Leopard prints tunic + denim

Leopard prints is trending in several different colors this season and this is what makes the trend so much fun. The classic brown color prints is still a big deal and holding strong but having a mix of the colors makes for a fun wardrobe. I purchased this greyish, black leopard prints silk tunic from T. J. Maxx years ago and it was actually from the plus size department at the store. I liked the unique color, soft fabric and style of the top then but never really got to wear it over the years because I thought the top was a little too big and the trend faded away. I was excited to try it on again a few days ago and was even more excited when I realized that it wasn't really all that big plus I have gained some weight over the years too; haha! 😃

Styling the season's leopard print pants: Cable knit sweater + Ankle boots

In my books, it is a win! win!! when clothes from years and years ago still fit the body in the present time and it is even better when the clothes fit right into the modern trend in fashion; money and time saved! happy Tuesday Beauties; I'm sure you all know about the leopard prints trend for fall fashion by now because it is everywhere. When I first got wind that this trend had come back, I was a little skeptical if it was ever going to catch on and I'm surprised at the way people embraced or should I say re-embraced the trend. I have like a medium sized suitcase full of animal prints clothing from over the years and till this day, I do not understand why I never donated them or get rid of them; maybe I had
a feeling the trend was going to be back and it did! 😀 I have had this pant for years now and like I said earlier, I'm always excited when old clothing items from my closet fit years later. The last time I wore this pants, I was in my last trimester with my youngest child who would be turning five years this christmas and you can check out the post here.  On a side note, I took a look at some of my old posts recently and I remember the earlier days in blogging when I didn't have much idea of what I was doing as regards taking pictures and editing; I'm glad I have improved a little over the years with my pictures and blog layout and for this I am grateful to God. When you have a love for what you do, you never stop; you keep going even when you stumble and make mistakes along the way 😝

Stripes and a Sweater

Hi Friends; the love for stripes continues in this space here. I love the stripe prints so much that I recently added lots of pieces to my wardrobe and I cannot wait to share them all. This long drapey tank is not so new though. I got it last fall and I love it so much as a layering piece that I purchased them in two colors. My favorite prints used to be animal prints but we now have a winner as you can see. So, if you love stripes like I do, stop by once a while to say hi and see if I have another striped piece up.

The deep wine color cords was purchased from Loft last summer and I like the fact that it can be dressed up for formal occasions or down for whatever. Of course, the mustard color sweater just adds a burst of color to the entire outfit.

Sweater: Victorias secret (sold out-similar)
Drapey Tank: Victorias Secret
Necklace: J. Crew Factory
Shoes: Asos
Bag: old
Cords: Loft (presently on sale)

Are you into the stripes print as I am or you just don't care?...lol. I have been a little busy behind the scenes but I am so glad that I am able to organize my schedule in a way that I can still continue to put up posts on the blog. I love it here and I will be back again very soon.






                                                     Thanks so much for stopping by



                                                                     Beauty Ojo

Jiggles in the Sunset

It was such a beautiful, beautiful day in the twin cities today and I think spring is here already. The forecast for the rest of the week is amazing too; mid fifties to sixty degree temperatures and that means we get to retire all those heavy jackets and layers of clothing; how refreshing. I made a quick stop with the family at the park today and quickly took these pictures and I know we are going to be making more visits here in the next days and months.

Do you wonder why I titled this post "Jiggles in the Sunset?" The jiggles are from the brown belt I wore which has some little spoon like metals dangling from it that made some sweet jingling sounds as I moved. The belt was thrifted a couple of months back and I blogged about it here. My brown boots are so old and are begging to be retired but I like that the boots are very versatile. They can be worn over the knee or scrunched all the way down to the mid-calf. Talk about bang for your bucks! definitely the best way to shop. It was another day of big "hair-don't-care" which is the name I gave to the messy ponytail that I do sometimes with my dreadlocks; very intentional so do not think I'm having a bad hair day...:-).

Dress: T.J. Maxx
Boots: VS Boots
Bag: Gifted; previously worn here
Belt: Thrifted; blogged about here

 

I hope you all are doing great and enjoying some great weather wherever you are. I have been super busy and have not really had much time to visit friends' blogs to say hello but I would definitely get to it soon. So, please bear with me guys if you have not seen me on your blogs for a while. Have a blessed week.

