My Closet DOES Have Useable Items

Or at least I think it does have useable items & I have to continue to remind myself of this fact....that YES, I do have clothes to wear & that NO I don't need to shop.....too much.

I pin all these things on my "My Style" board on Pinterest, like a ton & how many do I actually try to "wear"?...not many.  So I've decided to use this awesome resource a lot more & start from the beginning, I have these old pins, some may not be "in style" anymore, so I figure I can spruce them up, or use what I already have to make them work.  So here goes....

Outfit Try #1

I don't own a whole lot of green, but I do love the color.  This is a pretty basic sweater/blouse/jean/boot combination, nothing too fancy & good for everyday wear.  While I don't have a lot of these pieces, really just the blouse & sweater & in that color, I figured a way to make it work....or at least how I thought it could work.

My Take on Outfit #1

 

Since I don't have a green/mint blouse or a green sweater I thought I would put the green on the bottom.  I just bought these pants, which I'm still not sure if I'm cool enough to own but I like them, they're comfy & a darker color so I figure they work & I don't feel like I'm too old to wear them.  Here's the outfit lowdown:

Embellished Blouse - Anthopologie - July 2013
Sweater - Nordstrom - Fall 2011?  (Maybe) - I actually got this in the *gasp* Juniors' section, hey, don't judge, you can still find some gems, no matter the age ;)
Dark Green Skinny Pants - Forever 21 - January 2014 - Again, no judging.
Riding Boots - Tory Burch - December 2013 - These were a Christmas present, Lake did a great job!
Necklace - Maripoza (awesome little boutique in my hometown of McAllen, TX) - cannot remember when I actually got this one.
Earrings - Francesca's - yup, drawing a blank on when I got them but Francesca's always has jewelry like this.

26 Day Picture Project - Days - #4, #5, #6, #7, #8 & #9!

Day #4 - Happy 4th of July!

Here's my nephew, Hayden & my sister in law watching Hayden's first fireworks display! I'm not sure he really appreciated all the noise, but he sure did love the colors! 

I'm very happy to be there for his first witness of fireworks :)

Day #5 - What's Old is New

I had a lunch meeting today & decided to wear a new dress that I bought this past weekend at Old Navy (on sale no less!) & I wanted to wear fun heels with it, so since I just cleaned out my shoe closet I thought it would be nice to wear these shoes, circa Nine West around Spring 2005. I love when I can wear "old" things & make them new again.
Plus, I got lots of compliments & that's always fun! :)

Day #6 - Goodwill
I took in my Goodwill San Antonio donation today for Junior League of San Antonio! Getting my check marks done early ;) The house feels lighter now....

Day #7 - Sunrise Running
This picture was take at mile 2.6 during my 5 mile run on Saturday morning along Loop 1604, run was tough, but the pic sure is pretty! :)

Day #8 - BFFs

This past weekend some of my very best Valley friends came to visit! Weekend was filled with lounging, catching up & laughing :)
I've known Monica since we were 10 years old & I've known Cristina since we were 5 years old. They're the best! :)

Day #9 - Curriculum Writing 2012

Today started my first of 7 days of curriculum writing for school.....yeah, that's all I got.....

Fashion Challenge #1, Day 5:

What it's supposed to look like:

Positives:  It's jeans, so I have that, so right off the batt it's not too difficult AND I have red flats, yay!!  so far so good....onto the negatives...
Negatives:  I really thought this outfit was going to be cake!  I have a floral scarf, but I can't seem to locate it, ANYWHERE!  I thought I took with me to London, but I'm not 100% sure & I haven't seen it since we went to Vegas, so at some point, I will turn the house upside down looking for it, we'll see......
Bummer #2:  I used to have a sleeved cream colored sweater that I got at Target.  I had originally purchased it for a "themed" pep rally when I worked in Boerne.  The theme was "Grease" so I wore the sweater with a high waisted long navy skirt, tucked the sweater in & put a scarf on a ponytail....very 50's, or whatever.  Anyway, I guess I gave it away at some point, because that was MIA as well.  Here's where I had to get creative.....

