dressing for an outdoor sporting event and NOT taking a purse.

Football season is here!  Yaaaaaaay.  Do I mean that?  I'm not sure.  Ask me in 4 months when it's freezing and I am tailgating in the bitter Michigan cold with icicles hanging from my Spartan face sticker. 

This may seem silly, but, dressing for a football game (or any outdoor game) and tailgating can sometimes be a challenge.  Our alma mater now has a new (stupid) rule in which you are not allowed to have a bag, purse, or umbrella of ANY kind.  The first time I heard this I freaked out: WHAT?!  Where am I going to put my ID/credit card, my phone, my lipgloss, my compact? What if my nose runs and I need kleenex?  What if I get a HUGE headache and need medicine?  What if I don't have my camera-- WON'T THE WORLD END?!!! THAT'S IT, I can't go to the game if I can't take my purse.

Yes, that really was my train of thought.  I'm that much of a spaz sometimes.  But, you'll be happy to know that somehow I've come up with a few ways that allow me to still stay fashionable and prepared WITHOUT taking my purse.  

Here's what I've learned:

1.  Take only a few things that are absolutely necessary for you to feel good and prepared.

2.  Skip the skinny jeans.  Wear jeans that are comfortable and roomy so that you can utilize the pockets.  Guys do this all the time-- it works!  But, if you love your skinny jeans, take a coat that will do the same job (see suggestion 3).

3.  If it's cold, take a jacket or sweater with pockets that zip.  You can use those pockets to store your stuff.

4.  My essentials are: 

-lipgloss in a tube

-MAC blotting powder compact

-a small tube of eye drops (my contacts get dry)

-1 or 2 sheets of kleenex (I get sniffly often)

-4 Advils (or whatever pain med you prefer)

-driver's license and credit card

-phone

-camera-- but, if and only if you are also taking a coat/sweatshirt with a pocket.  There's no way that you can store a camera in your pant pockets (with the rest of that crap) and still feel comfortable!  This is coming from a girl that's seriously attached to her camera.  You can take pictures on your phone.  Just go with it.

>>>I tuck the lipgloss in my right-front pocket, closest to the inside of my thigh.  I put the Advil in the little tiny pocket that no one knows the purpose of.  I place the eye drops in the inside of my left-front pocket.  My compact goes in my left-back pocket.  And my ID/credit card/kleenex/phone get placed in my right-back pocket.  TA-DA! 

I know that sounds like a lot.  But, if you spread it all out to the different pockets in your roomy jeans and jacket, you can carry your essentials and skip the purse. 

And last but not least, always remember to take your team spirit!!  (A team face sticker or two won't hurt either!)

MSU jersey, Charlotte Russe boyfriend jeans, Banana Republic Belt, Target Ona flats

meow!

I've been wearing a lot of animal prints lately.

What can I say, I'm a creature of habit! 

PUN intended!! ;)

Banana Republic tank, LOFT slash pocket shift skirt,Target Mossimo Ona flats , NY& Co. cardi/belt/watch 

F21 button-up/"Paris" necklace/belt, Target pants, NY&Co. watch, Target Mossimo Ona flats 

Surprisingly, up until a few years ago, I wasn't really diggin' animal prints.  They seemed cheap to me. And way too overdone.

But now I feel that, if styled properly, animal prints can be so chic and fun at the same time.

What about you-- Are you loving or hating animal prints?

wear that skirt, honey!

Lately, skirts and dresses have been my go-to outfit pieces.  They are so easy to style.  Throw on a simple dress, or a skirt, top, and a few accessories and you're done!--All dressed and put together in less than a minute. 

TJ MAXX top, LOFT skirt, gifted leopard scarf (Thanks, Mom!), Target Pearce pumps, NY&Co. watch

TJ MAXX dress, Express flats, bubble necklace via eBay

F21 button-up, LOFT skirt, DSW shoes, bubble necklace via eBay

Target dress, F21 belt, Express flats

F21 top, LOFT skirt, Express flats, gifted pearl's (Thanks, again, Mom!)

layer it--for Spring!

I have always been one of those girls who dresses for the weather.  Like, I really REALLY like to dress for the weather.  The main reason is that I cannot stand being uncomfortable.  I hate being stuck in a cold room shivering all day, or being stuck in sweltering heat in a stuffy outfit.  It makes me crabby, and that's no fun for anybody!

So, layers are my best friend in the Spring (and Fall, and Winter... and Summer!).  This morning it was 47 degrees when I left my house and 70 by the time I got out of work.  So, I decided to layer it up!  This way, I can add or remove pieces of clothing (wink wink) as needed.  My favorite pieces to layer are a big chunky sweater and a colorful scarf.

