my saturday in a skirt

Here's the maxi skirt I promised in the last post. I had a minor shoe crisis before I left the house (late, as it were), and ended up in my combat boots. Although I was warm (it was a chilly 50something degrees), I felt sort of like a witch, or an Amish lady. Especially when surrounded by all of the teenage girls in shorts/mini dresses leaving The Maine show at Wooly's. I need to amp up my maxi skirt wearing confidence!
Sweater: Forever21. Skirt: Target. Necklace: MBMJ

Henry Bendel, the saber tooth cat.

Inside of the lovely shop, Domestica. We stopped by to help them celebrate their 2-year anniversary!

After Domestica, we went to Wooly's for Weekend Records. Lucy played her first ever game of beer pong!

my current obsessions

lip balms. these are all in my everyday purse. i also have 1 by my bed, 1 in my "going out" purse, and 1 in my backpack.
Blistex, Maybelline Baby Lips, and natural chapstick my mom made.

 

parks & recreation. and this phrase, in general.
v-neck t-shirt: RAYGUN

maxi skirts, as seen in the previous 2 posts
pic from Morgan and Lua

parmesan bread bites. seriously, yum.

these animal prints, especially the cats.
from CollageOrama

what i wore: to work

I jumped into the maxi dress trend today! Well I mean, the hem is higher in the front, so it's not exactly a maxi dress, but close enough. I also bought an actual maxi skirt (on sale!) at Target today, so you'll probably see it on here soon.

Why do I look so awkward and linebacker-y?

High-low maxi dress w/ belt  from Forever 21. Creepy face: free of charge.

And because I had to go to work, I threw this cardigan by Converse (from Target) over it.

to the max

Maxi skirts and dresses have been around for while, but I'm just now coming around to the idea of them. They've always seemed like kind of an oxymoron to me....they're marketed as a summer skirt, but who wants to cover their legs during the summer?! Even so, I've decided I want to jump on this trend bandwagon. The only thing is, I can't really figure out what kind of tops I should pair with these extra long skirts. Thankfully, this trend is very trendy, and everyone from Pinterest to F21 to Lookbook.nu has some good examples for me to go off of. Here are some of my faves:

How do you guys rock the maxi trend? I will take any tips you have!

what i wore: to work

I'm trying to make a conscious effort to record any outfits of mine that don't consist of sweatpants and/or jeans & a t-shirt, mostly so I have more content to put on this blog. I wouldn't get too excited though, because current wardrobe isn't too eclectic. I love fashion and think I have a very good sense of personal style, however, my limited budget over the past several years has turned my closet into a bland selection of basic long tanks, t-shirts, oversized sweatshirts, and leggings. But I've had a bit of disposable income as of late, and I've kind of gone crazy buying some trendier prints and silhouettes, which you will see on here, at some point! Anyways....

I currently have 2 jobs, one that requires "business casual" attire, and one that doesn't care what I wear. Let me tell you, me and business casual don't get along. But I've been sneaking some leggings (my wardrobe staple) into the mix, and so far I haven't been reprimanded! Oh, and my modeling skills still haven't improved.....

Blazer: Target. Tunic: Target. Leggings: Target. Boots: old & falling apart. Scarf: no label.

Note to self: BUY NEW BOOTS. Also, get a better backdrop for taking pictures.

And here's an outtake for you snicker at. Self-timers, woof. 

mo' money, mo' problems: part 2

Remember that budget thing I was talking about trying last month? Well, I'm trying it out. I got my monthly & bi-monthly checks from my jobs at the end of March/beginning of April, and then began rigorously crunching the numbers to get something financially responsible put together. Here's what I came up with:

• First & foremost, BILLS. Those terrible, annoying things that happen every month. Blegh. Rent, utility bills, Netflix bill, car insurance, and estimated dollar amount in gas I will use per month. I know gas isn't technically a bill, but I have to have it to get to class/work, so I think it counts. 
• $100 for food
• $50 for other necessities (toilet paper, soap, etc.)
• $50 to my savings account
• $50 in cash (This is part of my genius idea to help curb my impulse spending. I tend to save my cash & use my debit card, so I'm going to try and leave my debit card at home most days and only carry cash. I'll let you know if this plan works out....)
• After all of that, there's still a little money left over. I like to think of it as a cushion in case I go over in any of the other categories. And yes, that's already happened :/

This budget may be modified next month, depending on how this month pans out. I feel really optimistic that this will help me manage my spending! It would be amazing to have savings again, just in case there's a month that I need extra money. 

neon triangles: a hipster's dream

This week I embarked upon a little crafting project. It wasn't too difficult, but I'm happy with the outcome! I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a plain tote bag, some fabric paint, fabric, and some other odds and ends. 

This pile of stuff cost $30.

The first thing I did was sew a fabric pocket onto the inside of the bag.

The sewing isn't perfect (it's ~couture~, done with my own 2 hands), but the pocket is done to my specifications. A separate pocket for pens/pencils and a little pocket for my chapstick. 

After the sewing was done, I turned it back right side out and painted some triangles.

I let the triangles dry overnight, then filled them in and added the bottom line. 

After the 2nd application of paint dried, I cut & sewed extensions on the handles. They were ridiculously short to begin with.

The final product! I may add more rows of triangles, but I haven't decided yet.