New Shoes + Instagram + Pinterest = Yay!

I've been on the shoe prowl lately, searching for new pumps!  I currently own black velvet pumps that were getting very worn and embarrassing looking, black business pumps (aka reasonable heel height and no platform), and nude patent leather pumps.  My new purchases:

top: Bandolino Gillian Pump

bottom: Marc Fisher Sydney Pump

As a replacement for the aging velvet pumps, I purchased the black suede Bandolino pumps with an ankle strap (exactly what I was looking for!).  They're pretty much at my heel height limit for being able to walk.  The Marc Fisher pumps were purchased in anticipation for warmer weather.  You hear that spring?  I'm ready for you now.  I've been avoiding new clothing purchases lately because I'm planning to go shopping on my trip to Chicago next month.  I've decided that excludes shoes though.

On a different note, I'm now a cool kid and have started playing with my Instagram app.  SO.  If you'd like to follow me, my username is juliarenkert and my photos are not very exciting yet.  Don't let that deter you from following though!  They will get more exciting, I promise.  Also, consider following me on Pinterest as well!  If you'd like me to check out your Instagram photos or Pinterest boards, leave your username/URLs below! :)

Edit: I plan to be posting my tea and fashion related Instagram photos to Cup of Tea's Facebook Page, so "like" the page as a different way to follow if you don't have Instagram!

Happy Sunday!

Super LOFT Sale Greatness!

Last week one of my neighboring city's Ann Taylor LOFT store closed.  Now this is sad, but it was also quite exciting because of the crazy sales!

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cape sweater: LOFT | shorts: LC Lauren Conrad | tights: Target | shoes: Payless | purse: Target | necklace: gift | ring: Stella & Dot

I usually don't even go into LOFT because it's mostly out of my spending range, but with this sale I was able to snag four sweaters and a pair of jeans for $58 instead of $224!  Crazy crazy!  And the sale was basically made for me because by the time I got there they only had the smaller sizes left, which usually doesn't happen.  I mostly encounter the opposite problem with sales when all of the small sizes go really fast.  Happy happy me!

On another note, I've found myself daydreaming about summer way too often lately.  This is bad.  I will not be able to experience summer weather for at least another 4 or 5 months!  Ack!  Must stay in the moment!  (I should be practicing more yoga right now to help with that!)

Happy Monday!

Resurrected Buttons

Where does the time go?  And how is it already Thursday?  Don't get me wrong, I love that the weekend is only one day away, but really, I thought it was just last weekend?  Anyway...

oxford shirt: H&M | cardigan: Delia's ca. 2005 | jeans: American Eagle | heels: Steve Madden

I've had this cardigan for 7 years now and I still love it.  I bought it back in high school and wore it so much.  Then it retired for a few years and now I'm resurrecting it.  It's kind of short, because the styles were shorter 7 years ago, but now it looks appropriate over a longer shirt, like my oxford button-up.  I receive a lot of compliments on the buttons.  Most people ask if I did that myself, but no, I wasn't that creative.  I just recognized the creativity in someone else's design!  I also have this cardigan in ivory, so don't be surprised if you spot that one soon.  I love rediscovering old loves!

Hope everyone's bundled up!  Winter is finally here!

P.S.
I officially have 90 Google Friend Connect followers!  Yay!  My readers are growing, slowly but surely!  Thanks all! :)

My Legs Have Gone PLUM CRAZY!

There's finally snow on the ground!  And it has stayed there for over 24 hours (and counting)!  That's progress... now I just want some real snow.  As in snow day type snow.  I am happy that I captured the snow flakes falling in these pictures.  So pretty.

I was feeling a bit quirky today with my outfit choice.  I've probably had these purple tights for five years now and have only worn them once.  I always feel silly with them yet I still love them and can't throw them out.  So I figured it was time to put them on again!

How do you feel about strappy summer wedges worn with tights in the winter?  I gotta say, I thought it was kinda silly looking at first but then warmed up to it a bit (no pun intended).  My new feelings are that as long as the toe seam is not showing, you're good.  But that's just one woman's opinion.

skirt: The Limited

tights: Express

blouse: Girlfriends LA (super old school!!)

vest: Forever21

owl necklace: gift

black wedges: Target

What a perfect Saturday afternoon.  I'm sitting in my living room as I type this, looking out the window and watching the snow fall with my cup of hot tea!  Yay!

Hope everyone's having a great weekend so far!

Until next time...

Cup of Tea: Redesigned

Cup of Tea has officially received it's first makeover.  If you're reading this through some sort of blog reader, come on over to the actual site to see the changes!

