Fashion: Fall 2015's Most Wearable Trends.

With fall right around the corner (jk, it's still pretty toasty here), it's time to consider this season's yays and nays. After returning to school grossly under packed for the hot weather, you best believe I'm excited to crank out some long sleeves and booties, and purchase (a very limited amount of) clothes that are trendy and versatile. 

After investing in a couple of big purchases, finances are a bit iffy this semester, so I'm going to be hopping on that frugal train as much as humanly possible. Since not purchasing clothes is a highly unrealistic goal for me, I've created a list of new trendy fall essentials that I've been dying to try- and my challenge is to find the most affordable yet comfortable version of each item. Come along and challenge yourself with me. It'll all be great fun. 

Here's the fall 2015 trends that have inspired me to shake up my wardrobe this season. Let me know what your favorites are :)

CLOTHING:

-denim A-line skirt

-distressed hem jeans

-flare denim

-striped sweater

-keyhole cutouts

ACCESSORIES: 

-mary janes

-tied up flats

-low menswear shoes

-brown cross body bag

-estate jewelry

-long pendant necklace

BEAUTY:

-white eyeliner

-strong eye + lip combo

Not living in a big city is going to turn finding these items at a decent price into a full-on scavenger hunt. I already snagged a denim A-line skirt at Charlotte Russe, but for this fall's future purchases I'll be going through Old Navy's racks for the jeans, Marshall's for shoes, Ross Dress for Less for all other accessories and the drugstore for all beauty items. 

Which ones of these are your favorite trends? Let me know down below!

Outfit: Polka Dot Crop + Poufy Skirt.

Photos by Aidan Bradbury-Aranda earrings: Jewelry Box top: Aeropostale jacket: unknown skirt: thrifted shoes: American Eagle @ Payless ShoeSource bag: Nine West It's been a while since I've actively allowed myself to take time and put together a cute, girly and print-tastic outfit. I figured an El Paso day date with my favorite guy would be the prime time for that.  This crop top is one of my prized possessions- I saw it in Seventeen magazine (before I finally took the leap and cancelled my subscription- cause really, I'm way too old to be reading about teenage issues). Anyway, I went to the store, magazine in hand, and was beyond ecstatic to find that they didn't only have the top, but they had it in my favorite pile (hint: the one that starts with S and ends with E).  This outfit has me reminiscing about the time I would spend hours stalking everything Annasophia Robb wore on The Carrie Diaries. Is anyone else bitter that show got cancelled? Over a year later and I still can't get over it. I guess all that's left to do is draw inspiration from the past.  That's all I have for tonight, guys! That and a special hello to my dad, who apparently finally came across my blog and is now an avid reader. HI, DAD!  Thank you so much for stopping by! 

Style: Winter Date Lookbook.

Good evening, everyone! A super quick post for you guys tonight, as there is a killer migraine running through Adaopolis (so bad that my jokes are extra awful tonight). 
I've had this footage laying around since winter break and finally decided it was its time to shine. I actually did wear every outfit featured, so I guess this is half date lookbook/ half delayed outfit of the week post. Either way, I had loads of fun making it. 
Thank you so much for stopping by! Enjoy!

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!

Style: First YouTube Lookbook!

Hi, everyone! Super quick blog post here, but homegirl's got a YouTube channel now and uploaded her very first VIDEO! This lookbook is a compilation of looks already featured on the blog, perfect for a summer vacay. We've got a beach look, daytime (lunch) look, and of course, dinner!
I'm excited to start digging into the YouTube life! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Outfit: Fringed Cardi + Skinny Jeggings.

Photos by Aidan Bradbury-Aranda

slouchy beret: Wet Seal

earrings: Eve's

scarf: grandmother's

fringed cardi: random vendor at CSUN

spaghetti strap: thrifted

bag: mother's

jeans: Ross Dress for Less

boots: Jasmine at Ross Dress for Less

Throughout the years, I feel like I've always purchased safe statement pieces. I'm not exactly sure how to put that in words. I guess you could say I've purchased stuff that my mom would approve of and not find to be an unreasonable purchase. With this particular cardigan, I can almost imagine her nagging.

"That thing will get caught in everything!" (it does)

"You can probably use that for like two normal outfits!" (challenge accepted)

"The washing machine will kill it." (I love it so much that it'll get special hand wash treatment)

Even so, I've decided that I'm going to love this piece forever and ever and try my best to incorporate it into as many outfits as possible. Every now and then, my school has an outdoor market of sorts, where vendors set up tents on campus. I purchased this beauty for $10 from one of my favorite tents, which contained pretty unique, cheap apparel. I've noticed similar prints around lately, but the fringes were something new, which attracted me to the product. 

I absolutely love its thin composition, yet cozy feel. I'm not a huge fan of bulky clothing, which is part of the reason I strongly dislike wintertime, but the more thin, yet wearable during cold weather clothing I find, the more I warm up to months like November. 

I can't believe we're a week away from the start of December, and a bit over a month away from the New Year! I also can't believe that in about 3 weeks, I will be done with my first semester as a college sophomore, and, most importantly, I will return home to all my beloved clothing items that didn't make the cut to California. That's probably the only positive to going back home, but I'll take it :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my random rambles!

I truly appreciate it! :)