fall is here: frocktober recap

Autumn is...

birthday month pumpkin spice cutesie baby pajamas decorating hay rides kettle corn weekend trips sweater weather burnt orange scarves plaid changing leaves crisp mornings harvest festivals the state fair thanksgiving fireside evenings pumpkin patches pumpkin everything s'mores camping apple cider harry potter butterbeer baby's first halloween movie nights scented candles couch cuddles 

tights & boots spices hot drinks cozy socks caramel golden days

And... it's Frocktober. 

Oh, how I love this season. I am so excited to introduce William to all of the wonderful things about Fall. I know he won't remember his first Fall in the world, but I sure will. We're planning his first Halloween costume, we've decorated the house in Fall leaves and pumpkins, and we've had Autumnal candles burning for weeks now. I took him to his first pumpkin patch and I bought as many Octoberesque things I could find during Old Navy's baby sale. I just love this month. 

Of course, over the past few years this blog has been all about Frocktober. The collage above is a little recap of last year's Frocktober dresses. It was by far my favorite year to date. I had so much fun going through my closet to find things that could work as maternity wear, and being pregnant in the Fall and Winter is the best. Sweaters and leggings galore! 

I haven't officially posted anything about it here on the blog (I've obviously been a bit lax on here since Will was born), but I've decided not to do Frocktober this year. I still love it. But as it came closer, I realized that the thought of it was causing more stress than excitement. I am enjoying being a mom so very much, and my daily uniform is random and messy and wonderful. I want to focus this October on the many Fall firsts of my little boy. I know I will eventually get back to my creative style, but for now my heart is elsewhere.

For those of you who don't know about my Frocktober, you can read more about it here. As I said, the collage above is my Frocktober 2015 challenge. You can also check out 2014, 2013 and 2012. My main motivation for participating in Frocktober has always been to challenge myself to find new purpose and appreciation for what I already have - avoiding shopping for the month and bringing new creative life to my dresses and other accessories. It has been so much fun having other ladies join me in the challenge - the Frocktober Sisterhood is my favorite. If you'd ever like to join (it's not too late!) my challenge to you for the rest of October is to not only be creative and innovative with your existing closet, but to also try to avoid purchasing new clothes. Think outside the box. Have a clothes swap with friends, or go thrifting, or consider using your clothes budget to purchase from a company that gives back - like Krochet Kids intl. or another cause that really speaks to you. Take the month to be intentional with what you wear and how you wear it. It's such a great challenge and I have always had a blast doing it. 

I am hoping to still do a few special style posts this month in honor of Frocktober, perhaps on some great nursing mom dress options. I hope you all have a superb October, and enjoy all of the best things about this season!

#frocktobersisterhood

symbols {frocktober, day 1}

Harry Potter dress (remixed 1, 2, 3): sold out/Harry Potter Shop
Boots: Urbanog, Belt: Forever 21

Yesterday dawned as the glorious first day of Frocktober. I love this challenge. I hope it continues to grow every year. This year is especially bizarre, since it's a maternity Frocktober for me, but the spirit remains and I love seeing other women participate and be encouraged and inspired by this fun challenge. It means different things for different people, but I hope it always provides an outlet for creativity and intentional living.

This is pattern mixing at its simplest and best. I love pairing a black and white pattern with something bright, like these pink and gold stripes. Because it was the first day of October, I wore boots in protest of the 106 degree weather. I also celebrated by wearing my Harry Potter symbols dress, because October, among other things, makes me think of Hogwarts and magic and pumpkin-filled feasts that I long to attend.

first of fall: frocktober!

Autumn is...

birthday month pumpkin spice hay rides kettle corn weekend trips sweater weather burnt orange scarves plaid changing leaves crisp mornings harvest festivals the state fair thanksgiving fireside evenings pumpkin patches pumpkin everything s'mores camping apple cider harry potter butterbeer halloween movie nights scented candles couch cuddles tights & boots spices hot drinks cozy socks caramel golden days

And... it's Frocktober. 

