My outfit Monday

I lost interest in putting outfits together, wearing any jewelry or trying to look cute.

What can I say? My activities this past month have not required much of an "ensemble."

There was a weekend of camping and wearing "camp clothes", then wearing scrubs all week for work, a weekend of being sick and laying around in my sweatpants and NO makeup, followed by another week of scrubs.

Last weekend, my attitude towards my wardrobe changed. We went out of town to visit some friends and ended up going to some places I probably should've dressed up for.  Since I was still stuck in "slob mode" I didn't.  I ended up packing outfits that ended up looking like I was still camping.

Embarrassing.

So today, I took some inspiration from both Pinterest (how pin-spiring (ha ha)..) and another source (not sure where this the second photo is from.) 

Outfit of Pinterest:

Second outfit idea:

My take:

Cardi: Old Navy; Tank: Wal-mart; Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: Old Navy

I'm loving this striped skirt and think I will have fun making it a Fall/Winter skirt.  Oh the possibilities.  I also happen to own a bright yellow skirt and could maybe pair it with this same cardigan I'm wearing here for an outfit that more resembles the Pinterest outfit.  Again...oh the possibilities!

Stay tuned!

A penny saved is a penny earned

So after I went back to the dark side and started shopping again, I felt like the sky was the limit.  I went to several full price retail stores after the "initial purchase" at Goodwill in search of things from my Fall wish list.

The surprising thing is that each time I went into a store, I came out empty handed- even at Ross Dress for Less. 

What has changed?

Well, it seems I'm finding it really difficult to justify buying clothes at full price when I know I can find it cheaper at a resale store....or Goodwill OR tweak an existing article of clothing in my closet into what I want OR buy something from Goodwill on the cheap and tweak it.

The possibilities are endless!

(this does not mean I'm swearing off full-priced clothing, just probably buying less of it)

In fact here's a dress I picked up at Goodwill not too long ago:

Dress: Thrifted from Goodwill

Cardigan: Old Navy

Belt: Wal mart

Shoes: Payless shoes

The final countdown: Day 21- Create an outfit of your choice

First and foremost, let me start this thing out by thanking Kayla over at Freckles in April for putting together, then hosting and finally nursing the 21 day challenge. 

 Thanks so much:

• for pushing me out of my comfort zone every day of the challenge- and for some days I do mean challenge.
• for inspiring clueless me to look for inspiration everywhere: Pinterest, other bloggers, magazines, people in stores, etc.
• for forcing me to expand my horizons by trying out new looks -not automatically assuming something won't look good on me.
• for helping me realize that not every outfit will be a-maz-ing.  If I bomb, just brush yourself off and try again.  On other days my outfit may rock. 
• for helping me see all of the potential right in my own closet.  I don't have to run out for something new all the time!  I just need to see all the potential that is already there!

So here is my choice for my final outfit of the challenge:

Scarf: From a store in Ireland

Dress: Esprit Factory Store

Cardigan: Old Navy

Shoes: Dockers (can not remember where they were purchased)

Bracelets: Walmart?

Barely visible earrings: Claire's

It was also so much fun to see other's outfits, blogs and  personalities in this challenge!

Have a good day and I hope to see you in the blogosphere sometime....

Statement Necklace- Day 18

In the past, I've made statements by opening my big mouth and saying something that I usually regret later.

I've done this a lot.

Finally, I've found a statement that can be done without a word.

Finally.

This time my statement is my necklace.

It says "How you doin'?" for me, but in a nice friendly way...not a creeper way.

Originally this necklace was purchased to dress up a simple black dress I own, but that dress is still too warm to wear and,while I'm being brutally honest, too tight.  So even though it is September 1, I thought I would wear something a little more summery and dressed down. 

Notice I've both half-tucked in my shirt and mixed prints.

This challenge has made a changed woman of me.

Hopefully for the better?

Shirt: Calvin Klein (from Ross)

Necklace: Purchased from a local boutique

Skirt: swapped with a friend

Shoes: Old Navy

Day 14- Kayla says..

....copycat an outfit!  Really?!  That's pretty much all I do, so ....okay!

Well...I'm a huge J. Crew fan and have been since high school (trust me, even though it doesn't look like it, that was quite a while ago.....)

In fact, when the new catalog from J.Crew comes out and settles in my mailbox, then reaches my hot little hands, well let's just say I can hardly concentrate on anything else.

Needless to say then, my outfit inspiration comes from a recent J.Crew (I'm not that knowledgeable/stalker-ish that I remember whether it was Spring, Summer or early Fall....sorry...((sniff...))

Anyway, here's the inspiration picture:

and here's my take on the whole matter:

So first, I placed the belt on the outside of the cardigan, like the picture above- except I don't have a cute, skinny belt. I need to get one.

Check.

Then I started leaning towards.....

.....the belt being inside the cardigan? 



Cardigan: Old Navy; Top: Old Navy; Skirt: Goodwill
Necklace: Maurices; Shoes: Target



So I'm really not sure how I would like to wear this ensemble.  All I know is that I do like this look and will be sporting it again!

P.S. I just snagged this skirt at Goodwill for $2.99! 

Day 9 - Monochromatic

I wish I had as many color bottoms (pants, skirts, shorts, etc.) as I do tops (cardigans, tanks...you get the picture). 

But I don't.  Oh well, there are bigger disappointments in the world.

I do however lean towards some of the same colors and one of those many colors is gray.

So gray is the color of the day!



Dress: Ross; Tank: Maurice's; Necklace: J Crew; Tights: not sure
Shoes: Madden Girl

Since Fall is just around the corner, I thought I'd add something to make it a little cozier (although I ripped that puppy off as soon as I decided I was done with the pictures..)



Scarf: Old Navy



Now I'm going to go dig through my closet for the forgotten item of clothing. 

Maybe you'll see me wearing everything from my closet tomorrow!

Things could get interesting...

Day 4- Colorblock

I couldn't wait to find out what today's challenge was and when I did (colorblocking!) I spent a lot of my time daydreaming and mentally shopping my closet for the next outfit.  To me colorblocking looks great with bright colors but the only things I own - besides these sun yellow shorts in the picture- were more skirts.  I felt I had to prove to you that I do own somthing other than skirts, so I went with these bad boys.



Shirt: Gap, Necklace:Maurices, Shorts:Old Navy, Sandals: Saltwater sandals



Anyway, I really like how the colors flow together but can't honestly say I love the outfit itself on me.

Maybe I should take pictures of every outfit I plan to wear before I step out into the public.....

Day three- Pattern mixing

To be honest with you I wasn't so sure about this challenge.  I'm always the girl who is matchy-matchy, so mixing patterns sounded dangerous.  But I chose to accept this challenge (because it is the point to get me out of my comfort zone...AGAIN) and I perused my closet anyway.  I found the floral skirt first (I don't only wear skirts, I promise!) first.  Next came the cardigan.  But I didn't want to wear the polka dot cardigan all by it's lonesome, so I found an orange/white stripe tank to layer with it!  Over all I have three prints working and I think I may have found a new favorite outfit! 



Cardigan: Old Navy, Tank: Maurices, Skirt: Target from 5 years ago, Shoes: Payless Shoes



Yay for pattern mixing!  I think I've found a new hobby!