It's been awhile..

Hey guys!
I know it has been awhile since I've posted on this blog, but my life has been complete and utter chaos lately.
I won't get into details:P
But anyways, I do have a few posts brewing in my head.
I just DIY-ed a few infinity scarves, went on a couple of thrifting trips, and in three days, I will officially be on winter break from school, so you can look forward to seeing more posts.
With actual, like, fashion and shtuff.
I have missed this blog.
But hopefully I can nourish it back to life with some cozy sweaters, scarves, and Christmas treats:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

I miss this!

I truly miss blogging.
I have lost my inspiration lately.  I've been in such a funk with my classes, work, my anxiety problem, just everything.
I'm starting to get back to my old self, but I'm still in the process.  Hopefully, within the next week or so, I will get back to blogging regularly.
Hopefully I will get back to crafting and DIY-ing and fashion and all the fun stuff I used to do.

I suppose only time will tell.

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

anxiety.

These last couple of weeks have been rough.

Taking a trip this weekend.

Promise to start blogging regularly again next week once things smooth out.

Love and miss you all!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

I am me. And I will sparkle.

I am me. I'm not anybody else.

I get to choose what is right for me, and I am good enough to keep going and be strong no matter where those choices take me.

And I really need to start reminding myself of that every day, because it has been causing me anxiety lately.

My life is going to be amazing as long as I do what I feel is right, and that is all that matters. 

I've been letting myself get caught up on what I "should" be doing and how I "should" be feeling at this time in my life, but I am the one who gets to decide what I should do and who I should be.

I mean, sure, everybody has faults that they could work on....I definitely have a few of those.

But who knows what life holds in store for me?  I sure don't.  But I would like to find out how great of a life I can have by trying to be the happiest me I can be every single day. 

I have decided that, from now on, I am going to put myself first when I'm making decisions.  To most, that would sound selfish, but I feel like at this point in my life I almost HAVE to be a little bit selfish.  

I need to follow my own path.

If that means moving away, so be it.
If that means staying here, so be it.

The one thing I do know for sure is that I am me.

And I will sparkle no matter what life throws at me.

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Apple Orchard:)

Yesterday, Ryan and I went on yet another double date with Grace and Tanner. We went to Edward's Apple Orchard (as you can see), and it was oh so fun:)
We all got apple cider and apple cider donuts (so good), and went on a little carriage ride through the orchard! The weather was perfect, and it was a really good time! Plus, I got to put on a cute outfit!:)

I wore my hair in a messy bun, dangly feather earrings, a chambray shirt, black skinny jeans, and matching brown boots and a belt. Perfect fall outfit:)

After the apple orchard, we all went to Olive Garden to celebrate Tanner's birthday (which isn't until Monday, but oh well). We all got massive amounts of food, and it was wonderful!

Oh, and I just have to show you guys the adorable pictures of Ryan and the little boy I babysit from when he babysat with me on Thursday night. They are absolutely precious<3

 Adorable, right?:)

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend!
Enjoy this fall weather and break out your scarves and boots!:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Yum:)

Today I decided that I would do something special for my wonderful boyfriend, Ryan, because we have been super busy and stressed lately, and we haven't had much time for fun.

So, naturally, I turned to Pinterest.
I decided that I would make him dinner, and dress up a little bit.
I found this recipe for Teriyaki Chicken, one of Ry's faves, on Pinterest.

 It was SO easy to make, and super duper yummy! I will definitely be making it again.

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of my outfit (I seem to do that a lot), but I wore an adorable floral dress and black, patent leather heels with precious little bows on the top. My hair was straightened and oh so long!

Anyways, Ry LOVED his surprise, and after dinner, we went to a couple stores, including the hilarious pop-up Halloween store nearest us, which was SO fun!

He also bought us an ENTIRE cake for dessert!
Gotta love him:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Great Minds Think Alike

Well, this past week has been a whirlwind.

Remember that post about the beautiful homecoming dress I found?
It is the same one that my dear friend, Grace, bought.

Now, the funny thing is that the store that we both bought it from writes down the dresses that everyone buys to make sure people from the same school don't get the same dress. Some lady worker wrote down the wrong number and bing, bang, boom, we bought the same dress.

Thankfully, we came to this realization BEFORE the actual dance...what a horrible surprise that would have been!