Happy first day of Fall, friendlies! 

This season is starting off quite well. I am 26 weeks along today, and my baby and I are sharing a pumpkin spice latte to celebrate. Of course, he has no choice in the matter...but I've got to start him early on the finer things of life.

And, of course, Frocktober -- which will be in full swing starting next week! The collage above is a little recap of last year's Frocktober dresses. It was probably my favorite year so far. I was able to remix a lot of my favorite dresses into completely new outfits. Last year was such a year of growth in all areas - career, marriage, family, life goals. Looking back on last October brings a lot of those things to mind, and I can't believe we're nearly a year past it!

For those of you who don't know, Frocktober is my month of dress-wearing. An entire month of dresses! Read more about it here. As I said, the collage above is my Frocktober 2014 challenge. You can also check out 2013 and 2012. This will be my fourth year embarking on this personal style adventure - and, admittedly, the most challenging yet! October will be weeks 28-31 of my pregnancy, so utilizing my existing wardrobe is going to be a pretty tight fit. My main motivation for participating in Frocktober has always been to challenge myself to find new purpose and appreciation for what I already have - avoiding shopping for the month and bringing new creative life to my dresses and other accessories. I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

If you'd like to join me, I would be more than happy to induct you into the lovely Frocktober Sisterhood. My challenge to you for the month of October is to not only be creative and innovative with your existing closet, but to also try to avoid purchasing new clothes. Think outside the box. Have a clothes swap with friends, or go thrifting, or consider using your clothes budget to purchase from a company that gives back - like Krochet Kids intl. or another cause that really speaks to you. Take the month to be intentional with what you wear and how you wear it. 

Follow along with me starting October 1st! And definitely let me know if you're joining me in the challenge.

#frocktobersisterhood

the end {frocktober, day 31!}

Happy (belated) Halloweeny, friends!

I had so much fun yesterday dressing up at the office as...can you already guess it?...The Book Thief!

I was maybe a little too pleased with my last-minute literary pun costume, but everyone at work loved it. It was also great because I didn't have to buy anything! (It's true, I had this leather mask lying around from my 1998 trip to the Renaissance Festival, coincidentally the same year that Zorro came out in theatres...). The comfy striped sweater (remixed here) was perfect for the criminal look. I love creative costumes that are assembled from things you already own!

We didn't have plans to dress up for any evening Halloween festivities this year, so I just enjoyed the costume throughout the day! We went to a little harvest festival at my parents church and then came home to watch a movie and drink butterbeer floats (because Halloween and Harry Potter go great together). Not much to complain about there!

I hope you all had a really fun and safe Halloween. I look forward to one day having little trick-or-treaters at our door, and decorating our house and handing out candy. Growing up we never had any trick-or-treaters because we lived so far out of town, so it will be a big change if we move into a neighborhood next year and have to worry about buying bags and bags of candy to give out to all of the little zombies, witches and ghouls!

As always, I am sad to see Frocktober go. I obviously won't be boycotting dresses because they're still my favorite thing to wear, but the daily challenge is at an end. Time for cold weather (pretty please, Arizona!), skinny jeans, tights, boots, sweets, sparkly sweaters.
Enjoy your week of candy and sugar highs!

Happy November!

happy halloween {frocktober, day 28+29+30}

Outfit 1: Dress (remixed 1 / 2 / 3): Modcloth, Lace Top: LOFT

Outfit 2: Dress: gifted, Denim (remixed 1 / 2): Old Navy

Outfit 3: Dress (shop!): Sheinside

A collection of Frocktober days to prepare for the very last!
I just purchased the third dress from an online shop called Sheinside! I ordered some fun things for my birthday, and just received them this week. The clothes are inexpensive and super cute, but they also ship from China and are sometimes not very well represented in the shop photos, details and reviews. It's kind of a gamble! I went ahead and just went for it, hoping the clothes fit! This dress pattern is incredibly vibrant and fun (see it online here), and it actually has 3-quarter length sleeves. It's really comfortable, too. My only qualm with it is that the waist seam is very oddly placed. I'm hoping to wear it again soon and get better photos of it, but the actual seam is about 2 inches below where I belted it. It's not low enough to be intentionally drop-waisted, so it creates a rather strange poof unless you belt it. But all in all I'm excited about playing around with it!

