Pinteresting

Last week Erica from P.S. I Made This tweeted about a wonderful list of Pinners to Follow. I am not going to lie I've spent hours going through each and every one on the list (and I'm still only about halfway through)! I find that when I'm lacking inspiration or not having a good day- it's so nice to look at a beautiful curated board. Whether it's fashion inspired, delicious recipes, or easy to replicate DIY's- I love it all. So I hope you enjoy this list as much as I have & please leave your Pinterest ID in the comments, I'd really love to follow you! 

Here are few images that I'm currently feeling inspired by: 

The perfect Valentine. 

White Chocolate Confetti Popcorn (yum).

Stylish polka dots.

Life is full of little pleasures.

A neutral bedroom with a whole lot of texture.

A perfectly messy table setting.

And a little wanderlust. 

You can find all of my boards here.

The Other Olsen

My love for the Olsen family continues to grow. I've been a huge fan of MK&A since I could sing along to their VHS tapes but the Olsen I'm loving most lately is their younger sister Elizabeth. I think we are definitely going to be seeing a lot more of her in the future & I can't wait. She's a fashion risk taker both on the red carpet and in her every day ensembles. My favorite thing about her: she shops at Topshop & ASOS like the rest of us and makes it look amazing.

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The Weekend

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This week has felt never ending and I can't tell you how happy I am that it's Friday. It's the first weekend in a while I have no set events so I plan to do a whole lot of nothing. But, I'm going to live vicariously through all of you so If you're planning to do something fun-- I'd love to hear about it.

xx

Friday's Fancies: A Guest Post

Hi, I'm Erin and I blog at Just a Few of My Favorite Things (http://erinsfavorites.blogspot.com/). I'm so excited to be swapping blogs with Ashley for Friday's Fancies! A little about me: I live in Virginia, I'm an elementary school teacher and I LOVE clothes, fashion and shopping! So it's not a real surprise that Friday's Fancies is one of my favorite link-ups!Ashley and I decided to showcase two types of outfits for this swap: a winter outfit and a spring outfit! 

Images via Polyvore (You can see my account at: eraff1483) 

Sweater: Theory

Shirt: Jane Norman

Jeans: 7 for All Mankind

Boots: Romwe.com

Earrings: Target

Hat: Urban Excess

I recently discovered Polyvore (http://polyvore.com/) and I'm totally hooked. I love using it to create cute outfits and come up with new ideas! My winter outfit's inspiration came from basically being cold all day today (it doesn't get super cold in Virginia, but I'm not a big fan of winter and think anything below 50 degrees is freezing!) I love the cozy, over-sized sweater and gray is so much easier to match than other colors! I like the pop of pink to brighten up the outfit. Skinny jeans always look cute especially with a great pair of boots like these. I love the sparkly earrings and because it's winter and cold, why not throw on an adorable snow cap to keep warm!

Now onto spring-- my favorite season of all! I love pulling out my cute spring dresses and flip flops. I always get so excited when the weather gets warmer, so my inspiration for this outfit is the promise of spring and 75 degree days that will be here in a few months!

Images via Polyvore (You can see my account at: eraff1483) 

Dress: Bank Fashion

Sandals: Tory Burch

Nail Polish: Essie

Sunglasses: Chanel via Fashiononphile.com

Cardigan: Barney's 

I'm totally loving this style of dress--the color is so pretty (especially if you are a redhead like me)! The belt around the middle is such a cute touch. Nothing says spring more than fun sandals and freshly painted nails! I love pink nail polish and this color is so refreshing and bright! I'm always on the lookout for new sunglasses -- I have an unfortunate habit of breaking mine all the time.. And I added a cropped cardigan just in case a cool spring breeze might come along! 

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my winter and spring fashion ideas!A big thank you to Ashley for letting me post on her fabulous blog and I hope you'll come visit mine sometime! :) 

Thank you so much Erin, it was a pleasure to have you on my blog! As always be sure to stop by Long Distance Loving for more great blog swaps. Be sure to check out my picks for winter and spring fashion over on Erin's blog. 

Happy Friday! 

Chalk It Up

I lived with 8 girls in college my junior and senior years. To put it gently our house was a disaster (that's a nice description, trust me) the appliances were from the early 90's, the trim was cracking and the tenants before us left us a make-shift bar they built in the middle of the living room made out of plywood. We couldn't get it out, so we decided to paint it with chalkboard paint.


See? I wasn't lying about the state of our apartment & said bar. The paint definitely helped make the bar look a little better (and mask the giant hole..slightly) and it was really fun to play with when we'd all return from a night out. And while I love the look of chalkboard paint, I'm hoping the next project I use it for turns out slightly more like this:

What do you think? Have you ever used chalkboard paint? Would you paint a whole wall? Or would you keep it simple by painting a few wine glasses? I think I'd go for something similar to the last photo- that green color is really fun. 

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Guest Post: A Simple Affair

Today I'm over on Carly's beautiful blog- A Simple Affair- sharing some of my favorite things that start with the letter "G". This is my first guest post and I'm so excited to be a part of her A-Z series!

You guys will have to let me know what you think- as well as any "G" things I left out.
And I'll be back this afternoon with a new post.

