merry and bright

In partnership with Zappos I styled my new Paige jeans and Freebird boots for the holidays...

Holiday fashion usually evokes thoughts of lots of sequins - sequin skirts, dresses, shirts, shoes. And while I love a little sparkle in my life, for my second post with Zappos, I wanted to show you guys a slightly dressier but pared down way of wearing my Paige jeans and Freebird boots around the holiday season. 

I've been wearing these jeans constantly - sneakily to school, going out with friends, studying at the library, just about everywhere. Black jeans are genius - as comfortable as your favorite pair of blue jeans, but always look a little dressier. Pair them with your comfiest (stretchiest!) blazer, and a bedazzled shirt, and you'll be the classiest and comfiest person at that holiday party! And speaking of holiday party, if you're looking for a last minute present, make sure you check out their gift guide (plus their speedy shipping will insure that you don't show up empty handed).

Jeans: Paige c/o Zappos [exact]

Booties: Freebird c/o Zappos [exact]

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

tickled pink & blue (nile giveaway)

 

I tend to avoid wearing pink and red together (except these two times I've done it) but it seems only appropriate for this time of year. Love is in the air, ya know? ;)  

There's also snow in the air, but we're going to try to ignore that fact. 

Make sure you enter the giveaway below to win the same necklace that I'm wearing - you know I'm all about the delicate silver jewelry, so I was really excited to add this beautiful piece to my small collection. Good luck!

Tee: Loft [exact]

Blazer: Old Navy [save | splurge]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Necklace: c/o Blue Nile [exact]

Shoes: Lucky [exact]

a Rafflecopter giveaway

familiarity

 

Today as I was taking these pictures, I felt like I had worn this outfit before. The nice thing about documenting what you wear most days is that I can go back and check - turns out I haven't actually worn this blazer with this shirt, but I do tend to stick to black and whites when I wear it. It's familiar, but still slightly different.

ALSO: YAY BLAZER TIME! 

question: what can I wear my navy schoolboy with now that I can't wear it with jeans? :(

Blazer: Old Navy [cute save | spend]

Blouse: Forever 21 [similar]

Pants: The Limited [exact]

Belt: The Limited

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

six

 

This was worn on my sixth to last day of work. 

And yes, Sam, I am still counting.

But today is not a work day for me, so if you need me I'll be enjoying the 60 degree weather at my favorite place on campus with a few of my college girlfriends. Have a great weekend :)

Tee: c/o Elegantees [exact]

Blazer: Old Navy [save | splurge]

Jeans: Urban Outfitters [exact]

Watch: c/o Daniel Wellington [exact]

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

Big thank you to Elegantees for providing me with this beautiful shirt. It was a bit chilly out to be worn without taking my jacket off, but you can see the full version here. Here's a bit more about Elegantees:

Elegantees is revolutionizing modesty and restoring lives of women rescued from sex trafficking. It started in 2010 with elegant designs made from tee-shirt fabric, as easy to wear and wash as a tee. The mission first stemmed when founder Katie Martinez learned about the harsh realities about human trafficking, while attending fashion design school. After Katie worked in the garment industry for years, she started the brand to make modesty trendy and affordable, and to help women in bondage of trafficking.

In 2011, Elegantees partnered with the Nepali Rescue Project a non-profit organization fighting trafficking. This organization rescues over 20,000 human trafficking victims per year in Nepal. In addition, the Nepali Rescue Project provides these survivors with safe houses, counseling, and various job training skills; including sewing.

A new partnership emerged in 2013 with Restore NYC, a nonprofit organization working to end sex trafficking and restore foreign-national survivors.  Restore NYC, offers these survivors with a safe community with complete care addressing physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

lazy

You may have already seen me complain about this on twitter, but this weekend was somewhat of a dud. With Chris being gone I've lost that built in person to go do things with, and I'm getting to the point where I'm sick of going out and doing everything by myself. wah wah, life is so tough!

But I did spend most of the weekend on my couch. I ate about 4 omelets (they were delicious), and watched the whole first season of Homeland. Living the dream! Maybe next weekend I'll actually go outside and enjoy the springtime. Or watch season 2. 

Blazer: Old Navy [save | splurge]

Shirt: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Jeans: Urban Outfitters [exact on super sale]

Earrings: Tiffany & Co. [exact]

Watch: Fossil [exact]

Necklace: Gift from Whitney

Shoes: Rocket Dog [similar]

via instagram

5D5W: Pants

For today's 5 Days, 5 Ways challenge we have pants (or if you want, skirts!). I obviously do not struggle with wearing pants since it is what I wear ~95% of the time (but not always by choice). I originally was going to show ways I've worn my favorite pair of jeans, but after Kimmie pointed out that wearing a black cardigan is just about the easiest thing out there to do (so true) yesterday, I felt I needed to step up my game for this blogging challenge.

A few weeks ago AJ posted the cutest outfit - I needed those pants in my closet immediately. I have always wanted to wear floral pants, but almost all of them out there are printed denim, and as I've learned the hard way, I just don't like printed/colored denim on myself. But these were dress pants - much more flattering for my thighs. I went to Target in hopes that I could find a pair for myself - and I did find them on the mythical clearance rack that everyone always has so much luck at, but I never find anything on. Except these pants. I found these pants for $12 and change. TARGET DOES IT AGAIN.

