Get in my closet: Transitional Tops

Get in my closet: Transitional Tops

When I buy tops I put them into two categories: trendy and transitional. I steer more towards that 60% of my tops need to be transitional and 40% can be the latest trend. If I do buy a top that is more on the trendy side then I will not spend any more than $25-$30 for it because I know that eventually it will be donated. For any top that falls into the transitional category it must meet the following things:

1. carry over to at least two different seasons;
2. paired with two different bottoms;
3. can transition from day to night; 
4. work-appropriate;
5. casual appropriate; and
6. be able to pull off the...at least I tried to try today appropriate

When your wardrobe consists of more than half of your clothing pieces that are transitional I believe there is so much more you can do with those pieces.

I challenge you to take ten pieces that are truly transitional pieces and see how many various outfits you can put together. 

I am positive you will see that just with those ten pieces you can have a full 30 day wardrobe. 

But shh, don't tell my husband; otherwise, he will use this against me when I buy more clothes or dare to say, "I have nothing to wear!"

I am sure you will like my current picks for what I'm loving for transitional tops this Spring. They all have a fantastic price point because, hello I have an average budget. Plus, I can make something that costs $6.00 look like a million bucks. Confidence, peeps + buying the right items always=a million dollar looking budget.

Happy shopping! As always, if you hover over the image it will show you the sale price. Are you a sale stalker like me? If so, I got you covered!

The Best Four Apps for Bloggers

The Best Four Apps for Bloggers

If you are a blogger or social media lover than this is for you. There are four apps you need on your phone immediately to help you produce the best content.

Over

This app is amazing for templates you can readily edit that you can use for all social media platforms. There is a paid option and a free option. I think there are enough templates with the free option for you to have some beautiful templates to work with. If you follow me on Instagram and you have the app you will see how I have turned their templates and make them fit my style. Right now I am working on really paying attention to the color of my feed. It is a work in progress and Over is helping me to achieve my style. 

Planoly

I use this app to plan out my photos I share on my Instagram feed. One feature I never noticed until recently that it also has is you can plan out your InstaStories as well. One big reason why I like Planoly is I can set up my caption of my photo perfectly with all the tags, hashtags, and spaces that I desire. It is a must, in my opinion, if you have an Instagram account. This app has a paid and a free option. With the free option you are limited to the amount of photos you can upload to Planoly each month. I used the free option for a year and just recently converted over to the paid option because I am working on getting at least two-three weeks of photos done at one time.

Facetune

If you are a selfie lover like me than you need this app. Have a pimple that you need to smooth out? No need to fear the smooth tool makes it so easy to do just that. Every time I use my phone to take my selfies now I always upload it to this app first to fine tune any details. 

A Color Story

This is my all time favorite photo editor. I can play around with the exposure, brightness, and curves so easily. I already know the ins and outs of a DSLR camera, so this app makes it easy to apply the settings I like to use when editing a photo. I mainly use this app when I am taking photos with my phone. Any photos I share using my DSLR are straight out of the camera. I am a big believer in shooting it right in camera so there is less editing to do. Anytime I shoot with my DSLR and need to edit it is mainly to fix the Highlights and Shadows of the photo and maybe bump up the exposure, if needed. Other than that, I am not doing much post-editing. 

I hope these apps help you take your social media game to the next level. They are already helping me tremendously. What are some apps you absolutely love?

What I'm Loving Tuesday: Eye Shadow Palettes at Sephora

What I'm Loving Tuesday: Eye Shadow Palettes at Sephora

I have my eye on adding two eye shadow palettes to my growing collection. I tend to stay with more warmer palettes, but I am looking for two palettes that will keep me in a warmer tone, but has some colors that I can use to step outside of my comfort zone so that I can create some new looks. I have included my final picks that I will be choosing from. I will also have a tutorial soon with my two picks so that you can see how it turned out.

I already know that one of the palettes that I will be picking is the Too Faced Chocolate Gold palette. It is not new, but I think it has some colors that I would normally never use, so I think it would be a perfect mix of colors that are in and out of my comfort zone. Do you have any eyeshadow palettes you cannot seem to live without this Spring?

Spring Style Office Chic

Spring Style Office Chic

Happy Tuesday!

It's officially Spring and I do not know about you, but I am loving all the spring florals. This Spring I am stepping out of my comfort zone and wearing way more prints than I ever have. All of these are great transitional pieces that you can pair with skirts, pants, blazers, cardigans, jean jackets, etc...the sky is the limit. Anytime I am buying any clothing piece it must pass the test of being able to work from day to night as well as me being able to style it various ways so that I can get some longevity out of it. Prints are something I typically do not reach for because at times I have a hard time styling them, but I have made a goal for myself that this Spring I will work on pairing prints much better. Hopefully I can add even more flair to my clothing wardrobe especially after my massive Spring clean out. If you are not already following me on Instagram, please do. I recently talked about how my husband's idea of fun one day over Spring Break was me going through three dressers and three closets to purge my clothes. The process was no fun, but of course it is always a great feeling to be able to donate clothes to Goodwill, other charitable sites, or at my school to fellow co-workers or students who may be in need.  Take a peek at my Spring picks because I am sure you will love them as much as I do.

