SPORTS

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||Top||Necklace|Earrings|Bracelet|Lips||

(read the letter below to find out why I have this scowl on my face)

Dear The College Football Playoff Committee,

This football season has been great! From exciting upsets to terrible beat downs, you all had VERY hard decisions all season on how to rank the teams as a whole. On Saturday, there were 4 huge championship games: SEC, Big 12, ACC, and Big 10. These games were there to help you solidify your decision on who would be the four lucky teams to make it into the playoffs. In the SEC Championship game, Georgia beat Auburn, rightly claiming one of the four spots. In the Big 12, Oklahoma put an embarrassing pounding on my TCU Horned Frogs, earning them the #2 spot in the playoffs. Over in the ACC, Clemson destroyed Miami, making them the king at #1. And then we have the Big 10 Championship, which was arguably one of the best games all weekend. An undefeated Wisconsin team barely lost to eighth-ranked Ohio State, who only had 2 losses (one being to #2 Oklahoma, and the other loss in an away game to Iowa). Yes, Ohio State did loose two games, but they also won the Big 10 Championship Trophy.

Then there is Alabama. Alabama has one loss, but they did NOT play in a championship game on Saturday. Alabama lost to Auburn, who was beat by Georgia. Instead of giving Ohio State a chance, you (the CFP Committee) decided to go with The Tide in the playoffs. So many times this season, we have heard you talk about the importance of strength of schedule in the playoffs, as well as making it to a conference championship game. Essentially, you punished The Buckeyes for not only making it to their championship game, but also WINNING their game!!! Did I mention that in pre-season, the Buckeyes played Oklahoma (one of the best teams in the nation..)? Who did Alabama play? They played Florida State and Fresno State.

As a girl from a small school with big sports, I have a HUGE problem with this whole picture. So many times the Big 12 has had very good teams, but been left out of the playoffs because we didn’t have a championship game. For example, in the 2014 season, TCU was 11-1. In Week 14 of the rankings, the Frogs were ranked number 3, but for some reason on selection Sunday, the purple and white dropped down to number 6. The CFP committee’s reasoning, “Oh well, the Big 12 doesn’t have a championship game, so you’re out.” So what does the Big 12 do? They bring back their championship game. What happens this year? A conference with a championship game doesn’t get a spot in the Playoff. I DO NOT GET THIS!

Now don’t get me wrong, Alabama is a good team. But Alabama was not in the SEC championship game and Alabama does NOT have good strength of schedule. Alabama lost to Auburn. Auburn didn’t make it into the playoff because they lost to Georgia in the SEC Championship. For a system that is supposed to be unbiased and fair for ALL teams, the system didn’t perform well this season, in my opinion. In the big scheme of things, my team lost, so I don’t have a dog in the fight; but I’m begging you, please do better next year.

Sincerely,

A pissed-off Horned Frog

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LIFESTYLE

Okay y’all if you know me you know I am obsessed with all things poms! While I was home in Houston, my mom and I spotted these bad boys at Macy’s!

||Merry Christmas Garland|Pompom Garland||

(I promise the Merry Christmas matches the poms in person!)

I was all over them like white on rice. I have a huge window in my house in Fort Worth, so I always like to have little festive things hanging from it. Then we found this wreath.

Holiday Lane pom wreath

 

It was the same brand as my garland, and matched everything perfectly!  The only downfall was, it was $55 on SALE! My mom was like oh no Caroline, we can make this. Many YouTube tutorials later and a few trips to Hobby Lobby, here is my finished product!

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It was surprisingly easy. So here is my own little tutorial on how to make this cute little pompom wreath.

HOW TO MAKE A POMPOM WREATH

What you need:

Yarn of all different colors

A wire wreath

SHARP scissors

Cardboard

A cup

2 toilet paper holders

2 paper towel holders

A box or towel to catch your mess (it does get VERY MESSY)

 

Step 1: Use your cardboard and cup to cut out two little perfect circles. On my wreath I have several different sized so I had 3 sets of different sized circles.

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(clearly I am not that great at cutting perfect circles hahahaha)

Step 2: Pick out which yarn you want to use first and cut about a 6 inches to a foot off.

