sweater: Forever 21
skinnies, boots: Target
necklace: giveaway win
watch: Coach (secondhand)
Rest assured that, despite my lack of posting outfit photos, I have in fact been wearing clothes these last several weeks. Some of the outfits are even originals/non-repeats! Shocking, I know. I wore this just last week, but I jumped it to the front of my queue of "outfits to post" because I have an important question related to it...
Just when exactly does boot season end?!
I know this might be a no-brainer in some parts of the country or world, but here in good old Ohio, it can be 75 degrees one day and 42 the next. I am not kidding. So while we're looking at a high in the low 70s today, this sweater-and-boot combo was totally weather-appropriate when I wore it on Friday. Not very springlike, but hey, I was comfortable (if not seasonally accurate).
In other news, I completely failed to acknowledge my four-year bloggiversary! It was on April 8. BUTTTTTT my first outfit post was on April 14, so I guess this counts as a recognition?
It's hard to believe it's been four years since I started balancing my eight-megapixel point-and-shoot on a table or balcony and setting a self-timer. So much has changed since then! To name just a few: I grew my hair out and cut it all off. I upgraded from boyfriend to fiance (ha, here's hoping he doesn't find that offensive). I got a better point-and-shoot, then received a DSLR camera and fell absolutely in love with photography. I clawed my way out of debt and changed jobs. I discovered a love for dance and ran my first 5k and developed my rock-climbing skills. And of course I've met some fantastic fellow bloggers.
I don't know how much longer I'll keep blogging — I'm waiting until things settle down after the wedding to make the call officially — but I do know it's been an awesome ride so far. Thanks to everyone who's still reading. You guys keep me at it :)
So the last few weeks have been something of a whirlwind. I was completely overwhelmed with the task of finishing and mailing our wedding invitations; I left a few things (like getting the dang things printed, ahem) to the last minute and found myself scrambling to get them sent out in time. Granted, they still technically went out "early" — eight weeks instead of four to six — but our hotel block's cutoff is in about a week and I wanted to make sure everyone who wanted a room could get one.
Anyway, I designed them, fretted until the last minute about said design, said "screw it" and just sent them to be printed, was disappointed to see that they turned out purple instead of navy blue, said "screw it" again and started stuffing, stamping, addressing and sealing. The addressing took forever; I wanted them to look fancy, so I bought a calligraphy pen and promptly regretted that decision. After much trial and error, they turned out okay. I ordered 25 more envelopes than I needed and with mistakes, I ended up with one to spare. That's what I call luck. I then proceeded to stay up until 2 a.m. last Friday, stuffing, licking and stamping 125 envelopes. Have you ever licked 125 envelopes by yourself? It sucks.
But aren't they pretty?
A little obsessed with the lettering on this one. For some reason, I just love it. You can see my secret, too: Write it in pencil first, trace over with the calligraphy pen and India ink, then erase the pencil when the ink dries.
On top of all that, Matt was gone for two weeks to do a training in Colorado. I wasn't jealous or lonely at all. He came back on Saturday, and I'm still trying to get back into some semblance of a schedule. I kind of devolved into bachelorettehood while he was gone. I didn't hate it, but I much prefer having him around ;)
I've also been SERIOUSLY slacking on the outfit photo front lately. Something about the frigid temps and the snow lately have just crushed my motivation. I'm dressing for comfort, not style, which has meant leggings under slacks, three layers of shirts, big sweaters and generally shapeless silhouettes.
I did manage to dress nicely on a semi-warm (read: temps in the 20s instead of single digits) day last month. I straight-up copied this pin, but honestly, I was just glad to bust out my beloved maxi skirt and look somewhat pulled together again.
sweater: H&M
oxford: thrifted
maxi skirt, kitten heels: Target
necklace: giveaway win (originally from Nordstrom)
Just realized you can see my remote in the last photo. The illusion is shattered! Womp womp. Anyway, there's my secret to wearing skirts in winter: Wear long ones so you can rock some bomb-ass fleece-lined leggings underneath. I was so toasty, you don't even know. But you could. If you got a maxi skirt and fleece leggings.
Anyway, this was the first outfit I've worn in a long time that I really put effort into and liked. I hate how winter just saps all of my energy and creativity. Oh well, at least it's almost over!
And finally, in other news, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, my usernames have changed! They're easy to remember: @verbalmelange. Hooray, brand alignment!
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.
sweater: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
sleeveless collared button-down: New York & Company
khaki skinnies: Old Navy
boots: gifted (Old Navy)
necklace: giveaway win
Yeesh. End of January, where did you come from? I feel like lately, I think that every month will be easier than the last...only to find out that it's not. "Oh, once the holidays are over, things will settle down." "Oh, once I finish these photo shoots, life will be calmer." "Oh, once this freelance deadline is passed, I'll have some free time." But then I realize that after the holidays, and the three newborn photo sessions, and the writing deadlines, I'll still have about eight bajillion wedding crafts to finish. So...June? Yeah. Once June hits, I'll be able to take a breather. Possibly.
In other news, these are the last indoor photos you'll see with my curtains and a bar cart as a background! I used some Christmas money and a gift card to buy what essentially is a beginner's indoor portable studio. There's a lovely white backdrop, and a mediocre light kit. It's great in that it has two umbrella stands and a naked bulb stand, but it's not so great in that you can't really angle the umbrella lights...you can only adjust the height. Still, for a first set (and for how little I paid), I can't really complain.
The new setup means my newborn photo sessions went wonderfully; I have two of them finished and am just trying to find time to upload the photos to my portfolio site. I'll be sure to share a link when I do because these kiddos are ADORABLE. I love babies. Especially tiny little newborns. They're so precious!
Anyway, yeah. Tangent much? I have no idea what I really wanted to say about this outfit/life in general this morning. Other than maybe, is there anything easier than throwing a collared shirt under a sweater and adding a big necklace? I am digging this look lately and I swear I wear some variation of it at least once a week. Yeah nope, still super random/tangental. I'm trying to get back into the habit of waking up early to do some yoga and mini projects (like more frequent blog posts, ahem). Sooo my coffee hasn't quite hit my brain yet, I guess? Yeah, let's go with that.
sweater, slacks: thrifted
short-sleeve button-down: New York & Company
flats: Target
necklace: gifted (Kate Spade)
Welp, you're looking at a pretty close approximation of my outfits all this week: sweater, a layer under it, warm dress pants and flats that are easy to throw in my bag while I wear my heavier winter boots. Because all week, temps have been in the teens or single digits, with negative-degree wind chills. Yesterday morning, the actual temp was -6 Fahrenheit, with a wind chill of -22! It's not okay, guys. I'm too delicate for this bitter winter clime.
But I haven't been letting the chill get me down too much. I layer fleece-lined leggings under my pants for the walk home from the bus stop. (Matt, who works second shift during the week, is a saint who drives me to work every morning in his well-warmed-up car.) I have my rated-to-20-degree boots that perform well enough even when the temps are below 20. And I have a killer long down jacket I got at the end of last winter from Burlington Coat Factory. I'm even managing to make it to the gym most evenings! If you know anything about me, you know that's a feat even in nicer weather. So I guess I can't complain too much.
In other news (cue abrupt subject change), our wedding is exactly four months from today! I still have so much to do...cutting wine bottles for our centerpiece vases, making the flower-petal candle holders for our other centerpieces, assembling all the flowers we made, making my veil, doing my dress fitting(s), designing and printing our invitations and other miscellaneous stationery, doing final meetings with the few pros we did hire to confirm all the details...eesh. It's gonna be a very busy four months. I can't think about the big picture too much, or I get super stressed out and panicky. I just have to take things in baby steps: This weekend is devoted to bottle-cutting and editing some photos from a newborn session I had the other weekend. Keep it small and manageable, that's my motto :)
How do you deal with massive projects? And while we're doing the whole ask-questions-at-the-end-of-the-post-to-encourage-feedback thing, are the temps abysmally cold where you are, too? How do you even handle that? (I'm thinking of you, Sydney, up in what I can only assume is the frozen tundra of Canada. I'm shivering just thinking about it.)
