Wednesday, July 31

I am excited to meet up with some teacher friends to go "back to school" shopping at the outlet mall!  It is supposed to be a little warmer today than the past two days, but I wasn't about to try and figure out a different outfit for today even though I am wearing long tights.

Dress: Old Navy
Tights: Target
Flats: Kohl's
Belt: JcPenney
Monogram Necklace: gift from a friend

Sometimes you just have to show your curves instead of trying to hide them!  Have you ever had an outfit planned and then the weather changed?  Did you stick to your original outfit or did you have to scramble to find a completely different outfit?  I am of the mind to keep at least the main idea of the outfit even if I have to add a jacket or tights.  

Ten Ways to Wear Chambray

Originally, I wanted to do a post called "Thirty Ways to Wear Chambray" but I realized nobody would want to look at thirty different pictures.  I do have that on GCOGH though, if you are interested!
I pulled together my ten favorite combinations using a chambray shirt.  I have owned this shirt for at least six months and have only worn it a handful of times, which is silly because that shirt could go with anything in my closet!  To prove it to myself, I started pulling out items I thought I could wear with it.  
This was the complete mess that was my bed as I was sorting through all the clothes I wanted to use:

And here is the (at this point very wrinkly) chambray shirt I chose:

From the Gap

I am sorry for the poor quality of the pictures.  The shirt got wrinkly very quickly as I was trying on various outfits and I didn't have the time to iron it after each outfit.  You'll have to imagine what a neat, clean shirt would have looked like.

Outfit #1:

Red Dress: Banana Republic
Black Belt: JcPenney

Outfit #2:

Brown Dress (with belt): JcPenney

Outfit #3:

White Shirt: Marshall's
Mint Jeans: Kohl's

Outfit #4:

White Skirt: Kohl's

Outfit #5:

Yellow Skirt: Kohl's
Tan Belt: from a dress I already owned

Outfit #6:

White Shirt: Marshall's
Coral Shorts: Faded Glory from Walmart

Outfit #7:

Striped Shirt: Gap
Black Pants: JcPenney

Outfit #8:

Pink Tee: The Loft
Blue Jeans: Kohl's

Outfit #9:

Mustard Cardigan: Charlotte Russe
Black Pants: JcPenney

Outfit #10:

White Tee: Marshall's
White/Brown Skirt: Kohl's
Brown Belt: JcPenney
Silver Cuff: Target

There you have it.  Chambray shirts are versatile and can be dressed up or down.  And I love that the chambray can go with pretty much any color combination.  Being a teacher, I want to be comfortable, but look cute and at least semi-professional.  Thus, I have a few different chambray shirts I have bought to throw with various outfits.  Hope this helped to see how you can make your chambray shirt worth the price you paid for it!

*I have linked up with Audrey over at Putting Me Together.  Please go check out what others have done!

Monday, July 29

Confession: I haven't left the house today.  In fact, I didn't get ready until about ten minutes ago.  More embarrassing?  My father-in-law dropped in during his lunch break and I had a mess of classroom materials all over the living room I was attempting to organize.  All while wearing shorts and a t-shirt that probably looked like I was still wearing pajamas.  Oh well.

Confession #2: The "pants" I'm wearing today are actually running tights.  Shhh, don't tell anyone!  I have real tights I own, but since I wasn't leaving the house, I decided to put on the much-more-comfortable running tights.

The weather today is so cool (high of 74), that my outfit really looks more like fall than mid-summer.

Running Tights: UnderArmour from outlet
Sweater: Sonoma from Kohl's

Coral Wedges: Payless

Blue Animal Print Scarf: Mustard Seed

Sunday July 28

After church, I spent about three hours going through old handouts, sorting through binders, and generally making a bigger mess before I could get it all sorted out.  I'm guessing another three to four hours and I will have it all done.  And I can sigh a big sigh of relief because of it too!

I love this skirt, but I snagged it a few times on my desk at school last year.  I'm hoping it's not too noticeable!  Also, I'll need to remember that the belt is not the best choice for this outfit.  I didn't have a white belt though (not yet anyway; I just ordered one from Target).

Yellow Top: Merona from Target
Gingham Skirt: Gap
Bubble Necklace: Kohl's
Monogram Bracelet: Altar'd State
White Sandals: Charlotte Russe

Looking at this picture, my hair looks a hot mess.  You'll have to excuse it!

Saturday July 27

In less than a month school will be starting again.  AGH!  The time has flown so fast!  And today the high was 72, so it even feels like fall.  I was excited to try a layered look today since the weather was so nice.  My husband and I went to the farmer's market and then to a sidewalk sale that was being held downtown.  I bought a couple of items because I couldn't resist and then I bought a birthday gift for a close friend.

