30 for 30: October 2014

It’s been a while (almost a year!) since I did my last 30 for 30 Challenge, although I’m not sure why I've waited so long to do it again (check out June 2013 & November 2013). I do find the summer a bit more tricky to dress for – I love summer and being warm, but a lack of layering can be tough for this Colorado girl. Of course I eventually figure it out (usually by the end of August sometime), but sometimes I feel a bit more put together and creative, with layers, scarves, and figuring out how to keep warm without looking like a marshmallow. Maybe I just need more throw-and-go dresses in my summer wardrobe…

I view a 30 for 30 Challenge as a little peak/test run of a capsule wardrobe. I’m incredibly inspired and intrigued by the idea of a capsule wardrobe, but am not ready to take that plunge, juuuuust yet. I love the idea of having less to choose from when getting dressed – and done right, any and every piece can, and will go, with any other piece in your wardrobe. However, I am taking little bitty baby steps and paring down/editing/curating my wardrobe. I don’t know that I could ever do a Project 333 wardrobe, or the 10 Item Wardrobe, but something more along the lines of “Less than what you have now” Wardrobe. Pretty clever, huh?

I switched out my cold and warm weather clothes, and was surprised at how much space my cold weather items take up! I mean, I’ve gotten rid of TONS! Really, lots and lots of clothing has been sold, donated, and/or given to friends, but it’s still a struggle to fit everything. And no, I’m not purchasing as much as I’m getting rid of – trust. If anything, I’m trying very hard to make sure nothing comes into my closet that:

(1) I don’t LOVE

(2) doesn’t jive with what's already there and/or my evolving style

(3) is really not needed.

Anyways…this 30 for 30 go-around I think I have a better “direction,” if you will – more darker colors and basics that can easily crossover from one item to the next. I even played around with the skirts and dresses one night, and paired them with different tops/sweaters/layers to see how many I could come up with – if I’m adventurous, at least 20, if not more. However, some of those options are weather dependent – obviously I’m not going to wear a heavy sweater when it’s warm outside, or layer like it’s my job when it’s warm out, as well.

And, without further ado, here are the 30 items I have chosen to wear for the month of October:

  

tops (9)

- dark wash chambray: WalMart

- light wash chambray: Lauren Conrad via Kohl’s

- gray lace sweatshirt: rue21

- buffalo plaid button up: Akinz Boardwear
*this flannel was really snug, so I replaced  it with another buffalo plaid button up from Kohl's

- blue long sleeve tunic: Target

- olive & black split-side long sleeve: GG Boutique

- striped ¾ sleeve shirt: Target

- black v-neck tee: Target

- gray v-neck tee: Target

sweaters (3) 

- white cable knit: Old Navy

- blue v-neck: Old Navy

- black cardigan: Ann Taylor

jackets/blazers (3) 

- black faux leather jacket: Target

- teal faux leather jacket: The Screamin’ Peach

- gray blazer: Aéropostale

dresses (3)

-  black dress: thrifted (Target)

- gray & white striped t-shirt dress: WalMart

- black floral: Aéropostale

skirts (5)

- pink crochet/lace skirt: Nordstrom

- floral pencil skirt: J. Crew Factory

- short gray skirt: from a friend

- black crochet skirt: Aéropostale

- striped pencil: Target

pants (3)

- black skinnies: Aéropostale

- white corduroys: GAP

- skinny jeans: local consignment shop

shoes (4)

- taupe booties: Old Navy

- brown flats: WalMart

- python flats: WalMart

- metallic sandals: Target 

Rules/caveats/tweaks:

1) I'm planning to purchase a pair of Frye boots this month. However, I have yet to pull the trigger on a pair. But when I do, that pair will become part of my 30 for 30 (31 for 31, if you will, since October has 31 days). A nice balance to some of my other shoe choices (the sandals), which  will be great for the days in the 60s & 70s, but sometimes we do get snow and cold in October in Colorado.

2) If we have crazy weather (i.e. snow, ice, etc.) I am allowed to dig out my snow boots and/or rain boots and wear those at least to and from work. And same goes for a warmer heavy jacket/coat.

3) If it’s CRAZY cold, I am allowed to throw on another jacket or down vest.

4) These 30 items of course don’t include my running gear. And if there’s a day I don’t get out of my pajamas/sweatpants/running clothes, I’m not going to share that look on the internet for all to see. So, there could be less than 31 outfits shared this month. However, I do promise to try my hardest to put on real clothes and take pictures and share them here.

5) Currently, I don’t have any special occasions coming up that would require me to wear something fancy. BUT, should that need arise, I can choose something that is NOT part of my 30 items – most likely this eShakti dress, because I LUUUURVE it.

6) These 30 items also don’t include a Halloween costume – IF I dress up...

7) These 30 items also do not include accessories, such as bags, jewelry, hats, and/or scarves.

8) We don't have cable at our house, so if we go somewhere to watch the Broncos or another football game, I can wear a shirt for the game, but I have to complete the rest of my outfit using items from my 30.

Also, I realize this post is SEVERAL days after the 1^st of the month (we're halfway through October already! YIKES!), but please believe me when I say that I really have been wearing my 30 items and taking pictures and writing, I've just been backlogged with other outfits to post.

Also also, if you’re interested in doing the rest of the challenge with me, or adapting it a bit (say 7 items for 7 days, or something similar) please do, and send me a link or some pictures so I can share here! I’m not thinking a “link-up,” but if you feel so inspired,

please send your looks and items my way to:

sweetbananie@gmail.com

7 items

In an effort to switch things up around here, the Mr. and I had the idea for him to help me with a “style challenge,” of sorts. He chose 7 items, and I had to figure out how to wear them, all in 7 days. There was to be no repeating, and I could not double up items in 1 day.

So, 7 different items to style, in 7 days. Sounds easy, right? Shouldn’t be TOO difficult. I mean, it wasn’t IMPOSSIBLE, but it wasn’t as easy as just throwing on what I want to wear every day. However, I did it! And he even gave me 1 easy item – my running shoes, since this week happened to include my most recent half marathon.

Here are the 7 items he chose, and a little blurb of information from him (below). The next several posts will show how I styled these items, and his rationale behind choosing each of them for me: the jeans he’s always liked (they’re from high school), the brown shoes & blue plaid belt, I hardly wear, and the running shoes, so I could run my race.

button up shirt: Aéropostale
dress: from a friend
sequined skirt: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's
jeans: American Eagle
belt: American Eagle

running shoes: Mizuno via Zappos (Mizuno Wave Inspire 10)
loafers: MIA

From the Mr: 
"I got to pick 7 items out of Annie’s closet and she had to create an outfit with each of them for the next 7 days. I debated playing a mean joke and picking out swim suits and winter jackets, but I guess the nice side of me won and I picked the above 7 items for her to work with. I tried to give her a bit of a challenge, and threw in a couple of easy ones as well. I think she pulled off each outfit like the beautiful, stylish, and confident woman I know her to be."

I’m really into the idea of challenging myself when it comes to my wardrobe and this blog, especially lately. It’s so easy for me to fall into the trap of wailing “I have nothing to wear!” But being forced to flex my creativity within certain confines/”rules” really makes me look at what I already have in a whole new way. For example: having 7 items I could wear in any order, but having to style them, all in a week’s time span, made me evaluate more of the items still hanging in my closet.

All of that being said, I’m completing another 30 for 30 Challenge for the month of October – I’m currently completing it, but am backlogged with other outfits to share, so look for those later this month. The “rules” are about the same – maybe 1 or 2 tweaks to what I’ve done in the past.

If you know of any other fashion/style challenges I should try, please share! I’m really interested in hearing if anyone else (besides style/fashion bloggers) does this, or if you have any great ideas to share with me – I really like having to stretch my mind and closet, as well as get creative in how I make my closet really “work for me."

Mission 30 for 30: Complete

Here it is. All of my 30 for 30 outfits in 1 big picture & 1 post (my 30 items here). What do you think? How'd I do? I think this one went pretty well, considering I moved in the middle of it, and have been missing a washing machine since the move (surprise! we currently don't have a functioning washing machine - supposed to get one tomorrow...)

I'm not going to rehash everything like I did last time, but I will say, the items I chose for November's 30 for 30 seemed to jive better than the ones I chose in June. However, there still seems to be room for improvement - i.e. maybe you don't pick a navy leopard print skirt next time, or, if you do, make sure you have more tops you can wear with it, for example...

