Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature today. I squealed like a schoolgirl at a Beatles concert. Or I should say, a Bob Dylan concert. I love Bob Dylan. I first saw him at 18 with my dad & he hit lit something on fire in me—with that nasal voice, those brilliant lyrics, that effortless scathing genius. I took him into my subconscious & into the wilderness. I wrote college papers comparing his writing to Walt Whitman’s. I memorized the battle-rap-like lyrics of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” on a long daily commute from the cow-dung hell of Caldwell to the corporate hell of DirecTV.  I soundtracked my last break-up with Blood on the Tracks & Blonde on Blonde. Thanks & cheers to you, Bob Dylan, the true love of mine. Oh, what’ll you do now, my blue-eyed son? Oh, what’ll you do now, my darling young one? I’m a-goin’ back out ’fore the rain starts a-fallin’ I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest Where the people are many and their hands are all empty Where the pellets of poison …

Fill this in like a mad libs. Last gasp of: ____. Fall colors. Summer blossom dresses. Our democracy? Alice Polynesian Fashions orange & pink blossom print cotton dress – $7-$15, I can’t remember if this is from a yard sale or thrift store | Chia orange leather Victorian bomber jacket – $7.99 Serendipity Boutique vintage 1980s? Made in Korea | Frye ‘Sacha Moto’ black leather shootie – $100 (MSRP: $278), Bombshell Salon‘s Head to Boots Fall Make-Up Event Cheep, cheep.

Now this paints a pretty picture. Carole Little Japanese flower print vest (it’s rayon and acetate, not actually silk you guys, so I really pulled one over with the title) – $0.99 (sale!), ReStyle thrift store | Vivienne Westwood red skirt – $20, Lux Fashion Lounge | Guess black patent leather with gold buckle stilettos – $11, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | red polka dot fan – Gift bag – Atomic Treasures (received for judging this year’s Boise’s Funniest Person competition) Vinyl of the day: “So Runs the World Away” by Josh Ritter Cheep!

I’m a real metal winner. (Mettle, too.) (Just no medals.) Hawaiian Moon sage green silk dress – gifted & thrifted | vintage Carmelton bronze sheer party top (made in USA) – $1, ReStyle thrift store  | Cindy Says green-gold hells, Piece Unique, $I can’t remember but they were half off  Cheep!

This is the first, and probably the last, time I’ll ever wear this hard-to-match orange-y knit top, these wonky over-sized, white pants. But with thrift store shopping, there’s zero buyer’s remorse when you make a mistake. You basically give a donation to a nonprofit for real good stuff. Then you make killer $7 outfits out of it. And when you’re done, you just “release it back into the stream,” as I call re-donating, like a down-home preacher would speak of a soul at a funeral. Real life is not so cut and dry. Your choices much more complex and layered. The missteps much more costly. But at least, every single day is another shot at a new outfit.Fiets Voor 2 orange creamsicle knit top, $3.75, Idaho Youth Ranch thrift store | Izod of London white pants, $5, ReStyle thrift store | Cindy Says green-gold hells, Piece Unique, $I can’t remember but they were half off  Cheep it up.