So here is what I am happy about this week. There’s no particular order to any of this, by the way:

• My new Kate Spade Saturday weekender. If you haven’t heard about Kate Spade Saturday, it’s a new line that’s the younger, more bubbly sister of Kate Spade (think yellow eye shadow and bubble gum pink earrings). I am totally not in the market for a new travel bag, but I couldn’t pass this one up. Plus I have two trips this summer, and you know I’ll be rocking those stripes at the airport at 4 a.m. (god help me)
• I’ve completed two weeks of Barre Amped classes. Barre classes are a newish exercise class – I’ve heard of Pure Barre and Barre3 as well. A local studio started offering the classes, and for two weeks they have been free. I’ve been struggling to get back into exercise and knew I needed some sort of strength training – and let me tell you, Barre is HARD. Never have I sweated over the tiniest movements. I’m proud of myself for completing five classes – and I just bought a package of 20! Be prepared to hear more about this.
• My roses are blooming! See photo above.
• THREE DAY WEEKEND. Need I say more?
• My boyfriend. He’s been working a difficult assignment for the past few weeks, and I’m so proud of him as he finishes one challenge and moves on to the next!

Thanks Sarah for starting this – and make sure you add your link!

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And now a sponsor info – with a great offer just for my readers!

More favorite Stella & Dot picks: serpeant bangle, Juniper statement necklace and soiree earrings

I’m super excited to introduce you to another of my fabulous sponsors, Mindy Miller from Stella & Dot! Mindy contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a Stella & Dot trunk show – I had so much fun picking out my favorite pieces! Ever since my cousin Frankie gifted me with some Stella & Dot jewelry last Christmas, I have been a fan. And I’m thrilled to let you know that Mindy is offering all my readers FREE SHIPPING for MAY AND JUNE – just contact her with your order, and she’ll arrange the rest! Thank you so much Mindy for this generous offer!

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J. Crew punk floral swoop top (it keeps selling out online and then popping back, so keep checking!) • J. Crew No. 2 pencil skirt (last year, but here’s this year’s cotton version) • Karen Scott peep-toe heels • Tiffany’s and Zenzi via Stitchfix bracelets

This top is part of J. Crew’s punk floral collection, which makes me laugh, because I am the least punk person ever. Apart from a few colorful hairdos, I am about as punk as a bright pink skirt with a green top. Bright color is punk, right?

I have seen this top on adorable outfits from Annie and Tara and when J. Crew had a 20% off sale (and I saw it in my size), I went for it. I love LOVE the color and can’t wait to try this top with jeans for the weekend or white pants. Oh the possibilites.

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It’s Sponsor Intro time, and I’m super excited to introduce you to Katy of Sugar and Chiffon! Katy was one of the first bloggers I connected with when I started my blog, she’s a fellow Midwesterner and she just graduated from law school! Which basically means she’s amazing. (I mean, obviously – look at those pants!) I’m so excited to have Katy sponsor my blog! You can also check her out on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest!

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 Aldo Paide flats • Target Vivan pointy heels • Nine West Quancy flats • Circus by Sam Edelman Ava flats • J. Crew Remi ribbon sandals • Stuart Weitzman Naughty pumps (splurge!) • TOMS classic glitter slip-ons (I have these and LOVE them)

 I love shoe posts. Mostly because I love writing and thinking about and buying shoes. And metallic shoes are especially fun – they go with everything (metallics are a neutral!) and make an outfit shine. Literally.

Which silver shoes would you add to your closet? Personally, I have my eye on the J. Crew sandals. (No surprise there!)

Don’t forget – there’s still time to enter the giveaway I’m doing with some other fabulous bloggers!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy!

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It’s time for Whatever Works Wednesday!

How it works:

1. Make sure your link is no more than one week old (older links will be deleted).
2. Add your link (please link to the specific post and not to your main blog page).
3. Add a link to my blog in the post you linked up to!
4. Visit as many other links as you can!

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Gap striped sleeveless jersey dress • J. Crew Cece flats (similar color) • hat from the best college in the world

Do you ever have an outfit in your head that you’ve been thinking about for ages? You try and collect all the pieces and excitedly put it together – only to realize it doesn’t quite live up to your outfit dreams. I was inspired to create a cute weekend outfit by the Herve Ledger Fall 2013 collection – mostly because of their awesome mix of bandage dresses and baseball caps. While the runway is out of reach for me, I fell in love with this dress from Gap and saw it in my head as going perfect with my beloved IU cap and thought it would be finished perfectly with my new Converse sneakers. Not so much. This dress is about three inches too long, and I’m seriously considering hemming it. With my sneakers on, I may as well have been wearing snowshoes, my feet felt so big.

Sigh. Have you ever had a perfect outfit in your head, only to be disappointed with reality?

And now, a picture for Jojo. This is a bit of an inside joke (my grandmother requested more relaxed photos, and I ended up pricking my finger on my roses.)

