Happy 4th of July

Today we celebrate the birth of our great nation. Over the years, the meaning seems to have diminished, but coming from a state that is steeped in rich history (Virginia), I always pause for a moment and remember what the true meaning of what independence really is and how we got to where we are today. Whatever the day means to you, I hope you all have a wonderful day!!!

Since yesterday was supposed (keyword here is "supposed") to be light day at the office, I went casual in honor of the holiday. I am off the rest of this week (hell yeah!!) so it was technically my Friday. 

Top - Anthropologie (purchased on Ebay)

Jeans - Gloria Vanderbilt (thrifted)

Shoes - Mossimo at Target

Purse - Avon

Necklace - Mark by Avon

Bracelet - Charlotte Russe

Sunglasses - Kate Spade

Brunch to Dinner

Shorts have never been a staple in my wardrobe during my adult years. It is so difficult to find them to fit me properly and it seems that most styles in today's fashion industry are geared towards younger women meaning shorter than I prefer. Inspired by some of my favorite blogs, I decided to try some on recently and was pleasantly surprised to find two pair fit me perfectly. After buying them, I wanted to experiment to see how to style a pair from brunch to dinner. This was the result.

 

 

 

This was perfect for brunch on a Sunday morning. Now...to carry this same outfit over to a casual dinner, I changed out the flat sandals and added a heel. The heels gave the outfit a little dressy feel (in my opinion) and I didn't have to change into another outfit - I detest wearing two outfits during one day. 

 

Shorts - Joe Fresh for JCPenney (on clearance)

Top - Anthropologie

Necklace and Earrings - New York & Company

Bracelet - Avon

Purse - London Fog

Sandals (both pairs) - Christian Siriano for Payless Shoes

Bachelorette Party

One of my teammates here in Arizona is getting married in October, but she is moving back to California in a few weeks. Affectionately known as Slam Helliot on the track, she has become one of my closest friends and I will miss her tremendously. We have spent many nights in my pool gabbing around the "table of truth", hanging out in the hot tub until the wee hours of the morning, dancing our feet off on the Wii and skating our hearts out on the track in bouts. I was truly honored when she asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and I look forward to standing up for her on her special day, but I am sad that she will be leaving Arizona. Cheers to you my friend!!!

This weekend was Slam's bachelorette party - something I have not experienced in recent history. The bridal party and most of our team crash landed in Scottsdale for a day and night of debauchery. We had a suite at the W Hotel which was filled with an excessive amount of alcohol and food for everyone to enjoy. We spent the fourth hottest day on record (it was 119) in the pool at the hotel. Then, we all donned our finest black dresses and colorful shoes (the bride's request) and dined at a local restaurant. Our plans were to hit up a club for some dancing, but the club was not jumping so we headed over to a local strip club (again, the bride's request) for some fun. It was quite the evening and I got home around 3am this morning - exhausted, but happy that we could make one of her last days here special.

Here's a few pics that I had a friend take of my outfit and a group shot of everyone just before dinner. I went with a jersey flare bandage dress, my favorite poppy colored heels, gold jewelry and a royal blue clutch - in honor of the Scrappers (my derby team). It was a fun night with a bunch of crazy women who mean the world to me.

 

 

 

Wish List

I remember making a wish on a shooting star as a kid. Come to think of it, I still do. Wishes are dreams and we all need dreams in our life. While I do dream of big things, I make wish lists for the smaller stuff. Right now, I have a few wish lists going on - some pertain to derby, but most of my wish list is for clothes. Go figure!!! My house was built in 1952 so my closets are not friendly for someone with an extensive wardrobe. My hubby's closet is in the guest room because the two in our room are filled to the brim with my stuff. But...that being said, I still keep my wish list going and trade out when I can.

Here are a few items from my wish list - I actually have one of the items on this, but I wanted to post it so you can see where I am going with this particular outfit. I have the shoes - now I want to build the rest of the outfit around them. The shoes are the inspiration.

