the posh'mina showoff + GIVEAWAY!

As you ladies (gentlemen? doubt it) know, I just about live in scarves. I wear one almost every single day and although I sometimes know how to tie them (ok...so hope that all of the twisting and tying somehow works), it's nice when something comes along and makes it easier. The wonderful ladies at The Posh'mina sent me this scarf (as well as this one!) and I'm so excited because not only does the design make it easier to nonchalantly drape across your neck, you can also use it as a shawl or belt it or even as a top. Since I was wearing this to work (and therefore under a lab coat), I went the conventional route and used the slots to secure the ends. The scarf feels and looks so expensive - I especially like that this one has 2 different sides as I think it gives the scarf more depth.

The Posh'mina has generously afforded to give one of their scarves away to one of you! Just enter the Rafflecopter below. I apologize to all of you international ladies, this one is only open to US residents.

Cardigan: Ann Taylor Outlet  {save / splurge}
Tee: Gap
Scarf: c/o The Posh'mina
Jeans: Urban Outfitters  {exact}
Belt: J. Crew {exact but cheaper in stores!}
Boots: Frye  {exact}
Purse: Madewell  {exact}
Watch: Kate Spade  {exact}
Bracelet: DIY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

black & white & striped all over

This month's Marionberry Style "Challenge" is stripes...which is why I put that in quotes because with my collection of striped shirts, it wasn't really a challenge. When I was trying to figure out which shirt to wear, I realized I haven't actually worn my sequin striped shirt to work. Back when Whitney and I did our 4-ways-to-wear-this-shirt challenge (mine here, hers here), she layered a collared shirt underneath it. I thought it looked so great on her that I wanted to try it too. 

The shirt I used for layering used to have sleeves - until I hulked out in it during a time I was doing 60 pushups a work out session (which no longer happens, because my body structure does not need more bulk in the arms). I was wearing it mostly as a layering shirt at that point anyway, so I just cut off the sleeves where the rips had started. It actually makes it easier to wear now since I don't have to worry about rolling sleeves and adding even more bulk. 

Also, my nails have been bare for the last 2 days and it's driving me nuts. I hate the feeling of bare nails, but I just ran out of my favorite top coat (Seche Vite...go buy it immediately) and I'm doing some physician shadowing on Friday so no crazy nails for me. But trust, come Saturday my nails WILL have color on them.

Shirt: Loft  {similar}

Under-shirt: Francesca's  {similar}

Trousers: Gap

Watch: Boccia

Bracelet: DIY

Bag: Kate Spade  {similar}

Tassel on Purse: DIY by my mom

Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}

Please go check out how everyone else wore their stripes today - and then wish Marion luck as she's due to give birth any day now!
















also linking up with wiww.

6 months of 2012: a review

Well, all the cool kids are doing it, so I felt obligated to do it too. Don't worry, I won't show you every.single.outfit of the year because if you cared that much, you know where the archives are ;) I only started blogging this year, and spent a good 2 months of that time as a "hiding in the bathroom faceless blogger" (my first real world post is here! such a baby) so it's really only a "best of the last 6 months" kind of roundup. Either way, here's a list of the best, worst, and wtf was I thinking of the year:

Favorite Outfit of the Year: This outfit is my favorite for several reasons. It has my new favorite purse in it, I really like this (new to me) color combination, and it has the perfect feminine/masculine vibe going on that I've realized is what I tend to gravitate towards. Plus the photography gods were on my side that day so overall, favorite.

Biggest WTF of the Year: This pattern-on-pattern monstrosity. In theory, not too bad since pattern mixing is all about staying in the same color family. Unfortunately, this is just too much, too bright, too overwhelming. You live, you learn. I'll stick to little pattern mixing instead.

Biggest Regret Purchase: Although these pants were only $20, I've only worn them one time. I don't really love drawing that much attention to my legs so bright green pants weren't the smartest purchase for me. I think this was one of those "everyone has colored jeans, I NEED THEM TOO" purchases. I've definitely learned my lesson.

Favorite Manicure of the Year: Although extremely simple in design and execution, I love this manicure and hold myself back from recreating it every week.

