30 x 30 | The items

I wrote in my last post about how I'm participating in the 30 x 30 challenge that Sam is hosting.  The basic gist is picking 30 items and only wearing outfits composed from the bunch for 30 days.  I'm using it as a way to get back on track with my clothing budget and not shopping the whole month (we'll see how it goes).  I'll still be mixing in all my various accessories during the month.

So here are the 30 items I chose along with a description and links where available :) 

1. Quilted black leather jacket - Forever 21 (recent) | not available online, still in stores 2. Olive anorak - Old Navy (recent) | available online in black, emerald and orange 3. 3/4 sleeve ponte-knit dress - Old Navy (recent) | available online in black and royal blue 4. Ralph Lauren vneck cable knit sweater (winter '11) - TJ Maxx | check your local store 5. Cap sleeve dress with pockets - Old Navy (fall '12) | sold out 6. Sleeveless lace dress - My Michelle (thrifted) 7. DKNY sweater cardigan - Costco (fall '12) 8. Printed knit top - Talbot's (thrifted) 9. Button front stretch cardigan - Old Navy (recent) | available online 10. Button front stretch cardigan - Old Navy (fall '12) | available online in Brown Animal, Dalmation still available in select stores 11. Fitted french cuff dress shirt - Brooks Brothers | available online and in stores 12. Sleeveless vneck with pockets - Old Navy (fall '12) | sold out

13. Striped 3/4 sleeve knit - Forever 21 (fall '11) | similar here 14. Rockstar skinny cords - Old Navy | sold out online 15. 3/4 sleeve blazer in navy (thrifted) 16. Basic v neck - Target | similar here 17. Pleated pencil skirt with pockets - JcPenney | similar here 18. Chino pants in cobalt - H&M | available in stores, similar here 19. Polka dot chambray shirt - Old Navy | available here, similar here 20. Gingham button up - Old Navy (spring '12) | sold out, similar here 21. Riding boots - Payless (fall '11) | similar here 22. Jeggings - Target (spring '10) | similar here

23. Chino pants in khaki (spring '12) - H&M | available in stores 24. Striped knit top - Forever 21 (fall '11) | similar here 25. Pencil skirt - thrifted | similar here 26. Boat shoes - Dexter | sold out 27. Chelsea flat - Payless | available online and in stores 28. Pop color cords - Old Navy | available here 29. Houndstooth dress | H&M, sold out 30. Chelsea flat - Payless | available here

I'm so excited about this challenge and would love to follow some other blogs that are participating so please leave me a comment if you are!

cardigan | old navy (recent)
chevron top | old navy (spring '12)
khaki chinos | hm (spring '12 but still current)
riding boots | payless (fall '11)
necklace | blue bird bride (enter PATTERNS10 for 10% off your order)

 A closer look at the stack I had on.

pave bracelet | peekaboo deals
love bangle | windsor store
blue bracelet | charming charlie
jade and gold bracelet | charming charlie

cardigan | old navy (recent)
white tank | charlotte russe (spring '12)
chino pants | h&m (spring '12)
belt | charming charlie (spring '12)

Have a happy and safe New Year's!

Nicole

Happy Holidays!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it -- if not I hope you had/are having a wonderful break from work :)

Here's a roundup of some of the outfits I wore this holiday season!

sweater | ralph lauren (old)
tartan button up | old navy (recent)
cobalt chino pants | h&m (fall '12)

I wore this for my last day of work before Christmas -- I'm a huge fan of sweaters over button ups and this pairing felt festive without being too red and green.

dress & leggings | h&m (fall '12)
glitter skinny belt | walmart

The outfit I wore for Christmas Day (I actually lasted in the booties for a while!)

striped knit | forever xxi (fall '11)
sequin vest | target (winter '12)
brocade skirt | jcpenney (winter '12)

 And...what I wore today :)  Brought back the brocade skirt and got a little dazzly.

So I went a little crazy with my shopping this month and I wanted to try something new on the blog so I'm really excited to share I'll be participating in the 30x30 challenge that Sam is doing.  The idea came from Kendi and is a spectacular one: go through your closet and pick out 30 items.  Then use the next 30 days wearing outfits only composed of those 30 items.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to actually stick to a monthly clothing budget in 2013, so I'm kicking it off by not doing any shopping the first month (yes, I'm already sweating it).  I picked out my 30 items tonight and will be sharing them with you all this weekend before the challenge starts on Tuesday!

Happy Holidays,
Nicole

the week in recap

This last week was all about attempting to gear up for the holidays: prepping Christmas cards, looking at dresses for New Years and failing at Christmas shopping. Cheers to having another week, right?

So let's see - I decided I wanted to mail Christmas cards to far away friends and that I wanted to make them instead of buying a pack.  I'm almost finished writing them and just have to stop by the post office to pick up holiday stamps and then that will be crossed off my list (HOORAY!).  Here's a sneak peek:

Loving the Scottie theme :) you can follow me on instagram @sequinedpatterns

I also picked up a pretty awesome gift for one of my friends.