I'm glad I did this before Christmas - it's really helped to drive home that I don't NEED anything. I've got a full closet that I'm more than capable of remixing & wearing in different ways almost every time.

However, if someone were to gift me something for the upcoming holiday, I'd be happy to share my favorite stores & sizes...

anyone?
Bueller?

linking up here & here for the first time, and over here, too!

30 for 30: Day 29 & Day 30

Day 29

Aaaah, Day 28. Day 28 was filled with turning in the keys to our apartment (!!!), a(nother) stop at The Home Depot, a trip to Kohl's, and some celebratory/farewell-apartment TCBY. Busy busy days, I tell ya! 

I threw on my chambray & corduroys with my oxfords - I've hardly worn those shoes during this challenge so I wanted to make sure I got another wear in during my 30 for 30. 

Day 30

The weather this day (and really all of Thanksgiving weekend) was beautiful - high 50s at the end of November! Unheard of! 

So, to commemorate the last day of my 30 for 30 challenge and this occasion of warmth & sunshine, I wore a dress. Without tights. For the last time until March/maybe April/probably May. I'm glad I got in my last bit of sun & bare legs - we've been hit with well below freezing temperatures this past week. It's so cold it hurts to breathe! And a short walk to my car in the parking lot at work is enough to make my whole face numb - BRRRRR! Good news is, I've been pulling out a lot of my sweaters...!

linking up here today

30 for 30: Day 27 & Day 28

Day 27

I feel like I spent this day running around like a chicken with my head cut off – work was BuSy! And then, since I’d been slacking, I had to go to the store after work to get everything for our Thanksgiving Dinner. The grocery store was a MADHOUSE. [Note to self: don’t ever, ever, ever, EVER wait again until the day before Thanksgiving to go shopping] People were blocking the middle of the aisles (pet peeve of mine), cutting each other off, and generally not being very “thankful” the day before Thanksgiving. 

*harumph*

However, I did make it out alive, and with all the fixin’s we needed for the next day! Oh, and the liquor store was a happenin’ place – I gave them some business, too, in the form of wine (white for myself & my mom, and red for my Dad). The Mr. had plenty of beer in the fridge, and my mother-in-law likes to bring her fancy cocktails when she comes to visit. This time it was “Hot Apple Pie" (she threw a Halloween party this year and made a “Dumpster Sludge, which was a really gross-looking brown-ish gray color, but was really quite yummy). I didn’t have any (I just love a good Pinot Grigio, or Riesling), but imagine Apple Pie, but with vodka & caramel & other yummy flavorings instead. Sounds pretty delicious, right??

Day 28

Day 28 was Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law came to visit, along with her sister and her husband. They are the first company we had in our new house (my folks came up Saturday - Sunday, so they were a close second)! Everyone loved our new home (we do, too!) and our meal feast was AAAAAMAZingggggg.

My sweet Mr. wanted to be in charge of the turkey – he didn’t let anyone else do anything to it. 

He also made sweet potatoes and apple dumplings (from my new Pioneer Woman Cookbook!).

He followed the recipe and prep and carving instructions in the book for the turkey, and it. 

Was.

DELICIOUS. 

I’m not normally one to go gaga over turkey at Thanksgiving, but as soon as the delicious aroma of turkey began to fill up the whole house, I couldn’t wait to dig in.

We had a nice Thanksgiving Dinner, just the 5 of us. There wasn’t a lot of stress – we’d told our visitors we’d still have boxes everywhere, so they weren’t expecting our house to be put together. We didn’t end up having boxes EVERYWHERE (we grouped a lot of them in the basement or the garage…aaaah, the joys of having a basement AND a garage!), but we did have them placed in corners and a few in every room.

All in all, a nice & relatively quiet Thanksgiving, made even more special by the fact that we celebrated in our new home – just one more thing to be thankful for :)

linking up here today

30 for 30: (No Day 24) Day 25 & Day 26

Day 24 

was another sweatpants day, simply because we were packing boxes/moving boxes/moving furniture/unloading boxes/unloading furniture/unpacking boxes all day. 

Aaah, the life of a fashion blogger - not always so glamorous ;)

Day 25

Sequins, polka dots, boots, a sweater, and my sweet Cali girl in our new home.

My idea of perfection.

