Park Day

I just got back from the gym and now I'm headed to the park to meet up with some friends and their kids. I have tons of cleaning to do when I get back, but it's play time for now!

Tank ~ JCP $5
Skirt ~ Gap $17
Wedges ~ Ann Taylor Loft $10
Ankle bracelet ~ DBY
Necklace and bracelet ~ Gifted

Poppy and gray with a dash of lime

Bag - JCPenney - $6

Skirt - J.Crew - $20

Sweater - Target - $3

Sandals - Target - $5

Colored necklace - Kohl's - $1

Neutral necklace - Macy's - $5

Jealous of Missi's gorgeous Hawaii vacation - and so glad she's back!!!

A few pictures from my Hawaii trip

Hi Domestic Blog friends! I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I promise, in my absence, I have still be wearing clothes (no sweats) and doing my hair and putting on make-up. lol! I've had a lot of company visiting me and then last week my husband and I spent 6 days in beautiful Maui, HI.

Here is a picture I took as soon as we arrived. My traveling clothes were a bit baggy, comfy. I had a white blazer too, but it was to warm once we got to Maui to keep it on. Our hotel gave us the black necklace leis we are wearing in the picture.
Here is the view of the pools from our balcony. We were able to stay at the Ritz Carlton. It was very nice!
The moment we had our luggage put away, I put on my suit and cover-up and we walked down to the beach. We had our own personal entrance to the beach. It was wonderful!
Here is an official "Domestic Sophisticate" blog picture before heading out with some friends to tour the island.
Another picture before going to a luncheon with my husband and friends.
Proof that I really did just lay around ALL DAY long reading beauty magazines (Bazar, anyone?) and silly novels (I just finished the Twilight books).
You know that purple scarf I wear all the time? Here is another use for it...beach cover up!
This was a fun filled day, we went driving around the hilly island and found a blow hole. It wasn't blowing very high but it was cool to see it.
After the blow hole I quickly swapped my shorts for a skirt and we headed to my first ever Luau. That was a BLAST!
The last day before leaving the island I went looking for some gifts for my daughter and In-laws (who watched my baby for me). My friend and I stumbled upon this cute bakery. I had to get a picture with my own buns included.
Hurray for vacations!

Top - Gap - gifted
Belt - Gap - $24.50
T-strap pumps - Aerosoles - $29
Slacks - Macy's - gifted
Necklace - Kohl's- gifted

Easter Dress in June

I'm wearing this dress, but this time with a strapless bra instead of letting a sweater or my hair cover the straps from the regular bra I wore last time.

Outfit:

Dress - J.Crew (via Ebay) - $5

Pumps - Target - $6

Chain and pearl necklace - thrifted - $2

Make-up:

Mascara - Black - Loreal Voluminous

Blush - Bronze Sands - Mary Kay

Liner - Black - Rimmel

Eyeshadow - Ulta - in two shades of pink

Toe nail polish - OPI - (forget the color name, but it's a deep magenta
Lipcolor - Nude - Avon 3-in-1

Hair:

2nd day hair curled under with a 1" barrel curling iron and sprayed with Tresemme maximum hold hairspray

Coupon for Domestic Sophisticate Readers

The cutest little dress boutique, Shabby Apple, is offering all Domestic Sophisticate readers a 15% off coupon!!

Shabby Apple sells a wide variety of dresses that are all on trend, feminine, and modest. Their site also has a "Fit to Flatter" section where you can answer a few questions to determine what body type you are and then be directed to a dress that will flatter your body type.

Shabby Apple also sells beautiful maternity dresses. The boutique offers accessories and a wide variety of sizing (maternity, petite, misses, girl, and women's). In a few weeks, they will also be offering a tween line of dress.

If that isn't enough of a reason to shop there, the boutique is also dedicated to donating 5% of their net profits to Unitus - a non-profit organization that works towards preventing global povery. To read more about the opportunity to donate through Shabby Apple or more about Shabby Apple's donations to this organization, please visit their website here.

Here are a few dresses I picked from the site that I recommend:


The l'Ete
The Cat's Cradle
The Ballerina

In addition to the shop, Shabby Apple also has a beauty blog. For daily beauty inspiration, visit the Shabby Apple blog.

To redeem the 15% off coupon, simply type in domesticsophisticate15off at the checkout. Happy shopping!

Missi should be returning to posting next week - stay tuned!

Outfit

Dress - Target - $3.74

Belt - Gap - $24.50

Chain and pearl necklace - thrifted - $1

Blue and aqua pearl chain necklace - Macy's - $5

Pearl earrings - Macy's - gifted

Nude pumps - Target - $6

Bag - thrifted - $2

Make-up

Mascara - Loreal Voluminous in Black

Blush - Mary Kay in Bronze Sands

Liner - Rimmel in Black

Eyeshadow - Victoria Secret in Lilac (on lids)

Eye crease - Victoria Secret in Aqua (on crease and under eye)

Lipliner/lipstick/lip gloss - Avon (that new 3-in-1 in nude, and then my 7 shades lip color in #4 of the rose colors)

Hair

2nd day hair with leftover Dove volumizing mousse (I washed it two days ago with Dove 2-in-1 moisturizing shampoo/conditioner, let air dry and used the Dove volumizing mousse while it dried)

Curled ends under with a 1" barrel curling iron

Jewelry Giveaway

Check out Farrielle's jewelry giveaway!!!

Black and Dark Gold

I promise I will be posting SAHM outfits soon! I just have tomorrow yet, and Monday through Thursday of next week and from then on out I'll be at home. Until then...here's another office outfit.

Top - Vera Wang for Kohl's - gifted
Belt - Kohl's - $2.40
Slacks - Macy's - gifted
Sandals - Target - $5
Venetian glass earrings - gifted
Necklace worn as bracelet - thrifted - $.25
Cuff bracelet - Claire's - $1

Bubble dress

We are in the middle of moving so I had to plan out my outfits in advance for the next several days so I could start packing up everything else. Amongst the items already packed is my blow dryer, hence the wet hair.

I'm pretty sure this dress isn't quite so in style anymore, but I love how comfortable and how light and airy the fabric is. At the picnic yesterday I got sunburned, so wearing something that hangs loose against my skin was a must for today.

Dress - (F21) thrifted - $7
Sandals - Target - $5
Necklace - Macy's - $5

Answer to a reader question

Gorgeous dress! Awkward question...what kind of bra/support do you wear w/it? I've avoided getting a dress like this because, well, to be frank, the girls would NOT cooperate w/out some help. LOL. Advice?


This isn't awkward - a lot of people have the same problem! I'm larger in the chest, too, and I would have never dreamed of wearing a dress like this back when. Lately I've found a few solutions, though.

These days it's ok to wear a tank top under a spaghetti strap dress (as long as it's casual), or even a t-shirt. Since I don't like having too many layers because of the added bulk, my solution is a sports bra. The straps look like a tank top, it gives a TON of support, and it looks fine under casual strapless or spaghetti strap dresses. I wear the Champion Jogbra (see picture below), because it comes in small back sizes and large cup sizes (which is what I need). This bra also has adjustable straps, which is great for gals who are short like me. I have to raise the straps pretty high up to keep the girls where they should be.

You will notice I wear strapless dresses every once in a while, but I usually have to either wear a shrug to hide the straps, or wear a bra where the straps look like an extension of the dress (this only works with demi bras). In this first picture, I'm wearing a bra with straps, but the straps matched the dress, and I kept my hair covering the straps. Later I wore a sweater so I didn't have to keep my hair in front the whole day.

For this dress, I wore a black bra. The straps looked like part of the dress - my husband didn't even know until I told him later on (if you look closely, you can see the strap poking out from under my hair).

For this last dress, I just wore a regular bra, and added the crocheted shrug.
If you find a strapless or spaghetti strap dress that looks great on you and the only drawback is the bra strap - there are always ways to fix that. Wear a tank underneath, get clear straps, or just add a scarf, shrug, or sweater.

Nevertheless, it is hard to find the perfect spaghetti strapped or strapless dress for big busted gals, so unless you find a dress that works for you, just avoid the style. It's never worth it to "make-it-work" only for it not to be flattering on you.

Picnic

The company I work for has a yearly picnic - a day off of work to be with our families and get free food! We'll be outside all day in the heat, so I picked a sundress so I would stay cool.

Dress - H&M - $10

Sandals - Target - $3.74

Necklace - Kohl's - $1

Ciaafrique Fashionista of the Week

The lovely Ciaa from Ciaafrique is featuring a different fashionista on her blog every week - I'm so happy I got to be a part of that! Check this out: Fashionista of the Week

Father's Day

Taking the hubby out for bbq for Father's Day!

