christmas party – the Spiff

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Outfits You Haven’t Thought about for Your Holiday Events

December 14, 2017 No Comments

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Let’s really rock it around the Christmas tree.

I honestly get giddy when I get to go in a store and pull looks together. You may not feel the same way at all, and if that’s the case, then this is the beginning (or continuation) of a beautiful friendship.

Banana Republic is such a fun place to let loose in because they have such a cohesive style that’s fun to mix and match. My hope in doing this segment was to inspire you with new pieces, help you reinvent your old ones and ultimately help you pull an outfit together that’s a little unexpected but a whole lotta fun.

Check this out, then go see them in West Town Mall!

Want even more help? Here’s some more holiday outfit inspiration!

Beauty, Spiffy

Hallmark Movie Bingo

December 2, 2016 No Comments

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There are so many things to love about this time of year, but one of the things I always look forward to is the fact that there’s a constant stream of heart warming movies on TV thanks to the Hallmark channel.

Check your cynicism at the door, please. We’re not watching them as a preview to Oscar season. We all know the guy and girl are going to end up together, the question is on a scale of one to puppies how cutely will Hallmark pull it off?

I started diving into them long before Thanksgiving hit. One night, late into the evening (drunk on cutesy love lines) I was struck with an idea. A Hallmark movie bingo game would be the funnest thing EVEEEERRRRR.

From that moment, I started making a list. After that (much to my husband’s delight, I’m sure) I watched even MORE movies to further my research and weeks later, I emerged with the game.

So here you go.

Grab some ho cho, a blanket, your Hello Kitty pens and some friends because I’ve got a treat for you!

Hallmark Movie Bingo

Let me explain a few on the list…Of course all of these are open to interpenetration, just make sure you lay the ground rules before you start the game so there’s not a family fight *grimace face.

1. Unfinished task – this could be cookie making or decorating a tree. I’ve noticed that a lot of times the main characters will get involved in a project and kind of walk away from it. Anything you notice that you wouldn’t do naturally (like leave a giant pie mess on the counter to go on your date, ya Floozy).

2. Silent Extra interaction – this refers to the people in the background who appear in a scene, interact with the main character and somehow never say a word (that must cost extra -Ha! Extra…)

3. Vague reference to a company – this can also be “vague reference to anything”. There’s a lot of that.

4. States goals of main character – you know, “We’ve got to save the bakery or Mom and Dad will loose the house” …that kind of thing. And it’s usually mentioned more than once, which is why “Restates the goals…” is another box :)

5. Announces one character’s relationship to another – Something like, “But you’re my best friend and we met each other in middle school when the teacher gave us both detention.” I don’t talk like that. You don’t talk like that. But Hallmark has to catch us up in 30 seconds.

If you think of anything else that could be in a box, leave it in the comments below!

And hey, as an extra SPECIAL treat, you can catch my cousin (yeah. That’s right.) in the Hallmark movie, “Hearts of Christmas” this Sunday night at 9:00! He is Kristoffer Polaha, I’m sure he’ll be the love interest.

Enjoy and tell your friends so we can all have a truly Merry – even though we once hated it and now we’re starting to warm up to the idea because we met a guy and we’ve had some coffee and there’s a small town or cute old lady near by and we’re going to spend the rest of our days kissing under the mistletoe – Christmas!!

Here are some Christmas gift ideas for you AFTER you finish your movie (don’t shop while you watch or you might loose!)

christmas, Fashion, west town mall

One Sweater – Three Outfits Part 2: Business Casual

December 16, 2015 No Comments

business casual, christmas party attire, what to wear to a business casual party, what to wear to a christmas party, knoxville fashion blogger, knoxville blogger, christmas party outfit, the limited, the loft, jeweled sweater

I’m a firm believer in the old adage, “Dress for the job you want.” Sure, it might be more comfortable to wear jeans and a sweatshirt to the office, but staying comfortable doesn’t elevate you and your career. Staying comfortable means staying in the same place, and I want to go higher! *Fist in the air

That whole diatribe popped in my head because today I’m showing you how to style this sweater for a “Business Casual” party. This dress code calls for something you’d be comfortable wearing to the office.

The office I work in is pretty relaxed. In fact, if I were to wear this outfit people would wonder what spiffy event I was going to. Our clients are scattered all over the country, so we don’t “entertain” them in the office. This translates to a wide range of office attire – everything from sweatshirts to button downs.

I will admit there are days when I’m very thankful I can wear jeans or go in a little more relaxed, but for the most part I like to dress up. It elevates your thinking, how you carry yourself and how you are perceived.

