College!

K guys, I know I haven't blogged in like, 12938140891 years, but here I am again on my own, walking down the only road I've ever known (cue air guitar and terrible singing).

I'm at college now. I'm also single now.
I'm taking 15 credit hours, and making new friends everywhere I go.
I am also having a GREAT time!

I was super duper nervous to come here; I knew I would miss my family, friends, and also my wittle puppy! But I've made new friends here from the very first day, and we are already becoming like a big family.

The floor I live on is super amazing. Everyone (for the most part) gets along wonderfully, and they all are super nice.

This is my roommate, Megan! Our parents insisted we get a "first day in college" picture, and I'm kind of glad they did! So far, she seems super cool, and I can't wait to get to know each other better!

Here is Emily! She is uber cool, and we get along great! And this picture is cute, so I couldn't resist:)

This is Heather, Megan, Emily, and me. This is our second or third day here at SIU, and we were outside watching the guys play some touch football. All of these girls, plus quite a few others have become such great friends already, and I know that we will all grow even closer as the semester goes on.

But I can't forget my wonderful friends at home that I miss so very much!

Alexis and Aaron, guys, I MISS YOU!!!!!!!!! You guys are like, my go-to people whenever I'm in any kind of mood. I love you guys to death, and I absolutely can't wait until you can come visit me!

 And Kade, Erica, and Ryan, last but not least! Kade, I don't know very well, but he seems like a super cool kid. Erica and Ryan (and Thienly belongs here too), I flipping miss you guys. You guys are so much fun, and are probably have so much happening with the start of your senior year, and I so wish I could be there to see you guys grow! I love you guys, and I can't wait to see you!

And there you have it.

My first post of my sophomore year at a university that is very new and slightly scary to me.

More posts will come, I promise!!:)

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

Switching Direction

I have been gone for quite a while, and I miss blogging.
It has become quite crazy in my life lately, although it seems like my life is always crazy!

Recently though, I have gotten over my long, merciless cold, and have started feeling much better in many aspects of my life.

Things have started looking up for me a little bit, and I am going to try to get back to having things to blog about!

It has come to my attention while looking through my blog posts that I have posted very few outfit posts. This makes me very sad, because the purpose of this blog was supposed to be exactly that. To remedy the situation, I am posting an outfit today, but also changing focus a little bit.

This is going to become a blog about the things that interest me. All of them! Crafting, fashion, school, friends, etc. Whatever is going on in my life, I am going to write about it.

Anyways, I will now show you all my cute outfit of the week. I wore this on the ONE day so far this week that it hasn't poured and poured rain all day.

Someday, I will have a tripod and be able to take pictures in nice looking places and whatnot, but until then you shall get amateur mirror pictures!

Through all of the blogs I read regularly, I have seen a lot of this type of outfit: the camel colored boots, leggings, and striped skirt.

I have seen stripes paired with floral prints a lot too, but I am not feeling quite that adventurous yet!

This scarf felt like the perfect pop of spring color for this drab week!

And hopefully, ya'll can find your own pop of spring in some way this week; the week that proves that there is such a thing as April showers!

Missed ya'll and hope you enjoyed the outfit!

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

Outfit Shmoutfit.

So, I've been wearing cute outfits for the past like, 4 days, and I forgot to take a picture of every single one.

I'll admit it, I suck.

I need to set up some kind of reminder for myself so I can capture the cuteness that has been my new spring looks.
Well, I would say they are semi-spring.

On Monday, my outfit was still pretty winter-y. I wore an oxblood oversized Christian Dior sweater ($1.25 at Salvation Army), a grayscale leopard print infinity scarf ($7 at Strawberry), and gray jeggings ($14 at Walmart). Oh, I wore it with black boots too. No idea where those were from.

Tuesday, I wore a gray cardigan ($5 at VS Outlet), a white cami, blue-green jeans ($11 at Walmart), and these adorable tan moccasins that I'm pretty sure I got at a dollar store!

Today, I wore a cute gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and black boots, with this adorable necklace that has a flower accent and turqouise beading.

Hopefully I will be able to remember to take a picture next time I wear something cute so you can see it instead of taking my word for it!

But oh well.
I guess you guys will just have to look forward to my next outfit post:)

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

Expensive Taste

I had to share this find with you guys.
I was perusing Pinterest and stumbled upon this $1650 bag that looked eerily similar to a bag that I got for around $12.

