New

Not really sure if this is necessary, but just in case anyone is still stumbling on this page, you can now find me here.

Fall

It's starting to feel like Fall here in Arizona. And by that I mean it's finally under 90 degrees most days. In any case I didn't dress up for Halloween this year, but we did carve pumpkins this weekend and eat a ridiculous amount of candy.

Also, as I mentioned last week, work is going really well. But man I'm exhausted at the end of the day. I've been getting home around 6 or 7 and I'm immediately ready for bed. As I'm typing the only thing keeping me awake now is X-Factor and the fact that I still have some work to do tonight.

Anyway, I have internet now (it only took about 6 weeks) so hopefully you'll be seeing more of me around here. The outfit posts should return soon too, although less frequently and mixed in with other (to be determined) posts.

Dear Friends,

I'm not gone forever, just until I get internet in my apartment. Also, until I'm actually at home for more than a couple of days at a time (I've been living out of a suitcase a lot lately). Also, I can't find the battery to my camera...I took it out to charge and have no idea where I put it.

So basically, until next week (fingers crossed on that battery). Still not quite sure about what's in store for this blog, I'm kinda thinking a little less about style, a little more about life. My main goal is to at least get back to posting regularly again.

Overall though, the new job is going pretty fantastic. I'm still getting used to getting up so early, (I know all you working people probably have it down, I was majorly spoiled this summer) but it's getting easier. Coffee helps.

Is it Fall yet?

Banana Republic top; Old Navy shorts; Target wedges.

Lots to talk about today! First: one of the reasons I moved to Arizona was because I hate cold weather (I'll seriously be happy if I never have to own a heavy jacket again). However, I am a little jealous of all you guys that get to dress like it's fall; my tights and boots are just begging to be worn. Meanwhile it's still 100 degrees here and I'm having to buy more shorts because I don't have enough (these that I'm wearing were only $2.50!)

Secondly, I met my first fellow-blogger this past week! If you guys haven't stopped by Threads and Buttons, you totally should. Kelley and I went thrifting in Sun City, which is a retirement community (we were seriously the youngest people around for miles). We were bad bloggers and didn't take any pictures unfortunately, but it was still a blast. Check out her post here to read more!

Finally, thank you guys so much for all your advice in my last post about my first day of work! I think I finally know what I'm gonna wear (it's only changed about six times) and I can't wait to share with you guys how everything goes!

Pre-1st day of work post

Kohl's t-shirt; Old Navy skirt; Walmart flats; Self-made bracelets.

This is a quickly written post because the Starbucks I'm at is about to close and I'm too poor for Internet at home just yet.

Just a few more days though until I start work! I'm most nervous about the silly little things, like what to wear and what bag to bring than the actual job itself. Dressing for a new job is always a little nerve-racking, even though I've visited the office before and have seen what people wear. I'm probably way over-thinking it too, but no one wants to be too dressy, or too casual, or stand out too much.

Maybe it's just the term business casual that stresses me out, because there are so many different interpretations of it (all you have to do is do a google search to see that some people include mini-skirts in that definition for some reason). Of course working for an accounting firm means I'll be at the conservative end of the spectrum, but it's still not always completely obvious what's acceptable sometimes.

I have a feeling I'm gonna spend a lot of time in my closet this weekend regardless, but any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated too :)

Let's talk about hair [Hana Professional 1.5" Flat Iron review]

Disclosure: The flat iron is c/o Misikko, but the review and opinions are my own.

Shall we? I'm no expert on hair by any means (I'd know even less if it wasn't for tutorials on youtube) but recently the nice people at Misikko asked me to review their Hana Professional 1.5" Flat Iron. I've been a total slave to my flat irons ever since discovering how they could tame my hair in high school, so I jumped at the opportunity.

First off though, the products I use:

I don't really use anything fancy on my hair...the heat protection spray and dry shampoo are pretty self-explanatory (both Suave), I use the anti-breakage serum when my hair is wet (Organix, and it smells fantastic), and I use the glossing cream after I'm done with everything (Fekkai, and yes it's worth the money).

Then if I have time I let my hair air-dry (like in the pics below), or use a really cheap hair dryer because I still have a while to go before getting my big-girl-job paychecks.

And then, of course, the flat iron. This one from HANA actually impressed me a lot. My hair is pretty thick but it took me less than 10 minutes to get it all straight and smooth. They also sent me storage pouches and a silicone mat, which is nice because once I made a nice burned indention in a friend's carpet from setting my flat iron down on it (I think I covered it up with a trash can, or something).

Other than that it's got ceramic plates, multiple heat settings, basically all the things you'd expect from a great quality flat iron. The only thing I've noticed it that it's a little slower heating up than other ones I've had, but this is probably only a difference of about a minute or so.

There's a before and after for you, I think the rule is you can only smile in the after one, right?

Overall I'd recommend checking out Missiko if you're in the market for flat irons, Chi products, or anything else for your hair. It's pricier than what you'd find at say, Target, but it's definitely worth it if you have harder to manage hair like I do.

What things do you guys use on your hair that you can't live without?

Part Deux (REG)

Below is the reaction video I made this morning (frozen again on a really really attractive face), although if you follow me on twitter you already know how it went.



I'm not as jumping-up-and-down-excited as I was yesterday though, I think I'm more relieved than anything else. Relieved that I don't have to shell out another $500 to re-take those tests. Relieved that I didn't waste my last summer vacation, and most of all relieved that now I can forget everything I know about the tax law.

The only downer is this means it's time to study for exam #3! And I only have a week left of my last summer vacation, although it doesn't feel like it because it's 107 degrees outside. (Which I don't really mind until I read other blogs and everyone's busting out their boots and tights already)

And just so I don't end this post complaining, my mom and little brother are coming into town later tonight! I'm pretty stoked to show them around here and for some human interaction other than just brushing elbows with people at Starbucks like I have all week.

The reaction video (FAR)

Well, I got my first score this morning! I've never made a video before, but here goes nothing! It's a little emotional, and for some reason it chose to freeze on a pretty unattractive frame, but bear with me :)

Go here if you can't see the video.

Yay!

Settling In

Wet Seal dress; Pacsun tank; Target shoes; Self-made bracelet.

Well, I'm all (mostly) moved in to my new apartment! I say mostly because I'm lacking some important things such as living room furniture, hence the very blank wall I'm standing in front of. My mom and the little brother are coming down this weekend though with a few more boxes of my stuff and hopefully that'll help make it feel a little more like home. Can't wait to show you guys pictures of everything!

So far I'm loving living in a place where there's so much to do! Definitely a welcome change from my hometown where the major place to go was Walmart.

In other news, I still have a couple weeks until I start working. Not much to do except obsessively refresh the page to see if my scores are posted yet...I'm thinking about making a reaction video when I do find out, what do you guys think?

An update.

It sure has been crazy around here lately. I feel like I blinked and half of September went by.

I've been taking a break from studying while waiting for scores from my last two tests to come out (it'll be sometime next week, cross your fingers!). However I'd gotten so sick of staring at a computer screen all day, so I'm pretty far behind in the blogging world. Here's what I've been up to the past couple of weeks:

• Re-reading Harry Potter books 1-7
• Picking up stuff at Goodwill for my new apartment (hello sweet milk glass collection)
• Watching ridiculous amounts of True Blood, Mad Men, and Phineas and Ferb
• Making friendship bracelets (I'm super obsessed)
• Packing
• ...More packing

So um, you really haven't been missing out on much. This weekend, however, I'm embarking on a new adventure, i.e., moving to Arizona. I will definitely have tons to share about my new apartment, living in a big city, and how crazy hot it is out there.

I like big books and I cannot lie

Actually, I seriously cannot wait to stop lugging these things around.

I'm taking my second part of the CPA exam on Wednesday and I'm not even going to pretend I've been wearing anything other than pajamas the past few days. So here's a picture of these monstrous books instead.

Here's hoping I'll never have to crack these ones open again once that test is over!

Oh hey, an outfit post!

Target tank and sneakers; Old Navy shorts; Thrifted scarf; Pacsun bracelet (bottom); Handmade bracelet (top).

Not really sure where the last few weeks have gone...that was kind of an unintentional hiatus there. You haven't missed much though, I promise. Just lots of studying and a quick trip to Seattle, which I'll probably do a separate post on.

Speaking of studying, I take my second (out of 4) test next Wednesday! I can't wait to get it over with because I'm taking about a month off after that to get ready to move and then settle in before starting a new job in October! Also, studying is just not that fun in general.

Anyway, this is one of the few times you'll see me in sneakers, but I couldn't find my red flats and I'd forgotten how comfy these were!

Pattern Mixing

American Eagle tank; Gap skirt; Wet Seal belt; Payless flats.

It's Everybody Everywear time! And I gotta say, I had a lot more difficulties with this month's challenge than I thought I would. I tried on almost everything patterned in my closet, and I kept looking like I got dressed in the dark.

I'm definitely pleased with this result though, it seemed easier to pair a larger print with a smaller one, and the neutral colors helped too (grey goes with everything in my opinion).

Black and blue

Maurices top; Target skirt; Banana Republic belt; Payless flats; American Eagle necklace.

I spent this past weekend in Arizona looking at apartments. The good news is, I found an amazing one, and therefore won't be homeless in about a month. The bad news is, it turns out moving is expensive. I also don't own a stick of furniture so it'll definitely be interesting until I start getting regular paychecks.

Any tips from those of you already living in the real world? I've been checking out Ikea and Craigslist some so far (I never wanted to leave the Ikea we went in this weekend).

Grey and white and red all over.

American Eagle tank; Old Navy pants; Payless flats; Thrifted belt.

Today's been one of those days where I feel like I've been running around non-stop since I woke up. It's good though because my to-do list was getting pretty massive.

Nothing more exciting than going to the bank, UPS store, and Wal-mart, but at least I had fun red shoes, right? Still on the list are my favorites: laundry and studying, although I may need something more than cute shoes to get me excited about those.

Back to the daily grind

Vintage dress (won over at Show Me Chic); Wet Seal belt; Payless sandals.

I feel like I've been complaining all summer about how fast it's going by, but seriously? August already?

Anyway, I had a wonderful relaxing weekend shopping, playing Rock Band, watching Mad Men on Netflix, and not studying, which was the most amazing part since it had been since June since I'd had a day off from it.

But today I went back to the daily grind and learned all about contracts (the second part of the CPA exam that I'm studying for is REG, which is business law and tax). Tax was my worst subject in school, so here's hoping I survive the next month!

And now we wait

Old Navy dress; Thrifted flats.

Ohmygoodness, could you guys be any more sweet? Seriously, thank you guys again so so much for all your encouragement for my test on Tuesday. Now to the part you're all wondering (or at least I'm pretending that you are)..How did it go?

Pretty well I think. I finished an hour and a half early and I didn't cry or throw up at all, which are all good signs. Unfortunately, scores aren't released until September, so all I can really do now is wait. Oh yeah, and study for the next part that I'm taking on August 31. The fun never ends around here.

Anyway, I originally had more accessories in mind when I was getting dressed, but it's just too dang hot today. Piling on any more than necessary just does not sound appealing when I have to be outside for more than 3 minutes at a time. Do you guys get like that in the summer at all?

You guys are awesome

As most of you guys know, I'm sitting for my first part of the CPA exam tomorrow! I'm pretty nervous but I'm mostly just looking forward to getting it over with.

I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your encouragement in the comments lately and also on twitter. You guys are awesome and the support is definitely appreciated.

I'm off to panic study some more. I'll be back later this week!

Thrifted

Thrifted top and belt; Express jeans; Kohl's necklace; Target wedges.

There's a special addition of Everybody, Everywear going on today where everyone is showing off their favorite thrifted items. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to focus on and finally narrowed it down to this silk shirt.

Tops like these usually don't have a lot of hanger appeal because of how boxy they are. But they're actually pretty versatile and oh-so comfortable. I mean, why isn't everything I own made of silk? That's right, because I'm poor. Thank goodness for thrift stores.

How to get an outfit for $4

Charlotte Russe t-shirt; American Eagle jeans; Thrifted belt; Tiffany necklace (gift); Heels (free) from garage sale.

How to get an outfit for $4:

1) Buy t-shirt on sale for $3
2) Convince your mom that her jeans are too short for her, let her give them to you.
3) Befriend an awesome old lady at garage sale. Listen to her complain that no one is buying her shoes. Let her give several pairs to you.
4) Thrift belt for $1.