Cross country driving

I know I was MIA for a little, but here's the route of the tour I'm almost finished with:

I've had events in 11 cities and driven across the country twice in two months!

 

End of Summer fun

So, I guess summer has officially come to an end. I'm at the beginning of another tour, but summer was really amazing. The last month or so included:
-seen Jason Mraz/Christina Perri in concert. Even bigger girl crush than before
-seen Florence and the Machine in concert. Finally.
-Labor day weekend on a boat. So much fun.
-Worked with a friend for a few days on the Rock the Vote Tour. Coney Island festivities, worked a few events in NJ and PA, Philly Cheesesteaks, a night in the casinom, and Asher Roth, Jack Johnson and a few other up and coming artists in concert. Whew.

-Headed to San Diego to spend a week with one of my good friends Claudia, who I studied abroad with. Beach, indoor rock climbing, lots of food, tacos and desserts, and SD Restaurant Week.

My last outfit and conclusions from my little documentation of outfits

8/31/12:

Dress: $13.00 at Forever 21
Chambray Shirt/Vest: $25.00 H&M
Necklace: Gift
Sandals: $30.00 at Gap
Total: $68.00
(bag is Rebecca Minkoff MAC in Teal)

Total conclusions:
-I have too much clothing, yet I wear the same thing over and over. This experiment resulted in some bags of donated clothing which makes me happy.
-I need more sandals.
-I am the worst accessorizer. Ever.
-I need to spend more time on my outfits.
-I never wear 9/10 of my shoes. Need to work on that.

This was a fun experiment. Do it!

So, here are my outfits for the past 2 days. Pretty similar, but that's ok

8/29/12:

Dress: $13.50 Buffalo Exchange
Vest: $10 Walter by Walter Baker @ Loehmann's (one of my favorite brands!)
Sandals: $20 Dolce Vita @ Amazon
Total: $43.50.


8/30/12:

Dress: $15 Free People Slip from Saks Off 5th
Slip: Free People (from a Caftan Dress a few seasons ago-didn't like the dress, but held on to the slip)
Vest: $10 Walter by Walter Baker @ Loehmann's (one of my favorite brands!)
Sandals: $20 Dolce Vita @ Amazon
Necklace: Birthday Gift from friend
Total: $45.00

The outfits look really, really similar here. I didn't have the vest on today at first, but the FP Slip looked a little naked and I don't like spaghetti straps with nothing over it (hello bra straps). The bag I wore with both outfits is a Rebecca Minkoff MAC in Teal. It doesn't make the price cut. But it's possible the best leather on any bag I own. And I did purchase it at a discount...

Here is today's outfit. 8/28:

Jumper: $10 at TJ Maxx. Love jumpers with pockets.
Belt: Free with a different dress
Bag: $55 Rebecca Minkoff MAC at Buffalo Exchange NYC
Sandals: $20 Steve Madden @ TJ Maxx.
Total: $30.00
Total with bag: $85.00

I apologize if anyone is actualy keeping up with this. I have pictures of the missed outfits, I just haven't compiled them all as I kept getting called to work last minute last week!

8/21/12:

Shirt: $3.00 @ thrift store in New Orleans
Jeans: $7.50 Paige @ Goodwill NYC
Necklace: Gift
Shoes: $5.00 Nine West @ Goodwill in Nashville
Total: $15.50

8/22/12: bum #564 (Notice Molly saying "hi" on the side)

Shirt: C&C sweatshirt. $2 @ Flea Market (if only you could feel how freakin' soft this shirt is..)
Tank: Forever 21. $1 @ Flea Market
Shorts: Chip and Pepper. $17 @ Buffalo Exchange
Sandals: Dolce Vita. $20 @ Amazon
Bag: Louis Vuttion Saumur 30. $50 @ Vintage store in Manhattan
Total: $90. Not bad for an outfit including an authentic Louis Vuttion!

I visited my parents in Vermont the past few days. We stay in a cabin on a lake, which is beautiful, but the mirrors are awful, so I took these photos of my outfits when I came home:
8/16/12:

Shirt: $8.50 Hale Bob clearance @ TJ Maxx

Jeans: $7.50 Paige @ Goodwill NYC

Bracelet: Vintage costume jewelery that I've literally had in my room since I was 5 years old

Flats: $5 Nine West @ Goodwill in the south

Total: $21.00

8/17/12:

Lake outfit: Free People slip $22 @ Buffalo Exchange Seattle

I'm off to Vermont for the next few days. Won't be posting from there, but will have updataes when I come home! Here are the last 2 days:

8/14/12:

Shirt: $2 Forever 21 @ thrift store in New Orleans

Belt: $1 pyramid stud belt @ thrift store in Nashville

Shorts: $17 Chip and Pepper at Buffalo Exchange

Flats: $10 on sale @ Gap

Total: $30.00

 

 

8/15/12:

Jumper: $20 H&M

Shirt: $5 Steven Alan from flea market

Sandals: $30 Gap

Belt: free with random dress

Total: $55.00

 

Some new outfits!

