Save and Splurge for Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring and I hope for many of you that the weather reflects the recent equinox. I imagine spring is making it's way to us by slowly trudging through our knee-deep snow. But, for now those of us in Wisconsin are resigning ourselves to the fact that winter is trying to last forever.

Even so, when you live in a place where winter is a nine month long affair, you begin to just pretend that it's spring. You start stripping off layers of outerwear like people are paying you dollar bills for it. You slip and slide on ice and let your feet freeze because you just cannot bear the thought of wearing boots for one more day. Temperatures rise above freezing and it becomes a good day to crack a few windows and momentarily air the house out.

It's even possible that if Wisconsinites didn't use the thick skin and stubborn mindset that winter endues upon us to force spring to happen, winter might never end. We might even quite literally beat winter back with our sturdy, weather-hardened character. So, you know what world? You're welcome that while you are off enjoying spring and all it's wonders we are here stopping never ending winter from spreading to you. You are welcome.

Boy! That went in a direction I wasn't expecting. Bah! Anyway, on top of forcing winter to leave us the eff alone for our three blissful months of warm weather, another thing you can enjoy in the Midwest during spring is updating your wardrobe with all the lovely new pieces that are coming out! Yay, fun, exciting, happy things!

If you are like me you will be seeing tons of things that you would love to take home and treat real nice like but, your budget just does not allow it. This is a comparison of some of the things I have had my eye on in the last couple months and the cheaper alternatives that I stumbled upon. While it is not always possible to find budget-friendly alternatives to pieces that you love, I find it always helps to use a save and splurge technique when updating your wardrobe for any season.



Some of the things I knew I wanted to get my hands on this spring were a black skirt, a colorful printed skirt, a taupe colored skirt, a floral print sundress, and a constellation necklace (to enable my galaxy obsession). Not all of these are related to spring but, a changing season is a good time to evaluate holes that need to be filled since you are already out there looking at clothes anyway.

This was not meant to be almost exclusively Target as I had a couple other pieces from other stores that I wanted to use but either the high-end option or the discounted option became unavailable.

All of these pieces are good options and all the stores I mention are places that I love and regularly shop at so, I am not saying that any one store is better than another. These are my opinions on these specific pieces and what I would ultimately choose for myself and my budget. When I shop I like to consider all my options and break things down to basic pros and cons and see where I am willing to compromise. The black skirt from Target is very similar to the Asos skirt in color and shape and even has a brown belt.  The taupe skirt has a button front and pockets which are details I can never have enough of. I like the Target sundress better because I prefer regular hems to hi-low hems and the structure of the Target floral print skirt lends itself to easy summer dressing as you can throw it on without worrying about adding that extra layer of shapewear, unlike a pencil skirt. I say, on these items, save away!

Now that I have compromised on several items that I would be proud to own, I might have a little wiggle room to purchase the more expensive constellation necklace as I prefer the needlepoint style and the quality. And that is how I will be saving my way to a splurge this spring.

Happy shopping!




*DISCLAIMER*

Keep in mind that by buying the cheaper options you are most likely losing out on quality and for some people that might mean throw-away-fashion. If you have a lot of clothes in your regular rotation and you follow the care instructions, you probably won't notice much of a difference on wear-and-tear. I expect to get full use out of anything I buy and if the quality looks iffy, I won't buy it no matter the price.

“Reserving Judgments is a Matter of Infinite Hope” - The Great Gatsby

I've had my eye on this sweatshirt for a long time because I am always on the hunt for clothes that make you rethink what "comfortable" should be. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books and I've always been drawn to the cover art so, this sweatshirt was a huge winner for me. Unfortunately, the biggest one they offered was two sizes too small. I waited and watched to see if it would be offered in extended sizes and when that didn't happen, I checked the reviews in the hopes that it ran big. Lucky for me, all the reviews said it ran large!

When it came, I could not have been happier. It fit perfectly. It fit exactly the way I would have wanted it to fit if I had ordered it from the plus-size section. Amazing! The quality of it is amazing too, soft and warm but not at all bulky. I am really glad I took a chance on this one.

