Milly and ModCloth

Hello, lovelies!  A few random tidbits for your day, if you have a sec:

1) Have y'all seen the Milly for Sperry loafers? PRESH. I especially love the neon pair, even though I have no clue what the heck I'd wear them with. (Can I just admit that the fact I ended the previous sentence on a preposition is eating me alive? There just wasn't an un-awkward way to write it correctly.) #CopywriterProblems

Anywhoodle...take note:

Neons here.

Red here.

2) I'm pretty much obsessed (and have been for a couple of years) with ModCloth. In fact, I'm currently trying to figure out how I can convince Stephen to get on board with my purchasing of this Eva Franco dress.

3) And this Great X-pectations top. I think I need it in a bad way.

4) On a hair-related note, I haven't had time to do a hair-defrizzing post this week, like I had planned. We'll have to defrizz next week, girls.

5) I am ready for the husband to return from New York. In fact, I was ready the moment he got on that plane, but after last night's severe thunderstorms, I am really ready for his return. Ari and I battened down the hatches and toughed it out, but I'm ready for the fearless leader to get his heiney back.

6) This boy posed for a pic for me yesterday when I went home at lunch to feed him. In looking at this photo, I notice two things:

    a) I believe that he's smiling in the pic.
    b) I believe we need to convince his dad to take a trip to Pet Co. for a new bed.

7) Last thing - iPhone users, please help! This morning, I woke up late because my alarm didn't go off. I remembered setting it last night, so I went to make sure it was working. I discovered that the sound/speakers on the phone are completely broken. Music won't play, alarm won't go off, phone won't ring out loud...nada. We did have a bad storm last night, so I'm wondering if it was a power surge?? Help!

Be blessed, lovelies-

The Summer Staples List

via We Heart It

This is long. You have been warned.

I get questions and comments every now about how to build a solid seasonal wardrobe on a budget. And by budget, I don’t mean the overwrought hipster fashion blogger idea of budget which translates too, “Spend $1000 on a Chanel Skirt – it’s an investment piece. Then buy your tops at J.Crew!”

No. A REAL budget.

Like, “You could quite possibly find this item on the ‘75% off’ clearance rack” way of dressing oneself.

Over the years, I’ve devised a shopping process that works for me. My budget used to be a bit tighter when I was single, but I’ve got a little more leeway now that there are two incomes contributing to the bank account. Still though, those years in my early twenties were the mother of invention. I learned to buy things cheap and style them to appear more expensively.

I think it would actually surprise most people to find out how easy it is to create several different looks from just a few key pieces. If I had to create a must-buy list, it might look a little something like this:

White Jeans

I love a pair of crisp white skinny jeans for spring/summer. White jeans can be dressed up with a charmeuse top and chunky jewelry, or down with a chambray shirt and minimal accessories. Remember to: 

1. Buy white jeans with minimal pocket fabric. White jeans aren’t too forgiving on the figure anyway, so you’ll want to minimize any extra fabric bunching up around the hips, which tends to happen when you buy jeans with deep pockets.
2. Wear minimal underwear. Yes, ladies – this may require purchasing non-granny underoos. There’s nothing more disturbing that seeing a girl in a cute pair of white jeans, then seeing her ginormous panty line.  Or her bright pink boy short undies. Please keep ‘em nude or tan. I like the V. S. V-String and the V.S. Cheekies. They’re comfy and go all invisible underneath white jeans.

These are great.  

And so are these.

Denim or Chambray Shirt

via christineexox.tumblr.com

 This is one of the most versatile items a girl can own. Again, you can dress them up or down; with chunky jewelry or nothing at all. I like pairing my denim shirt with a bright skirt and nude heels for work. 

This one is adorbs.

Buy it here.

Fun Sundresses

I think every woman needs a handful of sundresses in her closet. I like Tobi, Sosie and Francesca’s for affordable frocks. Pair a sundress with a blazer and heels for an office appropriate look or as is for night. 

From Tobi

Also from Tobi, here.

Everly Riley Tank Dress, here.

From Sosie

Cream or Off-White Blazer

My favorite blazer came from Urban Outfitters. It’s off-white and I wear it at least once a week. It was a bit of an investment, but it has more than paid for itself in the past two years. Look for ¾ sleeves (the most slimming sleeve length for women) and tailoring along the smallest part of the waist. 

From Urban Outfitters, buy it here.

Nude and or Brown Heels

This is kind of a no-brainer. Nude heels are a must for us gals. They elongate the leg and pretty much go with everything. Brown strappy sandal heels are great, too. My favorite pair came from Aldo last summer, but I also love these:

From Target, y'all!

