What to Wear With Orange

For the last day of my series I'll be sharing my tips on how to wear orange. On the first day I shared with you how to wear wine, and on the second day I shared with you how to wear mustard, and of the three I think orange can be the trickiest to wear.  Here are my tips on what to wear it with:

• Neutral tones are an awesome pairing for orange, though I think warm tones like tans and browns are best.  I would recommend steering clear of pairing orange and black, for fear of looking like you're dressed for Halloween.  
• The second way to wear orange is with complimentary colors and you might be surprised at all the colors that work to pair it with. I love orange with different shades of blue, but it can also be great with army green and wine.

Today I chose to pair orange with a combination of neutral and complimentary colors. I love the neutral cardigan and navy skirt with this fun top and I think it's a perfect look for fall. Make sure to check out my collage at the end of the post for some additional ways to wear orange.

Here's a chart for you all to help you see what to pair orange with:

Cobalt and Orange

Last year I was ecstatic when I found this Loft skirt at Goodwill and decided to pair it with my cobalt blazer and lace top today.  The first time I wore this skirt I wore it like this, and I was so pleased with myself.  Yipes, that was pretty bad. Today, on the other hand, I really like this. I really like the texture and color mix and definitely think it's an outfit I'll wear again, although I think I might wear it with my cobalt  Portfolio Shirt first.  What do you think, how would you style this skirt? 

Chelsea and Ginny Take On: Casual Friday

This week Chelsea and I are taking on Casual Friday. We get to wear jeans on Fridays, as well as school pride tee shirts, but that's just not my style. I like to wear dressier jeans or boyfriend jeans, but stay more professional on top. I love this blazer and would love to get this option too. This look would also be great with cute ankle pants or a pencil skirt, and I like that versatility. I added my leopard heels to keep it fun and I'm super happy with the result. What's your casual Friday go to look?

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Summer Fun

I love summer.  The free time, the sun, the time off, and of course the bright colors.  I recently found this dress at Plato's Closet.  They were having a crazy sale and I got this Target dress (new with tags!) for $1.80.  I almost bought it last fall when I saw it in stores, but in navy.  Last year I don't think I would have even considered orange, but I totally love it now.  I wore this to church, but am excited to wear it to school soon too.  So fun!

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Cardigan: Loft $3 (thrifted) similar

Dress: Target $1.8 (Plato's Closet) similar

Necklace: Gold Charm I've had forever

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Triple Wrap and Chimera similar

Shoes: Target same

Linking up with:

Tre-Chic Fashion Thursdays

Summer Style Link-up

Bright Stripes and a Survey Recap

Seriously, summer is the best thing, and this dress is the perfect addition.  I snatched it up on special at Target and love the ease of it.  I wore this to a friends' kids' birthday party and it was cute and comfy (which you all know is my favorite combo).  I think I'll get a lot of use out of this bad boy. : )

Also , about a week ago I asked you ladies to give me some feedback about my blog and I want to thank all of you who participated! I really enjoyed looking at the results and wanted to share some of the with you all today.

• Of those that took the survey about 60% didn't have a blog and 40% did. This surprised me for some reason. I get the chance to "get to know" other bloggers, but not the non-bloggers. I think it's so awesome that you non-bloggers take the time to stop by! I wish I go the chance to know you too!
• I also asked about how frequently those who took the survey visited my blog. 90% said they visited either daily or multiple time a week. Wow. I'm humbled by this. Thank you so much!
• My content has really been specifically OOTD posts and I really wondered what you guys thought about that. About 50% said my content was fine as is and 40% said they'd like to see more "How to Wear" posts. I'm hoping my Styling Series last week was what you ladies were looking for. I also have another "How to Wear" post coming next week. I do think I'll try to show posts like this to you all on a more regular basis. It pushes me to think outside the box too, which is great.
• I was also curious about my pictures. 95% of you said they were good as is. (Whew!) A couple of you did say you'd like more detail shots and different poses. Since I take my own pictures and I'm not a model my photo bag of tricks is limited, but I will try to work on showing more details and poses.
• I also asked about your age demographics and found about 30% were 21-29, 40% were 30-39, and 20% were 40-49. This wasn't super surprising being I'm 34 so right in the middle of these ranges.
• The last thing I was curious about was adding links to similar/same items. 70% said yes to this. When I first started my blog I had links, but they were so time consuming I eliminated them. I've decided to try them again, especially if the item is still available. I'll re-assess once school starts depending on time.
• I also decided to add labels, mostly colors and clothing types. Their are links on my sidebar for these now too.  I thought it might be helpful and honestly I didn't realize how easy it was to do. It'll take me a while to get everything labeled, but it's been fun looking back at past outfits. I also now realize how often I wear blue, stripes, and florals. Hmmm.

Once again, tanks to all of you who participated! I love this hobby and you all really help make it worthwhile!

