Valetine’s Day: Dinner with Your Sweetie (1/3)

Oh, how I heart Valentine’s Day: it’s a chance to tell all your loved ones how special they are to you… and an excuse to wear bright red in the dead of winter! Yippee!

No matter what your relationship status is, every girl deserves to look gorgeous on February 14, so I’ve come up with 3 different red-hot outfits that answer the question, “What should I wear on Valentine’s Day?” I’ve got an outfit for every occasion — from fancy to laid back.

First up: Dinner with You Sweetie.

(Come back tomorrow for another Vday outfit!)

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Go Get ‘Em Dress in Red
$48 – modcloth.com

Peep Toe Heels
$17 – forever21.com

Glittered Clutch
$18 – forever21.com

Bohemian Necklace
$35 – modcloth.com

Nicole by OPI Nail Polish – Glitter in My Stocking
$7.04 – target.com

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Valentine’s Day: A First Date
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Birchbox: Beauty Samples at Your Door

Sure, we may live in a digital world, but I still love receiving good, old-fashioned snail mail. Peeking into the mailbox and seeing a People mag or wedding invitation inside is a lovely little pick-me-up at the end of the day. But the most exciting day of the month is when my monthly Birchbox arrives!

Makeup in my mailbox!! Yeehaw!

Have you ladies heard of this fantastic company? For $10 a month, Birchbox sends it’s members 4-5 beauty samples from luxury brands. Mascara, shampoo, perfume, nail polish, lip balm, the list goes on. Every month it’s a different mix of samples. And every month, I squeal like a little girl when I open the package.

You can fill out a beauty profile online to specify what products you like and work well for your skin/hair. Birchbox assembles your samples and ships them out in a cute, hot pink box. It’s an easy way to try new and different brands (you can buy full-size products on their web site). And if you’re cheap like me, it’s easy to stretch out the lifespan of a sample. I’m still using my Blinc tube mascara from October’s box!

Two huge thumbs up to Birchbox. Hint: this would make an awesome present for a friend! Subscriptions are available in 3, 6 and 12-month plans. Click to sign up!

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2011: A Very Stylish Year in Review

What a phenomenal — and stylish — year it has been. As we await the arrival of 2012, I wanted to take a look back at Style Me Thrifty’s most memorable moments from 2011. And what better way to do that than to serve them up superlative-style (heey high school!).

Let’s take a walk down memory lane…

Most Popular:
Top 10 Tips for Looking Fab at a Bridal Shower
My site stats read loud & clear: women of all ages don’t know what to wear to bridal showers! Glad to know we’re in this together. Thanks for making this post so popular (all my other posts are jealous).

Most Likely to Succeed [in an Internet Search]:
“ombre nails”
Believe it or not, ombre nails was the most searched term that brought traffic to my blog. I find this pretty cool/random! Note to self: post more awkward hand photos.

Busy Bee Award:
December 21, 2011
Despite being a big week for holiday travel, December 21 was SMT’s busiest day for traffic. Thanks for logging in, even on the road, at your grandma’s house, at work! etc.

Chatty Kathy Award:
Introducing… the Spin Pin!
The comments came pouring in when I reviewed Goody’s Spin Pins. In fact, this post is also the most talked about (in person) post amongst my friends and family. Must buy stock in Goody!

Scariest Moment:
The day I joined Twitter
Jumping into the Twittersphere was not an easy decision. So many tweets, so little time. I finally decided – what the heck – and dove in head-first. Join me!

Happiest Moment of 2011:
The day I bought stylemethrifty.com
November 11 will forever hold a special spot in my heart: I finally dropped the “wordpress” from my URL and joined the big leagues with my very own URL. Yay! Thanks for a great year, all!

Chic Nail Polish Storage Idea

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? Well, I stumbled upon a photo of the offices of Who What Wear, an LA-based fashion blog, and wanted to flatter them by totally replicating their clever nail polish storage idea.

How chic is this?! Genius!

I’ve always kept my collection of nail polish in a boring plastic Container Store bin. Why was I hiding all of those pretty bottles in the depths of my linen closet for so long?!

After seeing this photo from Who What Wear, I realized it was time to put my love of nail polish front and center. I took a quick trip to Home Goods and picked up a large vase for $9.99, filled it with colorful bottles… and… viola!

If the bf can put his beloved ping pong paddle on display, I’d say a vase of nail polish bottles was long over due!

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Ombre Nails

I’m a sucker for trends. And I think nail trends are especially fun. Where else can you go wild with color or design and still be able to wear it to work?

I stumbled upon the ombre nail trend on Pinterest (my newest obsession) earlier this week and then a fellow beauty blogger mentioned them on Facebook. What exactly are ombre nails? I’m glad you asked!…

Ombre just means shaded or variation in color. You’ve probably seen dresses that go from a bold color and fade down to a lighter shade. Seeing as how I already own about 35 different bottles of nail polish, this seemed like a thrifty trend worth trying!

In all my girly years, I’m not sure I’ve ever painted each nail a different color. Man, I’ve been missing out! I think this trend is fun and surprisingly chic if you choose more neutral colors. Who is going to try this trend with me?

Nail Polishes used (thumb to pinky): Toff by Butter, Glamour Purse by Essie, Lady Like by Essie, Barefoot in Barcelona by OPI, Trust Mauve by Sally Hansen.

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