Things I've bought over the last couple of months

Hello lovelies,

So in my absence from this blog I've done some shopping.  Ok, some shopping is an understatement... I've done tons of shopping.  I'm pretty good at knowing when I've bought something but honestly this post would go on and on if I included everything I've bought in the last six months.  So to keep this post relatively short I'm including the stuff I've bought most recently.  I've been going crazy for shoes, I need shoes that are comfortable standing in for 8+ hours so I've been on the hunt for cute yet comfortable shoes!

So without further ado let's get on to the good stuff:

The Shoes:

 I've been obsessing over these J.Crew glitter loafers that go for over $250.  They are these gorgeous midnight blue color but I truthfully can't justify paying that much money for something I'm going to wear once in awhile.  After realizing that those shoes aren't in my immediate future, I began looking for a cheaper alternative.  While flipping through the Lands End catalogue I stumbled across these beauties.  They are the Vivian Venetian Flat in Slate Frost Sparkle.

 So I'll admit that I'm slightly obsessed with the smoking slipper/ loafer trend.  I may have bought a few styles and have loved all of them.  Next are these adorable cheetah Uggs that my mom scored at Marshalls.  Unfortunately for her they were too small and I quickly swooped in and stole them!  Her loss is my gain!!!! Now I've worn these shoes several times and I will say they were slightly uncomfortable to break in.  I have very sensitive skin on the heels of my feet and often get blisters when I break shoes in.  To hopefully clear up this problem I bought a little Dr. Scholl's foam tape dispenser to help pad the back of the shoes.

 My last pair of loafers is these adorable yet edgy Dolce Vita black suede smoking slippers.  What's amazing about these shoes is all the little details.  The leopard tassels and the little gold plated studs help make a classic male style shoes become a little more girlie! They look a little worse for wear because I've been wearing these with absolutely everything because they are just too cute for words!

Now, here in Jersey it's been unseasonably warm which makes it kind of difficult to wear boots.  But when the weather finally does decide to catch up with the season I can't wait to wear these little boots.  Both of these shoes as well as the Dolce Vita loafers were purchased at Nordstroms, my favorite place to buy shoes!  The boots below are the Steve Madden Tennassee Boot.  What I love about these shoes are they a like my other Steve Madden Troopa combat boot but they are slightly cropped.  Again, I'm a sucker for details so the gold hardware made these pretty hard to avoid.  I can't wait to wear these with a chunky sweater and some skinny jeans.

 These next shoes were a bit of a splurge.  These are the Sam Edelman Lucca boots.  I've worn these a few times and have received so many compliments on them.

 Accessories

 Now I'm sure I've mentioned previously that I am obsessed with owls.  While decorating my room I've struggled with the fact that not everything can be chevron or an owl (although truthfully that would make everything better!).  With Halloween right around the corner, I've found some great little accents for my room.  This adorable owl is on my nightstand and is currently resting on my next book (which is Love in the Time of Cholera).

 Another splurge item, the Rebecca Minkoff Mini M.A.C bag.  I was hesitant to purchase this bag at first but I've used this as an everyday bag when I was convinced that I could downsize from my normal suitcase of a purse and as a dressier night bag.  I love this bag and think this may be the first but not my last rebecca minkoff bag!

Clothes
I've bought a few pieces that I'm not sure if I'm keeping (which are the first two items here).  Just to clarify, I'm in the process of switching out my summer wardrobe with my fall/winter one, hence why the little bit you see of my closet looks like it exploded.  

 This first shirt was recently purchased at The Loft, and it's a burgundy blouse with little butterfly/birds. It photographed a little redder than it actually is.

 I've been obsessed with puffer vest for awhile but I've always been hesitant to purchase one for myself for awhile.  The reason for that is simple, I have a very large chest and I'm afraid a puffer vest will make my chest look bigger than it actually is.  I found this adorable wool puffer vest from Gap that is heather gray with little black polka dots all over.  I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to keep this vest because I really don't know if I can get past my hesitations about puffer vests.

 Moving on from one polka dot piece to another, I recently scored these adorable toothpick polka dot jeans from J.Crew.  I've been eyeing these pants for awhile but couldn't justify buying them at full price.  When I discovered that these were on clearance I happily picked these up and can't wait to wear them.

