Free Friday: A Twist of Fate Design

My apologies, dear readers, for it being nearly a month since my last giveaway.  I promise that I did not lie to you. There are more giveaways coming through the pipeline.  Like my Mama always told me, good things come to those who wait and trust me today's giveaway is very, very good..... read more

all jeweled up

I have made no secret about the fact that I love layered necklaces (evidence here, here and here). Fortunately for me, this season has been loaded with lots of beautiful options from ribbon adorned chains to large faux rhinestones (a la J. Crew) to vintage detailing.  

About a month ago I was perusing Etsy when I stumbled across A Twist of Fate Design, a shop with loads of beautiful necklaces and other whimsical pieces of jewelry. What I love most about this shop is how the owner and designer, Maureen, incorporates unique, vintage pieces into all of her work. Whether that is an over-the-top vintage earring mounted to become a ring or a vintage broach embellishing several layers of beautiful chains. I was so delighted with the Vintage Crystal Cascade necklace she sent me that I completely lost track of time on Sunday while snapping these photos! I can already envision all of the ways I’m going to wear this necklace in the upcoming months. With layered sweaters and crisp button downs during the day, cocktail dresses for Holiday parties, faux fur… the options are endless! However, my hours on Sunday were not.

playing catch-up

Last week was a crazy week, which meant this weekend was filled with homework, photo taking, laundry and all the other things I missed during the week. This outfit was actually from last Thursday. Layering is probably my favorite part of getting dressed during the Fall/Winter seasons. I will keep a cardi like this one from Kohl's readily available from now until March.

In other news... the bangs are back! Thoughts, feelings, emotions? I wasn't gonna, but I went in for a trim and some low lights and decided to complete the look. I'm kinda diggin' it was the waves. We'll see how long they last. We've always had an on-again/off-again, love/hate relationship.

Weekend Happiness!

I promise I will resume regular posting and outfit photo taking next week.  This weekend my goal is to get caught up because this week has been a very sartorially satisfying week! For now, I have one last leftover outfit photo from the collection to share.  I'm still lovin' the Modcloth skirt I purchased last month.  Despite being floral, the colors work well for Fall. Paired with my fav riding boots and I'm set.

Happy weekend, dear readers! This chica is awfully happy this week is finally coming to an end.  Do you have any special plans for the weekend? I'm afraid mine is full of catch up blogging and homework.

Crazy Busy

Between work, mid-terms and life in general, this week has been completely nuts. I have several great outfits to share with you, but no time to shoot photos! Ugh! Here is an outfit that I gave you a sneak peek of from our anniversary trip.  Like I mentioned earlier this week, I'm slightly in love with plaid right now. And, I stalked these boots on Nordstroms.com last fall until I couldn't stand it any longer! Luckily for me, we're still in love :)

Happy Hump Day, everyone! Thankful a week full of chaos is beginning its slow descent to Friday. Any plans for the weekend? Is it bad that I'm already dreaming of sleeping in on Saturday morning?

Sponsor The Flip Side of Oz!

Got a small business with a small advertising budget? Thinking about the fact that Holiday shopping season is right around the corner? Not sure where to go and afraid you won't reach many customers? Want to find a place to reach thousands of monthly readers? Sponsor The Flip Side of Oz! Contact me for rates at theflipsideofoz@gmail.com.  I bet you'll be surprised how affordable and effective advertising here can be... try me :)

plaid + leggings = outfit love

I love season changes. Partially because I feel like I get to reinvent my wardrobe. I have noticed that every time we go through a season change I create a new go-to outfit for myself. And, so far for this fall plaid and leggings, plus booties/boots has been it. So, I didn't even have to think twice when I found this cute little shirt dress at Old Navy last Friday. In fact, I didn't even go into the dressing room. Sometimes you just know, so why bother?

deception

Looks can be deceiving. For instance, in this picture I look happy because I'm smiling, when in reality my allergies are killing me! Deception is also the number of hours I thought I would get back this week due to being on fall break. Wrong... again. It is for these two reasons that I don't have many pictures to show today.  Like my fellow bloggers out there, I'm having a hard time adjusting to photos in darker lighting since the sun is now going down earlier. So, I'll leave with you two that actually flatter the outfit and don't show my annoyance with mother nature.

