Secret Viewpoint

I found a new hidden park by my work--it has a fantastic view and is at the end of a windy little road.


Sweater: Banana Republic via Goodwill
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill
Skirt: Express via Plato's Closet
Tights: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill

The Pendulum Swings

This was my swing towards form, away from function. These shoes are so adorable, but so impractical! However, they (plus this vintage-inspired swooshy dress) satisfied my girly-craving for the weekend.

Dress: Self-made
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Belt: Goodwill
Shoes: Dollhouse via Ross
Tights: Target

Beads From Rome

I've been so busy at work that I've been defaulting to the same outfits time and time again (luckily, I've spared you all from my wardrobe ennui). This was my effort to break out of the rut--how bored can you really be when you're wearing awesome high-heeled rugged leather boots?



I love this necklace--it pulls together so many of the colors I often wear! I bought it from a street market in Rome, intending to give it away as a gift...but I kept it for myself, hehe.



Boots: Giusti via Goodwill
Tights: Target
Sweater: J. Crew via Goodwill
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill
Necklace: Rome street market
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill

Silk on Silk

Skirt: INC via Goodwill
Tights: Target
Shoes: Goodwill
Shirt: Matty M via Plato's Closet
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Scarf: Goodwill

Vintage Daisy Accent

I felt so pretty in this outfit! I was running a long day of errands and I needed to be comfy, but wanted the energy and confidence of looking great. The boots are a perfect balance of both, and then I just piled on pretty sweaters, cozy tights and a fun pin until I got the right proportion.



I actually feel on top of all of my Christmas shopping--only a few last things to make, nothing even left to buy! This time last year I was scrambling.



How has your holiday season gone so far? Have you had to pile on the layers, or is it still mild where you're at?


My most recent find--a vintage daisy pin at Goodwill! I love the cuteness it will add to my outfits, plus I can use it to wrangle all of my scarves and layers in place.

Skirt: H&M via Plato's Closet
Sweater: J. Crew via Goodwill
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Steve Madden
Pin: Vintage, Goodwill

Twenty Nine Knuts to a Sickle

This is a backlogged outfit that I wore early last week. I liked how the belt really pulled the outfit together, from defining the waist to balancing the dark legs and feet. As we all have seen, time and time again, I am a chronic belter. What about you guys? To belt or not to belt?


Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Tights: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill
Shirt: Loft via Plato's Closet
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill

Twenty Eight Days Later

I was disappointed this morning when I noticed I had a run in my stockings! These were from Target and have only been worn twice. Actually, the initial idea I had for this post was to talk about how I rarely wear them even though I bought them to be a basic neutral. Anyways, I was so disappointed! Only two wears, and a run on the heel and ankle? I still wore them for today because I was just running errands, but after this 30 is over I will definitely be going through my tights, tossing the ones with holes or runs and grabbing some new ones. I usually go for Hue, but I have also heard some good things about the Spanx tights (just in terms of durability, quality and warmth--I don't care about slimming down!).

Do you guys have any brands of tights you can recommend, or any brands I should avoid at all costs? What other items do you have that don't last as long as you think they should?





Tights: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill
Dress: Martin & Osa via Goodwill
Long-sleeve shirt (under dress): Gap via Plato's Closet
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill
Scarf: Self-made

Twenty One Grams

How much time do you spend getting ready every day?

As much as I believe that it is the look of the person inside the clothing that really makes the outfit (NOTE: not the inside of the person. The look of the person herself. I believe in the goodness of people, but we're talking about the look of an outfit here), I can't quite bring myself to spend a lot of time every day making myself look faaaah-bulous. I think something inside me just rebels at the thought of wasting so much time on perfecting a look that will last less than 12 hours.

I love putting on makeup, perfecting my technique, but spending time on my hair is what I draw the line at. My hair is unruly, sort of curly and resistant to being styled--anything I do to it will fall out within a few hours. I've tried hairspray (it makes my hair oddly both stiff AND limp), hot irons (damage galore), bobby pins (slide out) and have resigned myself to never being a master of hairstyling. Enter my variety of ways to put my hair up! I love braids, but there are some days (read: today) when I just need it out of my way. Hence--ponytail.

