throwback thursday & beauty box.

banana republic dress turned blouse {thrifted}

gap true straight piped pants

chinese laundry nima wedges

today i'm again joining alice at happiness at mid-life and her throwback thursday fashion link-up series.  this blouse was actually a shift dress that i chopped off and hemmed to blouse length. i've only ever worn it tucked into a skirt because i did a poor sewing job but the last time i wore it was over a year ago (oh, hello long hair... hope you return soon...) so i figured it was time to wear it again!

so, did anyone else hear about and order the target beauty box recently?  i know a lot of fashion bloggers subscribe to monthly services like birch box that sends samples of health & beauty products... but i'm more of a big box store budgeted girl and have never seen the value in those services.  the target beauty box was only $7, and i got another 5% off with my redcard and free shipping.  not bad for the 5 samples included, since 2 were full sized!  here is what came inside: 

• elnett hairspray - this is actually the perfect size because it takes me forever to use a can of hairspray!
• fekkai dry shampoo - this also seems like a nice size!
• laneige bb cushion - i honestly have never heard of bb cushions, but i guess it is similar to bb cream just in a pressed powder?  i'll find out!
• nyx eye pencil - this came in white, which seems like an odd color for eyeliner, but i really like the smooth texture and how easily it applies, so hopefully i'll find some way to wear it
• l'oreal colour riche lipgloss - this is a decent size gloss and a nice neutral mauve.  l'oreal is not a cheap cosmetic, so i was most impressed with this item.

anyway, i was pretty excited about this beauty box i thought i would share in case others are interested too... i mean, who doesn't like fun and inexpensive samples of new products to try, especially those you can run to target and pick up if you like?  i also got sucked into ordering the back to college care package for only $5.  can you tell i love samples of stuff?

thanks for visiting!

august 13th {jewel}

banana republic dress turned blouse {thrifted}   ·   merona doubleweave skirt
chaps blazer {thrifted}   ·   dexter kylie wedges

this is a pretty simple outfit:  blouse + skirt, but i really liked the unexpected combination of the green + magenta.  i have only worn this blouse once last summer, so it felt good to let it shine at least once this summer.  our air conditioning has been off and the windows have been open for the longest time, so it almost doesn't even feel like summer right now.  but unlike the person who resides in the cube in front of me at work who has her space heater by her feet turned on all day long, i still can manage wearing short sleeves or 3/4 sleeves - this outfit just felt like it needed to be blazer-ified (the blazer and wedges are navy).

thanks for visiting, i hope your week is off to a great start!

tuesday.

banana republic dress turned blouse {thrifted}   thrifted belt

isaac mizrah for target skirt {thrifted}   lauren conrad hadley flats

this is the dress that i showed you yesterday how i turned it into a blouse!  i'm really happy with how it turned out.  other alterations that i think would make a big difference would be slimming the sides slightly or adding bust darts.  for now i'm just happy to have another short sleeved, fun printed blouse to add to my summer wardrobe.  since the blouse has an all-over floral print to it, i didn't add a necklace to distract from that and instead added some simple gold bangles.  this is definitely the way i hope to dress all summer when the temps start getting hotter and it's just too warm or sticky to add another layer like a cardigan. 

if you work in a professional environment, do you notice your dress changing when it gets warmer outside?  any other tips for making your outfits still have some visual interest?