Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

With the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving all wrapped up, it seems that all anyone can talk about is Christmas. Everyone around me is creating their wish lists and checking them twice! So in the spirit of good fun, I thought I would post a few of the items I'm longing for this holiday season. Are any of your Christmas wishlist items the same as mine?

Moreso than creating my list, I'm SUPER excited about shopping for my family and friends. I love gift-giving!

I am certainly in the Christmas Spirit!

♥Case

What Are Your Favorite Shopping Hot Spots?

So, as I mentioned in my most recent post, a lot of my clothes don't exactly fit me as I'd like them to anymore, which is fantastic (yay minus 30 pounds and counting!), but in ways also frustrating because I don't exactly have the money to buy and entire new wardrobe as I'm still reaching my goal weight. Hence, the name of this blog including the word "frugal" in the title. I've also run into the problem lately of being in between sizes. Pants at Lane Bryant fit me, but tops (for the most part) don't. Old Navy's tops fit me, but the pants are always hit or miss. LB, Old Navy, and Torrid have always been 3 of my favorites.

That being said, here's my question for you- where are YOU shopping these days? As curvy ladies I know we've had to get creative with our shopping habits, so I'm curious to see what your favorite places to shop are. I could really use some ideas on more stores to frequent so that maybe I can find some more lines that fit my body a little better.

Over the weekend I got this dress from Lane Bryant:

Dress: Lane Bryant, $45.28 with coupon ($99.95 regular price)

It's a size 14 and fits me perfectly, and yet for some reason many of their size 14 tops are too big on me. I'm confused about this whole sizing business.

Regardless, this dress is PERFECT for upcoming holiday parties. I cannot wait to wear it!

Let me know what stores you're lovin' these days!

♥Case

Well Hello Old Friend

HI! I've missed you.

To start, I have to give you all a huge apology. I haven't been around for awhile and it was completely unintentional. In fact, blogging has crossed my mind many times and somehow I just haven't been up to it. Let me fill you in a bit on what's been going on with me:

-First, I've lost close to 30 pounds over the past 6 months (yay!) and I've been feeling slightly uncomfortable in many of my clothing items. They're not fitting me the way that I'd like them to and in turn I don't feel as if they are worth photographing.

-Second, I've really been watching my spending. I've gone from pretty frugal to a plain old tightwad when it comes to shopping for clothes. SO needless to say, even though many of my clothes are much looser on me, I haven't really gotten around to buying new ones...especially because I do intend on losing a little more weight and the way I see it- why waste the money?

-Third, because I've lost weight and am not spending nearly as much on clothing, you've already seen a lot of what I might take OOTD photos of...I'm really not the best at remixing...STILL trying to get better at that!

With all of that out on the table, I hope you accept a sincere "I'm sorry" for my being MIA over the past few months...I'm ready to get back in the swing of things.

To get it started, I'd like to do a quick little recap of my summer.

The BFF's wedding:

Vacation to Jamaica, mon:

A wedding a few weeks ago:

And finally, one of my proudest moments to date, running my first ever 5K:

So there you have it! An update on my life and recent outfits through photos.

(I should also mention other things that are awesome to get you up to speed: I have thee best boyfriend ever, thee best friends ever, my 3rd year of teaching is smooth sailing, I've gotten into couponing, and I'm super excited about fall weather!)

It feels good to be back.
♥Case

Cupcake

One month from today, my BFF will be getting married. This past weekend we had her wedding shower and I decided to go for the Emma Pillsbury look (really I just felt like a cupcake.) I received this dress, courtesy of eShakti, a few months ago. I have been super excited for the weather to finally be warm enough to wear it. The dress was custom sized to my body and let me tell you- it is A-MAZ-ING! I am highly impressed with the quality of the dress and how the custom sizing (which I was super nervous about) fit me perfectly. It is a thick chambray material which makes it feel like it is really made to withstand a lot of wear. The bow detail at the neck adds just the right amount of flair. I know that this will be my go-to summer casual event dress. So, needless to say I am very impressed with eShakti and will most definitely order from them again. (These opinions are solely my own and I am in no way affiliated with eShakti.)

Dress: Courtesy of eShakti.com

Cardigan: Old Navy, $19ish on sale

Belt: Old Navy,$12.50 before coupon

Flower Pin: Bink Davies Boutique in the Short North here in Columbus

Shoes: Payless, $24.99

Don't those photos look great? I had a little help on them...thanks B*F (wahaha)! ;)

I'm getting very excited about the BFF's wedding! There is still so much to do!

