GAP Style Made Easy!

How often do you get to shop alone without your child hiding in the racks and licking the floor or your poor pitiful significant other whining because men don't want to shop or he is staring at every price tag reminding you how expensive it is?? Am I right or am I right? Well, I had an awesome opportunity to collaborate with our local GAP Valley West Store, shop alone and style a few outfits, and post them here for you to make a list and shop fast and smart! P.S. You can call into the store for them to pull and hold the items or make sure they are in stock for you before you make the trip in! Total time saver. And for the people who started reading this and thought to themselves well "I don't shop there" or "it is too expensive for me", well good new because I am thrifty and I NEVER pay full price for anything at the GAP and I have chosen some trendy pieces as long as closet staples you will wear for years. Number one tip is to get the credit card, no seriously. I do not get paid for saying this (wish I did) but every Tuesday you get an extra 10% off of your purchase so wait until they have 40% off and use your card....no brainer! Plus you will earn rewards for using it and you can use it at Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, and all GAP stores! If you saw my Instastory over on my Instagram @ladyandredstyle,  you heard that I purchased 12 items for $294 and that was with my 50% off and lucky for you, this week is Friends and Family event which is 50% off for you too 😉 **March 22-27 50% off in store purchases and 40% off at GAP.com or GAP factory store**

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This look is so classic! The details on this tank are so on trend and comes in a few other colors! Always need a neutral cardigan to layer throughout the year and if you don't own white denim, get yourself some right now! These are super comfy and stretchy! True to size.

Stretch True Skinny Jean-White

Stripe open front Cardigan

Crochet Swing Top

Asher Earrings

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How cute are these sunnies? Yes, even I forgot that GAP has sunnies and they are actually really great quality and obviously cute too! This cami is silky and has a pleated detail that is hard to see in this photo but so cute. Pair with a denim jacket if you want low key, wear alone for a date night or put on a cardi for a relaxed look! So so simple! Plus, it is loose so definitely a must for pizza night ☺️

Stretch true skinny Jean-White

Pleat Scoop Neck Cami

Blake Rounded Glasses in store!!

Luna Pendant

Lace Me Up Heels

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Embroidery is not just for your grandma! This season it is hot and especially paired with an off the shoulder look too! This one is very comfy and loose fit so if you want it to look more "fitted" give it a little front tuck like I did in the image above! I paired it with flats but this would be adorable for a concert paired with boots!

Embroidered off the Shoulder Top

Stretch True Skinny Jean- White

Victoria Pendant Necklace (tassel removed)

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Need a basic pair of skinny jeans? These are your pair! Great color and fit and oh so comfy. Easily could re-wear these a few times in 1 week! This top is light blue stripes with a small bubble like sleeve. It gives it enough of a different look you don't feel like the Michelin man but enough detail to dress up and wear out! Lightweight and perfect transition piece for Spring to Summer.

Luna Pendant Necklace

Split-Neck Blouse

Stretch True Skinny Denim

Iris Tassel Earrings

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As good as it gets right here! Comfy slip on shoes, boyfriend sweater and girlfriend style distressed jeans. Oh and these are GAP sunnies again. I love black and gold, it just gives it a little sass. These jeans run true to size but are more relaxed than normal, so comfy and the stripe on the sweater is more interesting than just a plain color.

Pair it with an army green jacket or a bomber jacket for another look this season!

Black Leather Waverly Clutch/Purse

Destructed Mid-Rise Girlfriend Jean

Grey Stripe Scoop Neck Pullover

Riad Layering Necklace- Mixed Metals

Sunglasses are in store!

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If you buy one dress this season, please buy this one!! It is so good it hurts! I sized down on this one. The cinched waist tie is enough detail to not have to wear many accessories. The fabric is buttery soft and the color is perfection! This will sell out fast and will be a staple in your closet! Trust me!

Tercel Sleeveless Shirtdress

Put a jacket over it, a bomber, a cardigan for different looks. Pair it with converse shoes, flip flops or short booties like I did. So versatile I could scream!

