Taking it Outside

Now that my guy and I are living together you can expect a lot more outdoor photos. Not only is he a morning person who encourages me not to hit snooze for the third time, but Mike is also a good sport about snapping some pictures for me. Monday morning he snapped these on our way out the door (25 minutes before I usually leave!).

I live on a really busy street and I still feel awkward about taking pictures in front of people, so I took these behind my apartment building. Maybe over the next few weeks I'll get up the courage to try some new spots. I can't wait until we move into our new apartment on a less busy street so I can find some fun spots to take pictures in.

Outfit:
Dress: Target (also seen here)
Cardigan: Target very old
Sandals: Payless last year
Bracelet: So Good
Belt: H&M

Grab and Go

Last week I had one of those weeks where I hit snooze more times than I should of most mornings. As a result, I wasn't too creative with my clothing choices. For days that you just can't get out of bed, it's nice to have a few go-to outfits or dresses that you can just grab and wear.

This dress is one of those grab and go pieces. It doesn't need a lot of accessories to look good. I also wore it a lot back when it was still chilly out. (here) I have to say that I like it better without all the layers and tights.  With the animal print and the fuscia colored band, it really doesn't need anything else.

Outfit:
Dress: Forever21+ winter 2011
Sandals: Payless last year


In case anyone was wondering, my cat is still photo-bombing me.

Friday's Five Facts: Family 7/27

Now that I'm a little over six months into this fashion blogger journey I've been thinking a lot about what I'd still like to achieve with this blog . One of the things that I think I need to work on is injecting a few more personal touches/ pieces of my personality into the blog. So I'm starting a new (hopefully weekly) feature called "Friday's Five Facts". Each Friday I'll include some photos and five things you might not know about me. I'll focus each week around a theme. This week I'm going to focus on my family.

 1. I have a sister, Sierra, who is 8 1/2 years younger than me. Since I used to change her diapers and rock her to sleep at night I am in complete denial about the fact that she turns17 in September. I seriously can't believe that she's a full fledged teenager now and will be graduating high-school in less than two years!

At the beach in summer 2008

Christmas morning 2011

2. My mom is awesome. She had me when she was really young and was a single mom for the earlier part of my childhood. She is a single mom again now and I admire how hard she works to make a great life for her and my sister.

Mom and I, Christmas 1992. Check out our awesome early 90s style.

At my college graduation in 2009.

3. I am incredibly close with my grandmother. She is an amazing hardworking and nurturing person, and the first person I call if I'm having a really bad or really good day. 

4. My biggest regret of my 20s (thus far) is not spending enough time with my family. They live in the Columbus Ohio area and it's just so hard/ expensive to get out there more than once a year.

L to R Mom, Aunt, Grandmother, Sister and Me at my College in 2009

5. My bff, Katy, is awesome. Sometimes I can't believe we've only known eachother for a little over three years, because she seriously feels like family.  She lives all the way on the other side of the country, near L.A., and I miss her like crazy. Her birthday is tomorrow. Happy birthday boo!

Katy and I on Halloween 2009 I'm wearing a peacock burlesque outfit and she's dressed as "Don't ask, Don't tell"

 Let me know what you think of the new feature, or if there are any topics you'd like me to cover. Have a great weekend!

Purging

As I've mentioned on here a few times, my guy and I are moving in together. He's going to be living with me at my current apartment starting Friday (eek so soon!) and then we're moving into our first apartment together on September 1st. In preparation for the move, and the shared closet space that comes along with it, I've been slowly organizing and purging my wardrobe. Part of this process has been wearing items that I'm on the fence about or have trouble styling. 

This tshirt is one of those items. I love the coral print and modest neckline, but I have a hard time styling it in a way that doesn't look old/ matronly. A high waisted denim pencil skirt may not have been the best idea if I was trying not to look matronly, but it was Friday and I love this skirt! I think this shirt is going to be staying a little longer. I can see it working well with a cardigan and skinny jeans or slacks for fall. 

