Sunday, July 24, 2011

The Look for Less

I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it is HOT here. I love living in SC, but it gets too hot to do anything outside unless you are in a body of water. So, when I was trying to figure out plans for the weekend, I thought shopping would be a good idea. My boyfriend mentioned going to some outlets earlier this summer, so it was a perfect time to do this.

Then my wheels started turning. Why not do a closet overhaul for him while we are at it? I mean, he hasn't cleaned out his closet in...well, a very long time. It was time. I clean my closet every year when I move home for the summer. But, once again, we aren't exactly a lot a like in that area. You might remember that from this post. I thought it would be a fun little activity for us to do together. You know, bonding time. And I would get to play Stacey London in real life.

We purged. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought. I realized he had way more t-shirts and collared shirts than he needed. We only got rid of a few collared shirts that had stains or didn't fit anymore. I talked him into getting rid of quite a few t-shirts. Did we really need to keep the homemade basketball jersey/undershirt that had the number "88" written on the back in Sharpie? I didn't think so. He thought so. We talked it over and agreed it could go.

He also has quite a few t-shirts that have shrunk up to where they are almost midriff shirts. Those needed to go too. The only way he let go of some of them is by me assuring him that his mom could make a t-shirt quilt out of them, that way they aren't really gone forever.

I also went through and made a list of what tops matched his pants. This may seem a little extreme/controlling, but I have gotten texts multiple times that say things like "I am wearing navy blue and black together today...does that match?" Hopefully you know the answer to that.

We hit the outlets Saturday morning. J. Crew was our first stop. Since he doesn't really love their clothes, we didn't find too much there. I should tell you that he is a man's man. He does not do anything artsy. That means no v-necks (although he surprised me by trying on a few), no skinny jeans, no cardigans, no skinny ties, no button-ups with fading or graphics, etc. He likes the plain and straightforward clothes.

 Gap was our next stop, and we hit the jack pot. Here's what we got:

  • 1 dress
  • 1 clutch
  • 1 button-up for him
  • 3 solid t-shirts that can be worn alone or as an undershirt
  • 1 pair of leather flip flops for him
Our grand total added up to a whopping $62! You can't beat that. After going in a few other stores, we found some more great deals at Banana Republic. Between the two of us we bought:
  • 2 dresses
  • White shorts for me
  • NICE gray dress pants for him
  • 3 pairs of boxers
Our combined total was $82. A little more expensive, but Banana Republic is more expensive than Gap to begin with. It was still a great deal. His dress pants alone would have normally cost that much. 

Bargain hunting pays off. We got some nice clothes at a great price. It helped that we knew what we were looking for before we went. Well, we knew what we were looking for for him. In my defense, I have been looking for some white shorts, and one of the dresses I bought is orange and will be perfect for those hot football games in September. 

Right now, a lot of retailers have their summer inventory marked way down. Even if you buy something and can't wear it much this year, it's always fun to pull something brand new out of your closet at the beginning of next year. 

We left happy campers. After our little "What Not to Wear" session, we both ended up with a few new things and hopefully I will not be receiving any more texts about navy blue and black combinations :)

Friday, July 15, 2011

Hostess with the Mostess

A few weeks ago, I shared a wonderful new blog I found. If you enjoyed Sweet Designs, then you are going to love Hostess with the Mostess. Hostess with the Mostess (HWTM) is an online resource for "hip, modern, and unique entertaining ideas." While Sweet Designs' specialty is dessert tables, HWTM offers ideas for all occasions. You can check out their website to find out everything you need to know about entertaining, from themes and inspiration to recipes and centerpieces. You can also follow their daily blog  to get updates about all the latest events. The website and the blog both have great DIY resources to use. I seriously could stalk both the website and blog for hours. You should probably consider checking it out. When I say probably consider, I mean you should check it out.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what you're in for :)
Carnation Centerpieces

Extremely creative suspended cupcake tower

Leopard princess party

Monday, July 11, 2011

My New (P)interest

Allow me to share my latest interest with you - Pinterest. Pinterest is a new social media site that acts as a virtual bulletin board. You can "pin" photos into categories from almost any website (except Facebook). Many people use it to make inspiration boards for their home, wedding, wardrobe etc. Similar to Twitter, you can "follow" other peoples boards and also "repin" photos you like. However, unlike Twitter, Pinterest isn't about self-promotion and trying to get as many followers as possible. Followers are good, but I see Pinterest is a way to archive my own creative inspirations while also having the opportunity to view other's inspirations.

 Here is what you will see when you sign into Pinterest:


So pleasing to my eyes.

Here is a shot of my boards so far.



I love how everything is so organized and clean. 


So far, I have mostly just repinned photos from other people's boards, with the exception of pinning a few photos of my own. 

I always see fun projects or gift ideas I want to remember, but I don't have an organized method of bookmarking and saving links. Pinterest is perfect for this because it not only allows me to categorize the photo, but it also links back to the original website, allowing me to visit it whenever I want.

Right now, Pinterest is invite only. You can request an invite and they will grant you access to the site (that's what I did), or I can invite you if you want! Just let me know.