When going to a party, I always err on the side of fancy. (Unless it’s at someone’s house, then my top priority is to be able to move around in the outfit without looking uncomfortable since I’ll be getting up and down from the couch, squeezing past people for the bathroom, etc). I like going a little fancier though, because even if you show up as the dressiest person there, it just looks like you’ve either come from or are going to another event. Fancy pants.

I fancied up this sweater by adding this great black, white and gray knit skirt from The Limited, and booties I practically stole at Ross for $20.

If you want to instantly elevate an outfit, carry a clutch. This great big silver clutch is from Express. I love this one because it fits all my stuff.

See how to style this outfit for a dressy casual party here, then check in on Friday to see it styled for a “festive” dress code!

Fashion, west town mall

A Very Flattering Party Skirt

December 11, 2015 No Comments

forever21, skirt, midi skirt, holiday dressing, how to dress for a christmas party, christmas party outfit, ootd, west town mall, knoxville fashion blogger, mauve skirt, long skirt, figure flattering skirt, how to dress for your figure, a-line skirt — Skirt and Shoes: Forever21 / Necklace: The Loft

Believe me when I say this skirt will hide every flaw from the waist down.

Before I go proving that, let me first apologize for the lack of outfit posts. For an outfit post you must first, you know, have a picture of an outfit. The reason for my lack of picture outfits is hanging out in his crib right now cooing over his toes.

But thankfully with the help of the uber talented Brittany at SouthernRootsPhotography, I’ve got some really awesome pictures that I’m explosively excited about. If you want to know what that means…well you don’t it’s just embarrassing.

Side note: Besides being a top-notch photographer, Brittany is so friendly and easy to get along with. She is exactly the person you want on the other side of the camera and will make you look good. Go here to schedule your next family session with her. She does maternity shoots, engagement photos, wedding, birthdays – you name it. She can take a picture of your pile of laundry and make it look good. Don’t tell anyone why you would want a picture of your laundry because that’s weird.

Back to the skirt…
What makes this skirt so flattering is that it sits right around my waist line, skimming past all the things that as women, we sometimes like to hide. Things like wide child-bearing hips, an ample bum and a “had a baby or thought about having a baby at some point” pooch.

The skirt hides all of that and highlights the smallest part of the waist. And because it’s a-line, the volume makes your waist look even smaller by comparison, so really this skirt is a weight-loss program all by itself.

Do note, when you wear a skirt like this higher up on your torso, you’ve got to really be careful not to slouch. If you slouch your boobs will become one with the top of the skirt and no one wants to see that. Not even your mother.

Pair a voluminous skirt like this with little volume on top – so a gray t-shirt and statement necklace works perfect!

And while I’m not at all a bow person, I couldn’t help myself when it came to these cute heels.

A skirt like this makes dressing for the holidays easy breezy.

Pick yours up at Forever21 in West Town Mall. Do it fast because in the history of Forever21 a knee-length skirt has only been spotted once or twice! ;-P

Fashion, jcpenney, sweater, sweaters, west town mall, what to wear

An Easy Way to Shop for a Holiday Outfit

December 12, 2014 No Comments

One thing is certain, you will not be able to look back on this Christmas season and say that I didn’t help you with what to wear to a party.

I’ve helped you here, here and now today…

I picked up this metallic sweater at JCPenney. And it was truly the easiest outfit shopping I’ve done all year long. Here’s how I did it.

The easiest piece to get that will help you look fresh and glam without spending a lot of money is a top. Especially one like this with a lot of shine. Because you’re not going to have to do too much accessorizing with something like this.

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money and wanted exactly that – something I could throw on that would be easily accessorized. So late one night I hopped online and started pre-shopping.

Which is something else you need to think about. Instead of aimlessly wandering around stores trying to “shop cold” (as I’m now officially calling it), if you’ll do a little pre-shopping online you’ll be able to instantly rule out any store you don’t want to try.

I went straight to JCP for a couple of reasons…

1. They’ve got a lot of great coupons going on right now so I knew I could get something cheap

2. I was planning to shop on a day where I was working from home and didn’t want to have to get all dolled up to go all over the mall. I just wanted to hit one store, and I knew JCP would deliver.

Sure enough, they did. Found this sweater online, went in the next day tried it on, presented my coupon, badda-bing, badda-boom I’m out the door with a great party outfit and I spent less than $20 and barely an hour on the whole thing.

That, is what I’m talking about.