Treat Yourself Tuesday

Hey y'all,

As most of y'all know, C.Wonder is going out of business. The newer line to prep obsessed closets will be closing soon and recently I checked on the website and everything has been marked to 75% off! Since it's my birthday month and my current Longchamp is looking a little worse for wear considering I purchased it at the start of my sophomore year of college and I graduated in May 2012 I thought it was time for something new. I thought I would showcase a few other things you can treat yourself to with very limited guilt.

I purchased the Nylon Easy Tote in black but I love the navy and khaki options as well.

Nylon Easy Tote Originally $88 now $22

Here are a few items that caught my eye while browsing the sale:

Stacked Jewels Drama Necklace originally $88 now $22

Decorative Jewelry Box (in multiple colors)

 Originally $78 now $19.50

Luxe Suede Crest Pouch originally $98 now $24.50

There are a lot more items still on the website so go and splurge a little!

Are you shopping this amazing sale?

14 in 2014

Hey y'all,

I found out that I made some pretty lofty goals last year for my 13 in 13 goals but that's ok since I got close for some of them.Let's do a quick re-cap:

1. Grow in my faith and my relationship with God. 
2. Read 113 books. I changed my goal to 100 and I ended up reading 94 books so I think that is completely fine since only 8% of adult Americans on average read more than 50 books.
3. Try 113 new recipes. This was very lofty goal. I did challenge myself to try new recipes this year but 113 did not happen even with pinterest and checking out some cookbooks from the library.
4. Run a half marathon. I did run/walk a 5K this summer with my roommate but I haven't had the urge to begin training again. I have a half marathon on my 30 by 30 list so I think this will be on the back burner for a while. 
5. Lose 13lbs. Also something that didn't happen this year as I adjusted to living by myself I have since moved in with a roommate and got more active, I even have a dietitian but this is happening in 2014
6. Craft 13 things. 
7. Meet 13 new people.  Joining in with my church's young professional group, becoming a sorority advisor and new people at work I have extended my circle of friends in my postgrad life.
8. Keep a prayer journal for the entire year. Something I think of as a continuous goal, while I did not keep my goal for this year I did spend some time journaling my prayers but it was not throughout the entire year.
9. Buy a car.  You can read all about my car buying experience here and here.
10. Finish decorating my place. I have moved since last year but I have since begun decorating my current place and I am almost done decorating my room and the living spaces.
11. Go two months without unnecessary spending. I did limit some spending during the spring before getting my car but I have a friend who is currently not spending money on clothes for two years (except for gift cards) and she is helping me to challenge myself this year to cut off excess spending and focus on my financial savings. YAY for budgeting.
12. Send out cards.  While I didn't send out birthday cards to everyone I did send out my first year of Christmas cards. This next year though I have a handful of weddings, my baby sis graduates and more occasions for cute cards.
13. Have adventures. From beach trips, interesting times in downtown Raleigh, and many more I have tried to be open to saying yes to various adventures, which is hard for me since I love to be in 
    control. 

Now let's get onto my 14 goals for 2014:

1. Read the entire Bible. I have read a lot of the word of God but I really want to dig deep and read the entire thing.

2. Read 114 books. I know I fell short of my goal last year but I really think I will be able to accomplish this one.

3. Pay off 2 of my student loans. I have a couple small loans left that if I focus on saving and eliminating I will be able to pay off by the end of the year. It is just one more step towards becoming debt free by 28.

4. Blog at least 3 times a week. Work and life get crazy but I have already made a blog calendar for the month and I would love to focus some of my free time here to grow my little community.

5. Find joy in my job. I love my job but sometime you get so frustrated or bored you forget your blessings and all the great things you have going for you so I want to remain grateful and find joy in the little things especially my job.

6. Work on my health by reaching my happy weight. I have a particular BMI range I want to make it to an by working on the habits I began at the end of 2013 and sticking to my goal I hope to be confident, happy and feel beautiful in my body.

7.Keep up a daily devotional all year. I tend to have a short attention span with devotionals but this year I picked up Jesus Calling and plan to stick to it all year. So far so good.

8.Workout at least 3 times a week. This goes with the reaching my happy weight but I genuinely feel so much better after a great workout. To start the new year off I am participating in Tone It Up's Love Your Body challenge.

9. Cook at least 52 new recipes. This is one a week and I love pouring through cookbooks so I hope I can continue to use Pinterest and cookbooks to spice up my dinners.

10. Participate in the 52 Weeks savings plan. I know a lot of you have seen this on Pinterest but I need to focus my finances on saving not spending and this is an easy tool to save a lot of cash without feeling like all your money is going into savings.

via

11. Break from technology. I think we all in this day and age have a problem leaving social media and the rest of the internet but I want to remind myself to be present when with friends and unplug every night.
12. Run 2 5Ks. I want to challenge myself and a half-marathon is a lofty goal so let's start small.
13. No clothes shopping unless it's a necessity. After organizing my closet on New Year's I was reminded of all the blessings I have. I really do not need any more clothes and I will survive until I am at my happy weight when I am sure I will need a pantervention.

