A Unique Valentine's Day Gift + Giveaway

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I am so excited! This is actually one of my favorite holidays whether I am in or out of a relationship. I love everything from the idea of celebrating a positive emotion/feeling to all of the candy and cute gifts. I know that finding the perfect Valentine's day gift can be hard though since you want it to summarize how you feel about the person you are gifting it to. That is why I was so excited when Jord Watches reached out to me since it is the perfect gift idea for you or that special person. If I have learned anything from post-college life, it is that you need a good watch. I used to wear a cheap digital watch as a kid and then as cell phones became a constant accessory, I ditched my watch in favor of just checking my phone for the time. Now that I am working full time though, I cannot always be checking and carrying around my phone which is why a watch is a definite necessity.

The great thing about Jord Watches is how unique they are! Lets be real, how many people do you know with a wooden watch?? There is also the option to customize the gift with an engraving on the backside of the watch (only certain styles) or on the wooden box. You can add a cute message, the person's name, an anniversary date, or even the location where you met! 

All Jord watches are 100% natural wood, splash-proof and are made with sapphire crystal glass. My watch is from the Fieldcrest series and is made with zebrawood and maple. I prefer slightly larger watch faces and so this 39mm case width is perfect. I love how the wood is a great neutral colors since one problem I've run into with metal watches is how to match my silver, gold and sometimes rose gold jewelry. Lucky for me, all of those metals work with the color of my watch.

You can shop my specific watch here

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GIVEAWAY TIME - GIVEAWAY ENDED 2/18/18

The giveaway has now closed and the winner has been notified. Thank you to everyone who entered my first giveaway!

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JORD WATCHES WEBSITE: 

MEN'S WATCHES: http://www.jordwatches.com/shop/men/#velvetandsequins

WOMEN'S WATCHES: http://www.jordwatches.com/shop/women/#velvetandsequins

MY WATCH: http://www.jordwatches.com/series/fieldcrest/zebrawood-and-maple/#velvetandsequins

JORD WATCHES INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jordwatches/?hl=en

Luxury Wooden Watch

{Disclaimer: This blog post and giveaway is sponsored but all opinions and photos are my own}

The Most Versatile Pant

The best items to have in your closet are statement pieces and then closet staples that you can build upon. For awhile now I have been looking for black cropped pants/culottes. I finally found this pair on Forever21's website and the amazing thing is that they are only $10! What a deal! This past weekend I had fun styling them with other items in my closet to create three easy but different looks which I have shared below!

 

1. Business Casual

For this look I paired a cropped white button down with the pants to help dress them up. I also added slip on mules which are not only comfortable but also look fancier than some of my other types of shoes. I picture this look being suitable for a work day or when you have a meeting since it is formal enough while also staying on trend.

 

2. Athleisure

I've recently been trying to get more into the athleisure trend and had a fun time building an outfit with these pants that looked sporty but casual. I added a black sweater with varsity stripes on the sleeves and paired it with a nicer baseball cap. It's hard to tell but my hat is a light blue suede. For shoes, I matched my sweater with my classic Adidas sneakers to stick with the black and white stripe theme. This outfit would be perfect for a day of errands where you are on the move and want to be comfy but still stylish.

 

3. Dressed up casual

When I picture dressed up casual, I picture the type of outfit I might wear when going to brunch with friends or maybe doing some shopping. To add some color to these pants I paired them with a floral blouse and some heeled sandals.

SHOP MY OUTFITS

THE PANTS

The exact pair I am wearing is the first link but I have also linked some other options as well! Technically these culottes are called "shorts" on the Forever21 website but fit me perfectly because I am so short. Therefore if you are taller than 5'3" you might want to check out some of the other options

WHITE BUTTON UP

VARSITY SWEATER

FLORAL BLOUSE

Incorporate Your Summer Jumpsuit into Your Fall Wardrobe

THE JUMPSUIT: A GREAT VERSATILE PIECE FOR SUMMER TO AUTUMN

Although October in Portland has actually been quite sunny and warm, it is still getting a bit too cold for those sundresses, shorts and summer jumpsuits. Just because the weather is changing, does not mean you have to buy an entirely new closet! As someone who is really into affordable fashion pieces and trying to save money when it comes to staying on trends, I am always trying to find new items that I can combine with items I already own. This past summer I finally jumped onto the jumpsuit bandwagon and added some great pieces to my wardrobe. It is now officially autumn but I still want to wear them! I started playing around with the other items in my closet and came up with the following combinations to pair with your summer jumpsuit to make it suitable for colder weather. I'll be using one of my favorite jumpsuits from this summer to show these different outfit combinations. (All outfit details are mentioned at the bottom on the post)

LAYER OVER A LONG SLEEVE

Jumpsuits are actually a great transition piece since they have long pants already. The first combination I tried reminded me of what I used to wear back in middle school which was tank tops layered over shirts. I've been really into turtlenecks so I paired this gingham jumpsuit with one of my basic black turtleneck shirts. You can also layer your jumpsuit over a short sleeve shirt, blouse and even sweater for a similar look. This outfit best works with The one flaw with spaghetti strap jumpsuits although I have seen people layer strapless and halter jumpsuits over shirts as well.