Sam Edelman Orly Slingbacks in Truffle/Citron - paid $10 on clearance at Marshall's

 

 

 

 

Mossimo Cap Sleeve Vest - Target

Mossimo Long & Lean Tank in Yellow Boom - Target

 

 

Gold Kourtney Spike Bib by Baublebar

Rockstar Skinny Jeans at Old Navy

Michael Kors Kempton Small Tote - Dillards

So...what are some items on your wish list?

Sunday Funday

Today we had planned a barbecue with teammates. Before the festivities, we ran a bunch of errands so I decided to go super casual. I love these denim shorts. They are a little big on me, but that's what I love - it makes them slightly slouchy. I tried to dress them up a tad with this crochet tank over a camisole. Finished the look with my favorite flip flops and a ballerina bun in my hair.

 

 

 

Shorts - Faded Glory by Walmart

Tank - Charming Charlies

Camisole - Target

Tote - London Fog

Necklace and Earrings - H&M

Watch - Charming Charlies

Shoes - Airwalk by Payless Shoes

Sunglasses - Kenneth Cole

 

Goodwill Fun

I grew up buying my doll's clothes at the Goodwill store. Then, before it was even the trend, I started buying men's flannel shirts there. Eventually, I looked forward to going and buying a lot of my clothes at Goodwill and other secondhand stores. When the economy started tanking several years ago, consignment and secondhand stores became all the rage. People were flocking to buy clothes on the cheap. Over the years, I have continued to browse and recently, I started becoming a thrift store junkie. In order to shop at a Goodwill, you must have patience. There are literally racks and racks of clothing to go through, but when you find that gem, it is all worth it. The stores have a ton of the "Better Quality" aka name brand merchandise on separate racks so I hit those first. Then, I go through my size in the shirts, dresses, pants, skirts and blazers. Books are always my last stop before I leave. Our Goodwill stores here in Arizona have 50% off Saturdays every other week. They also offer a monthly coupon for 20% off your purchases (on $10 or more) the rest of the month. I signed up at their website and the coupon gets emailed to me every month. If you decide to give secondhand a try, always look over the clothing for rips, snags, tears, missing buttons, etc. - some things can be easily fixed (buttons), but you don't want to fall in love with something and get it home to discover it has a flaw that you can't fix.

For today's post, I am going to show you some of my new purchases from Goodwill. I spent under $50 for all this, plus some non-clothing items. It was a good day at Goodwill for me.

Jeans are always a nightmare for me so imagine my surprise when I scored three pair - the J-Jill (first) were $3.19, the Calvin Klein capris (middle) were $7.99 and the Gloria Vanderbilt (last) were $3.19 - my plan was to make a pair into denim cutoffs, but now I'm not so sure because they all look cute on

 

Tahari Jacket - paid $6.19 - this will go perfect with my white capris and blue heels

Coldwater Creek Cardigan - paid $6.19 - this will look cute with jeans, capris or a summer skirt

I love burnout t-shirts. This one is by Rue 21 - paid $3.99. It has the same color as the cardigan above. Will look cute with jeans or my white capri pants

Ok - this was my oddball purchase. I could not resist this vintage Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Paid $2.49. I see it with jeans, black blazer and my red heels or black flats.

The perfect denim jacket by Old Navy - paid $3.19. It is a dark rinse and fits like a glove. I see this with a lot of my wardrobe items.

Ralph Lauren shorts - paid $3.19 - these are kind of funky - not quite dressy, but not quite casual. I'll have to play around with tops and shoes to see what combos I can come up with

 

 

 

White belt with linen buckle - paid $.90 - this will look cute with my white capris or my jeans with a t-shirt

Stripes of Color

I have mentioned in previous posts that black has been the mainstay of my wardrobe for as long as I can remember. After having my seasonal ID done last year, I finally decided to bring some color into my life. I have discovered that when you wear something with color, it really changes your mood. I feel confident in myself when I have a bright hue on versus wearing just black. I used to think black was the end all, be all, but now - having a palette of colors to play with has shown me that I can look good and feel good just by changing something up in my closet. I have had this blouse for awhile, but everything I initially wanted to pair it with didn't quite work. So...I broke out my white jeans and wow - it really popped off of the jeans. I loved the way this outfit looked and more importantly, it was super comfy on another blistering hot day.

