t-shirt: Old Navy
jacket/blazer: thrifted
skinnies: Forever 21
flats: Target
necklace: gifted Kate Spade
That's right; the weather outside certainly is frightful. We got our first real snow of the season last night; now there's an inch or two of icy/slushy/powdery mix on the ground. Delightful (not). Get ready for these wonderfully lit outdoor alley shots (from last month) to disappear; it's time for me to make the switch to shooting indoors. Womp womppppp.
Also frightful this weekend was my intense anxiety level. I had probably the worst shopping experience of my life on Saturday, when I tried to buy a corset for under my wedding dress. Seriously guys, if you need a quick fix for hating yourself and your body, I highly recommend corset shopping for two hours. I apparently have weird proportions, so everything that fit around my stomach wound up giving me awkward and heartbreaking armpit fat, which apparently is a real thing. And everything that avoided the apparently-a-thing armpit fat was way too big in the stomach. I wound up buying a strapless bra and a stomach-only corset piece thing (kind of like this, only it goes from your bra line down to your hips, not from your waist down past your hips). They were way more than I wanted to spend, but I'll at least be able to wear both of them under other outfits. Plus, I now get to go up to my grandma's house and try on the dress again (I have to make sure the undergarments work, of course!) so it's not a total loss.
Then Saturday night, I had a host of wedding nightmares. Awful stress dreams about not having a dress at all (I walked down the aisle in a gray maxi dress and a cardigan), about being in the wrong venue, about the music not playing right during the ceremony...basically, everything was just wrong. Then I got a text from my sister; a fire on campus at our alma mater had destroyed the apartment I lived in my junior year. It was an attic studio apartment above a flower shop, and the entire attic just collapsed into the apartment below it. I was devastated; I had a lot of great memories in that apartment. Obviously the situation is so much worse for the students who are living there now; they lost everything they own. I'll be donating to the university's fund for them; if you have some extra cash lying around and want to do a little good with it, you can do the same here. Just select the "Ohio Parents and Family Endowment."
So between bad shopping experiences and dreams and sad news, my Sunday was shaping up to be a huge sulk-fest. But then I went to a meeting for a new project I'm working on and it honestly turned my entire day around. I left feeling excited, optimistic and refreshed. I don't want to go into too much detail on the project, because I'm honestly a little terrified that my contribution will be terrible, but if all goes well I'll divulge more in the spring.
Aaaaand that was my weekend. Here's hoping yours had more high points than low ones!
blouse: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
khakis, necklace: Old Navy
blazer, shoes: Target
A lot of people consider Friday the 13th to be bad luck. I used to be one of them, right up until the most recent Friday the 13th. It was six months ago, and I was asked the most important question of my whole life. And of course, I said yes. Ever since Matt decided to propose on a Friday the 13th, I've claimed it as my own personal good-luck day. Take THAT, superstition!
Okay no joke, that whole paragraph right there was just an excuse for me to let off a little excitement at this little milestone. My friend/coworker/bridesmaid, Hayley, commented that it seems like it's been much longer than six months. To which I replied, "That's probably because I have the whole wedding planned already." And while that is an exaggeration, it's a slight one. We've tackled the venue, the officiant (aka Matt's brother-in-law), the caterer, the photographer, the videographer (aka my office's video intern from last summer), the DJ/photobooth, the cake baker (aka Hayley, who grew up decorating wedding cakes in her mom's bakery), the dress, what the attendants will be wearing, and some of the minor decor details. All that we really have left is:
- making sure the bridesmaids/groomsmen place their orders
- picking out Matt's tux
- finding my undergarments, shoes and veil (the latter of which I will probably DIY)
- engagement photos (courtesy another friend/bridesmaid, Emily)
- DIYing the save-the-dates
- DIYing all the flowers and the centerpieces
- DIYing the invitations
- write the ceremony
- buy attendants' gifts
- GET FREAKING MARRIED ALREADY :)
Ugh. I hate when I start writing a post with intent to talk about something, then go off on a tangent about wedding stuff. I can't help it; I'm a woman obsessed. #sorrynotsorry
It's just as well, I suppose. These photos didn't turn out so great, but I really liked the outfit and frankly, my re-shoot list is way too long to add this outfit to the queue. C'est la vie!
