Chelsea and Ginny Take On: Casual Friday

This week Chelsea and I are taking on Casual Friday. We get to wear jeans on Fridays, as well as school pride tee shirts, but that's just not my style. I like to wear dressier jeans or boyfriend jeans, but stay more professional on top. I love this blazer and would love to get this option too. This look would also be great with cute ankle pants or a pencil skirt, and I like that versatility. I added my leopard heels to keep it fun and I'm super happy with the result. What's your casual Friday go to look?

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What Shopping Has Taught Me: It always goes on sale.

Wednesday I share with you that size doesn't matter, fit does.  Then, on Thursday I shared that you shouldn't trust hanger appeal.  Today for my final day of this mini-series I'm sharing what I think is the most important tip of all: it will always go on sale! Back in my less frugal days I'd go shopping on Friday at 7:00 for an outfit for that night.  We did this a lot and I specifically remember spending $80 on a bedazzled belt at Express.  That is insane, people. Luckily, I've gotten wiser as I've gotten older.  

Although I'm declaring Express' Portfolio Shirt the perfect blouse, it's $50. Boo. Enter the "Flash Sale." Everything in Express was 40% off. That, my friend, is always when you buy.  As much as I love this shirt, I love it more for $30. Now there's bird print and a polka dot dress option.  I die.

*i just checked this morning and the Portfolio Shirt is on sale for buy one get one half off.

I know it can be annoying to have your inbox filled with promotions from different stores, but I use those emails to know when to shop.  I delete frequently, but when the deal is sweet enough I am sure to take advantage.

What Shopping Has Taught Me: Don't trust hanger appeal.

Yesterday I told you that you size doesn't matter, fit does, and today I'm going to be talking about hanger appeal.  I think I'm very guilty of making quick cruises through stores and missing potentially cute things because they just don't hang well.  Case in point:

This. Dress. Sigh.... I had walked past it, completely unimpressed at Target. I'd originally had my eye on this cute option, until I saw the Target dress on my blogging friend Kim and I knew immediately it was a great dress, it just looked awful on the hanger. I literally went and tried it on and bought it about two hours after seeing it on Kim. I mean Target is "on the way home..." I also got really excited because I've been wanting to recreate this pin (along with the about twenty other striped dress looks), and now I can! I also already have a second look planned for next week by pairing the dress with this. So excited. Morale of the story:  seriously, don't trust the hanger, if it looks like it has potential, try it on. You might be pleasantly surprised.

What Shopping Has Taught Me: Size Doesn't Matter, fit does.

I thought it would be fun to do a little mini-series this week about tips I've learned shopping.  Today's tip is size doesn't matter, fit does. What you are looking at today my first maxi dress.  That's right, folk, my first one.  I don't know if it's the fact that I'm short or what, but I think I've always had in my head that I just won't find one that is the right length.  Also, I am way to clumsy to hold a dress all day that is too long when I walk.  I actually tried this dress on this summer at Loft in a medium and hated it, it was too big, too long, and it just looked awful.  Do you think it occurred to me to try another size?  Nope, I just thought it was me.  About a week later one of my most stylish friends was sporting this dress at a BBQ and she look amazing.  Sigh.

Anyway, I was in Loft recently and this dress was now on sale, I decided to try a small on and what do you know? Perfection.  Perfect length, fit, etc. Now I also want this one and this skirt too. So cute.  Moral of the story,  try two sizes before deciding the item is a yes or no.  I tend to do that with tops, but now I'm realizing I need do do that with everything. My tip is to hold the top, dress, or pants up in the size you think will fit.  If it looks fuller, try a smaller size too.  If it looks narrow, try a size up too. Everything is cut differently and stores vary in size.  Although I have a lot of size small tops from Loft, if I tried a small at Old Navy, it would probably be way to small.  No one sees the size but you, what others do see is the way your clothing fits, and that's definitely what counts.

