Black and Yellow, Black and Yellow

I woke up this morning feeling better than yesterday, but still crummy. So you get another outfit from last week. This dress is very, very old. I've had it for at least 6 years, and I got it from Plato's closet so who knows how old it really is. This dress is proof of why I hate to clean out my closet. Sure I didn't wear it for a year, but now I am. I love to go "shopping" in my own closet and to pull out items that I may have been neglecting. I kept skipping over this dress because it is so dang on short. Then I had the brilliant idea to pair it with tights. 

Lesson from this story? When in doubt, put on tights. 

Dress: Express

Tights: Target (they always have tights for sale!)

Boots: Charlotte Russe  (Like this pair right now) 

Necklace: Express (similar here, here, and here)

The belt came with a sweater. 

And I'm loving this pair of TOMS right now. 

Winey Pants

Our building had a wine and cheese pairing last night. It was put on by our local grocery store that specializes in organic and local foods. The pairings were spot on, and I wanted to eat all of the yummy cheeses that were offered. I mean all as in the entire quantity that was brought because they were so tasty. It was a lot of fun meeting people that live in our building, and we met a lot of people that were our age! (YAY!) 

On another note....I am sick today. I am not sick from last night though! I promise!  I woke up this morning feeling like a ton of bricks. It feels kind of like the flu, but I'm hoping that it's a 24 hour thing. I hope to be back up and running as normal tomorrow. (I'd rather be normal tonight as the town center is having a special holiday tree lighting that I was looking forward to attending.) Ugh. I'm going back to bed now. 

Sweater/Cardigan Thing: Express

Shirt: Express

Jeans: Target

Boots: Charlotte Russe

Belt: Target

Necklace and Ring: Maryland Renaissance Festival from this Vendor. 

(Necklace) The ring is retiring soon. 

P.S.- Do you like me play on words in the title? Lol...This is what happens when you don't feel well. 

Another Clothing Swap Outfit

Yup, this is another shirt from the clothing swap. It had a pattern so I picked it up from the clothing pile at the swap. I wasn't sure if I was going to really like this shirt, but I figured that I might as well try to to make it work. My first instinct was to pair the shirt with my black pants, but they were packed in the bottom of my suitcase for the Thanksgiving holiday. The man and I were going to go out on a last minute dinner date before I left town, but most of my pants were either dirty or already packed up. I saw these boots sitting in my closet and decided to pair them with this outfit. 

BAM!

I just needed to add a necklace and this outfit was made. I am still loving my "new clothes" from the clothing swap. 

Shirt: Liz Claiborne (from the clothing swap)

Pants: Old Navy

Boots: JcPenny

Earrings: Francesca's Collections 

This necklace is old and I can never remember where it from, but here is a nice alternative. 

Tunics

I am loving my "new" clothes from the clothing swap that I recently attended. While these items are not new items, they are new to me, and I am having fun working them into my closet. I wore many of these outfits over the holidays, and I did not get a single picture. This just means that I get to wear these same outfits again (Yay for easy outfits right?). 

When I was at the swap, I saw this tunic getting passed over by person after person. It was in the Large clothing section, but when I picked it up I noticed that it wasn't a shirt but rather a tunic. It was definitely NOT a large either. Once I picked it up and decided that it fit me and would work as a tunic, people started coming up to me and asking if I really wanted it because they would take it if I didn't. I knew that I had scored an awesome item when the ladies kept trying to get this tunic from me. The lady who had brought this tunic saw me trying it on and came over to "wish me luck" with it. She said that she loved the pattern on it, but could never make it work in her wardrobe. I was (and still am) so grateful that she no longer wanted this item!

If I owned cognac boots, then I would most likely have paired them with this outfit. Since I do not own them, I decided that brown boots would do the trick. The day was oddly warm so I did not need a heavy jacket for this outfit. I also found this outfit to be very comfortable while I ran around town like a crazy person. How did life become so busy over the weekend?? 