(Yes, short post today, but check back later this evening for an update on wedding dress shopping this weekend, if you're interested in that sort of thing. There will be pictures.)
blouse: thrifted
blazer: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
skirt: The Limited
flats: Target
necklace: Jane.com
So I was inspired to re-create this outfit, originally worn by Ashley of The Cream To My Coffee, the second I saw it on her blog. Part of it was the fact that I knew I had all the pieces to do so, but mostly it was just a cool-looking combination that I was excited to try. In retrospect, I'm wishing I had added my thin black belt to the skirt, or untucked a little of the shirt to spill over the waistband. Oh, well.
Unfortunately, the zipper on this skirt broke shortly after I wore this. Well, it didn't so much "break" as "get caught in the material next to the zipper, tear it to shreds and basically become inseparable from it." I'm debating whether I want to remove the zipper and try to sew in a new one. Has anyone tried this? Is it hard?
Disclaimer: I totally meant to get this post up after work yesterday, but first I had to take Perdita out for a test ride with her new battery, and then there was thunder, and as soon as I got home the tornado sirens went off. I'm absolutely petrified of tornadoes, so I kind of went into crisis-mode and started moving all our valuables and Spazzy (in her carrier) down to the basement. It turned out to be nothing, but by the time it was over all I could think about was unwinding with a giant glass of wine and a Game of Thrones mini-marathon. So, without further ado, here's the post I had started:
Random title, I know. But this rain, amiright? Sorry. I hate relying on weather for post fodder, but it's such a convenient thing to write about. Weather is literally ALWAYS happening. And lately it's been pretty intense around these parts. Columbus hasn't seen quite as much action as northern Ohio, which got some major flooding. I even saw a friend's Facebook post showing the interior of a Macy's that was six inches deep in flood water! It just so happens that one of my bridesmaids and most of my immediate family live up there, but everyone's doing okay so far, thank goodness.
blouse: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
blazer: Express via DFWh
skirt: Forever 21
flats: Target
I have to admit, I think I felt better about this outfit while I was wearing it than now that I'm seeing it in photos. I felt very polished and trendy -- mint, stripes, animal print -- but it kind of looks frumpy to me. Except for my butt. Case in point:
BAM! Seriously. Dat ass doe.
Okay but for real. Does that ever happen to you guys? An outfit seems great all day, then you see it in pictures and just kind of think ehhh....notsomuch. Please say I'm not alone!
Every once in a while, I'll stumble across a blog post or a pin or some other resource that makes me think, "Doy, why haven't I tried this yet??" Many times, those "doy" moments involve photography and photo editing. I'm still very much a pupil when it comes to shooting in my camera's manual mode, and self-photography is far from an easy way to learn.
I have a bad habit of fidgeting slightly out of place, which throws my focus area off and effectively dooms my photos to blurry, sub-par quality. But I don't always realize this right away, because my camera's preview screen is tiny and sometimes the photos look great until I upload them. This is especially frustrating if I was having a really great hair and/or makeup day on the original shoot.
When I uploaded these photos and realized that some of my favorites were a bit on the blurry side, I decided to take matters into my own hands with some RAW editor sharpening. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the result, but I'm still playing with the settings and figuring out what everything does.
