Two Old Navy Tops

The other day I had to take my son to Old Navy for some sweat pants and I decided to take a look around to see what I could find for spring.  I found the cutest top that has little flutter sleeves and smocking on the top.  I really love the floral print too!

Here is the top by itself.  It looks so cute with jeans and my grey Converse tennis shoes!
I also love these Nickle and Suede earrings that I bought last month!  You can find the top here.

I kept the whole outfit the same and just added a dark denim jean jacket for cooler days and I loved the look!  The earrings can be purchased here and I am wearing the medium size.

I tried changing the jacket out for a light denim jacket and it was cute also, just gives it a different look.  The Converse I am wearing can be found here.

 Because there is olive green leaves in the top, I tried it with a military style jacket and it looked good also.  I just love it when I find a top that I can wear more than one way!

I also found the polka dot tunic length top and it is so cute and would also look great with a pair of white jeans.

I have a fun project that I am working on right now, but it has deadlines, so that is why today's post is short.  Have a great day and I'll be back next week!

Recent Finds!

Ulta recently emailed me a coupon and so I decided to check it out and see if they was anything I couldn't live without.  I had a few things that I had been thinking about and then I looked at a few new things.  With all the cold weather and snow we have had, it was just good to get out of the house!

I have been reading some reviews on this brush, so I decided to try it.  I love it!  It is flexible as you use it and the open areas in the brush make blow drying your hair so much faster!  You can find the brush here.

I never used to wear nail polish on my hands, but in the last six months, I have really enjoyed it.  I have learned that I can't use a polish that is really thin because it is really hard to apply.  I have tried other white colors and they are so thin, maybe because there is not a lot of pigment in them! (that is the chemist in me coming out!) I saw this new color and opened it to see if it was thick enough for me to handle.  It appeared to be, so last night I tried it and I love it!  I love the Essie Gel Couture because they usually last a week for me.  I am hard on my hands because I work with fabric and thread all day and that is very drying to the hands.  It is also hard on the nails and this polish passes the test!

 

I have wanted to try these phone cord hair ties for awhile and I decided I like the colors of this set.  I tried one yesterday at the gym and it was great.  I thought it wouldn't leave a crease in my hair when I took it out, but it did.  My hair creases so easily from a pony tail holder!  I still will use them as they were comfortable and easy to use.  You can find them here. 

 Last week I got my haircut and I saw these new products on the shelf, so I asked my hairdresser to use them to see what I thought.  I loved the way they made my hair feel and they are made specifically for blonde hair.  As a bonus, they are gluten free!  I had a hair product I had purchased from her that I didn't like, so she let me trade it for this.  It is really light weight and makes my hair feel soft.  As an added bonus, there is just a very small amount of sparkle in it!  I may eventually buy the shampoo too.  You can find the shampoo here.

That's all for today!  It is spring break around here, so the kiddo's are here just relaxing and having fun.  Have a good week and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Make Up Routine

I love to wear makeup, but I am gluten free, so it can be tricky to find things that I can use.  I read the labels carefully before I buy it and I also make sure that I can return it if it doesn't work.  It took me a few years to realize that not only do I have to cut gluten from my diet, but also from my makeup/skincare!  I also had to learn, that just because a product is gluten free the first time you buy it, it may not be the next.  That is why I check the label and products everytime I buy them.

 

Because it is winter, this is the soap I am using to wash my face right now.  When summer comes, I will change it because my skin won't be quite as dry.  It is mild and I don't get any breakouts from it. Always a good thing!

 After I wash my face in the morning, I use this moisturizer.  I found out about this, when I received it as a sample and just loved it!  It is a good moisturizer, smells good and gives my skin a little extra color.  I use the color nude glow.

 

After I have moisturized, I use this foundation and apply it with a beauty blender.  For my blush, I use Nars that you can find here.

At night, after I wash my face, I use this moisturizer and it works really well!  It is expensive, but a little goes a long way and a jar may last over a year!

It is so hard to find things that work and are also gluten free!  I often ask the salesperson that I am buying from if the product is gluten free and many times they don't really understand what I am talking about, or they act like I am from another planet...it is so funny!  Gluten goes by many names in products and if the label says "plumping" don't buy it if you are gluten free!  Most of the time a wheat product is used to plump up skin and if you are gluten free, be prepared to have an allergic reaction!

I hope this post helps my gluten free friends as well as those who are just looking for some good skin care products.

Have a great day and I'll be back next week!

A New Spring Tee

Good Morning!  It is so cold here today that I had to take all my pictures inside.  I prefer to take them outside, but I am not a cold weather girl!  Today I want to share a new spring tee that I found that you can start wearing now.  It has cute flowery vines all over it and because of the colors in it, you can wear it with lots of things.  Best of all it if 40% off today!  You can find the tee here.  In all of the outfits today, all I did was change to a different sweater or jacket.

The first outfit I used my beloved sweater that I featured a few weeks ago.  You can find that post here.  It is a little pricey, but it is so versatile! You can find it here.  The earrings are on sale through the end of the month,  so you still have a few days to get them for $18.00!  You can find them here.

 I kept the base outfit the same and paired it with a darker colored denim jacket and it is so cute together!  You can find a similar necklace here, and the jeans here (the jeans are on sale for $39.50!).

Here is the tee paired with a light wash denim jacket and it looks great too!  You can find a similar pair of the converse tennis shoes here and the light wash jacket here.

I paired the tee with a burgundy sweater and it looks great because of the colors of flowers in it.  You can find a similar long cardigan here.

