Fall Picks - The Skater Skirt

farfetched.com | generalpants.com.au | river island | romwe | miss selfridge | forevernew.com.au

All I've wanted recently is one of these skirts. Bright, neutral, solid, printed, I don't even care. Some of my favorites that I've found are above however. I've been having difficulty finding one that is the length I want, but I know that if it's meant to be, I'll find it. Of all the styles I've seen, I really prefer to above-knee or mid-thigh length. The shorter mini ones remind me too much of Sailor Moon (anyone else remember that?) and anything longer is too matronly. The mid-length styles really offer the most versatility as well. Tights could be layered in for the cooler seasons, but they are just as easily worn without them. Not to mention that it is a flattering silhouette on almost any figure. Don't believe me? I challenge you to go try one on. Seriously, go do it. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The same goes for shoes options with these bad boys. I've become addicted to the thought of these with a pair of oxfords, possibly a pair of cute little ballet flats, although I've never really been into those. I have been contemplating buying a simple little black or neutral pair for outfits I don't really have a perfect pair of shoes for. I've included a compilation of oxfords and flats for your viewing pleasure as well.

steve madden | charlotte russe | dorothyperkins.com | miu miu | tory burch (2)

What do you think of the skirt style? Do you have one and how do you wear it? As well, do you have any shoe preference when you wear it or have you imagined a completely different perfect pairing?

PS- Don't forget to tweet me about what you think! Tweet my twitter name (@katiegassmann) and let me know whats on your mind.

*Beauty Review* - Revlon "Just Bitten" Lipstain

Today is two days all jammed into one! First, it's the first day I've been back from a two week hiatus (an unplanned one at that). I'm so sorry for being MIA, but everything just seems to be moving in fast forward and I can't figure out where the pause button is! School started last Monday, I'm leaving to visit Tyler on Thursday, and then when you throw in work, there is hardly time to breath, let alone blog! But hopefully now that the first week of such craziness is over, I will be able to manage my time a little bit better.

Second, today is the two month anniversary of The Style Duckling! What better way to kick it off than with a completely new kind of post: a beauty review!

Now, I know what you're saying: "Katie, that's orange!", and that was my first reaction as well. I usually don't wear lip color, but after a review from the lovely Louise over at Sprinkle of Glitter, I thought ya know, I'm just going to go for it! And thank goodness that I did.

The first thing that I noticed about this is that is glides on like a dream. It really is a "balm stain" like the packaging says. It's very creamy and smooth to apply. When I first put it on, I thought that it was a little transparent in color, since I'm really used to my red lipstick, but just wait. After just five minutes it had completely taken hold on my lips and was this beautiful coral orange. It's not an obnoxious color, honest, and I really think it would look pretty good on most skin tones. Then again, I really only know my own which is pretty fair.

The packaging is just this simple stick, and I'm guessing that once I use what's twisted up that I'm finished. I've never had a stick like this before, so I guess I'll be finding out. As a whole, I'd have to say that I'm in love with this first product I'm reviewing. I've been wearing it non-stop, so it's highly possible all of my classmates think my lips are naturally orange...

Color: "Rendezvous"

Available at: Walgreen, Walmart, Ulta, etc.

Price: $7.59 at Walmart

Have you tried this or any other colors from the "Just Bitten" line? Have you tried a similar color before? What did you think?

Yard Sales Galore! +Sneak Preview

Hi everyone! Hope you had a marvelous weekend! I spent a lot of mine working, but I managed to go on a yard sale spree Friday morning, and picked up some goodies. That prompted me to make this video and try out the "haul" video idea. It's a little rough, and I'm thinking that I should make these with my camera next time, but I felt as though I really needed to get something to you guys! I've been slacking lately, and I wish I could blame it on being busy, but sadly it's a good ol' case of writers block. Sigh. Hope for the best as I try to get my creative juices flowing.

Do you all have any trade secrets to churning out posts even when you're stuck? 

PS- Feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel and let me know what you think of this in the comments below. I'm always open for positive or negative feedback! (even though I prefer the positive of course, haha)

Smudges, Spots, and Tracks

Hello there blogging world! I need to start off with a big fat apology for not posting an Under $10 Tuesday post. I completely spaced on what day of the week it was, and I only just realized today when I looked at my calendar and realized it was already Thursday. Whoopsies! But no sense dwelling in the past so lets just move on, and hopefully you all can forgive me!

