the embroidered frock

Ok, so I have mentioned JC Penney a few times before, but people are always so amazed when I tell them that I bought certain pieces from their self brand collection. These shorts are one of them. They were under $15 and the details on them are just like soooo cute. This picture does not do justice to the embroidery or the shorts overall.

Rules are meant to be broken. And the whole black and brown rule is just one rule that needs to be. How can you not think this looks cute? This black romper is simple and soft with a small pom pom trim detail. Better yet, it is from Target and around $20. Oh, and this Michael Kors crossbody is the perfect shade of brown and is way more roomy than it appears.

I bought this dress for a vacation that I didn’t end up going on (tragic), but I was able to make good use of it while on another vacation! But I seriously feel like no matter where I wear it to, I would feel like I was on vacation, because the print is so fun!

I usually will not buy anything that requires an alteration. The way I look at it, if I snag an awesome deal on a dress, but then I have to spend another $15-$20 to have it altered, it’s not a steal anymore and I’ll just wait for the next piece to come along that doesn’t need to be altered. But this dress…I bought as a lounge dress for a trip to Jamaica. There’s nothing like spending the day on the beach and then coming back to your hotel room, showering, and throwing on a loose comfortable dress. Well, that used to be this dress, but I got a wild hair one day and had this dress made into a strapless, threw on a belt and added a pom pom trim detail. So my $6.99 dress turned into a $27 dress, but hey, I got use out of it in all forms. One day I’ll post the original state of the dress. Here’s the final product.

I love pom poms. Like, I really love them. I bought this strapless cooton shorts romper at Forever 21 a couple of years ago and I felt so naked wearing it alone or even with a necklace. So it only made sense to throw on this scarf with it…and the scarf has pom poms! Also, the bracelets are from a Jamaica vacation 😉

I am a running fanatic. I run 5-7 times per week. But I also love food! So I don’t have the super trim runners body and I’m OK with that. Anyway, I usually get all my running tops at TJ Maxx (bottoms Lulu Lemon!) and while I was searching the athletic tops rack, I ran across this cute tank. Run & Be Happy. So simple, so true. Running has really helped me through some rough times.

https://instagram.com/p/3gxFb6mPsa/?taken-by=jessro82

I don’t usually go for vintage pieces or pieces that look vintage, but when I saw this dress…it was love at first sight! I love the tropical, vintage look of this dress. I don’t even mind the length, either. The dress has an elastic waist sewn in, but I added a braided belt, anyway. The dress was under $18. And the earrings and the two brown bracelets are from a Jamaica trip.

I’ve mentioned before that I LOVE summer! So, of course, I love all things tropical…palm trees, blue water, pineapples, hibiscus flowers. With that being said, JC Penney has an amazing self brand and that’s where I snagged this cute pineapple top. I wasn’t sure how to accessorize this shirt. It doesn’t need anything, really. But this necklace gave it a little street edge.

A cheap, comfortable black cotton dress with a embroidered purse from Mexico and a bracelet from Jamaica. Accessories are everything, y’all!

Well, if you have the issue of being chesty, you know how hard it is to find cute bikinis. I mean, you don’t always want to wear an industrial strength top, but you don’t want the coconuts to fall out of the basket either. I was shopping with a friend at Victoria’s Secret two years ago and I was lusting over the bandeau-style bikini tops and saying how I dreamed of wearing one. The store associate told me I’d be surprised how supportive they are. I was a skeptic, but to my amazement, this is the only top I wear now and I have almost every color! Also, to save money, I mix and match and buy the bottoms from Wal-Mart or Target.