54. The Infamous Nordstrom's Sale

Greetings readers!

First off, why is it only Tuesday? I'm thinking due to the lovely 11-hour work day I had yesterday, this week seems so long already. But enough of that...

Lately, my go-to fashion expert is my roommate and we decided to veto the ankle cropped pants in the last post. The good news is, they were the most expensive item on my mini White House | Black Market haul. Unfortunately, the pants cut me at a weird spot- the problems of being tall!

Don't you fret though, I've narrowed down my Nordstrom sale items to a grand total of $557.00! Nothing has been purchased as of yet, seeing as how I should be weeding it all down, just a wee bit more haha.*

1. Gray Ruched Long Dress

Originally: $56.00

On Sale: $36.90 

I cannot get over this look! The gray dress with the tights, the jacket, the infinity scarf, and the boots. Hello, Fall! This outfit to me is the epitome of fall, chic, and edgy. 

2. Knit Sweater Coat

Originally: $128.00

On Sale: $84.90

Don't you just want to jump right in this Knit Sweater Coat, sit on the couch, and read a great book by the fire? It just looks so comfy, cozy, and above all, warm.

3. Kendra Scott 'Elle' Drop Earrings

Originally: $60.00

On Sale: $39.90

Some of my favorite bloggers lately have been sportin' Kendra Scott's earrings and I'm just dying to get my hands on a pair!

4. 'Finger' Studded Clutch

Originally: $48.00

On Sale: $31.90

This clutch is an absolute must-have! Imagine this with the Gray Ruched Long Dress?! Talk about chic and edgy. Plus, I love the fact that this clutch comes with a strap, so you don't always have to be "clutching" it.

5. French Connection Space Dye Midi Dress

Originally: $148

On Sale: $98.90

This dress would look killer with some black tights and booties, and obviously the 'Finger' Studded Clutch! ;)

6. Ellen Tracy Colorblock Tweed Coat

Originally: $218.00

On Sale: $129.90

This coat is just so chic! I'm not sure if I'll actually buy this though because Boston winters are just too cold, even for this. Last year, my big Christmas gift from my parents was essentially a down comforter coat from North Face haha. It was worth every penny!

7. 'Andora' Over The Knee Boot

Originally: $199.95

On Sale: $134.90

As much as I'd love to tell you that I wear other shoes in the winter, I can honestly say, I wear my boots 99.9% of the time. Last winter, one day I realized that I had worn boots for over 100 days straight. Yup! I have a staple pair of boots, worn here. I've been wanting a pair of solid black boots, but my problem is that I never find "wide-calf" boots and what are the odds that these Andora babies are wide-calf?! Match-made in heaven!

8. Houndstooth Print Ponte Dress

Originally: $88.00

On Sale: $58.90

I cannot justify this purchase, other than saying that I absolutely adore the houndstooth print.

So there you have it, all of my Nordstrom Anniversary Sale picks.

Happy shopping, all! 

*Disclaimer: Apparently a lot of my items have been on everyone else's Wish List, too. The gray Ruched Long Sleeve Dress, the Knit Sweater Coat, the gray Kendra Scott earrings, and the Houndstooth dress are either not available at all, or no longer available in my size. 

39. The You in Style

Greetings readers!

I know it's been awhile and I know I've been holding out on outfit posts, which is quite a shame since lately they've been some good ones. My problem is, unlike most bloggers, I am single so a built in cameraman isn't lying around my house. Problem number 2, I don't have a floor length mirror in my new abode yet; however, this is *hopefully* going to change soon!

Things have been a tad rough and overwhelming lately. In one weekend I went to a friends grandmother's wake, found out at the wake that my best-friend's (I'm her Maid of Honor) mother passed away, attended a graduation party, went out to lunch with a friend, went to a wedding, had a day to digest, attended the wake, attended the funeral, attended the mercy dinner, worked half a day, and then went on vacation for 4 days. Talk about a whirlwind, eh? While on vacation, I was in such a funk. Normally, being outside with friends and family and getting a tan would brighten my mood, but no matter what I was doing or where I was, I didn't seem like I was meant to be there. Such a terrible, terrible, terrible feeling!

Despite everything, I think I’m looking to fashion to pull me out of my slumber. Yesterday while waiting for my bus, I saw a man with a beer gut, a long ponytail, a fitted/slightly loose shirt (if that makes any sense at all), and in a floor-length Bohemian skirt! Not something you see every day, right?! Then, I remembered a photo I saw earlier on Pinterest and gave the man kudos after all!

Pinspirable: Style is You

What gets you out of your funk? How do you let fashion speak for yourself?

18. The Fifty Shades of Pink to Tie Up With The Rope Braid

Greetings readers!

Yesterday was off to a late start, for I was doing some marketing for my friend, Liz Theresa. Plus, the thought of going outside in "4 degrees weather, but having it feel like -15 degrees," was not appealing to me, nor was it high on my list; however, I did have plans to go visit my cousin outside of Boston.

When getting ready, I was trying to find an Inspiration photo for wintry weather, but it wasn't happening! So I said, "Forget it, I'm going to dress how I want, since no other blogs really cater to feels like -15 degrees weather." *Fun Fact: I ended up, unconsciously, pairing an outfit together that matched an Inspiration photo I found earlier this week. It doesn't matter that I realized it now, right? Ha!*

The Inspiration

Can we say, gorgeous?! I absolutely love this look.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

So, not quite 50 shades of pink, but bright for winter nonetheless. It was refreshing to be nice and toasty warm with the gray cashmere open-faced sweater, uggs, but add some lovely pops of color.

The Pinspirable (part 2).

All of the pinks in a closer view: a hot pink belt, a fuschia top, and a darker fuschia scarf. The only pink items not seen here were my fuschia earrings from JoJo Loves You, and my Coach hair scarf.

As of yesterday, when I was gathering ideas for the blog, I came across this wonderful hairstyle via Pinterest, but it's originally from The Beauty Department.

The Inspiration.

If you look at the "braids" closely, you'll notice that they are indeed 2-stranded, not 3. The 2-stranded braid is known as "The Rope Braid." It's a very easy technique: essentially, you just split your hair in two and rotate over one another, like you would a normal 3-stranded braid.

This hairstyle was not coming out quite the way it appears in the picture, so I changed it up.

The Pinspirable (part 1).

The Pinspirable (part 2).

How To Achieve This Look:

1. Put your hair in a ponytail.

2. Divide the ponytail in half, so you now have two sections. 

3. Rope braid each section (so now you have 2 rope braids from one ponytail).

4. Rope braid together both of the 2 smaller rope braids.

5. Wrap the now 1 giant rope braid around to form a bun.

6. Secure this "bun" with an elastic.

7. Apply a scarf, flowered pin, etc.

Have you found any hairstyles that you liked and made them into your own?

Items:

Gray cashmere open-faced cardigan: $45 TJ Maxx, circa Fall 2011

Black skinny jeans - $80 Kenneth Cole outlet, circa 2009

Black Uggs: $70 TJ Maxx, circa 2005

Fuschia scarf: Christmas 2012 gift

Hot pink skinny belt: $7 Marshall's, circa Spring 2012

Pink shirt: $8 Old Navy, circa Spring 2008

Fuschia earrings: $30 JoJo Loves You

White layering "wife-beater" tank: $5 Old Navy, circa Spring 2008

Coach hair scarf: circa 2005

Till next time,

Bells

**Please note that the original source for today's clothing Inspiration photo is unknown. I saw it on Rue La La's Facebook page earlier this week. Someone said they reposted it from, Social Bliss.**