May Purchases + Gifts and Part 2 Recap of my 30 for 30 Challenge.

We are already 1/3rds gone of June and before we know it half of the year will be gone soon. My Birthday-packed month of May has already come and gone too. This post is filled with lots of reviews and recaps so let's get to them, shall we? =)

First up is this May's Purchases and Gifts. After a very expensive, clothes-filled April (read here) I was better-behaved in May despite it being my Birthday month and Mother's Day. There are a total of 2 Dresses, 2 Skirts, 2 Tops, 3 Necklaces, 2 Hair Clips + 1 pretty Hair Tie thingy, 2 pairs of Sunglasses and 3 pairs of Earrings. The grand total for all of these was $134, but $55 of which was gifted to me on my Birthday in some of these items (details below, by each collage). But that is still 134 bucks all in all, which got me a total of 19 items, averaging at $7.05 per item which is excellent, and everything is NEW. I think my most favorite things are my 2 Fit+Flare Dresses, especially the Red-Striped one, the Bow Sandals and both of my Statement Necklaces.

I am a sucker for Leopard print and Snow Leopard I don't have much on. There was a BOGO Free Sale of the Dress and for my second item I picked the Skirt (on the same print I know), but out of all the Skirts I tried at the store this is the one that fit me best and I loved on me as did the sales-girl. The other Fit+Flare Red+White Striped Dress is a thick Ponte material and is even more gorgeous on. I am showing it together with that pretty Beaded+Triangle Statement Necklace (which I love), because both of those together were my Mother's Day Gift from Hubby. I had hinted at both and he was happy to oblige. Last but not least my Brown Geo-Print Midi Skirt (worn here). This Skirt was a steal of a deal. It is a very Light Linen-blend material and it even has a 3/4-length lining inside. The grand total for all these 5 pieces (including the Necklace) was $55 including the Gifted pieces (in the total). Can you believe it?

I went Shoe-Shopping with a friend of mine. I was looking for a pair of Wedges that I could also wear to work (since I am majorly-looking) and perhaps a new pair of Sandals. I was very happy with the 2 pairs I found. They both have Rhinestone Bows too. My friend bought the Sandals for me as a Belated Birthday Gift (worn here). Actually I have already worn the Sandals IRL 3 times and the Wedges twice. You will see the Wedges on the Blog on Thursday. The Lavender T-Shirt was an impulse buy since I don't have much in Skulls and I figured another Graphic Tee - why not LOL. All of the Skulls (large one in the middle and all the little ones around it) are Sparkly. I figured for $6.00 this Trendy piece was very reasonable for me to add to my closet. I also added a much-coveted Black+White Gingham Top. This one is in a very Light material for Summer with Elbow Sleeves. I still want more of a Flannel one with Long Sleeves for Winter. I already wore this Top once, last week and that Outfit is coming to the Blog, soon. The whooping total for these 4 items was $47 (including the Gifted Sandals in the total). More great deals as you can tell.

Last but not least lots of new Accessories (as if I need anymore LOL). The Necklaces were somewhat of a splurge compared to the other items (the 3rd Necklace was shown on the first collage with the Dresses) but I love them both especially the Gold-wire one with the Multi-Colorful Spider. Very Unique and Bold - I am not afraid to wear it. I am actually wearing it today as I type this. I like pretty hair-clips and hair ties for my hair so I am glad I picked the 3. The Hair tie thingy is Hot Pink with White Dots and one of the Hair Clips (Top Right) is a Pink+Silver Rhinestone Peacock. The Earrings on the box are a pair of Cobalt Blue Circle Studs and a pair of Black+Red Mushroom Studs. The Drop Earrings are Blue+Black Gingham Hearts. But I am in love with both Sunglasses. I do own some nice Designer Sunnies but I also have some cheap ones, like these. Since I am a Red-lover and I also wanted a pair of Trendy Mirrored Sunnies I picked both of these pairs and they were my best deal out of all of these. All of the Earrings and Sunglasses were very reasonable finds at a Street Vendor. All of these pretties costed me $32.

So what do you think? How did I do? Would you buy any of these? I am doing a 6 Remix Post on June 16th (finally) showing off new items purchased this Spring. But I haven't counted those towards any of my monthly purchases because they were picked up with Gift Cards that I have had and held on to for a long time.

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The second part of this post, I wanted to write the continuation of my 30 for 30 Challenge Recap and focus on the things I learned from doing this challenge. Read part 1 where I shared my Most Favorite and Least Favorite Outfits from the challenge. Before I list all the things/lessons this challenge taught me, I wanted to share collages of all the pieces I included again with the number of the times I wore each (next to each item).