This is the SUPER expensive bag. Pretty cute, right?

This is my super inexpensive bag. It isn't the greatest picture, but they are so crazy similar that I just had to show you.

Actually, now that I think about it I might make this a weekly thing.
I'll have to come up with a witty name for the weekly post, but it might just happen.
"Expensive Looks For Less" but funnier:P

So keep a look out ya'll!!!

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

Chocolate is the Best Medicine

K, so I'm still sick.
I have been for like, 2 weeks now, so I'm not a happy camper.
But the plus side is that I have accumulated butt loads of Lindt Lindor Truffles, many Reese's products, and a bag full of red Skittles, all courtesy of Ry.
I typically don't eat candy that much, so it has been a growing collection.

But now that I'm sick, I need those little sugar rushes.
I think I'm going to turn into a giant, walking, Reese's cup.
As long as people don't try to eat me, I guess that's ok:P

I would give you guys a fashion post, but my style has consisted of sweatpants and hoodies for the past two weeks.  So that probably isn't very helpful to any of ya'll.

Once I am feeling like myself again, I promise I'll blow you all away with my outfits, but for now, this is what I am. A walking Reese's cup.

Hope ya'll have a good, and healthy, weekend!

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

Ear Fear.

I have taken a brief break from blogging.
I have been very sick for the past week or so.
The only people that have seen me are my family, Ry, and his family.
And Shyenne, once last week, to go thrifting and to lunch.
But I BARELY made it.

I finally made it to the doctor today and he told me that I have an ear infection and a sinus infection.
I am on antibiotics for 10 days.
Hopefully, it'll get better.

The worse part of this is that I didn't get to see a lot of my friends that I wanted to see over spring break because I just didn't feel like doing anything but laying on a couch and watching tv.

Another bad part is that I have a fear of ears.
I FREAK out when people touch my ears, when I clean my ears, when I get water in my ears, when my ears are dirty, pretty much anything to do with my ears.

I almost puked at the doctor's office when he had to probe that large shiny thing inside my ear.
Not fun.

Anyway, hope ya'll are not nearly as sick as I am right now and that your ears are far away from the big shiny thing that went in mine.

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

The Addiction Grows.

Ok, so a couple of posts ago I mentioned that I am addicted to thrift shopping.
Yesterday, I decided that I am going to become a professional thrifter.
I am going to learn how to do the whole Ebay thing so I can turn some profit on the great thrift finds that don't fit me, have tons of fun thrift shopping, and maybe even fund more shopping trips:)

Last week, I happened to find an old pair of flip-flops that I donated to Goodwill on the shelf, and I found myself wondering why ANYONE would want to buy these suckers.
They are pretty hideous. I made them to wear during down time at dance competitions when I was like, 10. So bad.

Also, last night I dragged Ryan to the Salvation Army and told him that I wouldn't look at the clothes. I think I was lying to both of us when I said that. I so badly wanted it to be true, but I just couldn't help myself!
These are all of my finds! The striped dress is great for summer, or even a swimsuit coverup, and was $1.25 because it was half off. The nightgown is beautiful and so incredibly comfortable and was $1.50 with half off.
The shoes are gray Gap flats with cut-outs and a peeptoe, but they are a size 10 which is WAY too big for me. So I got them for Shyenne. They were only $.50!!! Such a wonderful deal!

 Ryan got these American Eagle khakis for $1.75, and they look great on him!
We also scored this huge teddy bear. But see, when we look for stuffed animals, we look for the things that will be fun/hilarious to shoot with a bow and arrow;)
I think this guy will be pretty fun to shoot!

Thankfully, I am feeling slightly better than yesterday, but still not feeling great. Today is going to consist of laundry, dishes, homework, and reading. Maybe watching some tv.
The fun stuff:P

Oh! Can't forget to show you guys what I wore last night. I was feeling pretty blah, so it isn't fussy, but it was still pretty cute! I wore my favorite jeans, a white tank from Target that desperately need to be replaced, gray boots that I borrowed from my mom, an ancient scarf, and a beautiful, soft, comfy Gap sweater that I scored at Goodwill for $1.23. And my new-ish haircut too!

Anyway, I hope ya'll have a great day, and are enjoying my posts!

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

Mah nose is a wittle stuffy...