You read that right! This should be (oh man, I sure hope it is) the last batch of indoor shots for the season. Of course, this is Ohio, and it's also the weirdest/coolest spring we've had for a while, so I had to throw that parenthetical question mark in there. Le sigh.
sweater and necklace: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
khaki skinnies: Old Navy
boots: Target
These were taken during a cold snap that happened just after the first real taste of warm weather this year, and I was not exactly pleased to be donning boots and a sweater again. The above photos might be all smiley, but this is how I really felt:
I can't help it. I'm cold-blooded. I need the sun and the heat.
I've been dying for nice weather even more than usual over the past week and a half, because I finally got my scooter running! That is, I found a guy who was able to get it running for me. If you're in Columbus and you need a recommendation for an honest, fast, reliable scooter or motorcycle repair guy, hit me up. I'd love to give him some more business.
Anyway, I've been scooting around town for absolutely everything possible since last week, including commuting to work. Yesterday I took it on my longest ride yet: Nearly two hours of running errands on OSU's campus and in Grandview and Upper Arlington. So far I've only hit a top speed of 50 mph, which is plenty fast enough for me, thanks. (It's a 150 cc, and the speedometer indicates it can go up to 80, though I suspect there's some sort of regulator that would probably cut me off around 60 mph or so. Since it's not legal for highway driving, I really don't see a need for ever going over 50 mph.) I mastered my balance and driving into head- and crosswinds fairly quickly, and now am working on perfecting my turns. And of course, here's a photo from the day I got her back from my repair guy:
I named her Perdita, because her fancy matte black and white paint job makes her look a little like a dalmation. Also, she's purdy :) Suffice to say, I'm absolutely in love.
So I spent most of my lunch break today pinning various silk flowers from afloral.com to a hidden Pinterest board (because probably no one following me cares to see a billion variations of the same anemone/peony/dahlia/ranunculus clusters, amiright?) and now I feel completely overwhelmed by flowers. I mean, I know I'd be spending $1,000+ more if I go with a professional florist, especially because our wedding is the same weekend as Mother's Day. But seriously, I know nothing about how to make a floral arrangement look good. And now I'm a teensy bit freaked out at the prospect of figuring it out. Halp.
In other news, I found an older, colder-weather outfit in my queue of outfit photos. Originally this post was supposed to have a "thank god that's behind us" slant, but the forecast for tomorrow includes an inch of snow and I basically am just about ready to give up on the hope of ever seeing a live tulip in my yard again.
sweater, slacks: thrifted
blouse: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
flats: Target
necklace: Etsy
But, as I promised Sydney on Instagram, I shan't complain. After all, our temp range tomorrow is gonna be a whopping 40/28 Fahrenheit, which is a bit warmer than her 1/-6 Celsius. But (and this is not complaining) seriously. Nature. Wat r u doing? Nature. Stahp.
sweater/blouse combo: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
skinnies: The Limited via DFWh
boots: gifted (but they're from Old Navy)
So this sweater/blouse combo thing is actually one top. The blouse-y bit is a sheer tank top that's sewed to the sweater at the shoulders. It's way cute, and really comfortable, but holy crap is it proving to be a pain. First, it's way sheer in the back, so I have to wear a nude cami under it to avoid showing the world my bra. Or at least, I have to do that if I want to wear this to work. Which I did a few Fridays ago. Second, the fact that the sheer bit is only attached at the shoulders means putting this thing on takes like 10 minutes, between untangling and pulling it over my head and getting my arms in the right places. I feel a bit like a toddler learning to get dressed. Third, it's "hand wash only" and HELLO I can barely bring myself to do regular laundry every week, let alone wash something by hand. I wore this outfit like three weeks ago and this sweater is still sitting in my laundry pile, smirking at me. I think I'm just going to throw it in the wash on the "delicate" cycle (and then air dry it) and hope for the best. Seriously, hand-washing clothes: Ain't nobody got time for that.
And ugh can we talk about how beat up these boots are? I got them for Christmas two (or three?) years ago (thanks, Mom!) and I've worn them at least once or twice a week every fall and winter since. I love them. I'm not ready to let them go. Poll time: Is it worth it to pay someone to re-sole a pair of Old Navy boots that, let's face it, probably cost less than $50 to buy in the first place?
