Easter

I love, love, love Easter. It's almost better than Christmas to me because the weather is warm and there's not so much pressure with gift giving. Of course, I also love a great Easter outfit. J. Crew Factory was having one of their crazy 40-60% the whole store sales a couple weeks ago and I snagged this coral colored pencil skirt for $20! Anyway, I thought I'd also post a few pictures of our Easter brunch table. I always love decorating for Easter and I think this year might have been one of our best tables yet. 

                                           
                                     

I was so excited when I saw this BCBG coat was on TJMaxx's clearance for $79. Eek!

Where it's all from...

Coat: TJMaxx/BCBG, similar found here

Peplum: Forever 21

Skirt: J. Crew Factory

Shoes: Forever 21 (old), similar found here

Shoppin' on a Budget...a real budget.

Has it really been nearly a month since my last post? Yikes. This semester's work load is killing me, but I digress. Lately I 've found myself chatting with friends about where to buy professional clothes to wear in our teaching practicums. At least two of my friends have mentioned they're on the look out for dresses and skirts. Yet, sometimes it seems you can only find dresses that are cute but too short or dresses that are wayyy too matronly to want to be sporting in your 20's...or ever. And of course on top of all these dress debacles you wanna stay on budget! So, I thought I'd put together a blog post of my favorite places to snag professional, yet adorable (in my opinion!), and most importantly affordable outfits. And let me just clarify I'm talking real-life affordable, 'cause this girl does not consider a $70 cotton dress to be budget-friendly. Seriously... getting a dress at a Gap Outlet clearance sale for SEVEN dollars was one of my proudest shopping related moments...or just proudest life moments ever. Check out my go-to's for my teaching ensembles...

1. J. Crew Factory: Now you may be thinking wait a minute I thought she was going to write about budget-friendly places?! I know, I know J. Crew is not the first place I think of when I think of affordable clothing either, I mean they were selling hats for upwards of $30 this winter, not my idea of cheap! But I promise you their sales are out of this world! They often do 40-60% the whole store AND they give a 15% discount to students with I.D.'s. Not to mention they sell tons of cute skirts that are long enough to wear in a professional environment.  Just yesterday I was able to snag a dress, a statement necklace, a pencil skirt, and a pair of black jeans for $70 total! I dare you to pull off that deal at Target. 

2. Old Navy: Old Navy is my old standby because even before a sale they tend to be pretty affordable, but when they have a sale oh-my-goodness can you get some deals! They also sell dresses that have longer hemlines, so perfect for a work environment. 

3. H&M: H&M is another place that tends to be generally on the inexpensive side, not to say I haven't seen items there for upwards of $50. Yet, I always seem to get great shirts or hit lucky with sales (sometimes they do buy one get one free, what!). 

4. Asos: My newest discovery is Asos.com. They are an online company and they sell it all! Everything from cheap, cute dresses to pricier designer duds. My trick is to hit up the sales and click "sort lowest to highest price." This forces me to forgo looking at more expensive items that I can't afford. By checking out the cheapest items first I don't feel like I'm depriving myself from items that I love but can't afford because I simply stop looking at things once the items begin to go above my price range. Also, they offer free shipping- both ways! 

5. Gap: Gap is another store I don't regard as super affordable, but like J. Crew Factory they do great sales. I just go straight for the sale rack and don't even bother with full priced items. It works for me and they've got dresses that can be professional which I am all about. 

I know this was a super word-y post, but I hope someone could find it helpful. Cute professional clothes do exist and you don't have to have tons of money to afford them! Please hit up these stores and help me banish boring dress pants forever. 

Wool & Tights

If you live on the East Coast right now you know we are in the midst of a never ending winter. I had a bridal shower to go to last Saturday and it just felt odd wearing such wintery clothes. For some reason I always equate bridal showers with pastels, but maybe that's just me! Anyway, I dug out a wool skirt I had tucked away in one of my bottom dresser drawers and wound up with, what I think, was a fun and warm outfit. I actually wore this skirt to the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) conference back in November, so I'd say this could double as a teaching outfit, except I'd probably pair it with flat boots since I'm not one for heels in the classroom. 