How much time do you spend getting ready in the morning?

Do you see your makeup and hair as an integral part of your personal style, or separate?

What is your go-to hairstyle when you don't want to deal with your hair?

Skirt: H&M via Plato's Closet

Tights: Target

Shirt: Language Los Angeles via Plato's Closet

Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile

Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill

Twenty Twenty

Despite smack in the middle of my 30 for 30 challenge, I still went out Black Friday shopping with a friend—I was bound and determined to not let the challenge restrict my social outlets as much as possible. We went out bright and early, did the whole lining-up-outside-the-store-before-it-opens thing, got some awesome freebies (free $20 REI giftcard? Yes, please!), and saw the madness and pandemonium caused by people shopping while half asleep. I poked around a bit, looking at clothing in my sections—just to see what was there!

However, I was impressed with neither the quality of sales nor the quality of clothing! Anything that was up to my expected level of quality was completely out of any reasonable price range. Do you guys find that as well? It seems that there is a fairly distinct line between cheapy clothing (Forever 21 and H&M spring to mind) verses nicer-quality items—and a very distinct pricing division as well. I miss going to the Goodwill! I love how I don’t have to sacrifice on quality AND I get great deals there, plus not having the same item that everyone else has. I was waiting in line in one teen clothing store with my friend and I saw so many people buy the exact same item…but where is the fun in that? Am I missing something? I understand that personal styling definitely comes into it, but how many different ways can you style a red plaid button down shirt with a hood? What do you guys think about buying the same distinctive item as everyone else?

I was pretty impressed with myself though—even though I did find one item I wanted to buy (gray Hue tights! A basic I need to replace!) I decided that they would fall under the ‘shopping’ category, not a ‘basics’ category (which would include items such as soap, food, and white basic socks), and I sadly put them back. Hopefully they will still be there when this no-buy is over!

Did you guys go out Black Friday shopping? Was there anything you had to pry yourself away from, or was it fairly easy for you to resist the temptation?

What do you think about having the exact same distinctive item as many other people? Helps/hinders/doesn’t affect personal style?

Shirt: Tricot Jolie via Plato's Closet layered on top of Underarmour via Goodwill

Pants: Martin & Osa via Goodwill

Scarf: Goodwill

Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile

Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill

Par For Eighteen

More snow! No work again today, and I am housebound due to lack of snow chains for my car (I didn't expect I would need them so early in the year!). Today I chose an easy comfy warm outfit for a snowy day.

Do you get a lot of snow? What is your typical snow-outfit? Do you see your clothing choices changing dramatically with the weather, or are you fairly consistent with your style throughout the year?

Don't forget to vote in my poll! Let me know what you want to see as the next feature on my blog. :)







Legs: Underarmour, Target Tights, F21 Tights
Sweater Dress: Rhapsody via Ross
Base Shirt: Underarmour
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill
Cashmere Scarf: Gift
Boots: Steve Madden
Snow: Awesome!

Fourteen in a Fortnight

After wearing jeans yesterday, I felt compelled to wear a 'high-energy' pretty outfit today. I broke out these boots for the first time in this challenge and took another item off my 'I put it in my 30 items but still haven't worn it' list. I love these boots, and theoretically they are versatile (brown knee-high boots that fit), but when you put them into practice they take a bit more doing. Of course, they passed my Four Ways to Wear test (see: Episode 10), so they can't be all that bad. :)

Tip of the Day: Since it's been freezing over here, I have been layering like crazy. To keep all of my layers from moving around, I tuck them all into my tights and they stay put! Here, I have a long-sleeve base layer shirt, a pink silk shirt, and my cardigan all tucked into my tights (with my underarmour underneath it all!). I didn't have to worry about anything sliding around on me all day!







