Summer Haul: Forever 21 and Etsy

Soooo....a few paychecks ago I may or may not have done a bad thing. You be the judge.

It all started out with me wanting to pick up some statement pieces for the summer. Normally, when I look at chunky or colorful jewelry I think of Forever 21. What's not to love about it? There's quite a selection and everything is super cheap.
Wait, I take that back, there is something I don't love-the physical store. To me, no matter which location, it's always hot and crowded. Not to mention, the way all the merchandise is displayed is horrible. Considering I'm often out with my three year old son who has zero patience for standing in one spot for more than a nano-second, I just don't have time to look for treasure.
I digress....

Back to the subject at hand, I spent several hours pouring over Forever 21's website and $55 later, picked up quite a bit of loot (sorry for all the pirate references)....

 

 

 

 

 

If you're interested, here is a list of items and prices:

*Petite Bow Earrings Set $2.80

*Almond Teardrop Earrings $5.80

*Lacquered Heart Pattern Necklace $3.80

*Geo Drop Earrings $3.80

*Diagonal Striped Square Studs $3.80

*Lacquered Bow Necklace $1.80

*Layered Spike Necklace $3.80

*Layered Triangle Necklace $5.80

*Spiked Chevron Necklace $5.80

*Colorblocked Geo Earrings $4.80

*Lacquered Anchor Necklace $1.80

*Mustache Charm Necklace $1.80

*Spiked Pearlescent Chain Necklace $5.80

 

 

Then I made the mistake of checking out Etsy....

 



 

What I ordered:

*Pink Strawberry Cupcake Earrings $12.00

*Miniature Macaroons In A Jar Necklace $15.00

*Lime Popsicle Earrings (a free gift with purchase)

 

So there's my damage, Heather...I hope you enjoyed my summertime jewelry haul :)

 

As always, thank you for checking out my blog :)

 

Note: With the exception of the Popsicle earrings, the products mentioned were purchased by me. I am not affiliated with Forever 21, SimplyyCharming, or Sugarcube Corner. This is not a sponsored post. For more information, please check out my Disclaimer.

 

 

 



Cam & Zooey Blowout



After watching several Tiffany D. videos this past summer I started to fall in love with the pair of Henry Bendel hoop earrings that she wore. Since I couldn't afford that exact set, I began my search for a much more affordable version.

Unfortunately, at least in Jersey, this was not an easy task. All I wanted was a pair with just a little bit of something special to make them stand out....that didn't happen. Luckily, I happened to be on Hautelook one day and found exactly what I wanted during their Cam & Zooey blowout.

According to my receipt, I saved over $100 and for two pairs of earrings only spent $22 (including s/h).


The first that immediately caught my eye was the Orchid Flower Hoops-as soon as I saw them I knew immediately that I finally found what I was looking for. These have an antique silver look and have vines and little orchids wrapped around.

On impulse, I also added the Hummingbird Hoops because they were very different from anything I've seen before. Inside the hoop, there's a hummingbird and flower scene, which I found to make a statement yet in a classy way.

(Orchid Flower Hoops)

I've worn both sets on multiple occasions and found in the beginning that they needed to be opened up a little bit, especially the Hummingbirds. After doing that, they became so comfortable that I actually forgot I had them on. I feel like these can be great for casual or formal wear and I am quickly becoming obsessed with them.

(Hummingbird Hoops)

I have never heard of Cam & Zooey before and don't even have a clue as to where they can be found. I'd say if you're interested, your best bet would be to try Google or Amazon.

Thank you for reading this blog and showing your support.

My First Pearls

Last night Jason and I celebrated a belated Christmas and I was really touched by what he gave me...my first pair of real pearl earrings.
What made it so special was the fact that he had remembered a pair I had my eye on months ago and had been in search ever since.

Sometimes he can really surprise me and this as one of those moments...

Thanks for taking the time to read this :)

Sweet 16 Jewels!!!

Continuing what seems to be an "old jewelry" series, I thought I'd include a post about a set that I'm wearing right now.

My sister gave me this when I turned 16 and it's so fun and colorful that I've been wearing it ever since. I personally enjoy wearing it with black pants and a black top as a nice pop of color.

Spotlight: "Vintage" Necklace

I found this a few weeks ago while my fiance' and I were going through our "storage" unit (aka: his parents' basement) and could not believe that I kept it all this time.