What I came up with:

I decided to make due with what I had....I couldn't give up!  It was Day 5 for goodness sake!  I thought my best bet is to go with a "pattern" on my top, instead of solid, & a solid scarf (sorta), instead of floral.  All in all, I don't think it's too bad.

Outfit Breakdown:
Top:  Forever 21 (Summer 2007)
Jeans:  Nordstrom (Fall 2010)
Scarf:  India Marketplace (Spring 2010)
Flats:  H&M (Spring 2008)

Well, Fashion Challege #1 is officially over & in the books, it was fun!  Although it absolutely did not make my week go by faster!  Last week was just stressful over all though, I don't think anything would've helped.  Here's to a new week!  :)
My favorite days of the week were definitely Tuesday & Thursday, I guess I'm more of a dress gal than a pants gal.  hmmmmmmm, I wonder if I can find another one on Pinterest!  Let me know if you find one so I can check it out!

Ellis OUT!

Fashion Challenge #1, Day 4:

What it's supposed to look like:

Positives:  This dress is super cute & I love it, but I have absolutely NOTHING that even remotely resembles this!  AT ALL!  or the cute striped scarf, darn!  The only part of this outfit that I do own are the brown boots....kudos to me for using the same boots for 2 outfits.  I'm so glad I made this last minute purchase before we went to London in December.
Negatives:  Don't own anything like this, so today was some major improvisation!  I'd say it was a major failure as far as getting it to look similar, but I still like what I decided on & I got a few compliments today, so that can't be bad thing :)













What I came up with:

So I decided to go with a patterned dress & a solid scarf, so I switched that.  I still tried to stay within a reasonable color scheme.  I just don't really own that many solid colored dresses & I definitely don't own a navy one.  All in all this had to be the hardest day & I think my farthest reach, but I still think everything combined I came up with something that works!  :)










Outfit Rundown:
Dress:  Langford Market (Summer 2011)
Belt:  a reuse from Tuesday
Boots:  a reuse from Tuesday
Scarf:  Christmas Present from Amy (Christmas 2008)

Tomorrow's the last day......this has been a fun week!  :)  If anyone has any other suggestions for me or if you need help putting something together I'd be more than happy to do it for you, this has been TOO FUN! 

Fashion Challenge #1, Day 3:

What it's supposed to look like:

Positives:  I adore this top, LOVE it!  It's a very forgiving cut, unfortunately, I don't have a top like this, so I had to improvise.  Green is always a very pretty color & a good winter-spring transition color, so there was lots to love about this outfit.
Negatives:  I didn't have the top (like I just said) or a sweater that color green, but I do have a green sweater, just in a much darker shade & shape.  I also don't have those mint colored flats, although they are adorable & would love to have them!  I had to make a lot of compromises on this one....and it's a bit reaching, but I did what I had to!  MUST COMPLETE CHALLENGE!











What I came up with:

So, I know....those pants are JEANS, but I was lucky enough to have a "jean day" in storage & figured this was as good of a day as any to use it.  From what I can tell the pants have a grayish/blue tone to them, so I thought dark jearns would be a good substitute.
Extra tidbit:  I was out shopping this weekend with some friends & one of my friends found jeans at Juicy Courture for a really good deal!  They had a really dark wash on sale as well as a light wash.  They were really cute & fit well.  I didn't purchase a pair because I was on a mission to find a dress & could NOT be distracted!  NOTE:  I found a dress!  :)
Anyway, back to my outfit.  I went ahead & wore a cream colored top under my sweater that I think goes well & let's the green stand on it's own.  As far as shoes goes....I have lots of flats, but not green ones, so I went with brown velvet ones instead.  I actually haven't worn them in a really long time!  But I can remember when I bought them & I felt like Marisa from The O.C. in them.....yeah, I know, random! 
All in all, it was a bit of a stretch, but I like it!

Outfit Rundown:
Cream Colored Top:  Juicy Couture (Fall 2011)
Sweater:  Anthropologie (Fall 2010)
Jeans:  Nordstrom (Winter 2007)
Brown Velvet Flats:  Ella Blue (Fall 2005); oldie but goodie! 

Now onto tomorrow, another dress.....hmmmmmm, I have nothing planned for tonight, I think I can come up with something in that time!

Fashion Challenge #1, Day 2:

What it's supposed to look like:

Positives:  It's cute...kinda country, but still cute.  It's a dress, which I have lots of those & boots.  I already own a brown thick belt, so that was a MAJOR plus!
Negatives:  I don't have a dress that's this color, let alone one that has flowers on it, in this color.  I also don't own grayish tall brown boots.....some major minuses...but the whole point is to figure out how I can make it work with what I already have!
Lake jokingly told me to go & buy a new dress.....normally this would thrill me, but c'mon, that's not the point....although I'll probably take him up on the offer at some point in the next few weeks!  ;)








What I came up with:

I think I did pretty darn GOOD today!!  Seriously, sure, the color scheme is way different, BUT it's still the same basic idea & I'm a huge fan.  I give myself two **snaps** today!  ;)

Outfit Rundown:
Dress:  Old Navy (Summer 2011)
Sweater:  Nordstrom (Fall 2009)
Belt:  Forever 21 (Fall 2010)
Boots:  Journey's (Fall 2011)







I'm hoping tomorrow is easy....today was actually really easy, didn't take me long at all to figure this one out.  I came to the dress & then just built it from there.  I knew that these were the boots that I wanted to wear....or more like HAD to wear because I really didn't have very many other options.  All in all, Day 2 was fun!  :)

Fashion Challenge #1, Day 1:

What it's supposed to look like:

Positives:  I already have a similar gray shirt & the yellow flats (go figure!)
Negatives:  No cream colored scarf, or even one remotely close & I don't own black pants....say whaaaat?!  Yup, don't own black slacks.....nice!

Day 1:
What I came up with:

So here is my closest rendition of the outfit.  I actually completely forgot to grab my scarf this morning, even though it was laid out on the bed.  So yeah, I'm not rocking it....not too bad, I guess.....

Outfit Rundown:
Top:  Langford Market (Summer 2011)
Pants:  Target (Spring 2008)
Scarf:  market purchase in India (Spring 2010)
Flats:  Agaci (Fall 2007??)

Not too bad I don't think....I don't know, what do you think?  After day 1 I came the realization that I really need a pair of black pants....seriously! 

I'm a little bit worried about Tuesday & Thursday for the week.....this may be harder than I'd originally anticipated....hmmmmmmmm

Fashion Challenge for the Week

Seems easy enough, right?  We'll see if I can pull this off for the week!  I'm thinking it'll make the week go by faster?  No?!?

I'll add pictures to this post of what I'm actually going to wear for each day, from what I have in my own closet, I'm excited!!!

How did I ever dress myself BEFORE Pinterest?

Have you been sucked into the Pinterest world?  Do you find yourself looking at some cool craft at a store & think.....hmmmmmm, I wonder if I can figure out how to make that on Pinterest?  Do you "pin" something & feel like the people who "repin" it really get you?  Do you look at an old top that you haven't worn in a while & think....I bet Pinterest could give me an idea on how to make this top look new, cool & hip.....

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you my friend have been sucked in!  Don't worry, I'm there, completely!

For those of you who have absolutely NO CLUE as to what I'm referring to, Pinterest is an online community of people who create "boards" & pin things to them.  You get to categorize your boards & most of the pins are linked to the actual website....so there's recipes, drinks, inspirational quotes, really freaking funny random quotes, outfit ideas & the list truly goes on & on.....

