Leaves, Layers and a New Bag

the loft, layered top, layered necklaces, vera bradley bag, fall fashion, fall style, fashion blogger, knoxville fashion blogger, fall ootd, old navy jeans, target leopard flats, skinny jeans, leopard flats

the loft, layered top, layered necklaces, vera bradley bag, fall fashion, fall style, fashion blogger, knoxville fashion blogger, fall ootd, old navy jeans, target leopard flats, skinny jeans, leopard flats

the loft, layered top, layered necklaces, vera bradley bag, fall fashion, fall style, fashion blogger, knoxville fashion blogger, fall ootd, old navy jeans, target leopard flats, skinny jeans, leopard flats
Top: Loft / Ring & Jeans: Old Navy / Necklaces: Forever21 / Bag: Vera

 

The thing about writing a blog about beauty/fashion is people can sometimes see that you’re not taking your own advice and hold you to it.

All of the examples that immediately came to mind to prove my point are pretty lame. Although there was that one time I left the house wearing leggings and my top didn’t cover my butt.*

*That’s a joke. That never has nor ever will happen. I’m not an animal.

I take a big gulp of my own advice when it comes to carrying a bag I’m proud of and am confident in to translate my style to the world. Not to mention it was my birthday this past week, sooooo ;)
If you need a little more convincing that it’s time to update your rotation of bags read here, or watch the video below for some really gorgeous fall options.


Shopping My Closet

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Gift Ideas for a Gift Exchange Party

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I was going to call it a “White Elephant” party, but not everyone refers to it as such. So here are some ideas for those parties you go to when you’ve got to put your gift in a pile of others gifts, you draw a number and go around the room and pick gifts out of the pile with the ability to steal if you want to.

There. Just so you know what I’m talking about.

The fun thing about those parties is that sometimes you can go a little bit funny with the gift you buy. And who knows, some of this may actually come in handy for someone and they may have never bought it for themselves.

I did include one serious gift in this list, so you’re welcome.

Pitt Mitt from Mori’s Luggage and Gifts:

Beginning top right we’ve got the Ove Glove’s crazy cousin – Pitt Mitt. This guy is so wild he’ll throw himself into open barbeque’s just for some attention. But seriously this glove will allow the user to reach in and pick up something hot on the grill, which will come in handy in the summer months – which is exactly what you should yell out when the person opens their brand new Pitt Mitt!

Lunch Box from JCP:

Here’s the one serious gift. It’s a lunch box. It comes with two Tupperware – a word which I’m just now realizing is really hard to write the plural of without getting the red squiggly  line. You can see it comes with dos. It’s cute, and the person who opens it may or may not have that, “Please someone steal this sucker” look on their face afterwards. But that’s the gamble you take when participating in this game.

Poo-Pourri from Mori’s:

Give the gift of an embarrassment-free bathroom trip this Christmas. This lovely bottle, if sprayed in the toilet bowl before “dropping the kids off at the pool”, will save the person you love most in life the embarrassment of leaving the bathroom smelly. Give this so that your number 1 can hide their number 2.

Go Girl from Mori’s:

Speaking of bathroom visits…you never know when you’re going to have to tinkle and you can’t because you’re suddenly in the middle of the woods. Thankfully, someone somewhere had this problem regularly and decided to do something about it. Thus came “Go Girl.” Give the special woman in your life, the gift of being able to pee standing up.

Sand’s Alive! from Mori’s:

Mori’s is a treasure trove of great gifts that are also fun and entertaining. Like this Sand’s Alive set. If there were to be an infomercial about this stuff it would definitely start off with adults playing in the sand box in their living room, in black and white, getting frustrated that the granules are getting everywhere. And that guy would come on and say, “Do you enjoy playing with sand, but hate the mess that it leaves throughout your house? UGH! Now you can enjoy the cool refreshing feeling of sand, without all the messy clean up, with Sand’s Alive!” If you haven’t felt this stuff, you need to. It’s sand that doesn’t come apart. Bend the brains of everyone at the party and throw this in the gift pile.

And hey, grab all of this stuff at West Town Mall!