Cardigan: Target $3 (thrifted) similar

Dress: Target $15 same

Necklace: Stella and Dot Rebel Pendant same

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Renegade, Foundation and Chimera similar

Shoes: Target $30 same

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Two Weeks in a Row!

I couldn't help myself, I love this top and these shorts so much I couldn't help but put them together to wear them again this week.  On Thursday I wore this but changed into the outfit below because I got hot. Silly, Summer. I ended up wearing this to go on my very first "blate" with Andi.  I had such a good time with her and she's just as nice as she seems.  You all should totally go and say hi to her on her blog!  Anyway, I only had this outfit on for a couple of hours, which is a total waste of a cute outfit if you ask me, so I'm wearing it again this week.  My. New. Favorite.



Top: Ark and Co. $6 via Plato's Closet

Shorts: Loft $16

Necklace: Borrowed from a friend (I soooo want it) Pegasus from Stella and Dot

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Julip, Renegade, and Chimera

Shoes: JCrew (circa 2007ish)

Orange and Scallops? Yes, please!

Tuesday is library day with the Granster, and this is what I wore.  I was always a part of a reading program growing up and loved it! Now, I'm so glad that it's available for my son as well.  During the time at the library there's story time, a craft, show and tell, and a snack.  The kids love it and it's a great opportunity for Grant to build his literacy skills. The kids go in on their own, so that means 45 minutes of me getting to cozy up with a book of my own. : ) 

 I was super excited to find this top and these shorts recently at Plato's Closet.  I'm so loving the scallop trend and love the bright color.  Up until last summer I was very self-conscious about my arms and would never wear a tank top solo, but when you have a toddler whose favorite past time is playing in the park you learn to adjust your clothing or sweat to death.  I'm still not crazy about my arms, but I've come to realize there isn't one mom out there who will take the time to criticize them while they're out and about; they all have more important things to do, like enjoying the time with their own kids.  I'm glad I've come to realize this.



Top: Art and Co. $6 (Plato's Closet)

Shorts: Gap $5 (Plato's Closet)

Necklace: Stella and Dot Gitane

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Julip bangle, Renegade, and Target bangle

Shoes: JCrew (circa 2007ish)

Bag: Stella and Dot Metallic Ikat

Four Ways to Wear Stripes

I'm so excited to be teaming up with Jenna from Freckled Fashionista, Inge from This Ever Evolving Life, and Amy from Classy in the Classroom for a trend series.  These girls and I all started blogging around the same time, and I just loving going and seeing what they have to wear each day! For our first week, we decided to show you four ways to wear stripes.  I love that all of our takes are a little different, but I would totally wear each one of these looks.  Make sure to check out their great blogs for their outfit details.

For my look I found this skirt on sale at Target, along with a floral one I'd had my eye on.  I love the cotton feel and the drawstring.  I knew it would be great for summer.  Trying to style it was a little harder then I first expected, though.  My first thought was a jean jacket the way Crystal wore it, and if I was still teaching I probably would have, but jean jackets and outside during the summer don't work well.  I then landed on this cardigan in a contrasting color, added a pop of neon with the necklace, and then added my highly neglected JCrew shoes. What about you, how would you style this skirt?

Also, I'm guest posting for the lovely Ada at Elegance and Mommyhood, come by and say hi :)

Cardigan: Roxy $5 (thrifted)

Top: Old Navy $3

Skirt: Target $11

Necklace: The Limited $6

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Julip, Renegade, and Chimera

Shoes: JCrew (circa 2005ish?)

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Fashion and Beauty Finds

Things I've Learned

Blog Everyday in May Challenge, Day 23 Today's topic is things I've learned that school didn't teach me.

I'd say the number one thing is how to love; that can't be taught.  As I look at all my students and all the different things I've worked on with them this year it blows my mind, but love, love wasn't one of them.  I never learned in school what it would feel like at the end of my first (blind) date with my husband, when he shook my hand and said we should at least be friends.  Yes, he did say that.  I never knew what it would feel like to take a walk with him and hear him say that he loved me.  I never learned what it felt like to walk down the isle and become his wife.  That feeling wasn't taught in school.

I also never learned what it felt like to know I had a child growing inside of me and the feelings I had when I held him for the first time.  I never knew what if felt like to hear him say "Mama" for the first time and then say "I love you" to me completely unprompted.  So, as I teacher I value education very highly, but love isn't something I can teach, it's something my students will have to experience for themselves.

Hey, I'm getting ready to BBQ it up this Memorial Day weekend.  How about you?  Have you checked out the  Lazy Days and BBQs series I took part in yet?  It'll give you all the tips you needs for the perfect fun BBQ!

Top: JCrew (circa 2007ish)

Skirt: Jones Wear $.99 (thrifted)

Necklace: Very Jane $12

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  Renegade/ Foundation/ Chimera

Shoes: DSW $25

Bag: Coach

Linking up with:

Look What I Got
Tre-Chic Fashion Thursdays