Outfit:

T Shirt: Target last year (solid colors still available)

Denim Pencil Skirt: Forever 21+ last summer

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Payless

Earrings: So Good

Bracelets: assorted 

Striped Shoes!

I found these flats at Marshall's  on the same day I had to return an adorable pair of too narrow hot pink flats to Aldo. They definitely softened the blow. I look forward to wearing them with black tights in the fall, but summer can take her sweet time and stick around for a while. 

Outfit:

Shirt: Old Navy
Pants: Target
Flats: Marshall's
Bracelet: So Good!
Earrings: Gift  

I still love these pants (also seen here and here and here). I've thought about ordering them in additional colors to the extent that I've added them to my cart on Target.com. If they weren't crops I would have ordered a black pair and a green pair a long time ago, but since it's too chilly for crops about 5 months out of the year here, I just can't justify it. The search for similar straight leg, but full length pants continues. If you have any suggestions let me know!

Weekend Recap: Flea Markets and Procrastination

It was a beautiful weekend in Boston. Great for spending time with my friend Kelly before she heads back to Texas, but terrible for accomplishing the dozens of things I need to get done before my guy moves into my current apartment temporarily on Friday. Saturday Kelly and I walked along the Charles River and had a little picnic. Sunday we headed to Davis Square in Somerville for the Davis Flea Market and some thrifting.

The Davis flea was small, but had some great vendors. The prices on the jewelry and home goods were a little better than I'm used to seeing at Flea Markets in this area. I picked up a really pretty jade colored stone necklace, and Kelly got a few rings, a necklace, and some quirky vintage tie clips as gifts for her grandfathers.

We also went to the Davis Square Buffalo Exchange, Goodwill, and an upscale consignment shop that I couldn't afford and forgot the name of. I forgot how greatly stock can vary at Buffalo Exchange. While the Allston location is great for accessories, I've found that they stock mostly smaller sizes and clubwear. The Davis location had a lot more items in my size, so I'll definitely have to go there more often. I picked up a chambray shirt dress that is going to be great for fall. I might try and sell some items there next weekend.

Outfit:
Blouse: Old Navy
Shorts: Old navy
Bag: thrifted
Bracelets: Forever 21, thrifted, and my mother's from the 80s
Necklace: Gift
Sunnies: ?
Sandals: Payless



How was your weekend?

Cat Lady

I've become one of those people who has long conversations with her cat. Well I guess they aren't really conversations since Mr. Myles mostly seems disinterested, but I definitely talk at the cat all the time. I also sing songs to him replacing nouns with "kitty".  "Somekitty that I used to know" is my current fave. As revenge for my terrible singing and constant complaints about roommate created messes Mr. Myles has really stepped up his photo-bombing game. 

I set the timer and he walked right int the frame and laid down! He then proceded to lay there through about 5 more pictures. 

Outfit: Dress and belt- H&M; Necklace and bracelet: So Good; Sandals- Payless

Then when I tried to get some close ups of my accessories he climbed up on the coffee table and started meowing.  this resulted in me giving him the side eye.

In case anyone is wondering why my typically stick straight hair has been a little wavy as of late- on really hot nights I've been taking showers at night and sleeping it in braids.

Last Friday

This week has been mostly dresses. For fear of boring you to death with another belted dress, I thought I'd share last Friday's outfit with you. This was a particularly casual Friday at work because we had an office bocce ball tournament!

My partner and I were eliminated during the first round of the tournament so I spent my afternoon eating icecream and cheering for my coworkers. After work I met up with Mike and some of his friends from college for food and drinks. Mike had his internship at court that day, so with his suit and tie we were quite the mismatched pair!

Not much to say about this outfit. An old blouse and some new denim crops that I got on sale at Old Navy.

Outfit:
Blouse:  H&M circa 2008
Denim Crops: Old Navy
Necklace: So Good
Sandals: Payless

A Little Magic

I thought about complaining about the MBTA in this post, or about the heat... again. But who wants to hear me whine all the time? This outfit is from Tuesday, which was kind of a lame day, so instead I'll tell you about the awesome evening I had Monday.

