Christian and I braved the freezing temperatures last Saturday to take these photos in between all our errands for the day. Everything was in the car except for photos so I basically froze just for the blog. We started our morning at Home Depot curbside pickup for soil, then headed to take photos on the way to the grocery store for some sale purchase. To reward us for completing our tasks we got lunch at Wendy's.

 

I wanted to put the focus on my super fun Splendid Harvest mules so I opted for a simple black sweater and cropped jeans to really show them off. Obviously it was a little cold for them outside but a perfect outfit for indoors.

 

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for leopard print, but what you may not know is Christian loves tiger print (and hates leopard...gasp!!) so when I saw these shoes had both of our favorite animal prints I had to get them. As I shared in my January wardrobe update, I missed out on them the first time around because I was waiting for a better sale price. After they sold out I followed a few pairs on eBay and waited until one went down to just over $25 to pounce (if you'll pardon the pun.)

 

Sweater: Everlane 'the cashmere crop v-neck', Jeans: Everlane high-rise skinny jean in mid-blue, Shoes: Splendid Harvest Mules in Tiger/Cheetah Print (eBay, boot version), Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium shoulder bag in Nile Shark Embossed Leather (Bag, Borrow or Steal) Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop, Rings: Sofia Zakia wedding rings and others c/o Aurate, Necklace: Shashi Princess Leia Necklace c/o Shopbop

 

I can't believe it is already December.  For the first time in what feels like forever, I'm sharing an outfit! This year has been so strange and I hate that I haven't been sharing many outfits. But I haven't been going many places other than the grocery store and when we do that Christian doesn't want to stop off to take photos very often. I wore this for an outside distanced visit with my parents and siblings in early November. It was nice to be around people besides Christian for a change, ha ha. 

 

P.S. How gorgeous is this tree? My parents planted it the year my sister was born so its 2 years older than me, ha ha. It always looks super pretty in Fall. 

Vest: Ella Moss 'Nico Faux Fur Vest' (Marshalls), Striped Sweater: Madewell waffle knit sweater, Jeans: FRAME 'Le Skinny de Jeanne' (Shopbop), Ankle Books: Vince Camuto 'Davilla' (Marshalls), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

 

I didn't intend on taking outfit photos this day. Christian and I went for a walk in the park for a Pokemon Go event (yes, we still play, haha!) and it was a chilly September day. We stumbled upon this pretty area of the park (sometimes these are all cut down so it doesn't look as nice) and I decided to have Christian snap some photos with his phone. 

 

Upon viewing the photos I realized these jeans, although SUPER comfortable, are not the most photogenic. They're a little loose in the wrong places. This sweater and leather jacket combo on the other hand is perfection. I will definitely be re-wearing the top half of this at some point. It's been quite a while since I wore this jacket which is a shame. I used to wear it ALLLLL the time when I first got it in 2012.

 

Giveaway

While Christian and I are still staying extra cautious, many people are starting to get back into old routines, but we should all still take as many precautions as possible. That includes wearing masks and using hand sanitizer after touching public surfaces. Obviously I took my mask off for these photos but whenever we are near people it is always in use.

Today I'm partnering with Nakturnal to give one US-based reader a College Care Pack PPE kit from Get Go Care! It includes 60 packets of moisturizing & hydrating hand sanitizer, 15 high-quality, disposable masks and 5 durable, latex-free, disposable gloves.

Get Go Care, based in Illinois, was founded this year because of the need for PPE among not only essential workers but also students. The products are made in China at an FDA-approved factory.

To enter: Leave a comment stating who you would gift a Get Go PPE Kit to and why!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Leather Jacket: Theyskens' Theory 'Juno' (Nordstrom Rack, similar), Cashmere Leopard Print Sweater: Nili Lotan 'Abbey' sweater in Shiraz c/o Shopbop, Jeans: J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Leg Jean in Moral (Gilt Groupe), Sneakers: Sperry Rio Aqua Slip-On Sneaker (DSW), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

Temperatures are on the decline but I still have some hot weather day outfits to share before we get to my favorite - jeans and sweaters! I will be sad to "put away" all my sandals though! I say that in quotes because in reality they stay out on display all year thanks to my closet room.

 

 This is one of my favorite thrifting buys/alterations. I bought it back in 2012 for $6 and it was super long. I wore it that way a couple times and then decided to have my Mom shorten it so I would wear it more. I probably should have left it a little longer but I think we had to go all the way to the top of the slits so it wouldn't be noticeable. 

 

I wore this to go for a walk in the park and then Christian and I headed to Brick + Wood to pick up a pizza! We then drove to a parking lot and ate it in the car because we didn't want it to get cold on the way home, haha. It was soooo good! Definitely recommend if you're near Fairfield.

