What Would Megan Wear

Here Comes Fall!!

2016-09-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

I am definitely a summer person. Summer weather is good weather. I like the warmth. I'll take being too hot over being too cold any day!! That being said, as much as I love wearing my summer clothing and as much as I don't like it getting cold outside, I do like fall/winter clothing (for like a week, maybe two). The big, bulky sweaters, the riding boots, blanket scarves, hats, etc. They're all wonderful!! But once again, just for a week or two! I love my summer weather!!

Last weekend I went to visit some of my bestest friends! We went shopping and I got a super cute dress. I had to wear it right away, because that's what I like to do when I buy new clothes! So, in addition to the fact I bought a new dress and I was cold when I was getting ready for work (and frequently cold at work) I enjoyed a preview of fall clothing on Monday.

Old Navy was one of our stops for the day. There was a really cute pair of pants that drew me into the store. Unfortunately, they didn't look cute enough to buy when I tried them on.

I did find a pretty cute dress though. Thao asked me if it was on sale. I told her it wasn't and then realized I should probably check the price before I tried it on. That's where I found this nice surprise. Half off because it's an "online size?" I'll take it!! It's a cute dress that is easy to wear, easy to pack, good colors for year round (I'm cold year round so I can wear long sleeves year round!), and did I mention it was half off?!

I probably could have worn it with some capri length leggings and ballet flats or sandals, because lets face it, it wasn't that cold on Monday. However, I was cold while I was getting ready so on went leggings, riding boots, and my favorite chunky sweater. (Favorite as in, I wore mine out and then took my mom's :))

To accessorize I went with a mother of pearl (I think) statement necklace and my gold watch. I love statement necklaces because it makes it look like I put effort into an outfit.

And now that I've enjoyed my preview of fall clothing, I think I've had enough. Can we go back to summer now? Please and thank you! :)

But I guess since we can't do that I'll keep pulling out more fall/winter clothing! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog! Feel free to share! :)

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2016-09-09T20:35:00.000-05:00

I would say this post is a little late; however, seeing as how my last post was just over a year and a half ago I don’t think a few days is too bad!

Adam and I had a good Labor Day weekend this past weekend! On Friday Adam picked me up from work and we drove down to Grafton, IL. We ate dinner at Aeries Winery because there were certain menu items we’ve been craving for over a year. Plus, wine… :) We stayed at a cute place called the Grafton Inn, which was nicely located in the middle of the main street of Grafton. It also happened to be just a few steps away from one of our favorite restaurants down there, A Peace of Quiche. Wonderful food but be prepared to eat way too much!!

On Saturday we started the day off by going for a run. After the run we went and ate brunch at A Peace of Quiche. We each got a piece of quiche, served with fruit salad, hash brown casserole, and a sweet potato biscuit (despite the fact that sweet potatoes are not my favorite I could have kept eating those biscuits all day long!!). Then since we had already eaten all that we figured we might as well split some coffee cake. They have really good coffee cake!! …and really good coffee!!

After brunch we decided to go hike through Pere Marquette State Park. After all the times I rejected my Dad’s offers to go hiking, it turns out I actually really do like hiking and being outdoors!

On our hike Adam found a rock formation he needed to climb. Plus, we found some great views of the Mississippi. It was a very nice hike! And despite some people’s opinions, it was not difficult terrain…but that's just me being catty, so moving on...

After the hike we changed into cute clothes and went and looked around the shops. …and to drink some wine. We can’t forget the wine when we’re in Grafton! ;)

Saturday’s outfit was brought to you by one of my favorite stores…Sam’s Club! …well at least the main components…

I forget what brand the shirt was or how much it cost…but it couldn’t have been that much or I wouldn’t have bought it! The last few years I have loved my plaid shirts! This one was nice too because it’s more lightweight. Seeing as how I’m always cold I could pretty much wear this shirt year-round. I also love the high-low hem on this shirt. Hence, I made Adam take a second picture of me to show off the high-low hem! :)

The jeans are Nine West (still from Sam’s Club). I know they cost less than $20 because I bought them in white and mint and I would not have bought two pairs if they were more than $20. They are super comfortable skinny jeans and I love the way they fit. I bought them without trying them on (since they are from Sam’s Club) and I ended up being super pleased with how they fit. In terms of fit they’re some of my favorite skinny jeans I own. I probably own too many pairs of skinny jeans for one person… The cami is the Sonoma brand from Kohl’s and when they’re on sale you can get them for $7 or $8! Camis are pretty much a daily part of my wardrobe and these ones fit really well.

The accessories came from a variety of places. Adam got the Toms for me for my birthday. I love Toms! (I miss my black sparkly ones L) The purse was from a wholesale store when mom and I went to the Atlanta merchandise mart last year. I think the necklace was from Haute Look. Mom got it for me for my birthday or Christmas one year. I like to add sparkle to my daily life; therefore, the blingy necklace with the plaid shirt! I frequently wear pearls or blingy necklaces/jewelry with my plaid shirts because, well, why not?! One of the storeowners commented on it and thought it was really cool that I was mixing the two styles. I told her I think it’s fun to dress up the more casual pieces. I didn’t really think too much about it the first time I did it and then I just kept doing it! …Darrin, is this when you think I’m being tacky??

That night Adam and I went to Dave & Buster’s in St. Louis. Which besides the fact that we always have fun there, is totally worth mentioning because we FINALLY got the jackpot on one of our favorite games!! …twice!! :) The occasion was obviously worth a selfie!

Sunday, we went to Raging Rivers waterpark in Grafton. Then we went home and pigged out on Qdoba and life was good! (Life was good all weekend!)

Poe was happy on Monday. His people were home and he got his first puppuccino! Poe’s just as hooked on Starbucks as I am now! ;)

And now that it’s once again the weekend, happy weekend everyone!!

I've been slacking but I'm back!

