Gifting. And a giveaway!

It's no secret I adore gifts. Not JUST receiving them either, I love that giddy feeling of watching someone open a gift that I perfectly picked out. No really, I'm THAT girl who's like CMON RIP THE PAPER ... FASTER! Sorry guys, it's my love language. I can't help it, right?!

With that being said, last year after the lung fiasco, and everything else I had put my mother through, I was determined to pick out a Mother's Day gift that meant a little bit more than just a bouquet of flowers.  I think it's safe to say I did alright. So much so, that a day hasn't gone by that my mom and I don't wear them. 

I scooped up a set of dual-birthstone rings from Meadowbelle Market's etsy shop. One for mama, and one for myself, with our two birthstones adorning them. They're petite, they're simple, and most of all, they're perfect. 

When I posted a picture of another ring on Instagram this weekend, I was flooded with questions about the birthstone ring, and I'm excited to let you all know the lovely ladies over at Meadowbelle Market have graciously offered up a dual birthstone ring for one of you lucky readers to win! 

Meadowbelle Market offers both silver and gold options, and have even recently introduced an engagement ring line! The giveaway will end this coming Friday - don't miss out on scoring one of these awesome rings for yourself or to gift to a loved one!

As an added bonus, as if the ladies over at Meadowbelle haven't been kind enough, they've also offered up a coupon code valid through Sunday (March 30th), simply enter "hellomisschelsea" to receive 10% off your any purchase in their Etsy shop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Simple.

While I am totally on board the statement necklace bandwagon, there's just something about a dainty piece of metal gracing your collarbones that has had me scaling it back lately. 

[ 1 // 2  // 3 // 4 ]

Goggles: the sequel

2013 turned me blind. Actually 2012 turned me blind, I was just too stubborn to accept it, and put off getting glasses until the wee months of '13.

Surprisingly, most of the time when someone sees a photo of me dawning glasses they tell me how much they love em! The original glasses I had were fine, minus the fact I had dropped them a few times and scratched them all up (wait? I was supposed to be responsible and take care of them?) so you can probably imagine my geeky excitement when someone from Firmoo reached out asking if I'd be interested in reviewing a pair of their goggles.

See, the cool thing about Firmoo is that they offer you your first pair free. Which means if you're any bit as indecisive as me, and desperately want options, you can add a pair of glasses to your collection for zero bones. On top of that they give away a free pair every day, with the Lucky Draw feature! (It's like the gift that keeps on giving!)

Since I can't ever settle on just one I actually ended up ordering the same glasses in tortoise and black. Girls gotta have options, never know what will match which outfit! They arrived in about a week, with cases and cleaning clothes and haven't left my face since then.

Where have my glasses gone?

Well, they keep me company every day in the office...

they've conquered downtown Indianapolis...

they even ventured to the hospital with me when my lung popped....

Heck, that's more than I can say about my ex-boyfriend! Needless to say, these glasses are my new best compadre, I make sure to never leave home without them!

I used the virtual try-on system to pick mine out, and then jumped the gun and ordered. Have no fear though, if you end up not absolutely loving yours though, they do have a great return policy! If you've been on the prowl for some new frames to grace your face I would definitely recommend Firmoo!

(I was offered glasses to review from Firmoo, however all opinions are my own! I wouldn't steer ya'll wrong)

Goggles.

Many many moons ago, after a coworker told me to "jesus christ you squint at that screen", I finally bit the bullet and got an eye exam.

(This picture really doesn't relate at all. Except it was pre-glasses. And hilarious)

I'd always bragged about having 20/20 vision. Granted, I've always had a slight astigmatism but that's whatever. Football eye. The stuck up lady at the overpriced optometry office informed me I needed glasses. For reading, and computer work, and no glare lenses, and laser beams, and about 17 other overpriced options and I smiled and took my prescription and walked out the door laughing at their $300 eyeglass quote.

And about 6 months passed where I continued to squint, and ask LT "is that blurry to you?? Can you read that???" until I realized this probably wasn't helping my frequent migraines, and I spent a good 4 hours virtually trying on glasses online. (This isn't a sponsored post or anything, but I did buy them from GlassesUSA and I thought their service/turnaround time rocked. And they have great deals!)

And I, gasp, committed. And ordered a pair. And they came and I put them on and felt like a big dork. And then I brought em to work and put em on. And WOW it was so much easier to see. And now they pretty much live on my face. What's up four-eyes.

Halloween Greats

Growing up my mom always made us our Halloween costumes, which has caused me to despise those mega-huge costume stores and opt to create my own costume every year.