Biggest Learning Experience: I'm a huge fan of and participant on GOMI. There are some really smart and sassy ladies on there, and I love going to place that allows me to feel sane when looking at some of the more out there blogs. I've met some of my favorite bloggers on there as well. That being said, being on an anonymous site doesn't always mean you're anonymous. I've learned that as unoffensive as you try to be on the internet in general, you aren't going to please everyone but for every 1 person who dislikes you, there are in general 10 that do like you. My face and thighs aren't those of a supermodel, but I think I can add a little bit of value to "fashion" blogging as a whole in a normal girl kind of way.

Most Pageviews of the Year: This post about a little trick Bri taught me has 3 times as many views as the next highest viewed post. I hope all of the repins on pinterest have helped a lot of other women with the art of layering ;)

Favorite Thrifted Item: I'm pretty new to thrifting. My mother, literally the most stylish woman I know, is a huge thrift store person, so it's almost embarrassing to admit that reading blogs motivated me to finally go to a thrift store. I haven't purchased that much, but this mustard cardigan is my favorite. I'm unsure what the original brand is, or how old it is, but I love the color and fit, so I don't even care.

Favorite DIY of the Year: My tube bracelets are my favorite thing I've made this year, with my flannel scarf coming in as a close second. I made them in gold and silver, and reach for them almost every single day. Plus the materials cost less than $10 and are super easy to make - cheap and easy: sounds good to me!

Most Worn/Favorite Purchase: My favorite purchase of the year is also my most worn (makes sense, huh?). My J. Crew Schoolboy blazer, which was a birthday present to myself, is the most expensive piece of clothing I own, but I know the cost per wear will eventually be less than a lot of my cheaper pieces of clothing.

So that's it! I hope 2013 brings me the foresight to make smarter purchases to fill the holes in my closet, to still expirement with my clothes, and to continue to have fun with this little hobby.

Franziska, Everyday

I read a lot of blogs and am constantly wishing I had all of the amazing pieces of clothing you ladies have. Unfortunately, I have a budget I (try to) stick to, so I generally just try to be inspired and recreate what you wear with items from my own closet rather than go out and buy a bunch of clothes every week. I say generally because once I saw this bag on Kendi, I needed it to be mine. I checked on it every few weeks, hoping it would go down in price. It did go down about $20 over Black Friday, but I still held off. Then two weeks ago when I was again telling someone about this bag, all bags happened to be 25% off, making it cheaper than it was on Black Friday...and I finally had to press buy. It took a little bit to get to me because I wanted a little monogram added, but it was definitely worth the wait.

To fund this purchase I sold this purse on eBay for the price I bought it for in the store. I know that I'll get a lot more wear out of this new purse as it works well for work now and will be great in the future (if I get into school). A smaller bright green purse just can't compete with a big leather tote.

Have you ever purchased something after seeing someone on a blog wearing it? Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Sweater: Target  {exact on sale for $13}
Gingham: J. Crew Factory (with tank top in between)  {exact}
Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}
Scarf: H&M
Purse: Madewell  {exact}
Shoes: Crown Vintage  {save / splurge}
Watch: Kate Spade  {exact}
Bracelet: DIY
Nails: Seen here

via Instagram

P.S. Two days left to enter the Firmoo Giveaway!

embarrassed

This whole "stop somewhere along the way to work to take a few pictures because it's too dark when I'm leaving home" thing is getting more embarrassing by the day. I prop my camera in my drunk so every time a car gets close, I go to my trunk and pretend I'm looking for something...except for on this day, a man parked his car a block away, got out, and just watched. Yep.

Embarrassing stories aside, I was really excited to wear my watch because I finally put a new band on it. I initially wanted a navy blue band, but those are surprisingly hard to find, so I settled on a dark brown band instead. I'm still going to be on the lookout for a navy band though to switch it up in the future.

Blouse: Equipment via eBay  {save / similar on sale}
Jeans: American Eagle  {exact on sale}
Scarf: gift from my friend Alexa  {save / splurge}
Belt: Madewell  {similar}
Shoes: Tory Burch  {save / exact}
Watch: Kate Spade  {exact}
Bracelet: DIY
Earrings: Banana Republic Outlet  {similar}
Purse: Kate Spade  {save / similar}












linking up with wiww

Advice for Shopping at Forever 21

I mentioned on Monday that I think I've figured out how to shop in Forever 21, and several people asked for tips, so I've been thinking about how I figured out how to shop there. Hopefully these help you in the land of inexpensive clothes and accessories.

