Crazy for chambray

Hey loves!

Hope everyone had a great new year and happy holidays! I know I'm excited for 2013, most especially because I'll be turning 21 on Monday! Woo! Haha anyways...my mom and I usually do a weekend shopping trip for my birthday but this year we decided to do a fun little day trip down to Milwaukee. We discovered a HUGE Anthropologie store, which I'm so in love with it's insane. Seriously if I could live in that store, I totally would. It was here where I found the most amazing chambray shirt ever. For quite a while now, I've been wanting one because it's a quintessential piece in every prep's wardrobe. However, finding the perfect chambray shirt has not been the easiest task. Most that I've tried on have not looked very attractive on me, I don't know what it is but they're too stiff and just don't fit in the right places. I look like I'm wearing a men's shirt, it's been a very depressing hunt for one of these haha BUT the Cloth and Stone shirt I found at Anthropologie was sheer perfection. For one, it's chambray with polka dots, I couldn't dream up a better combination. And second, the material is so soft and a lot more relaxed than normal chambray shirts so it looked great on! Here's a pic, I love that the polka dots are smaller and a little more subtle as compared to the Gap one below that I tried on last week. Excuse my poor photography skills but this shirt isn't on the Anthro website.

Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with this Gap chambray shirt. I would've bought it if I didn't look so terrible in it but there's something about the more subdued polka dots that I like so much more. Another random note, Gap has some amazing spring clothes out right now so if you haven't been in there for a while go check it out! There are these amazing navy ankle pants with little anchors all over them that I'm in love with. Needless to say, I'm beyond excited to wear my new chambray shirt, especially with all my colored and white jeans in the summer! Other quality purchases from the shopping trip were from Lululemon and J. Crew! I'm thrilled about the hot pink toothpick jeans I got from J. Crew for $16! So insane!

Also, what did everyone get from the Lilly sale?! This is the dress I got :)

SO glad to be blogging again, happy shopping ladies!

xoxo,

rFe

Lilly planners & coupon codes!

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Lilly planner! I swear by my planner, it keeps me organized and helps me keep track of all my events for school, sorority, tennis, and work! I love all the options for the Lilly planners this year, it was so hard to pick one! I opted for the Soft Cover Agenda mainly because I'm in love with Multi Floral Punch print :) It's exactly the same as the Large Agenda but it has a plastic cover so it's a little bit lighter in weight - never a bad thing!

I'm also very excited about the sticker packs (I'm such a kid at heart). Now somehow I stumbled upon a coupon code that allowed me to get free shipping whooo! Since this was the first time I've ordered from the Lilly site (surprising but I tend to use Preppy Princess more) I got to use the code "welcome" at the check out. If this isn't your first time ordering from their site, I'd try using a different email and maybe it'll work. The second code I have is "ohshift" which you can type in to get a free keychain! I love saving money almost as much as I love spending it :)

Who's ordered their Lilly planners already?! And which style/print did you get?

xoxo,

rFe

My favorite hobby

Happy Saturday lovebugs! Hope you all are enjoying your weekend, I spent the entire day yesterday at the Mall of America so I definitely am :) As I've mentioned previously, I'm quite the shop-a-holic. I take after my mother in this aspect and we often shop at a lot of the same stores. I like to think that I have pretty good taste in clothing, which can sometimes be considered both a blessing and a curse (it gets so expensive!) but I've gotten pretty good at finding deals at all my favorite stores. I tend to prefer quality over quantity when it comes to shopping. I've found that classic, well made clothes not only last a lot longer but they stay in style and I don't get sick of them after 2 months.

I was pretty successful in my mall trip yesterday, I got some great pieces and I think I stayed under $200! I managed to find everything I bought online so I get to show them off to y'all :) here's what I got...

Red Sateen Crops from Banana Republic. I've been lusting over these pants for months now but we've never had my size in our store. I have a love/hate relationship with Banana's pants. Normally, I wear a size 0 but their pants are just huge on me, I have no idea why. Size 0 is usually the smallest size my store carries so I always freak out when we have 00's in because those have a much better chance of fitting me. The same thing is true with petits, I can usually wear petit crops and capris where the length doesn't matter as much. Anyway, the gods of shopping must have been smiling on me yesterday because I found these amazing crops on sale in a size 00P for $35.99! Seriously such a good deal and they fit perfect! Add my 10% discount to that and they ended up being around $32.

