Style Inspiration: Jessica Day {New Girl}

If you haven't watched New Girl, you probably should.  It's one of the few shows that can really make me laugh out loud in a room by myself.  Plus, who can resist Zooey Deschanel's baby blue eyes and killer bangs?  Not me.  Her character's wardrobe is pretty much my dream closet, and I definitely pull a lot of my own style inspiration from her outfits every week.  It's super girly with some quirky pieces mixed in.  And her motto, "I rock a lot of polka dots", is my life.

This shoot was so much fun because I really got to show my silly, Jessica Day-esque side.  Dealing with enormous crickets hopping all around me certainly helped that along.  I have a fear of bugs, what can I say?

When I saw this look with the maroon sweater and black and white polka dot skirt, I immediately wanted to recreate it in my own way.  I already had my own polka dot skirt, so I paired it with a mauve sweater, purple button-up underneath, and statement necklace for some bling.  This is definitely a look I would wear in everyday life too, from work to shopping with friends.  I just love her style so much!

What's your take on Jess's style?  I'd love to see your photos!  Share them on Instagram and be sure to use #TandTStyleInspiration so I can see!  I'll be posting more style inspiration looks coming up, so check back for that too!

Skirt || old ||

Similar

Button Up ||

Express

Sweater ||

Loft

Necklace || Baublebar (sold out) ||

Similar

Tights || Target

Booties ||

DSW 

Ring || Betsey Johnson

Photos by

Chelcey Tate

xoxo,

Amanda  

The Good, The Bad, & What's Coming

The Good

This week was one of those busy but not too stressful weeks, which can be kind of annoying because you still feel like you have no time to slow down and relax.  I did manage to get in some much needed shopping - holla VIB sale - which made things a little bit better.  I also may or may not have also taken full advantage of a sale at Loft and picked up a few new sweaters.  I have a weakness for pretty knit patterns.  I know I've been saying that you shouldn't use retail therapy as a crutch, but this week it was just a little necessary.  I'm pretty much swearing off shopping for myself through the end of the year though, with the holidays coming.

I also got some major sister time in this week.  She was so kind enough to help me get some things ready for a craft fair I'm doing this weekend.  And by that I mean she helped me cut out burlap flags for my banners, which will forever be the death of me.  We had Mexican food for dinner for three of these days which is a total win-win-win.  This delicious drink was consumed as well.  If you didn't know, Thursday was National Nacho Day.  I hope you celebrated!

The Bad

The rain.  And wind.  And cold.  And darkness.  I'm all for the extra hour we get when the time changes, but I soon regret it the next day when it's dark at 5:30.  Thank goodness I have an office with windows or I'd basically never see the sun during the day.  The forecast is looking up for the next few days though, so hopefully that will help turn things around for me.  I did manage to fight off the beginnings of a cold I felt coming on, so that's a small victory at least.

What's Coming

As I mentioned earlier, I'm doing a craft fair on Saturday!  I'm pretty excited for it, as it will be a first for me.  I've almost been selling on Etsy for a year now, which I can't even believe, so it will be fun to sell some of my little crafts at a fair like this.  My aunt who makes floral arrangements and other decorations is participating also so it should make for a very fun day!

Saturday also just so happens to be my birthday!  I've been told to be at a particular restaurant at 6:30 for dinner with some friends, so I am really looking forward to that.  You can't beat good food with great friends, birthday or not.  On Sunday, Chelcey and I have a special photo shoot idea we want to execute that I cannot wait to share.  And I'll be wrapping up the weekend with family time - our tradition of going to dinner and then having cake and presents at home.  I asked my mom to make a pound cake with cinnamon icing just like my grandmother used to make for my birthday when I was little.  My mouth is watering now just thinking about it.

I hope you had a great weekend, and a great weekend to come!

xoxo,

Amanda

Stripes on Stripes

This striped shirt is one of my most favorite pieces of clothing ever.  It was an outlet store find a few years ago and I've kept it in constant rotation in my wardrobe ever since.  I've purchased other striped shirts since then, but none of them seem to quite live up to this one.  It's pretty much the easiest thing to style, too.  Since it was still relatively warm-ish on this day, I decided to pair it with another one of my obsessions - this gorgeous statement necklace from Francesca's.  I'm not going to lie, I took full advantage of their BOGO deal and bought this in the other color combo too.  The way this necklace pops against the stripes - I can't even.  With skinnies and leopard flats, I would say this is the quintessential "Amanda" go-to outfit.  Oh, and Chelcey and I

devoured

savored our favorite froyo for the very last time while I was wearing this outfit, so now I'll always think of it every time I wear it.

Top || Banana Republic (old) ||

Similar

Jeggins ||

Loft

Statement Necklace || Francesca's (sold out in this color) ||

This

is the other color combo

Bag || Francesca's (old)

Flats ||

Target

Photos by

Chelcey Tate

xoxo,

Amanda

Sephora VIB Sale Wish List

Yes, it's really that time of year again.  Can you believe it?  I've been giving my wallet a rest for the last couple of months or so, using up products I already have, in preparation for the big sale.  To a beauty junkie like me, this is almost as good as Christmas.  Almost.  But I do have to say, it's a wonderful thing that my birthday just so happens to fall during the sale.  Hello totally justifiable reason to go shopping!