After work I met up with my friend, Kelly, for some food in Chinatown. Then we met my friend, Michael, in the lovely frigid movie theater to see Magic Mike! It was two campy hours of butts, abs, and Matthew McConaughey being himself. He played the bongos and said "alright, alright, alright" about 10 times. I had a serious case of the giggles the entire movie. Because, seriously, what is more funny than a male stripper that just wants to design custom furniture?

This dress kept me cool and comfortable through the bad day I had on Tuesday. You may recognize it from here. I have to say, I like it better sans layers and tights. I think I have worn these sandals every day for a week, but I don't care because they're comfortable and I'm allowed to wear them to work.

Oh, you know. Just talking to my cat. These days he likes to lay under the tripod while I take pictures.

Outfit: 
Dress: Forever21+ last year
Belt: Target clearance
Sandals: Payless

Seen any good movies lately?

Feeling a Little HOT Pink

Here's some neon/ hot pink that I wore on a very hot Monday. 

My mom was married to a military man for most of my childhood, so we moved around a lot. As a result I spent most of my life in South Texas (on the Gulf) and in Southern Maryland. I'm no stranger to heat and humidity...so you'd think I could hack a New England heat wave, right? WRONG! There are several things that I deem essential to summer that are missing here. 1. Air Conditioning- I live in a 3rd floor walk up with absolutely no AC, not even window units! 2. Ceiling fans. Until I moved to Boston I'd never had a bedroom without a ceiling fan! 4. Swimming. There aren't a lot of places to swim in Boston. No one I know has access to a pool, and the city beaches are mostly icky. 

Long story short, I have been miserable the past few days. I didn't get a blog post up yesterday because it was so hot in my apartment I didn't want to turn my laptop on! Also the shininess I have in this picture probably isn't from my bronzer. I was sweating before I even walked out the door. 

Outfit:

Neon Top: Old Navy

Skirt: old from Marshall's or TJ Maxx  

Sandals: Payless

Necklace and earrings: H&M

Belt: thrifted at Buffalo Exchange

A Skirt and a MFAwesome Evening.

TGIF y'all! This has been a really busy week at work and after work for me, so I'm really happy it's over.

OUTFIT- Skirt: Old Navy; Blouse: H&M; Cardi: Target (very old) Sandals: Payless

Wednesday after work I headed to the Museum of Fine Arts for a community building event with GLOW members, Ignite Change finalists, and their friends/ family. It was so fun to picnic and visit the museum with an inspiring group of young women.

The group of teens and women that came out for some museum fun.

The MFA is one of my favorite places in Boston. They always have exciting exhibits, and their collection is fantastic. Renoir, Degas, a statue that looks like a giant cheese grater... what more could you ask for? The best part? It's free every Wednesday after 4pm, and always free for children under 17. We had a lot of fun and even snapped some silly pictures with the art.

Lion Faces!

Special thanks to A.C. Gaughen for snapping these great pics with her phone and tweeting them for me to share. A.C. is an up and coming young adult author and one of the founders of Boston GLOW, so y'all should check her out.

Have a great weekend!

A Picnic and an Awkward Photo Shoot

Mike went to visit some family in Northern Virginia for a long weekend from Thursday- Monday. I was supposed to go with him, but unfortunately I couldn't get off of work. As nice as it was to spend most of my weekend watching girly movies and eating junk food with the cat, I'll admit I missed him.

Yesterday after work we met up for a picnic in the Boston Public Garden. After eating on a blanket by the pond I asked Mike to snap some outfit pictures for me since I didn't get a chance to in the morning. All of the resulting photos were blurry and/ or awkward, but here are a few for your viewing pleasure. 

Could I look any more bored?

In the middle of asking Mike to stop making me laugh because outfit photos are serious business.

Well I look terrible, but the garden was beautiful. The Boston Common and Public Garden is one of my favorite places in Boston. When Mike and I first started dating, we were working in the same office downtown. We used to take hour long lunch break dates/ walks around the common, so I love any excuse to go there with him! 

