Daily Outfit: Shoe Love at First Sight

What:
Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Skirt: Target
Shoes: Steve Madden, from Dillards

Where:
Work and running errands.

Comments:
Driving in platform heels is... interesting. It's been awhile since I combined the two, and when I first hit the gas petal I was like WHOA THERE!

The weather is fantastic today, and I hope it stays that way! Thanks Mother Nature, I'm grateful! I cannot wait till I have a little weekend time to enjoy it, so I hope it sticks around till them.

I am obsessed with these gorgeous shoes. I have been lusting after these Christian Louboutin's for a while now, and since I can't afford them I had to search for a lower cost but still sexy shoe. Then I saw these on someone else's blog and knew it was shoe love at first sight and that they would be mine. I bought them on my lunch hour earlier this week and then wore them around the house all day... I think I might have even laid in bed with them on... what can I say they're gorgeous! My favorite part is obviously the studs up the heel... just so sexy. Ok i'll stop now... this is starting to sound creepy!

When:
March 31, 2010

Daily Outfit: Ruby Shoesday #1

What:
Shirt: White House | Black Market
Vest: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Miss Sixty
Shoes: Mia, from DSW
Necklace: Etsy, Alice Istanbul Jewelry
Belt: Thrifted

Where:
Work (while working from home) and class

Comments:
It's my first Ruby Shoesday! I've only worn these flats one other time since I bought them and I've had this top for over a year and never worn it. I bought it when I was still working in a corporate atmosphere with the intention of wearing it with a pencil skirt and a blazer, but never got around to it. I think it looks pretty cool as a casual piece. So I guess I found something to do with this former "bad seed".

Also, painted my toenails the other day, and not red for once. They are a fun and springy shade of lilac. Love it! I am definitely going to be on the prowl for some more fun and springy colors.



The weather is getting better, and the forcast for the rest of the week looks so wonderful, I just can't wait till this weekend to spend it outdoors with the family.

When:
March 30, 2010

Ruby Shoesday Challenge

Caroline over at Second Hand Shopper has started a Ruby Shoesday Challenge. The rules are laid out in her post about the challenge, but essentially the idea is to wear red shoes on Tuesday. I happen to own four pairs of red shoes, so this should be interesting seeing how I can style these.



And no... your eyes do not deceive you I indeed own red cowboy boots. These were a gift from my mom for Christmas a few years back. It was a little inside joke, because as a kid I wore this one pair of red fringed cowboy boots EVERY DAY until they fell apart. And no, that is not an exaggeration.



So needless to say, I've always been a fan of red shoes. This means that when I saw this challenge I had to join up. This should be a lot of fun, feel free to join in the challenge or just check out all the fun red shoe styling!

You can also see others styling there red shoes over at the Flickr group.

Today's Red-shoe-tastic outfit to come...

Daily Outfit: Today I Feel Like a Rockstar

What:
Dress: Miss Sixty
Cropped Jacket: Unknown
Belt: Vintage, Etsy, The Stitchkeeper
Sandals: Nine West
Boots: Nine West

Where:
Work and the mall.

Comments:
I started out in sandals today, but the day kept getting gloomier and chillier, so I had to switch to boots so my poor pale legs wouldn't freeze. I actually like this outfit with both the sandals and the boots. So its a win/win here.

I got a ton of compliments on this outfit. The guy who sold me my shoes (I went shoe shopping on my lunch hour) said something about how the boots looked great with my outfit, and when I went into the Aveda store to get my hair products I heard the sales people whispering "she is so cute!" and then one of then when I was checking out the girl said "I love that dress... and I just love how you styled it!" It was a good day for my ego! haha. And honestly this outfit makes me feel like a rockstar.

I love, also, that I spent my lunch hour shoe shopping with the assumption that all the tweens would be in school since it's Monday so I wouldn't have to dodge them while I was trying to get what I wanted and get out of the mall... unfortunately I forgot that its spring break around here... sooooo... no such luck, though I did thankfully go early enough to avoid the masses since apparently tweens don't venture out until after noon. haha.

When:
March 29, 2010

Daily Outfit: Sometimes You Just Need a Burger

What:
Dress: Anthropologie
Shirt: Anthropologie
Shoes: Vintage, from Esty, arigato goxaimashitaaa
Necklace: Unknown

Where:
Around the apartment and to pick up lunch

Comments:
I loved this dress from the moment I set eyes on it. Not only is the skirt silk, but it has pockets. I just love it. I recently saw Kendi over at Kendi Everyday style this dress and got very excited to bust this baby out! I am going to work on styling this dress differently, because this is exactly how I've styled it the last 3 times I've worn it... how boring! So I'll be experimenting with dress this spring and summer. yay!

