Spice up your life!

I love all things Gossip Girl! Especially when it comes to their fashion. I've been trying to avoid doing a Gossip Girl post because I know that I will be referencing Serena, Blair, and Little J's style often. But I cant hold off any longer! After last night's episode, I felt it was only right to pay my respects to Bart Bass by posting my first official GG fashion tip!

We cant all afford their style from head to toe, but we can afford to have it on our legs...
TIGHTS are the perfect way to spice up your wardrobe!





Fashion DO'S and DONT'S while wearing tights:

• DO wear them with boots or flats in a contrast color
• DON'T combine colors that become a holiday- even when its done on purpose, its still tacky! (i.e. black dress and orange tights: Halloween or red and green checkered dress and red tights: Christmas)
• DO wear them with confidence!
• DON'T wear them in replace of pants. If the dress or skirt is too short for you to wear alone, make sure you opt for an opaque tight or legging
  
• DO wear textured and patterned tights
  
• DON'T wear footless tights (unless you are wearing them with boots and the bottoms can't be seen)

BUDGET HINT: Tights are cheap anywhere you buy them! Find them even cheaper at Target and Forever 21.

Check it out now...

So my beautiful, hilarious, and extremely talented girlfriend, Shauna has started making hair accessories. I absolutely L-O-V-E LOVE them- and so will you! She makes them all by hand- even the flowers! They are Blair Waldorf/Anthro inspired designs (no, it doesn't get better than that!) She just started selling them on her Etsy site and they are perfect stocking stuffers. *they're also the PERFECT price!!!* While you are there check out her original paintings- another great gift idea! Like I said, she is SO talented!

In with the old.

Part II of Thanksgiving break was spent in my FAVORITE place- Sun Valley, Idaho. I absolutely love it there. Its beautiful! There is so much character; everything from the people to the shops. Sun Valley is not known for its great deals, so sorry that this post is not "budget friendly".

Sun Valley has THE BEST vintage shop called Deja Vu. If you have ever been to "Decades" in LA, Deja Vu is very similar but BETTER! The pieces are unique and much more reasonably priced. You can find everything from a 1930's Chanel lamp to an original Yves Saint Laurent pant suit (remember he's the genius designer that started that trend!). Every time I'm there I am inspired! I wish we could go back to the days of flapper dresses and Jackie Kennedy style hats. I didn't buy anything this visit (I had my eye on a 1960's Adele Simpson dress that I could never afford but did make my mouth water! And a 1980's Chloe dress that I might have dreamt about in the last week?!)

During my visit, I also decided that I will find my wedding dress there. She has some amazing white dresses that I can picture making into an even more amazing wedding dress! I am SO mad that I forgot my camera because my description can not do this place justice!

I have to put in a plug for the woman who owns the shop. She is adorable and knows her stuff! She has found amazing fashion gems from all over and brought them back to life. The pieces in the shop look brand new and she refuses to sell anything that is not in mint condition. If you ever have the chance to visit- DO NOT pass it up!

Here is the 1940's "Ginger Rogers" dress that a wonderful friend bought me as a gift last year from Deja Vu. It was THE BEST surprise! I love it! Here's a a couple pictures but it only gives you a glimpse of how great this dress is. Thanks BB:)

Fashion Freak!

I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the lovely state of Idaho. I started off the week in my moms home town of Idaho Falls. As we ran errands around town, I felt cute and fashionable in my Kelly green tights, tall brown boots, off- white sweater tunic/dress, long brown coat and hat. My fashion bliss only lasted through the entry of Sam's Club when I felt hard stares and even heard whispers. Someone even came up to me and said they've never seen an outfit like it. Then she proceeded to quote lyrics from a song out of the top 20 from 1999. I continued to hold my head up high even while my mom started going back to her Idaho roots and began making fun of me too (apparently you can take the girl out of Idaho but you cant take a Idaho out the girl). I was a FASHION FREAK!!!

Luckily, I was not fazed and even some good came out of it- who knew you could buy designer handbags at Sam's Club? Not me! And fortunately, because I am a fashion freak in Idaho Falls the bag I wanted (that no one else wanted!) was marked down EXTRA LOW!

Original price: $250.00
Sam's Club price: $150.00
Fashion Freak in Idaho mark down price: $50.00

This one too! (they had it in both red and black- I opted for the black)

Original price: $300.00
Sam's Club price: $175.00
Fashion Freak in Idaho mark down price: $120.00

Want to know what the best part is? (other than the price!) The bag's named Brittany!!! It was meant to be! Santa will make me (and his pocket book) happy on Christmas morning!

