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.

Blazing Edge

It's supposed to hit 111 here today so I think "orange blaze" is an appropriate color to be wearing. Lol!! I love these pants though. The color is so vibrant and so not in the norm for what I wear. For today's look, I paired them up with a white 3/4 sleeve striped shirt, a black studded belt, black gladiator sandals and a pop of turquoise with the statement necklace (sorry for the dark photo). Believe it not, the shoes are actually quite comfortable with the exception of my injured knee. My ortho would not be pleased to see me in them though.

Pants (Jones New York Battery Park Ankle)

Top (Gap)

Heels (Mossimo by Target)

Necklace (JCPenney)

Purse (Nine & Co. at JCPenney)

Earrings (ibidz.com)

Watch (Charming Charlies)

Summer White

Having a rather large posterior has always made me hesitant to wear white pants - well that and the fact that white is the magnet for stains. It never fails that when I wear a white top, I inevitably drop some of my lunch on it thereby ruining my outfit for the day. This summer, white jeans seem to be a big trend. Old Navy has run sales for weeks on their white jeans and I have gone in there and looked longingly at them before quietly moving on to another part of the store.

A few weeks ago, I purchased two pairs of jeans by Jones New York. They were ankle length and the fit was absolutely perfect. If you have seem my previous posts, you know that pants are extremely difficult to find that do not gap at my waist due to my large thighs and very large ass. I was ecstatic to find some summer pants that are work appropriate and I have been on the hunt to find that particular style - without much luck until now. I was at Ross with my husband trying to find him some golf shorts (that is a whole other story) and I naturally gravitated to the women's department (yeah, go figure). As I was browsing the rack, I spotted the label for Jones New York and low and behold - it was the style jeans I'm looking for. But - they were white. I hemmed and hawed for about 5 seconds and threw them in the cart. At the very least, I could wear them to run errands in and wear a long tunic.

I've had the pants hanging in my closet waiting patiently to be worn and today, I finally got brave. I absolutely love the fit and they actually do not look bad at all. I love the crispness of the white against my bright orange tank. I finished the outfit off with pewter sandals, my colorful tote and a summer fedora. This is one of my favorite outfits so far - I feel put together, yet comfortable and summery.

I guess the lesson to be learned is that you can't be afraid to try new things - you might be surprised. A lot of it comes down to fit as well. These jeans do not gap at my waist and I love the ankle length which gives it a touch of casualness. Now that I have crossed that line, I am looking forward to seeing what other tops I have in my closet that I can pair these jeans with.

Jeans (Jones New York Battery Park)

Cami (Mossimo by Target)

Tank (Old Navy)

Purse (Nine & Co.)

Sandals (Mossimo by Target)

Bracelet (JCPenney)

Fedora (Calvin Klein)

Day to Night

I love clothes that can be easily converted from a day look to a night look. Most of the time, I have to pack another outfit to wear to a function after I leave the office. Recently, I found the perfect skirt that can go from the office to dinner with a simple top, purse and shoe exchange. This skirt is made of cool jersey material and it has a slight flare to it. The best part is that the top has a cotton waist band that folds over like yoga pants. For the office, I pulled the skirt down to knee length and kept the waist band up. I paired it with a black flowy tank and a pair of flirty poppy heels. I accessorized with a simple gold chain with a poppy colored pendant and my multi-colored tote. After putting in my 8 hours, I pulled the skirt up and folded the waist band down and put on a leather-like peplum top. I finished the outfit with edgy gladiator heels. For accessories, I went simple with silver rhinestone drop earrings and a hematite bracelet. I passed on the necklace since I really like the high cut V-neckline of the top. A great item to have in my closet with a lot of versatility.

Below the knee for work

Above the knee for a night on the town

Perfect summer work outfit

Splash of color with a tote

Simple pendant necklace with a pop of color

Tie the outfit together with a colored heel

Shorten the skirt for a night on the town

Add some edgy heels to give the outfit a kick

Skirt by BCBG (similar found here)

Day top (Ross)

Night Top (Charlotte Russe)

Day shoes (Lauren Brooke from DSW)

Night Shoes (Guess)

Day Purse (Nine & Co. from JCPenney)

Night Purse (Marshalls)

Day Necklace (ibidz.com)

Bracelet and Earrings (gifts)

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love make-up. I love to browse the shelves in stores and see all the various colors and different types of make-up. Eyeliners and eye shadows are definitely one of my weaknesses. The bright hues just stand out and call to me. Who cares if I already have 5 shades of brown eye shadow - when I see a new release, I want it. Over the last several months though, I have purged much of my make-up. I gave every Ulta eye shadow that I owned (and let me say - the collection was quite extensive) to a good friend for her daughter to experiment with. Many of the colors had only been worn once, maybe twice. After my purge, I decided to only purchase a few cosmetics that I knew I would use over and over, as well as items that I already loved. Here's a few of my favorite things...

