In Her Natural Habitat

Last weekend, I was on a mission to find a dress for my brother-in-law's upcoming beach wedding in Mexico. This proved really difficult. Everything I found was either too dressy or too casual... and being that it's January, there weren't too many options. Any any line that actually has a resort collection is typically out of my price range! So anyway, I failed this mission.

But I didn't come home empty handed!

I stopped in Old Navy to check out their sale and whaddyaknow, I accidentally bought an outfit. I say accidentally because when I tried these items on, I didn't put them on together. I was buying them as separate pieces. Today, however, I decided to try them all and look what I came up with.

 

 (I really need to take advantage of my tripod! And clean my mirror.)

You can't really see my pants all that well, but there isn't much to see. Just black stretchy jeans with ankle zips. The button down top is really light. I have a feeling I'll be wearing it well into the summer. 

Do you recognize these? After posting them last week, I just had to order them.

Can I tell you the best part about this outfit? It was ridiculously inexpensive.

Tank: Old Navy, $12.50, $7.49, $5.49, $2.74

Top: Old Navy, $24.50, $17.50 Sale

Pants: Old Navy, $34.50, $16.99, $8.50

Shoes: Target, $19.99, $6.98

Scarf: Forever21, $3.80

Are you ready for this?

Grand Total: $95.29, $39.52

  

Don't forget to check out and enter my latest giveaway!

Bonita Bellita Flower Bobby Pins Giveaway!

My new friend, Stephanie, over at Bonita Bellita makes some really cute accessories including bobby pins, hair clips, headbands and brooches. One of my favorites is this headband featuring mustard-y gold silk flowers. I'm in love with that color right now!

Stephanie is kindly offering up a pair of her flower bobby pins! You can choose from red:

 

Or blue:

 

Or just about any color you can think of: scarlet, coral, Hello Kitty pink, light rose pink, white, cream, black, silver, green, light blue, deep blue, purple... etc. etc!

There are a few different ways to enter. Please remember to leave a separate comment for each entry or else it will only count for one entry! Oh, and throw in your email addy, too, so we can get a hold of you if you are the winner. :)

1. Follow Bonita Bellita!
2. Visit her shop, Bonita Bellita, pick your favorite item and post it here!
3. Become a fan of Bonita Bellita on Facebook!
4. Follow Bonita Bellita on Twitter!

The contest closes at Midnight on Monday, January 31st. The winner will be drawn at random on Tuesday, February 1st, to be posted later that day!

Fool's Gold Rush

My favorite Wheel of Fortune clue is 'Before and After'.
My favorite part of this outfit is the pyrite necklace. Fool's gold! I remember going to a place when I was a kid where you could pan for "gold" and other gems and you were allowed to keep what you found. It was a big deal for my 8 year old self.

Moving on, I didn't fit tights or leggings into this outfit because I'm already moving on to spring. I can't help it. Especially since it's been 75-80 degrees 'round these parts lately. (I don't mean to brag...) Our SoCal winter may return, and I may get to wear lots of layers again, but for now I'm moving on to lighter things. Though this outfit might be a good season transition with the sweater. If it's not quite warm enough yet, you can always add the tights and a scarf and jacket!

Oh, and just an FYI, I was inspired to put together a sweater with pleated skirt after this outfit post at The Fashionista Next Door. I loved her look with the scarf and over the knee socks, but once I found this floral skirt I was all Spring Ahoy!

 

Sweater: Delia's
Necklace: Specimental Design at Etsy

Boots: Target

Skirt: Forever21

Sunday Splurge

Before I get to this week's Sunday Splurge, I just wanted to inform you that the word "splurge" has finally presented itself to me in a new light. A light which reveals how weird a word it is. Spluuuurge. The spelling looks funny, too. Ah, well, moving on.

This week I have for you yet another Etsy item. If you hang around Etsy, you know the trends. One of the current trends is bunting. There are lots of shops selling super adorable fabric and felt and paper bunting. You can even find bunting in many of the graphic prints, like on birthday cards. It's just cute.

But look! Pamela Angus sells a different kind of bunting. Bunting that is more gorgeous than cute. It's stained glass! I am in love with her bunting and I believe it's my favorite in all the world. Just look at it!

Stained Glass Garland: Pamela Angus at Etsy

Tail Gate Chic?

Okay, so not chic, but I thought that sounded like a fun oxymoron.

My husband nabbed a pair of San Diego Chargers season tickets. I figure I'll have to get myself a Chargers shirt to fit in while tailgating. Luckily, these days, they make women's fan gear to help us keep our shape and prevent us from having to wear men's t-shirts which turn us into rectangles.

I'm also lucky that it's San Diego, where I likely won't need more than this faux leather hoodie to keep me warm on the cooler days.

The Converse were a given. I've been wearing them with my t-shirt and jeans ensembles (please say that in a French accent) for years, so I chose these ones because they look fun. :) The cross body bag is perfect for keeping the essentials handy at the game without lugging a bag around.