8/9/12

White t-shirt: $2 Vintage @ thrift store in Chicago

Jean Shorts: $17 Chip and Pepper @ Buffalo Exchange

Belt: $10 onsale @ Urban Outfitters

Sandals: $7 Clearance at 6pm.com

Total: $36.00!

8/10/12

Dress: $55 Free People via eBay (New!)

Sandals: $20 Dolce Vita from Amazon

Total: $75.00

This dress is so much better in person.

 8/11/12

Casual dress: $10 @ TJ Maxx

Sandals: $30 from Gap

Bracelet: Gift. Michal Negrin. Love. her. stuff

Total: $40.00

 

8/12/12

Dress: $1.00 at TJ Maxx (Really not sure how this happened-they have a huge clearance sale every week)

Bangle: $20 at Free People with discount

Sandals: $19 BCBG from BCBG outlet

Total: $40.00

 

 8/13/12

Shirt: $2 from Flea Market (originally Forever 21)

Jean Shorts: $17 Chip and Pepper from Buffalo Exchange

Sandals: $30 from Gap

Necklace: $18 on-sale from Banana Republic

Total: $67.00

Today I went to the outlets (and bought nothing! Whew) and saw a screening of The Campaign (w/ Will Ferrell and Zach Galifainaikis), which comes out on Friday. Very good! Has some smart humor, but also typical Will Ferrell funny. Yay free movie tickets from work! Here's the outfit!

Black Silk Jumper: $40 from Century 21 (marked down from $245!). Pictures aren't doing it justice!
"Amethyst" Necklace: $5 from Flea Market
Shoes: $20 Dolce Vita Sandals from Amazon (Is anyone else feeling like I need to go sandal shopping?)
Bag: $55 Rebecca Minkoff Patent Red MAC at Buffalo Exchange

Outfit cost: $65.00 (bag brings it to $120.00)

Another casual outfit for running errands:

Dress: 60 Euros. Purchased at small boutique in Italy (about $75-80)
Shoes: $20 Dolce Vita Sandals from Amazon
Total: $100

I LOVE this dress. I know most people wouldn't consider $80 on a dress a splurge, but I do. I was in Italy with Lauren after we graduated college and we found our way into this cute little boutique. I was obsessed with the comfortable/casual material in all of the pieces. I noticed every piece had the same unique looking tag and the shop owner, who was in the back, was sewing. She told us everything was hand made and hand painted. I immediately knew I had to get something because I love supporting local. I instantly fell in love with the unique shape of this dress. I love the high collar/brooch, the pleats, the SOFTEST jersey material, and the design that can be interpreted many different ways. I tried it on, but I wasn't 100%. The shop owner did some alterations right then and there and my dress was perfectly fitted for me! It hangs loose, but the shape is perfect.
Unfortunately, I don't wear this dress nearly enough. I am so worried about the paint and the delicate elements of it, but everytime I wear it, it gets compliments from total strangers. And I know I will never, ever see someone else in it!

We've got outfits from the last 3 days!

Saturday 8/4:
Went out for Lauren's (best friend/college roomate 4 years) boyfriends birthday. Another exciting thing was that my 4 best friends from growing up came, and one of them lives in LA, so she was just here for the weekend. Love when my friend groups come together!

Nude Bandeau: $5 BDG. Clearance at Urban Outfitters

Shirt: $7 Velvet. Clearance at TJ Maxx

Bracelets: Same as 8/3 ($12 Loehmann's and hand me-down)

Necklace: Same as 8/2. Gift

Bandage Skirt: $19 BCBG from BCBG outlet. Scoreee

Wedge shoes: $30 Mossimo from Target

Total: $66.00

 Some action shots of the outfit:

Left: From Saturday with my girls (the ones I blogged about from Christmas. The 5 of us have been friends since before pre-k. Pretty rare and special).

Right: Slightly modified version of the outfit I wore about 2 months ago. I really do love this skirt/shirt combo!

Sunday 8/5:
I worked an event last minute, so I was required to wear jean shorts, sneakers, and a branded top. I always go to an event in a tank top, so I can throw my own shirt over it incase I stop anywhere on the way before or after:

Shirt: $5 Steven Alan from local flea market (really not sure how this happened-but they had a ton all brand new).
Tank underneath: $10 Theory tubular tank top (LOVE THESE) from Filene's Basement before going out of business.
Jean Shorts: $17 Chip and Pepper from Buffalo Exchange
Shoes: $27 Converse from Urban Outfitters (purchased when I had my friend's employee discount card on Appreciation Weekend for 40% off. Ah, those were the days..)
Total: $59.00

Let's be honest though, this is really what I wore pretty much the whole day (same outfit minus shirt):

Monday 8/6:
Puppy play date! Didn't feel the need to accessorize too much to have pups jump and slober all over me.