Thanks so much for stopping by

Beauty Ojo

Romans 5:1New International Version (NIV) biblegateway.com

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Oversized Winter Whites..

I'm back again with an outfit I wore this past weekend; all white everything; winter whites that is. Winter whites do not have to be real white or pure whites pieces so cream color pieces are okay for this look. I also created a Polyvore collage on it here. It is a look I have been wanting to recreate for a while now especially the oversized camel color coat. I scored this one from my favorite consignment store yet again and it is different from the one I wore in this post. I'm glad I did not have to spend a ton on winter coats this season.

As you can see every item in this look is oversized and baggy even down to my chunky booties which I really do not wear often. I wore the black color pair here and a better look of this pair here. It's all sold out now and one thing I love about the booties is that the animal print lapels can be turned up to create a total different look; talk about some versatile pair of booties. Now, I'm looking to recreate all the other winter whites outfits in the polyvore collage.

                                                                   

 

Hat: Target

Sweater: Victorias secret

Cords: T. J. Maxx

Booties: Victorias secret

Camel color coat: Consignment store

It is still cold and freezing over here in the twin cities and we are doing our best to stay warm and fabulous...:-). I wish you all a blessed week. I'll be back with a styling post soon and this time, it is sports related. Watch out!!..:-).

Thanks so much for stopping by

Beauty Ojo

Matthew 12:13-15New International Version (NIV)

13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Old and New

Hi Friends; I hope February is going great thus far. The phrase "how time flies" has become some sort of a cliche these days because it is used so often but time really does fly. As I got ready today I remembered that I had posted this same dress on the blog about three years ago in this post here. I was just new to blogging then and my posts were just mainly rambles and my pictures were all unedited with very poor or no lighting. It is not as if my pictures are perfect now but I really have come a long, long way and I'm so thankful to God that I'm still alive today doing all the wonderful things that I love which includes writing and blogging. So, my blog turns three next month; **woot! woot!!**

Now to the outfit; I'm always so glad when I'm able to transition my summer clothes into fall and winter. All I had to do was put on some layers and this old dress was good to go. Also, what I really love about it is the color. Initially, I thought it was blue but now I think it is a "teal color." What do you think; blue or teal?

Dress: Marshalls (old)
Tights: Express
Trench Coat: Victorias secret
Bucket bag: Ann Taylor (here)
Booties: Altuzzarra for Target (sold out)
Belt: Target.

I thought this old dress with my old Express tights (I have worn this tights to pieces..lol) needed some new accessories to go with it and I paired it with my new bucket bag from Ann Taylor. I had a hard time trying to decide whether I wanted the beige color bag or the dark color but I eventually went for the dark color. The bag is smaller than I expected but I think it is okay for some outfits. I also got out my trench coat from Victorias secret which was on my summer list here and blogged about here and I was good to go. Oh, my Altuzzarra for Target booties completed the whole look. I always get so excited when I am able to fit into my old clothes.




                                                                 Thanks so much for stopping by


                                                                             Beauty Ojo

Matthew 12:9-12New International Version (NIV)

9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out?12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Winter Casual; Sweater Weather

These pictures were taken on a very cool cloudy evening and the wind was brisk and gusty and it somehow felt like an evening in fall or early spring but it is actually still winter in Minnesota; 'very unbelievable weather. As I drove home from work, I saw some kids in shorts getting off the school bus and I just smiled. It was some sort of mixed feelings; I was happy that winter was becoming bearable and then I was a bit sad that there might be a great deal of truth to global warming after all (not that I really doubted it anyway). However, the meteorologists predict that real winter weather will be back next week.


Well, I decided to take some pics for the blog and I slipped into this casual outfit and I was able to get some pics before the sun finally went down. I just realized that I have not done a casual look on the blog in a long time. I got this purple sweater dress from T. J. Maxx years ago and it's usually in heavy rotation in the cold weather months. I usually wear it with tights or skinnies and the skinny jeans and booties I wore with it in this post were purchased from Victorias secret last fall. I just love the cute pockets on the sides. Sweater dresses are great pieces to have and they can be styled in so many ways.

                                                                                 Sweater Dress: T. J. Maxx
                                                                                 Jeans & booties: VS
                                                                                 Jacket: Wilson's leather

I'm very happy that the blizzard that was predicted to hit the north east was not as bad as it was supposed to be and I hope everyone is keeping safe and warm over there.



