What I’m Loving Wednesday: Part 1

Thanks for all the advice, support and helpful words on my last post! I always get a little anxious before posting my more open posts, especially regarding my eating disorder recovery, but then I’m always blown away (in a good way) by the responses I get. So thanks, as always!

Instead of doing WIAW this week (let’s be honest, I forget to take food pics, even though I’m not as busy anymore) I wanted to share some of the things I’ve been loving this week. Maybe this will become a regular kind of post, we’ll see!

Work-appropriate dresses

I feel like I’ve been shopping sooooo much lately, and I kinda have, just to use up my Christmas/graduation $$$. It’s finally all gone after 4 shopping trips, and my latest one lat weekend gave me 3 new dresses I can add to my work wear. Yeah, so I’m not working just yet, but I want to be ready for when I do get my first job, and all of these dresses will look great on camera and off. Plus each of the dresses (1 from H&M, 2 from Forever 21) were inexpensive YET fairly well-made, so I’m hoping they’ll last a long time. I may not be able to wait til I’m working to wear them…I love them so much I want to wear them NOW!

Starbucks black iced coffee

I don’t go to Starbucks as regularly as I did my last year and a half of college (2-3 times per month) but sometimes I still want to treat myself to some quality ‘bucks time. Last Friday was warm–60 degrees–and sunny, so it was the perfect time to grab my favorite drink, a black iced coffee. I know it’s so simple, and maybe boring, but it’s got a great flavor that’s even better with just a little stevia added. I love that I could drink an iced drink in January, when most of the country was dealing with sub-freezing temperatures and snow. It was good I got my iced coffee fix when I did, because it finally snowed on Monday…but I’m sure iced coffee weather will be back again in a week!

Someecards

Someecards are the best, aren’t they? So accurate to life, and better than regular old cards. They just get my sarcastic sense of humor. The one above was taken from a Buzzfeed post my dad shared with me that was supposed to be the different U.S. states summed up in a postcard, and meant to be offensive. Sorry, but the Colorado one is pretty darn accurate but not that offensive. Whole Foods is one of the best stores ever–why wouldn’t a state want to be like Whole Foods? That’s actually something I’ll miss a lot about Colorado if I end up moving elsewhere for my first job–it has so many Whole Foods and health stores (still no Trader Joes til February though!)

Sunwarrior protein powder

I’ve had Sunwarrior before a few times, but I wasn’t really a fan of how chalky and powdery it was. Until I tried the classic blend. This stuff is way creamier and tastes even better than the warrior blend. The vanilla is so rich and creamy it’s almost hard to believe it’s a raw vegan protein powder. I’ve been loving a scoop of it for breakfast (16 grams of protein!) mixed with unsweetened almond milk and a little coconut flour and topped with fresh fruit.

Plaids+leggings

I love my dresses and skirts, but sometimes I want to dress a little more casually. Black leggings (from American Eagle in the picture) look sleek and chic while still being comfy and they pair well with buffalo plaid shirts. I wore this on a day I was just hanging around the house doing laundry and such but it would be just as cute for running errands or grabbing some Starbucks paired with black riding boots and an oversize tote bag!

What have you been loving this week?

Shopping & Sledding

Soooooo guys, I kinda lied to you last time at the end of my post when I said we were going sledding. We actually ended up going sledding yesterday since the state park we were going to didn’t have any facilities open on Monday or Tuesday and we didn’t want to be stuck up there without a bathroom–ummmm TMI!

What we did end up doing on Tuesday was even better–shopping! Obviously I am such a shopaholic, I will almost never turn down a shopping trip, clothes or grocery or otherwise. It’s just so much fun. We headed up to our favorite Denver mall for a day of shopping and eating out.

One major disappointment of the day was driving to Gelazzi (aka the best gelato place ever) and realizing that it was closed for remodeling! Yeah, uh, what is that all about? But no worries, we ended up checking out a new-to-us froyo place called Peach Wave and the disappointment ended when I realized they had several seasonal flavors to choose from. Me and seasonal flavors are BFFs, of course, so I ended up getting peppermint stick and chocolate froyos with raspberries on top. Boy was it delicious! I also sampled a few other flavors, including peanut butter, which was outta this world! But then again nut butters rock my world 😉

Shopping was hella fun, as expected. My sister and I headed out on our own, only to be surprised by how crazy the crowds were! I don’t think we’ve ever gone shopping that soon after Christmas so it was quite a shock. We even had to wait in a line outside of Hollister for about 5 minutes before they’d let us in since so many people were in the store 😯 It was hectic to say the least, but we got a ton of good deals and we both scored a ton of things! I seriously don’t think I’ve ever bought that many things at once!

I'm starting to really love stripes--especially in my favorite color (A&F Audrey pullover sweater)

 

I can always use another cute tank top...especially when it has the same name as me 😉 (A&F Ashley tank)

Abercrombie & Fitch, usually the calmest store at the mall, was packed with so many people that my sister and I got really frustrated! We did end up leaving the store with two purchases each in hand (for 40% off, too)–a pair of flare jeans and a lacy top for her, a pink striped sweater and ruffly grey cami for me.