 I'm pretty certain in a previous post I wrote about my obsession with Gap's Broken-in khakis.  Well they recently launched the broken-in skinny mini which is a feminine version of the boyfriend chino.  These have a skinnier leg and look adorable with boots.  I've bought these in this adorable burgundy color and have them in a Forrest green that you can kinda see in the background of the picture.

Until the next shopping trip! I promise to keep you posted on what I've bought, because in some weird way this is kind of therapeutic for me because it shows me that sometimes my shopping is out of hand.

Until Next Time!!!

Black Friday Outfits and Cyber Monday

Hello Lovelies,

Sorry for not updating more frequently but I've been busy working non-stop this weekend.  I usually love working in retail but every year around Black Friday I start to dread this job.   This year many stores opened at 8pm on Thanksgiving night.  I think that is absolutely ridiculous that crazy people can't wait a few more hours to get a few dollars off something.  I think what many people forget is the fact that those workers who are working at 8pm actually have to come in at 6pm on Thanksgiving to prepare for the madness that will ensue.  I personally refuse to work Thursday night into Friday because I don't think it's fair to ruin people's time with their families.  I honestly think those people who have to be there at 8pm should be ashamed of themselves because of their selfish ways they took valuable time away from the workers families.  I will state this now, I have never and will never shop on Black Friday. Honestly, I love to shop but no deal is worth spending all night with crazy people trampling you.  I hate crowds and waiting on lines so Black Friday shopping is not for me.

Anyway, I digress.  Now onto the outfits I wore to work this week.

Friday my dress code consisted of a chambray shirt.  I paired that shirt with a black cardigan and one of my new favorite jewelry pieces, a white and gold bubble necklace from J.Crew.  I thought my outfit was a little dark so I added some chestnut boots to break up the darkness.

 Now Saturday my dress code consisted of plaid.  I wanted to take a girly take on the typical "flannel" look.  This lovely shirt dress is from the Gap and I love it.  It's a gorgeous green, navy, and red plaid flannel dress.  I paired this shirt dress with my same chestnut boots and J.Crew necklace.  Being that it's cold here in NJ I did wear navy tights under this dress.  I think the next time I wear this I'm going to forgo the matching belt and pair it with a fun belt that I already own.

 Now for Sunday.  After having have to be told what I could wear, I was lacking some creative ideas when it came to clothes.  I decided to pair a Gap Boyfriend fit ruffled dress shirt with a classic crewneck navy sweater.  I liked the contrast of the navy with the red shirt.  For a girly feel I decided to wear the bubble necklace again.

Here's the ruffle shirt available now at Gap

 Now, onto a good deal I got yesterday morning.  It seems many retailers are expanding Cyber Monday to start on Sunday.  I got a email from Kate Spade stating that their sale was 75% off.  I quickly jumped on the website and found this gorgeous bag.  It's the cobble hill small Kori and I look forward to opening it up on Christmas morning.  Thanks Kate Spade for this great deal on this bag!!!!

Outfit of the day- 10/26

Hello lovelies!!!

I'm writing this quick post to feature my outfit for work today.  I thought it was kinda cute.  I'm starting to dress more professionally so it's interesting to create and experiment with these different looks.

My top is a lovely black and white tunic from J.Crew factory store, the skirt is a turquoise wool Number 2 Pencil skirt from J.Crew factory, and my watch is from Fossil.  I have my little turquoise heart pendant necklace which I got from a local jewelry store.  Although you can't see it in this picture I completed my look with some black tights and black ballet flats.

I have no idea what I'm planing on wearing to work tomorrow but I have a feeling it maybe my go to navy polka dot pants from Gap (you'll have to stay tuned to see.)

Shopping like it's going out of style

Well, in my last post I mentioned that I was going to post what I've bought and here it is.  Keep in mind with a new job comes the need for a new wardrobe.  I love, love, love to shop so any excuse to shop is always welcomed, even if I don't actually need any new clothes.