While I was on a household errand, a lady stopped me to tell me how much she liked this outfit. I love it when people stop me to compliment me on something that I'm wearing or what not. Seeing as I love this to happen to me, I try to do the same to others. You never know how you might be able to brighten someone's day!

Tunic: From the clothing swap: I have no idea where this is from as there is no tag it in and I've never seen it anywhere before!

Tights: Target

Boots: Candies from Khol's

Necklace: Express

Earrings: I honestly do not remember where these came from

Belt: Express

Snake Print and Burgundy

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I felt like I was in a car for the entire weekend, but it was nice to see my family. I tried to make sure that I packed comfortable clothes for the weekend because I knew that I'd be riding for hours in a car. 

I was also able to score some deals on black Friday. Express had a 50% off the entire store sale, so I made sure to hit them up. (I know that their sale started on Wednesday and was also online, but I was in a car all day Wednesday and I wanted to try on clothes). I was able to get some amazing deals on items that I had been looking at for a while. If shopping on black Friday is your thing, I hope that you were able to get some great deals! If you prefer to wait until Cyber Monday, then you better get shopping! 

Black Sweater: Khol's (similar) 

Snake Print Tank: Express (this top is still in some stores in the clearance section)

Jeans: Target

Boots: JCpenny (I think these booties are adorable) 

Necklace: Express 

Mint and Stripes

I absolutely love my mint pants. I loved wearing them this past spring and summer, and am happy to continue wearing them throughout the fall. Now this particular pair of pants were once skinny jeans, but I turned them into capris. I love how neutrals look with mint, so I was excited to wear this combo out and about this past weekend. I cannot wait to try out other combos with mint this fall. I will have to work on my boots though, as these are slouchy boots and kept coming down to wear my capris ended. Maybe I'll invest in a pair of tall socks so it won't look so awkward. 

I'll be going back and forth between multiple states for the next couple of days, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to post. I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sweater: Francesca's Collections (Fall 2012)

Pants: Khol's (these are the pants that I turned into capris, see here)

Boots: Charlotte Russe

Necklace: Express

Watch: Tissot

Earrings: Francesca's Collections

Rings: Silpada and Maryland Rennissance Festival

Animal Instinct

Some days, you just have to take a walk on the wild side. And by this I mean wear an animal print with a touch of color. The color that I'm loving right now? Burgundy...hence the boots that I'm wearing in this outfit. 

One thing that I really like about this shirt is the necklace. It has a jewel embellishment around the necklace, so there this no need to wear a necklace. Sometimes I just don't feel like getting all dolled up and worrying about accessories, so shirts like this come in handy. 

I personally think that one of the hottest trends for fall this year is the combination of leopard and burgundy. These styles compliment each other so well that it's hard to not wear them together everyday. 

Do you have a favorite fall trend?

Shirt: Dress Barn

Jeans: Target

Boots: JcPenny

Bracelet: Old Navy

Earrings: Francesca's Collections 

How to Survive a Clothing Swap

Today I attended my first clothing swap! I have been so excited for this swap, and have been planning for it since August.  I have been constantly going into my closet and pulling out clothes that I haven't worn in a while, and putting them into my "swap bag". A week later I'd go into the bag and decide why I haven't been wearing that particular item. Was the item too small? Too big? No longer my style? These were all questions that I would answer in my decision making process. Now you don't have to be this extreme when it comes to deciding on what items to take to a swap. I just hate getting rid of an item, and then deciding on a perfect outfit two months later and realize that I gave said item away. 

The swap that I attended today did not charge to attend the swap but rather had a clothing and accessory minimum, along with a potluck dish. Some swaps will give you a ticket for every item that you bring. This prevents someone from bringing two items and taking home 20. In my case, I brought two huge bags full of clothes, and only brought home one. The items that I swap were items that I truly no longer wanted, and was going to give to Goodwill. The potluck portion of the swap was nice because it gave us a chance to eat after the intense clothes hunting.

What should you bring to a swap?