I'm obsessed with lace...and bows! (Abercrombie Kids Dessa tank)

Abercrombie Kids was also a zoo, but practically everyone in the store was much shorter than me–that’s what I get for shopping in a kids store, I guess. I did score this adorable lacy tank with a pinstripe bow ‘belt’ for less than $20 though!

As if I really need more necklaces in my life... (AE)

How cute is this ring? (AE XO Ring)

 

American Eagle is the best place to get good jewelry cheap (okay, Forever 21 is too). I had a gift card to here that I spent completely on a necklace and a ring. I am basically jewelry obsessed and rarely go a day without wearing at least a necklace or some bangles. Apparently this Christmas I was really blessed with jewelry, since I also got another necklace and another ring as presents…

You can never have too much plaid (Hollister Manhattan Beach shirt)

 

Still in love with jeggings (Hollister Cord Jegging)

At Hollister, I continued my recent obsession with plaid shirts and jeggings. I’ve been eyeing these corduroy jeggings for the longest time, and once I took the plunge and bought my first pair the other day I decided to get these too. Since they’re tan, they’ll look good with anything and will fit well with my brown suede boots and the new boots I got for Christmas!

I also did a little online shopping back at home, where I ended up buying grey lace shorts from Abercrombie Kids and a pinstriped oxford-type shirt from Gilly Hicks.

We ended our day in Denver with dinner at On the Border, courtesy of a gift card my mom got. I haven’t been there in years, not since I’ve gone vegetarian, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a delicious veg-friendly meal of grilled veggie fajitas. Fajitas are always good and this one did not disappoint–it was mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, squash, zucchini and topped with super-hot fresh jalapeno slices. You can bet I was downing a ton of water throughout the meal, but it was delish! The fresh guac on the side was also amazingly good. I’m also pretty sure that the fajitas are vegan-friendly, as long as you don’t eat the side of sour cream that it came with–so I was able to find a yummy vegan meal in a regular restaurant..wooooo!

Sledding yesterday was also oodles of fun! We drove up to a state park up in the mountains and spent a couple of hours racing down the hills on our sleds. On one really fast run, I ended up tearing our inner tube on a stick and it deflated 😦 But it was fun while it lasted, and we still had two other sleds to have fun on. I was surprised by how fast and far we could go, and also by how bumpy the runs were. It was also reeeeeeally hard to walk up the hills, but it was an awesome workout without really feeling like one! On our way back home, we hit up Starbucks and I bet you can guess what I got–my usual holiday drink, a tall skinny soy peppermint mocha. Definitely a day to remember!

What fun things have you been up to lately? Have you gotten any good after-Christmas deals yet?

Style Phile: Prints Charming

I am not the kind of girl who’s content with tons of solids and basics in my wardrobe–no, I need a lot of variety. Unfortunately, until recently, it was pretty nonexistent, at least in the patterns department. If you took a look in my walk-in closet at the beginning of the summer, you would have see tons of colors in several shades; a variety of dresses, miniskirts, a few pairs of shorts, plenty of tops; but mostly all florals. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some florals but really? A whole closet full of them is a bit much. And I know that it’s a classic pattern, each floral is different, blah blah blah but I really needed some more prints and patterns in my life.

Enter my two three big hauls this summer. The first one gave me yet another floral piece (but it was a romper–which I’ve never owned before–in a brand new shade, so it wasn’t all bad) but also a very cute, breezy lime green-striped off-shoulder tee. I love how bold it is, and I was in desperate need of stripes.

Neon lime striped off-shoulder slouchy tee (American Eagle), cuffed denim shorts (Abercrombie Kids)

The second one, just three weeks ago, brought me even more variety in the form of solids (also something I needed, despite saying that I’m not one for solids–they are a necessity, however). But I hit the jackpot on my most recent one just a week ago. I got lace (!), more stripes and plaid. Okay, a little floral slipped in there, too, but what can I say, I’m a creature of habit.

Navy & pink floral cami (Abercrombie Kids), cuffed denim shorts (Abercrombie Kids)

Three months ago, if you had offered me a striped sweater, I would have flat-out turned you down. No thanks, I’m not a stripes girl. However, I’ve learned the error of my ways. Stripes, if done the right way, are totally flattering, and cute in a chic nautical way.

I thought the angle of this was cool haha. Beach Street knit layer in blue stripe (Hollister, $20)

Despite my affinity for all things girly, I doubt if I would have bought a lace piece back in May. Now I have a beautiful yet simple dark grey lace-front tee and I love it.

Bay Shore lace tee in dark grey (Hollister), navy twill shorts (Hollister)

I owned some plaid prior to last week’s shopping trip, but I’ve been itching to get some more since last fall. I did buy a couple pairs of plaid twill shorts in the spring, but since summer’s winding down, I was in desperate need of pieces that could work double-duty, right now and this fall. I found it in a royal blue plaid button-down that’s perfectly rugged yet still polished.

Malibu button-down in blue plaid (Hollister, $49.50), navy twill shorts (Hollister)

Now that I know how much difference a variety of prints can make, I will never give in to buying florals again. Okay, maybe just this once…

What is your favorite print or pattern?