What I Wore to Church - Polka Dot Cotton Dress

 

Dress: eShakti Pleated Polka Dot Cotton Dress
Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School Cardigan in Sage
Shoes: H&M
Necklace: Monica's Fantabulous Fashions
Earrings: JustFab Rule of Three

I freakin' love this dress from eShakti. I got it for literally nothing (thanks again for the referrals!). I planned on wearing something different this week, but once this dress came in, I tried it on and didn't want to take it off. I knew there was no way I wasn't going to wear it this Sunday. I love the adorable polka dot print as well as how flouncy it is. It's a good spinny dress. Just ask my dad, I love to spin in dresses. I always have. It feels so feminine and fun.

The cardigan is another charter school cardigan from ModCloth. I have it in honey and absolutely love it (if you missed the post, you can reread my love here). So much so that I even bought it for my mom for Christmas because I couldn't keep the love to myself. Once I saw the cardigan in sage, I knew I had to have it. I stalked it until Cyber Monday where I got it for 20% off. I love green, but hadn't seen a green quite like this. It's another color that looks good with almost anything. It also works in any season. The cardigan itself is a great cut too. Very flattering and cozy. I will not stop until I can snag it in ALL THE COLORS.

The shoes I did NOT buy online (amazing, right?), but I did buy them in a foreign country. I bought them at H&M in Dubai for less than $10. I thought the brown went well with the green and since the dress was grey, it all worked out. At least I thought so.

The necklace I got from a recent flash sale from Monica's Fantabulous Fashions. For more info on my friend Mon's great online boutique, you can read my previous post about it. If it weren't for her, I would be severely limited in the jewelry department.

The earrings are from JustFab. While I don't usually buy their jewelry, they do have quite a bit of cute stuff. These popped up on the "you could add these on to your purchase" page when I was buying shoes. It's like the impulse aisle at the grocery store, and I have no impulse control. Regardless, I like the bit of bling they bring to the outfit.

Since referrals pay for quite a bit of my shopping, I'll go into the list of links below. If you're not interested, you can stop reading now.  Happy Shopping!

eShakti is having another site wide sale right now (I'm telling you they give their stuff away). Use my referral code (ELIZABETH92SP) for $30 off your first purchase! The code only works for 2 more days so hurry quick!

If you're interested in purchasing from ModCloth, use my referral link for $15 off.

If you're interested in purchasing from JustFab, use my referral link and get 50% off your first order, but be sure to read the Terms and Conditions as it is a shoe club. You have the option to skip months if you don't want to purchase anything that month.

What I Wore To Church - Candy Dot Skirt and Fun Tights

Skirt: eShakti Button Front Candy Dot Skirt
Shirt: Express
Cardigan: Old Navy Button Front V-Neck Cardi (no longer available)
Tights: Old Navy Chevron Textured Tights (no longer available)
Shoes: Jessica Simpson Devin
Bag: JustFab Parisian

And eShakti is back on my blog! I got this skirt with some of the referral gift cards I received from eShakti (thank you to all who used my code!!). I think it's adorable. It's got stretchy smocking in the back so it's bump friendly, and I love the buttons down the front. The dots come in multiple colors so you can match it with quite a lot.

I matched the green in the skirt to my cardigan and tights for a little Christmas fun (I told you I could come up with something festive this week!). I got both the cardigan and tights for half off on black Friday. I was going to try to wear a red cardigan, but decided it looked too "Santa's elf", so I incorporated red with my nails and the bag.

I got JustFab's Celine-inspired Parisian in the clearance section for $15. It's quite a bit bigger than bags I usually carry, but it's gorgeous! It worked well to fit all my church stuff. My only complaint is that it's definitely a "crook of the arm" bag which means you can't weigh it down with too much stuff.

The shoes weren't the actual ones I wore to church, but they are the ones I had picked out for the outfit before Alabama decided to rain on my parade (literally).  I wore patent leather black heels instead, but I like the look of these better. I got them in a Street Moda sale a few months back for less than $20. I think I pulled off a pretty festive look without taking it overboard. Kyle's final verdict was that I looked very "school teacher-ish". I'm ok with that.

For those interested, eShakti is doing a winter clearance sale here or they are doing buy 2 get 1 free on all of their full price items. You can use my referral code (ELIZABETH92SP) for $30 off your first purchase until 31 December!

Until next week, Happy Shopping and Merry Christmas!

What I Wore to Church - Holiday Colors and Leggings

Dress: ModCloth Up a Notch Dress
Shoes: JustFab Perdita
Leggings: Old Navy Maternity

I bought this dress a couple years ago from one of my favorite clothing sites, ModCloth. I loved the detailing on it, and I was pleasantly surprised this morning to find out it still fit over my belly. I love the sequins on the shoulders and the rouching on the sleeves. The color is also a really nice one for fall and for the holidays. The belt was added to give it some shape. I've definitely found that during pregnancy, skinny belts are my best friend. When I wore this dress before the bump, I would always wear it with a wider belt, but those don't quite work for me anymore. ModCloth has a wealth of cute dresses, but most of them come a little short so leggings are a must for me, but seeing as it was cold this morning, the leggings were a necessity anyway.

The shoes were from last year's JustFab holiday collection and are an exact replica of a pair of Steve Maddens, so the $40 I paid for them was a steal. They aren't the most comfortable shoes (my toes were not happy with me by the end of church), but they sure are pretty. I thought the rhinestones on the bow went great with the sequins on the dress. And who doesn't love sparkly bows?

I thought between the nice rich color of the dress, and the multiple sparkles from the dress and the shoes, this outfit turned out pretty festive. Maybe I should've saved it for next week, but I'm sure I'll come up with something just as festive.

Happy Shopping!

Long Overdue Bondi Update

I was reminded today that I never did an update on the Bondi "situation". A better description would probably be "train wreck." Their subscription model fell apart and the September and October boxes never got sent out. Most people were given refunds for their boxes, but some still have not received their money back.

Just prior to announcing they were no longer going to offer the subscription model, they did a promo to try to pump up subscriptions which added 100s of customers, only to turn around and cancel them all, leaving a pretty sour taste in everyone's mouth. It sounds to me like they bit off way more than they could chew and rather than admitting to that, they took one last big bite to try to choke it all down.  I encouraged a friend to join during that promo, and she was pretty disappointed when within a week it was cancelled. The last straw was that they turned off the ability to comment on their facebook page. When I asked about it, the CEO stated that it was turned off because there were a few negative customers that were trying to incite negative responses and widen customer concerns. Either way, it didn't look good that they shut down the commenting ability right before they made their big move and cancelled their subscription service, thus disallowing customers to ask questions on their facebook page (although they could still email customer service). Part of their appeal has always been their transparency, and this was a pretty big step back.

Their regular retail business still exists, and you can still order their colors individually online, but I haven't quite decided if I'm ever going to purchase from them again. I did love their polish. It was high quality and it came in fantastic colors, but I did not appreciate the way this subscription situation was handled. I guess time will tell. One thing I know for sure, if I decide not to buy from them again, I will be one of many customers that has made that decision. They've upset a lot of people, me included, and who knows. They may have completely shot themselves in the foot, and may not be able to come back from this. For now, I certainly can't suggest them to anyone else. We shall see how it all works out.

What I Wore To Church - Pencil Skirt and Blouse

Sweater: American Eagle
Shirt: Zulily
Skirt: H&M MAMA Pencil Skirt
Shoes: Iron Fist Indecent Obsession

Since it's been rainy and chilly today, I decided to dress a bit warmer. My signature look used to be a pencil skirt and a blouse with tights and heels, but once the belly started showing, none of my pencil skirts would work. So, I was delighted to find this one at H&M in their maternity line. It worked out even better than expected because I bought it on Cyber Monday for 40% off.  It's nice and stretchy and should fit through the whole pregnancy.

I bought the blouse on Zulily awhile back and was saving it for when I got a bit bigger. Well that time has arrived, and I thought it went well with my pencil skirt. I bought the cardigan years ago, but pull it out every so often when I need a warmer layer. It was nice that it complimented the tights too.

The shoes (quite accurately named Indecent Obsession) I bought from Iron Fist directly probably a year ago, but could never find quite the right outfit for them. Well they are just too darn pretty to be kept on the shelf, so I was super happy to finally be able to wear them. They didn't match the blouse perfectly, but they were far enough away from it that it didn't matter. I love how stinking cute they are. Strawberries, roses, polka dots, and bows, in mary jane form. What more could you ask for? They may be too much for some, but I absolutely love them.

I'm so happy to be able to reclaim my signature style, and I'm sure this pencil skirt will get a lot of use. A pencil skirt is the closet staple that I most suggest everyone have. It's flattering on almost everyone if you get it to fit right, and it can be worn with so much. It always looks super classy and gives you a pulled together look without much effort. If you don't have one, I suggest you start the hunt to find a good one.

Happy Shopping!

eShakti Sale - Why Haven't You Taken Advantage Yet?

For those of you that frequently read my blog (thank you!), you know I LOVE eShakti. When I tell people about it, frequently their response is that it's cute but too expensive. Well they've been running a 35% off sale for the last few weeks in conjunction with their referral program, and that makes everything totally affordable, if not down right cheap. If you use my referral code (ELIZABETH92SP) at check out, you get $30 off your purchase (and I get $15 to spend on what I want). And your first customization is free! My friend Vivian just bought herself a super cute dress for $18! Yes, $18! And she customized the length to fit her. Seriously, you're crazy if you don't take advantage of this (Do I sound like a commercial yet?). The sale is only going on until Dec 9th so you still have time to check it out.

To try to entice you, I'm doing a "best of" compilation of the eShakti dresses I own. All of these pictures are from my blog so you may have already seen them, but it's nice to have them all in one place for your scrolling pleasure. So here goes. I'll start with the ones that you can actually buy right now.


Colorblock Stripe Poplin Dress (sleeves added) $45.95 on sale, $25.90 with referral code including shipping.


Retro Poplin Shirtdress (sleeves customized), $38.95 on sale, $18.90 with referral code including shipping.


Arbor Melange Knit Dress (not currently available in grey, but can be found in black here), $42.95 on sale, $22.90 with referral code including shipping.


Pleated Cotton Knit Dress (not currently available in green, but can be found in black here), $42.95 on sale, $22.90 with referral code including shipping. Cameo by my sister! Update: It's back in green! Found at the original link.

Now onto the ones that aren't currently available, but are fun anyway (and there's always the possibility they will come back).


Red Tipped Trim Chambray Frock


Smocked Heart Print Skirt


Houndstooth Print Colorblock Dress


Retro Style Zigzag Print Dress (sleeves added)


Retro Anchor Print Shirtdress

This concludes my best of tour. Below I've posted more info on eShakti from my original eShakti blog post.

eShakti is a traditional online retailer that focuses on retro-style dresses, skirts, and tops. There’s one thing that makes them different from any other online store that I’ve run into. They let you customize! On most of their items you can add/remove sleeves, change the neckline, and change the length. You can also change the measurements and customize the entire sizing. Customization costs $7.50 per item. Items are made in India and shipped to the US.

I can’t tell you how much I love this company. Not just the customization, although that is wonderful. I always dress modestly and it’s nice to put sleeves on things instead of always having to wear cardigans. What I love most, is how they treat their customers. They are CONSTANTLY giving coupons, sales, deals, and yes, even giftcards just to keep you coming back. They have a great return policy too. If you don’t like what you received, and you want to return for store credit, they will give you the price of the item plus 20% back on a giftcard (the added 20% deal excludes overstock items).  However, you do have to pay return shipping and they don’t refund you for customization. Did I mention all their dresses have POCKETS?! Last awesome thing about this company, they sell plus size too!

If you need that code again, it's ELIZABETH92SP.

Happy Shopping!

Weekend in Florida - Playing with Prints and Colors

I spent the weekend down in Florida celebrating Thanksgiving and attending my niece's baptism. Due to travelling, I didn't go to church, but never fear! I still got a few cute outfits in.

We'll start with my travelling outfit.

Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Shirt: Gap Maternity
Sweater: American Eagle
Scarf: Modadorn Leopard Print Infinity Scarf
Shoes: b.o.c. Xia

I thought this was a simple, comfortable, yet cute outfit for the drive. I've been playing around more with leopard, and this was a fun way to incorporate it without overpowering the outfit. I got the scarf as a secret santa gift from a friend and absolutely love it! It's soft and warm, while adding that fun detailing to an otherwise plain outfit. I thought the matching flats pulled the outfit together nicely.

Dress: Modcloth Fashionable Flock Dress
Cardigan: Old Navy Crew-Neck Cardi (no longer available in red)
Boots: JustFab Wilma

I guess there's no hiding the baby bump now. This was the outfit I wore to the baptism. I enjoy pairing blue and red without making it look overly patriotic (unless that's what you're going for), and I felt the black cami, black tights, and grey boots (that you've now seen me wear 2 weeks in a row) helped in that aspect.  I've mentioned before, I love bird print, and here's just another example. I bought the dress a couple years ago and absolutely adore it. I can never have enough birds on my clothing.



Cardigan: ModCloth Charter School CardiganShirt: Motherhood Maternity
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Boots: JustFab Nabila

I know you were waiting for navy and mustard to make an appearance since it seems to be my current favorite color combo. I try not to disappoint. I wore this outfit while running around and sight seeing. We went to the Naval Aviation Museum, to the Pensacola Lighthouse, and to the beach. While we were at the museum, we also took family pictures, so I wanted to make sure the outfit was comfortable, but also cute. I convinced quite a few family members to wear mustard in some form for the pictures, and I thought they turned out pretty good. It's such a great color to make pictures pop.

As you can see, I'm definitely embracing the maternity clothing more, but any of these outfits can be recreated with items you probably already have in your closet. I'm trying to only buy closet basics in maternity (with one or two fun pieces) and dress them up with accessories, fun sweaters, and of course shoes. Hopefully it'll save me a bit of money while still letting me keep my fun style. We'll see if I can keep it up.

Surprisingly I created all these outfits without anything from eShakti, but I have a feeling they will be making an appearance next week. Until then, Happy Shopping!