Sunday, April 29, 2012

Fave of the Week: March 10-March 16 (and some daily outfit pics)

Choosing Tuesday's outfit as my fave of the week was a no-brainer because (1) I only had two outfits to choose from, but also (2) I love this cardigan so, so much.
Ballet wrap cardigan - Anthropologie, Dress - J. Crew, Burnt orange socks - Forever 21, Boots - Frye
Are those colors not gorgeous? The only tricky thing is the length of cardigan, which calls for a dress, usually of the empire-style.
But I've still worn it a lot! Don't be afraid to buy what you love because you'll find a way to wear it!
Also, a tip for petite ladies, or generally people that buy things that don't fit perfectly. Tailor your clothes! Or if you've been slow to do that, like me, cover up the problem areas. For example, this dress can be taken up a bit at the shoulders to be less cleavage-y. I didn't want to tailor this just yet because my body is changing so much anyway right now, so I put on this cardigan not only for its gorgeous colors, but to cover up my peek-a-boo bra.

Want to see my one other outfit from the week?

Friday, April 27, 2012

Closet Reorganization 2012

Here's a post that is literally about housekeeping issues (as opposed to "housekeeping issues" where I usually just tell you why my posts are late, etc.).

Husband and I have been trying to finish furnishing our room forever, and keeping in mind that Baby will be here in a few months, we finally got motivated and bought some dressers (the last major furnishings we needed in our room). We've been using our childhood dressers that were not only terribly mismatched, but too small, leading me to store more things in the closet, which turned into a mess.
2 1/2 bars like this--overstuffed, disorganized, with clothes thrown everywhere.
 Here's the scariest part:
I have 9 out of 15 cubbies, and they were overstuffed with jeans, purses, socks, scarves, hats, and bras, to the point where things spilled onto the floor. 
With the new dressers delivered, I also took the opportunity to clean out some old clothes. (Don't worry, Sister, they were either very out of style or just really old.) Once I had everything sorted out for trash or donation, I moved things around, put things away, and managed to get rid of a big plastic bin that held my winter sweaters. Since it was my goal to have everything either in the closet or in the dressers, I felt like, Victory!
I sorted my 2 1/2 bars of clothes (1 1/2 not pictured) by style and occasion (for example, work clothes vs. play clothes, trousers vs. skirts), then by color. Also put away my shoes that littered the floor!
See those plastic drawers to the right? I used to have underwear and bathing suits crammed in there, with tons of shorts, leggings, and PJs stacked on top. It was my goal to get rid of the plastic drawers altogether, but instead I decided to roll up all of my scarves for the top two drawers, and put gloves and foldable hats in the bottom drawer. I'm actually really pleased with it.
And the piece de resistance.
My main goal with my cubbies was to have everything clearly visible (not so crammed in!) and organized. For example, my jeans are at the bottom right, while my different colored pants and maternity pants are above them. Not-foldable hats that couldn't live in the plastic drawers are neatly stacked in the middle. I gave my big purses their own cubbies across the top, smaller purses in fun colors live at the left middle, black purses at the bottom left, and next to that, my most colorful spring and summer bags.

It's been over a month since my big closet reorganization, and do you know what the best part is? Everything is so well-organized that I don't want to screw it up, and actually, at this point where I have more space, it's kind of hard to screw up. My closet and dresser drawers are still really neat-looking (and I don't even have clothes thrown out my floor and bedroom chair anymore!).

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Fave of the Week: March 2-March 9

You guys, get ready for the ugliest pictures you will ever see on this site. And here's the only reason I'm posting them--dedication. I am dedicated to showing at least one outfit from every week...and this is the only outfit I took pictures of the entire week of March 2-9. We have no other choice.
Blouse - Uniquities, Belt - Primark, Dress - Primark, Socks - Target, Boots - Frye
So...that was the best picture of the bunch, so you're welcome. Here are more!
Kind of wacky hair.
What's crazy is that in real life, this outfit got compliments! I was told that I was great at pattern-mixing, finding complimenting colors and patterns. But these pictures and the outfit look not so great, huh?
Dedication!
The colors of this outfit remind me of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.
This was actually a book club choice from February that I read in January, but I wanted to mention it because I really, really enjoyed it (4 out of 5 stars), but most of my book club did not. It at least brought forward a lot of conversation! If you like books about dogs, or books based on Shakespeare (this one's Hamlet), read my review and consider trying at least 100 pages of this book.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Fave of the Week: February 25-March 2 (and some daily outfit pics)

Only two outfits to choose from this week, after last week's selection being so plentiful! My fave from this week is from Saturday:
Necklace - Kate Spade, Black sweater - Nordstrom Rack, Colored denim - Citizens of Humanity, Boots - Sam Edelman
Why?, you're wondering (and also, What is up with the frizzy hair, girlfriend?). Well, I kind of love this sweater:
It's one size fits all! Sister and Mom own it too! It's costume-y--vaguely bat- or witch-like!
 Need I say more? Well, I will--how much more bump-friendly can this be? Again, one size fits all. (Oh, and your second question--I hate hairspray. Which I understand can kind of wreck my overall look, but I don't like to use it unless I'm at the end of my no-washing cycle.)

Monday, April 23, 2012

Fave of the Week: February 18-February 24 (and some daily outfit pics)

This is not going to happen very often anymore...I had a hard time choosing my fave of the week for this particular week. And I say it's not going to happen often because I have many, many days lately where I feel and look like "Blaaaaaah", and also a lot of outfit repeats. But look here, my fave of the week from Wednesday shows just how small my bump was way back in February:
Blue cami (not seen in pic) - Express, Wrap dress - Express (Present from Sister), Duster - Forever 21, Belt - Primark, Boots - Gentle Souls for Kenneth Cole
Look how completely tiny Baby and Mama are (wistful sigh). I do love my current 6-month bump, but sartorially, it's very tough.
Whee, take a spin around!
Enough of my complaining! On to other outfits from the week!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Fave of the Week: February 11-February 17 (and some daily outfit pics)

So, yes, it's been two months since I've posted. This pregnancy thing is tricky--you think you feel great! Then you feel so tired. I'm just grateful that I don't feel sick, just tired. But feeling tired still throws you off! Some days you get home from work and just sleep. Other days, when you're feeling good, you're playing catch-up from all of those times you were sleeping. So, yes, it's been two months. Let's play catch up on here too! In a series of posts that will be called "Fave of the Week (and some daily outfit pics)". That will get us up to speed lickety-split.

Without further ado, this week's fave is from Wednesday:
Black blazer - American Eagle, Blouse - J.Crew, Green cardigan - Gap, Necklace - Kate Spade, Watch - Michele Watches, Jeans - Gap, Boots - Luxury Rebel
I am a sucker for a good blazer. This one is present from Sister, and received a lot of compliments from people saying they also needed a good black blazer. I am also sporting here a simple, messy braid, a la Lauren Conrad. I don't know what it is, guys, but even when I put my hair in a messy braid, I still feel more put-together than when I don't do anything but brush my hair. Even if I'm having a good hair day! So this week's fave of the week is all about keeping it simple! But how keeping it simple can still feel so good.

Here are a couple of other outfits from later in the week that I never posted: