Merry and Bright Holiday Style

Welcome back for another fun style link-up with The Blended Blog!  This week our theme is Merry and Bright- share an outfit that makes you happy.  And truth be told, everything about style this time of year makes me happy!  I love the cozy knits, the glamorous sparkles and the festive colors.  I try so hard not to shop for myself at this time of year so that I focus more on giving than receiving, but it's so hard when my favorite clothing pieces are in stores right now!

I did let myself splurge on a few holiday pieces during the cyber sales on Black Friday.  Two of my favorite things I purchased are this sweater and plaid flannel shirt from American Eagle.  When worn together you have the perfect holiday combination!

What makes you feel merry and bright!  Make sure to link-up with The Blended Blog or my friend, Lisa, at Daily Style Finds!

What I'm Wearing:
Sweater: American Eagle (exact but different pattern)
Flannel Shirt: American Eagle (exact)
Leggings: Fabletics (similar)
Flats: DSW (similar)

Sparkle and Shine Day to Night

Happy holidays, friends!  And if you're stopping by from The Blended Blog, welcome.

We're celebrating one of my favorites today -- sparkles!  Head-over to TBB to see how I styled a little sparkle and shine for the daytime and stick around to see my night look.

I love a good excuse to get dressed-up and it seems like the holidays are full of such excuses!  This weekend, Justin and I attended my office Christmas party at San Chez, a tapas bistro in town.  We mixed drinks at a private cocktail-making lesson and ate and ate and ate.  My team, our significant others and I finished the night with some dancing.

This is what I wore to the office gathering.  I loved the festive green of the dress and, if you look closely, you can see that my tights are covered in little sparkly dots!

How do you like to wear your sparkle?  Make sure to link-up your looks below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Ana Luisa Jewelry Review

Well hello there, and happy Monday!  Did you have a nice weekend?  Up here in Grand Rapids, Michigan we enjoyed our first taste of fall weather.  Justin and I enjoyed the crisp air while wandering our local farmer's market (my new favorite Saturday morning activity).  We even purchased a couple of squashes, a sure sign that autumn is here!

For my first style post after my summer hiatus, I have a little something special to share!  A few months ago, Ana Luisa Jewelry reached-out and offered to send me a couple pieces of jewelry to review.  I'm so excited to show you what I picked today!

Before I tell you about the specific pieces, I want to share a bit more about Ana Luisa.  Ana Luisa Jewelry creates individually hand-crafted, designer pieces.  The aspect that I find most intriguing about their collections are that they are released in limited quantities.  The jewelry that you choose will truly be a special and unique piece that you won't see anyone else wearing.  How cool!

As soon as I saw the Julia Disc Earrings, I knew that I wanted to add them to my earring collection.  I'm not into huge, heavy earrings, but I do love a pair that make a statement.  These are perfect!  The neutral pallet make them easy to pair with just about everything and they earrings really add a pop when paired with your classic basics.

The second piece I chose is the beautiful Carmen Cuff Bracelet.  I think this is a timeless piece that will never go out of style.  It's simple enough to wear every day but also has a bit of sparkle that would add to a more formal look.

If you love these pieces as much as I do, make sure to sign-up (it's free) with Ana Luisa so that you have access to all of their limited-release collections!  I also have a coupon code for you.  Use WHITNEY15 to get $15 off of your order!  I've just taken a look at their New Release section and am pretty much in love with these earrings.

If you could have any piece from the collection, what would you choose?

May's Work Wear Remix

I would like to introduce you to my sassy pants.

I purchased them while I was in Belgium last summer.  These wide-leg, printed pants were popping-up in all of the European stores I visited, so I predicted that we just might be seeing them on this side of the Atlantic this spring.  And I was right!

If you haven't jumped on board with this trend, do it now!  These pants are even comfier than pajamas!  Plus I feel extra sassy when I have them on.

The striped print of this particular pair can be styled in so many different ways, so I've been excited to feature these pants in my second, monthly Work Wear Remix.  If you missed last month, I decided that I need to be more inspired when it comes to the clothing I wear to work.  So I enlisted the help of my favorite professional dresser (and friend), Carrie, to work on monthly, business-casual inspiration!

