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Gardening in High Heels

cultivate a beautiful life

November 17, 2016

On A Shoestring: Party Down with an Up-cycle

November 17, 2016

In case you haven’t heard, the holidays are nearing, so Amy and I have dedicated this On A Shoestring to party fashion. Except we’re throwing in the always headache producing fun task of altering clothing that doesn’t quite work. I mean, a lot of times, you’ll find something that’s cute but not quite your style or fit, but you buy it anyway because it’s cheap. Come on, it can’t be just me.

Y’all, this up-cycle was a challenge. I deviated from the “doesn’t quite fit” route to the “doesn’t quite look fresh anymore” route. I wanted to re-purpose a shirt that I have with a stain on it into something I could wear again. Kinda like this.

I was hoping I somehow, possibly through osmosis or genetics, would be able to nail it on the first try. I mean, I only had one shirt and one piece of fabric, so it was more than the first try, it was the only try.

Sadly, if my mom passed along any sewing genes, today wasn’t the day they decided to grace me with their presence. I’mma brag for a sec: my mom is a mad-genius crafter. She sews, quilts (by hand and machine), knits (garments! Stuff you can wear!!), cross-stitches, makes freakin’ lace by hand, and just knows all the craft things. Me? Well, I can spray paint….

My original plan was to remove where the yoke would be on this shirt where the stain appears and replace it with a fun fabric panel. I’m downplaying my skills a little. I can sew and I do own a sewing machine. But when I got to the “sew it on and hack the shirt up” stage, I froze. I didn’t think ahead to just how to do this. I sewed the hem to the patterned fabric. I stabbed myself one too many times with straight pins. And I didn’t thread my sewing machine properly so the top thread had too much tension on it and snapped.

Attempted to up-cycle this shirt and replace the back "yoke" area of this shirt with floral fabric

Attempted to up-cycle this shirt and replace the back "yoke" area of this shirt with floral fabric

At this point, I took it as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be. Too much work for a shirt that has been laying in the laundry room for over a year.

On to Plan B.

I had this dress in the donate pile because I’m not a ruffle person. It’s a cute dress, but I feel like I’m wearing a crumb catcher when ruffles get involved so close to my face. So I thought, “If I were going to a party and I had nothing to wear, but I had scissors and could accessorize, this is what I’d do.”

Up-cycling an old dress with ruffles into something to wear to a holiday party. Making it more modern!

I cut the ruffles off. Both rows of ruffles.

Up-cycling an old dress with ruffles into something to wear to a holiday party. Making it more modern!
Of course, I also added accessories because those are any cheap girl’s best friend, and tada, made this polka dot dress more modern and more me. Like last month’s On A Shoestring, tights make this outfit more than it really is. I’m intentionally mixing patterns – polka dots and plaid – but it works because the colors are in the same family and the prints are varied sizes. Then, I added a belt to coordinate with the tights and bring it all home.

I also LOVE this necklace, so on it goes to add more sparkle, which is a must for a fancy occasion.

dress-after-door

Up-cycling an old dress with ruffles into something to wear to a holiday party. Making it more modern!
Details on this outfit:

Dress: Hue
Belt: Purchased at Ragged Row years ago, label has since rubbed off
Tights: Xhileration at Target
Booties: dv dolce vita at Target
Necklace: Chloe & Isabel
Lack of me in pictures: weird sinus-y headache/cold thing

You’ve gotta see what Amy over at Amy and Angie did. Again, being so clever with this dress-to-skirt thing!

What would you up-cycle from your closet for a party?

I’m collaborating with Amy over at Amy and Angie on a series of posts to re-imagine how we dress, decorate, dine, and more all on a shoestring budget. We’re on a mission to show you that it doesn’t take a Rockefeller-sized closet (or house) and budget to have a good life!

Up-cycling and refashioning an old dress into something you'd wear. Sometimes you just need to take some scissors to it!

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1 Comment · Labels: On A Shoestring, Outfits Tagged: holiday, holiday outfit, ootd, party, party outfit

October 20, 2016

On A Shoestring: Transition Summer Clothes

October 20, 2016

Okay, I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t really dress seasonally appropriate. I don’t put summer clothes in storage and bring out the winter stuff. I like to have it all at my fingertips (sometimes to the detriment of my schedule in the morning), but sometimes that leaves me looking really not right for the season. And cold. I’m a person who likes to be warm. Oh, and save my money.