I have my favorite boards, but my favorite by far is my "My Style" board....this is where I've been getting my "fashion inspiration" from lately.  It's pretty simple really & I suppose if I purchased more fashion magazines then it would pretty much be the same idea, but this is free....so yeah, much better!  What I really LOVE about it is that I find a picture & study it & then find myself saying....I have something similar looking, I could mix that top with this skirt & get that look.  I have literally made like 10 COMPLETELY different outfits with the help of Pinterest.  Here's one of my faves:

So....I don't have this EXACT outfit, but what I did was wear a plain navy tank with a navy sweater & this adorable red-orange skirt that I bought over the summer at Anthropolgie.  Paired with my favorite pair of black flats & a cute necklace & viola, fun outfit!  :)

I'm not sure who was the genius behind this site & I will admit....when I first joined in August I didn't "get it", in fact, I ignored it for a really really long time!  Now I know it's amazing!  So thank Mr/Miss Pinterest!  I raise a glass to you.....
probably one that I made from a "pin" with a cocktail that I pinned as well.....

If you aren't a member, let me know, I can send you an invite:

http://www.pinterest.com/

The Royal Wedding

Yes, I've been sucked in, I can't help it, the Royal Family has always fascinated me, for the same reason I think the Kennedy's have fascinated me....America doesn't have royalty, but at one point I suppose you could say that the Kennedy Family was close to that! The pageantry, the poise, the properness....just so different from everyday life....

So, my school friends & I are having a "Royal Wedding Viewing Party" on Friday night. I'm going to find my "fascinator" today after school. If you don't know what a fascinator is, it's a smaller hat that may be worn instead of a hat to occasions where hats are traditionally worn—such as weddings—or as an evening accessory. As far as my attire goes I'll be wearing a black & white polka dot wrap dress with either red or black heels. Ah, I can't wait, what girl doesn't want an excuse to dress up?!?!?! :)

This weekend is also setting up to be a fun one! Lake & I will be attending a Crawfish Boil on Saturday. I haven't been to one of those since college, so I'm pumped! And Sunday I'm hosting my first ever Fashion Swap Party....hooooooray! Hopefully everything goes smoothly, it's Asian themed (don't ask me why b/c I have no clue!, just wanted to go with that theme) & I made cute little signs for each category of items brought in as well as tickets that each gal will get for each item that she brings in. I cannot wait!

Pics to come of all the fun stuff that's happening this weekend! AND....the month of May starts on Sunday....wow-wee, how'd that happen?!?!?!

me & my Katie enjoying dinner before viewing the Royal Wedding :)

Take Time To....

Pick our your outfits.....

I've found something very therapeutic & almost relaxing to do every evening at some point.

I'm taking about 5 minutes to pick out my "work" outfit for the next day. As trivial & almost superficial as this may sound, I have found that it relaxes me, helps me sleep better, allows me to move at a more leisurely pace in the morning & over all, feel more confident at work because I know that I actually thought about what I'd be wearing, instead of hazily picking it out at 6:50 in the morning while I'm trying to scarf down a Special K bar & not forget the keys to my classroom!

I came to this epiphany last Sunday (Aug 29th to be exact). During the 1st week of school, I traditionally take the time to pick out my outfits, fix my hair (straighten it), put on makeup (eyeshadow in particular), etc....after about the first week slowly but surely all this meticulous preparation for work each day starts to dwindle, it's sad but true. I trade in the time I would be picking out my outfit, with just 5 more minutes talking to Lake, watching "my" shows, or on Facebook. This year, I decided I'd make a small change in my daily routine & continue to take the time to put my outfit together for work the next day (past the 1st week of school). I know, I do realize again, that this does sound rather superficial, but shouldn't you put your best face forward everyday, or at least, the best thing that you feel like putting together the night before?

I've had lots of fun with it so far. Today for example, I found myself wearing an "oldie" but "goodie" Ann Taylor Loft dress that I actually wore to my college graduation party that my parents threw for me back in August of 2004. There were 2 things that elated me about putting this dress on:

1. That it still fit me 6 years later (guess running really does work!)

2. That (in my opinion) it was still relevant.

I simply placed a cashmere tan/camel colored 3/4 sleeve sweater over my sleeveless shoulders, add some pearls & I have a perfectly suitable outfit for school. I actually got compliments today, I LOVE THAT!

