What I Bought In February

While February wasn't jam packed with exciting purchases, I still wanted to share the past month's purchase history with you. Earlier in the month I blogged about what's in my Old Navy shopping bag and confessed my new found love for Old Navy. I didn't purchase everything that was in my shopping cart, but I did get a few great things that I've been wearing the entire month. So let's jump right in!

I picked up another pair of the Rockstar skinnies, this time the coated denim in navy. They are on the left side in the photo. These are very comfortable for being a coated pant; not too stiff and haven't stretched out. The only thing I bad I have to say is that they are a bit short. In my first pair of Rockstars I ordered a regular and they were fine, but these are a lot shorter and hit a couple inches above my ankle, which is fine but I wish they were a little longer. I am 5'8"just for reference, and will probably get longs next time.

Next are the Rockstar tuxedo skinnies. I LOVE the wash of these and the tuxedo stripe that dresses them up a little for work. These jeans will look amazing with pointed toe flats in the spring. Oh yeah, they are only $8!!! You read that right, people. Check them out!

When it comes to workout pants I am a Lulu girl. They fit nice and snug and don't move even when I bend down. Lululemon is known for their high prices and I wanted another pair of running capris so I figured I'd give Old Navy a shot. They are just as good! I have an Under Armor pair of capris and they are too stretchy and fall down, but the Old Navy capris fit great and definitely compares to Lululemon.

The white sweater is so pretty in person, but I ordered it on a whim because it actually is a couple sizes larger than I normally wear. I thought maybe it could work as a cute, slouchy sweater but the sleeves are too long and it just doesn't work. I'm crossing my fingers they have this in my size when I visit the store this weekend.

Do you have any fun weekend plans?

More Old Navy...

What I Wish I Bought in January

I cannot believe a whole month has already gone by in the new year! Usually I do a blog post haul sharing the items I purchased throughout the month, but I am kind of in no-spend mode so this month's haul only includes a set of midi rings. Not super exciting, but I love them.  I do however, have a few things on my wish list that I wish I bought in January.

Sally and Molly of A Piece of Toast had the best things to say about this Aveda Moisturizer and they have pretty great skin, so I am in dire need of trying it. One scroll on Pinterest and you probably saw these Sam Edelman sneakers at least once. Just like the rest of the world, I am completely obsessed with slip on sneakers. I love trying new makeup and this Ambient Lighting Powder claims to make your skin look flawless. So many great outfit possibilities with these Hunter Boots.  I need to buy less pink things for my apartment but this Pink Stool is so cute. I'm getting excited for spring fashion and these Stud Flats.

After a great chat about all things blogging, networking, etc. with Katelyn, I finally bought my ticket to Go Blog Social!! It's a blogging and social media conference in Kansas City on April 4th and 5th with  speakers coming from all across the US. I'm so excited to learn lots and meet bloggers -- let me know if you are going too! :)

Have a great weekend! Go Broncos!

What I Bought in November + A Big Announcement

December snuck up on me a little bit. I thought I had plenty of time to do my monthly What I Bought This Month post and next thing I knew it was already the second week of December! How are you guys? Ready for the holidays? I feel like I have so much left to do! As I mentioned before, the end of my school semester is nearing so I've been working hard to complete projects and study for finals. Next week is finals week. Eeeek! 

As if studying for finals isn't enough, I've also been working on an exciting project I can FINALLY share!!! My apartment is going to be featured on The Everygirl!! Words can't express how happy/excited/thrilled/nervous/honored I am to be featured in my absolute favorite online publication. The Everygirl is taking the Internet by storm and is such a wonderful source for young women. I completely admire everything they have done to help women like me succeed. If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw photo shoot sneak peeks last week. I promised you like six months ago a tour of my apartment once I finished decorating, so I hope this will do :) As soon as I know the exact date for my apartment feature I will let you know, but it will be sometime next year -- which is only a month away!

