Just For Fun...

Here are some photos of me at my heaviest weight (2008):

And here is a photo of me now-ish (still a work in progress!):

Can you tell a difference???

How The Blog & I Are Changing...

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been around the blogosphere too much lately. Every time I have a chance to update, I do, and then don't really have another chance for quite some time. So this is an update to let you know that I've sort of changed my mind about the direction I want this blog to take. I originally started it to keep current with everything fashion. However, as I've mentioned in my last few posts, losing weight comes with the fact that many of my clothes aren't going to fit me as well as they used to (which is a good thing!) and in turn, I don't really have many OOTD's to show you or much to post about within the fashion realm.

Because of that, I've decided that my blog is now going to be more of a personal lifestyle blog. See an outfit I love? I'll post about it. Magazine article I want to pass along? Still posting! Cool trendy stuff? You'll still see that. Healthy recipe that looks great? Got it! Me talking about personal stuff? Yep, that too.

And just so that I can state it in front of the world, when I lose 25 more pounds, I am going to treat myself to buying a new wardrobe (a little motivation to reach my goal!)...and THEN you will certainly see more OOTD posts. And who knows?? Hopefully I'll still be able to post a few in between here and there also.

And of course, I'll still be reading all of your blogs :)

I hope you'll stick with me.

♥Case

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