Pulling out the Neon

ignore my weirdly strained face - I was twirling!

If you look closely, you'll see the little pink flowers in my skirt that matched my shirt. Those little bitty bits of pink are what I was trying to pull out of my skirt with this bright top. Before, I always wore this skirt with a tan/beige top, but I'm realizing there really are a lot more ways to wear it than with a plain top. I thought about wearing something with stripes to do some print mixing, but the skirt already has 3 different prints, so instead of adding to the busyness, I added a solid. What do you think?

Oh, and it was a bonus that my new necklace perfectly matched the mint color in my skirt :)

Linking up over here today!

shirt: Kohl's

skirt: Nordstrom

necklace: Trends

sandals: Sears

Makeshift Peplum & Skirting the Question

 

 

Let's talk about this skirt. I have had it FOREVER (by FOREVER, I mean since high school - and not just senior year, more like sophomore year...). Every time I go through my closet, I go back & forth about this skirt. I love the dusty rose color, the flower applique, the ruffled hem on the bottom, and it's a very light, very thin corduroy fabric, so I can wear it in warmer weather, or pair it with a sweater and emphasize off the corduroy/winter aspect. The only thing I don't love about it is the fit. 

In the above pictures on the left, the skirt is sitting on my hips. It fits there comfortably. If anything, it might be a little big. On the right, I pulled the skirt up to my belt under my shirt, so the skirt is a bit shorter. However, it didn't stay there all day. I can't help but think that the shorter version of this skirt (right) is more flattering on me - it shows more of my leg, doesn't cut off my legs or give me weird bagginess around my hips, like wearing it on my hips does. I'm short (5"4'), so if anything, I want to elongate my legs & torso, not shorten them.

So, here is my question: is it worth getting this skirt taken in, since I've had it forever and I love it? And my other question: Is it more flattering on me to wear a skirt that shows my knees?  

Onto my shirt - this polka dot chambray is a bit boxy fit, but I love it, and I keep challenging myself to come up with ways to wear it that don't show off the "box" shape. So, I belted it as a "makeshift peplum" that also coordinated with the ruffled hem on my skirt. 

How did I do? 

Did I hit it out of the park, or fail miserably?

I think maybe it wasn't my BEST look, but it wasn't TOO bad ;)

Hope you have had a great weekend so far! I've got some ice cream calling my name, so I've gotta scoot!

shirt: (Liz Claiborne) thrifted

skirt: American Eagle

belt: came with another dress

sandals: Born via DSW

Poppy Skirt

I got this skirt with my sister-in-law on our family vacation to Wisconsin in June. I had originally tried on another floral mirror print skirt that I really liked, but it was a bit more than I wanted to pay. And then, there, on the sale rack, was this cute little poppy print number. In my size! 

The poppies themselves are more orange-ish than red in real life, so I had a hard time deciding what to wear on top. However, black is in the stamens, and I have a decent amount of black tops, so that was easy. I would like to punch it up a bit in the future, so any suggestions are appreciated!

blazer: Target via ARC

tank: Old Navy

skirt: J. Crew Factory

heels: Target via Habitat for Humanity

Workin' Girl

This is what I wore on my last day at my old job this past Friday. I'm still at the same University, but now in a different department. I left on great terms and it was really tough to leave! I've really enjoyed the people I worked with there, but am looking forward to new responsibilities & challenges in my new position.

Shirt: WalMart

Skirt: Urban Outfitters via clothing swap 

Sandals: Maurice's

This is what I wore to my first day at my new job yesterday. I scored this dress at Kohl's over the weekend with some Kohl's cash and a coupon. I'm trying to find dresses that provide more coverage so I can wear them to work - easier said than done, my friends. 

Things went well my first day, but you know how you can't really jump into a new job the first day? There's lots of paperwork and processes and orientations and trainings to go through? I'm ready to be done with those and into my new support role! Of course, I know I won't learn it all in a day, but I'm ready to get rolling with the learning and the doing :)

This super cute clutch is from Aéro - they sent it to me before their Aéro Rocks Fashion event last week. It's the perfect size for when I don't want to carry TOO much, but need more than what can fit in my little carry-all wallet.

Unrelated to switching jobs and outfits, I'm going to discontinue my "monthly outfit recaps." They're a lot of work to summarize what I posted just days ago, and they feel redundant to me. Please let me know if you think otherwise. Are there any topics you'd like to see more of? Running, budgeting, living within our means, my supersweetsupercute dogs?

Dress: Kohl's

Wedges: DSW

belt: thrifted

clutch: c/o Aéropostale

linking up over here today

30 for 30: Day 30

Day 30

my skirt looks kind of purple here, but it's really gray

Ta-da! I finished my first 30 for 30 challenge! Wahoo! Happy dance! *THE CARLTON*

Anywaaaaaaays, it's done! And I've got a "recap/what I learned/what I would do differently/what I've taken away from this" post coming your way. Some of my professors always said one of the most important parts of the learning process is reflection, so, you'll get some of that shortly :)

*cue the song "Reflections" from Mulan*

30 for 30: Day 19 & Day 20

Day 19

 

Day 20

Told you I'm obsessed with those seahorse earrings. Big fan. BIIIIIG fan.

Happy weekend! I've got a lot more catching up to do on this here blog before the end of this month's challenge, so stay tuned!

30 for 30: Day 15 & Day 16

Day 15

Day 16

before 

right after

what I wore to cheer on my Tough Mudder-er. my photographer was a bit too busy crawling through mud & barbed wire to snap pictures of my layered outfit

I'm on a trip with my family, so you might not hear too much from me for the next few days. Have a great week!