2015-03-03T17:47:00.003-06:00

Boy have I been slacking lately! Where did February go?! There were plenty of times I intended to write a new blog post...like the one about my new Stella and Dot necklace that I love but so far I've failed at sitting down and writing that one!

February was a good month for me. Busy, but good! I started the month off with a trip to New York City with my Mom. It was so much fun and I was able to check some items off of my bucket list! Some of the awesome things we did included seeing a live performance of Phantom of the Opera, going to the Today show and meeting some of the anchors, going to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and going on a run through Central Park.

Other than that February was filled with adjusting to my new job at Scheels and rehearsing for the upcoming production of The Fiddler on the Roof at the Hoogland! (The show is March 20-22 and March 27-29...you should probably come see it! ;)) And of course I snuck some time in to go running and to hang out with my wonderful friends!

At work we have a uniform. I like it because I no longer have to think about what I want to wear. I dislike it because I love all of my other clothes so much! This will probably save me money in the long run...

This is my uniform polo. Then I wear "nice" pants (no pants with rivets!), my black Columbia fleece, and usually tennis shoes because they're the most comfortable shoes I have and I tend to get quite a few steps in at work!

I have yet to wear my uniform to rehearsals (or wherever I go after work) because a.) I usually run in between and therefore have to change anyway and b.) I love my other clothes and I need to wear them!

Ignore the really messy hair! ;)

I was in the mood for comfy yesterday. The grey sweater I wore is from Gap. I don't remember how long ago...probably my Freshman or Sophomore year at Iowa State? So, five or six years ago. And in reality this one is my mom's. I wore mine too much and it started looking really shabby (I'm talking holes in it). So my mom gave me hers because she didn't wear it as much as I did. It's a wonderful sweater, I still have some wear left in this one but I'll have to keep my eye out for replacement options. I'm pretty sure this was basically a buy one get one free deal so it would be great if I could find another option like that!

Then I also wore a black and white striped shirt from Target. It was part of the Merona collection. It has a loose fit with a v-neck and a shirt-tail hem. On bottom I wore my favorite type of jeggings from Sam's Club. They're so comfortable and they're a pretty good price so it's a good situation all around. Since I was really going for comfy I choose my Bailey Button Uggs over my riding boots. It was a comfy outfit and it was wonderful! ...to add to the level of comfort I also had my pink Cinderella fleece blanket wrapped around me for most of the rehearsal! ;)

Thanks for reading! I'll try not to slack so much in the future! But I'm not promising anything!

New Year, New Job, New Show! :)

2015-02-01T12:19:00.001-06:00

So far it's been a very good start to the year! About a week and a half ago I started my new job. I'm part of the Visual Sales and Display team at Scheels in Springfield. I'm really enjoying the job. I get to be creative and work with merchandise and it's basically everything I've wanted to do since I first learned about Visual Merchandising as a career when I was at Iowa State! However, I do feel really out of shape trying to lift the mannequins so I need to work on that!

In addition to starting a new job the full cast rehearsals for Fiddler on the Roof started last week. I love doing shows and I'm so glad to be a part of this show. Rehearsals have been a lot of fun and hanging out after rehearsals with friends has been good too! So even though I've been super tired with working and doing the show they both make me a very happy girl!!

Friday night I had rehearsal so after work I went home and changed before heading to rehearsal. I chose a Sams Club top, a tank, my White House Black Market leggings, and some cute accessories.

I like this top because A.) it came from Sam's Club and was therefore affordable and B.) it was nice and blousy (but not totally shapeless) and C.) I like the colors and the chevron print (because who doesn't like chevron?).

These are my favorite leggings. They're definitely more pricey than a pair from Sam's Club but for the amount I wear them they are worth the money. They stay nice, they are thick enough that they're not see through, and I don't really have any unsightly camel toe with them (that's reason enough all on its own!).

For the accessories I chose another necklace from my trip to Atlanta, a bracelet from my trip to China, and pearl earrings (because pearls go with everything!). Oh, and cowboy boots! I haven't worn them in awhile and decided with the lace look on the necklace the cowboy boots were a good choice!

Despite the snow I hope you all enjoy your day today! (I'm ready for summer!!) I hope you have fun watching the Toddler Bowl, Puppy Bowl, and Super Bowl or whatever it is you end up doing today!!

Flower Power

2015-01-18T13:49:00.001-06:00

I've been meaning to write this post most of the week. But the week just kind of flew by! Last weekend I went to Atlanta with my Mom and a group of people working on Memorial's Festival of Trees. We went to Atlanta so we could go to America's Mart to buy decorations for the event. I know it hasn't even been a month since Christmas but seeing all of the decorations made me so excited and gave me a lot of ideas for next year! :)

On Friday and Saturday we focused on the Festival of Trees. But on Sunday we had some time to kill before our plane ride home so Mom and I walked through some of the temporary vendors and also found some wholesale jewelry stores at the Mart. I love wholesale jewelry stores! There are a couple in St. Louis that I enjoy going to but the one we shopped at in Atlanta was way larger and had way more merchandise than the two in St. Louis. They had a lot of statement necklaces, really cute bracelets, monogram jewelry, themed jewelry, sooo many pearls, and probably anything you could possibly ever want! It was a great way to pass the time, I got a lot of cute jewelry and a cute little handbag.

This was one of the necklaces I got and the reason I decided I needed to go into the store in the first place. I love statement necklaces and if this isn't a statement then I don't know what is! In general, accessories pull an outfit together but statement necklaces just add a pop to the outfit.