But the result was that I went back and found a different, more sparkly, more Stephanie dress for $20 cheaper:)

 

This beautiful dress was $99 before tax, and is so sparkly I can't even control my happiness!

I had to order it because they didn't have my size though, so that's kind of scary. Hopefully I don't gain ten pounds in the next couple of weeks so it fits me! Ha:)

Anyway, let me know what ya'll think! Is this dress cuter than the other one?

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,

Stephanie<3 

 

I have now bought 3 different dresses for my boyfriend's homecoming dance.

I got one for $6, one for $15, and one for over $100.

Why I let him take me dress shopping again is beyond me, but I definitely think this last dress knocks the other ones out of the park!

This is the first one that I bought. $6 at The Salvation Army.

This is the second one. $15 at Ross.

And this is the expensive one. The final dress.
Its actually wine colored, not purple.

I definitely think that I made the right decision because this dress is extremely flattering, and Ryan LOVES it. It has a beautiful laced up, corset back, and sequins, beads, and sparkles galore! This dress makes me feel like a tiny little movie star, and I adore it! I thank the ladies at That Boutique in Edgebrook Center in Rockford for helping me find this beauty:)

Anyways, let me know what you guys think! Did I make the right decision by picking the wine colored, sparkly dress? Let me know!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

And I thought I liked school...

Hey guys! Sorry its been a couple of days since I've posted, but I have been super busy!
But good news, I finally started my first class yesterday!
The bad news is that it is going very slowly so far, and I fear that the entire class will be like this. Hopefully I'm wrong!

As I think I've mentioned before, I was a super over-achiever in high school. I was always taking the ridiculously difficult schedule and involved in every extra-curricular activity possible.

So, as you can assume, this change of pace isn't exactly welcome.
I honestly think that my brain works backwards, because most people get stressed out when their schedules are overflowing and can relax when they don't have anything planned, but I am the complete opposite.

I have not been able to sleep well for the past few weeks because I have been so bored. I have nothing to occupy my mind with during the day, so my brain decides to think about everything at night time, so hopefully my brain is satisfied with this biology class enough to let me sleep for more than five hours at a time!

Anyways, my back to school outfit was definitely inspired by the fall weather since yesterday was the coldest it has been all month. The boots are my all time FAVORITE, and everything else was pretty simple.

I tried to make the outfit low-key since I can't stand the people that go ALL out trying to be super trendy the first day of class and then wear sweats the rest of the semester. I don't want to be that girl, so I set the standards a little lower :P

I absolutely love this color brown of the boots paired with dark jeans and a pop of color in a scarf! That combination is my go-to outfit for the fall and winter, and I think it is super easy to do for anyone!:)

Well, I am off to go get ahead on some homework so I'm not bombarded with it this weekend! Let me know how you guys are doing with school and switching your wardrobes from summer into fall! I'll be back tomorrow with another fashion post and to see your comments!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3
 

Sunday Funday:)

I am sorry to say that, yet again, I have no good fashion for you.

What I do have today is a runny nose,a couple doses of DayQuil, and bags under my eyes.

I also have a double date later with my wonderful boyfriend and our official double date friends/couple, Grace and Tanner....let's call them....idk. Any suggestions for a trendy name mash-up?:P

Anyway, we are going to go play some tennis later (which will definitely be entertaining to say the least) and then go out for some yummy fro-yo. After that, I will probably make my boyfriend baby me while I cuddle up with a blanket and watch bad tv...sounds like a perfect plan:)

I promise I will bring the fashion back tomorrow! It is finally almost boots and sweater weather (the best kind), and I am SO excited to start pulling out my fall wardrobe!!

Oh and thank you Harry and Chelsea for becoming my newest followers! I definitely appreciate it:)

So am I the only one who has been losing the motivation for fashion lately?? Let me know!

Have a wonderful Sunday!!!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3
 

Bad Football = Bad Fashion

Today is quite an interesting day.
All Bears fans throughout the country are wearing disappointment on their faces, and Packers fans are being the obnoxious bleepadebleeps that they are (just kidding, I have some lovely friends that are Packers fans....they're obnoxious, but usually for other reasons;)).

But seriously, the game last night was such a disappointment. The Bears just lost it. I don't know what changed since last Sunday's game, but it wasn't pretty. And you want to know what else wasn't pretty?.....Me.

