Vote for your Favorite Remix: Summer

I've been contemplating a post like this for a while now but didn't quite have the right inspiration until I read Kiera's well written post about financial fitness. Ironically enough, I have been down on myself lately because I feel like I am always wearing the "same thing". (A very nasty thought for a recovering shopaholic.) Her post reminded me that fashion is about the number of clothes you own, but the way you wear them. It's only natural to rewear clothes (and I do, often) so in honor of being both fashion forward and financially fit I invite you to vote for your favorite of my remixes this summer.

Then, if you are feeling game submit your own summer to me at grace.croshaw@gmail.com and I will feature you right here on Money Smart Fashion!

Everyone's summer essential: The Maxi Dress

SSBF's least favorite: The Straw Fedora

The Gap Jean Legging 

The Floral Skirt

Winding Down

button down shirt-Forever 21, t-shirt-Target, shorts-gap, diyed, shoes-Old Navy

That last picture cracks me up every time I see it. I don't even remember what I was saying, but based on my face I'm sure it was sassy.

Anyway, this weekend we spent some time in Ocean City with SSBF's family. Ocean City is not exactly my beach of choice because it is crowded with rude Marylanders, not the cleanest, and at 2.5 hours away, a pain in the butt to drive to for just a day or so. But it was a beach, and it was free, and therefore totally worth it. 

 I think if I had to chose between unbridled access to J.Crew with no beach trips ever or life on the beach without J.Crew I would totally pick the latter. I've always had a good, casual, beachy look, might as well put it to some use. Long story short: I love the beach. haha.

It's all downhill from here though, the unofficial end of summer and my 26th birthday are less than a week away with my graduate classes in full swing soon after. Ugh. I'm trying to stay positive though. To keep me distracted I've been desperately searching for some good fall skirts. I've recently developed this compulsion for skirts.  Strange, I know. What's worse is that I also have no desire to spend money. I'm in complete conflict right now. Case in point- we went to the Rehoboth Outlet mall this weekend and I didn't spend a dime. Have any of you every felt like that? You want something, but you don't to spend money on it? I'm not used to this feeling.

Personal Finance Challenge: Snowflaking

Alright, so for those of you that have been with me for awhile you know that on Sunday's I normally do  "Spending Diary" from the previous week to keep me honest with my money. I realized though that each week was a lot of the same. I've done a pretty good job of reining in my casual spending so my day-to-day is well, boring. In an attempt to keep things interesting I've decided to make myself a personal finance guinea pig. Each month I'm am going to try a different personal finance method for debt repayment, saving, etc. Think of it as "Mythbusters" for personal finance.

Last month when I went to all cash was really my first crack at it minus the spiffy "Personal Finance Challenge" header. This month I'm taking a stab at "snowflaking".

Snowflaking can be used to both pay off debt and save money. The idea is taking small sums of money and contributing to your goal to help you reach it faster. My goal is to pay off the $6500 in credit card debt that has been haunting me since college so any "snowflakes" I have at the end of the month will be going towards the card.

Here is what I did:

First, I identified my variable expenses. These are ones that change every month. I have a lot of expenses, but most are fixed so I was able to narrow it down to only a few.

Next, I estimated how much I thought I would spend throughout the month of September. I based my estimates off of past spending for gas, food, clothes, and misc. For textbooks I took a wild stab in the dark and just assumed they would be ridiculously expensive... because they always are for business.

Now, I just do my thing and hope that I have some snowflakes to contribute to my credit card at the end of the month.

If you have any Personal Finance challenges for me, or would like to submit your own experience e-mail me at grace.croshaw@gmail.com

Two Trends in One: Navajo Inspired, Chunky Knits

Free People via Shopbop

H&M Fall/Winter 2010 Lookbook

"Wander Cape" Modcloth and Twelfth Street via Revolve Clothing

I think its ironic that I am running a post about knits at the very same time I am sitting on the beach enjoying whats left of the summer. That's the nature of the beast though, you always have to be looking ahead. At work we are already starting to plan for FW 2011, talk about foresightedness.

Here in Maryland, we had our first real cool down this week and it was a much welcomed change from the persistent 90+ temperatures we've been having all summer long. Tuesday was the first day that I was able to wear a (light) sweater to work and be comfortable inside and out. I think that was part of the inspiration behind this post.

The other part was I just can't resist the casual-coolness of a Navajo print on a cozy sweater. We saw some of this last year and I am so glad that its back for another round.

Thoughts?

Fuzzy on the Details

Sweater-Gap Outlet, Tank-J.Crew, Jean Leggings-Gap, Shoes-Target

Tuesday was the night of our fantasy draft and since coaxing SSBF out of the house prior to the draft was out of the question we decided to expand SSBF's photography skills to include indoor portraits. I also promised him that he only had to take 15 so he could get back to his draft prep. A challenge indeed! At first glance I wasn't sure if any of these would work for the blog. They were a little blurred, and you couldn't really see the detail on my tank. Then, after looking at them a few times I realized that I never said I was a professional! Hehe. Just kidding. What I actually realized is that its not always about the details. While things can be individually beautiful, it's how they come together that counts.

I love the long and lean silhouette that is created by my "jean leggings" and a long open cardigan belted around the natural waist. The leopard print shoes just seem like the natural choice to spice up the otherwise clean palette.

Another reason for this post, Jealousy. I've been suuper jealous of all the girls breaking out their fall essentials a little early that at the first hint of cooler temperatures I busted out a good fall outfit.

And, now for a weekend at the beach! Yay!

Have a good weekend!

Haaaave You Met Ted?

I've been dying to use that in whatever possible. Now I can die happy.

(It's from "How I Met Your Mother")

The real question is, have you met Puckett?

I was doing so well at avoiding impule buys until I met Puckett.

I was stalking the boots on my sidebar at ALDO when I came across these in the clearance section.

10 minutes later, I was the owner of both the pumps and boots. Don't judge me! We all have our weaknesses.

On another note, somehow I ended up on the main page of wikifashion! Haha. Still not really sure how. If you've never heard of it, wikifashion is a forum for all things fashion related. It's wikipedia, for fashion!

Check out the Money Smart Fashion and feel free to fill in some details.

Be nice though, I don't want to have to hunt you down!

Can't Compete

the obligatory "top of the head" shot

Button-down-J.Crew Outlet, Top-Old Navy, Jeans & Necklace-Martin&Osa, Ring-Coastal Karma

Holy crap you guys! Thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my last outfit post! I think I will be smiling for days. But now I've gone and set the bar reallly high. I don't know if I can evoke that kind of reaction again, unless of course I wear that dress everyday for the rest of my blogging life. I've considered it. I'm sure it will just get old though, and at some point extremely inappropriate. Oh well.  

 Last week I mentioned my abhorrent laziness. Well I have another confession, I love just about anything that has to do with animals. I love wearing them and I especially love decorating with them. My home is littered with kitties (in the form of actual live cats, photographs/wall art and figurines) and after this weekend little ceramic birds as well. Now, don't go and call "Hoarding: Buried Alive" on me, it's not that serious. But in 20 years it might be something to consider...

 Anyway, I obviously can't afford one of those darling Cat Print Mui Mui dresses so I scaled back the trend a little and settled for this adorable little elephant ring. SSBF and I found him in a little shop in the Outer Banks and I am calling him Trashbag in remembrance of the dumpster (read:stray) cat we met while we were down there.

Also welcome to all of those that found me through Tieka's blog. (She was sweet enough to feature SSBF in her August "Guy Behind the Camera" post. Thanks Tieka!)

A Love Story.

Once upon a time, in a land far far away there lived a Princess Blogger. The Princess blogger lived in cozy little townhouse with Prince SSBF and their three little kitties. The Princess Blogger loved her Prince so much but there was tension in the home because Prince SSBF thought the Princess spent too much money on clothes.

