Black Skinnies (again) and an April recap

I just can't get enough of these black skinnies! I've worn them to work almost every Friday this month. They fit me perfectly in the waist and legs. That's a really hard thing for me to find in a pair of pants. Most of the pants I have in my closet start to fall down a bit as the day wears on, even if I wear a belt!

Outfit:

Plaid Tank: ? it's really old

Cardigan: ? again, really old

Black skinnies: Old Navy

Peep toe flats: Payless, old

I can't believe April is already over. I did not do a very good job of sticking to the $100 budget I set for myself this month. In fact, at $174 spent, I didn't even come close to sticking to budget! Reasons for going over? BOGO, and coupons that were set to expire before the end of the month. 

As a result of my over spending, I'm going to set a very small budget for myself for the month of May ($50). It should be easy for me to stick to it, since it's my birthday month:)

Weekly Wishlist: Printed Maxi Dresses

Like a lot of women, I've always been intimidated by maxi dresses. Most of the ones I've tried on look just awful on me. I'm pear shaped, so it's hard to find a dress that is big enough to be flowy at the bottom, but still fitted enough at the top that I'm not going to flash anyone.

A few weeks ago I tried on a really simple black maxi dress at Old Navy. I loved it, but I didn't buy it because it was boring and predictable. I want to be a little more bold in my maxi dress choice. Here are a few printed maxi dresses I'd like to try on.

image via oldnavy.com

Chiffon Tiered Maxi Dress: $39.94 at Old Navy

I love the colors and prints in this dress. I usually shy away from orange, but if you're going to go bold why not go all the way? The neckline would be sexy and breezy for the weekend, but I could easily layer a cami under the dress and a cardigan over it to wear it to work. Available in sizes XS-XXL

image via target.com

Purple Challis Maxi Dress: $29.99 at Target.com

I love, love, love this print. It's almost like a tye-dye, but also like a giant polka dot. This dress would kill two birds with one stone because I've also been looking to add another purple dress to my closet.Available in sizes XS-XXL.

image via hm.com

Floral Maxi Dress: $49.95 from H&M (not for sale online)

This dress is beautiful in photos, but I haven't seen it in store yet. I love the ruffle at the neckline, plus teal and gray is one of my favorite color combinations. Available in sizes 2-14. 

image via target.com

 Mossimo Gray Striped Maxi Dress: $18 at Target.com

This dress is a good under $20 option. Grey is my favorite neutral for spring and summer. It would be really easy to brighten this dress up with a colorful cardigan, a statement necklace, some strappy sandals or a neon belt. Available in sizes XS- XXL.

Reacquainted

I am slowly starting to unpack some of the summery items that I put away last fall, and put away the heavy sweaters. It's like getting back in touch with old friends.

This skirt is one of the old friends I unpacked. I'm so excited to get reacquainted. The skirt is endlessly versatile and I'm always finding new ways to wear it. I've worn it as a shirt, as a dress. I've styled it high waisted, low waisted, tucked, untucked... so who knows what this season will bring?

Outfit:

Skirt: H&M

Tee: H&M

Cardigan: Old Navy

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Earrings: Street Vendor

Are you packing away your winter clothes yet?

Neutrals and New Shoes

I love BOGO. Somewhere deep inside I know that it's just a trick to get me to buy more shoes, but I can't resist heading to Payless when I get that email.

It has been windy and chilly in Boston the past few days, so I've been reaching for comfy pants and blouses. This blouse is one of my favorites for work. Despite the fact that I've worn it at least 5 times in the last few months, I got a ton of compliments on this shirt when I wore it to work yesterday. Not bad for a shirt I got a few dollars on clearance. 

Outfit:

Pants: Target

Blouse: Old Navy

Shoes: Payless

Earrings: Forever 21

Lace and Black Skinnies

I wore this outfit on Friday to work, and then out for date night with my guy. We went to Grass Fed for burgers and adult milkshakes. If you're in Boston, I definitely recommend checking it out.

I am loving this H&M lace tank and the yellow one I wore earlier last week. In fact, I am seriously considering a trip back to H&M to purchase the coral one. When I find something I love I want to buy it in every available color. Maybe three is overkill?

Outfit:

Tank: H&M Conscious Collection

Cardigan: Target

Skinnies: Old Navy

Sandals: Payless

Necklace: gift

Put it on Repeat

I am an outfit repeater. Even more so, I am a dress repeater. When I find a dress I love, I want to wear it over and over again. With dresses, this presents a unique styling challenge- How do you take one piece and accessorize it such that it looks like a whole new outfit?

You may recognize this short sleeved sweater dress from here and here. Pairing it with a bright cardigan, capri-length leggings and some flat sandals makes a totally new look. I love these sandals. Last week we had a few days in the 70s, and I did not want to take these sandals off! I might have to go back to payless and buy them in another color.

Outfit:
Dress and belt: Forever 21+
Leggings: Target
Cardigan H&M Men's
Sandals: Payless
Necklace: gift

Weekly Wishlist: Birthday Edition

I haven't been writing the Weekly Wishlist feature as regularly as I did when I began this blog. The biggest obstacle I've faced is finding enough items to feature around a specific theme.

My birthday is less than two weeks away (May 5th), so I thought I'd do a special edition of the weekly wishlist with a hodgepodge of items, including *gasp* some non fashion related items!

Image via etsy.com

Lab Created Emerald and Sterling Silver Ring: $47 from Dreamy Rings Etsy Shop

I've been wanting to buy myself a right hand ring for quite some time. I think my 25th birthday might be a good excuse to do it. Emerald is my favorite. Not only is it my birth stone, but green is my favorite color. This one is my favorite emerald ring under $50. I love the leaf like detail.

Image via dorothyperkins.com

Coral Damask Dress: $69 from Dorothy Perkins

I've been eyeing this dress for weeks. I love the print and the beautiful coral color. I think it would work well for work, but could also be easily dressed up for a wedding or other formal event. I have a hard time justifying spending more than $40 on a single item of clothing, so I've been hoping this beauty would go on sale. 

Image via target.com

Rachel Ray 10pc Porcelain Cookware set in Blue: $130 from Target

When I moved to Austin from Boston I left all of my kitchen stuff in storage. I've been hesitant to buy kitchen things, because I plan to go get my stuff at some point. The one thing that isn't in storage is a nice set of pots and pans. I love these blue beauties. And 10 pieces for $130 is a pretty good deal for porcelain cookware. I imagine they'd last a few years, until I'm ready to invest in some Le Crueset. 

Image via amazon.com

Schwinn Lakeshore Cruiser: $200 via Amazon.com

I've been thinking about making an investment in a bike. Nothing fancy, just a simple bike that I could ride leisurely on the weekend, and occasionally use to commute to work. I'd probably end up buying a used bike on craigslist, but if I decide to buy a new bike, I'd want a Schwinn cruiser like this one!

What are you wishing for for your next birthday?

Walking on Sunshine

I am kind of a Southern girl at heart. My step dad was in the military, so I moved around every 3-4 years growing up. Texas and Maryland are the states I lived in the most. I love sunshine and warm weather. Sometimes I feel like a completely different person in the spring and summer. I'm more active, I feel more optimistic, and I'm just generally happier. 80 degree weather? I'm happy as a clam :)

This tank is from H&M's conscious collection. It didn't photograph well, but it is the most beautiful pastel yellow! It's made from organic cotton and recycled polyester. (I love it so much that I also bought it in off white and had to talk myself out of purchasing the coral.)

Outfit: 
Tank: H&M
Skirt: TJ Maxx about 4 years ago
Belt: Forever 21
Shoes: Spring Step via DSW
Necklace: ?

A Bright Day and a Bun

After over a week of feeling miserable, I finally gave in and took a sick day last Friday. After sleeping in until about noon and lounging on the couch watching TLC I finally showered, got dressed and met my guy for a walk in the Public Garden. 

I've gotta say I'm really proud of myself for wearing a bright top with my bright blue skinnies. Normally I stick to neutrals with my bright colored bottoms, but the sunny day inspired me to go bold and step out of my comfort zone. It's hard to tell, due to the bad location choice for this photo, but my tank has shades of brown, purple, blue and yellow in it. 

Outfit:

Tank: thrifted for $1!

Pants: Old Navy

Cardigan: Old Navy

Scarf: gift

Sandals: payless

Sunnies: ?

Back in August I got a significant haircut. Right after I cut about 6 inches off I started to see pictures of buns in blogs and magazines. Since then I've been looking forward to the day when I could get my hair back up in a bun. I finally got there! (It only took about 12 bobby pins and it still fell down midway through the day.)

Tulips!

Get your GLOW on.

This outfit is from last Tuesday. What can I say? I'm running a bit behind. However, I had to share this outfit because I wore it to a very special event. The awards dinner for Boston Glow's Ignite Change Essay Contest. I'm serving as a mentor for one of this year's winners!

Boston GLOW is a young, but mighty nonprofit founded by my dear friend Leah. GLOW stands for Girls Leadership, Organized Women and the mission of Boston GLOW is just that- female empowerment at it's finest! The Ignite Change contest challenged young women in Boston to identify a problem in their community and propose an actionable solution. 

I had the great pleasure of reading most of the essays and I was so inspired by the vision and optimism these young women have. It really gives me hope for the future. The 10 finalists each got a netbook and scholarship prize as well as goodie bags with books from published female authors who were the judges for the contest. 