Jumper: $17.00 at Forever21

Flip Flops: Tory Burch. Birthday present from friend (retail around $40)

Total Cost: $17.00

And I leave you with some pictures of the doggy date:

These two are mine! Molly (back) and Riley (front)

My dogs relaxing with my friend Jackie's pups.

Day 3 is -shocker- another lazy one. Lunch with a friend and then going to have a girls night with another friend. I feel lucky that I'm able to have plenty of lazy days in the summer, though!

Dress: $7 clearance at TJ Maxx. This is really the perfect effortless dress
Necklace: $20 handmade from Etsy (bought at craft fair). Lovelove
Bracelets: Gold bamboo bangle-hand me down from grandpa's wife. Another love.
                 Beaded Bracelet: $12 Loehmann's
Sandals: $20 Kenneth Cole Reaction at TJ Maxx.

2 down, 29 to go!

Today I'm working a private event in the city, which means my outfit is a black cocktail dress and black heels. Buut it's not really an outfit I want to be trekking on the train and through the city in (See: boobage). At 5pm on a Thursday. So, I've layered said cocktail dress to make this outfit day appropriate!

Black dress: Walter Baker. $25 TJ Maxx

Black Pumps: Studio 9 (Nine West's high-end line) $30 6pm.com

Blue Tank: $7 clearance at TJ Maxx

Necklace: birthday gift from friend (lovelove-oyster shell with pearls on vintage chain)

Silver Sandals: Dolce Vita. $20 on-sale at Amazon

Total: $82. Including 2 pairs of shoes!

Notes: Walter Baker's clothing is amazing. You can't really see the details on this dress, but it fits perfectly. I find it frequently at TJ Maxx priced WAY below retail.
Also, 6pm.com for shoes is amazing. They are Zappos' outlet store; The only thing is that they don't offer free returns like Zappos (because the shoe are so freakin' cheap). Their sales change daily and they often have 80% off an entire brand with a great selection.

Welcome to Day 1! Outfit is a little boring, but I took (very dirty) shelter dogs to be groomed, so it was not a day for cute things. I may or may not have gone shopping while I was waiting for them..

Outfit break down:

Top: Tea n Rose $10 TJ Maxx Clearance
Shorts: Levi's Jeans $20 at Levi's outlet (These were originally jeans, but they ripped, so I cut 'em into shorts)
Sandals: Kenneth Cole Reaction $20 TJ Maxx (I have had these for at least 7 years!)
Bag: Coach "vintage" $30 at Flea Market ("Vintage" because this is one of the new re-issues of the vintage bags. I love it so much, but the leather on these is not the same quality as the actual vintage ones!)

Total Cost of outfit (Icluding bag! Score!): $80

My top is a lot cuter in person. Just sayin'

A Challenge to myself

Ok, not going to lie. I'm a bad blogger. No excuses. I've been home for over a month! I've done some fun things, and some that are a little less eventful. Like cleaning and going through my closet. As a way to motivate myself to blog and simultaneously explore my closet, I'm challenging myself to a "31 outfits under $100" for the month of August. A new outfit each day. Here are rules I'm setting for myself:
-Cost is what I have paid, not retail.
-Pieces (bottoms/tops) can be repeated, dresses/jumpers can not.
-Although I will try to include bags in the equation, they are excluded from price limitations (Hello, recently purchased Marc Jacobs Single)

Let's just throw it out there: I'm no fashionista. But I think it's important for everyone to know that you can get a good deal and you don't have to spend a ton of money. And yes, I sometimes wear free shirts from work....

"I don't even know what city I'm at"

In my last update, I know I mentioned I'm back on tour. The last (almost) 3 months have been jam packed; I feel so lucky to be working with such an amazing company and have an amazing client as well. Here are the last 3 months in photos:

March 3-Last night in NY. Spent in Brooklyn-view of Manhattan driving.

                      Caught the tail end of SXSW in Austin, TX!

Have had some of the most incredible drives on this tour; Going through the desert

SXSW Red Bull stage

Salt Flats, UT

Side of the highway by Lake Tahoe

NorCal

Skiing. Breckenridge, CO

Easter Sunday! My co-worker Katya and I. 

Manhattan Beach Pier, CA

Out in Breckenridge, CO

Corey Feldman's Housewarming party with my friend Gabby from NY. Los Angeles, CA

With my co-worker Katya at Corey Feldman's Housewarming Party. Los Angeles. CA

Drive from Berkeley, CA to Anaheim, CA

I missed a lot of photo opportunities, but I got to see so many fantastic friends. Jacquie, Claudia, Chris, Gabby, Kate, Ashley, Uncle Jeff, Shomrat, Thomas and CJ. Thank you for fun!

Flew home last weekend because one of my best friends got MARRIED! She was such a gorgeous bride:

Congrats to Jackie and Jared:-D Here's to many, many years of happiness!