How to Pattern Mix

Recently I had a friend ask me about pattern mixing and how to do it.  I thought it would be fun to plan a post around that topic. I think a lot of it can be trial and error, but here are some examples of how I think pattern mixing works well:

First up is pattern mixing with plaids.  Below are two great examples. One is with polka dots, I did a similar combo here and can't wait for it to cool down so I can wear this combo again! I think the key to pattern mixing with plaid is to coordinate colors.  On the left the black and white polka dot coordinated with the subtle black and white in the plaid underneath.  The same thing applies to the second picture the blue plaid underneath coordinates with the blue and red striped sweater on top.  

Source 1 / Source 2

Chelsea and Ginny Take On: Movie Night

This week Chelsea and I are taking on Movie Night.  I love movies, as does the Grantster.  My husband's taste in movies is tricky, though.  After renting like four ridiculously awful movies from Red Box I swore he love, she cut me off from movie picking.  Urg.  Each week Grant and I go to the library and get new books and they also have a pretty sweet collection of kids' movies; we pick out a few each week.  Most recently we borrowed The Neverending Story.  It was definitely one of my favorites as a kid and I think Grant and I have watched it four times this week. Love.

Now for what to wear,  I could have put together a cute little outfit for you, but reality is, when it's movie night at my house, I'm wearing lounge wear or pajamas.  I thought I'd spare you those pictures though, and share a Polyvore set with you instead.  Recently I discovered Gillian O'Malley's line at Target, and I totally love it.  The material is super soft and the tees below are actually on major sale ($3.88) in stores right now.  I might have bought five..... They also have awesome lounge pants and shorts too. I also like to wear slippers and cozy up underneath a blanket, and I love the Chenille options below.

           

lounge pants /  shirts / shorts / slippers / Chenille throw

Here are some current Target coupons too.

Now to Chelsea at Whatcha Makin' Now, she has made some caramel popcorn, yum!  Stop by Whatcha Makin' Now to see the final product. : )

           

Better Late Than Never

Ever have those pieces you want in your closet but you just don't buy? Well for me it's this pink skirt. This summer Jessica of Bows and Sequins wore this pink skirt multiple times. Each time I saw it I loved it, but hadn't seen the perfect one to buy myself. Enter Target. I saw this skirt and waited and waited for it to reach the perfect sale price before buying, finally at $6.88, I made this skirt mine. It's really a summer skirt, so I probably should have just bought it at $20, because I will probably only get to wear it once before it's too cold, but better late then never. :) 

Have you entered my sponsor's giveaway for a JCrew inspired necklace yet here?

Double Floral

I've been back to school for five weeks, wow that flew by! I really like my kids, which is great, but I am buuusssyyyy. I'm not sure what is different,  but every single moment at school is quickly filled with some task, student, or assignment to grade. FYI: I do t think I've been caught up on grading once since school started.. I just can figure out why I'm busier now??? I'll adjust, it's about working smarter, not harder, right?

Now to my outfit: Last spring I saw this pin and was in love. I had just gotten this dress from a clothing swap at church but didn't have a floral scarf or booties, since I just recently got both I was ready to give this pin a try. I think this will be a fun fall transition look for sure.

*I ended up wearing a black belt instead of this taupe one. The taupe is ok, but I think the black ended up being better.

Have you entered my sponsor's giveaway for a JCrew inspired necklace yet here?

Leopard Two Ways

Today I'm excited to be collaborating with the sweet Lauren of Modern Modesty.  Lauren has fab style and although she's new to blogging, she's definitely finding her groove.  We decided to show you two ways to wear leopard today.  I love how Lauren used accessories like a belt and shoes to show off this trend; for those who aren't ready for a leopard dress like I am, this is a great way to try out a trend.  Make sure to stop by Modern Modesty to check out the details to Lauren's look and to say hi to her.  It'll definitely be worth your time.  

Sponsor Spotlight: Charming Lucy

I'm excited to have Susan from Charming Lucy guest posting here today.  Susan is an amazing Mom to her beautiful daughter Lucy, Christian, has great style,  and is also working on sewing some really great things. Yesterday I shared with you what I wore to a Huskers game, and today Susan is going to give some great tips on he to dress for Game Day too. So without further ado, here's Susan!

