Cara Box Reveal

I came across a blogger exchange called the cara box exchange over at Wifessionals last month. In it you get to know two other bloggers, and then eventually, you send one a box and the other sends you a box. I loved the idea of it, so I signed up. And I'm really glad I did. I loved getting to know the great ladies I was paired with, and it was a lot of fun to both shop for a box and receive mine as well! This is something I'd love to do again. If you want to know more about it or sign up for the next exchange, click the cara box button in my sidebar.

I sent a box to Leslie at With a Side of Chocolate. I loved reading through her blog, because it's so honest as she talks about her life. Her love story with her boyfriend is especially sweet. I enjoyed talking to Leslie and learning all of the things we have in common. She loves fall, so most of the items I sent her revolved around that, which was a lot of fun, because I can't wait for fall to start either! If you want to see what I sent her, check out her blog soon!

I received my box from Jordan at All the Small Things. She is so sweet, and I loved seeing all the topics she talks about on her blog! My mouth was watering when I saw a picture of the fruity pebble and white chocolate chip cookies she made recently! Jordan and I have a lot in common, so it was great getting to know her. Everything she sent me was so great and thoughtful! Here is what was in my box:

1) A cute little set of note pads in different sizes, and it's yellow- my favorite color! :) I'm always writing notes to remind myself (or others) of things, so these will be perfect!
2) Another larger notepad for fall, which, with all I have going with grad school right now, I will definitely get a lot of use out of!
3) A book, A Wanted Man by Lee Child, which sounds really good. I love to read and thrillers like this are my favorites!
4) Chocolate! I am such a chocolate addict. These will help me get through writing long papers ;) I love m&ms and Junior Mints are some of my very favorites!
5) Sparkly gold nail polish, which is really pretty and perfect for fall!
6) A little note in a cute little m&m card!

Thanks to both Jordan and Leslie for a great first experience in the cara box exchange!

mixing prints

You know those days where comfort rules all when it comes to choosing your outfit, and you don't care as much how you actually look? This was one of those days. It was going to be hot, humid, and rainy, and I just wanted to be as comfortable and cool as possible. It was an internship day,  in which I wear nice casual clothes, and no shorts (and socks, sorry about those!) So I put on my polka dot denim capris and this lightweight skin skimming floral top, which is basically a moisture wicking nice shirt. I figured the pants are basically jeans, so they would be ok with anything, but I was fully prepared to look a little mismatched. But I was pleasantly surprised when I put it on in the morning and it actually looked good!

I don't know how much you can tell by these pictures, but it definitely shows the importance of fit in how frumpy or not frumpy you look. I also don't mix prints very often, so I pleased to see how these prints looked good together. The key to mixing prints, though, is pairing a smaller one with a larger one, which is the rule I followed here. The polka dots are tiny so while they're cute and more interesting then plain blue denim, they aren't all that attention grabbing. That way, it was fine to pair them with a larger floral print in the top. You don't want your patterns competing for attention, but rather complimenting one another.

Top: JCPenney's

Pants: Kohl's (exact below)

Necklace: American Eagle

Shop the Look:

mixed prints by greathappiness featuring Gloria Vanderbilt

Linking up to Random Wednesday at Because Shanna Said So.

Colorblocked

I like this top from StyleMint, because I don't have anything else like it. It's a bold look, plus it also contains my high school colors, which makes me a little nostalgic. Normally I would wear this top with some black or denim skinny pants, but it was so hot this day, that I had to go with capris. I went with my brown capris, which still work with this top, even though there's no brown with the top. I used to be scared to play around with neutrals, because even though Stacy and Clinton have told us numerous times that they go together, it just didn't seem right. But I see, of course, that they were correct. I went with a simple and architectural ring and necklace to kind of keep with the feel of the top.

Top: StyleMint (exact below)

Pants: old

Necklace: Forever 21 (exact below)

Bracelet: Apple of My Eye jewelry (exact below)

Ring: Sneakpeeq

Shop the Look

colorblocked by greathappiness featuring brown capri pants

This post is linked up to Style Sessions

aztec and gold

Here is my new H&M necklace again! It goes perfectly with this aztec print top. I love the aztec trend, and this top is adorable, but I can't remember where I got it from, sorry! I do know, though, that these Dr. Scholl's wedges are some of the most comfortable wedges I've ever owned!

Top: not sure
Pants: Pajama Jeans (exact below)
Shoes: Dr. Scholl's (exact below)
Necklace: H&M (exact below)
Bracelet: Forever 21 (exact below)
Gold rope ring: Forever 21 (exact below)

Shop the Look

aztec and gold by greathappiness featuring mid-rise jeans

vines

This top is another product of my recent shopping trip. I just loved the bright blue and the vine print. It's a little short for bending over and playing with kids, so I layered a cami underneath. I'm in love with this new necklace from Windsor. It's a beautiful silver chain tassel necklace, and it's fun to play with too! I got one for myself and one for my mom as part of her birthday presents, and I'm glad I got the one for myself as well! You can find the link in the Shop the Look image below, and I'd highly recommend it.

Top: Carson's

Pants: Pajama Jeans (exact below)

Necklace: Windsor (exact below)

Ring: Forever 21

Shop the Look

blue and silver by greathappiness featuring fringe jewelry

This post is linked up to Summer Style Linkup and Three-fer Thursday.

stripes

I went shopping last week and found this shirt for $2.89 at Kohl's. Then with my 30% off discount, it ended up being less than $2!! I still can't get over how awesome that price is. Plus it is striped, and it contains my favorite color (yellow), along with my two favorite colors to pair it with (blue and grey). I think it's safe to say this shirt was meant for me, just sitting on the rack waiting for me to come along and pick it up.

I recently created twitter, pinterest, and instagram accounts for the blog. It was getting too tricky trying to use my personal accounts for these social media sites, so I just decided to keep it separate. You can find the links in the sidebar under my intro, in the shiny new little buttons I made for them! Hope to see you there!

Top: Kohl's

Pants: Loft (exact below)

Shoes: Crocs

Necklace: G.H. Bass & Co.

Ring: Charlotte Russe

stripes and yellow by greathappiness featuring a beaded strand necklace

Linked up to Random Wednesday at Because Shanna Said So.

cool colors

So remember when I said I was buying this necklace back in my H&M post? It came and I am obsessed. Gorgeous and so worth buying! And this top and these pants are actually both from none other than... Kmart! Shocking, I know, but they are both from Sofia Vergara's line. There are some great pieces in her line and they are for great Kmart prices, so I'd highly recommend giving it a look. And this gold bracelet that I got from JewelMint has become my go-to bracelet. I absolutely love it, especially how it fits nicely on my small wrist, and it looks pretty with everything. 

Top: Kmart

Jeans: Kmart

Shoes: Dr. Jay's (not pictured above but they are the shoes I wore, exact in Shop the Look below)

Necklace: H&M, exact below

Bracelet: JewelMint, exact below

Gold knotted ring: Forever 21, exact below

Shop the Look:

cool colors by greathappiness featuring tribal pattern shoes

Brown blouse / Jane Norman , $31 / Tribal pattern shoes / Forever 21 band ring / H&M , $6.19 / Pave jewelry

This post is linked up to the Summer Style Linkup at Mix & Match Fashion and the Three-fer Thursday Linkup.