14. Remember to love fully, live simply and laugh often.

I think this song is my theme for the new year:

What are your goals/resolutions for this year?

Recent OOTDs

Hey y'all,

It has been forever since I have posted a blog with some of my outfits so this is going to be kind of long since I have been collecting a few outfits every week to share! Most of the time though the past few weeks I have been running out the door so excuse me that these are not a regular occurrence. I hope that you are not bored with all my Target finds. From working there as a sales person to just loving to shop there I think the majority of my wardrobe is from Tar-jay.

For Work
Top: Target/Merona (Summer '12)
Skirt: Target/Mossimo (Summer '12)
Shoes: Target Black Sandals (old)

Work:
Bubble Necklace: Groopdealz
Top: Target/Merona (summer '12)
Pants: Old Navy (old)
Flats: Target 

Church Dinner & Square Dancing
Top: Hanes V-neck
Scarf: Lightyears
Jeggings: Target/Mossimo
Flats: Target

Casual Friday at the Office
Scarf: Gift
Top: Kohls
Cami: Aeropostale
Jeggings: Target
Trusty Target Black Sandals
Watch: Anne Klein Two-Tone Watch

Dinner with the Grand-little
Maxi Dress: Target/Mossimo (summer '12)
Necklace: VeryJane
Bag: Marley Lilly
Watch: Anne Klein
Bracelet: Target

Work:
T-shirt: American Eagle
Cami: Aeropostale
Skirt: J.Crew Factory
Shoes: Platinum Jack Rogers
Necklace: Gift

Work:
Capris: Target/Mossimo
Top: Target/Mossimo
Tank: Areopostale
Cardigan: New York and Company
Flats: Delias lace flats

Work
Top: Macys
Pants: Old Navy
Cami: Aeropostale
Flats: Silver Ralph Lauren flats
Bag: Kate Spade Flicker Sophie

Work
Cardigan: Target/Merona
Tank: Aeropostale
Skirt: LOFT
Monogram necklace: gift
Shoes: Platinum JR Navajo sandals
Watch: Anne Klein
Cable bracelet: Swell Caroline

Work
Dress: JC Penny's/Joe Fresh
Cardigan: New York and Company
Cami: Aeropostale
Watch: Anne Klein
Necklace: Gift
Shoes: Platinum Jack Rogers

Have you found any have to have wardrobe items lately?

Weekend Shenanigans: J.Crew & Carolina Baseball

Hey y'all,

So today I thought I would do a little weekend update and link up with Sami to discuss my pretty busy weekend. So Saturday began with waking up at 7:30am, breakfast, the news, etc. then off to drive over to nCn's house to begin the adventure to Lynchburg with CW & eCs as well! So off we went and unfortunately the drive included a lot of downed trees since the Carolinas/Virginia had an awful storm Thursday night. We arrived at the first J.Crew Clearance Center around 10:30 (25 Millrace Dr.) and found out they were having an additional sale. This location had a lot of swimwear, a men's section and a bit of everything else but beware of the wait for a fitting room since they only have three available. I tried on a few things and ended up with the dress below for under $40.

No Longer Available.

After shopping adventure #1 we checked out a place to eat and the lovely people at the Millrace location recommended we try Depot Grille. It's a restaurant right off of the train tracks (live ones where you can see the trains go by) built in a railroad car.

via

They also have crayons out with butcher paper on the table so we all got crafty while waiting for our food. By the way, the chicken tender salad has GIANT chicken tenders on top of a bed of lettuce (go for the half-salad) or any of the other items.

MY CREATIONS

After lunch and exploring a small Antique Mall, eCs is an amazing antique finder we were onto store #2 (101-A Northwynd Circle). This location has a better atmosphere in my opinion of a store, it also includes Madewell and more special occasion dress including some gorgeous wedding dresses I saw for $250!

I tried on the scalloped dress everyone was raving about this spring but yellow is not my color.

More things to try on.

The winner!

I picked up the Mandy dress in mint seersucker for $60! So I grabbed two dresses for under $100 so I say it was a successful day. Then we drove back to Chapel Hill and I ran to the grocery store, worked out, watched Gilmore Girls on DVD and called it a night.

Sunday began with heading to church and seeing some big changes to the space that I am not too fond of but it is what it is. Then I headed to check out Homegoods/Michael's since I have decided that I am not loving my bed set and nothing was amazing but I did grab a Despicable Me coloring book for $1! I grabbed one for the college bestie, jCm for when she comes back to UNC for homecoming.

After the window shopping I got a text to watch the Carolina/State baseball game with some of my friends from church so I ran home, ate a quick lunch and changed into some Carolina blue. It was a tough game to watch but it was great to have fellow Carolina fans to commiserate with. Here's to hoping that we can beat UCLA and stay in the College World Series!

via

I hope your weekends were great! Here is to another busy week!

