Flock Together: Sans Comic

I'm posting over on Flock Together today, so head over there to read more about my love affair with Lisa's blue skirt and my Marvel comic strip tank. I put together a look involving a feminine skirt, a comic book cropped tank top, a moto jacket, and sandals — and I think I somehow managed to make it work. See you there!

Skirt: Borrowed from Lisa

Marvel tank: Forever 21

Jacket: Dry Goods

Sandals: UO

Belt: Thrifted

Wishlist: Graduation

I decided that I'm going to start sharing wishlists for specific occasions, and I couldn't think of a better way to start than with graduation right around the corner. Thanks to a wonderful Flock Together girl, I already know what I'll be wearing, but it hasn't stopped me from looking at other pretty options online. My graduation isn't too formal, and I can't afford most of the things on this list, but a girl can dream. To say that I'm clumsy would be an understatement, so I also picked out some gorgeous flats and short wedges to go with them. Is it weird that I almost want to graduate twice so I can wear my outfit that I have planned and get one of these?

Full Disclosure: In case you haven't noticed, I have started using to Reward Style. What this means is that any time you click on an item I post and buy something from that website, I'll receive a small commission. However, I ONLY post items that I actually like, and they are not sponsored links in any way (no one asked me to post this). I use for two reasons: 1. It's a prettier, more appealing way to share items with you and 2. Yes, I could use the extra money. I don't blog for the money, but I do put a lot of time into it. If I'm going to be working at unpaid internships this summer as it looks like, any extra money will help me continue to to blog.

So, What's New?

I have so many exciting things to talk about today that I almost don't know where to start. I suppose it makes sense to begin with the most obvious. As I'm sure you've noticed by now, I have a brand new blog design, and I'm smitten with it to say the least. I loved the banner that my sister-in-law, Elyse, made for me and the layout that Joyce designed, but I had used them both for a while and they felt like they very much represented "college Elana" through blogging. They were both perfect for that part of my life, but as I gear up for the real world, I really wanted something that felt like "post-grad Elana." I couldn't afford most custom-made ones, so I brought it up to Jessica of Midwest Muse to see if she was interested in helping me. Jessica is one of my very best blogging friends (though let's be real, we're definitely friends beyond blogging at this point), and we email each other all the time. I've always loved her blog designs, and the clean, minimalist look her blog has is exactly what I had in mind. Because she's the best, she agreed and created this gorgeous layout in what felt like no time. It's perfect, and Jessica is seriously the nicest person for making it and installing it for me. I'm trying to convince her that she should turn this into a side business because she's so talented, so if you like what you see, head over to her blog and contact her. She's incredible. 

Speaking of incredible, I am still in awe over how great my friends are. Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me as it was my last official day as editor-in-chief of my university's newspaper before the new staff takes over for the next issue. I'll still check in on them next week, but it was still hard to leave yesterday. It's kind of difficult to put into words how much of an impact the Courier and the people in it have made on my life. Words escape me when trying to describe how fortunate I am to have gotten this experience and to have gotten to work with all of my best friends. I started working as a writer my freshman year, became entertainment editor a year later, and became editor-in-chief a year after that. I couldn't begin to count the amount of hours I've spent there, and it truly shaped my college experience. 

Knowing that, you can imagine how touched I was when my friends/co-workers planned just the simplest of surprises for me yesterday. Every work day, Mary and I have a routine of stepping out of the office for a little bit to take outfit pictures and then grab food to bring back. This time, she made up something about how we should take pictures after getting food, and when we came back to the office, everyone was standing outside waiting for us. I had mentioned recently that I wanted to make sure I got pictures with everyone before I left, so Mary had gotten all of them to dress up and had planned a photo shoot. We took a bunch of group shots, and then they all took individual pictures with me. So if you're friends with me on Facebook, I apologize for possibly blowing up your news feed with pictures of me yesterday. It was just ridiculously sweet and perfect way to spend my last day.

As Vest as I Can

Let's just talk about this vest, shall we? This is what I bought while in Quincy over the weekend, and it's one of those pieces that just looks like I should have already owned it. I've been wanting a utility vest like this for a while now, so when Old Navy was having 30 percent off, I couldn't resist. I kind of just want to pair it with everything. There's always something so appealing about a tougher piece paired with feminine clothing. Of course, this is nothing new for me, but I'll continue to talk about how much I love it for as long as I please. I also love the simplicity of this black dress with it. Weirdly enough, I've had multiple people look at my outfits and say, "Aren't you happy that it's finally dress weather?" To which I've replied, "It's always dress weather."

