Baby Blue

dress - thrifted / belt - f21 / shoes - swedish hasbeens x h&m

Hello!
My search for the perfect sleeved sundress has been put off. I rediscovered this pretty little thing in my closet. I feel like this dress embodies everything I hope to be and hope to dress like in the future: sophisticated, yet still cute and cheery. Everybody has to grow up sometime and I'm starting to outgrow wearing bows in my hair. Of course I still love bows and will still find ways to sneak them (ie. on a shirt, on a belt, on a ring, or on a pair of shoes). I want to give midi length dresses and skirts a try someday too. Maybe when I'm not on such a strict budget.

The reason I dug this out from my closet was Robert and I were having a deep conversation about dresses (Seriously is he not the guy for me? Or maybe he has just spent way too much time with me?). He told me that dresses are dresses--and shouldn't be worn as tops or skirts; but being the blogger I am, I have worn dresses as tops and as skirts before. I have a love/hate relationship with dresses. I love that they are so easy: you just slip it on, and you don't need to worry about finding something else to pair with it. But that's also why I hate them--there's only so many ways you can wear a dress...as a dress. When I discovered that you could layer things over a dress to make it something else, I thought it was the coolest thing ever and was overwhelmed with new possibilities. I don't think either of us are really wrong. Not all dresses can be worn as anything else, but not all dresses are condemned to stay just a dress. I don't know which category this particular dress falls into, but I cannot wait to find out.

Until next post,
Jasmine

S.A. Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Shabby Apple Giveaway is...

#24 Sharon of Elisharon

Congratulations girl! I'll be emailing you shortly for your mailing details. Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway. Thank you so much for reading my blog. I'll definitely have more giveaways in store soon so stay tuned!

Until next post,
Jasmine

Impulse Buys

t-shirt and skirt - f21 / belt - gap / sunglasses - h&m / sandals - zara / tote bag - lulu letty

Hello!
This outfit is full of impulse buys. It's kind of embarrassing to say that I have a lot of these impulse buys in my closet. I bought them because I thought they were cute and had money to spend, but after one wear and the tags torn off, they weren't quite as appealing as they were in the dressing rooms. They now are rotten in my closet. Take this skirt for example. I bought it in Fall and only wore it once. I think the fact that it's mostly black kind of intimidates me since I don't wear a ton of black.

But I'm changing.
I'm really trying to make use of what I already have. I'm also trying to space out my new purchases so the thrill of wearing new things lasts longer. I usually rip off the tags when I get home and wear my new things immediately. I want to break out of this cycle of shopping hauls though. I buy things; wear them; buy more things; forget previous things; wear the newer things; rinse and repeat). Now I don't think this would be bad if I wasn't shopping as frequently as I did. I want to move towards building one cohesive closet--one that makes me want to mix old with new things. I remember vaguely at one point I had a goal of having a minimalistic closet, well I think I've been moving in the opposite directions. While one of its purposes is to document how I wear clothes, blogging has ironically made me so much more frivolous with money and clothes; and whether I find a new job soon or not, I need to change this mindset. Clothes are not disposable.

Have you ever made an impulse buy?

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway! You don't want to miss out on your chance to win a really cute dress!

Until next post,
Jasmine

Garden Party

cardigan and belt - gap / dress - uo / sandals - zara

Hello!
My $100 (now $32 after this past weekend) Summer budget is forcing me to shop in my own closet. Before I lost my job, I was looking for some sleeved sundresses because I'm still not comfortable with wearing tank tops and showing my flabby arms (I have a really bad farmers tan too). I still am looking for them, but it's not guaranteed that they will be within my budget. I was pleasantly surprised to find this dress hidden in the back of my closet. I remember buying this dress two years ago. It didn't quite fit, but it was on sale and I figured I would eventually lose weight and be able to wear it. I was therefore really surprised and pleased that it fits now. Even though it's not a sleeved sundress, I have fallen back in love with the bright vibrant colors. Thankfully it hasn't gotten to a point where it's too hot for cardigans or layers. I have no tea party to attend in it so a sushi date with Robert on Friday was where I went in it. I can't wait to try more looks with this old/new dress of mine.

I wondered what else is hidden in the back of my closet, so on Friday night (when I was supposed to be studying), I planned some outfits with what's already in my closet. I am reconnecting with clothes that at one point thought I desperately needed and wanted. My closet is suddenly a store where everything is cute. When I went shopping yesterday, I shopped mostly in the sale sections and only bought versatile items. My one item from F21 turned out to be the most expensive item. That's how good the sales were! This may sound weird, but I think it has been more fun shopping on a budget because what I ended up buying is something I really love since I had to really think about it. It's so satisfying too find a good thing on sale too. I took money and clothes for granted for too long. I hope now it doesn't take unemployment to get me to realize this again. I'm pretty sure the remainder of my dwindled Summer budget is going towards a sundress or I'm going to hold out for something really good. Now that I don't have to worry about outfits for a few weeks...it's really time to buckle down and study for my CSET exam.

How was your weekend?

Until next post,
Jasmine

I'll Survive You

top - h&m / skirt and sandals - cotton on / belt - gap / hair bow - f21

Hello!
So this is my first official outfit of Summer, and I am officially unemployed too. I've been bumming around in plain white tees and feeling inadequate, but I'm done with that. It's amazing what a nice outfit can do for your mood. It feels nice not to have rush to get ready in the mornings. I can take my time and I don't have to worry about kids getting my clothes dirty (though I'm already missing my class dearly). Is it ironic that I spent my first day of unemployment yesterday shopping? As a parting gift, my boss gave me a $50 gift card to H&M so I guess it's not so ironic. I used part of the gift card to buy this top. How perfect is it? Robert challenged me to make at least 20 outfits with it, so here's #1. It was kinda sad walking around and having to stop myself from buying things at places like UO and even F21. I just keep telling myself that I have plenty of cute clothes at home. I even have some unworn items to show you all. I couldn't resist these sandals though. There goes $10 of my $100 Summer budget. I remember my mom had a similar black pair of these when I was a kid, and they're super comfortable! I've been going a little sandal happy lately huh? I think these are the last pair though. They have to be.

Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple Giveaway down below!

Until next post,
Jasmine

Shabby Apple Giveaway

giveaway closed!

Hello!
To kick off Summer, I have teamed up with Shabby Apple to give my readers (that's you) the chance to win this white Lighthouse dress. I couldn't resist giving away something that's so me--nautical with a sweet touch of a bow. I'm so jealous of you all. If only we could enter our own giveaways! Shabby Apple also offers many other women's dresses that are as equally chic and modest. I absolutely love how they have vintage inspired collections, like Set Sail and Up and Away.

To Enter:
1) Leave your name and your email address
2) Follow my blog via GFC or Bloglovin' and tell me which one.
3) Simply tell me your favorite summer outfit.

*This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only! Sorry international readers, next time?

Extra entries (leave an extra comment for each or it won't be counted):
1) Follow me on Twitter.
2) Tweet about this giveaway (@jazzyhwang) and give me the link.
3) Like Shabby Apple on Facebook.

Good luck! The winner will be randomly selected via a random number generator and will be announced here on this blog. You have until June 29th to enter.

Shabby Apple is also offering my readers a 10% off coupon. You can use this code: transientwithdrawal10off for a whole month!

Until next post,
Jasmine

Falling In

top - madewell / skirt - j crew / belt - gap / shoes - aldo / bows - f21

Hello!
I hope you all had a wonderful Father's day. We ended up dragging my dad to the Carlsbad Outlet and spoiled him with a new wallet, sweater, and a leather belt. He looked like he enjoyed it since usually he walks away with nothing when we go shopping as a family. Of course I couldn't walk away empty handed from an outlet so I grabbed this orange-peel-looking belt and a happy yellow cardigan both from Gap. I have been wearing my belts from Gap to death lately so I figured that having another one wouldn't be such a bad thing. This is my first yellow belt too. I think yellow is becoming my new red--my new splash of color to outfits.

On a not so happy note, I'm facing "a break" (aka temporary unemployment) at my current job for the Summer. Simply put--there are too many teachers and not enough students. Even though class sizes will be bigger, I'm not really needed anymore. It's not even guaranteed I'll be welcomed in the Fall too. I'm trying to see this in the best possible and most optimistic light (ie. when one door closes, another one opens). I can now study intensely for my exam and get some much needed me-time and Robert-and-me-time. I can work out more intensely too; I've been plateauing for a month now, neither gaining nor losing any pounds. I can also find a job that will put me with an age group I want to work with. The job I had interviewed for about a month ago (and she said I had landed) is not set in stone since the preschool director is annoyingly unreachable at the moment. So the job hunt resumes. I'm therefore giving myself a budget of only $100 for some key pieces for a Summer wardrobe (like swim suits, shorts, dresses, etc). If I want to keep all the money I have saved for my NYC trip this September, this budget has to work and it has to stick. At least now I have time to sift through thrift stores for such things. Do you think this can be done? I think so. I just need to shop more smartly.

Check back tomorrow for an exciting giveaway to start Summer off in the right way.

Until next post,
Jasmine

Double Stripes

top and rings - f21 / skirt and belt - gap / sandals - zara / bracelet - cotton on

Hello!
I don't know why it took two really great bloggers (Kristy and Elaine) to get me to wear stripes on the top and bottom but it did. Robert thought I was a little weird(er) for wearing this, but I loved it and felt good all day about it so I didn't care. I have decided that with this particular striped top, I am ready for Summer. I wish it came in more colors because or that it was socially acceptable to wear the same shirt day after day. It has been the shirt that I'm most anxious to wear when I finish doing laundry and it makes me want to do laundry more than once a week just so I can wear it again. That's how obsessed I am with this shirt.

I'm off this morning for one last shopping trip with my brother. It's going to be madness being the Friday before Father's Day but we're hoping for the best. Worst come to worst, my mom said we'll just drag him to the mall and force him to pick something out. Have a wonderful Father's Day weekend everyone!

Until next post,
Jasmine

Fall for Anything

top and hair bows - f21 / belt - gap / skirt - h&m / sandals - zara

Hello!
I can't believe summer is less than a week away! I don't even really think I'm ready for it, even though it's something I've been looking forward to since the first day of Fall. Spring always just flies by doesn't it? One day you're in tights, and the next it's too hot for clothing at all! Graphic tees will definitely be a Summer staple this year. They're just so easy to wear and add a cute, interesting touch to every outfit. I have a feeling this one is going to be worn with most of my skirts. Speaking of skirts, I couldn't resist buying this navy one. I already have it in blush pink and mint green, but it's just so cheap and comfortable. Navy is just such a classic color and you now I'm going to wear a lot of reds and yellows with it. I'm contemplating the gray one too, just to complete the collection.

I took these photos after a shopping trip with Robert and my brother on Monday. We were looking for a Father's Day gift for my dad. We still have found one yet but hopefully tomorrow will be our lucky day. My dad is the type of person who doesn't need or want much so it's pretty difficult to get him something. Have you gotten your dad a gift yet? Give me some ideas!

Until next post,
Jasmine