Summer Splurge Wishlist

Hey y'all,

So instead of doing a summer wish-list I thought I would share some of my upcoming splurges. I am already planning to purchase some of these things, like an iPhone so I can actually join this century as well as a couch for my new place but if I am a good saver this summer I might find some arm candy or a NC State Murfee in my possession.

summer splurges by janeaustenprepster featuring david yurman bangle

Do you have a summer wishlist? Any splurges in your future?

OOTD & Dr.Suess

Hey y'all, 

Thanks to my giveaway I have been hearing your post suggestions and I am taking them to heart. I have really been trying to take more photos of my outfits so here are some of my recent wear-to-work looks.

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer
Scarf: J.C. Penny (old)
Shoes: Jack Rogers Platinum Navajo
Ring: Square Monogram (gift)

Lace Dress: Target Xhileration (Summer '12)
Cardigan: Target Merona (Fall '12)
Scarf: Lightyears
Shoes: Target Black Sandals (Summer'10)

Cardigan: LOFT Outlet (April '13)
TOP: LOFT Outlet (April '13)
Cami: Aeropostale Lace Cami (old)
Pants: Target Mossimo (Fall '12)
Flats: Brown Kenneth Cole Reaction Flower Flats (Marshalls)

Not WORK: Fro-yo date with my sorority Fam
Yoga Pants: Marika Balence Collection (Marshalls)
Top: Sorority Bid Day Spring '12 American Apparel V-neck
Fleece: Patagonia Re-Tool Snap-T Pullover
Shoes: Rainbow black Flipflops

Skirt: J. Crew Factory (current)
Top: Forever 21 V-neck
Monogram Infinity Scarf: Boutique in my hometown
Shoes: Platinum Jack Rogers

Pants: Old Navy (old)
Top: Banana Republic outlet (current)
Cardigan: Target Merona (Fall '12)
Shoes: Delia's (old)

Cardigan: New York & Company (old)
Top: Banana Republic Outlet (current)
Pants: Old Navy (old)
Flats: Target Black Sandals (old)

Dress: LOFT outlet (current)
Cardigan: New York and Company (old)
Shoes: Platinum Jack Rogers

Detail of the dress

YESTERDAY's Casual Friday!
Jeggings: Mossimo/Target (summer '12)
Tank: Old Navy
Cardigan: Merona/Target (current)
Flats: LAUREN by Ralph Lauren (Marshalls)
Watch: AK Anne Klein
Bracelet: Groopdealz

Gold Details

And since I have been consistently blogging for three weeks now I thought it would be fun to jump on the bandwagon of the everyday in May posts. I think they might be double posts or at the end of posts like this one but we shall see. Today's top is your favorite quote and you all know me and that I love quotes so this is super hard. My "favorite quote" on my application to Carolina was the following:

via

As an English major (hopeful at the time) I really love the quote and I still do think Cicero was on the ball with the fact that I have books in almost every room of my apartment but this quote by Dr. Seuss is currently one I think of often.

Are you participating in the blog challenge?

Lusting Over Lilly....

Hey y'all,

I don't know about you but Spring and Summer has me wanting to put on a sundress each morning and with the new Lilly Pulitzer collection out for summer I thought I would share some of the items I would love to have in my closet but they are current dreams since my bank account needs some love. However, if you are off to the races or just a Derby themed party this weekend I think these dresses would do the trick. I guess I will just have to wait for the Endless Summer Sale to stock up!

Lusting After Lilly P by janeaustenprepster featuring dresses

What items are currently on your wishlist from the Summer line? 


ps. Don't forget to enter my blog-o-versary giveaway!

Sorority Chat Friday: Formal

PBX Formal 2012

Hey y'all,

Tonight is Phi Beta Chi Kappa Chapter's Formal so it got me thinking about a sorority chat centered around what to wear to a formal. Now similar to prom, most formals take place at a nice country club, hotel, etc. but it always depends on your chapter. The question of short versus long dresses is also a chapter decision. At my school both short and long are worn and I wore both. Let's take a trip down memory lane:

Formal 2009

Formal 2010

Formal 2011

Formal 2012

The first year I attended Formal I actually wore an old prom gown but in Junior and Senior year I wore J.Crew cocktail dresses I found at Warehouse Sales since I knew that there would not be a lot of events in my future "real world" life that warranted formal attire. I know that often times when attending a Fraternity formal sisters chose short dresses since they were easier to pack for the weekend away. I think it always depends on tradition of the specific chapter/event. However, if I was attending a formal this year, these dresses would be on my wishlist:

RTR by janeaustenprepster on Polyvore

Nordstrom by janeaustenprepster featuring a chiffon halter dress

JCrew by janeaustenprepster featuring petite beach dresses

Now go find some gorgeous dancing shoes, a nice gentleman as your date and enjoy a night of dancing (taking a million photos) and enjoying the end of the semester.