Yellow Cardigan + Teal Skirt

Have you entered the Feminist Resistance Giveaway that I'm hosting with Lisa yet? I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else to write because I'm so excited about it. I still can't believe how many amazing sponsors we have and how much people have been donating so far. If you haven't yet, please check out the post, drool over the amazing prizes, and donate money to Planned Parenthood or another worthy cause to be entered. Hope you'll help us raise some money!

With regards to this outfit, it's pretty typical every day look to throw on for me. Any day that I'm too lazy to think of a creative outfit, I throw on this striped dress as a top under a skirt and grab a cardigan. I've also been living in this Rocksbox necklace. I swear I went into Rocksbox assuming that I'd try it out for a few months and send back everything, but I think I might have to buy this one. It's everything I've been looking for. P.S. you can use code room334xoxo for your first month of Rocksbox free!

Gingham Shirt Dress + BAIT Blue Wedges

Oh hello, dress of my dreams. Though I'm currently not allowing myself to buy any clothes in an attempt to save for a new apartment, I did have a small moment of weakness about a month ago when I wandered into Nordstrom Rack and picked up this dress out of a crowded rack of clothes like I was in some sort of trance. I usually struggle with finding button down shirts and dresses that fit well or don't gape, but somehow this one fits perfectly. I had to get it. I had no choice. 

As usual, this weekend was wonderful. A long brunch with old coworkers, lots of TV watching, visiting my parents at the lake...all usual weekend shenanigans. I can't say that I really have too much to write about today. So let's just all stare at the glory that is this dress and forget that I said anything at all.

Yellow Cardigan + BB Dakota Floral Skirt

Say hello to my "Easter" outfit. I feel obligated to put "Easter" in quotes since I can't say that I really celebrated. As non-religious family, we never get too into the holiday. My parents always planned egg hunts for us as kids and we've always had dinner together, but it's never been a super important tradition. I made the trek out to my parents' house as I do every other Sunday for a day of chatting by the lake, laundry, free food, and making my mom take outfit pictures. We had ham and potatoes, so hey, it still felt like an Easter celebration.

I still felt the need to wear something spring-y. I thrifted this Monteau navy top on my last thrifting excursion, and it goes with everything. I honestly had to look and see when the last was that I wore this skirt on the blog. I wear it so often that I was convinced it was recently, but it's actually been months. You should know that I still, almost two years after thrifting it, wear it almost weekly. I have zero regrets about this. I should probably be wearing it even more.

April Ludgate Inspired

Happy we're-losing-one-of-the-greatest-shows-of-all-time day! As you can imagine from the amount of times I've written about Parks and Rec on here (and all of my social media accounts), I am devastated that the show is ending tonight. I started the show during its second or third season, and it's been one of my absolute favorites since. The show means so much to me, as it's been a constant in my life and the my go-to thing to watch when I'm feeling down. It's not only hilarious and smart, but it also has some of the greatest characters on television. I often see Parks and Rec referred to as "friend porn," and I've never seen a description more accurate. It features well-defined characters who genuinely love each other, couples that support each other in everything they do, and strong, healthy friendships. You'd also be hard pressed to find a more feminist show on television (although if you're looking for another one, I like to tell everyone I know to watch Battlestar Galactica for great female characters). I'm honestly glad that it's ending, because seven seasons is enough for any show, but I am not prepared for tonight at all. As I've mentioned, my friends have been doing character theme dinners while we watch, and we've saved the best for last: Ben & Leslie, which will consist of calzones for dinner and waffles with whipped cream for dessert.

To celebrate the end of an era, I'm dubbing this week "Parks and Rec Week" on the blog. Today, I'm wearing an outfit inspired by April Ludgate, who has killer style. April has a love for cardigans, trendy but professional separates, flats, and of course, dogs. I loosely based this outfit on one of hers that you can find below, but I included a couple of accessories that she might not wear. Whitney got me this Cones of Dunshire pin and Ron Swanson tote bag for my birthday last year, and even though April would never admit to liking a Ben Wyatt board game, I couldn't resist. Side note: I cannot do deadpan for pictures to save my life. Instead, I just tried to look annoyed for a few pictures to capture her spirit. I failed. 