I look forward to hearing your feedback and hope to bring you more posts like this one since I have been receiving many messages on what pieces I love and friends wanting me to help them manage their closets! I love sharing style with you all and hope you find this helpful. XOXO

Bacon Fest-Viva Las Bacon

Bacon Fest virgin no longer! Yesterday was Des Moines, Iowa's 7th Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. Yes that's right, a festival dedicated to "ohhhh bacon!" Tickets sold out in 42 minutes, all 12,000 of them. That is up from the nearly 10,000 last year. I was not really ever interested in going but a co-worker happened to be selling her tickets and I thought, what a great "date day" for the hubs and I. We have never been and it's in our own backyard! All of a sudden you start to feel like part of the "in" crowd because you are going to THE Bacon Fest.We didn't know what to expect so I looked it up on the website blueribbonbaconfestival.com. I had no clue what the website was talking about so we just went in completely blind, which can be good sometimes when you have no expectations. I mean, how can bacon fail you? Same brown, marbalized, long strip of flavor it has always been. Hard to change that! The recommendation we got was to go at 11:00 a.m. and leave by 3:00p.m., so we did. Maybe not the best time to arrive. We left our house at 10:45 after prepping my Mom & Dad on how to get the baby to take a bottle and me squeezing in a quick feeding to tie her over longer in hopes of not receiving any "get home" phone calls. We should've left our house at 12:00 as we did not get into the actual fest until then. That was traffic, parking, and the line to get in. Yes, I said line. I have never seen a line that long, even for the fair, and are you sure only 12,000 people went? Did everyone drive seperate? This genius, yes me, decided not to wear a coat for the fear the bacon smell would never come out of it. Not sure if that was the smartest decision on a day that was 18 degrees and a line that took over 30 minutes to get through. A drone was flying above the line we were waiting in and all I wanted was for it to drop something warm, perhaps a slice of bacon?

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After waiting in line we were shuffled into the Elwell building where we were carded and tickets were scanned. Ahhh warmth. We are IN! Well, not yet. Grab your goody bag (5 food tickets, 2 drink tickets, t-shirt, lid loosener thing, pamplets, and a coozie of course,) buy more tickets, and then head back outside to either the Varied Industries building or the Jacobson building. The VI is closer so we are going there following a herd of bacon lovers. We entered by the craft beer station and by looking around, you better stop there first. One of my favorite local breweries was there serving up my favorite brew, PeaceTree's Blonde Fatale. Homerun. If you are ever in Knoxville, Iowa check them out!

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Next up is food! Free slices of bacon tied us over while waiting in line for more bacon. No one should ever leave this place hungry! We stopped over to say hello to our Templeton Rye buddies ( if you like whisky, buy a bottle of this,) then we started with La Mie bakery. A bacon and cheddar croissant kicked off the party in my mouth! It was heavenly, but would've been more heavenly if they added eggs and served it warm!

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The only thing I could not wait to try was the cro-nut ( croissant/donut) from Zombie Burger, so over to the Jacobson building we went. Another large dwelling packed with bacon lovers drinking and eating, oh and a wedding complete with a bacon bouquet. I can't make this stuff up people. I love donuts and right there at the entrance it was. Dipped in a chocolate bacon glaze, topped with crumbled bacon and chocolate sprinkles for fun. It was a good thought and needs some perfecting. All I could taste was the bacon grease it was fried in :( Sad day for me. But it did look pretty.

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We ran into a few friends, shared a few laughs, and headed back over to the less crowded VI building, if that was even possible. I checked my phone to see if I had any messages from Mom, and nothing. Whew! Our last food tickets were burning a hole in our pocket so naturally we needed to eat again. My husband chose the Bacon Explosion from the guys at BBQ Addicts and I chose HyVee's bacon bread pudding after drooling over someone else eating it. This is seriously a tribute to each of our personalities. He picks the salty food and I go straight for the sugar! Both were delicious and worth the wait!

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We officially felt like if we ate one more thing we would barf. After watching a butt quarter contest ( I can't even begin to explain,) and some great music from Rumble Seat Riot, a Rock/Rockabilly/Road House group, we decided to call it a successful day. Walking the mile back to the car felt great, as if we were working off some of the lard we just consumed. A quick text to Mom stating we were on our way home and a text back saying that the baby was sleeping. All is well.

All in all it was about the experience. Will I sit at my computer for next year trying to beat out thousands of people for tickets...probably not. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out and if it keeps expanding, why not just make it a summer event? Seriously, just make it a bacon fair. This is Iowa ya know :) And for all of you that read my blog post Breast & Bottle, my child did not eat for my parents, she kindly waited for me to get home. Diva. We will just keep working on it. Until then, I have a baby and will keep living! Ohhhh Bacon :)

Raygun Girls

Peace.Love.IowaStarting her out early on all ends of fashion! Check them out at @Raygun or their website. Seriously good for a laugh...or two.