Haaaave You Met Ted?

I've been dying to use that in whatever possible. Now I can die happy.

(It's from "How I Met Your Mother")

The real question is, have you met Puckett?

I was doing so well at avoiding impule buys until I met Puckett.

I was stalking the boots on my sidebar at ALDO when I came across these in the clearance section.

10 minutes later, I was the owner of both the pumps and boots. Don't judge me! We all have our weaknesses.

On another note, somehow I ended up on the main page of wikifashion! Haha. Still not really sure how. If you've never heard of it, wikifashion is a forum for all things fashion related. It's wikipedia, for fashion!

Check out the Money Smart Fashion and feel free to fill in some details.

Be nice though, I don't want to have to hunt you down!

Look Ma, I'm in Lucky!

pg. 25

I've been waiting to share this with you guys for a couple days now. It's still kind of strange in an "OMG I can't believe I just walked into a grocery store and my picture is in this magazine" kind of way. hehe. The girls at Lucky who run Stylespotter wanted to run an ad for the site in the September issue and asked me to be a part of it! I'm still a little surprised and uber grateful to even be on the same page as one of my favorite blogger's Taylor of Sterling Style and of course Jessica of What I Wore, she practically started all of this!

 Anyway, what this comes down to is that none of it would have ever been possible without you, my readers. So I just want to say thank you, for all the support you have given to my blog. I don't say it often enough probably, but you girls and guys are basically awesome.

Thank you readers and thank you Lucky!

Spring Plaid

I can't believe it's Wednesday already. This week has been flying by.

SSBF and I hit the outlets again on Saturday. That's twice in a 5 week period and this time it was SSBF's idea! Needless to say I was stunned when he mentioned it but happy to take him up on his offer.

I snagged this shirt at J.Crew and am completely in love with it. I am a big fan of plaid and usually resort to stealing SSBF's shirts but now I finally have one to call my own. It's so light its almost sheer and will be perfect for wearing around the Outer Banks in August. I saw it the last time we went in early May, but passed because  it wasn't on sale. I'm glad I waited because between the sale they were having and my student discount I saved 40% on it.

The real story though is how much SSBF cleaned up at the Banana Republic outlet. I swear this kid can sniff out a deal. Somehow he managed to score a lightweight Merino sweater, a button-down, and a polo for under $30.

Well, that's all I've got. Unless of course you would like to hear about my cost accounting class. I'll assume not though. Even SSBF doesn't want to hear about that.

Hope you are having a good week!

P.S. Lucky Magazine was kind enough to make me an Alpha Shopper!
Come check out Style Spotter and look for future blog posts!


Shirt, J.Crew
Jeans, Martin & Osa,
Shoes, DSW

run around on me, die without

Do you know what I will never get sick of? Business casual. That is of course after the initial rush and fuss of deciding on an outfit in the morning. I have been extra indecisive lately, it's been taking me forever to get ready for work. Maybe I need to start laying my clothes out the night before. I don't know if I could do that though. I am one of those people that packs the morning of a trip, it drives SSBF crazy. It's always hilarious in the morning because he practically has to drag me out of the house so I stop grabbing things I need "just in case".

This outfit materialized out of one of those mornings. I love it though. These pants are my favorite alternative to jeans. I don't think I wear them enough. They are twill and oh so comfortable, even when its hot. I've noticed lately that I have been wearing a lot of loose fitting tops. I think they are actually quite flattering on me, which is a surprise and I'll tell you why. The pictures here make my chest (at least I think) look deceptively small. Truth is, I am well, endowed, quite generously I never thought I could get away with anything "baggy" or striped for that matter because it would accentuate. It seems to do just the opposite though. Hooray!

I was feeling silly tonight so when SSBF told me to see how high I could kick my leg I quickly obliged. Judging by that height I need to start hitting the gym again and get my flexibility back.

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your week.

When you have the time head over to Beauty and the Budget. Valerie was kind enough to feature my outfit from Friday in a series she is doing about looking chic on a budget. Check out the post here.Valerie is adorable and a blogger after my own heart with her budget friendly outfits and beauty ideas! Thank you Valerie!


*Scarf, Old Navy $10
*Top, Old Navy, $8
*Pants, J.Crew $59
*Sandals, Steve Madden via piperlime
*Necklace, Martin & Osa
|post title: Alligator-Teegan & Sara|

Spending Diary: Ely from Ripped Nylon

Welcome to another edition of Money Smart Fashion's Spending Diary. Honestly, I did a horrible job keeping track of my spending this week. Luckily, Ely from Ripped Nylon was kind enough to pick up my slack and share her spending diary with us!

Hello my Frugal Fashionistas! I'm 23 years old, pursuing a Master's degree, living at home and working part time as an intern at a local firm.

 *disclaimer* This is a slightly warped projection of my spending, I did have a birthday and mother's day in the same week! Here goes...

