Weekend Recap

Happy Labor Day! Have y'all been enjoying your weekend?? I'm so thankful we have today off because I've been so busy this weekend!!

Some highlights - shopping at the outlet mall with my mom (picked up some great new fall pieces I can't wait to share!), finally picking up a denim top, going to see The Help with my sis in law, getting this beauty in the mail from husband, family time, and being crafty! Woo wee!

As promised, a few words on the 21 Day Challenge:
-This was the first challenge we have done at SWC, so that was fun! I am definitely not used to taking outfit pictures that often, so I found that particularly exhausting!
-I learned the hard way to plan ahead for my outfits. The night before the dressy-casual challenge I was prancing around my apartment, trying on ridiculous combinations, and texting Claire, freaking out! Needless to say I went to bed much later than necessary!
-I really enjoyed the unconventional and new hair challenges best. This has inspired me to look at my closet differently and not be so boring with my hair!
-I have created a file with copycat inspiration photos!
-I started the challenge after the mixing of patterns day, and would like to give that a go in the near future.
-Monochrome day was super challenging for me - other days would have seemed easier if they didn't need to be work appropriate.
-I would like a redo on my dressy/casual day. Instead of making a casual item work appropriate, I'd like to dress down some fancy jewelry! Stay tuned. :)
-Overall, I think this challenge was good! My thinking has changed about my closet, and this is a great thing to be inspired to try new things! Props to Kayla!

Yeah Girrrl

The End! We did it! 21 (..err 12) Day Challenge, we rocked you!

Today, we work it without limits! Our choice!

This was actually an outfit I put together as an option for the monochrome day, but ended up going a different route! I like it a lot and will definitely be wearing it again!! I'm also combining some of my favorite challenges in addition to the monochrome - new hair (the same side braid), statement jewelry (ring), and something unconventional (wearing a dress as a skirt)! A conglomeration, if you will.

The details - top and dress: Old Navy, belt: Limited, ring: gift

Special thanks to my bro for being photographer! More reflections on the challenge tomorrow!

No cheating!

Friday!! Ye haw! Quick post today because I'm excited about the long weekend and am off to do other things! Sorry blog. So this challenge that we're doing - it's almost over, in fact Sunday is the last day. I'm pretty excited for it to be over - it's been fun, and I'll share a recap of what I've learned, but I'm not used to taking so many outfit pictures! I like my 2-3x/ week norm! Alas! 

Today we adorned our heads. Seemed strange at first, and I was going to be real lame and pretend like bobby pins counted. But then.. *dramatic pause* I remembered this fun belt I have! It's a ribbon/ chain type thing with a large flower. Take it a part = head adornment + bracelet. Excellent! 

 Sweater: H&M, jeans: Gap, tank: Target, shoes: Merrell

So much better than a bobby pin, yes? You can see all the other participants and their adorned heads: here. Happy Friday!

Make a Statement

I got this necklace awhile ago and have been itching to find an outfit to wear it with, but to be honest I've struggled a little bit! I don't own any bold statement necklaces (at least not like this!) so I was a bit intimated, but for the price (yay for Mimi's! I actually found it through Pinterest, but Mimi's had it cheaper!) knew I had to have it! I decided to keep the rest of my accessories minimal so it wasn't so overpowering! I got a few compliments at work, so hopefully I pulled it off!? 

The details - cardigan: Express a few years ago, dress: Gap more than a few years ago, shoes: Toms, belt: Limited, necklace: Mimi's

Say to hello to a different part of my apartment! I'm so sick of my little entry way background! The lighting isn't as wonderful here, but I had to switch it up! Fortunately husband will be home soon (YAY!) and I won't have to rely on my tripod pile (one of these days I will take a picture of how I take my own pictures!).

Social work note: I had the realization that I would have been unable to wear this necklace when I worked on the acute psychiatric unit - hello chocking hazard! Not that I was ever in one of those situations during my short 4-5 month internship (thank goodness!) but it would have been against the rules for sure!

