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!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom is celebrating her birthday today & although I won't actually get to see her & give her a big 'ol birthday hug, I still thought it would be nice to dedicate a blog entry to her.  :)

Pretty much since I was in middle school I've always heard how much I look like my mom, now I'm starting to get that not only do I look like her, but I'm starting to act just like her!  I, of course, have always taken this as a HUGE compliment! 

My mom is sweet, helpful, kind, caring, thoughtful, selfless, generous, spiritual, forgiving, & quite honestly, one of my best friends!  Now let's not pretend that it's always been this way, when I was kid, my mom, well both of my parents were so incredibly strict!  Especially with me!  I always say it's because I'm a girl & the baby in my family, I kinda figure that's the norm.  When I was younger this was an incovenient thing, my curfew was always earlier than everyone elses, I couldn't wear make-up until I turned 14, I couldn't wear CLEAR nail polish till I was 10 & boy was I excited when my 10th birthday rolled around, I wasn't allowed to sleep over at friends' houses until middle school & that was only if my parents knew my friends' parents really really well, I wasn't allowed to "date" till I was 15, although I didn't have boys knocking down my door for dates, haha!  And don't get me wrong, I was no perfect angel, I rebelled (on a very small scale)  But yeah, I was sheltered & kept under close watch!  Yeah, sometimes it was hard & sometimes I said....."that's not fair!" BUT looking back on it now, I'm so glad that they did that to me!  I had a GREAT childhood, I had a GREAT high school experience, I didn't miss out on anything, I had fun, I had friends, I was involved in school & I got along with my parents, but they were still that, MY PARENTS and not my friends!  I didn't start considering my mom "my friend" until after I graduated from college.  I think that's so important.  My parents never tried to be "cool" with me...please, I'm so sure!  They were looking out for my best interest & no matter how many years go by, I will never be able to repay them for doing that!

I'm not a parent, so I can only imagine how hard it is to tell your child "no", especially when it might be saying no to something that you very well did when you were younger, but I pray that I can be as strong as my mom & dad & stand firm to how I was raised.  Lake has amazing parents as well, so I think we have a pretty solid foundation!

I can vividly remember poking fun at my mom when I was a teenager because everything made her cry, EVERYTHING!  I have slowly become the exact same way.....and I love it!

me & my mom at the giant Disney store in Orlando
my senior year of high school......being silly!  :)
one of my favorite pictures

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!  I LOVE YOU! 

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/