I spent yesterday cleaning my apartment, which was not entirely successful, and I will probably be doing more of today. But I love that my reward for said cleaning was a Five Guys burger and a sack of fries. Remember that time I'm trying to eat better... whatever sometimes you just need a burger. This was one of those times!

When:
March 27, 2010

How Do You Store Your Jewelry?

So I have been on what I can only guess is a Spring Cleaning Rampage. I get like this sometimes, and its not always in the spring. But this time I have finally had it with the mess that is my jewelry storage. I can NEVER find what I'm looking for when I need it becuase things are stored in all kinds of different boxes and drawers and things. So I am on a quest for better jewelry storage. And I would love some advice, inspiration, ideas, etc from you guys.

Today I was able to conquer my necklaces. I have had this adorable snail hook rack from Anthropologie for years and never could quite make up my mind what to do with it. While staring at the tangled mass of my necklaces with hate, it hit me that I still had it hiding away somewhere in my craft closet. Two monkey hooks later and bingo! Organization, and my necklaces are out where I can see them and actually remember I own them!




But now I need to figure out what to do with my bracelets, rings, and earrings. Here are a few of the inspiration idea I have found along the way...


(inspiration from: I Just Might Explode)


(inspiration from: Making It Lovely)

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas or what you have done to organize your jewelry. Links, pictures, are all welcome!

Daily Outfit: Shades of Brown

What:
Black Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Patterned Shirt: Thrifted, Nanette Lepore, Secondi in Washington, DC
Vest: Ann Taylor LOFT
Jeans: Miss Sixty
Shoes: Nine West
Bracelets: Forever21 and Vintage

Where:
Work and grocery store

Comments:
The fluctuating weather is really wreaking havoc on my sinuses. Boff. I don't have much to say in the way of comments mostly becuase my face hurts from the sinuses and it has been a lonnnnng week. Sorry guys! Oh but I do have to point out... though I don't exactly know why I feel the need to point out my whoops, but my vest is inside out. A co-worker informed me of this shortly after I got to work... I laughed and thought... how did I not notice that when I was taking pictures this morning. whoops!

When:
March 26, 2010

Daily Outfit: The Essence of Spring

What:
Dress: Lilly Pulitzer
Shoes: Vintage, from Esty, arigato goxaimashitaaa

Where:
Work and the grocery store

Comments:
Such a simple outfit, but it makes me feel soooo good! When I think of spring I think of this dress... i am always excited to wear this dress. It's so soft, comfortable, and pretty. And the vintage shoes, a new find, are perfect for this dress! The weather is just too good to not get out in my car and drive around with the windows down!

When:
March 24, 2010

A 50s Theme and Pin-up Girl Love

So I have to say that I have always been a big fan of the 40s and 50s style. I love the hairstyles, the flowing circle skirts and peep-toe pumps. I love clean silhouettes and the whole 50s housewife style. (I have an impressive collection of aprons!)


(My best friend Ashley and I in college… yes we did actually make an entire Christmas dinner for 20 people in a dorm room kitchen… turkey and all. It that’s not superhuman housewife skills, I don’t know what is.)

So I wanted to share with you guys a few of my parlays into the whole 50s theme.


This hairstyle took my friend Carol-Ann and HOURS to do... when we recently saw this hair tutorial by Candice over at Super Kawaii Mama, both of us nearly cried.


This dress is I got off of Ebay and was apparently someone's 1940's prom dress. I had it altered to bring the skirt up to my knee and use some of the satin from the under layer as trim on the bottom of the skirt. I love this dress. Unfortunately I caught the heel of my shoe on the skirt and ripped the trim that very night. =(

But there is nothing I love more from this time period than Pin-up girls. I have a variety of Vargas prints that I have collected over the years and plan to frame for display eventually. But my love for pin-ups doesn’t just stop at collecting prints… no I collect pin-up clothing too. I have a RIDICULOUS amount of pin-up style clothing and props. My friends didn’t believe me until they saw it with their own eyes.

