Random roundup

It's Fri-yay! As they like to say on the interwebs! I have a full weekend ahead of me. My closet room is getting photographed this weekend, but that's a whole other story that I shall save for later! And baseball!!! You guys have no idea how excited I am for baseball season. It's the best time of year. Just saying. OK - well let's get started! As with other random roundups, I am only linking to those pieces that are still available, or if I have a similar item handy!

Blazer: Express | Necklace: Express | Top: Express | Bracelets: Cara, Stella & Dot | Bottoms: Express | Shoes: Louise et Cie

So, this is a modification I made to an outfit I wore on the blog. What I *wanted* to wear is on the left, and what I *actually* wore is on the right. I definitely plan to wear the version on the left in real life also though because I do like it better!

Left: Original post here

I loved the more neutral palette compared to the darker bottoms, but they JUST re-issued the dress code at work. The dress code that no one really abides by, including myself. The only real rule that I break is the part about not wearing any ripped or torn clothing. Yeah, well. How many pairs of distressed skinnies do I own? I will probably be brave and just wear them to the office again, but I figure I'd let people forget about the dress code first :) In the meantime, I switched to olive bottoms and my pink knot tee vs. the white. Similar concept, but just not as soft.

Earrings: Canned Goods (gifted) | Necklace: Tiffany & Co. | Sweater: Halogen | Bottoms: Express (option) | Flats: JCrew Factory

This is definitely one of my favorite Nordstrom Anniversary sale purchases - the sweater! It's a great floral print, not too 80's or 90's, but just right. And these flats are the most comfy ever. I'm happy that JCrew Factory has them again in this blue color. Highly recommend, and have I led you astray before?

Necklace: Tiffany & Co | Jacket: Express (similar) | Top: Bobeau | Bottoms: Express (option) | Shoes: Ash

This was the day I was moving cubes at work. With my new job came a new cube, which I was extra excited about because it made my transition feel a bit more real AND I got a window!! I haven't really talked about it on the blog, but I've spent a small fortune buying things for my cube to make it feel a little more like home. I'll have to take photos and share with you guys!

What's funny about this outfit though is that I had told my old boss I would dress appropriately for the cube change. When he saw me that morning, he insinuated that I was overdressed. Apparently, he was expecting me in sweatpants and a ratty tee shirt. But dang, I'm still a lady!

Bag: Kate Spade | Top: Express | Jacket: Express | Bottoms: American Eagle | Shoes: Pedro Garcia

I actually wore this to shop, which is a big deal for me because I'm wearing heels. But I did this because I knew my feet wouldn't be able to survive long in heels and I really didn't want to spend a lot of money! I know, blasphemy! But this was the day I was returning my defective Chloe for a new one, so I really had no business spending a ton of money! I ended up buying my Cardinals home opener outfit, which you can see on my Instagram here.

Scarf: H&M (gifted) | Jacket: JCrew Factory | Dress: Express | Boots: Vince Camuto

First off, I promise my hair did not look like Kate Gosselin's in real life. I almost didn't post this pic because of my hair, but I… yeah, no idea why it looks like this. But let's move on. Striped dresses are always my go to when I'm feeling uninspired or bloaty. It's easy to layer and accessorize and fool people into thinking you actually care what you look like! This was the first time I left the house for the season with bare legs, and it felt GOOD.

That's all I've got for you today! Have a great weekend!

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Make me brunch

Sunnies: Tom Ford | Jacket: Express (option) | Bag: Chloe | Top: Kohl's | Watch: D&G | Bottoms: American Eagle | Shoes: Ash

No but really, do it!

I love brunch. It's my favorite meal hands down. And it pains me because in our little suburb, there are so many great restaurants, but very few of them serve brunch. My favorite over here is Cleveland Heath, which I've mentioned before on the blog I'm sure. It's probably my favorite restaurant period in these parts. Unfortunately, they're closed on Sundays, so they only do brunch on Saturdays. Needless to say, we still get our fill.

From Cleveland Heath: Pomegranate mimosa, pancakes, heuvos rancheros, thick sliced bacon

There's a fairly new place that just opened called Gulf Shores. Every time we've tried to go, it's been a ridiculously long wait, but shortly after our New Orleans trip, we were able to get in for brunch, and it was uh-mazing. They even had Cafe du Monde beignets! Shut up! We'll have to go back there again, stat!

The moral of this story is, I love brunch. And when I saw this tee at Kohl's, well, it was a no brainer. It could not have screamed my name louder!