I am both honored and blessed to be guest posting for my friend Ginny today! Ginny is the super thrifty, always fabulous, beautiful friend who blogs at My New Favorite Outfit. When she asked me to guest post on her amazing blog, I jumped at the opportunity! The first thing that popped into my mind was a post which would offer you a few ideas for fall football outfits. I live in Ohio - the land of the Ohio State Buckeyes. If you are born in my state, you have scarlet and gray blood running through your veins. We live for football season here!

 Before I get into the meat of my post, I would like to share a bit of information about myself, so you can get to know me a bit better. I am a new blogger. I started blogging in May as a way to encourage myself to dress in something other than running pants. I have a daughter, whom I adore. If you read my blog, you will quickly figure that out. She is my life. I try not to be the mom dressed in pajamas at drop-off (although I have been before). I am super outgoing, and because I work at home, I really wanted to make some connections with other women who share similar interests.

 I read so many blogs that I am embarrassed to share them all with you. I can't choose favorites(: Lately I am loving the fall trends of leather, peplum, and graphic sweaters. I am also a scarf addict. I try to stay clear of any trend that will make it appear that I am trying to act my daughter's age - totally humiliating for a middle school girl (not to mention her mom!).

 The best thing about blogging is all of the fabulous friends I have made. I have friends who text me when they are shopping and see something that they think I will love. Then they buy it and mail it to me! I do the same for my blog buddies. Crazy, but true. Be yourself, and you will meet others who love you for who you are. The blog world is a wonderful place to hang out.

 Now, on to the meat of this post! It tends to be hot for the first game or two of the season, and then we quickly transition into fall here in the Buckeye state. These outfits will work for the games during which the field is not covered in a blanket of snow. It tends to be pretty frigid here during the latter part of football season, so you may need to add gloves and a hat, and substitute a puffy jacket for the vest. I love a statement necklace for game day! I tend to wear my Buckeye necklace on game days, but any statement necklace adds flavor to a football outfit! Although I am a football fan, I am still a girl, and I like to dress like one(: I love this style for game day! You can switch up the plaid blouse so the colors match your favorite team!

Ohio State Game Day Attire by jeffriestyke featuring rain boots

Chelsea and Ginny Take On: Game Day!

This week Chelsea and I are taking on Game Day! Now, I'm from Nebraska, and if you know anything about Nebraska you know we only have one team: The Huskers. Win, lose, whatever, Huskers fans are relentless in their devotion their team.  Today I'm going to show you how to dress for a day game and how to dress for a night game, and Chelsea is going to share an amazing appetizer with you.

Blogger Love: Rachel's Lookbook

For the final day of my "Blogger Love Series" I'm going to introduce you all to Rachel of  Rachel's Lookbook. Rachel always look chic and put together and recently won a contest where she was able to travel to New York for a photo shoot, how cool is that! Just like me Rachel loves a deal and creates some great Splurge or Save posts and shows a lot of affordable pieces in her daily posts.

I thought Rachel's look below was so fun. I love the idea of a more graphic shirt with a blazer and skirt and decided to try it for myself. I added a similar necklace and pair of shoes too. Her look is definitely fresh and fun and great inspiration for me today.

Be sure to stop by Rachel's Lookbook to say "hi" to her and check out more of her fun style! 

Blogger Love: ...for Lauren and Lauren

Next up in my Blogger Love mini series is Katie from ...for Lauren and Lauren. Not only is Katie super sweet, she's a teacher, a Christian, and a new Mom. Katie shows off her daily styling along with engaging her readers with posts about her life and faith. I sometimes feel stuck about what to write about, but Katie's always seems to have the right words. It could be a beautifully written letter to her daughter Addilyn or a Summer Steal, Katie's writing always feels authentic. 

When I came across this look of Katie's I loved it immediately, the leopard and stripes combo is perfection, and I never would have thought about pairing them with charcoal, like this skirt, but I loved it.  I got my charcoal skirt last winter as the weather was warming up, so it only got worn once. I was excited to try it out and create my spin on this look. I added the cardigan and booties and am pretty excited about the final look!

Make sure to stop by ...for Lauren and Lauren to say "hi" to Katie!

Blogger Love: Respect the Shoes

Today I'm going to share with you Lisa from Respect the Shoes. Quite a while back Lisa commented on my blog and when I went by her blog to return the favor I was immediately smitten. This woman has style. Not only is she probably the best pattern mixer I've seen, but she engages her readers with interesting post topics. She's genuinely interested in her readers thoughts and they share them with some of the longest comments from readers I've seen.

