Goal-setting and staying busy

blouse and cami: secondhand
capris: Target
sandals: BCBG via TJ Maxx
necklace, bracelet: Etsy
Photo-taking is weird. I am at a complete loss as to why the first photo is so crisp, but the third one is so grainy. They were taken at the same time, with the same settings, same focal points, everything. What's up with that? Any speculation?

I'll be honest; I'm racking my brain for something interesting to say about this outfit, but I've got nothing except that it was stupid-comfortable and I probably need more patterned and/or lace-edged camis in my life. Especially now that layering weather is here!

Anyway.

I've been thinking lately about goal-setting and keeping busy. As I said in my last post, winter's imminent arrival means I have to make a plan for things that will help stave off my SAD/winter depression. I've been brainstorming some home-improvement projects that, aside from helping me complete a 26-in-26 item, will also help keep me busy. And a busy Emma is much less likely to be a depressed Emma. Lethargy, man. It's my mortal enemy.

I'm also meeting with a trainer today, for the first time ever. I probably won't have the budget wiggle room to do regular personal training sessions, but a friend of a friend has her own personal training business, so I figured it would be worth my time/money to sit down for a little coaching session. We're going to talk about my goals and how I can best achieve them. I don't think my goals are all that difficult (increase flexibility, increase upper body strength without getting bulky linebacker shoulders, get a slimmer waist/flatter stomach)...my issue is that every time I come up with a new workout regimen, I inevitably stop doing it after just a week or two. It's really frustrating, and I'm not sure how to change that habit. How do you guys change habits/convince yourselves to stick with a workout plan?

Brain, start working

tank: secondhand
cardigan, gladiator sandals: Target
shorts: American Eagle
earrings: gifted (Lia Sophia)
Have you ever been so tired that your brain just kind of gives up? Yeah, that was me yesterday. For some reason, I've been sleeping poorly this week -- staying wide-awake until 11 or midnight, when I'm usually asleep by 10:30 -- and yesterday was nearly unbearable. I chugged caffeine at work all day, which kept my eyes open, but did nothing for my cognitive powers. I actually had intended to make this post on my lunch break, but when lunch rolled around I just kind of...forgot. And then forgot again that evening. And despite being exhausted after work, I couldn't nap and I couldn't fall asleep again at night. I'm feeling slightly better today, but I think I'm still kind of off. (So, my apologies if any of this post seems weird or nonsensical). At least we don't have any major plans for tomorrow; I'm going to sleep in as late as humanly possible!

In other news, this outfit is one of those I've-worn-it-three-times-but-never-manage-to-get-outfit-pics-for-blogging-purposes deals. Mostly because it's been an evening outfit, so it's usually dark before I get dressed. And I hate taking outfit photos indoors if I can help it. I finally just decided to throw the outfit on again for the explicit purpose of shooting blog photos, and I'm glad I did. This is a fun little semi-casual evening getup, I think.

And can we talk about those earrings for a sec? Since I went pixie-short more than two years ago, I've tended to avoid larger earrings. I thought they looked weird with such short hair. Then, Matt's mom got me these hoops for my birthday. I was a little hesitant at first, but I loved them the second I put them on. They just seem to work so well! Large enough to be noticed, but not so large that they seem silly with my hair. Hooray for having a future mother-in-law with such great taste!

Oof. I feel like I just hit another brick wall...My eyelids are starting to get heavy again. To the coffee shop!

A not-so-triumphant return

Alas, I had hoped I would have better photos to share once I returned from my self-imposed blogging hiatus. For some weird reason, I've been having issues with focus on self-photography lately, and a lot of the shots I'm getting turn out unfocused. Which I don't realize until I upload them, because my camera screen is tiny and (I suspect) fairly low-res.






shirtdress: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
hat: H&M
gladiator sandals, bracelets: Target
I did manage to get one in-focus shot (perhaps not coincidentally, it was one where my "focus marker" tripod was still behind me, so I had to crop). Unfortunately, I'm making a weird face.