Shirt: Khols, Belt: Banana Rep. Outlet, Skirt: Ecuador, Leggings: Old Navy, Shoes: Target

Claire's turn!  I chose to wear an awesome bracelet (see close up version below) I got from Portland, OR.  The bracelet is made of recycled leather materials.  The center is a recycled button.  The woman that made them even sized mine to my itty bitty wrist!   I found it at the Portland Saturday Market is a fun outdoor market.  If you are ever in Portland, go!  Has anyone ever been there before?  I was there for a social work conference last October and the market was a nice break.

After surveying my jewelry I came to the conclusion that I love dainty jewelry, like my small silver locket.  I realized that I have NO statement necklaces.  Sad right?  That might need to change. It's nice to have something different for a change.  I just never know what to buy when it comes to those pieces.  Any suggestions? My colleague wore this chic black dress today and a great silver and pearl statement necklace.  I told her about the challenge and that she has the perfect outfit for today.  She loved hearing that :)

I reworked this outfit since the last time I wore it.  Wore a red shirt out, added a belt and some leggings.  Can you tell it's pretty laid back at our office?  So laid back there is no dress code other than no jeans (except for "Jeans Day" once a month).  I have had a client in serious crisis the last few days and decided to be comfortable since I have been at my desk taking calls from the hospital, social workers, caregivers, and multiple family members ALLLL day.  The client seems somewhat stable now.  I'm praying it stays that way through the holiday weekend.

Recycled Leather Bracelet from Portland Market

In completely unrelated, though exciting news...I just found out that I have been chosen as a board member of the Social Work Society Alumni Board of my alma mater!  I was shocked when I found out.  I'm so excited to have this experience, but have never served on a board before.  Any tips?

Have a great evening, y'all :)

Menswear

Shirt: Polo, Belt: Khols, Pants: Kenneth Cole Outlet, Shoes: Sperry (Have had them for 5+ years!)

This was a fun challenge today.  I found some inspiration from my hubby.  He loves a preppy look and that was what I was going for.  I tucked in the front of the shirt and left the rest out.  I even tried to do a "man pose!"  Do men pose?  I forgot to take a picture of me trying a new hair style for the 21 Day Challenge from yesterday, so I'm pulling a Tina and did two challenges today :)  I did a high messy bun.  I used the Spin Pin from Goody.  I'm usually all about the perfect bun, but went messy and LOVED it!  I will add this style to my hair repertoire.  Oh the benefits of the Challenge!   (Btw... Isn't my dog ridiculous??!! He thinks it's playtime when I stand still!).

Hey guys! Tina here! I enjoyed today's challenge, and finding a new way to wear my Target tank! Hope you all had a good day!!

The details - shirt: Gap, tank: Target, pants: Express, shoes: Nurture, belt: Husbands

New hair do

Happy Monday! Today was jam packed between my 2 hour home visit, documentation (more tomorrow -the life of a social worker!!), and many phone calls. Woo! How was your Monday? Manic?

Oh this is good - this afternoon I noticed a case note from last Friday where instead of "hire" I typed "higher". Splendid. ..I felt much better, however after reading the directions for our upcoming performance reviews that included "being elf-motivated and sel-directed". Even the higher ups making embarrassing mistakes! It's tempting to type up a Buddy the Elf quote about Christmas cheer on my review! I think I'll probably pass. Or maybe write it on a post-it-note.. and include a big smiley face. Smiley faces make everything ok, right?

Onto the challenge! Today we were to try a new hair-do! This is a good challenge for me, encouraging me to be creative! Last week I braided my hair on the left side, yesterday I did the right, and today (so as not to cheat) did both, finished off with a bun! Nothing crazy, but a good way for me to change up my go to bun!

The details - Jacket: Loft outlet, Top: Limited, Jeans: Gap, Shoes: Nurture, Necklace, Earrings, Bangles: Limited

As promised today I was a copycat, making up from the missed post yesterday. 2 challenges in one day. I need a nap! ;) 

I also learned an important thing about copycatting:

Jessica from What I Wore

Don't try to mimic the same pose as your inspiration, or the differences will be very distracting. Lesson learned! (This feels like a bad version of a puzzle from Highlights magazine! ..How many differences can you spot? No. Please. Don't tell me.)

