Spring Purse Picks!

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I’m really into blush and nude/light tan purses right now….so here is my round up of the best ones just in time for spring!

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Marc Jacobs – Too Hot To Handle Bentley Leather Tote

Color: Cement

Price: $498

I shouldn’t love this bag, but I do! The color is that perfect mix of blush/nude, and it’s just all around a great tote. It’s big enough to hold anything you might need, and has the attachment for a side-banger strap, which I love. Life is better with side bangers.

Click here to check it out!

 

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Kate Spade – Holden Street Olivera

Color: Pebble

Price: $378

This is the perfect purse to get for business purposes. I have always wanted a light colored briefcase-esque bag that looks professional but can also be an everyday purse. I think this does the trick. I love this bag in the nude pebble color, however you could always get it in black or red if that is more your style.

Click here to check it out!

 

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Forever 21 – Unstructured Faux Leather Tote

Color: Taupe

Price: $24.90

This is a much more wallet-friendly option. If you like the idea of the light tan/blush purses, however don’t want to invest $300+ …this is the purse for you! It is always a good idea to check out places like Forever 21 or Aldo for cheaper purses. They always have ones that look relatively similar to the higher end brands, but for very affordable options.

Click here to check it out!

 

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Tory Burch – Marion Slouchy Tote

Color: Light Oak

Price: $595

This bag is a gorgeous blush color. It is definitely a spring bag. I love all things Tory Burch, so this had to be added to the list! You can never go wrong with a little TB. This bag is at the slightly higher end of the price range, however it is well worth the investment.

Click here to check it out!

Images courtesy of http://www.marcjacobs.com, http://www.katespade.com, http://www.forever21.com, http://www.toryburch.com
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Fashion Find – Lilly Pulitzer Harp Wrap

Image courtesy of http://www.lillypulitzer.com

I’ve recently been looking online for a new dress to wear to a wedding in Florida. What better place to start than Lilly Pulitzer? Their dresses are always fun and summery, perfect for beach weddings. I stumbled across this wrap/cape scenario and I think it is a must have! Throw it on with jeans or white jeans and you immediately look classy and put together. AND it looks super comfy. Win-Win. So what do you think?? Is this not the cutest wrap ever!!

Lilly Pulitzer Harp Wrap

Color: Spectrum Blue Getaway Stripe

Price: $78

To purchase: head to anywhere Lilly Pulitzer is sold. Or check out their website, Lilly Pulitzer

#Obsessed – Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser

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I hardly ever talk about my skin care routine, however today I must share a must have! It is called Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser, and it is the best face wash ever!! I have always had awful skin, and since moving to the mountains it has become even more of a disaster. It is oily, yet super dry. On top of that, for years I have had blackheads I’ve never been able to get rid of. Enter: Biore Deep Pore Charcoal Cleanser. I don’t exactly understand how it works, but basically the charcoal pulls out all the impurities in your skin. I have been using this since the summer, and my skin keeps getting better and better! It has gotten rid of most of my blackheads, and is still gentle enough that I can use it in the morning AND at night! I use this cleanser with my Clarisonic brush, and the results I have gotten are shocking. I never thought my skin could change so dramatically. Now granted, I still have a long way to go, but this facial cleanser gives me hope that I will one day get to the skin I have always dreamed of having.

To purchase – check out your local drugstore, grocery store or Target. It is sold wherever most facial cleansers are sold.

Mani Monday: Essie Merino Cool

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I have been searching for a new color for a few weeks now, and I stumbled upon this perfect Essie shade at Target last week. It is a gorgeous mix of grey and a slight hint of purple. It changes slightly depending on the light. I am OBSESSED with it!! It is called Merino Cool, and it is definitely a must have. It’s a perfect fall shade, or just a daily shade when you want to feel dark and a little mysterious. My cousin, who is way tanner than me, bought Master Plan, which is also a great color. It’s a nude that looks way lighter than Merino Cool. The difference is the skin tone. I know that Master Plan would not look great on me, because my skin tone is too light to offset it. However, it looks perfect on her! So here is my tip for the day — if you are tan, go for the lighter nude-brown of Master Plan, and if you are super pale, go for the darker Merino Cool. Trust me.

Time For A Mini Hipster Shoe Sesh!

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I recently bought some Vans. It was a weird day in my life. I have always been a prepster who was strictly opposed to Vans. They were so hipster..so skater..so not me. But as I have been living in the mountains, I have become more intrigued by them. Everyone up here seems to wear them, so they must be comfy right? I vowed never to try them out…until one day I stumbled upon these bad boys: Vans Chevron Slip Ons. Obviously..I had to have them. I mean they were chevron print!! If there was ever going to be a time that I gave in to this hipster-skater trend, this was the time. So I bought them. And they are very comfy (for the 5 minutes I tried them on). I haven’t actually worn them yet, but once fall gets here, I am going to incorporate them into my wardrobe (but only when I’m feeling a hipster vibe).