Since I have been cleaning out my closet since August, I was able to come up with a fair amount of items to take to the swap with me. My mom had recently done the same in her closet, and was getting ready to take her clothes to Goodwill, so I was able to take her clothes with me to the swap. Since my mom and I are different sizes, I was able to take multiple sizes to the swap!

The number one thing to think about when taking items to a swap is the condition of your items. If you items are worn, have holes or stains, DO NOT SWAP THEM. There were some items at the swap today that should have never made it on the tables. Grungy old college sorority shirts or worn out purses are not acceptable. It is not fair that you take an item of poor quality to swap, and someone else brings something that still looks new. (If you have an item that isn't up to par, take it to Goodwill or turn it into a cleaning rag).

What should you wear to a swap?

• Dress or tunic. When going to a clothing swap, wear something that you can easy slip on or out of. My number one recommendation is to wear tights (but not see-thru). This way you can try on skirts, dresses, and pants without having to take off your bottoms. I chose to wear a sweater dress to this swap as it is chilly outside and I didn't want to worry about taking a coat into the swap. (I didn't want anyone to think that it was an item for swapping!)

• Belts and Shirts. I had a cami on under the sweater dress, so that I could take off the dress, but still be covered. A t-shirt would also be acceptable. I also wore a belt, so that I could see how certain items would look. Of course I'm not going to wear a red belt with a majority of the clothes that I tried on, but I really just needed to get an idea of what something would look like belted. I can't tell you how many times I took my belt off, so that other women could see how their outfits looked when belted. (Of course I kept my eyes on my belt as I didn't want it walking off!). 

• Accessories. Don't worry about wearing accessories to a swap. I ended up taking off my necklace before I left the house as I didn't want to worry about it getting in the way. 

• Shoes.Wear shoes that you can easily take off and on. My first instinct was to wear boots with this outfit, but I didn't want to worry about zipping and unzipping my shoes the whole time. Flats are the perfect shoes to wear so that you can try on shoes and clothes. You can also pair socks with them once you reach the clothing swap for sanitary reasons. 

• Accessibility. The main thing that you want to remember is accessibility. Can you easily change in and out of what you are wearing? Are you going to have to take off multiple layers that could be mistaken for a swap item? Is your jewelry going to get in your way? Are you going to be spending precious time taking off your shoes?

Sweater Dress: Express

Tights: Target

Flats: Payless

Belt: Plato's Closet (not sure of original origin)

Undershirt:Old Navy

Necklace: This was one of my Great-Grandmother's necklaces. She had a lot of costume jewelry, and this necklace was one of them. 

**I ended up taking off the necklace as I didn't want anything to interfere with the process of trying on clothes.

How to shop

My "how to shop" is based upon a large swap that does not have a clothing limit. When I first arrived, the room was in chaos, and I wasn't totally sure where everything was. (I accidentally arrived two minutes late due to terrible I-phone directions. Therefore I was trying to put my items out during the mayhem instead of being able to start shopping. I am glad that I gave myself extra time to find the location, but I still needed to get there sooner. ) Fortunately the swap had volunteers stationed around the room to help direct people and to keep the clothes in the appropriate piles. Once I knew the lay of the land, I was ready for business.

I immediately hit up the accessory tables, followed by the shoe table. The dress and jacket's rack were right beside these tables, so I quickly went through them next. Then I went to the medium table, the small table, then the large table. If I saw something that I liked and could possibly be in my size, I grabbed it. Once my bag was over flowing, I moved off to the side and started trying clothes on. The reason that I went to all of the tables was because not all of the items were put in the appropriate tables. 

By this time, everyone else was pretty much trying on clothes too, so we were all crowded around the mirror. This was actually a lot of fun because everyone was giving each other styling tips. If someone had an item that they no longer wanted, there were 5 people standing there that were happy to try the item on themselves. This is how I was able to score the army green tunic/dress that I got. The woman that was trying it on just didn't love it on her, and since I was saying how much I love it she quickly handed it over to me! I did this with a couple of items that I was trying on as well. 

