Gray + Pink

Remember that vow I made to start wearing more of my clothes that just sit?

Yes... This dress STILL HAD THE TAGS ON IT!  It was originally purchased for our family photo shoot which was...  last year?  Two years ago?  Geez, I can't even remember!  After picking a different outfit, I told myself I needed to return this.  But.. I couldn't bear to!  I just loved the buttons and thick straps.  So it sat, and sat, and sat.

Finally I pulled it out.  It's a wee bit short when sitting and bending over, but I was just extra cautious :)  Where are my VS leggings when I need them?!  (Wouldn't this be super darling with leggings and boots?!  Oh.my.gosh!)

Luckily my husband decided to come up for lunch that day and he couldn't keep his eyes off me :) (As it should be! HA!)  So this is definintely a keeper.  I can't wait to pair it with more colors in the cooler weather.

Dress:  Burlington Coat Factory

Belt:  Store in Woodfield

Flats:  Target

Hair Flower:  Kacey, TwistedCrystals <3

A Spin on my HM Dress

I know I've already shown you all this honeymoon dress of mine but after fiinding my crop Forever 21 jacket, I thought I'd put a little spin on one of my favorite dresses for a totally different look.  And let me tell you, it's definitely a new favorite.  I have to remember to keep that jacket close so I can remember I have it :)

Dress:  Target

Jacket:  Forever 21

Bracelets:  NY&Co.

Sunglasses:  Apt. 9, Kohls

Navy and Lace

If you've been a bride, maybe you can relate to this post...  I know my Project Wedding Brides would get it :)

When you are planning your wedding, you tend to "overbuy" items for it.  Items that you just HAVE TO HAVE (and persuade your soon to be husband that it's much needed just to let him have you get yet another item) and then they end up stored in a box or stuffed back into your closest totally forgotten about and the wedding came and passed without "such items".

Low and behold, my original  rehearsal dress.  I bought it shortly after I became engaged at the BCBG Outlet.  My first (and only) BCBG item.  My sister in law actually found it and I just fell in love.  And it was only about $20!  So I tried it on and loved it and bought it.

Although throughout the time of planning, I did pull it out to try it on I ended up wearing a totally different dress. :) 

Well, I've worn it a few times SINCE the wedding but not as often as I would like to.  As I've been clearing out my closet for my new clearanced sweaters I've been snatching, I saw it and pulled it out so I would be reminded to wear it. 

So, here I am!  I remember why I haven't worn it a ton.. It needs a little altering.  But nothing a sweater (or any cover up) can't do!

And I'm wearing one of my new sweaters with this!  In fact, it still has the tags on it. :) HA HA!  I put it on wondering if it would work, and was satisfied with it and frankly, I was just too lazy to take the belt back off to get the tags off. :)

(I apologize in advance for these photos.. I'm no photographer :)  It was hard to get the lace to show up.)

Dress:  BCBG Outlet, clearanced

Belt:  Kohls, Apt. 9, clearanced (recently bought)

Sweater:  Kohls, Apt. 9, clearanced (recently bought)

Shoes:  Kohls, Aerosole

Necklace:  Etsy

Ruffles

Holy moly...  It's been almost a whole month since I've posted!  Yeesh..  I can't promise that I'm done hibernating, but I'm sure going to try to stop. :)  I don't even have a legit excuse for my neglect.  But I hope to make it up to you! :) 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Over the weekend I was told I had "funky" style.  It definitely perked me up because it was meant as a compliment and I accepted it as such.  But, then I started over analyzing what I was wearing to figure out what piece (or pieces) made it full of funk..  Was it the pigtail braids??  The hair flower... Jamaica tee, shorts, TOMS??  I thought it was a "casual" outfit, but I like that word: funk.  Funk is fun! :)  Heck, it has FUN spelled in it! 

Well, today's post wouldn't be classified as "funk", I don't think. It's all about ruffles:

(I'm super bummed that this skirt might be turned into something else... Since March, I've been loosing weight and this skirt is getting bigger and bigger on me.  Good thing but also sad :( HE HE!)

Outfit Details:

Cardigan - NY&Co.

Blue Tank - Hand me down

Skirt - NY&Co.

Shoes - Aerosoles

Water it and Watch it BLOOM

Recently I accepted the challenge to make an enormous flower on a pin.  I loved it so much that I decided to give it a trail run with my polka dot dress.  I have to say, I loved this outfit and I received tons of compliments from females AND males.  Some I'm sure just shook their heads at me, but that's me :)  I'm the "flower girl" at my work, so I'm ok with that. :)

I can't wait to make more!!  In fact, I plan on making one for my recent eyelet trench in felt :)  Any suggestions on what color? :)

Outfit Details:

Dress:  Liz Claiborne, Goodwill

Shoes:  Target, clearanced

Flower:  ME, LLT

DIY: Flea Market Steal

Last month my mother in law and I went to the flea market, which is one of my all time favorite pastimes. 