I can't wait to wear this necklace in the summer but winter weather still wasn't going to stop me from wearing the necklace. This time around I decided to wear it with one of my chambray shirts, a grey cardigan, black leggings, and brown boots. However, I have many other outfits involving this necklace planned in my head so you will be seeing it again! ;)

I don't know where this nice weather came from but I'm certainly enjoying it and I hope you are too!! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog! :)

Weekend Recap

2015-01-06T12:34:00.000-06:00

I had so much fun this past weekend! I was able to go up to Iowa to see some of my favorite girls, Rachel, Krista, and Kathiah!! (Thao, we DEFINITELY missed having you around and wished you could have been there!!) Rachel was my community advisor freshman year in the dorms, Krista lived a few rooms down from me, and Kathiah lived next door to me (until I moved into her room :)). I was lucky enough to live with all of these girls during my adventure at Iowa State and they became like my family and some of their families became my family! :)

It was a fun weekend filled with good friends, fun games, and very tasty food! On Friday Rachel and I ate some very delicious brownies and then we went for a walk. After the walk we had dinner with Rachel's sister, Sarah, and Kathiah. Rachel made us a fajita chicken bake and we also had margaritas. It was all delicious!! After dinner Rachel, Kathiah, and I played Cycloneopoly (the Iowa State themed Monopoly that Emily got me for Christmas!! :)). It was a lot of fun to remember different things about Iowa State. Kathiah and I are not as good at managing our Monopoly money as Rachel is so we teamed up to beat her! ;)

The fun continued on Saturday. After sleeping in past 10:00 Rachel and I joined Krista and Krista's sister, Kelsey, for lunch at Cheddar's. After lunch we went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for dinner and then it was back to Rachel's house. There, Krista, Rachel, and I decided to have our own little photoshoot.

I don't do serious very well! :)

We like to have fun!

After that fun we decided to change into our sweats and exchange Christmas gifts. My friends are really good at picking out presents for me!! :) Then we played a lot of games and snacked on the bonbons and chocolates we got for one another as parts of our presents. Eventually we decided we were hungry and we set out to cook dinner! We made homemade meatballs and a bolognese sauce from the bolognese cavatelli recipe Krista found on Pinterest. (Just don't ask Krista to pronounce the name of the recipe :P) We must be awesome chefs because it was all very delicious! :) Oh, and then we made scotcheroos because scotcheroos are delicious!! Plus they remind me of Iowa because I had never had them before I went to Iowa State! Then we watched some movies and played some card games. It was a nice, relaxing, fun evening with the girls!

Sunday I went to lunch with Kathiah, and her fiancé Chris, and just spent some time visiting before I headed back home! I couldn't have asked for a better weekend (except for if Thao could have joined us!)! I missed spending time with those girls but hopefully we can make it happen again soon!!

My outfit on Saturday came from Sam's Club! Actually, each of the outfits I had on this weekend had at least one piece of clothing from Sam's Club...

Mom and I just bought the jacket the other day. It's comfy, warm, and it fits really well!

This is the shirt I had on underneath the jacket. I bought the shirt last summer. I have it in at least three colors because I like ruffles! :)

The jeggings are the June and Daisy ones from this post. I still love them and they still sell them! I just bought a new pair because of the hole in one of my pairs (although I still haven't gotten rid of that pair...).

The necklace and the shoes I had worn to lunch were the only things that weren't from Sam's Club. The necklace and the boots (they were my combat boots) were from Target. Target is another favorite place to shop! :)

Thanks for reading! I hope you all stay warm and have a good week! :)

Bargain Shopping at Clothes Mentor

2014-12-30T13:33:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed your Christmas celebrations! I had a great time with my family! We even got to do a Google Hangout with Jenn, Mike, JH, Kim, and Andrew! It was fun to see the whole family and open some presents together even if we couldn't all actually be in the same place. The joys of technology! :)

I've been looking forward to having some time off from school and work so I could clean out my closet and declutter my room. It's been driving me crazy but I couldn't start cleaning and organizing if I didn't have time to finish because it always gets worse before it gets better! So Friday and Saturday I cleaned, organized, and threw a bunch of stuff away! I ended up with a couple bags of trash, multiple bags of things to go to goodwill, and some clothes I decided I would try and sell to Clothes Mentor. I'm not going to lie, it still makes me happy to open my closet door and see how organized it is! But now that I've finished cleaning and organizing I'm ready for a job!! Let's all hope that happens soon!! ;)

Anyway, I took my clothes to Clothes Mentor. They didn't take everything but they did take more than Plato's Closet has in years! While I was there I also found a couple of things to buy.

I bought this Express top for $8. I love the tiers because they are flattering and lace is always a good choice in my opinion! Plus the top is very versatile! I could wear it professionally, to church, or while hanging out with friends.

Then I found this chunky pearl necklace for only $5!! I have a weakness for pearls. I was just going to pass it up because I really do not need anymore pearls but then I saw it was only $5 and I had to grab it. It's sooo much fun it's definitely worth the $5! :)

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I hope you have a veryhappy New Year!!

Enjoy the holiday season but be safe!!! :)

Flannel Friday!

2014-12-12T19:38:00.001-06:00

It's my second post in 5 days! This must be a record for me this fall!

I haven't gotten everything done that I was planning on doing today but I got the most important thing done! I finished my Entrepreneurial Finance exam and I am now finished with the class!! I think I win just for that!! ;)

Flannel shirts are becoming a new favorite of mine!! I definitely had my fair share of flannel shirts when I was younger but then most of the flannel things I owned were pajama pants. (Let me tell you, I was pretty awesome at making pajama pants! :))

Last year I bought the first flannel shirt I have owned in awhile. It was too cute to pass up! It has ruffles and everything! I decided to wear that one today. In my opinion the shirt is just a little short so I wore a grey tank underneath the shirt. I wore a navy cardigan over it to keep me warm, especially since I was too lazy to blow dry my hair and I went out with wet hair! Then I wore my favorite jeggings. Sadly today I found a hole in them. :( (But if I wear them with boots the little hole will be covered so I'm really debating whether or not I should keep them! :)) And I did wear boots today! I wore my grey sweater boots. They were very comfy; however, they were not the best choice for taking Annie on a walk. They're a little big so I was working hard to keep them from shuffling!

