Save or Splurge?

Save or Splurge?

Yesterday I was reading a post from Her Late Night Cravings blog called Save or Splurge.  Jayme had seen this post on someone else's blog and did her own version.  This sounded interesting to me and It was actually kind of fun to sit down and think about where I like to save some pennies versus where I see nothing wrong will shelling out a little extra cash.  

I've always been a firm believer in the whole "you get what you pay for" philosophy to almost everything.  While I will admit that there are definitely things I spend good money on thinking they are necessities, my husband often disagrees to these 'frivelous luxaries', as he so often calls them, and we end up kind of compromising.  Anyways, below are the categories, please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what things you splurge on and where you save! :)

1. A cocktail dress to wear to a wedding

2. A glass of wine at a restaurant 

3. A hotel room

4. A haircut

5. Wild card...you name it!

1. Save!  I usually try to save on the actual dress and then splurge on shoes, bags, etc.  I often times find that I don't like to wear the same dress to events where the same people would have already seen me in said dress (this bothers my husband so much and is largely something I don't think most men will ever understand).  So for this reason I like to hit places like Target, Old Navy, Forever21 and even TJ Maxx.  I love the fit and flare style of dresses on my body shape, and actually find them to be quite flattering on a wide selection of women.   Here is an example of dress I recently purchased and plan to wear to my husband's company holiday party.  I will of course dress it up with some fun shoes and accessories but I scored this baby for $25 at Target and I love the balance of the heavier fabric with the accents of the soft, feminine lace details.

Photo belongs to Target

2.  SAVE!  I don't recall every going to a restaurant and ordering a glass of wine.  Only in the last year or so did I even discover that I don't mind wine.  When I order a cocktail I tend to stick with a vodka diet soda or a whiskey and diet.  In those cases, I'm fairly cheap and am fine with rail or well liquors to be used in my drink.  If I'm channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw and order something fancy like a martini, then I tend to prefer better, more expensive liquor be used! HA!

3. SAVE! I had a hard time with this question only because I tend to save on hotels when I am going away on a trip where I know the only time I will be in the hotel room will be to sleep.  Now when I say I save I don't mean I stay in some flea bag hotel that offers rooms for $60/night or something, I mean I keep the cost of my hotel a bit lower by using deal sites like Travelocity or Kayak and try to bundle things together.  If I'm going to a resort and know that I will be spending a great deal of time in my hotel room, or on site utilizing other facilities that the hotel or resort offers, then I say Splurge!

4. SPLURGE!  This is something that for me personally, I have no problem paying more for.  I think it's fantastic when you can find a stylist  you trust, who understands your hair type, what is most flattering for you, and can help maintain the overall health and appearance of your hair.  I have fine hair, but pretty much of it, I use heat on it, I color treat it, I basically put my hair through the ringer and appreciate spending money to have a stylist that uses luxury brand products, knows my hair needs and provides excellent service.  Again, you get what you pay for and when it comes to my head of hair, I'd rather pay more! 

5. For this wild card category I picked my favorite thing as of late, RIDING BOOTS!  Now I understand that cost is kind of a relative thing to people.  For instance if I say I spent $70 dollars on a pair of great riding boots from DSW and feel that I got a deal and saved, the next person might laugh, show me the pair they got from Target for $40 dollars and feel as if I splurged.  So with that I will say that I tend to SAVE on Riding Boots, and actually most shoes in general.  90% of my shoe wardrobe was purchased for $65.00 or less.  I am lusting after a pair of Cognac Frye boots, so I guess I don't always save ;)

Pictured here on the adorable Adrien from Look Good From the Back's blog!  I encourage you to pop over and check this blog out, it's so much fun and full of lust worthy items

I hope you will play along and let me know when you save and when you splurge!

XOXO,

Christin

Quick & Easy Nail Art Tutorial

I'd like to think that I've advanced a little beyond the days when I would paint more of my finger than my nail when it comes to nail art but I am by no means a pro.  Not only do I not have much of the skills required to do intricate designs or patterns but I generally do not have the patience or the time necessary.  So what I would like to share with you is a quick and easy way I like to make my manicures look a little more sophisticated.

First thing I do is wash my hands with an antibacterial soap to remove and dirt or oil before using a cotton ball soaked with my favorite acetone free nail polish remover and use it to clean my nails of any remaining oil or nail polish.  With the help of the warm water I used to wash my hands and the nail polish remover my cuticles are usually soft enough to use a wooden cuticle remover.  About once a month I will use "be natural Cuticle Eliminator" by American International which I purchased at my local Sally Beauty.

Once my nails have been cleaned, filed and shaped I use a base coat to prime my nails.  I am currently trying out Nail Tek Intensive Therapy II to help strengthen my weak and peeling nails.  I use two coats instead of the single directed base coat and skip using it as a top coat as it is not quick drying.  I give ample time in between base coats to make sure that my nails are completely dry before painting to avoid bubbles and blemishes in the manicure. 

Sometimes the most difficult and longest part of the whole process is choosing a color or colors.  I try to find unusual but compatible combinations and will use different textures and finishes to create a wide range of looks.  For this tutorial I chose one of my favorite formulas as my main base color OPI's Meet Me on the Star Ferry and Nails Inc's Glastonbury for my accent and top coat color.  After selecting my colors I apply 1-3 applications depending on coverage, formula and desired effect.  The base color I chose had a nice opaque metallic finish and only required one application but I applied two to ensure even coverage making sure each coat was completely dry before applying the next.  My accent nail also required two coats to obtain the solid glitter effect I was looking for.