I also used another "photo tip" I recently picked up. The tip talked about how wearing lip color can really make a huge difference on a portrait photo. I wasn't wearing any when I shot this, and sure enough, my lips were blending into my face just a tad. So I went in and bumped up the red/magenta hues in the RAW editor just a *wee* bit. The effect was only visible on my lips, and it was pretty subtle. But it made a huuuuge difference. I'm thinking I'll make that the topic of a Makeup Monday post soon (next week?).
blazer: thrifted
blouse: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
skinnies, heels: Target
necklace: Etsy
I wore this a few weeks ago almost a month ago to a little date night with Matt at The Refectory. His sister and brother-in-law got us a gift card for Christmas, so we used it during a three-course prix fixe special the restaurant was having. It was heavenly, as always, and I was seriously regretting my choice of skinnies and heels by the time I hobbled out after dessert. I was pretty convinced they would have to roll me out, but I managed--somehow!
Actually, if I really wanted to stretch things and tie this outfit in to the "experimenting" theme, I agonized for a while over whether to wear a long or short necklace with this. It's silly, I know, but it was really bothering me. I even texted Emily for advice, because I thought the outfit was very "her." She actually suggested the long necklace, but I was stubborn and went short anyway.
I've discovered that when I ask people for advice, it tends to just be a way for me to gauge my gut reaction to your suggestion and figure out how I really feel. I did this recently by asking all my Facebook friends whether I should grow my hair for the wedding. They all said "grow it out!" and I immediately shouted NO! (in my head) over and over. So there's that.
Ok, so, abrupt subject change. It's honest critique time. Do these photos look a little off, thanks to my artificial sharpening/noise reduction attempt? Or is it all in my head? (And I promise, this isn't a "how do I really feel?" question. I really can't tell if I'm being too picky or not, haha!)
blouse, skirt: secondhand
blazer: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
tights, heels: Target
necklace: gifted
Oh yeah, I went there. Does using words like "chillaxin'" make me cooly ironic, or just dorky? Wait, don't answer that; I've just realized that I don't actually care :)
So I thought this weekend would be a pretty busy one, but it actually turned out to be fairly chill. We went to a friend's housewarming-slash-football-viewing party (Go Bucks!) for most of the day Saturday, then Matt and I ordered in and watched movies the rest of the evening. (Apparently one's day-drinking skills go out the window a few years after college.) And Sunday I did some freelance work while Matt ran errands, and we settled in for some more do-nothing laziness. It was incredible, especially after the chaos of last weekend.
And of course, it's now Monday and I'm wishing for a third consecutive morning of lay-in-bed laziness. Ah, well. I guess I'll never be able to get enough of that :)
On a random note, after looking at these pictures, I've decided it's time to pull another RIT-in-the-washing-machine-dye-job. This blazer is decidedly less black than the tights and shoes. I've done it before, but dyeing clothes in the washer always makes me nervous. Have you ever tried it?
P.S. Hey Columbus-ites, don't forget to enter my giveaway! Ends a week from yesterday. Also, it's pretty damn epic.
blazer and slacks: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
blouse: The Limited via DFW
heels: Target
Sorry for my absence yesterday; I had the day off for Columbus Day and used it to the fullest extent. My whole weekend was kind of jam-packed, in fact, but in the best way possible.
Friday night was date night. Matt and I went out to dinner and saw Gravity. Fantastic visuals and audio effects, great soundtrack, lousy script. Seriously, I think I could have written better dialogue. See it in 3D if you go; the effects are absolutely worth it. We had a Groupon, so both tickets, two bags of popcorn and two drinks only cost $21. Not bad for a 3D flick in Columbus.
Saturday we slept in a little, then I went down to Athens for Ohio University's Homecoming. Matt isn't a huge fan of crowds, so he opted to go camping instead. I crashed in my sister's dorm room (she's a freshman) and had a blast catching up with some friends while she was at work. Then I introduced my sis to Anchorman, because (BLASPHEMY!) she'd never seen it. Sunday we hung out some more, saw some folks, enjoyed campus, then I came home and tried to recover ;) ...Hey, it's OU. Always requires some recovery time.