Denim Cut-Offs

These can be so adorable when worn correctly. The key is to pair them with flowy tops. Remember to show off only one part of your body. Showing skin on both the top and bottom can get a little hootchie-mama-esque.

I honestly recommend searching secondhand stores and thrift shops. That's where I got my favorites, which are a pair of cut-off Levi 501s that I bought at Cheap Thrills in Fay'ville last winter. 

If you don't have any thrift stores in your city, Old Navy has a super-cute pair.

Found at Old Navy

Tunic Style Tops

I love the simple tunic tops in sheer fabric. White is absolutely essential. Pale yellow is also really “in” for this spring.

Buy it here

Found here at Victoria's Secret

A Swimsuit that Makes the Boys Go “Woah”

I love a classic bikini. Give me a cute halter style bikini top and some low-rise bottoms and I’m good to go. I also like to buy tops and bottoms in lots of colors to mix and match for a color blocked look.

Not sure I made anyone go "woah", but the suit is comfy and cute!

I bought the one above at Target last week. You can buy the top here and the bottom here . You can also bet your britches that swimsuit pics will NOT be coming on a regular basis. Adriana Lima, I am not.

One piece gals can appreciate the cute fifties-inspired pin-up styles that are sweeping the stores lately. I love presh one pieces on V. Secret right now, especially the red number by Carmen Marc Valvo….rawr!

A Statement Necklace


I'm not sure statement necklaces apply to only one season, but summer allows you to go a little crazier with the neck candy. I love this necklace (seen below) from BaubleBar is so adorable and would look amazing with that chambray shirt you're going to buy ; )

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So tell – what makes the cut when it comes to buying summer essentials? Any tips for budget shopping that you’ve integrated into your buying routine?

Be blessed, lovelies- 

Random Usually Happens on Thursday

Have I ever mentioned how much I love, love, love three day weekends? Because I do. A lot.

We had a really great time in St. Louis celebrating our nephew Luke's first birthday. Lots of Stephen's family joined us up there and we were able to just hang out for a couple of days. I purposely didn't take any pics, just because I feel like many times, we're so focused on getting pics that we miss important moments.

And I wanted to be able to enjoy those couple of days for all they were worth : )

1. We're still obsessed with Game of Thrones. In case you were wondering. We are now on Season II and I'm starting to think that Peter Dinklage deserves an Emmy for his role. One of the finest television actors around, in my opinion.

2. Tomorrow I'll be posting something on how I get my hair to behave during summer, per the request of a couple peeps in the comments last week. This post is dedicated to my southern sisters. Together, we will overcome the humidity.

3. I bought some of the Victoria's Secret shampoo and conditioner last week and love it. It smells great for summer and seems to work pretty well. Plus, it's cheap. Win and win.

4. Stephen has to go to New York every once and a while for work, since that's where his company is based. I HATE when he has to travel, but I am looking forward to getting some quality time with my furry "son". He's going to take me jogging tonight.

5. Gap has some really cute shirts on sale right now, if you work in an office and need workwear. Just FYI.

6. Got some new lip gloss at V.S. It's this stuff. Color is called 'Knowing'.

That's about all I've got today, folks. Sorry for the short post.

On a final note, I feel inclined to give all the working moms out there a major fist bump. I know staying at home is a lot of work too (and I respect that), but I spent some time with my amazing SIL this past weekend and was reminded of just how awesome she is. She works a 45 hour week, juggles two very young kids and still manages to kick tail and take names. Her husband is a teacher and got to start his vacation this morning. I know it has to be tough to go to work while her family is at home.

Working moms, I salute you!

Be blessed, lovelies-

Happy Memorial Day

via 

Happy Memorial Day to all the U.S. readers! I hope everyone enjoys a beautiful, sunny day celebrating the freedom with which we're blessed.

We're heading out for a day on the boat. Hopefully we'll catch some rays and some naps later this afternoon.

See y'all back here tomorrow.

Be blessed, lovelies-

Confessional Friday: Link-Up

I'm pretty incredibly pumped to have Monday off...yee haw, kids!

1. I confess that I am ridiculously in love with Game of Thrones. Stephen and I started the earlier this week and are already nearly finished with season one. It actually seems more like a series of mini-movies rather than TV episodes. And it kind of makes me want to take up jousting or Renaissance fairs.

2. I confess that I'm on the verge of shanking our neighbor. He is still continuing to have his lawn mowed at unreasonably early hours (like 7 a.m.) on the weekends. Last weekend was the final straw, when at 7:15 a.m. we were awakened to the sound of a weed eater. ON SUNDAY MORNING. If it wasn't Jesus' day, boy would've gotten a black eye.