Oh, well. The important thing is that several time-consuming projects--two three-story freelance writing assignments and an in-depth dance residency--have come to a close. That's not to say I'm totally free; I still have a batch of photos from a baby shoot to edit, and as soon as I'm done with those I'll have to edit our engagement photos, which my friend Emily is kindly shooting this weekend. On top of that, in the next two months, I have: the Color Run, aforementioned engagement photo shoot, my cousin's wedding, shopping with my mom for her mother-of-the-bride dress, a friend's weekend bachelorette party, a beach trip, and a secondary engagement photo shoot at Ohio University in Athens (where Matt and I met). I just wish I could keep myself this busy in the winter months, instead of just sitting around binge-watching Netflix and eating way too much junk food :/

Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this whole "kill yourself with activity in the summer and with boredom in the winter" thing. Right? RIGHT??

Summer to fall

Lots of photos today, so I'm going to keep the words short and sweet. So Ohio has really ridiculously bipolar weather, and when seasons change things can get really crazy. Forty degrees one day, 80 the next. That is not an exaggeration. So we Ohioans often have to switch our wardrobes from hot-weather-wear to cool-weather-wear, often more than once in a week.

So this is how I styled an outfit — a new shirt and black bottoms — two different ways last month. The warmer-weather outfit I wore to brunch with some friends, on a day that reached a high in the mid-80s. The cooler-weather outfit I wore to a microbrew "festival" put on by my friend and some of his homebrew buddies, where the lows that night got down into the upper 40s, if I remember right. But there was a lot of beer there, so who knows.








shirt: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
shorts: thrifted J.Crew
sandals: Target
necklace, bracelet: Etsy (two different shops)







shirt, necklace: see above
skinnies: Forever 21
boots: Target
jacket: thrifted
So there you go. A warm-to-cool outfit in just a couple easy swaps. And now, I present to you an outtake, because my friend Ally always compliments my poses and I suspect she doesn't believe me when I say I take some real duds. Ally, this one's for you:


Don't worry folks, my neck isn't broken. And I'm not turning into an owl, either :) So yeah, hope that gave you all a giggle. Have a fabulous weekend!

An ode to coffee and bucking the trends

shirt: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
slacks: Express via DFW
shoes: Target
necklace: VeryJane
bracelet: Etsy
So I'm sure you all know the old adage about not wearing white after Labor Day. Well, I snagged these pants at the Discount Fashion Warehouse during a Labor Day shopping extravaganza with my friend, and just couldn't pack them away for a whole winter without wearing them. So I wore them the day after Labor Day. Yeah, I'm kind of a fashion badass. They're still hanging in my closet...I may decide to wear them one last time. They're lined so they're actually quite warm for summery-style clothes.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank the universe for coffee. Matt and I recently got a larger coffee maker (our last one only held four cups) and to celebrate we made more than usual. So this morning, I get two cups: One as I sit here at home typing this and one for the road. Can I get a hallelujah amen? A hell yes would suffice, too. I need it this morning. I went to my first modern dance class all summer (my favorite instructor was in Maine on a fellowship) and it — she — really kicked my ass. Pretty much literally. My thighs and back are so sore, but at least I slept like a rock...maybe even a little too hard. Hence the grogginess this a.m.

Mornings

t-shirt: DIYed
shorts: thrifted
fedora: H&M
sandals, bracelets: Target
necklace: Etsy
Mornings are so hit-or-miss for me. Yesterday I hopped out of bed the first time my alarm went off, jumped in the shower, did a little yoga, got ready, made coffee, wrote a blog post, packed a lunch and practically skipped out the door.

This morning, not so much.

No, this morning I hit the snooze. I have a bit of a lingering migraine, so I skipped yoga. (Really bad headache + downward dog = more pain.) I slogged through getting ready and practically took a nap on the floor of my closet as I was picking out clothes. I'm seriously considering buying a lunch today so I can take a 10-minute nap before I leave. I went to bed at about the same time Sunday night as last night...so what's up with being so sleepy today?