Top - Gap - gifted
Skinny jeans - H&M - $20
T-strap pumps - Old Navy - $8
Necklaces - gifted
Vintage gold earrings - inherited

Sunday

Dress - Target (Jovovich Hawk) - $19.99

Shoes - Old Navy - $8

Bag - JCPenney - $6

Necklaces - Kohl's - gifted

Earrings - vintage gold earrings - inherited

Shades - Target - $3.74

Saturday

My new ring from Superior Wedding Rings (on the left hand for the interim until I get my engagement ring replaced, at which time, this ring will become a right hand ring).

Tunic - Target - $3.74

Skinny jeans - H&M - $20

Red platforms - Aerosoles - gifted

Ring - Superior Wedding Rings - gifted

Necklace - Macy's - $5

Bag - JCPenney - $6

Black and gold

Went downtown DC to a nice restaurant last night to celebrate a friend's birthday so I had to get glammed up. We took the convertible and my hair got pretty wild in the wind and humidity, but it was worth it.

Dress - Express - $9.99

Pumps - Steve Madden via Macy's - $27

Vintage gold earrings (to match the gold zipper down the back of the dress) - inherited

Gold sparkly clutch - H&M - gifted

Red eyes and grimace look that was supposed to be "sexy" - priceless

Casual Thursday

This pose is the one my mom prefers - prim and proper...
And I like the more casual/flirty poses.

What type of poses do you prefer?

Top - H&M - $5

Denim skirt - Gap - $16

Espadrilles - Target - $3.74

Cami - (cut off to right under the bust so there is no bulk!) - hand-me-down

Bag - JCPenney - $6

Necklace - gifted (thank you Jess!)

Wednesday

Top - Target - $5
Pencil skirt - thrifted - $4
Sandals - Target - $5
Bag - JCPenney - $6
Hoopes - Target - $1
Necklace - thrifted - $.25

New Avon Lipstick Product Reviews

I've been trying this spectra color lipshade, which claims it has 7 shades in one tube. It really is a cool idea in theory, so I thought it was worth a try. After trying it a few times, I've found that it really doesn't apply well from the tube, so I have to use a brush. That is a drawback for an on--go-mom like me, but I love the endless possibilities of color mixing. Considering it is under $10, it is worth it just to have all the colors. Beware, though, the 7 colors are very similar, so you really don't get too much of a contrast in each color.


I've also finally decided to try a lip plumping lipstick. I got the ultra color rich tube in Cocoa and decided the color really was a little to ultra rich for me! I'm more of a pale lips kinda girl. I'll have to try a lighter shade next time. As you apply it, it really tingles, and it does give your lips a sort of bee stung look. While I don't think my lips looked that much plumper, they really felt plumper, and feeling is half the battle - lol! I walked around thinking I had sexy, kissable lips, and my husband loved it! lol!

Do my lips look any plumper?

Lastly, I've been looking for a lip liner in hopes of helping my lipstick stay put, as well as using it to draw just a tad outside the lines of my lips so I could achieve the look of a fuller pout. When I first started looking, I was a little overwhelmed at the thought of having a lipstick, lip liner, and lip gloss to apply every morning, and then carry with me when I go out. When I found Avon's 3-in-1 stick, I knew it was perfect for this mama. It saves time, space, and money! The stick contains the lipstick, lip liner, and lip gloss all in one handy little tube (see me modeling it below). This is my favorite product! It is handy to keep in my purse, and I love that I can easily re-apply all three products to my lips at any time during the day without having to carry three sticks around!
So what about you? What new lipstick products have you tried recently? Do tell!

Superior Wedding Rings

I'm excited to tell you all about one of my newest "sponsors": Superior Wedding Rings. I recently lost both my engagement ring and wedding band, and have been ring shopping for quite a while now. When I saw this site, I was impressed at the quality of their bands, and the competitive pricing they offer, after having searched on other sites for quite some time. I would encourage you to check out their site if you're in the market for a good quality band.

Thanks for looking!

Blue dress

Dress - Target - $6.24
Bag - B.Moss - $4
Belt - Target - $3.74
Pumps - Target - $6
Silver hoops - Target - $1

Monday Blues

T-shirt - F21 - $3.50

Cardigan - BCBG (thrifted) - $6

Pencil skirt - Target - $4.98

T-strap pumps - Aerosoles - $29

Chain pearl necklace - thrifted - $1

Earrings - gifted

Bag - faux Gucci - hand-me-down

Aviators - Target - $3.74