Shown above:

The Limited tank

NY&Co. cardi/necklace

Target skinnies/flats

F21 chunky sweater/scarf

Bag via JCP

Are you a layer-er?  
What're your favorite things to layer?

BEST ultra wear lipstick/gloss, Valentine's, and this week's style in pix.

Hi, Loves!  How are you?  How are your pre-Valentine's preparations going? 

J & I love Valentine's Day.  Well, I'm sure I love it way more than him.  But, still!  We actually celebrated this year's Valentine's this weekend.  We just don't have the time to go all out on a weekday.  So, we decided to celebrate yesterday by dressing up, exchanging gifts, and enjoying a delicious meal at a nice restaurant.  And, it was fabulous!

Big surprise--I have a lot of fancy dresses, and between work and every day life, I don't usually get to break most of them out.  So, I used our Valentine's date night to done one of my favorite dresses, and pull together a Joan Holloway/Mad Men look(complete with bright red Chanel lip gloss!).  On a side note, this lip gloss is THE BEST long lasting lip formula I have found.  I am not kidding when I say that it.does.not.budge.  You can eat/drink/talk/kiss with it on for hours, and it stays on beautifully.  Plus, it doesn't smudge, chip, or flake.  I tried on a million long-wear lip glosses/sticks for my wedding, and after throwing tons of money away on formulas that failed, I discovered this Chanel one.  The one I'm referring to is Chanel Rouge Double Intensite, Ultra Wear Lip Colour.  It is like a lip gloss, but the color is rich like a lip stick.  My favorite color is Ruby Lite, and that's what I'm wearing in the pictures (below).  

So, if you're looking for an incredible ultra wear lipstick, don't look any further than Chanel.  At $34 a tube, it's a little pricey.  But, it's so so so worth it!  I cannot recommend this product enough.  And if you're wondering where to find it, you can either order it online here, or find a Chanel counter at department stores like Macy's.

Here's what we looked like all done up for Valentine's date night:

On J: Express head to toe.  Unsure about the shoes...
On me: Ann Taylor sheath dress with bow, Nine West pumps.
I look pretty Joan Holloway/Mad Men-ish right?! ;) 

At dinner.  We went for a late dinner, and left as they were closing the place down.  Oops!  Haha.

Here's what I wore this week:

Express cardi/pencil skirt, Worthington by JCP top, Nine West Jobst pumps

Forever21 button-up/necklace, NY&Co. cardi, The Limited pants, Nine West Jobst pumps

Express cardi, NY&Co. zebra print belt, Banana Republic pants, shoes via DSW

Casual Friday @ the office:
Vintage UCLA sweater (my mom's!), Express skinnies, Banana Republic belt, Etienne Aigner riding boots

So, tell me...

Do you have any plans for Valentine's day?

Have a great week!

Update!

Hello, lovelies!  How are you?

I know it's been a while since I blogged.  So, I wanted to give you all an update.

The reason that I haven't blogged lately is because a few weeks ago I was offered (and accepted) an incredible position, doing exactly what I want to be doing, at a local health department!  (If you want more details, e-mail me.  I prefer not to have a google key word on here!)

Ever since then, preparing for the job has been a whirlwind!  I'm going to have a bit of a commute.  So, we had to do some work on my car to prepare it for the travel.  AND!  I was able to buy lots of cute work clothes.  The latter was definitely more exciting!  

:)

Anywho, please bare with me while I adjust to my new schedule.  I hope to start taking more outfit pictures soon, so I can put them on here.

So, what's going on with you guys?  I miss you all!  Please give me updates!  I'd love to hear them. 

Thanks for being amazing!

what i wore: blanket scarves and crossbody bags.

Hello, Loves!  How's it going?

It's actually pretty chilly here, all of the sudden.  

But, no need to fear... blanket scarves are here!

H&M shirt, Forever21 blanket scarf/high-waisted shorts, tights/socks (various), Mossimo for Target crossbody bag,Target watch, Chinese Laundry Bosco boots

So warm, so cuddly, so all around magical!  

Click here for examples of the many ways that these scarves can be styled.

And just when you thought this Fall's new trends couldn't get any better... you see a crossbody bag that just begs to go home with you, when you're taking a 'small' trip to Target.  

Oii vey!

So, tell me...

Have you tried a blanket scarf?  How do you wear yours?

What's your "it" bag this Fall?