 

1.Topshop Scallop Boucle Jacket  2.Splendid Sahara Stripe Pullover 3.Topshop Pleat Calf Skirt  

4.Tory Burch Norah Clutch 5.Sam Edelman Josie Cork Wedge 6.Gap Ikat Print Scarf 

7.Vera Wang Snake Ballet Flat 8.Dara Ettinger Sara Necklace 9.Topshop Lattice Back Crop 

10.Forever 21 Surplice Back Dress

Spend or Save: Coral Skinnys

                                                            J.Crew $108                                                                     Forever 21 $16                                                    

I'm all about colored denim- in any color- but I'm not quite sure if I can pull off the look. Since pastels are going to be a big hit this Spring I started looking for denim in a hue that isn't as saturated. I found these skinny jeans at J.Crew and fell in love with every color (especially the coral) but $108 is hard to justify for a trend that may not stick around forever. I was so excited to find these budget friendly ones at Forever 21- even though they're slightly darker. How do you feel about colored denim? How would you style them? I'd love to know!

Friday Fancies: Outfit Inspiration

For this weeks Friday's Fancies we're picking an outfit that we've seen on Pinterest, another blog, etc. and recreating it. I've had this image pinned for several months now and I always come back to it for some reason. It isn't anything fancy, but I find the pairing of the pleated midi skirt & lace top completely unexpected- especially for daytime. I think the bright colored skirt, messy hair, and the flat loafers are what make this day time appropriate & you could easily throw on some wedges and grab a sparkly clutch for a night time.


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skirt // shoes // bag // necklace // sunglasses (on sale!) // ring

Head on over to Long Distance Loving for more outfit inspiration! 

Currently Coveting {Scallop Edge Satchel}

How adorable is this bag from ASOS? It is a perfect way to combine spring trends for only $35! I love the mix of masculine (structured satchel) and feminine touches (scalloped edges & a pastel blue hue). A big thanks to East- Love- West for featuring it in one of her outfit posts. 

Perfectly Messy

I won't lie to you guys and tell you I wake up every morning for work and wash my hair, dry it, curl it, etc. I actually probably only wash my hair 3 times a week. For days when I don't wash it.. you'll usually find it on the top of my head thrown up in a bun (and not the cute top knot kind). At first I felt a little guilty about this- but after perusing various Tumblrs (here, here, & here) I began to find a ton of images of girls with messy hair that looked quite chic. So I have a new stance on throwing your hair up- swipe on some bright lipstick, wear something cute, and head out the door.

My inspiration:

Sale Alert: Gap

  I'm sure many of you know this already, but I thought I would share for those who may have missed it. Gap, Banana Republic & Old Navy are all 30% off through tomorrow. I spent about 5 minutes on Gap and have found 100 things I need for spring. As you can see I've found a great pair of boyfriend jeans (inspired by yesterday's post) and a whole lot of neon. And lucky for you, Julia posted today about her great finds at Old Navy (as if you needed any more reason to go shop). 

Happy Shopping!

Simply the Best

Today is my best friend's birthday. She has made it to every single birthday I've had for the last 10 years- including trips to Florida and driving up to Madison 12 hours before her flight to Mexico- all to celebrate with me at midnight every year. So naturally last night when we went out, I felt the need to stay until at least 12:01 (which is why I'm exhausted at work today). Happy Birthday, Best Friend! 

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Speaking of friendship, I stumbled upon an article on Marie Clarie that featured celebrity BFF's. Are you surprised by any of them?  I thought the fact that Gabby Hoffman and Christina Ricci are still best friends was really cute (which may be due to the fact that I'm obsessed with the movie Now & Then). 

Dreaming of Denim

I shop a lot. But the other day I realized that I shop for three things: shoes, tops, and necklaces. While that isn't necessarily a problem- the bottoms in my wardrobe have been severely neglected. I have a few basic skirts and a couple pairs of dress pants but they rarely get worn. In my casual work environment I wear jeans almost every day. I've decided to focus my spending on enhancing my bottoms collection and what better way is there then to buy denim? The four denim trends I'm loving lately are colored denim, boyfriend jeans, the high-waisted flare, and waxed skinny jeans. I think having a pair of each allows for endless fashion possibilities. Which denim styles do you think are essential? 

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Golden Globes: Red Carpet Roundup

Awards season has arrived and I am officially excited. I'm sure many of you watched last night- and I'm sure even more of you saw the red carpet looks.Overall I was very impressed last night- I was happy to see a ton of blush/neutral dresses since I just posted about how much I love that color. I'm rounding up my favorite looks from the evening & would love to hear about yours!

Lea Michele in Marchesa- While most haven't liked her outfit choice, I think the combination of glitz & cutouts is really unique, plus it shows of her amazing bod.

Charlize Theron in Dior- Unique, feminine, and downright gorgeous.

Emma Stone in Lanvin- I love the plunging neckling, cap sleeve detail, and plum color.

Mila Kunis in Dior- She can do no wrong in my eyes. 

Claire Danes in J. Mendel- The cutout detail on the sleeves is beautiful & I love that her jewelry and makeup is simple.

Helen Mirren in Badgley Mischka- Age appropriate and simply flawless. I love the ruffle detailing & her crystal evening clutch.

Dianna Agron in Giles Deacon- I know some of you may not agree with my choice in this, but I think Dianna's fashion risk is one that paid off last night.

Heidi Klum in Calvin Klein- I like the combination of turquoise & nude but this is not the right outfit for The Golden Globes- too casual. 

Leonardo DiCaprio in Giorgio Armani- He's my vote for best dressed male of the evening- perfectly pulled together.

All images via