After a long day of shopping with my sister, I'm back at home trying to recoup my feet. I gave up comfort for fashion long ago, so I didn't think much of my shoe choice until the end of the night. That is when I started using my nephews stroller as a walker.

The point? Fashion does come at a high cost- but it doesn't have to come from your pocket book!

Shoes: A perfect fit for your budget!

Whoever said diamonds are a girls best, was mistaken! I'd choose shoes over diamonds any day! Well, maybe not? Diamonds are worth more so I'd take the diamonds and exchange them for cash- THEN buy shoes with the money. Shoes can get pricey, but here are a few BUDGET HINTS: If you see a pair of shoes you like but cant afford- don't give up! Look other places for a cheaper version:

Whats the difference between these two shoes?

VS.
NOTHING- except the price! Buy at Anthro and Spend $100, or save some money and buy them at Nordstrom for $80.

Here are a few great steals I came across. They are perfect for the holiday season:

Via Spiga 'Quinn' Pump- $260.00

VS.
Forever21- $28.80

*****

Steve Madden "beauti" pump- $89.95

VS.
Forever 21- $27.80

*They also come in this color

*****

Glint 'Addison' Peep Toe Pump-89.95

VS.

Forever 21- $12. 50*This color screams "bridesmaid dress" but they come in other colors too. I think they would be perfect for everyone's holiday parties coming up!

Money DOES NOT buy style!

My Basics.

There are certain items that every girl should have in her wardrobe. These are classics that should NOT be bought at Forever 21. Quality goes a long way here so splurge a little!

• Black dress. Thank you Coco Chanel for the LBD (little black dress). It's simple. It can go from day to night. And its classic. As long as you stay the same size you can have it forever. BUDGET HINT: Isaac Mizrahi makes a line for Target AND a really great LBD.
  

• Designer Jeans. Some people roll their eyes at the cost of a pair of Seven jeans- but they should try them and it might change their minds. Every girl deserves at least one pair of nice jeans! BUDGET HINT: You can buy a pair of designer jeans for less than $100 at lots of different places. Places to look: Nordstrom Rack, Off 5th (Sacs 5th Ave outlet), Macy's and Nordstrom sale section, and I've even seen them at TJ Maxx.

These are all at Nordstrom on sale for less than $100





My favorite skinny's are at Urban. I like them better than than my True Religion skinny's and they're 1/3 of the price! I have them in a few different colors and so should you!

• Boots: This seasons MUST have! I wear my boots with everything! Dresses, skirts, Jeans- I LOVE them! They were pricey but totally worth it! Going into their second season they still look brand new! Flat boots are SO hot right now! BUDGET HINT: Nordstrom 1/2 yearly sale is going on now and the shoes are marked waayy down. These are $119 and $99.

This is my favorite steal of the season. Thank you Target for steppin' up(no pun intended)! ONLY $33!!!

Introducing...

... my new blog! All of you that know me, know how much I love fashion. I LOVE to shop! I love it so much that I'm going to school so that I can get paid to do it for a living! Its an expensive habit that I just can't quit. Being a student has made it difficult to support my addiction, so I have had to learn to improvise.

In my early days of college I would sacrifice food for clothes. You know how it is, ramon for a week for the shirt I envied at Nordstrom. I'm not completely above it now (I always forgo PF Changs for Pei Wei), but I would like to think I've found a better way. Thus, the inspiration for my blog- dressing on a budget. Because really people, there is no excuse to dress bad.

I'd love to hear your questions, ideas, and thoughts.

Thats who I am!

I'm new to the blogging world so I'm not exactly sure if this is customary, but I figured I would let everyone know a little more about me. Since I think the rest of the world revolves around me, I will assume that the blogging world is the same way... OF COURSE you would want to know about yours truly!


Right now I'm finishing my degree in Merchandise Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. I recently moved from Huntington Beach and relocated to San Francisco, which is where I will finish up my last few quarters of school. When I "grow up" I want to be a buyer (and a mommy). Its basically me dream job. I would get paid to shop! After I have some experience in that I would love to open up my own boutique.

Things I love: music. food. my family. reading. art. jeans. clean sheets. the gospel. the beach. singing. school. musical theater. friends. hagen daz ice cream. shoes. history. babies. dresses. smell of the ocean. when the seasons change. anthropologie. prime time TV. summer nights. fashion magazines. oprah.

Things I definitely do not love: cats. vomiting. seafood. regret. condescending people. horse people. lisa frank people. dolphin people. animal jewelry- especially if it is of a dolphin or a horse. stress. when girls dress skanky. chinese buffets.

Vices: celebrity gossip. tabloid magazines. TV. sleeping in. procrastinating.

*if any of you unsure who "horse, dolphin and Lisa Frank" people are, feel free to ask. I am happy to point some out to you.