1. Take your time getting to know the layout of the store. When F21 first came to our mall, I did not set foot in it for at least a year. It's huge, and has so much in it that I always felt overwhelmed. I slowly worked my way through the store and figured out the layout of the sections - the boho, the glam, the girly, the sale, the basic, the "kinda for the office" section.

2. Once you know what is found in each section , you'll slowly figure out what sections resonate with your style. I generally stick to the girly and the "office" section.

3. Take your time and walk around. I'm a big "toucher" when I shop. It drives Chris crazy but I like to walk around and just feel the clothes. I usually do 2 loops around the store and pick up anything that catches my attention. Don't feel that you have to look at every single piece in the store.

4. Try on anything that caught your attention. I generally try on 6-10 items when I shop at F21, and tend to buy maybe 1 of them. Which leads to #5...

5. Figure out what pieces work and which don't. Many items are cut similarly at F21 (and most stores). At Forever 21, I can't buy blazers because they are too tight on my arms, dresses because they are too short, and jeans because they too short. That limits me to tops. I basically eliminated a majority of the store, but that also means I skip over a lot when I'm looking for things. By knowing what pieces won't fit me, I don't bother trying them on, thereby bypassing any feelings of annoyance while in the dressing room.

6. Don't be afraid to size up. I'm generally a size medium in tops in other stores, but am almost exclusively a large at Forever 21.

7. Don't forget the accessories department. I like the jewelry at Forever 21 more than the jewelry at H&M and you really can't beat the prices. When people ask me where my jewelry is from in real life, they are always surprised to hear Forever 21. They also have inexpensive scarves, bags and hair accessories.

8. Don't buy something just because it's inexpensive. What's the point if you aren't actually going to wear/love it?

I hope that helped! What advice do you have for shopping at Forever 21?

Blouse: Forever 21  {exact}

Scarf: H&M

Jeans: American Eagle  {exact on sale}

Belt: Target  {similar}

Shoes: Tory Burch {20% off with code FANDF}

Watch: Kate Spade {exact}

Bracelet: DIY, J. Crew via eBay

Linking up with Real Girl Style and Work it Wednesday.

On Layering

Fall means for most of us cooler regions means dropping temperatures, and dropping temperatures means more clothes. We're all about the layering. I look to other women out there and  see the way they layer and I say to myself "Self, you have those pieces in your closet - do that!". So then I pin all of these pictures and tell myself I'm going to recreate them.

And then every morning when I'm trying to figure out what to wear, I think today's the day I'm going to be one of those people that effortlessly layer...and it never turns out right. I know my expectations of what I want it to look like are too high - my body is not like Lilly's, so why would the clothes look like that on me? The layers end up bulky and instead of defining anything, my boobs just become a blob with my waist, making me look heavier and flabbier than I am. So then I go back to boring shirts and scarves because that's what I kind of know how to do.

And then I'm upset all over again for falling into the trap I started this blog to avoid. My outfits become repetitious and bore me, so I'm sure they are boring you. How does one break out of this trap? How do I prevent looking like the Pillsbury Doughboy when trying to layer? Help me internet.

Shirt: H&M

Scarf: Present from my sister

Belt: Madewell  {similar}
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}
Watch: Target  {only in stores}
Bracelet: DIY

Maroon + Leopard

Happy Friday! The pups and I are off to visit my parents for the weekend - I anticipate lots of rolling around in mud and cow chasing ;)

1 day left to enter the bracelet giveaway!

Sweater: Forever 21
Blouse: J. Crew  {similar}
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}
Watch: Kate Spade  {exact}
Bracelet: DIY







linking up with wiww

Hopeful.

I try not to share too much about my current "life" situation because frankly, it's all so up in the air. As you know, I work for a pharmaceutical development company...but I'm actually in the process of applying to medical school. It's been a rough couple of years of applying, with plenty of money and tears spent throughout the process. I interviewed at my #1 choice last year....and it obviously did not work out.

Today I found out I get a second chance at it.

November 9th. Cross all your digits for me.






What do I wear?!

