Folks who know me well know that I’m pretty no-nonsense about clothes and style. I like thrift stores. Nordstrom Rack. Old Navy. Ross. Small local shops. Anywhere with very few crowds. I used to only shop at Banana Republic when I was a working professional, and it was only because the store was small and near my house, and because the clothes were basic. That’s about how I roll. I don’t like frills. My hair is curly enough to add plenty of frill to everything, so maybe that’s why I try to just wear basic stuff. And I like things that will last a long time so I don’t have to shop more than every few years.

Even talking about all of this makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I just don’t like to make a fuss about it at all. And here I am posting an entire blog post about it.

It’s not that I don’t have an appreciation for style, because I totally do. I ogle all my well-heeled friends and admire their shiny glamour. I love well-made threads. It’s just not my specialty. I’m a boots-and-jeans girl. With a white or black top. I buy a different black top every couple years and wear it every time we go out. (Which, given that we’re parents of young kids, and we live on an island, is, oh, to summarize, not often at all.)

All that being said, I do love treasure hunting. I have a minor obsession with two of our local antique and thrift stores. One of them is very small and it’s awesome because anything you buy there benefits Children’s Hospital and research. Even though the store is small, it has a ton of rotating items for the home and family. It’s not expensive. I don’t have to drive far to get there. And it’s for a good cause. I’ve found everything from art pieces to fun vases to killer jeans there.

The other day, I came back from an appointment in Seattle and stopped by on my way home. And I found these! Cute, cute, cute brown leather Born ankle boots with wood-style soles and zippers, and a pair of blue corduroy jeans-style pants that are super soft, and, well, blue, which is a color kick I am clearly into given that I now have a blue coffee table, blue pants, and want to paint our front door the same blue…And I got my fancy new shoes for $30 and my pants for $12. And oddly enough the boots match the color of my purse. So maybe I have style after all? Island style, sure, but island style nonetheless? Ha!

Paired with my new fleece jacket that feels like a blanket, and my new wool hat, both on sale at our local outdoor adventure store, and I feel like a queen. I’m all bundled up. I’m sooooo warm. I’m so quintessentially Northwest that I might as well just go grab my fishing gear and hang out in our canoe with my Aeropressed locally roasted coffee and a microbrew. Given that I already have mud on my boots, I’m just going to dig up a geoduck and call it a day.

And every time I wear my boots, I get to think about how they benefited a child who needs essential care.

I’m going to call these my lucky boots.