I added my lace collar necklace to dress it up a little and of course I had to wear my yellow hat that I've been living in this winter.

Had to move to find better lighting.

Add some loafers and I'm definitely ready for a day snuggled up on the couch reading a good book. Or maybe to the premiere of a movie based on one of your favorite books directed by one of your favorite directors? Oh yeah. May 10th can't come fast enough.

It's just further proof that you can't always rely on sizes. If you know what materials and cuts allow for extra room and how you like particular items to fit, you can take a chances on things that aren't perfect on paper, especially when the reviews lean in your favor.

Style Imitating Art Time!

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Casper David Friedrich 

SIA, guys.

Scarf - Modcloth, Jacket - Goodwill, Sweater - Target, Pants - Torrid, Heals - Payless

I was inspired by the strength and pensive quality of the man in the painting so I chose to go with a slightly androgynous look using the sweater and matching jacket and pants. Then I added the scarf and heals to bring in some of the lighter colors that are present in the landscape.

I tried looking strong and pensive like the man but I just wound up looking grumpy so those got deleted.

Try not to be too bummed out that's it's Monday guys. 

I've Loved the Stars too Fondly

Are you guys getting sick of seeing these boots? Oh, good. Me either.

I can't say exactly where my fascination with space started. Did it start when I was five years old and my whole family would lay in my grandparents' backyard in the middle of the night to watch meteor showers?  Was it the first time I was awed by the wonders of a planetarium in fourth grade? Maybe it was the camping trips we took that turned into all night star-gazing. 

I imagine all these times were the seeds that started my interest but, what really brought it to life is the way I feel when I look into the night sky. I start thinking about everything else that is out there and I feel like I am being swallowed whole by the immensity of it all. It makes me feel insignificantly small and yet completely infinite. How can I worry about little things when there is a whole universe out there that is just so much more. We are just a spec in the universe and all of our worldy problems will erode and disappear like they never were yet, we are as much of the universe as anything can be.

It can be quite exhausting looking into the night sky.

Naturally, I was enthralled with the galaxy print clothing that I started to see. The first galaxy print dress I ever saw was on The Clothes Horse and immediately I thought, "this is perfect and it needs to be in my life." Since then, I have kept my eye out for the perfect dress but, it just didn't exist yet and when I have something in my mind, I will not settle. There was a fun dress from Domino Dollhouse that I really considered but while it was adorable, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. Simply Be came very close with a galaxy print maxi dress but, there was something about the material that was holding me back.

I was getting all up in knots after the frustration of a few "almosts" and I was close to giving up the fight when I decided to just check Etsy. I knew it wasn't likely but I just had to see. Would it exist there? 

After browsing through a ton of overpriced circle skirts, I came across this. I didn't let myself get too excited but, I did message the shop owner and ask if she would be willing to make me a custom fit dress. I was so nervous to get a reply back but, she said yes! She was really great to work with and after a few tweaks we settled on the details.

It's was a little hard to swallow the price as I have never spent that much on any article of clothing before. But, the perfect dress customized to my body is worth more than being able to run to target and pick up a handful of things I only liked. Sometimes it has to be about quality over quantity.

I waited rather impatiently the entire six weeks being terrified that it was going to be lost in the mail, or it wouldn't fit, or something equally horrible. But, it came and it was beautiful and it fit beautifully and it's all just beautiful. I can't recommend this seller or her Etsy shop, Cyanide Kiss more. If you are looking for a beautiful printed, retro style dress, go do the dang thing!

Friday Favorites

One of my favorite posts to read by other bloggers are the Friday Favorites or Five for Friday posts. If you don't know what that is, it's five cool things that the blogger has discovered throughout the week and wants to share with us! I think it's awesome so I'm going to start doing it here. It could be anything from images, videos, clothing or accessory tid bits. Whatever I fell in love with this week.

Pon and Zi are two of my favorite little internet creations. They are adorable little blobs who fall in love with each other and like to profess their love a lot. The comics can be sad, sweet, hilarious, and morbid all at the same time. I was so pumped when I discovered that they were printing a Pon and Zi art book!