This lovely navy stripped dress is from Gap (surprise!!!).  I originally had passed on this dress because I liked it but I didn't LOVE it, however I kept thinking about this dress.  I would find my self day dreaming about how I would style it, so I figured I had to go back and purchase it.

                        

This next dress looks terrible on the hanger but it looks super cute on (I'll be sure to take a picture the next time I wear this).  Below is a lovely chunky sweater from Gap which is a great way to transition the neon trend into the fall.  

 The next few things are what I bought to be compliant with my new dress code at my new job!  I bought a simple basic sequin tank that I plan on layering with a blazer or cardigan.

 A super cute long v-neck cardigan which I think will look cute with an oxford under neath it.

 Speaking of oxfords here are a few I picked up from Banana, Old Navy and J.Crew.

Banana Oxford

J. Crew Oxford

Old Navy

Banana

Love this beaded bib collared tank from The Loft.  I want to try and pair this with cable sweater or a simple crew neck sweater so that beaded bib can hang out. 

 My favorite purchase of the last week has been these gold Cece flats from J.Crew.  I've wanted these forever and when they went on sale I knew I had to go get them.  So far they've been super comfortable and I actually want to get a few more pairs of this shoe!

Cheetah pencil skirt that I plan to wear to work this Saturday. 

 In case you wondering, that is in fact a Derek Jeter cardboard cut out that I have rocking a tutu behind my closet door.   I love Derek Jeter and mean no disrespect to him but a scary life size cutout can frighten you in the middle of the night, so the tutu makes it a little less threatening.

On another note, I decided to reorganize my closet by switching the placement of my pants and my shirts.  Not sure if I like this better then how I had to originally but we'll try it out for a little.

How I originally had it

New way

I'm leaning towards changing it back to the original way but in my defense I did buy a lot more clothes so that's why it looks a little messy the new way! Oh well... more time to reorganize my life and closet!

Shopping like my life depends on it...

Ok, well maybe my life doesn't depend on it but I need to shop till I drop at the Gap, because yesterday I gave my 2 weeks notice.  I wish I could say I gave my 2 weeks because I got this amazing big girl full-time position, but sadly that is not the case.  However, I finally decided that I needed a major change in my life.  I needed this because I needed to make a change that would improve my attitude and outlook on life.  Lately, I have been miserable at my job.  I thought it as only because I've been closing a lot but that wasn't it.  I was miserable there all day, everyday.

I sat down with a few of managers and discussed my options with advancing within the company.  My main manager was not as supportive of my decision as I originally expected, which was upsetting.  However, I finally made the decision to go to another store where my friend is one of the managers.  When I went to talk to her I was shocked that even the other managers, who I've never met before, wanted me to work there. With that being said, all good things must come to an end!  I enjoyed my time at the Gap over the last 4 years.  I've had some good and even some bad times (more then I would have cared to have).  I'll miss some of the people I've worked with and I'll definitely miss my employee discount.  However, I know it's my time to leave.

With that being said, here's the mini shopping spree I went on today!!!!

 Since my photos didn't turn out to good I decided to include the pictures from the Gap's website for some of the items.

Polka Dot Seam

LS Camo Epaule

A super soft off the shoulder sweater... it's called the Drop Shoulder sweater

FT Slim Crop Pant

Slim Crop Cash

Blouse from Old Navy

Ok this isn't from the gap but I found this bag at Marshalls the other day and I absolutely love it.  I was going to splurge on a Rebecca Minkoff or a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag but I'm actually really happy with this no name bag.   I paid $40 for this genuine leather bag.  It's bigger then the typical cross body and is dual toned, which I love about it.  It has tons of compartments to store the countless crap I put in my bag.

 Closer look at the lovely color of the bag

Love the inside detail of the bag... is this not absolutely perfect for fall!!!!!


Well I'm sure I'll be back in a few day with more stuff that I bought with my discount.

Until next time!!!!!!!!

I Came, I Saw, I Shopped....

Well another week has come and gone and my shopping addiction lives on.  I figured maybe if I blog about how much I shop and posting what I bought these posts will some how curve my shopping addiction.  To my credit, I did go through my closet the other day and decided to get rid of all the pants I don't wear and decided to donate them to someone who could get more use out of them.  I'm also starting to transition my closet from summer clothing to fall clothing, which is depressing.  I'm not quite ready to take all of my neon items out of my closet at this time so you may catch me wearing my neon hot pink pants sometime soon.  I'm thinking come October, I might need to put the neon pink broken in khakis away until spring...