I feel so incredibly sick.
It started slow last week, and I was just feeling a little under the weather, but now it is full blown, head stuffy, stomach fussy, just wanna sleep sick.

The worst part of this whole being sick thing is that my spring break just started.
I have so many things that I want to do and that NEED to get done, but I just feel like sleeping.

So I decided that I am going to rest up today, but after today I am going full force with all of my plans, and I am not  going to let this ick-ness stop me.

Day-quil is going to be my best friend this week (sorry Ry, you've been booted:P)

So, now I'm off to go shower (finally) and maybe do some reading. I might trudge myself into a cute outfit to go out to dinner tonight just so I can maybe feel a little better.

Is that just me, or do you guys instantly feel better when you get dressed up too?

Anyway, I hope ya'll are feeling WAY better than I am.
Love ya'll!

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

Hello. My name is Stephanie, and I am addicted to thrift shopping.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I just got back from the local Goodwill on N. 2nd Street, and I am ecstatic!
I got such great deals!!!
And my mamaw (grandma for those of you who have never heard the southern term before) got a butt load of Easter decorations that she did NOT need.

I will have pictures later, but I got this adorable navy canvas vest from Ruff Hewn for $3.99, brand new hot pink skinny jeans that fit like a glove for $3.99, a wallet and amazing make-up bag for $.99 a piece, and 3 awesome almost-new Victoria's Secret bras for $1.99 a piece (sorry if that grosses you out for me to a get a bra at Goodwill, but how gross could it really be?:P)

Anyway, they had lots of belts that I might go back and look at since they're $1.99 a piece and are brand new and totally cute.
I will definitely be going to the Easy as 123 sale next Friday at the Rockford Goodwill and then the next Friday at the Machesney Park Goodwill.

I am on the hunt for a nice pair of jeans, but don't want to spend a ridiculous amount of money. So Goodwill and Salvation Army on my list of go-to stores.

I am now on spring break, so blogging will happen much more often in the next week or so.
I have this blogging project that I'm going to work on over break, so hopefully it'll help make it easier for me to blog.
I often forget to take pictures of my outfits, so I am going to go through my entire closet and take pictures of each piece to keep on file so I can just plop files onto my posts and go if I happen to forget pics!

I think I may be biting off more than I can chew, but we shall see if it happens by the end of next week.

Well, that is all my loves.
Hope your lives are going wonderfully and this spring fever is inspiring your fashion as much as it is mine!:)

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

True Friends

When you're in high school, everyone tells you to cherish your friendships for those four years because, after that, most of them end.
I disagree with that.
I have found that the friendships don't end after you graduate, you just found out which ones were truly there to begin with.
All of the friendships I have lost after high school started disintegrating before we even graduated.
I feel closer to some of my friends from high school now than I even did before.

Most people say that the friends that matter will stick around, but that's not necessarily true either.
Some of those people that you thought mattered will surprise you, in good ways and bad.

I don't really think that the friendships end.
I think that they begin.

I've known one of my best friends for about 11-12 years now, and we have definitely had our ups and downs, but we have been there for each other through everything.
Throughout our friendship, we didn't talk all the time.
We were both really involved in different activities, and we would catch up when we could, but we were never those inseparable friends.
Yet, when we talk, it doesn't feel different at all no matter how long it has been, which is nice.

Actually, I have a few friends like this.

I recently started catching up with one of my old friends, and I feel like we have always gotten along really well and had a lot in common. I feel like I'm almost getting a new friendship out of it because we're talking more now than we did before!

I feel like all of the friends I've had throughout the years are going to be lifelong friends, whether we talk once a day, week, month, or year.
And the point of this post was to tell ya'll that I miss you!!!

I've realized just how much all of you guys mean to me, and I want to give all of my true friends a big "I love you, be happy" shout-out!

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

City Lights

This past weekend was quite an adventure.
I have needed a mini-vacation for quite some time now.
I've needed to just get away from everything.

And last weekend, I got that.

My parents, Ry, and I went up to Milwaukee on Saturday morning.
Actually, we first went to Cedarburg, which is a small town just outside of Milwaukee that houses tons of quirky little shops and my parents' favorite winery.
We explored the shops, ate some wonderful popcorn that we get every time we go there, and took a picture with a really cute panda:)

Cute, right?:)

 After our time in Cedarburg, we made our way to our hotel in Milwaukee, the Hilton Garden Inn. I have to say this is one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in, and Ry was absolutely amazed with how nice it was. Our curtains were controlled with buttons on the opposite side of the room. Pretty nifty I would say.

