LOFT Shopping Spree

Last Wednesday my roommates - E & J - went to a concert. 

LOFT had a sale. 

I had time. 

It becomes really hard for me to say no to a LOFT sale when it's as good as this one was. {Sorry that this post is after the sale is over} They had 50% off full price items & 40% off sale items. Earlier in the month I paid $25 for a LOFTcares card which would give me 25% off my purchase of $100 if I used my LOFT card. I had been saving a $20 reward card for a 'rainy day'. Y'all, I got $261.89 of clothes for $78.20. Yes, you read that right!

I don't use coupons when I grocery shop, but I do try to use them when I shop for clothes or at Michael's/Hobby Lobby, really anything other than groceries (which I need to start doing).

So here's what I got. 

Seems like not a lot for $262, but for $79, I'll take that every day...literally, I probably would buy LOFT everyday. 

We'll start with the basics on the front row. I love LOFT's "Live LOFT" t-shirts (they are the ones that say 'live LOFT' on the inside & are tag-less). I was sad to hear that the white & black were all they had left, so I had to have them. 

Originally $19.50 - I paid $7.31 a piece. 

The next are these Opaque tights. I have never bought any from LOFT and couldn't pass up the deal. I can't wait to try these! 

Originally $14.50 - I paid $5.44

I sent a text to my mom & sister saying I was going shopping, but that I was mainly looking for navy dress pants. I was getting frustrated because they didn't have my normal size and style in navy. I was wearing the size & style I wanted in black, but they didn't carry it in navy. But always, always ask an associate for help! They SHOULD know the product and I've always received lots of help at LOFT. It took some trying on of different styles, sizes, & lengths, but finally! I normally wear 'Julie' or 'curvy' fit and it just depends - petite or regular. The black ones were Julie regular...I got the navy ones in Marisa Petite. 

Originally $69.50 (almost what I paid for EVERYTHING) - I paid $26.07 

The next two items might be my favorite! I've already worn the pink sweatshirt twice! Ever since jeweled sweatshirts became popular, I wanted to try them. The tan one is a little more delicate, and I haven't worn it yet, but I like it a lot. It has just enough on it to keep it dressy. 

Originally (sold out online) 

My mom always says 'don't go out dressed frumpy, you never know who you'll meet.' But I love sweatshirts. This is one of two new LOFT ones that I love. They have something extra that makes them dressier than regular sweatshirts, but still just as comfortable! 

This one I LOVE. Seriously. 

I was a little worried about the placement of some of the beads, but they don't bother me as much as I thought they would. 

Originally $69.50 (on sale 40% off online!!) - I paid $26.07 

Here are a few more LOFT items I'm loving right now

Jeweled Sweatshirt - 50% off No Code Needed 

Amour Sweatshirt - on sale & extra 50% off! 

Flocked Dot Sweatshirt - a little on sale & 50% off! 

      - I might have to buy this one! They were out of my size at the store. Mix and Match Mama did a post on it and I knew I needed it. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this post - different than normal, but maybe more to come! 

Stay Fashionate!! 

Friday Favorites: #TheQueenTweets

Tweet: I love the British Monarchs - LOVE. The Queen sent out her first tweet today! Elizabeth R. How endearing!! (The R stands for Regina, which is Latin for Queen. She's just reminding us all who she is)

 

Bag: I'm in need of a new cross body, but am trying not to shop for myself between now and...Christmas? I sent this to my siblings so maybe I'll have this cute one soon. Plus it's under $30! (P.S. Two months from today is Christmas Eve!) 

Pumpkin Carving: my roommate found this on Piterest so we re-created it Friday night 

Have a great weekend & stay Fashionate! 

Weekend Review: October 18 & 19

Finally enjoyed a full weekend in Atlanta for the first time in four weeks, that's right, a whole month! And considering I've only lived here for 2.5 months, that's a good chunk spent away from my new home. Here's a few things I enjoyed this relaxing weekend!

Happy 25th Birthday, Season! (Romper: LOFT on sale now!)

If you ever have the chance to see a show at the Georgia Theatre - go! It is so Athens, and I love it! 

Sunday was spent learning how to html code (which I'm not using on this post - still learning!)

I love fresh flowers & I really love that jar of just baby's breath! 

Finally put out my fall dishes! Thanks J & E for letting me set our table! 

I also have these totally adorable acorn bowls (no longer available - Turkey pattern similar)! Eating one of my favorite meals out of it made me even happier! (recipe to come)

Friday Favorites: Because Everyone's Doing It

Here are a few favorite things from the week.

This Video: Corgi puppy playing with a pumpkin. It's so adorable!

This Recipe: POTATO SOUP
It got chilly in Atlanta this week, so I decided it was time to make potato soup for dinner with E & J one night.

This Photo: Glamping Baby shower I threw for my Sister - more on this later. (Sorry just had to share!)

This Laugh: Mom emailed a ton of these this week!