Mint Lace

By the time you're reading this, I'll have seen Jenny Lewis perform live for the first time in my life. Lewis is one of my all-time favorite musicians, and I've listened to Rilo Kiley ever since my brother and sister-in-law burned me a few CDs when I was probably 13 or 14. I've never gotten to see her live, but somehow I now find myself seeing her twice in the span of a month. Whitney and I bought tickets to see her perform with Ryan Adams (also exciting) in Pomona next month, but the seats are pretty bad. So when I saw another one of my all-time favorite people, Adam Scott, tweet a link to a show in LA for only $25, I immediately sent info to my two best friends and told them that we were going. The event is a night of comedy and music that Lewis, Sarah Silverman, Tim Heidecker, and more are performing. The show was technically last night, but I'm writing this ahead of time, but I think it's safe to just assume that it was incredible. Hopefully. 

I got this Ruche dress a few weeks ago with the floral dress on sale, but I've been saving this one for the perfect occasion. I figured seeing Jenny Lewis was an appropriate event for a cool lace dress. I really love that it has the potential to be dressed up and dressed down so easily, and I'm looking forward to hopefully playing around with it for a wedding coming up. It's still not cold here, which I know I should be grateful for, but I'm itching to put on my layers. I'm so close to being able to justify putting on tights, but until then I'm making do with booties and comfy sweaters. I'm really just lying to myself now.

Update: I ended up swapping out the cardigan for a leather jacket. The show was incredible and probably one of the best nights of my life. More updates to follow. I'm still processing everything.

Extremely Interesting

I totally have interesting things to say today. I am in no way suffering from a case of writer's block, and I have so much going on in my life that I almost don't know where to start. ...Do you think if I keep writing that, it might actually come true? Okay, I really don't have anything interesting to say today. It's a slow week for my internship since my boss is out of town, and while I have some exciting things coming up, not too much is going on at the moment. I'm mostly just counting the days until this Sunday when I'll be going to a taping of one of my favorite podcasts, Harmontown, in LA. Dan Harmon is the creator of "Community" and "Rick and Morty," and his podcast is hilarious. Seeing Harmon will be exciting enough for me, but fingers crossed that some special guests show up as well.

As for the outfit, this is what I wore to that piano bar on Friday. I don't know why I keep ending up at Nordstrom Rack, but when Whitney wanted to go last Thursday, I couldn't say no. And of course, because I'm weak, I ended up walking out with this dress. I was immediately drawn to it in the store, and I instantly fell in love when I put it on. It's not terribly noticeable here, but it's a bit too low-cut for my liking, so I thought I'd offset it with a denim jacket and super casual flats. Though I could probably stand to call some attention to myself when I go out, I'm much more comfortable blending in and making "Freaks and Geeks" references to the people I'm with rather than trying to talk to dudes. I mean, if the piano player is going to play "Come Sail Away," how do I not make a "Freaks and Geeks" reference. Just me? Yeah, just me.

Free Bird

I've been trying not to buy anything; I really have. That said, I, like most women I would assume, have always lusted after Free People pieces. Of course, as a struggling 20-something, I've never actually been able to afford anything from the brand. So when I stumbled across this mint crop top at Nordstrom Rack recently with a $20 price tag and a Free People label, how could I resist? It's a beautiful piece, and as I mentioned previously, I've been trying to build up the shirt part of my wardrobe after realizing that it was lacking. I could just wear dress and/or skirts and bras forever, but I don't think I'm ready for that kind of attention. I need to at least secure a full-time job and be taken seriously professionally before I go down that route. So until my topless journey begins, I'm spending the few dollars I'm allowing myself to use on tops.  I'm not quite sure how the joke reached this point, but I'm just going with it. 

Nothing too exciting is going on over here other than working on internship stuff from home, a meeting with my boss in Venice, babysitting my adorable nephew, and hanging out with my friends Adam and Jon. This is actually what I wore when I ended up spending time with them the other night, which really just consisted of long conversations and followed by us challenging each other in Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones trivia in Quiz Up on our phones for far too long. I don't mean to brag, but my group of friends has a bit of reputation for being wild and crazy. You know how it is.

Remix: The Little White Dress

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

There are few types of items that I own too many off. Cardigans, for starters, probably take the cake, but I also have an unnecessary amount of polka dots and stripes. Two things that I gravitate toward anytime I'm shopping, though, are white dresses and Peter Pan collars. So it's no surprise that one of my most worn items is this little white collared dress that I got at Nordstrom Rack a couple of years ago. It's undeniably flattering, and it's possibly the most flattering thing I own. Here are six of my favorite ways (not in any particularly order) that I've worn it, but don't be surprised if the list keeps growing. 

Let's Get to Work

The snow lately has not been kind to this blog or blogs like it. Not only has it been impossible to justify standing out in negative temperatures with snow blowing every which way for outfit photos, but it's also been hard to have any sort of inspiration when it comes to getting dressed. No matter what I wear, it'll be covered by a scarf and giant coat for most of the day, and it all still needs to provide some level of warmth and comfort. Plus, it's not like I'll ever know when I'll be taking outfit photos. It seems like the days I have the opportunities to are the days I hate my outfits, and the days I like what I'm wearing are when photos are out of the question.

Basically — and I'm sure many of you are in the same position as I am — winter is bad for bloggers.

With that, I apologize if posts are scarce these days and for my very un-inspired outfits you may see. Please, rest assured, it won't be like this forever. I'm trying to come up with more types of posts I can use, and this indoor shoot at my desk at work was another great idea from Mary. It's not my favorite outfit, nor is it my most creative, but it was functional for the day. Plus, you can get a small peak at what my life at work* is like, cluttered at desk at all. You can also see my wall of inside jokes behind me that I like to call art. Bonus points to anyone who noticed the "House of Turds" print-out behind me in the first picture, which my advisor left on my desk during the government shut-down. My office is the best.

Dead Week

If I were to give this week a theme, it would be "late." Because Thanksgiving was so late this year, there's only two weeks between Thanksgiving break and winter break, as opposed to the usual three. Because of this, everything feels rushed. All of a sudden, it's dead week, everything is due, and finals are next week. Of course, every college student I know (especially those of us with acute senioritis) has put off all projects and papers until after break, which means there's less than a week to do everything. Needless to say, I'm stressed. I'm well aware that this could have been avoided had I actually worked on assignments during my week off, but then what kind of break would that be? (Side note: I don't know why I think this blog could help me get a job in the fashion industry when I constantly insist on writing things about my laziness. I really am a hard worker, I swear. You have to believe me.)

Because of my mountain of homework, I've been slacking on commenting on blogs again. Rest assured, I am still reading. Thank goodness for smartphones and breaks between classes. I do have to admit that a few of my assignments are actually pretty interesting. A presentation entirely on e-commerce and a paper on "District 9?" Not too shabby for homework. 

Pumpkins (Plus a Giveaway)

Dress: Nordstrom Rack // Sweater, boots: Modcloth // Belt: Vintage // Purse: Thrifted // Bracelet: c/o Tatum Bradley & Co.

Hello, and happy Monday, everyone. I don't know about you, but I'm really excited about this post. This is what I wore last weekend when I went to Tanner's Orchard, an apple orchard and pumpkin patch, with my family when my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew were visiting. My brothers harassed me on the phone until I agreed to come with them and go into work late (perks of being the boss. Don't follow my example, kids), but it was a great day. With hot caramel apple cider, fall weather, and my adorable nephews and nieces,  I was a happy camper. I was so excited that it was finally cool enough to wear this Modcloth sweater, and I'm positive that it'll be on heavy rotation once Illinois finally decides that it wants to be fall for good. Of course, my love for this post is only helped by the fact that my sister-in-law, Elyse, was here to take pictures for me again. She's the best.

What I'm most excited about though, is this bracelet. You may remember that I featured a coordinates bracelet from Tatum Bradley & Co. in a "Things that caught my eye this week" post over the summer. Well, Natalie, the wonderful woman behind the shop, was nice enough to offer me a bracelet of my own after seeing the post. I got it engraved with the coordinates of the house I grew up in, so it's like I get to carry a little bit of home with me everywhere I go. As you all know, I grew up in California, but go to school in Illinois, so I love getting to wear a reminder of where I'm from. It doesn't hurt that it's incredibly well-made and a great, subtle every day piece of jewelry.

The best part? Natalie is offering one of you a bracelet of your own. Get your home coordinates engraved like I did or something else, the choice is yours. Just enter below through the Rafflecopter widget.

This giveaway will run until 10/21 at midnight and is open internationally.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fountain

Welcome to Friday's outfit, which I wore to visit my aunt and uncle. My brother and I always make a trip to their house whenever he's in town and we stop at this awesome outdoor mall right by their place on the way. Since it's such a cool place, I had Lucas help me take some outfit photos while we were there. It was a bright day and most of the spots didn't work out very well, but I loved this fountain. I'm finally starting to become more comfortable taking pictures in public places, which I'm pretty proud of. 

This cropped crochet top from Threadsence is fairly new and it's perfect for throwing on over dresses for summer. I bought on clearance and they were out of my size, so I had to size up and it's definitely bigger than I would like. It's still a fun piece though and one that I'm sure will get plenty of wear over the next few months. If it seems like you've never actually seen this floral dress on its own, it's because I always insist on layering it. You see, this dress has become my go-to, comfortable piece for flights and lazy days. It's difficult not to have that feeling of being gross or on a plane when I wear it now, so I turn to layers to make it wearable for days when I actually feel like trying. This was one of those days.

