Gap Dressing Room Pics

I recently went to the Gap to try on some of their new things! I wanted to try on the black and white wrap sweater (currently sold out online) but they were out of my size. I was a little disappointed in the lack of selection my store had in general. I didn't buy anything but took a couple dressing room pics!

Super Skinny Twill Pants

Ankle Zip Legging Jean in Tropic Green

I also tried on some things from the sales rack, but nothing spoke to me!! I would have never tried on the camo pants, but Kendi looked so cute in them I had to give them a try! Despite the bad picture I didn't hate them, but realistically knew I wouldn't wear them much so I passed. I love the Tropic Green color of the skinny jeans, and knowing gap pants knew these would stretch, but again passed. I think I'm holding out for the Loft cords hoping they have the same fit as the ones from last year.

This is what I wore shopping! I'm wearing the Old Navy sweater I posted about the other day. Love it!

Outfit posts via Instagram

I'm not quite in the habit of taking outfit pictures but I'm trying to do better and at least take pics with my phone and post to Instagram! Here are a few as of late.

You can follow me on Instagram: here!

Scary Statement

jacket: H&M, sweater: Forever 21 (similar), pants: Loft, shoes: Privo, necklace: Mimi's*

During the 21 Day Challenge last fall one prompt was to wear statement jewelry. I wore this necklace then, and think I've only worn it one other time! It really is a wonderful necklace, but it's somewhat intimidating to me!! For the most part I prefer delicate necklaces - and this certainly isn't delicate! I think I also worry that it's too bold for work. Today I overcame my fears!

*I purchased the necklace @ Mimi's, but it appears to be sold out. Shop Design Spark has the exact same thing! It comes in coral too!

Have a great weekend!

Open to Interpretation

Anyone else ready for the weekend? Woo I'm pooped!!

Today is the second to last day of the challenge with Freckles in April - I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Today we used this image for inspiration and interpreted it our own way!

Originally I had planned to wear my off white cable knit sweater, but it was in the 50s and that just wasn't going to work!

jacket: AE (forever ago), top: Loft, skirt: Limited, shoes: Bandolino, necklace: SMV Designs (similar)

My work isn't a very dressy place, and I'm much more of a pants person anyway (hello not shaving legs regularly.. ahem.) so it felt nice to be a littler more dressed up today!

Tomorrow we are supposed to wear something that scares us. My husband suggested I wear all brown and go as a bed bug. Muwahahaha. Hilarious. But not quite what Kayla had in mind, I'm sure! Stay tuned! 

P.S. The skirt I'm wearing from the Limited is now on sale and a great alternative to the $100+ J Crew skirt from the inspiration image!

Fancy Coat

Quick post for today. It is the day to dress up your coat.  I wore my coat with my outfit, even though it was about 65 degrees today!  I just thought the whole look was cute. I used a flower brooch and scarf to spruce up my jacket and think I might leave the brooch right where it is.  Another reason I love doing these challenges.  Sorry for the tired face, this was taken at 7pm...not an opportune picture time post-work.

Dress: Consignment Shop, Jacket: Nordstroms, Scarf: Francesca,  Boots: Steve Madden, Socks: SmartWool, Brooch: Premeir Jewelry

P.S. Take a peek into my messy pantry :)

Bright brights

When I read that the challenge today was "bright colors" I knew immediately I wanted to wear this top! I did a "Work it Wednesday" last August with this top. It is such a fun, bright, vibrant color! Say goodbye to winter blah! ;)

top: J. Crew, jeans: Red Engine, scarf: Old Navy, earrings: Urban Outfitters (similar), belt: Gap, boots: Nashville (Abilene brand)

Today I went with a little pop of color.  I love me a fun scarf!

Shirt: Francesca's, Cords: Loft, Scarf: Ecuador, Shoes: Toms

Decade / Region

Monday! Today I co-lead another allllll day training! It went really well! One more tomorrow and the training part is over! It has been really fun to do something different within my agency. It keeps me on my toes and keeps me engaged! Another bonus? Because of the training we get to wear jeans!

This is my interpretation of a 70s inspired outfit for the "decade/ region" challenge!

sweater: Limited, jeans: Gap, belt: Gap, cowboy boots: Nashville (authentic!), earrings: Queen Street (hard to see), watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs, bracelet: Mimi's

Question my 70s-ness? Check out a similar look - Polyvore style!

Today, I decided to channel the indigenous women from Ecuador.  I know that's realllllllllyyyy random.  Let me explain:  I went to visit my sister in Quito this summer and was intrigued by the traditional garb that Ecuadorian women wear.   Here are Ecuadorian indigenous woman:

 

This is my interpretation! Too bad I don't have all the vibrant colors shown here. Love them!

Mix Master

Day 5! Pattern Mixing! This is a repeat challenge from the 21 day challenge (see our posts from the challenge here) but I didn't participate because I was slightly intimidated! I don't have a print skirt that seemed to make sense, and I don't have a striped cardigan (yet!!) so I thought I was out of luck! Fashion mental block! This morning it occurred to me that I don't have to mix my top with my bottom!!  2 shirts it is.

checked shirt: J Crew factory, striped shirt: Gap, pants: Express, shoes: Dansko

Claire's turn!  Who's happy it's the weekend? I definitely am! Today was jeans day at work....that magical day that happens only once a month! I realized that I don't have a patterned wardrobe and need to work on that.  Here's what I came up with:

Shirt: H&M, Jeans: Loft, Scarf: Target (on sale for $4.95!) Shoes: Sperry

A little stripes, a little plaid and a little leopard :)  My husband said that I look very British today....best compliment ever!

Have a great weekend!

Trendy

Hi Friends,

It's trendy day for the Freckles in April 10 Day Challenge. I had a good time really thinking about current trends and seeing what I could put together.  Today I chose two things!  A side-headband braid and a houndstooth skirt. 

I have always loved braids!  Tina can vouch for my many french braids in grad school :)  So I am happy that they are back, even though I wear them anyway!  I have been inspired to try new braids from this precious girl at My Soul is the Sky Blog.  I recently found her blog and am hooked.

For my outfit, I chose a houndstooth skirt.  I still see houndstooth around, so I assume it's still trendy in other areas.  Because if you live in Alabama, houndstooth has been trendy since the mid-60's when Alabama coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant wore his signature houndstooth hat to football games.  I'm positive it will continue to be a trend in Alabama during and after football season! Can you tell that life in Alabama revolves around college football?!?!

 Shirt: Banana Republic, Skirt: Macys, Booties: gift (from Ecuador!), Belt: Macys

Tina's turn!

I've noticed soft, feminine, flowy blouses are super on trend right now (See Kendi 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Blair 1, 2, 3; Krystal 1, 2; Emily 1, 2, 3 to name a few!!) - add a pop of animal print and ta da!

blouse: Loft, jeans: Gap, belt: Banana Outlet, shoes: Minnetonka

Took pictures before work today - excuse the sleepy face! :)

Monochromatic

Today is Day 2 of the 10 Day Challenge by Freckles in April!  The theme today is monochomatic.  I went the neutral route and chose Khaki/Brown.  P.S. My sweater looks purple and its actually a dark taupe color...oh cell phone camera!

(Sweater: Gap, Top and Skirt: Loft, Necklace: Nordstroms, Boots: eek...not sure have had them forever!)

Also its been a while since Wyatt made a blog appearance.  Plus I kinda think he goes with the browns of my outfit.  He's going to be 1 next month....ahh this year has flown by!

Hey guys! Tina here! I went the bold route today! Color, color!! I'm definitely not afraid of color, but this felt like a little too much. I called my mom this morning and told her I wish she could have checked my outfit to make sure I hadn't gone completely over the edge! I didn't get any strange looks from coworkers today, so hopefully that means something!

tshirt: Victoria's Secret, cardigan: Limited, pants: Loft, shoes: Minnetonka, scarf: Old Navy, belt: Gap

I've worn the top and pants together before, but the scarf /cardigan is a new add! A bonus to this challenge - new outfit combinations! 

By the way, tomorrow is a big day for me at work! That computer project I mentioned awhile ago is moving on to the next stage- training! I'm co-leading an all day training for 14 coworkers on the new software tomorrow so send me positive vibes and lovin'!! :)

Layers!

Happy Monday!! Today is the first day of the 10 day challenge with Freckles in April! We've needed a little motivation for outfit of the day posts so the timing is perfect!

Today dear readers, we layered.

