What I Wore {post 80} June 2015 Style Challenge - finishing it up ... in October

Hello and happy Friday!  I realized that when I left the blog untended for so long that I also forgot to wind up my June (!) Style Challenge.  Here are the last few days of that.

As with prior weeks in the challenge, I had to move things around based on work schedule and what not.  Also, I played around with a new photo editing app ... and I'm not thrilled with the results, but I want to publish this sucker! 

June 22:  Whiteout 

I found this white dress at Loft last year.  I'd always wanted a white dress and this one is perfect for Summer.  It's not exactly perfect for work, but I just paired it with a lightweight white cardigan and a fun turquoise belt that I grabbed from Nordstrom.  I love this belt!  

June 23:  Nautical

I got this dress from Stitch Fix, which is a new guilty pleasure.  My stylist for this particular fix nailed my style, and I love love love this dress.  There's nothing more nautical than navy blue and white stripes.  Except maybe a sailor hat but that isn't happening.  

June 24:  Cold Shoulder

I had a meeting this day but it was pretty warm and thought a sleeveless top would work.  I got this at the Ann Taylor outlet with Jamie awhile ago.  I wore it with simple black pants.  

June 25: A dress to the floor

LOVE THIS DRESS.  Love it.  I needed to go full on ALL CAPS because at 5'1", it is impossible to find a long dress that works on me.  Impossible.  Truly impossible.  And this does.  I got it at Nordstrom.  My only regret is not buying it in every color and pattern.  

June 26:  Summer feet

And the final day - summer feet! I wore my orange sandals (from Target!) with a cute floral top and jeans to work on a casual Friday. 

And there you go.  It only took me four months to finish, but better late than never? Better late than never.

Have a terrific weekend! And Happy Halloween!

What I Wore {post 79} June 2015 Style Challenge - week 3

Hey there!  It's Friday again!  Time for weekend! Time for fun! Time for a recap of my third week of the Style Challenge.  This week was tricky for a couple of reasons: (1) I had to move things around because I had court one day and a big meeting another; and (2) I was out of the office on Thursday and Friday with my kids (it's that weird time of year when they're done school but camps don't start, so we cobble together their care).  I fully intended to do the challenge, but at the end of the day, my outfits were not blog post worthy - I was home with them on a rainy day on Thursday (read: I wore yoga pants, an old cotton tee and hair in a bun) and took them to Hershey Park on Friday (read: shorts, tank top, and sweat).  All this to say, only three outfits this week.  

June 15:  Put a bow on it (moved from June 16)

June 16:  Daydream vacation (moved from June 17)
June 17:  Long Necklace (moved from June 20)

June 15:  Put a Bow on It

I had court this day, so I had to wear a suit. There's only so much creativity and leeway you get with a suit.  And, of course, in keeping with the weather that we've seen this Spring so far, it was insanely hot this day.  I wore my black skirt suit (from 2003 - seriously.  From Petite Sophisticate, which doesn't even exist anymore) and a blouse from Loft from 2006.  The blouse is a halter top with a bow that ties at the neck.  I rarely wear the blouse and I'm not sure why.  It's very flowy, but I tucked it in and it was fine.  I wore the outfit without the jacket all day except when I was in front of the judge.  

June 16: Daydream Vacation

Another crazy hot day.  I took my cues from a dress I bought with Jamie a few weeks ago at the j.crew factory - a lovely crisp, light little linen sundress with an A-line cut.  This is a dress I would love to wear on a beachy vacation because it's so light and breezy.  And it was so hot at work that I didn't care how casual it was.  I wore with my gold & brown leather wedges.   I think this photo has a filter on it.

June 17:  Long Necklace

This was the day of my big meeting at work.  Actually, meetings (plural).  It was a busy day and I had to step it up a bit in terms of formality.  A bunch of my colleagues wear suits to these meetings, but I cannot bring myself to do that especially since I wore one earlier that week. So I wore my go-to: a wrap dress.  I bought this dress (again) with Jamie at the outlets. This was the Ann Taylor outlet and was on crazy clearance. I think it was $25.  I wore my pink quilted sling-backs and my long necklace from j.crew.  

Just a couple more posts left!  Have a wonderful weekend!  I have my annual family reunion this weekend and then a business trip.  And then it's July.  