Outfit:

Dress and cami: H&M 

Shoes: Payless

Weekly Wishlist: Printed Shorts

I knew I was officially a grown up when I made the transition from dressing casual all week and dressing up to go out on weekends to dressing up for work all week and wanting to wear jeans and tshirts on the weekends. But what does a girl wear when it gets too hot for jeans and all her dresses are dirty?

This summer I discovered shorts. In the past few months, I have purchased 4 pairs of shorts and seriously talked myself out of about a dozen more. I think I'm going to allow myself one more pair, preferably printed!

image via forever21.com

Pleated Daisy Shorts: $17.80 at Forever 21

Did y'all know the 90s are coming back? Neon, giant floral prints, a new No Doubt album. Now all I need is a beanie baby and some gel pens. These shorts look like they walked off the set of the Babysitters' Club Movie, and I love them for it. 

image via oldnavy.com

Printed Twill Shorts in Nutmeg Dot: $19.50 at Old Navy

I tried on these shorts in Old Navy on Friday. They were so soft and comfortable. I carried them around for about 15 minutes before putting them back, and now I'm kicking myself for it! They're available in a ton of cute prints. This mustard polka dot color is my favorite, but whatever would I wear with them? Maybe I'll snag a pair when I use my supercash coupon later this month.

image via nantucketbrand.com

Seersucker Shorts in Green: $59 from Nantucket Brand

These shorts remind me of my favorite swimsuit. It's a green and white seersucker top with a white skirted bottom. It is abut 6 years old and quite literally falling apart, but I refuse to part with it. Can you get any more quintessential New England Summer than seersucker? Now I just need something with whales on it and some boat shoes...

How do you feel about shorts? Any pairs you've got your eye on? 

How to Teach an Old Dress New Tricks

I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who read, shared, commented on or tweeted about Friday's post. I debated for a while about whether or not I should post it and your support confirmed that I made the right decision.

I've been thinking alot lately about new ways to wear dresses. Vests? Scarves? Layering shirts over? Lots of ideas, but I just can't seem to break out of my cardigan+ necklace and maybe a belt rut. So here you have it. A dress with a necklace and a cardigan.

This dress is one of my favorites. I love the cobalt blue, it's a super soft, but still thick jersey fabric, it's stretchy and a-line so it always fits, and it's great for layering. (Also seen here and here). I can already tell I'm going to get a lot of mileage out of this printed cardigan. In fact, I've been eyeing some printed cardigans at Old Navy that will be great for fall, but I'm waiting for them to go on sale. 

Outfit:

Dress: old

Cardigan: Target

Necklace: thrifted (buffalo exchange)

Sandals: Payless. 

What are your tips for wearing dresses in new and inventive ways?

This Sundress is Not for You

I want to take a minute to talk about something serious- street harassment. I've never met a woman that hasn't had to deal with cat calls, whistles, and/or unwanted advances at some point in her life. It's something I face about 2-3 times a week as part of my commute to work. Most days I can shrug it off with a witty remark, but Tuesday I dealt with five separate instances of street harassment. 

1. 9:00am- On the platform at the train station:  "Good morning beautiful". I sigh, roll my eyes and walk away.

2. 9:20am- On the bus a guy sits super close and says "hey baby, how's your day going?". I say "It was going fine until you invaded my personal space" and change seats. 

3. 9:25am- Walking from the bus to work, I get honked at and whistled at by a truck full of workers. The driver almost hits a biker because he isn't watching the road. I give them the finger and shout "watch the road". One of the men calls me a stupid bitch. 

4. 2:45pm- Out of work early for the Holiday and excited to go meet up with my guy for a late lunch, I'm walking quickly to the bus. While waiting at an intersection for the walk signal a guy says "Excuse me" thinking he's going to ask me for directions, I acknowledge him. He follows up with "where's your boyfriend pretty girl." I say "Please leave me alone" loudly and cross the street.