Step 3: Grab your toilet paper holders. Place the end of the yarn in between the two holders and start wrapping

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Step 4: Wrap the yarn around the 2 toilet paper holders for larger poms 200 times and for smaller poms 140 times

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Step 5: Grab the yarn you cut in step 2, and bring it up in between the 2 toilet paper holders and tie it

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Step 6: Gently slide out the toilet paper holders and tie the string in a tight knot

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Step 7: Cut the loops of the poms so that they are strings and not loops. (Don’t worry they look really ugly and floppy right now, but it’ll get better)

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Step 8: Grab the cardboard circles from step 1 and your box (This is when things start to get messy!!) Then put the long string from where you tied the knot through the hole at the top, and place the other circle on the bottom of the pom right below the upper circle. Then start trimming off all the little strings that are hanging off the sides. Make sure you keep the long strings where you can see them (I wrapped them around my finger), because you don’t want to cut those off.

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Step 9: Flip the pom over to its side and repeat step 8 until your pom looks the way you want it.

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(I tucked my long strings under the cardboard so I knew I wasn’t cutting them)

Step 10: Repeat these steps until you have enough poms to fill your wreath.

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Step 11: Use the long stings you were careful not to cut to tie the poms to your wreath

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(Shoutout to Paigey (my mom) for helping me get all my poms tied on)

Step 12: once you have all the poms tied on go back and cut off the long stings

Then you are done! You have a perfect pompom wreath to hang on your door!

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FASHION, LIFESTYLE

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||Sweater|Jeans|Coat|Belt|Booties|Earrings|Necklace|Watch||

(Ps y’all this coat is from 2 years ago and I absolutely love it. Unfortunately they don’t make or sell it anymore, but I linked a very similar one.)

So… I have a love hate relationship with these pictures y’all. I love them, because to me this captures the east coast perfectly. I hate them, because I ruined my favorite Tory booties in the first 30 seconds of walking around Annapolis. So here are some pictures of me, in Annapolis, stepping in dog poop. Enjoy!

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Legit it was so gross! I can’t even tell you how many times I used my hand sanitizer after this.

Look how cute the town is?!

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On a serious note y’all, Annapolis was BEAUTIFUL and I would go back any time!

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SPORTS

 

IMG_7610Alright y’all, so the end of football season is near. Last week during all of the rivalry games, we saw #1 Alabama ruin their undefeated record by losing to the red-headed stepchild Auburn; and #2 Miami lose to an unranked Pitt. So honestly, there’s no telling what will happen tonight, when the Week 14 CFP rankings are revealed.  With all of that being said, there is one more weekend of football until selection day on Sunday, December 3rd. So what I am going to do is give away $100 to the follower who can choose the top four teams that will be headed to the playoffs!!!

Here are the rules:

  • Follow @carolinespeer on Instagram
  • Like my post about the giveaway
  • Message me on Instagram your top 4 teams!

BONUS: There’s a possibility that multiple people pick the right 4 teams! As the tie-breaker, I will choose the first person to tag 2 of their college football loving friends in the comments of the post!

 

If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message here or on Instagram! The giveaway will end on December 2nd at Midnight CST! Good luck guys! Can’t wait to see who you pick!

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BLACK FRIDAY, FASHION, LIFESTYLE

***BLACK FRIDAY SALES***

Retailers are in alphabetical order.

CLICK ANY RETAILER BELOW and it will take you directly to their site! 

 

AMAZON – Their Black Friday deals went live today and there are SO MANY GOOD ONES!!!

AMERICAN EAGLE – 40% OFF + FREE shipping!

ANN TAYLOR – 50% OFF everything with code THANKFUL

ANTRHOPOLOGIE  – Extra 25% OFF

ASOS – Sales won’t begin until Friday

BANANA REPUBLIC – 50% OFF full priced items + FREE shipping!

BAUBLEBAR – 30% OFF Holiday Giftset + FREE shipping with code YAY30 (ends 11/22, will update with new sale after that)

COACH – Up to 50% OFF + FREE shipping!

DSW – Deals on UGG’s, Nike, Converse and more + FREE shipping!

EXPRESS – 50% OFF everything + FREE shipping!

FOREVER21 – 50% OFF winter styles

GAP – 50% OFF everything with code: BLKFRIDAY

GOODNIGHT MACAROON – 30% OFF everything with code: BLACKFRIDAY17

HUNTER BOOTS – 20% OFF + FREE shipping!

H&M – Extra 20% OFF sale items + FREE shipping with code 0400 (ends on 11/23 and then a better sale should follow!)

J.CREW – 40% OFF with code: THANKU

J.CREW FACTORY – 50% OFF everything!

JCPENNY – New Deal-Busters added DAILY + FREE shipping on orders over $49

KATE SPADE – 30% OFF everything with code:

LAND’S END – 40% OFF your purchase with code FALL

LISIS LERCH– 30% OFF everything +5 dollar shipping

LUCKY BRAND – 50% OFF everything!

