My Retail Therapy Day

About a week ago, I had to pick my husband up at the airport around 5:30.  I dropped my kids off at school at 8:00 am.  Take off the two hour drive and I had a full day to wander around stores and shop to my hearts content.  I came home with all kinds of good stuff!  My first stop was Target:

Target, $12.99.

Target, $12.99.

Target, $10.

e.l.f. cream eyeliners, $3 each.  Cover Girl mascara, I think around $6.

I've been into hats this spring so I popped the natural straw one into my buggy.  I couldn't resist getting the white version with the floral hatband, too.  Well, maybe I could have resisted but honestly I didn't try very hard at all!

Feathers are popular right now and I had been looking at all the different feathered headbands.  I liked this one because it has a nice feathery detail without being too over the top.

I had read about the Cover Girl Volume Exact Waterproof mascara on a blog so I gave it a try and I'm happy to report that I've had zero flaking or smearing.  I forgot which blog I read the tip on, so if it was you "thanks!"  and post your website in the comments section if you would like.

I've been wanting to try cream eyeliner and when I saw these in the e.l.f. makeup section I snatched them up in both black and brown since they were only $3 each.  So far, I've tried the brown and it stays in place all day.  The texture is very soft and creamy and easy to apply.

My next stop was Half Price Books.  I still love full price bookstores, but Half Price Books spoils you just like Goodwill and thrift stores spoil you regarding paying full price for clothes.  I found a paperback on a topic I'm in desperate need of:

Organization book from Half Price Books, $5.99

I haven't read it yet and as long as I don't misplace it in all my junk, I think it will be a great help.  Perhaps, this summer...

I wound my way over to the other side of town and went to Whole Foods.  I won't bore you with my food items, but I did browse the natural makeup aisle and finally treated myself to a shade I've been longing to buy for a while called "Dollhouse".  It was definitely a splurge.

Whole Foods, ZuZu lipstick in Dollhouse, $18.

Whole Foods is set in a shopping center that also houses Joseph-Beth Booksellers.  I spent quite some time here sitting on a comfortable couch skimming through some fashion books and a couple of biographies of Isabella Blow.  I 'm always attracted to the foreign fashion magazines and the ones I buy I keep just like I would a book I love.  I came away with the May issue of British Vogue.

Joseph Beth Booksellers, British Vogue, $10.99.

There was a beautiful and strange photo layout inside with a look I wanted to copy.  (Inspiration pages and post to follow in June).  My last stop was Goodwill:

Goodwill, Vintage wicker clutch, $3.

Goodwill, Vintage looking floral dress, $5.

Goodwill, Black, white and pink tie, $1.50.

Showing detail on tie.

You can blame me buying a tie on Megan and Nora at two birds.  Having to wear a tie in this post for one of their inspiration mondays got me interested in the look.

Goodwill, Fuzzy Peach Beret, $1.50.

For all I know this is a kid's hat but it was cute and it fits.

By the time I finished up at Goodwill it was time to head to the airport.  I had a beautiful sunshiny day to shop and I was pleased with my finds.  Do you enjoy spending a day shopping alone sometimes?

Sunday Inspiration: Japanese Fashion Magazines

First off, I'm excited to be doing my first giveaway!  Enter here for a set of makeup products from e.l.f., one of my favorite thrifty brands.  The prize consists of an All Over Color Stick, Eyebrow Stencil Kit, Eyeshadow Brush, Super Glossy Lip Shine, Shimmering Facial Whip and Brightening Eye Color.  A winner will be announced on April 30th.  If you tried to enter earlier but there was no place to comment, please enter again because I took care of the problem.  The problem was having a rookie (me) take care of the details!  But as I said on my Facebook Page, I am living and learning.  Good luck, readers!

All minds are turned towards Japan and our thoughts and prayers are with them.  Japan has a beautiful culture and I was reminded of this when I stumbled upon some Japanese fashion magazines at Half Price Books.  I'm a fan of foreign mags anyway having picked up a few British Vogue's and Bazaar's along the way.  They can be quite expensive but Half Price books had these for 50 cents each.

Let's peek inside:

Shoes, shoes and more shoes!

Most of the models were wearing this pretty shade of pink.

Love this casual outfit with boots...cute!

Black and white with khaki...a classic closet staple.

Styling similar looks with different pieces.

        Love the striped top with the neutral camel jacket.

Sunday Inspiration

Inspiration is all around us.  We find it in the color of a flower or the sky.  Sometimes we'll be people watching and someone walks by with an outfit combination that catches our eye.  At other times, we pick up clues from home decor or get ideas from the costumes worn in movies.  Maybe you're like me and you love to look at fashion magazines.  But what do you do with all these ideas so they don't get away from you?  How can you capture the thought so you can use it in your outfits in the future?

I've made scrapbooks of magazine tear sheets for years.  It's like having bound inspiration boards to jump start your creativity.  All you need are binders, sticky photo album sheets, clear page protector sheets, scissors and magazines. 

I clip beautiful magazine layouts, clothes I'd like to wear, makeup and hair ideas, home ideas, quotes, essays and just anything that speaks to me.  I toss them all in a basket and when I have some extra time, I put the clipped images on the sticky photo album pages. I take the whole pages, like when I want to save a complete article, and put these in the clear page protector sheets.

Sometimes I get direction on how to wear new color combinations.  RealSimple did a spread on different colors to combine with orange.  Here is orange with pink.  I tried that look here.  

Orange is paired with violet here.  That's one of my favorite looks for orange.  My take on that look is here.

I hadn't thought of wearing navy with orange.  So there's a new combination for me to try!  What methods do you use to keep up with your inspirations?

Day 29: Remix Ideas From Redbook

I love magazine spreads where they take a certain number of items of clothing and make them into days or weeks worth of outfits.  It's a glossy version of our 30 For 30 Remix and I've been seeing these in magazines more and more lately.  In the March issue of Redbook, 8 new items are added to 13 basic items that are in most women's closets. These 21 items are used to make 51 days of outfits.  Check it out here.  Now for today's outfit, camo and orange:

Here's a close-up of the scarf and necklace.  I got the idea to intertwine the scarf and the necklace from Vanessa on her blog, "Big Girl. Small Budget. Tiny Town.

The wooden animal earrings and necklace came from some real honest-to-goodness missionaries to Africa.  Hearing them talk about their experiences in Namibia was a treat...and quite funny.

What I Wore Today:
Orange twinset, Gifted
Camo skirt, Walmart
Camo scarf, rue21
Wood animal earrings and necklace, handmade in Africa
Brown tights, Burkes
Brown boots, B&H Shoes