And still 5 pounds to lose ;P

By the way, have I mentioned that I've lost about 16 pounds so far? It's coming off super slowly but I'm happy with the progress so far.

I hope everyone is enjoying June!

♥Case

Don't Ever Let Life Pass You By

Hello pretties! I hope you are all enjoying the start of summer! I know I sure am! We wrapped up our school year this past week and while I will certainly miss this year's kiddos, I'm excited for a new group in the fall. So, in honor of summer starting, I decided to rock my new sunnies and espadrilles!

Top: Torrid, last summer

Jeggings: Old Navy, $25ish

Shoes: Kohl's, $34.50 before coupon

Sunnies: Target, $15.99

Speaking of the summer beginning, it means that we are already about halfway done with 2011...can you believe it? I can't.

Now what are you doing inside reading a blog? Go outside and soak up some Vitamin D!

♥Case

You Are My Sunshine

Hello sunshine! Lately I've been kind of out of it so I thought we could all use a little sunshine. This is an outfit I wore a week or two ago, inspired by the Old Navy "shop by outfit" section (I posted about it here.) Needless to say, I got lots of comments on my bright springy colors! I was pretty disappointed, though, because this was the first time I wore this tank and as you can see one of the beads already fell off.

Tank: Old Navy, $7.50

Cardi: Old Navy, $19ish on sale

Skirt: Old Navy, $32.50 with gift card

Leggings: F21, $5.50

Shoes: Payless, $24.99

Here pretty soon I'm going to be doing a halfway post on my goals for 2011. One thing that I've been doing lately to reach my goals is running. Are any of you out there runners? I've got terrible shin splints but I'm not giving up! I need to get new shoes to help with that. Regardless, if any of you have any running advice I'd love to hear it!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week! Only 4 days of school left for me until summer break!

♥Case

Isn't It Strange?

I just keep thinking about how strange it is that things can change so much in a short period of time. It's funny how things change really. I mean, a year ago my life was very different than it is now. So many things have changed. Speaking of a year ago, one year ago today I lost Bozz, the dog my family had for 16 years. It stings to think about, and I'm sure it seems so silly, but I just loved that dog so much. I miss him.

Anyway, on a lighter note, things are very different in a lot of extremely positive ways. I'm proud of myself for having the strength and independence to learn and grow as a person.

And so, now that I've gone all philosophical on you talking about changes, here is an outfit that I wore this week to liven things up a bit:

Skinny Cargos: Old Navy, $19.80

Tank: Torrid, last summer $14.99ish on clearance

Shrug: NY&Co, $21.95

Sandals: Old Navy, $6.50 on sale

Don't you love my candid eyes-closed photo?

Ha!

Happy Saturday!

♥Case

Counting 3-2-1 and I'm Having Fun...

I'm feeling rather uninspired about writing at the moment...so this will be a short post. However, I am feeling super inspired when it comes to fashion. Especially by other bloggers...you are certainly inspiring me to change up my pace a bit when it comes to putting together outfits. Hopefully this will be reflective in outfits to come. For now, here is the outfit I wore on Cinco de Mayo! Sailor Chic, no?

Top: Mark, $28 (came in a pack of two about a year ago)

Cardigan: Target, $18

Pants: Torrid, $48 (you've seen these many times before- I love the way they look rolled up!)

Shoes: Payless, $26.99

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

♥Case

A Princess' Tale...

Once upon a time there was a lovely young princess named Masey walking through a royal palace. The palace was of supreme class and sophistication. It housed a trove of shopping facilities, a moving staircase, and even an array of inexpensive food peddlers. While Masey strolled through the palace and pondered the items in each of the windows, she came upon a jewelry maker's shop with a royal decree featuring what she thought must be the most beautifully stunning ring she had ever seen in her life:

But which one was it that princess Masey was so taken aback by? If you happened to guess the ring on the very top of the key, you would be correct. If not, off with your head.

The princess believed that she had never seen a more beautiful piece of jewelry and wished and hope that one day she would be able to place the gorgeous loop around her finger.

The princess decided to search the land high and low and she even found another (below) that was also the same type of ring...she loved them both...but unfortunately the princess' royal financial advisors told her "nay," she should not have the ring.