After I had tried on my items, I went back to make a few more trips around the room. Surprisingly there were still people coming in with bags of clothes and accessories. I was able to score these booties when a girl walked in with a few shoes. I nabbed them before they even had a chance to hit the table. The back quarter of the shoes are worn, but the rest of the shoe still looks great. DIY glitter shoes are all over Pintrest, so I plan on sprucing them up. Always go back and look again as people may have put items back.

My clothing haul! This is what I scored:

A pair of booties (I am going to glitter-fy the back quarter, thanks Pintrest)
A Purse
A hat
A Scarf
Pair of gray skinny jeans
Dress Pants
Two Tunics,one is more like a dress, but it's too short to wear without something under it.
Four shirts
A Cardigan
A Sweater
Two jackets
Fancy Lace Leggings

I've been looking for a few particular items lately, but have either not been able to find them at a reasonable price or I have just not been able to find the perfect style for me. The swap allowed me to pick out pieces that I would not have looked at in the store, and see the true potential in an item.

So how did I find this particular swap? I found it on Meetup.com. This particular swap had 200 participants, but most are not that large. If the idea of a large clothing swap seems daunting to you, then organize a swap with a group of friends (or sorority or book club or community group).  I can't wait to attend another swap, but I won't be able to participate for a bit as I'm currently happy with my closet. :)

Green with....sleepy.

I love jewel-tone greens. Really I love anything jewel toned. These colors are just so vibrant, and they work much better than neutrals do with my pale self. There was another first time home buyer seminar last night, so this is the outfit that I put together for it. I was so tired when I was getting dressed and taking these photos, that I didn't really care what was happening and what I was doing. I honestly saw the sweater in my closet and decided that I would wear it with black jeans and brown boots. I had no energy to think of anything else to put together. Don't get me wrong, I really like this outfit, but it's definitely a "go-to" outfit. Right before I got to the seminar, I ran into the nearest Starbucks for a pick-me-up. They are having a buy on holiday drink, get one free special until 11/18, from 2pm-5pm. Make sure you stop by and take advantage of this deal!

I "blame my tiredness on volunteering that the local animal shelter. I love taking the dogs out to run and play, but I just don't realize how exhausting it is until I get home. However, this is the best form of exercise that I can possibly think of. I get to cuddle and love on sweet dogs, and then run around like a crazy person in attempts to wear them out. 

Sweater: Tippi, J. Crew

White Collared Shirt: Dress Barn

Jeans: Target

Boots: Candies by Khols

Bracelet: Old Navy

Rings: Silpada and Maryland Renaissance Festival

Still can't remember where this necklace came from.

Comfy

I am all about snuggling up in comfy clothes, but you can't wear sweaters and sweatpants everywhere you go. (Well, I don't). Insert this outfit of the day. Lately I feel like I have been striving for comfort, which seems to be something that happens whenever the weather turns chilly. I haven't taken very many photos this week, but I'll try to post the outfits from prior weeks. Also, I have been volunteering at the local shelter recently, so my outfits there will never make this blog. haha. 

*Side note: If you are thinking about getting a new animal for you home, PLEASE check out your local animal shelter first! There are so many sweet animals there that would love to become your forever pet!

Shirt: Express

Sweater: Express

Jeans: Target

Boots: Charlotte Russe

Belt: Target

Jacket: Dress Barn

That's right, I put a Navy coat with black jeans. 

**All of these items are fairly old.

Vests

The weather around here cannot make up it's mind! One day I feel like I can't put enough layers on, and the next day I'm rocking short sleeves and flats. Luckily I have a little balcony off of my apartment, so I can "test the temp" before I walk out the door. (The apartment that we were originally looking at only had windows, and I like to be able to feel what the day is going to be like before I have to leave the house.) 

I am back logged with photos right now as I have been slacking on my posts. The outfit in this post was for a fall day, not too cold, but not too warm either. This vest is not may favorite, but it serves it's purpose. I am getting ready to attend a clothing swap, and I'm debating on whether or not I want to take it to swap. I don't wear it very often, and I might be able to score a new vest. We'll see how I feel about it by this weekend, since that I when the swap is. 