What I Wore {post 78} June 2015 Style Challenge - week 2

Week 2 of the Style Challenge wasn't as good as the first.  I wasn't thrilled with the things I put together.  But I still got it done.  I moved things around a bit this week.

June 8:  Swish your Skirt

It was *hot* on this day.  I wore a new skirt that I found at the Gap on major clearance and realized, unfortunately well into the day, that it is just too big.  It was a size Small and I think I need an Extra Small.  That said, I like it, so I'm going to take it to the tailor to see if she can work some magic with it.  I wore an aqua top and my nude peep toe pumps with my favorite bubble necklace.

June 9:  Channeling Audrey

Channeling Audrey Hepburn!  Oh I love her.  I've even blogged about her style a few years ago.  This was my favorite look of the week, and it was easy. A simple black sheath dress, nude pump and lots and lots of pearls.  I wore my hair in a low bun and opted to leave the tiara at home.  I went with a Breakfast at Tiffany's look, which is apropos, as it's my favorite movie.

Toya went more casual with an Audrey inspiration and rocked a headscarf.  I love it! 

June 10:  Retro Moment

Having just gone full-on Audrey Hepburn the day before, I felt a little limited in my choices.  I decided to go with another sort of Audrey look but less memorable: ankle pants, a sleeveless collared top and flats.  I really wanted to wear a scarf in my hair tied like a headband but I couldn't get it to work.  I am not crazy about this outfit. 

June 11: Dots & Circles

I don't have many polka dots for warm weather!  It was really hot this day, so I wore a new polka dotted shell from Banana Republic outlet.  I wore it with my colorblock skirt and black cardigan to the office.  

June 12:  Mixing patterns

FRIDAY! I will tell you - this week was a freaking battle to get to Friday. I remember thinking on Wednesday that it felt like it should be Friday. Oof.  It was, again, super hot. So I wore my seersucker skirt with a fun cobalt top with crochet detailing.  I thought the pattern mix in the crochet and the skirt worked well together.  

Another week down! And just like that, June is marching toward July.  This happens every single year.  Come on Summer ... slow down a little.  Have a wonderful weekend!

What I Wore {post 77} June 2015 Style Challenge - week 1

Week 1 of my June Style Challenge is complete!  I love these challenges because they make me look at my wardrobe in a new way and challenge me to find something that works.  I grabbed an old challenge from the blog Dean Street Society and went to work.  This one was from July, but it didn't matter.  I figured seasonally, it would work well.  

Each week, I will list the dates and challenges that I did.  I had to mix things up a bit, and I only do the challenges on weekdays.  My friend Toya played along too, so I will post her picture, when I can, to show you how she interpreted the challenge herself!

Onto week 1! 

Week 1 worked! I was able to keep all of the original challenges.  They are: 

June 1:  Rainbow Bright

June 2:  Belt it Up

June 3:  Keeping cool trick

June 4:  Patriotic

June 5:  A bright pucker

And now for my takes:

June 1: Rainbow Bright

Well this was an easy one.  I bought a new dress, in rainbow colors, at the Gap Outlet with Jamie.  It's perfect for Summer ... maybe a little bare for the office.  So I wore it with a pink cardigan (j.crew factory, a few years ago).  But I snapped a pic sans sweater as well. 

June 2: Belt it Up

This was an unseasonably (as in it felt like March) cool day  I begrudgingly wore a pair of black fitted pants (Limited - part of their suit collection), a white blouse with black polka dots (Ann Taylor), my patent Mary Janes and the important piece: my Dalmatian printed belt.  I was pleased with this outfit.

And here is Toya's take!  So funny that we both went with black and white, but had very different styles.  

June 3: Keeping Cool Trick

So, it was really cool this day.  "Keeping cool" was kind of a joke.  I decided to go with a trick that I use a lot when it's hot out: I wore layers.  I wore my black cami with a black fitted cardigan, and my brand new pink skirt.  Can I talk about this skirt for a moment?  Back in early Spring, I spied a gorgeous stop-dead-in-your-tracks pink wispy skirt in the Nordstrom window.  It was definitely designer and it was definitely not cheap.  I wanted it.  But I didn't buy.  Then a few weekends ago, Jamie and I were in Lancaster at the Gap outlet and I found this sucker on clearance for $13.  And then an additional 40% off. It was very similar to the Nordstrom number.  But this was a glorious $7.  

