Friends Through the Good, Bad and Dwindling Bank Accounts

Moving from San Diego meant leaving some of my best friends. Whether they are still in San Diego or 30 minutes away, I don't get to see their lovely faces everyday.

My roommate, Naz (pictured above in three photos), lived with me in San Diego for two years. As if our fashion addiction wasn't bad enough when we met, living together only added fuel to the fire. It was two bodies in one apartment constantly reading fashion blogs, magazines and searching for our next MUST-HAVE item. And once one of us had to have it, so did the other. Our closets are basically identical.

People would always ask, "Why don't you guys buy one item and then share it?"

Our reply:

"Well it's not like we will live together forever!" Little did we know that time came too soon.

I've pictured some of our memorable fashion moments.

From the top:

- SD Pride Festival

- 80's Neon Party (Me and Kelly)

- Lips

- 20's Glam Themed Sorority Formal

I'm just going to mention quickly our picture from the 20's Glam Formal. We both found these incredible flower clips to wear and paired them with nude hue dresses. The flowers are definitely not something you would wear everyday, but there is no fashion without risk, and with our final outfits the flowers worked perfectly. In fact, Naz and I believe the piece we found at Forever 21 for $12 was inspired by Miranda Kerr's headpiece in the photo below.

What do you think?

Click HERE to see Naz's blog.

Talk About a Teal Bag

A few years ago I held a seasonal position at Coach Handbags, needless to say I didn't really make any money working there because all my paychecks went into pieces like my large teal Madison bag. It was originally $500 but with my discount it came out to a savvy $250 (still YIKES! but not unattainable).

The year I started working at Coach (2009) is when they first introduced the Madison Collection and I knew it was love at first sight. Since their launch, Coach has kept this bag available and I couldn't recommend this splurge more! Throughout college I have thrown books, makeup, bottles of alcohol, you name it, in this bag and it still looks fabulous.

The bag comes in all sorts of classic colors, but the teal one was only available for a limited time. Most people might shy away from such a bright bag, but I can't stress enough that this bag literally goes with all sorts of outfits! I don't regret choosing my teal bag over a chocolate brown one for a minute (in a perfect world I'd have both).

Check out the Coach website to check out the Madison bags available now.

Outfit: Top - Urban Outfitters (SALE $20.00), Pants - Forever 21 ($15.00), Slip Moccasins - Steve Madden ($40.00), Ring - H&M ($7), Necklace - Forever 21 ($8.00)

Fashion for a Cause - Knot Violence

For those who say fashion is vain, they clearly aren't aware of the many wardrobe pieces you can buy to help support charities. I LOVE finding clothing I already want and then realizing the proceeds go towards a philanthropic cause...BONUS!

I picked up my Knot Violence tee this summer at H&M and not only do I love the graphic, but proceeds went to the Non Violence Project Foundation. There are so many opportunities to help out charities when building your wardrobe. JCPenney has teamed up with Pennies for Heaven and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to help support after-school programs by selling this really cute coin purse. It is $9.99 and 100% of the proceeds go to Pennies for Heaven.

Visit jcpenneyafterschool.org for more details.

And lets not forget the fashion craze TOMS Shoes. You buy a pair and a child in Africa gets a pair too!

Outift: Tee - H&M ($15), Skirt - H&M ($7), Wedges - Boutique ($30), Necklace - Forever 21 ($10)

Formal Introductions - With Love

For my brand new blog, I thought it only appropriate I share a few things about me and what The Fleur de Fashion is really all about. Ever since I was young I can remember stealing my Step-moms already read Vogue and Elle magazines, thinking "I want that, and that, and that, and that (etc. etc.)". As I got older, well, it only got worse. When I got my first job, my paychecks went to clothes and purses and jewelry. My best friend and I would skip class to shop. I was hooked.

So, now that I am a recent graduate from San Diego State University and have moved to the Bay Area I thought it time I start sharing my fashion finds with you, in hopes that some of my passion will rub off on you.

To be clear, I am a normal girl. I don't live on the Upper East Side or write a sex blog in NYC. While I wish my closet was full of Chanel, YSL, Louis Vuitton, Louboutin and Alexander Wang, in actuality, its filled with H&M, Forever 21, Cotton On and other items from stores or boutiques any girl can afford. That being said, anyone can find fabulous pieces for their wardrobe for low prices and still look like a page out of a magazine. In fact, the dress I'm wearing above I found for $5 at H&M! I love this dress because you can make it casual with flats or I like to dress it up sometimes with my red patent leather pumps.

I'm so excited to start this venture and am going to try hard to post many looks, give tips, and let you know about upcoming sales. Here is my first tip:

In fashion, fear NOTHING, you'd be surprised how clothing

on racks can look on.In fact, the more interesting, the better!

With Love,

Courtney

P.S. I love my puppy Chewy :)

Outfit: Dress - H&M ($5), Wedges - Marshalls ($40), Sunglasses - Target ($14), Jewelry - Forever 21 (less than $15)