fashion blogging craze

Maybe I’m late to the game, but it seems like ever since I’ve joined pinterest (Caution:joining will severely limit your productivity and you will be inundated with tons of DIY ideas you most likely will never get done) there seem to be many fashion bloggers with rapidly growing groups of followers. I admit, I’m one who has stubbornly clung to a few favorite sites (shout outs and links to follow). What I’ve found in my fashion blogging search is that MANY of the blogs are a) sponsored by luxury and up and coming designers and/or b) written by young women with either access to endless amounts of cash or mounting credit card bills.

Since I prefer to be stylish without taking out major loans or pay 24.99% APR, I’ve assembled a cheat sheet of sorts and my shopping go-to guide for fashion trends you’ll find on these incredible (yet costly) blogs. Stay tuned for more trends, but lets start with the easiest and most fun- Jewelry!

The Pink Peonies-costly, but great inspiration

Trend #1
Stackable Jewelry- bracelets, rings, even necklaces are all incredibly popular. If you’re trying to master the above look, I recommend the following:

1. Bauble Bar
This newly launched website offers the latest fashions for every style, current popular items are neon chains, monogrammed pendants and wrap bracelets.
For the best deal(s) on Bauble Bar: Create an account. You automatically get $10 for your first purchase you make within a week. You will also receive email updates on new designer collections and bauble updates including when items come back in-stock. But the best part is the buried bauble feature. Every Friday (another reason to say “TGIF!”) you will get the hint to a $10 hidden bauble. Find it on the site, and its yours for $10, with free shipping and returns on all baubles, you can’t go wrong. If that wasn’t enough, don’t worry about splurging on a few other pieces because you get $1 in bauble credits for every $10 you spend!!

Just in bracelet sets $28 each!

2. J.Crew Factory
I already know what you’re thinking “Brandi, I thought you said this would be affordable” and I promise, this is. J. Crew FACTORY stores have tons of incredible options for jewelry that can transition between work and date night and I’ll show you how to make it affordable.
For the best J.Crew Factory Deals: Create an account. (sensing a theme here- tons of emails lead to tons of spending, er… saving!) The tricky part here is learning to wait. Every few weeks the Factory store will have a clearance event where you can get 30-50% off tons of items. Now is your time to buy. If you can’t wait, never fear. Ebay! I have bought several J. Crew. items seen below for a fraction of the cost, but beware of fakes from international sellers. If you don’t want to wait for shipping, look up the nearest J. Crew Factory store (located at outlet centers across the US) and look for in-store promos. Super secret hints: Get the coupon book from the outlet center (J. Crew usually has deals like 10% off $100 purchase) or use your college ID for an automatic 15% off. Yep, I use and abuse this privilege all the time.

J Crew Price: $175 My Price: $19.99 (plus S&H)

3. Marshalls/TJMaxx/Ross
Okay, I have to admit I have never bought a single piece of jewelry from any of these stores yet, but seriously shame on me. Last weekend I was browsing my nearest TJMaxx and low and behold the most amazing Michael Kors bracelets you could find. While I peeled myself away from the urge to add yet another MK piece to my collection I noticed other stunning bangles and charm bracelets from Juicy Couture and Jessica Simpson, who has an incredible line of fashion jewelry. So just a warning that I’ll soon be taking my own virginity and diving in to the off-price retailer’s jewelry phenom.

waiting for this $95 MK Tortoise Link baby to go on sale

Here are some of my fav blogs and a shout-out to a fellow Kappa and Ohio-Native turned Pittsburgh-Resident Christina Phillis for some real girl (at real prices) fashion!

Kendi Everyday

Extra Petite

The Pink Peonies (As Seen Above)

Lastly, I promised a shout out to a very special friend and recent blog follower, Grady Wirth. While he may appreciate this particular post less than others, I appreciate his constant support and attitude to live life to the fullest.

theres a fine line between luck and fate

So I’m back from my trip to visit Jake in London and our weekend in Paris. It was an incredible trip with so many purely beautiful moments. It seemed like the longer the trip went, the luckier we got. If there is one thing I’ve learned being with Jake, its that finding a balance between his free spirit and my near obsessive compulsiveness and need for control is challenging but also incredibly refreshing.

This trip we planned only the basics, especially the time we spent together, while my days alone were a little more preconceived. Listen, I couldn’t help it. I had a lot of art to see and a lot of shopping to do. But in all seriousness, letting loose definitely proved to bring the best results this time around, as no amount of planing could have afforded us the once in a lifetime experiences we had abroad.

I think its probably best to show you our surprises, rather than talk your ears off, and I figure since you read my blog you’ve been morphed into a visual learner anyway thanks to yours truly. So here we go…

Lucky Break #1: The weather. London is rarely ever sunny and rarely ever a gorgeous 75 degrees.

Lucky Break #2: Changing of The Guard. Yes I knew this tradition happened daily at 11 AM but I didn’t think we would make it on time nor did I think we would be approaching Buckingham Palace parallel to the legions.

Lucky Break #3: Our first hours in Paris we stumble upon a ceremony that happens 12 times a year at the most magnificent church in the city, Sacre Coeur.

