(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?
When I first started blogging, I tended to wear a lot of neutral colors. Black, gray, white, beige...that was my comfort zone. Every once in a while, I'd throw in a pop of red or yellow. Now, I'm mixing colors and patterns with the best of them. I might stick more to the "safe" zone of color-/pattern-mixing, but I still do it.
Usually.
sweater: New York & Company
blouse: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
khaki skinnies: Old Navy
boots: Target
necklace: Jane.com
Sometimes, it's kind of nice to go back to my roots, so to speak. Though even this outfit is a far cry from the black shirt/khaki pants combo I would have been wearing three years ago, when I first started brainstorming the idea of a style blog. The pearls! The stars-as-polka-dots sheer blouse! The layering! The khakis-as-skinnies-tucked-into-boots! I would have worn none of it, I tell you.
Except the sweater. That baby was purchased nearly three and a half years ago, when I first entered the professional world and needed a business casual wardrobe, stat. New York & Company, you've done well for me.
Oh, and if that last photo looks different, it's because it is. Slightly. I played around with sharpening the image in Photoshop's RAW editing mode before using the sharpening actions I've mentioned before. (My original post on sharpening photos is pretty poor; it's little more than a link to these three pages. I'm going to do some more research on sharpening in the RAW editor, then I'll come back and do a comprehensive post on the whole shebang. So...stay tuned!
sweater: thrifted (American Eagle, I think?)
blouse: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
slacks: thrifted
flats: Target
necklace: gifted
Perhaps you've noticed a relative decline in outfit post frequency. Well my friend, it's only because Ohio is still JUST LIKE THE FREAKING NORTH POLE and I can't handle all the cold. Seriously. When it's -4 outside and I have to get dressed, I just throw on a pair (or two) of tights, some slacks, socks, a sweater (and usually a few other layers), then pack my dress shoes in my bag and clomp out the door in my snow boots, down jacket, giant scarf, hat and gloves. AND I'M OVER IT. This outfit is literally the most creative business-casual combo I've come up with in weeks. I'm dying of boredom. And hypothermia.
And since I'm not shooting outfit photos as often, I am constantly forgetting to straighten these dang curtains before shooting. Until I go to edit the photos in my backlog, and then I get all annoyed at how crooked they're hanging...until the next day, when I again forget to straighten them.
It's times like this — when the crooked curtains and frigid temps have me at my most annoyed/frustrated — that I turn to a little tune I recently heard for the first time. That's right, I'm wayyyy late on the Frozen bandwagon, but fortunately when my sisters and I all got together at OU last weekend, they didn't need much convincing to see it again. (For Ellen, it was actually her fifth viewing. I'm not kidding.) So without further ado, this is what I'm belting in the shower...and the car...and in my head pretty much every second of every day.
blouse: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
tank, boots: Target
skinnies: H&M
necklace: gifted
Well, last week was kind of a lovely little vacation from everything. I only worked on Monday, and after the holidays were over I just kind of laid on the couch, worked out a bit, caught up on some projects and generally didn't really think too hard about anything. It was superb. So much so that I'm actually contemplating calling in sick to continue the trend. And actually, I am coming down with a cold...I've had a sore throat since Saturday night, which I've been treating with copious amounts of tea and honey (and a smidgen of bourbon, hot-toddy-style). But I'm not calling off, because I have too much to do this week and it'll be shortened thanks to us having New Year's Day (aka National Hangover Day) off. So. Here we are.
So I wore this outfit to one of Matt's and my six family Christmas parties. (Can you even imagine if we were products of divorce?? It would be so many more Christmases! As it is, we still celebrate with both sides of our extended families, plus separate gatherings with our nuclear families.) Anyway. I've also been wearing this outfit to about a billion other things, because it's adorable and comfy. I'm practically living in these skinnies right now. Well, not right now, because skinnies only fly on Fridays at work, but you know what I mean.
In other news, the face I'm making in my last photo there is a testament to how terrible my balance is. Note to self: Get to work on that. In other other news, I promise I'm planning to stick to the Makeup Mondays series I introduced a few weeks ago. Really. I just keep getting distracted and end up having to throw together a shorter post at the last second...
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?
...is pretty much what I need to do with my life.
shirt: thrifted
skirt, tights, necklace: The Limited
heels: Target
belt: came w/ a skirt from JCPenney
I often feel like there's not enough time in the evenings to do all the stuff I want to do. Work out, shower, blog, make a delicious (read: not frozen/takeout) dinner, occasional freelance work, relax...actually, when I list it all out, it really doesn't sound like that much. But it sure feels like it.
The obvious solution would be to do some of those things (work out and/or blog) in the mornings. But I'll be honest: Mornings are NOT my strong suit. I am so anti-mornings that I've turned Matt, who used to be a huge morning person. Now we both just hit the snooze over and over, curling up under the blankets and trying to avoid the inevitable moment when we actually have to (gag) get out of bed.
I would love to get up an hour earlier to head to the gym or even half an hour earlier to write a blog post. But honestly, dragging my sorry butt out of bed at 7 (okay, let's be honest, 7:15) is hard enough as it is. I know. I'm the worst.
blouse: thrifted
skirt, tights, heels: Target
necklace: VeryJane
I know I say this every time a three-day weekend rolls around, but America really needs to align itself to a four-day workweek. (Not really, I know how disastrous that would be for business/government, but let me dream.) I had Presidents' Day off yesterday, which was pretty rad for my weekend in general.
Saturday was spent doing some cleaning and whatnot, then that evening Matt and I celebrated Valentine's with a delicious homemade dinner and a movie. If you follow me on Instagram (@elfrankart) you might have noticed pics of the dinner...surf & turf with filets, crab legs, balsamic brown butter asparagus, a delicious salad that our friend makes all the time, and a great bottle of wine. Plus, chocolate coffee meringues for dessert. (I'll post the recipe for the meringues after I perfect it...I kinda made them too big, so they were a little underdone in the middle.) We saw Warm Bodies, which was a pretty good movie, and then met up with Matt's sister and her husband and friends, who were all in town to see a local band play at this great little bar by our house.
Sunday, I did absolutely nothing except watch several hours of Cougar Town. I randomly decided to start watching the show, so natch I had to watch all the old episodes to catch up. That shiz is hilarious.
To make up for such a lazy Sunday, I went to the gym and ran a bunch of errands on Monday. And I finally got a rug to cover the splintery hardwood in our bedroom. My feet are thanking me already.
So, conclusion. Three-day weekends are the absolute best because I can be productive, then super lazy, then productive again. Win, win, win.
Running a bit behind this morning, so I have just a couple quick photos to post, and some shopping tips and info for y ;)First, the shopping. I have a promo code for you to use on eShakti! Buy some cute clothes for you or get a jump start on your Christmas shopping with the promo code EMMA0811. That will get you $20 off your purchase now through December 31!Want $50 to spend on whatever you like at The Limited? Of course you do. Click here to enter! Giveaway ends TONIGHT at 11 pm EST, so hurry up!
sweater, scarf-turned-belt, cords: thrifted
lace shirt: Forever 21
cami: Old Navy
shoes: TargetI had to adjust the second photo a bit more than the first to show the detail of the shirt. I swear, I've never once been able to photograph this lace shirt well! The photo gods must dislike it. Too bad, photo gods, because I love this shirt!I'm slowly but surely bulking up my thrifting skills and thrifted clothes. My goal? To create an entirely thrifted outfit before the end of the year. Looks like I have some serious $1 holla shopping to do!Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of eShakti, so I get perks when you use that promo code. And even though I said it on the original post, I'll say it again...The Limited compensated me for this giveaway as well.
