Fall is here!

Top: H&M
Jeans: Express
Boots: Victoria's Secret
Earrings: Kate Spade
Necklace: Self made
Quartz Ring: Free People
Gold band ring: Kohls

This is my favorite time of year! I love when you can wear sweaters with no coats and how cute are my new boots?! I am selling my old crop boots in "shop my shoes" because I wanted a pair that had buckles and now a year later I found a pair!!! I guess good things do come to those who wait. ;)
I paired my over sized sweater with a pair of skinny jeans and a few pieces of gold jewelry. This look was perfect for taking the little man to school, running errands, and later that day having dinner with my family for Ry's grandma's 82nd b-day!

This weeks "I want what she has!"

This weeks "I want what she has!" goes to Abby Kauffman. I am loving this tank and that bag is amazing too!

Top: $35 Urban Outfitters
Bag: $3 thrifted

Lets start with the top. I love the detail on the shoulder and the sheerness of this top. I wish I got a shot of it, but this baby had an amazing low scoop back too! Swoon!
And great find on the bag! I must hit up the thrift store she said she got it at...it's like 10 minutes from my house! Looking amazing Abby!

color blocking and leather

Top: Forever 21 (2009)
Skirt: Forever 21 (2009)
Belt: Urban Outfitters (2010)
Tights: Modcloth
Boots: Colin Stuart (2009)
Earrings and Cuff: Express (2009)
Ring: Banana Republic (2010)
Faux leather jacket: Forever 21 (2009)

I really love taking a few pieces that don't really stand out and combining them to make a stand out outfit. When creating a color blocking look you can really mix any colors as long as they are solid! Since I was headed out to dinner and another one of the hubbys rock shows I went with a smoky eye and a nude gloss lip and topped the look off with my faux leather jacket.
I have to say, I'm really enjoying fitting back into my pre-baby clothes. I feel like I have an entire new wardrobe.
In an unrelated topic, does it help if I list the years I got the items in? If I don't write a year, then it's from this year. I get lots of questions regarding when I got things so I thought this may help. Helpful? Annoying?

New coat: 1 of 2

Please excuse the poor pictures. As some of you know from my FB page, my canon rebel is broken (oh the horror) and has been sent out for repair. The wait time is 1-4 weeks. ;( Until then I have no tripod and timer, my main option is holding my camera up and taking pics of myself. There is always waiting for the hubby to help out, but on this day he was not home. I will have my camera back asap so please bare with the poor quality for another few weeks or so (hopefully less!). Thanks!! xo





Coat: $178 (on sale now for $142) Victoria's Secret

I love this coat!! It's my everyday coat and I'm so excited it finally came! I got it in a medium (I'm generally a XS or S these days), but I wanted to be able to wear this over all my knits and winter clothes so I went a size bigger. I hope I do not regret this. There is about 2 inches of extra room in the waist and I will have to tie the belt because even at the tightest it's still a bit loose. To be fair I tried it on with a very thin shirt under! ;)
Now I think $178 is a LOT of money, but when shopping at Victoria's Secret you have to be coupon smart! I had a $60 rewards card and waited not only for the 20% off sale (that is currently going on) but also waited for when they have the $75 off of all orders over $250. I got the coat at the same time as a pair of shoes and got 20% off, $75 off, and $60 off with my coupon! TRIPLE SCORE!! What do you guys think? I really like the charcoal color as opposed to black. I am currently saving all my "shop my closet" money to get my second jacket. I have my eye on a very bright one and I hope it does not sell out before I get it! To be continued.....

Wrigley post and giveway

I was contacted by Wrigley a couple of weeks ago and asked to participate in a fall challenge. There are 2 parts to this. I first received a bag of candy and gum to help inspire me.

This posed the question How do these Wrigley products "inspire" your look for fall? At first I was like, they don't! But then I started to think about it and where I pull my inspiration from when i usually get dressed. I generally get dressed to music or go for a look that I've seen in a magazine or other fashion blog and put my own spin on it.
I realized that after looking at all the colors, patterns, and textures of the items above, that I was very inspired!! Here are the candy's that got the wheels turning:

I loved the neon colors of the skittles blenders and the colors on the box of 5 swerve tropical flavor gum! Then tropical got me thinking about birds, then I started thinking about animals and animal print and that brought me to this skirt! I really enjoy the color and texture combo here!




