Black Leather & A Black Tunic

A few weeks ago Daniel & I were going out to eat for a friend's birthday & I just knew I had to wear my leather pants before I lost my chance (it was a particularly chilly,rainy night)! I had just gotten this black tunic at a new place in Longview I had never gone to called Intuition. I LOVE this tunic - it's super comfortable, hits at just the right spot & fits perfectly! My leather leggings I bought a few months ago from Body Shop & then I put my black heels from Ross with it. My necklace & earrings are actually from my mom!

Refresh

This past Friday I had the chance to go to a women's conference at Central Church. Jesse was off work that day, and I was so thankful that he agreed to keep all three kids so I would be able to attend. The topic was Refresh, and I had such a good time and learned a lot! I wanted to dress cute but be comfortable as well. I knew that I would be there all day long. Also, there was a break in the middle of the day so I knew I would be out shopping or something. I ended up wearing my skinny jeans, a tunic and my cowboy boots.

Top: Target, Jeans: Strawberry;

Boots: Target; Necklace: Premier

 

This ended up being the perfect outfit. I felt comfortable in it all day, and I got several compliments on my necklace! Best of all, I left the conference feeling refreshed in the Lord!



Casual Friday - a Mongram Tshirt, Leggings, & Nike's

I love the tennis shoes that my mother in law gave me for Christmas. At the moment, I am trying to find more & more outfits to wear that are CASUAL! By casual, I mean - tennis shoe casual. I particularly don't want to look like I just came from the gym either. I want to be casual cute. These are the hardest outfits for me! Something I can wear to run errands or to the grocery store or just whenever I want to wear my tennis shoes but look decent. Here is an outfit I wore the other day to the grocery store. The shirt is from 13Twelve (a local business), the leggings/black pants are from Burlington (& I love these b/c they are not really tight!), & of course my beloved tennis shoes are from my mother in law.

High or Low?

                                                                                                       

One of the things that has really bothered me lately about all of the fashion blogs that I love to look at is that everything is SO expensive that these bloggers are promoting!  I love fashion just as much as the next person (probably MORE than a lot of people!) but I get convicted when I spend a lot of money on clothes and shoes and purses...on material things in general.  Drew and I have set me a monthly budget (and it's not very much!) to buy me and the girls things that we need, and with whatever money we have left over, things that we want.  Because of that I'm very careful about what I buy.

I thought it would be fun to show that you don't have to have the high end of things to have nice things that are current season!  Looking at the items above, can you tell which ones, 1 or 2, are high end and which are affordable fashion?  I'm going to break it down for you!

PURSES:  #1 is a Michael Kors, so obviously it's high end!  But I love the #2 option just as much, which is from Charming Charlie for only $40! I have had my eye on this purse for a little while but will probably have to wait and combine two months of my budget to get it.  Ha!

STUD HEELS:  #1 is Valentino, so obviously that's the high end!  I actually like the #2 option even better.  I just bought these heels in two different colors, one in a nude patent leather and another pair in a beige floral pattern.  I have NEVER gotten as many compliments as I got on these shoes when I wore them last week to church.  I can't wait to show a picture of them.  They are absolutely my favorite pair of shoes I have ever owned (and I loved them so much that I bought the nude pair after I had already bought the floral pair!).  The ones I got were only $27.00 after shipping and tax off of Ebay, so I felt like they were a really good deal for a beautiful shoe!

DESTROYED DENIM SHORTS:  #2 is Rag & Bone, so they are obviously high end!  I have looked ALL OVER the city (and in San Diego when I was there!) for a pair of (longish) pair of distressed denim shorts, and I finally decided I would just have to pay a little more for a good pair.  HOWEVER, at $209 for these R&B shorts, there was NO WAY I would ever pay that for a pair of shorts!  I found these shorts (#2) on Necessary Clothing's website and I had a $20 off coupon for my first time purchase, so after shipping and tax, that made these shorts come in at under $30.  They also have a 5 1/2" inseam, which I think is the perfect length, not too short but not bermuda style, either (the 5 1/2" is not pictured above; that is a shorter length in the picture shown).

UPDATE:  I accidentally posted the wrong shorts on here - the above pictured pair is a pair I was debating on getting, but I ordered these instead:

 All of the details that I listed above are still the same; I just realized I had posted the wrong store.

So there you have it!  I love to look at high end items and find them at affordable prices; don't you?!

Happy Wednesday!!

Print Dress & Booties

It has been raining & raining here making it impossible to be able to get your sandals out! The last few weeks have been a little difficult figuring out the right outfits to wear. A few Sundays ago I decided to pull out this printed dress I've had for a while. I put my black booties with it & some of my black & grey jewelry. Both the dress & booties came from Ross. I really can't remember where I got my necklace & earrings. Looking forward to some warm weather attire soon! :)

Chambray and Pearls

I recently had a Premier Jewelry party and got a LOT of free jewelry! (Full post about that soon) One of the pieces I got is a really long strand of mint green beads. I already had a long strand of pearls from there. At the party Michelle (the jewelry lady) showed us how you can twist the two necklaces together to make a short chunky necklace. I loved the look and have been dying to try it myself! The other day I decided to wear my necklaces to church. I wasn't sure what to pair them with, but I decided on my chambray shirt. I liked that the necklaces looked pretty dressy, but the chambray shirt made them a little more casual. I also rolled the sleeves of my shirt up to make it not so uptight. I wore my black pencil skirt and gray booties with the outfit. The weather was pretty warm, and I really wanted to go without tights, but my legs are just too ghostly white. (Katie gave me some tanning minutes which I cannot wait to use!) So...I had to wear my black tights. I was really pleased with the way the necklaces turned out though, and am looking forward to trying them in different ways.

