5to5: weekday remix

I've seen several fashion blogs do remix posts to showcase a particular item of clothing in multiple outfits.
Remixing is a great way to challenge yourself to draw inspiration from the items in your closet!

Elizabeth from Delightfully Tacky has some great "Remixology" posts that have served as my inspiration for this "5to5" project.
I reference her blog often, because it's one of the only blogs I check on an almost daily basis. I love her unique style and her thoughtful posts.

In any case, I decided to grab 5 standard items from my closet and see how I could create 5 different outfits out of those items.
I've learned a lot over the past year or so about how to utilize one item for many purposes, and I'm always intrigued by new challenges.

Yesterday my barista at Starbucks said, "Okay, I have a question for you: do you ever wear the same thing twice? I've served you for a while now, and I don't think I've ever seen you in the same outfit."

I took this as a pretty great compliment, because I've tried my best to keep my wardrobe fresh!

The Five: 
1. A neutral blazer
2. A maxi skirt
3. Colored denim
4. Lace top
5. Polka-dot dress

I chose items that I feel like everyone has (or maybe should invest in, if not!) in their basic closet collection.
These items are great staples for the spring, and are easily transitioned into other seasons as well.

Accessories: classic sunglasses (similar!) from Ruche / bow belt from LOFT / white bow flats / lavender crossbody bag (similar) from Target / mint crossbody bag (similar) from Primark in London / Cookie Lee necklace + bracelet / Noon earrings (shop!)

Outfit 1:
Dress (shop!) / Blazer (similar) : LOFT

This is classic workday attire.
It completely slipped my mind until I started working on this post that this entire first outfit is from LOFT!
While I bought/received all of the items at separate times, they work pretty well together!
I love this new polka-dotted dress, it reminds me of 101 Dalmatians. The dots are imperfect, with a smudged quality that reminds me of the art throughout one of my favorite Disney movies!

Outfit 2:
Dress: LOFT (shop!), Top: Ruche

I love the idea of layering a lace top over a dress.
It's so feminine, and adds a lot of opportunity to dress up a few casual dresses for a more elaborate look. Add a belt at the waist for some more silhouette definition and you're good to go!

Outfit 3:
Skirt: Primark in London, Top: Ruche

I also used a solid navy tank to wear under the lace top.
I'm still unsure how I feel about maxi skirts/dresses. They always feel a bit too dressy for me, and that's possibly because my work is so casual.
I picked this skirt up on our trip to London because I'm a sucker for stripes, and I also am eager for more touches of navy in my wardrobe. I look forward to experimenting with more remixes of this one!

Outfit 4:
Skirt: Primark in London

I absolutely love the idea of using a longer skirt as a dress!
It may not work for every long skirt (and I'm not a huge fan of strapless anyway) but I think playing around with colored cardigans and big necklaces would be so fun with this striped pattern.
It would be so easy to transition this look from workday to date night out with just a few accessories. So many options!

Outfit 5:
Colored denim: Ruche, Top: Ruche

Outfits 1 and 5 are probably my favorite out of them all, and seem to be the most "me".

I really love my coral pants. They were my first pair of colored denim, and every time I put them on I remember how much I love them. They're so comfortable and bright. I look forward to wearing them more and more this spring!

This was my first attempt at taking my own pictures via tripod, and I was too scared to venture outside of our apartment (these were taken on the strip of balcony behind our row of apartments).
I'll hopefully be attempting 5to5 posts every couple of weeks, so until then:
What are your thoughts on some of these outfit ideas?

signs of spring

I don't think I've ever been this anxious for Spring to arrive.

Since we moved to Virginia, it seems like Fall has been the season to capture my undivided attention. Fall is the season that is most elusive, most exciting for an Arizona girl like me. We don't have the bright yellows and oranges of changing leaves in the west coast, the sight of crisp apple orchards and bright Autumn hues, and the feel of Thanksgiving around the corner.
I distinctly remember a man telling me last year, "Just wait until Spring. In the Spring is when Lynchburg is truly beautiful."
I'm not sure I believed him, especially since I was mentally jumping into a giant pile of Fall leaves in the corner of my eye.

But this year, I'm paying attention. I'm seeing it. I'm feeling it.

Dress: J. Crew, Cardigan, old: (similar!), 
Shoes: Ruche (shop!), Earrings: Betsey Johnson (shop!)
Bangle: Kate Spade

My new self-appointed Spring trend is small pastel bags.
I found a small rectangle lavender bag, which was perfect for our trip to London and Paris.
While we were in London, I found two more small bags on sale in a great shop called Primark. One is a little circle bag, in a taupe hue with little gold studs. The other is a pretty mint blue with a tassel on the zipper.
I've never been much of a bag person, but I'm starting to be!
These little guys will be perfect for light and Spring-y outfits. All I need are my sunglasses, lip gloss and wallet and I'm good to go!

Bright white and pink blossoms have appeared all over the city, and now even the trees are beginning to sprout their little lime green leaves. It's such a powerfully fresh image, and everywhere I look I'm inspired.

What are your favorite things about Spring? :)

lavender honey ice cream

Have any of you seen It's Complicated?

There's something wonderful about Meryl Streep that we've all come to appreciate.
In this movie in particular, it's her adorable relationship with her children, her spunky personality, her amazing bakery, her incredible kitchen (and house), and her unbelievable recipes.