Look at me with my awesome mentee, Fatima! (Please excuse my puffy face. The picture was taken at about 9pm after a long day of work at the height of my hayfever!)

Outfit:

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Old Navy

Flats: Payless

Necklace: Eloquii

I leave you with my favorite quote from Fatimah's essay:

"Only when girls unite together to confront and change the 'weak-princess/perfect girl' stereotype will the role of girls in society change....Women should build confidence and support for each other to be successful."

A New Dress!

I've said it before, but just in case you didn't know, I love dresses! On a recent trip to H&M I was really pleased to see that they had a lot of really cute dresses under $30, and even more importantly they had a lot in my size. I've been disappointed in H&M's plus size collection, but the increase in the number of size 12 and size 14 dresses 've been seeing at my local store kind of makes up for it. This dress was 50% off so it was only $17!

Yesterday was a really chilly day. It was windy and rainy and in the 50s, so i reluctantly put on some tights and boots with my pretty summer dress. Hopefully this is the last time I have to break out the tights and boots.

Outfit:
Dress:  H&M
Cardigan: Old Navy
Boots: Coconuts via DSW

Too Many Polka-Dots? No Way!

I have a thing for polka dots. I can't get enough of them! When I saw this dress at Target about two months ago, I had to have it! I have worn it 4 or 5 times since then, and last week I finally got a picture of it.

This was the first time I've worn this dress to work. I had it in my head that it was too short for the office, but I think with tights it works just fine. Do you have a print or pattern that you just can't pass up in the store?

Outfit:
Dress: Target
Belt: H&M
Cardigan: Old navy
Boots: Coconuts via DSW

Yellow Pastel Pumps EBEW

This is my first time participating in Everybody, Everywear. This month's challenge was to wear pastels. What a great excuse to finally wear my vintage yellow pumps! I wanted to get a little more into the theme, but I'm in the middle of washing about 3 weeks worth of laundry! I am so glad I put a reminder in my google calendar to wear pastels, because otherwise I would have totally forgotten.

I found these pumps with the tags still on at Goodwill. They fit perfectly and are so comfortable! They're totally 80s, but I have definitely noticed that cone shaped kitten heels in bright colors are making a comeback.

Outfit:
Blouse: Forever21
Cardi: Target, very old
Pants: Target
Shoes: thrifted
Bracelet: thrifted

I also want to send big thank you to everyone that sent me well wishes as I battle allergies from hell. My readers are awesome! I'm feeling much better now, excpet for a little cough.

Jeans vs. slacks

Now that it's getting a little warmer, but not quite warm enough for dresses and skirts every day, I want to wear jeans all the time. For some reason I find it easier to style springy shirts and shoes with jeans rather than dress slacks. 

Unfortunately, I'm only allowed to wear jeans to work on Fridays, and only on Fridays when I don't have any trainings, meetings or interviews. Anyone have any tips for styling slacks? 


Outfit:
Blouse: Old Navy
Cardigan: ?
Jeans: Forever 21+
Flats: Payless
Necklace: ? very old

Tree Sex

Sorry for the low volume of posts this week, y'all! I have been struck with what I like to call "tree sex illness" aka hay-fever from the exorbitantly high pollen counts in Boston right now. Spring is beautiful, but every April I get sick as a dog. I usually edit my photos and write my blog posts in the evening, but this week I've done a lot of laying on the couch and going to bed at 10pm. I even skipped the Boston Blogger meet up!

I wore this outfit to work on Wednesday, and I had planned to wear it to the Boston Blogger meet up before the tree sex got me sick. At least I was comfortable while I taught CPR. I am loving these blue pants. I think they are going to get a lot of wear this spring/ summer.

Outfit:
Blouse: Old Navy
Cardigan: ?
Blue Pants: Target
Flats: Old Navy
Necklace: Street Vendor

Digging Out of my Rut

This pencil skirt is definitely my favorite thrift store find. I've worn it three times since I purchased it a few weeks ago. This was the first time I took the fabric belt that came attached to it off and subbed in a different belt. I really like it!

Temperatures were predicted to finally get back int the mid-high 50s on Tuesday, so I decided to brave the wind and go bare legged anyways. I'm really hoping that spring is here to stay. Being able to rock the bare legs is just the catalyst I need to bring me out of my fashion rut. 

Outfit:
Skirt: Old Navy thrifted
Shirt: Target
Cardigan: Old Navy
Flats: Aldo thrifted

Basic Black

This outfit is not one of my best. I still can't seem to dig myself out of this fashion rut I've been in. I didn't take any outfit photos all weekend, and then I overslept Monday, so here you go! 

When I am lacking creativity I default to black. This black dress is one of my favorites. It's flattering, comfy, work appropriate, and I can change it up by layering different camis under it. 

Outfit:

Dress: NY& Co. last year

Cami: Old Navy

What do you reach for when you can't decide what to wear?