This outfit was inspired by Kim (The Style Tutor) and her Instagram post here. I always love pairing opposites together like this sweet lace skirt and tougher moto jacket, so I knew I was going to recreate it the second I saw her look. Such a good combo. I threw on the blanket scarf for extra warmth and added interest. The plaid and lace print mix is a good one!
Outfit details--- Sunnies: Tom Ford "Iris" (other colors here) | Necklace: House of Harlow 1960 (shop other colors here) | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff "Love" cross body (in pink on super sale here, Target dupe here) | Top: Charming Charlie (option, see the coral version on me here, splurge option) | Bracelet:Nadri | Bottoms:American Eagle | Shoes:Louis et Cie "Hermosah" (other colors here, purple pump option here and here) ---
On Labor Day, we celebrated our 7 year anniversary! We didn't really have any big plans. We've been going and going and going lately, that both of us welcomed a weekend of doing nothing. But then on Sunday we decided to take a cruise and find someplace new to try for dinner. We decided to make our way out to the state capital of Springfield, IL and dine at Coopers Hawk.
Sunnies: Vince Camuto | Vest: Gap (other colors here) | Necklace:Bauble Bar | Bag: Rebecca Minkoff (other colors HERE) | Top:Express | Ring: Kendra Scott (other colors here) | Bottoms:Express | Heels:Louise et Cie (option)
OK, so this isn't your stereotypical spring color combo, but the layers are light, so I still consider this very much spring! I bought this striped ribbed sweater a few weeks ago and realized I hadn't worn it yet. Ribbed sweaters like this really scream 90s and remind me of when I used to shop at 5-7-9, Judy's, and Contempo! But alas, I did really like the way this fit, especially when I layer it under this vest and statement necklace.
I can't even tell you how excited I am for this collaboration! You see, I stumbled upon Shawna's blog a couple of years ago, and she quickly became one of my blog crushes. I love her quirky personality that comes across in her photos, I love her writing style, and most importantly, I love her outfits. When she asked if I wanted to collaborate with her, I felt like a celebrity was reaching out to me! If you are new to her blog, I hope you'll pop on over and check it out here and that you'll find her to be as much of a style inspiration as I do!
The title of today's collab speaks for itself. I couldn't survive without a chambray (or 7) in my closet. It's a holy grail piece, and Shawna came up with the idea of styling it for day and then for play. Let's get started!
Disclosure: Charming Charlie gifted me these pieces in promotion of their local store opening. There was no obligation to post, and all opinions expressed are my own.
Charming Charlie recently reached out to me asking if they could send me some pieces to try. I was instantly excited at the opportunity to collaborate with them! The husband works in commercial real estate and knows of Charming Charlie, so it makes it even more rewarding when HE gets excited since it's a brand with which he's also familiar! I've been to a couple of their stores in the past and knew that they carried on trend but affordable products. In my head I equated them to Forever 21, but with an even heavier focus on jewelry and other accessories. I will be honest and say that outside of mentioning my size, I picked nothing out - they simply packed a mystery box full of goodness, and I couldn't have been more pleased or impressed!
So I know I'm supposed to take it easy since I've been battling a cold all weekend, but I've spent all of today (Sunday) just sitting in my chair catching up on blog posts. To me, that's still taking it easy, as I'm not really moving. Right? And you know what, I am ALL DONE FOR THE WEEK! This is the first time I've been able to do this all week. And I actually have time to paint my nails and still have a good night's sleep. Hopefully this is indicative of a productive week!
I appreciate you guys hanging in there with me during an unconventional blogging week for me. I still enjoyed all of the content I prepared for you guys, even though I didn't have any new outfit photos to share. Anyway - have a great weekend! I'm just glad I'm not only feeling better, but feeling caught up!
This is a fun, light-hearted photo session, just so you know! The husband and I got dressed for Sunday brunch and I took me getting dressed as my opportunity to take photos for the blog. He's been really great at picking locations for my photos lately, so I told him to pick a place and that my only criteria was: 1) I didn't want to be around people and 2) I didn't want to be in front of our house. (ha) So, we ended up going to an elementary school playground for a really fun shoot. And exhausting, I might add. Playgrounds are no joke! I don't recall being this out of breath as a kid! So, no, I don't expect you to believe I just happened to be at a playground in this outfit, but I couldn't not take advantage of all the props while I was there!