KENDRA SCOTT – 20% OFF + FREE shipping with code: YELLOW20

LOFT – 40% OFF with code: GIFTITUP

MACY’S – TONS of door-busters deals + an extra 20% OFF with code HURRY + FREE shipping on orders over $49

MADEWELL – 25% OFF with code: DONTSTRESS

NEW BALANCE – 15% OFF + FREE shipping! And 25% OFF for Reward Members

NIKE – 25% OFF select style with code: EPIC25

NINE WEST – 50% OFF + FREE shipping!

NORDSTROM – Select styles are up to 50% OFF + FREE shipping!

NORDSTROM RACK – Up to 40% OFF shoes

NORTH FACE – Up to 25% OFF + FREE shipping!

OLD NAVY – 50% OFF + FREE shipping!

POTTERY BARN – 20% OFF + FREE shipping with code: Thanks

RAYBAN – Up to 50% OFF + FREE shipping!

SEPHORA – Up to 50% OFF select items (their big sale starts Friday)

SHOPBOP – Buy More, Save More // up to 30% OFF  + FREE shipping!

SOLE SOCIETY – 50% OFF select styles (some GREAT items are discounted!!) + FREE shipping over $50

STEVE MADDEN –  Buy One, Get one 70% OFF (ends today, new sales will be updated daily) + FREE ship with code: MERRY

TARGET – 20% OFF select items + lots of BOGO Deals + FREE shipping on everything!!

TORY BURCH – 30% OFF + FREE shipping with code: THANKS

TUCKERNUCK – 20% OFF with code: GONUTS

ULTA – Lots of daily deals start on 11/23 on their site + FREE shipping over $35

UGG – Up to 30% OFF + FREE 2-DAY shipping on orders over $160

URBAN OUTFITTERS – Buy one, get one 50% OFF EVERYTHING( + new sales starting later this week)

VINCE CAMUTO – 40% OFF EVERYTHING with code: EARLY40

WALMART – New deals added DAILY!

WAYFAIR – up to 80% OFF + FREE shipping over $49!

WEST ELM – Up to 30% OFF with code: SAVEMORE

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FASHION, SPORTS

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||Jeans|Tennies|Watch|Necklace|Earrings|Bracelet (1)(2)(3)||

PS: I made my shirt myself!

 

Turkey and pie and football oh my!! Y’all, I cannot wait for this long turkey day weekend; and it’s not just for the food, it’s because of all the great rivalry games! Below, check out all the names of the games and some of the trophies that they play for. I hope y’all have a blessed Thanksgiving and spend time with family, friends, and some football!

 

Thanksgiving Weekend Rivalry Games

Thursday November, 23rd:

Ole Miss vs Mississippi State 6:30pm: Egg Bowl

 

Friday November 24th:

Baylor vs TCU 11:00am: The Revivalry

South Florida vs UCF 2:30pm: The War on I-4

 

Saturday November 25th:

Georgia vs Georgia Tech 11:00am: Clean, Old-fashioned Hate Game

Ohio State vs Michigan 11:00am: The Game

Alabama vs Auburn 2:30pm: The Iron Bowl

Wisconsin vs Minnesota 2:30pm (play for Paul Bunyan’s Axe)

Penn State vs Maryland 2:30pm

UNC vs NC State 2:30pm: Carolina—State Game

Boise State vs Fresno State 2:30pm: (play for the Milk Can)

Clemson vs South Carolina 6:30pm: The Palmetto Bowl

Notre Dame vs Stanford 7:00pm: (play for the Legends Trophy)

Washington State vs Washington 7:00pm: The Apple Cup

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SPORTS

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||sweater|jeans|ring|sunnies||

(ACTUAL PHOTO OF ME DOING MY GIRL BYE HAIR FLIP TO ALL THE BANDWANGONERS)

Okay y’all, as I am writing this post I am a little frustrated. No, scratch that, a LOT frustrated. All my life I have grown up a horned frog. My dad played football at TCU, so it just came naturally to cheer for the frogs. Heck y’all, we even have a TCU Christmas tree at my house. Going to TCU was a dream come true. TCU is MY school and I love it. Whenever any TCU sport is being played, I am cheering/hollering/jumping out of my seat. Even during losing seasons I am always cheering for the purple and white.

