Flying squirrel

Top: c/o Oasap
Tank: Target maternity (love these!)
Pants: Old Navy
Oxfords: Target
I wanted to like this shirt, because it has lots of cute little pandas on it, and who doesn't like pandas? (Sorry, I forgot to take a close-up of the print, but trust me, they're pandas.) But the shape of the shirt was just... weird. I tried sewing it up to create some sleeves and to slim the body so it would look more like a blouse and not a tent, but the material was just too hard to work with and I gave up.

The first time I showed my husband this shirt, he snickered and asked if I was a flying squirrel. No.

September Budget Recap

1. Coral/pink bib necklace (eBay) - $4
2. Rockstar skinny jeans in Heliotrope (Old Navy) - $19 with 20% off coupon + tax = $16.50
3. Rockstar skinny jeans in Monaco Plum (Old Navy) - $19 with 20% off coupon + tax = 16.50

September total: $37

I wasn't looking to spend too much money this month, but late night eBay browsing and bidding resulted in a necklace that I'm somewhat partial towards. Oh well, I'll figure out a way to incorporate it into my outfits sooner or later.

Then the $19 sale on Rockstar jeans at Old Navy and a 20% off coupon resulted in me buying not one, but two pairs of pants I did not need.

Looking forward to the next three months, I really don't have a "must have" list of things I need, so I'll just try to shop sparingly and avoid impulse buys. Less than $100 left to last me for the remainder of the year!

Update: Oops, I forgot to include the socks I bought at Target last week. They were marked down to 70% off so I picked up 3 three-packs of socks and a pair of polka-dot tights for a total of $9, so I spent a total of $46 this month.

BUT.. I also forgot to include my $7 Old Navy return of defective clothes, so the September total should be $39.

T-shirts

Top/belt/shoes/necklace: Target
Jeans: Gap

I've been looking for a basic grey tee, and finally found one that's almost perfect. It's soft, v-neck, and cheap (I bought it when it was on sale for $5, and had a $2 off any Mossimo clothing item coupon, so a total of $3) but it has this stupid little chest pocket. Little as in, literally, it's tiny. It's conveniently covered by my hair in the pics, but it's a pointless pocket and I really want to remove it, I just don't want to damage my $3 tee in the process and have to buy a new one.

Now that I have a grey one, I realize I want a white t-shirt too. Not sure if I want another Target one because of the mini-pocket (nothing against pockets, I'd rather have a regular-sized pocket), but not sure what I want. Should I splurge and get a high quality tee (had my eyes on an T by Alexander Wang one...) or be cheap because no one should be spending $80 on a plain white t-shirt? Knowing me, I'll get holes and stains in it pretty quickly.

Where are your favorite basic t-shirts from? I'm thinking I want something v-neck, but not too low, and not too thin as to need a cami underneath. Any suggestions? 

Cheap stuff

Top: Old Navy

Skirt: J.Crew

Necklace: Mom's

Shoes: Sam Edelman

People always complain about Old Navy's quality, but it hasn't really bothered me too much. I know I've been disappointed when my jeans stretch out in the knees and get saggy, or my t-shirts get misshapen, but the quality is what you pay for, and I've usually been pretty happy about being able to buy cute clothes for dirt cheap. Up until last week.

I bought two shirts in June, this one and the green sleeveless one, and I was pretty happy about them until I came home and realized that the coral shirt's stitching had come undone right at the button placket so there was this gaping hole if I pulled the shirt in a certain way. I temporarily fixed it with some double sided tape, but it was right at chest level, so while it looked decent from far away, I'm sure anyone standing a few feet away would be able to see the missing stitching if they were to look carefully.

Then the other day, I pulled out the green shirt to steam out the wrinkles after being laundered, and I noticed a quarter-sized hole in the collar! I hadn't noticed it when I wore it last or before washing it, but it was definitely from the fabric being sewn too closely to the stitching and being pulled out when it went through the wash. The edges of the fabric were all frayed and would have been pretty difficult to sew back.

I was super disappointed because I really liked the shirts, and fixing them would have been difficult (I guess the coral shirt would have been easy, but just matching the thread and stitching perfectly is hard), so I brought them both back to the store. I paid $22 for both shirts but had used a $15 credit cards reward, so getting $7 back for two cute but defective shirts was kind of a bummer. I mean, that's how much my lunch normally costs!

When I do get my $15 back in my next statement, I'm going to have to resist the urge to go back to Old Navy. SIGH.

Peplum

Top: The Limited

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: Target

I was really excited about the peplum trend awhile back, and had been hunting down an affordable peplum top because anything to make my waist look smaller AND hiding the muffin top? Sounds good to me!

I found this white top at the Limited, and it was a size or two larger than what I normally wear, but it looked good enough and I brought it home with me anyway. After slimming down the sides a little, I tried it on, and... it's not that flattering. The belt just draws attention to the fact I do not have a waist. I think I might have to slim it down a little more and maybe not wear the belt with it? Or start going to the gym to try to lose some of the midsection? I guess I'll be happy as long as peplum doesn't go out of style before I have a chance to do either.