I know I promised a picture of my Bears spirit, but the look of disgust that was on my face all night while I was watching the game definitely was not worthy of being posted on the internet.

Because of this horrible game, my motivation to dress up at all today is next to nothing, especially considering I'm going to watch my former high school's football game tonight (who wants to dress cute for a cold football game?).

BUT, I do have a little bit of excitement!!!!:)

I finally got my first follower! My wonderful boyfriend decided to support me in my blogging escapades and became my very first ever follower!

And, as readers, I think you all should follow in his footsteps and follow me too!
I already love you guys, but following me will give me extra motivation to write more interesting stuff! Promise:)

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday night and that you aren't as broken up about last night's big game as I am!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Game Day!

Hey guys! So sorry I didn't write yesterday, but I was so super busy!
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am out of town right now because my aunt is sick and my family decided to visit for a couple of days to help out.
My strength, physically and mentally, has definitely been tested. My Mamaw(Grandma) is in a wheelchair, and my aunt's house has like 58462528 stairs to get in, so we have to lift and roll and MacGyver our way in and out of the house(fun stuff). And there is no internet access here other than my phone which barely gets access, therefore I'm bored out of my mind.
Anyways, enough with my ranting!

There are more important things going on today.....

The Bears vs. Packers game!!!!!!

That has been driving me through this trip, that and the amount of napping I've been able to do:)
Anyways, in northern Illinois this game is the pinnacle of all football games. This game is the game of all games. The big kahuna.

And I am SO excited!!!!!!!:) I'll post a picture of my crazy Bears spirit tomorrow so you can all see what a dork I am:)

But you get no fashion while I'm gone because my travel gear is baggy tshirts and comfy shorts. So trendy, right?:P

So party it up while you're watching the game tonight! Tell me all about your plans!! And I hope they are as fun as mine will be:P

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Its seriously only Tuesday?....

Ok, so I don't know about all of you, but my week has been going by terribly slowly.(This post will be mostly ranting, so if you don't want to hear about my crazy busy week, stop reading:))
It was definitely a disappointment to find out that today is only Tuesday.
I definitely am excited for this weekend, but it is just so, SO far away!
So, to let you know just how crazy the rest of my week is going to be, here's my schedule:
Wednesday and Thursday - Out of town to visit family (a.k.a. get nothing done at home and get fat eating fast food)
Friday and Saturday - Host a Garage Sale

Ok....well maybe that doesn't look like all that much to do when its written out, but notice that there is zero time from tonight until Friday morning to do stuff for the garage sale.

Also notice that I have to miss the Bears vs. Packers game on Thursday night while I am stuck in Chicago traffic (luckily I get all of the Bears game info sent to my phone).

So, as a result of this dreaded trip, I will be bored out of my mind for two days straight instead of working my butt off at home to get this sale ready (I'm trying to convince myself I would have ACTUALLY worked my butt off).

Oh! And did I mention that I have to wake up at 4:30 AM tomorrow to leave?!
Please wish me luck! Comment and tell me how to entertain myself while I'm gone, I'll need it!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Just one of those days...

You know those days when you wake up and feel like death?
When you feel like your head is going to explode and your nose is going to fall off?

Yup, today is one of those days.

Either I'm getting sick thanks to the boyfriend because he attends the petri dish that is Harlem High, or I have HORRIBLE allergies thanks to Mother Nature being even more indecisive than I am. Either way, it sucks.

So, as a result of my current state of head and sinus congestion, I did NOT feel like putting a cute outfit on. I didn't really feel like leaving the house at all today, but I'm an adult with college to pay for now and I need to work on getting a job and all that fun stuff (who decided to make college so expensive? seriously..).

I wore a black v-neck, jeans, and black sandals. So so boring.
But I did go shopping in this boring outfit and I happened upon an adorable black and white striped blazer from Ross and bought it for $10.99, such a great deal! Not a great picture, but I promise its cute!

 I also got a great deal on this pink and white, White Sox yoga mat for $8.99 instead of the normal $24.99. I am a HUGE White Sox fan, and do enjoy yoga, so this definitely made my day.

I will not be using that yoga mat anytime soon though, unless this horrible cold or allergies or whatever the heck else it might be lets up within the next couple of days.
The rest of my day will be spent laying around, watching tv, and using an entire box of kleenex.
Hope you guys are all feeling much better than I am!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle (even if you're sick),
Stephanie<3

Today was the start of my favorite season! No, not fall; football season:)

Football signifies all things happy to me: the start of cooler weather, tailgating food, hoodies, jeans, boots, and scarves!

If it were up to me, I would wear my fall wardrobe all year. What's better than being able to layer like crazy and NOT having to shave your legs? Nothing.

And what better way to start football season than with a Chicago Bears win over the Indianapolis Colts?:)

My normal fall wardrobe (which tends to be cute, cozy, and layered) took a back seat though, to good Chicago spirit with my white, orange, and gray Brian Urlacher jersey.
Being the girly girl that I am though, I could not stand to wear a normal, oversized, men's jersey. This jersey has rhinestones on the collar and gray zebra print flutter sleeves, along with gray zebra print numbers that are outlined in orange.

 I waited until it was too dark to get a good picture, but here is my picture for today. My wonderful boyfriend spent 5 hours this morning working at the farm and lounged around in a cut-off and athletic shorts, but I wore this jersey, dark AE jeans, white Adidas running shoes, and a sparkly headband (have to add the sparkle)!

So who else is excited about fall and/or football season? I know I sure am!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Fashion = Happiness

So it is a lazy Saturday afternoon, and I have been lounging around all day.
It has definitely been an interesting last couple of days, so I think I deserved this lazy day.
I registered for fall classes yesterday, which was quite a stressful experience. I am one of those people who likes to be super busy and super challenged with every minute of every day, but I was only able to sign up for two classes this fall. Most people take about five classes. If it were up to me, I would have been taking six, but my indecisiveness created the situation for me when I decided to stay home and go to Rock Valley College instead of going to Loyola University Chicago only a week before I was supposed to move.
Anyway, I was quite disappointed when I learned that I can only take two classes this fall, but I'm in the process of finding a job and hopefully I can just work my butt off until the spring so I can pay for my schooling!
But, after the school fiasco yesterday, I started getting all cute to go out with Ryan(the boyfriend) and another couple that we are friends with, Grace and Tanner. We were planning on going to a festival, but Mother Nature rained on our parade just as I had feared. Instead of the festival, I ended up dragging Ryan shopping with me (I bought another homecoming dress, post to come) and then we all went to dinner at Old Chicago and then had a wonderfully witty and hilarious game of Taboo.
As I was getting ready for this night out, I realized that fashion truly does make me happy! I was putting my dress and heels on, and I felt at ease (and a like a hottie patottie too)!
I wore the blue dress I bought at TJ Maxx the other day with black, dangly earrings, a thick belt, and patent black pumps with a bow accent. Definitely a good choice, don't you think?:)

But, I beg you to ignore the hair and the make-up. I forgot to take the picture until AFTER we went shopping and went to dinner, so its looking pretty rough (I promise it was cute before I left)!
So how was your Friday night? Do anything exciting?

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3
 

I'd like to say that I had an interesting day full of fashion and fun, but I definitely didn't.  I sat around my house until lunch time, and the only reason I even ate lunch is because my dad made this wonderful homemade vegetable soup. It was definitely worth getting off the couch for.
Anyway, the fruit of my minimal efforts today is a garage full of items that used to be in the depths of my closet. As a result of my last minute decision to stay home and go to community college instead of moving to Chicago to go to Loyola, my entire loft (I'm an only child, so I get the upstairs to myself) got completely revamped.  In the process of this reorganization of my space, I acquired this wonderful closet organizer at one of my favorite places to shop, a garage sale.
During the middle of my summer, I was still planning on moving out for college, so I had started getting rid of just about half of my entire closet, so thankfully the new closet space was pretty easy to work with, but this resulted in a LOT of clothes to get rid of.

Lots of clothes to get rid of = Garage Sale.

Garage Sale = A LOT of work.

Therefore, I tried to get most of it done today instead of waiting until next Thursday night and doing it all last minute.
Here is the result of my efforts today.

I got all of my shirts and pants on the rack, and I priced all of my clothes, shoes, and purses.
Definitely successful! And happened to be quite fun once my dear friends Chelsea and Alexis showed up to keep me company.