 

Hoodie: Tilly's

T-Shirt: Lids

Bag: Forever21

Shoes: Finish Line

Stock Up On: Vintage Stacking Mugs

It's not that I think you need 19 vintage ceramic stacking mugs, but if you do happen to need a lot of them, Etsy has it covered. I love the colors and patterns on these.

 

Green, 4pc Set: jacquekay83 at Etsy
6pc Set: Vintage Eye at Etsy
Brown, 3pc Set: By The Wayside at Etsy
6pc Set with Storage Tree: Tag Sale Finds at Etsy

Oh and guess what! Jaci from By The Wayside has kindly offered a 10% discount (not including shipping) to Hundy&Undy readers! Just enter 'Hundy' as the coupon code.

And We're Back... With More Military

I meant to get a post up yesterday, but I ended up spending the day recovering from my long weekend trip to cold Ohio. I am happy to be back in SoCal to find extra warm weather.

Anyway, I found this Jacket on Polyvore today. It was originally $125 but is now final sale at $49.97 with most sizes still available. I couldn't pass on posting it! I meant to make the military-ness of it just a side note, but then I found the other three pieces and ended up making it over-the-top military. Ah well. I'm still really hooked onto the military trend.

 

Jacket: Piperlime
Messenger Bag: Zara

Pants: Old Navy

Shoes: Target

In Her Natural Habitat

I don't do many outfit posts, mainly because I don't have enough items in my closet to a daily or semi-daily outfit post. I wear a lot of things over and over again. I am not much of a fashionista, that's why I just play one on the internet with my under $100 posts which are pretty much just wish lists for me.

Anyway, it must be your lucky day because I do have an OOTD post for you!

 

My husband says that leopard cardigan looks like a gramma sweater. I say, who cares? I found it at Macy's for 65% off. Yes, please. The yellow sweater I just nabbed at Target yesterday. My socks are black and gray striped with black lace at the tops. They are my favorite. The camera isn't part of my outfit, though some might disagree as it's become a go to accessory for me. (Also, I'm too lazy to set up the tripod.)

Leopard Cardigan: Macy's, $15.00 (clearance)
Yellow Sweater: Target, $12.60 (mark down)

Boots: Forever21, $34.80

Socks: Forever21, $4.80

Jeans: Macy's, $19.99 (sale)

Necklace: Gift from my mom!

Grand Total: $87.19!

Round on the Ends, Hi in the Middle

Today's collection is inspired and based on my traveling with my husband to Ohio today! It's where I grew up and I am so looking forward to seeing my family.

 

Cutting Board: AHeirloom on Ety
Covered Bridge Print: Laurie's Designs at Etsy
The Heart of it All Print: Lil Burritos at Etsy
I Heart Ohio Necklace: Truche at Etsy

FUN FACT: I grew up in Ashtabula County, which is "famous" for it's collection of covered bridges. It's currently home to the world's longest covered bridge, and the world's shortest is being constructed as we speak in my hometown of Geneva.

So anyway, why am I going to Ohio in mid-January to visit when the summer is generally more awesome? (Everyone loves a segue disguised as a rhetorical question!) It's because my family is having a winter cookout, which sounds crazy enough, but it's not just a winter cookout, it's The Winter Cookout. In it's 37th year, The Winter Cookout is an annual event that our friends and family look forward to. We've got a fire outside, a spit with lots of meat, a pond for skating (if it's frozen enough!), snow for playing (usually), a hundred and one CrockPots full of comfort food and... what am I forgetting? OH! My dad's bar in the garage where we keep warm.

Bar, you say? Like your dad keeps some beer and some stools at his work bench kind of bar?
Not really. Here, I'll show you:

(This was a Thursday night in June 2010. My husband and I had just flown in that afternoon... then people started coming over to visit and have drinks. That's my dad in the back, me in the green in my traveling outfit, and various friends and family all with us.)

So bar. BAR. We've always had the actual bar in the garage, but over the years it's kind of turned into a real looking bar. It's always been a lot of fun to have. What you don't see, is that the side of the room where the camera is is my dad's full work bench.

I'll conclude here. I don't do too many personal posts, but hopefully this one was worth it.

Budget Friendly Blogger Friend!

I love fashion blogs of all types. I gain inspiration from most that I come across and even enjoy swooning over high end labels that other bloggers manage to work into their wardrobe. (How? I wonder) But my favorites, and it's not a surprise, are those that are thrifty and pocketbook friendly. I love a good deal and I really love seeing other peoples' good deals.

With that said, I've recently found AllForStyle.com. It's got a little bit of everything fashion related which helps to appeal to a more broad audience. My favorite part, however, are the Budget Chic posts. More recently, this post about styling the dress below three different ways. What's best, is that each version tallies up to under $100! Click the photo to see how it was styled.

 Dress: Roxy