Partial Ingredients

Everyday Style & Recipes. Est. 2010

sandals

Green Gingham

by

It has been an abnormally hot Summer in Northern Colorado thanks to a “Heat Dome” (thanks 2020!) so this post and probably all the ones in the near future will be featuring the most Summeriest of Summer outfits. Give me all the lightweight dresses, tank tops and skirts please — like this gingham patterned dress from Abercrombie & Fitch. Like usual, the quality is up to their standard: it’s made from double-lined 100% cotton and comes with pockets! I am pretty much a loyal Abercrombie customer after they revamped their whole image and brand a few years ago. They have sales so frequently that you can get their items for a very reasonable price. The quality being much better than your average fast-fashion retailer gives you the most bang for your buck. It’s not as cheap as say H&M or Forever21 (this dress was on sale for $39.99), but I’m all about spending a couple bucks extra for better quality. Oh and this genuine leather shoulder bag was also from there and was on sale for like 15 bucks! It’s hard to find faux leather bags for that price, much less real leather.

Sandals and flats are also a must for this freaking hot Summer (I think we have had mid-to upper 90s for a solid week and a half now ughh). These woven flats from LaMar Lifestyle are a perfect lightweight and breathable shoe for your hot feets. Add a sunhat and you’re good to go for the weather, just don’t forget the SPF!

Outfit Details: Dress: Abercrombie; Shoes: LaMar Lifestyle; Bag: Abercrombie; hat: unbranded; necklace: Forever21

Last of Summer

by

What do you think of when you think Summer style? I personally think of cut-off jeans, a comfy striped tee, a woven bag and strappy sandals. You can’t get much more Summery than that. This is (I swear) going to by my last Summer post but I had to get one more in. As September goes on, I’m less able to justify open-toed sandals and cut-off jeans. Luckily the days are still warm and sunny so I can still get away with it. This top from American Eagle (a store that I have been absolutely loving recently) has been one of my go-to Summery tees. It’s soft and flowy and looks great with high-rise denim (like these Levi’s cropped jeans).

Next are a couple recent hair and makeup finds that I wanted to highlight. Since I sometimes curl my hair, I wanted to find a loose and flexible hairspray for those occasions. This hairspray from Tresemme is awesome and not your mom’s hairspray from the 80’s. It’s works great for keeping loose curls in place but doesn’t give you that crunchy hairspray feel. It’s super natural and soft which is exactly what I was looking for. Next up is this excellent neutral lip by NYX, an incredibly affordable brand. I love their “Lingerie” line, which offers a soft matte lip in lots of different shades. My favorite so far has been this dusty mauve called “Lace Detail” and it’s great for every day wear and the price point can’t be beat.

Outfit Details: Top: American Eagle; Jeans: Levi’s; Bag: unbranded; sandals: Lucky

Green Wrap Skirt & Summer to Fall Transition Pieces

by

It’s unfortunate being so busy that I haven’t been able to post as quickly as I’d like.  I feel a bit of a time crunch since August has sped by and Fall is quickly approaching.  It’s not a good feeling when you feel like you’re running out of time.  It would be nice for everything to slow down so I have more time to post more Summer ideas!  In California, this wasn’t really an issue since the temperature swings were so mild in comparison.  I could post about Summer stuff all year long, but alas, Colorado has other ideas.  At the same time, I’m very excited for Fall to get in full swing so I’m feeling a bit ambivalent!

Here’s one of my late Summer looks featuring this lovely wrap skirt from Zaful.  I have been having a love affair with wrap skirts and dresses all Summer it seems like!  I am a huge fan of this color and floral pattern.  It’s a bit like a modern Ditsy pattern, and there’s so many different outfits you could wear with this one.  Since this skirt has a longer length, it could easily be worn as a Summer/Fall transition piece.  It would look fab with a suede or denim jacket, or even a chunky knit pullover!  Since it’s still in the 80s here, I went with a summery plain white tee and sandals, but as an affordable transition piece it is worth checking out.  This boyfriend style tee from Urban Outfitters is such a comfy and soft option for a white t-shirt.  I personally am super picky about t-shirts and this one has a nice loose cut and the fabric is very soft. Since the boyfriend style runs looser, I ordered a size smaller and the fit is perfect!

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Top: Urban Outfitters, Skirt: Zaful, Shoes: Nature Breeze, Bag: eBay

Summer Stripes

by

Sometimes when you’re nowhere near the beach, you just gotta recreate it yourself right? That was the goal of this outfit.  Since I live in a landlocked state now, I was missing the beach a lot recently and I wanted to create the beachiest Summer outfit possible. Also, it’s back up to mid-90 degree temperatures so that might have had something to do with it!  I spied out this vertical stripe 60’s inspired mini dress on Urban Outfitters and had a big time nostalgia flashback–it reminded me so much of my favorite beach towel that I knew I had to snap it up.  The stripe pattern was almost exact, I couldn’t believe it! I also love the 60’s inspired silhouette and the light and breezey chiffon fabric.  The fabric has a double layer with a black slip underneath which really makes the stripes pop.  I love the muted retro colors of this dress and the fact it’s not SUPER bright.  I kind of avoid bright stripey patterns and this isn’t like that at all.

I’ve also been kind of obsessed with this woven circle bag.  They’ve definitely become more popular lately on social media which means that you can find them for much cheaper on sites like Etsy, Amazon and eBay.  This particular one I found off eBay brand new.  If you’re looking for a bag like this, I highly recommend going to more affordable sites first before you buy a branded bag for a big markup!  That said, you will be seeing a lot of this bag in the future because it goes with so many darn things–I can’t seem to get it out of my outfit ideas!  Same goes for these shoes, there are a lot of more expensive choices that are just like these, but I found these on Amazon and so far they have been way worth it.  The dress however, was slightly more expensive so sometimes you just have to pick your battles and know when to splurge or save!

Outfit Details: Dress: Urban Outfitters, Bag: Unbranded, Shoes: Nature Breeze

Outfit Set:

 

Raw Edge Denim

by

Lately I’ve been having a love affair of sorts with everything Levi’s. I love their high wasted wedgie fits, and lately I’ve been interested in their raw edge offerings. These cropped jeans were pretty much exactly what I had been looking for since they go so well with so many Summer styles! These are the “straight leg raw hem cropped” jeans in the Rough Tide wash. You can wear them with shorter tops, cropped or tied up tees and you won’t be showing a mile of tummy due to the high rise waist.  They’re also really comfortable for all denim jeans and have a decent amount of give to them.  They’re still a little bit stiff since they’re new, but the great thing about Levi’s is that they will break in and soften over time.

I recently stumbled upon this graphic tee from Urban Outfitters and fell in love with the vintage floral design. I’ve been kind of obsessed with Audobon prints and old botanical designs for years, so this was a perfect addition to my closet.  It looks great with so many outfits, especially jeans and skirts! Another recent find was this Fossil bag in a bright mustard yellow–another totally random find. I love the size and color of this bag, and it is been a perfect small crossbody for Summer!

Outfit Details: Tee: Urban Outfitters, Jeans: Levi’s, Shoes: Birkenstock, Bag: Fossil

Outfit Set:

Summer Storms

by

You wouldn’t know it but just about when I was finishing up with this shoot it started hailing like crazy, hence the title of this post. Not even rain to start, just straight up hail out of nowhere.  Colorado weather is just ridiculous sometimes. I do love a good Summer thunderstorm, but this outfit was intended to feature clothes for hot Summer days–days where you would rather wear nothing at all but can’t because of some pesky nudity laws. I recently ordered some “wedgie” style cut off Levi’s jean shorts for just that occasion because I’ve heard they are super comfy and great for Summer. Turns out everyone was right, they really are perfect for hot heather and I guess they make your butt look okay? Maybe? I don’t really see much of the wedgie thing but I do like the high waist look a lot. They look fab with crop tops and tie-waist shirts too!

