Monday, November 19, 2012

[Celeb Inspired] How To Dress Like Ali Larter

I'm so excited, ya'll!!! Today marks the start of my new blog format! This week I'm going to feature celebrity inspiration. And not just any celebrity - but Ali Larter.

Why Ali Larter? Simply put - I noticed I had pinned about 9 inspiration images featuring her, more than any other single celebrity. So I thought I'd kick off the new format with a weeklong "Dressing like Ali Larter" series!

Today's look?

Inspiration pic via

I am a huge fan of "mixing seasons" as I like to call this - summery bottoms with a colder-weather top. This combination is perfect for a mild fall or spring day! I loved this particular inspiration photo because of the shorts and long sleeves, and I also liked that it was a different way to wear basics that most of us already have in our closets!

For my look, I went with a cleaner short instead of cutoffs, and added a belt because my top wasn't as flowy and it needed a little something at the waist. I also am not a fan of sneakers with shorts unless I'm working out (simply because I have big feet and with no pants to cover part of them they look huge!), so I added a pair of simple sandals to finish my look.

Top: Gap | Shorts: Paris Blues | Sandals: Old Navy | Bag: New York & Company | Earrings: Ardene's | Bracelets: INPink, Kohl's, Walmart




stillbeingmolly

Sunday, November 18, 2012

[Random] Sunday Soup #10

Time for fun!!!


Via
This one is just funny. Sorry, but I'm so not a cat person, even though most of my friends are cat owners, haha!! Other favorite dog-shamings: 1 (this one is so like my dog...she uses her eyes to act like she hasn't been fed in hopes of second dinner from whichever one of us didn't feed her the first time!!!), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7


Via

This is awesome: a guy posting on a dating website as a hot chick with zero intelligence and lots of problems. Wants to see if guys will still be interested. Hilarity and disappointment in the human race ensues.

There's a fat-blocking soda?

And lastly - this Spiderman meme is one of the best ones I've seen!

Friday, November 16, 2012

[Shopping] Thrifting Revisited

NOTE: If you just want to see what amazing things I thrifted, scroll down. :) Also, I think I might try a vlog about these because the pictures just didn't come out well, and I was a bit rushed for time. Maybe for Monday. :)

I think I've written about how I feel about thrifting on the blog before. Or not, since I just searched my blog and it never came up. Perhaps that was a post I drafted and got rid of because in all honesty, I've not had a very positive view of thrifting.

My problem with thrift shopping always stemmed from the idea that thrift store clothing is discarded clothing that no one would want sitting in a smelly store. I honestly was kind of snobby about thrifting. But now? It's my new obsession. So how in the world did I go from one extreme to another? 1 word: consignment. 


I was bumming around on my lunch break one day, popping into Hobby Lobby to look at home decor, and noticed a store I hadn't noticed before: Alexis Suitcase. I was intrigued, but didn't have time to stop in. I looked it up online later and discovered it was a consignment store. I poked around the website a bit and quickly learned that their forte was designer consignment - Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and the like. I was further intrigued.

So one day I stopped in. Can I just tell you? If you are ever in Atlanta, or happen to live here, GO FIND ALEXIS SUITCASE. NOW. No, really. Go there. You can choose from 3 locations. I'm super super serial. (South Park anyone?) This store is amazing. And no, they have no idea I'm writing this - I just am in lurve with this store.


They have certain brands they don't generally consign - brands that are very affordable, like Old Navy and brands from Target. Then they have brands they love to consign - J Crew, Banana Republic, Joe's Jeans, etc - and they only take clothing that was produced in the last 2 years - unfortunately no vintage, but that also means no outdated styles (which, honestly, can sometimes go hand in hand with vintage!). So I started at Alexis Suitcase. Some die-hard thrifters will say consignment is not thrifting and I half-agree. But I think it's like a gateway drug to Goodwill and Salvation Army, so let's go with it. 

Alexis Suitcase does discounting as well - they email coupons and every week they have certain color tags that are either 15% off or 30% off. Older items go on the 50% off rack. So what are some of the steals I nabbed here?

New York & Company sweater, $17.99 no discount, estimated retail ~$40

This sweater was my first purchase and probably my least exciting. It wasn't discounted, it wasn't a super great deal, but I loved the light pink color and it fit perfectly.

Then I found this next trip:

Black lace Express skirt, $15.99 with 20% off discount, estimated retail ~$60

I loved this skirt. It's black lace and super stylish! 

Then. THEN. I found the section where they keep their designer jeans. And I found these jeans, by one of my favorite brands in my exact size:

Miss Me grey faded jean, $28.00 with 30% off discount, estimated retail ~$99-$110
I love the skull pattern inside!!!

And my last purchase, another pair of designer jeans:

True Religion Julie skinnies, $58.00 with 20% discount, estimated retail ~$340

You guys, I never dreamed of being able to find a pair of True Religion jeans for under $100 (you can get them for about $150ish at their outlet locations, which is where I bought the only other pair I own!). These fit like a glove and I was so stoked to find them.