Which means in 35 Outfits I wore during this challenge I wore Pants 22 times and Skirts/Dresses 13 times. I wish I would have worn my Dresses more but it was such a cold (colder than usual), rainy, windy April. I even wore either my Cognac Boots or my Rain Boots more times than I'd have liked. For transparency, here is the breakdown of how many times I wore other items (not included in the challenge). Nude Pumps = 6, Rain Boots = 2 (I didn't include these 2 as part of my Shoes because I'd only wear them if the occasion called for them such as Dressy/Work-related Events for the Pumps, or Rainy days for the Wellies). Leather Jackets = 3, Puffy Vests (including my Faux Fur one that I wore once) = 5 (these were not included since I consider them Outterwear). And for fun I thought I'd count all the Scarves and Statement Necklaces I wore during this challenge, as I figured these 2 Accessories would be worn a lot, in order to remix my clothes to the max and keep things interesting. Scarves = 7 and Statement Necklaces = 8 times.

If I were to do things differently and do this challenge again in the Spring, I would probably include a total of 7 pairs of Shoes and 23 articles of Clothing. This first time around I included way too many tops and 4 of them were only worn twice each. I'd probably include just 2 Tees, one Graphic and one in a Print like Dots or Stripes. 3 or 4 Blouses/Button Down Shirts instead of 5 is plenty, also. I think this way all of my Tops would be fair game and each could at least be seen three times during the remix. Also, one of those Tops would definitely be Floral - I didn't include anything Floral this time around. I'd probably add another Skirt and/or Dress in the mix. For the Shoes I'd choose a pair of Flat Boots (like I did), a pair of Booties (with Heels), a pair of Pumps (included in the challenge however), 2 pairs of Ballet Flats (like I did), a pair of Sneakers and a pair of Loafers.

Here are some Lessons I learned from doing my very first 30 for 30 challenge.

- You can create so many different outfits including just 25 articles of clothing and 5 pairs of shoes.

- I have way too many clothes and seriously do not need that much.

- Remixing my closet became easier after this challenge and my creative juices were flowing during this challenge.

- Accessories are key however not as important as I thought they'd be. Sometimes you do not need a Scarf or Statement Necklace to create an Interesting Outfit by remixing the same pieces.

- Some Classic, Super Remixable pieces should always be included among the other pieces. Such as a Solid-Colored Pencil Skirt, a Black Blazer, a Denim Jacket, a B+W Striped Top or a B+W Polka Dot Top, a pair of Skinny Jeans either Blue or Black, a pair of Neutral-colored Ballet Flats, a Dress in a Classic Silhouette and/or Color or a Solid-Colored Cardigan.

- But, you should also include some pieces that have some interest and personality to them like a Fun pair of Shoes, a Floral Top or Skirt, a Fun Cardigan, something Girly with Lace or Sequins, a pair of Colored Pants such as in Cobalt, Mustard or Red.

- Layering can do wonders to an Outfit, especially in the Springtime when Layers are key.

- It is OK to wear some Basic (read *Boring) Outfits too such as Jeans and a Tee or a Pencil Skirt and a Cardigan. Sometimes Simple Outfits are the best.

- Not every Outfit you picture in your head will come out like you pictured it. That's for sure lol.

- Do not over-think it. Some of my Most Successful Looks on this challenge were clothes I put together without thinking too much about them.

- Appreciating my Clothes even more: the ones chosen for the challenge as well as all the other ones waiting patiently or not in my closet to be worn again.

[I didn't realize that's 10 lessons (at least) until I listed them all, but that is a lot this challenge taught me.]

So, will I do it again? The Answer is  a Definite Yes.

I want to do this once at least for each season. I definitely want to do it in the Summer so September 2014 will be the month when I do a second 30 for 30 challenge. In reality I will start wearing the Outfits the last week of August. September is still very much Summery almost everywhere and that is definitely the case where I live. I didn't choose August on purpose because I didn't want to rely just on Shorts+Tanks or a Dress as my Outfit because August here is usually very hot. I do think Summer will be more challenging because there is very little if not any layering to do. But I think the 30 pieces I choose will be utilized/worn more. And I will focus on just 30 Outfits (no more). 

 If you want to join me, you are welcome to. So, on September 1st I will be showing you my first Outfit of my Summer 30 for 30 Challenge. Wish me Luck!! Until then, I am looking forward to wearing a lot of my Summer Clothes and New items.

Before saying Goodbye for today I want to remind everyone to join the link-up tomorrow as a wrap-up to our Spring Must Have series. We will feature Skirts but any and all Outfits are welcome. Thank you in advance. =)

P.S. Linking up with Fran + Other Budgeting Bloggers of course, as well as Claire, Kileen, Laura, Lauren, Melaina, Paige and Zaz.