Picking an outfit of Lisa's to make my own was pretty difficult, because honestly, I kind of wish I could recreate them all.  I chose this casual look because it has two of my favorite things: pattern mixing and boyfriend jeans.  I also love the nude heels, I never who have thought about that detail on my own. I added a blazer to make the look perfect for casual Friday and love the final look.

Be sure to stop by Respect the Shoes and say "hi" to Lisa and check out her great style for yourself.

Blogger Love: Glossy Blonde

This summer I had such fun sharing my blog with some of my favorite bloggers with my "Style Spotlight Series." I'm taking a break from that for the time being, but wanted to share with you a new mini-series I have planned for the week. I'll be sharing with you a few more blogs and bloggers I love, then share my take on one of their looks. 

First up is the beautiful Niki from Glossy Blonde. Niki has the scoop on all things beauty and is always introducing her readers to great beauty products with excellent reviews. She also has a YouTube channel where she reviews products and does fun Birthbox and Glossybox un-boxings.

I also love Niki's Friday Link Love Posts. they are a great collection of quality reads from the week collected from all over Blogland.  She recently did a post on Fun Facts about herself and always keeps her content fresh and new. Niki also mixes in some fun outfits too, like the one I'm styling today.  Jean jackets are one of my favorite things and when Niki wore this fun combo I knew I'd want to try something similar.  The pop of color with the pink belt is perfection, and although I don't have a hi-lo maxi like this, my black jersey dress from Express was a great alternative. I added a pop of color with my favorite yellow belt, and  Since the season is beginning to change I added my new favorite booties as well.

Make sure to stop by Glossy Blonde and say "hi" to Niki, it'll definitely be worth your time :) 

Chelsea and Ginny Take On: Cocktail Hour

This week  Chelsea and I are taking on "Cocktail Hour." Gone are the days of weekends at the bar, but getting invited to a cocktail hour or Girls' Night and home can be great.  I'm going to cover how to dress and Chelsea has the best idea for a "Mix Your Own Beer" Bar.  Say what?  Look for the link down below to go check Chelsea's post out!

As I've gotten older I feel like I've done a pretty good job of perfecting work wear, weekend wear, my casual style, and church clothes. However, I feel getting dressed for a girls' night or cocktail hour is tricky.  My 20-something's self was a pro at this...my 30-something self is not.  Today's look is one that I think is perfect for a cocktail hour after work or night with the girls.  I really like the polished look a blazer gives, but the sequined top takes this out of the normal realm of work wear. I also love the contrast of the black top with the fitted white jeans. Add a heel and some jewelry with bling and you've got a great cocktail hour look.

Operation Smile

One of the things I'm most commonly complimented on is my smile. It's great to hear, but also something I've taken for granted.  Smiling is something that comes easily for me and I was born with the ability to smile effortlessly.  This isn't true for everyone: that's where Operation Smile comes in.  Operation Smile is an organization who's medical mission is to deliver safe surgeries to those with cleft palates in places where access to surgery may not be available, frequently in the developing world. They combine the talent of medical volunteers from different countries with the best practices in surgical care to meet two goals: immediately transform the children they treat while creating self-sufficient, long-term solutions. 

 Operation Smile transforms the smiles, and not to mention the lives, of children with cleft palates in as little as 45 minutes with the cost of $240.  Wow.  Their website states: "Our international medical missions consist of a team of credentialed medical professionals from around the world who travel to an Operation Smile partner country to treat children throughout a two-week period."

"On a typical international medical mission, 300-500 children receive full medical evaluations and 100-150 children are surgically treated. We also use the opportunity to train in-country medical professionals, based on the needs of their health care workers or the facility where the mission takes place.

Thanks to the generous support of our donors, we are able to conduct international medical missions each year in resource-poor countries that lack local specialized medical professionals. View our medical mission schedule."

In the midst of budgeting for the hottest new fall trends, think about donating to Operation Smile, your donation, big or small, could change one child's life forever.