I bought this necklace back in sixth grade at my local Mandee and still love the way it looks. To me, it gives off a nice Renaissance feel and goes with anything.

I'm so excited to once again have it part of my jewelry collection!

Baby Lupah!!!!!!

Last week my fiance ordered me my first Invicta. Keep in mind, I'm not a huge watch person but this looked so cute, not to mention it had a special price for the hour.

Yesterday I received my Baby Lupah (love the name!) and am absolutely crazy about it. The color is a perfect shade of pale pink which will match anything and isn't too over the top...plus it's girly :) The face is mother of pearl-normally I'd hate that but it fits nicely with the color...almost has a blush tone to it. The strap is ceramic which is nice because it has a wet shine to it, not to mention, can take a beating. What really impressed me was the fact that they even made the back of the watch look attractive with the embossed label.

This watch is just so adorable...I haven't stopped looking at it all morning. I'm so excited that he was sweet enough to get this for me, plus,  I know this is a quality timepiece.

A Belated VDay Gift

My ring finally came in!!!!!!

I had been wanting something like this for a couple years and my fiance just completely shocked me with this beautiful piece. I couldn't believe that he remembered, right down to the cut of the diamonds!!!!

My First JewelMint

JewelMint is a "personalized" jewelry service. Basically, once an account is created you take a style quiz. Afterwards, new pieces are recommended every month. Each piece is $29.99 and thanks to a coworker, I was able to try this out for only $10!
I've heard both good and bad about this site from various gurus so I had no idea what to expect.

My bracelets came in about two days after they shipped which was a shock considering they were sent via USPS. The envelope they came in was so cute and chic looking! The pieces themselves were packaged in velvet pouch in their own boxes, along with a little pieces of paper explaining about the jewelry.

I really like both bracelets but, unfortunately, what I read in the bad reviews seem true. These feel like they're cheaply made and certainly not like they're worth $30. From the start I could tell I'd have to be careful for fear of tarnishing them or knocking out the jewels.

Nonetheless, I think I'll be cancelling my account with this company.

Birthday Haul

I am so excited!!!! I got so many fun gifts (and gift cards) from my family and have a lot of ideas for future posts :)

Something I'm really excited to try out are a set of nail pens. I had seen these on QVC during the holidays but every time I even considered ordering they'd sell out. I honestly have no clue as to how these will end up but I can't wait to try them out!

I also got a set of sprays and a "bath spa" set which consists of gel, bath salt, lotion, etc.

My sister gave me a two-part gift....the first was a scarf which I think will look really cute in the office(couldn't get a good enough picture of it), and the second was a couple of very tasty cakes-we ate them so quickly that there wasn't time to get any pictures...lol

With some gift cards that I was given and had managed to save up, I went to Sephora where I got the Too Faced Natural at Night Palette and was given my VIB gift-a set of two lip balms from Bliss.

The Bare Escentuals boutique was a lot of fun! The sales associates let me try out the skin care products that I had been curious about and really took the time to explain all the details about what they do and how to use them. I walked out with the Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser, Deep Cleansing Foam, and the Purely Nourishing Moisturizer. I also picked up the Ready Touch-Up Veil along with one of the 2.0 shadow duos in The Scenic Route.

Last but not least, my fiance surprised me with a really pretty gold chain necklace that I had wanted. It's quite long and can be worn in multiple ways (I've been having a ot of fun with it for the past few days :)

I'm really looking forward to trying all of these products out, along with posting all of my reviews. Keep an eye out for upcoming posts!

Are Those Tree Branches In Your Ears?

Over the weekend I picked up a new pair of earrings over at Kohls and they are quite different from anything else I have...they're gold toned tree branches!
At first glance my initial thought was "these are so dumb...who would want to wear something like this?" I guess I did because I kept coming back to them.

They're from the LC by Lauren Conrad collection and I believe were originally priced around $15-$20 but were on sale for $9. The rest of the jewelry looked pretty cute...a lot of pearls and flowers...very girly. I think I'd like to get some more pieces but only when they go on sale again. Most of it cost around $20 which for me was a little much.

I haven't seen these earrings on the website so I'm not sure if they're available anymore but I urge you to check it out!