But yesterday I was a whirlwind! I slept in till 8 or so, then started tackling my to-do list. I finally did something about all my purses living on my closet floor, hung a bunch of art in our living rooms, did four loads of laundry, did the dishes, got groceries, and attempted a delicious dinner. (I only say "attempted" because my slow-cooker and I have some issues we need to work out. It's getting to be a problem...) I also worked on a few freelance projects. By the time Matt got home from work, my to-do list was done and I was free to chill with him. Pretty awesome, I say.
So on a completely unrelated note, I'm about to switch over my closet from warm weather clothes to cold weather clothes. I'm thinking these white pants are done for the season. It's a shame, because they're lined and would probably be pretty warm for winter. Any idea how to style these for cold months?
I feel like I'm saying that pretty much every Monday morning. I never seem to get everything done on my to-do list for any given weekend. We were busy these past two days, to be sure. Matt and I helped friends move, went to an overnight football-watching/camping/fishing trip at our friend's dad's house, set up a new wireless router and sold my old iPhone on Craigslist. I also dyed my hair and got it cut. But I wanted to work on some house projects and clean and figure out why our printer isn't working, and I didn't get to any of that. Le sigh.
So anyway, these photos. For some reason, I had a really hard time getting them to focus properly. It was the first time I ever had a problem like that, and I was getting really frustrated. I managed to clean up some of the least-out-of-focus ones using the methods I described in this post, but they're still a tad blurry:
shirt: really, really old Alloy from high school (hahaha yeah you read that right)
blazer: thrifted
skinnies: Forever 21
booties: Walmart
necklace: InPink (giveaway win)
But they got really good after I convinced Matt to step outside and be my "mark" for focusing the camera:
Since then, I've figured out that I can use my spare tripod as a mark. And ever since, my photos have been coming out crystal clear! (With the slight exception of tomorrow's outfit, because that trick hadn't quite dawned on me when I took those. Oops!)
dress: Lily Boutique
blazer: secondhand
necklace: Jane (formerly VeryJane)
heels: Target
I meant to post these on Saturday, but the weekend got crazy-busy in record time. Friday night I wound up driving down to OU to pick up my sister, and Saturday most of the rest of my family came into town to watch the Buckeyes. We went to the Skull Session to see The Best Damn Band in the Land perform (other than the OU Marching 110, of course) and then most of the family went to the game. I didn't have a ticket and had a lot of stuff to do at home, so I was super-productive with cleaning and laundry and freelance writing while the Buckeyes slaughtered the competition. Then I grabbed dinner with the fam, and then it was off to Oktoberfest — a home-brew festival in which my friend and a bunch of his friends all brew beer and we all drink it. There were 60-some different beers and ciders there. It was magical. And on Sunday, I took my sister back to OU, visited some friends who just had a baby (congrats again, Maggie and Jeff!) and did some more writing. Phew!
Anyway, so this outfit post is a little fancy for a Monday — especially considering that I am seriously about to keel over from tiredness right now — but oh well. I wore it to a friend's wedding last month (congrats again, Braden and Christine!), which was an absolute blast. There was a photobooth, which was awesome. See?
Yeah, Matt and I are pretty cool.
I wore this dress to Matt's sister's wedding last year, too, and knew that I needed some sort of coverup for it. Especially since the ceremony itself was in a Catholic church and, as a former Catholic myself, the very thought of showing that much skin in a church was mortifying. I think I did pretty well...better than the girl who's dress exposed the entire back of her bra when she sat down, anyway. Sheesh. Of course, the blazer came off at the reception, but by then everyone had been drinking and I felt much less self-conscious.
So anyway, hope this little bit of fancypants (or fancy-no-pants, I guess) brightens up your Monday!
blazer, blouse: Discount Fashion Warehouse
jeans: thrifted
flats: Target
So it only just occurred to me that I'm basically wearing this exact outfit again today, just with a different blazer. Weirdly enough, it looks different enough that I don't think anyone will call me out. We'll see, I guess?