I know a few places are carrying OPI's Top Ten set - Ulta featured it as their "Deal of the Day" over the weekend so it was $14.95 instead of $24.95.  Still, what a great price for these colors and they are grouped so you can break it into a top five for coworkers or stocking stuffers.  I almost justified buying myself a set but I held out.

Finally, the outfits I want to share with you all today.  I lovelovelove putting together different outfits this season for holiday parties, family gatherings and just being festive for going shopping, etc.

Tartan shirt dressed up and worn casually

I picked up this tartan shirt from Old Navy (similar here) on super sale for $13.30 and knew it would be all I wore come December...and I was right.  I was messing around with it while trying to decide what to wear for a Christmas party this upcoming weekend and paired it with my brocade skirt that I wrote about in my last post.  I liked the look so much that I threw on some gold accents and wore it to work on Saturday...and then wore it right on over to a Christmas party, so I guess I'll have to try something different this weekend.

I lazed around and then ran errands before working on Christmas cards on Sunday so I unrolled the sleeves and threw the shirt on over leggings and a Jimi Hendrix tshirt for a much more casual look.  Which look do you like better?

Of the two looks, I favor the dressed up version:

I may just end up repeating this outfit for Christmas Day (shhhh! don't tell!)

Linking up with Shana at ColorBlind and Molly over at still being [molly]

:) Nicole

Got your voice in my head

So the soundtrack to last week was this song.

On Sunday, I dropped off my presents for the little girl I adopted through Salvation Army's Angel Tree program and I have to tell you all, I am so, so excited about my finds.  I'm hoping she loves all of her Christmas presents this year.

I am in love with the sequins and metallics that are in right now, especially with the holidays coming up.  I tried on this skirt from Francesca's Collections:

Illuminated Brocade Skirt - $38

I loved it online and even saw it featured on a friend's blog, but wasn't feeling the fit and length when I tried it on.

I was at JcPenney's and found this beauty:

Alyx Brocade Mini Skirt - regularly $25, marked down to $14

The back features an exposed zipper which I love and I'm much more comfortable with the length and fit of this skirt.  I was lucky enough to find it in my size and bought it immediately.  I'm thinking it'll look great with black tights, turtleneck sweaters, chiffon sheer blouses and even paired with a blazer - stay tuned :)

I was actually really impressed with JcPenney - they had a lot of collections that were very cute and reasonably priced and many cute items were marked down in clearance.  Here are some items I'm keeping my eye on:

Sequin Trim Blazer - original $25, now $16

Olsenboye Piped Blazer - original $30, now $20

This blazer is part of the Olsenboye line, designed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Striped V-Neck Sweater - $13

I was picking up shoes as part of my Angel Tree shopping and they had a buy one pair, get the second for $10 promotion running and so now I'm the proud owner of these:

studded loafers - charlotte russe, not available online

Hope everyone has a great week!
Nicole

Tis the season (to get thrifty)

The holidays are always a tough time because there's so many good sales, but it's also the time when I feel like I should only be buying for others.  Every year is a struggle because I find that some deals are just too good to pass up.

I have a love-hate relationship with Forever 21, I know it's weird.  I love that the store allows you to try a trend at a relatively low price, but I hate that the store rarely has sales and doesn't allow returns.  On top of that, my local XXI is two stories with escalators which sounds wonderful, but is really just incredibly overwhelming and messy. 

However, when I got an email from them letting me know about the 21% off they were offering for Friends and Family this past weekend, I decided to go in to look for a leather jacket I had seen on their site.

studded leather jacket | forever 21, $37.80

This one was on sale for 50% online Black Friday weekend, but I hesitated to buy because I like to try jackets on first and I hate paying for shipping. I didn't think I'd be able to find this in store after it disappeared from the web site but as I scoped out the first floor, I found the jacket in black and white. After debating on sizing and color, I decided on the black in medium.  With the F&F discount the jacket was $29.86.  I love the gold zippers and studs on this.

left: striped relaxed slub top. right: union jack baseball tee.

I'm a sucker for striped knit tees. They're so easy to layer or wear with colored pants and matching jewelry and I always think they look nicer than a tshirt.  So, it wasn't a hard decision to pick up this one in Royal/Mint ($8.53).  One of my friends loves anything Union Jack so I teasingly sent her a picture and she quickly convinced me to buy it.

I also went thrifting and found some real gems.

Linking up here today!

close up of detail

I was super excited about this sheer green blouse.  The top is loose fitting and I think it would look fantastic tucked into a gold sequined skirt for the holiday season.

appàrenza top | thrifted, $3

Next was an interesting find -- do you ever wonder about the previous owner of thrifted clothes?