5. 9pm- Walking with my boyfriend enjoying the beautiful summer evening listening to him tell a funny story when I am distracted by kissy noises and calls of "damn, girl" and "hey sexy" from three men sitting on a stoop. I glare at them, drop my boyfriend's arm and say "You've got to be kidding me." He looks confused because he didn't hear any of it. I explain what happened and that I would have said something back to them had he not been with me. They outnumbered him 3 to 1, and I didn't want to start anything. I then vent to him about my day. I'm shocked that this happened with him. Normally men don't bother you if you appear to "belong" to someone else. 

By the end of the day I felt unsafe, pissed, annoyed, anxious, and sad. 

 I don't know what it is that makes some men think that I get dressed for them in the morning, but I don't. I get dressed for me. This sundress is for me! Women deserve to live in a culture where we can walk freely in our communities without fear of harassment or assault. 

Outfit:
Dress and Belt: H&M

Cardigan: Target

Sandals: Payless

If you are experiencing street harassment, or want to do more check out Hollaback! Please don't ignore street harassment! Take a stand. Talk about it and share your stories. 


I'll get down off my soap box now, but I felt the need to share with y'all. 

Pants that Pass

I hope all my U.S. readers had a Happy Independence Day. I had a fairly uneventful/ low key day. My guy and I watched the Patriot and some History Channel specials, got a delicious dinner (I also had a watermelon beer, and a raspberry summer shandy!), and watched some fireworks from a beach in East Boston. I managed to leave my camera at home, so I didn't get any pictures of my patriotic ensemble. Instead here is an outfit I wore last week while my internet was down!

This is an example of an outfit I wear on a more dressy day at work. Last week I had a lot of interviews and trainings, so I dressed up a bit more than I typicaly do. I'm going to tell you a secret. These pants are technically black denim, but I still  wear them to work outside of casual Friday, and I get away with it! I think it's because the denim is a uniform wash that comes across more like a black twill, either way I love them!

Outfit:
Linen Blazer: Forever 21
Black Skinnies: Old Navy
Blouse: TJMaxx last year
Shoes: Payless

Dress Dilemma, Cable Dilemma, Girls Dilemma

I love dresses. I feel I look my best in dresses, I love feeling feminine and pretty, and they're just easier. It's one piece! However dresses present a problem as a fashion blogger. How in the heck do I style the same dress in unique ways? I'm still trying to figure that out. In the mean time here is my bright yellow dress for the third time on this blog (also seen here and here). This time with a thicker belt and some flat sandals.

I was unhappy with my lack of posts last week. I am not going to apologize, because I don't think that bloggers should feel like they HAVE to post, but I am going to say that I really would have liked to share this outfit, and a few others with you sooner. Due to roommates moving in and out of my apartment I was without cable and internet for a few days. It was all worth it though, because now we have free HBO for a month!

When we got the cable back Friday night I proceeded to watch all of HBO's Girls on demand. It is so good! I couldn't stop watching and watched all 10 half hour episodes within about 14 hours. I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of an addictive personality when it comes to tv. Whenever I get sucked into a new series that has been out for a while, I proceed to watch every episode ever made, sometimes spending 8 or 9 hours straight watching. It's terrible! This is the reason I'm hesitant to check out Downtown Abbey, MadMen, Modern Family, or any other awesome show I'm not watching that has lots of seasons readily available on Hulu or Netflix. Could be dangerous. I might never leave my house again!

Outfit:
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: Forever 21
Sandals: Payless
Necklace: a gift

Do you ever do marathons of tv shows?

All Knotted Up

Knotting a button down shirt is my new favorite thing. In fact, I wore this outfit before I even saw the inspiration picture for Two Birds' Inspiration Monday. What could be better than a knotted shirt, a flowy skirt and some sandals?

Outfit:

Blouse: Old Navy

Cami and Skirt: H&M

Sandals: Payless

Necklace: Gift

Here's the inspiration picture of the lovely Eva Mendes. 

Have you ever knotted your shirt? Is it a little too 90s for you?