Our Christmas Decor

Todays post is giving a quick look at what the Mills Condo is looking like for the Holidays!
Of course I posted at the end of October on my Instagram (follow here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!) that I was traveling to see my family in North Carolina for Early Christmas!
With that being said, my Christmas decor had to come up in the first week of November since I will be 700 miles away from November 30th-December 18th.

Since we’re in a Condo and house hunting, we decided to keep the Christmas decor classic and simple. We hope to have a house in 2019 that we can invest more in new decor (and hopefully a fireplace mantel!)
Our Christmas Tree is this beautiful deep green with the clear lights that have random twinkle feature. We have glass ornaments in deep red, light gold, and dark gold. I threw in some amazing cheap target dollar bin ornaments too and these holly branches are from the dollar tree! 

Our Wrapping paper for gifts are the classic green and red plaid. I enjoy keeping gift wrapping to compliment the tree decor. 

Our Kitchen decorations is this Martha Stewart Pug cookie jar Bryce purchased for me on our 1st Christmas to match all the Kate Spade New York items. The Kate Spade + Lenox Collection is in “Arbor Village”. I have the entire dinner set, Salt + Pepper shakers, Serving dish, apron, and dish towels + oven mittens. 

Our Christmas Wreath is one I made to match my tree. It has the same ornament colors but plastic instead of glass. 

Let's Make Style! #2

Get excited! One fashion piece worn different ways! If you want a refresher of how this is done; check out Let's Make Style #1! What you'll see today is a “HOT trend” item. For about a month now fashion influencers are rocking high waisted tie shorts. These soft + comfy shorts are perfect for summer but seem to fall into the category of only being worn once or twice. 
And I’m going to be honest with you, most of the influencers I follow only wore these shorts once and ALL wore the shorts the same way WITH the same color top?
 Have no fear! I am here! Here to reassure you these shorts CAN be worn multiple ways and into some stylish outfits! It just takes some time and digging in the closet to find some pieces you already own.
REMEMBER: I'm using what I already own in my closet. Sometimes I'll mention items/ideas I would do IF I owned that particular clothing/accessory. I'm not going out and purchasing new items for this. I will link inspo ideas along with the links of the exact items I already own OR similar pieces to the items I'm using.
These lovely shorts are the fashion piece that will be styled into different looks! Below you can shop the look!

My exact shorts (PS: They come in 6 different colors!!), Similar pair: Francesca's Boutique  , Similar pair 2: Shein Tie Front Shorts , Similar pair 3: Nordstrom Tie Front Shorts, Similar pair 4: Loft Tie Front Shorts.

Look one (its actually a combo look!): Crop & Fabric Detailing.

This is a super adorable look for summer. I paired the tie front shorts with a cropped lace top (The combo part is to show BOTH crop and/or detailed+textured fabric looks adorable with these shorts!). The top even has a back zipper detail (which makes the crop very fitted). I own the top in black and white and both look darling with the outfit.

 For accessories throw some silver jewelry to match the zipper detailing, a super trendy straw tote which is perfect for shopping or for the beach + some thick band sandals.
Shop the Look:Similar lace with zipper back top , My Yurman style bracelet, Similar Quote Bracelet , VERY similar sandals, Another similar sandal, Similar bag (has same rope handle detailing!).

Look two: V-Neck Tee + Fun Accessories 

This look is very simple which is why I’m not going much into detail about it. In fact this was one of my #ootd’s that I thought would add to the list to show how versatile these shorts are. Any color neutral tee would look great tucked in these shorts. I would even throw a deep red or pale yellow top with this too. For accessories I'm wearing a bright Lilly Pulitzer charm bracelet and some gold Jack Rogers. 

If you want to see the #ootd post you can view it here!!!
Shop the Look:Exact Tee , Exact Shoes , Similar earrings , Exact Bracelet, Exact Straw Tote,  Jack Rogers sandals , Lilly Charms, Lilly Charms 2.

Look three: Bare Shoulder Bodysuit. 

 This look is beachy meets sexy. This off the shoulder ruffle bodysuit gives such a sexy feel. The straw sunhat, fun Kate Spade clutch, gold cuff (that ties in the gold metal detailing of the clutch), and the Cognac woven flats is GOALS.

 This is what you wear on your resort trip, honeymoon adventures, or to a late afternoon concert. I’m so excited to wear this look out one night and putting this together helped me realize how much of a fashion staple these shorts are!
Shop the Look:Straw quote hat , "Wish You Were Here" hat , Gold Cuff , Exact Shoes , Exact Bodysuit, Similar Bodysuit, Purse is no longer in stores but here it is on Ebay.

Look Four: Mauve & Turquoise.

This is another amazing look I’m so pumped to wear out. The Mauve silk-like texture of this deep V tank is romantic and dresses these shorts up for a good dinner-date look.

The necklace has sliver & gold chains with Turquoise stones that POP!(PS: the necklace is a 3 in one; so you can remove chains if desired!). 

My go-to straw bag and gold pineapple sandals add a fun twist to this romantic look. The only other thing I would do for this look is grab a bottle of bronzing lotion to give my skin a glow.