Back to what I bought in November.

This past month I found some great things I'm really excited to share with you all. If you're familiar with the Omaha area, they just opened up an outlet mall with tons of great stores. Usually I'm a little leery of outlet malls because the stuff isn't all that great and the prices aren't much cheaper. This outlet mall did not have a lot of amazing deals however (we went a few days before Black Friday), but the selection was pretty good and I was overall satisfied with the variety of stores.

Fossil Zylo Boots - Last season I was a tall boots girl and baffled at the thought of wearing ankle boots. Tall boots are so much more chic looking... Wrong. I still have me some tall boots, but once ankle boots hit the stores and Pinterest this season there was no turning back. These are so comfortable and I have worn these just about every day for the past month.

Patterned Chiffon Blouse from T.J. Maxx - I went into T.J. Maxx looking for an outfit to wear to an agency meeting because I knew I could find something trendy and affordable. This blouse was an instant favorite. I also bought some teal ankle length trousers which I ended up returning because they fit a bit off. I love the blouse except for the fact that the buttons ALWAYS come undone. So I will be stitching the button holes to make them tighter.   

Blue Plaid Skirt from Forever21 - I needed a couple outfits to wear for my photoshoot with The Everygirl so I went with this skirt.

Navy and Pink Sweater from J.Crew - An outlet find that I love. My boyfriend actually picked this one out :)

Necklace from Forever21 - I love jewelry from Forever21 because it's incredibly affordable and trendy, so I don't feel guilty if I don't wear it every single day.

Plaid Button Down from J.Crew - Another outlet find. Because every girl from Iowa needs a plaid shirt.

White Button Down from J.Crew - Because I didn't have a white button shirt. I know, I know, it's a wardrobe staple I've been missing for years.

Embellished Vest from Forever21 - To wear for my Everygirl shoot.

Red and Blue Sweater from Target - Loved the colors and print.

That's it! Did anyone snag any great Black Friday deals? This year I passed and was honestly a little disappointed with the lack of "deals".

What I Bought in October

I had such a great time this past weekend. My sister and her husband visited from Oakland for the weekend and we always have a blast. We caught up, discussed our favorite beauty products, and shared Instagram followers. Pure bliss.

Did you take advantage of DST? My sleep schedule has been a little off the past week and the extra hour was amazing. October was such a whirlwind since I was busy with some kind of event every weekend. Now that November is here that means I only have 6 weeks left until the end of the semester...and then it's Christmas. And then it's spring semester. And then I graduate in May. Whoa.

Well, October was not an exciting month purchase-wise. I kept it to a minimum because I wanted to be able to pay rent. Smart, I know. Being a student definitely has its downfalls at times. 

The baseball cap with a faux leather bill is from Target for $6.99. Leopard flats also from Target. Last month I purchased a different pair of leopard flats and ending up returning them since they didn't fit right and were giving me blisters. Gold elastic clasp waist belt was found in my Mom's closet. 

Since October's purchases aren't very cool to look at, I included a fun photo from this weekend. Taken by the wonderful Chris, our paparazzi. You mean 3 sisters walking around campus in trenches isn't normal? 

What I Bought in September

Whenever AG jeans are on Hautelook things get pretty impulsive around here. Let me back up first, AG jeans are my ultimate pair of jeans and Hautelook happens to sell them for a portion of the retail price. If you've shopped on Hautelook before, you know things sell out quickly. Like within hours. You also only have 15 minutes (I think) after you add an item to your cart to check out or they will be up for grabs again. So a couple weeks ago, I knew AG was going to be on sale starting at 10am CST the next morning. Once 10am rolled around I instantly visited Hautelook and scanned the items for sale. I quickly considered the different pairs of denim and went to add a pair to my cart only to find my size was sold out. WITHIN THE MATTER OF 5 MINUTES. I refreshed the page and my size just so happened to appear again, and I was off to checkout. Probably the fastest purchase I've ever made. Usually I contemplate a purchase for days. Needless to say, I love my new pair of AG legging skinnies that I got for $60!