Sunnies: Ray Ban | Cardigan: Express (current season options here and here) | Necklace: CS Gems (c/o) (shop other options HERE and use code CARYLEE15 for 15% off!) | Tank: Express | Clutch: Clare V. (Shop flat Clare V. clutches HERE) | Rings:Mindy Mae's Market (exact here), Topshop (option here) | Jeans:Express | Flats:Louise et Cie
I seriously had about 20 photos to share from this session because it was just so much fun, and it's a nice change in scenery vs. my neighborhood! But, alas, I was able to narrow it down to a more manageable number!
This weekend was quite nice actually. Well, I was struggling a bit because I woke up with a stiff neck on Friday and it just got progressively worse through Saturday. The husband had some errands to run with his dad, so I spent most of the day just resting and catching up on outfit planning and flat lays! It's seriously so nice to have nothing to do sometimes!! We also watched Footloose in its entirety (the original) which I haven't seen in forever. It's so cheesy, it's good! Yesterday was all about blogging, so another pretty laid back day! Hope you all had equally great weekends!
OK, I had to share this because it's hilarious! The husband and I have decided this rim was maybe at 6 and a half, 7-feet max! But he purposely angled the photo to make it look like I was pulling some legit Michael Jordan quality hang time. And seriously, when will I ever be able to hang on a basketball rim again? May as well document it! :)
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I don't know about you guys, but it's been a long week! It's been a long couple of weeks as a matter of fact. Make that a long FEW weeks! Between SoCal, and then NYC, and then the cousin's wedding, and then the concert -- my closet room looks like a complete nightmare, not like a happy place! My nails are chipped. I haven't been to Pilates in weeks. All we have in the pantry is Ramen. I've been a midnight blogger instead of pre-posting on the weekends. Sigh. I am looking forward to a normal weekend of no plans and just trying to catch up on life!! First world problems to the max, I know! Anyhoo, here are my random outfit selfies to kick start the weekend!
Jacket: Express (in select stores) | Top:BP | Necklace:Kendra Scott (c/o) | Leggings: Vince Camuto (option) | Heels:Renvy
I realized after pulling these outfits together that I've been transitioning into fall outfits for a few weeks now because these are all a few weeks old, but they're still pretty relevant to the cooler temps. Or perhaps I just have a high tolerance for heat and dress like it's fall anyway! Either way, now that it's October, that means post-season baseball and layers! Lots of layers! I am pretty sure fall is my favorite season of the year. I just can't believe it's here already!!
Happy Friday!! I am in SoCal as I write this, and I'm torn between sleep and online shopping. There are just so many good sales right now, I don't know how to deal!! In case you missed my post yesterday, I recapped some of my wardrobe staples should you need shopping inspiration. You can also check out my SHOP tab up above for other pieces over which I am currently obsessing!
I take outfit selfies anytime I leave the house in something, true story. They end up accumulating on my phone quickly, and I decided months ago, that Fridays were the best time to share these random selfies with you so they properly make the blog. But, since they multiply like rabbits, I end up with a backlog of outfits. This bunch happens to be from around the Nordstrom Anniversary sale at the end of July. I tell you this because many, if not all of the items I purchased during the anniversary sale are back ON sale now! So, if there were pieces you coveted that you decided to pass on, the shopping gods are giving you a second chance. Don't blow it!
Top: Express | Necklace: MOD | Bottoms: Hue | Heels:Valentino
Lots of good stuff in this post! And now that I'm done with it, I think I may do a little online shopping before I go to sleep. Sorry not sorry. Express is having a 40% off sale right now, and thanks to this picture on Instagram, I won a $500 gift card. How freaking awesome is that?! Now to figure out what is worthy enough to spend this free money on……
Happy shopping and enjoy the long weekend! Please report back and let me know what you buy!
EDIT: Sooooo, just as I was going to hit "publish" on this post, I just realized I already posted 3 out of these 5 outfits in this recap post here. Lucky for me, they are relevant again since all this stuff is on sale, so we will just call it blogging fate verses a fashion blogger problem. Because it is almost midnight and I am not rewriting this post! Please still love me and pardon the accidental rerun!!