Necklaces: Premier; Shirt: Old Navy;

Skirt: JCPenney; Boots: Express



Navy polka dot print

So my love for navy is no secret. I love all things navy but I'm not a typically a big fan of polka dot. However, when I saw this shirt, I immediately fell in love with it. I love that this shirt is long enough to wear with leggings. This is probably  the only polka dot print clothing I own but I love the style of this shirt.

Hopefully soon we will have some warmer temperatures so we can all start wearing some of our new spring clothes! Is anyone else ready for spring clothes??

What I Wore Wednesday...Cheetah

Outfit Details:  Dress: Hand me down (originally Charlotte Russe);

Heels:Rack Room Shoes; Necklace: Body Central

Today it's all about cheetah print!  This may be too much cheetah for some people, but for me it's perfect!  This hand me down dress from Charlotte Russe is one of my absolute favorites that is currently in my closet, and I was so excited to have warm enough weather to wear it without tights a few weeks ago! 

Sorry for the quality of this picture.  The last few days have been so nice and warm, and being the procrastinator that I am, I waited until yesterday evening to take my pictures for my blog post today.  Unfortunately the temperature had dropped almost 10 degrees since earlier in the day, and it was extremely chilly and windy!  There was not even one decent picture where my hair was not blowing in my face.  So I quickly ran through all my iPhone pictures and this is the best I could come up with today! 

Happy Wednesday :)

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.

Neutrals

Sometimes I want to just wear a neutral outfit. Something toned down & clean. I adore this shirt I bought from Ross in the fall. The lace detail on the bottom of the shirt is so pretty & the shirt is very comfortable. I decided to put some simple jewelry to pair with the outfit to keep it crisp & clean looking.

Girl's Day Out

This past Saturday my mom, sisters, nieces, Abby and I had a girl's day out. If there is one thing we all love, it's a good Disney princess  movie! So, we all went out to see the new Cinderella. It was so good! On Friday I had gone through all of my clothes that I had boxed up in my attic. I've been on a mission lately to get rid of stuff that I'm no longer using. I was very excited because there were a lot of clothes up there that I haven't been able to wear in a long time, but I can now wear them again! It's like going shopping without spending any money! Here's  the outfit I wore when we all went out. The jeans are one of the things that are "new" again to me.

Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft;

Necklace & Earrings: Premier;

Shirt: Peebles; Jeans: unsure;

Boots: Express

 

 



Five Friday Favorites

I wanted to share 5 beauty products that I am currently using that I absolutely LOVE!

1.  Revlon Colorstay Under Eye Concealer

Unfortunately I have been noticing dark circles under my eyes lately and so I picked up some of this concealer at my local Walmart.  I will say that I bought this concealer in "Light" and it is a tad too light for my complexion.  I didn't see that it was sold in different shades and would have bought it in a darker shade if I had known.  However, I REALLY love this concealer (although it does not last very long and is kind of pricey) and feel like it does a great job hiding those pesky bags under your eyes!

2.  L'Oreal Lash Serum

I have probably the shortest, thinnest eyelashes EVER.  When I picked up this serum, I didn't really have high hopes of my lashes looking any differently after using it, but I have REALLY noticed a difference in my eyelashes in the couple of weeks that I have been using this serum.  Now, I don't know if it is that they are really growing, or if it is that they are just better "prepped", so to speak, to hold the mascara on them once I have applied the serum.  Either way, I love the way this makes my eyelashes look fuller and thicker!

3.  Maybelline Pearly Pink Lipstick

Even though this lipstick is called "pearly pink", it comes out very neutral looking on me.  This is my favorite neutral color to wear, and is probably the lipstick I wear most frequently.

4.  L'Oreal Tickled Pink Lipstick

This lipstick is my next favorite - it looks light pink on me and I LOVE the look, especially when I have a little bit of a tan!  Which leads to my next and last product I'm sharing today!...

5.  Sunlabs Sunsation Self Tanner

During these winter months I tend to look like a ghost if I don't apply any kind of self tanner or I don't frequent a tanning bed.  It can get costly to keep up a tanning habit, not to mention it is not great for your skin.  I have a love/hate relationship with this self tanner.  I absolutely HATE the smell of this tanner.  I have yet to find a self tanner that does not smell bad.  If anyone knows of one, PLEASE SHARE!  However, this self tanner is AWESOME in every other way!  It can be used on your face and on your body, and it has a color guide as you put it on so that it is streak free.  It also does not come out making you look orange, so that makes it a winner in my book!  I just apply it a couple nights a week right after I have bathed (I wear latex gloves while applying it), put on an old pair of pajamas so that it doesn't stain my good pjs, and then I shower as soon as I get up in the morning to get rid of the nasty smell!