Enter a new series: On a Shoestring. I’m collaborating with Amy over at Amy and Angie on a series of posts to re-imagine fashion, food, decor (sorry, there’s no f-word for that) and more all on a shoestring budget. It doesn’t take a Rockefeller-sized closet (or house) and budget to look good.

It's so easy to take your summer outfits and make them fall-ready and fabulous, even on a budget!

Today’s mission: transition summer clothes. I love my summer dresses, but they don’t always scream autumn. And I’m like, I paid for it, I’mma wear it as much as I can! Gotta keep that cost-per-wear low.

I took this adorable summer dress (from Rosewood Boutique in Sewickley – they’re currently having a going-out-of-business-25%-off sale) and added three really budget friendly elements to make it jewel toned and weather-friendly.

Take any summer dress and easily transition it to a fall-ready outfit.

It already started out with a fall color, navy, so the transformation process was pretty simple.

First thing’s first: add in structure, especially with a flow-y dress like this. Nothing screams structure more than a good leather jacket (yeah, yeah, yeah, leather jackets aren’t cheap, but find one that fits within your budget and buy it. Take care of your clothes and it’s great investment.)

After the leather comes some tights. Stay warm, right? I buy most of my tights on clearance at Target. They have amazing patterned tights and beauties like the ruby-hued ones I’m rocking.

Finally, a dark vampy lip. Hell, even a berry lip will do.

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add leather! Love this jacket!

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add tights

Transition Your Cloest To Fall -- add tights

Transition Your Cloest To Fall--add dark lipstick.

You absolutely have to check out how Amy refashioned a white lace dress into a cute skirt and totally nailed a cozy fall look. For $3. Three stinkin’ dollars! Killin’ it.

Here’s the details on what I’m wearing. Everything was already in my closet. I just had to mix it together.

Dress: ETWO (from Rosewood Boutique)

Jacket: BB Dakota (from No. 14 Boutique – see it here another way)

Tights: Merona, Target

Booties: Old Navy

Lips: Notion, Ultra Matte Lip from ColourPop Cosmetics

Transition Your Cloest To Fall-Three Easy and Budget Friendly Steps

How do you transition your summer clothes?

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2 Comments · Labels: On A Shoestring, Outfits Tagged: fall essentials, fall fashion, fall outfit, leather jacket, no 14 boutique, old navy, ootd, rosewood, target

July 29, 2016

Beach Essentials No One Thinks About

July 29, 2016

I’ve been digging into some heavy subjects (and will continue to do so as part of my new Monday Musings / Good Question series) so I wanted to lighten things up a bit and talk about some of my favorite items for summer. Adore Me asked me to round up some beach essentials. And I’m not a beach person, but I do spend a lot of time outside in the summer in Pittsburgh, because when you’re rainier than Seattle, you have to soak up all the sun you can get. I thought I’d pass along some summer things that no one thinks about but are still essential to happy day of sun, wherever the beach may be for you.

Great list of things you probably forgot to take to the beach. This is a much better list than just sunscreen and a good book!

Soothe Your Summer Skin

I’ve written about skincare before and my tastes haven’t changed much, but since then, I have found Una Biologicals. And holy sweet potatoes if it isn’t the best thing ever. All natural products made in Pittsburgh. I recently picked up the Blemish Buster roll on because I am oilier than a frying pan in the summer (which means my face is bumpier than a corn cob – is it just me or are you getting hungry, too?) and wanted something that I could keep in my purse for easy application.

Seriously, within three hours of using this and their citrus face wash oil, inflammation was reduced and so was the redness. You could barely tell I had a massive honking zit the size of Rhode Island on my jaw.

I’m also a fan of their body butters (life saver if you’ve been burned, which you shouldn’t be because you’re responsible and put on sun block that hasn’t expired, unlike me, right?) and I was recently introduced to all-natural insect repellent and deodorant. She also have poison ivy spray, after sun care, Wound Wonder healing salve and all the things you want to help recover after a day outside (you can find all of that here). I could seriously drop rent+utilities at Una Biologicals and still walk away happy.

Have a Cool Drink of Water

Of course, if you’re anything like me, you think about the drinks first. Julia Child said, “A party without cake is just a meeting.” Angelica Ross says, “A summer isn’t complete without at least one porch drinking night.” We totally have the same spirit, Julia and I.