I have wanted the Naked 2 (and the Naked) palette by Urban Decay forever, but I just could not justify spending $50 on it (yet I would spend $50 on a whole bunch of other crap I didn't need). Recently, a friend let me try her palette and OMG...why did I not buy this a long time ago??? The colors are gorgeous and go on my eyes beautifully. The pigment is rich and really brings out the blue in my eyes. I know I am late to the game with this palette, but I am so glad that I finally caved in and purchased it. I use the lighter shades during the day for a natural look and then amp up my eyes in the evenings with the darker hues. This is definitely a top favorite of mine and the bonus plumping/cooling lip gloss was a nice touch.

Living in Arizona, we have very low humidity therefore everything tends to dry out - especially my lips. When Maybelline released their Baby Lips collection, I searched high and low to find them, but they were sold out. I finally scored a couple at Target - they were hiding on the end caps. Each tube has a soft stain of color and a hint of flavoring. But don't let the bright colors and fun flavors fool you because these keep your lips so moist and supple. I always keep one in my purse and will run them across my lip stick to help keep my lips moist. Well worth buying and the color palette is not too bad - there is a soft pink, soft peach, muted coral, colorful plum, cherry red and clear. I own almost every one of these and will continue to purchase them in the future.

I was introduced to this powder by a young lady on You Tube who was doing a make-up tutorial. I have seen it posted on Pinterest numerous times as well so I thought I would give it a whirl. The silica based powder is very fine and a little goes a lllloooonnnnggg way. It provides a subtle glow when used properly. Price wise - this is extremely expensive, but mine has lasted me for almost six months and I understand that there are many dupes on the market. In the meantime, I really do like soft candlelit glow that this provides and will finish up the powder before trying something else.

I can still remember the first time I walked into an Ulta after moving to Arizona. It was extremely overwhelming to see so many different perfumes, cleansers, make-up, hair products. It was just insane to me. Ulta has a great rewards program (of which I utilize every quarter - sometimes with the highest level reward available). With their competitive pricing on the Ulta line, I was also able to try many of their products for minimal cost. One such product is their Sin City eye shadow (balck shadow in the middle/bottom). It is a matte black and it is absolutely perfect to use as eyeliner. I take an angled eye liner brush and dampen it and draw shadow onto the brush. I am able to control how much goes on my eye and how thick my lines are. It also has great staying powder throughout the day. I will always keep this in my make-up bin and for the money, it's a great deal for a product that pulls double duty.

Okay - here is another Pinterest experiment. Everyone was raving about the Sonia Kashuk Sunless Tanning Towelettes. They seem a bit pricey compared to a bottle of sunless tanning lotion ($10.99 for 4 towels vs. $8.99 for an entire bottle of lotion), but I decided to see if they hold up to the rave reviews.  I purchased the Golden version (didn't even know there was a Bronze version) and scrubbed it on my body this morning. I avoided my face even though this is allegedly safe because I have super sensitive skin to begin with. So far, my legs have really changed into a beautiful glowing tan. I am really pleased with this and will probably purchase it again in the future - maybe when my real tan begins to fade.

This is the second Urban Decay product in my list of favorites. There are so many reasons to love their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils. The colors are just gorgeous - various shades of green, blue, purple and even a bright pink shade. I have about 2/3 of the available colors and my absolute go-to shades are Deviant (royal blue), Bourbon (soft brown), Oil Slick (black) and Ransom (purple). I have experienced great staying power throughout the day and the colors do not smudge as bad as some of my other pencils. What is even cooler is that Urban Decay releases different palettes at Christmas and I get to try a bunch of colors for less money than if I had bought the entire set. These pencils are a mainstay in my cosmetic bag and worth the money that you spend.