Technically I bought the red striped shirt, necklace, and blue tank top on the last day of August, but they hadn't arrived in time to include them in last month's haul. It was the final day to use my Anthropologie birthday coupon so I picked out these items and some home decor as well which I will show in my upcoming home tour. All 3 have been my favorite things to throw on this past month.

Meg Briam's Manifesto Ts shop was having a clearing out sale so all of her tees were half off! I scooped up this cute Moxie shirt that also came with a free Bare Minerals Moxie Lip Gloss. I had been wanting one of her shirts for a while now and love how cozy yet playful it is.

The leopard shoes and belt are from Target. I needed a different pair of flats for fall and loved the leopard loafers I'd been seeing everywhere. Of course, there are tons of variations out there, but these happened to be a great deal. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to wear them yet since bringing them home I realized they pinched my toe so I will be returning them...possibly for a bigger size.

I also picked up this super moisturizing lipstick at Sephora by Josie Maran. It's got a ring of argan oil around the actual lip color so it goes on real smooth. It isn't incredibly long-wearing but when it fades it doesn't leave that awful line on the inside of your lips (Am I the only one who gets this?). Plus it doesn't feel sticky or drying.

Hope you had a great weekend!!

What I Bought in August

Happy Labor Day! I had a blast with friends this weekend as college football kicked off another season. Go Cyclones! Unfortunately we didn't come away with a win but we still had fun celebrating. 

It's hard to believe summer has come and gone already. I'm back in school for my final year and fall is upon us. Whoa. August was good-- it's my birthday month and I went on a cool vacation to DC. My purchase history looks a bit sparse this month, but my new handy dandy camera is not pictured since I was using it to, uh...take pictures. It's a Canon T3i and 18 55 mm lens. We all knew how bad I needed to invest in a camera other than my iPhone. After lots of research and many recommendations I decided  to go with a Canon and ended finding a HUGE deal on it. Couldn't be more happy with my choice!

The palm print blouse from H&M was actually my only clothing purchase while on vacation. I've worn it several times the last few weeks just squeezing the last bit of wear out of it I can before fall. 

Pineapple tee from J.Crew found on sale. I couldn't pass up a cute tee like this.

Matchstick cords from J.Crew. So excited to break these out for fall with cute wedge booties and a sweater. 

Midi ring and earrings from Urban Outfitters. 

What I Bought in July

July is always a fun month. Full of grilling, sunbathing, and hot weather. Oh, and awesome sales. With fall approaching, it's the perfect time to stock up on summer wear as stores make room for fall's new arrivals. I managed to scoop up some great deals that I already can't stop wearing. Every single item happened to be on major sale! Think half off and more. 

You probably saw me post these cow print shorts on Instagram. They are easily my most comfortable (and favorite) pair of shorts and have already seen many days of wear. So easy to throw on in the hot weather. Palm print has been all the rage this summer and I have to admit I am mildly obsessed. The instant I saw this blazer I had to get my hands on it. Only to find the $230 pirce tag...With a little determination and luck, I happened to come across it online while a major sale was going on and ended up paying $57! Boom. 

Have a great weekend friends! I'm spending mine on the lake and a rodeo tonight.

Ripped crops from Zara // Sandals from Target // Striped scarf from Zara // Cow print shorts from Zara // Gold spike bracelet from Target // Palm print blazer from Juicy Couture // White tee from Zara

What I Bought in June

Happy July! Usually I do my monthly roundup blog posts on the last day of every month, but yesterday was Sunday and life kind of happened... so here it is one day late. My apologies! With only a week and a half left of classes, I am busy finishing group projects and writing papers along with working on a couple side projects coming up. 

