Today I nabbed an exclusive interview with the multitalented fashion powerhouse Shauna Miller, author of the blog Pennychic.com and now, the author of the book by the same name, Penny Chic: How to Be Stylish on a Real Girl's Budget! Full disclosure: Shauna is not only a fabulous blogger, she's also a dear friend of mine. She's what I'd call a kindred spirit, not only because we share a passion for affordable fashion but because she's an all-around awesome person who cares about her readers and the blogging community at large. Ok, enough gushing, let's get on with the interview! And don't miss the giveaway at the end of this post!

GIVEAWAY UPDATE 10/8/14: And the winners of our giveaway are...#18 Kellie Harrison and #23 Lynda! Congrats to our winners and thank you to everyone who participated.

With sweater weather right around the corner, cozy knits are quickly becoming a closet necessity. With this style shift comes a higher price tag (no more cotton tanks and light-weight t-shirts), so it's important to style your autumnal investments for all occasions. Today, I'm showing you 3 ways to style a must-have chunky sweater: Everyday casual, a dinner date, and even a fancy night out!

The Sweater: $36.99

I was back at Kohl's again a couple days ago to scout out the new fall arrivals. The Apt. 9 label - which is usually one of their more stylish lines - has a decent number of pieces that I wanted to own. Let's start with this Apt. 9 geometric textured sweatshirt ($20) shown above: It's got quilting (a big fall trend that I'm loving since it's an easy way to add texture to a look and update old standbys like the sweatshirt), and it's a beautiful Bordeaux color, which always says "Fall" in my book. Picture it layered over a white button-down shirt with black pants, heels and some J.Crew-esque baubles. Yes, please.

Target has a ton of fall boots that I'm loving right now, and I actually got to snap some pics on my last trip because my husband was with me to watch our son while I shopped. (He's a good man.) My little one can now do things like open dressing room doors. And run. So shopping with him is filled with new adventures (and very little actual shopping! LOL) So back to the shoes: The Sam & Libby line impresses with their on-trend offerings like lug-sole booties, ankle-strap pumps and the "Liam" chain-embellished moto boots you see above. I also love the cozy faux-fur boots from Mossimo (like this shearling pair), and classics like these Chelsea boots, a two-tone riding boot, or the faux-suede tall boots (those looked great in person). At full price, however, I won't be buying more than one or maybe two pairs - I got these "Macie" gray faux-suede tall boots because that's one color I didn't already have in my closet, and I can wear them while chasing after my toddler indoors and outdoors this fall. See any boots you like here?

Remember the Givenchy "Curb" chain boots we lusted for last fall? The designer label has brought this look back this season with the "Laura" ankle boot, at a cost of $1,650 at SAKS.COM:



Earlier today at Target, I spotted these Sam & Libby chain moto boots and was instantly reminded of Givenchy. I might get tired of the gold chains after one season but for $44.99 the price seems so right to try this trend: