Equestrian Flair...

Okay...

So I'm totally in love with these equestrian style riding boots.

I think I may have said the exact same thing the first time I wore them on the blog.

They're so crazy comfy and I love their versatility.

Boots-Dillards (Arturo Chiang)

I love how they can be dressed down but also dressed up for a casual night on the town.

I wore this 'fit to a birthday engagement that I attended last month.

I wanted the effect of dressing up  however, I didn't want to stand around in heels all night so I built my OOTN around my go to boots.

Since I'm a huge sucker for great detailing, I died when I saw the belting on these boots.

In sticking with the whole 'equestrian' theme that I envisioned, I decided to pair the boots with some patterned skinnies,

Patterned Skinnies-NY&Co

 my thrifted American Eagle Corduroy blazer,

Blazer-Thrifted (American Eagle)

and this thrifted button up that I purchased from Goodwill.

(I wish the lighting wasn't so bad; I really wanted you guys to see the gorgeous ruffles on the front of the shirt.)

All in all, this happened to be one of my favorite outfits of the month. I love how everything is so cohesive and follows along with the 'equestrian' theme.

So tell me, how do your favorite outfits become your favorites?

I can't wait to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXOXO 

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Random Wednesdays



Trendy Tuesday: Stripes R Us

Happy Tuesday my loves!

As we are gearing up for the Spring season, my thoughts are consumed with all things stripes.
Stripes R Us... by sherockwell featuring black and white leggings

Jane Norman , $38 / Full Tilt striped top / Striped top / Black and white legging, $20 / Keds lace up shoes / Dune patent leather pumps, $130 / Jessica Simpson navy sandals / Office tan shoes, $73 / Bow handbag, $9.16 / J.Crew wide brim hat / Forever New hair bow accessory, $13 / Colorblock Stripe Pillow in Hot Pink Cream and Navy Linen by... / TOPSHOP Stripe Denim Backpack

What trend(s) are you anxious to wear this season?

I can't wait to hear from you!

XOXOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Denim Patch T-Shirt

Hello and happy Monday my loves.

I hope each of you had a great and relaxing weekend. Mine was actually pretty productive. I was finally able to go thrifting on Friday and Saturday and lemme tell you-the thrifting Gods were definitely on my side. I found a ton of cute things that I will be sharing with you all very soon. I was also able to spend some much needed QT with the honey as well as work on a few DIY projects while viewing and commentating on the Academy Awards.

I just about died when I saw a post of this JCrew Patchwork sweatshirt pop up on my Twitter timeline. I knew instantly that I needed wanted to recreate it. So I went searching through my things for the perfect t-shirt to experiment on.

I ended up with one of my Old Navy tshirts that I purchased during a 2011 sweater clearance. I loved the shirt when I purchased it but for some odd reason, I just couldn't find anything to pair it with.  I felt like if I gave the shirt a little umph, I would be more likely to wear it so here we are.

Here's what I used for my project:

-old (or new) T-shirt

-permanent marker

-fabric shears

-fabric glue

-old denim scraps (from previous DIY)

-ruler

That's it! You're ready to begin.

STEP 1: Use your ruler and permanent marker to sketch an initial (or whatever else you may decide) of your choice onto denim scraps. Make certain that the denim is turned inside when you sketch your initial. This proves to be helpful; so in case you mess up it will never be seen. Also, make sure to draw your initial backwards so that it will be right side up when you eventually glue it to your fabric.

STEP 2: Strategically place your cut initial onto the front of your tshirt. I chose an off centered placement.



STEP 3: Use fabric glue to adhere the initial to the tshirt. Allow 1-2 hours to dry.

This would've actually been the final step but since I've gone completely crazy over elbow patches here lately I figured I would spice the tee up even more with this simple addition.

STEP 4: Use a stencil (or freehand) to draw an oval shape on a double layer of denim scrap. Again, make sure that the denim in turned inside out while drawing.  

STEP 5: Cut the ovals out and use fabric glue to adhere them to the elbow portion of the tshirt.

That's it! Easy as pie and equally inexpensive.

 I actually can't wait to wear the shirt now.

What do you think of today's DIY?

I can't wait to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

Snowflake Leggings and Moccasins...

Happy Monday my loves.

I hope everyone had a nice, long weekend. With the exception of Saturday night, which was reserved for the viewing of Beyonce's interview/documentary, I spent lots of time relaxing and cleaning.  I also added some new items to my online shop, Miss Rockwells Racks.

If you're following me on Instagram, you may have seen me post about some snowflake leggings that were sent to me by a company called Oasap.

Oasap is a high-street online fashion store that partners with bloggers, publishers, and the like to increase exposure opportunities for everyone. You may learn more Oasap and the partnership programs that they offer here.

I first found out about the Oasap Fashion Hunter program while reading my sister LeTroy's blog, Thriftanista in the City.

Upon signing up, they gave me a $30 credit to use towards any of their items that I liked. Mind you, the site does not offer many products at this price point (however, they do have TONS of other things to choose from) but I did happen to find these cutesy snowflake leggings.

Leggings-c/o Oasap

I am totally in love with them. I have already worn them 3 times. I absolutely love the fun pattern.

The variety of colors in the pattern will allow me to pair them with several different shirts but I went for comfy casual here and paired the leggings with my ever faithful chambray.

Chambray-NY&Co | Sweater-Platos

Another plus to these leggings was the texture and feel of the fabric. They were insulated with a thick fleece lining for extra warmth.

Moccasins-Nine West

They were super perfect to pair with my Nine West moccasins that have been going strong for the last 6 years. I also added this awesome collar scarf that I got from Old Navy during one of their special clearance sales last season.

The only complaint that I have about the leggings is that I noticed a small rip in the crotch area after the very first time I wore them. But the fleece insulation made it possible for me to continue wearing them without anyone noticing.

All in all, I'm very happy about my selection and I can't wait for my next piece to come.

Can't you tell!!!

Financial compensation was not received for this post. A sample product was gifted from Oasap. Opinions expressed here are my own.

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Random Wednesdays

Valentine Butterflies...

Hello my loves!!!

Once again it has taken me forever and a day to do an outfit post. I've obviously gone off the DIY deep end.    I've totally been into Valentine's Day crafts this year. See my projects here and here. 

It's OK though, I hope you all still love me!

This is what I recently wore on one of my nights out with the girls. 

I have literally been feigning to wear these sequins since the very day I thrifted them. 

I caught major flack over these butterflies...

Butterfly Sequins-Thrifted (Vintage)

I remember the day exactly....

I made my way over to the 'Vintage' aisle of my favorite thrift store and these pink sequins immediately caught my eye. I didn't hesitate for one second to snatch them up, proudly place them in my shopping cart, and mosey on about my business.

Faux Leather Leggings | Pumps-Target

No sooner than I had pushed my cart to the end of the aisle did I see a fellow thrifter pass my cart, do an obvious double take at the sequins in my cart, and shamelessly stick her fat hand in my cart to pick them up and ask what size they were.

Excuuuusseee me!???!!!!

Theeen, she had the gall to ask me if I were purchasing them. 

"Because I would sure like to have them if you don't get them". 

I gave her an instantaneous 'duck face' and a stare that was sure to crush any of her dreams of ever owning these butterflies! I mean seriously what ever made her think that it was okay to reach into my shopping cart and oogle over something that I obviously had plans on purchasing??

I'm so glad I purchased them too. They totally rock my world!

I wanted to pair them with a really bold contrasting color so I chose my favorite yellow pumps that I scored from the clearance rack at Target.

Since I knew it would be rather cold out and I didn't exactly want to have to wear a huge jacket, I layered the sequins with a mustard blazer. 

Blazer-NY&Co

It always amazes me how much I fall in love with such unexpected outfit combinations. I really thought that I would be overdoing it with so many trends going on in this 'fit; what, with faux leather, sequins, and bright pops of color, I just knew this would look horrible together but it didn't.

 I actually like it....ALOT!!!

Have you paired any unexpected items together recently? 

I can't wait to hear from you!!!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXO

Linked to: 

Thrifters Anonymous

YOLO Mondays

The Pleated Poppy

Rolled Up Pretty

Random Wednesdays

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Heart Sweatshirt with Elbow Patches

Happy Monday my loves!

I hope each of you had a great weekend. Judging from the social media feeds lots of you had great weekends as you were able to score pieces from the Prabal Gurung collection which debuted at Target on Sunday. And while you all were swooning over beautiful designer pieces, I was stuck in the house trying to nurse myself back to life. I've been battling a winter cold so I took minimal trips outside of my living space this weekend. And what better way to spend time in the house than to embark on yet another DIY project!!!  I know I'm on a roll-this makes two in a row.

Anyhow, I picked up a plain black sweatshirt on clearance at Target a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to do something fun and Valentine-y with it.

My eyes immediately became fixated on a pair of 'too small' cords that I scored at one of Plato's Grab Bag Sales and I instantly thought about elbow patches. I wanted to do something graphic on the front of the sweatshirt so I dug into my stash of acrylic paint(s) and went from there.

Here's a list of everything (else) I used:

**plain sweatshirt

**old cords (to create elbow patches)

**Acrylic Paint

**fabric paint

**heart stencils

**painters tape

** large foam paintbrush

That's it! You're ready to begin.

Step 1: Tape the stencils to the sweatshirt exactly where you would like your painted graphics to appear. The stencils were created by folding construction paper into quarters and cutting out a desired shape.

Step 2: Use a separate, large oval stencil to draw and cut out the 'cord' material for the elbow patches. Make sure to cut out 2-one for each elbow.

Step 3: Cover each elbow patch with fabric glue and place them on either sleeve of your sweatshirt. You may also sew the elbow patches on but obviously this method was a little easier and a lot less tedious. Allow the patches to dry in place while you are painting the graphics on the front of the sweatshirt. 

Step 4: Use your choice of acrylic paint to fill in the stencils that you had previously attached to the sweatshirt. Allow 1-2 hours to dry.

Step 5: Once the acrylic paint is dry, start from the bottom of the sweatshirt and use painters tape to create jagged lines all the way to the armpit of the sweatshirt. Paint the taped off (jagged line) portion with a highly contrasting color of acrylic paint. Allow 1-2 hours to dry.

Once you remove the painters tape, your sweatshirt will look a bit like this...

I must say that I am not thrilled with how this turned out AT ALL. The vision looked so much better as just a creative thought. I am, however, digging the elbow patches but that's about it.

What kind of Valentine's Day crafts have you attempted this year?

I can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXO