Witchy Vibes with Lindy Bop

Who's ready for Halloween? I'll be the first to admit that it's never been my favorite holiday, but this year I've really been getting in the spooky spirit more than usual. Because I've never been too into it, though, I don't have a ton of Halloween theme clothes, so when Lindy Bop (AKA one of my all-time favorite brands) contacted me about this green and black lacy number, I knew this was the perfect chance for a witchy look. It's not something I'd usually gravitate toward, so I wasn't sure how it would look on me, but I ended up LOVING it on. The lace overlay is gorgeous, and I felt incredibly confident in it all day. 

I knew I wanted a location to match for these photos, so my friend Whitney and I went to Rogers Gardens in Newport Beach. Rogers Gardens is an adorable plant nursery, and this year, they have a pop-up Hocus Pocus/Harry Potter shop. The shop was the coolest, but it was pretty small and dark so it ended up not being the best spot for photos like I had hoped. Luckily, they also had plenty of spots with pumpkins for sale, so I was still able to have the Halloween shoot of my dreams. 

That said...this dress would also be perfect for Christmas, wouldn't it? I can't wait to style it for the holidays this winter too!

Collar Game Changer

Hello, and welcome to my regularly scheduled "once every couple of weeks" post! Now that it finally is starting to feel like fall some days, I'm in full cardigan mode. Most importantly, though, I added a couple of collars from Magnus Clothing Co. to my collar collection, and I feel like they've really helped step up my wardrobe. I've been following Magnus on Instagram for a while, and I was so excited to see her launch the line recently. As a self-proclaimed collar obsessive, a line of detachable collars is a dream come true for me. I'm constantly putting my collared tops under my dresses, but having detachable collars is a total game changers. I have quite a few pieces that are too thin to wear shirts under, so it's seriously helpful to be able to just add a collar easily. This post is in no way sponsored, I just really love these collars. I got two, but I definitely plan on getting more. 

I wore this to go see my brother's new place on Saturday and work on a project with him that I'm super excited about. I can't wait to share more soon hopefully. The rest of my weekend was relaxed and filled with watching Bob's Burgers and going antiquing with Jon, which is pretty much my ideal weekend. Everything else is business as usual: working a ton, rewatching Futurama, and still thinking about Stranger Things. Things are boring around here, but in a good way. As usual.

Olive

It's kind of funny; I spent so long wearing darker and neutral colors, but now that I've been wearing so many brighter tones, I've actually been struggling with how to wear the less colorful items in my closet. Case in point: this olive Apricity dress. It's one of my absolute favorite pieces, but I hadn't been wearing it lately at all. I adore this olive green color, but for some reason, I had really been struggling with styling it. Suddenly, none of my cardigans or shoes seemed to go with it, and I was letting it collect dust. Despite the fact that's been 80-90 degrees every day, I decided that now that's it's "fall," it was the perfect excuse to put this dress to good use again. Turns out, this cardigan was made for it all along. Of course, it doesn't hurt to see it against one of my favorite colorful walls...

I wore this to go to my parents' house with Jon and my siblings last night, and it was great to be able to be there after the fires that happened last week. My parents live extremely close to wear the Orange County one was happening (where I grew up in Anaheim Hills), and they got evacuated for a day. They were fortunate enough to be safe and have no damage to their house, but many near them and far too many people in Northern California were not quite as lucky. While I'm extremely grateful that no one I know was hurt or lost their house, it definitely puts things into perspective.

Other than seeing my family, it was a pretty laid back weekend. Our friend, Greg, was in town from Washington for a wedding, and he stayed with us for a few days. I got to see some old friends when he had a little get together at a local bar, and it was nice spending some quality time with him before I dropped him off at the airport. He's technically Jon's best friend, but he and I have been close since high school as well, so I'm so happy that Jon and I share a place now that we can offer to our friends when they need somewhere to crash. I often hate that we still live in Orange County, but I have to admit, it works out pretty nicely that all of our friends who have moved away will always end up coming back to visit.

Self Love Club

I am so excited to share that I officially an ambassador for Heartman Clothes! I found Heartman through Instagram a little while ago, and I was immediately in love with the brand when I learned that they donate proceeds from all of their items to worthy organizations. I included Heartman in my Guide to Makers Who Donate Money, and I've been following along with them ever since. I don't usually enter ambassador searches, but I really love the shirts Heartman makes, so I decided to give it a shot. Turns out, the love was mutual! I'm pumped to get to be part of the team and share more with you all.

I had such a hard time choosing my first shirt, but I ultimately had to go with the Self Love Club tee. I feel passionately about all of the causes that Heartman donates to, but it felt appropriate to go with something that represents confidence, body image, and feminism. 10% of the proceeds goes to I AM THAT GIRL, an organization that helps girls with self-doubt and provides a safe space and honest conversation. I'm definitely guilty of thinking of "adult" issues when it comes to feminism (like the wage gap, abortion, etc.) that it gets easy to forget that feminism has to start early. You can read more about I AM THAT GIRL here and donate directly here. 

You can also get 15% off at Heartman Clothes with the code ELANA15. Get yourself a cute tee that does some good!

On-Trend Parisian

I am fully aware that this outfit is very un-creative, but I still love it. Despite the fact that I feel like I've seen a million different bloggers wearing essentially this same exact look, I hadn't worn this on the blog yet and I couldn't resist. This was actually my first time trying out the bandana scarf look, and I'm pretty pumped with how I managed to pull it off. Naturally, I couldn't help but look to blogger babes Devinne and Nicole for inspiration. Those two have been rocking the neck scarf since before it was trendy. In all honesty, I look to both of them for inspiration on a daily basis so if I can look even half as flawless as they do, I'm happy.

I took these photos with my friend Hanna again, and even though scheduling forced us to take them during the brightest point of the day, we still managed to get some great shots out of the afternoon. The Orange Circle is forever one of my favorite places in Orange County (you've surely seen me share photos taken in the area before), and the backdrop of Old Towne antique stores never fails. As for the rest of the weekend, my family got together on Saturday evening to celebrate my mom's birthday, and Jon and I stopped by our friend's apartment to hang out for a little bit after. We're trying to make exploring new places a regular thing, so we took a little drive to Laguna to visit Crystal Cove for a bit on Sunday. I complain about living in Orange County often, but the multitude of gorgeous beaches in the area is hard to dislike. Living 20 minutes away from my hometown isn't so bad when I live in a place like this. 

Button Down Dress + Floral Headband

Let's just get this out of the way. The lighting in these photos is awful. It was just one of those weekends where I ended up going outside to take pictures at the worst possible time and I was far too lazy to try and find better spots. This set was taken in Jon's backyard, which was about as far as we were willing to walk to take them. We ended up taking his dog on a walk around some surrounding neighborhoods, and we of course came across multiple spots perfect for taking photos while I was camera-less. Oops. The good news is that I now have more spots scouted for next time. I'm just thinking ahead.

I'm pretty stoked that it's July. Not only is it my birthday month, but I just have a ton planned. Jon and I are starting to look at apartments, and we have a San Diego tripped in a couple of weekends. We did, unfortunately, accidentally plan it for the same weekend as Comic-Con so it's going to a be a bit crazy. We contemplated changing it, but we realized that we'll have the opportunity to go to events around the convention center that aren't actually part of the Con. He got us tickets to see The Nerdist live for my birthday while we're there, and I couldn't be more excited. Next weekend should be fairly relaxed for birthday, and I also get to see my aunt and uncle renew their vows. Things are getting busy, and I love it.

Interview Me

Fun fact: these are the only pants I've ever owned that I don't hate. They're dress pants from Target that I bought about two years ago for when I had to look professional for presentations in classes, and I secretly sometimes wish for an excuse to wear them. 

I wore this to an interview on Friday, and I wanted to share my process in choosing it. Most of the interviews I've had in the past few months have been over the phone, but the ones that I get that  do require going into an office always find me in a tricky situation. I'm going into a creative field and I'm often interviewing for a job that's fashion related in some way, which means that I not only need to look professional, but I also need to wear something that's trendy and shows off my personality. It's a weird situation to put together an outfit for. For this particular interview last week, I met with the editor of an entertainment/fashion related publication with a very young audience, so I felt it was important to wear something a little fun that was also appropriate. To add to my struggle in choosing something, I had the interview confirmed less than two days prior and remembered that I had left my only blazer in a friend's car and was with her in San Diego. After realizing that, I took a look at the nude flats I normally wear on interviews and saw that they were basically falling apart. Cue the panic attack. 

Fortunately, I had these pants and this top, which I thought was a great piece that demonstrated my personal style, but also looked appropriate. I headed to TJ Maxx, Target, and Khol's to look for a blazer and a pair of shoes. I surprisingly found it difficult to find a blazer, and seeing as I'm short on cash and do actually own a blazer (even if it's not currently with me), I decided to go without one. I wouldn't normally go without some sort of jacket or cardigan, but for this kind of company and interview, I knew I could get away with it. I did end up getting this pair of heels, which are a much-needed addition to my shoe collection as I enter the professional world. The only problem? I did not have nearly enough time to break them in, and I wound up suffering for it the day of the interview. I might have even put myself through pain as I put them on again later that day to take these photos, blisters and all. I regret everything. 

Crop Crop

And with this outfit post, I am officially on board the crop top train. I have a couple that I've mostly layered over dresses so far, but I am just really digging the whole crop top + high-waisted bottoms trend at the moment. I love that such a risque item has been into something classy. Kudos, fashion world. This is a TJ Maxx one I got a while ago, but just hadn't busted out until now. It's difficult finding ones that are actually cropped since I'm so short, so I was happy to find one that didn't look like a normal length top on me. The struggle is real. I figured that if I was going to wear a crop top with relatively low sweetheart neckline out to a bar on Saturday night, I needed to at least make it more "me." It's not like I was going to actually going to be cool about it. What better way to say "come at me, boys" than with a cardigan and oxfords? Really though, I did wear this for a night of drinking (read: designating driving in my case) with a bunch of my friends for my pal Greg's 24th birthday on Saturday, and it ended up being a great time. It's always kind of weird seeing some people from high school who you haven't seen much in the past four years, but fortunately it was all really pleasant. I suspect most of this summer and my transition into back home will involve a lot of reconnecting with old acquaintances and friends for a short while.

Other than pretending like getting invited to parties is a normal thing that happens to me on a regular basis, my life has been all about work lately. I'm seriously loving my internship, and I'm also loving my bi-monthly meet-ups with my boss at this great coffee shop in Venice. I'm starting to do more social media for the company, so I highly suggest following FAB Counsel on Twitter and Instagram. If you're an L.A. blogger, keep a look out for a kickass event that will be going on in October. 

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.

Blue On Blue

By looking at my wardrobe, most people would probably assume that my favorite color is blue. It's actually purple, but for some reason I gravitate toward blues when shopping for clothes subconsciously. I'm obviously a fan of the color, but I'm starting to think that I need to lay off of it for a little while when it comes to my next purchases. That being said, I thought it would only make sense to pair two different shades of the color together and I like the result. Then again, I'm fairly certain that I would like this handy gingham button down with just about anything.

I changed into this on Saturday after I got home from my shift at my dad's restaurant. The rest of the day consisted of one last iced coffee with my friend Whitney before she returned to Kansas, dinner from Umami Burger with my brother, sister-in-law, and 3-year-old nephew, and watching Battlestar Galactica with my friends Adam and Jeremy — which is exactly how you'd expect me to spend my Saturday night. Adam and I are going to watch through Battlestar Galactica this summer and I love it already. I've been on such a sci-fi kick lately coming right off watching Firefly and X-Files. 

Child's Play

I apologize that my outfits haven't been very creative lately, but I haven't been doing much and I've just felt like throwing on dresses and being done with it. I got this dress in a Ruche sale in the fall, and I realized that this is the first time I've been able to wear it sans tights and a sweater since buying it. It's been on a heavy rotation in my summer wardrobe seeing as it's perfect for the season. I fall in love with the collar a little more each time I wear it.

If you read Jamie's blog, Petite Panoply, these shoes might look familiar. I saw her wearing the red version of these not too long ago, and I was shocked when she said they came from the children's section of Target and that most people don't realize that, if you wear up to a size 8, you can fit into children's shoes. My curiosity was struck, so I had to try these on the next time I was at Target and was so excited when they fit. I ended up passing on them the first time, but when I went back last week and they were still there on clearance for $5, I couldn't resist. I've been wanting a slightly chunkier sandal to pair with summer dresses, but who would have thought I would find them in the kid's section? I feel like an entire new world of possibilities is now open to me. Well, shoe possibilities at least.

Also, don't forget to enter my big one year of blogging giveaway to win some awesome stuff from small businesses!

Twins

If there's one thing I don't find very often in Illinois, it's people who dress like me. Sure, I have a few fashion major friends who are on my level when it comes to Peter Pan collars and pleated dresses, but for the most part, it's sweats and North Face for the majority of the campus. So when my friend Brittney-Jade told me that she bought this skirt, I knew a post was in order. My tweeness next to BJ's edginess? I couldn't resist.

I only just met Brittney-Jade this past semester when she proved to be saint-like and filled in as our entertainment editor of the paper last minute, but she's the one of these people who I feel like I met forever ago. One of my coworkers once described her as "a quote machine" and I'd say that's pretty accurate. Brittney-Jade is by far one of the funniest people I've met in college, not to mention her knowledge of pop culture is encyclopedia-like. One of the best parts about featuring her on Room 334, though, is that she's a blogger herself. If any of you fashion lovers are even just a little interested in the horror genre, you absolutely must check out her blog, Day of the Woman. In her words, she tackles "the feminine side of fear," and even someone like me who has never been much of a horror fan, can admit that it's fascinating. 

Dear Junkyard

First, let me say that I am very much aware that I definitely should not be writing this post. I have a million things due that I'm supposed to be working on, but I couldn't wait to post this set of photos. That brings me to my second point, I love this post. Jenn and I spent Saturday pretending to work on homework at a little breakfast place in town, but getting distracted instead. After giving up on the idea entirely, we finally returned to the junkyard behind her apartment to take pictures. Even though it wasn't as awesome as it was last time, it still made for a pretty great backdrop. And as usual, Jenn takes the best pictures for me. I do love that these were taken with my camera though. It makes me feel cool.

After selling some stuff on ebay, I decided to use of my Paypal balance to take advantage of the Emerging Thoughts sale and was able to pick up this Dear Creatures dress for ridiculously cheap. That makes two Dear Creatures dresses that I've owned and gotten for way cheaper than I should have. It's by far one of my favorite brands and sometimes I have pinch myself to make sure that I'm not dreaming about them being in my closet. I really just can't get over this dress though. It may not fit exactly how I want it to, but it's still everything a dress should be in my eyes. 

Also, help me get rid of stuff and buy my things! I even have a Lauren Moffat skirt and Ella Moss vest for sale. 

The Usual

I can't say that there's anything too special about this outfit except that it feels so very me. I know I say that pretty often, but there are just certain items that I think tend to define my style. Peter Pan collar? Check. High-waisted skirt? Check. Cardigan? Check. Flats and a thrifted accessory? Check and check. Sometimes I'm not really sure why Katherine chose to give up this skirt when she sent it to me as a gift, but I couldn't be more grateful that she did. It's the perfect length and style for me, plus the color and print are undeniably adorable. Seriously, Katherine, you're the best. Target has the best gems sometimes.

I don't quite understand how it's actually the end of March already and it's starting to freak me out. Suddenly, everything that I thought I had time to complete is hitting me at once. I suppose that happens every semester though, but the fact that it has felt like January up until didn't help. Luckily, it's finally starting to warm up and I can only hope it stays. Honestly, I'll never get used to the fact that I consider 40-50 degrees warming up, but I do now. California me from three years ago wants me to know that I'm insane. 

Portions for Foxes

I don't know about you, but I didn't think it was possible for a sweater to be this adorable. When the incredibly-stylish Marisa put this up in our Flock Together swap group, I immediately jumped at the chance to borrow it. I can't pass up anything with a fox, really. I'm having a bit of a love affair with layering sweaters over dresses, and this white frock is one of my favorites to do so with. Maybe it was Marisa influencing me, but this sweater just screamed for a peter pan collar. Then again, I most things are asking for a peter pan collar to me. It's a slight addiction. For as little as a departure as this outfit is for me, I will say that it was kind of fun to wear something so bright for a change. I usually shy away from bright colors like this, but I wouldn't mind incorporating more of them into my wardrobe in small doses. You can see how Marisa wore the sweater here.

As for things that don't relate to clothes, I've been in a bit of a writing rut lately. I'm not sure if it's just lack of motivation or writer's block, but I haven't written much of anything the past couple of weeks. I think I'm just feeling dejected from not having found an internship yet, but I'm ready to start getting productive again. Sitting around, doing nothing has never really been my thing.

Fancy Pants

When it comes to Christmas presents, my friends and family absolutely killed it this year. Everything I received was just perfect and I couldn't be more grateful for how amazing the people in my life are. One of those gifts? This gorgeous gold dress from my friend Alena. She and I decided that we were two of the only people we trusted to pick out clothes for us, so we did exactly that. I gifted her a lace overlay blouse from Modcloth and she did a wonderful job picking out this dress for me. It's a little fancy for me, but I like that's a tiny bit different than something I would typically pick out for myself. Plus, it's always nice to have a fancy dress in my closet for special occasions.

I'll be completely honest: I didn't actually wear this out. But with a dress so pretty, can you blame me for wanting to snap some pictures in it? I can't wait to find an excuse to wear it for real. The cut is just to-die-for.

Also, don't forgot to shop my closet and help me get rid of some stuff for cheap!

Simplicity

I don't really have time to talk today as I need to leave for a work pot luck in a minute, but I had a little time to spare for a post. Here's a fairly simple outfit I wore today, and it's one of my favorites for some reason. Simple in just the right way, just the way I like it.

Little black dresses

Feels like fall

I felt especially autumn-like (is that even a word?) in this outfit and the leaves covering the ground sure didn't hurt. This was one of the dresses I picked up at the Urban Outfitters outlet with Marlen and Katie for a whopping $10. It's a little different than something I'd normally gravitate towards (for starters, it's strapless), but I think that's kind of what drew me to it in the first place. I tend to play it a little safe sometimes and only stick to things I know work, but I'd like to start adding some different pieces to my closet. Plus, how could I say no to such an awesome print? I'm starting to regret not buying everything in that outlet.

Now that we're in full fall mode and Halloween has passed, I'm going to be one of those annoying people who counts down until Christmas. I may or may not be helping Jennifer decorate her tree this weekend and I might have already started discussing Christmas presents with my brother, Lucas. I also might be passing up purchasing new clothing and trying not to eat out as much to save my money to buy presents. I'm really big into giving good, thoughtful presents. What can I say? I'm a giver.

In other news, I'm writing this in between my last interviews and I'll have my staff for next semester decided by this afternoon. I'm excited to be the boss (though I prefer "big woman on campus"), but man, do I hate the idea of telling people they aren't being hired. If anyone wants to do it for me, feel free to volunteer. 

Dress: UO

Cardigan: UO

Boots: Target

Scarf: ASOS

Ring: Jewelmint

Bracelet: H&M

Fall uniform and bad photos

Lately, I've been feeling a little bit uninspired in my outfits. Whenever I'm too lazy to put too much thought into it, I've been sticking to a uniform of sweaters, scarves, and boots. Nothing I've been wearing has been too exciting (and I'm back to not-so-great photos), so I thought I'd share what I've been wearing lately.

Skirt: vintage; Sweater: consignment; Dress (worn as top): T.J. Maxx; Scarf: ASOS; Boots:  Target

Dress: F21, via swap; Cardigan: Target, via Katherine; Scarf: souvenir from Venice; Bracelet: local boutique

Dress: Thrifted; Sweater: Francesca's Collections; Scarf: UO; Boots: Endless.com

Also, when did my skirts get so short? Oh well, happy Friday everyone!