Think what you may, but I throughly believe that if you leave the house loving the outfit you're wearing, it'll be a spectacular day! :)

my "oldie" but "goodie" dress back in '04

what to wear, what to wear???

so for my 28th birthday, we're hosting a "90's" themed party. costumes are strongly encouraged of course! I'm at a fork in the road right now....which way to go, which way? I have 2 complete outfits picked out & a jacket picked out to make a complete outfit. I'm going for the whole Alicia Silverstone ala Cher Horowitz in Clueless circa 1995 :)

here are the choices:

who doesn't love a good 'ol jumper?? maybe with brown knee high socks?

this is the incomplete outfit choice, what should the lower half of my body wear?

this one is very librarian, I think. LOVE the shoes! :) maybe w/ cream colored knee high socks?

what to wear, what to wear??????

26 Days

Well, I survived Valentine's Day sans Lake, it was tough, but I really do have great friends & an awesome brother, sister in law & god daughter! I spent the weekend in Little Rock with my brother's family & I even got to babysit little Maryn on Saturday night so that my brother & sister in law could go out for Valentine's Day. Last night I got back from Little Rock & went to have dinner with some of my best friends at Brasserie Pavil. A very yummy french restaurant here in SA, it was so good! We had a super fun time & I'm convinced that we had way more fun than anyone else there! haha.


Lake is doing well in India, I'll see him in 26 days, which can't get here soon enough! I leave on March 12th at 1:15 p.m. Lake & I are planning on going to Delhi to see the Taj Mahal & maybe to Singapore right before I come back on the 20th. The next big feet that we need to make it over is being away from each other on March 1st, which is our 2 year anniversary. I guess we'll just celebrate Valentine's Day, our anniversary, & Lake's birthday (March 24th) all during the week while I'm there, that'll be fun! :o)


As far as my fashion challenge is going, it's been really fun actually! I'm enjoying trying to figure out new ways to put stuff together, so definitely enjoying being creative! I've only run across one top that I couldn't figure out & plus I thought it was a little too tight on me, so yeah, of course I'm only one week in, so we'll see how it continues to go.......





Maryn at The Flying Fish after landing in Little Rock





me, Shaunda, Rachel, Camp, Janine, & Michelle at Brasserie Pavil for our Valentine's Night Dinner

The Great Fashion Challenge...

so Lake's gone & I'm really sad & it's been really hard, so I'm not going to focus my blog on that. All I'll say is that we're both missing each other & we both can't wait till I go visit on March 12th, I'll see him in 32 days! :o) He's doing well & enjoying his adventure & I'm so happy that he's having a good time.

Here's a link to some of his pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Lake.Ellis.III

So, I left work early today b/c I was feeling awful, migraine, coupled with stomach ache, along with an itchy throat left me exhausted & just not feeling well, at all!!! I left after my 3rd period class was over, so around 11:40, I stopped at Target to get a heating pad & then got a sandwich at Cosi & came home to rest. I tried to nap, but it wasn't really happening, so I decided to go through my closet & get rid of old stuff that I don't wear anymore & donate to Goodwill. While I was going through my stuff, I kept hearing Lake in the back of my head saying you always go shopping, you have so much stuff! I was looking at my closet & there's lots of stuff that I love & I know why I bought it, but I just don't wear it too often....so...here's my plan.......

I'm going to go through my closet, one top at a time & make an outfit out of it, if I can't make an outfit "work" then I'm giving the top to Goodwill for someone else to fall in love with! :o) I figure, it's a win win, someone gets a new top for an awesome price & I have more room in my closet......for more stuff! haha j/k, well, sorta ;o)

Well, I'm off to build my first outfit for work tomorrow. I figure I'll also boost my creativity, which is also fun! So that's what I'm doing while Lake is gone......along with working out, watching my shows, keeping the house clean, cooking, & hanging out with the girls! :o)

Little Rock & Maryn time this weekend!

Happy Valentine's Week everyone!