But even though there’s nothing greater than drinking near, on, or in a body of water during the summer, you have to remember to stay hydrated with actual water. Trust me, this one has taken me down before. I seriously hate drinking plain water (I mean, it’s just so boring) so I like to keep a pitcher filled with cucumbers, lemons, limes, berries, and other stuff that tricks you into thinking you’re drinking something other than plain water.

And since woman cannot survive on plain water alone (no good story ever started with, “So we were drinking our sparkling water…”) here’s an awesome recipe for Sparkling Rose Blueberry Floats. It’s basically fruit salad in a glass. So you’re being healthy. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

If you’re looking for other ways to drink more water, Melyssa Griffin has a really smart idea.

Don’t Be a Beached Whale

Wait, stop, don’t throw tomatoes at me yet. What I mean is Don’t just sit there, do something! Everyone thinks, “Oh, it’s a day at the beach. I’m going to sit my ass in the sand and not move.” Blessings to you, but I know I can’t sit around and eat and drink like a fish without puffing up like a fish, too, so I need to make sure I’m doing something.

I don’t want to be bouncing around the beach with little to no insurance for keeping things in place, if you know what I’m saying. I want to run around and play and for that, I need something that keeps things together. Adore Me has a great line of swimwear that is cute but it flattering for all body types, whether you want to cover up a bit more, show off your curves, run in the sand, and everything in between.

What are your beach essentials (or sunny day necessities)?

**Adore Me asked me to write about my beach essentials, but they have in no way influenced this list or provided compensation for the post. Plus, I thought it was an interesting prompt!

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Leave a Comment · Labels: Style Tagged: adore me, beach essentials, summer, summer drinks, una biologicals

July 20, 2016

Get your glow on with The Estee Edit

July 20, 2016

I’m going to start this by saying I’m not a fan of glowing makeup and excessive highlighter. Why? Because I usually have so much oil on my face within about 10 minutes of applying makeup that adding additional shiny stuff is basically redundant. Also, most highlighter has some color or glitter to it and I’m not about looking like a disco ball.

Okay, now that I’ve said that, I love the Estee Edit makeup I was sent by Influenster to try out. It has a primer/face color stick, lipstick/balm, and two highlighting products. I’ve been using it for about two weeks and I really like the results. The highlighting products I received aren’t glittery (mostly) and they really aren’t tinted, so they look natural and work with the rest of my makeup instead of against it.

Highlighter junkies, rejoice! The Estee Edit has amazing products to get your glow on any time of the year. These products are so flattering for summer, though! Can't wait to try them!

Pore Vanishing Stick

The Pore Vanishing Stick is possibly one of my favorite items I received in the Estee Edit box. This is a miracle stick (heh heh, dirty) with a color core and mattifying primer ring that blurs the look of pores and minimizes oil and shine. While they recommend using this as a primer, solo as your face color, or over makeup, I prefer it as a primer. It really does provide a nice, matte base that allows the rest of the illuminating products to do their job without extra help from oil on my face. I pay special attention to places I want to stay matte when I use this and not worry about even coverage since I put foundation over top.

The Estee Edit Pore Vanishing Stick is a miracle worker! It keeps you matte all day and provides an aweome primer base for makeup.

Beam Team Hydrate + Glow

The Estee Edit says Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is an illuminating, hydrating lotion with a touch-on shimmer concentrate. They recommend using it any time of day for an extra glow boost. Usually, I’ll mix the lotion into my foundation to make it more like a BB cream. Even though they say it can be worn alone for a healthy glow, it’s very sheer and doesn’t provide coverage. The “color payoff” is slightly golden; I mostly notice that it gives me a nice, vibrant beam and not color.

The glow boost in the cap is a little different. I thought I could just swipe it on from the container, but the cap gets in the way. I felt very smart the first time I tried to do that. This part does have some glitter in it, so I usually don’t reach for it daily, but I’ll bring this into the game if I want a bit of an extra highlight.

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

The Estee Edit Beam Team Hydrate + Glow is a beautiful hydrating lotion that illuminates and comes with a concentrated highlighter in the cap for spotlight highlighting!