3. I confess that I'm really excited for the return of True Blood next month. I love the ridiculous plot lines, the over-the-top characters and the Eric. In fact, The Eric is the main reason to tune in to that show. Yowza.

4. I confess that I'd like to move up North for the summer. Like maybe Minnesota or Canada? Somewhere with less humidity. Any Yankees want a roomie for the summer?

5. I confess that I'm currently obsessed with Cheeze-Its. Breakfast, lunch and dinns, y'all. It's a dangerous addiction, really. Do y'all ever get cravings for certain foods and just eat the heck out of them for weeks on end? I do.

6. I confess that I heard Justin Timberlake is going to be the emcee for the 2012 Walmart Shareholders' Meeting. Of course this is purely a rumor, but if it's true, I may just go camp out at our local airport ; ) (We live in Northwest Arkansas, which is home to Walmart.)

7. I confess that I've done a really bad job with checking my email this week. So if you've sent something to me and are starting to think that I've forgotten you, don't worry. I haven't. I'm just as slow as Christmas checking my blog email.

So not that many scandalous confessions this week (or ever), but at least it's something to leave us with for the weekend. Have a great three day weekend.

Wear a presh dress. Eat some good food. Sleep in. Make it count.
Be blessed, lovelies-

Shorty

via Fashion Distraction, similar shorts here.

Summer time is shorts-wearing time! (It's also bikini-wearing time, but I thought we'd focus on something that requires a few less crunches, today.)

Anywhoodle, it's no secret that I enjoy a presh pair of shorts. I'm such a fan of showing some leg during the warmer months. I like to think of shorts as "subdued sexy", rather than overt. They allow you to display some skin but still cover your derriere, (unlike some of the hoochie-tastic dresses we see in the summer sometimes...yowza.)

My favorites for summer 2012 are the bright, lace-covered shorts. I'm also a fan of the printed and scalloped shorts, too.

Buy here

Get them here

Smart Shorts in Orange here

Scalloped shorts here.

These green Knicker shorts from ASOS are adorably preppy! I mean, can't you just envision Kate Middleton sporting these?

Buy 'em here

For more "mature" ladies or gals who just want to show a little less gam, these Ann Taylor shorts are classically pretty.

Ann Taylor shorts here

Here

You can also enjoy the pop of color of the shorter shorts, but in a longer length with these from ASOS.

Smart Shorts in Longer Length from ASOS

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Now, let's talk about what not to wear.

At all costs though, PLEASE don't wear the "Mom" short. I guess the proper term is "Bermuda" shorts, but I just like to call it "gross". Nothing will make you look frumpier or dumpier quicker than right-above-the-knee shorts. I think it has something to do with the cut and how the legs taper in at the knee. You are all far too cute to do this to yourselves, ladies. I don't care if you're 16 or 60, size 2 or 22. Just don't do it.

AVOID!!!! AVOID!!!!NO!!!!!!!  NO!!!!!!

Okay, what have we learned today? Shorts in bright colors are good. Shorts with scalloping are good. Longer shorts are dandy, too.

And Bermuda shorts should find themselves a nice home in the bottom of a wastebasket.

Be blessed, lovelies-

Weekend in Pics: Crystal Bridges

This weekend, we hosted our good friends Melissa and Ben. M and B are one of our very favorite couples and they are actually getting married this fall (eeek!) They got engaged the month after our wedding last September and they really couldn't be more perfect for each other.

P.S. Ben- I got to see Melissa's dress and buddy, you are in for a treat! Gorgeous!

We spent the past two days bopping around Northwest Arkansas and eating delicious, local food, touring the new Crystal Bridges Museum and riding around Beaver Lake on the boat. It was a darn good weekend, here in our neck of the woods.

The museum was just incredible. The fact that we have such an amazing attraction right in our own backyard speaks volumes about how far NWA has come in terms of embracing culture. I mean, we Arkansans hardly ever wear shoes, have access to electricity or utilize indoor plumbing, so this was a real treat : )


(Hear that? It's the sound of me inserting my tongue into my cheek.)

Encased in a trees and wildflowers, the museum is built in a circular layout with tons of exposed beams, natural light and aged steel. Additionally, Crystal Bridges Museum was the only U.S. location to make it on Travel & Leisure's "Hottest Travel Destinations" list for 2012-2013!

In fact, one Drew Barrymore was in town just two weeks ago visiting our little attraction.

I've always been proud to be from Arkansas, but places like the Clinton Library and this museum make me so thankful to live in a state that appreciates both the slow pace of life and the beauty of fine art.

Be blessed, lovelies-