Office to Office Party Style

The Holiday season is almost upon us and no matter how you celebrate, everyone will be attending parties and impromptu gatherings. For me, lots of these events may be planned for the hours immediately after work and involve coworkers. There’s no time to go home and change and because my coworkers are involved, I want to look festive and professional. A great dress fits that bill. By changing up a few accessories and my shoes, I can go from office professional to holiday festive, in a flash.

Printed Mesh Dress

 

I love this dress from Roaman’s. The fitted top and flared skirt are flattering on all body types. The silhouette is especially flattering on my pear shaped frame. The colors of the dress are versatile and mean that it could work year round. You know I’m all about the multi-seasonal clothes. The pattern and piping give it some visual interest. For the office, I would add a blazer, some classic pumps, simple but pretty stud earrings, bracelets, a watch, and a colorful tote to carry my daytime essentials.

Dress/Blazer/Pumps/Bag/Watch/Bracelets/Earrings

 

I’m all about simple, after a long work day. I’d just swap my pumps for some metallic sandals and the blazer for a bolero sweater, (a wrap, or go without a topper,) add a sparkly necklace and a statement bracelet, and swap out my day tote for an evening bag. As you know the sparkly jewelry from Stella and Dot is a regular part of my wardrobe and I’m in love with this evening bag from Zara. You could carry it hands free with the shoulder strap (easier to juggle a cocktail) or tuck in the strap and carry it as a clutch. It would be easy to throw all of the items into a small tote bag and carry them with me. I could make this quick change in my office (or cubicle). To lend additional evening flare, I’d go for a more dramatic lip color, add an extra coat of mascara and I’d be set.

Dress/Bolero Sweater/Heeled Sandals/Bag/Watch/Bracelet/Earrings/Necklace

 

This same method could work on the weekend, with a casual day outfit. Just dress up your jeans and t-shirt with a fancy jacket, heels, and some statement jewelry. The Holidays are a busy time for everyone, simplifying your wardrobe changes will take a bit of the stress away.

 

Disclosure: The opinions expressed in this post are my own. This is a sponsored post.

 

Maximize Holiday Savings - The Math

I can't believe that I'm helping you with math. It's definitely not my strong suit. But when it comes to saving money on the things I want to buy, I'm all about it. Stores will be full of amazing deals this holiday season. You don't have to stop at the sale price. By stacking deals and rebates you can save even more.



Click photos above for buying information.

As a birthday present to myself (my birthday is Saturday), I made a purchase from Asos. I've had my eye on the hooded biker parka for sometime.  First I waited for the price to come down a bit and then when I saw the great discounts for Cyber Monday I knew I was ready to snatch this coat up before it was gone. In the process I picked up a couple of other items I had on my list and a little splurge (the faux fur collar).

Some of the items purchased (the coat and short sleeve top) were on sale. In addition to the sale prices and Cyber Monday discount (30%), I also used Ebates before I went to the Asos site and I used a credit card that also provided a store rebate for Asos. If you shop online and you aren't using Ebates, you should be.  It's easy, all you need to do is to register for an account and before you shop, go to Ebates. Search for the store name and click to shop. Ebates creates a tracking ticket and you'll recieve a cash rebate based on the percentage displayed for that store. Every quarter ebates will send you a check (or a direct deposit) that is total for all of your ebates. There are no strings other than going through ebates first. Many credit card companies and banks have also begun negotiating cash back deals with specific retailers.  If you use their card to make your purchase, you'll recieve a credit to your card, based on the rebate for that merchant. The percentage will vary per retailer and credit card company. For my card, I just had to log into their site and my account, go to the deals section of the site.  Then I selected the deals I wanted to use. New deals are issued on a regular basis. Each time I check my account, I check for new rebate deals. Check with your card issuer for details.

Here is how my savings breaks down.

Full Price (no discounts): $241.39

Total with Sale Prices:                      $169.69
Cyber Monday Discount 30%:          ($50.91)
Free shipping from Asos                      $0.00
Total paid to Asos at check out:        $118.79
Ebates rebate (5%):                               $5.94
Credit Card rebate (10%):                    $11.88
_____________________________________
Final Total:                                         $100.97

Just by going to Ebates first and using a specific credit card, I will get an additional $17.82 in cash back!  That is more than the cost of the short sleeve top.  My final total with all of my discounts and rebates is less than the full price cost of the coat! I got some great items for a bargain. Even with my scarf splurge, my total was just a little over $100. The 30% Cyber Monday discount at Asos is good until December 4th.