Base gray long-sleeve shirt: Gap via Plato's Closet
Pink shirt: Banana Republic via BR Outlet
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Skirt: Brass Plum via Goodwill
Base layer on legs: Underarmour
Top layer on legs: tights by Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Giusti via Goodwill

Ten Fingers

The one part of my blog I have been trying to improve has been the photography. I have been scouting out new locations to no avail--my requirements were strict and exacting! I finally decided to try out this location. It is half way between work and home, so I can stop by to take photos after work, it is easily accessible, and it is filled with grass, trees and various woodland critters (what, it was on my list!).

Today was a windy day--I think I am holding my scarf to prevent it from flying away in almost all of the photos! I ended up leaving work early today and this is my break before I start at-home work. (the benefit for doing my at-home work right now is that I can take my pain pills, since I won't be driving anywhere! heehee)

Where do you take your blog photos at? Do you have any tips for finding a great location? Or do you change locations frequently?

On a more superficial note, what do you think about these tights? I like that they're a break from burgundy...but I wish they were a little more forest green and a little less bright blue!








I love my watch!

Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Shirt: The Loft via Plato's Closet
Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Capelli via Goodwill
Coat: Jenifer via France
Scarf: Self-made (this is fast becoming my favorite snuggly scarf!)

Four Ways To Wear Episode 13: Orange Tweed Skirt

Now, don't worry--I haven't breached my 30 for 30 No(shopping)vember! However, in the spirit of working within my wardrobe, I decided to do a bit of sewing to turn a skirt I don't wear very much into one that fits my wardrobe better. This is not one of my thirty items, so you won't see this skirt again on my blog until December, but I decided to do a Four Ways To Wear episode amid my thirty remix challenge! (If I am not making much sense, it is because I am hopped up on strong pain killers--sorry!)

If you want to see the before, I wore it here. I enjoyed the color and the tweedy material, but the length was a bit too long, the lining was coming undone, and it felt a bit boxy to me. So I snipped, pinned, and sewed, and here it is! (If you were wondering, this skirt was the result of the inspiration from Orchid Grey--I love the silhouette of her skirt in that picture!)

The Candidate: An altered orange tweed skirt.

The Goal: A cute, professional skirt that will add a fun color twist to some of my basic outfits.

The Results:


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Shirt: Loft via Plato's Closet
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Boots: Steve Madden
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: 22 via The Rack
Long sleeved shirt: Kiabi via France
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Sweater: Goodwill find, altered by me
Shirt: Kiabi via France
Necklace: Vintage via Goodwill Outlet
Tights: Hue
Shoes: Merona, gift


Skirt: Vintage via Goodwill, altered by me
Long sleeved shirt: Kiabi via France
Cowl-necked sweaterdress (worn as shirt): Rhapsody via Ross
Tights: F21, gift
Boots: Giusti via Goodwill

The Verdict: I like this silhouette and shape much better than before. I'm still not enamored with the color--is it too much of a blue-hued orange? I think that might be it. However, hopefully I will get more wear out of it this way than I did before (when I wore it once in the past six months!).

Do you alter your clothing at all, or even do any of your own alterations? What do you think about the alterations that I did--successful or meh? Finally, do you agree with me about the color being not quite right, or am I too drugged up on pain meds to accurately judge the skirt? ;)

Four Better Or Worse...

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post more than one outfit per day for the 30 for 30...but oh well, call me a cheater. ^-^ I have a meet-and-greet tonight for work and needed something that wasn't too formal, but was nice and appropriate. I also chose to include several layers, since the event will be taking place in a drafty gymnasium.


Purple Sweater: Gap via Goodwill
Cardigan: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Belt: Unknown via Goodwill
Skirt: Preview Collection via Goodwill
Leggings (base layer): Underarmour
Tights (top layer):F21, gift
Boots: Steve Madden

Repeat To Remember

I woke up, wanted to wear my new boots, and promptly put together the same outfit from one of my four ways to wear. Nothing groundbreaking here, but I enjoyed it all the same!

Also--my posture is abysmal in this photo! I promise, I'm usually not quite this bad. Do you ever notice something looks different than you thought when you look at photos of yourself?


Boots: Guisti via Goodwill
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Skirt: Brass Plum via Goodwill
Shirt: Toomi via Goodwill Outlet
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Scarf: Self-made

Work Appropriate Work Costume!