Any items you cannot live without this Spring? Please let me know in the comments. 

January + February 2018 Beauty Favorites

January + February 2018 Beauty Favorites

Alright y'all, let's talk all the beauty products I just could not seem to put down in January and February. What I mean by I could not put them down is that I used these products every single day of January and February.

• Tarte Shape Tape Concealer is the BEST concealer ever. It is the first product that I would ever call the holy grail of concealers. If you are not using this product as your concealer you need to stop reading this post immediately and purchase. I use the color Tan for a reference. In the summer I will more than likely have to switch to Tan Sand. 
• MAC Cosmetics Patrick Starr collection lipstick in color Mama Starr. If you are my same skin tone you must own this lipstick. It is the perfect every day pink nude color. 
• MAC Cosmetics Prep and Prime Fix is a must especially when wanting to put on a shimmer eyeshadow color. Spray this on your brush and it it just picks up the eyeshadow color so nicely. Also, after you are done putting on foundation, concealer, contouring, and setting powder and you feel you look a little too white then spray this on before finishing the rest of your makeup. 
• Smashbox Studio Skin Shaping Foundation Stick has become my hands down holy grail foundation for me. I love how the color perfectly matches my skin tone and it lasts all day. 
• Hourglass Ambient Bronzer gives the perfect glow and bronze look that I am going for. 
• Tarte Tarteist Lash Paint Mascara has the perfect brush that picks up every last lash. One coat is absolutely perfect. 
• Stila All Day Waterproof liner really does last all day. It stays in place and glides on so smooth. 
• Farsali Rose Elixir is great primer before putting on a matte lipstick. It helps the lip color last longer and has drastically improved my fine lines on my lips. 
• Laura Mercier setting powder is what I would consider another holy grail product. It is the best setting powder. I have tried a whole lot of setting powders and this is the only one that can tame my oily skin. 
• Farsali Unicorn Essence is the best primer. I have a whole collection of primers and I keep going back to this one. Any foundation that I have used after using this primer just goes on so smooth and helps my foundation stay matte. 
• Huda Beauty Desert Dusk eyeshadow palette has the best shimmer shades. The pigmentation of all the shadows is amazing and it is so versatile that you can go from creating a tame look to a very dramatic look. It is the first palette that I have gotten out of my comfort zone when it comes to using the typical subtle brown shade shadows and started using colors I never thought I would ever use and still feel professional. 

Other favorites that are not linked on the photo are...

• Violet Voss HG Pro eyeshadow palette. I have used every single color on this palette and each color is beautiful and the perfect eyeshadow palette that you can use for any occasion and will not need any other palettes in your collection. 
• ColourPop Cosmetics Lux Lipsticks. I purchased 10 colors and I love them all. My favorite color is Pinkies Up and Ghosted. They are the perfect go to every day nudes. 
• Benefit BadGal Mascara. I am typically a girl who goes for a thicker wand, but I am really digging this smaller wand. I think it picks up every little lash really nicely. 

There you have it...all of my January and February beauty favorites. So what have you been loving lately?

Please note that none of the links are affiliate links. This is just my honest review that I wanted to share. 

National School Counselor Week + Ideas and Resources to Celebrate

National School Counselor Week + Ideas and Resources to Celebrate

National School Counselor Week is February 5-9, 2018. Have you thought about ways you can celebrate your school counselor(s)? If not, here are a three ideas that you can easily implement this week.

Treats

How about leave a treat every day at their door? From a personalized hershey bar, office plant, coffee mug, or breakfast...preparing treats to give to your school counselor(s) is an easy way to help them feel appreciated. School counselors at any given time always has a student in their office and something like a treat can go a long way because there are often times they may not have two minutes to eat lunch or a snack. How about pairing that treat with the gift of some time so they can have a few dedicated minutes to nourish themselves?

Card

How about getting students to fill out a card to thank their school counselor? A school counselor can drastically change a student's life. Having some sweet, positive messages can uplift and remind that person the impact they have on a student's life.

Announcements

Every day we take time out of the day to let students and staff know of any important information. How about take part of that time with some inspirational messages. American School Counselor Association has some sample messages you can use right away, but of course taking it one step farther and personalizing it for your own campus can go a long way. For example, you can announce various ways everyone can thank their school counselor. You can have a day setup where students and staff can use a hashtag and share a picture of them and their school counselor on social media or school website. You can have some readily available cards that anyone can pick up and drop off to the counselor office. Another day you can have some personalized post-its so that any student or staff member can choose one and stick it on the counselor door surrounding a door sign. You can also share a message about the positive impact school counselors have on your campus. The point is just taking the time to share their impact can have a lasting result.

It takes a village help prepare a student for their future. Taking time to celebrate everyone in your village who all have an impact on a student's life is detrimental and should be done. If you need some help to make your School Counselor Week a special time for your school counselor(s), please click here to use some items I created.

I hope you have a fun time celebrating National School Counselor Week.