I died laughing when I saw this and made Husband run across the house to see it. I've been quoting it ever since. "IN THE GOD D*** KITCHEN."

How cute is this bag? The camping pattern is adorable and it is making this camping enthusiast really nostalgic for the summer.

When I first saw this dress I thought "meh" but, it really grew on me. I don't know if it's a must-have yet but, I've thought of at least three ways to style it already. That's usually when they've got me.

I first saw these comics on The Clothes Horse and right away the sweet, understated sentiment had me "aaaaaawwwwwwwwing" like a crazy person. These comics really manage to capture the overlooked moments that make a relationship what it is.

So there you have it! Five things I love this week!

Reeeeal Simple Like

I maaade me some curtains yesterdaaay! On my veryyy eventfuuul daaay...(I'm singing this if you can't already tell)

I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and got me some beautiful grey lace fabric and basically just sewed a one inch hem along the bottom and a three and a quarter inch hem and the top to stick that rod thingy into. Then...I repeated. Real simple like. I didn't even hem the edges 'cause I was like...It's lace! It looks fine. And that seemed like a lot of sewing I really didn't want to do. Ha!

I'm using just one panel per window to same some cash and drawing them back with these adorable antique-ish door knobs from Urban Outfitters

From the slivers of my dinning room at the edges of the pictures you can kind of see where I am heading with it. I was inspired by some vintage hat boxes I found in an antique mall that were bright yellow and taupe color. You can just see them in some of the pictures. The colors were killing me and I knew right away that was what I wanted to do with my dining room. I painted the walls a dusty purple, or "mushroom basket" as the paint chip called it, as my third color (why would I ever stop at two?) and I'm using accents of white and lace. At this moment it's my favorite thing in the history of all color combos.

So, there you have it! One very small step to a gorgeous dining room!

Yes, Herbal Essences, I Will Say Yes Again!

I made an emergency run to the store in the middle of a snow storm for diapers and wipes and while I was there I decided to pick up a few extra things that we needed. I was meandering through the health and beauty section trying to decide how dire our bodywash situation was when I remembered we needed shampoo. I grabbed our usual brand and for some unknown reason I took a glance at the Herbal Essences section. 

For one glorious year, in high school, I exclusively used the Herbal Essences in the yellowish-green bottle. It did incredible things for my hair and I had visceral feelings for the smell that would linger in my hair forever. But, some idiots decided to mess everything up and change Herbal Essences to appeal to a younger crowd. The new shampoos and conditioners were horrible. They made my hair feel like straw and that signature Herbal Essences smell was gone. This was not the organic experience I wanted! When I say that I have sadly thought about this shampoo every time I have bought shampoo for the last 7 years I am not exaggerating.

But, today, sitting on the shelf like a beacon of hair care glory was my shampoo. Could it really be? I held on to my skepticism as I reached for the bottle and popped the lid. The second the lid was open a bazillion scent angels sky rocketed at my face and released their lovely herbal missiles into my nose. This was it! The scent that I had dreamed of for years! The delicious fruity, flower scent that just wouldn't quit! And right there, in Walmart, I gave up all semblance of dignity to various facial expression of shock, lots of joyful squeaking, and the happy dance of all happy dances. (in my head I am saying that last part like Schmidt from New Girl). I ditched my other bottle of shampoo has fast as I could and booked it to the check out counter terrified that some Herbal Essences CEO was going to pop out of no where laughing manically and rip it from my hands.

I did a little research when I got home and found out that the line is back for good! Herbal Essences has been having terrible sales lately (because their product is crap) and they decided to try to boost sales by bringing back the a few old shampoos promoted by throwback commercials inspired by the old highly suggestive ads. Even though I'm really late to the game as usual and it's likely you all know this already since the commercial premiered at that Grammy's, I am so pumped!

They did change the formula a little to make it sulfate free though so, I am definitely eager to see if it is as good as it was 7 years ago.