Grey Jeans for Less

I usually don't aimlessly go to the local mall, but on a night when the Eagles are playing an evening game and traffic is impossible, it's a great way to kill time before heading home from work.

Now, I love to shop, but ironically, I do not like to shop without a purpose, mainly because it has the potential to really throw off my budget. To help keep myself on track, I only let myself go to H&M and Forever 21 (I can kill a lot of time in both). H&M has some killer fall options - I am a big fan of mixing tough basics with softer pieces, and they have a nice mix of both available, but I needed none of it. On to Forever!

My weakness at Forever 21 is their denim. For those of you who don't know me, I used to be a designer denim snob. Major. $300 for Diesel jeans? No problem. My pug is named Diesel. When my entire life changed four years ago, I bought one last pair of jeans as a farewell to designer denim and vowed to not buy them again for a very long time. I was thrilled to find that Forever 21 makes jeans with an amazing fit. They literally work on every body type and last forever. They truly are the sisterhood of the traveling pants. Slowly, I have turned even my most cynical friends from various financial backgrounds into Forever 21 denim devotees. Given my praise for Forever denim, you can imagine how excited I was to see their jeans were on sale for $7.80. I do not need jeans. But the sale included grey jeans - a color I do not have, but have been lusting for. 

Hm. What's a girl to do? If you're me and have about 25 jeans in a variety of colors, you sleep on it. Then you wake up at 4 a.m. and look at images of grey jeans on Pinterest. Then you decide you must go to the mall over lunch and that you can't live without grey jeans, and for $7.80, you should have just bought them on day one. Lesson learned and grey jeans purchased! 

Short Hair=Instant Regret

Hair has never been a big deal to me. In fact, I've had really short hair most of my life. Within recent years, I've worn my hair long, and really like it. Every now and then, I chop it and donate it, and then I grow it long again...only to repeat the chop, donate, grow cycle all over again. 

In June, I had just moved and was in the mood to change everything about my life. The moment my hair length shortened, I instantly regretted it, mainly because my hair takes forever to grow. I have no idea why I didn't embrace my new look this time, but I did not...not even a little bit. 

After doing some research, I decided to start taking Biotin, Fish Oil supplements (something my eye doctor has been telling me to do anyway) and established a firm every other day (at least) hair washing routine in a futile attempt to speed up my hair growth. Now you can go online and research which fish oil supplement works best and what brand Biotin you should use and pay an arm and a leg to get something fancy, but I am cheap and went straight to my local CVS and bought their generic versions. Also, I experimented with about three different types of dry shampoo during this time. Big Sexy Hair Volumizing dry shampoo was by far my favorite, with Tresemme's option leaving my hair smelling okay, but looking worse than before I used their product. 

I started the regimen above in early June. It's late Setember and time to take stock of my efforts. Obviously, I have no idea if any of those things actually helped my hair grow, but trust me, the growth I've experienced over the last three months is highly unusual for me. I am super excited that I have some added length and will definitely think long and hard before chopping it all off again! 

Have you tried any unusual supplements to make your hair grow? Multiple people told me to take pre-natal vitamins, but even my hair stylist debunked that myth (it's pregnancy hormones, not the vitamins that can be credited to pregnancy hair growth). 

My People

For those of you who read my old blog, you'll remember my absolutely love for "my people," or the craft fair vendors I frequent each fall. Fall craft fair season is my absolute favorite, as I simply can't have enough knits and/or leather in my life. 

Enter Bad Kitty Knits! Available on Etsy and central PA craft fairs, Bad Kitty Knits sells a really cool selection of knit cowl neck warmers, fingerless gloves, shawls, really cool knit and woven jewelry and, my favorite - head wraps. Super psyched to have gotten these two beauties for $23 yesterday! 

 

Coated Denim for Less!

