Teal, Stripes, an a $200 Giveaway

Today's outfit is one that I am so loving. It was inspired by Tara and I absolutely love it.  I had it mixed in with my fall and winter pins, (I think she wore it last fall) but after putting it on, I can totally wear this again this spring and summer.  I love outfit that can cross seasons. Speaking of spring, I'm ready, especially to get to wear spring dresses like this,  but every year time I'm anticipating a season change I feel a weird closet scramble of "Oh, I need to wear this again before it get's too cold/hot."  I have have the same scramble on my Pinterest boards.  I look at all these outfits I want to wear and have to figure out a way to fit them all in.  Tell me I'm not the only one who experiences this???

Also, I'm super excited for Jenn and my Style Swap link-up that starts this Friday.  Check on the details on how to link up here.  I can't wait to see your posts!

Teal and Polka Dots

I recently this to work and I actually picked up this blazer for $.99 at Goodwill and found this Lauren Conrad blouse for $3 that day too. I actually went in to try to find an ugly sweater for a Christmas party, but no luck. I was pretty excited to find these pieces though, especially since the blazer is Tahari by Authur S. Levine and retails for around $140! Say, what? The blouse is also studded with polka dots, similar to this one. I'll have to wear it on it's own soon! I decided to pair the blazer and shirt with my polka dot skirt and Phoenix Pendant. I mentioned recently I wouldn't go without tights until spring, but I just couldn't do it with this outfit . Luckily my bare legs made it through the short walk into school.

Black and Neon

I wore a version of this outfit last winter and truly couldn't wait to wear it again. This year I added tights,  booties and my new black vest. I also decided to try my neon necklace and I love the bright pop of color and how it contrasts with the black. 

Today marks the beginning of my Christmas break and I am totally ready.....so are the kids.  We have an end of the semester "fun" day today and then we're out of here!  Two weeks off will do us all some good! Grant is still going to go to daycare on Monday so I can get some last minute Christmas stuff done and that'll be a nice little break for me too.

Have you entered my giveaway for $200 in Amazon cash yet?

Building A Wardrobe: Skirts

Today is the third day of my Building A Wardrobe series, I hope you're finding it useful!  On day one I shared Essential Blazers and Jackets, one day two I shared Essential Cardigans and today I'm going to share essential skirts with you. It's not secret that I love a good pencil skirt, and today I'm going to share with you some essential skirts, as well as some additional options for you to consider as part of my Building A Wardrobe series.  There are lots of different types of skirts out there, but I feel that a pencil skirt has the most classic and timeless feel, therefore it'll have more longevity in your wardrobe.  Here are more thoughts on what to consider when buying:

• The essential skirts I would consider buying are a gray, navy, black, and one additional color you love; I picked wine. Because of the classic nature of these pieces they don't often make it to the sale rack, however, you can find these at most every retailer.  I personally love Target's options.  The prices are fair and I've always been happy with the quality.
• These essential skirts will probably not be the highlight of any outfit, but they are great pieces to add to so many looks.
• Once you have a few of the essential skirts consider buying the additional options; these could be the "show piece" of you look for the day.  Picking a great bright color, or fun print that shows your personality is always worthwhile. As I said above  Target's options are great for this too.
• Most pencil skirts are safely washed in the washing machine, but always double check to see if it must be dry cleaned before buying.
• As for additional types of skirt, a-line and mini-skirts can be great too: I'm wearing a mini today, however I don't think they are the best place to start when building a wardrobe, but a great additions later on.

 Here's a visual on my thoughts for skirt essentials:

gray pencil skirt / navy pencil skirt / black pencil skirt / wine pencil skirt / cobalt pencil skirt / geometric pencil skirt / leopard pencil skirt 

Today I'm wearing a fun leopard skirt, which had been on my wish list for quite sometime. Pairing it with neutrals like tan and black make this work appropriate, but anything except boring. : )

Buy All The Leopard!

Ok ladies, I think I have a serious case of "buy all the leopard!"  Case in point my Sunday Post.  Last year I was all about leopard heels, now I'm all about leopard everything.  Today I'm wearing my favorite thrift of all time, this leopard dress. I decided to pair it with my teal blazer and I love the overall look.  I'd had this outfit in mind then I saw Lauren pair her cheetah dress with a bright blazer and Tara pair her leopard dress with teal; I was sold!  I think cobalt might be next!  