I created this basket for the bride-to-be. I purchased tea towels and oven mitts off her registry and then got the chalkboard jar at Michael's Craft Store (check 'em out here!) I made the monogram pennant banner myself. I just used fabric scraps with fabric glue and glitter, I'm not much of a sewer, unfortunately. 

Where it's all from...

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Old Navy (last season), similar found here

Skirt: Jack. I purchased this at Century 21, but you can also get it here

Denim Shirt: H&M (last season), similar found here

Necklace: J. Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Bag: Kate Spade (old), similar found here

P.S.- I got the Kate Spade bag at Century 21, so I assure you I paid wayy less than the one I linked. I couldn't find a cheaper option online that looked similar. :(

Weekend Look

I have been majorly slacking on updating this blog lately! Keeping up with school, work, and my school's education club has gotten the best of me, but of course that's nothing a fun, weekend outfit can't fix. This weekend the boyfriend and I headed out to a little restaurant in Tarrytown, NY called Sweet Grass. They serve a lot of yummy, super healthy organic options, but also being the junk food lover that I am I had to stop off at the ice cream place across the street for a cone before we went home. As for the outfit I'm a total believer in outfits that can be casual, but not sloppy. I'm also thinking I could definitely switch out the Converse for flats and make this a teaching outfit. 

Where it's all from...

Sweater: Old Navy

Denim Shirt (underneath sweater): H&M

Necklace: Express

Black Jeans: Jessica Simpson, found at Macy's

White Converse: Zappos

Coat: H&M (old), similar(ish) found here

Bag: Aldo's (old), similar found here

Nail Polish: Essie "Butler Please," snag it here

Poppin' Color

I've got a serious thing for polka dots. I've always been one to gravitate towards "cutesy" things, so I suppose my affinity for spots is only natural. A big reason I love this dress is because of how versatile it is, it can be easily dressed up or made more casual. I pair it with a cardigan and flats for my teaching field work and I've also thrown on heels with it for an awards ceremony. And of course, here's to hoping the weather warms up sometime soon so I feel less like a human icicle when shooting these pictures!

Where's it's all from...

Dress: Forever 21(old), almost identical found here! 

Belt: Forever 21(old), similar found here

Gold Bangles: Francesca's Collections (old), similar found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Flats: Coach

I bought these Coach flats four years ago at Century 21 Department Store and I cannot find anything similar anywhere online, unfortunately. 

Polkadotted Plaid

As I mentioned this winter has been rough, so I've trying to get creative to keep my outfits warm but still stylish. This is a simple outfit I've worn for practicum (two-day-a-week student teaching). This plaid, polka-dotted button down caught my eye this December, and I love that it can be dressed up or down. 

Where it's all from...

Top: H&M (last season), similar found here

Necklace: J.Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Skirt: J.Crew Factory (last season), similar found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Boots: Lucky Brand (old), similar found here

Pop of Neon

New Jersey has been a frozen tundra lately. Honestly, I do not remember the last time we had a winter this bad. I am definitely over the snowfall every other day, and I've also been getting sick of boring, dark winter colors. So, when I saw this neon dress in the store the other day I knew I had to snatch it up. I paired it with black tights and cardigan to still keep it winter appropriate, and I gotta say I'm really digging this look. Also, I cannot wait to wear this dress sans-tights come summertime! 

Where it's all from....

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Old Navy (old), similar can be found here

Belt: Forever 21(old), similar can be found here

Opaque Tights: H&M

Flats: Fusion (old), similar can be found here

"C" Necklace: Nadri

P.S.- All these photos were taken by my wonderful boyfriend, Dan. I can't even manage to take a non-blurry selfie.

About Me

Hello, I'm Cara! I am a preschool special education teacher in Northern New Jersey. I have formerly taught preschool inclusion and currently teach preschool self-contained and am loving it! This is my little corner of the web where I post activities, lessons, and classroom routines that I do with my group of fun-loving, three-year-old students.