For my professional look, I decided to play with patterns and combine stripes with polka dots.  A pair of sleek flats complete the look.

For my casual look, I swapped the flats for a pair of sneakers and grabbed a simple, sleeveless top.  A denim jacket would be perfect with this outfit if you need another layer!

So tell me, have you been wearing wide-leg pants this spring?  And don't worry, even though I found these pants in Belgium last summer, I found a bunch of cute, similar pairs at Target and Loft.  I've linked two of them below.

What I'm Wearing: Work Look
Blouse: Express (exact)
Pants: Zara (similar, similar)
Flats: Target (similar, similar)

What I'm Wearing: Casual Look
Tank: Anthropologie (similar, similar)
Pants: Zara (similar, similar)
Sneakers: Keds (exact)
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Blogging Besties: Hot Pink

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!

Isn't Alex always the epitome of office chic?!  And last week was no different!

From her outfit, Alex challenged me to pass on stripes, hot pink or a statement necklace.  I immediately knew that I wanted to style the hot pink coat that I purchased in Belgium now that it's actually cool enough to wear it!  And in planning my outfit, I kind of forgot that stripes were an option as well.  I guessed I checked two boxes with this outfit!

I'm looking forward to styling this statement coat in a lot of different ways, but for it's first outing I really wanted it to be European-chic so I stuck with basic black and white stripes and d'Orsay flats.

Selah, your choices for next week are a statement jacket, black and white, or pointed-toe flats.

Thursday Moda: Mustard Cardigans

Oh hey, friends!  I have a special treat for you today!  I just so happen to be hosting the Thursday Moda link-up with the always-charming Ada from Elegance and Mommyhood!

Ada and I have been blogging pals for years (we even met in real life once) but we've reconnected recently since we are both participating in the Common Threads Challenge.  We even realized that we'd chosen some really similar pieces to work with throughout the challenge.  We will be featuring a few of these items over the course of the next to Thursday Moda link-ups!

Today we're featuring our mustard cardigans.  I don't know about you, but this is a staple in my wardrobe!

Stay tuned to both of our blogs to find-out how we're remixing these cardigans this month.  And stop by next week to see how we're wearing v-neck tops and ankle boots!

An InLinkz Link-up

Create28: Stripes Stripes Stripes

Do you want to know something fun about blogging friends?  Sometimes they understand your style even better than you do!  Take this shirt, for example.  Carrie picked it out for me!  She totally nailed it by choosing a pretty peplum in my favorite pattern: stripes!

Speaking of stripes, I was reorganizing a portion of my closet the other day and wound-up with a stack of at least seven different striped shirts.  I may have a problem but I'll never admit it!  I love stripes too much!

Are stripes your favorite, too?  How have you been styling them lately?

I just want to add a quick note about this top before I wrap-up this post.  It was generously given to me by Zaful in exchange for a review.  As usual, I'm super impressed with the quality of the garment. The material is a good weight and is very crisp.  My one complaint is the fit.  I sized up to a large and the top is still really tight across the bust.  I love the style but you might want to consider other tops if you are at all busty.

Alright, friends!  Thanks for stopping by today!  Come back tomorrow for a discussion on how to be practical yet stylish at the same time!

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Create28 and New Year Styled: Under-Layered Fair Isle Sweater

Last week, I mentioned my most-used method of layering, over-layering.  I say most-used because when in doubt, throw a cardigan on over your outfit, am I right?!  But while I layer this way most frequently, under-layering is actually my favorite!  Whenever I think to throw a collared shirt underneath a sweater (like I've done here) or under a dress, I think yes!  I love this outfit!

Apparently I really like wearing shirts underneath this sweater because I layered the exact same way one year ago!  To change things up a bit, I decided to make this years' version a work look!

So now that we've talked about both, which do you prefer, over or under-layering?  And don't forget to link-up your favorite style with The Blended Blog for New Year Styled below and check back tomorrow to see how Carrie styles vests.

Create28: Polka Dot Paradise

Today we're talking Polka Dots for Create28!  I would say that this is my second favorite print, right behind stripes, of course.  The polka dot piece that I've chosen to feature is my Express Portofino blouse that gets tons and tons of wear.  It's versatile and so easily remixable...you've actually already seen it this month!