Here are the items I bought:

This bracelet was so cute made from little beads but in chain link!
From Mustard Seed

A blue-gray leopard print scarf--can't wait to wear it in the fall!
From Mustard Seed

I tried to show how long it is, but couldn't get the whole thing in the picture!

I got a few compliments on my outfit today.  I can only figure it was the layering.

Tank: Unsure where I got it; it's REALLY old!
Dress: Merona from Target
Polka-Dot Denim Shirt: Sonoma from Kohl's
Belt: JcPenney

This is the monogram bracelet I bought yesterday at Altar'd State
Necklace: It's a silver-covered sand dollar I bought in FL

Sandals: Sanuk

I couldn't resist throwing in a picture of my new nail polish (ignore my ugly feet please).  I finally got around to re-painting my toenails and tried out this new polish I bought at Wal-Mart.  It's Maybelline Color Show in Polka Dots.  It looks fuchsia but comes out more of a cute pink color.  The dots really come out just the same as they look in the bottle.  I love it!  I might try layering it over some fuchsia polish next time.

Friday July 26

It was raining today, so the weather cooled off considerably.  I got to wear jeans!  It made me so excited for fall weather.  Don't get me wrong; I LOVE summer.  I think I'm just glad it's soon coming to an end.

School starts soon.  As such, it's getting time for back to school shopping.  I plan to share my finds as I shop the next few weeks.  Today I went to Altar'd State, one of my new favorite stores.  It is a fresh, fun little boutique-type shop that reminds me of a Francesca's but with more selection.  Also, part of their profits go to charity.  That's something I can get behind!

Here's some photos of the store:

The Dressing Room Mirror

The Dressing Room: LOVE the pillows!

I tried on this dress.  It didn't fit :(

I bought the following while I was there:

This dress (nearly identical to the one above) DID fit!

The top I bought was this exact one, but with navy embroidery

A bracelet similar to this one

Okay, not this EXACT one, but a top very similar to this

A cardigan very similar to this one

And, finally, here's what I wore today:

Top: Express
Jeans: Se7en from Lane Bryant
Necklace: Kohl's
Flats: Kohl's

Thursday July 25

I am loving the fact that the weather has cooled off.  And by cooled off I mean a high of 83.  I'm just happy I don't melt when I leave the house!  Today is going to be a chill day.  We aren't going anywhere and I need to get some organization finished on my school/classroom supplies.

In going through my closet, I remembered this top and skirt.  I'd forgotten I'd owned them and I'd never thought to put them together until now.  Unless I can figure out a way to fix the elastic that is in the band of the skirt, I don't know if I will keep it.  The elastic is bent or twisted or something and no amount of trying to fix it or iron it will help.  I'm tempted to cut the elastic out and try a DIY fix with a new piece of elastic.  I don't know if I'm crafty enough for it though!

Top: PacSun
Skirt: boutique in OK (closed now)
Necklace: francesca's
Bracelet: Target
Sandals: Sanuk

Please ignore the little bandaid by my necklace.  I have an autoimmune problem and I get spots that need a steroid sometimes.  For the past few days, I kept covering it up with my top or some well-placed concealer, but today I gave up and decided it needed some real medicine.  

If anyone has a great idea for solving the elastic problem, let me know.  I could use some help figuring out how best to fix it!

Wednesday July 24

Today was one of those perfect days: it didn't get above 82 degrees, there was a light breeze....it was awesome!  I got to go on a walk with friends in the morning and then my husband and I took a trip into town to try a drive-in restaurant that makes its own root beer.  Then we walked the city gardens.  A beautiful day.

I had forgotten that I even owned this dress until I started going through my closet to get rid of things I don't wear/don't like anymore.  It's a great summer dress.  I would just need to put a tank on underneath to make it work appropriate.

Dress: Kohl's
Shrug: JcPenney
Necklace: Target
Bracelet: Target
Shoes: Charlotte Russe

I tried something different with my hair today.  I had this scrap piece of ribbon that closely matched the colors in my dress, so I weaved it into my braid.  What better time to experiment than the summer!

Tuesday July 23

I'm not planning on leaving the house today.  That's why I wore shorts.  Wouldn't want to waste a really good outfit if no one was going to see it!  After putting this on and taking the pictures, I realized that the stripes on this shirt are exactly the same as the stripes on the dress-worn-as-a-top that I wore yesterday.  I didn't notice it until I uploaded the photos.  Oh, well.  You'll have to forgive me.