She brought her friend's cart because we were going to be loading up three boxes full of candles.  After seeing such cart, I thought how fantastic they were for trips like this and for when I do craft shows and what not for my shop.  As nice as that cart was, and it was very inexpensive, $15, I was in absolutely no rush to grab one.

While we were scoring a shop, long and behold they have a little cart sitting out.  Mary instantly grabbed it and showed me. 

I loved it!  But the price is what really made me perk up :) :) :)

Want to know??

ONE DOLLAR!

Whhaaatttt?? 

I mean, how could I pass this up??

Well, a month has passed and my plans with my little cart was to paint it my famous "ice cream parlor" blue.  I have my walls this color, my KitchenAid appliances this color, and much, much more. 

Well, it was my first time spray painting, so it's not a "perfect" job... Got a little on the wheels, but we plan to replace the wheels (sometime) and the bungee cords.  (I am thinking light pink bungee cords)  Besides, all the "good stuff", my husband did. :)  He gets an A+ in spray painting and I get a C?  HA HA!

Here's the before:

And the after, all prettied up:

It has a new life now!

I love it so much!

From Work to Casual

I have a small obsession with Lauren Conrad... Ok... Maybe it's a tad bit big,  but I can't help myself!  I was sucked into the MTV series, Laguna Beach, and continued following her through The Hills.  And now with her clothing line at Kohls, I simply go insane!

I spent a majority of my day today with my oldest sister and my niece and nephew.  We spent most of that time at Kohls.  And yes, I bought more LC things.. Clearanced.  No, I really shouldn't have.  But when you score a LC sweater dress for $6.80, it's kind of hard not to be ecstatic!  My sister and I also got the same sweater from Apt. 9 but in two different colors.  This sweater is a sweater in front and a silky blouse in back.  Mm mmm.  Mine is in blushes and pinks and hers is in blues and tans.  Mine was cheaper, being only $10, while hers was $16.  Still didn't understand that one...  But we didn't argue with the clerk.  And she snatched up the Apt. 9 "eyelet" trench I just scored a few days ago! :)  We're going to be super, sexy twins in our matching sweaters and coats! :) 

Well, my Kohls days are over...  Yeesh.  It's hard to go shopping with someone and simply NOT shop.  It's also bad when you have coupons and a card for "such store".  Willpower was not in my favor today.  Oh well... The damage is done (the whole whopping $19 for three items) and now I'll go back to doing what I was supposed to do today.. Craft.  And getting ready for my husband's and my two year anniversary.  The clock is ticking and I'm not ready!!!  :)

Here's an outfit from a few weeks ago.  I loved the "work" day look but loved the casual spin to it as well.  And yes, that's a Lauren Conrad top.  What inspired me for today's post before I ran off topic. :)

Outfit Details: 

Top:  Lauren Conrad, Kohls, clearanced

Pants:  NY&Co., clearanced

Sweater:  VS, clearanced

White Shorts:  NY&Co.

Earrings:  Apt. 9, Kohls, clearanced

Heels:  Vera Wang, Kohls, clearanced

Bracelets:  Gift

Sweet Gem

Ohhh Fridays always make me sooo happy!  It's a beautiful, sunny day out and I can't wait to get the work day done so I can spend the rest of the evening with my amazing husband.

Here's the outfit of the day!

(I really need to get rid of the pole and mat in the background.. It's showcased in too many shots :D)

I adore this coral dress!  I feel like it's a modernized swing dress. Little flare + the cut = Love.

Might I point out that, no, it's not "cold"...  This is one fallback on this dress.  Sounds like a bad breakup.. It's me, not you.  But in this case it's the dress, not me. HA HA! :) 

This dress doesn't get out much due to dry cleaning.  We rarely go and always forget to pick up! :)  In fact, some of my favorite clothes are still at the dry cleaners waiting for us to snatch them. :)  Whoops!

Outfit Details:

Dress:  JCPenny, clearanced

Belt:  Kohls, clearanced (bought this along with the trench from yesterday)

Wedges:  Target, clearanced

Bracelets (with matching earrings; not shown):  Gift

"Curvy-licious"

Everyone always hears, "If you have curves, show them off"!  It took me many, many years to finally get more comfortable doing exactly that.  But I know that once in awhile it's nice to step out and wear something slightly more form fitting and that enhances your curves.  I absolutely LOVE this dress.  And I know my hips look wide and my butt is.. well.. there.  But this dress is long enough and sexy enough.  And I love the high neckline.  No need to worry about the "girls" in this dress :)  And I love the zipper accent.  Gives it an edgy look in a small, small way.