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Random roundup

Well, hello there, and welcome to another edition of Random Roundup! As you read this, I will be en route to Denver, so I hope to have pretty pictures of my trip to share with you next week. For now, here are some outfit selfies that I have accumulated! I will only be linking to the items that are still available!

Jacket: J Crew Factory | Earrings: Nickel and Suede | Necklace: The Foundrie | Buffalo plaid top: Express | Tee: That Mom Chic | Bracelets: Nadri | Leggings: Express | Shoes: Ash

When I posted this outfit on Instagram, I made a reference to Jordan Catalano because I totally felt like this is a 90's inspired outfit! I can't remember where I was - I think at one of the malls in California over Christmas break, and a girl walked by me in leggings, a denim jacket, and a plaid shirt tied around her waist. I thought about how I've always loved how effortlessly casual the outfit looked, but I cannot remember the last time I tied anything other than a belt around my waist! Running errands one weekend, I figured I would try it, and 90's or not, I still loved it.

Left: Original Post | Right: Original Post

I've worn this tee three times already during this #RemixFix2015 challenge, so I thought it would be nice to showcase these looks side by side by side. The fit is really great on the tee - I love that it still looks seamless under the cardigan even though the cardigan isn't a chunky knit. A good graphic tee is certainly a wardrobe staple!

Necklace: CS Gems (c/o) | Earrings: Stella and Dot | Cardigan: Caslon | Top: BP | Bottoms: Express | Boots: Vince Camuto

I'm sorry to taunt you with this cardigan. I wish that it were still available because it's pretty amazing, as you can see. And I had purposely picked it for my capsule hoping that it would be available for the duration of the challenge. But alas, it's gone. You can see how else I've worn it below!

Left: Original Post | Middle: Original Post

I need to wear it with my white skinnies and cognac boots next! Or with a vest layered over it! Or even my army green jacket over it! See! Such a great piece. The possibilities are endless.

Earrings: Stella and Dot | Necklace: CS Gems (c/o) | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff | Vest: J Crew | Sweater: Target | Top: Gap | Bottoms: Express  | Boots: Naturalizer

The day I wore this outfit, I had a two hour meeting in a conference room where the thermostat literally read 80 degrees. Oh my gosh, I was dying. I took the vest off, but the sweater over the long sleeve FLANNEL was still so hot! In 80 degrees!! We kept trying to open the door to let some cooler air in, but it was right off the lobby and very noisy, so we couldn't keep it open for more than 5 minutes at a time. Thank goodness my hair was in a top knot, because I would have probably passed out!!

Necklace: Express | Vest: JCrew | Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim | Top: JCrew Factory | Bottoms: Express | Booties: Nine West

This outfit is just a little famous. I posted a flat lay of it on Instagram (with different booties), and it ended up getting regrammed by a mega account here. One of the first comments was that it is the ultimate man outfit, and I was thinking - oh my goodness, do they really think this is meant for a man?! Certainly not with my necklace and bracelets, right?! But, you know, it really could pass for a man's outfit, so I guess I can't blame them either way! I cheated a little with my capsule and chose these leopard booties over my cognac booties, because, well, LEOPARD. 

I feel like leopard and buffalo plaid are pretty overdone on Instagram, but I don't care because I still love it. But it's funny because I wore this to the mall (hence the dressing room selfie), and I got a couple of compliments from people telling me how they loved how I paired leopard with the plaid. I will certainly take that compliment, but at the same time, I know it's not a Carylee original since it is EVERYWHERE on Instagram. But it just goes to show you that no matter how massive the Instagram network feels sometimes, it's really just a drop in the bucket compared to real life population!

And on that prophetic observation - I shall bid you ado! Ahem. I meant, adieu. :)

There's still time to enter the ultimate cash giveaway HERE!

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Sneaker obsession

Sunnies: Vince Camuto (option) | Vest: JCrew (option, option) | Necklace: Stella and Dot | Bag: Michael Kors (option) | Sweater: Banana Republic (option) | Bottoms: Express | Shoes: Ash

Guys. I love my heels. ALL my heels, but lately I've been on this weird sneaker kick. I've been craving a pair of black Converse, but then when I saw these Ash sneakers, I decided to get them instead and have not regretted it for one second! They're definitely reminiscent of the traditional Converse, but I love the buckle details. Other bloggers I blame for my current sneaker obsession are below.

