30x30 continues!

Ok peoples!  So far I’m doing great with my 30x30 outfit challenge!  You can see day 1 here and the items that I’ve chosen.  Up next is Day 2, 3, and 4.  Right now the outfits are pretty easy because I’m starting off with the most obvious…pair a bottom with a top.  Boom.  But believe it or not I’ve never worn any of these combos in my closet before…so it’s fun to get out of the rut!  Don’t mind the faces….I was clearly going through something….like a case of permanent awkwardness and the inability to not ham it up when a camera is on me.

 

DAY 2

{Items 17, 25, 24}

 

DAY 3

So even though it’s OCTOBER and I planned every outfit to be for FALL…New Jersey delivers in wacky weather and gives me 85 degree temps.  So although this could technically be 2 outfits…let’s label it as one as I did wear the cardigan out to lunch with a friend, but then took it off midday because it was so stinkin hot. (PS: I really liked my makeup this day. It’s too bad I have no idea what I did).

{Items 15, 18, 23, 26}

 

DAY 4

SUPER casual day!!  Totally glad I remembered to toss in a non work top or two for days when I’m running errands.  Now to be fair I was painting some trim and doing other miscellaneous housework…so this outfit was just to pick up the kids and get dinner.  Still!  Got the job done!

{Items 13, 22, 27}

 

And just realize I’ve worn all my pants.  Guess it’s skirt or dress time tomorrow!  Haha!

OCtober 30x30

In continuing efforts to get my budget under control, and still stay as super fly as possible, I'm imposing upon myself the 30x30 fashion challenge!!!! (I imagine it said with like a cool echo for effect and em-PHA-sis.)

I've seen a ton of this floating around on the Pinterest and thought, hey...what a better way to get over my Philip Lim for Target losses then to embrace what I already have. For those who don't know, you take 30 items from your closet and make 30 different outfits for 30 days. I'm kinda really excited about this challenge, and hopefully it will get me to appreciate my closet, save me some loot, and look at my war

robe in a whole new way. 

SO to start...I cruised a couple of other ladies sites because I had no idea where to begin. How many pants do I need? Should I do sweaters or jackets? Does jewelry count as one of the 30 items? I took some of this and some of that and came up with my basic formula: 4 Sweaters (because it's getting cool out) 3 Jackets (or blazers...not coats...not that cold out) 2 Cardigans, 2 Dresses, 8 Tops, 3 Skirts, 3 Pants, and 5 Shoes. I'm saying that accessories such as hats, belts, scarves, tights and jewelry are freebies...but I'm still not allowed to purchase anything. So without further ado...This is what I chose:

Let me just note a few things:

-I totally took these all at night and in a rush so I apologize for the sloppy pics

-My comforter is SUPPOSED to be wrinkly.  It’s the style

-Some of the clothes you can’t even see the pattern, which is why I numbered them so when I actually wear them you can see what each is from

 

Ok so I’m totally excited about this!!  I even have day one all set!  WOOT!  On top of things!!  The only sad part about this picture…cuz I think the outfit is really cute….is how absurdly white my legs are.  Oh-to-the-well….next time I’ll wear tights then!

 

{items 1,19,24}

DIeting makes me ill…

I wish I could say that I was doing a legit food diet and that that was making me ill….but no I’m talking about a spending diet.  A crappy crappy oh so extremely crappy spending diet. 

About a month ago I decided that I needed to go on a diet (again, not a food diet, although I think I could stand to start one of those too).  Our credit card bills weren’t budging much and we were still putting some money on them every month so nothing was really getting paid down.  So I put together a list of needs and a list of wants and allowed myself some flexibility for special items….namely clothes.  When I saw some…I mean like almost none.  Again…crappy crappy.

I’m sure you all have heard about the 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target collection that came out yesterday, right?  Well if you hadn’t….3.1 Phillip Lim made a collection for Target that came out yesterday.  And I won’t be ashamed to say that I was in line.  I had saved up to buy one thing from that line, even researched the collection before hand so I knew what I wanted, and vowed to get that one and only thing.  This is what I decided on:

 

But as I waited in line (yes I got up and waited in line) I felt the anticipation of shopping and I said to myself “well, self, if you see other things you like just grab them because others are just going to be grabbing things and there’s no saying you have to buy them but just see what happens.”  I got all caught up in the frenzy of everything that the next thing you know I had all this in my cart:

 

OMG if I wasn’t dying about how cute everything looked on me.  Yes I’m being vain but speaking the truth.  This is really the first designer-for-Target line that I feel like fit me true to size, and I would TOTALLY wear all of this repeatedly.  The only problem is….I am on a diet.  I cannot afford to spend all these calories on these delicious items.  No joke, I went and found a corner of the store and calculated how much all these things would cost now, calculated a “cost per wear”, how much went with items already in my closet, the total combinations I could come up with…..basically anything to justify spending almost $200 on clothes.  I thought to myself “there’s no way I can come back later because these items just won’t be here,”…”This is a limited collection” and “I’ll never be able to find it on clearance in my size”…”this looks so cute on me and I’ll wear it a million times”…….

