Dots on dots plus pink pop

It kills me that my belt is crooked/ loose, but of course this was the only closeup I got of this view. #bloggerproblems

Express top

Bebe belt (love this one)

Francesca's skirt (option, option)

Kate Spade "Charlotte Street Sylvie" satchel (option)

Zara pumps

TOMS Sunglasses

I have found that I get ready in the morning so much faster when I already have my outfit finalized by the time I wake up in the morning. The problem is, I truly need to do this the night before, meaning, have the outfit physically tried on the night before to ensure it works, and make any necessary tweaks before morning. But, I'm not always that disciplined. 

Sometimes I lay in bed at night trying to put an outfit together in my head right before I go to sleep. I mentally scan my closet, build an outfit together, and hope when I wake up it looks just as good on me as it did daydreaming about it. A lot of times it does not work out and I waste a half hour in the morning agonizing over what to wear. This, however, was one of those outfits that I was pleasantly surprised actually worked in real life. It's pretty foolproof, yes, but I was mainly unsure of how the different sets of dots would look with each other. I was THISCLOSE to wearing polka dot pumps as well, but I really wanted to take these studded cap toe pumps out for a spin again, and they matched perfect with the outfit colors anyway. The bag was a Kate Spade surprise sale purchase, and I have been anxious to use it! I love how roomy it is! It's the perfect work bag.

How about you? Are you a planner? Are you disciplined in your outfit selections or do you over complicate things like I probably do?

Linking up with Adrienne, Victoria, Christina, Amy and Amber.

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Bandage dresses and how I blog

Bandage everything has been all the rage, and even if they aren't as prevalent as they were the last couple of seasons, I'm pretty sure it will never get old to me. It definitely depends on the fit though. I don't like the fit to be super-I-can't-breathe-tight, nor do I want to end up looking like a sausage. I love for it to be fitted with the extra layers there to camouflage and smooth out any problem areas or lumps. I bought a couple of tank dresses at the end of last summer that I was able to winterize during the colder months.

Bailey 44 tank dresses (other colors here)

I bought this dress from a Saks Fashion Fix sale last year. It's short sleeves (vs. sleeveless) and a little longer than the tank dresses above, so it doesn't require leggings or other layers for modesty.

Torn by Ronny Kobo dress (option, option)

NY&Company necklace

Express bracelet

YSL Tribute sandals (see Shoesday post here)

Taking these photos today took me back to my blogging roots! Ha! I love everyone's stories about how they started blogging. How they felt weirded out taking and posting photos at first. And then how after awhile you just become meh about it and take full on pics. That's really what happened with me as well. 

It all started with me posting my outfits of the day on a Tumblr I created. (You can still see this by clicking on the "Just Outfits" tab above.) I started posting pics to this in July of last year. My pictures started headless. Then later, you see my face, but you'll see me with a gym background. This is really just because my full length mirrors at the house have awful lighting, so I took pictures at the office gym at work when it was empty. Full length mirror, great lighting, random background. 2 out of 3 isn't bad.

Finally, I ended up buying this iPhone tripod. I downloaded the free TimerCam app and set the tripod on my dining room table to take my photos. This worked for 3-4 months or so? But you see in all of the photos above, the colors are skewed a bit because of the background, and well, the iPhone has a great camera, but nothing beats natural light plus a real camera, in my opinion.

So, in January, when I decided to create this blog, I started using our Nikon D5100 camera. The husband is very patient and takes photos of me every morning before work in the same spots around the house - front door, back of house, side of house, or the office if it's raining. Days like today when he is traveling or has to leave before me, I have to resort to one of my old methods or just skip the photos altogether for the day. We work together, and commute together, so during the drive to work as the passenger, I use this card reader with our iPad so that I can view all the photos taken that morning, and pick the 5-6 that I like the most. His phone can act as a hotspot, so I email my fave photos to my phone straight from the iPad.

Once I get them on my phone, I use the Aviary app to crop, brighten, or straighten my photos. I've also used the "blemish" feature to brush out wrinkles in my clothes or stray hairs from my face. Otherwise, that's the extent of my editing. I use the Pic Jointer app to group photos together to upload to my Tumblr page, and then the individual photos get uploaded to Photobucket. Again, all of this is done on my commute to work.

I don't actually write my blog posts until later that evening. In general, the stuff that you're seeing here is only a day or two since I've actually worn it. I wish I could say I have a whole library of blog drafts started, but uh yeah, I don't. If I know I'm going to be busy for a few days or something, I will try and write them in advance, but for the most part, these are all real time!

So there you go. That's me and my blogging life in a nutshell. I'm clearly not a professional, I just like sharing and talking about shopping. I wish I had a professional photographer to capture everything better, but for now, I'm thankful that H is awesome enough to contribute to my habit and this blog by photographing me himself. Not only that, but he reads every one of these posts also. Which kind of works to my disadvantage when I post a "Things I Buy" post.... Thanks, hubby! You rock!

Linking up with Lindsey and Shanna.

