Day 3: Color Block!!!

Action shot

Scarf worn as headband

Close up of scarf

Purse and shoes

 Top: Target (last year)  Skirt: Forever 21  Shoes and Scarf: vintage via my mom

   Bag: Karmaloop ( 4 or so years ago)

So finally we're at color blocking! Color Blocking is my favorite trend this spring/summer. I never shy away from a bright colors in both clothing and home decor. The only problem I had was although I have a lot of brightly colored clothing most of them are tops. But I was determined to try this trend so I went to a thrift store to look specifically for a brightly colored bottom. Miraculously I found a skirt that fit perfectly on the first try, a purple knit pencil skirt. Alas when I got home, giddy to pair it with some of my bright tops, I realized I didn't like any of the color combinations. My color blocking dreams were dashed. Then, while planning out outfits for this challenge, I came across this Rachel Roy runway picture while googling color blocking and was instantly inspired.

Rachel Roy color blocking. Image via google.

I was initially drawn to this image because of the bright yellow shirt, I knew I had a bright yellow shirt similar to it that I got at target last year. Then, when studying the image further, I realized I had a skirt that was a similar color to the one above as well. Earlier this year I was obsessed with finding the perfect pair of cat eye sunglasses and did eventually find a perfect pair at forever 21. I made a trip to try and find the pair in store but had no luck.  Since I didn't want to pay shipping for only two pairs of sunglasses I also got this magenta skirt that I'd been drooling over for months. I like the skirt OK, It's from  forever 21's  love 21 line and it doesn't go above a large, but since it has a latticed stretchy back I figured I could make it work. While it works OK it does ride up a bit and exposes the oh so sexy (sarcasm) black shorts I wear underneath. Anyway last week in a 50% off stroke of luck at a thrift store I found the perfect red orange shirt to pair with the purple pencil skirt, and eventually I'll do a post with that outfit. But, as yesterday was Saturday and all I was doing was window shopping in antique and vintage stores with my bestie the pencil skirt seemed a bit too dressy. Thus, I opted for my original color blocking inspiration. I have to admit I pretty proud of the outfit, I love the way the magenta and bright yellow go together and the turquoise/ green accents in my scarf, shoes and bag. Over all I had a pretty successful day I color blocked to my hearts content, found out a vintage store I like has a second location a couple blocks away from my house and I got to spend good quality time with my bestie. All in all a very successful day!

Day 2: Wear a buttoned down tucked in

                

Top: borrowed from mom  Skirt: thrift (originally target)  Belt and shoes : Target

This outfit was actually the first one I wore for the skirt challenge. I wore it way back on July 14th, right before anything other than short sleeves meant risking heat exahustion and walking around in mixture of sweat and BO. I don't really like the outfit, I was thinking of wearing the button down with a different skirt but my mood ultimately dictated this one. That day wasn't a great one for me, I found out I didn't get an interview for a job I had gotten semi-excited about. So my mood immediately dropped and I felt I should pick a skirt that mirrored my mood, so I went with this one. I go the skirt at a thrift store a year or so ago, I thought it looked ok, was drawn to it because i'm trying to expand my skirt/dresses collection and it was a 50% off sale day. The skirt is a bit big on me but it's a really nice piece to throw on and look semi-put together. The skirt's at least two sizes too big but it's super comfortable and I like it enough to wear occasionally. The button down is one I stole from my mom and is also a bit too big for me but it works alright. I think the outfit turned out a bit too conservatively for me, it's kinda dull and I felt like something I should wear to work or something. I think more color or a differnt top is needed to really make this skirt more to my liking. I'll definitely be re-mixing the skirt in the future until I find a way to style it that's to my liking.