 

 

Sleeveless Cowl Neck Blouse (Marshalls - Calvin Klein)

Jones New York Battery Park Ankle Jeans (Ross)

Madge Cap Toe Ballet Flats - Green (Target - here)

London Fog Tote (Ross)

Gold Chunky Necklace (Target)

Gold Hoop Earrings (Target)

Gold Bangles (Charming Charlie)

Boyfriend Watch (Charming Charlie)

Kenneth Cole Aviator Sunglasses (Marshalls)

June Ipsy Bag Review

So for June, Ipsy asked us to take a walk on the "wild side". That was my first clue that this bag was going to contain some products probably not for everyday wear. Now I am open to trying new things - hence the reason why I joined Ipsy in the first place. So...I have been waiting patiently to see what Ipsy had in store for us to kick off the summer season.

My bag arrived on Friday and while I was initially very excited, some of the products have turned out to be not so wild. The bag is absolutely adorable with its leopard print trimmed in neon green. That I am very stoked with. Here's my review of everything that we received in the bag this month.

 

 

J.cat Sparkling Cream Palette in Volta (sold here - retail value $4.49)

There was a lot of controversy over this product on the Ipsy forum and Facebook. Most people thought this was eyeshadow or eye cream. This is sold as a body cream. Sadly, as you can see in the picture above, the swatches show that this cream does not go on very well. The gold palette virtually disappears in your skin, the blue palette looks like an oil smudge, the black/gold palette also looks like a smudge, the silver palette reminds me of salt and pepper and the purple palette is much to dark. All but one (the purple) were sort of dry when putting them on using the enclosed sponge tipped brushes. When you attempt to rub them in, the glitter goes everywhere (see pics below with leftover glitter). I wanted to like these and thought they might be cute to jazz up bare shoulders on a summer evening, but this product is an epic fail for me.

 

Starlooks Lip Liner in Bare (sold here - retail value $12.00)

I do not normally use lip liner, but I can see some value in this product. This particular color has a mauve-like hue to it. I will have to play around with it and see what I can do. This was a full sized product and the color is neutral enough for me (there were two other colors offered). We'll see how it goes before I give it two thumbs up or down.

 

 

 Nyx Blush - Sand (found here and similar here - retail value apx. $5.00-$5.99)

Now this product, I was soooo excited to receive. Ironically, I had just found a pin on Pinterest talking about the Nyx color "Pinched" as a dupe for the most famous blush in the world - NARS "Orgasm". I snatched up the Pinched color last week and have fallen in love with it. I have a few Nyx products and have been pleased. This particular hue, Sand, has a gold sheen to it. The swatch above does not do it justice - it really is a beautiful color and I will get a lot of use of this over the summer. It almost resembles a bronzer, but not quite so shimmery. Best product in the bag by far!!!

Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace (sold here - retail value $18.00)

I have never heard of Chella, but anything with the words "highlighter" in them, I am excited about. Unfortunately, when I look at the swatch, it resembles more of a concealer than a highlighter. I'm not counting this product out yet - I will try it under my eyes and maybe down my nose tomorrow to see what effect I get with this. I am on the fence so far on it.

Cailyn Line Fix Gel Eyeliner - Iron (sold here - retail value $21.00)

Another line that I have never heard of, but I have been wanting to try a good gel eyeliner so again, very excited about this. The container is a bit bulky as you can see in the photo above, but it is a full size container of a dark gray colored gel liner. The brush conveniently twists into the lid. I will try this over the week and see how it goes. According to the box, this has staying power - like 24 hours worth. Okay - my initial thought to that is that all liners have staying power. They stay in smudges under your eyes when you go to sleep at night and it takes a brillo pad to remove them the next morning. I may or may not test this theory out, but I am excited to try it. I do like the color although they also gave away a gorgeous purple that I really would have preferred.

On the whole, I liked 50% of the items contained in this bag. I may end up loving a couple more, but the test is yet to be done. I received $60 worth of full size cosmetics for only $10 so I really cannot complain. Not to mention a cute little make up bag.