Other than the usual lack of sleep and preparing for graduation, nothing much is new. I'm starting to address grad announcements to send out, so there's that. I'm also starting to go through my room (and closet) and figure out what things to get rid of so there's less to ship. Basically, my life is incredibly exciting. One of these days, I promise I won't write a post late at night after work when I'm delirious, and I'll actually write something interesting and thought-provoking. One of these days.

Blossoms

Easter weekend is always kind of strange for me. Since most people on campus are actually from Illinois, unlike me, a majority of the student body goes home and my school becomes a ghost town. On one hand, as someone who just generally doesn't like most college students (we can all agree that most people my age are obnoxious), it's nice to have a little peace and quiet. On the other hand, being thousands of miles away from Califonia, I don't even have the option of going home. Even though I'll be back there indefinitely in three weeks (holy crap), it's still difficult to not get just a little homesick. Fortunately, most of my friends were still in town on Friday night, so I wasn't completely alone and had people to hang out with.

On Saturday, Mary and I were left as two of the only people still here, so we decided to get out of town for the afternoon. We went to Quincy, a town about an hour away. Quincy is certainly not the most exciting place in the world, but it has Starbucks, Panera, and TJ Maxx — basic luxuries not found in the town I live in.We did a little bit of shopping (mistake), and explored downtown a little bit to take some outfit pictures. I'm in love with this set, which is why there are so many in this post. It finally looks like spring is here to stay, so I felt like polka dots, mint, and sandals were appropriate. I was also slightly obsessed with these trees, and I decided to include a few of Mary's photos of them as well. What am I ever going to do with Mary and her photography when I move? Actually, I don't want to talk about it. 

Things That Caught My Eye #42

This African print skirt from De-Mes'Tiks New York is such a gorgeous piece.

One Cool Katz

Will there ever be a time when the cat dress isn't appropriate? I just don't think I'll ever get enough of it. I don't even care that a ton of bloggers have it and that it's not even unique at this point; I love it. Of course, the Katz pun never gets old either. Spring is still hit or miss around here, so I ended up layering it on Wednesday. It was 30 degrees and snowing one day, rainy the next, extremely windy the day I took these photos (which explains my hair), above 50 degrees yesterday, and it's supposed to be in the 70s this weekend. Spring in Illinois is so much fun. Each day is a new surprise. 

As for real life things, I'm still just winding down the semester. We're training all of the new people at work, and I'm slowly starting to turn over responsibilities to the new editor-in-chief. It's weird, in a good way. I've also been trying to spend as much time as possible with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and nephew here. My youngest niece, Hattie, is getting so close to crawling, and it's adorable.

 I know that I write a lot about starting the transition from college student to real adult, but would anyone be interested in some personal/lifestyle posts about it? I have to do a project for class about what I wish I had known as a freshman, and I'm thinking about turning it into a blog post. I really just look for any excuse to ramble about my life

What's Old is New

I've been trying my best not to shop at the moment. I haven't bought anything since spring break, and I even passed on Modcloth's stylish surprises, which I never do. In an effort to actually have some self control this time, I've been digging into my closet, pulling out items I haven't worn in a while, and trying to put things together in new ways. I actually wear this dress much more than it appears on the blog (I actually think I've only taken pictures in it once), yet somehow this is the first time I've worn it as a skirt. It has such an interesting pattern though, so I think it really livens up an outfit. To be honest, the only reason why I haven't worn this button down in forever is because it's been wrinkled, and I've been too lazy to iron it. I'd like to not admit how often that happens with clothes I own. And to top off an outfit full of rarely seen items, I decided it was time to bring this Hello Cheeseburger necklace out again. It's gorgeous, but it's sometimes a little too much for class. I decided to hell with it yesterday and figured that even days filled with nothing but class and work are deserving statement necklaces.

I'm really excited about today's non-outfit news, but I don't think I can go into too much detail yet. I've been lamenting about my struggles with the job market, but remember how I said that hopefully one week I would just hear back from a ton of places? Somehow that joke turned into a reality, and as of Monday, I lined up four interviews. They're all with unpaid internships, which isn't exactly ideal, but I do need to get internship credit for college. Plus, with the job market so terrible, I don't think it's a bad idea to start off with an internship (or two) and hope that I prove to be so much of an asset that I get hired on at the end of summer. I had one interview that went extremely well yesterday, and I'm particularly excited about at least one more of them. They're all fashion/media related, so I can't wait to share whichever one I end up with. Look, Ma. I'm finally maybe going places.

Homebody

I wasn't lying when I said that I wanted to start pattern mixing more. I've always had a fairly simple/classic style, but something about spring makes me want to experiment a little bit more. When the sun's shining and everyone starts to come out of hibernation (everyone should witness a college town in the Midwest on the first days of spring), it's only natural to feel the need to have a little bit more fun with clothing. I don't see myself ever getting too crazy, but I can handle some fruit and florals together. This Modcloth dress is one of my favorite items that I own, and I'm surprised that it's taken me this long to wear it as a top. I actually always forget that I own both this skirt and this sweater, but they're two fantastic thrifted finds. If this isn't the time for floral skirts, light sweaters, and fruit printed items, then I don't know when is.