It's definitely not the best picture but no one was home and I was too lazy to attempt to take a picture with my regular camera!

So then I bought my second flannel shirt on Black Friday. I was shopping with my mom, Kimberly, and Andrew. Andrew really wanted to look at the flannel shirts because they were half off. Well, there was one plaid I really liked so I decided to try the shirt on. And while it was a little bit too big I decided I still liked the way it looked. So, I bought it! Kimberly bought one too! Now we can be twins...well, now we can match. Although, the likelihood of that is not very high. I think we're a little too old to go out in matching outfits! I may change my mind one day though!

I wore this last outfit Thursday. I knew it was going to be a stressful day with school and I just wanted to be comfortable! I did end up in tears over my project. Then I went to voice lessons, relaxed a little bit, and realized I was being very silly about it all!! Anyway, a flannel shirt, a tee, my favorite jeggings, and my brown riding boots made for the comfy, warm outfit that I needed that day! And after today I successfully made it through the class so life is good!! ...well, I am assuming I actually passed the class....

Thanks for reading! I hope you all had a wonderful Friday!! :)

P.s. I love the way my Mom decorates for Christmas; however, it makes me a little sad every time I see extra space on the mantle where stockings should be! We might need to hang them anyway even though not everyone will be home!

My new purse! :)

2014-12-07T21:09:00.000-06:00

Tonight I am enjoying a nice quiet evening. I just finished my delicious double chocolate pie pudding and I have a nice glass of wine! I've also spent the day catching up on the current season of Parenthood while taking care of my "to do list". The last two things on my list are to study for Operations Management and to write this blog. I think we know which one is actually fun and which one is...well, not so fun!

I've been meaning to write a blog about my new purse because I'm really excited about it!! However, I've been too overwhelmed by school so I kept putting the blogging off!

For a few years now I've been looking for a specific style of purse. I wanted a brown leather (probably "leather" in the price range I can spend!) purse but one of the ones that could be worn cross body or backpack style. I haven't been able to find any except for really expensive ones like this one from I Medici for $395! Luckily, when I was in Florence the two I Medici stores I shopped at didn't have any bags in this style available or I probably would have bought one! I did buy a super cute purse though! I promise when I bought it though I negotiated on the price and I did not pay as much as any of the prices I just saw on the website! :)

Anyway I finally found a cheaper version of the purse at Payless!! I passed it up the first time I saw it because I was more focused on finding Christmas presents for other people. However, I went back to the store later when they had a sale going on plus my mom had a coupon I could use. It was originally $35 and I bought it for $22. ...I just looked it up on the website and now it's down to $20...I mean if you need a backpack/cross body purse it's a good deal! Plus, it comes in black too! ;)

In addition to the style of the bag itself I like the pockets it has. In my opinion pockets can make or break a purse. I like organization!There are three pockets inside. Two of them are open pockets and one of them is a zippered pocket. Plus there are the two zippered pockets on the outside of the purse.

Now that I've written a post I suppose it's time to go check that last item off of my to do list and get some studying in! Luckily, there are only 10 more days of school left! But on that note if anyone hears of any job openings that might be good for me let me know!! I'm still working on that little part that comes along with graduation!

I hope you all have a good night and a great week!! Thank you for reading!! :)

Where does the time go?!

2014-11-22T09:57:00.000-06:00

I've clearly been failing at posting this fall! I'm not sure how it's already the middle of November but this fall has gone by more quickly than I thought was possible!!

I'm not crazy excited about this winter weather we are already experiencing! I am trying to enjoy the cold weather clothing though! I love a lot of it, my fleece lined leggings, corduroy leggings, sweaters, boots, and so much more!!

Yesterday Mom and I ~~ran some errands~~ went shopping. To be fair though our initial reason for going to Talbots was because she had a couple of things to return. But we did end up putting some really cute things on hold because they're having a sale coming up and if we're going to buy things we might as well get them on sale, right?!

After we went to Talbots we went to the Design Ideas shop in the Capital City Shopping Center. I always like going to the Design Ideas shop. They have a lot of fun and unique items. If you haven't been before you can check out the types of things they might have on their website. But if you look at the website ignore the prices because I promise it's WAY cheaper at the shop!! I think they told us it was going to be open until December 27th so if you need some fun stocking stuffers or even some larger gifts it would be a great place to check out!

Yesterday I decided to add some sparkle and some color to my outfit. I got this sweater on clearance at Talbots earlier this year. I had my eye on it but I successfully waited for it to go on clearance before buying it! What's not to like about it though? It has dots and sparkle!!

Then I wore the pink jeans I got on clearance last year at White House Black Market. I really like their jeans because they have a little bit of stretch to them and they are super comfy! Plus, when you can get them on clearance then it is a really good deal!!

Then I wore my new black boots I got on sale earlier this fall! I think they're from last year or something but they're a basic black riding boot so if you can get them on sale then who really cares?!

What I've been up to!

2014-10-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

So it is clearly safe to say I have been failing at writing new posts this fall! I've been busy working, doing school work, running, and keeping up with family and friends!!

Four weeks ago today one of my best friends, Megan, got married! I was so honored to be a part of her celebration and am so happy for her and Max!!

Kimberly, Megan, and I at Megan and Max's wedding!! Friends for 19 years and counting!

A week later I ran my first marathon!! It was painful but definitely worth it!! Hopefully there will be at least one more in my future!! Although if you asked me the day of the race I swore I was never ever going to do another one again!

Finishing the marathon!!

And last weekend my twin sister, Kimberly, got married!! It was great to formally welcome Andrew into the family!! My friend Darrin, came down for the wedding because he has been promising to visit since we graduated from Iowa State in May 2012! It was so great to see all of my family and friends!! I did not get to visit with everyone as much as I would have liked but I'm glad they could all make it!!

Darrin and me! :)

Kimberly and me!