**This review is based solely on my opinions of the products and not that of Ipsy.com.

Maxin' and Relaxin'

I wish I could meet whoever invented the maxi skirt. It is turning into one of my staple items in my closet. I have four of them and absolutely LOVE them. They are great on the weekends for running around town in the god awful temperatures we have here in Phoenix. I can dress them up for work or for going to dinner with a cute top or a statement necklace. I can remember my mother having to force me to wear a skirt or a dress and now, it seems that I have more skirts and dresses than I do pants. This season, the maxi skirt has come back on trend and I intend to wear mine all summer long.

For today's look, I have paired up a dressy black maxi skirt with a polka dot tank. I added a wide black belt to define my waist a bit more. I accessorized with pewter strappy sandals, a trapezoid tote and silver jewelry. I also added a little edge with my box chain bracelet. For my make-up, I went for a more natural look (forgive the hair roots - it is time to color again). Yes, I am actually wearing this at work, but luckily with temps in the scorching range, our firm relaxes it a bit on our attire.

Skirt (Mossimo at Target)

Tank (Mossimo at Target)

Shoes (Mossimo Falk Thong at Target)

Belt (XOXO at Ross)

Necklace (Charming Charlie)

Bracelet (Hot Topic)

Tote (Cosmopolitan by JCPenney)

Sunglasses (Kate Spade - no longer available)

The Sweet Smell of Summer

How many of you wear perfume? Odd topic, but figured I would venture down a different path. Growing up, I remembering seeing the array of perfumes that my mother had on her dresser. Each bottle was a different color and had a different smell. I remember my mother using one called Opium and I remember her using Imari. I don't know why I can still remember that, but whenever I take a whiff of one of those, I am instantly transported back to my childhood. It is very comforting in many ways although it seems like a lifetime ago.

Many moons ago, my mom used to buy Avon. If I remember correctly, she may have even sold it at one time. The blue "carpet bag" will always resonate with me. The Avon lady used to come by and she gave samples of lipsticks which were fascinating. Then, she would leave samples of the many scents offered by Avon.

With the summer upon us (at least here in Arizona with its 110 degree days), I love to put a spritz of my favorite perfume on as I'm heading out the door. It makes me feel like my outfit is complete and whatever scent I choose is always "me". Over the years, I have tried many different perfumes and in the last few years, I have finally found MY perfume - the one that is perfect - not too overpowering, yet subtle enough to let everyone know you were in the room.

My very first perfume was Sweet Honesty by Avon. I think I may have been in 6th grade when I received a bottle - it was a limited release decanter (these decanters are now collectible items) in the shape of a green frog. The eyes were green rhinestones and the head screwed off to reveal the opening. I also remember receiving a tooth fairy decanter with Sweet Honesty that had a glow in the dark wand in one hand and a bag to hold your tooth in the other hand. Sweet Honesty will always remind of how grown up I felt when I dabbed a bit of it on before school each morning.

 

Another favorite scent of mine is Ralph Lauren Romance. It is such a soft subtle scent and it just relaxes me when I spritz it on. The description says it has chamomile oil in so that might explain why I think it has a calming feel to it. This is an older perfume, but it still ranks as one of my all time favorite scents.

Ah Shalimar!!! I received this for Christmas in my stocking one year from Santa Claus. I don't even remember how I ended up asking for this, but Shalimar was my signature scent all through my 20's. It has a soft baby powder smell and is another very subtle perfume to wear. Working in an office, I am very in tune with perfume because if someone has a strong perfume on, it permeates throughout our office. This one fades as the day goes on so it's perfect for me to wear to work every day.

Everyone should have their signature scent and after becoming reacquainted with Avon a few years ago, I found THE perfume that is ME - Odyssey. It has been a staple in their line since 1981 and it has tones of musk and floral. I bet I have gone through 5 bottles of this in the last three years. It is the usually the first perfume I reach for before I leave now. Seems funny that I have come full circle - my first perfume was from Avon and what I consider to be my signature perfume is also Avon.

What is your favorite perfume? Do you have a signature scent? It seems like such an afterthought, but I honestly remember some people by the perfume that they wear. Branch out and try something new and see what works for you.