Shopping | Fashionably Living

Mallzee is Making Shopping Social

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Jun 6, 2013 in Fashionably Fashionable | 1 comment

Happy Thursday lovelies! Today, I am super excited because I have the chance to offer Fashionably Living readers a VIP membership to Mallzee! Last Summer I was lucky enough to be given a sneak peak into this fabulous new shopping experience, before it went live (you can read the post here). But I am here today, to let you know that Mallzee is live and its fabulous! The best part of Mallzee is it makes online shopping social and a lot more fun! You may be asking yourself, how can shopping become more social? With Mallzee they recommend clothes suited only to your tastes. Their technology brings you outfits that you’ll love, cutting out the stuff you hate! With Mallzee you create your own mall with all your favorite shops in one place. Mallzee allows you to pick from over 300 of your favorite stores/brands and see all those clothes in one shop! Sounds great right?!? Well, it gets better! We all know that shopping is more fun with friends, that’s why Mallzee made online shopping a social experience that you can enjoy with your friends! You and your friends can recommend products instantly, chat live as you browse together and set up polls to get opinions on a new outfit. It’s always fun to get fashion advice and tips from your girlfriends! You can even browse other peoples Mallzee’s when you need inspiration! But wait, there is one more super cool part about Mallzee, they pay you Mallzee dollars every time you shop on Mallzee! The more you shop on Mallzee, the more you collect to use on future Mallzee purchases! Mallzee is a dream! You get to shop with friends, you have all your favorite brands in one place and you get Mallzee dollars to come back and shop again, sounds perfect to me! Be sure to visit Mallzee to receive your VIP membership!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Design Elements: Space Evaluation

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Dec 11, 2012 in Fashionably Interior Design | 10 comments

Decorating is half know-how and half self-confidence! I hope by the end of the Design Elements Series you will feel more confident in your decorating decisions. The key to decorating = be yourself! You don’t have to be super artistic or extremely stylish, because decorating is simply about creating a space that makes you happy! The second design element of the series is “space evaluation!” Obviously, I am not going in order, because the first design element of the series was “lighting!” But stick with me, and we will put them all together and even in order, when I wrap up the series!

When it comes to evaluating your space you have to see the space for exactly how it is. Slow down and take a good look at your space and how you use it. Don’t clean your space up and then evaluate it, leave the space just how it is. The best way to understand your space is to see exactly how you use it, even though it can be difficult to see how you really live. Take a photo and look and what’s not working. Do you have too much empty space, too many dark corners, is your lighting too bright, is it too hard to have a conversation, do you need window treatments, do you need more counter space, do have enough seating, do you have too much stuff, do you need more storage space, etc.? Obviously, these questions vary depending on the room you’re evaluating, but you need to ask yourself all of these questions. Once you have figured what you need and what you don’t need, it’s now time to tackle all your current items (i.e. décor and furniture) in your space. Many people think when you redecorate you have to ditch everything, but that’s not true at all. You usually have everything you need; you just need to use it differently and more efficiently. What pieces in your room do you use regularly (be honest)? Which pieces are you holding onto, just because?

Don’t spend hours around town trying to find the perfect piece of furniture when you may already have it. But be careful not to keep an item because you feel guilty for getting rid of it or it’s convenient to keep it. Make sure the furniture or other items in the room fit the following criteria: (1) It must be easy to use and comfortable, (2) compatible with your emotional wants (3) functionally necessary. You should make three piles: the goner’s, the keeper’s, and the maybes. The goner’s don’t fit the necessary criteria, the keeper’s fit the criteria, and the maybes fit the criteria but you don’t love it or hate it. Decorating is fairly easy; only worry about two things: what items to put in your space and where to place each item. Next decide your functional an emotional needs of those items. I want to leave you with this statement, be sure to analyze it: “Functional and emotional needs tell us what items to use and where to place them.” If you have further questions and need more directions please message me, I would love to help!

That’s a lot of information to digest, but I hope that helped you get started! There will be more to come, but let’s stop there! Now go evaluate your space, see what you need, what you need to get rid of!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Magazine Overload

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Nov 28, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable, Fashionably Interior Design | 0 comments

Do you ever want to just escape from the world, sometimes, to have a little quite time? On too many occasions my life is bombarded with T.V., the Internet, social events, work, cleaning my house, and running everyday errands, that I never really get a chance to sit and be with my thoughts. And it’s crazy (or silly) when I realize I am at this point, is when I have too many magazines to read and never time to actually sit down and read them! I have months of issues I am behind on (sad face)! The only time I get to spend time with my thoughts is when I crawl into bed at night to rest my head, but I fall asleep so quickly that there isn’t much time to think about anything! I know that for the most part, it is my own fault! When I was in high school and even college I felt like I used my time so wisely, because my schedule was so chaotic and I got a lot done in a day! Then sometimes I ask myself, did my life seem organized, because I had back to back activities that had timelines, i.e. dance, cheer, school, etc. Then there are times when I wonder where I dropped the ball! I’ve come to realize that priorities change and it’s another stage in my life that I have to get used to. When you’re young and you don’t have to think about work, life is more relaxed and you have more free time, but as soon as you hit corporate America, your life goes on hold and you run on their time table and when you get to be on yours, your almost too exhausted for activities and fun! By no means are my magazines priority, but I love them and they allow me to escape and enjoy creative and pretty things! One of my goals in the coming year, will be to spend more time with God, worry less and take time to enjoy the little things (magazines and books) and big things (family and friends) in my life! I hope you all have a fabulous hump day!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Blue Skies Ahead

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Sep 26, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 2 comments

I was so excited to wear my new outfit! There is something about “new clothes” that makes you feel fabulous the first day you wear them! I just purchased these brand new Seven jeans, which I love the dark wash and heavy threading and isn’t my blouse adorable! The detailing of buttons on the back of my blouse and sleeves was a perfect touch, plus the sleeves…you know how much I love ruffles! My shoes are not new (check out the close up here), but I’ve only worn them a couple times; so my whole outfit felt brand new, love that feeling! Hope your having a great week thus far! Happy Hump Day!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Blouse: Lost April (Get the look)/Jeans: 7 for all mankind/Shoes: Dollhouse (Get the look)

Necklace: My Grandma’s (Get the look) / Sunnies: Old (Get the look)

Ring: Forever 21 (Get the look)/ Bangles: Forever 21 and Vintage (Get the look)/ Earrings: Vintage (Get the look)

Fearless Fashion

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Sep 8, 2012 in Fashionably Fashionable | 5 comments

I am so excited to have been selected to participate in the ‘Fearless Fashion’ campaign sponsored by Palladium and Cosmopolitan Magazine! The campaign is centered on being ‘fearless’ in your fashion styling. I’m feeling pretty fearless! Being obsessed with fashion my whole life, I have been able to experiment with different fashion styles and have learned to appreciate each style and what it represents. So many professional stylists create looks for photo shoots, catwalk appearances, newspaper and magazine editorials and movies, but for those of us who do it for fun and/or personally, we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone and become fearless in our styling. I was excited when the ‘Fearless Fashion’ campaign decided to surprise me with a pair of Crocs‘ shoes to style a fearless and fun outfit around. Crocs was nice enough to send me their ‘Above Deck Boat Shoe‘! I enjoyed the shoes so much, I decided to show you how to style the shoes with two outfits!

Be sure to check out Fearless Fashion Giveaway sponsored by Luxury Palladium and Cosmo Mag here: http://on.fb.me/Nr8blF

They are giving away $1500 worth of jewelry!

(If you have never heard of Palladium its pure, neutral and best of all affordable! Palladium gets its color and luster from nature which makes the metal hypoallergenic. Part of the platinum group of metal, palladium is one of four precious metals and shares its strength. Palladium is inexpensive and lasts a lifetime!)