I am lucky enough to have some crazy talented friends. My friend Erika is an amazing photographer and was kind enough to work with me on a photo shoot recently. I have been dying to put all of my pin-up clothes and props to use by doing a pin-up style photo shoot and finally that opportunity arose. I think I might have mentioned in passing that my boyfriend is in the military. So I decided that for his birthday I would create a pin-up calendar for him to take with him on his deployment. Apparently this makes me a FANTASTIC girlfriend says the boyfriend and every guy friend I have, haha. Anyways, so here is a look behind the scenes of the photo shoot, where I got my inspiration, and a few of the final pictures.





Some of the poses came from actual prints I had seen, such as this one.

(Vargas print found here)

There were many more, but I don't want to bombard you with pictures! Many of my favorite pin-up costumes came from one of my favorite places to for window shopping on the internet Trashy Lingerie. Secretly, well not even secretly, I would LOVE to model for them! haha... a girl can dream!

I hope you guys liked my first non-outfit post! Feedback on the kinds of post you'd like to see is always welcome and there are several more non-outfit posts in the works, so be excited!

Daily Outfit: Browns and Greys

What:
Dress: from Macy's
Belt: came with the dress
Shoes: Nine West
Tights: Unknown
Necklace: Gift, from my best friend, made by her mom
Bracelet: Vintage, Eagle's Wings (Buchanan, VA)

Where:
Work, Meeting in Union County, and class

Comments:
Today coming out of my meeting an older man in overalls and a plaid shirt held the door for me and said "There you are little lady." I smiled all the way home. I am reminded at the oddest times just how nice it is to work in small southern towns.

I love this necklace, and discovered it again when I was sorting through my jewelery the other day. My best friend Ashley (PR Girl on a Mission) always has the best jewelry, which is inevitably made by her wonderfully talented mother (Charmaine Parker). Ashley gave me this awesome necklace at some point during college, and I have a lot of other glass beads that her mother made hanging out in my craft room waiting for a purpose, all of which are gorgeous I might add. Sorry this isn't the best picture of the necklace, but rest assured this wont be the last time you see it now that I have found it again. I'll get a better picture next time.

Also I went with straightening my hair today... and I've got to say, I love it.

When:
March 23rd, 2010

Daily Outfit: And Then the Warm Weather Went Away Again

What:
Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Sweater: Karen Kane, from Belk
Jeans: Miss Sixty
Shoes: Lilly Pulitzer
Necklace: Ann Taylor LOFT

Where:
Doctor's Office and work

Comments:
I planned to wear the top half of this outfit with a cute skirt I got from ModCloth that I have been dying to wear and a pair of vintage white peep-toes with little bows on them.... but the weather thought otherwise and soooo... jeans it is. *sigh* I am exhausted today and I'm pretty sure that it shows in my pictures today.

So I've been thinking about the other types of posts that I want to tackle here. Up until this point its been nothing but outfit posts, but I have plans to do more. I am currently working on a post about my closet... which has been a lot of fun since I have been working on reorganizing it and making it work better for me, it will be fun to show off all that hard work. But tell me, what would you guys like to see from me?

When:
March 22, 2010

Daily Outfit: I've Got Bangs!

What:
Dress: Target
Belt: Off of a dress from Macy's (I think)
Shoes: Nine West
Sweater: Lilly Pulitzer

Where:
My hair salon, to the dog park, and shopping.

Comments:
So as you can see, something is different... I have bangs! I am very excited about them and so glad for the change. I was getting bored of my hair even though I loved the cut, but I just needed something new about my hair to be excited about. And bangs seemed so fun. I like them a lot too. I hope this excitement sticks around after the first time I have to style them myself... but if not, hey it's hair it grows out. But I have high hopes that I will be hanging on to my bangs for a while.

So, I'd like to say that its all the camera and lighting fault that my skin looks so pale... but I would be lying. Yes, the light was harsh, my bad for taking pictures are noon... I was a photography minor in college... I really should know better. But truly I am just pale.

I LOVE this dress... the colors are different from most of my wardrobe, and its light and soft and just generally makes me feel springy. Hello spring, I have been waiting so long for you to arrive.

When:
March 19, 2010

Daily Outfit: Pisces Time

What:
Shirt: Anthropologie
Sweater: Lilly Pulitzer
Jeans: Miss Sixty
Shoes: Lilly Pulitzer

Where:
Work and MORE driving... I'm tired of driving for the week... but there is more in store unfortunately.