I didn't do too much this weekend, which I could not be happier about. I started get sick at the end of last week, and while I'll admit that I'm a giant baby about it, it did give me a good excuse to stay in and catch up on sleep. I had a hot date with NyQuil on Friday, and I begged my friends to give us some alone time. I ended up having a mini impromptu poker night with them on Saturday, but when it came time for everyone to head to the bar, I wasn't feeling up for it. Fortunately, Jenn was in town again, and we had a wild night of McDonald's and "girl talk." I've always considered myself a homebody, but I've gotten coerced into going out pretty regularly this past year. It's been nice to be social for once (within my group of friends, that is. I'm still terrible at meeting new people), but I never underestimate the value of a night in. I don't know about you guys, but someone told me that being lame is the new cool. Okay, it was me. I told myself that. I stand by it. 

Mix-Up

Wednesday was a good outfit day — and a good day in general. Sure, spring hasn't been too reliable so far, but the moment I looked outside on Wednesday, I knew I could bare leg it (it's a verb now). I've been feeling the need to bust out the blazer/polka dot skirt combo ever since Nicole from Writes Like a Girl's flawless post, and while I don't look nearly as awesome as she does, it's still a no-fail combination. I decided to actually do some print mixing for once and paired it with stripes. I think I need to start print mixing more often because I always like the results. Classic and slightly playful? I think yes.

If there's one thing that's the most frustrating about moving in a month, it's that my friends and family here in Illinois have gotten particularly good at playing the "You know, you aren't going to get to spend time with us anymore soon" card a little too often. It partially bothers me because it works every time, but it's mostly because I started using that on all of them first, and they've gotten much better at it than me. I'm already getting so emotional about leaving, that it's pretty much possibly to guilt me into doing anything these days. That's how I ended up out to dinner and at a bar for an open mic on a Wednesday night instead of doing homework and having my regularly scheduled Netflix date. I'm not going to get any sleep at all for the next month, am I?

Checking Out

Things have been pretty hectic lately. Between dealing with controversial stories at the newspaper, giant tests and projects due, and trying to figure out my life in general, it's just been one of those weeks. The thing is though, I'm ready to check out. Senioritis is fully present, and I'm just ready to be done. There's still a big control freak in me that isn't OK with giving up the paper just yet, but for the most, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm looking forward to handing over the reigns to someone else. I absolutely love my job (to an almost unhealthy extent), but after four years of working at the paper, with a year and half of those as editor-in-chief, I could use a break. It's going to be nice to hand over the chaos (though wonderful) to someone else for the last week or so. 

So, while we're pretending like I don't just use this blog as an excuse to vent about trivial things/my exhaustion as a college student, let's talk clothes. You might remember that I borrowed this dress from Sammi via Flock Together not too long ago, but as if the dress gods themselves bestowed a gift upon me, I get to call this beauty my own now. A few months ago, Sammi borrowed a dress from me that she fell in love with. It was one that I rarely touched and looked far better on her than me, so half-jokingly said that I'd swap her that dress for this one since I hadn't stopped thinking about it. To my pleasant surprise, she was for it, and I can now live in this dress. I've probably worn it once a week or so since I've gotten it just because it's so easy to throw on and fits like a dream. Plus, that print is too adorable for words. Somehow I haven't gotten pictures in it again since the first time, so I think it was due. 

Also in these pictures: wind.

Welcome Back

I know this doesn't happen very often, but I honestly don't have much to say today. There's really not anything exciting going on in my life to talk about (not like that's ever stopped me from rambling) at the moment. It's just been class, work, hanging out with friends, repeat. I'm still gearing up for graduation and the real world, but what else is new? I got my cap and gown the other day, and I'm still applying for jobs and not hearing back from anywhere. Same old. I'm convinced that one of these days, I'm just going to hear back from a bunch of employers at once who all want to hire me on the spot. It's going to happen.

I wore this last week for class and coffee with friends, and while I wasn't crazy about this outfit at the time, it's growing on me. I haven't worn this scalloped dress in forever, mostly because it was traveling to and from Flock Together girls for most of last year. I loved all of the ways that styled it, but I saw it pop up in the blogosphere so much there for a while, that I wanted to wait until I showed it off again. Last week was apparently the time to re-introduce it to the world. Welcome back, dress. It's about time.

Things That Caught My Eye This Week #41

This typewriter skirt (or really, all of the skirts from Sandee Royalty) may or may not have just jumped to the very top of my clothing wishlist.