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

Common Threads Challenge: Week 1

We are already one week into the Common Threads Challenge!  You know, the style challenge where you choose five pieces to incorporate into each and every outfit you wear during the month of October?

I'm having so much fun with this series!  It's getting my creative juices flowing without being too much to handle for this tired teacher brain.  Granted, it is only the beginning, there is a chance that I will begin to struggle towards the end of the month.

But I'm trying to plan in advance so that won't happen.  I have a list of outfits I've already created in my head that I can pull from as the month progresses.  As I'm making this list, I'm making sure that each of my five pieces are represented equally.  I've also started a Pinterest board where I'm pinning looks that are easily replicated with my five items and other pieces from my closet.

The only thing I'm struggling with are my days off when I wouldn't necessarily get dressed.  Admittedly, on day one (October 1st), I ran a 5k and then spend the rest of the day moving in a sweaty t-shirt and shorts.  And today?  Today (as in the day I'm writing this) has been the first day I've spent resting at home since July (I'm not exaggerating) so I'm shamelessly still wearing my pajamas.  I do have outfits planned for these days so I plan to feature my unworn outfits at the end of the month and vow to wear them in November so that I can say that I fully participated in this challenge!

How are you doing?  Are you finding this to be easy or a bit tricky?  Are you having fun being creative with your wardrobe or wish you wouldn't have committed to this challenge?  Please share your ups and downs with us on our Facebook support page.  We're also having fun sharing some of our daily outfits over there!

Now that I've gotten the words out of the way, here are my looks from the first week of the challenge:

October 2nd featuring my Olive Skirt: It's still pretty warm in my neck of the woods but I love that I was able to channel some fall with some autumn hues in this outfit.  And it was fun to put this skirt back into rotation since it's been so long since I've worn it.  Why did it get shoved into the back of my closet again??

October 3rd featuring my Ankle Boots: The jury is out on this look.  While I liked the idea of a pretty dress with these ankle boots, I don't think the combination is quite right.  But a really stylish girl I met in the bathroom of a restaurant told me she loved my outfit.  So maybe it works?  In any case, experimenting is a part of this challenge so I'm glad I tried the outfit!

October 4th featuring my Tunic: I'm finding this challenge is helping me to use lots of pieces I haven't worn lately beyond my chosen five.  This vest and pair of ankle boots used to be fall staples so I'm excited to be using them again this fall.

October 5th featuring my Mustard Cardigan: This is my favorite outfit of the challenge so far and it was so simple to put together!  Comfy dress + favorite cardigan + scarf = how can you go wrong?

 October 6th featuring my Skinny Jeans: I'm a teacher so most Fridays you'll find me wearing jeans and a school shirt.  Although this particular Friday, I attended a football game at my high school!  Yep, this sweatshirt is over a decade old!

October 7th featuring my Mustard Cardigan: My whole family convened in my hometown this weekend for a number of events including family photos.  It's a good thing the decided-upon color combination for the shoot was mustard, burgundy and grey!  Mustard cardigan for the win!

October 8th featuring my Mustard Cardigan: And to round out the weekend of festivities, my nephew was baptized on Sunday morning.  This cardigan is the only one of my pieces that works for really dressy occasions so I wore it two days in a row.  Luckily, cardigans are such a basic staple piece that no one seemed to notice!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you'll join us as we continue this really fun challenge!  If you're already playing along, make sure to link-up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Travel Capsule: Summertime in Europe- Outfits Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen

Wow, friends!  We've made it to the last post in my Travel Capsule: Summertime in Europe series!  Even though I took most of these pictures on my trip and had them ready to post, I've definitely struggled a bit to stay on top of this series.  Life can be so crazy sometimes!  Mine has been crazy in a good way lately but blogging has been hard to squeeze in.

Before we get to the last three, err two outfits (more on that later), let's recap what's happened so far:

Introduction and Outfits 1-3
Outfits 4-6
Outfits 7-9
Outfits 10-12

Outfit Thirteen

I think these pictures win the "best backdrop" award of the trip, don't you?  They were taken at the Magic Gardens in Philadelphia.  If you've never been, I highly recommend a visit!  And while we're on the topic of bests, I think this skirt is the best new purchase I made for this capsule.  I used mostly pieces that were already in my closet with a few new additions during my trip.  This skirt was so comfortable, feminine and easy to pair with my various tops!