Haley, me, Kimberly, Megan, and Emily!

Andrew and me! ...and Jen! :)

Things are starting to slow down though! The fun things I have on my calendar are starting to spread out. So more time for homework and filling out job applications! Yay me! :P Can I hire someone to find me a job?!

So I've been wanting to buy combat boots for the last few year because I always think people look super cute in them! I didn't know what to wear with them though and I kept thinking I wouldn't look so cute so I continued to talk myself out of buying them. This year I finally decided to actually buy a pair and I love them!! I've worn them quite a bit so far this fall and I'm sure I will continue to wear them even more once it gets even colder.

Yesterday I wore them with my favorite jeggings from Sam's Club and a shirt I bought last summer at TJ Maxx. I was definitely going for comfy yesterday!

I got my combat boots at Target. They're the Mossimo Supply Co. brand. I like the zipper on the side because it makes them very easy to get on and off. I also like the color of the brown because I've been able to wear them with both my black and my blue jeggings! I know black, brown, and navy are all neutral colors but sometimes I still hesitate to mix them! (although I am much better about it than I used to be!)

Thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you have a wonderful day!! :)

Cartwheels!

2014-09-21T21:14:00.002-05:00

I don't think it's any secret that I love Target! They have so much cute clothes, jewelry, shoes, and so much more! Plus, I can get almost anything on my list there. I'm always a fan of a one stop shop. And of course Target makes it easy to save money. I always shop with my Target debit card so I can save the 5% off of my purchase. I shop there too much. It adds up. Plus, you always get free shipping. In addition to the 5% off of my purchase I use my Target Pharmacy Rewards, my Target mobile coupons, and my Cartwheel app.

If you aren't already using the Cartwheel app when you shop at Target you really should!! It's a wonderful app. You can search through the app to find discounts on all sorts of items at Target. Sometimes you even get an item that has a coupon or is on sale AND it has a Cartwheel. So maybe I get easily excited... ;)

There are a number of ways to search through the app. You can search by category; you can use the search bar to enter product names, brand names, etc.; or you can scan the barcode on the item you're buying! Now when I go shopping everything gets scanned before it goes into my cart. If it's an item I actually need then it will go in the cart anyway otherwise I use it as a reason to not buy something or as justification to buy something! (I'm really good at justifying decisions when I want to be! :))

Anyway after you find a cartwheel you want to use you add it to your barcode. You can add up to 21 different cartwheels! My cartwheel is usually pretty empty because I try not to look through the promotions because I know I'll end up buying things I don't really need!

I went shopping this week and therefore I had to add the "Xhiliration Women's Apparel" cartwheel. Yes, I really did have to! ;) I used it to justify buying this adorable dress. I then tried to talk myself into returning the dress because I don't really need it but it's just too cute and I saved money on it by using my cartwheel so really it would probably just be silly to return it. ...I will steam it though before I wear it!

Now that clothing is currently buy one, get one half off it's going to be hard to restrain myself! I want some of my favorite tee's with long sleeves! I have a lot with short sleeves but I don't have any long sleeved ones!

Anyway, I should return to my studying. I decided a break was justified because the LearnSmart website wasn't working correctly. See, I told you I was good at justifying things when I want to! ;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!! :) Thanks for reading!

Fall Colors

2014-09-11T09:43:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize it has been so long since I posted! I've been trying to get back into the swing of things with school. Last spring I had all online classes (except for one which met on 4 Saturdays throughout the semester). The online classes were nice because I could do everything on my own schedule. This semester I have 3 in class lectures and it takes so much more time out of my schedule. But, I don't think I want to learn accounting or finance online so I guess I'll go to class!

The weather this week has really made me realize fall is coming. As I write this it's only 56 degrees outside! What is this nonsense? I like my summer weather! I guess it's almost time to embrace my fall/winter clothing soon! For now I'll just start introducing some fall colors.

I have on a crochet sleeveless top from Target. Underneath I wanted to add some color instead of wearing a nude tank so I went with an old purple tank. Instead of wearing a neutral color cardigan I wanted to continue to add some color. Who doesn't like color? I really like purple and orange together so I went with the orange cardigan from Target. I know it looks red but I promise it's orange. My pants are my Nine West navy skinny pull on pants from Sam's Club.

I love the monogram necklaces but I don't love all the prices. They have gotten less expensive over the last couple years but they can still be pretty pricey. The one I'm wearing is only my first initial with some flourish on the sides BUT it was only around $6! I got it at a wholesale jewelry store in St. Louis. I think it was from Hong's Trading Co. otherwise it was from ABC Trading Co. I've seen the same necklaces at Francesca's for around $13. For me it was a good compromise to the pricier monogram necklaces.

The cost of the outfit:

*Crochet Top - Target - $19.99

*Tank - mine was an old hand me down but you can find one at Target for around $9.00

*Cardigan - Target - around $22.99 (prices vary)

Pants - $17

Necklace - around $6

The total cost of this outfit is around $75 but you can pull from pieces you already own to create the same look! Also, for all of the items from target don't forget to look at mobile coupons and the cartwheel app for discounts!

Now we'll see how I can incorporate the rest of Pantone's Fall 2014 colors!! I hope you all have a wonderful day today! Thanks for reading! :)

My Last First Day of School :)

2014-08-25T21:43:00.001-05:00

Today was my last first day of school. Come December 20th I will officially be finished with grad school!! (assuming I pass all of my classes! ;)) I am oh so ~~excited~~ terrified for the job hunt that now presents itself to me. If anyone has any helpful hints/leads/ideas feel free to share with me! I can use all of the help I can get!

