skirts in the wind

Tank Top (remixed): Ruche, Skirt: LOFT

I've learned that I have a special superpower. It's kind of like a unique sense, a subconscious propulsion, to wear pleated skirts on windy days. It's true. I wanna say this is a gift bestowed upon many unfortunate gals, which makes me feel a little better because it's not really a superpower. It's a curse. It causes a lot of problems and gives strangers an intimate one on one with my biznass. 

It'd be a lot more helpful if I had the innate ability to never forget anything before I leave the house, or to be able to produce strong, hot coffee straight from my mind and into my coffee cup.

Although really, the more I think about it, the more I realize that this skirt sitch may be, could be, a little bit my fault. It's vaguely possible that I bring the skirt disasters upon myself, because I wear dresses and skirts pretty much every day. So of course some of those days are going to be windy, right? In fact, my dad loves gadgets and recently installed a weather instrument device, so there's literally a bright screen right next to the sink that I apparently ignore every day even when it might say "20 mph winds WEAR PANTS".

I think we often find ourselves in these types of debacles. It's really easy to say, why does this keep happening to me even if the answer may be within ourselves instead of resting on the shoulders of the world. Sometimes the responsibility does rest with me. Sometimes my environment isn't to blame, and I find myself without excuse. There are times when I can no longer blame my family, my past, my upbringing, my society, the government....uh oh. This almost got political. Let's move on.

It's a good day to be held accountable, I think. To laugh at the faces of the shocked passersby as they catch sight of my knickers, and to know that my particular choices that morning led to such a humorous encounter. It does no good to shout at the wind, or to cry about how unfair the weather is. It's much more effective to dress appropriately for the day. To learn from the skirts in the wind.

a little bit of purple, a little bit of sparkle

Dress (remixed)(similar, similar): Ruche

Day 17: This outfit was one of those providential combinations that happens when two things happen to stand out to you when you're browsing your closet.
Most of the time I randomly pick out a dress, and throw the additional pieces and accessories together later on. This time, I went to the very back of my closet and pulled out this old cardigan -- I've had it for years. It was a gift from my cousin, and I had to be somewhere between 10-12 years old. I thought it was the most amazing cardigan ever created. It was bejeweled! And I mean, it was the 90s for heaven's sake. I was wearing glittery lip gloss when she gave it to me. (Ok, fine, I was probably wearing glitter lotion, too.) How much better could it get?
I went through many phases of trying to decide whether to keep it or not -- was it okay to be bejeweled? Is it in? Is it out again? Who knows.
As I pulled it out, this Aztec print dress was hanging on my closet door, and the two met and decided to get along. I had nothing to do with it.

Then, crazy on top of crazier, I noticed a hint of purple in the Aztec pattern that I had never noticed before. I felt a sudden jubilance, because I have a very sad collection of very few scarves (meaning, like, 10 or 12 which is most definitely a #firstworldproblem) and I didn't think any of them would match this pattern-happy ensemble.
Luckily for us, that little bit of purple saved the day.

Day 18: I'm sneakily including this outfit as well, because a.) I need to catch up on Frocktober posts and b.) it's a frumpy day/after dark photoshoot.
I try to always get a few outfits shots before dark, but this particular day was a busy one, and I had to work late while my husband went to a few meetings that evening. It was a messy bun day where all I wanted to wear was pajamas, so I settled for one of my oldest, softest dresses and my cozy polka dot sweater from Francesca's.

decorative cardigans

Dress/Shoes (shop!): Ruche, Sweater: LOFT

Mercy me, I love a good cardigan.
Actually, they don't even have to be good. They can be cheap and mediocre and I still like them more than many other articles of clothing.

The journey of the cardigan has been a jolly one. At first the word "cardigan" elicited visions of grandmotherly crochet sweaters, or even better, Meg Ryan from You've Got Mail. 
What a great movie.

Anyway.
The first person I met other than Meg who wore cardigans on the regular was a girl named Lauren, who I met freshman year of college. I thought it was cute and quirky, and then I realized that I was slowly becoming bewitched by them. They go with everything. They're comfortable, they make me warmer, and they come in all kinds of colors. It's like the next-door neighbor to a favorite pair of shoes.
Before long, we were browsing Target for new cardigans all the time. The first time I saw a patterned cardigan I thought the sky had opened up and bequeathed me a heavenly gift of polka-dot proportions.

