Blogging Besties: A Hiatus

Blogging Besties is a weekly series featuring Whitney of Whitney à la mode, Alex of The Cheerful Closet, Maricel of ::My Closet Catelogue:: and Selah of A Bibliophile's Style.  Each week, one of the bloggers will choose one component from the previous week's outfit to pass on in a brand new look.  This "take one, pass it on" challenge is an inspiration to stretch your closet and your imagination!

Attention: we would like to interrupt your usual viewing of Blogging Besties to make an announcement.  In order to gain fresh inspiration, we are switching up the order of our rotation starting in May.  Alex will kick things off followed by Whitney, then Selah and finally Maricel.  We are taking a quick break this week but look forward to seeing you soon!

Blogging Besties: Transportation

The Blogging Besties series is the brain child of Alex @ The Cheerful Closet and Whitney @ Whitney à la Mode. In 2015 the series expanded to include Maricel @ My Closet Catelogue and me, Selah @ A Bibliophile's Style. It's based on the idea of "take one, pass it on," but we're passing on an element from another blogger's outfit. It's a fun challenge that inspires us to be creative!

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Last week, Maricel made her own dress out of this adorable sailboat fabric:

The prompts she gave me were "pattern mixing, sleeveless, or something related to transportation".

I decided to take on transportation, but I went a different direction with it (ha, direction, get it?).

The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.

― Roald Dahl, Matilda

Belle is my favorite Disney Princess (I also love Rapunzel and Mulan), and anything to do with books is exactly my jam. ;) We are taking next Friday off, but we'll be back on May 5th with a new AWSM order! Alex can choose from: graphic tee, Disney, or hobby related.

Previous Editions of Blogging Besties

Blogging Besties :: A Nautical Look

Blogging Besties is a weekly series featuring Whitney of Whitney à la mode, Alex of Undergraduate Style, Maricel of ::My Closet Catalogue:: and Selah of A Bibliophile’s Style. Each week, one of the bloggers will choose one component from the previous week’s outfit to pass on in a brand new look. This “take one, pass it on” challenge is an inspiration to stretch your closet and your imagination!

  Last week, Alex gave us a hint of spring with her minty ensemble.

This week is brought to you by: “pencil skirt, flats, a nautical look, or a statement necklace". And for your viewing pleasure, I give you: a nautical look.

 

 My challenge week fortuitously fell during my Spring Break so I had ample opportunity to create an outfit. But as soon as I saw "nautical", I knew I had to challenge myself twofold and not just find a compliant outfit. I was gonna make a compliant outfit. Myself. As in sew it up. Because I've been hanging on to this fabric since last year and it's been begging to be made and I swore I'd use it before this school year was out and I was running out of time and what better incentive to sew something up but a blogging challenge? (Yep, I talk in run-ons when I'm excited.) So, challenge accepted. Fabric picked out. But what pattern? I really wanted to show off that border print and initially thought circle skirt. But the opportunity to make a dress was too tempting, what with that built-in stripe and all, so after perusing my library - yes, I now have a library! - of patterns, I ultimately settled on the Laurel from Colette because its simple silhouette was intended as a showcase for loud and vibrant prints.

 
I'm not gonna bore you with all my sewing woes - I'm still teaching myself after all, and what should've only taken four hours actually ended sucking up my last day of Spring Break - but can I just say the one thing I'm particularly proud of is that this dress is fully lined? Which eliminated the need for sleeves. Or a slip. (Even though I still wear a slip anyway because vintage.) For Selah’s turn next week, I challenge her to the following: pattern mixing, sleeveless, or something related to transportation. Vive le vendredi!

:: Just the facts, ma’am :: Dress – made by me Pumps – Aerosoles

:: Scream it from the top of your lungs :: Victorious by Panic! at the Disco

Blogging Besties: Bare Ankles

Blogging Besties is a weekly series featuring Whitney of Whitney à la mode, Alex of The Cheerful Closet, Maricel of ::My Closet Catelogue:: and Selah of A Bibliophile's Style.  Each week, one of the bloggers will choose one component from the previous week's outfit to pass on in a brand new look.  This "take one, pass it on" challenge is an inspiration to stretch your closet and your imagination!

Last week, Whitney challenged me to wear silver and gray, bare ankles, or a shirt that matches my eyes. Well I don't own anything silver (weird, right?) and dark brown is just not quite as trendy as the color of Whitney's pretty blue eyes. So I went with bare ankles!

I chose to style this pretty green pencil skirt with an anchor print button-down and a statement necklace. I am counting this as bare ankles because technically my ankles *are* bare--it's just the rest of my legs are, too! 

Shirt: Old Navy (similar, similar, similar)

Skirt: thrifted via Clothes Mentor (similar, similar, similar)

Flats: Lucky (exact, similar, similar)

Necklace: Walmart (similar, similar, similar)

Maricel, for next week, your choices are: pencil skirt, flats, a nautical look, or a statement necklace!

Currently: France Edition

As you read this, I'm off an a crazy adventure traveling around Europe with a group of students!  I'm leading a group of twenty-one from our school district through Italy, Switzerland and France.  I can't wait to tell you all about my experience when I return (plus a mini-series on a travel capsule wardrobe).  But for now, enjoy Currently: France Edition plus a few of my all-time favorite pictures from previous trips to France!

accomplishing: being a group leader!  This is my first time leading a trip like this and it has been a really big undertaking.  By the time this post is published, I hope that any possible kinks have been ironed out and that our group is having the experience of a lifetime!

feeling: all the France feels.  I've vacationed, studied abroad and lived in France in the past.  Needless to say, a part of my heart is always there and I'm so very excited to be back!

needing: lots of layers!  We will be starting in sunny Venice, traveling through the chilly mountains of Switzerland and ending our stay in springtime Paris.  The weather is going to be all over the place!  I really took into consideration layers when building my capsule.

practicing: my French.  Even though I'm a French teacher, it's pretty rare that I get to use my full French-speaking abilities in real life contexts with other adults.

pinning: absolutely nothing!  While you can follow some of my adventures on Instagram or Snapchat (whitneyalamode), I won't be spending much time online because, you know, I'll be too busy sipping that French coffee and enjoying my surroundings!