Sunnies: Ray Ban (other colors here) | Earrings: Express | Necklace: Kate Spade (couldn't really find anything similar, but found some pretty pink options here and here) | Bag: Tory Burch (option here) | Top: Express (option, option, option) | Bracelets: Nadri (option), Kendra Scott, Stella and Dot | Bottoms: Express (similar) | Shoes:Louise et Cie (option)
It's hard to believe I'm celebrating my third birthday on the blog! That's a lot of outfit photos, folks! Since my birthday falls on a random Tuesday, we had some pre-celebrations over the weekend as a warm up! And if the pre-celebrations are any indication of how today will be, I have absolutely nothing to complain about and only more wonderful things to look forward to!
If you follow me on Snapchat (carylee07), you've already seen bits and pieces of the weekend events! It started on Saturday. We had tickets to the Cardinals game as part of our quarter season passes, but the husband had to let me in on part of my gift before this game because he was supposed to pick up the tickets that night! He got me Commissioner's Box tickets to the game tonight against the Giants! For those not familiar - this puts me in seats right next to the Cardinals dugout AND they're all inclusive seats, which means all the food and drinks I can manage as well. Perhaps it's because of my lady time right now, but I happy cried when he told me about the tickets. I'M SO EXCITED.
Saturday night at the game, the husband left in the 7th inning to get us some cocktails. The lady on the other side of me left as well, so picture me sitting in between two empty seats. Well, Peralta, our shortstop, was up at bat and hit a foul ball. I've been to plenty of games to know that people will climb over you for these balls, and they typically end up bouncing anyway - so even if you think they're coming at you, the chances of you actually getting one are pretty slim. Well, this night, I look up and see this ball directly over my head. I usually duck, even if the ball is two sections over, but I was unusually calm. A second later, I feel the ball hit me pretty hard in my hip. I expected it to bounce, but when it didn't, I reached down in my seat and sure enough, there was the ball.
I was ridiculously excited, and random strangers were asking to take pictures of me. Haha! Naturally, since the husband was gone, I had to put it on Snapchat first and foremost, and then Facebook. It was pretty amazing and I didn't let go of the ball for the rest of the night. The husband had to grab it from me before I went to the bathroom. Ha! (Yes, I'm a crazy fan, I can't help it!)
Sunday we met Beth and her hubby and kids for brunch at Chophouse. The chicken and biscuits changed my life. Just saying. Afterwards, the husband agreed to take me shopping wherever I wanted. He ordered me a little something that's supposed to arrive today, but apparently there was room leftover in his birthday budget for me to pick something out myself. I mean. I can't say no to that! I always feel so pressured to pick ANYTHING I want. Those are the times when I have no idea what I'll end up with! I decided to go with the Rag and Bone Sullivan booties.
I'm a sucker for a good suede bootie, and my Sam Edelman Petty booties could use a backup since I wear them to death! And the caption is totally true - they really do feel like butter. Two wildly enthusiastic thumbs up from me!
Since we weren't doing anything super fancy on Sunday, I wanted to be comfortable, so I didn't go as dressy as I've done for past birthdays. Just some grey skinnies and this lace top that's been calling my name to wear all summer! I did end up changing into flat sandals for shopping because I wanted to shop without having to worry about how long my feet would last! I'll have to fill you in on how tonight's game went later!
It's always fun to look back at old posts, so I dug up the last two birthday posts for you to read with me! I just LOL'd putting these photos into the post because in 2014 I'm wearing the same tunic from this year's birthday post, just in black. Some things never change, eh? I always used to dread my birthday every year because I end up disappointed, but the last few years have been pretty amazing. I am nothing but thankful!
Nope, your eyes are not deceiving you. It's not Friday, it's Wednesday, but you're getting a random roundup! You're welcome! With the bachelorette weekend ahead of me, I needed to take some outfit photos in advance, and while I was able to photo a couple extra, I have so many random outfit selfies accumulated that it just made sense to share them with you on days I needed content anyway! I'm sure you guys don't mind!