I literally can't look at a blog or a September issue right now without seeing coated denim on all of the bloggers/models. Coated denim? Yes, jeans with a resin or wax like coating on them to give the jeans a leathery look. Naturally, the jeans on blogs and in mags are by Habitual, Current/Elliott and J Brand and cost more than $200 a pair. So not happening in my small world. After all, this is a passing trend. My rule of spending money on staples, not on fads stands, so I've not even allowed myself to try on a pair. Then, I found H&M's take on coated jeans for a sensible $29.99. Great fit, awesome gold ankle zip detail and did i mention $200 less than everybody else? Yep, and they're mine. 

Monogram Madness...and a Mystery Animal

Forever 21 is my secret weapon. From $10 skinny jeans to my Kate Spade knockoff black and white polka dot cigarette pants to my sheer chiffon tops and graphic sweaters that instantly make an outfit, I can always count on Forever. Their jewelry selection is also worth perusing, and yesterday, I struck gold. Well, plated, at least. Not only was I able to buy an adorable "L" necklace and ring ($3.80 and $2.80 respectively), but I also bought a really cute ring with a mystery animal on it. What is that thing? A fox? A gazelle? For $3.80, it's cute and cheap, and, now, it is mine.

I actually had to stop myself from buying several other items including House of Harlow starburst knockoffs and a Kate Spade bow necklace/earring set. Too much jewelry, not enough places to wear them to, but I can't pass up monogrammed anything, so voila and ooh la la! Love these new Forever finds!

My Favorite Place to Shop (a Farewell)

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved to play dress up. My sister and I were really lucky and had great dress up clothes. Not only did we have costumes that my father had brought back from Turkey (where he was stationed in the military), but we had my Aunt Violet's old clothes and shoes as well. The years have gone by, but I still play dress up when I'm bored (for very adult purposes, like determining what outfit would be perfect for a big meeting), and just like when I was little, my favorite dress up clothes have been stored in my childhood bedroom closet. Until last weekend.

You see, my mom told me I had to empty the closet, and rightfully so. For years, I've been keeping clothes that still fit (but that I've tired of wearing) at their home. Occasionally, I would visit and rediscover a great sweater or dress. Jokingly, and much to my mother's chagrin, I referred to the closet as my favorite place to shop. It was a goldmine, and I know, because last weekend I cleaned it out for *good. My sister and some friends made out like bandits, and I'd like to think I did too! Here are some of my favorite old pieces that are new again and back in rotation (all from Antropologie from years ago):

This was me today, after work. Love that I found this skirt again (and that it still fits). 

Seriously. How insane is this Swiss dot shirt with bunnies and lions all over it? It's like Beatrix Potter came out with a fashion line! 

This sweater is actually Anthropologie via a consignment shop in Richmond (I lived there ages ago). The poodle is made out of felted pom poms and the flowers are intricately beaded. So cute! 

It was really sad emptying the closet that was mine since I was a little girl (I dare my mom to master the wobbly shelf like me) but great to come back to my new home with great old finds! Do you have any favorite clothing items that you've recently rediscovered?

* Hopefully, my mom won't find the two dresses and coat that I sneakily hung in the back of the closet for good measure. I wouldn't want to totally rid myself of a childhood memory after all. 

Purple Shampoo

Purple shampoo is everywhere right now - blogs, Pinterest, Instagram and magazines. Like I said, everywhere! So, what is it (other than a miracle product)? Because purple is opposite yellow on the color wheel, purple shampoo removes brassiness from blond hair and, if it works, is supposed to make your color look...well, pretty much perfect. I am an easy sell on products that promise to make color look great, as I've been coloring my hair since I was 18! Blonde, black, brown, it's been severely abused, but most recently, I've tried my hardest to get back to my natural color, an ashy blond that wants to pull yellow in the worst way. Enter purple shampoo. What I bought:

Is it really purple? Um...

Does it work? Follow the instructions and do not use daily, but yes. I already stretch out my colorist appointments as long as possible, but this trick is going to add some serious longevity to my highlights! 

Ta da!