My class load this semester consists of Managerial Accounting, Production and Operations Management, and Entrepreneurial Finance. I had managerial accounting tonight and so far so good! I understood all of the first chapter! (I mean it's at least a start, right!?) Plus, it didn't hurt that our professor only kept us for an hour. :)

In honor of the occasion I dressed how I dress pretty much every other day! ;) I wore my turquoise cardigan from the Nordstrom Rack, my black and white Kenneth Cole Reaction tank from Sam's Club, and my black Nine West skinny stretch pants from Sam's Club! It was comfortable and easy to wear! For a long day that's all I really wanted out of life...and looking cute while being comfortable doesn't hurt either! ;)

Today was one of those rare days when I wasn't feeling like wearing a lot of accessories so instead I went with simple. I wore my favorite gold earrings and my Betsy Johnson pink and white bracelet.

I also wore my Nine West ballet flats with the best ballet flat socks ever! The socks are from H&M and they come in different shoe sizes. I think the sizing is what helps them to actually stay on my feet AND they don't stick out way farther than the shoe! Both of those reasons are reasons why I've really disliked the majority of ballet flat socks I've tried in the past. You can get a 5 pack for $9.95. They come in both black and nude. They might come in other colors too but I'm not positive about that. I have super sweaty feet and the socks help to control that so I'm glad I've found some socks I like!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! I appreciate the support! :) I hope you all have a wonderful week and if you are also starting school I hope you have a great semester!!

Jean Shopping at Target

2014-08-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

So my mom and I went shopping this weekend. We were supposed to be buying things for my sisters bridal shower but when and where there are clothes involved we are both likely to get sidetracked; especially if we are together. One of the stores we visited was Target. While we did manage to actually get some stuff on our list we also did some damage in the clothing.

There are some Paisley Sky jeans I've had my eye on for awhile. The brand has the look of Miss Me or Buckle Jeans but the regular price is only $35! As an added bonus all of Target's jeans right now are 40% off (for the entire family...so you should probably get there if anyone needs any jeans!)!!

I tried them on and I actually really liked the way they fit!! So originally I thought they were a little long but I'm wearing them today and they are pretty perfect! They might not be the best option for those with long legs but I definitely don't have long legs! They also have a high enough rise that I didn't feel like there was a visible muffin top (that's always good! ;) )Plus, I've been wanting some bling jeans and some boot cut jeans. I love my skinny jeans but every now and then a boot cut jean is what you want/need!

These are the two pairs I got! :)

I don't know how long the 40% off will last but you should definitely check Target out if you are in need of some jeans! Or some other really cute clothes! :)

Thanks for reading! Have a great week! :)

Best Pants Ever!! :P

2014-08-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

This past weekend my mom showed me some Nine West pants she bought at Sam's Club. They're skinny pull on pants. They're basically like leggings but it's more of a stretch sateen/chino material. I'm not super sure of what kind of fabric it is and I don't feel like pulling out my fabric binder but they're wonderful!

On Saturday my friend, Lisa, and I went and took a shopping trip to Sam's Club. I bought a pair of the pants in navy (and I'm making Kimberly look to see if they have the black and khaki in my size in KC) along with a couple other cute items! I put on the navy ones this morning and fell in love instantly (let's all hope the KC store has my size)!! They're soooo comfortable!! They were definitely a good choice for the rainy day.

So it's not the best picture because I was rushing but that's okay, just go with it! :)

I decided to wear them with my orange and navy top from Talbots and an orange cardigan from Target.

For the accessories I wore my Lindsay Phillips flats because I didn't think it was a good day for wedges. Then I also wore my gold Juicy charm bracelet and some pearl earrings to match the pearl buttons on the top. Oh, and of course a ponytail holder on my wrist because that is pretty much always there! All in all the accessories probably cost more than the rest of the outfit considering I got the top with my employee discount when I used to work there. I miss that discount...

Anyway, you should probably go to Sam's Club to see if they have these pants in your size because they're probably the best thing ever! ;) Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part! They're only $17!! :D

Happy Monday!

2014-08-04T07:58:00.000-05:00

Today's post features an outfit I wore earlier this summer. I was going to write a post with it but I never got around to it!

I've said it before and I'll say it again! I am totally okay with wearing leggings as pants (you can judge me all you want! :P )! ...as long as you know, they're worn appropriately and you can't see any camel toe, underwear, panty lines, or any of that jazz!

Plus, they tuck in nicely to my cowboy boots and I was really feeling the need to pull those out! I don't wear them as often as I used to but I do love my cowboy boots!

And the boots seemed like the perfect shoe choice for this cute top I got from Target. I think I wore a nude tank underneath of it the first time but then my friend Emily went and bought the same top and wore a purple tank underneath it. I thought that was a much better choice and therefore I had to copy her!

For the accessories I went with my turquoise bubble necklace, gold and crystal earrings, and a bangle watch I got when I was in China. I seem to be wearing my two bubble necklaces a lot but they're just so much fun! I think it's time to find a couple new colors to add to the mix!

One last thought for this post. Clearly I love clothes, jewelry, and basically all accessories but always remember...

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the blog! :)

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

2014-07-22T22:13:00.000-05:00

I'm back!! :) I know it's been FOREVER!! This summer has flown by more quickly than I thought it could/would! I've been so busy at work, taking a class, and participating in The Music Man at Theatre in the Park! If you live in the Springfield area and you haven't seen it yet then you definitely should!! You have three more chances, July 24-26 at 8:00!

Anyway, I'll try to stop using being busy as an excuse because I think I've used it in at least half of my posts! I'm enjoying my night off and I figured I would write a post I've been meaning to write for the past week!

The Today Show posted this article about how JC Penney used mannequins representing five unique body shapes in their windows in their New York store. Reactions to the mannequins have been very positive. I don't know how long they will keep the mannequins in the windows, or if they've already taken them down. I hope it's not a one time thing though I would love to see mannequins that actually represent the human body in all different shapes and sizes.

From: http://www.today.com/health/were-all-different-jcpenney-shows-unique-mannequins-new-york-storefront-1D79928133

When I used to work at Talbots we had to do so much pinning to get the clothes to stay on the mannequins, and half the time the clothes ended up looking like they were a different fit/style than what they actually were. Why do retailers have to make it so difficult?!

