Francescas and Forever 21 Haul

I never thought that I would do a 'haul' post because I just don't see the benefit of documenting my spending for the Hubs to pull up during a "You need to slow down on the spending" chat. However, I am proud of this haul because I got a ton of stuff for great prices! I went to Forever 21, and I have to admit that I haven't shopped there in almost 2 years. In fact, I think the last time was for Danielle's 20th birthday which was 2 Octobers ago. I went through this anti-F21 phase because:

1. I thought the clothes were kinda crap & fell apart after washing them
2. The energy in the store kind of stresses me out - its always packed and messy and the girls that work there always seem to have an attitude
3. It's impossible to roll a stroller through there. I'm sure they make it that way... strollers kind of work against their 'Forever 21' MO...

But after seeing so many cute posts from you guys wearing F21 gear, I knew I had to give it another shot and I was so happy that I did! Both my kids are in preschool at the same time now, so I was able to go alone which automatically helped. I also went on a Tuesday morning so the store was nice and clean and not crowded at all because the younger girls were all in school. Yes, the clothes still aren't the best quality around, but for the price you just can't beat getting trendy items that you will probably only wear a few times anyway!

Then I went to Francesca's which I have always love, love, loved, but that is another place that is really not kid/stroller friendly. (I forsee my 9 free hours a week reeking havoc on my credit cards...)

OK, so here is what I got! Let me know what you think!

These are from F21 and were like $12.50 or something crazy like that. Obvi I had to get one in every color. I am so obsessed with these because they look so much more expensive than they were and they are appropriate to wear anywhere! Seriously, I can wear them to church, the mall, to pick up the kids from school, out to dinner - anywhere! You'll see these a lot from me in the coming months!

I've been wanting a pair of red pants for awhile now, and have been debating about getting the JBrand kind, but I thought for $19.50, these would do while I was still deciding if I want to spend $200 for the JBrand ones... (Also from F21)

Love this skirt from Francescas! So classy and such pretty colors for the fall. Can't wait to pair this with some cute tights and a silk shirt or sweater!

This dress from Francescas is sooo cute, I don't know if these pictures do it justice. It was on the clearance rack & it is super flattering on. 

I. Love. Chunky. Knits. 

F21, F21, Francescas, Francescas (Olive & Oak)

(Love the backs of these shirts)

We are headed to Aruba in a few weeks, so I thought these would both be fun to wear while we were there! Love the colors and the patterns. The left is from Francescas and the right is from The Pink Turtle in Greenville, DE. Such a cute shop!

I need silky tops in every color. 

Francescas, Francescas, F21, F21, F21

I also managed to make it to Ulta and was super excited to buy this huge Urban Decay shadow collection. I am so not a makeup experimenter - I generally go to MAC once a year to buy all my goods and do a nude or pink eye all the time. After looking at some of your amazing makeup blogs (Hello, Kiss N' Makeup, Natasha Marie, Cotton Candy INK, and Makeup By Lizbeth! ) I decided I needed to learn how to do my makeup better. Maybe one day I'll be able to do cool looks like you girls! What I also like about the kit is it comes with this cool video/speaker thing that shows you how to do different looks with all of the colors. Awesome!

Nice casual F21 Tee for $10

Finally, I stopped at Gap because I love shopping there for the kids clothes (I'm not much of a Gap shopper for myself...) but these t-shirts were on sale for $8, down from $23! Love these to wear around the house with yoga pants of whatever. Picked up some nice Fall colors!

So, there you have it! Hope you all like everything. Do you guys like Forever 21? Francescas?? The greatest thing about F21 is that the owner of the company puts 'John 3:16' on the bottom of every bag. Love that he shows his Christian faith!!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"

Happy Sunday!

xox