Inspired Style on a Budget - April/May

This weekend was full of crafts and diy projects for the upcoming baby shower for my SIL. It was really exciting to see all the projects coming together slowly. Chirag was super helpful, which really helped me enjoy the process versus stressing out on how I was going to get everything done on time. I can't wait to share all the details soon.

I've also been getting excited about our trip and with that I've been making a "vacation wish list". But before I start spending money on things I need to look cute on the beach, I thought it was time to reflect the new additions to my closet and how good (or bad) I've been on sticking with my goals.

The month of April was suppose to be a "shopping fast" for me. I will give myself an A- this month because besides these super soft tees from Cotton On, I didn't spend any additional money in the month of April.

The tees were 2 for $20 and they are both super soft and perfect basics. Surprisingly, they aren't made from cotton at all, but rather viscose. Either way, they are super soft and easy to wash and wear. I think it was worth breaking the rules slightly for these because I don't have anything like it in my closet right now and they go with pretty much everything.

Tildon shift dress / Shift dress / Old Navy a line dress / V neck t shirt / V neck t shirt / Banana Republic black skirt / Jolt white skirt / Lush crochet shorts / Xhilaration romper / Sam & Libby sandals

I can't say I was as good in May, but I wasn't entirely bad either. I added some great items, which I think are going to be perfect to take our trip as well. 

I bought the coral dress from Lulu's Memorial Day sale and I absolutely love it! It's the perfect color for my skin tone and I can dress it up or down. Plus it's a perfect dress to wear while pigging out on amazing food and drinks on a vacation and not worry about being self-conscious. 

I also picked up a few items I've seen some of my favorite bloggers rave about lately. Case in point is this dress from Nordstrom. Unfortunately, it wasn't part of their 40% sale this past month, but Cassie from Hi, Sugarplum! has me sold on it. She has a ton of different way to style this dress. I probably wouldn't have given this dress a second thought if I had seen it in stores or online, but it's really great quality and again really versatile.  

One of the reasons I love following "real women" fashion bloggers is that they are always sharing some amazing finds with you. This helps make shopping so much easier for someone like me, who is totally lost in the store or online. I only came to know this pretty lace pencil skirt through Audrey at Putting Me Together. I really like the lace detail of the skirt and I was surprised that the shape is actually pretty flattering on me.  As per my three question checklist, I'm still trying to come up with three unique ways in which I can utilize this skirt.

Speaking of my three question checklist... I originally bought these shorts with pompom detail when I saw it on Jean from Extra Petite. I thought it would be perfect for Jamaica. They fit well and are very affordable, but I'm really wondering how much use I'm really going to get out of them apart from our trip. Plus, it's not like I will be wearing them every day on the beach. So even though they are super cute, and Jean looks fabulous in the outfit she styled with them... I'm still trying to decide if they are right for me.

Two favorites from Target this month is this cute romper and these great sandals! I can always depend on Target for good quality shoes. I had these camel sandals for over three years and wore them to death. Before our Memorial Day trip, I figured it was time to replace them and I love these Sam & Libby options. I just happened to come across this romper on a recent Target run. It's light weight and I really like the pattern. It's great casual with some sandals, but I'm also planning on dressing it up with a nice black belt and heels.

The last 2 items are both technically gifts from Chirag. On a recent trip to Old Navy, he recently picked up this dress as a little surprise for me. He usually never does anything like this.... he said he thought it would be nice for our trip. I actually had seen it online a few days before and even put it in my cart, but never pulled the trigger. It was definitely a sweet surprise and I pretty wore it out the same day he gave it to me. I want to make sure to encourage this type of behavior! ;)

Lastly, I counted the black lace skirt as a gift in my budget because I was able to use Chirag's BR Embark points to get it. I'm a little torn because it very similar to the lace skirt from Nordstrom. What do you guys think? Too much a like? Should I only keep one? I've really been trying to be good about not buying/keeping something just because it was on sale or because I got it for a good deal... but something tells me that they are both different enough to keep. Or maybe I'm just trying to justify it to myself?

Even though I have a few doubts about the shorts and the black lace skit, I'm pretty happy with the items I've added to my closet. Building a wardrobe that truly makes me look forward to getting dressed in the morning is definitely a challenge for me and takes a lot of work and strategic thinking. However, I'm also trying to remember that at the end of the day they are just clothes and part of the process is to just have fun with it!


What new items did you add to your closet this month?