Day 26

You'll have to trust me that in person, this dress does NOT make me look an inmate like the picture seems to do. Maybe it's the braid in my hair...? I really like this dress, but it just doesn't photograph well, which is a HUGE bummer, since, y'know, I like to take pictures of my clothes and post them on the interwebs. 

In other news, that dark square up above is my newest pair of tights. My new fleece-lined tights that I'm obsessed with. Everyone should own a pair of these. 

Fleece-lined tights for EVERYONE! 

They are the key to world peace, solving world hunger, and global warming, I just know it. 

Because, really, you can't wear these and not be cozy, 

and warm, 

and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

#trustme

30 for 30: Day 22 & Day 23

Day 22

Not sure if you can tell or not, but I LOVE this plaid flannel shirt from Old Navy. I wish I'd gotten it in every color so I could wear it every. single. day. (that's an exaggeration...every other day!) I love it so much I keep wearing it, keep wearing it, and keep wearing it. 

But if the shoe shirt fits, wear it!

Day 23

You might have seen on my Instagram last week that the Mr. and I went to see "The Book of Mormon." It's a Broadway show created by the same guys who created the show South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (both guys are Colorado natives - woot woot! AND South Park, Colorado is a real place #truestory). 

Whatever your views on organized religion, Christianity, Mormons, missionaries, or even musicals, the show was very well done - the tunes were catchy, the singing and dancing impeccable, and the acting superb. It had all the elements of a great musical (I love musicals, did you know?).

We had a wonderful time catching up with the friends we saw the show with, and it was a welcome reprieve from the cycle of packing/moving/unpacking we'd been in for a few days at that point.

goofing around during intermission - he doesn't like to take selfies. boo.

I wore this outfit (with gray tights) to see the show. Yes, that is a flashy gold handbag.

30 for 30: Day 20 & Day 21

Day 20

Day 20 was a big day for us...

We closed on our house! Our first house!

We are officially homeowners. Now we talk about things like the HOA, trash pick up, and window treatments. And I'm going to be honest with you, I LOVE it!

I LOVE our house.

I LOVE that this is OUR home.

And most of all, I love the person I share my new home with (and those two little wrinkly dogs).

He's incredibly handsome, smart, funny, and really good at moving furniture and packing boxes (those last two things I am NOT good at, so it's good we have a balance).

So, we bought a house, moved out of our apartment, and are settling in to our new home. That's why I've been absent from this here blog - reasonable, right?

We made a trip to The Home Depot (the first of many), and I got my very own
Homer Bucket for all of our upcoming projects!
#let'sdothis

Since this was such a big day, I didn't really get outfit pictures, but I wore my black & white striped top, black velvet blazer, olive green skinnies, leopard flats & gray infinity scarf. I wanted to be comfortable, but stylish for our
BIG DAY!

Day 21

I wore this the day after our closing when it was very chilly, so the chambray layered under a wool sweater was perfect. The pants I wore the day before (a symptom of moving) and my hat helps to hide "I-just-moved-and-can't-find-any-hair-stuff-because-it's-all-in-boxes" syndrome. Tell me you've been there, please!

linking up here today

30 for 30: Day 18 & Day 19

Day 18

this two-toned coat is from Aéropostale, I wore it earlier here

snapped this at work

Chambray and a pencil skirt. Not two items I would normally pair together, but on a wild hair, I did. And I'm thinking it turned it pretty darn well. From a distance, I look like I'm wearing a nice dress shirt with my skirt. But, as you get closer, I appear more casual and, possibly (hopefully!), fashion-savvy? ;)

Sorry for my extended (and completely unintended!) absence. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I've been pretty busy the past few weeks (we bought a house! and moved! and are settling in!). 

So, I'm back! Just in time for the holidays :)

Day 19

tough to tell in these pictures, but those pants are navy corduroys

my Mr. told me to "act cold!" so, I did.
normally, when I'm cold, I'm frowning and grump-ing and generally unpleasant.
#truestory
anything for fashion, right? ;)

It was at this point in this challenge I started having a tougher time putting together outfits with my 30 items. I originally felt like I was reaching a bit with this outfit, but looking at the pictures, 

it doesn't appear that way (at least to MY eyes). 

Ever feel uneasy about the outfit you put together? But then think about it later and realize you looked FABULOUS?!?!

linking up here, here and here today