Outfit: Anchor Top + Distressed Skinnies.

Photos by Amanda Cantrell

hair accessory: Icing

earrings: gifted by boyfriend

top: Rue21

bag: Aldo (via Plato's Closet)

jeans: Old Navy

ankle boots: LC Lauren Conrad @ Kohl's

Wow, it has been forever since I've done one of these outfit posts, and I've missed it so much! It kind of seemed like a lost cause for a while, but then I had a coffee date with my lovely former suitemate (shoutout to you, Amanda) and she was kind enough to snap a few quickies of my Starbs date look.  It finally looks/feels-ish like fall here in southern NM, and I've been enjoying integrating long sleeves into my outfits (at least until noon when it gets toasty again). I got this gem of a top on sale at Rue21 for about $3 or so- cutest thing ever- and was excited to finally get a chance to wear it. 
One last item to point out- HOW AMAZING IS THIS ALDO BAG?!? Came with the tag and everything at Plato's Closet for $20 and I regret NOTHING. And alright, one last LAST thing to point out- the Rockstar skinny jeans from Old Navy are the most perfect affordable pair of skinnies in the world.
That's it for tonight, folks! Swing by on Wednesday for a compilation of my favorite Oscar de la Renta designs- I found out a few hours ago about his passing away and it shattered my heart into many pieces. 

Lifestyle: Where to Look for Coupons.

Hello, lovely people! Long time, no post! These past few weeks, I've been writing more papers than I've written in my first two years of college, so the absence was very much a need and 0% a want. 

Anyway, today I'd like to talk to you about my homeboy, the coupon. The less money there is in my bank account, the more I try hanging out with this guy. I've been obsessively gathering coupons since I can remember, and honestly, it shouldn't just be a poor college kid's signature behavior. 

If you have an extra 15 minutes on hand, why not save 20% off your next purchase rather than looking over your Facebook timeline again? Yes, coupons are a marketing tactic to get you in the store again, but if you learn to practice a tiny bit of self control, they might just be your savior.

First, let's look at a few places where you can pick up coupons:

For the most part, stores tend to want feedback on how they're doing- and are willing to reward those who take the time to answer! Whenever you purchase something new, do a double take on your receipt. Stores will offer 15-20% off your next purchase for about 15 minutes of your time. This is especially great when you're planning a more expensive purchase, such as shoes or coats.

One of my favorite resources is College Fashion, where a selection of the best Coupons & Sales going on around the interwebz is put up on a weekly basis. (And the site is overall awesome, beyond its Coupons & Sales section). 

Magazines usually have coupons spread out throughout their pages. Cosmo and Seventeen are big on beauty coupons, and I love People StyleWatch for clothing and accessory store offers!

Into watching beauty YouTubers? Look out for coupon codes and offers in their description boxes. I've seen a lot of them recently for the NuMe curling wands and based on how good the offers are, I'm going to be purchasing one as soon as possible.

Honorable Mention: Kohl's Cash- $10 off for each $50 in purchases. Just a great little perk when you go out and spend a bunch of money!

Important to remember: From the business' perspective, coupons are there to get you into a store and milk more money out of you. Make sure you spend your coupons on things you established as necessities before  you came across the offer. If not, coupons are a great resource to reduce the damage of retail therapy.

Happy couponing, and thank you for stopping by!

Lifestyle: The Wardrobe Purge: What to do with Unwanted Clothes.

Ah, The Wardrobe Purge! Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my little de-cluttering series. While I’ve been working hard on stocking up on new fall closet staples and summer sale items (fall haul coming to the YouTube channel within the next week!), I haven’t overlooked my promise to inspire a life filled with de-cluttering and happiness. In case you have no clue what I’m talking about, check out the first two parts of my Wardrobe Purge series here and here. Now, without further ado, here are my suggestions for a peaceful break-up with your unwanted clothes.

This is for all the selfless beauties out there- all you gorgeous people that believe giving presents is the best part of Christmas. Salvation Army, Goodwill- just two of the places that will gladly accept your unwanted clothes, as long as they are in wearable condition. Local thrift stores are also a great place to drop off your unwanted clothes, and go out on the hunt for a new batch of USEFUL garments while you’re at it. For those looking to fill their hearts with joy while getting rid of some clutter, I suggest taking the time to go into an orphanage and donate to some children that are really in need- but don’t go drop things off and leave quickly. Stay a while. Make cute little friends and make sure to give them lots of smiles and hugs on top of your clothes. 

For those of you that are more into the instant gratification way of life, exchange parties are the way to go! Get a bunch of friends together (make sure you’ve got a lot of different beautiful body types so everyone has someone to exchange with), invest in some good tea and cookies, throw in a stylish chick flick (The Devil Wears Prada never gets old) and host an exchange social in the comfort of your own home. Productive girl time is where it’s at. 

