Favorite Tee

Today I'm linking-up with The Blended Blog for our weekly style post and the theme du jour is favorite tees.  I had trouble narrowing-down this topic because I have so many different kinds of favorite tees: graphic tees, comfy bum-around-the-house tees, Michigan State tees...the list goes on!

But when it comes to actually getting dressed (and I'm not talking about leggings and my latest 5k t-shirt), my favorite kinds of tees are easy to throw-on but have a little something special happening.  Take this top, for example.  The neutral color makes it simple to pair and it is so comfortable!  But the little twist at the bottom makes it look like I put in some effort when I really didn't, perfect!

I received this top in my spring Trunk Club (review here).  It comes in several different colors (I think I need that pink one) and has a great weight to it.  If you're looking for a basic piece but elevated, this is it!

And while we're on the topic of Trunk Club, my stylist sent this adorable pair of mules that I receive so many compliments on every time I wear them!  Seriously, get yourself a pair!

And while I'm being so bossy, make sure you link-up your favorite look this week below!

What I'm Wearing:
Top: Nordstrom (exact)
Necklace: Gift (similar)
Purse: Old Navy (exact)
Jeans: American Eagle (exact)
Mules: Nordstrom (exact)

Create28: Mixing Textures

One of my favorite things about winter clothing is soft, cozy textures!  And why wear just one when you can wear a couple at a time?  Mixing textures is an easy way to add interest to an outfit if you don't want to add more color or patterns.

My favorite texture to work with is lace but I decided to do something a little bit differently today.  It is, after all, Create28 where we put together 28 new outfits with what we have in our closets!

Here I've mixed the cable knit in the sweater with the flannel in the skirt.  Yes, the skirt is made of flannel and it has an elastic waistband.  Can you say hello pajamas in skirt form!?  It's difficult to see in the photos but my flats are quilted, adding a third texture to the mix.

The colors are subdued and there aren't a lot of patterns going on, but the textures make this outfit more interesting than just the basics.  By the way, I'm sorry about the poor quality of the pictures.  This is what a real teacher looks like at the end of the day: a little wrinkled with faded make-up but still standing and (kind of) smiling!

What I'm Wearing:

Sweater: LOFT (exact)

Necklace: Chewable Charms (exact)

Skirt: LOFT (similar, similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar)

Flats: Lindsay Phillips (similar)

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!

My Take on the GYPO Fall Challenge + Link-Up

With a blanket of snow covering the ground here in Michigan, I think it's time to recap my experience with the Get Your Pretty On Fall Challenge so that I can move on to winter style!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Get Your Pretty On challenges, I'll start with the basics.  Each seasonal challenge costs around $50.  Upon signing-up, you receive a shopping list of both classic and trendy items that comprise a capsule wardrobe.  You purchase the items according to your own budget or find the pieces (or similar ones) already hanging in your closet.  Once the trial begins, you receive daily outfit formulas featuring the items from the list.  You get twenty-some outfits that are ready-to-wear!

What I liked:

I really love this challenge in theory.  I love the idea of remixable pieces.  I love pairing classic and trendy looks.  I love the hunt for all of the items on the list according to my budget.  And I especially love having cute outfits already planned for me (that way, getting dressed for school at 5:30 in the morning doesn't feel so daunting).

What I didn't like:

But like I said, I love the challenge in theory.  In execution, it just didn't work for me.  For one, sometimes the "outfit of the day" didn't work for what I had planned.  I just can't wear distressed boyfriend jeans to work on a Tuesday.  I ended-up using the outfit ideas out of order to fit with my plans but, for me, this created more work than just choosing an outfit from my closet.  I would spend my evening combing through all of the outfit combinations to find one that would fit my needs.  The next struggle was in making sure that all of the pieces I needed for that outfit were actually clean.

The other trouble I encountered was with the clothing items that I substituted.  For example, I couldn't find the grey cable knit sweater on the shopping list so I substituted the recommended neutral sweater that I already had in my closet.  I just didn't like my outfits featuring substituted pieces as well as I would have if I had purchased the actual recommended items.  This makes me feel like I want to buy each specific piece on the lists in the future...which just isn't compatible with my teacher budget.

In Summary:

I know that lots of women love these challenges so I'm in no way trying to portray it in a negative light, I just want to be honest about my experience.  And even though I found the program to be more difficult than I expected, I did find myself in the middle of a great Facebook community of women who were participating as well.  Everyone in the group was super encouraging and supportive.

All of that being said, I will not be participating in the Winter Challenge.  I'm hopeful that I can try another one in the future but I just don't have the money or time to give this next one a go.

The Outfits:

And finally, here are two outfits that I created based on the prompts from the Fall Challenge.

This was one of my favorite outfits that I created from the daily prompts.  I really enjoyed the color pairing that I wouldn't necessary have thought of myself.

And this is an outfit that I didn't necessarily dislike but I would have liked it better if I had the grey cable knit sweater with a white shirt underneath.

What I'm Wearing:

Scarf: Target (similar, similar)

Pink Shirt: Old Navy (exact)

Red Pants: c/o Stitch Fix (similar, similar)

Gold Flats: DSW (similar)

Camel Sweater: J.Crew Factory (similar)

Pearl Necklace: Amazon (exact)

Black Jeans: Zara (similar, similar)

Leopard Flats: LOFT (similar, similar)

And now it's time for the Lovely Little à la Mode Link-Up!