Friday Finds: Dresses, Heels & Sale Faves

Hi friends! Did you have a good week? I felt really productive this week, which is great! We've got a busy weekend ahead with a few church + marriage events, but they should be fun :) Here are some sale finds for you this week:

1. This is the perfect maxi for spring and summer. I love the black, because you can wear it to anything and pair it easily with a jean jacket, but it also comes in other colors and a pattern, too! It's also 25% off right now. PS. love the styling with the turquoise jewelry in the pic:

2. HOW CUTE IS THIS DRESS?! It had me at stripes & lace & pockets! It's a casual fabric, perfect to wear with sandals or sneakers. Also comes in a plain gray look. It's 40% off!

3. These sandals caught my eye. I have a pair of heels from Hinge and they are so comfortable, so I really trust this brand. The block heel is really on-trend and will help it be more comfy. You could wear these with skinny jeans or a casual dress.

4. Anthropologie is having a 25% off jeans sale. My favorite brand is AG...they are an investment, but SO worth it, as I've had a few pairs from them for YEARS.

5. LOFT: 40% off everything! Code: OHGOODIE
Some favorites: Lots of adorable tops and I'm obsessed with that off the shoulder dress:

5. Nordstrom: here are some of my favorite sale finds. So many fun pieces right now!! This purse is amazing. 

6. Just a peek at some gift ideas for Mother's Day that I found while putting together my gift guide post for next week:

That's all for this week! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!
xoxo

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Hair Tutorial: The Perfect Curls, Half Up & Fancy Ponytail

Hi friends! Back in January I gave my readers a survey and asked for post topics you were all interested in reading about. I used to do some hair tutorials when I was in college, so I did get a few requests for more of those. Lucky for me, one of my best friends, Chelsea, is a hair stylist (she does my hair here in Michigan! If you're looking for a stylist in West Michigan, let me know and I'll give you her info!), so she was kind enough to come up with a few styles to show you all. Not only was she a bridesmaid in our wedding, but she also did all my other bridesmaids' hair for our big day! You can see them here. My other sweet friend Rachel took all our photos for us.

Anyways, we're doing two styles today + showing you a new way to curl your hair!

CURLS:

1. Section off hair into layers. If you need to spruce up your hair on the second or third day without washing it, I love this Amika dry shampoo.

2. Curl a small section, starting at the mid-to-root area of your hair. Don't start from bottom and roll the iron all the way up.

3. Tip for texture waves: when releasing the curl, twist the hair around the rod. Watch the video to see what we mean...

4. At the hair in front of your ear, curl AWAY from your face. Hair after the ear, curl away, then towards, away, then towards. Alternating every other one.


5. Holding the curl in your hand while it cools will "set the curl", which means it will help it last longer.

6. Run your fingers through the curls.

Half Up Do:

1. Put in a little dusting of Push Powder (or anything that helps increase volume). Tease the base at the crown in sections, then smooth the top section so it's not rough/matted.

2. Gather a section of hair at the crown area, leaving the hair in front of the ear out and maintaining your part in the front.

3. Secure with hair pins-- don't worry about them being seen, as we are going to cover them up.

4. Grab the hair in front of the ears, twisting as you pull it to the back to cover the hair pins from step three. You can try to conceal these hair pins a bit if you want to leave this style down as seen below. If you can't cover the pins, not to worry! We're going to pull the hair into a pony tail and remove the pins that you see.

Tip: be sure to leave out a few strands of hair by the face for an effortless look.

Glam Ponytail:

1. Complete the above steps 1-4 to create your base.

2. Grab the rest of the hair at the base of the neck and secure with elastic.

3. Remove visible hair pins from the twist. Do not remove the original bobby pins we put in in step 1 above, which made up the base of the half up do.

4. Take a small section of the under part of your ponytail and wrap around the elastic to conceal. In order for it to stay put, twist the end of the small section of hair around a bobby pin as shown below. Then secure the pin up through the base of the pony tail.

Twisting it around the bobby pin ensures it won't come unraveled from around the elastic. LOVE this tip!!

I love this glam version of a low pony! I can even see myself making it a bit simpler by doing less twists. Can't wait to play around with it! Let me know how it goes if you try it out :)

Incase you're wondering what products I use, here they are below. I love Aveda & Pureology products. I switch between those two brands for my shampoo and conditioner. I LOVE the Aveda damage control, which also helps detangle your hair -- I put this on first thing out of the shower. I also have both the brushes below, but definitely prefer the Aveda brush. It doesn't even hurt to brush out my hair! I've got some seriously thick locks, so that says a lot.