Valley Life: Working in The Valley

I had been in Atlanta only a few days, but was already getting discouraged with job hunting. I had met with a recruiter & spent hours updating my resume & LinkedIn profile. Talk about fun - but I did move to a new city without a job, so it had to be done. 

But let's back up a minute. I decided in May to make the move in August. My plan had been to start really job hunting in late June! interview in July, and be ready to start as soon as I moved. Sounds good right? And the best part, one of my guy friends from UGA worked at a staffing agency and offered to help! Everything seemed to be lining up perfectly. To make a long story short, my grandpa passed away at the beginning of June, so I got a little distracted, oh and I have a small pride issue, and thought I could get myself a job on my own. 

After submitting application after application after application online, I decided I would meet with  recruiter from a different agency than the one where my friend worked. Why? Back to pride. That and I told my roommates I didn't want to put pressure on my friendship with him, but really it was pride. They say getting a job is all about who you know, and I said 'watch me.'

So, how did I get my current job - 9 days after moving to Atlanta? Lightning struck. No, seriously. It was a crazy, stormy Thursday. One roommate (J) & I had just arrived home to find out that a tree. In our front yard had been struck by lightning! My other roommate's (E) car was sitting right under the tree. We made her come home from her date, sorry E!, because we didn't have a spare car key. With the big storm came a power outage - at least at our house. E's BF was kind enough to invite us over to his place while we waited for the power to come back on. Guess who lives with E's BF? My friend who works for a staffing agency. See what God did there? Had to actually use a lightning bolt to get my attention. 

But that's not where the story ends. We made s'mores (just throwing that in there to keep you interested!), I love s'mores. And then my friend proceeded to tell me about a job I might be interested in. We talked about it for a bit, but I was tired of talking about jobs. So on Friday morning we talked again, and he mentioned that they had already sent 2 people to interview. We'll guess what! Neither of those 2 people got the job, so he helped me fix my resume, and Saturday morning he emailed me to see if I wanted to interviewed.

I interviewed Monday AM, got the call at 4pm, took the job, and started Tuesday, August 12 at 8:30am.

I know that was kind of a long, drawn out story. But it's all true. Lightning was needed to get my attention, lightning. If that didn't knock down my pride, I don't know what would have. 

I haven't posted about fashion in a while. But I will again soon, until then Stay Fashionate! 

(This is after GA Power came at 12am, not to turn on power, but to saw off limbs & block of four driveway) 

Valley Life: Moving to the Valley

I began writing this post 2 months ago, having just moved to a new city - without a job. Over the years many friends have asked me for advice on different topics, but if this had been one I'm not sure that I would have encouraged it. I've been longing to move away from home. I wanted a big city life, a grown-up life. So yes, I may have been excited for a friend to make the big move, but without a job? I don't know.  I moved to a street with the word Valley in it, and began hash tagging #ValleyLife. The Lord has begun to use that hashtag in my life to teach me a thing or two already.

So just about a week ago, I did something I've wanted to do for a long time. I moved away from home. Now, there's nothing wrong with home - I have the best family, yes, younger brother included, and the best friends from childhood, but I didn't feel like a grown-up. The night before the big move, I began to really doubt this decision. And a week later, and still jobless, those doubts are still here. But guess Who is still here as well...The Lord.

As a 17 year old girl, I dreamed of living in NYC working in fashion or event planning. Neither of which has happened.  I thought that because I didn't become a teacher (which was my non-NYC idea) or an event planner in NYC, that I was a failure. I'd let that young 17 year old girl down. One thing I learned the hard way in college, and am still learning to deal with now, is to let go of my plans. Aren't His better anyway? And that 17 year old girl, was just 17, and should've stuck with her plan, but since she didn't - then obviously things were bound to change. Change. I don't deal well with change. The thought of turning 25 in less than 6 months scares me - I still feel like a 17 year old. 

Those first two weeks in Atlanta I was constantly reminded of how He had always provided for me and that He would always provide. I thought that moving to the city would make it easier to get a job, and that I would instantly feel like a grown-up, living the mountain top life I longed for. But I began to question the whole mountain experience thing. You go to church camp every summer and they call it a 'mountain top experience' and you have to take it home with you and continue living the high that you feel at camp, or try to live a more Christ-dedicated life than you did before. But if we aren't living on the 'mountain top' then we must either be living in the valley or climbing up/down the mountain. What does that life look like? I think we spend most of our life longing for mountain top experiences but living in the Valley. Is that wrong? No, but what if we focus on life in the Valley? Its kind of like the old saying "live where you are planted." It took me a while to love living at home when all I wanted was to move away, but when I did - boy, did the Lord remind me of the sweet friendships I already had and gave me some amazing new ones. I do miss them now that I've moved away, but I'm learning a lot about living in the Valley.

(Thanks to my big bro & Anne for helping me  move!)

**Busyness, laziness, and learning have kept me from posting, but just wait - I hope to share more of what I'm learning!**