Feeling defeated, the princess remembered that she still longed for a jewelry item that she had come upon about a year before she saw the astonishing ring...her beloved Tiffany key necklace...she yearned to create her own combination of a large sterling heart with the tiny gold heart...can't you just imagine the two on a chain together? The princess was determined that someday she would scour the land and find this necklace to wear over her heart for all of the days to come.

Alas, as the princess finished her window shopping and imagined all of the wondrous jewelry items she might one day place upon herself, she remembered her grandmother, the Queen, and her favorite piece of jewelry...

and hoped that one day, she too, could be like the Queen and posses such a remarkable token of love.

The End.

♥Case

(Ok, so this may be the dorkiest blog post ever...but I am in love with these jewelry pieces and wanted to show you in a fun way! Happy Monday!)

I Should Be Asleep...

For today's outfit, I really had it in my head that I wanted to look like a 1950's housewife wearing skinny pants, an oversized menswear-style shirt, and some cutesy flats. While I managed to pull off the look, I realized that I am just too curvy and girly-shaped for an oversized shirt like this. However, even though this outfit wasn't the most flattering of shapes for me, I still really enjoyed wearing it.

Denim Shirt: F21, $25

Skinny Pants: Torrid, $48 before coupon last summer

Belt: Target, $12.99

Flats: Target, $12.99

Flower Pin: Old Navy, $.98 on clearance last spring

So why do my pictures still look crappy once I upload them to blogger? I have this beautiful new camera but I still cannot get the pictures to come up nicely...any ideas?

I have got to stop staying up so late. Insomnia is not a good thing when your alarm clock goes off at 6:30am...

Sweet dreams, lovelies!

♥Case

Pretty in Pink

Today I woke up late with nothing to wear. I am desperately in need of a spring/summer shopping trip...particularly for some cute tops. Anyway, I rummaged through my closet to no avail. Then I decided to just throw on one of my many lace-bottom tanks and a shrug. As I took the tank out of the drawer, my new little flower pin I got recently from a Thirty-One Gifts party caught my eye because it was the exact same Barbie-pink color as the tank I had pulled out. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or it may just be my sick obsession with anything pink. In any regard, a cute little top combo came together and although the humidity certainly got the best of my straightened hair today, I seemed to get many compliments on my randomly thrown together outfit.

Lace-Bottom Tank: Torrid, $12 last summer

Shrug: Old Navy, $19 last spring

Flower Pin: Thirty-One Gifts, $3

I also wore a darker gray dress pant with these...but they weren't exciting so I decided a photo was not necessary. And I also hate how you can see the bumpy clasp and zipper of this pant through my shirt. However, the combo of pink and two shades of gray worked very nicely together.

Have you heard about Thirty-One Gifts yet? They seem to be all the rage here in central Ohio. Very similar to Vera Bradley but they seem to have a wider range of products.

Hope you are having a fabulous week, dolls!

♥Case

Viva Las Vegas!

Hello pretties! I hope you are all doing well! Things continue to be super crazy for me, but I recently got to take a nice little vacation to Vegas...it was my first time there! I had a blast and luckily the weather was beautiful the entire trip! I even came back tan and won a tiny bit of money! Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of the outfits that I wore on the trip!

Left:

Top: Torrid, $34.50 purchased with gift card

Leggings (same in both photos): Old Navy, Years ago

Right:

Dress: Torrid, $19.95 on sale purchased with gift card

Shoes (same in all photos): Torrid, $39ish on sale about a year or so ago

My Mom was so excited...she found this dress for me on super clearance at Sears of all places. I was so excited because it makes my curves look awesome...it has random draping in all the right places! Although this dress may not come off as sexy, I FEEL really sexy in it because of how it fits me. Va-Voom! lol

Dress: Sears, $4.99

You've seen this dress before here. I wore it last summer to a wedding. Now I decided to throw on a little lace shrug for the spring. I also added my new favorite mixed media necklace. It worked perfectly- I love this combination of blue and black.

Dress: Torrid, $38 on sale last summer

Lace Shrug: Deb, $19 last summer

Necklace: Old Navy, $8ish on sale

I've also been trying to catch up on reading all of your blogs! I haven't been commenting on too much but I've been feeling really inspired to revamp my spring wardrobe! Everyone is breaking out the warm-weather clothes and it has got me in the mood to wear more and more skirts and dresses! Now if only Ohio weather would cooperate...

It feels so good to have a few free minutes to post and update. I'll try and post another update this week!

Hope you all have a fabulous last week of April!

♥Case