Lazy copycat

I've been so productive this weekend! Well, probably only mildly productive for a normal person, but for me! Look out! Dishes, laundry and grocery shopping! Craaazy. I'm probably the laziest person you know when it comes to chores, and I'm lucky if I do any of these things on the weekend! I might even run the sweeper later if I feel real dangerous.

Today's challenge is supposed to be "Copycat". While I love the idea of this, planning for this would take too much time - and you just learned how lazy I am! I have many style items pinned on pinterest, and definitely have a few blog crushes (my newest crush), but rarely do I feel like "oh! I have those items in my closet!" Hence the never ending urge to go shopping. Le sigh. In a quick search, I found one image I can recreate and plan to do so for work tomorrow, along with some new hair style! See the challenges for this week (it's the last week for the challenge!): here.

I did feel like I was copycatting all the other lazy women at Kroger - ball cap, no makeup, workout clothes... really too sexy an image for this blog. This counts, right?

In an effort to not be so lazy, I'll end by highlighting two bloggers who regularly work the copycat look - check them out! I'm always so amazed! The first is Jamie from Work Your Closet. I love her easy, down to earth style!

Left, Right

Left, Right

 The second blog is J's Everyday Fashion:

Source

Source

Impressed? Do you turn to other bloggers and pinterest for fashion inspiration? Or do YOU inspire your on style?

P.S. It's Claire's first wedding anniversary today! Please join me in wishing her a very happy anniversary! Hope the cake still tastes good! ;)

Casual Friday?

Made it to Friday, again! Thank you, thank you!!! It's been quite the interesting week and I'm definitely ready for the weekend! Not much planned except for family dinner for the mom-in-law's birthday!

At my agency we get to take part in casual Friday if we don't have client visits. Some people (in my humble opinion) take the dress code way too loosely, even on Fridays. Personally, I'm all about the dressy jeans - we're still working here... are sweat pants and ball caps really necessary? Moving on.

Conveniently, today's challenge is too "jazz up your jeans." Love it- speaks to my heart! ;)

I braided the side of my hair! Can you tell?

The details - cardigan: Express on super sale last year, top: Limited a few years ago, jeans: Gap, shoes: Sofft, earrings: gift from Limited

Btw I kept my sweater on all day @ work! No dress code violations here!! Does your agency allow you to wear jeans on Fridays?

I love Claire's look - and love that she has kids Toms!

The details- Shirt and Jeans: Loft, Belt: Otavalo Market in Ecuador-made by hand, Shoes: Toms Kids-better support than the adult shoes!   

P.S. Claire informed me that she braided her hair today too!! We're so on the same page!! Must be the social work bond! ;)

Wear a Dress/Skirt

Dress: Hand-me-down from Julie!, Shoes: Nordstroms (6 years old and still going strong!), Necklace: Tiffany's, Watch: gift, Bracelets: Mimi's, James Avery, Tiffany's

I was glad to have a challenge that I didn't have to think twice about! I love me a cute dress!  I'm happy to have the opportunity to wear this dress before it is out of season.  Tonight I have a dinner for disaster relief workers, that I'm attending with my Clinical and Executive Director, right after work (have I mentioned that I am working with client's affected by the April tornadoes in the south?).  This is a great dress to wear from work to the event,  I'll probably add a little sweater for tonight.  I found out that the First Lady of the State is speaking at the event.  When I first heard "First Lady"  I thought Michelle Obama was speaking and got so excited! Sadly, it's not :(  It should be a cool experience, nonetheless!   Scratch all that!  I wrote the above this AM before work.  Instead, I had to forgo the dinner to finish the tons of work that I'm drowning in.  It feels pretty awful, but must get done. I am presenting a tornado case management case to a committee tomorrow morning and have to finish the report and prepare to present before I leave work.  The goal is to leave by 6:30 CST... We will see.  Oh and the cherry on top: I'm 3 weeks behind in documentation.  Wow. Ever have those days, where you need 12 work hours rather than 8?

