[OOTD] An Outfit and Some Housecleaning

Hey ya'll!! I'm back from the beach and refreshed, but now playing catch-up on all the stuff I ignored this weekend. A few housecleaning items:

• I'm at 45 followers. I think 5 more followers is call for a giveaway!! Soon, soon...!
• Yesterday I spent the day doing whatever I felt like - although the 4 hour drive back from the beach was not what I felt like, instead was merely a had to. Regardless, I did nothing else I didn't feel like and that included uploading all the amazing pictures I took at the beach. I'll try and get to that sometime this week. I took a ton, loving playing with the new camera!
• I really think that blogging has really improved my personal style. Last night, hubby and I went out for a lowkey dinner at a local pizza place. Our server complimented me on my maxi dress and then later in the meal on a ring I was wearing. Then the girl at the cash register also complimented me on my dress and followed it up by saying "I love your entire look. I wish I had your kind of style. I don't know how to look put together!". What a huge compliment for me, especially since I never really feel "totally" put together! I totally credit the blogging. (An aside - of course I have no picture of the cute outfit I was wearing. And I didn't take a single outfit pic while on vacation, though I wish I had taken the time to. More on that in my vacation post later this week.)
• I'm going to put myself on a spending freeze for a month. I don't have to financially, but we're paying for the husband's college in cash, so we have to be wise about our spending and I am curious to see how I fend with not buying anything new for a month. This is only limited to clothes/accessories/etc. I'm not going to make some big thing out of it, but I wanted to mention it on the blog here so that you all can hold me accountable. Today, I am going to spend my birthday money from my family to purchase 3 things: the sandals I posted about Sunday, the monogram necklace Molly found for me yesterday, and a cheap point-and-shoot camera (if there is one thing I learned over the weekend, it's that as fabulous as my new camera is, it's not convenient for, say, pictures on a night out. No one wants to lug that thing around all night!!! It's cumbersome in certain situations!). Once those purchases are made, no more frivolous ones until Sept. 7. This mostly includes clothing and accessories. This doesn't include makeup or other beauty supplies - I still need to wash my face and hair, and look presentable at work. :) So that's that.

Now, how about an outfit of the day?

Dress, Flip flops: Old Navy, $12, $2 | Earrings: Silpada, gifted | Necklace: Gifted, old | Bracelet: INPink, $23 | Grand Total: $37