What to Wear When You Want to be Comfy & Cute

Balancing comfy and cute

There’s still a chill in the air, which is perfectly perfectly fine with me.

I love the cooler spring days, because it allows me to create fresh outfits from both the winter and summer sides of my closet.

I wanted to give you another outfit idea for this time of year. One that falls in line with one of my spring rules that I wrote about last week.

This time, it’s a little more casual…

Spring outfit ideas

Like I said before, the key to a perfect spring outfit is balancing out your winter and summer-wear.

Over the weekend it was still a little chilly outside, so I knew I wanted to wear a sweater. This one shoulder slouchy gray sweater is perfect. But I didn’t want to get too hot, so I wore it over a summer maxi-dress. In doing so, I get both the visual and temperature balance.

Throw on a colorful necklace (or a swingy metallic one), some great flats and it’s the perfect for enjoying the outdoors with friends (and by outdoors I mean the patio seating at Cheesecake Factory, haha).

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The Fabulous Hair Trick That Takes 30 Seconds

I’m not usually one to suggest we go to the movies (unless it’s a movie about a heist, and then all bets are off).

This past weekend when my husband was in the mood for one, I looked up what was playing, saw “3 Days to Kill” and knew immediately that watching a hit man would be part of my afternoon.

Good thing it included Kevin Costner ;)

Believe it or not, watching the movie gave me an idea for my hair. One of the female characters dons a thick blonde wig in one scene and the way she has only a small portion of her hair pinned back got me to thinking…



Picture courtesy of: http://starsinhereye.wordpress.com/tag/non-stop/

That answers a hair conundrum of mine! Instead of going half up (a look, I’ve determined, doesn’t flatter my face at all) I started (a couple of years ago) taking portions of my hair and pinning it back.  It helps change up my look and gets the hair out of my face so I’m not constantly touching it and making it oily.

The problem is, I can never determine how much to pin back, how high to pin it, how far back to pin it…all of those things. But when I saw that she just took a simple small strand of hair and tucked it away near her ears, I thought – that’s it!

So on Tuesday I tried it, and I love it! Here’s a picture of what it looked like on TV…

The fabulous hair trick that takes 30 seconds

And here it is full on…

The fabulous hair trick that takes 30 seconds!

My husband pointed out that you can barely tell I’ve done it (which is kind of true from the front), but the sides look cool and it does give you a little more volume at the top of your head.

Here’s how you do it:
Take about an inch worth of hair, bobby pin it right past your ear (tucking it underneath your hair if you can, to hide the pin). Then once both sides are done and even, tug at the pinned back hair a bit to give it some volume. Hairspray the hair at the pin so it doesn’t fall out, and you’ve got it!

I’m all about completing a look with a hair style that matches, and to me the floral print I had on along with the light pink necklace, called for hair that was a little “sweet.” Pinning a little bit back like this was just the answer.

Why don’t you give it a try this spring!

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3 Rules for Spring Dressing

I’ve heard over and over again how the transitional seasons are the hardest to dress for, but I think they’re the most fun.

Because you have such a wide range of options, and get to blend your winter wardrobe with your summer, creating perfectly cute and comfortable spring outfits.

I dress by a few rules this time of year, and now that our feet are planted firmly in spring we’re going to need them, so here we go…

1. If you’re going to go with a sweater…
Keep it light in color. The time for your maroon sweaters is over (till fall), but feel free to do dark gray or even army green as long as you pair them with lighter spring pieces like light wash boyfriend jeans, or maybe a really fluffy scarf that includes the dark color but pulls in other lighter ones as well.

2. If you’re going to go with boots…
Make sure your top is 3/4 length sleeves or if it’s got full sleeves, make sure the material is light/sheer. Every time you add a winter piece, you have to balance it out with something spring like, so as to not look like you’re dressing for the middle of January.

3. If you’re going to go with a sun dress…
Pair it with a jacket. I realized I’m one of the few who are still hanging on to wearing winter items, so if you’re chomping at the bit for your summer-wear, make sure you’re doing yourself a favor and wearing it with a light jacket. Jean jackets, blazers, white leather jackets – they’re all perfect for making your summer tops and dresses totally spring appropriate.

Here’s what I’m wearing today, and it works because my sweater is light in color and my boots are short and light…

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The “It” Bags for Spring

Am I alone in the love/hate relationship I have with spring cleaning?

I love the feeling of starting fresh and getting everything purged, but in the middle of it I sometimes wish I was back in my cozy nesting feeling from winter where everything that was cluttered looked cozy. And everything that was a darker color seemed to warm your soul.

Now it’s like GET IT OUT. The switch has been flipped, it’s time to freshen up!

Let’s start with something easy and fun like our bags.

Even though we may still be wearing our winter coats, we can lighten up the whole look with a fun new spring purse.

Here are five great options on my latest Style Setter blog.

And just because I can’t resist, here’s a picture of my favorite…

Cute Coach bag!

But there’s one thing that makes this bag SUPER unique and adorable. Click on over to find out what that is, and what the other four options look like!

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The Best Beauty Products for Spring

I'm buying all of these this spring!
Now that winter is passed, I like to get pumped about showing more skin by looking at what products are going to help me look and feel my best.

Here are the top five I plan to buy this season (translation: be looking for their reviews in future blog posts)…

Lips:

Revlon’s Colorburst Stain Balm promises to take the best of the stain and balm worlds and fuse them together to make one long lasting yet moisturizing burst of color. I can’t wait to try it!

Legs:

Jergens BB Cream for your body with it’s skin brightening/correcting/evening capabilities sounds like just the thing I need for legs that have been in hibernation. (I first alerted you to it here)

Face:

Sephora has an airbrush foundation out that has gotten rave reviews. Apparently all you have to do is spray it on. Sounds like those days I don’t feel like putting any makeup on just got a little more glamorous.
Aveeno’s daily moisturizer is probably going to get the first draft pick over my Oil of Olay lotion. I keep reading how amazing this product is at brightening your skin so alright already! I’ll try it!

Nails:

Just when you thought they couldn’t get any more creative with nail polish, OPI has done it again! Seriously HOW do they think of these things?! I can’t wait to try their new “Sheer Tints” collection. They are super light top coats that layer on the color. Use them alone, or over your favorite polish for a whole new look! How FUN!!

Keep it fresh with these products and a daily dose of Spiff this spring and this will be your best season yet!
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