But the "notice anything" in the title doesn't actually apply to that. (Well, how could it since you can't actually see what I'm wearing this second? Anyway.) It refers to my photos, which received a little extra editing attention today. Jess from Here & Now recently did a post on sharpening your photos before posting. I didn't do any of the metering tips, because these photos are from like two weeks ago, but I did use her Photoshop tips! I took them a step further and turned them into actions for more convenience. In retrospect, I think I went a little overboard on a few of these (I was excited, ok?) but overall I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. (Except for that backwards pose. It's awkward as hell but I wanted to show off that lace!)
And then I got lost in the link-dumps that Jess linked to (specifically this and this), and I got really inspired to try shooting in manual. I kind of derped around with the camera yesterday evening, but only took photos of my living room, my feet, the cat...I didn't use it for outfit shots yet because I was in my PJs by 6 pm yesterday. Don't judge. But shooting in manual is WAY easier than I thought it'd be, thanks to my having a little more experience with the camera itself and some great tutorials I dug up. I got pretty excited, though, and started babbling to Matt about how cool my camera is. Again. He has the patience of a saint and I'm pretty damn lucky for that :)
So. Would anyone out there be interested in some tips I picked up while playing with my manual settings? Or creating Photoshop actions? Or...I dunno, anything else I talked about today? Holla at ya girl :)
dress: thrifted
blazer: secondhand
heels: Target
belt: came with capris from Target
bracelet: Etsy
So I started writing this post last night and completely forgot to finish it. D'oh!
In my book, the perfect weekend means I have enough time for stuff I wanna do and stuff I wanna get done. As far as I'm concerned, this weekend was a textbook example of just that.
Friday nights are usually reserved for a few glasses of wine and some episodes of whatever Matt and I are currently plowing through (we're on Dexter season 2 right now). But this past Friday, my friend was helping out at a fundraiser for her friend, who was recently re-admitted to the hospital because he has cancer. So I was more than happy to be able to help her with that. We raised a great amount for the cause, and I'm pretty sure I even won a silent auction bid on a gift certificate to my favorite local tattoo shop! Fingers are crossed, as I'm still waiting for confirmation on that :)
Saturday Matt and I had a much-needed sleep-in/lay-in-bed-half-the-morning-for-no-reason sesh, and it was freaking glorious. Then I headed down to meet a friend for a little pre-game drink (Go Bucks!) before running off to another fundraiser — this time for a climbing co-op that some of Matt's friends are trying to get going. So after grabbing an awesome burger at Columbus' Audubon park, we did a little climbing ourselves...for like three hours. It. Was. Epic. I'm so out of practice, but I still managed to surprise myself by tackling a final route that I thought would be beyond my ability. By the time we got home and ate dinner, it was nearly nine...just enough time to shower and head over to our friend Chasity's house (aka our old house) to help her celebrate her birthday.
After sleeping in a little on Sunday again (OMG TWO DAYS IN A ROW WTF), I turned into a whirlwind. Laundry, sweeping/mopping, more laundry, hanging curtains, running errands, hanging art...all while Matt rewired my closet so I could stop stretching an extension cord from the bathroom. Yeah, we're pretty awesome lessors, we know. Or at least, Matt is. Because he can do electrical stuff. Me, I just punch a billion nail holes in the walls and hang shelves everywhere.
I know this is a long post already, but can we just talk about this outfit for like a second? As I was wearing it, I was struck by another of those "blogging really has helped me develop a sense of style!" moments. I've always loved blazers and dresses, but the little pop of neon is so far beyond anything I would have worn a few years ago. It just wouldn't even have occurred to me. Ditto the faux snake-print heels, and probably the rose gold spike bracelet too. And old me probably would have wanted to throw a necklace on with this too, instead of realizing that the belt and blazer add enough detail on their own. Thanks, blogging world, for introducing me to trends and styles I probably never would have worn otherwise!
blazer, dress: secondhand
shoes: Target
So this week at work, like all weeks that include the "first Friday" of a month, is insanely stressfully crazybusy. It's so bad that I'm making up words to accurately describe it. But I've realized that when I think negative thoughts, negative things happen. (Case in point: The last two times I've said, "It's gonna be a long day," events that day led to hours-long crying spells. Oh vey.) So instead of complaining abotu how much work I have to do this week and how frustrating it is, I'm going to be thankful that I'm gainfully employed in a job that I'm good at and (usually) enjoy doing. Booyah, positivity!
