What I wore: right on Target

Dress: Target ($20)

Belt: free, came with another skirt

Cardigan: thrifted ($4.50 BRAND NEW, still with original Target tags! Similar here)

Shoes: Kensie Girl ($5 BRAND NEW at a Church charity sale!)

Bag: Francesca’s Collections (very similar to Marc Jacobs)

I’m pretty shocked at how cute and put-together this outfit is for the affordable price all the pieces were. This dress, which I saw on a Beautiful Mess and at Target, was a definite must. I just love the chevron-style pattern and the sweetheart neckline. When I got this, the store only had a few Larges left, so I went to my trusty sewing machine and tailored the dress to fit better. The other day I picked up this pea-green (?) cardigan from the Salvation Army for cheap, and I was very happy with the price considering it still had the original Target tags and sticker on it! At first, I thought the color was kind of ugly and reminded me of the day in Freshman year of high school where it was “School Color Week,” and the Freshman were supposed to wear “Puce” (seriously, is that the color of barf or something?) while the other grades wore white, green, and gold, respectively. So when I first saw this cardigan I thought of that “Puce” day but then I realized that I have been looking for a sweater with this type of color for a while, and it matches a ton of things already in my closet. The shoes were a pretty amazing find that I picked up at my friend’s Church charity for children, so not only did I get a pair of never-worn brand new Kensie shoes (a style which I had been looking for too, by the way) for only five bucks, I also helped out kids in need, and that is always a truly beautiful thing

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone! xoxo

What I wore: preppy in a Peter Pan collar

 

 

 

Top: Candies (Kohl’s)

Skirt: Elle (Kohl’s)

Belt: Carson Pirie Scott (old)

Platform Wedges: Mudd (Kohl’s)

Arrow necklace: Stella & Dot

Happy belated Mother’s Day everyone! I hope you all had the chance to celebrate the great moms/grandmas in your life. We spent the day by the lakefront in lovely Lake Geneva, WI. I bought this entire outfit at Kohl’s recently, and thought the colors really popped against each other so well. I absolutely LOVE the lush green of this light, pleated skirt, as well as the dainty lace Peter Pan collar of this pink frothy top. This outfit is kind of unusual for me, since usually I don’t wear such bright colors and I’ve never owned a chiffon pleated skirt before.  Also, this top is the first thing from the Juniors’ section I’ve bought in a long time (as I am beyond the “Juniors” target age bracket and ended up getting this top a size “S”! I don’t remember the last time I bought a Juniors’ “S” anything…)! Wearing such preppy colors such as kelly green, pink, and yellow together adds a bit of spring in your step!

 

Where I Was: Arizona

Hello kittens! It’s been a bit since I posted on here, mostly because I’ve been in the *hot!* state of Arizona. Seriously, it is hot there, like Dante’s Inferno. I learned it’s best to be outside between the hours of 7am-noon and anytime past 5pm, and NOTHING inbetween. I got a bit of a tan, after about 3 days of visiting the local pool for a few hours in the morning. Like I mentioned early, we actually LEFT the pool at noon, when all the other people started to arrive. It’s very important to learn the proper hours to spend outside while in the desert.

When we got there, we had the joy of visiting my favorite designer resale shop in Scottsdale called My Sister’s Attic. They have everything from Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Seven Jeans, Dolce and Gabbana, etc. at a fraction of the cost…it’s basically Heaven! My arms were hurting by the time I arrived at the fitting room! I managed to snatch up some amazing goodies, such as the red leather Marc by Marc Jacobs bag below for a great price! I can’t wait to wear this! Can you tell I’m excited??

I also found a Missoni for Target blouse for $17 (which is amazing since they all sold out in stores within hours of the first day being for sale in September and are insanely overpriced on eBay), and a See by Chloe dress for $50!

We also spent time out in nature; we stopped by the Palatki ruins in Sedona to see the famous red rocks and some ancient pictographs among the mountains

       

  

  

  

  

We also stopped at a couple road stops, such as the above touristy shop. I just love old-school signs and that giant rooster; I wish I could take him home! These random little side-stops are always fun to explore while on the road.

Additionally, we stopped at the World Wildlife Zoo, where I learned all the white tigers in the U.S. are born and bred. It wasn’t the best zoo ever, and the admission tickets were grossly overpriced, but I got to feed a little parrot an apple from my hand!

One of the best parts was meeting and feeding deer! Seriously, this is one of my life dreams and it was incredible. The deer were so precious!

     

Overall it was a nice time in Arizona, but it’s always nice to come home after being away for a while. Soon, summer will arrive and it will be hot and sunny right here where we are

Have a fabulous week everyone!

What I wore: springtime ruffles

Coat: Betsey Johnson (a bargain from Costco!)