Flash Illuminator

The Flash Illuminator is another illuminating product (no shit) and claims to be “your best light in a bottle.” The Estee Edit says it’s a high-impact highlighting cream that instantly illuminates skin and provides hyaluronic acid and other skincare ingredients. There are five shades ranging from Spotlight (the one I have here) to Night Light, a darker golden brown shade.

Again, I like to mix this in with my foundation if I haven’t already added the Beam Team hydrating lotion. I’ll also use this as a highlighting cream on my cheekbones (what little of them I have) and down the bridge of my nose.

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator packs so much glow! It's great on its own or mixed into foundation for a beautiful, vibrant glow. So pretty for summer!

The Barest Lip Color

No surprises here, the The Barest Lip Color lipstick is my favorite item from this box. It’s a lipstick/lip balm hybrid that uses muru muru butter and real flower petal waxes for softness and shine. You can apply this sheer or layer it up if you like to live in full color. There are a range of shades, like the Flash Illuminator, though they’re all pretty much brown-nudes with a hint of pink. I have In the Buff, a nude mauve shade that’s rosy when sheered out.

I love the scent of this lipstick (true Estee Lauder lipstick that reminds me of the 90s and my grandma) and how it wears. It feels really nice, too, and moves with your lips; not that it travels, but that it doesn’t just cake onto your lips and then crack when you try to talk. Ugh, that’s the worst feeling.

The Estee Edit The Barest Lipcolor in In The Buff is a super hydrating lipstick/lip balm hybrid. What a gorgeous dusty mauve shade for summer! Definitely a switch from my bright pinks!

The Estee Edit The Barest Lipcolor in In The Buff is a super hydrating lipstick/lip balm hybrid. What a gorgeous dusty mauve shade for summer! Definitely a switch from my bright pinks!

I’m pleasantly surprised by this box of goodies from the Estee Edit. I’m actually using everything provided, even though two of the items are highlighting/illuminating products. Like I said before, while I’m not about that game, I am so about the vibrant glow they give me.

What’s your favorite way to glow?

**These products were provided complimentary by The Estee Edit and Influenster, but the opinions are my own forever and always.

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Leave a Comment · Labels: Makeup & Beauty Tagged: glowing makeup, highlighter, influenster, lipstick, makeup, summer makeup, the estee edit, voxbox

June 14, 2016

Because Coffee by Thread & Grain

June 14, 2016

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m fueled by coffee and not much else (that’s a lie..I’m a garbage disposal. I haven’t met much I don’t like). But for the sake of this post, let’s just say that I’m fueled by coffee. As a small business owner, you kind of have to be. Most of my good ideas get born because of beer but are carried out…wait for it…because coffee.

“Angelica, how did you manage to do that?” “Because coffee.”

“When did you find time to sort through these?” “I don’t know, I just did.. Because coffee.”

You see, I owe a lot to coffee.

Thread and Grain makes the cutest shirts! Love this Because Coffee tee!

So when Katy over at Thread & Grain wanted to have other people model her shirts for her website, I had to jump on this Because Coffee tee (in gray, of course). If you’re looking for accessories to match, there’s a clutch and necklace that you need. To borrow a phrase from a friend: you didn’t ask me, but you’re welcome.

(I wore my necklace to a coffee shop on Sunday. I sat there writing this post, drinking coffee, denouncing decaf..it was awesome.)

Because Coffee t-shirt by Thread & Grain. So cute and perfect for anyone who needs coffee to function!

Because Coffee t-shirt by Thread & Grain. So cute and perfect for anyone who needs coffee to function!

Thread and Grain makes the cutest shirts! Love this Because Coffee tee!

Want to see other things that Katy’s made? Well, all bloggers need this shirt and Katy has a whole section on her site just for makers. If you don’t find something you love, you’re doing it wrong.

What’s your go-to source for inspiration?

** Katy offered a discount to anyone who signed up to be a brand rep; I took advantage of that discount to purchase this shirt. I absolutely love her style and would have bought it regardless and I’m thrilled to have such a creative and giving friend!

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2 Comments · Labels: Outfits Tagged: coffee, handmade escapade, thread and grain, what i wore

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Who’s Angelica?

Life Un-styled Blogger, Gardener, Shoe Lover..among other things

I'm here to encourage and empower you to grow where you're planted and embrace the weeds that sometimes pop up. I'll share inspiration, products I like (and you may too), and stories from the garden.

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