Then, without thinking I grabbed everything in my cart, tossed it on a shelf, and ran up to the cash register with the item I initially came for, paid, and literally ran out of the store.  And to be honest, I was almost crying.  I have been non stop thinking about those items all day and have had anxiety and sweats every time I think of that sweater with the sparkly collar or the way that leopard skirt and shirt would have looked so chic.  You think I have issues?  Oh yes…I definitely have issues.  And I should be proud of myself that I was able to walk away from everything but the exact item I went in for….but I’ll be honest and say that I’m more disappointed that I didn’t get those things.  I know it sounds crazy…but that’s because I am.  I never ever admitted to sanity.

So although I am deeply saddened by my loss of my beautiful Phillip Lim pieces…I shall keep an eye out for returns and clearances and hope that I can score something with next months budget for less.  In the meantime…I’m going to be paying down my credit card with the money I saved from NOT buying those other pieces, I’m going to be loving the heck out of the sweatshirt I got, and using my existing closet to it’s fullest potential.

BOOM.

(And I’ll be praying every night that I’ll be getting a few of those pieces on clearance…yes still obsessing.)

New favorite: Lip Stain!

So now that we are working mommas, we're even more on the hunt for stuff to make our lives easier. I'm into this new life and routine a week and I'm slowly getting the hang of things. I'm not a morning person, so getting up at 6:00am every morning to make sure I get myself ready, then I can get Will ready, and make our lunches & breakfast and all that jazz.

My newest addition to my morning routine is Lip Stain.
I had been waiting and waiting to try Covergirl's Outlast Lip Stain, and then I finally took the plunge. I grabbed the Wild Berry Wink #440 and it's wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiild! I like it better than the red lipstick I wear from time to time. It's got more pink in it, which is good for this whitey...

My favorite part is the fact that it's low-maintenance. My new job is very fast paced, so 30 minutes to eat my lunch, check my favorite blogs, and catch my breath goes by super fast. It's nice that I don't have to worry about reapplying my lips after I eat. They just need a little gloss. I can do that with my eyes closed!

Do you have any new favorite makeup finds? Do tell! Do tell!

Cutting off some Cut-offs

So Heather shared a little bit about her birthday thrifting adventure with you here…and I thought I’d show you what I ended up doing with the one purchase that I made below:

The flower pants, clearly.  The other pillow cases I SHOULD have gotten….but oh well.  So those pants….you may be thinking “what the ugly?”  But I saw some potential in the ways of cut off shorts!  First I laid these bad boys out of the floor

Hmmm…yup…still ugly.    So I folded them in half, pulling out the crotch.  That sounds nasty.  Clearly “50 Shades of Grey” is still in my head.  But you all know what I mean.  Then take a favorite pair of shorts that you enjoy the length of. Also fold in half and line up the crotches.  Now, my pants had a higher waist than my shorts, so I made sure to cut just a little bit lower that the length of the shorts so that I wasn’t going to have super duper shorty shorts.  Plus…I could always cut off a little more…but can’t add it back!

That’s basically it!  Throw them in the wash so they get a nice fray and you’re done! 

Oh clearly the pic above was before wash and fray.  And you know what’s the funniest part about this whole thing here?  When I went to Target the other day I saw a pair of shorts JUST LIKE THESE.  Yup….what’s old is new.  Make it your own.  Thinking I’m going to do another pair like this with an old pair of jeans!  It’s so easy…and practically free! 

Something sweet for Mother’s Day

Happy Friday to you all!  I just wanted to share something really simple and cute that you could make really quickly for Mother’s Day!  This would be a great gift for any mom!  I made one for mine, and I’m really thinking of making them for myself, my sister, Heather, and even my buddy Megan who isn’t a mom but would appreciate a unique accessory.  Don’t mind this picture…I forgot to take a final before sending it out…so this is what I sent my sister

Rosette Necklace:

What’s that you say?  You can’t even make it out because it’s such an awful picture, even for a cell phone picture?  Right there with you, folks, so let’s just get to the “how to” so you can see some (slightly) better pics.

Tools:

Strips of fabric

Scissors

Hot Glue gun

1 sheet of fairly stiff felt

A chain (I made this to just slip over the head…so I’d recommend no less than a 20” chain)

 

1)First…take your strips (mine were about 18”-20” long…maybe 1.5” wide.  I didn’t really measure.)  Fold one end in half and fold it over a couple of times

2) Then start twisting your fabric around the top-ish part of the fold.  I use the bottom “tail” part to hold onto while I glue and wrap.  As you keep wrapping, twist the fabric and dot with glue every no and again to make sure it hold nice and tight.

