Wrapping up the Birthday celebrations/ teacher wardrobe...

Yesterday I ran with my dad before we all got breakfast at an Irish pub near campus. It was really nice to get to spend some time with my family and show them around my new school =) 

Last night I went out to Long Beach to meet some new friends at Riley's on second street. I had the grilled artichoke and calamari which are delicious!!!! 

My beer came with a hilarious coaster: 

You just gotta love the most interesting man in the world.

I ended up wearing my birthday present from Spencer... More Wildfox! (Seriously, I might have a problem).

Spencer actually got me a lot of Wildfox stuff at the sample sale in June, but he has a "horrible" habit of not being able to wait until my actual birthday to give me my presents ;)

Anyways, I love love love this tank. The cassidy tanks just hang really nicely, and are perfect for showing off pretty lacy bras:

(Excuse the messy hair... I was studying for most of the day!)

You can find the tank on a ton of different websites still!!!

The cheapest I can find is on sale for $34.99 at Boutique to you but it's only available in a large (and they already run larger...)

You can also get it on these websites (all for 59 bucks):

Wildfox Couture 

Dolls Kill (you can watch a video of a model wearing it to see how it moves)

And at Revolve Clothing  (If you can find a cheaper price online that's not on clearance they will price match!!!)

Speaking of Wildfox... 

HauteLook is having a sale THIS WEDNESDAY on Wildfox Couture!!!

If you don't already know... HauteLook is an online shopping website (owned by Nordstrom's, my go to department store) that has everything from big name brands (like VINTAGE CHANEL and FENDI tomorrow morning) and new brands that you'll learn to love for a fraction of the retain price. Seriously everything I get from them is usually over 50% off... 

The website is totally FREE to join, you just need an invite!

Click here for an invitation from me =) 

I can't wait for Wednesday... 

Unfortunately though I can't really wear Wildfox as a teacher. I've been trying to find outfits that will look professional as well as still look fashionable/age appropriate. Two days ago I got inspired by the Willow and Clay fall look book. The sweaters are absolutely gorgeous and I love their jackets and cardigans as well. I actually fell in love with their see-through beaded tops around this time last year. My favorite one that I own is black with silver beads and I wear it with the Chiyo top from Brandy Melville and Black pants and boots... black is such a happy color ;)

Anyways, can't wear see through tops to work... so I'm trying to decide which sweaters to buy... leave a comment if you have an opinion! 

Here are my favorite items: 

Personally the first sweater (black and white) is my FAVORITE and I think it is so spectacular, but I didn't see it on their website right now. I'm just going to keep trolling their website until it makes an appearance again... 

You can see the rest of their lookbook here (highly recommended, they even have some hair chalk inspiration!!)

Let me know which sweaters you like best. 

Ciao ciao, 

Kk

Confessions of a Shopaholic who is about to be a broke student again the same year she's MOH for two weddings... Ya.

As I've probably already portrayed in previous posts... I like to shop. I also like to travel and adore sushi more than a girl saving to go back to school probably should.

Instead of giving off the appearance that I'm some really lucky girl who can just buy whatever she wants, let me just say: I'm not.

I wish I was, but nope. Not at all. Never have been, and probably never will be (future teacher).

So today I wanted to make my first post about my very own shameless money saving techniques.


First of all ... clothes.

Four words: Email lists and Clothing swaps.

Emails from your favorite department stores can be a blessing AND a curse. You have to know how to navigate through them with finesse to come out on top.

Instead of signing up for every department store's email list, use websites like Shop Style. All you do is fill in your favorite brands, and Shop Style will send you emails anytime that brand goes on sale on ANY WEBSITE! From large department stores to online boutiques, Shop Style will find it.

Why is this better? If you sign up for too many store email lists, you will wake up everyday to an inbox full of sale notifications, giving you the urge to shop even when you may not have needed anything.

I've used Shop Style and Ebay to find most of my Wildfox items, and I only buy things that are at least 50% off!

Another website I use is Hautelook. Hautelook is a Nordstroms company that sells designer items on super sale, and everyday they have new designers on sale! Click here for an invite from me =)

I also enjoy freebies and discounts from Victoria's Secret through their mailing and email list. But watch out!! Make a list of what you NEED. Then wait... NEVER PAY FULL PRICE AT VICTORIA'S SECRET!! There are too many sales, freebies, super sales etc. And keep an eye on your list when you get those frequent emails about the discounts and free shipping. Do you really need a new bra? Didn't you just get a new one last month when you got that other discount?? Remember, unless you were already going to buy it, it's not a discount!

I've had to learn to toss these out (unless I was going to buy a new bra anyways):

And use these whenever you get them!!!:

Just make sure to bee line it to a sales rep, ask where the free panty is, redeem coupon and run out without looking at all the shiny things!!

The points system at Bloomingdales and Sephora are also extremely rewarding. If you already shop at those locations, I would check it out. If your a makeup lover like me, learn to wait for the holiday season! Sephora, toofaced, M.A.C etc. all have huge sales during the holidays or they have multiple gifts with purchase. I've learned to bulk up on samples during the holiday and use them all throughout the year to keep from having to make large make up purchases multiple times a year.

Clothing swaps are pretty basic, yet most people seem to completely overlook them. I find it very hard to believe that anyone can be a shopaholic and not have any fellow shopaholic friends. We tend to find each other, gush over our favorite brands, and encourage each other by sharing new brands/links to cute new clothes/asking others to go shopping even if they don't "need to".

Instead of being an enabler to another shopaholic, try a clothes swap! Chances are you and your fellow shopaholic have way too many clothes to handle (yes, you can have too many clothes). So try swapping clothes with each other instead of spending more money on new clothes! Here are some items I got in my last clothes swap:

Marc Jacobs t-shirt

Love the rat 🐭 

And these punk boots my friend got in Paris

Clothes swaps are fun and give you the thrill of getting something new without the crash of buyers remorse.

...secondly, Groceries!

OK.. I know some of you may have something against.. "shudders"... coupons, but if your looking to save a few extra bucks so you can get that new jacket for fall TIME TO GET OVER IT.

Did you know that a bunch of the products that you buy weekly/monthly could have been purchased at a cheaper price?? And if images of people dumpster diving from the last episode of "Extreme Couponing" have left you with nightmares FEAR NOT! There's this thing called the internet that companies are using to reach out and give you coupons!

 No more digging through newspapers (though I recommend checking for coupons for local restaurants and stores before tossing those suckers), now you can just search for your favorite products online and find coupons to print out at home and bring with you on your next shopping trip. Before leaving the house, check your newspaper for Grocery store sales in your local area. See where your coupon will help you out the most.

You can also join programs where companies give you points for buying their products. Now, I would only do this for products you already actually buy, because rule number one: It's not a discount if you wouldn't have bought it otherwise!

I for example love Special K cereal, nutri-grain bars, raisin bran, and corn flakes. All of these products are Kellog's brand food products so I went online to their website and joined the Kellogg's family rewards program. You literally get points for buying the products you would have already purchased and can use those points to buy kitchen items, more food, even gift cards (including movies and starbucks! Hello birthday presents to my friends).


I have more shameless ways to save money that I'll post later... tomorrow I'm going up to Sacramento then driving down to LA Friday morning, so expect some traveling outfits in the near future!

Ciao Ciao
Kk