Top: Old Navy
Shorts: Lee from Kohl's
"Necklace": scarf I bought at the Art Show at the school where I work; handmade by a student
Flip Flops: American Eagle from Payless

For the "necklace," I took a scarf and knotted it at various intervals and then tied it around my neck.  Nothing super fancy to it.  I liked it better than wearing a necklace because a necklace just seemed too formal for the t-shirt and shorts I was wearing.  I'm excited to be getting some use out of it.  I liked how the color mimicked my shorts today.

Anyone else like me who worries about wasting a perfect outfit on a day when you don't go anywhere or see anyone?  I can't be the only crazy one out there!

Monday July 22

Today I went on a walk with a friend and her baby.  I enjoyed it, although I sweated so much.  It was brutal out there!

After that I got cleaned up and my husband and I headed to town.  He had something to drop off for work and I needed to get a few things at the mall.

I ended up buying two new necklaces at Francesca's because they were having a buy one get one half off sale, and I can't resist sales!  I also went into a new store that just opened in the mall: Altar'd State.  I think that store is going to become my new favorite.  I kept walking around telling my husband, "I like this, and this, and this, and this..."  He, not really caring about clothes and definitely not wanting me to buy any more, was patiently nodding.  I think he's a keeper.  :)

Top: (really a dress) Old Navy
Belt: JcPenney
Skirt: Marshall's
Sandals: American Eagle for Payless
Necklace: Wet Seal

I would not have put the top and skirt and belt together by myself.  A friend over at GCOGH suggested I wear the dress as a top instead when I complained that it was too short and too tight.  DUH moment, right there.  I used to be so afraid of not matching in the past that I would have never put navy and brown and black together.  But I've seen so many great looks come out of mixing colors that I wasn't afraid to do it anymore.  Ahhh, freedom!

Sunday July 21

I didn't mean to sleep in this morning, but I did.  This left me very little time to get ready for church so I just threw on this dress, added the necklace and shoes, brushed through my hair, added some mascara, and was on my way.

My mom gave me this dress and it is a size small.  It is amazing how sizes sometimes don't matter at all.  I wonder if they really mean anything if I can somehow magically fit into a size small.

Dress: Vera Wang at Kohl's
Necklace: DIY; I pulled the charms off of one necklace and saved the chain from another one
Sandals: Payless (Montego Bay Club)

There isn't much to this dress, but I love the color.  This picture doesn't accurately capture the kelly green that it actually is.  I may one day add a gold belt to it and see what that does.  There are some days when simplicity is best, though.

Saturday July 20

I plan to link up with Audrey at Putting Me Together for her One Piece Many Ways.  In preparation, I tried on about thirty outfits yesterday.  In doing so, I got an idea for today's outfit.  I traded out the chambray shirt for a plaid one and added some accessories.  I really liked it even though I absolutely HATE shorts.

I don't know what it is about shorts.  I wear dresses.  I wear skirts.  What in the world makes me think shorts are any different?  Because they have a crotch?  It's not like they show off any more than a skirt or a dress would.  I swear, sometimes my hang-ups don't make any sense.  I sucked up my hatred for them and wore them today.  There are only two reasons I even own shorts: One, I had a friend give me some of her old clothes a while back and a few of the items were shorts (I suck up my hatred for something if it is free); and two, I recently went on a trip to Disney World and decided since I wouldn't know anybody there, I really didn't care if I looked like an idiot wearing shorts.

Today, though, I may have decided shorts aren't that bad.  I even got a compliment on my outfit by a girl at the grocery store :)

Plaid Shirt: Gap
White Shirt: Marshall's
Coral Shorts: Faded Glory by Walmart
Sandals: Sanuk
Necklace: Mustard Seed Fair Trade; it's made from rolled bits of newspaper and magazines!
Bracelet: a gift from my mother on my college graduation

I absolutely love Mustard Seed.  Here are a few of my favorite items that are in the online store right now:

Bibi Bracelet

          Inspiration Bracelet

Robin's Egg Necklace

Infinite Cutwork Cuff

Friday, July 19

After dropping my husband off at the airport this morning, I spent the rest of the morning on styling this chambray shirt:

Gap

I think I could wear this shirt with just about anything else in my closet.  I had fun trying it on with about 30 other outfits.  I decided to wear the outfit below today.  I like this skirt, but it's hard to find a shirt to go with it.  Just wearing a white shirt seemed too plain.  Wearing a brown shirt kind of made me look like poop (can you tell I'm a teacher?  hehe).  But pairing it with this shirt helped to make it work.  Or at least I think so :)

 White Shirt: Marshall's

                                                                    Skirt: Kohl's

                                                                               Necklace: Wet Seal

                                                                         Bracelet: Target

                                                Sandals: Icing (they originally had jewelled feathers attached to the top)

Any suggestions on how else I could style this skirt?