So  there you have my current five favorites! What beauty products are you currently loving?

Aztec print shirt

I am loving this little Aztec tunic I purchased last week. I love the navy and pink and I also love the lightweight feel of this top. I have told myself several times that I will not be purchasing any more winter clothes but when I found this cute top, I had to have it. Hopefully I can get a few months wear out of this before it gets too warm for it!

Spring Dreaming

So is anyone else completely over the cold weather??  I have been dreaming of spring lately, especially spring fashion.  I am totally over dark colors and knee high boots and heavy sweaters.  I thank the Lord that I live in an area that really enjoys all four seasons...I love the changing of each season, but by the end of each season I am more than ready for the next!

I had some fun putting together some spring outfits on polyvore a couple of nights ago.  Here are some looks that I would love to wear sooner rather than later!

 

I do love the floral look, but I like to dress it down a bit so that it doesn't look so ultra girly, or too "mature" looking - I think floral prints can definitely age you, so it has to be done right.  The combination above is perfect to me, and I love the pops of color!

I have been eyeing this skirt for quite a while and I think it would be perfect for spring.  I already have a chambray shirt that with the arms rolled up I think would be perfect with this skirt, and I'd love a light pink bag to go with it!

     

 

The thing I can't wait for most is being able to wear sundresses - or any type of dress! - with sandals. I'm so ready for open toed shoes!!  This outfit is one that I would love to wear soon to church one Sunday morning (this Sunday would not be too soon)!!

   

These are just a few examples of outfits that I want to wear, like, yesterday! March 20 is the first day of Spring - is it too much to hope that the calendar date will bring warm weather? One can hope...

Happy Wednesday!

Rain Boots to Church?!

 It has been raining a lot lately. I have worn my rain boots many times to shield my feet from the rain! The other day on a Sunday night it was raining very hard. I wanted to wear my rain boots so bad but I didn't want to wear my normal jeans with them since I was going to church. So, I put a skirt with them. I was told I couldn't do that...but I did. I wouldn't do it all the time but specifically for church I wanted to be respectful rather than comfortable.

The jacket - I got from 1312 (a local business), rainboots - Target, button down - hand me down, black sweater - Old Navy ($.97), skirt - Old Navy

Basketball Day

The kids have been playing basketball on Saturdays for the past few weeks. As I've said before, for some reason I  have a hard time dressing casual. Here's what I wore last week. Once again, it ended up being dressier than I had planned...but oh well!

 

Top: hand-me-down from Katie;

Scarf: Gift from Mother-in-law;

Jeggings: Ann Taylor Loft;

Boots: Gift from Mom

 

Love that I only bought one thing in this outfit!! And I got them on sale for $19!!



Rainy Day Style

Don't you just love rain days? Ok, so most people don't. But I do love some rain days. I am not really sure why I love dreary rainy days but I do. Maybe because it makes me feel like it's ok to stay at home and do nothing all day? Ha. Not sure if that's the reason or not but lately we have been having a lot of those days around here. So it's only acceptable to wear lounge clothes for a certain amount of days before that just is over. Sunday we had another rainy day and I finally pulled out my new beautiful red Hunter rain boots my hubby bought me for Christmas. Right?? I know, why have I waited so long to wear these? They are so cute and made the perfect addition to my black monogram pullover I had made at the first of the season.

Even with my love for rainy days, I have to admit, I am getting ready for some spring clothes! I have my eye on a few things I can't wait to buy before spring break next month! What about you? Ready for spring clothes??

What I Wore Wednesday...Going Casual!

I've been trying lately to take pictures of the more casual outfits that I have been wearing, instead of just always sharing my dresses that I wear on Sunday mornings.  It is hard for me to dress casual because I don't feel cute or "put together", but I have been trying to make myself do it lately because my husband loves it when I "dress down."

Outfit Details:  Sweatshirt: Gap Outlet (only $9!); Top: Walmart;

Jeans: Old Navy; Converse: Rack Room Shoes; Hat: Gordman's (only $4!)

 

I wore this outfit out to dinner with some friends to a local restaurant.  Just a funny side note about this hat:  I can't ever find hats to fit, and so I bought this one at Gordman's - it is a toddler size 2-4 but it fits perfectly!

 

Outfit Details:  Sweater: Hand me down (Original unknown);

Top: Hand me down (original Old Navy); Jeans: Walmart; Booties: Payless

 

 

Wore this outfit above to run errands in one afternoon.  My last outfit I wore to a Grizzlies game with some friends from church...

 

Outfit Details:  Top: Hand me down (original unknown); Jeans:Walmart;

Boots: Target (gift); Belt: Goodwill; Necklace: Body Central

 

 

I am so over wearing knee high boots but it has been COLD where we are, so sometimes it feels like the only thing that is appropriate!!  I can't wait for warmer weather and lighter prints!

 

Happy Wednesday!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy.