Savin' Maven: DIY Photoshoot

As soon as I had my LO, I knew I would be taking lots of pics of him. I'm talking every day lots. If he could talk right now I'm sure he would have a few choice words for me. Mommy snaps pics whenever the urge arises-during sleep, during poops, during nursing, during bath time. I even play dress up with him and have real photo shoots. Because sometimes it's just not financially feasible to take him to the portrait studio. Sometimes you want your photos to look a little less 'planned' with a lot more personality and character.

Last week I shared some tips on how to save money on family portraits in this post. However, if you're super frugal like me and you have somewhat of a knack for photography and creativity this post is just for you.

Since I take pictures of my LO so frequently I wanted to try my hand at some Valentine's Day shots-a little more fun and personable than the family portraits we recently took at JC Penny's and a helluva lot cheaper.

I purchased my LO's outfits from Target just after Christmas. They weren't on sale or clearance but I love the Carter's brand so much that I was willing to pay full price for them.

Next I visited my local Dollar Tree for some cutesie Valentine's Day decor that would make for some decent background props. I ended up with these glittery hearts...

and this heart themed ribbon...

Since my LO isn't quite sitting up on his own yet, I placed him in a little pail that I found on clearance at WalMart a couple of years ago. 

Add the props and the baby and viola...

A super easy and successful photo session for all of 2 bucks. You can visit my Instagram page to see the final product after editing with photo apps. I had a great time doing this with my lil man and I'm sure he enjoyed the bonding time as well. 

I hope this will prove to be resourceful to some of you. 

Thanks for reading! 

XOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Dope Hat

When I saw my blogger friend Mo wearing this hat on her Instagram feed I knew I had to have it.

I haven't seen any hats quite like this at any of the stores in my area so I decided that I would make my own. This had to be the easiest DIY that I have done to date. Here's what all I used:

*Skull cap

*Iron on adhesive letters

*Glue gun

I found this hat at my local Goodwill for $1.25! I love the red and charcoal stripes.

These letters were found at Walmart. They're supposed to be iron on letters but I decided to use my hot glue gun as well as the iron to ensure that they wouldn't peel off of the hat.

Once I figured out how I wanted the letters placed on the front of the hat....

I glued them down, went over them with an iron to secure them and viola....

My new 'Dope' girl fresh hat. 

I can't wait to wear it!!! Thanks Mo for the inspiration!!!

What do you think???

I can't wait to hear from you!!

Thanks for reading!

XOXOXOXO

Jewel Tones and Faux Leather...

So lemme just tell you all that this outfit had an extremely high likeliness of NOT making it here on the blog today.

I wore this to a party that my family threw to raise money for our family reunion which is coming up this summer.

It's definitely one of those 'fits that played out better in my head than in reality.

I was super infatuated with these faux leather pants that I scored from Target's clearance rack and I just HAD to wear them-like IMMEDIATELY!!

I figured they would be perfect for the party because clearly I hate bare legs in the winter and I felt like the pants were super sexy-especially for a party, right!?

Faux Leather Pants-Target

 So I paired them with my favorite jewel tones-a royal blue NY&Co turtleneck and plum colored Guess booties-and I went.

Because I didn't want to freeze my buns off I even added my $3 faux leather vest for good measure.

I topped that off with my faux fur.....

And if you can't tell by my above facial expressions....

I hated every moment of it!!!

It was just too much for one outfit.

But I do love the backdrop!!



Faux Leather Vest-Walmart | Booties-Guess (via TJ Maxx)

This outfit further reminded me that this blog is not only just for me but also for my readers. And though I may not be in love with every outfit that I wear, it's important for me to keep it real and not just display the pieces that look great on me but also the bad and ugly stuff in between. Who knows...by some miracle of chance this may serve as inspiration for someone. But I will let you all be the judge of that.

Thanks so much for listening (or reading rather) to my random outfit tribulation.

I can't wait to see your thoughts on this spectacle.

XOXOXOXOXO

Linked to:

Thrifters Anonymous

YOLO Mondays

The Pleated Poppy

Rolled Up Pretty

Random Wednesdays

Style Sessions

Friday Favorites: Vol #29

Hello and Happy Friday to you my loves. It's been such a while since I've done Friday Favorites here on the blog. It started out as a weekly feature, however, I've indefinitely decided to do it on a monthly basis.

 

If you're a first time visitor here, Friday Favorites is just a round up of some of my favorite things that I've captured with my smartphone.

 

Here goes.

 

This pearl bow necklace is my all time favorite. I've worn it sooo much since purchasing it from Wet Seal a couple of years ago. I love when they have their B1G1 for a penny accessory sales.

 

 

Currently swooning over these Target dresses in addition to the remainder of their Spring collection. It's to die for!!

 

 

This amazing skeleton sweatshirt I found at Walmart for $1. Great pieces can obviously be purchased anywhere. And even though the skeleton has a Christmas hat on, I will definitely be styling this sucker during the upcoming cool Spring nights.

 

 

OMG. I'm not sure if you all are following my FB page but I posted about this deal there. On President's Day, Value City Furniture was giving away FREE $25 gift cards!! How sweet is that!? If you're not following me, please go NOW so you can stay updated on all great deals and FREEBIES.

 

I got this book from the library to help me with my taxes. I got a similar book last year and completed my 2011 return all by myself. Why would I pay someone else to do it when I can do it along. Clearly the info has been placed in the book for a reason.

 

Goodies from Goodwill.

 

Giving myself an at home pedi to cut the cost of having to go to the nail shop.

 

Weekend DIY projects. View my latest denim patch TShirt in this post.

 

This month's mag swag. All of these mags were absolutely FREE. Again, follow my FB page (link located in the right sidebar) for updates on the great deals.

 

 

Spending a whole weekend celebrating my girlfriends bday. I love me some her.

 

 

These Arturo Chiang riding boots that I keep obsessing over.

 

Date nights with my honey are always a plus. We saw the movie Snitch with The Rock and as fine as he was (The Rock) we only gave it a 7.5/10 rating tough.

 

Details from my 'Just Me and Proenza' outfit post. I'm such a sucker for good deets.

 

Last but not least, some of the items that have sold from my online boutique, Miss Rockwells Racks. Please go over and visit as I post new things each week. You may also get first dibs on the new items by following my Instagram page.

 

I love great selling weeks. The PO workers officially know my name now!!

 

 

What were some of your favorite things this week?

 

I can't wait to hear from you.

 

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXOXO

How To Wear White in the Winter...

So, I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like to follow rules. Fashion rules to be exact. I mean who comes up with this stuff?

Bright colors in the summer, pastels in the spring, dark tints and jewel tones in the fall....

And oh, my favorite one....

NO WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY!!!

Someone better send the fashion Gods to get me because I sure did wear and will continue to rock my white after labor day!

I wore this 'fit for date night with my honey. We went to a comedy club and I wanted to be sassy but not too dressy so I threw on these RockStar jeans that I purchased on clearance from Old Navy.

I absolutely loved how they fit. I mean seriously, when you have jeans that fit this well, why not break a few rules?

Does it count for anything that I paired the white with these black python paneled shoes so I wouldn't appear as 'summery'!?

Heels/Button Up-NY&Co.

Maybe the fact that the shoes were clearanced for $15 will help a bit!

Nope! Oh well, I tried!

This black faux leather vest has been one of my go to pieces this season. I love how it pulled my look together, adding edge. The extra layer didn't hurt either.

Vest-WalMart

The best part about it was that it was only 3 bucks from WalMart! I got it around the same time I purchased the camo skinnies that I wore in this post. I'm so ecstatic that leather is on trend right now!

And according to my style books-so is white!

All year 'round!

 What fashion rules have you broken lately?

I can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXO

Linked to: 

YOLO Monday

The Pleated Poppy

Random Wednesday

Thrifters Anonymous

Rolled Up Pretty

Work It Wednesday

Fashionista Next Door

2012 Style Recap...

Happy New Year's Eve my loves!

I can NOT believe that this year is about to come to an end already! I just can't accept it! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!

I've learned and accomplished so much this year-blog wise and personally-it's been really busy for me. So much so that at times it was a struggle for me to keep up. But I did and I made it to the very end.

I've made a ton of new and totally awesome blogger friends, I've contemplated giving up blogging altogether, I've felt horrible for not being able to blog more, and now at the end of this year I'm finally settling into the fact that I can only do what I can-especially as far as blogging is concerned.

Then there's the style portion of it all. Looking back over this last year, I have definitely seen my style evolve.

Let's take a look...

All This Love For Free
Everything was thrifted with the exception of the boots/accessories

The Truth Hurts

Everything thrifted with the exception of the shoes/accessories

Nowhere To Go

Only the pussybow blouse was thrifted but the vest and jeans were at rock bottom prices

Hit or Miss

Everything thrifted with the exception of the accessories

Pretty In Pink

Thrifted Blazer

Champagne Taste, Corona Budget
Thrifted Purse and Jacket

Let The Skirt Do The Talking
Everything thrifted with the exception of the shoes/accessories

The Story Of The Thrifted Blazer

Pearls And Animal Prints
Thrifted Sweater

These Yellow Shoes

My Foxy Lady Dress

Thrifted Blazer

My Wedding Dress

 I've gained some wonderful inspiration from my lovely blogger friends so I can not forget to express my huge appreciation for their flyness! In an effort to keep up with all of the latest trends, I definitely saw myself go overboard in the shopping department and that's not good. So for the year of 2013, I plan to make more of an effort to shop my own closet by remixing the items that I already have. 

I'm incredibly excited and looking forward to what 2013 has in store! I hope you all will continue to stop by and take this journey with me.

Thanks so much for visiting. Until 2013!!!!