Tuesday, May 22, 2018

All About My Spring Wardrobe Bargains!!

 
Life has taken off again with a lot of busyness, but all good stuff.


The weather has been glorious and it has been so fun to purge winter out of my closet and bring all my Spring things back in.



Spring is my happy place and I love all the colors in my wardrobe. 



For those that have read my blog for awhile you know I love color and I am a total classic/preppy gal at heart, and trust me my wardrobe reflects that.


I never thought that walking in my closet would make me happy, but it truly puts a smile on my face.

Of course it is organized so that is a plus. I am sure in short order I can mess it up, if you know what I mean.



We have yet to put in a closet organizer but it is on our to-do list for sure.



Here are a few pictures of my colorful closet.....




There is no mistaking that I love color, stripes and checks.

Since I have had to rebuild my wardrobe over the last 6 months it has really made me in tune to what works and what doesn't. Let's just say I am older and wiser now.

I still use Poshmark as my selling area and also for some purchases. Personally I have had very good luck there. The one thing that has been the most helpful is to be extremely specific in my searching. Brand, style, sizing, color. 

I actually have an index card with the measurements of what fit me. I got the measurements by measuring pieces of clothing that fit me well. There seriously have only been a couple of misses.

There is no purchasing anything without getting measurements first. If the seller doesn't give me measurements there is no purchase made.

Let me show you a few of my recent purchases over the last couple of months...

Banana republic $10

With warmer weather I needed some tank tops and light weight tops.

J.Crew $10 practically new.

Ann Taylor $10

J. Crew $15

J. Crew $16





This is my best deal so far. A brand new Chico's maxi dress that I actually debated several times last season on whether to get or not. It still had the tags on it $100 and are you ready for it?.....
$10, I know, crazy, right?

I also looked at these last season and never pulled the trigger. Sam edelman shoes fit my narrow foot, but I still had the seller measure the width and length for me. Brand new for $30

I was raised that it is not proper to talk about money or how much things cost, HOWEVER, when I can get bargains like this I am going to share it with you my dear readers!!!

Keep in mind there is a $6.49 shipping cost added to each sellers article of clothing but if you purchase more than one item from the same seller you will get a bundle price and only pay one shipping.

Well there you have it my latest bargains.

Before I finish I do need to share another reallly cute purchase but not from Poshmark but from Cabi.

I wore this Mother's day and this little cutie is a dress up or dress down piece. I love it so much. Notice it is cobalt black and white. Hello!!! Just my colors and then add the little check pattern and the tie top, I am so THERE!!!




Next is summer, so in comes the shorts, swimsuits, cover ups. Oh my, I'd better start loosing some weight!! Yikes!!!

BTW: Here is the link to my closet where I sale my articles of clothing that are no longer working for me.

 
 

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

How Does An Eclectic Boho Chic Room Work?

   


I was reading one of my favorite Go-To blogs, Elements of Style this week and she did a post on  jewelry designer's,Rebecca de Ravenel's, home that she admires. I have to totally agree with her on this lady. Her home and her style seemed effortless, and yet I know better.



You have to have a lot of talent to pull off this look that some are calling Boho Chic. I believe it also has to be your own personal innate style, so it seems to just flow out of you effortlessly.

Rebecca de Ravenel's home 

I believe this particular designer, Rebecca de Ravenel, has this innate ability, and she is a wonderful example to study. 

I wrote a post last year when I started seeing different bloggers, and home owners try to achieve this look, and they were really missing the mark.

In this post I tell you about my observations, and also the pitfalls in trying to get this look without really know what you are doing. 

I hope this is informative and helpful to any of you that might be thinking about changing things up a bit in your homes to get a colorful eclectic room/Boho Chic......


DECORATING A COLORFUL

 ECLECTIC ROOM

 CAN BE TRICKY




This is a post I have wanted to write for some time now.

To be honest I did not begin to write it because it felt as if it would get too complicated, and involved to write, and I was fearful I would not be able to articulate what I wanted to convey to you my dear readers.

