The two things I've been living in this summer AND the winner of my giveaway!

Thursday, July 17, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

Two things: One, I really suck at this Blogger thing! Sorry. I don't have AC, we live in a historic home in a historic neighborhood, and not only are window units costly, they are not historically accurate. When I get home from work I'm so hot I want to melt into a puddle and not have skin or bones. I wear the least amount of clothing possible. Ya'll don't wanna see that! And Two, Congrats to the winner of my Lorac Pro Give Away: Lauren of Fizz and Frosting! Lauren, I hope you have received your goodies and that you love them as much as I do!

Onto the outfit:

This dress is actually from last year and it used to look like this:

I shortened the high-low hem into one, even above the knee hem! I just wasn't feeling the train anymore, but I loved the color of the dress. (You can see the original post here.) I wore the dress to a wedding last year, and thought it was dress-y. To make it more casual I added the two pieces I've been living in this summer, my denim thrifted denim vest (it was a jacket that I scored for $3. I have enough denim jackets so I cut off the sleeves at the hem and viola: vest) AND my brown mini wedge sandals.

I think adding these two pieces make anything more casual and summery. I can always add black strappy heels, put up my hair, and wear statement earrings to dress it back up. 

What have you been living in this summer?

Vest: Thrifted Old Navy via Goodwill, formerly a jacket and DIY'd by me

Dress: Dots 2013

Mini Wedges: Catos

Necklace: Made by me

Bracelets: Made by me

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WIN A LORAC PRO OR LORAC PRO 2 EYE SHADOW PALETTE!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

I was going to do a whole, huge eye shadow palette review and giveaway. I have every major permanent palette out there, from the UD Naked palettes to the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette. By far, hands down, the Lorac Pro Palette tops them all!
The Lorac Pro Palette is smooth, creamy, pigmented color. It blends like a dream, it lasts all day! MY only criticisms are minimal. I don't like the packaging. Other than that it is my go-to eye shadow palette!
And now it can be yours as well! I'm giving away one Lorac Pro OR Lorac Pro 2 (released later this month) to one lucky reader!
To qualify for this giveaway you must do the following:
Follow Me On Instagram
Follow Me On Bloglovin'
and leave a blog post comment letting me know what name you follow under (If you do not have a blog I will need your email address to contact you if you win) and what your go-to eye look is! What's your favorite eye shadow palette? Let me know!

Please know that I am not affiliated with Lorac. I am hosting this giveaway on my own, everything paid for with my own money. I just want to share the love of my favorite make up palette! This giveaway is closed one week from the date of this blogpost. I will contact the winner via email on 6/25/2014. You will receive your palette from Ulta.com using standard shipping. I just double checked, and ulta does not offer international shipping, so this giveaway is not open internationally.
This Give Away Is Now Closed.

34 comments

The New and Improved Striped Old Navy Skirt!

Tuesday, May 27, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

After a brief hiatus I'm back and my skirt has been shortened!

Do you remember my striped ON skirt that I've worn a few times here and here? I was always on the fence about shortening it. When I had to have it taken in after the illness last year caused me to lose weight I decided to just shorten it too. I really, really love it now! Take a look.

I think the new length makes it younger and fresher, though my Mom still calls it the old lady skirt. I paired it with a thrifted navy J.Crew silk tank (That is VERY linty, sorry) thrifted Banana Republic wedges (NWT) my pink Kate Spade bag, a gold belt, my Target bangle, and my blingy necklace!

Do you like the shorter length?

Top: J.Crew, thrifted via Goodwill

Skirt: Old Navy, very old

Wedges: Banana Republic, Thrifted NWT via Goodwill

Bag: Kate Spade

Ncklace: Stella and Dot

Bracelet: Target

Belt: Dots

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An outfit from errors

Wednesday, April 23, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

 Error #1: When I saw Jackie wear her Old Navy utility vest (we have the same one. Actually everyone has this one!) with a striped shirt I was totally in love. Except I don't have a striped shirt like that. I thought I did; but I gave it away to Goodwill. I subbed in this purple and white striped shirt that I got on sale. Error # 2: my laundry wasn't clean so my pants choices were flared jeans or no pants. I chose the flares. I can't decide if I'm happy with them or not. So I ended up with this outfit because I didn't think it through when I imagined putting it together. An outfit form errors.

My long necklace is an antique silver fork manipulated into an octopus! (Quadropus? Because it only has four arms? I don't care I love it.)

OH THIS PURSE! I've been searching for this bag since last fall. Kacie of Shy Girl Loud Voice had it and I was like, you need to be MINE! I looked every where! I finally posted it on The Hunt and found it on a high-end resale site. I was very happy with my purchase, they guarantee authenticity and quality. My bag has one tiny scratch but I bet you can't see it. :) I am one happy Ashleigh! This bag epitomizes my style. Classic, with a twist. I can dress it up or down, pair with bohemian clothes or work ensembles. It's roomier than it looks too!

Sunglasses: Dollar Tree (Yep. The Dollar Tree. I lose sunglasses too much to pay more than $1 for them!)
Tee: JC Penny
Vest: Old Navy (still in stores!)
Jeans: American Eagle (old)
Converse: Target
Bag: Kate Spade, Resale Shop (Can I say this is thrifted since it's used???)
Heart Necklace: Tiffany's
Nameplate Necklace: Loralei's Charms
Octo-fork Necklace: Sin City Antiques in Newport KY (Does this count as thrifted since it's an antique fork? I think so.)
Green Amethyst Bangle: Thrifted

80 comments

Trenched

Wednesday, April 09, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

I've finally crossed "Trench Coat" off my list of wardrobe needs, thanks to eShakti! When they offered me an item from their new Spring line to review I immediately went for this trench. It also came in floral and hot pink, but for my first trench, I wanted to go classic.

Do you know how to figure out if your wardrobe is trendy or timeless? Take a photo of your outfit in black and white. If you can still tell what decade the photo is from (i.e. 90's grunge/vamp, 80's poof-y sleeve dresses, 70's bell bottoms) then you are definitely wearing trendy clothes. If you just see a beautiful black and white photo, your clothing is timeless, classic, classy, and elegant. 

That is what I see in this photo, this is me wearing my trench and filtered in black and white:

 Timeless. Classic. Classy. Elegant. 

Even better than that, custom made, just for me!

 I simply measured myself with a fabric tape measure and typed the numbers in the boxes when prompted. I further customized my trench by shortening the sleeves and hem, because I wanted the option to wear it as a dress later on.

I feel like I should tell people where it's from like they do on the E! Red Carpets.  "What are you wearing?" "Custom Armani Prive." "Custom Chanel Haute Couture."
 You get the idea. Only my convo would be someone asking "Oh I love your trench, what brand is it?" Then I would say "Oh, yes it's CUSTOM eShakti." :)

Now till May 10th eShakti is offering you 10% off with the code STYLZDWNB, just enter it when you check out. Be sure to take advantage of their buy two get on free promo as well. If you are new to eShakti, register with them for a $25 coupon towards your first purchase!
Don't forget to follow eShakti on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and my personal favorite, Instagram, for all the latest updates on their sales. Be sure to upload your photos of you in your favorite eShakti swag and tag them as well. After all, eShakti is real clothes for real people!

Trench Coat: Custom eShakti c/o
(sold out)

Top: No Boundaries, perfect polka dot option.

Skirt: Catos, great striped option.

Bag: Kate Spade, same color/on sale!

Heels: Target

Necklace: Amazon

Watch: Vintage/Thrifted via Goodwill, fancier Mickey option.

*Aside from the trench, I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

44 comments

White floral dress with black boho accessories.

Tuesday, April 01, 2014 | Posted by Ashleigh | Edit Post

Why is this dress scary? It's floral and white, duh. I LOVE the dress. I love the color of the flowers. But I really only get the courage to wear it once a year, and always in the Spring. This year I decided to get very brave and add some VERY bold (for me) accessories to really make it pop! Take a look:

I added a thin black belt to define my waist, black butterfly wing gladiator sandals, my black floppy hat and my black fringed bag. I feel brave wearing this because i feel like it screams LOOK AT ME since the dress is white and floral and the shoes are black lace-up knee high gladiator sandals.

I was a bit unsure about the pairing, but when I added in the hat and bag, it just came together. It felt cohesive, purposeful, intentional and not at all like a costume. I also really love how the ladylike dress looks with the boho accessories. It totally changes the feel of the dress!

I love gladiator sandals. They zip up the back, but because the front laces are functional I can adjust them till they fit perfectly on my wider calves. Wide-calf shoe options that are cute are a bitch to find. So happy I discovered Windsor Store on instagram via Shanna from Because Shanna Said So. I also bought the black and white leopard print sneakers (she has the gold leopard print sneakers) as well as an American flag print scarf. Great prices! Give them a look.

You can tell I loved this outfit. I took a ton of photos!

Hat: Target, from the fall.

Dress: Old Navy, two seasons old.

Amethyst Necklace: Exact

Tree Necklace: Thrifted, Goodwill Almost Exact, with a bird!

Watch: Thrifted, Goodwill

Wrap Bracelet: Kit from Michael's

Leopard Pony Hair Bangle: Exact, from T and J Designs

Belt: Dots

Black Butterfly Lace Up Gladiator Sandal: Exact from Windsor Store

Earrings: Target

Bag: Target, still in stores!

*Side note. I also ordered this bangle from T and J designs and when I opened my envelope, there it was, broken. I emailed their customer service department and sent a photo of it and they promptly sent me a refund and their apologies. If you want great product and great customer service from a company that really cares about their customers, check them out!

*This is not a sponsored post for Windsor Store OR T & J Designs. I'm simply elated with my purchases.

45 comments