Sunday: Gifts($71.96) for Mom, the BF and his Mom, Grandma, and Sister.

Monday: Had a lovely Thai dinner ($18.99) w/my BFF.

Tuesday: Sick, stayed home, miserable!

Wednesday: Still sick, I went to the mall an hour before closing time to avoid the crowd and find a gift ($35.29) for my cousin's birthday and recent graduation. Also picked up a summer dress ($19.99) I promised my youngest sister and gave in to the temptation of American Apparel's Le Sac dress and even got an alternate Le String, ($48.00).

Thursday:Still home and sicktastic, bought food for the middle child. ($10.54)

Friday: For $26.00, bought a domain name and host space to get my online portfolio rolling. (and yes, still home, can you believe it?!)

Saturday:($17.00) on rings for Mom & I; My cousin's grad/birthday party is Sunday (tomorrow) and we were lacking essential accessories... ok, I confess... we just couldn't resist! ($24.00) for Papa John's when my parents abandoned my sister and I in the house.

Total Spent: $271.77

Thoughts: Nearly $300 and almost nothing to show for it! I know for a fact that I habitually spend most of my money on other people, but this week was pretty out of control in that category. I obviously need to stop overextending myself when I have grad school to pay for! I also have to cut down on spoiling myself, which shouldn't be too hard because while I was still in school I wasn't even making weekly what I spent here. I like the idea of stepping up and taking control, my savings are next to nothing and I'd like to move out by the end of the year, so this was pretty eye-opening as to how loosely I handle my hard-earned money. I feel like this is both empowering and humbling, and will definitely keep this going!

Great Job Ely! I think that your biggest area of opportunity to maximize your savings would be your spending on others. Set a (realistic) budget, I would recommend maybe 5-7% of your monthly take home pay, for the amount of money you think is reasonable to spend on others. By keeping track throughout the month you will know when its time to say no. Also, its seems you may be a bit of an impulsive buyer. Take a minute to think before buying those impulse items. Maybe even do a lap around the store or mall before purchasing to make sure you truly want that item.

If you want to learn more about Ely and her amazing eye for fashion head on over to her blog Ripped Nylon. I always love her interesting architectural finds. Thank you so much for sharing your spending this week!

As always, I am always looking for lovely ladies to feature for this weekly post. If you are interested e-mail me at grace.croshaw@gmail.com.

maybe you'll be just my summer boyfriend

It's been a busy, busy week! Let me start by first of all saying thank you again to Morgan of Runway Daily for featuring me along with some other lovely ladies in her Tuesday post honoring Ked's via their recent contest on Chictopia. Check out the full post here along with the rest of Morgan's blog. She has great taste and is a total sweetheart. Thank you Morgan!

Secondly, Money Smart Fashion now has it's own Facebook page! My plan is to update it daily with more random things I come across, the kind of things that may not require entire blog post. Feel free to stop by and check it out:)

Today is also our 44 monthiversary! Early on in our relationship SSBF and I would celebrate little milestones, like our 1 monthiversary that eventually turned into what is now the 44th! I think the tradition evolved out of the fact that SSBF didn't think I had a long term relationship in me. Ha! I showed him. Although I think the only other long term relationship I've had is the one with this skirt. I've had it just a touch longer then I've had SSBF.

I bought it almost four years ago at the Urban Outfitters on Grand River in East Lansing. My memory is a little foggy now but I'm pretty sure it was a great deal too. I always try to find ways to work it in to my wardrobe for work but have a hard time making it look office appropriate. Luckily, I wasn't at work today and soon enough I will be able to wear it whenever I want (but more on that later).

This skirt can be a little fussy and girly.I like how adding a military inspired button-down toughened it up a  bit. I really wish the print would come out a little clearer in the head-to-toe shots but I think there is only so much magic you can work with a point and shoot camera.

I chased SSBF down out back of our house while he was watering our plants to take these photos. He made me take the first couple holding the hose. I looked ridiculous. Note to self: no more props. 

Anyways, finally I am excited to share with you guys a new piece I am working on. Basically, I'm doing a version of "The Money Diaries" from Ramet Sethi's blog I Will Teach You to be Rich. In his version he has guest posts from anonomyous readers detailing their spending for a period of seven days. My posts will be my own spending from the previous week. However, I am open to guest posts, so if you are interested in doing something like this e-mail me.

Whew! I think I got it all. Thanks for sticking with me through this marathon post.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

*Shirt, Old Navy
*Skirt, Urban Outfitters
*Belt, Banana Republic
*Shoes, Chinese Laundry via DSW

Feature! Glamour.com

Thank you Tracey!
 at Glamour.com's blog Slaves to Fashion for selecting  me as this week's best dressed reader...
i'm freaking ecstatic!

My First Feature!