Outfit Fourteen

You may notice that this background is decidedly less exciting.  Yep, this is real life!  My friend took this picture in her classroom yesterday morning.  I did wear this outfit when my boyfriend and I visited Niagara Falls.  But between the waterfalls and the rain, I was absolutely soaked before I had the chance to take pictures.  So here we are!

Outfit Fifteen or Lack There Of

Which brings me to my last outfit of the capsule...that I do not have pictures of.  I was so good at taking pictures throughout my two and a half week trip but it was a tad exhausting.  And once I ruined my streak in Niagara, I just couldn't bring myself to take pictures of the last outfit I wore while riding home to Michigan.  Plus I didn't even put make-up on or do my hair for the five hours spent in the car.  But there was an outfit fifteen!  It consisted of black leggings, the patterned shirt from outfit four and my Adidas!

And there you have it!  Fifteen outfits made of fifteen pieces for a summertime trip to Europe and the East Coast of the United States!  I'm planning to write a final post with tips and tricks for creating your own travel capsule but, truth be told, I don't yet have a date picked out for this post.  So please continue to let me know if you have any questions or requests for that post!

Professional and a Lovely Little à la Mode Link-Up

Monday just seems like an appropriate day to talk about work-wear, don't you think?  Often I find that my best inspiration for teaching outfits comes at the beginning of the week when I'm fresh and energized.  Last week I showed you a typical school outfit for me.  Today I'm featuring a slightly more professional look.

Truth be told, a lot of "professional" clothing feels too straight-laced for teaching.  Other teachers may disagree but I just don't feel relatable to students when I'm wearing a pencil skirt.  And I'm less apt to be walking around the classroom, helping students when I'm wearing 3-inch pumps.

One way that I do like to spruce up my work-wear, however, is by adding a blazer.  Blazers provide that extra professional touch but I still feel comfortable doing my job.  Patterned blazers, in particular are a fun way to to up the professionalism!  Here are a bunch of patterned blazers that would be great additions to your professional wardrobe (I'm particular to the plaid ones, this time of year).

I wore this particular outfit for the first night of parent-teacher conferences.  My outfit had to take me from teaching by day to talking to parents all night.  I was comfortable and I felt put-together for a crazy, 12-hour day!

What I'm Wearing:

Blazer: Macy's 

Dress: Banana Republic Outlet (similar, similar)

Necklace: Peach Jewel (exact)

Watch: JORD

Tights: Nordstrom (exact)

Booties: DSW (exact)

Now it's time to link up!

Create28: Aztec Pattern

I think I might have a thing for blush pink Aztec print.  But seriously, what could be better than a cute print in my favorite color?  ...Especially when it comes in cozy pieces like that scarf and this over-sized cardigan!

Really though, is this called Aztec print, southwestern print (like I called it last year), or something else?  In any case, I love it and I had been on the hunt for big, chunky cardigan in this print for over a year.  It's one of those pieces that I would see on other girls but just couldn't find the perfect one for my closet.  But then I found SheIn with cute, trendy pieces for the right price and this cozy sweater was delivered to my doorstep!

I do want to be honest about my experience with Shein, though.  While I love this cardigan, I was a bit disappointed with the company.  I ordered three pieces and sent two back because they felt as cheap as they had cost.  On top of that, the return process seemed a bit shady and return shipping wasn't free (a luxury that I have become used to).  I suppose you get what you pay for!

But let's get back to the outfit details!  My first inclination was to wear this cardigan over skinny jeans with a basic tee and flat booties.  But since Create28: Fall Looks is about pushing ourselves to be creative, I decided to try the chunky cardigan with a basic dress and all black except for my booties.  And I love the way the look turned-out...although I'm already looking forward to that cardigan and skinny jean combination!