Top: Victoria's Secret (2010)
Skirt: Victoria's Secret (2010)
Belt: Urban Outfitters (2009)
Tights: Modcloth
Shoes: Jessica Simpson (2009)
Silver Ring: Lia Sophia
Cream Ring: American Eagle (2007)
Earrings: Jewelmint

Now here's the super amazing 2nd part, for participating in the challenge I was also given a Rebecca Minkoff bag (the MAC bag valued at $295!!), filled with Wrigley products, for myself to keep or to giveaway. Of course I'm giving it to one of my loyal readers!!!


To enter:
Follow my blog here on google and leave a comment below telling me you do so!
For additional entries:
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on Facebook
Tweet about this giveaway
Add me to your blog roll (3 extra entries)
Leave a comment below for each that you do! Thanks and good luck. The winner will be announced Oct. 5th at 7:00am.

I would also like to disclose that the free product and Rebecca Minkoff bag were courtesy of Wrigley, but that it did not influence any opinions expressed in my post!

Business Announcement

I'm so excited to finally tell you about mine and Kaitlyn's business venture. We started a LLC a few months ago and have taken on the first of a few projects! We are currently creating a website called Because I Shop Too Much (or BISTM)! Here's what it's all about:



"Because I Shop Too Much" is an online marketplace that will allow our users to buy, sell, and swap their clothing and accessories. The site is fashion-focused with a social networking element that will allow our users to not only "shop" other users closets (profiles), but also build relationships in the process by creating a closet that will spark conversation between users. BISTM aims to provide users with an economical alternative that allows them to remain connected to current fashion trends without breaking the bank. Users will be able to search for items based on location, category, price, etc. all within this free "members-only" online community. As opposed to some re-sale shops, the site has an open policy regarding brands and labels so as not to limit the items people wish to sell.

I love selling my clothes here on my blog, but the only time someone buys is if they are loyal readers or they stumble upon my blog (and thank you to all of my loyal shoppers for that!! xo). That got us thinking, what about all the other bloggers out there that sell their clothes? Wouldn't it be amazing if there was one place were we could all go to check each others stuff out? And what about non bloggers, shouldn't there be a place for all of us to go to buy, sell, and swap clothes and accessories in an online social network?!?! We thought so too!! ;)

As a start-up company, we knew to expect the unexpected, but each day brings a new challenge, so we're enjoying the adventure and taking our passion for this business (and shopping bags!) along with us for the ride. While we wait for the process of production to take place you can all "like" our FB page and follow BISTM on Twitter. That way you will get updates on what's next and early access to the site when it launches! You can also leave your email below to be added to our mailing list if you'd like!
So, start taking pictures of anything you'd like to sell on your profile as you switch out your closet for the next season! I hope you all love this concept as much as we do!

How do you coat?

It's that time of year again folks, yes, it's coat time! Since I've spent the last 3 years making babies none of my coats fit. It's sad but exciting at the same time because this year I get to buy a new coat. I think I may get 2! ;) I'm loving the belted coats with the fur hoods, I'm loving the bold colored ones, but I'm also digging the poncho coats! What's a girl to do? What's your favorite? Who else is coat shopping this year?

How do you coat? by lili1600 featuring a collarless jacket

Karl donoghue
¥170,100 - hfm.co.jp

Alexander wang
$6,500 - barneys.com

Burberry black coat
$2,140 - stylebop.com

Coat
$695 - orlakiely.com

Missoni collarless jacket
$675 - my-wardrobe.com

Canvas jacket
€240 - webstore.scotch-soda.com

Biba waterproof coat
£195 - houseoffraser.co.uk

ASOS reversible coat
$183 - asos.com

Hobbs coat
£110 - johnlewis.com

Vila waterproof coat
£82 - houseoffraser.co.uk

Coat
£20 - cutejapanesefashion.com

Vero Moda Very leather poncho
€120 - welikefashion.com

Let's talk lips

Last week I talked about what my daily makeup routine is and I decided to make a separate post about my lips. I wear a lot of different colors, but for some reason it's always these same 10 colors I go back to. Here are the colors I wore most often during the past 12 months:


Maybelline- 625 Are you red
Nars- Dargon Girl lip linner
Sugar- Rose
Smashbox- Baby pout
Maybelline- On The Mouve
Revlon- coral Reef
Givenchy- Gloss Interdit
MAC- Plink
MAC- Mattene
EOS

LBC at Canopy Club plus amazing ring deal for SADBBLOG readers

Top: Victoria's Secret
Lace Shorts: Lulus
Tights: Modcloth
Boots: Colin Stuart
Necklace: Express
Earrings: Kate Spade
Ring: Kristin Hassan

Since I can not even contain myself long enough to talk about the show, I will tell you first about this amazing ring deal! Kristin Hassan has given us a code to receive this ring for $3 off! It's retail price is $12 which means the first 5 people to order will get this ring for $9!!! Hurry, it's first come first serve and there are only 5 rings left! Use the code SADBlog at checkout. Offer good until tonight at 10:00pm and as always, Kristin offers free shipping on all orders!

okay, now back to the Lucky Boys show. I went down to UofI on Friday night to see my hubby's band play. The show was so fun and I got to hang out with the lovely Abby so it made my night even better! What do you guys think of this outfit? I really loved the pattern mixing of the short and tights but I kept it all black at the same time. I also found myself OBSESSED with this ring. I got so many compliments on it and I was playing around with it all night. Hope you love it as much as I do!

This weeks "I want what she has!"

My first "I want what she has!" goes to Michelle Kuhlemeier. I love this look head to toe!

Dress: $14.99 Ross (store in AZ)
Shoes: $49 (on sale from $79) Simply Vera Wang from Kohls

I can't believe that dress was under $15, looks like she paid way more for it! Don't you just LOVE great finds like that?! Flawless as always Michelle!



My second "I want what she has!" goes to Kristin Hassan. I also love this look head to toe, but that necklace is stunning!

Necklace: $40 Charming Charlie

I love how simple yet chic this outfit is! Looks so effortless and put together and loving the deep red lip too! Beautiful as always Kristin! And great find on that necklace.

Taking the little man to meet his teacher

Blazer: Threadsence Sold out
Tank: Victoria's Secret
Cargo Pants: Banana Republic (c/o Katrina)
Wedges: Forever 21
Stackable Rings: E Street Denim
Earrings: Jewelmint
Necklace: Self made
Bag: Coach

My little guy starts early childhood Monday! I can not even believe he's going to school 5 days a week, but it is time. On this day we went to meet the teacher, pay, and see what we needed to bring for his first day. Since I knew we would be hitting Jewel up right after I wanted to be able to do a lot of walking around. These are just like wearing gym shoes as far as I'm concerned! I seriously could do all day 5 days a week in these bad boys! ;)
Can we talk about these pants now? These were another hand-me-down from Katrina before she left and I seriously love them! They are a size too big, but when you cuff them they look more like a boyfriend pant and I really love the relaxed fit! Great addition to my year round wardrobe, no?!
What do you guys think on the color combo? I was wondering if the peachy blazer was too "spring" with the army green pant. Hopefully I pulled off the transitioning to fall look without looking too much like an Easter egg! lol

I don't know how she does it

I was graciously invited to see a pre-screening of the new Sarah Jessica Parker movie "I Don't Know How She Does It" by Kristin. Of course I had to go, I never pass up a girls night in the city! ;)




Top: Forever 21 (swap C/O Kaitlyn)
Blazer: Urban Outfitters
Tank: Target
Skinny Jeans: Express
Shoes: Forever 21
Ring: Charming Charlie
Bracelet: Jewelmint
Earrings: Self made (you can get a pair of your own in real or faux pearls from Erin Gallagher Jewelry)
Purse: Creatively Yours

I had such a fun time and the movie was adorable! I really wish they would have dressed SJP's character better, she was a little frumpy and who said working moms have to be frumpy?! ;) Plus it's SJP so you kind of expect there to be some awesome fashion, alas, there was not. Either way it was a lovely night away and I got to hang with 2 fellow blogger moms! You can check out Kristin's blog here and Diandra's website (where you can click through to her blog) here!