 

Back to School...

I've been back to school for a week and it's been going great.  I wasn't sure it would be the best of starts, though.  I was awakened last Tuesday morning not by my alarm, but by the most interesting of dreams. The Zombie Apocolype had taken over my school, and I woke up at the very moment I was bitten. You can't make this stuff up, people.  

Also, this is my 10th year of teaching and the new math teacher was in 7th grade my first year teaching. Wow. I feel old. 

On a good note, I'm really liking my kids and loving getting my dress clothes back.  This combo might be one of my new favorites, for sure.

I'd love for you ladies to take a second to vote for me in the #AllNaturalStyleSecrets challenge here. Thanks so much!!!

Have you entered to win my giveaway for a $25 gift card to Target or Old Navy/Gap/Banana Republic here yet?

Blazer: Kohl's similar

Dress: Loft $5 (thrifted) similar

Necklace: Stella and Dot Sutton

Bracelets: Stella and Dot  Peacock, Renegade, Urbane

Belt: Kohl's $1.5 similar

Shoes: Fergalicious $30  similar

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Be Original. Be Yourself.

I had such an amazing time at Go Blog Social and I want to take some time to share my takeaway with you all.  A lot of this will obviously apply more to bloggers, but I hope to tie it back to you non-bloggers as well, and share with you how I'll apply it to my blog too.

 I feel like I heard time and time again at the conference the importance of being who you are and not a copy cat of someone else who is successful. I definitely think this applies to blogging and life in general. Meg Biram Jeanette of J's Everyday Fashion and Corrie McFadden  all discussed the importance of finding what makes you unique and focusing your blog on that. What's your passion? What gets you excited? The answer to that is what you should blog about. "There's a reader for everyone, be the voice for them."-Corri McFadden

As for me, I definitely think fashion and finding great deals gets me excited.  I feel like that's definitely been a focus here, so for me to go start spending hundreds on outfits (not that I would, or could) wouldn't make sense, because I feel a lot of you readers like a good deal just like I do.  I want to stay true to myself and my budget. Jeanette touched on this too. She's had a $250 a month clothing budget for forever,but even with her phenomenal success, she's stuck to that budget because that's the focus of her blog. She's living what her blog is. I love that.

That being said last year I thrifted A LOT because I was really trying to build up my wardrobe. I don't need clothes like I did before (don't tell my husband). What I do need are some closet staples like blazers and pencil skirts. Pieces like this can be very hard to thrift (trust me, I've tried). I definitely plan to shop the sale racks, but thrifting isn't something I've done all summer and something I don't see myself doing much this fall.

I'm also passionate about teaching and plan to do more how-to posts here as well. You've seen some of that from me this summer and I have a new tips series coming next and an exciting collaboration starting at the end of the month with my fabulous sister.

Tomorrow I'll share with you another takeaway from Go Blog Social, and today's outfit is what I wore to the fun cocktail hour last Thursday night.

Have you entered my Swag Bag giveaway yet?

Blazer: Kohls $20? similar

Blouse: Target $7 (can't find on line, instores now)

Shorts: Kohl's $20 similar

Belt: Kohl's $6 similar

Necklace: Stella and Dot Rebel

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

Shoes: Kohl's $26 c/o Chippmunk  same

Bag: Coach same

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

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

Stripe Love

This has been the best summer that I can remember. The Granster and I have had so much fun while Dad's at work, and we've had a lot of great family time too. I think I'm at about the mid-summer point and don't even want to think about having to go back to school. Urg. I'd say the one thing I do miss is dressing up, though. I've had a lot of fun with print shorts and casual skirts, but I kind of miss heels and dresses. Speaking of, I am so glad I picked up this dress at Loft, it's proving to be pretty versatile and you know I love stripes.  I decided to add this bright cardigan and belt with it, as well as my leopard heels just for fun. I'm wearing I to church Sunday, the one day a week I still get to really dress up. :)

Also, don't forget to enter to win my giveaway for $100 credit to Cushe.com here!



Dress: Loft $22

Cardigan: Express $10

Necklace: Stella and Dot Juniper

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Julep, Renegade, Chimera

Belt: Kohl's $6

Shoes: Fergalicious $15

Girls' Night!