Left: Jenna | Right: Rachelle

Respect the Shoes via Instagram

While my Ash sneakers serve the same purpose as Jenna's and Lisa's Nikes above, I still couldn't shake my longing for Rachelle's burgundy kicks. So. I may or may not have made my allowable February purchase these Nikes. I am super crazy excited to style them. What about you? Any sneakers you're lusting for?

PS I've got a couple of giveaways going on right now -- enter to win the perfect plaid scarf HERE and enter to win a $600 Visa Gift Card HERE!

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#RemixFix2015: The Capsule

Before I jump into this, let me just recap some of the history for those of you who are just tuning in. I explained the whole concept behind #RemixFix2015 here. Jenna did an amazing job picking her items AHEAD OF TIME, as I should have done, but had way too much anxiety to do so. You can see her capsule here. I took a little bit of an easier way out and picked my pieces over the last three weeks. I gave myself until the end of January to lock in my capsule, so now that the vault is sealed, I can share everything with you!

Note that the majority of these stock photos are NOT my exact pieces because the actual stock photos were either unavailable or had models wearing them. I've indicated the brand/designer of my exact piece below each collage. I am also only linking to pieces that are still available.

Poncho: Express | Striped zip cardigan: Caslon (solid colors here) | Chunky cardigan: H&M (similar) | Marled Cardigan: Express | Striped sweater: Target | Cashmere sweater: Neiman Marcus | Black tunic tee: BP | Striped tunic tee: BP | Sweater with zip vent details: Caslon | Buffalo plaid top: Express | Camel sweater: Banana Republic | Colorblock sweater: JCrew Factory | Gingham top: JCrew Factory | Green plaid top: Gap | Graphic tee: Teespring | Blue plaid top: Express | Radiant orchid top: Express (similar colors here) | Chambray: JCrew Factory

Blazer: Express | Moto Jacket: Express (other colors here) | Anorak jacket: Express | Wine colored coat: Tahari | Denim jacket: JCrew Factory | Buffalo plaid vest: JCrew (Factory version here) | Cream vest: JCrew | Herringbone vest: JCrew Factory

Black skinnies: Express | White skinnies: Express | Sweater leggings: Express | Lightwash destroyed jeans: American Eagle | Dark wash destroyed jeans: Express | Olive cargo skinnies: Express | Scuba leggings: Express | Wine skinnies: Express

Striped dress: Old Navy | Tank dress: Bailey 44 | Boucle mini: Express | Ruched skirt: Express

Floral print scarf: Express | Leopard infinity scarf: Express | Plaid blanket scarf: H&M | Emerald knit scarf: Grace and Lace | Bracelets: Open cuff (Nadri), Cluster (Stella and Dot), Circle hinge (Nadri), Channel set pave (Nadri) | Necklaces: Long bauble (Kate Spade), Long pendant (Stella and Dot), Chevron (Express), Tassel (Stella and dot), Short bauble (Express) | Belt: Express | Sunnies: Vince Camuto, Tom Ford, Gucci

Blue crossbody: Marc by Marc Jacobs | White Peach satchel: 3.1 Phillip Lim | Cognac bag: Michael Kors | Wine colored hobo: Lauren Ralph Lauren (other colors here) | Animal print crossbody: Tory Burch | Wine colored crossbody: Rebecca Minkoff

Buckle booties: Vince Camuto | Black wood stacked heel booties: Cole Haan | Suede over the knee boots: Vince Camuto | Grey riding boots: Frye | Rockstuds: Valentino | Leopard pumps: BCBG | Buckle sneakers: Ash | Cognac booties: Hinge | Suede knee high boots: Naturalizer | Cognac riding boots: Naturalizer

It was extremely helpful to build each of these polyvores as I wore the pieces. As I was getting farther along, I could start to see where I had gaps and missing pieces. For the sake of quantifying everything, here is everything in list form:

8 sweaters: 1 poncho, 3 cardigans, 4 pullover sweaters

10 tops: 3 long sleeve tunics, 4 print button ups, 1 solid colored button up, 1 chambray, 1 graphic tee

5 jackets: 1 wool coat, 1 anorak jacket, 1 denim jacket, 1 moto jacket, 1 blazer

3 vests: 1 plaid, 1 herringbone, 1 solid

8 bottoms: 4 pairs of jeans (dark, light, black, white), 2 pairs leggings (scuba, sweater), 1 wine colored skinnies, 1 utility cargo

4 dresses/skirts: 1 tank dress, 1 sleeved dress, 1 boucle mini, 1 black mini

10 pairs of shoes: 1 over the knee boot, 2 riding boots, 1 knee high heeled boot, 2 pairs heeled booties, 1 flat pair booties, 2 pairs pumps, 1 pair sneakers

48 total clothing/shoes

6 bags: 2 solid crossbody, 1 animal print, 3 large tote/satchel

4 scarves: floral, leopard, knit, blanket scarf

9 pieces of jewelry: 4 bracelets, 5 necklaces

1 belt

3 pairs of sunnies

23 total accessories

This sounds like a lot of items, but when you compare it to the bedroom sized closet full of clothes, shoes, and accessories that I own, well, this is just a drop in the pan. I could definitely pare this down a bit, but I was interested to see how many pieces I would end up with for me to feel comfortable with my capsule.