These shoes are pretty much the perfect summer sandal–I haven’t stopped wearing them because they look great with everything and are super comfortable. To complete this look I added this cute little cactus print bag that has been a favorite of mine and a wide brimmed hat for sun protection. Just as a side note, it is really important to wear hats people, sun screen only does so much and only stays effective for a couple hours. I wear this hat almost exclusively for utilitarian reasons, but that doesn’t mean sun protection can’t look cute too!

Outfit Set:Outfit Details: Shirt: eBay, Shoes: Nature Breeze, Hat: eBay, Bag: Etsy, Shorts: Levi’s

 

Mustard Dress & Circle Bag

by

 

 Spring has officially Sprung here in Colorado! One moment the trees have tiny buds and the next they are in full bloom almost overnight. It’s nice being in a spot with real established seasons compared to California. In Cali, every tree, flowering plant or whatever had their own rhythm of blooming and dying off, with little regard to seasons. Here, the plants seem to all be operating along a similar pattern even though the weather here is all over the place all the time. I’ll take it though, I actually enjoy seasons and weather.  A good thunderstorm is one of my favorite things and that almost never happened in California.

Now back to some of my latest Spring finds–how about this dress from Forever 21? I love how much the color and style reminds me of Spring time. I can see this becoming a perfect dress for a Sunday brunch or just hanging out on a warm afternoon. Looking forward to the weather warming up a bit more so I can wear it more regularly!  Lately I’ve been getting more into wrap “fit and flare” style dresses, they seem like a perfect Spring addition to the closet.

I’ve also decided to share with you guys a review of some of my favorite hair products. My hair is a bit weird where it can straighten out really easily but can become fairly wavy if it air drys without heat. I’ve been trying to find a “holy grail” product that accentuates waves without using heat and I recently discovered Ouai Wave Spray. This product is a great way to get beachy, natural waves with minimal effort. All I really do is spray on dampened hair and run through with my fingers and voila–defined, natural waves. I am completely obsessed with this stuff and it smells so good too! A few other products, as shown below, are a couple of my tried and true favorites: on the left is my favorite anti-frizz product–one tiny little dab helps smooth out frizzies. On the right is Lush’s No Drought which is my favorite dry shampoo product. I’ve tried a bunch of other brands but I prefer the powder instead of aerosol sprays for one big reason–it lasts so much longer! You get way more for your money with this stuff. I apply just a few puffs to my roots and brush out with a boar’s hair brush and it soaks up access oil super well! I’m not really a hair product nut so these are pretty much the only three I use regularly over the years. Definitely recommend checking these three out!

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Dress: Forever 21, Bag: Alba Baskets and Shoes: Lucky Brand

By the Flower Fields

by

I’ve had quite a busy summer with hardly any time to write but I’m finally taking advantage of some time I had today to update. The flower fields are in full force nearby and are totally stunning right now. I’m not even sure what they are exactly but they are quite impressive when you’re surrounded by whole fields of them! Sadly, they will only last a few more weeks before they’re gone.

Lately I’ve been into clean, minimal summer looks and this one fits the bill. When it’s too hot to think it’s time to whip out the lightweight tops and sandals. These suede sandals are super comfy and add a nice pop of color. They are totally affordable too and come in a bunch of colors. They run a bit small so I would recommend ordering a half size up. In my opinion, everyone needs a classic button down in their closet and this one is perfect for hot weather. Lightweight rayon for the win! Not every button down will do; I sometimes get annoyed by how constricting they feel–especially in the arms. This shirt is not like that at all–so floaty and comfortable! The jeans I’m wearing are an old pair of trusty Joe’s which I had tailored a while back (seriously, you gotta do this at least once). Customizing the fit was 100% worth it and not inordinately expensive. I like to roll up my jeans just above the ankle to get a more laid back “boyfriend” style look and it’s a nice way to add variety to your denim. It’s also an excellent way to prepare for potential flash floods because you never know! Heh.

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Top: Bajee Collection, Jeans: Joe’s Jeans, Shoes: Sam Edelman, sunglasses: Urban Outfitters