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Shoesday: Multicolor espadrilles

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend! It goes without saying that I am grateful for everyone past, present, future who has served in the military. And this includes all the spouses and families who also sacrifice everything for the benefit of this country and our freedom. Memorial Day is not only a time to reflect and pay respects to those that fight for us, but it's also known to be the kick-off to summer. Hopefully the warm weather is truly here to stay, and we can look forward to more daylight, sun kissed skin, and vacations! With all this in mind, I scoured my shoe collection to find a pair that screamed summer. I wanted something fun, colorful, and definitely open-toed!!

H&M print top (option)

Groopdealz bubble necklace (option)

Forever 21 cuff

Francesca's skirt (option)

Bebe skinny gold belt (option)

Ivanka Trump espadrilles (option, option)

I went through a phase where I only owned a couple of pairs of espadrilles/ wedges, and then got rid of them because I didn't like the way they looked. Then last year, something hit me, and I fell in love with them all over again. So much so that they multiplied in my collection. I actually love them most with skinny pants or shorts. Looking back at this outfit, I kinda wish I hadn't worn the skirt, but, these wedges are wonderful regardless!

Linking up with Tori for the Tuesday Blog Hop!

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Obsession: Floral dresses

Left: Free People dress | Right: JCrew Factory dress

Since Memorial Day is the official kick off to summer, it seemed appropriate to talk about my current obsession with floral. Floral dresses to be specific. I recently bought the two dresses above, and I just love them. The print on the left is very sweet, but the cut out details at the waist give it a little edge. I can certainly see this being funked up a bit. The dress on the right looks like it would be perfect for a daytime shower or Sunday brunch. The print and fit are classic and demure.

There are so many other options out there right now. Here are some I'm craving.

1 Cut out floral dress - I love the pop of colors and the flirty shape. The cut out back is a sexy surprise. 

2 Studded floral shift - The stud details toughen up this sweet dress.

3 Floral fit and flare dress - This is more of the traditional floral dress in both the print and the shape. It's almost a bit 80s feeling, but what draws me to it is the black and yellow contrast. I want to make this rock n roll-ish with black leather and chunky accessories.

4 Shadow floral sheath dress - Floral prints don't have to be a rainbow of colors. I love the watercolor effect in this print and the minimal variation in color.

I love florals even more when they're styled in a way that doesn't remind you of being 6-years old on Easter Sunday.

Tiny floral print dress with statement bag and metallic flat sandals 

(source)

Floral mini dress with denim jacket, booties, and tousled hair

(source)

Neutral floral print with blazer and flat, thong sandals

(source)

Winterized floral with leather, patterned tights, and suede booties

(source)

Are you loving florals as much as me right now? What pieces are you lusting for?

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Closet room project: Part 2 - Finished!

OK, so if you saw my post from earlier in the week, you read that I had a little mini project in my closet room. Well, I am happy to report that this project is now complete! You can see the original photos of my closet room here.

The mission of this mini reno was to:

1. Replace the rug

2. Replace the shoes shelves

3. Switch out all the hangers to the slimline, velvet type

I decided to turn my chair to face my shoes, for obvious reasons.

I'm still crazy amazed with this rug. So cheap for the quality, free shipping, and simply perfect. I had to shift things around a little to make more room for the shoe shelves. I had a luggage rack by my armoire that held a bin of purses, which I ended up moving to my closet room closet so that I could place the dress form in its place.

Here you can see how I switched all my plastic hangers to the velvet kind. Looking back, I wish I had chosen black hangers instead. The first batch of hangers I bought for my dresses and pants. I ordered them through the Container Store, which was great, but they were pretty pricey at almost $1 per hanger. I ended up finding them for half the price at places like Ross and Marshall's. The problem though is that they are all random brands, which means random shades of beige. You can see the difference in this photo. Had I picked black instead, you'd never notice they were mismatched brands. I was 3/4 through with the room before I reached this epiphany. Oh well! Still good as is.

I love how well the color coordinating reads with my pants!

So, before I had these purses and wrislets/clutches in their boxes set on top of my tallest shoe "tower." This new tower I bought is significantly taller than the one I had before, so it wasn't really conducive to setting too much stuff on top of it. Now that I had extra wall space, I decided to buy shelves, one with hooks so that I could hang my small evening type bags. Then, I used the shelf itself to showcase my prized bag possessions.

I was able to meet Clinton Kelly in person, so it only felt  appropriate that his autograph be set on top of my shoe tower.

OK, so the shelves are the "Billy" shelves from Ikea in black-brown (half height bookcase, tall bookcase, glass doors.)

Ahhh. I can't stop looking at this, it's so beautiful. I really really wish that I had enough shelving space to eliminate all of my boxes, but alas, I can deal with it. There were only 3-5 dressy, high heel type shoes that I was not able to fit in the cabinets. The rest are flats or flat sandals. Not that I love them any less! I hated choosing which shoes would be openly displayed! I am an equal opportunity shoe wearer!

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Oops I did it again

Sooo, remember when I told you about my striped dress obsession that one time and then again here? Well, Express got me again. Oops.