One day while the Princess was shopping and buying everything in sight an evil, wicked even, witch came and cast a spell on the Princess Blogger's credit cards rendering them useless for 30 days! The Princess Blogger was crushed. She had never gone a day without her credit cards since her 18th birthday and would now have to go 30!  

Later that same week something even worse happened, the Princess Blogger found the love dress of her life but she had no means to buy it. She told Prince SSBF about the dress but he only nodded his head with slight interest and continued his fantasy football research, his life's work. The Princess Blogger was heartbroken. She knew that the website only had limited quantities and a dress so grand would sell out in mere days.

After an entire week of pining the Princess Blogger gave up hope.

"There will be other dresses to love" SSBF said. But the Princess Blogger knew in her heart that was "the one". In an attempt to console her Prince SSBF took the Princess on a wonderful vacation and when they returned the Princess was feeling a little better. Upon their arrival home there was a gift, beautifully wrapped, waiting on their dresser.

The Princess Blogger's eyes widened and the Prince smiled with amusement. She went over to the dresser and inspected the gift. On it was a note that read:

"Do not open until your 26th Birthday."

"But that is still three weeks away!" the Princess Blogger exclaimed.

Prince SSBF responded "You won't have any presents to open then if you open this now".

"I know, I prefer early Birthday presents anyway" replied the Princess Blogger.

Prince SSBF resigned to the Princess and said she could open it only if she read the card first.

The Princess then tore through the delicate wrapping to reveal the most wonderful early birthday present she could ever imagine, the one and only dress she ever longed for. Over dinner SSBF recanted the tale of how he battled dragons, and defeated troll mind games just to get the Princess her dress.

Prince SSBF, Princess Blogger, and her dress lived happily ever after!

 "A Bird in the Hand Dress" -Modcloth, Sweater-Gap Outlet, Sandals-Old Navy

Hehehe. Our 4 year anniversary, or "yeariversary" as we call it,  was on Sunday and I could not resist a fairy tale. Maybe that's not exactly how it happened, but it makes a good story.

P.S.This dress is kind of scandalous in the front, but I love it so much I will take the risk of flashing some bystander my undies for it. (Sorry SSBF)

Personal Finance Challenge: 30 Day Credit Card Ban (wrap-up)

I realized that because my vacation coincided with the finale of my credit card ban I never got a chance to sum up the month for you. So here it is:
What I Learned From a Month with No Credit:

1. I have more self-control than I ever give myself credit for. I started the month with $180 cash to spend on anything that wasn't a pre-budgeted bill or gas and ended with $15 still in my wallet.

2. Having a limited supply of money available for the month makes you question every purchase. Even when it came down to something as simple as lunch I found myself less willing to opt for a meal in the cafeteria.
Frivolous spending today only equated to less money tomorrow. 

3. On the other hand, when you truly love something you don't feel guilty handing over cash for it. Seriously, there was never any buyer's remorse here. I bought two items of clothing during my credit card ban, a dress from Goodwill and a scarf from Urban Outfitters and have not have any regrets.

4. Cash helps you look forward, instead of looking back. The thing about credits cards is that when the bill comes you are always paying for something from the past. Whether it be a meal, or clothing, or tickets to a baseball game it's already happened. It's almost impossible to plan for future expenses when you are trying to recall what was already spent. With cash, once the money leaves your hand it's paid for.

Finally,

5. Having cash on hand automatically makes you responsible for parking and tips.
Thanks SSBF.

Anyway, I would say if you are looking for a way to better control your cash flow I would recommend trying a credit detox for a month. It's actually quite liberating.

Next Month's Challenge: Snowflaking.

Fall Trend (I Can't Resist): Neutrals

Photos: J.Crew and Shopbop

I don't even think words are necessary. These pieces practically speak for themselves. I will say this though, considering gray is my go-to color come fall and winter I almost lost it when I saw it intertwined so perfectly with falls hottest palette.

Now where can I find $1200 and a new boyfriend, cause SSBF would surely leave me if I indulged in that little luxury.

