Wedding Season Approaches!

Fresh out of college, it's not uncommon to have multiple weddings to attend in one year.  As time as gone on, everyone gets married off and those events become few and far between....they usually get replaced by baby showers :)

This year, Rob and I have the pleasure of attending three weddings, one was just this past weekend.  I don't really know when is ever the true 'start' to wedding season....March?....I guess it's just whenever is your first wedding to attend!  This wedding was an afternoon church ceremony with a longer break until the evening reception.  I decided to get a little crazy and do an outfit change since the evening event was a little more formal.  Here are the two outfits I wore.

I picked this dress up from Dress Barn about two years ago for another wedding.  Obviously florals are never a bad move in the spring.  The shoes are Valentino knock-offs I purchased from Apricot Lane's online boutique.

Here are two other great (current) options I would have grabbed from JCPenney: Fit and Flare Style, Sheath Style

My evening look was one I was super excited to wear.  I'd purchased this jumpsuit from Ann Taylor Loft a few months back for somewhere around $30 (sadly, I can't find it on the site anymore, but here's a great alternative and another!).  I normally have no reason to where this in a formal capacity.  I have dressed it down once(styling post on that hopefully coming soon).  Threw on a studded gold belt to play off the same shoes from the morning!

I did a pretty basic makeup look, only really pumping up the eye liner for the reception  But can I just get an 'Amen' for photo editing software???!!!

Also trying desperately to make it through this awkward crop grow out phase....I miss my long hair!

BTW, another Stitch Fix is coming end of next week!!!!!  So excited can't even contain my excitement!!

Tuesday Reviews-day

About a month ago I had a Jamberry Party to celebrate my 30th birthday.  I was looking online at all the amazing designs, then I thought why don't I have a party?  I'll get to introduce more people to these amazing nail wraps and get a discount on the designs I'm loving.

Now that it's been a few weeks and I've gone through a few sets, I wanted to give you my honest opinion on the wraps and their application process and subsequent wear.

First, what are Jamberry wraps?  They are similar to Sally Hansen and OPI style nail decals, but they are applied with heat and pressure.  The website says that a manicure can last 2 weeks and a pedicure can last 4+ weeks.  They have a variety of solid, designs and patterns that can be applied to bare nails, acrylics or gels, and even on top of polished nails!  Below are a few unique nail combinations I like.

The application process seems to have a lot of steps, but once you have them all down it flows pretty nicely.  This last set I applied in 20 minutes!

Items you'll need:
-Rubbing Alcohol
-Cuticle Pusher
-Tweezer
-Nail File
-Nail Scissors or Nail Clipper
-Heat Source (hair dryer, spacer heater, rice bag, Jamberry mini-heater, etc)

Prep nails by using the rubbing alcohol on each nail and let them air dry.  Then push down all your cuticles, this is more to ensure you have the most available space for the wrap to adhere to your nail.  The next step is to select your wrap size.  This is key!  You don't want the wrap to be too large for your nail, so when it doubt, go smaller. After you have selected your wrap, cut it in half and pull it off with the tweezer.  Heat is for 5 seconds.  Apply it to your nail and put some pressure on the entire surface (watch for bubbles!).  Heat again for a few seconds and add more pressure, especially around the edges.  I use my cuticle pusher to press down around the outer edge.  Then repeat!

I have had good success with the wraps when places on bare nails.  Last week, I put some over polish, but they were move around within a few days, so I eventually took them off.  I think I wasn't waiting long enough for my polish to dry before applying the wrap.  I will try that process again soon.  Here are all the manicures I've done so far!

So my overall opinion is that I love the print selection you get (Spring/Summer catalog now available!), but watch your application process over polished nails!

As always, thanks for reading!

First Stitch Fix!

I finally got my first Stitch Fix!  I was very pleased with it, but before we dive in, a little background.

Stitch Fix is a website that is essentially a personal shopper.  You set the frequency of when you get your 'fixes' (every two week, month, two months) and for $20 they will pick 5 pieces and ship to you.  Try them on, keep what you like, send back what you don't.  Your $20 fee gets credited to any purchases you make, but if you don't buy anything that fee doesn't roll over.  If you're interested, click here!

The survey you take is pretty comprehensive.  You tell them about your style, price points you're willing to pay, and how conservative/flashy/versatile you want the pieces to be.  You can also link to any Pinterest style boards you have so they can look at what you're liking.  I made sure they knew I wanted pieces that could transition from work to casual.

I got my fix yesterday and couldn't wait to see what was in it!  It comes in a pretty small box, but don't be fooled, there is some great stuff in there!

Each Fix comes with your 5 items, instructions on what to do next, a shopping list with prices (if you buy all 5 you get 25% off!), style cards showing you how you can style each piece and a pre-paid return shipping bag.  Now, let's get into how I styled all my items!

First item is a 'soft' terry blazer.  I had been looking at one on Banana Republic's site just last week.  I enjoy that this can be used for both work and the weekend, but I wasn't thrilled with the color.  The fact that is it so close to a denim color limits the casual outfits I could wear it with.  I ended up sending this back. NOTE: disregard my horrible modeling below

Next piece was a high waisted pattern skirt.  Again, it fit and I enjoyed the unique print, but I wasn't feeling like my best self in it, so I figured it wasn't worth the money.  I got to play around with mixing patterns for the work look, and for casual I went a little more date night.  I styled it with a long knot necklace that was also in my fix....I really loved this delicate piece, it seems really versatile (wearing it at work today!) so I bought it!

My fourth piece is a casual dolmain sleeve top.  I wasn't able to make a work look for it, but the fabric felt more like a fall/winter transitional piece, so I sent it back.  Although I did make a note to my stylist to send something like that again in the fall because I would have bought it if it were October!

My last piece is by far my favorite from the fix, and I didn't even know if I'd like it pulling it out of the box.  It's a printed blouse that I would also call a tunic.  I can see myself wearing this as we transition to warmer weather.  I enjoyed the cuff detail, the neckline and that it's neutral enough I can wear it with both silver and gold jewelry.

I really enjoyed this Fix, and maybe it's encouraged you to take the dive and try it out.  I can't wait to see what spring/summer looks come at the end of April!  Feel free to ask me more quesitons in the comments or on my Facebook page!

I'll see you back here, in my closet!