Vest: Old Navy {similar}
Shirt: H&M
Scarf: DIY
Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}
Shoes: Tory Burch  {see my breaking-in post here}
Watch: Target
Nails: seen here
Bracelets: H&M, DIY {instructions and chance to win here}






(sorry about the somewhat blurry pic - it started to pour right after I took the first picture so I only had 1 chance)

Altering Thrift Finds

In an effort to save some money and to be a smarter consumer, I've been trying to buy more clothes secondhand. As I've mentioned in the past, my mom is a huge thrifter which has been a great influence in my own thrifting. My rules for buying second hand clothes are the same for buying clothes new - it has to be something I can see myself wearing multiple ways, and it has to fill a hole in my closet.

Even though I live in Wisconsin and our winters are brutal, I don't have that many thick sweaters. I did just buy a maroon (NOT oxblood!) sweater, but wanted a cream colored one as well. I found this sweater at Goodwill this weekend for $4. I loved the color, the neckline, and the length...but I hated the sleeves. Luckily I still am in possession of my mom's sewing machine, so with a few stitches and snips I had myself the perfect slightly oversized sweater.
















Sweater: thrifted and altered
Scarf: Forever 21
Purse: Gift from my best friend
Jeans: Gap  {very similar}
Boots: Frye  {exact}
Watch: Target  {only in stores}
Bracelet: DIY (you can win one here!)






Linking up with Real Girl Glam, Work Clothes I Suppose, and wiww.

Twigs on my Back

Right after I finished snapping these pictures, Baer ran away. Our yard isn't fenced in all the way, and he just kind of...took off. Found him 15 minutes later playing with another dog in the neighbors yard. To get to that yard though, I had to climb through some brush...which is how I got twigs on my back.

In my September budget post, I said that I was going to go back to get that polka dot Gap sweater. I did go back and get it. I've been playing around with how to wear it, and I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't going to work out. I returned it yesterday and picked up this sweater instead. I already know that I'll wear it heaps more than I would have worn the other one. Gap card holders get 30% their entire purchase through the end of the weekend!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway to win your choice of gold or silver plated tube bracelet!

Sweater: Gap  {exact}
Scarf: Victoria's Secret
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Old Navy  {exact}
Earrings: Tiffanys
Watch: Boccia
Bracelets: DIY, Tiffanys












YOU GUYS. I'm doing a Color Run (technically it's Color Me Rad) on Saturday and I'm SO EXCITED. It's supposed to rain but we're not going to let that ruin our {explosion of color} fun.



linking up with wiww.

Metal Tube Bracelet Tutorial + a Giveaway

 

I've loved the idea of long tube bead bracelets for a long time, but I haven't found one in stores any where - so I decided to make my own! I played around with the method of making these, and came up with this easy tutorial. If you'd rather just win one, there's a giveaway at the end!

Supplies

Leather band
Jump Rings
Lobster Claw Clasp
Tube Beads (from Amazon)
Pliers

Wrap the leather cord around your wrist to see how many tubes you'll be able to fit. I had 9 beads, and enough band for 7 of them. I wanted a little extra on both sides just in case.

Tie off 1 end, and add a tube bead.

Consider the knot on the left your closure. Wrap it around your wrist, and then tie a loop knot on the other end, so the two ends (the knot on the left, and the loop on the right) are around 2 centimeters apart. This loop knot is not the final knot, so don't pull too tight. 

Add another tube bead, and tie a loop knot so that the 2 loops around 2 centimeters apart.

Do this back and forth, making sure the lengths remain even.

 You'll want an open end on either side of the bracelet.

Take your loop knots from one end,

 and remove the knots.

Now use the three loops and the open string, and tie it into one loop knot.

Open the loop knots on the other end and then allow the beads to fall into a cleaner pattern. Tie a loop knot on the other end. Cut off the remaining cord on either end.

Take a jump ring and open it just enough to loop it into the leather loops. I double up the jump rings as extra security.

 Add the clasp.

Add as many jump rings on the other end as you need so that the bracelet fits.

Wear alone or with your favorite watch and bracelets.





You guys know how much I love crafting, and to show you how much I appreciate your support, I'm holding a giveaway so you can win one of these bracelets - your choice of gold or silver. This is open internationally! Please use Rafflecopter to enter below.






a Rafflecopter giveaway