THROW ON A JACKET

This look is honestly probably the easiest since most people already own a jacket and if you get too hot, you can easily take the jacket off. Here I paired my jumpsuit with a pink faux leather moto jacket which is great for when it is not too cold outside but you just need a light layer. The great thing about this look is that it will work with any jumpsuit whether it has sleeves or not!

 

PUT ON A SWEATER

This is one of my favorite ways to warm up my summer jumpsuit. Fall is the perfect season for sweater weather so not only will you be warm and cozy, you can also easily add new colors to the pant portion of your jumpsuit. I have been loving chenille sweaters this season so I paired this pullover chenille sweater with my jumpsuit for the above look. You can also throw on a cropped sweater or a turtleneck sweater. If it is extra chilly, pairing a jacket over your sweater can be a great way to add an additional layer.

 

PAIR WITH A CROP TOP

In the back of my dresser, I found several crop tops that I have not worn in a while since I no longer like showing my midriff. The great thing about layering these crop tops over my jumpsuit is that my stomach is still covered even when I raise my arms! By layering different crop tops over the same jumpsuit, you can acquire many different looks. The style of crop top you use does depend on your style of jumpsuit. For example, if the top of your jumpsuit has embellishments or is really loose and flowy, you probably want to stay away from tight crop tops since all of that extra fabric might look a bit bumpy under a tight shirt. You can definitely pair your jumpsuit with any sleeve length of crop top as well. I personally don't own any long sleeve crop tops so I had to settle for this fun fall colored short sleeve top.

The waist of your jumpsuit also plays an important part when deciding what hemline you want. A top that hangs past your waistline can look good depending on the length but be careful when wearing a top that ends higher than the waist of your jumpsuit. You want a shirt that hits at the same spot or maybe a little higher like mine does in this outfit. That way it will look more like a shirt and pant outfit with a clear definition of where your waist is. It was also chilly when I wore this so I added a longer cardigan for a little extra warmth but you could also add more layers by wearing it with a jacket or a scarf and hat.

Please let me know if you have any comments or questions on ways to wear your jumpsuit in colder weather. Thanks for reading!

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OUTFIT DETAILS

Romper - Honey Punch Relaxed Cami Jumpsuit in Gingham

Turtleneck - Forever21 Ribbed Turtleneck Sweater in Black

Clogs - Lotta from Stockholm Highwood Clog in Black Natural 

      You can also purchase from their website directly here

Faux Leather Jacket - BLANKNYC (Very similar version can be found here and on sale!)

Sweater - Mossimo Cropped Chenille Pullover in Gray

Mules - BP Milo Loafer Mule in Black

Crop Top - Forever21

Cardigan - BP by Nordstrom

Sandals - Salt Water Sandals by Hoy in White

PDX Collective Sale

This morning I attended the bi-annual PDX Collective Sale at The Cleaners. Even though the sale didn't open until 10am, people were waiting in line outside of the doors ready to shop once it opened. Although this sale is occurs twice a year, this was the first year I had heard about it or even attended. For those of you who are in the same boat as me, here is everything you need to know! The sale continues tomorrow and the boutiques will all be restocking beforehand so don't worry about everything good being gone!

What it is: 

This sale is a bi-annual event put on by PDX Collective where 11 boutiques from the Portland area come together to showcase some of their products most of which are on sale. The following boutiques are participating today and tomorrow:

Adorn
Parts + Labour
Gild Shoes
EcoVibe
Cosube
Radish Underground
Mercantile
Lizard Lounge
Bridge & Burn
Lille Boutique
Perican Bing

Where/When:

The sale is located at The Cleaners which is owned by Ace Hotel but is technically in a different location. The address is 403 SW 10th Avenue in Portland, OR. It runs Saturday thru Sunday (9/23-9/24). Today it was open from 10am-5pm and tomorrow it is open from 11am-5pm

What you need to know:

- They take cards

- Since it is multiple boutique shops in one shared room, you still buy each item from the respective boutique. 

- There is a fitting room but it is one communal room that everyone changes in with some mirrors places around the walls. Definitely wear something that is easy for trying clothing on. If you are not comfortable changing around other people, this may not be the sale for you (unless you are okay purchasing without trying first)

- Many of the items are final sale so make sure you read signs

- Get there early. Although the boutiques do restock, it gets really busy really fast so it is nice to be able to see all the product before people start buying, trying on, and carrying around all of the good stuff

What I wore:

For those of you who are interested, here are the deets for what I wore. Like I mentioned before, make sure to wear something that you can easily take on and off for trying merchandise on. A dress was actually really helpful since I mostly tried on other dresses but it can also be great for trying on pants as well. Socks can also be beneficial if you plan on looking at shoes.

Shirt Dress - Forever21 (Although my exact dress is sold out, you can find almost identical items here and here)

OTK Boots - Halogen Scarlett Over the Knee Boots in grey suede

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For more information:

To learn more you can check out the Facebook event page here as well as PDX Collective's Facebook page here.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions and if you attend, what kind of cute stuff you find!