Staycation

In just a few hours the kids will be home and spring break will officially start. I am not sure who needs the break more - me or the kids!  We have no plans other than to hang out and chill (although my husband mentioned camping, uhhg!).  

The good news is that the forecast is looking good for next week.  At least this shorts and chambray shirt (yes, again!) ensemble will prepare me for just about anything we end up doing on our staycation. 

Chambray shirt - J. Crew

Polka dot shorts - J. Crew (similar)

White v-neck tee - Old Navy

Bracelet - J. Crew (similar)

Espadrille Shoes - Banana Republic

SALE ALERTS

Opry Mills Outlet Mall is now OPEN!

The are several new stores like J. Crew Outlet, White House Black Market, The Loft, Banana Republic, Gap and more.

Belk

Extra 50% off red dot clearance. Extra 20% off sale (15% off home/shoes).

Gap

30% off girls and women's dress.  Extra 25% off sale.

Banana Republic

Extra 30% off clearance.

Date Night on Spring Break

Has anyone been watching Fashion Star this season?  The fact that you can watch talented designers and buy their outfits the next day online is unbelievable!  One of  my favorite designers is Kara, the school teacher who decided to pursue her passion for design.  Kara's dress was purchased last week by Saks with the same hemline as our skirt in the picture.  They refer to this hemline as the "high-low hemline".  It is very romantic with the slight showing of the knee only to fall longer in the back.  We also paired our skirt with the polka dot shirt which can be flirty or romantic.  

Go to your date night with confidence that you are right on trend and look amazing! 

Skirt - Macy's (similar)

Blouse - Vince Camuto at Belk (similar)

Shoes - Banana Republic (similar)

Bangles - Jessica Simpson at Belk (similar)

Be sure you are checking our "We heart sales" page daily for the best sales in town!

The Classics

My children wore gingham for the first three years of their life. Now that they are older, they rebel at any notion of wearing gingham. So it's up to me to keep the tradition alive by wearing gingham. We do live in the south, so how can I be a true southerner and not wear gingham? 

This is our look number 2 for spring break. The classic gingham shirt with a colored chambray skirt. It is perfect for shopping, visiting a museum, or going to a movie.  Maybe I will be on the look out for a gingham shirt that the boys can wear on Easter! Check back tomorrow for our next spring break look.

                         Shirt - Abercrombie & Fitch (similar)
                         Skirt - Paper Boy for Anthropologie (similar)
                         Shoes - Madewell

Spring Break is on its way!

It's that time of year...we are exhausted from work, projects, homework, running to games and practices, and getting ready for recitals, plays, etc. We are looking forward to spring break! This week, we decided to feature a few relaxed looks for either a staycation or a vacation to the beach. 

Here is a little white dress we found on the sale rack at Anthropolgie for $20. Add your pop of color with a belt, cardigan and shoes and you are ready for dinner out, the movies or putt-putt golf. If you happen to be vacationing at a resort and need a  white tennis outfit, you are set!  Use this dress, add your visor, tennis shoes and racquet, and off you go. Tune-in tomorrow for another great spring break outfit! 

                                           







Dress -  Anthropologie (Free shipping going on!)
                                           
Sweater and belt -  J. Crew
                                           
Bracelet - Banana Republic
                                           
Purse - Thrifted Michael Kors (similar)

 Shoes - Kelsi Dagger at Belk
                                                

Denim 'n Diamonds

Although the day started off chilly and foggy, I can tell it's going to be a beautiful, warm spring day. Therefore I traded out my family's winter coats for spring jackets and found my denim jacket by Old Navy. I have had this jacket for a few years but it never fails me. It goes with pretty much any outfit I put together. Today I am using it to break up the stripes on my dress so that I won't look like a jail bird (LOL!). And it looks great with my turquoise jewelry. The bracelet on on the left with the "diamond" was a Valentine gift from my husband. It, too, goes with just about anything in my wardrobe. After all, shouldn't your wardrobe work with you and not against you?

Dress - J. Crew

Jacket - Old Navy (similar)

"Diamond" Bracelet - Stacey Rhodes Boutique (similar)

Bam!

Yellow has never been my favorite color to wear but I fell in love with this belt and purse combo. It gives my outfit a little "bam" and reminds me of beachy days to come.

