Bohemian Girl Means Business

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Sometimes there comes along an occasion that calls for something other than princess dresses and flowy caftans.

Sometimes.

Rarely.

Not often.

But it happens.

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This particular occasion was my son’s Back To School Night at his school.

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I did not want to be remembered as Bohemian Chick by his teachers. I wanted something more firm. Pulled together. Polished.

I have a silly demeanor. A child-like voice. It is easy to be dismissed with those two descriptive traits. Throw in a flowy garment and the unarguably potent power of threes will make any future interaction with school officials one-sided. In regards to people who have influence with my children, I like to make a good first impression since I am dealing with the aforementioned attributes.

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This did not, however, mean my hair had to be tame, as well.

One of us was going to have a little fun.

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And that is a-okay with me.

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My husband would love it if I dressed in button down tops and pencil skirts every day. It is what I wore when I first met him. So, he has good memories of me dressing like this during the beginning of our relationship.

The top was a popback from Anthropologie called the Chambray Lace Buttondown (similar here). The skirt is a few years old. It was also from Anthropologie. It was called The Flounced Hem Skirt. The shoes were from my Modcloth Stylish Surprise package in the spring.

I used to love dressing up every day.

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But that was for work.

And that wardrobe is no longer a part of my everyday life.

I can now have a little more play in my everyday.

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Speaking of play. How neat is this scrabble ring from UPcycled Works on Etsy? I purchased it at the Del Mar Fair at her booth there. I have a “Q” as well. “Q” is my favorite letter to draw in Scrabble. The “C” is for my husband.

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Do you enjoy dressing in multiple styles? Do you do it often? I have to admit it was fun to wear something like this for one night. It brought back many memories. Good ones. And good memories are always… Good.

*I had really wanted to get pictures in before we left for the event. However, the time of day was not the best for pictures. Sorry for the hazy quality. It is as if the sky had some wine, too.

Modcloth Stylish Surprise: SHOES!

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This post could also be titled, “Modcloth, you have my heart.”

You all ready know that because Modcloth embraces every woman by offering a variety of different sizes, it is the store that makes me smile the most. Add that to their amazing customer service and customer appreciation and that site just makes this girl’s shopping heart sing.

But this post really isn’t about that.

This post is about the amazing promotion Modcloh does every few months:

It took me awhile to get over my light headedness when my box containing my Modcloth Stylish Surprise* (explanation about stylish surprise at the bottom of this post) full of shoes arrived at the door. For $10, Modcloth picked a pair of random shoes for me in my size and sent them. Shipping is always free at Modcloth for orders over $50. So, I ordered five pairs (three for me and two for my daughter. This might seem selfish, but her feet are still growing. Mine are not).

My daughter and I were nervous and excited to open the box full of shoes.

But we did!

Boy, did we get lucky!

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We both loved our shoes.

I found out about The Stylish Surprise the same day I put up my post about my March purchases. I had ordered the clothing surprise from them a year ago and liked what I received, but I have enough clothes. I wanted to try the shoe version. It intrigued me.

I also wanted to immediately do a post the moment I learned about the sale going on, but I did not want this blog to seem too consumerismy (another new word). I also had never ordered the shoe surprise before, and I was not sure if it was something I was willing to recommend (this is important to me. I would never speak about a product here that I would not purchase myself). I decided to wait until morning to decide. Then the Stylish Surprise Shoes sold out. So, next time, I am alerting you right away. And if it happens to be on the same day as a post about clothes, well, that will just have to be the way it goes. I don’t want you guys to miss out! I think this promotion Modcloth does is amazing!

Okay. On to our loot:

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I got these beautiful Chelsea Crew Tia Pumps in mustard. They fit like a dream. I love them for evening fun. They are my favorite of the shoes I received.

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My daughter got these cool Dollhouse combat boots. These are so her. She was thrilled. She has worn these all week.

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I also got these Seychelles Two Birds Heels. They are SO tall. I could never actually wear these. I ended up giving them away to the sweetest eighteen year old girl I know. And she was happy. And I was happy. So, it all worked out.

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My daughter got these Chelsea Crew Notch Your Step heels in red. I was jealous of these. They are adorable. More importantly, she is madly in love with them. And I would rather her have been happy than myself. Thankfully, we both were happy. She wore these last Thursday and her outfit was perfect with these shoes! So cute!

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I also received these Chelsea Crew Class Treasurer Heels (funny enough, I was class treasurer… Or secretary. I can’t remember. I also do not remember doing a thing for that title. Maybe I needed these shoes). They are the most amazing orange color. I love them.

So, for $50 we received approximately $337 worth of shoes. This works out to roughly 85% in savings.

I would (and will) absolutely be partaking in these surprise sales again. Not only was it fun, but it was a great bargain, too.

Have you ever purchased a Modcloth Stylish Surprise? If yes, what did you get? If not, would you?

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* A Stylish Surprise is a sale that the online company Modcloth runs every few month. For a low fee, usually between $5-15, they will send you a surprise in the category you purchased your surprise in (apartment, accessories, shoes, or clothing). They guarantee your item will be worth a certain amount, usually much higher than your initial investment. Stylish Surprises are nonreturnable. If it does not fit or if you do not like the item/items you receive, you are out of luck. It is a risk.

* In the pictures, I am wearing Anthropologie’s Midday Dress. It is currently on sale. I am wearing a medium. I have a separate post about this dress going up on Sunday.

* This blog receives a small commission when a purchase is made through this website at Modcloth. : )

Free People’s 4 Hour Sale: My Under $100 Recommendations

Update: THIS SALE IS NOW OVER. : (. Sorry!

I normally will never do a sale post, but since this is an annual thing ( who knew?), I decided to share in case you did not know: Free People is having a 4 hour sale tonight from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST! Take 20% off orders of $200-499 and 25% off orders of $500 or more with code “STAYGOLD.” Shipping is always free at Free People on orders over $100.

Yippee! Oh, wait. My budget is gone this month. Wah. Wah. I will not be partaking of this lovely sale, but if you have the funds, I have some recommendations.

All of these items are now under $100!:

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My corduroy overalls. I love these. I am embarrassed how often I wear them. They go with everything! I wrote a post with more outfit ideas on these overalls in October.

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This chevron slip (photo from Free People website). I purchased it on sale last month in coral and have not taken a picture of it yet. But I did wear it under a dress yesterday, with the bottom peeking out. Sexy lingerie you can layer? Yes, please.

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The ” With A Light Heart Dress” I just posted about today. This would be a great deal!

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The Miles of Henley Dress. I have this in three colors. It layers very well. It is unbelievably flattering. I think I will wear one tomorrow! I did two posts featuring this dress in the past. This one shows the lilac and the charcoal. This one shows more of the rust.

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The Mix In Crochet Dress. I bought mine in rose in May. I have never posted about it, but I love it! Sorry about the horrible picture. It was taken at 11:00 at night in the summer (the night I met Patrick Rothfuss).

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Free People’s Golden Age Top. This has an open back and is so cute layered over lacy slips. I sense a theme of wearing my underclothes out of the house. This is not the time to exam this closer. More pictures of this top can be seen here.

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The Manina Colorblock Skirt. As of this writing, there were two size larges left! My post about this skirt can be seen here.

Okay. This one is $110. But still a fantastic sale price:

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The Estelle Maxi Dress. I adore mine. This is $110, but still almost half off, it is a great deal. My post about it with more photos is here.

What is on your wishlist? Is there anything you will be splurging on? Are you excited about this surprise sale?