Leggings: Hue

Shoes: Børn Concept (similar)

Peace sign ring: gift from bff

humongous owl ring: Forever 21

Since the weather was in the low 50s after a gloomy rainstorm, today was the perfect day for this adorable raincoat-style jacket. I can’t believe I found this Betsey Johnson coat on sale at Costco! Usually, Costco is the place to buy 40-roll packs of toilet paper and 10 lb bags of frozen fish filets. Just goes to show that sometimes you really just have to look around and see what you can discover in places you normally wouldn’t expect! Something else about this that I love is my newfound nail polish. Lately I’ve been seeing lots of matte nail polish on Pinterest, but haven’t really seen any nail polish of the sort anywhere. Then today I saw  this tutorial from Never Too Much Glitter and decided to try it for myself. I found some old, but beautiful Lancome eyeshadow I haven’t worn in forever, scraped off a small pile of it, mixed in some clear nail polish, and gave it a go! I must say, I am very pleased with the end results. The color turned out really lovely, the polish dried quickly, and also retains a matte finish. You could create a wide array of custom colors just by mixing your old eyeshadow with one bottle of clear polish! It’s a money-saving trick that is definitely fun and worth a try.

Have  a fabulous week!

xoxo Lauren

What I Wore: Sunday Best for Easter

 

 

 

 

Jacket: Candie’s (Kohl’s)

white blouse: Nine West (old)

skirt: Anthropologie (sale!)

shoes: Nine West (old)

necklace: thrifted

ring: gift from my bff

 

This Easter I felt motivated to put on a Spring-inspired ensemble displaying my two favorite colors: yellow and violet (which just happen to be Complimentary colors on the color wheel too!). As I’ve analyzed my wardrobe recently, I noticed I have a plethora of printed skirts and tops, but not a whole lot of ‘plain’ shirts or skirts. Prints don’t always work with other prints, so I realized I do need to pair some of my crazy novelty prints with solids to keep it grounded. Plus, the prints actually pop more when placed next to a neutral or solid basic. This skirt is probably going to be one of my new go-to’s, for its color (my new obsession: yellow! It matches everything, kittens…), classic shape, and interesting, nubby texture. For some reason, it kind of reminds me of an old-school couch from the 70′s, but in a good way, not in a tacky/cheesy/cheap way. I paired the skirt with a solid top but one with an interesting neckline and charm necklace to bring attention to the face, and also kicked in some Spring-y violet satin flats with these cute flowers on them. And can I mention the jacket? When I got it a year ago, I thought the color was so cheery (again, yellow!) and it also kind of reminded me of the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Band album by the Beatles, my all-time favorite retro band. Did I ever mention that the Beatles was the only band I really was a fan of until I was 13? I pretty much memorized all their songs while driving to Florida with my family for spring break every year in elementary school. They still rock.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter; I spent the weekend with family and I made a whole truckload of desserts including cupcakes, chocolate bunnies, and blueberry muffins. Maybe I am a disgruntled Baker/Chocolatier on the inside!

This past weekend I also celebrated a small milestone: I made my very first Etsy sale! My “Little Paper Plane” earrings are now officially on their way to their new owner. It feels good to make something special and have someone want to wear it!

Have a great start to your week everybody!

xoxo Lauren

 

Interesting quote of the day

“People are taking the p**s out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

F**k that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.”

~anonymous graffiti artist Banksy (Make Art, Not Ads)

via vulgarvulgar

Let’s discuss. I personally couldn’t agree more… what do you think?

What I Wore: a walk in the woods

Coat: Cynthia Rowley ($20 at T.J. Maxx!)

dress: Urban Outfitters

thigh-high socks: American Apparel

sweater: Forever 21

oxfords: Mootsies Tootsies (Kohl’s)

arrow necklace: Stella & Dot

long pendant necklace: vintage

 I went for a little walk in the woods by my home, and now that it’s officially Spring some plants have been starting to pop… it’s pretty neat to see all sorts of interesting lettuce-leaf like plants (hostas maybe?) sprout out of the mud! I’ve always been a nature girl at heart, and in one of the photos I look like a real bona fide ‘tree hugger’ . 

This might be one of my new favorite outfits; it’s perfect for those spring days where it could be chilly enough for a light coat, but also could get warm enough to walk around without a sweater on. If you haven’t noticed, I’m really on a yellow kick these days. This sweater is perfect because of the color and also the adorable polka dots. The shoes also remind me of my childhood; I remember going to Gieche shoes, getting my feet measured, and trying on pairs of Mootsies Tootsies. These oxfords are actually really comfortable too, considering I don’t wear high heels very often. The height of these wedges is perfect. Also, this coat is an amazing bargain I found at T. J. Maxx. Cynthia Rowley is one of my favorite Chicago designers; I couldn’t pass it up for $20!!

have a fabulous week!

xoxo Lauren