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!

Balancing act

oxford: thrifted
slacks: New York & Company
heels: Target
hair flower: H&M
necklace: gifted
ring: American Eagle

I often try to achieve a sense of balance in my outfits. Sometimes it's about balancing out a heavy, full skirt with a slim top. Other times, it's about brightening a neutral palate with a few pops of color. With this outfit, it was all about adding feminine touches to an otherwise masculine ensemble of a white Oxford and slacks. I thought the heels, ring and hair accessory did a pretty good job.

By the way, I have a sale alert for you guys from one of my sponsors! From now until the end of July, eShakti is offering Verbal Mélange readers 10% off their orders with the promo code VE24ART. The best part? You can even get 10% off the 40% off sale items.

In other news, I have no idea why I'm not smiling in these photos. And I accidentally edited the top photo too purple. Oh, well. Guess they can't all be winners, haha!

(Not so) sweet dreams

I must be stressed, because I have been having some crappy dreams lately. Yesterday morning I dreamt Matt and I were getting married, but the morning before the wedding I realized I hadn't booked any vendors. No flowers, no food, no cake...I didn't even have a dress. When I was talking to dream-Matt about it, he was trying to tell me we could still have a wedding, when suddenly he just walked off to go talk to some giant marshmallow dude. This morning, I had a dream about robbers breaking in and threatening me with a chainsaw, then the cops showed up and I punched one in the face. And then I dreamt that my best friend sabotaged me at work...it involved getting key lime pie dumped on my head.

I am not making this stuff up. I just don't have normal dreams. Ever.








black shirt: Old Navy
button-down: New York & Company
skirt and necklace: The Limited
shoes and belt: Target
bracelet: don't remember
ring: American Eagle, years ago
In other news, this is my last outfit post from my old apartment! As my sister would say: Happy or sad? (i.e. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?) To be honest, I'm not sure. I didn't really like that place most of the time, and I definitely like the house we're in waaaaaay better, but I'm still a little nostalgic. I guess it's just because it was Matt's and my first-ever place together.

I found a cute project on Pinterest that I might use to commemorate our first apartment, but I'm going to be a stinker and not tell you about it until after it's done. (Though, I guess you could just go troll all 400+ of my pins and find it. Just don't ruin the surprise if you do, haha.)

Gross shoes and awesome bags

So I've got about five more outfits that I shot at the old apartment, and I want to get those all posted before I start putting up photos from my new place. Don't want to be all flip-flopping on my locations...for some reason, consistency seems important. Hm.






shirt: The Limited
collared shirt & shorts: New York & Company
shoes: Target
ring: American Eagle, about five years ago
bag: street vendor in NYC
I got this bag on Canal Street in NYC last month. I've been carrying it pretty much every day...it's basically the perfect bag. Great size, lots of interior pockets, high quality material (I think). The lady who sold it to me slapped a Michael Kors charm on it, but it looks cheap and I think I'm going to take it off. Except, it makes a great zipper pull, so maybe I'll leave it and be one of those awful people who contributes to the counterfeit fashion fiasco. Oops.

Speaking of NYC, the city pretty much ruined these shoes. Seriously, they are so dirty. I want to take a Magic Eraser to them, but I'm not sure how the faux-leather material will take it. But check this out: The color of the underside of the strap is the shoe's original color. Gross.


The really gross part? I haven't stopped wearing them.

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 :)

Stepping outside the box

Today I did something a little risqué...for me, anyway. This t-shirt-and-bermuda shorts combo wasn't really doing it for me, and I was kind of stumped as to how I would jazz it up with what I'm sure is a poor selection of 30 items. Then I thought, a belt! And then I thought, two belts!! It's daring! It's bold! It's...two belts.

items: 6, 19, 28
brown belt: came with a skirt from Spotted Moth
striped belt: no idea
jewelry: American Eagle, I think?

So, what's next for me, now that I'm breaking fashion rules? I have no idea. I feel kind of stupid wearing this, to be honest, but I'm going to go with it. A lot of trendy things are kind of dumb, if you ask me. Fake it 'till you make it!

What do you think? Do you ever wear trends or pieces that you think are kind of awkward/strange?

(Note: Sorry for the strange photo quality. I had to take photos in gross overcast lighting and had no time this morning to color adjust!)

Take two?

Well, still no sign of my lost posts coming back, so I'm going to try to re-create them. I happened to have the copy from my outfit post saved, but I'll have to re-write the food post. Blerg. In other news, here's the outfit post from last Thursday.

Button down: Banana Republic
Cami: Old Navy
Capri/short things: New York and Company
Shoes: Mossimo via Target
Necklace: Tiffany
Bracelet: American Eagle?

This necklace is one of the nicest pieces of jewelry I own. My aunt gave it to me as a college graduation present. The second I saw the Tiffany blue box, I cried. No joke. It was pretty exciting. I can't remember where I got this bracelet, on the other hand. Just like most of the rest of my jewelry.

In other news, Jill mentioned yesterday how great it is to have a bit of wind when doing blog shoots, and I have to agree. When I took these photos, there was just enough of a breeze to make things interesting...but not so much that my hair or shirt got out of hand. Lovely :)

Seeesters!

So last weekend was Sibs & Kids Weekend at BGSU, where my sister, Ellen, is a freshman. So Abby (my other sister) and I decided to drive up to good old Blowing Green, as Ellen calls it, to relive the old days when we all lived under the same roof and shared a room. Only with more alcohol; we weren’t the kind of tweens who get drunk on a regular basis. Or ever.

I asked Abby and Ellen to both shoot an outfit for me, which I will be posting later in the week. I have to say; posing with my sisters as photographers is FAR less awkward than posing with Boyfriend as a photographer. Abby gave me such great direction, I almost hired her as my professional photographer on the spot. But alas, I have no money to pay her and I’m sure she’d rather finish getting her degree in Genius and make far more money than I could ever pay her (or make myself, for that matter).

On Ellen (far left)

Shirt: AX Paris USAJeans: Rue 21Shoes: Payless

One of Ellen’s hallmates shot these pictures for us. She seemed a little surprised at our rate of conversation. Apparently, when the three of us get together and have a drink or two, we converse like the mom and daughter on Gilmore Girls. Pretty funny to listen to, I imagine.

On Abby (far left, this photo):

Shirt: Ellen’s, from Rue 21
Jeans: Forever 21
Shoes: American Eagle via Payless

Of course, we had to do a Charlie’s Angels pose. Those are just the rules.

(Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about my outfit. I’ll blog that in a separate post tomorrow.)