Ashley's Bio

Hey guys!

I realize that I do have a short about me tab right on the top of my page, but here I have decided to get a little more in depth about who I am and what I love, that being fashion.

I was born in Miami, Florida and lived there until I was in 6th grade. From there, my family and I moved to Fort Lauderdale so that we could be closer to my sister's university. Much of my ideas about fashion and style come from my mom and sister. When I was younger, my mom did not allow  me to just sit in my pajamas all day, she would make sure that no more than an hour after I got up that I was fresh, clean, and dressed for company, as we usually had family or friends come to visit randomly and she wanted us to have our best foot forward. Now, it doesn't take me hours to get ready, I am pretty low maintenance as it only takes me (after showering and teeth brushing) about 5-20 minutes to put on make-up (if you read one of my prior blogs, you know that I don't even know how to use a lot of make up), but even if it's just something as little as going to the store to pick up some milk, I take a few minutes to put together a sundress and cardigan or cute shorts and an awesome pair of sandals because you never know who you are going to see.

My style sense came from my sister. I own a few pieces that are really bright and loud, but for the most part, my clothes are earthy, darker colors, with calm patterns. That way it is easier to create a variety of different looks with limited amounts of clothes. If you can't afford to have the world's biggest closet, you biggest friend is to stick to earthy color, solids, and calm patterns because when you re-wear them and style them in different way, it is easier to make it look like an entirely different piece of clothes. Like on one blog I wrote, I could easily re-wear all of those pieces of clothes in different ways because they easily go with a ton of other things. Nothing there is too busy and too crazy to wear multiple times a month. Having a closet like this, is also a huuuge budget saver!

As you know, I am all about the deals. I love finding cute clothes for low prices and some of my favorite places to shop are Sandy's, Plato's, and thrift stores in general. Not much feels better than to put together an amazing outfit from head to toe, and it costs you no more than $15.

On top of clothes, I love accessories and playing around with nail polish. Little do some people know, that sometimes it is the smallest things like a cute belt, earrings, or purse that can put an outfit together. I hope one day to be a on-air correspondent on E! where I get to talk about fashion, style and people's fashion all day. It literally would be a dream come true, so if you know Giuliana Rancic, let her know I say "Hey!"

My everyday jewelry

Hey!

When it comes to accessorizing, most people automatically think of jewelry. It honestly can just be adding a cute ring, necklace, or bracelet that adds that extra pizzazz to your outfit.

I have a ton of bracelets and necklaces, all of varying styles and materials, that I will add to make more of a statement to one of my outfits, but here are four pieces that I almost always have on.

The ring that I wear is a gold ring that used to belong to my sister, who is my biggest inspiration. I know, I know, it is on my ring finger and it spells out "love" so a lot of people ask me if I am engaged/married or if it is a promise ring. No, besides my pinky fingers, my ring finger is my thinnest finger.

The gold bangle under that ring, was given to me by my oldest friend whom I have known since I was about 3 or 4. It is thin and simple, with a very subtle design. I personally love very simple jewelry so I looove that bangle.

To the right,  the bracelet with the beads and star was most recently added to my collection and is a Juicy Couture bracelet one of my first friends in college gave to me this past Christmas.

Finally, under that is a very simple bracelet that has a treble clef pendant. I used to play piano and I think treble clefs are beautiful so a firned gave this to me for my 19th birthday almost two years ago.

All of these pieces hold a lot of meaning to me, so I very very rarely take them off. What jewelry do you love?

My Fav Products: Eyeliner

Hello!

Now, I will be the first to admit that I am not the most makeup savy girl. All I use is foundation, mascara, eyeliner, and/or eyeshadow and I only generally use one color eyeshadow, some kind of gold-ish color. I don't know how to use all those fancy brushes, I do all my makeup shopping at Publix or Target.. not Sephora, and it takes up no more than 10 minutes to get ready for anything from a casual lunch date to a wedding.

However, despite the fact that I really have no idea what I am doing, I do get compliments on my makeup, and the only reason for that has to be that the product is a good, reliable one.

 

Generally, all I wear during the day is eyeliner and at night, I will just add on some mascara or eyeshadow. Since I rely so heavily on eyeliner, I have been through a few and the one that I love the most and has never done me wrong is CoverGirl's LineExact Defining Eyeliner.