These were besides each other on the rack, one still had the tags as shown above.  I'm curious as to why someone bought two of the same $40 shirt at Express and then took it to Goodwill.

sleeveless top | thrifted, express - $3

sleeveless top | thrifted, express - $3

These will be great under cardigans until it's warm enough to wear them alone.

ikat ruffle tank | thrifted, $3

Grabbed this tank to pull on as I tried on a cardigan and ended up liking it better than the sweater.  It's bright and fun and will also be wonderful under cardigans until it warms up again.

patterned knit tee | thrifted, talbot's - $3

Overall, a pretty great thrift haul that I'm very excited to style.

Have a good one!

Nicole

I'm just so sick about it

I survived working opening shift of Black Friday...only to catch a cold and then a stomach virus. It's been a long week of visiting urgent care, lounging in sweat pants and online shopping for this girl.

Sadly, online shopping hasn't helped me narrow down a Christmas list but hopefully I sort that out soon.

I led up to Black Friday (or as we call it at Vera, Bright Friday) with corals.

Left:
dalmation cardigan | old navy, knit | kohl's, skinny belt | walmart, chinos | h&m
Right:
cardigan | old navy, dress | ann taylor, thrifted, braided belt | charlotte ruse

Excuse the bathroom pics :) I found this Ann Taylor dress a few months ago, but hadn't had a chance to wear it yet.  It's going to be too cold soon, but it'll be nice to bring back in the spring.

newbies: pavé link bracelet, OPI Gouda Gouda Two Shoes and essie Butler Please

I am in love with all three of these.  I'd been wanting the classic pavé link bracelet from J. Crew for a couple of months now, but didn't want to pay $125. I'd ordered one off Etsy, but was disappointed once it arrived so I tried another seller and was thrilled. More info on where you can order one later.

The last time I was at the nail salon for a manicure, I picked out Gouda Gouda Two Shoes and loved the gold flecks in the neutral pink tone.  One of my best friends came home to visit and at one point grabbed my hand to inspect before telling me she loved it.

I first fell in love with Butler Please when Cortne previewed Essie's (at the time) upcoming Holiday 2012 colors on her blog.  The color is gorgeous and in my mind the perfect Kentucky blue to show support for my Kentucky Wildcats.  I was so happy when I picked up the last bottle at my local Ulta.  The color goes on semi matte, chipped pretty quickly and I found the formula slightly gloppy, but the color is so vivid that I can look past it.

faves: love ring | charming charlie, essie Butler Please, and pavé crystal studded bracelet | peekaboo deals

My new bracelet was only $25, looks gorgeous and even has the circular J. Crew metal tag on it. If you've been eyeing buying this stunning piece of arm candy, I highly recommend purchasing this or adding it to your Christmas list.

black friday ootd
navy dress | old navy, cardigan | dkny jeans, scarf | vera bradley

The Accent Scarf is without a doubt my favorite of Vera Bradley's winter releases.  I now have it in Canyon (pictured above), English Rose and Provençal and I love the length, color and warmth they provide.  It's been a struggle to not snatch up the other two colors while at work.

sweater and cords | old navy

I featured this sweater in the oatmeal and coral in my last post, but when I saw these in the clearance section I fell in love and bought both colors.  Forewarning for anyone buying online: SIZE DOWN. The shoulders are dropped and the sweater is extremely stretchy - I ended up buying the extra small and it still covers my bottom if I want to pair it with leggings.  Also, the sweater is now marked down on the website but was $17.99 in clearance last month -- I would assume it's possible that it may have been further marked down and significantly cheaper than the web price at your local ON.

necklace | charming charlie's

I haven't worn this necklace nearly enough since purchasing it, mostly due to my struggles with how wide it is...any ideas?

Finally, I leave you with an item off my Christmas list.  Ann Taylor is selling a tote and scarf until the end of December and 60% of the sale price benefits St. Jude's.

elephant print scarf | ann taylor

This scarf would look great over a sweater or chambray shirt and supports a wonderful charity.

xx,

Nicole

The lead up to Black Friday and the crazy side of retail has been pretty quiet (thankfully).  The beginning of cold weather has led to lots of sweater weather, but I've been fortunate to get a 70 degree day every now and then.

colorblock sweater | old navy

Love this sweater so much that I bought it in the navy and light blue as well.  They ended up only being $12 each and the relaxed fit, length of the sweater and dropped shoulders are huge pluses for me.

striped shirt | forever xxi
yellow skirt | thrifted
bubble necklace | etsy

You may remember this skirt from my last post.  Yellow's my favorite color so I was chomping at the bit to wear this skirt and got so many compliments on it.

dress | old navy
necklace | charlotte russe

Picked this dress up during Old Navy's dress sale last week and it ended up being just $17. The A-Line cut makes it easy to belt or dress up with a necklace or scarf.  Definitely one of my favorite additions to my closet and I'm thinking I might have to scoop it up in another color.

Hope your week's going well.

xx,
NG