fun with accessories: a safety pin

I love a good conversation-starting piece of jewelry, and this necklace is no exception. I think the safety pin throws most people off, because nearly every time I wear it at least one person has to inspect it a little more closely before pronouncing, "Wow, I love that!" In fact, I can anticipate that anytime I wear it around my BFF I will for sure "lose" it for the remainder of the day. While mine is a sample I picked up from work, I bet it would be pretty simple to emulate: silver chain, large safety pin, lots of a fun charms... viola! 

Oh yeah! And, here's the rest of the outfit I wore with it on Sunday. Lots of layers and repeat offenders from here, here, here, and here.  I just can't get enough!

a nomad

I was once told by a very wise woman that I am like a nomad.  Which is actually not too far from being a true statement. I am constantly on the go and thinking about my next destination. I prefer not to stay-put for too long, because I don't want to miss out on anything. Not that permanence is always bad (I do love being married).  It's just that there is so much to see and do in the world, why not explore as much as possible?

Well, this outfit reminds me of that wise woman's statement. I see the nomad, the wanderer, the woman with her huge bag of tricks ready to take on the world.  I like it... a nomad.

what i've learned in 1 year

enjoying a wonderful little wine garden with a live band - Lindwedel Wine Garden

To say that the hubbs and I had an amazing time this past weekend might be a slight understatement. However, returning home has been less than stellar. Our kids dogs keep getting out of the backyard, we both have ridiculous amounts of work piling up, and as a result we have been slightly crabby towards one another all week. Welcome to life and marriage. If there's one thing I've learned in the past year it's that they're not kidding when they tell you it's for better or worse. But, if you work at it, the better does out weigh the worse. So while I cope with returning to reality this week I choose to focus on the better, which are some very fond memories from this weekend. This is including but not limited to: zip lining (which sadly I have no pictures of), a helicopter ride, 2 bottles of wine, a bird's eye view with a hot tub, beautiful surroundings and some great company.

flowers and fish pond outside the fish hatchery

amazing view from our private deck at Cameron's Crag B&B

even more amazing view from a helicopter with the doors taken off

Table Rock Lake from the air

delicious wine with a name that fit the moment

it's all fun and games until someone ends up with a fly in their wine

another amazing deck view

a very relaxed and happy couple

and the winner is....

Congratulations, Brianne! I'm so excited that you get to enjoy a piece of Britta's work! It is truly beautiful and amazing. I'll be emailing you shortly to get your mailing address and to find out which necklace you prefer!

reality bites

This past weekend, the hubbie and I had the most amazing time relaxing and celebrating our first anniversary!  We spent three wonderful days enjoying a Branson, Missouri B&B with our own private deck and hot tub nestled in the trees, high above Lake Taneycomo. There was wine tasting, helicopter rides, zip lines and live bands in beautiful gardens. Needless to say, going back to reality yesterday was slightly rough...

is it possible to dress up a plaid shirt?

I don't know, but I sure tried! And, would you believe that it is a K-Mart shirt, no less? Okay, probably. It's not the greatest quality, but who cares? It's cute, and it satisfied a plaid craving like the one I woke up with last Tuesday. Plus, it set me back an entire $10! I paired the outfit with my suede peep-toe booties (which was a splurge, but sooo worth it!) and I felt pretty on trend for fall. Okay, so one more fun fact for the day: my toe nail polish is actually from Payless! Did you know that the shoe retailer is offering beauty products in a select number of stores? I am absolutely in love with this deep maroon color.

Free Friday: Tobias Designs - giveaway closed!

I'm so excited about this week's giveaway that I'm just going to jump right in! Britta, from Tobias Designs, has been so kind as to agree to give away ... read more

and the winner is....

Congratulations to Alisha L! It looks like you get to do a little online shopping this weekend :) I"ll be emailing you with all the details about the CSN gift certificate shortly!