Animal Print Dress: no brand (thrifted), Leopard Print Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clio' leopard-print (Net-a-Porter Sale), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop, Necklace: Geoclassics (a since closed gem store in Newport, RI)

The original dress:

It was a big shopping month in terms of items added to my closet. Luckily the out of pocket cost wasn't large. As I shared earlier this month, I finally took the leap and replaced my Ray Ban Erika sunglasses with part of my Shopbop partnership credit. I also bought a few new things for the warmer weather during their Spring Event.

Long story about another purchase below:

I ran some errands with my mom earlier in the month and we stopped at DSW. I tried on a few pairs of breathable, thin sneakers (because I don't own any) and liked a pair by Sperry but they were $65. It's really hard for me to find sneakers I like because they all feel too bulky. I don't mind that in the case of my crazy custom Nike ID's but those aren't really athletic wear, more of a fashion statement. There's also my purple Puma's but those aren't exactly versatile either.

When I got home I added them to my cart and searched for some coupon codes and found a 20% off plus a $10 reward I had. Then my mom offered me the rest of a gift card she had so they came out to under $15! I'd say that's worth a purchase! I was hoping to wear them to Disney in May (one of the activities we're doing requires closed toe, walk-able shoes) but I fear that trip will be cancelled due to COVID-19. 

April will definitely be very light on the shopping because of our stay safe at home orders. I am trying not to buy anything unnecessary that will put more pressure on postal/package workers.

THE (modified) RULES

1. Be mindful of purchases 
2. Quality over quantity
3. Basics are best

MY PROGRESS 

Clothes:

1. *NEW!* FARM Rio Amazonian Ombre Mini Wrap Dress c/o Shopbop ($127.50, retail $170)
   

Basics:

1. J Brand 811 Mid Rise Skinny Leg Jean in Moral ($0 after $25 credit & ad money, retail $228)

Shoes:

1. *NEW!* Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clara' Sandal c/o Shopbop ($221.25, retail $295)
2. *NEW!* Sperry Rio Aqua Slip-On Sneaker ($14.83 via DSW, retail $64.99)

Accessories:

1. *NEW!* Ray Ban 'Erika' Sunglasses in Havana c/o Shopbop (retail $163)
2. *NEW!* Madewell Medium Slim Saddle Bag c/o Shopbop ($118.50, retail $158)

Gifted from Brands:

1. none yet

Total spent in March: $14.83

Total spent in 2020: $14.83

It was a Burberry day a couple weekends ago when I wore this cardigan coat and animal print loafers. Both pieces are from Net-a-Porter's End of Season Sale almost a year apart. I bought the sweater near the end of their 2012 Winter sale (in January 2013) and the loafers on the first day of the 2013 Winter sale in November.  I knew the shoes would sell out so I snatched them up before that would happen, good thing too because I'm pretty sure they sold out that weekend.

The cardigan is actually a size or two too big for me but I loved it when I saw it and all other sizes were sold out so I took a risk and bought the large. I'm glad I did because it allows me to double layer thick sweaters and acts as a coat on colder days. To offset the chunkiness of the sweater I paired it with skinny jeans.

Cardigan Coat: Burberry Brit (Net-a-Porter), Turtleneck: J.Crew 'Tissue' Turtleneck (shop more turtleneck sweaters), Jeans: rag & bone high rise ankle skinny jean in burgundy (shop more rag & bone), Loafer: Burberry Prorsum (Net-a-Porter), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop

Welp, I finally did it. I upgraded my Ray-Bans. I first got a pair of Ray-Ban Erika's in March 2015. My original pair had rubberized lenses which I thought I liked. Fast forward 5 years and they somehow became sticky and gross. In trying to clean them this Fall we ended up scratching/ruining the lenses with the cleaner - SO WEIRD! Luckily I got that pair for free so I don't feel too horrible about them getting ruined.

For my new pair I upgraded to plastic, non-rubberized frames and polarized lenses. The polarized version was $16 more than non, but if you're going to go Ray-Ban, might as well go big! I used my Shopbop gift card to get them so that made it a lot easier to stomach! Free is always good, right?

I actually started this outfit with my abecrombie corduroy pants, then paired with Burberry loafers and added the turtleneck shown here. I tried a few different jacket options but none were speaking to me so I chose this chevron vest. Then I had to change to different pants because the cords looked funny. Since I changed to jeans I swapped out the flats for heeled boots too. Funny how this turned out totally different than where I started. 

Chevron Vest: Romeo & Juliet Couture 'Colorblock Faux-Fur Vest' (gift from Lydia), Cashmere Turtleneck: Vince (Marshalls), Jeans: Everlane high-rise skinny jean in mid-blue, Boots: Cordani (Roundabout, shop winter boots), Bag: Emm Kuo 'Calle Bahia' (Roundabout), Sunglasses: Ray Ban 'Erika' c/o Shopbop