Hopefully we will soon be seeing changes in the stores. This Swedish department store, Ahlens, has been using fuller mannequins in their stores since 2013. The mannequins the Swedish store used are supposed to be an American size 8 and a size 12 while the average American woman is a size 12 or 14.

More realistic mannequins aren't just in Sweden, they're in the U.S. as well. This article mentions several U.S. companies including David's Bridal, American Apparel, and Saks Fifth Avenue who are beginning to use more realistic mannequins. I don't think everyone needs to go as far as American Apparel when making realistic mannequins, but then again no one really pushes the boundaries like American Apparel!

What do you think about having more realistic mannequins? Do you think they impact yours, or others, shopping habits?

Thanks for reading! :)

Tiered Dress Thursday? (I'm pretty sure that's a thing! ;) )

2014-06-26T22:27:00.001-05:00

Happy Thursday! I hope you all had a wonderful day! I'm enjoying these summer days! Yes, I have work and I have school but I also have nice weather to wear cute summer clothes, nice weather to run in, and musical time! :)

I wore this dress today (and I only got one comment about being overdressed for rehearsal today! :) ). I got it probably at least four years ago at Kohl's. It's part of the Elle line, one of my favorites at Kohl's. Actually this one is my mom's. I had one as well but I had to get rid of it, so when I got rid of it I took my mom's! :) I may have done that with some other items at well...

I really like tiered dresses and tops because they are very flattering. They can help define a waist, create smoother lines, and help elongate the body.

I also really like scarves! My friends may think I have too many of them but I'm not sure that's true. Can you have too many scarves? Anyway, I liked the colors in the cheetah print with the teal color of the dress.

To go along with the dress and the scarf I added some more cute accessories. I got the bracelet from ABC in St. Louis. It's a wonderful accessory store. It has all sorts of costume jewelry, purses, tiaras (because who doesn't need one of those?!), wallets, etc.! Plus, what's even better is that it's very affordable!!

The earrings I bought when I was in Florence. The fleur-de-lis is the symbol of Florence. To finish it up I wore one of my favorite pairs of wedges from Payless! I also wore my Ray-Bans because it was nice and sunny out today! ...I'm not really sure why my sunglasses always tilt to the side when I put them on my head...

Thanks for reading! I hope you are all enjoying your week! :)

Summer Days!

2014-06-17T21:37:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure how we're already half way through June! The summer is going by WAY too quickly! I'm so glad we're back to hot weather! I'd pick the hot weather over the cold weather any day! Plus, the summer brings so many fun activities - summer theatre, running without freezing, the drive-in movie theater, trips to Iowa to visit my friends (can't wait!), etc!

What I don't like about summer - trying to figure out what to wear to work so I'm not freezing in the office but I'm not overheating outside after work! Yesterday, I decided to go with this outfit.

The blouse is an off-white crepe tank from The Limited. The polka dots are made out of sequins. The crepe fabric is really light and breezy so it was very breathable when I took the cardigan off.

The pencil skirt was on sale at White House Black Market. It's a stretchy swiss dot fabric. I always (since I took a class where I learned about different fabrics) thought the swiss dot fabric was really cute. Plus, skirts from the sales rack at White House Black Market are always good too! ;) Anyway, the skirt fits really well and is a great length, sitting right above the knee.

I like the bright color of the turquoise cardigan, plus I have a limited number of solid color cardigans! :) My new goal is to find some solid color cardigans that end above my hips because a lot of cardigans are too long to wear with a lot of my dresses! I know #firstworldproblems! But, whatcha gonna do?!

I got this necklace when I worked at Ayden Lee and it's made by Bean and the Sprout! Check out both websites! So many cute things!! :)

Kimberly got me this bracelet from MidwestGinger for our birthday! Along with some other super cute jewelry. You can check MidwestGinger out in this post and on her Etsy page!

I hope you are all enjoying your summer!! :) Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! Feel free to share and leave me some feedback! :)

Slippers a.k.a. Flip Flops

2014-06-05T22:33:00.001-05:00

It's summer!! That means it's time for sandals, slippers, sundresses, and so much other summertime stuff!! Last week my family and I enjoyed a nice family vacation in Hawaii! I got to pull out some of my new summer clothes, like the elephant shorts in this post, that I haven't had a chance to wear yet! It was a wonderful trip with so much fun! I think my favorite thing about the trip was just having most of the family (we missed you Andrew!! :) ) together under one roof! It was nice to have time together without distractions and people going in every direction!

Doing the dolphin encounter was a second close! ;)

And I suppose mine and Kimberly's 24th birthday was pretty good to you!! Plus, I clearly had the best accessories that day!! How can you go wrong with a tiara and a lei?!?!

During the trip I got my first pair of Olukai slippers. Kimberly has been a fan for awhile but they just didn't seem to be the most stylish. Then we were at one of the stores in Kailua and saw some super cute ones! Jennifer and I got the brown ones and Kimberly got the same pair in grey. I really like how the print reminds me of cowboy boots.

In addition to being very cute they are also super comfortable!! They were a little tight the first time I wore them but even then my feet still didn't hurt after walking around all day! Since that first day they haven't been too tight either. They're a little pricy but if you love wearing slippers all summer (or all year) long they're definitely worth it because they actually have arch support built in. Plus, you can go with a neutral pair like the ones I got and then they go with every color!

I hope you are all enjoying the start of your summer as well!! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to share and click the "We're on the Fence" button! :)

The Nautical Trend

2014-05-22T16:58:00.002-05:00

The weather this week has been absolutely beautiful!! I’m so glad for warm weather after the past week! The nautical trend has been pretty popular lately and yesterday I decided that was the look I was going to go for. My mom bought me these super cute anchor earrings from Express earlier this spring and I kept forgetting to pull them out.

