What I've Been Reading: May 2012

This month's question comes for the beautiful Andi...
Question of the month: What's your favorite holiday and why?
Well since I've already told you all about how much I love Easter in this post, I'll take this as and opportunity to tell you about my favorite holiday, the vacation kind of holiday that is. Last summer we honeymooned in Italy for 2 perfect weeks and we saw so much in that short period of time including Venice, Verona, Bologna, Florence, Assisi, Rome, Sorrento, Naples, Capri, Taormina, Palermo, and Pompeii. We were fortunate enough to view some of the most beautiful, breathtaking sights and indulge in the most delicious food while we were there. I can't wait to return one day; hopefully one day soon.


Florence, Italy

Venice, Italy

Capri, Italy

Rome, Italy

You can check out this post here about the photobook that I made to see more photos from the trip.

• Beautygirl24 - Noelle wore denim shorts for the first time this year. See how she has worn them in the past, and how she wears them now.
• Ella Pretty - Ella's been decorating - come and take a house tour!
• Lilly's Style - Lilly's wearing a colorful lace skirt from H&M.
• Saltwater Dreams - Andi learned a new technique for creating a flawless foundation finish, check out the easy steps here!
• Schnelle Couture - Danielle is brightening things up this summer with her new favorite color- yellow.
• Sequins and Stilettos - Skylette is playing with the colorblock trend with a silk top and a navy skirt.

Plato

I had a bunch of clothes to get rid of. I really don't like listing used clothing on eBay because some people are impossible to please and think they're buying new. I'm not a huge fan of consignment shops either when it comes to selling there because you have to wait for it to sell and then remember to go back for your check. So lately, I've been selling to Plato's Closet because it's just easier sometimes but there are some drawbacks too so I'll share with the pros and cons.

Pros:

• Easy way to get rid of unwanted clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories.
• You get paid the day that you drop off the items.
• You can shop around for deals while you wait for your clothes to be sorted.

Cons:

• They are very picky and they opted out of some of my items that still had tags on them.
• They aren't very good at making offers. They offered me $4 for a used Charlotte Russe dress and $4 for a new (without tags) Diesel t-shirt. The dress retails for maybe $30 and the shirt retails for $60, does that make any sense?
• They don't take any dressy dresses, just casual dresses.

Shopping Tip: Sometimes zippers are broken, there are stains, there are pills, holes, or defects. So look your items over very closely. This seems crazy after I just told you how picky they are, right? I can't quite wrap my head around that one either.

Bottom Line: If you decide to sell to Plato's Closet I suggest you check what they are offering you for each item because sometimes you win and sometimes you loose. I ended up taking the Diesel shirt back home with me, along with a few others that will be eBayed.

Now onto the fun stuff, here are the two gems that I found while I was there:

J.Crew silk/cotton blend navy dress for $16.00

  



Statement Necklace for $6.00





Happy Memorial Day!

Tank Top- ON
Shorts- SO, Kohls
Sandals- TJ Maxx (old)
Belt- TJ Maxx
Necklace- J.Crew (via eBay)



Pinspired by these nails
Maybelline Express Finish- there's no color or # on the bottle
& I can't even find the shade on thier website.
Art Deco- Teal Glitter



Let me just start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of Memorial Day weekend because it's the kickoff of summer- my favorite time of year.

The weather was perfect so we spent the whole day at the lake with friends.

Tonight... we are going to be at the Dave Matthews Band concert!!!

Traditional

My husband and I went out for dinner at a little Italian restaurant the other night to celebrate our first anniversary. The food was incredible, the atmosphere was great (Sinatra music, dim lighting, white twinkling lights), and I had a pretty hot date too, so what more can I really ask for?

Dress- Marshalls
Does this dress look familiar? I didn't waste any time ripping the tags off of this one.
Belt- F21
Pumps- Rampage
Necklace- gift

Bracelets- J.Crew (via eBay), Lia Sophia, Strawberry's

I got the Chicken Marsala, big surprise. Fun Fact About Me: Chicken Marsala is my favorite and so I order it everytime we go to a restaurant that offers it on their menu. I'm kind of like a Marsala connoisseur, technically I could have a blog about just Marsala and my taste testing but that would be pretty boring. My favorite place to get this dish is Carmine's but for the first time, ever I've found a place that ties with Carmine's. It was that good.

My husband got the White Risotto with Sausage, which was also delish!

...and then we came home and unwrapped the top (well half of the top) of our wedding cake from a year ago. We were both pretty skeptical about how it would taste and we were both pleasantly surprised. It tasted just like it did on our wedding day!

Did you eat your cake on your first anniversary too?
OR
Do you plan on following through with this tradition when you get married?

DRESSing Room

Summer is officially here and that being said, there is a lot going on (graduations, parties, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.) and I need dresses! I set out on a mission to find some but only one lucky dress made the cut and landed a spot in the backseat of my car. I've come to realize that whenever I set out looking for something in particular, I never find it. Anyone else feel this way?

On the hanger this looked like a dress, turns out it was a romper and it made me feel like a ruffled zebra.



This was from Kohls, I believe the brand is Apt 9. I adore the color and shape of this dress but it needs to be tailored, apparently I have no hips.



This flowy mint dress caught my eye immediately. I love this color but the top made me feel like I was sprouting wings and overall, the shape just wasn't flattering.



I saw this neon coral/pink high/low dress and I got excited. Then I put it on, and from a side view I looked preggo.



I really loved this dress and it even came with a hot pink belt but there was a small stain and a pull in the fabric, thankfully I caught that becasue otherwise this would've been mine.

I'm glad I found this navy striped dress after my disappointment with the other striped dress above. It have a cut out on the back too. This one made it home with me! 

Back at Kohls, this was by Elle, I decided to channel my inner desperate housewife and try this on. Remember how I said I felt like I had no hips? Well this dress gave me hips but not in a flattering sense.



I gave it the benefit of the doubt and tried the blue one on too but it fit the same.

Ever have shopping trips like this, where you hope to find a bunch of things you like end up leaving with only one item?