When I got home from work it was SUPER windy (I could have used an extra layer.. a jacket)! This is not me trying to do something sexy with my hair. Promise!

brown top: Dunnes Store (something I picked up in Ireland when I was studying abroad because the airport lost my luggage, cardigan: Gap, pants: Express, shoes: Bandolino @ DSW

Freckles in April asked that we really challenge ourselves with these themes.  So last night I covered the bed with clothes looking for something to wear that I had never thought of before.  A problem that came up was that it was 70 degrees today and heavy layering was out of the question so here is what I came up with: (Please excuse the quality of the cell phone pic.  I wanted an up close of my outfit and my husband was running late to work due to 3am tornado sirens/tornados this morning and I had to get the job done!)

Dress: Old Navy, Shirt: Loft, Belt: Macys, Necklace: White House Black Market, Watch: Fossil, (can't see, leggings: Walmart, ankle boots: DSW)

I will definitely wear this to work again!  It was super comfy and fun!  What will tomorrow bring??!!

Are you layering today?? Let us know!
 

teal + mustard

This morning when I got ready for work I told husband that we were going to take outfit photos today.. and we did! The power of verbalizing goals out loud! This is the third time I've worn my new teal cords and finally caught it on camera! I love them and am trying hard to resist buying another pair in a different color.

pants: Loft, top: J Crew factory (similar), jacket: J Crew, belt: Banana Republic outlet, bracelet: Limited, shoes: Minnetonka

I was worried it would be hard to see the true color of the pants in the light so told husband to take an up close picture. He was confused about the "crotch shot".. but I think it helps show the true color!!

A few hilarious outtakes.

As you can see, we had fun.

You can't take yourself too seriously when you're wearing colored pants. It's the truth.

Bad blogger

Hello! Oh man! I've been a bad blogger! Having my husband home is so wonderful (today is 4 weeks!) and it's amazing to think about all the time I spent blogging when I wasn't sharing my evenings with someone! I very much love the creativity and outlet so will continue to.. ya know, blog.. but you're going to have to be patient with me!

I need to introduce you to my new boots (seen below in the only outfit pictures I have from the past few weeks..) First let me fill you in on a little story. After trying on many different boots I found the perfect pair @ Aldo. The pair they had in stock was kinda wonky looking - the left and right couldn't have looked more different in the leather / stain. So the nice lady ordered a pair for me and I got it in the mail a few days later. Wore them once or twice and scuffed them up (I'm prone to walking into things / stepping on myself) and my dad offered to polish them for me. Bad mistake. The polish he used - apparently good stuff - completely took the stain off the boots. Oh man. Not happy.

After embarrassing myself (I'm emotionally connected to these boots! They were what I was looking for AND comfortable!!) the understanding however not apologetic sales person agreed to return and order me a new pair. I purchased the polish stuff they recommended (so as not to make the same mistake again) and have loved wearing them! So far, no scuffs so I can't say how they will clean up. Long story short - boot drama. Hopefully the drama ends there. Otherwise you'll hear about it!

Here are 2 outfits from the last few weeks. Loving the denim pencil skirt + boots. So many possibilities!

sweater: Limited, shirt & skirt: J Crew Factory, leggings: Target, boots: Aldo, necklace: SMVdesigns (similar)

top: J Crew, skirt: J Crew Factory, boots: Aldo, necklace: Mimi's The Look for Less

Alright dinner time! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

Fall Outing

I'm so glad I did my research and found out I qualify for FMLA with husband coming back from deployment! Having this weekend together is such a blessing! Today we went to a family owned farm to pick up fresh apple cider and some cute gourds! It was a beautiful day and we had a great time! Sadly hayrides are only on weekends, so we'll have to come back later! 

 I know this looks like a senior picture - but the leaves were so pretty I couldn't not share!

shirt: Target, tank: Target, jeans: Gap, boots: store in Nashville, belt: Doncaster - given to me by Mom, bracelet & purse: H&M last year, necklace: Banana Outlet

We're hoping to do a corn maze sometime in the near future - once it cools off again! What are your favorite fall outings?

Mustard + Animal Print

top: J Crew outlet (similar), belt: Banana Republic outlet, pants: Express, shoes: Minnetonka, earrings: The Limited, necklace: Banana Republic outlet, bracelets: gift, The Limited, Mimi's

Y'all it's been cra-zy lately! I guess that's the thing with life - it happens! I'd rather this than the alternative, however. Many new, exciting things are coming and I can't wait to share (no, not pregnant. Why does everyone assume this?!).