June 4: Patriotic

Red white and blue.  I wore my new linen shirtdress (Ann Taylor outlet) with white belt (Ann Taylor outlet) and red pumps (Ann Taylor outlet).  I've had the red pumps for a few years, but the dress and belt were new pick ups.

June 5: Pucker Up

I am a big fan of soft, neutral lipsticks.  I'm just not a big "bright lip" kind of girl. But I rose to the challenge and wore a bright pinkish red with my nothing special, easy Friday outfit.

Week one is in the books!  I hope you have a terrific weekend.  

I AM GOING TO SEE BARRY MANILOW WITH FOUR OF MY BESTEST FRIENDS.  All caps.  ! 

What I Wore {post 76}

Happy Friday!  Summer weekends are the best.  Although, this weekend isn't technically Summer, and my kids aren't on Summer vacation yet ... but it's still a Summer weekend!  I hope you have some great plans lined up.  The kids and I will have lots of fun. I promised them an exploratory hike along the creek.  

This will be the last normal "What I Wore" for a little while.  I've decided to do a Style Challenge in June!  More on that below.  But first, here are a few recent outfits.

Coral Dress & Cayenne Sash

If not already obvious, I love me a bargain.  This dress was $15 a few years ago at Old Navy.  It's a really pretty, delicate, easy dress.  It also wrinkles like crazy, but that can't be helped.  I usually wear a belt with it, because otherwise the waist looks a little boring.  Today I wore a very old "cayenne" colored sash from j.crew.  

Navy Tunic & Tan Pants

This was one of those oddly cool days in May.  I love these tan pants - they're from the Ann Taylor outlet a few years ago.  The navy tunic was a buy from Loft at one of the big sales a few months ago.  It's a navy linen.  I wore it with a long necklace from j.crew factory.  

Tee, White Denim Jacket, Boyfriend Jeans & Booties

Another date night outfit here.  This was a casual night out, so I didn't need to get too dressed up.  I wore this fun new tee that I got at TJ Maxx for $10.  I'm always looking for tees that are cute enough to wear out.  The jeans are boyfriend-style jeans from the Gap.  Jamie and I each got a pair of these at the Gap outlet. I wore my leather booties (since it was a cooler night) and my white denim jacket.  My jacket, I confess, is from Wal-Mart.  A few years ago I needed a sweater or jacket for a party and was already out, so I stopped quickly into Wal-Mart just to find something - anything - and found this jacket.  I wear it *all the time* and love it.  

And now for the Style Challenge! I've decided to do one just like I did last year.  Only, I couldn't find a challenge for this June, or even last June, so I am using the Style Me July challenge from Dean Street Society.    And to make it more fun, my friend Toya is doing it too!  We had to tweak some of the days a little given my work schedule, but we are mostly following the below.  I'm only doing weekdays.   

I'll post the first week's outfits next Friday and keep doing weekly recaps until the end of June.  This will be fun!  

Stay tuned! And have a great weekend.

What I Wore {post 46}: Style Me May Challenge [week 5]

I know it's basically mid-June, but I wanted to finish up the Style Me May series!  I had a really good time playing along with the style challenge, and I blogged about my outfits in May here: week 1, week 2, week 3 and week 4.

In week 5, I admit, the wheels came off a bit.  It was after Memorial Day and life/work/training got really busy.  So I took a bunch of liberties with the challenge.  

May 27:  Not Too Mellow Yellow Out of My Comfort Zone

I moved things around here.  I had ordered a long yellow maxi dress (more on that below!) and it hadn't arrived yet (boo), so I decided to do the "out of my comfort zone" outfit instead.  I went with a very white outfit, which is definitely out of my comfort zone, since I tend to spill of myself if I'm wearing white.  I managed to not do that on this day!  The top is from the Ann Taylor outlet. I bought it in February and have been saving it.  I love it.  Whenever I find a cute print top that I like, I pick it up.  Prints are my favorite.  