Day 1: Your skirt your way

So as promised I'm finally getting to the skirt challenge! I actually started last Thursday but I did the 2nd day instead of day 1 because I don't own any button ups that have shorter than a 3/4 length sleeve and a lovely heat wave was scheduled to hit the following day. I did take pictures and will post them tomorrow or sometime this weekend. Anyway the heatwave came right on schedule and though we here in the Midwest, or at least in Minnesota, are slowly cooling down last Friday to about Wednesday the heat was kind of awful. I went out Sunday and the temperature felt like it was somewhere in the 100's. It rained on and off that day and it didn't cool down any, it just felt like you were taking a hot shower with all your clothes on. Needless to say I've been hanging out in the luxurious central air and avoiding the heat as much as possible. Today was actually a bit cooler at about 90 degrees but still kind of humid. I wore this to get some much needed groceries and hang out in my backyard. We are currently watching two adorable pups, Bobbi and Nikos, while their parents are on a little vacation. My mom volunteered for an organization that gives temporary housing to pets of deployed service men and women and that's how we met Bobbi and Nikos. They were with us for about a year and now we get to dog sit anytime there parents go on vacation. It's kinda nice since the last of our three dogs died in 2005 and though we love our cats it's always nice to be able to play with some cute pups now and again. Anyway one day while we were watching them and during an intense game of fetch Nikos decided to take a dip in the bird bath, awakening us to his desire to cool off during outdoor ball sessions. So a couple months ago when my mom's co-workers gave her a tropical themed 50th birthday bash and we became the proud owners of a ridiculously tiny kiddie pool, my mom had the brilliant idea of setting it up when Bobbi and Nikos visited next. Today we got to realize that dream as we set up the pool and after a few back and fourths with the ball Nikos eventually got hot and took a dip in the pool. Assorted cute evidence below.

Anyway you needed to know about Nikos and Bobbi because I took advantage of the situation to also take outfit pics.

pleas excuse the kinda weird picture of my feet and my mostly unpainted toenails. This was the only good picture I got of the shoes.

 Skirt: thrift  Shirt: Target (last year)  Shoes: vintage via my mom

I wouldn't say this is my favorite skirt as a favorite denotes having being worn more than once. I bought this skirt last year at my favorite thrift store and it has been in my closet ever since. Luckily this challenge came along and I was able to finally debut it. It's originally from forever 21 and kinda sorta fits me. In other words I believe you're supposed to wear it around your natural waist but I hike it up to pretty much right under my bust and it fits. lol. Anyway since  it sorta fit and I love the almost 50's vibe it has I figured I'd shell out the cash for it. The outfit as a whole probably could use a belt and next time I wear it I'll probably add one. The shirt is from target, I bought it last year in an attempt to grow my black clothes collection. I realized last year that I had absolutely no black shirts and needed to remedy this quickly. I am now the owner of two black shirts, progress. Anyway you can't see it but the shirt has gold stitching around the neckline and gold sequin-y accents on the shoulder which coincidentally go fantastically with the skirt! I think people are generally pulled towards certain colors and though black usually isn't the first color i gravitate towards teal/ turquoise is. Aside from this skirt and the shoes I'm wearing in this post I also have a turquoise purse, shorts and assorted other jewelry. Someday soon I'll do a few posts on colors I'm drawn too and the items I've accumulated in those colors. Finally the shoes are an amazing pair I recently re-discovered and stole from my mom. They're actually a bit big on me, I'm a 6.5 and they're a 7.5/8, but I made a few extra holes and now they fit pretty well. I had been eying this pair of turquoise sandals from Karmaloop obsessively, but unfortunately $50.00 plus shipping is a little out of my price range at the moment. So, I was ecstatic when I found these babies while looking for a ball to throw for Nikos. They're not the most supportive but aside from flip flops they're really the only sandals I have and they'll be in heavy rotation in my wardrobe from now until the end of summer. That's all for Day 1, I'll post Day 2 at some point this weekend. Until then have a great weekend!

In Mourning

I just wanted to do a quick post and mourn the tragedy that happened yesterday in Norway and the death of Amy Winehouse today. I know the enormity of Norway is no where near that of Amy Winehouse, whose battle with drugs has been pretty well documented. But, Amy was my favorite singer and today was the only day I've ever cried at a celebrities death. No I didn't know Amy but i loved her music, talent and style. So here's my little in mourning post for both those lost in Norway and my girl Amy Winehouse, may you all rest in peace.

Norwegian Flag. Image via google.

Amy Winehouse. Image via google

Taking on the Wear a Skirt a Day Challenge!!!