Express dress

Personalized necklace in "Coca Cola" font

Anne Klein Charm Bracelet

Sam Edelman "Neva" wedge (similar)

These dresses are just great for lazy getting-dressed days such as today. It's like putting on your favorite tee shirt but not having to wear any pants. (Haha) And for just under $30... for an entire outfit, how can you say no to this?

Short and sweet post today, much like this outfit. I've been crazily trying to get my closet room back in order. Almost there...

Linking up with Amy, Amber, and Christina.

Christina at Simple Easy Style is featuring me today in her post - check it out and peep out her cute blog while you're there!

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Booties and bare legs

Express denim jacket (old) (option, option)

Lilly Pullitzer floral lace dress (option)

DVF wrap belt (similar)

Kate Spade "Spotlight" studs (similar, option)

Cara pyramid bracelet (option)

Forever 21 cocktail ring

Sam Edelman "Petty" booties

This dress is one of those "new with tags" pieces that has been sitting in my closet for quite some time, waiting for just the right moment to wear. At the end of last season, I was on the hunt for the perfect casual white dress. This one appeared on a flash sale, so I snagged it immediately. But then the weather turned to cold, and I didn't get to wear it. Until today, that is. I love pairing white with denim, so the jacket was an easy cover up. I added the belt for a tiny detail to break up the monotony of the shift dress, and I was stumped on shoes. My first instinct was to grab these booties. But, I was hesitant about it because I have not worn booties with bare legs before - only with pants or leggings or tights. The dress is short, so I preferred flat shoes over heels to tone it down a little, so these booties made sense. The color was perfect, the style meshed very well with the "country chic" theme I was sporting, so finally, I just said screw it and took the plunge with the booties and bare legs. Ultimately, I was happy that I did because I loved the outcome. Do you ever feel uneasy about going outside your fashion comfort zone, but close your eyes and take the leap anyway?

Linking up with Tori and Lindsey.

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Closet room project: part 1

I always feel bad when I skip a day of blogging, but I've been a bit preoccupied the last couple of nights. I've decided to do a little mini renovation in my closet room. It started with a new rug.

Left: Before photo - rug from Target | Right: After photo - rug here from Amazon

Super happy with this new rug. Such a small difference, especially since the colors are the same as the old rug, but I just love this one even better. It's super plush, and you just can't beat free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime.

Normally since it's Tuesday, I do a Shoesday post. I'll go ahead and postpone this week's Shoesday post until next week when this mini project is over. I had initially wanted to wait on doing anything until I was able to completely renovate the entire room with professional help. But, I changed my mind. I decided to go ahead and just upgrade the shoe shelves for now. Here are a couple teaser/ progress photos. My closet room is a scary place right now. I hate when my little sanctuary is not organized, it kills me! I hope to have everything done by the end of the week, so stay tuned!

READ MORE... "Closet room project: part 1"

Pinspiration of the week: Coral, stripes, cobalt bag

See pin here

I have a story about every piece I'm wearing today, but what led me to this pinned image was the cobalt bag, so I shall start there.

I'm honestly not a big handbag person. Don't get me wrong, I cherish, and I mean CHERISH my Chanels, but otherwise, I'm fairly predictable with my alternating Marc by Marc Jacobs and Kate Spade bags. But even though I'm not high maintenance with my bags, I was still a bit hesitant about the Miche bags. One of my friend's girlfriends sells them, so I decided to take a look, and I fell in love with (surprise, surprise) this cobalt demi bag. The combo of cobalt plus black plus gold - I dunno, it just makes me happy. I really like the shape of this bag and it's pretty roomy as well. I was really excited to use it, so I figured I'd build my pinspiration outfit around this. I love the way the cobalt pops with the stripes and the coral!

Speaking of the stripes, I found this skirt through Amber over at Avec Amber - this post right here. I had been looking for the perfect striped pencil skirt that wasn't a super tight body con fit. This exceeds my expectations, especially with the pop of color in the reddish stripe.

As far as the top is concerned, it's actually a tunic length wrap top. I would have never ever thought to tuck a wrap top into a skirt, until I saw Yasi do this in one of her outfit photos in a recent post over at Hello Gorgeous. Genius! This opens up lots of possibilities! Especially since I don't own any other solid colored coral tops besides this one.

Anthropolgie wrap top (option)

Banana Republic skirt

Cara wrap and pyramid (similar) bracelets

Miche "Serenity" demi, worn with gold chains

Sperry Topsider "Harbordale" wedges

I can't talk about an outfit without having a story about my shoes. The husband almost didn't take any close ups of the shoes because he didn't feel like there was anything special about them. And I somewhat agree with that statement. These are pretty basic woven strapped espadrilles. No crazy colors, no stiletto heels, but that's ok! I almost wore my nude patent pumps instead, but felt like it dressed it up too much, and I wanted to be a touch more casual today. I think these espadrilles serve the same purpose as a nude pump - they're really just meant to disappear and not take away from the outfit. What I think is ironic about them though is that they are Sperry Topsider. When you think of Sperry, you always think of the infamous boat shoe. But, I owned these wedges before I had bought either of my traditional Sperrys. Kind of random that it happened that way, eh?

Hope you have a great Sunday and that you find things that inspire you!

Linking up with Jenny and Kayla.

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