Ry was hiding behind the curtains:)

We ate dinner at Rock Bottom Brewery, as we always do in Milwaukee, and then Ry and I headed to the mall.
I have never been more disappointed by a mall in my life. The only store worth visiting was the huge TJ Maxx.
We did, however, stop by the Culver's in the food court and downed a pint of chocolate custard with Reese's mixed in. Definitely wonderful.

There was an absolutely beautiful view as we were walking back to the hotel. It felt really nice to walk hand-in-hand through the city lights. 

Later that night, we ventured to a bookstore that was across the street, and it was so fun. The bookstore had shelves that went all the up to the ceiling, filled to the brim with books. There were two cats wandering around that lived in the bookstore, and I think I would just live there and read all day every day if I could.

When we got back to the room, we ordered take-out, which was delicious, and then we all passed out before 10 p.m.
It was the first good night of sleep I have gotten in about 2 weeks.

met a new beau at the musem! he's irish;)

The next morning, we went to the wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel and then headed off to the Milwaukee Public Museum. We had such fun there, and it was pretty educational too.

Here are the rest of the pictures I took:

Our walk back to the hotel.

View from the hotel

Another view.

They had lots of gross bugs and spiders.

Aargh matey!

My favorite animal:)

The butterfly exhibit was beautiful.

One landed on my daddy:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,

Stephanie<3

Weekend of Champions

Alright, so most of the people who read this blog, assuming there are people who read this blog, know me pretty well. 
But for those of you who don't know me that well, here is a brief overview of me (how I see myself at least).
-I can be super outgoing if I am around a group of people, but if it is just you and me, or just me by myself, I am pretty laid back and, I think, kind of boring:P
-I don't break the rules (except in fashion, and only sometimes). I feel super guilty if I skip a class, and I have and always will turn down offers to drink, TP, or do anything illegal or stupid or possibly harmful to myself or others.
-I like schedules. I like knowing what I am doing for the day and the week. When plans change, I get a little freaked out.
-I have anxiety issues. I manage these by keeping my schedules and not breaking the rules.

There is much more to who I am, but this is enough description to tell ya'll why this weekend was awesome.

My weekend started on Thursday, which was Valentine's Day, because Ry had no school. I had school, which went by super fast, and then I came home. Ry came over and presented me with a giant pink teddy bear, and lots of chocolate. And also with a letter. A letter that said a lot of things that needed to be said and that helped us begin to resolve a lot of things.
The letter was by far my favorite present.
Then, we went to his parent's archery shop, Obsession Archery, and shot a few rounds with our bows. This was a treat for me because I love to shoot, but we rarely get to.

After that, we went to the local pet store to play with the puppies and fell in love with a little yorkiepoo. We wanted to bring home so bad. He was the perfect little puppy!
We then went to the mall, where I drooled over everything at LOFT, and then made our way to dinner. We couldn't decide on a place, and didn't want to wait forever, so we just went to Dairy Queen! It was wonderful just to spend time with each other. We desperately needed it.

Friday, we shot archery again, and spent the day playing games and relaxing.
Saturday, we shot archery yet again, and went thrifting (got so many good deals. post to come).
Sunday, we went to the gym in the morning, which is one of our favorite things to do together. Then we just relaxed and played games for the rest of the day.
Monday, we shot archery AGAIN, and then we went to see "Identity Thief" at the movies, which was great.

The greatest part of all of this is that all of our plans worked out. We planned almost all of this stuff ahead of time, and nothing came up and ruined any single one of our plans.
We both had a wonderful time, and it felt wonderful to just spend time with him.
We are "dating" again, and it feels great. It is nice to go on dates and get to know him again.

Anyways, this weekend was fun. I just had to tell you all about it!:)

We finally have our smiles back<3

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

Hello Cute Shoes

Some day last week, I decided to wear an outfit that was completely in between comfy and put together, and this is what I put together.

 Cardi: Target, $8 on clearance
Tank: Target, gift
Jeans: Some website:P
Shoes: Sperry's. blistermakers.


