As a fairly new blogger who still has yet to post any outfits I figured participating in Cesilia from My Style Remixx's skirt challenge would help me get the ball rolling. As someone who has been slowly working myself out of the old jean and t-shirt style rut I've pretty well embraced dresses but skirts are still a bit tricky for me. This challenge will not only force me to wear the skirts I've stockpiled over the last year and a half or so but also style them more creatively. I've been trying to figure out a good color blocking combo since the trend hit the airwaves but have yet to do so, this will finally challenge me to figure that ish out. I believe this challenge is meant to be done during 10 consecutive days but as, ahem, a rather unemployed person who doesn't really go out everyday I'm extending the challenge to the end of the month. I don't want to post an outfit if I don't actually wear it anywhere, so I'm applying it to days when I actually go out and am seen by more than one person. Here are the rules:

So far the only other bloggers I've noticed taking part are Jennifer from Jasifers Lions Club and Cesilia herself. You should definitely check out their blogs since they'll probably be done with the challenge a lot faster then I will.

A sale-ing we shall go

I don't know about you but  in my neck of the woods summer means a lot of things but mostly it's prime sale season, garage and estate sales that is. While technically estate sales go on all year their prime time, at least in northern states, is definitely during the summer. My mom has always been a sale junkie but this addiction has reached new heights since she found estatesales.net, a website that e-mails you all the estate sales listed within 100 miles of your zip code. It's a great tool that not only lets you know where the closest estate sales are but also provides pictures and descriptions of everything for sale. I find the pictures the most helpful as you can automatically eliminate sales. This allows you to save time and gas money only visiting the sales with stuff you actually like.

Estate and garage sales are a great way of finding lots of cheap goods, but when it comes to clothes they can be a crap shoot. Sales are a fairly easy goldmine for housewares with tons of dishes, kinck-knacks, furniture, bedding etc. But when it comes to clothes things are a bit more tricky. Since your generally looking through the stuff of one family, couple, or one person sizes and styles can be fairly limited. I look through the clothes anyway since, generally, there aren't many for sale and you can sometimes find great vintage clothes at prices lower than vintage and even thrift stores.  Jewelry and other accessories, though, are plentiful.

If you're searching for deals garage sales are probably your best bet. Estate sales are great but a lot of them are put on by companies that research and know the worth of the items, unlike Joe blow who just wants to get rid of some stuff. This isn't to say you can't get a good deal at an estate sale, just that you may be able to get better deals at garage sales.

Since I don't have my own place, at sales I usually focus on clothing and accessories first then browse the housewares for good finds. This year I haven't found  a ton of stuff, partly because of low funds and partly because I'm not really in the market for lots of housewares. Anyway I did find some cool stuff so I figured I'd share my sale booty thus far. First up is this vintage 60's (I think) chair. We got this chair at a garage sale we stumbled upon while driving back from a rather disappointing estate sale. It was only 5 bucks and it's in pretty good condition. I haven't decided  what I want to do with the chair. I could clean it up and keep it as is or paint it, I'm still undecided. For now it's become colonized by the kitties who have taken it up as one of their favorite new napping spots and coated the seat with a good spread of cat hair. Eventually it will go in my room but I just can't bare to move this new cat obsession quite yet, so it stays rather randomly placed in our living room.

Second up is a random haul of cheap 80's/90's earrings. Recently I've been kind of into slightly over sized gold-ish studs that I think are sort of 80's/90'. So imagine my luck when upon walking into an estate sale the organizers announce that in order to get rid of as much stuff as possible they'd take 5 dollars for everything you can fit into a paper grocery bag. After grabbing a paper bag I headed immediately to the bedroom and straight to the jewelry where I threw any earrings I found remotely interesting in the bag. The result was a rather impressive haul of cheap earrings that, along with the other stuff my mom later added to the bag, cost me less than 5 bucks.

All the jewelry I got at the sale

My favorites

Since sale-ing is sport I often participate in I figured this segment will morph into a regular feature on the blog showcasing  my good sale loot. Also, though I named estatesales.net this is not a sponsored post, that just happens to be the website I use. I'm sure there are other great sites out there so if you use a different one let me know!

Nasty Obsessions

I recently discovered Nasty Gal  while searching for Jeffrey Campbell shoes and am completely enamored with a couple of their dresses. My favorites are the Sunday Wrap Dress in coral and the Draped Across dress. I love a bright color and these dresses, apart from being totally lust worthy, would be great for implementing my favorite summer trend, color blocking. Unfortunately my funds are at an all time low and I can't afford either dress. But, when things turn around financially you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be purchasing something nasty.

Nasty Obsessions by cleopatra_jonez featuring pocket dresses