Hot Pink Cotton-Stitch Sweater from J. Crew. The color is brighter and more neon in person and I absolutely love it. It'll be perfect for summer nights with white jeans! It has kind of the crocheted, knitted look which I'm so obsessed with right now. It reminds me of a top I got from Gap recently too, which is the second picture. I actually have the top in white but you can see the nice details a lot better in this color.  

Neon Orange Scoop Neck T and White Denim Shorts from Gap. I've been finding so many things I love at Gap recently which is really nice because I get 50% off everything full price there from working at Banana! I buy all of my basics at Gap, they seriously have the softest tee's. Not to mention, their entire store is full of neon clothes right now so I'm all over that!

Reflection Top from Ann Taylor. The Mall of America recently opened a new Ann Taylor store and I've got to say, I was pretty impressed. The set up actually looks a little bit more like The Loft, they're breaking the store up by casual, dressy, and work clothes. The variety is definitely something Ann Taylor needed and I think they're trying to appeal to a younger generation now as well. This top is adorable, I love putting a little bit of sparkle in my wardrobe!

Vibrant Fringe Necklace from Forever 21. I'm not the most fond of shopping at Forever 21 mainly because the clothes aren't that high of quality and it's so messy, I don't like having to dig through racks of clothes. I do have a couple cute things from there and I know a lot of people that like the store I just don't think it's worth the time you have to put into it to find something cute. On the other hand, I do love their accessories. I buy a lot of my headbands there and I'm trying to grow my jewelry collection - you can't beat their prices. I found this necklace for $6.80!

And that's everything I bought this weekend! Let me know what you think!

xoxo,

rFe

Summer wish list

Now that school is over for the semester and I'll be working full time, I'm thrilled to have a little extra spending money in my wallet. Now there is really only one logical use for this money and that is for shopping. Carrie sums it up perfectly when she says "I like my money right where I can see it...hanging in my closet." Fashion is a big passion of mine and I'm a firm believer that when you look good, you feel good. I'm that girl that dresses up for test days because I feel better and perform better when I'm confident in how I look. What can I say, it works!

I'm also a teensy bit obsessed with online shopping - it's such a good procrastination tool! I also find it to be a little more effective before I go shopping to know what I want to look for when I'm there. Every summer before school starts again my mom, aunt, grandma, and I get together and take a weekend shopping trip. I'm originally from Green Bay (also where I live in the summers) and let me tell you, the shopping here is not ideal. We don't even have a J. Crew...the closest is 120 miles away. I know...it's horrible. Needless to say, I don't do too much shopping while I'm here so that's why we leave for a weekend to go somewhere else that has more stores suited to our taste. Sometimes we'll go out to Minneapolis (I've gotten pretty familiar with the malls there) but most times we make our way down to Schaumburg, Illinois. This might seem random but there's some logic to it! On the way to Illinois, there are two pretty nice outlet malls near Milwaukee. This is about two hours into the trip so they're nice places to stop and hit some of the outlets that we like (J. Crew, Banana, Off Saks, etc). After that it's only an hour or so to Schaumburg where Woodfield Mall is located. This is definitely my favorite mall within the Midwest (of the malls I've been to), it is just huge and the store selection is great. They also have a Off Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom Rack, and Bloomingdales outlet across the street! Okay my shopping rant is getting a little too long :) moving on...so I've started a summer wish list of things I really want since our weekend shopping trip is coming up soon and it's gotten me in the shopping mood!

1.) Literally anything Lilly - I think this goes without saying but Lilly is definitely at the top of my wish list. I'd like to pick up a Lilly dress for summer, thankfully there are a couple boutiques in Wisconsin that carry it and I can always order online :) here are some of my favorite dresses!

I also want to get one of the planners before school starts again, I love that there's a jumbo agenda available this year! 

