#StylishPittsburgh and life lately

YINZ! Long time, no see.

First off, I was so excited to see a unified effort with Pittsburgh bloggers, Insta users, and clothes wearers on #StylishPittsburgh day, which was Tuesday. A few amazing ladies took the time and effort (Niki and Tori) and actually made it an official citywide proclamation. Talk about getting official!

I think the Steel City is long overdue to shed itself from the permanently attached Steeler jerseys that have become synonymous with Pittsburgh's sometimes backward fashion sense.

Here are a few of my favorites: (among SO MANY good ones)

A photo posted by Aire (@sparkleeveryday) on Jul 28, 2015 at 4:23pm PDT

A photo posted by KENDALL_YEAMAN💕 (@kendall.yeaman) on Jul 28, 2015 at 12:47pm PDT

Downtown has style too #downtown #pittsburgh #boutiquelife #fashion #stylishpittsburgh #fishnet #skirt #fall #preview #picoftheday #photooftheday #model #hair #braid #shopsmall #local #look #love #loveit

A photo posted by Änna Ciaccio (@anna.ciaccio) on Jul 28, 2015 at 8:48am PDT

To be honest, the day had slipped my mind until morning of, so I tried to get creative with my style and hoped for the best. My choices were kinda limited considering 1.) It was hot enough out to melt, 2.) It had to be work appropriate and 3.) I haven't bought ANY new clothes lately.

Sadly, a lot of that money has been going toward skate gear instead. Crazy, I know.

My attempt:

I'm a little sad I wore my cute outfit yesterday, but tried to remix some old duds today. Pics coming soon. #stylishpittsburgh

— Kate (@thriftburgher) July 28, 2015

Print mixing old pieces: Blouse from first job; floral skirt from college. #putabirdonit #stylishpittsburgh #ootd pic.twitter.com/USxAjMg3TK

— Kate (@thriftburgher) July 28, 2015

Typically, I'm not really about the grainy iPhone look, but it was better than nothing, right?

In other news, I'll save most of the "I know you missed me, guys!" drivel. I've just managed to keep myself pretty busy lately. There's roller derby, but I've also opened an Etsy store (!!) with vintage goodies, and there's just general summertime activities that have filled up my schedule. Oh yeah, that full-time job I have also eats up some of my free time. ;) I'll work the blog back into my routine, I swear! I have good intentions. :)

I haven't mentioned the Etsy store much here yet. It's been an ongoing side project thus far. Since I find so many fun goodies at thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets on my own anyway, I thought I'd start a curated collection to share with others. I'm a little behind on listing things, but it's a very exciting project for me!

The store is called There's Waldo, named after my cat, of course. But more on that later.

This weekend, I'm looking forward to: A family reunion, peach picking, flea market shopping at Trader Jack's, and possibly some outdoor roller skating. Hoping to finally enjoy the sun that's been nonexistent most of this summer!

Let's Converse (About Converse!)

Oh, hai guys. I've missed you! Mark and I quickly snapped these photos on our way home after having dinner with friends. We were chasing the daylight a bit.

WARNING: I LOOK LIKE AN ASS IN THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS because I don't know how to prop myself on a ledge. I figured the outtakes would make good fodder this time around.

Outfit: Dress and denim jacket, H&M (old); pins and shoes, thrifted.

Anyway, isn't it weird some of the trivial stuff that you remember from years ago? Well, the way I got these shoes is kinda like that.

I was a freshman in college, shopping at Goodwill on the South Side with some new friends, when I found this score for $4. (For those of you keeping score at home, this happened almost nine years ago.) I always had imagined having the quintessential pair of canvas Converse shoes of my own, but never around to buying them.

A lot of my college friends I had then liked shopping at Urban Outfitters. Clearance racks were all I could really scrounge there, so finding something that could easily sell there for 10 times what I paid at the thrift store made me euphoric. I can't say these are shoes that I wear often, but I haven't ever had the heart to get rid of them because it reminds me of a time that a thrift store find made me feel like I fit in.

In my life, I've rarely had situations where I've felt I could relate to others. I always felt misunderstood.

I recently unearthed these from my closet, and all of those thoughts came back to me. I also thought, wow, how timeless Converse really are! These things never go out of style, huh?

Hope to be seeing more of you all on the blogosphere soon.