 Shop the Look:Similar style top, Similar style Deep V-Top in many colors , Exact Shoes , Similar Necklace (but same exact brand!) ,Similar necklace with Turquoise details , Exact Straw Tote,  Similar Shape Bag.

Vola! Here's hoping I helped inspire some ideas for when you want to vamp up the High Waist Tie Front Shorts! As always I leave asking: Is it interesting to see what I find in my closet to create new looks? Should I just go buy all new things to go with this or is it fun to see the similar items I search for online/finding the original items? Is there a particular look you want to see on? Is there a fashion trend you want me to see/style in other ways? DM me on my instagram (click here for the link to my page) or drop a comment here.
Have a sunny day!
- pompandpalms

Let's Make Style! #1

One thing I love is having clothing items that can be worn different ways and still look amazing. I mean, who doesn't?! Going to college for my Fashion degree I stumbled into the “too broke for new clothes each week BUT gotta shake up my wardrobe”. For me to feel confident in my projects I needed to ‘play the part’ and have the #ootd looking fresh. With some creativity, I was able to use what I had and successfully create looks for multiple occasions.
I’m going to start rolling out these blog posts that focus on ONE article of clothing. This clothing piece will either be a fashion staple piece that everyone has OR a "HOT trending" item that (sadly) only gets worn 1-3 times because it seems too complicated to make into other outfits. The goal is to show YOU CANcreate many trendy, beautiful, fashion forward looks with the items you most likely already own! And to show those “HOT trend” items we get suckered into buying can be worn multiple ways and have a permanent spot in our closets!

REMEMBER: I'm using what I already own in my closet. Sometimes I'll mention items/ideas I would do IF I owned that particular clothing/accessory. I'm trying to avoid going out and purchasing new items for this and ONLY using items I have already. I will link inspo ideas along with the links of the items I already own OR similar pieces to the items I'm using.

For today I’m starting simple: the basic white tee!
We all have one. And guess what? We’re all just wearing it as a plain boring white tee. But we can change it up to go from day to evening, sports event to Target run, and everywhere in between!
- Also something to keep note: I’m all about affordability. I don’t see the need to drop $75.00 on a white tee shirt. The tee shirt I have for these outfits is from Abercrombie & Fitch. I also recommend Old Navy for some basic tees. Both stores do promotions on fashion basics often so before heading to the shopping center check the store promos!

Look #1: Brunch and Silky Shorts

I'm using the basic white tee to soften this look with the fun printed silk shorts. The trick about prints featured on the bottom is to not overdo it with something bold and crazy on top.

THOUGH, some will ask "why not pull the blood orange color from the swan print?".  The problem with that is if you visualize an orange top instead of white... It just doesn't visually look put together and seems a bit immature. A denim jacket will keep this look from feeling like "tee + silk pj shorts". I accessorized with a metal cuff and these adorable gold knot earrings. I also added my favorite brown flats.

 

Shop some ideas: My white tee , similar white tee, other fun print shorts 1 and 2, My denim jacket, similar denim jacket.

LOOK #2: Edgy plaid.

 

This look is super simple but TOTALLY gives that trendy ready to go vibe! We all can create this look with what we already own in our closet too. I wanted to be photographed in this look in particular to show the edgy silhouette. My simple white tee + comfy distressed shorts (just those two = a bit boring, right?). BUTto make this simple look become edgy & styledI tied a plaid button up that I wear in the fall around my waist and added some jewelry.

Honestly, add as much jewelry as your heart desires! I think some fun metal rings would take this edgy look to a new level! I made sure my purse and shoes were both black which amped up the edgy vibe. The Simi-gloss of the leather shines!

Shop some ideas: my denim shorts, similar denim shorts, my white tee, similar white tee. rings idea 1 & 2 & 3.

LOOK #3: Late Night, Date Night.

 

This final look is perfect for going out downtown or date night. It's all about glamming up our white tee. Sequin party jacket, some jet black super skinny jeans, and the right accessories (like a quilted leather handbag) will do the trick.

 

For shoes, I used my laser cut faux leather booties. I love the detail of the laser cut and the chunky heel. If I owned bright red pumps/heels I would've worn them with this look as well (I feel the bright red would look AMAZING!!)! For jewelry I wanted to show a statement necklace & the option of a simple stone necklace. Both flatter this look well but ultimately depends on what you have in your wardrobe already.

Shop some ideas: similar sequin jacket, my jeans, similar jeans, jewelry idea 1, jewelry idea 2, jewelry idea 3 (CURRENTLY IN MY SHOPPING CART!),  red heels I would wear,

To wrap this up I want to know if this was fun to see? I already created 5 more looks that will be featured but if this is something enjoyable I'll continue to create more! Should I purchase items for these? Or continue ONLY using what I own and give other option ideas with links? My reason for creating this was to do something different. All the fashion bloggers/influencers only do brand new outfits and then they immediately return the items after blog photo shoots. My goal is to show affordable style that can be worn again and again.
If you want to give input please leave a comment or comment/DM on my instagram page Dont forget to follow the instagram page too for up to the minute posts and other exciting things!!!
Have a sunny day!
- pompandpalms