Comments:
Ok so this shirt really needs to be worn with a tank top as the girls were much smaller when I bought this shirt (thanks birth control), but I managed to combat that problem with a sweater buttoned at the top. I had pack this to go to my parents house 2 hours away so I didn't have a tank top handy to put under it. And now that I'm home its halfway through the day and it really isn't worth dirtying something else to add to the massive laundry pile I am hiding behind a strategically closed door. But so not the point. This is my Pisces shirt. =) I am of course a card carrying Pisces and thus feel the need to buy things with fish and water on them. I couldn't pass this baby up when I saw it in the sale room at Anthropologie. It has pockets too, which are really cute... but highly impractical and make me look pregnant when I put anything in them. I am also thrilled to be wearing flip flops and today is so lovely... finally!

ALSO: If you are on IFB and live in a rural area feel free to join the group I created: Rural Area Fashion Bloggers

When:
March 18, 2010

Daily Outfit: St. Patty's Day!

What:
Shirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Skirt: Ann Taylor LOFT
Belt: It came off a dress from Macy's (maybe...)
Tights: ???
Shoes: Bestey Johnson, from Nordstrom Rack

Where:
Work, meeting, driving and more driving. I ended up changing into jeans and flip flops later on to go to Target and dinner with my mom. Practical for work and meetings... not practical for toting around my 10 month old niece.

Comments:
I have so much green in my closet it was a little difficult to figure out what to wear, especially considering what I had planned to wear got worn by accident last Sunday. The trick was finding something I could make work for a corporate meeting that my company's CEO was going to be in. I decided to spiced it up with the Betsey Johnson shoes.

I fell in love with these shoes in the store and after I bought them I felt so silly wearing them, but I wore them anyways because I loved them. This is a prime example of my personal style motto. "You just have to decide to rock it." In my opinion style has EVERYTHING to do with your personal confidence. If you think something is going to look silly on you then you naturally aren't going to wear it even if you love it. And for a long time I thought so many things looked silly on me. But then I just decided I liked them enough, so I was going to decide to rock them. I never turned back. There are times when I think people are going to be like "what is she thinking." but usually I just assume its more like... "I couldn't pull that off." Which is actually a comment I get fairly regularly. And I always tell them "Sure you could. You just have to decide you look good in it." Which is all that matters. If you wear something with confidence you hardly notice if someone gives you an odd look.

When:
March 17, 2010

Daily Outfit: Spring Don't Be a Trick Me

What:
Dress: Vintage, Etsy, REBYC Vintage
Sweater: Karen Kane, from Belk
Tights: Target or Kohl's
Shoes: Steve Madden, from Zappos.com
Belt: Thrifted, Nanette Lepore, Secondi in Washington, DC

Where:
Work, meeting, and class

Comments:
So excited to have finally found the perfect brown high heeled oxfords. I had asked around when I saw other bloggers wearing ones I liked and I looked in stores and online and FINALLY came across these Steve Madden ones. The heel wasn't too high for an everyday shoe and the price was decent, so I jumped on it. They're perfect. I want to wear them everyday. haha.

I have only worn this dress one other time because I just couldn't decide what to do with it, and then it hit me this morning to pair it with this sweater and a belt. I opened up the drawer pulled out two or three belts and then thought wait... where is that belt that came with that Nanette Lepore shirt I thrifted a few years ago... I thought the belt was cheesy looking and almost sent it off to donation world a year ago, but decided to hold onto it a little longer. I'm glad I did, because it looks adorable with this! I just rescued two "bad seeds" in one outfit! Very successful wardrobe remixing today. This folks is what style blogging is about! (at least for me) Wooohooo!

When:
March 16, 2010

Daily Outfit: Not My Favorite

What:
Shirt: Lilly Pulitzer
Sweater: ModCloth
Pants: Ann Taylor LOFT
Shoes: Gianni Bini, Dillards sale
Hair Accessory: Made by me!

Where:
Work, meetings, meetings, meetings

Comments:
So if I had gotten out of bed this morning with enough time to spare to take my outfit pictures before I left for work as opposed to after... I probably would have changed clothes. This is... frumptastic. But I was so tired and had to get on the road for a meeting in one of my rural counties, so I just grabbed and threw on something warm, that I thought looked good in the mirror. Clearly... I need a new mirror. haha.

I do however love my hair accessory! I made a bunch of these crochet flower barrettes while watching the Amazing Race last weekend and so I've been sporting them a lot recently... I even made one to match my company colors so that I would have something to wear with my work event "uniform"... gotta get a little me in that polo and khaki get up! I feel they channel Niecey Nash... which let's face it is the only reason I'm watching Dancing with the Stars this season... becuase she is FANTASTIC.

When:
March 15, 2010