Tina is taking a blog break today, she'll be back in full force tomorrow :)

We still have 10 more days of the 21 Day Challenge!  Don't forget that you can participate with us!  Email a picture of your outfit to socialworkcouture(at)gmail(dot)com. 

The sun will come out... tomorrow!

Today was orphan day! Y'all I've cracked myself up numerous times over the title of today's challenge. The idea was to find a "closet orphan" and bring it out, give it new life, or decide that it should be donated so someone else can give it new life!! The idea of searching in my closet for an orphan was just amusing. However, the social worker in me says "this is no laughing matter." ..My humorous side says, "you just gotta laugh". Surely you all have different sides that come out, right? ;)

I'm pretty good about cleaning out my closet (thanks for that good habit, Mom!) so was unsure what I would find. Turns out, most of the possible contenders were not work appropriate and just too casual.

The details- tee: Loft (similar), cardigan: Gap, pants: Gap, shoes: Toms, necklaces: gift, Etsy (the gold version)

I decided on this cardigan (kinda hard to tell, but it's baby pink) since I've always enjoyed it, but it hasn't seen the light of day since undergrad. I guess the trouble is it's one of those awkward spring/ summer cardigans - they sound like a great idea and come in pretty colors, but it's often just too darn hot to wear them! Similarly, today it hung out on the back of my chair. 

The good news? I love it paired with this pink tee, and if I feel daring enough to wear what feels like "spring colors" in the fall, I'll be set! Also, I gave my Toms some more action! I have my eye on some of the new Toms for fall (so many choices - 1, 2, 3, 4), but want to actually wear the ones I have before purchasing more. It just makes sense. Just so you know, if you are new to Toms, they're actually very comfortable. Not much support = back may start to hurt, but as far as foot pain, it's not likely going to happen.

Claire brought out a dress that needed some more love! 

The details - Dress: Francesca's, Dog: Wyatt (I have such a dog crush!!! Would love to have a boxer!!)

Claire is off, probably donating this dress (just kidding!), so I'm helping post today! 

She says: I wore this dress to a New Year's party maybe 2 or 3 yrs ago and haven't touched it since! It's a little big and not as cute as I used to think...haha! It is silk, which I like. I found this inappropriate to wear to work today, but thought I would include it on"save a closet orphan" day anyway. I plan to donate this dress ASAP. Someone else may be able to love it more than I have and it has only been worn out once. Also, Wyatt would not get out of the shot and finally just sat next to me on his own! Scary eyes :) 

Tell us, are you inspired to search your closet for an orphan? Will you find a way to re-purpose or add some space to your closet by donating?

Monochromatic

The details - Shirt: Express, Skirt: Banana Republic, Bracelets:   James Avery, Mimi's, gift from grandparents, Earrings: gift 

I named this outfit-"Something Blue." I wanted to wear something with color and it was a challenge.  It was fun being monochromatic today, but I'm not sure it will be a weekly occurrence :) 

The details - Tee: Loft (similar), Pants: Express (similar), Necklace: Charlotte Russe I think (similar), Shoes: Merrell, Bangles: Limited - on sale $11.94!, Earrings: Limited - on sale $8.70!

P.S. These shoes should have been included in this post, but I didn't think to look for them on ebay, or look on the tag to see what they were called: Merrell "Plie". I bought them the summer I worked at VS (and was required to wear black shoes). They're great for work, and although I don't typically love Mary Jane style shoes, pants take care of that! :)

Don't forget to send us a picture of your outfit if you are participating in the 21 Day Challenge! Tomorrow is "Save a Closet Orphan" (this one should be interesting....)

Dressy/ Casual

Today is challenge #8! Have you taken a look at the 21 day challenge? Are you going to join us?? It's fun and adds a little extra creativity to picking out your outfit!! To see the challenges for this week, go: here. Psst- tomorrow is all about monochrome!