I decided to wear a navy blue and white striped dress I bought a couple summers ago from Francesca’s. It was made out of a jersey knit fabric. It has an elastic waist band so you can adjust where you want it to sit when you’re wearing it and it creates a defined shape. I love the dress and I’ve gotten a lot of wear out of it.

I have to say though whoever made the dress was feeling really lazy. Often times I have noticed that some stores like Francesca’s, H&M, and Forever 21 will put “dry clean only” on their garments just in case something were to happen in the washing/drying cycles. Usually I just take that to mean “hang or lay flat to dry” but seriously, the dress is 96% cotton and 4% spandex. You really should be able to tumble dry that dress! Anyway, that’s the end of that rant!

To continue the nautical look I paired the dress with a red Kenneth Cole Reaction cardigan from Sam’s Club. It's hard to see the ruffles in the picture but they're there and I like them because I think it adds some extra detail to the outfit.

To accessorize I of course went with the anchor earrings and then I added a multi-strand pearl necklace, my silver watch, and a pair of navy blue sandals. (The sandals were supposed to be for my sister, why she didn’t want them I will never know! But that’s okay because then I got them! J)

One of my coworkers told me I should have saved the red, white, and blue outfit for Friday because it is Memorial Day weekend. I guess I jumped the gun on that one! We’ll just have to see what other red, white, and blue outfits I can come up with! J

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and enjoy the nice weather!! Thanks for reading!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

2014-05-16T16:32:00.000-05:00

How's everybody's March going? ...oh wait, it's May!! I'm not a fan of this weather. I want it to be 85 degrees and sunny! Hopefully it will get back to that point this coming week like it is supposed to do! Then I can wear more skirts and dresses and be happy and warm! :)

Between the rain and the fact that I was super tired when I was planning my outfit last night I decided to go with a comfy outfit for today! (Yes, I still plan my outfit the night before, I don't like to do too much thinking in the morning! ;) ) I decided to go with a pair of my favorite black ponte knit leggings, a long white button down shirt, and my pink cardigan. Then I accessorized with a wide black belt, pointy black flats, cz earrings, my silver watch, and a pearl necklace! I'm never too tired to accessorize! :)

So let's hope the rain really does stop soon, I have some running to do this weekend! The Susan G. Komen 5k is tonight and the Girls on the Run 5k is tomorrow morning! Both will be run regardless of the rain though, don't you worry! :)

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Thanks for reading! :)

Pattern Mixing

2014-05-09T09:27:00.001-05:00

Sooooo...it's been awhile!! I know, I've been slacking!! It's been an interesting past couple of weeks but I'm back! :)

The other day I wore an outfit that I kept thinking I should wear but I kept putting it off because I was too lazy to steam the shirt. You know, it took me all of a a few minutes and was super difficult! ;) And then of course I put it on and wore it around for probably five minutes before it was wrinkled again! Oh well, I guess you'll have that!

I love the look of pattern mixing! You aren't likely to see me mixing two major prints, that's a little out there for me but I'm all for mixing subtle prints! I don't mix prints very often anyways because I'm still getting used to it for myself!

One of my co-workers repeatedly told me one print should be the dominant print and one should be more of a neutral. In my outfit both the cardigan and the gingham blouse are pretty subtle/neutral. If I had to pick one of these prints as the more subtle print it would be the gingham blouse. The print is small enough that it can almost look like a solid. Therefore, in this case the striped cardigan would be the more dominant print. You could also wear the cardigan as the subtle print if you wore it with a top that had a more dominant print, like a large floral print. If you have any tips for pattern mixing let me know! :)

The other thing about this outfit? It's another one from Sam's Club! Okay, so the majority of it is the same outfit as from my last post about shopping at Sam's Club. I forgot what I'd worn until I was getting ready to write this post and took a look at the last one! Oh well, we all re-wear our clothes anyway!

Cardigan - The Limited from Sam's Club - around $19
Gingham Blouse - Ellen Tracy from Sam's Club - ummm probably around $19?
Tank top (you can't see it but I really like these tanks!) - Simply Yummie from Sam's Club - 2 pack for $17
Jeggings - June and Daisy from Sam's Club - $18

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather we've been experiencing! Even with the rain last night and the clouds today I'm just glad it's warm!! Thanks for reading and sharing! :)

Braided Scarf

2014-04-24T10:09:00.000-05:00

Soooo last week I told you I would show you how I braided my scarf in this post. Well, last week went a little off track and this weeks been pretty busy but I'm finally getting around to it! :)

It is super easy to tie/braid your scarf like this! If I can do it then you can do it!

When I worked at Talbots one of the other girls came in and showed us all how to tie our scarves like this! I miss working at Talbots and getting to play with the clothes! Making new outfits and learning about new ways to wear things! It was all so much fun!!

1. Loosely tie your scarf. Where you tie it will determine how loose the scarf is around your neck.

2. Rotate the tie to the side. The loop of your scarf will be one of your lengths for the braid. The other two lengths for your braid are the ends of your scarf!

3. Start braiding your scarf just like you would braid your hair. If it's hard for you to braid the scarf while you're wearing it you can always take it off and braid it on a hanger or a door knob or something! Sometimes it's just easier to actually be able to look at what you are doing!

3. Keep going until you don't have any more room to go and knot it off! And of course you don't have to braid it until the very end either! You can stop wherever you feel like stopping!

I think this is a great way to wear your scarf in spring, and especially summer!! You can still wear the scarf but if it's really hot outside the scarf is a little more contained.

This is just going to be a really short post! I have homework, rehearsals, and hanging out with my sister!! Kimberly is home and we have lots of singing to do together!! :)

I hope you enjoyed the post! What's your favorite way to wear a scarf??

P.S. Here's a TBT of Kim and I singing over Christmas break!! ...Clearly the hat is super fashionable and you should all be jealous!! ;)