That's if for today, so have a great day and I'll be back next week!

Spring Shoe Picks

This week I spent some time browsing through the Nordstrom website to get a feel for the new shoes that are out for spring.  Shopping for shoes online can be really tricky, so most of the time I order shoes from Nordstrom's.  They have free shipping/returns, so you can order multiple sizes and then send the ones that didn't work out back.  The first trend I noticed were platform tennis shoes.

 I have one pair of Shoreline Converse tennis shoes and I love them!  I think these Platform Converse tennis shoes are so on trend and will be comfortable at the same time.  You can find the Shoreline Converse here, and the Platform Converse here.

 

I found these Sam Edelman Platform tennis shoes and I think they look dressy even though they are calling them a tennis shoe.  The blush gold color combined with the jute covered platform just looks so classy!  You can find them here.

Everything leopard was a hot item this fall/winter and it looks to be the same way for spring.  I love this updated version of a loafer with a pointed toe.  They are the Steven Madden brand and are very comfortable!  They would work for casual/business casual outfits.  You can find them here.

 

Because platform shoes are on trend this year as well as sequins on everything, I thought this would be a great pair of shoes that could be worn casual or dressy.  You can find them here.

This is a pair of flat slides that were very popular last summer and I don't see that changing for this year.  I have several pairs of Sam Edelman slides in different styles and they are comfortable and will last several summers.  You can find this pair here.

That's it for this week!  Have a great week and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Busy Creating Today!

I am busy creating today, I'll be back next week with some fashion news!

Good Morning!

Good Morning!  It is a gray, cloudy day here, so I am counting the days until spring!  Last week I gave some suggestions for a few things that would be great to have for spring and I decided to order a few of them.  Here are the sandals that I featured last week in the color Dusty Mink.  They have a low wedge which I liked and the color would go with everything.  I ordered these in my regular size, but I would recommend sizing up 1/2 size as they feel a little tight!

Here is the same pair in the color Metal Silver and I would say the same thing, size up 1/2 size.  You can find these sandals here.

 I also ordered the blue tee that I featured last week.  I thought it would be a bright blue color, but as you can see in my picture, it is actually a blue grey color.  It should be no surprise that I am wearing it with my favorite cardigan!

Last week I noticed that this wand (L'ange Curling Wand) was on sale and I have been interested in trying one out, so I ordered it.

I am sad to say, it did not work for me!  I kept burning my fingers and it never really got hot enough

 to curl my hair, so back it will go!

On the stitching side of things, my FB group has been working on this cute sewing kit pattern I gave them and there have been some really nice kits made!  If you would like to join the group and be encouraged to stitch daily, here is the link to my group.

 This week, I recorded my first video and posted it to the group mentioned above.  I love to make my stitches as even as possible and so I designed these templates to help with that.  This video demonstrates how to use one of the templates to make a feather stitch even in a short amount of time.

If you are interesting in purchasing a set, you can find them here.

Have a great day and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Val

Looking Forward to Spring!

I am not a winter girl....I love summer.  I love it when I teach in Calilfornia in the winter time, because I get a brief break from cold temperatures.  Since I am dreaming of summer this week, I thought I would share some spring/summer loves that I found on the Nordstrom website.  What I love about Nordstrom's is the free shipping/free return policy they have!  This is especially nice for me because the closest one to me is in Kansas City, 3 hours away.

  Because I embroider for a living, it should be no surprise that I love this top.  It is part of a resort wear launch for a blogger I follow.  I have no doubt that this top will sell out quickly and it also comes in pink, white and black.  It is 60% cotton and for the summer months I prefer cotton.  You can find the top here.  You can find the entire collection here.

   

I love this pair of wedge sandals!  Last summer, I tried to find a pair of sandals like this that were 

comfortable, but never had any success.  I have high hopes that this pair will be a winner!  I have ordered them, so I'll keep you posted on what I think.  They come in 12 different colors, which is an added bonus!  You can find the sandals here.

 I have wanted a pair of tassel earrings for awhile and these might be the ones!  Pink is my favorite color but they come in 5 other colors.  You can find the earrings here.

I also love colors in the lilac/purple color family and I thought theses jeans were really cute for spring!  They would coordinate will many things and could almost be used as a neutral.  I may have to order these and show you how to style them since they are so cute!  You can find the jeans here.

I hope you are looking forward to spring as much as I am and maybe you will be inspired by some of my choices.  Have a great week and I'll be back next Tuesday!

Great Cardigan!

Last week I featured a few sweaters that you could use to transition into spring and I ordered them to see what I thought.  I had on my eye on the cream cardigan that I am featuring today for quite some time and kept waiting for it to go and sale and it just hasn't!  I have to say, I just love it and it goes with everything.

This cardigan is the perfect cream color and has a some texturet to make it interesting.  So I put together a few outfit ideas so you could see how versatile it is.

I paired it with some blue jeans, black booties, a plaid scarf, white tee and my new favorite earrings I got for Christmas.  The sweater is available here, and a similar scarf can be found here.

The earrings can be found here.

I switched out the black booties for a pair of Uggs and it looks so cozy!

I switched the blue jeans, for a pair of olive green jeans and it is still looking good!

Next, I used a pair of black corduroys to make it dressy and added a taupe pair of booties.

I traded the white tee for a blue and white striped shirt like it is pictured on the Nordstrom website and it is still a winner!

I switched to the olive green jeans for a different look.

I then I tried it with a pair of blue jeans.  I just love all of the looks I created with this sweater and I am sure there are a hundred other ways to style it!

Have a great day and I'll be back next week!