May 28:  Out of My Comfort Zone Floral Flush

I continued to move things around and decided on "floral flush" this day.  This was easy: I wore my Simply Vera Wang (from Kohl's) floral dress from last Summer.  This dress was essentially free, so I could not pass it up.  I was already ordering a gift from Kohl's and in order to get $25 off that gift and free shipping, I needed to buy something else.  The dress was on clearance and it was less than $25, so when I added it to my cart, I got the free shipping and $25 off, which more than paid for the dress.  I really like it when retailers pay me to shop!  This dress is really cute and flattering and comfortable.  My hair was wavy and my face was flushed: it was hot and I had a long run that morning.

May 30:   Celebrity Chic

I skipped May 29: I had to get ready at the gym and didn't have time to do the challenge.  But May 30 was a Friday so I knew I wanted to wear jeans.  I thought Celebrity Chic was a way to go.  And I knew I'd copy Jennifer Aniston's style - I love her effortless California chic look.  

I wore my dark rinse bootcut jeans with my cowgirl boots (from Austin Texas, thank you very much!), a nice white tee and a cream/ivory stripe scarf that I bought in Nashville.  

June 2:  Not Too Mellow Yellow

Obviously, the challenge was over in June, but I couldn't resist sharing this! First, I admit I completely copied this outfit off of a woman I saw at the mall.  She was about my height (ok ok ok, she was probably like 5'4") and she was wearing a long yellow maxi dress that was very flowy and a turquoise necklace. I *loved* the way it looked and wanted to recreate it. I already had the turquoise necklace (j.crew outlet) so I was on the hunt for a yellow maxi dress.  Long dresses are tough on my 5'1" frame.  I found this one at Old Navy and waited until it went on sale and I had a coupon.  I knew I needed petite, and thankfully they offered it in that size!  I went with the petite small (I tried on the petite XS but it was a little too tight in the ribs -- thank you children for stretching my rib cage).  I got so many compliments on this dress!  It is very comfortable but it is also very sheer, so thankfully it was lined.  It's also a gauzy material that looks like linen, so the wrinkles are supposed to be there, which is awesome. I wore it to work, so I had to wear ballet flats, but this would look better with flat metallic sandals. 

And there you go! That wraps up the Style Me May challenge!  I had a lot of fun and will definitely do another one of these, probably in the Fall.  But for now, I'll be back to the regular "what I wore" posts.  

See you swoon,

What I Wore {post 45}: Style Me May Challenge [week 4]

Ahhhh. Friday.  I love short weeks!  I'm still going strong with the Style Me May challenge! I've posted my week 1 looks, week 2 looks and week 3 looks.  Week 4 was pretty good too.

May 19: Trend That's Never Out

I wore two trends: stripes and a peplum top.  I think both are always "in" and always will be.  The top is from Loft around Christmas 2013 and the skirt is a find from Forever 21 last year.  

May 20:  All Black Like a Spy

Well, this was easy: I just wore a black dress.  I had a presentation at work, so I couldn't get too bold here.  I wore my black sheath dress from Banana Republic Factory and a fun long necklace from the J.crew outlet.  I wore leopard print flats with the outfit - I have to limit heels with all my training and I had a long run the next day.  

May 21:  Your Best Foot Forward

I so so so so so so so wanted to wear a beautiful pair of heels.  This was a shoe challenge!  But, alas, I had done a 15 mile run that morning and my legs were not having heels.  Instead, I wore my favorite yellow flats.  They're from NY & Co. from a few years ago and I love them.  I wore a printed NY & Co. top with a pair of pants from the Banana Republic Factory that cost about $11.  I had to have them tailored, but it was worth it.  

May 22:  Rebel With a Cause

Ok. I took some liberties with this one.  I am not a rebel.  I'm just not.  I don't own leather.  I don't (and can't) dress like a rebel.  That's just not a look I can pull off.  So I searched for the movie "Rebel Without A Cause" and took my cues from the women in that.  This picture in particular. 

I wore my pink fitted top with a pleated white skirt and belt.  Oh and gold ballet flats.  

May 23:  Blushing Beauty Red White & Blue

I have two blush colored shirts and they are long sleeved. It was hot this day so I nixed the "blushing beauty" challenge and used "red white and blue" instead, which was scheduled for Memorial Day Monday.  I wore an old old old Old Navy blue and white striped top, jeans and my red flats.  I was a yankee doodle dandy.  

Have a great weekend!  

See you swoon,