Ok so on to the good stuff, the things I bought in the past couple of weeks:

Infinity scarves are my favorite fall/winter accessory.  I don't normally wear them casually but I'm hoping to use these two to help dress up a plain outfit.

Silver scarf from Express (Left) and sea foam green one from Nordstrom BP

 Chevron, Chevron, and more chevron.  I have a slight obsession where I buy everything that has a chevron print on it.  As you can kind of see I bought 3 chevron pieces all in the black/grey family.  The first dress is a Nine West dress that I got from Marshalls for $29.   It has 3/4 sleeves and is so cute on.  The next dress is a black sleeveless dress with a chevron print going down the middle of the front of the dress.  My favorite piece is the chevron shirt I got from Nordstrom (not entirely sure of the brand but it was included in the Anniversary sale!)

 Polka dots.... not just for little children and Dalmatians.  The polka dot shirt on the left is from the same designer as the chevron shirt from Nordstrom.  It has little white and sea foam green polka dots all over it.  The next sweater is from Old Navy and I can't wait to pair it with some colorful jeans.  It'a an off white color with black polka dots all over.  I love it because it's 3/4 sleeves which is my personal favorite because I have a weird phobia of long sleeves.

Polka dot shirt from Nordstom (left) polka dot sweater from Old Navy.

 As I mentioned before I can't wait to wear some fun colored jeans.  I have a slight obsession with neons so I can't wait to carry over some of the fun colors into the Fall.  The turquoise pair is a jean material but the other two are corduroy chords wich are not my normal style but these fun colors make them a little more me!

Indigo and Magenta chords from the Gap Outlet and Turquoise jeans from Old Navy

 Sweaters, my fall staple.  I love really comfy sweaters for the fall.  The one on the right is an oatmeal and navy stripped wrap sweater which I picked up from Marshalls for a great price.  It has a super cute hood which I can't wait to rock once it gets a little cooler here.  I'm thinking of pairing it with some dark denim and a pair of chestnut riding boots!  The sweater on the right is from the Gap and I think I got it for like $6 (it was more expensive but there sale was an additional 50% off.)  I love the color blocking of this sweater so I can't wait to wear this too with some chestnut boots!

 I'm a firm believer that if something looks nice on, buy it in every color.  Case in point the next two photos.  The first shirt is a cute oxford type shirt from Old Navy.  I originally got it in the pink and navy combo but I loved how it looked so I decided to get it in the rusty yellow color.  These shirts are very versatile because you can dress it up or dress it down.

These shirts are from Marshalls and I bought the blue one first because I don't really have any blue in my wardrobe but when my mom saw this shirt she was generous enough to buy me the grey version too.  These are a cute animal print style shirt with a neck tie bow thing  They are from Michael Kors and I think were $39 but they are made beautifully and I know I will get a lot of use out of these shirts.

Shirts from The Loft, guilted into buying because it was 40% off

My two purchases from today.  I originally saw these magenta broken in khakis from the Gap a few weeks ago but they were full price.  Today, I stopped by the Gap and they were on sale for $25 and an additional 30% off.  I have about 4 other pairs of these broken in khakis and I love the fit of them.  I seriously have to hold back from buying them in every single color but these are nice because they are a little less neon and perfectly acceptable to be worn in the fall.  The next shirt is a white and blue polka dot oxford shirt from the Gap.  I've been looking for things to pair with my new navy pencil skirt and this shirt is perfect.  I don't like dress shirts because I have a hard time finding ones that fit my chest but this one was a perfect fit and I'm considering buying it in every color, which is probably overkill.


Ok, after seeing all of these items I realize I do have a shopping problem however these were what I purchased over the last couple of weeks.  I'm trying to buy things that I can help build a professional wardrobe while still having fun clothing that I can wear for fun.  To my credit I did get rid of a lot of things and donated them and I'm in the process of losing weight so I can justify buying new clothing!

Until my next shopping spree.....