sweater: Forever 21
khakis: Old Navy
boots: Madden Girl via Famous Footwear
necklace: gifted
I had intended to make today's post my January clothes budget recap (to link up to Fran's Budgeting Bloggers series, but this week month kind of got away from me. Spoiler alert: This sweater is in the recap. Spoiler alert #2: I spent every penny of my clothes budget, and then some, at Forever 21 this month. I'm a little embarrassed about that fact, but also not at all embarrassed because I needed a lot of sweaters and now I have them :)
Anyway, I guess I'm adding "write a January budget recap post" to my already miles-long to-do list for this weekend. I'm doing two interviews for a Columbus Bride story, writing another story that I've finished interviewing for, going to the climbing gym with Matt and his aunt to show her the ropes (AAAAHH I'm sorry, I'm sorry, terrible puns are my kryptonite). I also have to start my taxes, work on some photos for said Columbus Bride stories, do some general wedding prep and go to a meeting on a photography project I'm involved in. And finally, I have plans to hang out with my friends Chasity and Kate; the three of us (and Matt) are going to a show on Saturday, and then just us girls are getting together Sunday to watch Super Bowl commercials and do some wedding crafting. Sheesh. It's gonna be one of those "I need a weekend after my weekend" situations, I think.
How are your weekend plans shaping up? Hopefully you'll have a little more downtime than I do!
P.S. I totally forgot to talk about my new backdrop! Here it is :) I love it. It's been such a boon to both my blog photography and my budding semi-professional shoots as well. This was my second outfit shoot with it, and clearly it's a lot harder to figure out if my feet will be cut off when I don't have a point of reference at the bottom of the frame. I wound up repositioning the camera to get my feet in the shots, but I ended up not liking any of them anyway. Womp womp.
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?
tank: secondhand
cami: Old Navy
skinnies: Forever 21
jelly shoes: Urban Outfitters
necklace: Etsy
lipstick: Mary Kay in Red
You guys, I absolutely hate moving. It's such a pain in the butt. All the painting, packing, cleaning...it drives me crazy. The only thing I actually like about moving is at the very end, when you get to unpack everything and do some hardcore nesting. I'm a big nester.
But as we draw closer to the end of the month, I find that I'm less and less able to ignore the inevitable. And as much as I desperately hope I'll wake up one morning to find that the moving fairy has packed up all our crap, I know that eventually Matt and I will have to do it ourselves. I suspect that much of this weekend will be dedicated to packing up. Le sigh.
Ok, that's bumming me out. Let's talk about these photos. They're from the Fourth of July, and I completely forgot I had them. It was raining a bit, so I had to prop my camera up under our porch and shoot from there. I was having a hard time getting consistency from the flash, so one of the shots didn't come out quite as nicely as the others.
The Fourth was unseasonably cool, but no one was really complaining. I kind of liked that I was able to wear some rolled-up skinnies as the blue component of my red, white and blue outfit. And actually, I was pretty proud of this outfit. It was patriotic and festive without being too in-your-face...and the black shirt (which almost fits me like a dress) is one of my new favorite casual tops. So all in all...great success?
Ugh, sorry for the babbling. I'm trying to get back into the habit of getting up early and it's not going so well. I'd delete this whole thing and start over, but if I do I'll be late for work. Blergh.
shirt: Old Navy
shorts: thrifted
sandals: Target
Hi folks. So I'm thinking that at least for the time being, you can expect a little photo-speak to accompany my outfit posts. Because half the time, I find the technique behind shooting an outfit more interesting than the outfit itself. Sorrynotsorry.
So I had Matt snap these for me quickly before we left for...uh...somewhere. For the life of me, I can't remember where I wore this. Oh well. Not important. I just turned the camera to auto and he clicked away. I love how even the auto-setting photos on this camera turn out so awesome!
The below shot is one I took just moments before we headed outside for the real photos. I had just gotten my remote and was going a little click-happy. I remember I didn't have time to set up my tripod and do a proper shoot, but I wanted to test the remote regardless, so I plopped the camera on my mantle and took a few snaps. This one turned out kind of cool, so I decided to post it. Dem collarbones. Girrrrrl...
So this is where the cool photography part comes in. I noticed when I uploaded this photo that if I corrected the exposure to my face/clothes, the windows were completely blown out. But if I didn't adjust the exposure, I was too dark. I remembered reading this tip for fixing the problem, and used that as a guideline for doing my own version of a fix.