                                                Thanks so much for stopping by


                                                              Beauty Ojo

Purple Pleats

Merry Christmas everyone; It's that time of the year again. I get so excited whenever I am at the mall during this Christmas season; all those beautiful christmas decor and the harmonious carols. I have been busy lately and I'm sure everyone else is too...:-).  I was at my kids' school today for a Christmas Carol program/Gingerbread house project and I put on an outfit with purple accents and it really got messy with all the frosting and stuff but it was so much fun building the ginger bread house and hanging out with the kids. Also, I'm always happy when I wear purple because it's one of my favorite colors. This outfit however is not what I wore today; this is the outfit I wore to my friend's anniversary dinner a couple of weekends ago. 'Because my blog is my personal style diary, I always make sure I document every outfit I wore to any special occasion including my everyday outfits sometimes. So, I'm glad I finally posted this.

This pleated purple skirt was made by my seamstress over a year ago. I had wanted a thicker fabric pleated skirt compared to all the lighter fabric pleats that were out there and I had no choice but to make a trip to the fabric store and I got excited when I saw all the rich colors of pleated durable fabric that were out there. I got about five different colors and had three of them made into long skirts and I still got two fabrics that I have not sent to the seamstress yet. I'm trying to think of other styles that could be made with pleated fabric; pants, dresses? 'suggestions anyone? Now, I'm glad I can get to wear this skirt even when it's freezing cold because the fabric is thick and all lined too with a different fabric for extra warmth.

Long sleeve tee: Target
Pleat skirt: Custom made
Booties: VS
Jewelry: LOFT
Clutch: T. J. Maxx

What are your plans for Christmas day; Church, family dinners, movies? Do not forget that Jesus is the reason for the season. That is the reason why it is called Christmas; "Christ Mass." It is the celebration of the birth of our lord Jesus Christ. 'just incase we have forgotten...:-).
Okay, I got to run; so much stuff to do; gifts to wrap and food to prep.







                                                           Thanks so much for stopping by



                                                                         Beauty Ojo

Birthday dinner Outfit

Hi Friends, so I have the feeling a birthday dinner date is in the horizon and in order not to be caught by surprise, I had to plan the perfect outfit for the occasion ahead of time. I did not want to be rummaging in the closet last minute and I wanted to pick an outfit to complement the beautiful set of jewelry I got from hubby as a gift. This sparkling jewelry is a set of necklace and earrings and a hair piece and I really love the red stones. If I had purchased it myself, I would have picked this exact design amongst others so hubby really scored on this one...:-). What makes it so special too is that it is a very dramatic statement piece and if you want to be noticed in a room full of people, it is the kind of jewelry to wear. Or if you are having the traditional African Cultural wedding celebration, it is the right jewelry to bling yourself up with...:-).

So, I was curious to know what store the jewels came from because I knew I was going to feature it on the blog and I got the information from hubs and it's featured in the outfit details below.

So, I did not want to run off to the store to buy a new outfit and I decided to shop my closet. In order for the jewelry to stand out I thought it was best to wear a simple plain dress but lo and behold, I did not like the style of my other dresses and I ended up picking a one shoulder sparkly dress I bought from T. J. Maxx a while ago. It is some kind of gold or rust color and I thought it is very appropriate for the fall season. This dress is dramatic on its own and is supposed to go with little or understated accessories but I didn't really care...:-). I just think the color is perfect for fall and I was willing to break all the fashion rules in order to wear the jewelry and the dress together. Plus, it's holiday season and the best time to wear sparkly things...:-). Did you notice the heels are also sparkly? Okay, that, I'm willing to change out...:-).

Dress: T. J. Maxx (old) Similar here and here.
Clutch: T. J. Maxx (old)
Shoes: Steve Madden
Jewelry: Kangna jewelry (instagram: Kangna_jewelry) kangnajewelry@gmail.com

And the beautiful thing is that these days, fashion does not really have much rules like back in the day. You can pretty much get away with anything. So, I'm going to pile on all this jewelry for my dinner date because I can...:-)...**eyes rolling** and next time I can wear them as separates. Do you sometimes break fashion rules in order to wear a favorite fashion piece?

Thanks so much for stopping by

Beauty Ojo