In other news, holy crap it's nearly the end of March and I'm about to be hit with a quintfecta of work-related stress-triggers. Yes, I said quintfecta. It's like a trifecta, only there's five things and none of them have to do with racing. That's how serious this is. It requires the creation of new and weird words. Long story short, I have to put out two newsletters, meet two freelance deadlines and send an email blast in the next two and a half weeks. Sooooo...once again, I may be sporadic around here. I'm getting better at saying no to extra projects, I swear. This is actually my workload after I've said no to one or two things.
P.S. I just looked back over this before posting and there is a LOT of weird emphasis in this post. I guess I just have a lot of big feels today...
Ah, spring. It's on our doorsteps. I can feel it. Although the temperature rise is almost imperceptible -- it's a two-steps-forward-one-step-back shuffle between 60 degrees and snowing -- it is certainly present. And with that ever so slight rise in temperature, I can feel my blood begin to circulate through my veins again, waking me up from the dormancy of winter. I'm ready for patio happy hours and lazy Saturdays by the pool and rock climbing weekend trip adventures and sunsets at 9 pm and just generally feeling like the couch and Netflix are no longer my best friends.
And, although I really do love the sweater-skinnies-boots combo, it's getting kind of stale. I've worn variations of this outfit at least twice a week this winter, if not more, and I'm ready for skirts and dresses again. For sandals. For short sleeves and short shorts and tank tops!
sweater and skinnies: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
boots: gifted (Old Navy)
GAH! Spring, y u no here yet??
Seriously though. Highs for the next week and a half, in order: 53, 37, 42, 53, 58, 47, 38, 57, 60. Who am I kidding? I'm in Ohio. This is spring. Excuse me while I go cry until summer.
Yup, I'm still here. Remember that "upcoming climbing trip" I mentioned last Tuesday? Yeah, it was this past weekend. It was rather spur-of-the-moment and took us out of town from Friday afternoon through Monday night, and it was a bit different from our normal climbing trips in that it focused on bouldering, which is done on lower climbs and without ropes. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but first I have to edit the 200-some pics from the trip! (I brought my DSLR and got some incredible shots as a result. I actually took more than 500 photos, but a lot were repetitive and/or poorly shot, so I was able to narrow them down quite a bit.)
I'm hoping to finish up those photos tonight, but in the meantime, here's an outfit!
sweater and necklace: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
slacks: thrifted
flats: Target
This sweater might just be one of my new favorite things. It's a nice olive green with gold studs down the arm (which pair well with these studded-heel flats) and I love it. I'm actually pretty bummed that I got it so late in the year, because now I can only wear it a few times before it gets packed away for the season. We're supposed to get some snow tomorrow (WTF Ohio, it's 65 degrees today!) so it looks like I'll at least get to wear it once more this week or next.
I must have been in a bad mood when I took these pics. Almost none of the shots had a decent facial expression going on! Oh, well. Expect to see this bad boy again around these parts before spring officially thaws the frozen tundra formerly known as Columbus ;)
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.
sweater, skinnies: H&M
booties: Walmart
necklace: InPink
Apparently I spoke too soon last Wednesday when I said I was getting "over the hump" of this cold. Because as I found out at the doctor's this weekend, it's not a cold. It's bronchitis. Whee!
I'm no stranger to bronchitis; I got it a lot in college when I lived in the dorms. And given the timing of this onset, I'm suspecting I may have picked it up on the plane coming back from my visit to Emily's. Oh, well. The important thing is that the doctor gave me lots of awesome drugs and now I can take a breath and even laugh without going into a coughing fit. Yay, drugs!
Kids, don't do drugs.
Unless your doctor tells you to.
Anyway, I took yesterday off to let the meds do their magic, and I'm heading back to work again this morning. I did nothing but sleep, drag my butt to said doctor's visit (and to a haircut appointment that I'd already rescheduled twice) and watch a ton of Girls this weekend. (Which, by the way, WHY am I just now starting this show??) So I'm kind of glad to be getting out of the house. Even if it's for work ;)