My mom (who clearly has wonderful taste) gave this sweater to me for Christmas.  I love that I was able to unbutton the bottom of the sweater to give the polka dots more room to shine!

Alright friends, have a lovely Friday and don't forget to show us your polka dotted looks on Instagram (#create28winter17)!

Style Perspectives: A Graduation Look for Teachers

It's hard to believe but this is already my fifth week of participating in the Style Perspectives Series with the lovely ladies of The Blended Blog!  Does this time of year fly for anyone else?  As a teacher, it feels like the end of the year is so far away but at the same time we are speeding right ahead!

This week Sheila chose our Style Perspectives prompt, a graduation look!

I do believe I am done with my own graduation ceremonies, having completed my Master's degree, and I don't yet have children of my own to watch graduate.  But teachers often attend these ceremonies to celebrate the success of their students!  This is the first year that I don't teach seniors so I will not be attending graduation, but I will be attending our 8th Grade Awards Night where I get to present the French Award to a few of my outstanding students.

To me, this is the perfect graduation look for a teacher.  It is bright, fun and celebratory!  But it is also modest, work-appropriate and comfortable.  I definitely don't want to stand in front of an auditorium of 8th graders and parents feeling over-exposed!

This dress was a recent find at Ann Taylor on sale!  The material is thick and flattering while still being comfortable.  I decided the floral print seems retro to me so I decided to up the vintage vibe with my oversized pearls.

What I'm Wearing:
Dress: Ann Taylor (exact)
Necklace: Amazon (exact)
Tights: Nordstrom (exact)
Shoes: DSW (similar)

Make sure to visit the other ladies of The Blended Blog to see their graduation looks and continue reading this post to link-up your very own!

Next week we are wearing our nautical navy stripes!

And here are our blazer looks from last week!

ONCE UPON A TIME & HAPPILY EVER AFTER : Library-Lovin’-Lady

DAILY STYLE FINDS: The Personal Stylist

FOXY’S DOMESTIC SIDE: The Crafty Engineer

SIMPLY SHAUNACEY: Reformed Frumpy Mommy

TWO TEENS AND THEIR MAMA: Stylish Midlife Mama

RSQUARED: The Not So Nerdy Accountant

SHOES TO SHIRAZ: The Shoe Hoarding French Teacher

PUPPIES AND PRETTIES: Cube Dwelling Fashionista

MISHAPS AND MAYHEM OF SOLITARY LIFE: Single Girl, Simple Style

A LOVELY LITTLE WARDROBE: A Casual Petite

MAKING THE MOST OF EVERYDAY Classic Yet Current Over Forty

NICKANDNIK: Mama with Curves

LIVING ON CLOUD NINE: Blissful Fashionista

WHITNEY À LA MODE: A book-loving French Teacher

An InLinkz Link-up

Where I'm linking-up!

It's Blazer Time Again + Link-Up

It's blazer time again...and you know what that means!  Parent/Teacher Conferences!  I've mentioned before that I like to look a bit more professional than usual for conferences so I often reach for a blazer.

The funny thing is, though, I rarely wear blazers otherwise.  I really like the blazers that I own so I don't know why I don't where them more frequently.  Wearing my blazers will be one of my springtime goals!  Hold me accountable, friends!

In reality, I wore this outfit for conferences a few weeks ago.  It feels kind of funny to post them today because I'm actually on vacation in North Carolina.  Vacation is pretty much the opposite of conferences.  By the time you read this, I will have hopefully spent a lovely weekend with my best friend since 2nd grade, her husband and their new baby!

In other exciting news, guess who I get to see today?!  SELAH!  We are meeting in real life before I head back to Michigan and I'm so excited!  You will see pictures soon!

What I'm Wearing:

Blazer: Banana Republic Outlet (similar, similar)

Windowpane Tee: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Pants: Stitch Fix (similar, similar)

Flats: DSW (similar)

Longchamp: Nordstrom (exact)

And you know what time it is!  Time for the Lovely à la Mode Link-Up!