Depending on where you get it, it runs from $5 to $7, and I like to get it in very black, for a more striking look but it also comes in grey and brown.

I use it almost everyday and it lasts for hours. I am sure if I used a primer that it would last all day long, but alas, I am not a makeup expert. It's thin felt-tip makes it easy to apply and easy to get a very thin line is that is what you are going for.

If you have already found an eyeliner that works for you, than be my guest and keep on using it, but if you haven't yet, give this one a try! You never know, you may love it as much as I do!

OOTD: 1/22/14

Hey guys and gals!

Ok, I am sure that most of you know, but just to be sure, OOTD means "outfit of the day" and since I am a day late (my apologizes) this is my outfit of the day for Tuesday, the 22nd here in good ol' Gainesville.

Yesterday had a high of 69 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 47 degrees Fahrenheit. I was out when it was a bit on the warmer end so that explains why I am in shorts. Also, my legs tend to have a higher resistance to the cold, so for the most part, here in Florida as long as my arms, feet, and hands are warm I will probably be in shorts, a dress, or a skirt.

  

So yesterday I was only out for short while, but I still like to put together a decent outfit because you never know who you may run into.

It was a bit cold out, with dark clouds scattering the sky so I almost went all black and grey to reflect the weather. However, I instead chose to add a a flash of red to spice up the outfit. So as you can see, 

-loose fitting black high waisted shorts

-a red tank top

-black scarf

-black flats

-light grey sweater

The most expensive part of this outfit was the scarf. I can't remember how much it was, but I got it at a department store so you just take a guess.

I could have worn just a white tank top, but imagine how less visually pleasing that would have been compared to this vibrant red one. Just remember, it is really easy to spruce up any outfit, not matter how casual!

All I do is thrift, thrift, thrift no matter what!

        Who doesn't love a good deal? Everyone loves a good deal, that's who. One of my favorite places to find amazing clothes for cheap is Sandy's Savvy Chic Resale Boutique of 4148 NW 13th St in Gainesville, Florida. There is only a Sandy's in Gainesville as far as I am aware, but I am telling you, there should one of these perfect little stores on pretty much every street corner!

The concept of Sandy's is the same as Plato's. Gently used clothes, sold at a fraction of it's previous cost. It is not just women's clothes either, they have kid's clothes, jewelery, shoes, purses, home decor, and even lotions and perfumes. Fellas, there is even a vast selection for you too!

On one of my recent trips there I was able to pick up quite a few pieces that I loooove and cannot wait to wear around town.

A bright orange cotton lace crop top
A burnt orange chiffon high-low shirt with a little blue bow pattern over it
A black chiffon shirt with gold buttons
A dramatic black top with a low back and lace detail
A Forever 21 black skater skirt
A Forever 21 blue high-low skirt (perfectly paired with my orange crop top for UF game days!)
Two string tie Cotton On skirts (one black and one navy blue with while polka dots)
A navy blue pair of cotton high waisted shorts
A pair of tan heels with gold accents
A pair of BCBG black strappy heels
A grey Nine West purse

Do you want to guess how much I got this all for?? Come on... guess...
Give up? I got this all for $97 dollars. I did not even break $100! Do yourself and your wallet a favor and try out Sandy's if you are in the Gainesville area. If you don't live here, than look up some thrift/consignment stores near you. You won't believe the deals you find!

Welcome, and nice to meet you!

                                                           

Well hey there!

Let me start off with the basics, My name is Ashley Mondesir and I am a Telecommunications major at the fantastic University of Florida. I could sit here and list a bunch of random facts, but that would just take way too long. Do you want to know one little secret though? Oh, you do? Come here...come close... deep down inside of me is a crazy fashion monster that is dying to get out and right here on this very site you are going to get a look at all the styles, accessories and clothes that I wish (BUT ONE DAY WILL HAVE) I had.

Be prepared to see casual, formal, and sometimes even outlandish attire. Also be prepared for a laugh or two because as much as I love talking about looking good, I am not afraid to talk about things that are not quite as chic. Don't be scared, if you see something you like, comment!

If you want to see other things that I have had to say about fashion, check out another blog that I am running with a dear friend of mine that is all about that PFF. You wanna know what PFF stands for? Looks like you are just going to have to click right here to find out!

Look out for a post coming soon!