Dressing Up Shorts

I recently found this jacket for next to nothing at Loft, I almost didn't buy it because I won't get much use out of it this summer, but I know I'll wear it like crazy this fall and winter. I decided to dress up shorts today with this jacket and my sequin top. I wore this outfit  to book club this week and it was a nice excuse to dress up a bit; I'd look pretty ridiculous wearing this or errands or the park with Grant.

Have you entered my giveaway for a $50 gift card to Esli's Boutique here yet?

Jacket: Loft gray option

Top: Express similar

Shorts: Kohl's similar

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry c/o same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  same / same 

Shoes: Audrey Brooke similar

Linking up with:

Summer Style

Navy and Mint

Ok, it's official, I can't say no to a deal at J.Crew.  I really feel like I should just send them my budget at the beginning of the month and say, "Here, take it all, and I will trade it for everything on your sale rack."  So, I'm being a little bit dramatic, but I scored this mint cardigan for $10 and this stripe dress for $20.  How can one say no to that?

I wore this outfit to church recently and love how soft the dress is and I'm excited to wear it when we go back to school, which is next week, by the way....

Have you entered my giveaway for a $50 gift card to Esli's Boutique here yet?

Cardigan: J.Crew Factory same 

Dress: J.Crew Factory same

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry same

Bracelets: Bracelets: Stella and Dot same and Style this Life c/o same

Shoes: Aerosoles c/o Chippmunk similar

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Random Wednesday

Insta-Outfits

Not every outfit I love makes it on the blog, so here's a look at some of my favorite outfits on Instagram this month:

Have you entered my giveaway for a $50 gift card to Esli's Boutique here yet?

Maxi Love with Esli's Boutique

So, I decided to give the blog a facelift this weekend, I was ready for something different and came up with this.  I like the simplicity of it, and kept the layout the same to make it easy for everyone. Now onto my outfit:

It's no secret I love a good maxi dress and we super excited when the ladies at Esli's Boutique sent over coral and navy dress.  It's so different than anything else I have and have a fun crochet detail on the back.  Today I styled it with my ever-loved denim jacket but am excited to pair it with my cream cardigan next for a dressier look. 

Today is your lucky day, Esli's Boutique is giving away a $50 store credit, just enter using the Rafflecopter down below. Good Luck!

Denim Jacket similar

Dress: Esli's Boutique c/o same

Necklace: Stella and Dot same

Bracelets: Bracelets: Stella and Dot 

Shoes: Aerosoles c/o Chippmunk similar

Here are some other pieces I'm loving from Esli's Boutque:

dress/ birds blouse / flamingo top/ romper

Now to the giveaway. Good luck! Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Campus Book Rentals and Operation Smile

Well, it's that time again, time for school.  I'm starting back for teacher workdays in about a week, college students around the country are preparing for 8:00 A.M. classes, and many professionals are preparing for grad. classes to start.  That being said, today Campus Book Rentals has asked me to share some with you some great information about how to save money on textbooks as well as a great way to help others with Operation Smile.

I remember the days in the campus book store, list in one hand and basket in the other.  Some professor only has one book on their list, others had nearly a dozen #englishmajorproblems . It would come to no surprise to me to send upward of $500, only to have some professors barely reference the books.  Seriously????  As you all know, I'm teaching myself now and have a master's as well, but many of my co-workers are working on their master's degrees, and I hear them complain about the cost of textbooks.  That's where Campus Book Rentals comes in.  They offer:

-prices that are 40-90% off of the bookstore price
-free shipping both ways
-you can highlight in the textbooks
-you can chose how long you need the book



The also just started a program called Rent Back, it allows students to rent books they own to other students and make much more then selling books they already own back.  Here's how it works?

Another cool thing about Campus Book Rentals is that that with each book you rent they donate money to Operation Smile, very cool, right?  Here's what Operation Smile is all about:

Operation Smile is an organization whose medical mission is to deliver safe surgeries to those with cleft palates in places where access to surgery may not be available, frequently in the developing world. They combine the talent of medical volunteers from different countries with the best practices in surgical care to meet two goals: immediately transform the children they treat while creating self-sufficient, long-term solutions. 

 Operation Smile transforms the smiles, and not to mention the lives, of children with cleft palates in as little as 45 minutes with the cost of $240. Wow, that amazes me.  Their website states: "Our international medical missions consist of a team of credentialed medical professionals from around the world who travel to an Operation Smile partner country to treat children."

When going on a medical mission, 300-500 children receive full medical evaluations and 100-150 children are surgically treated. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, like Campus Book Rentals, they are able go on international medical missions each year in and give medical care to individuals who wouldn't normally be able to receive it.

You can help too!  Consider donating to Operation Smile, and change a child's life forever.

This post was sponsored by Campus Book Rentals, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Graphic Prints

 I'd be lying if I said I didn't freak out a little bit when I found ikat tank on special for $4 at J.Crew Factory recently.

 I'd be lying if I said I kept this white denim jacket on for very long.  I wore this outfit for a play date at the splash park and the extra layer was wishful thinking, it was hot and my shoulders now hate me, because I forgot to put on sunscreen.

