things laying around your house.

via

• Banana peels are a great {and natural} way to clean and polish leather and add shine/remove dust from indoor plant leaves!
• Soak cotton balls in cooking vanilla or essential oils and drop them in your vacuum's dust canister. It will take the musty smell out of pulling dirt and grime up from your carpet.
• Soak a dryer sheet in a pan with water overnight to remove the tough stuff that doesn't scrub off.
• Husband have stinky shoes? Roll up a dryer sheet and slide it in the shoe. It will not only help soak up the stink, but it leaves them fresh and ready for the next wear.
• Stinky car? Cut an apple in half and leave it in your car overnight. It will help soak up the smell naturally, and then you have half an apple for a snack!
• Coffee grounds+olive oil= homemade body scrub that helps with cellulite! Caffeine dehydrates cells, thus temporarily tightening skin.
• Use a white coffee filter over the flash of your camera to diffuse the light and help prevent shadows in closeups!
• Add used citrus pieces (lime, lemon, oranges) with a few ice cubes in your disposal to help sharpen the blades and deodorize the sink.
• Soak a piece of a Magic Eraser in the toilet to get rid of  toilet bowl stains. Just don't flush it. You'll have a lot more problems than just stains.
• Put a few drops of essential oils, like rosemary or lemongrass, into the bottom of your kitchen trashcan. This way, every time you pull a full bag out, you're hit with the fresh smell of oils instead of old trash.
• Use a scrub of lemon juice and baking soda to help remove yellow stains from your nails caused by pigmented nail polish. 
•  Place a dryer sheet on your air filter at home. It will circulate fresh smelling air, and help remove stale odors from a home. A large bowl of vinegar placed on a high surface in a room will help remove staleness as well.

Also, check out these websites for more fun tricks for things you probably have lying around.

Real Simple

Magic Eraser