But because they require a little bit of alterations at the waist, I haven't worn them yet in the "real" world. Instead I played dress up in my bedroom. I came up with the following six (overachiever status) outfits. Which one is your favorite?

Outfit 1:

Blazer: Overstock.com  [similar]

Blouse: Banana Republic

Necklace: Souvenir from Australia

Shoes: Old Navy  [similar]

Outfit 2:

Sweater: Gap  [similar]

Button-up: J.Crew Factory  [exact]

Necklace: Forever 21  [save | splurge]

Shoes: Tory Burch  [exact]

Outfit 3:

Tee: Target

Necklace: Forever 21

Bag: Coach  [current version]

Bracelets: Forever 21

Sandals: Target [very similar]

Outfit 4:

Jacket: Souvenir from Germany [similar]

Shirt: Forever 21

Necklace: Gift from my mom/sister

Watch: Target

Shoes: Crown Vintage [really cute option]

Outfit 5:

Blazer: Old Navy [similar]

Tee: Gap

Necklace: Wal-Mart [very similar]

Watch: Fossil

Shoes: Tory Burch [exact]

Outfit 6:

Chambray: J.Crew Factory [exact]

Scarf: H&M

Shoes: Aldo [similar]

And all together now:

Looking to add neutral colored floral pants to your closet? Try this Tilly pair for $14, this pair F21 pair for $23, or this Ann Taylor pair for $60!

Your turn! How have you worn different bottoms? Please link up below. Tomorrow's challenge is accessories - the link up will be on Whitney's blog! I'll give you one guess what my accessory will be.

<div align="center"><a href="http://franish.blogspot.com/2013/03/5d5w-pants.html" title="Franish" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/GYAUGRG.jpg" alt="Franish" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

freeze

Did you know that when it gets cold enough outside, electronics stop working? My remote for my camera refused to work unless I warmed in in my hand for 10 seconds. 40 seconds and 4 pictures later, I gave up. Good thing I'm such a good poser, right?

Blazer: Old Navy  {save / splurge}

Tee: Banana Republic  {similar}

Jeans: Joe's Jeans  {similar}

Scarf: Victoria's Secret

Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}

Watch: Fossil  {similar}

Bracelets: Nordstrom

apparently I'm not very creative when it comes to wearing this blazer...

one     two
three   four






linking up with wiww and random wednesday.

frivolous

Yesterday morning I was running a little early so I stopped at Starbucks before work...and was so annoyed that it took 10 minutes to make me a simple iced drink. It feels so stupid now to think that the worst part of my day was having to wait for a stupid drink while small children were being killed in cold blood. It all seems so frivolous - the coffee drinks, the taking pictures of what I wore, the typing of what I wore, while there are parents who lost their babies that day for no reason. My heart aches for them, and I hope this forces our country to work on the diagnosing and treating of mental illness.

I was unsure how if I should even bring this up on my blog. Fashion blogging is about escape and inspiration and fun, and the horrible events that happened in Connecticut are none of those... but those little children and their teachers have been on my mind all day as I'm sure they've been on yours, so even though we will continue to live our lives and hold those we love closer, I couldn't not acknowledge their tragic and untimely deaths.

here's what I wore yesterday.

frivolous, I know.



Blazer: Old Navy  {save / splurge}
Shirt: Gap
Scarf: H&M  {similar}
Jeans: Urban Outfitters  {exact}
Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}
Watch: Fossil  {very similar}
Bracelet: Tiffany & Co.  {exact}

Bright

Months ago I discussed how I used to never wear much color - it was black, greys and maroons. While it made getting dressed every day easy, it was also boring. I've been making an effort to expand my closet with versatile pieces that bring a little life back into my closet. Since seeing this picture, I've  been itching to try more red and purple together. It's a bit bright, but it sure does shake up a gloomy Tuesday. 

Are there any color combinations you've been wanting to try?

Blazer: Old Navy  {similar}
Scarf: Unknown...
Pants: Urban Outfitters  {one of my five favorites)
Watch: Fossil
Bracelet: vacation souvenir (up close on Instagram)

Shoes: Rocket Dog via DSW  {exact}







linking up with wiww.

September Budget

1. Target Extra Large Boyfriend Watch: $14.99 {seen here recently}
2. Old Navy Plaid Flannel: $24.95 + $8 off with Super Cash = $17  {seen here with a little DIY}
3. Old Navy Casual Blazer: $39.94 + $12 off with Super Cash = $28  {seen here, here}
4. Gap Dot Pullover Sweater: $44.95 + 30% off = $32
5. American Eagle Skinny Jean: $49.95

September Budget: $142*

I've been pretty busy this month which kept me away from the mall and online shopping. Before today, I had only spent $60 but I made a little pit stop at the mall after work to buy jeans. I found the gap sweater on my jeans hunt, and have it currently on hold until tomorrow, when my 30% coupon goes into effect (I received this coupon as a Gap card holder in the mail) so while I haven't actually purchased it yet, I do plan on picking it up tomorrow!

*I did buy my J. Crew Schoolboy Blazer (seen here, here and here) this month as well, but I had been saving for it the last few months as a birthday present to myself, so I don't count it towards this month's budget

Now it's your turn! Share your budget here - please make sure you link back so that your readers can be inspired by the other budgeting bloggers!