3) Once you are almost done twisting, wrapping, and pinching (sounds a bit naughty, doesn’t it?) then you can tuck the tail in and glue the last remaining bit of fabric over the bottom.

Ta-Da!!

4) Next is the easy peasy part.  Once you have all your little rosettes in a row (I made 5..one big to represent my sis and I, 2 medium for the bigger grandkids, and 2 small for the babies!) glue the middle 3 onto the felt, and the end 2 to the chain…. like so.

5) Then glue the last 2 where you want them in relation to the others.  You COULD just glue everything down at once….but I wanted to make sure that the chain was nice and centered on the small rosettes and that it was going to stay before I sandwiched them.  This is where I forgot to keep taking pictures.

6) after you have everything glued down…basically cut your necklace out.  It helps to use really small and precise scissors because you don’t want you felt peeking out…so to really get into the crevices, small scissors help.  And again…because I forgot to take pics…here’s the crappy cell pic

I just love it…I think it’s so cute and what a great accessory for summer to dress up just a plain old tee!  If you’re a mother…I hope you do whatever it is you want this weekend (I myself, am going shopping all day…ALONE), and if you’re not a mother…I hope that your mother has a wonderful day!!!! 

Winterize your wardrobe

It is officially cold weather season!!  Ok…not officially COLD weather season, but definitely out of the tank top and shorts.  WOO to the HOO!  I am super excited I tell ya.  Not just for the fact that layering hides more flaws than dressing in as little as possible to keep from embarrassing pit stains, but because I am thoroughly bored with my clothes right now.  So since I got to bust out some sweaters and get all giddy because, really, the change of season is like getting a whole new wardrobe again. I thought that I would share with you how I change over seasons.
The first thing you have to do is assess everything in your closet.  Not all your “summer” pieces have to go away.  There are many things that are good for layering or re-working in new ways to create a whole new look.  Some people don’t bother to store their clothes for the seasons, but when you have a tiny walk-in closet like mine, it’s kind of essential.  And as you can see…I haven’t done it in awhile.

The main pieces that I choose to take out are things that are quintessential summer items: Hawaiian-esque florals, tank tops that just won’t fit right going under sweatshirts (so the non-form-fitting ones), tanks that don’t really work under a jacket or something, summer shorts, and summer print skirts.  Here’s a few that I chose to store.


I have a few plastic bins that I have designated for storing my clothes for the season, and there are steps I always take when putting them away.  The first is to wash all your clothes before you store them.  If you don’t, the residue left over on them (if you happen to sweat like I do…tmi? sorry) will make clothes yellow and smell.  Also, I layer clothes with acid free tissue paper.  I read this on Martha’s website.  This is just an extra step to protect clothes.  I like to think of it as a low cost investment to keeping your clothes safe.


Now for the pieces I choose to keep.  I love maxi dresses and skirts anytime, so even though these are a bit flowy and summery…layered with a heavy knit these would look awesome.  It’s a great way to extend your wardrobe by wearing your pieces in a whole new way. 

I also chose a few tops that may come off as a bit summery to keep.  I’ll wear these by wearing a white turtleneck underneath and again, expand my closet by wearing them in a whole new way.  And honestly, if you throw a QUALITY white turtleneck under anything…it instantly chic-ifies whatever you’re wearing.  Try it.  I dare you.

The last thing I would suggest is to store those summer shoes.  I don’t mean ALL your sandals, but the ones that totally read SUMMER.  I think many sandals and wedges can translate easily into fall when you wear them with tights, but some are just too summery for me.  This frees up a TON of room in your closet, and gives you an idea of what shoes you might need for the season.  Like I’ve noticed that I have a TON of black shoes, but no real variety in the ways of booties or low boots.  I’ll definitely have to invest.

Just have to show you a close up of my absolute favorite shoes ever.  I will cry when these fall apart.  Gotta love me a little rhinestone skull

So now let's take a look at the before and after.  Here’s before (so you don’t have to scroll up..look…I’m all nice and stuff)

And the after!

Ok so I don’t have a great after…and I’m honestly too lazy to take another pic, but you can see the difference in the spacing of the hangers. I moved my blue bikini/bathing suit bin on the top right shelf and replaced in with my boots for prime location (obviously I need brown boots…too much black), and shelved my summer hats to also make a bit more room.  All in all, this switcheroo for seasons is such a great motivator to get a little more pulled together in the morning, and I basically feel like I have a whole new wardrobe.  I encourage you all to “winterize” your wardrobe, even if you live in California. Start looking at your clothes and the different ways you can wear them.  It saves money, saves time, and you always feel so much fresher in the morning!  Even after you son chucks a spoonful of oatmeal at you…