Anyway, I wore this outfit to a party last month. Like I said in my July clothes budget post, I was inspired to get a fedora. This is the first outfit I styled it with. The t-shirt is the one my team and I made for the Color Run last month. Yes, our team name was the Ninja Chameleons. We're awesome like that.

Ok, I think I'll nap for just a second now. Ugh. Is that coffee ready yet?

Oh yeah, there's a birthday in here somewhere...

Hint: It's mine! And it's today! Things are still super crazy right now, what with filing insurance crap and tracking down receipts and making up for lost freelance work, but I made it a point to take this weekend off and just enjoy turning 25. Saturday we went climbing with a couple friends at the Audubon downtown for like four hours, and then we went to Dirty Frank's for a very late lunch. That night, we went out with some friends on to a new brewery in town called Seventh Son. There, I probably enjoyed myself a bit too much, because Sunday was a tad bit miserable ;)

Today, though. Today was pretty sweet. I slept in, then grabbed lunch at Panera and headed off to my spa day, courtesy Matt! I'd been trying to give myself a birthday spa day for a few years now, but something always came up to screw up my budget in April or May. This year, I had the appointments made and everything, and two days later my stuff got stolen. As I was lamenting the loss of my stuff and the cost to replace everything, I realized I would have to cancel my spa day yet again...but then Matt stepped in and made that my present! He's so awesome. I should mention too he spent all of yesterday taking care of my hungover self! I'm needy when I don't feel well. Like, really needy. Did I mention how awesome he is?

Anyway, here's what I wore out Saturday night. Casual but cute was my goal, and I think I achieved it pretty well!






shirt, shorts: thrifted
necklace: gifted
shoes: Target
belt: H&M
Now I'm off to meet my grandma for dinner. She's the sweetest :)

End hiatus

dress: secondhand
cami: Old Navy
shoes: Target
earrings, necklace: gifted

I've returned! I'm making some changes here around the blog...namely, posts that focus more on photos than words, because I'm so long-winded and really, that's only fun for me to write, not for you to read ;) Also, I will probably be posting fewer work-related outfits and more hanging-out-type outfits.

Also, I went shopping! At stores that weren't thrift stores! I bought several pieces of clothes that have never been worn by another person :) I'm pretty excited.

This dress is from my friend Allory. She cleaned out her closet a while back and gave me a ton of dresses. I didn't know if I'd like this one at first, but I kind of love it. It kind of shows off the girls a little too much, so I borrowed this layering-under-a-maxi-dress idea from Sydney. Thanks for the inspiration, girl!

Made it!

That's right folks, I am officially through my very first 30x30 challenge! I may have cheated a few times (bought a necklace, wore non-30 outfits in the evenings that I wore items from the 30 during the day, skipped days, added/subtracted items...haha) but overall, I'm quite proud of the accomplishment. And now, my closet seems 10 times bigger than what it did before the challenge, without even buying new clothes! That's fun.

items: 6, 15 17, 26
necklace: Figleaf
bangles: don't remember
bag: Boo Bags! giveaway win

I was originally going to wear jeans with this outfit to a cookout that our friend was having yesterday. But after snapping just a few outdoor photos in those long pants, I was sweltering, so I switched it up for shorts. Good call, if you ask me.

Oh, and this bag? I won it in a giveaway from Nick of Predictably Irrational. It's a Banksy print tote, and I absolutely love it! Very nice quality, very sturdy. I can tell I'll be using this bag quite a lot this summer! Nick is really creative with DIY-ing and makeover-ing making over items like Tshirts, too. (One of her more recent posts is a gorgeous Tshirt redo that is simply to die for!)

I know it's customary to do a 30x30 lookback at the end of the challenge. Well, I'm a somewhat traditional gal in many respects, so I'm busy compiling all my photos and thinking about what kind of reflections I want to...um...reflect upon. Stay tuned!

It's only Thursday?

Does anyone else feel like this week is just dragging along? And if so, do you also find it ironic that it's really been a short week, since most people had Monday off? Yeah, I thought so.

I think that for the next 30x30 challenge, I won't post outfits the day I wear them. It's too stressful trying to get up early enough to shoot photos, edit them, upload them, write about them and post them. Homegirl likes her sleep. Which is why today, this post is being written during my lunch break, instead of before I leave for work.

items: 8, 17, 26
cami: Marshall's
necklace: The Limited
bracelet: NYC Canal Street shop
rings: American Eagle and gift from my mom

I think I'm officially hooked on the trend of painting one nail differently. If you couldn't tell. I did a little mani-pedi last night while Matt was at the climbing wall with one of our friends from OU. I would have gone, but my head was still hurting a bit and I figured, let the guys have their guy time. Aren't I a good girlfriend? Haha

Also, I think I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I like these shoes. I've never worn them with shorts before, because they're so heavy. What do you think?

Also also, go enter my giveaway if you haven't yet :)

Outfit 14

Notice, I don't say "day 14." That's because I actually wore this on Friday, day 12. I changed out of my work clothes into this for ComFest. For you non-Columbusites, ComFest is Community Festival, and in a nutshell it's a kind of hippie concert/arts sale/food cart awesomeness. And it lasts three days. And it's awesome.

So this is what I changed into. Something relaxed but still stylish, I think, and comfortable for walking around in. It was a little cool Friday night, so I'm glad I went for the long pants instead of a dress!

items: 7, 15, 26
belt: came w/ a skirt from Spotted Moth
purse: "Coach-style" crossbody from NYC
necklace/bracelet: don't remember

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking of yesterday's post, in which I wore this exact shirt. And you're doing the math, realizing I wore the same shirt two days in a row. To be honest, I felt like a terrible blogger on Saturday morning when I donned this shirt. And you know, I decided I just wanted to be comfortable. Guess I know where my loyalties lie, when it comes to comfort, eh? ;)

Jump for joy!

Okay, that might be a bit dramatic. But I had a really, really great day yesterday, and I wanted this post to reflect that. So I decided to do a "jump for joy" shoot. On my first attempt, I got a perfect jump shot, but my face looked goofy:

So I tried again. Several more times. And wouldn't you know, I just could not get the timing right!

So I gave up on that and went back to regular outfit shots.

items: 11,15,24,26
necklace: The Limited
watch: Walmart
bracelets: various, years ago

I swear, our deck is not dangerously tilted. Slightly not-level-anymore, yes. But my photo taking is kind of janky at the moment...my bendy-tripod broke, so I've resorted to propping my non-bendy tabletop tripod up on a chair, which means I'm shooting up at an angle, and it makes things look all out of whack. I'm getting a better tripod, I promise.

Now, as for my awesome day yesterday. I got some really awesome news, which I unfortunately cannot share for another week. But trust me. It's pretty sweet. Then I set the ball in motion for what may *possibly* be my first giveaway. Stay tuned on that one!

In the afternoon, Matt and I signed a lease on a house! I'm thrilled about this. Our apartment is nice, but we found out they're raising rent if we stay, and the place is definitely not worth it. So this house has a fenced-in yard (you better believe I'm going to start begging for a puppy!), a dishwasher, a washer-dryer in the basement, and a lovely mid-size closet that I'm going to commandeer and make into an awesome mid-size closet. Pretty excited. We move in September :) Expect some awesome decorating posts!

Finally, I went to a Tweetup event for Cbusr, this online community of young professionals in Columbus. I had so much fun! I got to chat with the guy who made the site, as well as a social media mogul who is basically the most awesome girl ever. And I met a few new friends as well, which is always great.

Phew. Longest post I've done since starting this blog. Sorry for jabbering your ears off...I'm just excited!