Chambray shirt & red pants - Banana Republic
Belt - J. Crew
Purse - Nine West from Belk
Bangles - Jessica Simpson and Lucky from Belk
Necklace - Gigi Custom Jewelry
Shoes - Vince Camuto from Dillard's

Simplicity...

These 80+ temperatures sure do have me wanting to wear my cotton dresses and skirts despite my lack of a tan. It's so easy to just throw on a dress and shoes and go out the door!

Dress - French Connection at Belk
Purse - J. Crew
Booties - BCBG at Belk
Bangles - J. Crew
Necklace - Gigi Custom Jewelry
Glasses - Ray Ban at Sunglass Hut

A deal's a deal

Hasn't the weather been amazing this week? I am loving it! The only problem is I don't have a tan and I am very self-conscious of my white legs. Needless to say I have been very drawn to the maxi skirts that are so hot this season. This particular one is by Jessica Simpson. I bought it at Belk for only $25 and found the SAME one at Marshall's for $20 just two days later. The regular price on this skirt is $49 so I still feel good about it ;)

Blouse - Jason Wu for Target
Skirt & Bangles - Jessica Simpson for Belk
Shoes & Blue Belt - J. Crew
Purse - Dooney Bourke from E-bay
Sunglasses - Ralph Lauren for Sunglass Hut

Pretty in Pastels

Easter will be here in a couple of weeks which reminds me of pastels.  This spring minty green is making a showing with the neutrals.  When you get tired of wearing all the bright colors you can revert back to the pastels.   We layered the dress with a chambray shirt since it is a little too cool for sleeveless.  See, that chambray shirt is still the workhorse of our wardrobe.  Enjoy, the amazing spring weather. 

Dress  - Jessica Simpson
Chambray Shirt -  J.Crew
Purse - Dooney & Bourke (Ebay)

Red Hot

 Is my outfit today red hot or what? (LOL!)

I bought the purse, pants and shoes recently at Banana Republic using their 50% off coupon. If you didn't get one of the 50% off coupons at Banana Republic this weekend, don't despair! They are offering 40% off full-priced styles TODAY ONLY. You must order online and use your Banana, Gap or Old Navy credit card. Use code BRSPRING.

Pants, Shoes & Purse - Banana Republic

Cardigan & belt - J. Crew

Leopard print camisole - Kardashian Collection from Sears

Bracelets - Jessica Simpson from Belk

Necklace - GiGi Jewelry

Fashion Week in Nashville

We have our own fashion week here in Nashville.  There will be fashion shows all week for which you can buy a single ticket for $75 or purchase the whole week package for $350.   For all of you frugalistas,  you can visit the panels on Thursday for free.  Just make sure you call to reserve your seat.  Here is the link for the week schedule of events.  www.nowplayingnashville.com/event/detail/441516541/% LexusNashvilleFashionWeek

No pinching, please!

I couldn't help myself. I had to use my green purse again today! St. Patrick's Day is being celebrated at my kids' school today and I didn't want to get pinched while I was volunteering so I decided I might as well stay green.

Have a great St. Patrick's Day weekend!

Green Lovin'

I am a prep at heart. I grew up in the 80's (shhh..don't tell!) and came of age when valley girl prepsters ruled the runway.  Needless to say I pined after the original Izod (now Lacoste), Jordache jeans and OP (Ocean Pacific) t-shirts. One of my happiest 80's moments was getting a kelly green Izod polo shirt. After seeing the preppy styles and colors this spring,  I decided I wanted something green and Kate Spade (she's preppy, right?). So I hopped on e-Bay, typed "green Kate Spade" and now $61 later I am the proud owner of a moc-croc, kelly green, Kate Spade purse! And yes, I am 99.9% sure it is the real thing.

Lesson learned? You don't have to pine anymore because the 80's are over! You can buy just about anything you want on e-Bay and not pay full-price.

Sweater - Gap
Skirt - Gap
Shoes - Lucky Brand
Green Bracelet - Lucky Brand
Gold bangles - Jessica Simpson
Purse - The World's Best Store - e-Bay

Summertime is here! Seriously?

The weather around here is screaming "summer is here!".  For me that means cotton skirts and dresses, my favorite summertime go-to's. Unfortunately, my legs are too white to expose to the average person (they might cause blindness). So what is a girl to do?...