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Links You’ll Love

Want to hear a lesson I learned about buying part of your Christmas outfit online? Check the shipping policy. Do that so it doesn’t send you into a panicked frenzy of trying to replace it when you realize it’s not going to arrive on time. Just something that popped into my head just now as I sit here sipping tea by the fire. It wasn’t at all because I just came out of that panicked frenzy myself. Not at all.

Something that will help prevent all of that is shopping local. And yes, buying from stores that are local to your area is awesome, but I’m also talking about not shopping online for something like clothes that you need to cover your body at a certain event. Ha.

Lesson Learned.

Well, now that I’ve gone on that rant, let me tell you about a couple of links I like to shop from. Yeah…didn’t plan for this blog post to become an oxymoron but, hey, that’s the beauty of reading blogs – you never know what you’re going to get.

When you’re not in a rush to buy something, or you’re looking for a great gift, check these links out…

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Keep.com

My inbox is full of stores/brands trying to get my attention. Honestly, I “keep” (I intended the heck out of that pun) this one in there because their subject lines are so hilarious. Proving that witty writing always wins.

Oh and to go along with their great sense of humor, they’ve got a great website full of things you wouldn’t bump into in your friendly neighborhood Target. Things like gorgeous clothes, lovely jewelry and romantic art that says, “You’ll do.” The whole website resides right up my alley.

Buy directly from them or “keep” an item to look back on later.

6pm.com

Sister to Zappos, 6pm is a great way to shop brand names at a discount. And the couple of times I’ve ordered from them it’s actually come in very quickly. Like next day quickly. So if ever I HAVE to buy something online that I need quickly, I go right to them.

But check on it for your area because I’m sure it’s different for everyone.

 

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Gift Guide for the Hardest Person on Your List (and it’s All Under $25)

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We can all admit to having at least one person on our list who we’re stumped about because we may not know them so well. Do they wear silver? Do they like candles? Do they wear underwear? Maybe we can’t answer any of these questions, but we can still get them a great gift and look like we spent a lot doing so.

I really like this list, and let me just say how incredibly distracting it can be tracking these items down online. I mean…I’m searching through websites of some great stores, it’s REALLY hard not to go on a rabbit trail of shopping. But I pushed through and did it just for you. And by the way, all of these items can be found at West Town Mall!

1. Vera Bradley ID Case – Everyone can use this at some point. It’s perfect for those instances where you need to carry a few things but don’t need a purse. Football games, intense shopping days – this will really come in handy and all you spent was $12.

2. Yankee Candle Travel Tin – Ok, this is pretty cool. It’s a tin that contains a scented oil that you release by pulling up the lid. Pull it up a little or a lot, the scent is supposed to last 4 weeks. This particular one smells like Christmas cookie, but they’ve got all kinds of scents and I just think it’s such a great idea. Buy several (they’re only $5.99!) so the person you’re giving them to can have everything they own smelling like a Christmas wonderland!

3. Kate Spade New York Sticky Note Set – I truly believe that great style means having cute things even if you’re the only one to see them. Give someone the gift of great style this Christmas with these glamorous sticky notes. They’re perfect for magazine surfing, or for making them look really good when leaving a note on someone’s desk. They’ll love you for that. And you’ll only be out $16. Dillard’s is where it’s at.

4. ShutterBall Remote for Smartphones – What’s everyone taking these days? Selfies. What’s going to help a person more easily take selfies? This remote. It comes with a stand so you can set up your phone and take a picture with this remote from up to 60 feet away. Any fashion blogger would love this. Any fashion blogger with a blog that rhymes with sha shmiff would absolutely love this. ;) Oh and hey, it’s only $19.95! Get it at Mori’s Luggage and Gifts.

5. Bliss Mistletoe Gems – The problem 10 out of 10 women face this time of year is dry hands and lips. So will you be spot on with the gift of these ultra-hydrating, antioxidant rich moisturizers. Visit Sephora, give them $15.00 and you’ll walk away with a sure thing.

6. Tarte Ladies Who Lash Limited Edition Picture Perfect Eyelash Curler Set – Can you remember the last time you bought an eyelash curler? Exactly. Give a glamorous one to someone else and throw in a mascara for the low low price of $23. You can also get this at Sephora.

7. Altar’d State Sign – So hopefully you know enough about this person to know if they have a dog or a cat. If you don’t, they’ve got a great selection of really happy signs that anyone with a pulse would love! This particular sign is only $12.

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