Parum a-go-go: Available in stores starting April 15th
I am very much a scent oriented person. The husband jokes that I have a sniffer like a dog - I'm super sensitive to smell, which can be both a good and a bad thing depending on the scent! Perfume is one area in my beauty routine in which I lack, and the main reason why is because many perfumes trigger migraines with me, so I typically stick to mild lotions and body splashes. It makes me sad because I would love to expand my perfume collection. So, when Pinrose reached out to me to try their new fragrance collaboration with Sephora, I was really excited for the opportunity!
Clockwise from top left: Geo print top: LOFT | Fringe Trim Dress:LOFT | Striped shirt dress:Topshop | Stripe cabana dress: LOFT | Ankle tie gladiator sandal:American Eagle | Alligator clips:Sephora | Softened chambray: LOFT (sold out - other option here) | Ankle strap sandals:Jeffrey Campbell
I haven't done one of these "buying lately" posts in awhile, so I figured I was long overdue. And…. I was one outfit short this week, so. Let's get started!
Softened Shirts: Ever since I bought the softest chambray ever from LOFT (seen here), I've realized I needed another one. Or two. And it was like LOFT was in my head because all of a sudden they had a 50% off sale! So, I added the geo print top and darker chambray top to my cart very quickly! And I'm glad I did because the dark wash chambray is now sold out, but this option looks great!
Fringe trim and stripe cabana Dresses: I figured I would take further advantage of the LOFT sale by buying a couple of dresses…. even though I feel like I don't wear dresses as much as I should. So I'm not sure I will be keeping both of these, but for the price, they were worth the try.
Striped shirt dress: I haven't shopped the Topshop section in Nordstrom lately, so I decided to take a gander one night. I fell in love with this striped shirt dress. I've actually ordered it three times now!! Topshop tends to run a bit small on me, so I sized up. But it was HUGE, so then I went two sizes down. But it still looked a bit big on me, so I sized down one more time. It should arrive this week, and if this doesn't work, then I'll just have to throw in the towel. Hopefully it's not a lost cause because… the stripes!!
Ankle tie gladiator sandal: For the last two seasons, I've been wanting some gladiator sandals like nobody's business. But I know they're pretty trendy, and I don't know how I will feel about them one year from now. I love American Eagle's sandals (my new favorite is this pair seen here), so when I saw this pair of gladiators, I had to try them. And they're so comfortable! If you're in the market for some gladiators, but unsure of the trend, I definitely recommend these. The footbed is nice and cushy!
Alligator clips: Danielle posted a selfie on Instagram here wearing these alligator clips. She referred to a video by The Skinny Confidential about a sleep bun. Naturally, I was intrigued and had to track down the video, and subsequently buy these clips. I haven't quite mastered the sleep bun yet, but I do definitely like them while I'm doing my hair. I won't give up on the sleep bun yet though!
Nude Ankle strap sandals: So yes, these are the same sandals that I already have in red (seen here.) Jeffrey Campbell posted this pair on Instagram and I immediately started a conversation with Rachelle about how much I needed them! Sadly, they didn't have them in my size, but in my search for them, I discovered that my red sandals came in this nude color. And of course I couldn't stop thinking about them, so I ended up buying them. Oops.
And that's it! And it's plenty!!! What have you bought lately? Anything fun?
If you read my post from Friday, you'll see that I was supposed to be headed to San Antonio this weekend. Welp, apparently that was not meant to be. You see, I had started getting a sore throat Tuesday evening. I did my usual routine at the first signs of soreness - gargle warm salt water, take Vitamin C, take cold meds. Wednesday it was a full on breakout. I ended up staying home since it was a snow day and figured I could rest. I certainly did not want to be sick when I traveled. Thursday it didn't feel better, but it didn't feel worse. I made it to work since it would be my last day at work until Tuesday and I needed to get things done. I took the entire day off on Friday to prepare for my trip, but the pain was excruciating. I decided to go to the doctor, and sure enough, tested positive for strep. I ended up canceling my trip - I was contagious at least until Sunday and I didn't want anyone else to get what I had.
