Winner of the 17th Blog Giveaway and August Cravings

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Congratulations to Heather from the fabulous blog, The Peacock Fairy, winner of the $30 Amazon e-gift card! I hope you get something awesome! Thank you for entering, reading and for being you. I appreciate it! And thank you to everyone who entered. I just really cannot express in words or emotions (’cause you can’t see them) how much it means to me when you stop by and sit a bit. I love the connections I have made here. I cannot imagine my life without all of you.

It is August and with this sweltering summer month, comes back to school shopping. It was odd, because my daughter ended up shopping with my son, because apparently I do not know what the kids are wearing. If you still have some back to school shopping to do, I have some quick tips:

1. Anytime I am at the mall, I will go up to the information kiosk and ask if they are having a promotion. At our mall, they often do a promotion once a month or so. It is usually not advertised. You have to ask. I asked at the end of July and knew that between August 4-10, if I spent $200, I would get a $25 gift card to the mall. $400 or more would get me $40 (with two kids that is what I spent). So, I earned a gift card simply for doing something I had all ready planned on doing. I know our mall is not the only mall that does this, so be sure to ask in case your mall does promotions also.

2. Famous Footwear is where I always buy my kids’ back to school shoes. Their B1G1 1/2 off coupled with 20% off coupon is great. And because I am a reward member, that one shopping trip typically earns me a $20-25 reward in December which I always use to get one of the kids a free pair of shoes.

3. Staples is the place I go to for back to school supplies. Their door busters (you have to usually go on Sundays to not miss them) cannot be beat. It takes multiple trips, but the money saved is huge.

I think that is it. And now for my cravings. When I was at the mall, I stumbled upon the cutest boutique selling amazing clothes. Both of my children coerced me to go in to try on a skirt on the 70% off stand, because “it’s so you.”

“But we are here to shop for you.”

“But try it on! You cannot not try it on.”

Imagine those good and bad shopping devils on your shoulders from cartoons and now flick off the good one and replace it with another bad one. Those are my children in my ear when I am shopping. Except they are solid and real. And much louder.

So, of course I tried it on. And then I found a line of clothing that was just the coolest. It is called Luna Luz. Have you heard of it? The store was having a huge sale and I bought two dresses from the brand Luna Luz at a big discount. The kids made me. They made me get the skirt, too. Sigh. Needless to say that I am not buying anything else this month because I had also splurged on this dress. I still have my gift card waiting for The River Fade Dress if it hits sale any time soon. But unless something popsback for less than $20, I cannot buy anything.

But I can dream. Free People is killing it this season. I love almost everything in their new arrivals. Here are things I am watching:

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The Anthropologie Azure Lace Dress tops my list right now. Although the petite size I had been wanting is now sold out, so it might never happen on sale for me. I reviewed it here, in case you missed it.

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Free People’s Emma Love Tee is so good. I can see it paired with leggings and skinny jeans. A giant pendant and hair in two buns. I will probably snag this in September, because I love the look and the price.

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Modcloth’s Out For The Day Dress is lovely in its simplicity. I can picture it being sweet with bare legs or black tights and boots. Or spiced up with some mustard or fun fuchsia tights this fall. I have a black dress almost exactly like this one, but this dress is a high craving for me.

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Free People’s Dreamweaver Dress makes me want to skip through the streets as I swing my basket full of apothecary medicine towards the nearest village and clasp my dragon repellant in my other hand. It is perfect.

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Okay, “dress” is not the right name for this item, at least not for me, but I love the berry color (I would hope it would translate well in real life). The sleeves are so adorable on The Arosa Dress, too. I am not sure how it would be worn as a top. It is definitely too short for me to be worn without pants. Petite girls would be amazing in this.

What are your cravings? If you have kids, are you done back to school shopping? Do you know if your mall offers promotions?

Also, I have fourteen outfit posts I have to get out soon. I took too many pictures. This is going to result in more outfit posts than usual in the next few weeks. Sometimes I might have to have two posts on a single day (only one will be an outfit post). I hope you do not mind. I want to clean out my summer backup before fall arrives.

*this post contains affiliate links. Clicking on a link will result in a small commission for dragon repellant this site.

Overalls?

I will admit it. This is my very first pair of overalls. Well, maybe I had a pair when I was four or five, but I have long since forgotten. When I was pregnant with both of my children, I longed to be the pregnant girl in overalls. Alas, I am not one of those girls that is cute whilst pregnant (and, no, I am not pregnant. That would be impossible, just so ya know). And so I skipped over them. Never bought them, but enviously stared at those who did.

I started seeing them pop up again. And I started stewing. Then I saw that picture on the Pottery Barn Teen catalog and my interest grew. The final straw was when Free People offered a distressed corduroy pair in the gold color.

I was sold…Or they were sold…To me. Somethin’ like that.

I have been trying to put together different tops with the overalls. I pretty much want to wear them all of the time. Here is what I created:

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This is my favorite look. It is a Free People lace shirt I purchased from Nordstrom Rack in the spring. I like it with H & M’s lace flats. The necklace is care of Simply Livly on Etsy.

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I paired it with a denim jacket. I definitely look rustic here.

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And a Free People cardigan.

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I tried the overalls with Anthropologie’s Daydrifter Tee.

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I also paired it with a striped long sleeve layering top from H & M. I believe this was $14.

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And went full on country farm girl with a Johnny Was flannel shirt and vintage boots. The turquoise necklace is from Simply Livly on Etsy.

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This sweater was purchased last winter at Forever 21. I think it was $15. I have a mad crush on it.

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I bought this top with my mother-in-law during my Nordstrom Rack birthday spree. It is made by Free People. I could never find it on their site. And I did look. The color is my favorite paired with mustard. The earrings are from Anthropologie many years ago.

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And because I could not help myself. And because he wanted a ride. And maybe because I am more than a tad bit crazy…I put a little gnome in my overalls. My husband refused to go out with me like this. The wee little fellow was sad. ; )

So, what do you think of the overall trend? And would you have gone shopping with me and my little gnome friend (he was made by the lovely Moongoat on Etsy

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

More Anthropologie Fall Reviews

Here is where I break my own rules and do more reviews.

My kids were going camping last weekend. It was booked for months. Can you see where this is going? Oh, yes. The government shutdown strikes again. And the campground was closed. Thankfully, they could just go camping on my family’s land, but it still was a dent in the plans.

My father met me to pick up the kids at Anthropologie. ‘Cause he’s awesome. I had two returns to do. I will happily note I left Anthropologie with a negative balance. Did I buy something? Ugh. Yes. But I was proud of myself for leaving so many lovelies behind.

I decided to try on some things. Some of them, because I have had my eye on them. Others, because they are different than what I would normally wear and someone might like to see them on the average girl.

I probably will not get to another brick and mortar store until Christmastime. It was fun to try on some pretty pieces.

Movin’ along. Here are the reviews:

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That day, I wore my Free People Lace babydoll shirt from Nordstrom Rack. Of course, I did not take a picture of the outfit in the dressing room. Here is a “selfie” I took at home earlier in the day. By the time I got to Anthropologie, it was late in the day and my hair changed. Oh, and my make up kind of smeared. Bear with me. I paired it with my Free People skinny corduroy pants also from Nordstrom Rack ($19.99 last week. Run! Don’t walk!). I am wearing lace flats from H & M. The necklace was gifted to me from Simply Livly on Etsy (I wear it all of the time and love it!).

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I don’t know about you, but I have a system when I try things on. Because I hate trying things on. The quicker I can get it done, the better. If I all ready have pants on, I start with tops. So, first I tried on a top I had loved online. It is the Honore Buttondown. I was not in love with it once I tried it on. It is just okay. This is a size 6. It just wasn’t for me in real life. Or maybe it would be great tucked in?

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First, please ignore the weird expression on my face. What the heck? This black top ended up in my dressing room. I had not picked it out. It was my usual size medium and so I tried it on. I think it is the Smocked Sabine V-Neck. It is black. It is a blouse. It is a black blouse. Nothing much more to see here.

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This sweater was so pretty on the hanger. This is the Stitched Flora Cardigan. It swam on me when I tried it on. This is a medium. I could have used a size small. It is expensive. This just isn’t for me, but I am sure many lovely ladies will rock it.

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Hedgehogs! Oh my! I love this top. I have the bunny version in this new release Creature Feature Top with the buttons down the back. I purchased the bunny version in my usual medium, and immediately had regrets. This is a large. I think definitely size up in this shirt if you do not like things “showing.”

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On to the dresses! I tried on this Narva Swing Dress, on a whim. Please ignore my claw. Gosh! I am weird! This is a medium. If they would have had a small, I probably would have cradled it all the way home. As it is, I am glad they did not. This dress is one I will wait for sale on. It is a pretty blue swing dress. But I am looking for something with spunk. It did make me feel all small and girlish in it. As in, someone could throw me over their shoulder and then take me home and rock me. Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn’t drink wine and write reviews.

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This dress is a small (Spacedye Day Dress). It was the only size they had in stock. It is too small. Small. Small. Small. Moving along.

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I lusted after the Elodie Sweater Dress online. I loved the color. But once I tried it on, the love was lost. The color just is not good on me. I think someone with the right coloring is going to rock this dress. And I will be envious and glad for them all at once. I am wearing a medium. The fit is right. The stripes do not do my hips any favors. It also comes in a black color, but it is not for me.

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Okay. Maybe I am delusional. Scratch that. Yes, I am delusional. But maybe more so with this skirt. First, after poring over the reviews online about the Ponte Bell Skirt, I stubbornly tried on the XS/S version and refused to budge on the issue. Did my refusal to budge create a bulge? Hmmm. I don’t know. The bump on the side is not a hip baby, but the sensor from the shirt. I loved this skirt. It was so whimsical. So fun. And I felt itty bitty in it. When something makes you feel like that, it is a no brainer. This skirt came home with me.

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Oh gosh! I love this vest. It is the Corduroy Puffer Vest. Of course, my kids had to leave when I tried this on. Sorry! This is the only picture I have.

I love the vest, but I live in Southern California. I would probably wear it once a year. It is soft. It is my favorite mustard. It kind of made me teary to let it go. Well, not really, but it is adorable. If you live in a colder climate, this vest is wonderful. I sized down to a small, and that is what I would have bought had I lived in the climate that would support the wearing of this vest. Hmmmm. Do you think this would look good over a swimsuit?

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And this jacket is so not me. It is the Chevron Sweep Poncho. But I figured it might be someone. I don’t wear fur or fake fur. I don’t wear animal print (the actual animal printed on the item of clothing gives me heart palpitations, but a print of animal hide… Nah.). But I can see why some women like it. This jacket is huge. If you love this, size down. This is a medium. I definitely could have sized down at least one size. The colors are very striking. Again, not for me, but for someone fun.

So, have you spotted anything you love lately? Please tell!

P.S. Roxy of Effortless Anthropologie just posted some reviews! Check them out. They are always so helpful. : ).