You guys, we are almost done with another month of Create28!  Can you believe it?  I'm loving the looks that you are posting on Instagram (#Create28FallLooks) and I'm looking forward to another Monday link-up tomorrow where Carrie, Casey and I will each be featuring a "Pinned It and Did It" look!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: Old Navy (similar)

Cardigan: SheIn (similar, similar)

Necklace: LOFT (similar, similar)

Tights: Target (similar)

Booties: Old Navy (similar)

September Wedding

It seems relatively easy to think of a pretty outfit to wear as a guest during "wedding season."  You know, June through August when it seems like you have a wedding to attend almost every weekend.  Just throw on your prettiest sundress and your strappiest sandals and you are ready to go!

Now fall weddings, that's another story entirely...especially in September!  First of all, there is the weather to contend with.  The temperatures could soar into the 80s or dip into the 60s (here in Michigan at least).  And weather aside, I know that I'm ready to look a bit more ready for fall.  So what's a girl to do?!

It's a good thing my friend Ada of Elegance and Mommyhood invited me to collaborate with her and two other lovely bloggers to feature our favorite fall-transition wedding guest looks!

So what's my answer to the September wedding-wear conundrum?  Two things: light, pretty layers and fall colors!  I know I've discussed my trouble with kimonos before, but I do love this one!  Not to mention its floral print gives it a feminine and romantic vibe-- exactly what I'm going for at a wedding.  On the practical side, it provides a bit of extra warmth on a chill almost fall evening but can be easily removed for a night on the dance floor!

Using the quintessential little black dress as a foundation, I've added elements in colors that make me think of fall!  Vibrant orange heels and floral print plus a deep green clutch take this basic dress into the cooler months.

And did you notice that my clutch speaks French?  Le Tote sure knew the way to my heart with this one!

And now let's take a look at how Ada, Carrie and Jennie dressed-up for a September Wedding!  Make sure to stop by their blogs to read about their beautiful choices!

Looks like I missed the pink memo!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: Banana Republic Outlet (similar, similar)

Kimono: Ruche (similar, similar)

Heels: DSW (similar, similar)

Clutch: Le Tote (exact)

Where I'm linking-up!

Blogging Besties

Happy Friday, loves!  I am so excited to introduce you to a new series and collaboration that I will be doing with one of my best blogging buddies, Alex, from Undergraduate Style!

If you are a regular reader of personal style blogs, you may have heard of a "take one, pass it on" challenge.  During a typical run of this challenge, I would start by putting together and wearing an outfit.  The next day, I would take one element from the first outfit and wear it in my second outfit.  The third day, I then take a different element from the second outfit and wear it with my third.  I would follow this pattern until the end of the challenge.

(original post, original post, original post)

Here is an example of what this might look like.  You will notice that I took the dress from the first outfit to wear in the second.  From the second ensemble, I took the belt to wear in the third photo.

Got it?  Good!  And now for the twist!  Alex and I are going to do this together!  I'm kicking-off the challenge today and then next week you will see which element of my outfit Alex is passing-on.  The following Friday it will be my turn again (and so on and so forth).  Obviously Alex and I don't own the exact same wardrobes so we will be doing this challenge with items that are as similar as possible.

Without further ado, here is the first look of the series!

The basic elements of this ensemble are my beloved denim vest, a simple black dress, a long pendant necklace and flat cognac sandals.  Alright Alex, let's see what you've got!

Don't forget to check back next Friday for Alex's first installment of this series!

What I'm Wearing:

Dress: ASOS (similar, similar)

Denim Vest: Old Navy (similar, similar)

Necklace: Gift (similar, similar)

Sandals: Target (exact)

Linking-Up:

Rachel the Hat and Lena B Actually- Passion 4 Fashion

Simply Sequins- Fashion Item Friday

Style Elixir- Friday's Fab Faves

Vodka Infused Lemonade- Très Chic Fashion Thursday

Work Clothes, I Suppose- Third Thursday Threads

Back to School Butterflies

On the first day of school every year while I was growing up, my mom would take a picture of me in my carefully chosen "first day of school outfit."  I would pose by the front door, my hand on the knob, wearing my shiny shoes and a new backpack.

All these years later and now as a teacher, I still get butterflies on the first day of school and I still pick-out that perfect outfit!

This one is for you, Mom!

What I'm Wearing:

• Dress: Banana Republic Outlet (similar, similar)
• Belt: Charming Charlie (similar, similar)
• Shoes:  Ummm, a big department store? (similar, similar)