Tied up in Bows: Ready for the Rain

 While I was relaxing over the Memorial weekend holiday I got to thinking about those stressful mornings when I feel like I have absolutely nothing to wear. When in fact I have too many options to wear. I realized the quick fix to this problem (that I feel so many of us share) and took the opportunity to go through my wardrobe and pull out the things that I hadn't worn in the past year…or ever. It turned out to be half of my closet! I was able to trade in some of my clothes at Arizona Trading Company and I got cash back at Clothes Mentor. Because of the ridged criteria at consignment shops I was left with most of the clothes I set out with. I plan to donate the rest and drop by Goodwill this week. Is it time for you to clean out your closet??

Head to toe: Claire's headband ($3) and TJMaxx MK sunglasses ($20). Both the art deco earrings and scarf are thrifts ($2+$2). I got the blouse, peplum rain jacket, and pants discounted at Macy's ($20+$40+$40). The London Fog bag of course is from TJ ($30). And finally the black snake skin pumps are discounted from Shi ($30). 

Total out of pocket: $187

Headband also seen here

Cobalt rain jacket, blouse, and pants also seen here 

Thanks to the lovely Lindsey Bales for a great afternoon and for marvelous pictures. Check out her blog here!

Matching Maidens: Queen of the Dirt

I spent this lovely day with my mama. As it was a day off for both of us we decided to eat a little, shop a little, and spend a little (well, not so little). We had a wonderful lunch at Dean and Deluca, it was the perfect day to eat on the sidewalk. As much as I don't care for gardening, my mother is a stupendous gardener and so I decided to entertain her by stopping by Suburban. She enjoys gardening immensely and can always find a reason to go to the garden center, I also thought it would be a prime place to take a few pictures. It turns out it was!

Head to toe: earrings are from Francesca's ($15). The sea foam halter is actually a bikini top I got over the week at H&M ($13). The floral blouse is my mothers ($0). She was actually going to wear it this morning before I snatched it up, she decided instead to go with a similar floral top by the same designer and also sported white denim pants. My white jeans are Guess, my bag and sunglasses are MK both are from TJ ($30+$30+$20). The stripped multicolored scarf on my bag is a thrift as well are the purple pumps ($1+$3). 

Total out of pocket: $112 

Earrings most recently seen here and here

White jeans most recently seen here

Purple pumps also seen here 

Thank you mother dear for a lovely day off and for taking the wonderful pictures.

Wedding Weekend: Escaping to Eureka

I spent this past weekend witnessing an incredibly beautiful wedding of a woman the most dearest to me next to my mother. I was one of four privileged guest to see her and her fiance make the deepest vow of love. In the sweetest little mountain town tucked up in the hills of the Ozarks, they were wed at a charming Victorian style Bed & Breakfast called the Angel. The co-owner Susan fell in love with my dress, she incredibly encouraging of my pursuit in fashion, it always stimulates my passion for fashion when I hear such support from new people. In Eureka Springs, Arkansas you'll find the windy roads laced with the most quintessential B&B's (many of which claim to be haunted). The downtown area is lined with french-influenced architecture, housing a variety of eclectic shoppes. My stay there was brief, but I certainly felt the congenial free-spiritedness charm of the community to already start planning a return trip. 

The dress I'm wearing I constructed the week of the wedding, working on it till the very last minute of course. The material I used I got from Kaplan's Fabrics on the Plaza, they were incredibly generous about discounting the fabrics I purchased. The dress has an ivory lace overlay ($40/yrd originally $90/yrd) with a lining and underling in a sea foam poly-blend ($10/yrd originally $14). The fabric and the notions alone made it a costly dress but the amount of labor it demanded the week of my finals makes it astounding! 

Total out of pocket: $115

Let Me Introduce You: Chocolate for Two

I started the day with a group presentation in my Marketing class (which I think went quite well) and spent the afternoon with my dearest friend Ashley Graham and the rest of the evening sewing a dress for an incredibly beautiful wedding I went to in Eureka Springs Arkansas this past weekend (pictures will be up soon!!). Ashley has the cutest style, I think if I were to have any other style besides my own it'd be hers. We had such a fun day trying new things. We indulged ourselves at Annedore's: Fine Chocolates. It's tucked away in the West Plaza neighborhood right next to that charming little coffee house Hi Hat. We sampled their new most delectable chocolate, the peanut butter cow. Ashley got a number of chocolate cigars and I spoiled myself with their chocolate creme truffles. An excellent gift for any occasion, who's going to be the next lucky friend of mine to receive that sweet present!

Calvin Klein blue dress was a gift ($0). I got the beautiful scarf on a fabulous trip to San Fran in Chinatown ($10). I got the shoes, necklace, and bag all from TJ ($30+$15+$30). And the earrings I had purchased earlier but when I found the necklace the other day they just were meant to be, ab-so-lute-ly perfect match together($12)!

Total out of pocket: $97

Thanks to the marvelous miss Ashley for taking the pictures.

Hats On: Off to the Races

I designed and constructed this hat for a friend of the family's daughter. They're taking her to the Kentucky Derby for her 29th birthday and had an embarrassingly bare hat for her to wear. My had name slipped their mind until the last minute, I was happy to help! I hadn't had much experience in haberdashery but I'm always thrilled to explore new creative outlets. I really enjoyed this test of time and talent and I can't wait to work on something like this again. 

The hat was provided by the Stubles. All the decorations were either courteous of the very generous Emily Hart Bridal or purchased at discounted prices at Hobby Lobby and Michael's.

Total out of pocket: $47 

Photos taken via iPhone