(Do you like my spotlight on my Merlotte's mug??  I'm getting ready for True Blood, gearing up this Sunday!!!!)

Outfit Details:

Dress:  Target, clearanced

Wedges:  Target, clearanced

Scarf:  ME

Earrings:  Target, clearanced

BONUS!!  After many years of hunting, I finally bought a trench coat for Spring/Fall!  I showed you all this jacket a few months ago.. and now I have it!  It's from Kohls and I scored it, along with a belt and scarf for $26!!  So for less than the clearance price it's at.. All because I had yummy coupons!  WOOT WOOT!

A Night Out

My past weekend was jammed packed with goodies planned.  Very enjoyable.  Saturday night my husband and I actually made it past my bedtime and went out with some close friends to a beer garden.  I absolutely love beer gardens...  Great greasy "bar" food, great conversations, outdoors, music, etc.  And with the hot weather we were having, I was actually glad it was to cool off that night so I can wear something comfy and not worry about getting overheated.

Does the sweater look familiar?  Maybe in a mauve color?  Yup, it's the same Lauren Conrad sweater from Kohls.  I snatched it up that day for less than I spent on the mauve one.. $12! :)  So I was very eager to wear it.

Outfit Details:

Lauren Conrad Sweater - Kohls, clearanced

Jeggings - Target

Boots - Christmas Gift

Yellow Clutch - NY&Co., clearanced

Hair Flower - ME, LLT

Taylor Swift Scarf Lookalike

When Target's brand, Missoni, came out with their zig zag phase, I wasn't all that impressed.  Maybe because my heart lies with the swing dresses and poodle skirts of the 1950's and not the big bell bottom flare pants of the 70's.

However, when Taylor Swift came out with her video for "Ours" I became *instantly* obsessed with her "zig zag" scarf.  I wanted it.  I needed  it. 

On a quick run to Kohls (in which I picked up other cute goodies that I will share with you another time), I strolled around... When I was almost finished (scanning the mens stuff as well), I was about to dash to the checkout.  But then I remembered I wanted to check out the accessories for a watch or maybe, ahem,  a scarf. :)  Since summer is rushing in, I knew I can get a few steals.

Well, it was my lucky day!  As soon as I spotted the clearance rack this scarf stook out like it was out on a display all by itself. 

If anyone was around me they might have heard me "yelp" with excitement.... and even more so when I saw the price!  It was mine, alright!

Here's the comparison.

Taylor Swift's:

And voila!  Mine:

Yup!  That's the actual price!  $2.80 baby!!!!  I may have even paid less since I had a coupon as well ;)

My love for Kohls continues.

A Hot, Hot Day

It's been a steamy hot weekend here.. Especially for being in May!  It's been in the mid 80's! 

Now, you all may call me crazy with this post, but here me out. :)  I wanted to just dive in a pool and get some sun.  Relax, read, chill.  It's way too hot just to sit/lay out for me, and sadly we don't have a pool.  :(

Well, as we were doing our grocery shopping yesterday, it's like a sign from God just appeared before our eyes... A young mother was carrying a bright pink plastic kiddy pool!  (Don't judge...)  We both immediately lit up!  We checked it out and it ended up being $12.  Sadly, for how cheaply made it was, I didn't want to spend that much.  So we ran to Meijer, quickly, for a few things and decided to glance down their swim aisle.  To our surprise, they had a blue blow up pool for $10!  So, I jumped up and down with excitement as Matt put it in our cart.

He had to close that night and didn't have a chance to get it up for me.  I had my close friend stop by and as we were hanging out, getting DQ and playing video games, my brother in law arrived.  He got our air compressor working and blew that baby up!

I filled it with water yesterday so it had all morning to warm up for me today! :) 

After running some errands today, I came home, jumped in my new bikini from Florida and hopped in!  Grabbing my kindle as well with the newest Sookie Stackhouse novel, Deadlocked, downloaded to it. 

Tease me all you want, but that little gem was soooo refreshing!  I sat right on my deck, cooled off but still getting sun and read.  Sigh...  I think I'm a little too excited for this little pool.  Low maintenance, small but still big enough, and perfect for what we needed it to do.  And now I got a nice tan forming ;)

The only thing missing was a cute little "beach" table to keep my valuables out of reach, and maybe a drink. :)

I think you all should run and get one now if you do not have the pleasure of having a big pool nearby!  I nearly fell asleep I was so relaxed!