Since I've been refraining from purchasing anything beauty related lately, and taunting myself with trips to the mall "just to look", you can bet your bottom dollar that I have a list of the goods I want to get my hands on.  I thought I would share them with you so we can eagerly await the sale together!

Sephora Favorites - Superstars

This one was a no-brainer for me, considering that I wanted to purchase three of the included products anyway (brow wiz, eyeliner, and mascara).  For only a few dollars more than I would have spent, I could get this gorgeous box of goodies.  It's only fair that I do the economical thing and get more for my money, right?

Bite Beauty Lipstick in Pomegranate

I've gotten over my shyness about wearing bold lip colors everyday and now completely embrace it.  There's just something about the colder months that make you want to rock a purple, or pink, or red lip.  However, my selection of reds is a bit lacking.  I've got some orange-red colors, but they don't compliment my fair skin the best.  I saw a lot of recs for this particular color, a true cherry-red, and knew I had to give it a try!

Philosophy Hope in a Jar for Dry Skin

This is my absolute favorite brand of skin care.  I use their facial cleanser every day, morning and night.  I've also tried the night cream and original Hope in a Jar.  I knew I wanted to re-invest in a good moisturizer, but lately my skin has been so darn dry that I didn't know if the original would cut it.  When I saw that they had a dry skin formula, it went right on my list.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this compares and if it truly holds up to the name. 

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone

This is one of those "beauty bloggers made me do it" things.  It wasn't even on my radar as something I wanted to buy, but I was sitting around watching haul videos on YouTube over the weekend (total guilty pleasure) and suddenly it was like I had to have it.  I'm sure I have products already that give similar results, but then again you could probably say that about everything I'm listing here.

Benefit Gimme Brow in Medium/Dark

My latest obsession has been filling in my brows and trying all the things to see what I like the best (hence the brow wiz in the favorites set).  It's funny, I never really took the time to do this, but one day I decided to use that little brow powder/wax set I had purchased ages ago and see what I could do.  Even though the color was a little off, the difference was ah-mazing.  I actually have Gimme Brow in the lighter color, which I realized is way too light for me, so I wanted to grab the dark shade for those morning when I don't want to go through the whole shebang but still want to polish my look.

I'm sure multiple trips to Sephora will be involved for the sale, but this is what I am most excited to get.  What are you looking forward to buying?

xoxo,

Amanda

Less is More and Defining Your Style

I have always been a shopper, and quite honestly I don't know where that gene came from since neither my sister or parents enjoy it as much as I do.  Maybe it's because I was meant to make up for their lack of shopping, or maybe I'm just the weirdo of the family.  Either way, I have whole-heartedly embraced this trait.  I wrote

this post

a while back about how I used to use retail therapy as my crutch.  I'd shop just for the high when I really didn't need the stuff.  As I've gotten older and moved into my own apartment, I've realized that I couldn't let this continue (especially considering how many things I got rid of that still had tags attached).

Now don't get me wrong, I still allow myself to go shopping.  Sometimes a trip to the mall and being in that type of atmosphere is all I really need.  Other times, if I try something on, I realize I don't need it desperately after all.  It might not be perfect, but it's what works for me.  I've managed to cut back on the stuff I'm bringing in, but what about the madness that is my closet, which has accumulated over the years?

The other day I finally got around to putting some new clothes away that I had purchased a while ago but just never took out of the bag.  I'm really bad about this, please tell me I am not alone!  Anyway, most of these were sweaters, and as I tried to stuff them in with all of the other sweaters I had, I realized I just had way too many.  You might call this my light bulb moment.  I pulled about 10 of them out to give away and make room for the new ones.  The thing is, though, I was still wearing these sweaters to work, but only because I had them.  They weren't really my style anymore.  In fact, I had gotten some of them back in high school ... It's bad, I know, don't judge me.  What was I thinking?

From that point, I got the biggest surge of inspiration to really go through everything in my closet and not just de-clutter, but actually cut back on the amount of clothes I keep.  I have decided that less is more, and you shouldn't hang on to things for the sake of having a full closet.  There is no point in keeping those yellow pumps if you never actually wear them.  And the same goes for feeling obligated to wear something just because you have it.  I really want to focus on defining my style and only keeping pieces that truly fit that. 

If you're uneasy about getting rid of a bunch of things at once, do it in small groups.  You can start with sweaters, then pants, then shoes, etc.  After all, if you're closet looks anything like mine, it's pretty unrealistic to be able to go through it all without rushing.  Also, if you are iffy about some items, pull them out and set them aside in a bag or box.  If you go a couple weeks and don't think to reach for them, you know it's safe to give away!

I'm really excited about using this newfound motivation to nix my unnecessary shopping and start making more thoughtful choices about my wardrobe.  A trip to the mall here or there will still probably happen, because I am only human after all.  And a girl, I'm a girl.  But let's just hope I don't find anything else with the tags still attached come this time next year.

xoxo,

Amanda