Get Smart

Guys, last week the unthinkable happened: My car died. (Don't worry, I'm getting to the part where this is related to style... I know, this is a style blog.) Thankfully, this occurred when I stopped by my parent's house to pick up some packages. Not so awesome: Finding out the following day that my transmission was kaput. Getting myself into a new car payment was the last thing I wanted to do but putting a lot of money into an older car that was bound to  have other issues come up later on sounded even worse to me.

As a result, you've seen very little to no posts from me as I didn't really think you'd like to see my "walking to work and back" fashions. I don't remember the last time I wore pants for one full week other than last week out of necessity. I would like to never walk down that road again. I'm a skirts and dresses girl through and through and last week proved it to me. Additionally, wind blown hair? Not very awesome.

All that being said, I am a firm believer that out of something bad there can come something good. The good part of all this: I finally had the chance to get the car I have dreamed of owning for over ten years. Long story short: In high school, I was lucky enough to go on two trips to Paris with my photography class. While over seas, I came across the cutest little car ever - if I remember correctly, it was brand new over there at the time... probably around 2000 or 2001. I dreamed of owning this little car but knew we had nothing like it in the states. Fast forward to 2008: Now my little car is being sold in Michigan! I even signed up for the early release email announcement/pass even though I knew I wouldn't be buying one... I had bought my little black car in 2003 and it was definitely in fine condition. I had no reason to get rid of it.

Well, my dream finally came true this past Saturday! Let's let the pictures do the talking, shall we? :)




A dream come true!


Jeans: Gloria Vanderbilt, Thrifted, $6.99
Gingham Button Up: Blair, Thrifted, OLD
Puffy Vest: Land's End Canvas, FREE w/ gift card from giveaway
Rainboots: Hunter via Shopbop, FREE w/ gift card from giveaway
Bracelets: Clay bracelets made by me!
Glasses: SEE Eyewear


This is the first time I am showing these off on here! Not sure what has taken me so long - I wear them every weekend! I am SO thankful for the giveaway I won from The Looks for Less that allowed me to buy these! :)


You had to know that I was going to pick black and white, right? :)


In conclusion: I'm as happy as could be right now! I have my dream car - which also happens to be super affordable, fantastic on gas and good on oil changes (only necessary every 10,000 miles if you're interested) and I have the rain boots I dreamed of owning for ages (thanks to a gift card I won)!

What is new with you? I double dare you to tell me something great that happened to you this week! :)

Where in the world is Fashion Frugality?

Do you recognize this girl? She used to blog here regularly up until a month ago...

Why, hello! How are all of you? I know it seems like I have disappeared... last month was a toughie: Not only did my computer unexpectedly die but, more devastating than that, so did my cat, Leo. You spotted a tiny glimpse of him in my Halloween post. He was my first pet, my first cat and, quite often, the best furry animal I owned when I was little. We adopted him and his brother when I was right around ten years old (maybe younger... hard to remember) so we spent many years together. He was super snuggly and always there when I needed to cry in his fur, to be honest.

Getting the call that Friday morning from my sister was one of the worst moments of my life. She was in hysterics. My mom had to get on the phone to tell me that Leo could barely move his legs and didn't seem like himself. (Leo lived at my parents house because he had lived there for so long when I moved out, I didn't want to disrupt his life with a move.) All I remember is somehow getting dressed while bawling and making the drive to my parent's house. I spent a good hour snuggling him before we took him to the vet. I knew it wasn't going to end well... my poor kitty just wasn't right.

My parents ultimately left the choice up to me. The vet told me it was most likely a blood clot or cancer that could not have been caught until it was too late - basically until it was at this point. All I wanted her to do was fix him at any cost but she said there was nothing that could be done. especially at the age he was. Honestly, I guess I lived in a dream land because I never thought I would be at the point where I would have to make the sort of choice I had to make... I guess I liked to think that when Leo's time was up, he would silently go in his sleep. I'm sure we all wish that, right? Anyway, I told the vet I needed more time so my parents, sister and I spent probably about another hour (that felt like 2 minutes) snuggling Leo and crying together... I prayed to God that he would just go on his own but it didn't happen so I ultimately made the choice to help him pass. The idea that he might be in any sort of pain is the only thing that lead me to this decision. I can't tell you how much I wanted to walk back out that vet door with him in my arms to take him home and let him go on his own... but the idea that he could be in pain... I just couldn't do it.