I hope you'll start using Ebates and check your own credit and debit cards for rebates.  It's worth it to take a minute to get those rebates. You can use the extra money to buy more gifts for loved ones or even yourself.

Asos Plus Outerwear · Big Chill Plus Sizes · Asos Outerwear

NOTE: The opinions expressed here are my own. I was not provided compensation from Asos or any credit card company. If you sign up for Ebates through the links above, I will earn referral credits.

Halloween Decor and Costumes

Halloween was a blast this year. It's one of my favorite holidays. We had so much fun decorating for and throwing our Halloween party and I thought I'd share some highlights with you.

I wanted a dramatic entry for our guests. The curtains will be used in my office when I redecorate.  The little gnome stays on the porch year round. We decorate him at Christmas and I thought I'd decorate him for Halloween as well.

 

I purchased candlesticks from Goodwill and painted them black. {msL}found dripping blood candles and I was thrilled until they dripped everywhere including all over the table cloth and the rug. I will stick with regular candles from now on. I snagged tons of skulls and crows. I painted the plastic skulls black and silver and also used a few from last year that I'd sprayed with glittter spray paint. I replaced all of the bulbs in the lamps and light fixtures with red bulbs, adding to the spooky feel.  I already owned the bulbs. I'd used them for my fire and ice themed 40th birthday party a few years ago. The food and the skulls were displayed on cake stands that I found at Goodwill and we also used for our wedding. We also decided to serve Halloween inspired cocktails. Of course we hit up Goodwill for some vintage looking cocktail glasses.

Outside we had a fire pit and on the table I used a tray I found at Goodwill. It was an engraved tray (an award) but since I was going to put candles, mini gourds and skulls on it, the engraving wouldn't show. I wanted to carry the spooky ambience outside.

Now for the costumes!

{msL} and I dressed as Edgar Allan Poe and his Raven. I already owned the wings, leather peplum top and the satin ball skirt. I purchased the mask and the talons that I wore. I made the feather necklace and bracelets. I created smokey eye makeup and a beak using heavy black liner. I outlined my lips in black and used a dark red lipstick.

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't manage to get a photo of my friends Carl, David or Willis. Carl was dressed as a Caps Fan. He actually plays a Caps fan in real life.  David was dressed as Peter Pan and Willis was dressed as a Pirate. Thank you to all of our guests and to everyone who sent photos.

 

 

Happy (belated) Halloween!

 



My Holiday Must Haves - Every Year

The Holidays for me are about memories and spending time with those I love.  I'm not usually super sentimental and mushy but the Holidays bring back some of that out in me.  We have some family traditions that have existed since I was a child. Some of those have changed because of our lives as adults but {msL} and I have created some of our own traditions.  There are a few things that are must haves for me during this time of year.

I love Holiday decorations but I hate spending tons of time to put them up, just to have to take them down a couple of weeks later.  Because of this, my decorations have become more simple over the years.  I create easy to put up and take down displays that are festive but no stress.  I use lots of glittery ornaments and candles and lights.

A few nights before Christmas every year, {msL} and I hop in the car and drive around drinking coffee or hot cocoa.  We listen to Holiday music and look for the most tacky and over the top Holiday lights we can find.  It's so much fun and really puts me in the Holiday mood. Tacky Light Tour can help you locate displays in your neighborhood. If you live in the DC area check out Holly's Tacky Christmas Lights and don't miss Christmas on 34th St. in Baltimore.  Make a fun evening out of your drive to Baltimore. It's fantastic.

Christmas and Holiday movies are a must have for me.  The nostalgic childhood cartoons like Rudolph and Frosty are fun.  Classics like Holiday Inn and It's a Wonderful Life always top the list.  Over the years I've added some favorites.  The Holidays aren't complete without watching A Christmas Story, Elf or Christmas Vacation.  I also have to throw in a dysfunctional family movie like Home for the Holidays or The Family Stone.  These movies are fun and always make me smile.

The Holidays aren't complete without music. There are so many great ways to get free Holiday music, no matter what type you love.  You can create your own channel on Pandora. Amazon is giving away free Holiday music downloads for 25 days in December.  Just check here every 5 days for the new downloads. Check out a list of ways to get free Holiday music, here.

How do you celebrate the Holidays?