Create28: Valentine's Day Look

I know, I know, it's only Monday!  But it's not to early to think about what you're going to wear for Valentine's Day this weekend!  Whether you plan to go out for a fancy dinner, spend a night on the town with your girlfriends, or relax at home with your family, it's fun to have a special outfit to wear.

I don't actually know what I'm doing for Valentine's Day.  You see, my boyfriend is planning something for us to do and he is going to surprise me!  He hasn't given me any details about what I should wear, so I'm assuming that something nice but not super fancy will work.

Layering a collared blouse under a sweater and adding a really sparkly necklace always makes me feel a little bit dressier than just wearing a sweater.  At the same time, a sweater, jeans and flats will be comfortable no matter what we do to celebrate Valentine's Day!

Plus, it might be cheesy but I love wearing pink for Valentine's Day.  I mean, I like wearing pink all of the time, but especially for this holiday!

What are your Valentine's Day plans and what are you going to do?  We hope you'll link-up your look next Monday and tag us on Instagram (#create28winterlooks).

Don't forget to stop-by tomorrow because my awesome blogging friend, Kate, will be putting together another Valentine's Day-worthy outfit of red and pink!

What I'm Wearing:

Blouse: Express (exact)

Sweater: LOFT (exact)

Necklace: c/o Rocks Box (similar)

Jeans: American Eagle (exact)

Flats: DSW (similar)

Now we want to see what you've been wearing and doing for the past week!

Another Monday + Link-Up

Well, it's Monday again, friends!  I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels like Thanksgiving weekend just flew by!  I had lofty goals of checking-off to-do lists, spending quality time with loved ones and passing much of the time lounging about.  Do I feel like I got enough of any one of these things?  Of course not!

Why is it that time seems to fly the fastest around the holidays?  This is my absolute favorite time of the year and I wish that the clock would quit spinning so that I could truly enjoy what this season has to offer.

But here we are, back to the daily grind.  In honor of that daily grind, I'm featuring a pretty typical teaching outfit for me!

To me, the key to a good teaching outfit is comfort and fit!  When you are at the front of a classroom, you have about thirty pairs of eyes on you at any given time.  It's super important to not be tugging at your clothes or worried that something isn't covered-up properly.

Cute colored pants and a top with a bit of detailing are easy pieces to mix and match for a put-together teaching look.

My final "must have" for a day of teaching is a warm layer.  I teach in an old building with really inconsistent heat so my denim jacket goes on and off several times a day depending on the temperature.

What does a typical work outfit look like for you?

What I'm Wearing:

Top: J.Crew Factory (similar, similar)

Pants: c/o Stick Fix (similar, similar)

Denim Jacket: hand-me-down (similar)

Flats: DSW (similar)

Time to link up!

Create28: Jewel Tones

Regardless of what Pantone says, jewel tones will always be the colors that most make me think of fall!  Isn't there something about the leaves changing colors and a crisp breeze blowing that makes you want to wrap up in deep emeralds, vibrant rubies and bold golds?!

As soon as I learned that I would be featuring a look for Create28: Jewel Tones, I knew that I wanted to wear my new emerald dress from Old Navy.  This dress is absolute perfection!  It's a flattering fit and flare style, a bold beautiful color and it's striped!  The dress is unfortunately sold out online but perhaps you can still find it (and the other fun colors it comes in) in stores!

When I started styling this ensemble, I added the amethyst cardigan but something was missing.  Two hues just weren't enough for a post devoted entirely to jewel tones.  But how to add another?  I'd seen mannequins wearing layered sweaters before but had never tried it myself.  Don't they get too hot?!  I suppose not because they're mannequins-- but could this look work in real life?  Yes it can!  Neither cardigan is super heavy and the multiple layers up top were balanced by bare legs on bottom.  And I think the second cardigan provided the perfect pop of gold to complete my jewel toned outfit!

Instead of the car messing up my shot, can we just say that I added ruby to the mix?

Let's see those beautiful jewel tones on Instagram (#Create28FallLooks) and please come back to visit Casey tomorrow as she shows us how to style a cozy blanket scarf-- one of my fall favorites!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Mustard Cardigan: Target (similar)

Purple Cardigan: Old Navy (similar)

Flats: DSW (exact)