2. A statement necklace - I don't have the biggest jewelry collection but what I do have is pretty simple, everyday types of jewelry. I've been seeing big statement necklaces everywhere and I think it's time for me to invest in one. I own a lot of dresses and I can think of four or five off the top of my head that would just look great with these necklaces from Banana Republic and J. Crew respectively. The first picture doesn't do the necklace justice at all, I've been eying it up in stores for a while now and it's gorgeous, as are the other two!

3. Everyday flip-flops - these J. Crew Factory flip-flops are my favorite for just running errands and such everyday. They're comfortable and I love the little bit thicker sole, mine are getting worn down so it's time for some new ones. Plus they're $14.50! Reason enough to buy them! I also prefer to bring these up to my cabin in the summer just in case they get ruined instead of my Jacks! 

4. Wedges - they are such a staple for summer but I've yet to find a pair that I absolutely love. Here are a couple pairs from Nordstrom that I really like, especially because they're so easy to dress up or dress down if need be!

5. Pocket tees - right now I'm obsessed with The Frat Collection's pocket tees! I love how many options there are for both the pockets and the tees. These are so great for everyday and way too adorable not to get! I've finally limited my favorites down to the following...

What's on your summer wish list? And let me know what you think of my picks :)

xoxo,

rFe

Monograms

As many of you may already know (and feel the same way!) I'm totally obsessed with all things monogrammed and personalized. One of my favorite websites, Etsy, has made it ridiculously simple and easy to get anything personalized! This week, dWa at Prep In Your Step is doing a fantastic giveaway of this monogrammed necklace from Marinette Jewelry on Esty.

Besides this being a wonderful idea (I might have to do the same once I hit 100 followers!) I decided to dedicate this blog post to my favorite monogrammed and personalized items on Esty :)

These monogrammed, seersucker and gingham headbands are seriously adorable, not to mention perfect for the upcoming summer months! I absolutely love all the fabric choices and customizations you're able to make with the headbands. You can also buy customized bow ties too! The Lilly one is my particular favorite, it takes a certain type of man to pull off wearing Lilly Pulitzer (swooooon). All of these are available by Ellis G. Designs.

These next items are all from Looking 4 Lilly where you will find the cutest Lilly hair accessories. I love love love bows and these are by far my favorite ones I've found so far! The headbands are equally amazing as well.

For all my sorority girls out there, Monogram 4 U is my favorite place to buy personalized items for myself and gifts for others. She makes custom sweatshirts, t-shirts, shorts, bags, and much more using your choice of Lilly Pulitzer and Vera Bradley prints. I'm working on getting Big/Little koozies at the moment :) these are a couple more of my favorites!

Hope you enjoyed my favorites from Etsy and happy Tuesday!

xoxo,

rFe

Finally pastel season!

Now that the weather in Minneapolis has been consistently 60 degrees and sunny, I've decided it's finally time to break out all of my cute pastel clothes! I've been seeing pastel and neon literally everywhere but I'm definitely not complaining about the trend! Bright colors are so much fun for summer and it's hard to be in a bad mood when you're wearing them. Now although I wish I could buy the entire J. Crew store, my college budget won't allow for that. I did splurge and buy a pair of their colored toothpick jeans, which I'm totally in love with, but I've been finding a lot of other great options for summer too. Here are some of my favorites - enjoy :)

These are the J. Crew toothpick jeans I have, the picture doesn't do them justice, the color is a lot brighter than they look here! They also come in bright yellow, green, and blue - here's the link! http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/denim/cropped/PRDOVR~62443/62443.jsp

Another fun fact about me is that I work at Banana Republic, which means I get 50% off their clothes and clothes from Gap! Awesome deal right?! Gap is my favorite place to go for basics, I'm obsessed with their t-shirts right now because they're ridiculously soft and come in all the colors I love. This is the GapFit Breathe V-neck (only $24.95!) and I have it in the sea-foam, green color. They're perfect for everyday and I love them paired with a fun scarf and white skinny jeans! Here's the link for these - http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=68458&vid=1&pid=135898

Jack Rogers is my go to for adorable summer sandals. They're bright, fun, and comfortable - not to mention they look great with every outfit. This pair is my favorite right now, I love the pink and gold combination! Here's the link - http://www.jackrogersusa.com/shoes/sandals/rio-navajo

Happy Monday everyone!

xoxo,

rFe