Habits

There's really nothing that special to say about this outfit, but even during the summer, grabbing a collared dress and a cardigan is a habit of mine. It's second nature while getting dressed at this point. Now that I've been blogging for a year (!), I have enough posts to start doing remix posts and may have to do one on this dress first. It's become such a staple in my closet since getting it last summer and I don't think I'll ever run out of ways to wear it.

This is what I wore yesterday to visit my old drama department and teacher from high school. Going into my senior year of college, it's hard to believe how long ago high school was and how much my life has changed since then. Though I've since given up on theater, it was such a big part of my life and being there made me realize how much I missed it. As with most things, it's not so much theater that I miss, but the people who I did it with. I know I'm rambling about things that no one else really cares about now, but it was surreal to be back in a place I hadn't been in years and for it to feel so familiar. I guess being home just does that to you. 

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

Kismet

Well, it got slightly colder again. But I don't mind too much as I have an inkling this dress will be a bit too heavy to wear regularly in the summer. So if I have to slip into some tights and jackets for a little while longer, so be it. I know I said this the last time I wore this dress in a post, but I honestly think it was made for me. I have this theory that it's the only one of its kind produced and that it was sent down from the clothing gods to wait in that Urban Outfitters surplus store specifically for me. I like to dream big, guys. 

I might be wearing these shoes a little too much and it's possible that they're becoming repetitive, but I don't care. They work with everything and I can't stop myself from gravitating toward them most mornings. Though to be fair, I think I do this every time I get a new pair of shoes.

I'd love to say that things have calmed down at school and work, but it's definitely that point in the semester where everything hits at once. Not only do I have countless projects, but I'm interviewing candidates for editor positions at the paper all week. I love the responsibility I have, but man, does it suck to try to figure out who will work best in each position and just hope that I got it right. Also, those phone calls I'm going to have to make telling some people that I'm not hiring them is by far the worst part of my job. I guess it comes with the territory though, right?

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. 

Narcissism

Does anyone sometime feel a little...silly posting a bunch of pictures of themselves in the same outfits, just posing different ways? Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on limiting myself to only one or two pictures per post any time soon and I have a blast taking the pictures, but the whole thing just makes me laugh as I upload them sometimes. It also makes me feel a bit (or a lot) narcissistic at times. I mean, I spend hours upon hours taking pictures of myself and posting them on the Internet. Just the whole idea of personal style blogs is kind of funny when you take yourself out of the picture. I don't know, maybe I'm just having some sort of weird existential moment or something. I'm just glad that I have a whole community of other bloggers who spend just as much time doing this as I do. I love blogging and love reading other personal style blogs, I just like making fun of myself even more. It's sort of a fun past time with me. 

Which brings me to the part where I talk about the outfit, because as much as I like making fun of myself, I love talking about clothes just as much. It's great how much use I've gotten out of this cropped sweater. It's a Forever 21 piece that I picked up for $5 at Buffalo Exchange over the summer and I wear it all the time. It has especially come in handy now that I've adopted a new obsession with wearing sweaters over dresses. This is the first time I've actually knotted it though and I really like the result. This Lush dress is another piece that I wear a lot, but never seem to capture for the blog. It would probably help to show it off if I didn't wear things over it, wouldn't it?

Also, this whole Google Reader shutting down business is the worst. So obviously this is the part where I ask all of you to kindly follow me on Bloglovin' so that way I don't have to cry myself to sleep the night I lose all of my followers. Please spare me from that monstrosity. 

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.

Bow, Seriously

I've had this dress, which I got in a swap, since the summer, but for some reason it never made its way out of my closet until now. I think I was waiting until it got cooler (it's a little heavy material), or maybe I just struggled to style it, but all of a sudden I'm crazy in love with it. For as feminine as my style is, I've never been the biggest wearer of sequins or bows (pussy bow blouses excluded, of course), yet something about this dress is so perfect to me. Also, if I haven't made it clear, I plan on wearing this cardigan on a daily basis. I can't help it.

Cozy

It's getting to that point where it's almost too cold to wear tights and I'm not okay with that. I have a couple pairs of pants I don't mind wearing, but I am in no way prepared to give up my dresses every day. I'm glad to be back at school at keeping busy, but it didn't take long for me to miss California weather. It was definitely a nice trip home (and a good break from everything) and I'm glad I'll get to go back again soon for winter break. Leaving home from Thanksgiving break is always the easiest trip to leave as it's only three weeks until I'm home once again for a full month.