Vest: Target (very old)

Shirt: Old Navy

Jeans: Express

Boots: Candies by Khol's

Belt: Target

Scarf: Target 

*Every article of clothing here is old*

Blue

Blue shirts and blue jeans, and I don't think that it's too much. I haven't ventured out into the denim on denim look, but blue on blue....I'll take it. The man wore a similar shirt to me but with black pants....so it was a good thing that I chose jeans instead of black pants. (Some how we weren't paying attention to each other's wardrobe that morning?) 

One thing that I love about Express clothing is the quality of the clothing. I rarely have a poorly crafted article of clothing from this store. Some may not like the store's style, and call it the "cheap version of insert your favorite store". I believe that this statement is far from the truth, and  I do not find it cheap, rather quality of the clothes are pretty darn good. The man even likes the dress shirts from Express. (He does not care about clothes, as long as he looks good. haha). Also, if you are looking for "office appropriate wardrobe", I highly suggest taking a look at Express. (Or you if you are looking for a fun outfit go in and have a look).

**These comments are my own, and are not sponsored by Express.**

Shirt: Express, this one is old, but here is its cousin

Jeans:  Express, (I love Express jeans, if you have never tried them, then go to the store and try them out!)

Boots: Candies at Khol's, (similar here and here)

Express has these blue suede booties right now that I think are absolutely adorable.

Oh the Boots!

I love these boots. They bring out the perfect pop of color to any outfit. Have I mentioned that before? This outfit wasn't really inspired by anything, but rather looked comfortable and cute. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, life has been crazy. I hope everyone got an opportunity to get out and vote yesterday! 

Sweater: Express

Pants: Old Navy

Boots: JcPenny

Belt: Target

Undershirt: Express (this one is old but they always have some in the store, usually on sale)

Scarf: Target (old, but they have so many)

Jacket: New York and Company (from Plato's Closet)

Necklace: Maryland Renaissance Festival 

Pin on Jacket: Silpada  (This pin is retired but there are lots of pretty things to buy!)

Shirts and Dresses

Lately I've been all about adding shirts to my dresses. I only own one skirt, but it's very "office-ish" and I haven't felt like wearing it recently. So what's a girl to do when she doesn't have any skirts to wear? Well I'll tell you! Take a shirt and add it to a dress, and you've got yourself a shirt and skirt combo. Now I know that this doesn't always work with every dress, but it's fun to play around and see what you can come up with. Since I've just recently started trying this style, I haven't gotten very far in my closet, and I only have these two photos to show right now. If I have some free time this weekend, I might play around on Go Chic Or Go Home for some more inspiration. Or perhaps I'll just go "shopping" in my closet and turn my bedroom into a war zone because I'm trying on everything that I own. 

I'm not going to lie, I love trying on all of my clothes like I'm at the mall in a dressing room. It's the best retail therapy for a girl on a budget. 

Shirt: Express (from Plato's Closet)

Dress: Francesca's Collections

Belt: Francesca's Collections 

Chambray shirt: Target

Polka dot dress: Francesca's Collections

Feather belt: Francescas's Collections

Leopard flats: Target 

Army Green and Black Jeans

This outfit was inspired by the lovely Pintrest. Now I know that I've worn my chambray shirt and black jeans with my leopard shoes recently, but this is the fall version of this outfit. When I saw this picture of Bar Refaeli, I knew that I had all of the pieces, and I couldn't wait to replicate it. I love it when I find an inspiration outfit that I own the pieces to make it my own. For more inspiration outfits, make sure you check out my Pintrest page! 

 

 Bar Refaeli inspiration picture from here.

Chambray Shirt: Target

Black Jeans: Target

Boots: Candies from Khol's

Leopard Scarf: Target (Fall 2012)

Jacket: Tabolts

(Haha yes, I got this from someone who was cleaning out their closet, and gave me first dibs before they made a trip to Goodwill. I really liked the color and didn't have anything like it in my closet, so I nabbed it.)