I definitely wish that I would have worn my knee high camel colored boots with this outfit, but alas, I did not.
Which is why I ended up with humongous, biting blisters on the backs of my heels that day. The first one came after only a 5 minute walk from my car to class.

The most saddening part of the whole thing is that I try every chance I have to wear these shoes. I tell myself that someday, they'll stretch out when I wear them, so they won't give me blisters anymore. But every time I wear them...hello blisters.
What a waste of such a cute pair of shoes (I'll have to update with a close-up pic of them later).

  

Although these shoes are painful, I will probably trick myself into wearing them again.

They are just so alluring with their adorable little floral print and preppy appeal.

I will try to refrain though, because although most people say beauty is pain, I say...

Comfort is Key.

With that, I leave ya'll to have a terrific Tuesday.

 And remember, comfort is key. Don't wear those piercing heels or those pinch your skin jeans, it is SO not worth it.

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,

Stephanie<3 

Shopping Nightmare.

Ok, so I never thought I would ever have a bad time shopping, but yesterday proved me oh-so wrong.
For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to go jean shopping last night after being in a crappy mood all day and on the last day of Aunt Flo's visit.  I have concluded that I am an idiot.
I tried on about a dozen pairs of jeans, none of which looked good, which could have possibly had something to do with the fact that I was angry at the world and wouldn't even have thought an ice cream cone looked appetizing.
Anyways, I hate that different brands of jeans have completely different sizing. I own size 10's that fit me, and I tried on a size 14 yesterday that I barely squeezed into!
Confused much??
I just can't understand why clothing brands do that. I mean, wouldn't they make the sizes run big to make people feel skinnier when they try their clothes on?
If I found a brand where I could wear a small shirt and a size 8 pant, I would buy nothing else.

In conclusion, shopping sucks when you already want to punch your loving boyfriend in the face for no reason at all and you're bloated.
So, I warn you. DON'T DO IT! Ever. Never do what I did.

Also something to never do, never leave your phone in a fitting room and then wait until you're on the opposite side of the mall to realize. Not fun.

Take my advice my little sparklers.

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

Long Time No See!

Well, it sure has been awhile.  I've missed ya'll greatly, and hopefully, you've missed me and the blog a little bit too.

Here's an update on my life in the past month or so:

I am now in the Spring semester of my Freshman year of college, and am doing pretty well.

All my classes are easy yet interesting, and things are just looking up lately!

I've been going to the gym regularly, and eating better.

Except on the weekend. My self-discipline disappears at 4 o'clock on Friday afternoon and doesn't show itself until Monday morning!

Despite the indulgent weekends, I have already lost a few pounds and am feeling way better about myself!:)

Ry and I had our first anniversary on New Year's Day, and we have been doing great!  He actually got me hooked on this SUPER nerdy video game, and I hate him for it because I play it WAY more than I should.

I have been thrifting like crazy and finding amazing deals, which rarely used to happen.  I don't know if this is just a lucky streak or if I have become a thrifting expert, but I would like to think it results from the latter.

I think I've realized that I should only buy super comfortable fabrics and textures because that is all I wear lately.  If it doesn't feel like I could wear it to bed, it gets thrown into the darkest depths of the black hole that is my closet.  I've amazed myself with the cute clothing I find that is pajama material (ha! double meaning there!).

Anyways, I will be posting my latest thrift stores finds as I wear them, so look out for those posts!

Now that I go to school almost every day, I have been putting outfits together way more than I used to.

So be prepared for many more posts from me! Mostly outfits and DIY's, but also just about my life and schtuff.

Stay tuned!:)

Live, Love, and Let it Sparkle,

Stephanie<3

Massive Haul!

Ok, so I know I haven't posted in like, FOREVER, but I found this amazing website today, and I just HAD to post about it!

It is called Cotton On, and the shop has the cutest stuff ever.

Honestly, I didn't look much at their clothes because they were a little pricey for me, but their sale options were pretty great.

I spent about an hour and a half looking at their Typo brand though.
They carry everything: greeting cards, wrapping paper, pillows, figurines, journals, pens, stamps, clocks, etc.
They had all kinds of little trinkets that left me intrigued and $50.00 in the hole:P

My favorite finds were probably this darling poster with a mug that matches. Such a beautiful print!
I can't wait to get my haul in so I can testify to how nifty and beautiful all of the items are!

Miss you all, and I hope that all is well!

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