Wear a maxi skirt! Thank goodness they are all the craze lately. And thank goodness for Marshall's low prices so that I can buy this BCBG navy maxi skirt. At the low price of $25 I can prevent blindness AND wear the latest trends!

BCBG skirt - Marshall's

Dolman sleeve top - Belk 

Turquoise necklace - Belk

J. Crew Leather Purse - Consignment sale

And the winners are....

Catherine Donelson for liking us on Facebook and Lynn Blose for trying to leave a comment on our blog about what she would buy at Banana Republic with her 50% discount card (sorry about that!). You both will receive this fantastic Banana Republic card to use this weekend!

Thanks to everyone who "liked us" and became members of our blog. Please tell all of your friends about us!

Why not?

It's almost spring but I wanted to wear corduroy one last time today. The bright magenta color of my tunic was spring-like enough so I thought "what the heck!". 

Tunic - Old Navy
Scarf - J. Crew
Purse - Lucky Brand
Boots - Frye
Leggings - TJ Maxx

25 ways to wear a scarf

 Check this out! If you bought one of those beautiful scarves from Forever 21 this weekend you will want to see this for sure.

Enter our First Giveaway!

It's our first giveaway!  We are so excited to offer an exclusive Friends and Family discount coupon card for Banana Republic to two lucky winners.  There are only 100 friends and family discounts given to each store which is worth 50% off five (5) full price items currently in the store.  Here is your chance to get some of those great spring items! 

We are going to give you three (3) chances to enter:  First, all new followers of our blog will be entered in the drawing.  Second, "like" us on Facebook to be entered a second time.  Third, leave us a comment about what you would like to purchase for the spring with your exclusive Banana discount.

Good Luck!  We will be drawing for the winner next week.

A little bit of Zig and a little bit of Zag!

By now you may have figured out that stripes are in, right? A new play on the typical stripe is the zig-zag pattern of a chevron stripe as seen in my dress. Think of it as the "modern stripe". Either way I love it, especially in the green/navy color combo. And with neutral accessories the look is modern yet fun. Oh, I forgot to mention - the dress came from Marshall's for only $30!

Dress - Marshall's
Cardigan & Belt - J. Crew
Purse - Monsac
Shoes - Lucky Brand

Southern Chambray

                                               
Spring in the south can be very unpredictable.  It's 70 degrees one day and 35 the next. The key to dressing in such yo-yo weather means dressing in layers. So, I pulled out the essential chambray shirt. 

The chambray shirt is being used with everything this season. Pair it with your dressy skirt, tie it over a maxi dress, or put it under a short sleeve sweater like I did.

Part of being frugal is buying a few key trendy pieces and wearing them with everything. So I highly recommend investing in a chambray shirt. Not only will it get you through a southern spring, it will be great as a layering piece in the fall.

It happens to be 35 degrees this morning, so I will throw my fuchsia trench on to give this look even more pizazz and when it hits 60, viola! (as seen here - LOL!)


Chambray shirt -  J. Crew

White jeans - J.Crew

Yellow belt - J. Crew
Purse - J. Crew
(yes, I am a J. Crew ADDICT!)
Shoes - Nine West

                                                                                  

Ahh..Monday

Monday, back to normal, right? Although I still look forward to weekends (somebody somewhere said we should), a parent's job really begins with the weekend. There are birthday parties, sports events, family commitments, club activities, friends, sleepovers, dinner with friends, etc. The fun never stops. Which is the problem with weekends. On Monday I am ready to get into the routine again. Is it fun? Not necessarily. But it is less hectic and more relaxing.

Have a great week of routine, everyone!

Cardigan - Banana Republic clearance rack

Pants - purchased with a coupon at Gap

Belt - J. Crew Factory

Shoes - Nine West

Nutty Day

The forecasters are predicting bad weather today but the sun keeps peeking out. And now the school system just announced that they are sending the kids home early today because of the forecast.  
So...just this morning I committed to doing a small interior design job for a friend that has to be done TODAY!  Needless to say, the school system has just put a major crimp in my plans.  To cheer myself up and prepare for the weather, I decided to wear my hot pink Banana Republic trench. And eat Nutter Butter cookies at 9 am!

Trench & High-heeled Loafers - Banana Republic

Capri Pants - J. Crew

Scarf - Gap

Purse - The Loft

Sunglasses - Burberry at Sunglass Hut