Le Bon Macaron

You know those days that are just good for your soul?  The days where the simple pleasures show you just how beautiful life is?  I had one of those days back in January and I'm just now getting the chance to post about it!

On a lovely day off from school, my best friend and I took a day trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan.  We started the day at the cutest coffee and macaron shop, Le Bon Macaron, the site of this photo shoot.  After coffee and sweets, we shopped all afternoon and then had dinner and drinks at Brewery Vivant. Amidst our busy lives, it was just so nice to be able to spend a day together doing fun things and experiencing some great places that Michigan has to offer!

For our date, I wore an outfit I loved!  Plenty of color, a whimsical print and classic lines are features that feel very me.  Evidently, my favorite kind of outfit is sort of reminiscent of a bunch of macarons!

So thank you, my beautiful friend of the past decade, Nicole, for being with me through thick and thin (and for taking these pictures)!  I can't wait for our next day together!

Blogging Besties: Patriotic Superhero

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 Selah featured a great casual look for fall and had a little bit of fun with her son's Halloween costume (not pictured here).  She gave me the following prompts for this week: plaid, patriotic, menswear, or dress like a superhero!

I incorporated a bit of patriotism and a nod to my favorite hero, my brother-in-law, in my outfit today!  You might be thinking, "But she's not wearing red, white and blue or a mask of any sort!"  What I am wearing is the shirt I bought at West Point Military Academy while visiting Brad when he was a student there.

Regardless of your political opinion (and most of us have lots of those these days), I strongly believe that we should support the men and women who risk their lives to defend the values of our country.  

I would like to thank Bradford as well as anyone who has served in the military, past or present, for your courage, heart and commitment to our nation!

Love you, brother!

Here are Alex's prompts for next week: a college shirt, shades of grey, or something that reminds you of your brother!

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: Rose Quartz February

Good morning, lovelies!  I'm back today with my second post about how to wear Rose Quartz, one of Pantone's colors of the year, all year long!  Here's how I wore this pretty shade of pink in January!

To me, February is the month of romance!  I know that Valentine's Day is only one day out of the month but all 28, err 29 days have me thinking pink, flowers, chocolate and love!  And in my opinion, nothing is more romantic than a blush pink, lace dress!  And there are lots of these lovely dresses from which to choose.

Since it's a little too chilly for just a romantic dress, my trusty denim jacket  (I've been wearing this hand-me-down for a decade, maybe it's time for an upgrade?), grey tights, cozy socks and booties create a look fit for the February weather.

So this month, use Rose Quartz to create an outfit with a romantic, feminine vibe!  And let's see your version of Rose Quartz at our weekly link-up on Monday or on Instagram (#create28winterlooks)!

Monthly Rose Quartz Series

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: Hand-me-down (similar, similar)

Tassel Necklace: Raw Sugar Sunday (exact)

Jacket: Hand-me-down (similar)

Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)

Socks: Gift (similar, similar)

Booties: Kohl's (similar)

Where I'm linking-up!

Fall Twist

Happy Monday and Happy Veteran's Day!  Thank you to all who have served and to those who are currently serving to make the United States a safe place to live and to pursue happiness.

It's that time of the week again!  Time for another Remix, Rewear, Restyle challenge at Greater Than Rubies.  This week we are featuring a fall twist on a favorite summer look!

I originally purchased this navy, eyelet dress last spring for my sister's bridal shower.  A few months later it was a cute and easy dress to throw-on when the temperatures rose.  The navy color and the structure of the dress made for a good basic layer.  However the eyelet hem and the texture of the dress added some interest.

Here is a typical way in which I wore the dress this summer.  It was way too hot to add a scarf or cardigan.  However, a leopard print belt added pizzazz and worked nicely with my comfy cognac sandals.

I think that the remixing possibilities of this dress are vast but here is one way that it works for cooler weather.  Grey is a favorite neutral of mine and a grey tights and boot combination is comfortable and warm.  A striped cardigan and a chunky yellow scarf add more details and extra protection against the chill!

What I'm Wearing:

• Dress: Francesca's (similar, similar)
• Leopard Belt: Charming Charlie (similar, similar)
• Sandals: Target (exact)
• Striped Cardi: LOFT Outlet (similar, similar)
• Scarf: Lou Lou (similar, similar)
• Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)
• Boots: DSW (similar, similar)

Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Dress Edition

It has been quite some time since my last Fall Capsule Wardrobe Remix post but I haven't given-up!  In fact, I'm still going strong and have lots of fun ideas for remixing my 20 pieces of clothing into 30 different fall-friendly outfits!  Make sure you head over to Caitlin's blog, Greater Than Rubies, to check-out remixes created by some other fabulous, fashionable ladies! 

In remixing my 20 pieces, it was easiest for me to pick one item (like my MSU sweatshirt in this post) and to create a bunch of different outfits around that one piece of clothing.  For this post, I decided to focus on a dress that I bought from Dressbarn.  Now, Dressbarn is my hidden gem for cute, affordable clothes.  Admittedly, lots of things there aren't really my style, but if I spend a little time looking, I usually find something wonderful...like this dress!

I love this outfit so much, that I've worn it twice already this fall!  It is perfect for comfy weekend outings as well as for work!  I love these green tights but sometimes feel unsure about what to wear them with...particularly when it comes to shoes.  I think they work with the cognac moccasins.  What do you think?  What shoes do you usually wear with colored tights (I'm really looking for advice here)?

I've noticed that booties and tassel necklaces are pretty trendy this fall.  Adding a couple of fun accessories can really spice-up a simple dress!  I can very easily add tights and a cardigan or blazer to this creation when the weather turns chillier!  Do you think my green tights will work here, too?

The dress code at the high school where I teach is professional yet relatively casual.  Any of the outfits in this post are dress code appropriate for me.  This one is even a little more professional than I usually dress, but is perfect for the days when I want to step-up my game a little bit!

I love that when I wear differently colored accessories, different colors in the dress pop!  It makes me feel like I'm wearing a totally new dress!  Multi-colored dresses lend themselves to so many different remixing possibilities.

This last dress ensemble is perfect for a chilly, sleepy weekday morning when all I want to do is crawl back into bed...but I have to go to work!  Muted accessories and a chunky cardigan just scream comfort to me.  This outfit plus a cup of coffee and I'm ready to go!

Take a peek at my other Fall Capsule Wardrobe posts and stay tuned for the rest of my autumn remixes!

Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Skirt Edition

Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Go Green Edition

What I'm Wearing:

• Dress: Dressbarn (similar, similar)

• Jean Jacket: Hand-me-down (similar, similar)
• Initial Necklace: Simply Charming Boutique (similar, similar)
• Tights: France (similar, similar)
• Mocassins: Target (exact)

• Tassel Necklace: LOFT (exact)
• Booties: Target (exact)

• Blazer: Anthropologie (exact)
• Necklace: Lia Sophia (similar, similar)
• Heels: DSW (similar, similar)

• Cardigan: Kohl's (similar, similar)
• Belt: Charming Charlie (similar, similar)
• Flats: Hand-me-down (similar, similar)

• Grey Cardigan: Ann Taylor Outlet (similar, similar)
• Tights: Anthropologie (similar, similar)
• Boots: DSW (similar, similar)