And these are the initial 16 outfits that locked in all the pieces of my capsule. I was originally shooting for 12 outfits to create 2 months of outfits, but as I was nearing those 12, I knew it wasn't going to be enough and I still had gaps to fill.

Whew. Thanks for those of you that stayed to the bitter end of this post. Though it won't take you near as long to read it as it took for me to put together. I showed you my capsule sorted individually by categories, in list form, and via the original outfits. Not sure how many other ways I can summarize this! At any rate - here it is, locked and loaded! Let the remixing begin in full force! I am kind of excited to see how many different outfits I can create from all this! And hopefully, by the time this is over, spring will be here and we can talk about something new! :)

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Random roundup

I gotta say, I'm glad you guys like these roundups so much because it definitely makes it a lot easier on life to "only" photograph 4 outfits for the blog each week vs. 5. Really the best solution would be if the husband would just let me quit my day job so I had all the time in the world to invest in this little corner of the interweb! Ha - that may take some time to convince him, so until then - here's your random roundup for the week! I will only be linking to the items that are still available, unless I have a good option handy!

Necklace: Kate Spade | Vest: JCrew (Factory version here) | Sweater: JCrew Factory | Top: JCrew Factory | Skirt: Express | Fleece Lined Tights: Target | Booties: Cole Haan

I really love this vest, you guys. It's one of those pieces that I wasn't sure if I should take the plunge on, but am glad that I did. I also love me a good mini skirt in the winter. Maybe even more so than the warmer months! Oh, and these fleece lined tights. You need them. The softest most comfy pair of tights ever, and I love how super opaque they are!

Watch: Kate Spade | Necklace: Stella and Dot (gifted) | Blazer: Express | Top: Express | Bracelets: H&M (gifted) | Bottoms: Express | Booties: Hinge

This is what I call my Gina outfit. She's a master at styling her olive cargo skinnies, as evidenced by this post here. I'm not sure why I never would have come up with this classic combination on my own, but I adore the way it came out.

Jacket: Express (option) | Necklace: Express | Top: Express | Skirt: Express | Fleece Lined Tights: Target | Booties: Vince Camuto

This ruched skirt is a fan favorite. Don't believe me? See it on Gina, Rachelle, and Noelle. It all started with Rachelle and kind of had a domino effect from there. That tends to happen with this circle of ladies. And it's awesome because that means 4 times the fashion inspiration when it comes to styling the same pieces! 

Scarf: Express | Vest: JCrew | Sweater: Target | Top: Express | Leggings: Zella | Shoes: Ash

I feel like this is just a couple bars higher than leaving the house in pajamas. Ok, perhaps that is being a bit dramatic. But I had to wake up and pick the husband up Saturday morning at the airport, and I thought about just going in jammies and Ugg boots, but realized he'd probably be hungry and want to go to brunch. So, I reached for comfy things that were still acceptable to be seen wearing in public. And in a selfie. Glad you guys keep me accountable!

Scarf: H&M | Vest: JCrew | Chambray: JCrew Factory | Leggings: Zella | Boots: Naturalizer ℅

The husband had to take a picture of my hair this day because he said it was ridiculously big. Haha! #sorrynotsorry One of these days I will do a tutorial for you guys. It's what I call my prom updo, which is a bit different than my regular top knot. And yes, I love this vest. And the scarf. Together, they are unstoppable. 

REMIX RECAP

Left and Middle: Same vest, two ways | Middle and Right: Same skirt, two ways

Same jacket: Two ways

Left and Middle: Same chambray shirt, two ways | Middle and Right: Same scarf and boots, two ways

Same vest: Three ways

And here's a quick recap of all the remixes since last week. Three weeks into the challenge, and I'm still feeling good about it. And it's quite gratifying to see all of the looks I'm able to create with my limited stock of pieces. Kind of excited to see this through!

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