Another one for my instant gratification gals. Sell those cute wearable clothes! Garage sales could be successful, depending on how much work you’re willing to put into them in terms of promotion (some cute posters + a Facebook event = pretty good exposure). For the lazier folk, I suggest Plato’s Closet for trendy teenage- early 20s clothes and Buffalo Exchange for quirkier items. I’ve never sold to Buffalo Exchange before, but Plato’s Closet was very easy to work with! They didn’t take a lot of my stuff, but paid up $11 for the three shirts they did want- which is about how much I paid for them brand new from the sales rack at various mall favorites, so I think that went pretty well!

I hope this post has inspired you to take some action in getting rid of those clothes laying around the basement. The more you get rid of stuff that you haven’t worn in forever/ don’t see yourself wearing in forever, the more it allows you to focus on those items that fit your personal style and show potential. As a plus, after you see how much you can do without, you’re going to be really picky about what comes in afterward! I wholeheartedly recommend taking that one weekend to get everything in your closet in check. 

Good luck! Thank you for stopping by! 

Lifestyle: October Goals.

Accountability. Now there’s a concept I can’t bring myself to be befriend quite yet. I’m in this intense state of junioritis which involve being completely uncensored with no regard toward acceptable societal norms. No, I don’t walk down the street in the nude (Though I do want to try naked yoga sometime soon. Pretty similar concept?), but I also don’t show the slightest sensitivity toward people’s feelings nowadays. I’ve reached being unapologetic and careless to a degree past anything acceptable- especially in my own life.

Which leads me to this- I need balance, I need shit togetherness, and I need accountability. Common denominator, anyone? That’s right! A good ol’ fashioned goals list shared with the good ol’ fashioned interwebz. Here are all the marvelous achievements I hope to unlock by the end of this month. On October 31^st sharp, I will be checking in to see how far I've come regressed. Easy does it!

The Goal: Purchase winter tickets for Los Angeles.

The Process: Come to terms with the fact that I will be spending an unreasonable amount of money. Try to convince all my professors that I deserve to be the exception to the ‘everyone needs to be in class during the final exam’ rule.

The Inspiration: My super beautiful, super talented boyfriend who will be screening his short film at USC during the fine month of December.

The Goal: Get my eating in check and move more.

The Process: Be better about cooking the food I spend over $100 for at Walmart before it goes rotten in my refrigerator and I have to throw it away. Put my fancy FitBit to good use because just cause it was an expensive little dweeb doesn’t mean it’s gonna walk my ass for me.

The Inspiration: My lazy ass is feeling a bit like an extra squished pancake lately from all that class resting and work resting and homework doing resting. And my lazy insides are feeling a bit like deathly from all that Nutella and Nutella and NUTELLA.

The Goal: Keep up with my three times per week blog post editorial calendar.

The Process: Start planning the entire week during the previous weekend. Stop being a chicken about asking semi-unknown people to take my outfit photos. I’ve missed some really good ones during September because my shyness was unbearable.

The Inspiration: Life without my baby is a bit lot bleak. One of my greatest joys in life is coming back to this little corner of the internet where I am in charge of eeeeeeeerythang, and a little part of me dies every time I feel like I’m not doing enough to keep this blog alive.

The Goal: Start looking at summer internships and graduate schools.

The Process: Find a day when I am not sleep deprived and incoherent and start researching and reaching out to professors/friends/family/professionals about internship opportunities and graduate school advice. Equally important: finally put together that portfolio.

The Inspiration: You know those kids that live and breathe #collegelyfe and wholeheartedly believe that college is going to be the best time of their lives? Yeah, I’m not one of those. I crave the moments when I get to pay for my own food and health insurance and phone bills. I guess I already pay for some of that on my own, but you get the idea. I’m just one of those people that feels they could do better out in the real world than stuck at school in New Mexico.

The Goal: Become more spiritual/in touch with my body and mind.

The Process: More yoga. More meditation attempts. More Zen Habits (Especially more Zen Habits. Brilliant blog!). More Buddhist-based self-help books. More being in my own mind.

The Inspiration: I’m not religious and I don’t desire to be. However, I believe and crave feeling as a part of something bigger than myself. I generally see myself as well rounded, but this is one last puzzle piece that’s completely new and unexplored by me. Also, I just generally need to calm the fannypack down. 

And here ya have it. Everything I can be held accountable for as of right NOW. I will check in with these goals at the end of the month and see how far I've come/what I will continue to pursue! What are some of your goals for the month? I'd love to know!