I'd be lying if I said good hair days didn't influence how much I like an outfit and pictures. Seriously, if I like my hair, I like the outfit. Yep, totally weird. Also, I recently learned that after blowdrying you should do a cold shot of air all over your hair.  It closes the follicles (or something sciencey like that) and helps keep your hair from getting too big (#thickhairproblems).  This is the best tip, and it's really helped me have a lot more good hair days.

 I'd be lying if I said this has been a normal year for friendships.  I had three good friends move to other states with their families, and Brian and I switched community groups at church and lost some friendships in the process.  However, we've met some great new people and I'm really enjoying time with these new moms and their kids.  Grant and I spent time in the morning with a number of friends, then after lunch went swimming with another mom and her kids.  It was a great day!

Are you wearing shorts today? Link up with Andi and I down below. : ) Thanks to everyone who has joined the fun this week too!

Jacket: Merona same

Top: J.Crew Factory same

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry c/o same

Shorts: F21similar

Shoes: Merona same

An InLinkz Link-up

Accidental Copy Cat

 I was recently chatting with Andi about how I haven't really been using Pinterest for inspiration much lately, so one morning I went in to "clean out my pins." I started to delete some pins I've tried or don't really care for anymore.  Tell me I'm not the only one who does this? Anyway, a few hours later  I was getting dressed and put on this  top and these shorts.  I  liked it, but thought it needed a little something, so I threw this cardigan on top.  Cute.  Then it dawned on me, my outfit was very similar to this pin.  My brain tucked it away without even thinking about it. So, I guess I shouldn't be too quick to give up on Pinterest, because even though I pinned Tara's look like two years ago, it helped me create a really fun look today.

Cardigan: Jones NY (thrifted) similar

Shirt: Loft  same

Shorts: Merona  same

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  same / same 

Shoes: Aerosoles c/o Chippmunk similar

Linking up with:

Summer Style

An InLinkz Link-up

Print Mixing

I've been so crazy about these shorts and was excited to find this top recently at J.Crew Factory. I adore it and these two pieces together. I also added this adorable bow necklace Edith Marie Jewelry sent over and my white denim jacket, which was perfect because on this day I got to movie with one of my great girl-friends.  We went and saw "The Fault in Our Stars," and it was amazing.  If you haven't read the book I highly recommend it, then follow it up with the movie.  Also, it was my first experience with the fancy reclining seats, holy smokes that has cozy, it definitely makes the movie experience even better.

Are you wearing shorts today?  Link up with Andi and I below!

Jacket: Merona same

Top: J.Crew Factory same

Shorts: Loft same

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry c/o same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  same / same 

Shoes: Aerosoles c/o Chippmunk similar

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

An InLinkz Link-up

Pink and Stripes with thredUP

I recently tried thredUP for the first time. I think I'm a little slow to jump on the bandwagon, but ordering online and I haven't always gotten along.  I never know what size to order, of if it'll fit right. However, I feel like I'm getting to know my body better, and the way specific brands fit, so when an Instagram friends shared a 40% off code with me I decided to take a chance. Honestly, I feel silly for not trying it earlier.  Like-new clothes + great prices = right up my alley.

When looking at thredUP, I immediately liked that I could search by my size and choose special brands to search as well, like my favorites such as Gap, Merona, Loft, J.Crew, and J.Crew Factory. I could also just choose to search tops matching my size and brand, or dresses, etc.  

 thredUP also let me search for a special item. I've really been wanting a leopard print skirt and ended up getting this one for $3.  Today I'm wearing another find, this brand new Gap blazer, which I picked up for $12.  If you're interested, there are a bunch of other cute Gap blazers available too.

The last piece I chose was a cute eyelet tank from J.Crew which set me back a whole $3.  Overall, I'm really excited about the shopping possibilities.  If you haven't signed up yet, you can sign up here to get $10 off your first order and I'll get a $10 referral credit too.  

Today's look was inspired by Andi at Just Another Smith. She wore it yesterday and I was excited to try it, being I'd just gotten my thredUp box and couldn't wait to wear the blazer.  I wore this with Grant to go the the movies.  I love the $2 summer movie special here and it's a nice treat for Grant. Are you wearing shorts today? Link up with Andi and I down below. : )

Blazer: Gap (thredUP) similar

Shirt: F21similar

Shorts: Kohls similar

Necklace: The Forward Fashionista same

Shoes: Sam and Libby (last summer) similar

An InLinkz Link-up

Stripes and Denim

Welcome to shorts' week with myself and Andi of Just Another Smith. I'm all about shorts in the summer, so over the past couple of weeks I've been saving up some of my favorite shorts outfits to share this week. After the fact I realized I'm wearing my denim twice this week and my white jacket twice this week too. Oops. Whelp, now you know without a doubt what my favorite layering piece is.  Link up your shorts looks down below. 

As for today's outfit, these shorts have been on heavy rotation and this time I decided to pair them with my bright top I picked up from Loft last year and my denim jacket.  I actually wore this for the 4th of July and once again since then.  It was actually pretty cool the night of the 4th here, the so denim jacket for perfect, the rest of the day I wore it simply with the bright top.  I'm also crazy about it with this necklace from Edith Marie Jewelry. I adore it and have been wearing it like crazy too.

Denim Jacket: The Limited similar

Shirt: Loft  

Shorts: Loft same 

Necklace: Edith Marie Jewelry necklace 

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  same / same 

Shoes: Aerosoles c/o Chippmunk similar

An InLinkz Link-up