* I was asked to share Operation Smile with you by Campus Book Rentals who has partnered with Operation Smile to donate over 1,000 life saving cleft palate surgeries this year to children in need.  So cool right?  Next time you need a text book for your undergrad or graduate level class, consider using  Campus Book Rentals and rent your books instead of shelling out the big bucks to buy them.

Outfit Perfection

You are looking at two of the best purchases I've made lately. One, this dress and two, this blazer.  If you read my post Wednesday you know I felt like I was playing dress-up with my clothes while trying to prepare some posts lately. I wasn't feeling like "me." This outfit today is me. I wore this to church recently and felt like a million bucks. I feel like I've been working to create a polished look and a cohesive closet. Over the last few months I've stepped away from thrifting and shifted towards more purposeful shopping; this blazer and dress have come from that. I still pay attention to the price tag, but that's no longer the biggest contributor into me deciding to make a purchase. I'm thinking tats a good thing.

Dress: Loft $35 same (with giftcard from Chippmunk giveaway I won)

Blazer: H&M $25 similar

Necklace: Stella and Dot just bling from Sutton

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Urbane

Shoes: Bandalino $30 similar

Structured Chic

First off, thanks to everyone who left such sweet comments yesterday. It's so encouraging to hear you  guys are here for MY style, and it pushes me to make sure I'm staying true to myself each day. :)

I'm not sure what has caused the changed, but I'm so preferring more structured looks to more casual ones. Last year I loved a-line skirts and cardigans and this year I'm completely drawn to blazers and pencil skirts. Don't get me wrong, I still love a good cardigan, but I feel so much more put together in an outfit like this.  I also feel like I know my body better and what looks good on me; I guess that's a good thing.  I wore this outfit to church recently and felt like a million bucks, and that's always a good feeling. 

Blazer: Loft $30 (gift card from Chippmuck.com) same

Top: Forever 21 $16 similar

Skirt: Rebecca Minkoff $5 (thrifted) cute sale option, three colors

Necklace: Stella and Dot Sutton

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Peacock, Urbane

Heels: Bandalino $30 similar

Linking up with:

Tre-Chic Fashion Thursdays

Summer Style Link-up

On Being Yourself

About a week ago my husband was out of town for work, so Grant and I had more weekend time than normal. I decided to try to get a bunch of outfit pictures taken, and Grant pretty happily obliged. I was gearing up for an exciting mini-series set for next week, and other than this outfit, none of the other looks were working out.  It was windy, too sunny, and I didn't feel great in the clothes. I was frustrated. What I should have done was just call it a day and try again later, but darn-it, I had a plan.  

What I realized as I was looking at the pictures I'd attempted to take was I looked like I was playing dress up; I didn't look like myself. Boo. Bad blogger.  I took a step back and had some fun with the Grantster at the splash park, had a movie night, went to church the next day, then came home and scrapped a few outfits and tweaked a few more. I made the outfits me. Surprise, surprise, pictures were suddenly a breeze. When I started this blog almost a year ago it was because I was getting excited about my clothes and style again. Each look was "my new favorite outfit" I need to keep that in mind as I get dressed each day; I shouldn't be dressing for my blog, my friends, of even you (sorry) I should be dressing for myself. 

Dress: Loft $5 (thrifted) similar

Cardigan: Jones Wear $5 (thrifted) similar

Necklace: Charming Charlie similar

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Moxie, Triple Wrap

Shoes: Coach (circa 2002ish) cute option on sale

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

One Piece: Twelve Ways

I'm Excited to take part in Audrey's "One Piece Many Ways" challenge today.  It was easy for me to decide to focus on my denim jacket.  I love them and found 12 ways to share with you today, with three for each season.  I love how they can be the perfect addition to so many outfits and can be worn all year round.  My new look for today includes me wearing the jacket with my favorite floral skirt and a polka dot top.  I love pattern mixing, but breaking up the look with a denim jacket made the outfit perfect for me.  Check out my ginormous college below with 12 other ways to wear this piece.

Jacket: The Limited similar

Top: Old Navy $4 

Skirt: Target $12 same

Necklace: Stella and Dot Rebel Pendant same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Triple Wrap and Chimera 

Shoes: Target $30 same

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