Lucky Break #4: As we get off the Paris Metro to walk to the Eiffel Tower, we turn the corner at it starts sparking immediately, offering a truly breathtaking welcome.

Lucky Break #5: As we entered Notre Dame we happened upon a large mass, or so we thought. Upon asking a few questions to a friendly tour guide we realized what we were witnessing was actually the annual knighting ceremony.

Lucky Break #6: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. My last weekend in London was HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary. We attended the concert and danced like awestruck Americans to Kylie Monogue, Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Sir Paul McCartney.

Lucky Break #7: While this one may be a bit biased, there had to be 7 breaks, as it is the official number of luck. My 7th lucky break was definitely the joy of sharing all six with my very special boyfriend, Jake.

my studio apartment (part 4)

Its the last day!!! Time for for everyone to see my last pictures, but more selfishly, its time for me to take a little blog break for my trip to London. I may write a few posts from over the pond (pictures may be included if I can figure out how to upload them) but even if I can’t, I promise you’ll hear about my trip upon my return.

As promised, here are the last pictures of my apartment, and as always, enjoy!

my bedroom

my sticky-art installation

a peek into the closet

my closet, the best example of my OCD

my accessories hallway, and second example of my OCD

my studio apartment (part 3)

Today I will reveal to you the kitchen & bathrooms. You know, the parts of a home that are supposed to bring the real value. Well, I’m not sure that my kitch/bath are all that luxurious but I was running out of rooms (I live in a studio people, STUDIO) and I have to leave the bedroom and my fabulously organized closet for the grand finale. So, I hope you enjoy this next installment of photos and be sure to come back tomorrow for my big finish, just before I leave for London. As always, enjoy!

my kitchen

my dining table

my bathroom

my potty paintings

my studio apartment (part 2)

So, I took a TON of pictures and will therefore be revealing the “rooms” in my studio in a three or four part series. This project has taken me ten months and I hope you like it, but even if you don’t, please leave comments on my blog page! Enjoy!

my office

my desk

my office and living room

my comfy couch

my studio apartment

A long long time ago in a village far far away I promised everyone pictures of my Pittsburgh apartment and then never delivered. Well, this weekend you will finally get access to my little haven.

Ok. Haven is a strong word considering I still have to use horrible sock eating coin-operated laundry machines and the mailman frequently confuses our boxes. Oh and how could I forget about the elephant living above me? No, I assure you I have not run off to the circus. But I am lucky enough to hear every step of my upstairs neighbor and can strategically position them at any given point in time. Sue me if I get frustrated at times and imagine this undisclosed person to have taken heart to the “super-size me” diet and to have turned it into a heavily-practiced (no pun intended) religion.

How awful is it that I read an article yesterday about finding complete satisfaction in life by following 15 simple rules, and one of them was stop complaining? And yes, I just went on a blog rant for a solid 5 minutes and now I will have to wait until tomorrow for complete life satisfaction. If you want to be enlightened that article can be seen here.

Anyway, I am here to give you a teaser of my apartment, with the big reveal to happen later this weekend. For now these pictures, taken when I first moved in will just have to do…

la cocina

la oficina

las ventanas

el dormitorio y el armario

pittsburgh renaissance

Where do I even begin?

I’ve been a horrible, terrible, no good, very bad blogger for well… it looks like the last ten months. I should have known that moving 1,178 miles and starting a new job would be overwhelming, but I didn’t honestly expect it to put a complete stop to my blog.

The move was in a few words: stressful, confusing, exciting, and different. But if I had to sum it up in one word it would simply be: AMAZING.

Whenever we try to pitch a property at work, especially those located downtown, we explain to clients and investors about the ongoing Pittsburgh “renaissance” and the dramatic change of the city into a thriving and world-renowned travel destination, and quite frankly, just a darn good-looking place. While I would like to say I’m similarly just “darn good-looking”, I won’t. But what I will tell you is that I’ve undergone a similar and more personal renaissance since moving to the ‘burgh.

I discovered a career path, a winter style (begrudgingly), an incredible boyfriend, and what’s truly important to me. I’ve begun to thrive (thanks to some great opportunities at work and with local organizations) and I’ve started to develop a plan for the future.

While this all sounds peachy-keen I’ll tell you it hasn’t exactly been fun. I spent a lot of nights crying, wondering who I was, and if I’d ever make a new friend. I missed my family, my college family, and everything I was accustomed to in my 23 years of life. But ten months later I’m here to tell you I’ve been “rebirthed” and I’m better than before.

So, want to know what you have to look forward to in future posts? Here are just a few, but MAJOR upcoming blog topics:

* Trip to London/Paris/Dublin
* My first summer in the ‘burgh (concerts/fashion/parks/and lots of food)
* Moving in to my new place with this gorgeous guy and this fabulous pup

my baby

sid the kid

* My soon-to-be converted spare bedroom into a “dressing room” … be jealous
* Our fall trip to the Shenandoah Valley/Blue Ridge Mountains
* And many more covering all my favorite topics: dress.dine.design