It's Halloween, which means that today is my last day of intentional dress-wearing.
I will be celebrating by wearing another dress to a wedding tomorrow!

I love Halloween. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to love Halloween as an adult, because most of the fun is either of the over-the-top horror variety or from trying to be a kid again by going trick-or-treating, which you always regret because 1.) you look creepy amongst the neighborhood children 2.) all that candy just ends up making your adult body sick and unhappy.

But I actually love Halloween for very real, appropriate reasons.

1. Harry Potter

All Hogwarts holidays are fantastic, but there's something incredibly cheerful, festive, and magical about Hogwarts Halloweens. It's probably second only to a Hogwarts Christmas. They're legitimate witches and wizards, so they obviously have every right and reason to have floating candles, elaborate feasts, black garments, witch hats, and obviously copious amounts of butterbeer and pumpkin juice. When you're in the world of Harry Potter, the holiday ceases to have that foreboding, silly, American style of cheesy Halloweeniness.

2. Dressing up

I still love costumes. I love dressing up with my husband at a harvest festival, working a booth or a trunk for trunk-or-treat. The last two years we have been Disney couples (Carl and Ellie, and Gnomeo and Juliet) and it has been so fun. I'm a big fan of make believe and stories, and having a day where you can be silly and dress up is totally okay with me.
I'm currently wearing a black and white striped sweater, a black beanie, a black mask, and a tote bag filled with books...any guesses? :)

3. Carving pumpkins

I've accidentally carved cat-themed pumpkins for the last two years in a row, which means it should probably just be a solid tradition at this point. We had our pumpkin carving get-together with friends last night, and we deviated a bit from cats and carved ours into Pikachu. Close enough!

4. It's finally Fall

This wasn't true when we lived in Virginia, but I have definite memories as a kid of growing up in Arizona and feeling like Halloween was the first experience with a lovely, chilly fall evening each year. We would be walking around outside with our candy buckets and it would finally be in the upper 60's or 70's, and it would feel so grand. Sometimes we'd even be shivering (we're pretty wimpy about the cold out here). It would usher in November and all of the holiday dreams and festivities, and Arizona would finally begin to cool down!


I'll even confess to enjoying a few scary movies here and there, and liking some of the creepiness that always accompanies Halloween time. I'm the kid that loved weird dark movies like The Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, etc.

But mostly I just enjoy friends and the simple festivities of October's end.

the cat dress {frocktober, day 27}

Cat Dress (remixed 1, 2, 3): LOFT, Skirt: gifted, Cardigan: J. Crew 

Just a simple Frocktober post on this lovely Tuesday.

I love this little cat dress more and more every time I wear it. This is the first time I've ever tucked it into a skirt, but since it's a shift dress it works really nicely.

My color tip for outfits like this is to utilize complementary colors. Normally I might wear a neutral cardigan with a fun patterned dress, but because I already paired the dress with a white skirt I went with the teal. Red and green are complimentary colors, so that makes pink and teal besties too, right? I think so.

all is Fair {frocktober, day 26}

Dress (remixed 1, 2, 3, 4): Zulily, 
Lace Top (remixed 1, 2): Ruche, Vest (remixed 1, 2): Kohl's

Yesterday's post was all about laziness, so it's only natural to follow it up with a very colorful day at the Fair!