I spent the rest of Friday predominantly sleeping and laying around. I did end up watching 3 movies that were on TV: He's just not that into you, Freaky Friday, and Grandma's Boy. Oh, and two episodes of What Not to Wear I had recorded. I caught up on my blog comments a bit, played online some, and now I feel compelled to write a new post.
I feel like I haven't done a "Things I Buy" post in awhile, and sure enough, the last I looked, it was right after the new year. I think the main reason is because I honestly have been trying to curb my shopping a bit. Especially since I really do not need to be buying any more winter pieces, unless it's merely to save it for next year. (I'm hopeful that winter is truly on its way out!!) But, I have been buying random things here and there. Mainly workout stuff, which I featured in a previous post, and these miscellaneous pieces above!
1. I'm obsessed with lip color lately. It's just an easy way to make your face pop! I saw this Tarte lip stain on Chelsey and had to have it! It's pretty amazing!
2. The Clinique mascara is my holy grail, and I was running low, so I reordered. And I hadn't been happy with my shadow brush and was in the market for a new one. This Sephora brush is great so far! Just what I wanted!
3. Yes, I have both a leopard and a scarf obsession. I blame Gina for making me believe I NEEDED all colors of the leopard infinity scarf. Ok, so they're amazing and I can't really complain. But still! #enabler
4. White skinnies is just something I am constantly hunting. When I was writing my Tuesday post for you, and looking for a dupe of my red skinnies on Delia's site, I noticed they had a white version. Delia's is so random, but for whatever reason, their jeans fit me great. And for buy one get one free, I figured it'd be silly not to pick a second pair. If they had any other color, I would have bought them instead, but settled on this distressed pair. (Since I'm also obsessed with distressed skinnies…)
But wait. That's only 4 random purchases? What is the 5th, you ask? Well, remember when I said I was sick? Meaning, there's lots of time on my hands? Well, someone on my shopping forum started a thread about bra fittings, and someone posted this video.
It's 16 minutes long, so if you don't have time to watch it, I'll give you the CliffsNotes version.
A. If your straps fall, your band is too big.
B. If your band rides up in the back, it's too big. Doesn't make sense at first, but basically, since the band is big, you overcompensate for it by tightening the straps, hence why it rises.
C. Your band should be tight. You really shouldn't have much give at all by pulling on it.
D. That little upside-down triangle at the front centerpiece of the bra that connects the two cups is called the gore. The gore should lay completely flat and tight against your body, and should not move when you raise your hands in the air (and wave 'em round like you just don't care!)
E. You should buy a bra so that it fits on the last set of hooks. This will allow you to tighten it as the bra naturally stretches over time. F. The proper way to measure yourself is as follows:
1. For best results, remove your top and bra. Take a measuring tape right below your boobs (lifting them if required). Wrap the tape around your body, making sure it stays on the same below-the-boob level, parallel to the floor. Make sure the tape is tight, and write down this measurement. This is your band size.
2. Now bend over so that your boobs and all associated side and back "fluff" are in the fullest position facing forward towards the floor. Take the measurement around your body passing over the centerline of your boobs - the measuring tape should remain somewhat loose.
3. Take the difference between the measurements in 1 and 2 and now look at the conversion chart here to determine your cup size.
I went from a 34B to a 30DD, which sounds completely ridiculous to me. I told the husband and he said - I love you, but you are NOT a double D. The other thing I learned though is that despite the reputation that anything over a D is gargantuan, cup sizes are proportional to their band sizes. So, a 30DD is certainly quite different than a 40DD. This graphic was helpful.
The results are still a bit mind blowing, but so far, everyone that I have read feedback from seems to agree that this method is the best. The only downside is finding bras in these whacko sizes. I'm hearing that Nordstrom is a good source for these and Nordstrom Rack and Amazon are great for lower prices. Caty lists other store suggestions in her video description here.
All of that being said, my #5 random purchase for the weekend was for bras in my new size. I started with black and nude, here and here. I'm very anxious to get these and see if they truly fit and make my girls look marvelous! If you've been through this exercise already, I'd love to hear your feedback!
Started with gloss and ended with bras. Told you this would be random!