 Best of all, when she can't sleep, she makes lavender honey ice cream.

From the moment I saw this movie in college, I wanted to be her.
I wanted to spend a year learning to cook in Paris, I wanted to have that exact kitchen, and I wanted to own a bakery with freshly made chocolate croissants.
Granted, this isn't the first time I've wanted to steal the entire identity of a movie character - I seem to remember running around to different stores to try and buy clothes that matched Alexis Bledel's character, Lena, in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 
I was grabbing things and holding them out to my best friend, frantically asking, "Is this Lena?"

In any case, I finally was able to channel some Meryl on Easter, when I finally made my very own lavender honey ice cream.

It was a long time coming, but I had finally grabbed some fresh lavender from Whole Foods and was ready to make my masterpiece.

I found the recipe on My Sweet Remedy, and the reason I stopped there was because her inspiration also came from It's Complicated, so I figured kindred spirits should stick together.

Lavender-honey ice cream:

- 2 cups whole milk (I used Half & Half)
- 1 1/2 cup cooking cream (I used Heavy Whipping Cream)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup mild honey
- 1/4 cup dried edible lavender flowers
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/8 teaspoon salt

I have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, and I would highly recommend investing in one if you don't already have one! It's so easy to mix together ingredients for a fun treat. Homemade ice cream is the best.
If you do have an ice cream maker, you'll just need to make sure your ice cream maker bowl is completely frozen (24 hours or more) before making this (we keep ours permanently in the freezer, so we never have to worry about it!)

Directions:

1. Bring milk, cream, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat for 8-10 minutes, until mixture thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, for 30 minutes.
This is where I varied from the recipe - I tried a tiny bit after only steeping for 10 minutes, and it was already very very strong. I would recommend keeping the flavor light, and possibly even skipping the steeping step. But taste as you go and figure out your flavor level!

2. Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a bowl, and discard the lavender. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat over moderate heat until it warms up again.

3. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar and salt until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Then add 1 cup of the hot cream mixture into the eggs in a slow stream, whisking. Pour the egg mixture back into the remaining hot cream mixture in the saucepan, and cook it over moderately low heat, stirring constantly. Stir with a wooden spoon (if you have one) until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of it, about 5 minutes (do not let it boil!).

3. Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and let cool.
I would highly recommend refrigerating the mixture for a few hours - it needs to be completely cooled down, even cold, before you put it in your ice cream maker!

4. Once cooled, pour the mixture into the ice cream maker bowl, and start the machine. Let the machine work for the instructed time (20-25 minutes).

5. Put the ice cream bowl in the freezer, covered, until cold.

6. Serve (perhaps drizzled in honey and lavender) and enjoy! :)

I would love to try another non-custard ice cream, with a much lighter flavor.
This turned out a bit strong for me (and my husband, as well) but the flavor combination is truly amazing. I would love to continue my journey with lavender by trying a few other recipes, including lavender lemonade, more lavender ice cream, lavender lattes, and more!

mona lisa smile

While it was extremely cold our entire visit to Paris, we had a few days of amazing sunshine.

We arrived to everything covered in snow, so it was actually kind of fun experiencing the city in snow, sunshine, and rain throughout our time there.

As I said in a previous trip post, I had to be creative in my layering. My husband would laugh at me, because I would do my best to look "cute" and colorful, despite being in 100 layers.

This outfit is actually composed of a black v-neck t-shirt, the patterned top, a black cardigan, my cashmere sweater, my big black coat, a scarf, tights, coral pants, socks and boots. Whew!

Napoleon's Tomb

We were marathon sightseers. Looking back through all of our pictures, I'm amazed at all that we saw each day. Napoleon's Tomb was a shocking experience; it's something that we added last minute to our agenda and I'm so very glad we did.
It's full of beauty and history and exquisite art. I would highly recommend visiting Les Invalides if you get the chance!

Top: Ruche, Pants: Ruche, Scarf: Primark in London
Boots: Urbanog, Purse: Target, Sunglasses: Ruche

I love art and architecture, and walking up to the Louvre for the first time was inexplicable.
I had heard a million times how massive and extensive it is, but I hadn't really prepared myself for the weight of taking it all in. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe this structure was dedicated all to art!


"Mona Lisa Smile" is one of my favorite movies.
If you haven't seen it, you should -- there are so many things to uncover in that movie. The music is wonderful, the cast is great, and there's something magical about it that I'm not even sure I could explain.
In any case, it was on my mind when we went to the Louvre!

Obligatory tourist snapshot!

Once inside the Louvre, it felt amazing to shed our outer layers and take our time walking around.
We had a list of all the pieces of art we had to see, so we made our way through the museum with those in mind.

I know many people say that seeing the Mona Lisa in person is disappointing, but I definitely didn't think so. I think the hardest thing is trying to appreciate her while huge crowds are bustling around, taking pictures, making noise, and rushing through.
The true tragedy is that The Mona Lisa is surrounded by crowds of people, none of which truly appreciate what they're seeing...the average viewer spends 15 seconds or less in front of her.
We took time off to the side, staring and wondering about her, taking in every detail. Why do so many people gather to her? What made her so famous?
I doubt anyone in that room could even tell me.

As for me, I wish I could do outfit photos with miss Mona every day of the week.
Maybe then I could discover her many secrets.