In other news, can we talk about these pics for a sec? I mean, woah. I'm not gonna lie, as I was editing them I kind of felt like I was working with shots from a professional shoot with a professional model. Who is this girl and how did her pics get on my camera? I mean, these obvs aren't really professional-quality shots, but the lighting was the best I've worked with yet. In both flash and flash-less images.
I wish I could say I spent the rest of the day I took these strutting around work like a 6-foot-tall America's Next Top Model contestant, but unfortunately I did not. And it's not because I'm only 5'8", either. Actually, about an hour or two after I shot these, I started feeling so ill that I had to lock myself in the bathroom and beg my neighbor to come pick me up and drive me home. It was really weird and random and gross. TMI?
I'll end this on a more pleasant, non-flu note. Remember back in June (uhhholycrapitsaugust) when I mentioned shopping my friend Hayley's closet? Yeah, both the blazer and the dress are from her. Love it.
Now, I always let you guys know when I get a free item of clothing or something. But sometimes, I host a giveaway (like this week's to the Earth Jam) and completely forget to mention that as part of hosting the giveaway, I get two tickets to Earth Jam myself, plus a free service at Nurtur. Seriously, I'm sorry. I'm the worst. Post has been updated to reflect that fact.
Ok, now that that embarrassing admission is out of the way, I can share with you all the fashion story I recently wrote for Columbus Monthly magazine! It's unfortunately a bit brief (I got way too excited and wrote way too much, so this just seems short to me now haha), but it was a lot of fun to research and write. Click here if you wanna read the piece – it's about getting your closet ready for spring fashion: what to keep, what to toss/donate, and what to buy new.
And because I feel guilty for not posting very many outfits this week, here's an outfit!
shirt: The Limited
blazer: thrifted
skinnies, flats: Target
necklace: InPink
And here's to hoping that these are my last indoor pics for the season! (And, I guess, my last Spazzy photobomb. Look at that silly cat.) Oh and hey, before I forget, any of you readers living in/around Columbus should definitely remember to enter my giveaway! It ends soon...
Aaaand that's all I have time for. Meeting a friend for drinks...and I'm already late, haha. Womp womp.
blazer, button-up blouse: thrifted
cardi: The Limited
pants: really old, don't remember
flats, necklace: Target
Okay first, I'd like to address the elephant in the room/on this post: Holy crap these photos are freaking awful. I was in a rush, I was probably tired, and I'll be honest, this sweater mysteriously shrank and I was ready to get that straightjacket off. So, sorry for the terrible quality. Hopefully you can look past it and imagine this outfit in its IRL glory. Cause I liked it a lot, aside from the whole compressing-my-arms-and-torso-into-sausages thing.
So anyway, do y'all remember my Pin-spiration Monday posts that I was doing for a while late last year/early this year? No? That's okay, I pretty much forgot about them too. Until now... So anyway, I've seen a few bloggers do this look before, most recently Audrey over at Putting Me Together. Please note how much better it looks on her, probably because she doesn't decide to replicate this look at the last minute, realize the damn sweater doesn't fit but wear it anyway because she spent the last 10 minutes sitting in front of her closet pouting, unable to think of something blog-worthy to wear, and she has to put on some form of clothing RIGHT NOW or she'll miss the bus or worse, not get her coffee. Not like that's what happened to me or anything...
Also, this is the first time I've embedded a pin on the ol' blog since they updated the embed functions, and can I just say that I really hate it? Because I really hate it. I just want the image, not the description and the name of the board I pinned too... :/ Plus, now you have to embed the JavaScript on any page the embedded pin appears? Wtf?