Please bear with me as I try to un-complicate the subject of:

DECORATING AN ECLETIC,
COLORFUL ROOM!!



color study of pillows and patterns
In home design rooms are becoming more of a mixed bag of goodies, not only in the style of the pieces, but  also the patterns, with lots of color against white backdrops, or at times even a darker vibrant colored walls and sofas.

WINNING WAYS WITH CHARTREUSE ~~
I am definitely NOT an expert on this look that seems to lean more towards a bit of a Bohemian look, but I  can enjoy any style if it is done well.

color and pattern study  Adelaide Daniell's home - via the design files
 via
Let me mention here that design will always be subjective, and you and I might not have the same sense of style, or opinions, but hear me out if you will?

With the arrival of Spring we all want to add a fresh look, and maybe a little bit more color to our lives.

Personally I have always loved color, and have lived with medium value colors easily. Mixing patterns has not been difficult for me either. 

Craving Some Color In My Home For Spring
However this look I am talking about goes beyond colorful rooms, and coordinating patterns.

It is a mixed bag of goodies that JUST WORKS for no apparent reason at first glance. However, upon further studying a well done room in this style, you will notice that there is a formula of sorts.

Most people can not achieve this effortless  look without a great deal of effort. I am one of those people. 

I lean towards a more classic, and preppy design aesthetic by nature.  

An eclectic, Bohemian style, as appealing as it can be, does not fit my natural inclinations, therefore making it a difficult look for me to achieve.

Bold family room and house tour of SAS Interiors eclecticallyvintage.com
Throughout blogland I have seen more, and more of this style emerge, some very well done, and some not well done at all.

WARNING,WARNING, WARNING!

One of the mistakes I am noticing over, and over again is the homeowner is trying to incorporate this look with everything, and I do mean everything, they already have in there room already. They keep adding more and more of what is new to them, with what they already have. Big mistake.

What makes one room look great, and another look like a hot mess?

Today I am going to try, and figure that very question out with you, my dear readers! I will be learning right along side of you.

We are going to look at a couple rooms, and dissect them, and we will come up with some points that hopefully will help all of us achieve this look so it is cohesive, and visually pleasing to the eye, and not a hot mess!

A BOHEMIAN CHIC CALIFORNIAN HOME | THE STYLE FILES
I chose this first picture because of it’s mix of patterns. You will notice that not one single patterned pillow on the sofa is the same or for that matter, not one pattern is repeated in the entire room. So why does this work?

Same colors are being used.

You will notice there are different blues, pinks, and corals in the  sofa pillows, rug, throw, and pouf.

Fabrics are a good jumping off point when trying to pull together a color scheme in a room.

Try to stand back from your fabric, and look at what colors are dominant, and pull from that. 

Often times it can be a big mistake to pull one small area of a color out of a fabric pattern, and introduce that in the room as the new kid on the block.

When using all different patterns make sure they have something in common in the form of the design,  and/or have the same feel.

In the above room all the patterns have the same tribal feel, and it works. If a floral, or Chinoiserie style fabric were thrown in, it would all of the sudden not been as pleasing to the eye.
In the above
Solid backdrop is used in sofa fabric 
Keeping the backdrop solid is another good idea when using so many different patterns. Crisp white walls, soft gray sofa are both wonderful backdrops for all the color and patterns in the above room. 
Artwork that ties the colors,feeling, or patternstogether. 
In this room they chose to keep it simple by using black and white artwork that falls in line with the tribal feeling. Black and white is also the color combination they chose to add to their coffee table vignette.

They tied it together further by framing the artwork in the  tone of the wood on the coffee table. That was a very smart choice.


NEXT!

How to Decorate: The easy formula for a well-designed room  
In this room we have another mixed bag of goodies. Colorful, mix of patterns and styles, and it all works. 
Pull together your rooms color scheme with one of your fabric choices.