On another note, what do you think of the new purchase history layout? Last month I told you I wanted to find a better way to display my purchases so you guys could actually see what they were and this was my first solution It's a big improvement from draping them on the floor, but I'm still not completely satisfied. 

I can finally reveal my Anthropologie finds I blogged about here! 

Starting in the top left corner going left to right: Printed tee from Antrhopologie. // Black and white striped tank top from Anthropologie. Now on sale! I have already worn this several times and absolutely love the square neck. It is quite flattering actually. // Navy and white striped v-neck tee from Target by Converse. // Embroidered tank top from a boutique in Omaha. When I walked in the store I saw one of the employees wearing this. I instantly had to have it and luckily found it in the same boutique she was working! // Printed dress. In August I have an upcoming wedding and spotted this at the same Omaha boutique on sale for only $30! Paired with a blazer and some strappy heels and it's the perfect ensemble for a summery wedding. // Printed floral crops from Antrhopologie. // Studded black boots from Target. Aren't these super cool? // Gold hammered hoops from Antrhopologie and Essie nail polish in Haute as Hello.

A couple of days ago I also posted on Instagram my beauty buys for the month so be sure to follow me @amandarisius to check them out! So far I am absolutely loving the concealer and primer. 

What I Bought in May

I hope you all had a fabulous May! It's always a fun month, don't you think? Winter is over and days on the lake are upon us. I had the chance to do some shopping like usual and enjoy the warm, sunny days we've had. I even did some mushroom hunting. Yeah, I didn't know it existed either.  You look in woody areas for fresh mushrooms to eat. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck. 

If you have any better ideas to showcase monthly purchases I'd love to hear them because the photos just don't do justice. Maybe photograph each piece on a hanger? This month's purchases look like a lot but just about everything was on sale -- a few were even under $5.00! It seemed like the month of May had a new sale every week. Did you snag any great deals? 

Neon yellow top is from JCPenny. You can't see the back which is actually my favorite part, but it has two flaps of fabric that overlap and create a small open "V" at the bottom center. Hopefully that made a little sense to you guys. I'll be sure to post a photo next time I wear it.

Coral chiffon top from Target. Like I usually do while in Target, I was browsing the aisles and I came across this top. It has a deep open V in the front. Probably not something I would normally pick up but the fact that it was originally $22 marked all the way down to $1.46 (stealing?) I decided I'd give it a try. 

Stripe pocket tee is also a Target find on sale. Another addition to my slowly building tee collection. 

Quarter sleeve grey stripe sweater is from J.Crew. In the spring and summer months there are cool days, so I like having some lightweight sweaters to throw on with. 

Neon orange belt is from American Eagle. This past weekend I actually wore the quarter sleeve J.Crew stripe sweater and skinnies with this belt for a pop of color. 

"I'm not a player I just blog a lot" tee is from Raygun in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Blue jewel earrings from Target.

Metal tassel necklace from American Eagle.

Blue embroidered tank top from American Eagle. Such a pretty color and it has that tribal look which I love.

Navy chiffon embroidered top from American Eagle. Not usually a top store on my radar, but they were having 40% off the entire store so I stopped in and ended up finding some great things! 

Quarter sleeve tops from Target. They were only $3 so I got two, and I went up a couple sizes because I wanted them relaxed and roomy for lounging. 

What I Bought In March

Usually I would do this post on the last day of each month but since March's last day landed on a holiday, I gave myself the day off. 

As I was preparing for this blog post I realized I did not buy one single top for the entire month! No wonder my closet seems a little drab lately...

You might have seen on Instagram (@amandarisius) that I invested in a couple items this month.

I got myself a MacBook Pro and Photoshop (!!!!!) 

Since I started my blog I have done lots of researching and blog reading and really started thinking that I need to learn how to use Photoshop to improve my blog and do some fun things with each post. My resources were limited and I have some cute ideas that I'm just not able to do with the basic tools I was using. Besides that, so many bloggers-turned-successful-entrepreneurs say Photoshop is a good thing to learn and helps take things to the next level. 