If you're wondering where I got my shirt, it comes in two colors and they were just restocked! This is one of my favorite shirts ever. It feels like a blanket, it's so soft! And free shipping right now (4/26)

If you're wondering where I got my shirt, it comes in two colors and they were just restocked! This is one of my favorite shirts ever. It feels like a blanket, it's so soft! And free shipping right now (4/26)

Happy Wednesday!
xoxo

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Coffee Table Books & Styling

I'm not the biggest reader, but I do love me some pretty coffee table books. These are the fun, colorful books with tons of pictures. Right up my alley-- I did always like picture books best ;) Anyways, not only are these books beautiful, they are also great to decorate with. Books are a great way to create height on your shelves. Here are some books around our home for inspiration:

I rounded up a couple of my favorite design books, but decided not to stop there. There are some beautiful and delicious cook books out there, so I put a few of my favorites below. And then for the times I do actually read, I'm sharing a few of my favorites of those as well! 

Design: the inspired room / cut flower garden / the year of cozy / styled by emily henderson /

Cook & Leisure: the weekend cookbook / the newlywed cookbook / chasing slow / cocktail hour 

Ready & Inspire: the magnolia story / the broken way / bread and wine / nothing to prove

Hopefully these book suggestions have given you a few new books to add to your collection! Is anyone else as obsessed with pretty coffee table books as I am?! What are some of your favorites?

Here are all the coffee table books I have in my home:

Happy Tuesday!
xoxo

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Fashion: Casual Floral Spring Outfit

Floral Cold Shoulder Top / Distressed Denim / Heels / Flats- similar / Necklace- similar

When I find new clothing boutiques, I get really happy because it means I have a new small business to support AND I have a fun new place to get unique items not everyone has. When I came across The Mason Jar Boutique on Instagram, I was immediately smitten. So many pretty floral pieces, cute accessories, and everything is affordable-- need I say more?!

I recently grabbed this ADORABLE floral cold shoulder top, distressed jeans and the fun necklace. Talk about a happy mail day when these goods arrived! I shared about the pieces on Instagram when they arrived, so you may have gotten a sneak peek. The shirt is so soft, lightweight and with the ruffled cold shoulder, I think it's really special. They also have it in two other colors, both of which I also adore.

These distressed jeans are something really different from my usual style, but I was on the lookout for a casual pair of denim, so when I found these with the frayed ankle I snagged them. They're really comfortable and as you can see, you can dress them up with a wedge or block heel and dress them down with flats or sandals. A bootie would be great, too!

I have to give you a heads up about these wedges: there's not many sizes left, but they are SO comfortable, due to the chunky heel. I can wear them for hours without any discomfort. I always get compliments on them, too ;)

If you like the style of the shoes I'm wearing in the pictures, here are similar ones to check out for Spring:

Be sure to check out The Mason Jar Boutique and when you do use the code BLOOM15 for 15% off your purchase! They have so many perfect casual (and dressy) spring outfits. All their florals have me wanting more!

Happy Monday!
xoxo

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Friday Finds: Spring Shopping Trip Favorites

It's Friday! This week has been sort of a blur for me, since I got back into Michigan on Monday after being in California for 10 days. It always takes me a few days to recoup and get back into the swing of things. While in California, I went on a shopping trip with my mom and took some pictures of my favorite finds for you.

This romper is everything. It's so flattering and has a pretty metallic sheen to it. It's also very soft! I'm wearing an XS.

Off the shoulder dresses are a tough one for me. I haven't been able to find many that stay in place! THIS GINGHAM ONE, however, is amazing. It's super lightweight (but not see-through) and the little tie around the neck is optional, but I loved it even more with it! This is an XS.

This red striped one shoulder is a really sweet and casual look for spring and summer. Paired with a jean jacket it'd be perfection! This is an XS, but I'd need an XS petite if possible, since you can see it's still a bit big.

 This is an adorable long sleeve tee for the colder days of spring (and fall and winter, too!) The twist makes it extra fun. This is an XS

This floral wrap dress is really springy! It's lightweight, which is great. If you are on the taller side, it might be a little short for you. I'm 5'5" and I wouldn't get it if you're any taller than me ;)

This ruched dress was really cute. It's a simple, soft fabric and hugs your curves! I liked the black color better than gray, but forgot to take a picture in black. This is an XS

One of my favorite finds!! This eyelet white cupcakes & cashmere dress is PERFECT for the summer with wedges or flat sandals.  Like the gingham dress above, this one also stays put perfectly! I am in an XS.

 Okay, these booties are some of my favorites I've ever found. Not necessarily because of the style, but because they are WATERPROOF. If you live in the Midwest or East Coast, you know what a game changer this could be! They're suede, but waterproof. Love it. Super cute, too! I'm usually an 8, but I needed a 7.5 in these.

I also loved this pair!

Finally, I recently discovered a new-to-me boutique called The Mason Jar. I'm a floral girl, so I quickly fell in love with all their floral prints! I love my cold shoulder floral top-- it will go great with my new white jeans (under $60-- size down) or regular denim.

Here are all the items in this post, plus a few more I have my eye on:

Hope you enjoy your weekend! I'm going to try to stay away from social media for the weekend. Sometimes I think that's just really good for the soul.

xoxo

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