Here are some other “Vans”-esque shoes I found…supposedly they are in right now. Designers like Givinchy have even made some! Who would have thought…

So browse the links below and see what you think! (Vans seems to be the only company that has done the chevron print, but leopard is ALL over the place!)

Givenchy Leopard Print Slip Ons         Steve Madden Leopard Print Slip Ons

Are you into this trend?? What is your favorite slip on shoe??

xoxo

Pottery Barn Throw Blanket…For Less!

Pottery Barn Blanket

I recently went shopping, and died over Pottery Barn’s new holiday decor. Between their fall decor and the upcoming Christmas decor(found in their catalog), I could definitely spend hundreds of dollars there very quick. I especially loved their faux fur throw pillows and throw blankets. They look so delicious and perfect. Very cozy for those cold winter days. Unfortunately, the throw blanket I really wanted cost $129. That was a little too pricey for my taste. So I left the store empty handed. I then strolled into Target (my home away from home). I went straight to the home section (obvi) and what did I find?! A faux fur white blanket on sale for $13.99!!!! What a steal!! This is what I love. Finding things that I love at the more high end stores, and then scouting around to find them on the cheap! So now, I get the look I want, my boyfriend doesn’t think I’m crazy for spending $129 on a blanket, AND I have $100 more dollars to spend on something else! (Like the Pottery Barn fur pillows to match!). Target is the BEST! If you ever want the look of Pottery Barn but can’t spend that much money, always look at stores like Target, Home Goods, or Ikea. They have great deals, and when you mix high priced and low priced items, no one knows the difference! I like to spend more money on certain things, and then save money on other accessories. For example, I discovered that the cheapest pillow inserts are found at Ikea. They are like $3.00! And then you can buy the Pottery Barn or West Elm pillow covers for $30-$40 and not feel bad about it. Instead of spending $12-$18 on a pillow insert PLUS $30-$40 on a pillow cover at Pottery Barn, you just saved that extra $12-$18 and no one will ever know the difference! That’s almost enough for another pillow cover! It’s all about the mix and match. My tip is never buy things on a whim. Figure out what you want and then shop around to find the best price you can on that item. I always scout out the stores, write down what I want, and then go home and online shop to see if I can find similar things for a better price.

So here it is — the blanket I based my purchase at Target off of:  Faux Fur Throw from Pottery Barn    How luxe is that?!

Pottery Barn Blanket

I couldn’t find the Target throw blanket I bought online, but here is a picture of the info tag 🙂

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Doesn’t that look the same?! So flurry and furry!

So what do you think? Are you always searching for a sweet deal like I am?! Leave me a comment and let me know!

xoxo

Image courtesy of http://www.polyvore.com

 

 

Decorating Inspiration!

After my re-decorating binge yesterday, I found myself doing some inspiration searching online today. So in case you are needing some inspiration to get your home remodel started… check out these fab finds!

First off, This Bed! This is the sickest bed I have seen in a while. Brass is coming back, and I’m digging it. To me, this bed would only work if you have a dark room to make it stand out. Picture deep purples and blues, a gorgeous charcoal, or a royal emerald, with touches of gold and velvet that pop and make the room seem luxe. Love Love Love!

Next topic: TRAYS! Trays are fabulous because they make a plain, empty space seemed planned out and decorated. I personally have a white tray in my living room, and a mirrored tray in my bedroom. I’m also hoping to add a small gold tray to my new office desk! 🙂

As an example, here are what my trays look like these days.

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The best part of trays is that you can change them based on events, holidays, etc. I didn’t have some flowers at one point, and so I filled the tray with candles. For Christmas, I filled a glass bowl with sparkly pinecones.

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As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do with trays!

Here are some of my favorite trays: West Elm – Copper Tray  CB2 – White Tray  West Elm – Blue Mirrored Glass Tray

Just for fun, here are some other cute accessories I’m currently obsessed with(can you tell I’m into gold right now?!):  CB2 Vases  and CB2 Dahlia Candleholders

And last but not least, check out Target this week — they have up to 25% off their home goods/furniture right now!! Get shopping!!

So what do you think?! Are you inspired to get decorating?! Let me know!

xoxo

 

DIY: Guest Room/Home Office Remodel!

As I’ve mentioned before, I live in a tiny, not so great apartment. Slowly, I have tried to make each room look as good as I can with what I have to work with. Since my boyfriend and I rent, I cannot change the wall colors, or replace the disgusting old carpet with hard wood. But what I CAN do is re-decorate to take your eyes away from the lame floors, etc. This summer, I have been getting inspired by seeing a lot of bloggers home offices online. They all looked so cute! So then I decided…I want a home office! But where would I put it? I don’t have a mansion with extra rooms just waiting for ideas. But I did have a spare bedroom that we basically used for storage. It had turned into my closet/junk room. And so, my remodel of the spare room began.