On the plus side, I’m also excited to be participating in a giveaway hosted by a blog I sponsor, The Tiny Heart! Thanks Sharon for organizing this – some GREAT prizes available!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Happy Monday! We seemed to have bypassed spring and gone straight into July – yesterday was the hottest, most humid day this year. But hotter temperatures mean time for my favorite hairstyle – the beach look! This look is meant to be messy and casual – I love it for the weekends with a sundress and cute pair of sandals. Salt sprays will give straight hair like mine some wave and texture. I just got Bumble & bumble surf spray and so far love it – though I wish it smelled a bit like the ocean! I will never get over John Freida discontinuing their beach blonde surf spray – why did they do that? It was the Best. Stuff. Ever.

Linking up with Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons!

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Kate Spade Saturday circle studs • Sarah Potempa beachwaver curling iron • Target Sam & Libby Kelly wedges • J. Crew Edie purse

You can follow all my picks and much more on my Pinterest boards.

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Ann Taylor blouse • Old Navy striped jersey pencil skirt • J. Crew belt • J. Crew Factory pumps • LOFT necklace

Ever since it started showing up in every store, I have tried on peplum tops and dresses to no avail. From more expensive ones to peplum from Target, nothing worked. I’m convinced that peplum isn’t for me – but the idea of peplum is still incredibly flattering and easy to recreate. One of the frustrating parts about peplum tops for me is that the peplum often hits my torso at the wrong point. By using a belt, you can adjust where the “peplum” starts in order to most flatter your figure.

Just grab a longer blouse or top, and add a belt at your natural waist. The fabric shouldn’t be too flowy, because part of peplum’s advantage is structure. This look goes great with pencil skirts and pants equally.

I really, really liked this outfit. The neon accents were fun and added much-needed color. This is a definite outfit repeat.

Also: shoulder pads, when used correctly, can be incredibly flattering. The more you know.

I almost forgot to tell you all – my second column for a magazine produced by my local newspaper was published! It’s all about building a wardrobe based on classic pieces – you can read it here (go to page 5)!

Linking up with Mix and Match Fashion today!

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Because that is what blogs are supposed to be in my mind: windows, tiny peeks into our lives. This blog just happens to have more of a theme and direction – and for the most part I stick to it. But if something made me mad or cry or laugh, I want to share it with you all. Because I like to hear the same things from all of you – what did you do today? Nothing? That’s ok – I want to hear about your day anyway.

There was an interesting conversation on one of my favorite blogs, J. Crew Aficionada, that centered around an online code J. Crew gave to Rachel from Pink Peonies to share with her readers. I found it strange that J. Crew gave one blog a specific code when they are very anti-blogs and anti-customer promotions on social media – and commented that while I think Rachel is lovely and has great style, one of my major pet peeves from her and Blair of Atlantic-Pacific is that I know NOTHING about them – except that they have great style (and possibly a large budget). They post where they got the items (or who they got them from), and little to nothing else about their lives. One commenter took this as “bashing” poor Rachel (seriously, has she never heard of the borderline bullying site that is Shamepuff?), but it’s honestly just a difference in taste. Rachel and Blair’s sites are lovely and perfect when I want outfit ideas. But one of these days I wish they would just tell me how their days went.

What do you all think? Do you like hearing about randoms in my life? Or am I annoying you all by telling you my mundane day-to-day details? And if you made it to the end of this essay, congrats. You’ve earned this link-up!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy!

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It’s time for Whatever Works Wednesday!

How it works:

1. Make sure your link is no more than one week old (older links will be deleted).
2. Add your link (please link to the specific post and not to your main blog page).
3. Add a link to my blog in the post you linked up to!
4. Visit as many other links as you can!

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Don’t forget – there are TWO more days to enter my Stella & Dot giveaway! Seriously, guys, I wish I could win this prize, I love it that much.

While I was provided these extensions for free, my opinions are 100% my own. As ever.

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Whenever I’m asked who my fashion icon is, I can only think of one person: my mother.

My mom has always been the most fashionable person in my life. I remember when I was little, I’d sit on her bed in the mornings, waiting for her to do my hair as she picked out an outfit. I’d often suggest shoes or necklaces, always pushing for something sparkly and colorful. My mom is responsible for my love of shopping, though at first I hated it. Dressing rooms scared me, and I refused to try anything on until I was about 12 or 13. She drilled in me some of life’s greatest rules (NEVER wear open-toed shoes without painting your nails first) and is the first email I get after cursing in a post (“your GRANDMOTHER reads your blog!”).

Even though I pretended otherwise, I always value my mom’s opinion on everything – though I like to shake things up sometimes just to see the shock on her face. I went through a phase in high school with my friend Lindsay where an afternoon of boredom was spent dyeing our hair crazy colors, and my mom never reproached me for it – except when I got red hair dye on the bathroom floor.

I have been a blonde most of my life except for senior year of college and grad school when I decided to go dark. The running joke I told was that I eventually went back to blonde because I didn’t want to look too much like my mom – heaven forbid that! We already have similar voices, expressions and I swear even handwriting.

But the truth is I would be so lucky to be just like my mom. She more than my fashion icon – she is the most wonderful woman I know.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

Don’t forget to enter my Stella & Dot giveaway – I LOVE this prize!

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