This year's is still in the works, but how bout a look back at some past greats?

There was the Double Dare team from 2009

The Mail Order Bride in 2010

And the Bell-ringer of 2011

Do you DIY or do you save your sanity and buy something already made??

Revisited: Boots & Shorts

Way back in early July I was lusting over the 'boots with shorts' trend I had seen pop up a few times on the web.

Source: Uploaded by user via Sienna on Pinterest

I wanted to rock that.

There were two major problems holding me back though.
1) All the boots I owned were tall, super winter-y, or cowboy boots (boring - been there, done that)
2) We were having a serious streak of 100+ degree days. Hello ankle sweat!

Well I kept my eyes out, and scooped up a couple pairs from Poshmark a few weeks ago.

And immediately threw them on to wear out to dinner with my girlfriends. And then the next day when I was out running errands.

[Silky Tunic: TJMaxx, Shorts: AE, Belt: AE, Necklace: F21, Booties:Poshmark]

[Sheer button down: TJMaxx, Shorts: AE, Belt: AE, Necklace: Nordstrom Rack, Watch: MK, Booties:Poshmark]

What do you think? I loved the edginess of it and I'm eager to play with this trend some more!

Stars & Bars Cutoffs

I've been seeing various red, white & blue attire popping up lately, possibly because the 4th of July is rapidly approaching, or perhaps everyone just really loves Merica right now. I pick the latter of the two.

 I scored some pretty sweet shades that fall under that category. 

But the tip of the patriotic iceburg was when I saw Monica rocking a pair of shorts she had found at le Tarjay.

Being that I'm cheap and stubborn. I refused to go buy them, because I knew I could make em myself.

I present to you: my DIY stars & bars cutoffs.

Sunday after Family Breakfast I had my mom drag out a box of old jeans that she had saved over the years for craft projects.

I attempted to squeeze my notsotiny toosh into a bazillion and twelve different pairs, and finally landed on some real fashionable wideleg white capris. Meow.

And immediately took scissors to them. Out came the craft paint and I set to work.

 I got a little giddy when I saw the red stripes coming to fruition. Yea, that's how lame I am. At least I can admit it. Heck, once the other side had a coat of blue I was blowing up Instagram with pictures!

I patiently waited to add my stars, and now... I present to you... probably the coolest pair of shorts I have ever made (Sorry 6th grade home ec teacher, the plaid boxers we made come in a close 2nd)

Tonight I am working on a pair to send to miss Melissa Jo! Spreadin the Merican' love my friends - that's what it's all about.

 

New tread

I got some new kicks last Friday. They couldn't be more fitting for May in Indy, Racing Capitol of the world. (They're Keds, by the way. Since people keep asking!)


 (Wanna see the other kicks I love?) 

Mullet.

Today I am rocking a mullet at work.

Not a real mullet. A fashion mullet.

 See, I sit behind a desk... so I'm all business up top

and party on the bottom!

 (white blazer from Charlotte Russe, striped tee from F21, red jeans from Carson Pirie Scott, blue heels are JessicaSimpson from a few years ago)

And the funnest* part is I'm all 'la ti da' professional  until I get up, then it's like KABAM.

Let's not even get into the party that's rockin on my wrist - whoa. Maximum capacity.

(love bracelet from F21, seashell bracelet from jamaica, lucky blue string, MK watch from cheating ex boyfriend, fake Yurman from F21, laramar bracelet from Punta Cana, leather bracelet from Punta Cana, Daughter bracelet from my mama)

Who's ready to rockNroll this Wednesday? We're halfway to the weekend pretty people!

(*Yes, I know "funnest" is not a word, but "most fun" sounds lame IMO)

Color me eclectic.

My love of color has been raging in full force lately!

 

 

 

A lot of pinks, oranges & reds are consuming my wardrobe, which is funny because I always tended to gravitate towards cooler blue tones up until now!

Coordinating

I rendered myself useless for a majority of my Saturday due to spending entirely too much time out causing trouble with coworkers Friday night and into the wee hours of the morning (ahhem 430am)

But that's ok, it actually worked out well for me. I spent a lot of Saturday pulling clothes from my closet & coming up with outfits to pack for vacation.

I am wanting to swap out the jeans for my red skinnies on that tan zebra print top, and add a few dresses in, but it's a good start, no!?  I decided to snap photos on my phone so I could wash/pack these pieces but still remember how I wanted to wear em.

Later in the evening I went shopping, I picked up a few more critical pieces, including these hilarious shorts,

 and some reading material that I've heard is decent (Hunger Games).

All in all, my lazy day turned out fairly successful, if I may say so myself.