All in all, I'd say today was decent, definitely not fashion filled, but I'd venture to say a little fun. Right now I'm sitting here writing this as the boyfriend does his homework, and hopefully our walk later tonight will add to the fun level of my day (maybe we'll even get some froyo! a girl can dream!).
Tomorrow, I PROMISE will be much more interesting, but tomorrow's post might get pushed to Saturday night thought because I have nothing fun planned until the night. Let's hope Mother Nature doesn't decide to rain on that parade. Hope all is well and that everyone is going to have a good weekend! Let me know about any fun plans:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

Thrifty Finds

Alright, so I know most people don't like to spend money, right? Well, neither do I. In this past week however, I've spent about $35-40 on clothes(which is way more than I normally would).
But usually that amount of money will only buy a few items. Would you like to know how many items I bought with my $40? ELEVEN. Eleven items. Granted, some of them need to be refashioned, but I got a wonderful eleven items.  Six of the eleven items I bought at TJ Maxx on the final clearance rack. Two of those items were little White Sox novelties (have to love my baseball), one was a little White Sox gnome (so cute) and another was a little stuffed mascot, each were $1. But the dresses I got there beat any deal I think I have ever gotten before!

 The blue dress was $3 and is sooooo cute! the shoulder cut-outs and the color are just wonderful. I'm thinking a thick black belt would be cute around the waist of that one. And either black flats, sandals, booties, or heels. I feel like this one could be super girly or super edgy depending on the accessories you put with it.

The pink one is so pretty, silky, and light! I also paid $3 for this one(such a steal). This one can definitely be dressed up with some big chunky black or metallic jewelry, (maybe) my layered black studded belt, and some black heels or studded booties. Will definitely post the outfit when I wear it!

The black dress fits PERFECTLY, and I got it for $1!!! It has a slight tear on the back of one of the straps, but I can easily sew that up, and I might even pick a little lace or ribbon to add to both sides where the rip was so nobody will notice at all! This one would be super adorable with sparkles everywhere! Sparkly belt, jewelry, make-up, shoes....I'm just going to sparkle it up with this one!

And the last one from TJ Maxx is this beautiful yellow and black patterned dress that I got for $3. Since I have a rather large derriere, it fits kind of tightly in that area, so I am going to have my goddess of a seamstress, Doris, make it a shirt instead! So perfect for a more professional setting or for a night out with colleagues!

Now onto the deals I got at the local Salvation Army store!

I got these brand new sandals for only $3! So comfy and cute! Now I don't have to try to pass off my brown flip-flops for black anymore!

This 101 Dalmations thermos was $.95, and I couldn't pass it up. It was my absolute favorite movie as a child, and this thermos is precious!

Well, the picture turned out to be sideways, but you get the drift. Super cute blazer for $6. Until I found this one, I couldn't find a cute blazer for less than $25, so when I happened upon this, I grabbed it and latched on!

This dress was also $6, and fits like it was made for me! I love the abstract pattern, and this dress would be perfect with my black blazer for an interview, or by itself with some black or blue(there are little blue dots in the pattern) heels for dinner out.

Finally, this sparkly little dress is probably my luckiest find of the week. I got it for a steal at $6, and it is most likely going to be worn to Pooh Bear's (the boyfriend's) homecoming next month. It has his favorite color of turquoise in it, and has sparkles galore! It is kind of young looking, but I figure this is really my last chance to wear something super young and sparkly!


As you can see, I definitely got some good deals this week! I am sadly refilling the closet that I just cleaned out, but at least I'm not spending a fortune doing it!
I will be following up as I wear these outfits so you can see the fashion in action!

So tell me what you think! Do you like any of these outfits? How would you wear them?

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,
Stephanie<3

A New Beginning

Hi! I'm Stephanie, an 18 year old girl who loves all things girly and some things not=]

And I'm starting this blog because I want a new beginning for myself.  I want to be more productive (ha!) to be more optimistic (psh) and to just be more...me. 

As summer is coming to close I am finding myself laying around the house and being very laisse about my life, and I decided that this blog is going to be my motivation to become me again.  

I'm going to be making posts about my style, my (sometimes unsuccessful) DIY projects, my relationships, and just my life in general. 

I will be posting every day in an effort to make myself more aware of my daily activities (and make a record of how truly uneventful my life is), and hopefully as I continue my personal Sparkle Stories I will make them more public and maybe hear some other peoples' Sparkle Stories as well!

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,

Stephanie<3