This isn't a very proper outfit post, I need to start out by saying, because though my friend Rachel took some great shots for me, the condensation from our Starbucks cups somehow must have ended up on  my lens because most of the photos have spotty smudges all over them. I was so upset to find this out, especially since we boiled under the sun taking photos this afternoon and it's the last time I will see her before she leaves for school this Saturday. This is probably the third time something like that has happened to me so you think I might have learned my lesson by now...

Button up, Forever21

Shorts, Ralph Lauren, Goodwill

Boots, hand-me-down

Most of these are just candid photos, shotty quality...I apologize. Really. But I felt like this could be just a post to update you on whats been happening recently. All that there is really to update on is the fact that I've been really into menswear recently (hence the oversized button-up).

And just in case you were wondering, here is a gorgeous photo of us..yes. We really do look this attractive all the time. Please, boys, control yourselves.

On a serious note, however, please go click on my eBay banner in the sidebar to the right. I've got some of my old clothes and some times on there because I'm trying to raise some money to trade in the camera I currently have (Nikon Coolpix D510) for a better one (Nikon D3100). Go take a look, and within the next few days, I'll be listing some of the items I've made! Look back, but I'll definitely make a nice quality post about them when they're all ready :)

XX

Instagram Installment #2 + {GIVEAWAY WINNERS}

IHOP - New old purse - Tyler and I at "wiener dog races"!
Amazing chocolate chip frappe - Preview of a post - Tyler and Mojo :)
Preview of a post - My breakfast on National Girlfriend Day! - My pink rose for NGD <3
Shellac manicure - New thrifted sunglasses - Amazingly indulgent sandwich at 3 AM
"Classic" - Baseball hat Tyler won for me at a carnival - Glitter french manicure

Helloooo everyone! I haven't posted anything mainly because I don't have anything excited to post.. *whomp whomp whomp*. Sad life, I know. Honestly, I've just been working, spending way too much time watching my favorite blogger's YouTube videos (some recent favorites here and here), and wishing I had a more exciting life to share with you all! I did, however, venture out into the world of regular, non-lifeguarding people yesterday to purchase supplies for a new idea I've been hatching. Lately, I've been selling a lot of my clothes (if you're my personal Facebook friend, you're very aware of that), and that got me to thinking: "what if I made clothes to sell?" So that's what I'm going to do! That old adage "you have to spend money to make money" is far too true for my liking after yesterday's expenses, but I felt you all would be worth it. Expect to see lots of dying, ombre, studs, denim, and vintage-inspired items. So, I'll be making an announcement later on this week with lots of pictures and links to where you'll be able to bid on them/buy them (eBay, probably).

Now on to the part I'm sure you all clicked over for: the giveaway winners! Thankfully, there is the amazing website called Rafflecopter that allows people to enter, it stores all the information, and then randomly generates a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats to the winners, and I'll be emailing them later today! XX

You're Already the Voice Inside My Head

Home, bittersweet home! I always hate coming back. The drive takes forever, it's always an insanely boring drive, and without rain all summer, literally everything was brown. It's just depressing! Thankfully, Tyler's sisters were able to help me take some shots yesterday while he was at football practice (he's ALWAYS at football practice, haha). I wish I had a street/field to take picture in like this always. They had the BEST tree cover on his street, and I'm super jealous. there are no trees in front of the houses in my neighborhood :( It took us a while to figure out the lighting though, and most of the ones that turned out have some wacky sunlight going on because it was so bright. Sorry, guys!

Glasses, thrifted - $3.50

Necklace, H&M - $6

Skirt, eBay - $13

Shoes, Urban Outfitters Outlet - $5

Please disregard as best you can my terrible awful tan lines! I was unsure how to really "fix" them on the computer and I decided, ya know what? Who cares. Except now I wish I'd taken the time to figure out how to do it...haha. I guess that's one of the drawbacks of being a lifeguard.

This skirt I ordered from some store in China, and I'm slowly learning my lesson that cheap things rarely are as they seem. The second I cut the tag and pulled the plastic piece out, a seam on the back of it torn and now there is a big hole between the waistband and the chiffon. Le sigh. I've been looking for a black skirt like this for a long while now, and I thought I'd finally found one! But I suppose the search continues...

Don't forget to enter the giveaway here! It ends at midnight tonight, and there aren't that many people so your chances of winning are in your favor!

XX