double the layers, half the frump

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was having a problem with getting my life figured out layering shirts. I couldn't get the button down/sweater look  to work without my entire torso turning into one big blob. Bri suggested I try layering a tank top in between the two layers to help smooth out the button up. Duh. This is why I blog - so I can complain and you guys can teach me how to dress myself. I wear these tanks exclusively, and they do just the trick for this little trick ;) I've also heard great things about these, so it may be worth checking out!

Sweater: J. Crew Factory  {exact}

Button-up: J. Crew  {similar}

Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}

Watch: Fossil  {similar}

Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}

Nails: seen here

First Snow

No, it unfortunately (fortunately?) has not snowed in Madison yet, although it seems that much of northern Wisconsin was covered in snow this past weekend. I'm not a huge fan of snow on the ground anyway, but I do like the idea on my nails!

Julep sent me* this beautiful dark teal as well as a few other colors I'll post about soon. I've been a long time fan of the brand, and the colors I received did not disappoint. For those of you who haven't heard of Julep, they are a nail polish company that can be found online, in Julep parlors across the country, and Sephora. If you become a Julep Maven, each month you are sent a box of 2-3 nail polishes as well as a few extras (I've received glitter pots, hand lotion and nail polish remover pads). The thing that drew me to Julep versus other beauty boxes is that you get to see what you are going to receive each month, you can switch to a different box if you don't like the one chosen for you, or you can opt out completely of that month if you decide you don't want anything that month.

If you are interested in becoming a Julep Maven, you can take the beauty quiz here to get started. If you are interested in purchasing nail polishes separately from the Maven program, you can use the code VIP20 to receive 20% off any purchase greater than $20.

Teal: Julep Donna, c/o
White: Julep Eileen (dots made with dotting tool)

Linking up with the Nail Files and Mani Monday.

*This is a sponsored post. I received nail polish for free, but all opinions are my own!

November Budget

1. J. Crew Factory Tippi: $70 + 50% off = $35
2. Forever 21 Striped Top {seen here}: $20
3. American Eagle Skinny Jeans {seen here}: on sale for $35
4. Urban Outfitters Staring at Stars Cardigan {seen here}: $69
5. Forever 21 Polka Dot Contrast Scarf: $13
6. Banana Republic Outlet Earrings {seen on instagram}: $7
7. J. Crew Outlet Perfect Gingham: $60 + 50% off = $30
8. Loft Sequin Striped Tee {seen here}: $50 + 40% off = $30

November Budget: $239







While this is $90 over my self-imposed budget, I sold over $120 worth of clothes on eBay this month, so I feel that it kind of evens out how much I spent. I should have been smarter about purchases this month as I spent a majority of this month's spendings (~$120) over the Thanksgiving week (the 2 J. Crew tops, the Loft top, the scarf and the earrings). I felt like I was holding back on purchases as there were several items I put back in their place instead of taking them to the register, but again, writing it down makes me realize that those 5 items add up quickly. I think December will be much better for my budget. I have quite a few new items that I already have several ideas for (look for a post about this later this week!) and my family is also not exchanging gifts this year for Christmas as we are going on a family vacation, so that will keep me away from the mall as well.

How did you do this month? Did you find some awesome deals during the Black Friday sales? Do you put away money the rest of the year to save for this weekend? Link up with Budgeting Bloggers below -  please make sure you link back so your readers can discover other budgeting bloggers.



P.S. Don't forget to enter the Leather Tassel Giveaway!

Giveaway: Genuine Leather Tassel

My mom made me this purse tassel recently and I love how it adds a little something extra to my purse. She generously gave me one to giveaway to one of you as well! Just use Rafflecopter to enter below. This is open internationally and will run for a week. I'll email the winner at the end!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

sequins for all

Happy Black Friday! Did you guys enjoy all of the sales today? Chris and I didn't leave the house until 8 AM for the mall and the outlet mall - we weren't going to fight anyone over some discounted shirts so we figured we might as well sleep in. I ended up buying a scarf (at full price....) at Forever 21, and then a button up and a sweater at the J. Crew outlet store. I also purchased this shirt at Loft on Wednesday. I bought my mom the same shirt as a birthday present - a girl can never have too many striped shirts or sequins! Later next week Whitney from Along the Lines of Style and I will be doing a "different ways to wear this shirt" post. I already know she's going to look adorable!

As far as "tightening" went over Thanksgiving, Chris and I took the pups on a 3 mile run that morning (it was like 50 degrees here!) and I didn't take seconds at dinner. I still got to enjoy everything about the day, but didn't feel as guilty at the end of it.

My youngest sister Karoline offered to take these pictures so I made sure to throw in a few fashion blogger poses. Here's the over the shoulder /skinny face / hair touching picture. Looking good gurrrrl.

Top: Loft  {exact}

Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}

Belt: The Limited

Shoes: Tory Burch  {exact}

Bracelets: Borrowed from Mom

Earrings: Tiffany & Co  {exact}

Nails: Maybelline Racy Red

We also tried to take pictures for our Christmas card. I've heard that taking pictures with children is hard, but I feel dogs are even worse. Look at Baer being such a good boy, posing like the stud he is. Hans could not care less though.

Does this say "Merry Christmas from the Stewart-Hasselhof household"? Or does this say "Feed your boyfriend a cheeseburger, medical school rotations are starving him"?

Changing Locations

Hey guys,

As some of you may have noticed, I have changed the URL of my blog. When I first started it, I wanted it to be Franish with 1 h, but it wasn't available which is why I had 2 h's at the end. When I was playing around on the design yesterday, I realized it was available and made the change. If you follow on bloglovin / google reader / facebook / twitter / instagram (Christ, social media seems to be taking over my life) you won't have to do a thing as everything has been transferred over. Older posts may have backlinks that don't work though. Please let me know if you have any troubles or if something isn't working.

Thank you for following along on this little hobby of mine. You guys are wonderful and I love that blogging has brought you into my life.

Franziska

Foggy

A few weeks ago I talked about how I wasn't sure what I was going to do about taking pictures once it was too dark before and after work. This morning I left home even earlier so I could make a little Starbucks run before work, so I figured I might as well check off some of the fashion blogging cliches in one picture.

Starbucks: check
In the middle of the street: check
Foggy ambiance: check
Skinny Leg Pose: check

Next week I'll make sure to cover hair touching, looking off into the distance, the flamingo, pattern mixing, and the "oh I didn't see you there" pose ;)

Shirt: Lands End, thrifted  {similar}
Cardigan: Old Navy  {exact}
Scarf: H&M
Jeans: American Eagle  {exact}
Shoes: Crown Vintage  {similar}