This was a very challenging challenge! Claire and I talked on the phone last night trying to figure out how we were going to do this! You should have seen me trying on all sorts of outfits!! I opted to "dress up" a work out /lounge t-shirt. I love being comfortable and will often try to get away with wearing something more casual to work. 

,

The details- pants: Gap, tee: VS, cami: Express from high school, jacket: AE also from high school!, shoes: Nurture, earrings: Charming Charlies, necklace: Doncaster, bracelets: assorted.

Claire did a fabulous job with her interpretation! Love the pearls!

The details - skirt & shirt: Loft, shoes: Target kids, belt: Banana Republic Outlet, Necklace: costume jewelry inherited from Great Aunt

If you decide to join in on the challenge (from here on out, or just one day!), send us an email and we'll include your pic and blog link in our post that day!

Hair and 21 Day Challenge!

I've had a few requests for more pictures of my bangs.  I love how I can style them in different ways and have so many different looks.  Here are a two from this weekend.

Going to a Birthday Party on Friday

Shopping with a friend on Saturday

Also, Tina and I are going to attempt The 21 Day Challenge (as she wrote a few days ago) via Freckles in April, though we are starting on Day 6/Day 8.  Tina started yesterday, and I'm starting tomorrow.  Not sure how I'm going to mix casual and dressy, but that's the challenge, right?!  Try the challenge with us, you don't have to participate everyday! If you want to share and inspire...email a picture of you in your outfit by 4pm of the challenge day to socialworkcouture{at}gmail{dot}com and we will include your picture in a collage of pictures in our daily post :)  Have a great week!

Layered Accessories

You almost didn't get to see my outfit today, but my dearest brother took a picture of me before we went out for family dinner! By the way, I totally feel like this is a "first day of school" picture - being by this door at my parent's house! Haha!!

Today's challenge was to layer accessories. I feel my participation is somewhat weak sauce. Do two necklaces count? I had a bunch of bracelets on, but it just wasn't working. Oh well!

The details- cardigan: Gap, tee: Loft (similar), jeans: Gap, flats: Nurture, layered necklaces: gift from hubs & Mimi's, bracelets: Mimi's, Stella & Dot

So I have to share, and hopefully you can relate to this.. I was driving home after dinner and was tempted (but resisted! See! I have control!) to check my work voicemail to see what I have ahead of me tomorrow. I wasn't going to do anything with the calls, and I might not have any voicemails, but I seriously considered calling in! I'm embarrassed to admit I have this thought way more often than is healthy on the weekends. I need a life!! My excuse is that in between client visits (during the work week of course) I will call in to see if my next visit has cancelled, or to put out any urgent fires. So maybe it's habit? Or maybe I'm just deep down that dark social work hole.. Anybody?

Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to tackle the week! Do you have any Sunday night rituals to help gear up for Monday?? I'm going to make some tea and watch the Food Network! Night!

Unconventional

Happy weekend!!!

Yes, it is Saturday night and I am blogging. I have one cat on my lap and am playing fetch with the other. You didn't know I was that weird cat lady did you? ...Moving on.

Today mom and I had afternoon European tea (crepes/ scones and finger sandwiches included) at this super cute tea house! Lots of fun! Then we did a little shopping and I fell a lot in love with many items at J Crew. Shucks. This is why I avoid going in that store!! But they were having a sale on a top I wanted! Oh Fall clothes, how I love thee. I'll be pinning you in the near future.

Btw get ready to see some posts here @ SWC for the 21 day challenge. We may be starting late, but that's OK. I read the rules, don't worry.

Today the name of the game is unconventional. See what I'm talking about: here.

The details - dress as top: VS (similar), jeans: Gap, sandals: Mephisto, bangles: Limited - now on sale!, belt: Doncaster

Considering I'm wearing a dress as a top, it looks pretty normal right?? Trust me, it made going to the bathroom challenging, trying to tame the bulge of my dress each time. It reminded me of wearing overalls as a kid - only slightly different. Just... tricky. You following?

Be sure to check back for other 21 day challenge posts!