At my school, everyone goes all out for Halloween--staff and students! I needed an easy, appropriate Halloween costume that would still be a full costume. No putting bunny ears on and calling it done for me! It was an easy choice to use my Slytherin scarf and tie for a HP-themed costume.

Does anyone else dress up for Halloween at work? Any other great ideas?





Hush you silly little Gryffindorks!


Skirt: BP via Goodwill
White Shirt: Unknown, Goodwill donation pile
Sweater: Unknown, Goodwill donation pile
Scarf and Tie: Allivans, gift
Blazer: H&M
Boots: Steve Madden
Tights: F21, gift
Snake Pin: Goodwill


Professor Sinistra was especially apt as today we took a field trip to a Planetarium to see the stars!

Ho-Hum Gray

When I was in middle school, I had a gray knee-length sweater that tied around the waist that I wore every single day. In my mind, it was beautiful, went with everything, and was flattering on me. After wearing this sweater for what was most likely 365/365 days, I looked at a photograph of myself wearing it and had a revelation--this sweater looked grungy, not the elegant idea I had in my mind. Even more than that, it was unflattering to the extreme! As a middle schooler, I still wore the sweater after this moment (let's face it, I have never been Ms. Fashion Lady), but it gradually dropped out of my rotation.

This is vaguely how I feel about this gray sweater that I keep wearing. When I put it on, I feel pretty, carefree, and, since it's my only long-sleeved cardigan at the moment, warm. However, when I look at photos of myself in this cardigan, I usually think to myself, 'Plummy, that is not a flattering look on you. That old grandpa sweater isn't even that warm and it still manages to make you look like a log!' (My inner self is simultaneously nagging and brutally honest)

Do you have any items of clothing that you love, but when you look at them in a photo they are less appealing?
What was your favorite item of clothing in middle school?
What do you think about this gray sweater?


Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill Donation Pile
Shirt: 6 degrees via Goodwill Donation Pile
Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Scarf: Goodwill (a new find while I was searching for a Halloween costume, and it's 100% silk! I love the colors--a play off of my two main colors, but slightly tweaked and refreshing)
Tights: Hue via Plato's Closet
Shoes: Naturalizer via Goodwill

Calling All Morning Birds

I'm tired of the same old background! However, instead of diligently trying to find another background that is both accessible, close and has a good place to precariously balance my camera, I have decided to tap into my thus-far-unexplored MS Paint skills. Thus, I give you:


We can pretend I'm calling the birds to play...at 7:30 in the morning, moments before I rushed out to work.


This was the picture that started it all...I wanted to include flowers, but my yard is full of dead leaves and the brown wall of the house is not quite up to my 'bundles of pink flowers' expectations.
Shirt: AE via Goodwill donation pile
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Skirt: Preview Collection via Goodwill
Tights: double layered, Hue via Plato's Closet and Target
Shoes: Merona, gift

Like An Iceburg...

I wanted to plan my outfit around this swishy brown skirt and the idea of warmth. Despite appearing to be a light fall outfit, there are hidden layers here! I am wearing two pairs of tights and a long-sleeved shirt underneath it all, plus my scarf is a wool and silk blend and traps the heat like crazy.


Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Shirt: 6 degrees via Goodwill donation pile
Tights: two pairs, one Hue via Plato's Closet, one Target
Shoes: Naturalizer
Long sleeve undershirt: Gap via Plato's Closet
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Scarf: Street market in Ukraine

A Casual Ballerina

Today was a relaxed day at work, especially compared to how busy is has been recently. I wanted an outfit that was a bit more fun, so I built this outfit around my new, full, swooshy skirt!


Skirt: I.N.C. via Goodwill
Shirt: The Loft via Plato's Closet
Scarf: I bought it at a street market in Ukraine
Tights: Target
Shoes: Naturalizer
Sweater: Unknown via Goodwill donation pile
Belt: Unkown via Goodwill

What do you wear when you want a fun outfit? Do you dress differently when you know you have a stressful day ahead of you?