I finally buckled down and purchased the tools that will not only help out with improving my blog and bringing my ideas to life, but a future career as well. 

Coming from a previous PC user, I have definitely had to learn a few things while using my new Mac, such as learning how to right click. Something so simple and yet I had to look it up! There is still a lot to learn since I haven't played around with all of the different features and tools yet. 

On Saturday I downloaded Photoshop. I opened it up and I don't think I realized how big of learning curve there was. I watched some helpful YouTube videos to learn the beginner "easy" stuff which has helped out a lot. I still have a long way to go before I know what every little tool does and how to use it. Maybe it's just my OCD kicking in, but I feel like I have to know every little thing availalble on Photoshop.

I'm just excited to finally start creating fun additions to the blog! Keep your eyes open and slowly watch for some new stuff :)

Do you know of any good sources for video tutorials for beginners learning Photoshop? 

The lone clothing item I bought in March is my floral scarf I found at Target. 

Have a good week! XO

What I Bought This Month

As I mentioned earlier in a past blog post, I want to go through my closet and do some Spring cleaning to get rid of the old clothes I no longer wear, and really update my closet with a few basics and some nicer pieces that are fit well. Now that I am getting a little older, I have found what styles of clothing and fabrics look best on my body type. I think it's important to dress for you and your style, while keeping your body type in mind. In magazine you see articles that tell you what to wear if you have an athletic shape, curvy, short, etc. but I never fit any of the categories. So after a little reading, looking back on pictures, and some serious trial and error, I have found that more structured pieces like blazers and jackets and button down tops are most flattering on me. That doesn't mean I don't wear anything else except blazers, but I think it's always important to have some go-items that you know look good.

 As I shop online and stroll through stores I see tons of cute things, but rarely do I actually buy them. I always feel like I have to have an event coming up in order to buy a new outfit. I don't even like to buy plain tees when I find a good fitting brand because I would rather have a cute nice top. Of course I always want to kick myself the next time I'm searching my closet for my lone black tee (that is in the laundry basket). We all know the importance of a few good tees in black, white and gray...you see why I need to do some Spring cleaning now?! 

Anyway, I did a little shopping throughout February and here is what I found:

I apologize for the bad quality, I should think about investing in a better camera besides my iPhone!

The flats are from JCPenny and were only $16! I had been looking for a neutral pair of flats for  Spring and happened to walk by these and thought they were adorable and too hard to pass up. They are a light pink with a camel colored bow (I will remove the jewel from the center of the bow). 

The camel colored faux leather jacket is from Target. Jackets are nice to throw on in the Spring, and I always love a nice leather jacket. 

The tan jacket to the right from Love Culture (reminds me of Forever 21) does not look half as good as it does in person. The color looks really off here. The sleeves and body of the jacket are almost a chiffon material and the collar and shoulders are a faux leather. What do you think, are the studs on the shoulders a bit much? The jacket looks so good in person and has a great fit, so I thought it was a good addition to my closet. It is the same concept of a blazer, with a little bit of an edge.

Next is a faux leather (what can I say, I'm digging leather lately) black flouncy skirt from Love Culture. The material is really thin so it has a lot of movement which I like. I think the flounce down plays the toughness of the leather which makes it work. 

The cream chiffon button up blouse is from Love Culture. I have a few other similar tops like this and I always find myself grabbing for them in my closet. 

The gold chain necklace is from Charming Charlie. 

The tank top is from Target and is a good alternative to a solid color tank top. 

Last but not least is the Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo foundation. I have been using Revlon ColorStay foundation for a few years, but I wanted to try something different to help minimize the creasing around my mouth (you know, the smile lines). I have used it a couple times and I'm really liking it. The formula seems to holds up well throughout the day. 

What styles look best on you? Do you have a go-to item in your closet that is a never fail?