Here is what our spare bedroom looked like before I started – the bed was covered in clothes, jewelry, and randomness. The floors had an overload of holiday pillows, shoes, and bags strewn around that I had no place to store. I had built a desk about two weeks ago(more info below), but that was as far as I got in the project. As you can see, the blue plastic was still on the white desk to keep it from getting scratched!

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First step in the remodel was simple: Organize! Before I could do the fun stuff (aka decorating), I had to organize my life. I re-worked my closet, and found places for all my jewelry and clothes. It really wasn’t hard, it just took some time.

Second step was hanging up the curtains. All you need for this project is a drill (screw gun), drill bits, and screws. I bought my curtain rod and attachments from Ikea for super cheap. If you are using the Ikea set up, I would suggest having a friend or Mom help you. It goes faster. Ikea curtain rods are not at all hard to set up, the directions are pretty straight forward. To check out Ikea curtains, Click Here And Here!

Here is the finished room!!

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How pretty is that?! It’s exactly how I imagined it. Disregard the chair, that will be another post. I need to make it super glam, but for now the chair will have to do. You can see black paint on it from other DIY projects I have done. It is what I refer to as my “Craft Chair” haha 🙂 To purchase the shiny white desk I bought, it can be found at Ikea here. The price is slightly high, but I purchased it when they were having a summer sale. A good rule of thumb for buying new decor pieces is figure out what you want, then wait a month to buy it. Within that month, there will usually be some sort of sale. I have found that if I troll the internet and my emails for discounts, I am usually able to find some sort of savings for what I want. One time that this is not a good idea, is when you know the product is going to sell out. If you are in love with the product, and think it won’t be there in a month, then buy it. You can always return it, and you will usually regret it if you don’t.

P.S. A small note on the Ikea desk – in true Ikea fashion, it took me about 3 and a half hours to build. Annoying at the time, but once it was built I felt a huge sense of accomplishment. So don’t let Ikea and it’s long building times scare you…you can do it!!

Here are the details of every part of the room:

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Pillows: West Elm – These particular silver pillows I purchased around last Christmas, so they are no longer in stock. But not to worry! They are always changing their inventory, and right now they have some GREAT pillows! I especially like this Velvet Pillow because it’s so in for fall right now. West Elm’s pillows normally run around $39 a pillow, which adds up quickly. But as you can see, they are SO worth it. I wanted a glam look, and these pillows delivered. West Elm has a lot of good sales too, so get on their mailing list and you will be happy you did! Everything I have bought at their store I have purchased while they had a promotion going. Keep your eyes open, and you will be rewarded!

Throw Blanket: West Elm – This is currently out of stock as well, but check out their West Elm Throw Blankets page, and I’m sure you will find something you love! You cannot tell in the picture, but in person it is metallic and very shimmery. It looks awesome!

 

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Curtains: West Elm – Can you tell I am OBSESSED with West Elm?! haha It’s a problem! These curtains were perfect because they are pretty sheer (you can’t tell in the picture because I took it at night time), so they let a lot of light in. I also love them because they have little specks of silver sparkles in them that glimmer in the light. Check out these curtains here: Metallic Dash Curtains And BONUS! They are on sale right now!!

Vases In Window: These cute white vases are from Ikea. I liked them because they are small and understated but are able to be a design piece on their own, or I could add a single flower to them and they could be vases. #MultiFunctional. Check these vases out HERE and HERE! I love getting home accessories at Ikea because they are so well priced. It is always a win!

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Picture Wall: All these white frames were purchased at Ikea. After many searches at different stores, I have found that Ikea has the best prices when it comes to picture frames. You can check out their frame selection here: Ikea Picture Frames

The prints in the pictures came from a variety of sources. Some were purchased through Etsy, and one of the prints my mom made for me. As you can see, the bottom two frames actually have not been replaced with real prints yet. I hung up the frames anyway so that I could get the overall look I wanted. The prints will be coming soon!!

So overall, this who remodel took me about a day. I had to re-organize, build a desk, and re-decorate the room. I think it was well worth it, I am loving the outcome!! I hope this post reminds you that you CAN live in a fabulous home, no matter how big or small. All you have to do is have a vision, and make it come to life!

Have you ever imagined a new room, and made it happen?! Let me know!!

xoxo

Relationship Update

This week has been an emotionally and mentally draining week. But I find in times like these, my boyfriend always surprises me. He sees that I’m sad, or knows that I’m upset, and adapts. It’s always slightly shocking to me that when my mood is struggling, he steps up to the plate to make me smile. It’s not anything big, but just dancing around or doing something silly to make me laugh really helps. So fine, maybe he doesn’t give me a billion hugs and say let’s snuggle and watch Gossip Girl…but he does his little things. And that’s what I need to appreciate. Because when you sit back and think about it, he’s trying his best in his own way. And it does make me smile. So this week, instead of a question, I pose an idea to you:

Appreciate the people around you and what they do to make you smile. ❤

What do you think? Have you had an epiphany like this??

xoxo

 

(Image courtesy of http://www.maryhugheswellness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/heart.png)