Girls' Nights are wonderful!  Last night I had the opportunity to get together with some great friends for a fun, kid-free night.  I think it's so important to take time for yourself.  Just like it's important to plan date-night, girl time is so important too. I also love that I get to dress up a little bit, I'd planned to wear this tank and shorts then added the blazer and thought, "Why didn't I think I of that before." Love.  Add my heels and I love this summer, dressy look.

As of July 1st GFC is gone, so I'm preparing to move to Bloglovin.  Here's easy directions for how to move all the blogs you follow to Bloglovin in one easy step. Here's the link to follow me on Bloglovin too! 

*On a side note, I obviously got my hair cut.  FYI when you tell your stylist to "do whatever" that's what they'll do.  I think the cut's alright, but it's definitely shorter than I expected. I'm starting to get used to it, but it might take a while...

Blazer: Kohls $17

Top: Old Navy $9 ?

Shorts: Kohl's $20

Necklace: Stella and Dot Rebel Pendant

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Foundation, Christiana Link, and Chimera

Shoes: Audrey Brooke $25

Linking up with:

Look What I Got

Tre-Chic Fashion Thursdays

Summer Style Link-up

Pattern Mixing Four Ways

I'm so excited to be teaming up for our final week with Jenna from Freckled Fashionista, Inge from This Ever Evolving Life, and Amy from Classy in the Classroom for a trend series.  This week we're covering pattern mixing, or by first glance "how to wear a coal striped shirt." Except for Amy, she's an individual ;). I love all our takes on it, and it's great inspiration for me too! Make sure to check out their great blogs for their outfit details.

Pattern mixing has been one of my favorite things this year, and this outfit is no exception. I think the key to pattern mixing is different scaled prints, but in coordinating colors.  I love the bold stripes here with the small flamingo pattern on the shorts.  This outfit was a total steal too! I got the shirt for $4 and the shorts for $10 just recently at Old Navy. This look will definitely be a casual summer favorite!

As of July 1st GFC is gone, so I'm preparing to move to Bloglovin.  Here's easy directions for how to move all the blogs you follow to Bloglovin in one easy step. Here's the link to follow me on Bloglovin too! 

Top: Old Navy $4

Shorts: Old Navy $10

Necklace: Ebay $10

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Christiana Link, Triple Wrap, and Chimera

Shoes: JCrew (circa 2007)

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Fashion and Beauty Finds

Lovin' Lace Four Ways

I'm so excited to be teaming up again this week with Jenna from Freckled Fashionista, Inge from This Ever Evolving Life, and Amy from Classy in the Classroom for a trend series.  This week we're covering lace. I love all of our different takes on it, which just shows how versatile it is. Make sure to check out their great blogs for their outfit details.

Today's look was one of those "I wonder....." outfits. I love ths skirt, but haven't worn it much. I really wanted to try something different with it, so I added this cobalt lace top with a teal tank underneath, then layered it with my teal cardigan and the pop of a yellow belt. I pretty happy with the casual ease of it and the fun color combo.

Cardigan: Target $3 (thrifted)

Top: Target $6

Skirt: ? $5 (Plato's Closet)

Necklace: Stella and Dot Juniper

Bracelets: Stella and Dot Gilded Arrow, Foundation, and Zebra

Belt: Kohl's $6

Shoes: Target $12

Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Fashion and Beauty Finds

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Right as I started to pose for pictures Mother Nature decided it would be a good idea to rain. It's been raining a lot lately, which is good for the plants, but bad when you want to take pictures or go to the park.  We'd planned an outdoor play date but ended up going to a bounce house instead.  Grant had a ton of fun, and it gave me a chance to visit with my friends.  After that we went to Runza for lunch, which if you don't live in the Midwest you'll have no idea what this is, but it's delicious fast food with real burger patties and amazing onion rings.  Yum.  I'd have to say even with the rain summer is definitely off to a great start!



Cardigan: Old Navy $20

Top: (no tag) $2 via Plato's Closet

Jeans: Old Navy $5 (thrifted)

Necklace: Very Jane $12

Bracelets: Stella and Dot

Shoes: Target $12





Linking up with:

What I Wore Wednesday

Get Your Pretty On

Fashion and Beauty Finds