So, that's where I've been. I know a lot of people who don't have pets, don't care for pets or cats or what have you may not understand how hard this hit me. I spent the first two weeks literally crying on a daily basis and am just now beginning to heal. I've lost pets in the past, yes, but they were never pets that solely belonged to me where I had to make the decision on what to do. I grappled with a lot of guilt after the whole thing. I felt like I did something wrong... that I should have taken him home... that I could have done something more. There is still a small part of me that feels that way and probably always will, but the bigger part of that feeling is gone. He's not in pain. That is the more important part that I can focus on along with all the wonderful memories we had together. I firmly believe that pets are parts of your family (so long as you treat them as such) and I am feeling that empty feeling that goes along with that.

As a result, I've been away from the blog for a while. The cloud of sadness and negativity that has trailed me this month was not something that I wanted to share or wish upon anyone. I'm feeling more upbeat so I am hoping to get back to things, albeit slowly but surely. I hope you'll follow along. <3

(This turned out a lot longer and wordy than I had planned... I know this is a style blog, but real life is real life. Thank you for reading!)

IFB Project: This Is My Best Friend

I read a great post today on No Guilt Fashion entitled IFB Project: This Is My Best Friend". I've been behind in keeping up with the Independent Fashion Bloggers site and never realized they were doing a blogger project like this. But, better late than never, right? And what better topic to discuss than my best friends...

When it comes to best friends, I have two. I'm a lucky girl like that. Maybe you have more than two and think two sounds really small but not me. I've always been a quality over quantity type of girl and find that it is rare for me to have a handful of really good friends at one time. I'm a pretty quiet girl (well, until you get me going) so a big group has just never been my thing.


Alicia and I met at work years ago... I couldn't tell you the exact time we started to hang out but I can tell you that it was sometime soon after I started working there. That was nearly six years ago. We no longer work together as she is off, oh, becoming a lawyer, no big deal.

My favorite thing about Alicia is we're almost the same person. That sounds pretty ridiculous but I swear it is true. We like all the same things but I feel like we each put our unique spin on whatever it is we have in common. I am the black to her brown, the white to her tan, the mary jane to her stiletto. Similar but not quite the same. It's the perfect combination. I tell you this because I have honestly never had a friend that I could share so much with and have them not only understand it but really get it. This theory goes for pretty much anything - clothes, other friends, guy issues, etc.

Style wise, Alicia fully embodies what I like to think of as quality pieces. Whereas I tend to buy this, that and the next thing that I like, Alicia has a more curated view of her wardrobe. Everything works together seamlessly and effortlessly. Everything looks chic. It makes me think of the way Parisians dress and handle their wardrobes. This is a style trait that, try as I might, I haven't fully gotten the hang of. My overloaded closet will tell you this.

Another thing about Alicia - She is very level headed whereas I am hot tempered. She listens to my rants and then calms me down. If you're a fellow hot tempered person, you will probably understand how much that is needed. If I didn't let out a daily rant (usually within a Facebook message), I'd probably go insane.

And, finally, we do things like wear fuzzy duck hats, sit in old dentist chairs in the middle of a bar and drink strong drinks together. I'd like to give you photographic evidence but feel like Alicia's lawyerly endeavors may be better suited to keep such photographs off my blog. I wouldn't want her to sue me one day. :)

Psst! You can befriend Alicia, too!
Twitter: @lovealixo
Blog: love ali, xo

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My other best friend, Chris, also happens to be my boyfriend. I know a lot of people think your boyfriend/husband/girlfriend/whoever cannot be your best friend but I totally disagree. If I didn't want to be my boyfriend's friend, then I wouldn't want to be his girlfriend. Just my opinion.

Chris and I have been together since the beginning of time. OK, not grade school or anything like that, but pretty fresh out of high school...


We were introduced by friends. Actually, my best friend (at the time... long story...) was dating his best friend (at the time, again, long story). They ended up getting married and we, well, we've been together ever since. Come this February, he'd be my common law husband if Michigan still had such a thing. Please note, however, he will officially be called my common law husband as of February. I find it amusing.

I love Chris because he's probably the most patient person on the planet. I need this in my life. I am not patient. Like Alicia, he lets me throw my little fits, listens to me (well, most of the time, har har) and then calms me down. Honestly, my mom has even admitted that she thinks Chris deserves an award in patience just for handling me as long as he has. Isn't that nice of my mom? :)~

Without getting too sappy and whatever, Chris is also great because he deals with my insane shoe and clothing obsession. We live in a small one bedroom apartment and I can honestly say that there is not a day that goes by where there isn't multiple shoes strewn on the floor (... in multiple rooms) and clothes sitting in odd places and fashion magazines strewn about. He has built me custom closets, he has let me take over the entirety of our closets, he has moved and moved and moved some more of my clothes with each different place we have lived.

Style wise, Chris is a simple guy. It's kind of funny that a girl who likes clothes and such as much as I do would love such a simple guy, but I do! And I can't imagine it any other way... I mean... why would I want a guy that is going to take up all my closet space!? No, thank you! Chris sticks to a strict uniform of jeans, khakis, tshirts and plaid button-ups 99% of the time.

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Who is your best friend? Join in on this IFB blogging project here!

Fashion Yesteryears: Ombre

Once again, I need to apologize for my blogging absence. This week was a trying time at work - very busy, very short staffed and angry people galore. Nary a day went by without me getting yelled at by an angry person... I think you can see how that could make for a very long week. As a result, I spent each day coming home to snuggle with my Ernie cat, reading, pinning, or watching Mercy episodes online. I needed chill out time.

To reward all of you for sticking around (hopefully!) and forgiving me for being five million years behind on my 30 for 30, I give you an embarrassing oldschool (circa 2001) photo from my senior high school prom. Here's a photo of my date (a good guy friend of mine in high school) and I...


Ombre, anyone?
Clearly, I was ahead of the game on the ombre trend.

Or something.

For the Mommas

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas out there! This world would be a scary place without your guidance, card and understanding. I may have constantly fought with my own mother throughout my teenage years... but I honestly couldn't tell you what I would do without her then and now. She is honestly the most giving person I know - always doing things for me and my three siblings before worrying about herself - and all while working full time (and then some) as a nurse.

I love you, mom!

Miscellany Monday: Under the Weather

I'm feeling a bit under the weather today so I thought I would join in on Miscellany Monday instead. You know it's not good when you don't even have the energy to set up your tripod... I haven't been sick in a while so this was bound to happen sooner or later.


SOUP If you follow me on twitter, you've probably already realized I have an obsession with soup. I could eat it everyday. It's probably my favorite way to consume vegetables. Cook them up, add a bunch of garlic, and puree it. Works for me. I gathered up the energy to cook this creamy broccoli and white bean soup tonight. I found the recipe in my Whole Living magazine. It's amazing. I highly recommend adding more onion and garlic... but that's just how I naturally roll. (P.S. I hate beans. Pureed beans? I'm ok with those. My stick blender is my best friend.)

SHOES I need new shoes. OK, I don't need need new shoes, I just want them. Honestly, though, I'd like to add a pair of suede black boots to my closet but I feel like every single pair of shoes I buy lately is black. I think that's just winter for me though. I tend to just wear black shoes during the winter.

WINTER As much as I love my winter coats... Please go away, winter, and bring spring in your place. I'm sick of sitting in front of a space heater every second of the day. Seriously, I even have one at work. I want to open my windows, air out my apartment and breathe some fresh air. Plus, my cat misses talking to the squirrels through my windows.

SPEAKING OF MY CAT He is fantastic... and I will leave you with a little bit of photographic evidence to let you in on how fantastic he is. Behold my Ernie in all his Sunday snoozy splendor:


BRETON STRIPES What are you wearing tomorrow? I hope you plan on wearing breton stripes because then you can join in on the fun at Every Body, Every Wear. I actually don't own any breton stripes so I ended up DIYing myself some. You can read more about that tomorrow... so long as I'm feeling better and don't end up spending the day in bed. :)