Striped skirt alteration and intro to my new dog!

I've been looking for a black and white striped pencil skirt ever since my dear friend Nancy converted me to a stripes lover (she's obsessed with anything with stripes!). I've seen some at Forever 21 and Express, but the ones I found were either a little too pricey or a little too snug for my taste. I know bodycon skirts are in and can be really flattering, but I've found they make me feel like I'm in a sausage casing! 

So a few weeks ago I found this black and white striped skirt at Target for $7! Although this one was very, very large (I know I look like a weight-loss miracle!), it did fit the bill (I'm a sucker for a really good deal) and I knew it would be easy to alter it the way I wanted.  

I found a knit pencil skirt in my closet that I liked the fit of and laid it right on top of my inside-out skirt.

Then, using my water-dissolving pen I traced around my blue skirt. 

This probably would have been better if I had a white pencil for the black parts, but I did not at the time. So I just used pins instead.

 Then, I just cut the sides of the skirt around a half inch from the line/pins.

Since the skirt is striped, it's a good idea to use extra pins to align your stripes for the best results.

Here's what it looks like after I cut and pinned the sides.

Then I just simply sewed along the lines I created. I currently don't have a serger, so I just finished the edges with the overcast stitch on my machine.

And voila, here's my cheapo $7 striped skirt that does not make me feel (or look) sausage like. Now I'm ready for a night on the town! (I say this as if I actually go out on the town...haha silly me)

On a side note, here's a sneak peek at my dog Frankie! I've never had a dog before so this is such a treat. We just got him rather spontaneously yesterday outside of PetSmart at an adoption event put on by Stonecliffe Animal Rescue. They are a no-kill shelter located in Lemoore run by volunteers. They had tons of dogs waiting to be adopted. We opted for the foster-to-adopt program where you can basically test-drive a dog before adopting him or her. There are tons of dogs to be adopted out there and it is possible to find your new best friend from a shelter. I highly recommend it. We are in love with Frankie and surprised by how well-mannered and friendly he is. He is the greatest dog EVER and I am sure we will adopt him after the fostering period. Thumbs up for pet adoption! 

Hope you all have a fantastic week!