I'm not sure when it began, but somewhere along the line, the cardigan snuck up on all of us and began to filter into the everyday woman's wardrobe. Not just the pixie-cut blonde types. Every style, every person, everywhere.

Honestly, this cardigan isn't even a cardigan.
It's a short-sleeved button-up sweater that is purely ornamental.
But that is how imbedded I am into cardigan culture - I wear them ornamentally now.

Frocktober day 1 has come and gone!
Will you join in on the challenge?

I love to see everyone else's Frocktober posts, and hope you'll join in (it's okay if you start a little late!). It's a great way to really dig into your wardrobe, and establish a new appreciation for your dresses and their endless versatility.
Plus, it's just a fun way to join in on the #FrocktoberSisterhood!

This little badge was created by Stephanie over at Anie Inspired, and Ruche is also hosting a Frocktober challenge for all the Ruchettes out there.
I was so excited to get this tweet from them this afternoon!

Make sure to tag any frocktober Instagram posts with #Frocktober and #FrocktoberSisterhood, and follow along with my Frocktober challenge here on the blog, and with @CaitSchan on Instagram. :)

the leopard cardigan

I think I've mentioned before that I've been consigning a lot of clothes this year.
Slowly cleaning out the excess, trying to be proactive and not lend power to my natural pack-rat tendencies.
For the most part it has been a really positive experience. My closet is lighter, I get a few extra bucks, I feel freer. The possibility of me being an old lady hoarder was slowly ebbing away.

But then something terrible happened. 

It was a few weeks ago.
I saw this Instagram post by another blogger I love, and thought, cute outfit! (See her full outfit post here). Love the green, love the leopard. Fun play on patterns.
Then I realized, bingo! I have a similar ensemble sitting in my closet, waiting to be worn.

You see, leopard is my love. It was a romance that struck early on in life, and that kind of nostalgia seems to last for a lifetime.
Naturally, when my bachelorette party came along, my best friend/maid of honor chose leopard and sequins as the main dress code. It was a fabulous event!
While we were out shopping for the perfect leopard dress, we found a white leopard cardigan and grabbed it as a possible backup in case I wanted a glittery dress with a leopard accent.
I ended up finding a fun leopard dress and one of my other friends wore the white leopard cardigan, and it's been sitting in my closet ever since. I've never actually worn it before, but it has been sitting there, happily reminding me of that fun-filled night surrounded by my best girl friends.
Because I am a pack rat and I'm way too sentimental about everything. That's just the way it is.

I went to my closet to grab the necessary ingredients for this fantastic outfit, and the cardigan was gone. 
I blinked in confusion, knowing exactly where it should be. I knew it by heart. Third in from the right side, right next to that brown cardigan with the rhinestones all over it that I've had since before junior high.
Maybe...could it be in the laundry?
I checked, even though I knew I hadn't worn it ever, so the chances of it being in the laundry were highly doubtful.
The panic was rising in my chest, because I knew what I had done.
I had thrown it into the black hole of consignment. 
I sprinted out to the car, hoping that it would somehow be tucked in the trunk somewhere. That it had magically avoided being in the big bag of giveaways I had taken there days before.
No such luck. I had no one to blame but myself.

Despite this, I went back to the consignment shop, probably looking like a crazed person as I stared shrewdly and expertly thumbed through every rack like a private investigator out to catch a thief. I even imagined some weird lie I could tell, that would persuade the owner to help me find it and take it back.
I found every other sweater and cardigan I had donated, except for the white leopard one.

For some reason this moment made me want to run out into the rain and scream,
"I KNEW IT! I told you all it would be this way! THIS IS WHY I KEEP EVERYTHING!"

Instead, I took a slow walk in the rain, basking in the tragic irony of it all.
I got in my car and told myself to keep it all together, despite my shattered hopes.
It's kind of hard to be that upset when I'm the one who made the mistake.
Or maybe...the fact that I'm to blame made it that much harder!

To put things back in perspective, we are talking about a cardigan here. Not a loved one (well, not a human loved one). And despite the fact that I gave away my back-up bachelorette cardigan, I was able to successfully find a leopard cardigan this weekend at Ross. Faith in humanity was restored. My inner child rejoiced. And my dear husband simply shook his head.

***UPDATE***
When I arrived at work the next day, the girl at the front desk was wearing my cardigan. 
I couldn't even speak.
I went up to her later as I was walking out and said, "Hm. Nice cardigan."
She said, barely even looking at me, "Oh, you too! Have a great day."
I don't know how, but I interpreted this as the most sinister of insults.

I posted my discovery on Facebook and people who don't read my blog just thought this girl had stolen my cardigan -- while that wasn't the case, the non-theft was still quite bitter.
Good thing I love my new cardigan.

Dress/Necklace (shop!)/Shoes (shop!): Ruche, Cardigan: Ross, Bangles: Kate Spade

floral denim: outfit 5

Yesterday's outfit featured the comeback of my favorite new pair of pants. 

I love finding a piece of clothing that I'm tempted to reach for every single morning while I'm getting ready. While I obviously try and resist wearing the same outfit every single day, with this challenge I was excited to wear these pants again so soon...

Top: LOFT, Pants: Old Navy (similar), Shoes: Zulily, Necklace: Francesca's

What a strange burst of cold weather we had yesterday!
I came to work and it was windy and chilly, and I was suddenly glad I hadn't done much with my hair.
I was also glad I had grabbed that cardigan!

Today was the complete opposite - clear and hot and sunshiney all day long.
I suppose that's fitting, since today is supposedly the first official day of summer!

Right after we took these pictures, my husband and I joined two other couples for two hours of beach volleyball. It was so cool out, and the sky was gorgeous. I've never been good at volleyball so I was nervous, but we had so much fun, and I can't wait to keep playing throughout the summer! (I also can't wait to get accustomed to playing - I'm so sore today, every time I had to get up from my desk I felt like my body was reawakening from rigor mortis).
I'm not sure why I love summer so much, but there's something so exciting in the air when the weather starts getting hot and you start to hear the happy calls and splashes from the nearby swimming pool, and restaurants start advertising ice cream and fruity smoothie drinks...and you drive home in the darkness and fireflies light the way, and people spend the evenings barbecuing and drinking sweet tea and playing beach volleyball.
I'm pretty happy about what the next few months will look like! Happy summertime, ya'll.

pretty lenses

This past week, we received a new camera lens in the mail!!

I'm looking forward to experimenting with a lens that is well suited for blogging, and Etsy posts.
Or rather, my husband is looking forward to experimenting with his photography skills. :)

Top: Forever 21 (similar), Cardigan: J. Crew, Pants: New York and Company
Watch: Fossil

I realized yesterday that I have completely left the heels-wearing genre of my life.
I think I might need to revisit it.
Wearing a pair yesterday felt like a whole new world, and not the pleasant Aladdin carpet-riding kind.
Has it really been that long since I've donned a couple of heels?
Apparently it has! I wear boots and flats daily. There's no denying that my job is not a vortex of fashion or dressy-ness, so I suppose I haven't felt the need or desire to wear heels this year.
I've also realized that I really don't like any of my dress pants...I want fitted, smart-looking dress pants, not balloon bell-bottoms or circus clothes. I've always had trouble finding dress pants that are the right length, or the right fit...but going through my closet, I've realized I've outgrown (style-wise) a lot of my old "business/professional" type clothing. Not to say there's anything fundamentally wrong with them, but my style has just gone in a different direction over the last year or so.
I think one of the reasons I've so readily reached for dresses on a daily basis is that I'm more comfortable in them...and I hate all of my dress pants. Subconsciously.
If I do wear pants to work, I usually cheat a little and wear my bright colored denim, like my bright coral or pineapple yellow pants. Or, let's be honest, I just wear dark jeans.

That being said, I'm enjoying the style transition. I just went through my closet last night and did a clean sweep, taking out items and bidding them a fond farewell.
Sometimes it's necessary to get rid of things, to make room for more things.

Right? :)