Basically, I made two copies of this photo. On the first, I adjusted the exposure to properly display my face/body. On the second, I adjusted the exposure the other way, underexposing everything to bring out the details of the blinds. Then I just used the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop to select the blinds and copied them to a new layer. I dragged the new layer to the correctly-exposed photo, lined it up over the blown-out windows, and adjusted the opacity down of the blinds-only layer to about 80 percent so it would look more natural. Looking back, I could probably have under-exposed the blinds even more in my initial steps, but for a first shot I say this isn't too bad!
Top photo: Correctly exposed subject with blown-out windows
Bottom photo: Better-exposed windows with under-exposed subject.
So here's my question for you all: Would you be interested in reading tutorials on stuff like this? Or do you find that process a little dull and would rather read what I have to say about the styles/trends themselves? Or do you find both interesting?
shirt, necklace: Old Navy
jeans: secondhand Express
shoes, bracelets: Target
So I guess there's been a few tropical storms or something like that pushing a ton of rain up through the Midwest. I read yesterday that Cincinnati, which is about two hours from here, has already gotten its rain quota for the entire month. And as my bloggy friend Sydney pointed out, Toronto is getting hit pretty hard as well. Shiz be cray, amiright?
Anyway, I wore this two weekends ago to a party to celebrate Matt's grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary. 70th!! It's insane. His grandparents have been married almost as long as my mom's mom has been alive. It was a really nice party, and we even managed to get a couple of nice family photos in before--you guessed it--the downpour started. (Matt's family is huge; his dad has five sisters, and they all have kids, and some of them have kids...I love it.)
And speaking of things I love, how about this shirt? I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I rarely see an item in a commercial or on a blog and then run out to buy it. In the case of this shirt, I saw it in both formats and got it practically the next weekend. Since then, I've seen a few other bloggers wearing it, so...I guess it was a good buy?
Do you ever run out and buy specific items you see on TV or on blogs?
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 :)
shirt, skirt, belt (came with skirt): JCPenney
heels, necklace: Target
So I had these photos all edited and ready to post last week. And then stuff happened. And kept happening. And, just as the weekend hit and I thought I'd finally have time to get my life back in order, MORE STUFF HAPPENED. Sorry to be vague, but some things just aren't blog-appropriate (or blog-worthy), I guess. Suffice to say: I'm still feeling a bit frazzled. But I'm cautiously optimistic about this week, and especially about this weekend, so I'm just going to shake off the dust of last week and try to start fresh.
Easier said than done, perhaps, but I know I can do it. Confidence! Empowerment! Blah blah blah etc!
In other news, this skirt is one of my favorite items in my closet, but it's also one of the least-worn items in my closet? Any ideas why? If you guessed, "Because it's white and Emma is a huge klutz and always spills things," DINGDINGDING you're a winner. Thankfully, I made it through yet another day without any stains. It's like a miracle, you guys.
Also, I totes didn't mean to create what is essentially an all-JCP outfit, but I wanted to pair this skirt with a lot of bold color and grabbed this shirt without really thinking about brand. In fact, it didn't even occur to me until I sat down to write this post. Anyone else ever accidentally become a real-life model for a certain brand or store?
cropped sweater: came with a dress from Burlington Coat Factory
cami, heels: Target
cropped slacks: The Limited
necklace: H&M
So I was going to write about this outfit and its colors and how bright they are, compared to what I usually wear. But I'm tired. I'm not sure where all of Monday's energy went, but it is gone. I'm tired, and not in a way that a nap can cure. I don't know where it came from, but a little bout of general blah-ness is settling into my bones and making me want to watch bad TV and eat junk food until I hate myself a little bit. Or a lot, I'm flexible on that.
But I'm not going to do that! I recently started taking dance clases, and they're honestly one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I actually discovered the studio through a freelance story I was researching, and I instantly did the worst thing a journalist can do and got emotionally involved. I've been going to classes once a week ever since. Tonight is hip-hop :)
So, that's the sad-story-happy-story I have for you today. I'm feeling depressed as hell for no reason, but I'm going to fix it by dancing for 90 minutes. Best. Solution. Ever.
chambray, jacket: thrifted
skinnies, flats: Target
belt, necklace, bracelet: H&M
You guys, I think spring has finally arrived. Today I got to experience a balmy 71 degrees and it. was. glorious. But here's the weird thing about Ohio. The lows on Friday night reached down to 29. Wednesday is looking like it'll see a high of 81...and then Friday, we're back to high 48/low 37. Seriously, Ohio? It's spring. Stop trying to pretend otherwise.