The last two summers saw us gleefully attending the North Carolina State Fair, which was actually my husband's first experience with a State Fair. It was such a joy to hop alongside him as he discovered all of the blinging glee of the fairgrounds. We ate way too much and played way too many games and had a total blast. Although I grew up occasionally attending the Arizona State Fair, I have to say that the one in North Carolina is pretty special. There's just something really grand about it that invites tradition. It somehow feels cleaner while also being more condensed, and there are many exceptional stands of sweets and treats that the true local fair-goers know and love. We were lucky to have gone with friends who had been going to the State Fair since they were little, and they showed us all of the greatest places to go!

Although we knew it was going to be different, as soon as we moved back here to AZ we knew that the Arizona State Fair was high on our list of October activities. We finally got to go yesterday with some friends, and I couldn't help but think and wonder at what traditions we might form over the next few years. Will our kids grow up going to this Fair? Will we always get little freshly fried mini donuts tossed in cinnamon and sugar? (I know I will). It's fun to think about, because after all, traditions have to start somewhere.

I did notice that our fair tastes and priorities have definitely been refined.
The last two years taught us not to play the games (waste of money, cause of frustration) and to really prioritize fair food. You can only handle so many stand specialties before you feel like you're going to hurl. (Is there a classier way to say that?)

I'm definitely more salt-focused. I want twirly spears of kettle-fried potatoes, spicy corn on the cob, bouquets of french fry ringlets with dollops of ketchup, crispy egg rolls on a stick.
Dustin is all about the fried candy bars and, ew, fried pop tarts. He loads up on the sweet stuff and, I can tell you right now, he regrets it heartily afterwards.

I'm not saying I didn't unceremoniously scarf down a baker's dozen of freshly fried mini donuts in cinnamon and sugar; I'm just saying the struggle is real and it will destroy you.

The Fair can be a big drain on your funds for not a whole lot of return, but I think there are many ways to go to a Fair and really enjoy yourself without spending so much. Avoid the games. If you must play, play one and set limits to how many times you can play. Suckers will literally spend $50 on one frustrating game for a stuffed animal that maybe costs $5. (I say "suckers" with great affection for my husband).

As I said earlier, prioritize the food. Choose a few must-haves and remind yourself that you weren't even hungry when you entered the park. There's no need to eat 7-10 times. I'm convinced that Fair food is bewitched, though, because you constantly feel like you need more which makes no sense. My tummy can't possibly be big enough for another bacon-wrapped, deep-fried turkey leg.

There are sometimes free concerts and other fun events to go to, so it's good to check those things out before you go. We were pleasantly surprised last night when we stumbled up to the stadium at the center of the Fair and realized Josh Turner was playing! We went in for a few of our favorite songs of his and rested our feet in the air-conditioning. It was such a nice surprise!

You can also check out all of the indoor aisles of demonstrations, samples, and lame displays. They're silly but they're fun! Also, the animals! Any State Fair of repute will have barns of cows (and maybe even cow hats!), goats, chickens, and sometimes even super weird-chested pigeons that end up creeping you out. Because seriously, who breeds pigeons? And why do they look like that?

The point is, enjoy walking around. Enjoy the lights and the screaming of happy fair-goers that reminds you of hours of playing RollerCoaster Tycoon. Watch your feet because the ground is filthy. Watch the crowds because people-watching is fun number 1!

Eat and watch and laugh and eat and go home happy.

craving lazy {frocktober, day 24+25}

Day 24 : Dress (remixed): gifted, Top: LOFT outlet, Cardigan: old, Shoes: Blowfish
Day 25 : Dress (remixed 1, 2): J. Crew outlet, Denim Top (remixed): Ruche

These last few weekends I have been having very acute cravings for laziness.

It starts somewhere around Friday morning, after I've had my coffee and I begin to count down the hours and the minutes to pajama time. My Friday night parties include me, my TV (or a good book), my cats, and something to snack on. I am quite the night lifer, I know.

My husband, though, is the opposite. He craves actual parties. He loves people and is energized by events and get-togethers and plans. I want no plans. I want couch. 

Sometimes it's a struggle to find a balance for what we both want and need. 

My husband feels really frustrated and unaccomplished when we spend too much time on the weekends doing nothing. (Which, I would argue, having an all-day sitcom marathon is not nothing). But, I see his point and I think lately I've just been wanting to crawl into my shell and disappear for a while. It's a part of me that shows up every once in a while, the extreme introvert that can occasionally take over. I've been especially susceptible to her lately. 

And also, I kind of just miss marathons. As disgusting as it was, I miss those years where we would literally watch TV for days, binge-watching shows together and being completely free to do so. Sure, we would eat our weight in crap like pizza and cookie dough but it kinda felt like a vacation. 

Right now we're stuck in that awkward stage of really wanting to partake in bouts of all-day indulgences, while also trying to find the strength and resolution to admit that oh my goodness my body hates me I'm too old for this crap. It's a side effect of the mid-twenties. 

Friday night I went to a 10 o'clock showing of Gone Girl with my dad and little brother and I feel like death warmed up. I just can't stay up that late anymore. I desperately want to hold on to my adolescence and take a full weekend to watch TV, but that's pretty irresponsible and is generally a waste of my time and a drain on my energy. It's time that I could be using to actually do something worthwhile. 

I wish I had the answers to feeling more secure, more grown up, more accomplished. I think we're both just feeling like we're in a rut and we're not sure how to get out of it, how to keep moving forward. We're just in the money-saving, planning, hoping in-between stage. Things are happening and we have ideas and goals and "I cant wait for"s, but it's just a lot of patience and waiting. 

Maturity encourages patience, so I'm going to keep putting on my dresses and going out into the world to nourish learning, activity, exercise, and relationships. 

That childish gal within me who wishes to stay in her pajamas for days at a time will just have to be saved for very, very special occasions. Like a real vacation, once we've saved up and earned one. 

more color, please! {frocktober, day 23}

Dress (remixed 1, 2, 3): Ruche, Sweater: LOFT outlet, Shoes (remixed): Zulily

Yesterday was my first full day in a new office. 

I'm still at the same job, but I've switched over to a new cubicle in my boss's office so she can just yell out her door whenever we need to communicate. It has actually been a rather delightful change for both of us, I think. I'm around more people (it's an office of 8 women), I'm closer to the food (this office is known for having lots of food-related celebrations), and I'm more motivated to work, ask questions, learn, etc.! 

Most of the girls are out of the office this week since it's Fall break, so it's rather quiet. But I'm excited to be a part of this environment. I'm the youngest one here, and I think this outfit packed full of polka dots and color, and my head of braids, definitely reiterated that fact. 

I'm alright with it, though. This week my husband and I have been listening to old high school music and reminiscing about the good ol' days of those oh-so-2000's whiny ballads from the likes of Good Charlotte, Yellowcard, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, etc. It's so funny how music changes from generation to generation. It tends to go on a loop, though, and certain trends and music styles creep back into the mainstream every few decades. 

I'm currently loving Taylor Swift's new song Welcome to New York from her soon-to-be-released album, 1989. (I guess I'm in a Taylor Swift groove). I'm gonna go ahead and confess that I've always been semi-skeptical of her insane fame, but over the years (and after seeing her in concert in New York), I've realized that she has actually grown into a really interesting, smart, creative musician. She sounded amazing live, which wasn't always the case. I know a lot of people hate that she has deviated from her Country beginnings, but I think it's incredible that she's experimenting and this new album is a really impressive example of that. She started so young, it's no surprise to me that her sound has changed and that she's breaking into other genres. For this new album she honed in on one specific sound, inspired by the 80's (really pop, cosmic, techno), and just ran with the wind. I think it's a really promising album and I'm surprised by how excited I am to hear the entire thing in 3 days!

What's currently on your playlist? 

Happy Friday!