Don’t get me wrong though, I cheer for other teams too. For example, my DaDi (my mom’s dad) went to UNC for his PhD. When I was younger, my mom couldn’t get me out of cheerleading uniforms, so I would rotate between my Horned Frogs and Tar Heels cheer uniforms. Needless to say, when basketball season rolls around, you will always find UNC winning my March Madness bracket. The Speer fam are die-hard sports fans. We always cheers for the underdogs, and we are ecstatic when TCU or UNC wins a big game, or any game for that matter.

With all of that being said, there is one thing that really gets under my skin and rubs me the wrong way: bandwagoners. They are the WORST kind of fans!!! This year, college football has been CRAZY. Last week, the number one and three teams fell, and an undefeated Miami team was ranked below one-loss Clemson teams. Some people are happy, some are unhappy, and some people just decided they are lifelong fans of whatever team is on top… Yes, these are the bandwagoners. As the rankings rolled out last night, I saw all sorts of people tweeting about “their” school and how they were SO happy with where they were ranked, even though they have no affiliation to that school what so ever.

As football season continues to heat up, here at three quick tips to identify and Bandwagon fan:

1. See if the person knows more than 3 players on the team and the head coach
2. See if the person knows any history of the team
3. See if the person knows any players in the pros from that team

Beware of bandwagoners, because by the end of bowl season, I am sure you’ll see several jumping off!

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FASHION, LIFESTYLE, SPORTS

 

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Hey y’all! I hope you are having a fabulous Monday! As some of you know, this past Saturday was Veterans Day. I am ALWAYS thankful for our troops, but this year I got to experience Veterans Day a little differently. I was in Annapolis, Maryland, home of the Naval Academy!!! On Saturday, the Midshipmen played the SMU ponies. Can I get a GO NAVY? Soon, the stands you see below, were filling with Navy and Gold, as well as all the young men and women in their naval uniforms.

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When I walked into this stadium, I got chills. These men who are playing the game I love, will soon be deployed to go fight for our country. There has been so much drama around the National Anthem this year, especially at sporting events (aka the NFL). I know the National Anthem means different things to everyone and I respect everyone’s personal beliefs. To me, the anthem means to me exactly what the lyrics say: “O’er the land of the free and home of the brave”. We are free because of THESE men and women who fight valiantly for our freedom. I can promise you, when The Star-Spangled Banner was being  played at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday, there was not a single player kneeling, and everyone in the stadium was on their feet. Whenever I hear the National Anthem, not only do I think about the Navy, but l think about all the armed forces who keep us safe.

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If you see a man or women who served or is serving, make sure you tell them how thankful you are. From here at Lipstick and Linebackers, thank you to all the armed forces and God Bless.

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FASHION, SPORTS

Finished shoes

||Shoes|Jeans|Nail polish||

All right girls, so we all have it figured out by now: boys have it way easier than us girls when it comes to getting ready. I know when I am getting ready for anything I do one of two things: 1) try on six to twenty different outfits and end up going back to the first one, or 2) I end up standing in front of my closet, just staring at all of my clothes, with no idea where to start. So, it’s always nice when you have a certain color to wear, aka GAMEDAY!!!! TCU does a really good job about letting fans know what color to wear for each game. The only time this could get problematic is when there is a “white out game” after Labor Day. You can call me old school, but I refuse to wear white pants, dresses or shoes after Labor Day. It’s just my thing; love it or hate it, you won’t catch me in white!

One thing that is always easy to pick out are my shoes. You can change dress sizes throughout the years, but shoe sizes are forever (heart eyes). While we are on the topic, I have a small confession to make. I have over 100 pairs of shoes here at my Fort Worth house, and a big box of shoes back home. Saying I have an obsession is an understatement. I have shoe issues, but when it comes to game day, you will often find me in the same pairs over and over. I live really close to the TCU stadium, and can walk to the game from my house. It’s honestly the best, but it is imperative for me to have on comfy shoes when I’m making the walk, all while staying stylish and cute. Check out my favorite go-to shoes for game days below! Whether you are watching the game in a stadium or hanging out at the bar, these shoes will complete your game day outfit.

 

Marc Fisher: Y’all these are marked down and under $60! These bad boys are sold out everywhere, but luckily I found my exact ones at Nordstrom’s Rack!

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||Marc Fisher||

 

Tory Burch Miller Sandals: Okay y’all so its just now cooling down here in the Fort, but these are my go-to’s for everything. I have them in 6 different colors, so you can trust me: they are a good buy! Even if its way too cold to bust these out, they are great to have in your closet for next season, and even come in handy when baseball rolls around!

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||Miller Sandals||

 

Lucchese Boots: Here at TCU, boots are a gameday staple!

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||Lucchese Boots 1 |Lucchese Boots 2|TCU Gameday Boots||

 

Vince Camuto Booties: If you’re looking for a shoe brand that you can always count on to last for awhile, Vince Camuto is the brand for you. I have these booties, and they are great for the fall and winter.

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||Vince Booties||

 

Tory Burch Booties: Y’all can probably tell from my previous posts that I wear these a LOT! They are so comfy, and have lasted me through almost two years (so far). The ones you see in my post actually came from the Tory Burch Outlet, but linked below are some that are very similar.

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||Tory Booties||

 

Steve Madden Mules: When we have an away game and go to a bar to watch the game, these are what you will see on my feet! If anything spills on them, you can just wipe it up and go back to watching the game.

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||Steve Madden Mules|| 

 

Dolce Vita Cheetah Booties: Last but certainly not least, my cheetah booties! I wore these last Saturday to the TCU game, and l got stopped, no joke, at least 5 times asking me where I got them.

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||Cheetah Booties||

I cannot wait for Saturday to see all of your cute game day shoes; so make sure you use #lipstickandlinebacker! Have a fabulous Tuesday!

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FASHION

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||Top|Jeans|Belt|Purse|Watch|Bracelet|Necklace| Earrings|Booties||

Hi y’all! Happy Monday! I hope y’all had a fabulous weekend full of football, and maybe a little shopping too! As the holiday season is officially upon us, my shopping obsession has gotten out of hand. Literally, my phone had to be taken out of my hand this weekend. There’s a story behind this, and it is pretty embarrassing, considering I didn’t/don’t think I have a shopping problem. This story has two parts, so hang in there.

On Thursday, Marshy boy had a half-day off from work (WAHOO!), so logically I slept in, woke up, worked out, and waited for him to get off. Whenever he got off I HAD to go to Banana Republic, because they were having a sale. So we go do a little shopping; of course I buy several things, and Marsh gets some really nice work slacks. We checkout then head to the car. As soon as we get in the car, I call my mom, and this is how the convo goes down:

 

Me: “Hey mom, what’s up”

Paige: “Oh nothing much, just got home”

Me: “Oh okay, well I was just calling to let you know, since you have a Gap credit card, you get 50% off of the entire Banana Republic store. So you might want to go online and check it out. I got some really cute stuff!”

Paige: *hysterically laughing*

Me: “Mom, why are you laughing??”

Paige: “Oh nothing” (still giggling)

Me: “Mom, what happened? Did you even hear me? Banana Republic is having a sale!!”

Paige: “Yes, that’s why I am laughing. You’re always shopping, it’s just funny.”

Me: “Well okay then Paige! I will no longer be calling you with sales updates. You can just find them on your own; I will get all the good deals and you won’t. HAHA”

 

She ends up admitting that she does like it when I shop, because I give her all the good info and she wants me to continue giving her updates. Meanwhile, Marsh is in the car hearing all of this. He’s like “I know I work most days Carol, but you really kind of do shop… A lot.” Well, whatever. At this point, I brush them both off and go on about my day.

Now, flash forward to Friday night. Last week, my friends and I decided we had to go out Friday night. A bar that my friend Rachael is obsessed with was closing. So we start the night off at Chimy’s (my favorite bar; catch me there every weekend; I even have a t-shirt! It’s the best!), and then head to Capital (the bar that’s closing). When we get there, the line is seriously a MILE long. They are over capacity, so its one-in- one-out. We decided to take one for the team and wait a few minutes to see if the line would move at all. If we are just going to be standing there, I instinctively take my phone out to start online shopping. Marshall looks at me kind of funny, and I said, “Well if we are going to wait, I might as well be productive and do a little shopping.” He takes my phone out of my hand and puts it back in my purse. I know I know we were out supposed to be having a good time, but what else was I supposed to be doing? I can multi-task shopping and talking. It would’ve been fine, but nope I was banned from doing any more online shopping for the rest of the night.

In the wise words of Rebecca Bloomworth from Confessions of a Shopaholic, “When I shop, the world gets better, and the world is better, but then it’s not, and I need to do it again.” So friends, I am actually just trying to make the world a better place one purchase at a time, whether that is online shopping or doing it in a store. I might be not making the whole world better, but I am going to try and make your world better by giving you a sassy set of six things I am currently obsessing over, all for under $100! If y’all have any questions over sizing or how anything looks, feel free to message me!

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