You wanna know how I know what Friday's low temp was? Well, I looked it up, but I also lived it, man. One of our friends' parents has some land outside of town, so Matt and I and about 20 of our friends camped out Friday night. There was a little pond, a campfire and lots of grilling/toasting. (And booze. There was quite a bit of booze as well.) But it was freeeeezing. I'm talking leggings under jeans under sweatpants. Two shirts, hoodie and a down jacket. Gloves and a hat. In other words, way too freakin' cold for April.
Sleeping actually wasn't too bad...for Matt and me. We had a nice, snug little tent, five layers of blankets, and super warm sleeping bags that were actually rated for that kind of weather, thankfully. Others weren't so fortunate...two people in a big four-person tent shivered all night because they only brought one comforter. For once, I was pretty glad to be one of those "just in case" types, haha.
Now that the weather is picking up a bit, our calendars are really filling up. We're planning a few fun trips in the coming weeks/months.(I don't really want to talk about them specifically until after the fact--not trying to broadcast to the world, Hey we're gonna be out of town on X days! Come rob us!) But I can't wait to blog them afterward!
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?
The second wedding weekend was actually two weekends ago, but I wasn't able to stay at the reception long and wound up not taking many pictures. This past weekend, I was in the wedding and only got a few shots in between all the bridesmaid duties :)
Groom Josh, me, and bride Tiffany.
Me 'n my man. Isn't he handsome?
Tiff and me. We've been bffs since we were about 17 or so. She's pretty much the bee's knees. (My dress is from David's Bridal...not sure where Tiff's is from. My jewelry was my bridesmaid gift, and it was from Express.)
All in all, it was a really long weekend, since I headed up to northern Ohio Thursday night and stayed through Monday morning (the wedding itself was Sunday night). Today was pretty rough, after a weekend of mildly structured chaos, haha. But I suppose I might as well get back into the swing of things, no? Eh. Here goes nothing :)
Foof. That's the sound I made when I flopped down onto the couch after work today. Adjusting to new schedules has always been a tad difficult for me, and this week and last have been no exception. I switched to writing my blog posts at night and scheduling for the morning, and wouldn't you know, I forgot to write a post for yesterday morning. I almost didn't get this post written, thanks to everything else that's going on right now, but I managed to remember as I was making dinner.
And then, when I stepped away from dinner for half a second to chat with Chasity (one of the upstairs neighbors), Spazzcat the dufus started eating at my hot dog. This is a pathetic dinner as it is, Spazzy! You could at least let me eat the whole damn thing.Le sigh.
The fact is, there is a LOT going on right now. I don't really want to go into the details, because it will only make me more stressed, but suffice to say that things are caraaaaaazy.
So. Outfit photos.
shirt: JC Penney
pants: thrifted
belt and heels: Target
hair pins: H&M
ring and necklace: gifted
This shirt was part of a fairly restrained shopping spree I went on the day I found out my start date for this new job. I say "fairly" restrained because I did wind up spending more than I wanted to, but I only bought basics and items that I could remix easily. But man, have you been to JC Penney lately? Their spring lines are AWESOME. I walked into the dressing room with more than a dozen items and had to ruthlessly pare down to just three. When I have a clothes budget again (starting next month!! but more on that for Fiscal Fridays this week), I am gonna have to hit that place up again.
Because I like to keep a cache of outfit photos, the outfits I post here are rarely the outfits I wear on a given day. (Exception: When I forget about EBEW or BDIB and wear the theme the day of. Then I have to get up earlier to shoot, edit and post the photos all at once.) Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that because of this cache, I often wind up with an incongruity between the day's weather and the outfit that I post that day.
For example, if I were actually wearing this outfit today, my toes would be the color of my shirt. This was taken during our freak heat wave last month, when temps were hitting record-breaking numbers in the 80s. And today? It's currently just above freezing, and not scheduled to get too much warmer in the afternoon. Boo.
shirt: secondhand
pants: New York & Company
sandals: Target
tie-worn-as-a-belt: thrifted
In high school, I used to wear ties with T-shirts in an attempt to be somewhat punk. I still maintain that it didn't actually look too bad. So when I saw this tie at Goodwill a while back, I got far too nostalgic and bought it. It's actually pretty cute, and I'm tempted to wear it as an actual tie at some point...I just have to figure out how to make it look not like teenage-me and not like the man-version of me. You gotta love a good challenge!
What about you? Any trends from younger-you days that you want to re-create, but are hesitating on?