Alexis Suitcase was my gateway. I ended up at Goodwill looking for pieces for our Halloween costumes. While looking for a grey skirt, I stumbled upon a few items that still had their tags - an Ann Taylor blazer in my exact size:

Ann Taylor blazer, $15.91, retail $228

Ya'll, this blazer STILL HAD THE TAGS ON!!!!


Then I found this Ann Taylor skirt, also in my size:

Ann Taylor brocade skirt, $10.91, retail $70-$110

And it ALSO still had the tags on it!!!!



Well. That just started me off. Since, I've stopped off at various Goodwills a few times and also picked up these gems along the way:

A leopard cardigan for $5.00:


A navy pinstripe blazer for $6.00:


This awesome Michael Kors navy blazer for $6.00:


A bright red blazer for $6.00:


A fabulous printed Ann Taylor skirt for $5.00:


How do you feel about thrifting? Do you do it? Have you had any great scores lately?

Thursday, November 15, 2012

[Blogging] Housekeeping

Just stopping by to mention few housekeeping things:

  1. Next week begins my new blog format (yay!). I wrote this awhile back and since then have been cleaning out and posting posts that were already drafted along with any outfit photos I had stashed away that don't fit in with what I'm trying to do with my blog revamp. For now, all I want to say is that there will be a different topic/theme/correlating idea each week, and all the outfit posts in a given week will fit into the same one. There will be life/discussion content interspersed, of course, but I'm trying to be more focused here!
  2. I did not forget about 52 in 52. (Remember that??) I just happened to decide to do it before I left the country, so I put it off, knowing I would not watch movies the 2 weeks I was in the UK, and then it kind of fell by the wayside. No more! I will start that one off this weekend, and hopefully the first post about it will appear soon after.
  3. Tomorrow I'm going to be blogging about thrifting - I've gotten some amazing deals and I'm excited to share! Especially because I've been notoriously bad at thrifting. This latest streak is a Festivus miracle, for sure.

Changes are a-brewing! So exciting!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

[Life] Weekend Wrap-Up

I know I said on Monday I'd update about my weekend. I decided to wait until I had some specific pictures before I posted, so now it's time for an update.

As you've read before, I was asked to be the Matron of Honor in my friend Jena's wedding. I was completely flattered that she asked me, and was honored to be a part of her wedding. This past weekend was the big day, so Friday we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Venue

Jena and Jason provided the alcohol and this is what they started with!!!

Jena and Jason have been dating for about 3.5 years. I was with Jena the night she met Jason (and told the story in my MOH speech, haha) and it's been awesome to watch their relationship grow and change. Warning: lots of pictures ahead!

Many of the below pictures are from Kurz Photography. One of the owners, Brittany, has been friends with Jena since they were young. As a gift to Jena, Brittany decided she'd take pictures at any time during the wedding/reception that she wasn't being a guest (aka eating or dancing). It was such a sweet idea, and she captured some amazing pictures, starting with our getting ready at the hotel. Brittany is an awesome photographer - you can find Kurz Photography here (they do travel as well if you happen to be in a different city!). All photographs with the Kurz Photography watermark are copyright Kurz Photography; all others were taken with my personal camera.

Heather and I were cracking ourselves up and this pictures caught us as we were losing it!!


The beautiful bride

The first look!




Aaaaaand my favorite picture of the day. Thanks Brittany for prompting this one. :)




Congrats Jena and Jason!!!!

And to finish off the weekend, I went go-karting with the hubs and our friends Lea & Raja.

Car track

Track maps


Head socks, on both Lea and the hubs!



The corner that my hubs wiped out on every single lap. The first few times I thought he was waiting for me. Then I realized he didn't know how to get around the corner.


How was your weekend?

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

[Beauty] Tumbleweed

Ladies, can we talk about something important for a minute?

This.


Frizz.

I can't take it any more. I have spent years and years trying to find the right product or combination of products so that my hair will not look like this. I have lovely curls that will not air-dry (or diffuser dry) defined and sleek. I either end up with a curly version of this, or crusty curls, which is an equally ugly yet totally different issue.

Now, for straight hair, I can go from the above to this, simply by using a flat iron:


But the problem arises when I want to wear my hair curly. Air drying = frizz. Diffuser = frizz. I've tried products, but 9 times out of 10 product = crunchy curls or wet looking curls, both nasty.

Curly haired girls....frizzy haired girls....HELP! What product/combination of products work for you??

Monday, November 12, 2012

[OOTD] Another Week

Another week......another outfit post!

Top: H&M (old) | Skirt: NY&Company (last seen here) | Heels: Boscov's (Summer 2011) | Scarf: Ebay | Bracelet: LOFT








I had the most fabulous weekend - I'll be posting later today with all the details!!! Stay tuned. :)


stillbeingmolly