Before:

After:

I've been getting so inspired by other blogs' looks that I decided it was time for an update. Some specifics I would like to point out are:

1. I've redesigned the right side-bar. It looked very cluttered before but now I've simplified the links so they're pretty and functional at the same time:

2. I've added more navigational links. This should make it easier to locate a type of post.  If you're looking for fashion inspiration visit the Outfits page. If you're looking for a DIY project to attempt visit the DIY page... you get the idea:

I hope you all enjoy the new look! Take note of the Featured Creative section. For more info on this visit the Contact page.

What do you think?  If you find any bugs let me know so I can fix them ASAP!  I'm pretty sure I've got everything working correctly, though you never know when HTML is going to bite your bum.  It really likes to bite mine.

Thoughts?

Cozy, Warm, and an Eskimo Hood

As much as I loooove pea coats, there comes a time when I just want to be warm.

coat: Kenneth Cole

scarf: Target

mittens: Delia's ca. a loooong time ago

Even though after Christmas I really wanted to stay as far away from the mall as possible,  I did manage to make myself attend the Macy's After Christmas sale in pursuit of a new coat.  I knew exactly what I wanted and would not settle for anything other than that.  My requirements for a new puffy coat were:

1. Must NOT be white.  Made that mistake last year and it ended up looking so dirty so fast.
2. Must cover my butt.  Nobody likes a cold butt.
3. Must have a hood.  Preferably one with faux fur trim because then I can look like an Eskimo.  Is that not PC anymore?
4. Must have some sort of waist belt.
5. Must NOT have a stand up collar.  Those things are really annoying when you try and turn your head to the side.  Plus they like to gather makeup (see #1 about the white coat... bad bad bad)

This one I found fit all of my requirements!  When does that ever happen?  Plus there was only one left in my size!  The stars were aligned.  This Kenneth Cole coat was originally priced at $245 and I snagged it for $95.  Excellent.

All of that excitement and yesterday's temperatures hit in the low 50's.  Excuse me?  I have a puffy coat to wear!  Mother Nature, kindly throw me some chilly days (and I wouldn't mind a nice gathering of snow either to make it more festive).

Until next time...

Wine and The Game of LIFE

This year New Year's Eve was pretty low-key.  But it also happens to be a holiday that I love to get dressed up for so that didn't stop me from wearing a dress and heels! 

Because of it getting dark so early, I had to have these pictures taken before I was actually ready for the evening.  I hate having to do that.  I got dressed up really quick and took pics, then put my comfy house-cleaning clothes back on, and then proceeded to get dressed up again for the real thing.  By that time it was dark and I had my sister photograph the actual ensemble inside (note the added belt, makeup, and fixed hair which I'm sure you wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't just pointed it out to you):

dress: Forever21

blazer: Target

necklace: vintage

belt: Charlotte Russe

shoes: Mix No. 6

bracelets: gift

watch: Target

Two of my friends and I decided to splurge on a fancy dinner so I didn't get dressed up to just sit on the couch.  However, we did end up going back to my house to drink wine and play LIFE (the best board game ever created by the way) while we mocked the Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve performances (all in good humor of course).  The only band performance that actually caught my attention was Florence & The Machine; the rest were just silly to watch (I choose the word 'silly' because everything seems silly while consuming excessive amounts of Trader Joe's wine and playing LIFE, I really know how to throw a major blow-out on NYE let me tell you...)

Crack open another bottle!  The mini-van containing my pink self and my blue husband just landed on a square that told me I had to give birth to twins even though I make the lowest-salary available and live in a house that would for sure put me in debt.  But the game said I had to.  Ahh LIFE, I get to see all of the different ways my life could go.  I think I'll just stick with my actual life though, that one seems better so far.

Overall I had a pretty fun night.  I lost the game but had a fabulous time doing it!

Until next time...

Shorts In December

First post of 2012!  I would like to start posting more outfits, so I'll start the year off right with one!  This is what I ended up wearing on Christmas day last week.  It's not what you'd usually expect for Christmas-wear, but this year my Christmas was pretty casual.

^me being me (clicking my heels on Christmas day and dancing around...)

sweater: Macy's Love Change

tank: H&M

shorts: LC Lauren Conrad
boot socks: Target

boots: Civico 10

acorn necklace: American Eagle

snowflake/star necklace: gift

I hesitated with whether to keep or return these shorts because I wasn't quite sure how to wear them or if I'd feel comfortable wearing them.  I ended up keeping them and came up with this outfit in a time crunch on the way to my cousin's house that day.  I'm aware that some people think it's dumb to wear shorts with tights under them in the winter.  I don't care.

I hope everyone had a fun New Year's Eve last night!  I know I did!  Oh, and completely unrelated, I'm currently pretty jealous of all you bloggers in the southern hemisphere.  I miss that sun and green grass that I see in your photos!  But for now I guess I'll have to be satisfied with dark, cloudy days and rain/snowy days.

Until next time...