Influenster Perks: VS Sports Bra!

Recently, I was given the chance to review the new VS Sports Bra and Cropped Workout Pants by Influenster - for free! I love free stuff, and I love giving my opinion. ;-) Basically, I am a woman....

Anyway, I haven't been much into running or T-25 lately, but have been consistent with a yoga sequence, since that's something Molly and I can do "together". 

I got the below style of Sports Bra, in orange and grey.

Let me tell ya. This is the sports bra to end all sports bras. FIRST of all, whoever had the genius idea to have a sports bra that zips up the front - THANK YOU. This means no more T-Rex arms while you try to shove your head, shoulders, arms and bust into one of the most restricting pieces of clothing possible. 

This sports bra is comfortable enough for me to wear around the house all day..not that I've ever..done..that...or anything. ;-) AND it is very supportive. Almost moreso than my regular bra, which is probably a sign that I need a new regular bra - oops. 

Anyway, if you struggle with finding the right sports bra, this is a good place to start. Well worth the money spent, in my opinion!

Real Style: Natalie

Alright, peeps - time for another installment in the Real Style series! This is Natalie, a young, stylish, professional from Arizona! LOVE her and LOVE her style!!

Natalie's necklace came from Target, but it doesn't appear to still be in stock, so I found something similar available on StoreEnvy.com at a shop with vintage items called Missing Trezures for just $6.55!! 

 Natalie's dress pants are JC Penney's Nine & Co. Modern Fit, which are on sale for $29.99 here! Natalie's tank top underneath the jacket is also from JC Penney, but I am going to assume that most of us already have a go-to tank top for under things like this!

The blazer posed a bit of a challenge, as Natalie originally got hers at Kohl's and they no longer carry them, but I was able to find a similar one for $29.99 at Target, shown below.

Lastly are Natalie's simple earrings - if you don't have a pair of earrings like this - you should! I have about worn mine to death and need a new pair. You can find them just about anywhere, but the most inexpensive deal will be at your local Claire's. :-)

Hope y'all enjoyed this -- I have more outfits from Natalie and will post them soon!

Real Style: Amy

(Scroll over the words to find links to each item!)
Meet Amy - a work-at-home Mom of 2 stinkin' cute kids- from the suburbs of DC. She has a super cool blog and an AWESOME taste in music (hello, she just saw JT in concert. Yep).

 I see this outfit as a take-your-kids-to-the-doctors-office (and let's be honest, Target afterward) outfit.

The jeans are Banana Republic, and you can get similar ones here on an awesome clearance deal.

Here is a similar sweater to what Amy is wearing, available at Kohl's for $27. 

The shoes that Amy is wearing are black Tory Burch 'Reva' flats. They retail for about $225 here, and go with juuuust about any outfit you could possibly imagine.

The scarf was purchased by a friend in Finland, so I'm afraid if you're in love with it - you're fresh outta luck. :-) BUT, lightweight printed scarves are everywhere, so I'm sure you can find one that suits you - for instance, this one from Target for $15:

This second outfit is what Amy refers to as her "work from home but have to run to daycare and want to look like the living" outfit. 

The shoes are the same Tory Burch (see, told you, they go with everything!) flats from above, and the leggings are from Target. I love Target's leggings and have owned probably three or four pair over the past years -- just make sure they stand up to the bent-knee-test. If you can see your skin through them when you bend your knees? Everyone else can see your skin too. ;-) (end legging rant)

The shirt is from Marshall's, but I had some trouble finding one on there, and found this one on Kohl's website that is similar, and for a $10.80! I also found this as a great way to turn this outfit into a Maternity outfit - hello, comfy!!

One thing that rounds out this outfit is Amy's cute bangles and chunky watch. I love to shop at Charming Charlie's for accessories lately, and they have the cutest watches. 

 

So for the last Amy outfit, we're going simple. Cute, springy, perfect for casual parties, church events, or if you're like me - any day of the week (I love dresses!).

I was particularly excited to see Amy in this Target dress, because I've been eyeing up the one in our local Target for a few weeks. :-)

Again, paired with bangles, watch, and cute sandals or flats - you're good to go!! 

A BIG Thank You to Amy for being willing to ransack her closet for me for this challenge. :-)

Real Style: Katheryn

An Introduction to this series: Real Style. I would consider myself a fairly fashionable woman. I like to keep in with current styles and ever since my great hold-out of 2002 (last pre-teen not wearing low rise jeans is the title that I've claimed), I have tried to be willing to be open to new styles. 

I can scroll through Pinterest for hours, pinning cute outfit ideas that I have no idea how to accomplish and getting discouraged when I realize the price tag for accomplishing them. So, I decided to do a few blog posts featuring different body types, different walks of life, and different styles on REAL women, and where to purchase the pieces needed for each outfit, as easily affordable as possible!

This is my friend Katheryn. She's gorgeous, right? Not many women can pull off a relaxed but classy look while THIS pregnant...at least, not on a budget. 

Her necklace is no longer available where she purchased it, so I found a similar style for sale on Etsy!

This is the dress, found at Old Navy. Not every Old Navy has a Maternity section (boooooo), but this can be purchased online for $19! (Reg. price is $36.50, which is still not too bad in the Maternity clothing world!)

I found this listing on Etsy for a shop called MaryAnnsWay. The necklace and earring set is only $13!

Pair this outfit with cute wedges or strappy sandals, and taaa daaa! There ya go!

White After Labor Day

There are some things in life that I have a really hard time with. Wearing white after Labor Day and wearing brown and black together are just two of the "biggies" that I've been struggling with recently.

These are not euphemisms. This is for real, you guys. These are real problems that I'm really facing. We're getting down to the nitty gritty now. 

In all seriousness, I was raised that you wore your white shoes for the first time on Palm Sunday - and put them away before Labor Day. It doesn't matter how hot it was after Labor Day - you wear your black or brown dress shoes, because the time for white dress shoes has passed. 

Well, recently, I read in a magazine somewhere that that's no longer the case. So this year, I branched out and wore my white dress shoes whenever it was too warm for dressy boots. Which ended up being up until about 2 weeks ago. It was very freeing, and the 90's fashion police didn't even slay me when I left the house.

So that brings me to my newest fashion hurdle: black and brown together. It's killing me. I am trying my hardest to get over it. Yesterday, I wore a black cami with a brown shirt. And a grey sweater. And brown boots. But I felt like a sinner all day long because of it. I ended up tucking the black cami into my jeans so that it had less of a chance of showing. I THINK I HAVE A PROBLEM.

So today I'm taking a break from black and brown, and branching out to black and navy blue...something I conquered long, long ago....