Now for the fun part!  I take whatever glitter color I've chosen for my top coat and make sure to wipe most of the nail polish off the brush.  I want to work with just a little of the glitter at a time as it's much easier to build upon it to get the desired effect than it is to remove excess.  I paint along my cuticles with the glitter until there is a fair amount and then begin to brush the glitter towards the tip of my nails.  I don't want to go all the way up the nail so I generally stop about mid-nail.  As I continue to fill in spots with more glitter I create a crescent shape along my cuticles and have an almost ombre effect as I continue to drag small amounts of glitter up my nail.  

And now for clean up.  By this time I've usually made a mess of myself so I will take a Q-Tip soaked in nail polish remover and carefully remove any excess nail polish I've managed to paint on the skin around my nails.  Final step is to apply a quick dry top coat of your choice. My favorite happens to be Poshe Super-Fast Drying Nail Top Coat.

I hope you've enjoyed my tutuorial and look forward to sharing with you many of my other quick and easy beauty tips.

XOXO, 
Sarina

Simple Fall OOTD: November 2014

Do you ever have one of those days where you just don't feel like putting much effort into your outfit?  I have those days almost weekly.  For whatever reason I wake up and go about my day, and when it comes time to picking out what to wear I just stand there in front of my closet, looking over the vast amounts of clothing before me, feeling largely uninspired.  On those days I go for what I call "easy put together" looks.  These are things in my wardrobe that are typically basics, staple pieces that I can mix and match with a variety of looks and pieces.

Today was one of those days:

Here I paired a simple navy cardigan from Walmart with a basic white loose fitting top from Express.  The purple skinnies are Faded Glory from Walmart and Sarina and I literally live in these things.  For less that $13 dollars we can get fun colors and patterns and if they aren't in style for long we don't have to feel guilty for breaking the bank.  Bonus, they are SUPER comfortable and still look pretty cute.  Especially when tucked inside of these fun slouchy camel colored boots from Target.  I finished off the look with a leopard scarf and navy cross-body bag from Steve Madden and I was off to work.  Simple. Cute. Effortless. 

XOXO,

 Christin

Introducing All That's Girlie!

Hello readers!

We're Christin and Sarina, also known as All That's Girlie.  After a fair amount of consideration we've decided to try our hand at blogging. We are so very excited to begin this little "adventure" and can't wait to start posting, taking photos, and sharing the things we're passionate about with all of you!

You may remember us from our old Youtube videos, which we loved making but new jobs, wedding planning, home buying, and just general life events prevented us from having the time necessary to continue making videos.  Blogging seemed like a better fit for us as we could write on our own time, and unlike filming, we didn't have to physically be together, or spend far too long getting "camera ready".

So what should you expect to find here?  Well, we have a rather eclectic range of interests and though the both of us enjoy all things fashion and beauty, our tastes tend to differ slightly.  Sarina tends to be more experimental with her choices, dabbling with trends here and there, where as Christin leans more towards the simplistic and classic.  We invite you to take a second to read a little bit about each of us, and hope you'll stick around for our future posts!

MEET CHRISTIN

I was married to the love of my life, Mike, on August 9th, 2014 just outside of our small hometown in Wisconsin. The day was wonderful and I love being a newlywed but I am so glad that my life can revolve around things other than that wedding now!

I work full-time in an administrative position within our local law enforcement agency and am definitely one of those lucky people that gets to say I truly love my job.

I'm the mommy to a 8 month old Shih Tzu puppy named Chewie.  He's a handful but has quickly stolen my heart.  If you follow us on Instagram (AllThatsGirlie) then you will find lots of pictures of him doing cute things, like sleeping, playing, and exploring the backyard.

Mike and I closed on our first home in late April of 2014, so we stay pretty busy making updates to the house, picking out furniture and decor, and I have currently started painting the entire main level of our house.  We're enjoying learning things as we go and I plan on sharing some of these "adventures" or misadventures with all of you!

When I'm not at work or spending time with my dog and husband, I enjoy spending time experimenting in the kitchen and am always trying new recipes.  I have always had a passion for food and recently decided that after years of being slightly overweight, I needed to find a way to live a healthier lifestyle while still finding ways to enjoy all of the food that I love.  I'm happy to say while I am still a work in progress, I've lost over 35 lbs in the last 8 months and found that now shopping for clothing is so much more fun!

I'm also a lover of beauty products, hair care, makeup, nail polish, you name it, I want to try it.  I love sitting in my office/dressing room and "playing" with different makeup products, swatching, applying, and just marveling at all the pretties!

I hope that you enjoy what you find here and if you're passionate about all things girlie, we encourage you to be our friend and come along with us on our journey!

MEET SARINA

I stay very busy as a multi-store manager for Payless ShoeSource.  I do not always enjoy the hours retail positions offer, but I definitely love getting my employee discount on shoes, purses, and accessories and getting to interact with people that share in my love for these same things.

When I have a day off and am not busy working, I love spending time at home curled up on the couch reading a good book, playing with my two kittens Saffron and Inara, or spending time with my  boyfriend, Matt, playing video games and watching movies!  I, like Christin, also love shopping, which you will see if you continue to follow this blog, as evident by the epic hauls we post!!!!

My love for all things artistic definitely adds to my appreciation of makeup, jewelry and fashion.  I love experimenting with different textures, patterns and materials to create fun and exciting looks.  My personal style is best described as eclectic.  I like mixing pieces and often do things like taking rocker inspired pieces and pairing them with something feminine and soft, such as a delicate lace.  Christin tells me I’m the queen of finding vintage pieces and mixing them into my wardrobe with new pieces almost seamlessly.

Thank you for stopping by and seeing what we're all about, we hope you'll pull up a chair and stay for a while!