A Little Polka

 






 Skirt- "Have" Coastal Karma in NC, Top- Martin & Osa, Sandals-Old Navy, Ring- C/O Agustina Fernandez Ofebre

I have a confession.
I am lazy, with a capital LAZY. If you give me the option between heels and flip-flops in the summer I will take the flip-flops 99% of the time. Hehe. I think that makes me a bad fashion blogger. But you guys still love me, right? Right?
Good.
Now that I got that off my chest we can get down to the important stuff. I realized the other day just how bad I am with money. The other day SSBF and I were having a conversation about what was a reasonable annual budget for clothes. I had said $3000 or $250 per month. SSBF naturally had taken the more conservative route (or generous depending on whose side you are on) with $1200 or $100 a month. I'll be honest, $3000 is a good chunk of change but I didn't think it was that much over a whole year. So in an attempt to prove my point to SSBF I decided to change those figures over into percentages. Well, let's just say $3000 is 8-10% of my after-tax income. 10 percent! Ugh.
Lesson learned.

On a brighter note how much do you love that initial ring? I won it through a giveaway over on Fashion Butter and it has barely left my finger since I picked it up at the post office on Saturday.
It is hand carved by the very talented Agustina Fernandez Ofebre. Checking out her etsy is a must. She has so many beautiful and affordable pieces. Perfect for any budget :)

Oh, and last thing I swear. I am obsessed with this silhouette. The slightly baggy top paired with the curve- hugging mini. I just love it. And you believe the skirt was only $20? Even SSBF can't argue with that.

Look Ma, I'm in Lucky!

pg. 25

I've been waiting to share this with you guys for a couple days now. It's still kind of strange in an "OMG I can't believe I just walked into a grocery store and my picture is in this magazine" kind of way. hehe. The girls at Lucky who run Stylespotter wanted to run an ad for the site in the September issue and asked me to be a part of it! I'm still a little surprised and uber grateful to even be on the same page as one of my favorite blogger's Taylor of Sterling Style and of course Jessica of What I Wore, she practically started all of this!

 Anyway, what this comes down to is that none of it would have ever been possible without you, my readers. So I just want to say thank you, for all the support you have given to my blog. I don't say it often enough probably, but you girls and guys are basically awesome.

Thank you readers and thank you Lucky!

Suprising Favorite: Fossil

When I think Fossil I always think of their watches, but now I am head over heels for their clothes. Move over J.Crew, this bugdet friendlier option has stolen my heart. Their pieces have a certain vintage/bohemian charm that I just can't get enough of.

all photos from Fossil

And this is just a sampling from their new lookbook.

Swoon.

Vacation Round-Up

Skirt-Goodwill, Tank-Urban Outfitters, Button-down-J.crew Outlet

Well, as quickly as it came, my vacation went and now it is back to normalcy. It's always nice to get back to normal but at the same time I would not mind living in the Outer Banks always. I'm pretty sure I would never tire of waking up, having some coffee, and heading down to the beach.

I wanted to deal with the pain of it being over in one fell swoop so I decided to combine an outfit post with a summary of our spending for the entire week.

First of all recognize the skirt? It's the dress I bought at Goodwill the day of the blogger meet-up. This is actually the second time I wore it. The first time was kind of a production and by the time dinner was over it was too dark for pictures (bad blogger). The first time I had thrown a quick and dirty hem in it so the dress hit me above the knee and pinned the crap out of the sides. This time I opted to wear it as a skirt (obvi). I loved it except now I am noticing in the first picture I only have one leg because of how I was standing. Ha! I still have both legs. I swear. Anyway, what do you think?

Second, the really painful part, how much we spent.

We started with $893 reserved for vacation spending.
Gas: $100
Segway Tour: $250 ($230 + $20 tip)
Food/Groceries: $162
Shopping: $128

A vacation total of: $640

We came in under our budget by $253 dollars which makes SSBF very happy.
 And just for fun here are some more pictures that didn't make it in any of the posts.


SSBF in the waves ( I kind of love this one)


my nephew and I in the roughest water all week


the stray cat SSBF and I lovingly dubbed "trash bag"