In this room the floral pillow fabric is the combiner fabric. 
This is what I like to call a fabric that pulls together the colors of the room.  
The pink of the pillow, the black and white of the rug, and the green of the sofa are all combined in that one pillow.  
It sure gives a lot of power to that one fabric, doesn’t it? Keep this in mind when choosing patterns for your room. Make one fabric your star, or your combiner fabric. 
Your star, or combiner fabric should set the style or feeling of the room. 
I want you to notice the two patterns in the room, the floral, and the rug.  
Can you see the different scale of the patterns? One is large, and one is medium. It is good to vary your scales when mixing patterns. 
When mixing patterns a good guideline is to have a large, medium and small scale, or solid in the room.

Look at the different styles of furniture used in this room, the sofa has  more clean contemporary lines, and so does the coffee table. 

Then to the left of the sofa sits a little tufted settee with the Queen Ann legs, very traditional. Next to the sofa appears to be an antique side table. This is definitely a mixed bag of goodies, and yet it works.

Tie together different styles and era’s of furniture by painting them the same color.

They took the white top of the coffee table, and chose to paint the legs of the settee, and the end table in white, this is what makes this combination of different styles work.

The artwork in this room pulls out some of the fun colors in the room, but they used simple black frames on the wall to bring out the black, and white rug.

The sofa legs remain black as well which helps ground the sofa. White legs would have looked very matchy, and contrived.

Make the eye flow gently around the room by using like colors throughout the room.

Try to not make everything match, or look contrived. However, be careful to sprinkle colors around the room in order to make the eye flow easily around the room.
Living Locurto Studio Tour! Beautiful modern work space. LivingLocurto.com @Amy Locurto | LivingLocurto.com
So if you want to achieve this fun, colorful, carefree look in your home, keep in mind all of the above points I have highlighted in BLUE for you.

It is not an easy look to achieve, but it can be done. Planning is key, have fun and use some restraint in not adding too many patterns, colors and elements. Use what you truly love and you will be happy with the outcome.

If you would like to see more examples of this style of room take a look at my pinboards by clicking on the titles below…..

 
 

Saturday, May 5, 2018

I Found The Perfect Mascara!!

   


I think it's time for a makeup/beauty post don't you? Actually the reason I am writing this post is because I went makeup shopping and out to lunch with a friend. You know a perfect GIRLS day.

Anyhow she started using a new mascara that she loves. We both have sensitive eyes, and also are finding that most all of the mascaras get clumpy ( is that a word?, it is now) on our lashes.

Okay maybe not this bad but you get the idea!

I read an article awhile ago stating that most mascara wands brushes are too big for most people and it was the size and style of brushes that would make the biggest difference in the application of mascara.

They recommended a smaller brush for those of us that seem to have sparser lashes as we get a little more mature! Notice I didn't say old? I have feelings!!

So with my friends recommendation, and looking at the tiny brush/wand I was sold. I tried it for the first time and oh my goodness! This stuff is great!!

Here is the description on their website.......

Developed with plastic surgeons, this lash innovation is your peptide-infused black lash primer, eyeliner and mascara in one step! Unlike most other mascara brushes that leave the first 1/3 of your lash roots bare, the groundbreaking skinny wand starts coating your lashes at their actual roots to create a beautiful, lash-lengthening effect—and lays down black pigment between each and every lash for instant tightline eyeliner definition and the look of a fuller lash line. This unique wand also allows the ultra-conditioning formula, infused with hydrolyzed collagen, proteins, biotin, jojoba, saw palmetto, chamomile, aloe, açai, amino acids and antioxidants, to nourish your lashes from root to tip for revolutionary lash-changing results!

I don't know about you but this had me sold!!
Did you read that list of ingredients? All good stuff!!

The founder of the company added this....

“This product gets in between every single eyelash right at the root to define and maximize your lashes to their fullest potential!”




Don't worry I won't leave you hanging!! This is sold by IT COSMETICS!

I purchased mine at ULTA, but you can also get it online......

......HERE!



You can thank me later and then I will thank my friend for you too!!