Fabulous fall

I don't know what it is like where you are but, I hope you are having as wonderful of a fall as we are here in the Northwest.  September started off terribly stormy but the last couple weeks have been absolutely perfect.  Crisply cold days with heavy fog in the morning that sinks down in the valleys and then lifts for sunny days.  Today is the first all-grey day in a while.

This morning I attended a breakfast/brunch for the women of my church and then Kirsten (of Kirsten's Cupcakes and Things) and I stopped at a nearby park to wander around and take pictures. (Side note: did you ever notice that the words wonder and wander are so close? I always wonder while I wander.) It was an adorable little park on the top of a hill.  Not creepy at all said Kirsten. (little did we know what awaited!).

Giant spiders! As we were leaving, we noticed this beautiful dew covered spider's web.. and then another ...and then another! We realized that the field was absolutely full of them. I'm sure that I saw at least 20.  They were very pretty but also a little creepy. Just in time for Halloween I guess.

As I was putting this outfit together last night, I was looking for a sweater/dress combo when I realized that my Capezio wrap is the perfect height for this dress with the tie in the back.  I love tie-back dressed but sometimes the bow in the back can make an unseemly bump and just be annoying.  The wrap fit perfectly with it and I don't know why I never thought of it before.  I can become so easily caught up in wanting to buy new clothing items all the time, when I need to remember that there are really hundreds of combinations of the clothes that I already have to wear, if I just get creative.

A quick note about this sweater.  I don't remember where I got it (Mom probably knows) but I remember pairing it with jeans and shoes of the matching color and little heart barrettes in middle school (definitely stole from my mom!).  It really is the first time that I remember intentionally putting together an outfit. I remember feeling cute and confident for about the first time (middle school is hard yo).  I didn't try terribly hard in high school, finding clothes that actually fit was really my only goal.  But I look back on that outfit as an important point for me, so this sweater is close to my heart.  I will have to start wearing it to the ballet class at the Y that I am starting soon.

New car had to get in on the photo action too!

Always,

A pink and black affair

Do you ever buy that perfect piece of clothing and then just have to put it on when you get home, even if you don't have anywhere to wear it to?  I bought this fun pink tulle skirt at Value Village last week (for a whopping $4) and couldn't resist twirling around in it for a while.  I almost passed it by because it was marked large but I remembered the advice of another blogger on thrifting (I believe it was delightfully tacky) who said to ignore sizing at thrift stores so, I turned myself around and grabbed it and I'm glad I did!

skirt: Forever 21 via Value Village/t-shirt: Target/shoes: Payless/watch: Fossil/bracelet: handmade/clutch: Target

I also picked up these nude wedges. They were $20 which was a bit excessive for a thrift find but I looked online when I got home and they seemed to retail for about $60 so, it was still a pretty good deal. Now I just need a sweet office job to wear them too!

I told you that George would find his way into the blog! He went with the theme this week too. My little man is all dressed up in his tuxedo and boots.

XOXO

House family photoshoot

Before I left for Spain, my roommate's sister, Amelia, graciously offered to do a photoshoot of our house family. I live with three other girls in a household that we call the Nook. Instead of just being a group of people who happen to be roommates, we strive to live like a chosen family.  This year three of us graduated and two are moving out so, having a photoshoot together was a great way to remember this time. It was also a good opportunity to take more professional photos and show off some of our favorite outfits. It was actually quite rainy and cold on the day off the shoot but fun was had by all anyway.

Here are some of my favorites:

Kaylin, Courtney, Emily and Me!

Besties since high school

Things got quite a bit silly!

Everyone has moved out for the summer so it's just me and I miss these girls so much already.  They make everything so much fun! Even going grocery shopping turns into meltdown status hilarity in the aisles and now I just...buy stuff. It's rather boring.  I guess I will just have to keep myself busy crafting.

Thanks again to Amelia for the photos.

What I Wore: Graduation brunch

Today, I put together an outfit with the dress I received from Modcloth stylish surprise that I talked about here. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon taking in the sides of the top because it was just too loose for my liking.  Since it was cold and rainy, I chose to pair it with tights and a sweater. I can't wait until it is nice enough to wear it sans tights with flats.

dress: Modcloth/shoes: Modcloth/sweater: H&M

After church, my friends met me at one of my favorite restaurants in Bellingham, Mount Bakery (for those of you who are not familiar with the area, the nearest mountain is Mt. Baker, get it?). Because stuffing myself with savory crepe of sausage, eggs, caramelized onions and cream wasn't enough, we ate the honey and lavender cupcakes that Kirsten made once we got home. The official reason for all this festivity was my recent graduation. In all the flurry of finals and leaving for Spring break, we never got to really celebrate.

When we showed up the restaurant, we realized that we had all coincidently worn the same colors, so we decided to take "family" pictures.

The Nook family

Same colors!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

*All pictures taken by Kirsten Schnell

Modcloth Stylish Surprise

Before I left for my trip, my roommates and I ordered items from Modcloth Stylish Surprise.  If you don't know what that is, at the end of each season the clothing site Modcloth purges their stock by offering a batch of items for $15 each no matter what the original cost was. The catch is that you can order your size but the item that you get is a complete surprise. Anyway, the package came while we were gone and was being held at the post office until we were able to pick it up today. Here is what I received:

Sorry I don't have any pictures of me wearing it. I still need to figure out how to style it and what undergarments to wear because it is sheer on top.  I found this picture of it on another site but as you can see from my pictures it is a bit more greenish. I found that the dress was called the "Dance Lessons" dress on Modcloth and I'm not sure what they sold it for but it was $92 from the designer so I think I got a great deal!

I love the color and lace but it is a tad bit big. I ordered a XS but according to the webpage of the designer their smallest size is a 4 which is bigger than I normally wear so I might take in the sides before I wear it.

This was my second time trying Modcloth Stylish Surprise and it is pretty fun even if you don't get amazing items. I might try to sell the dress that I got last time. Has anyone else tried the stylish surprise?

XOXO,

P.S. My roommate is currently sorting our pictures from the trip so they will be coming soon!

What I Wore: Last day of school

The day has finally come! Today, I had my last class of my undergraduate career.  In the spirit of remembering all my schooling, I channeled my inner kindergartner with this outfit.

dress: Salvation Army/boots: Nine West from Salvation Army/shirt: Salvation Army/purse: fix up from Salvation Army/tights: Fred Meyer

I just realized that almost everything that I wore today I bought at Salvation Army at some point. The bag is one of my favorites. I bought it a couple years ago and it was in pretty rough shape, so I cleaned it up and added the lace and a locket.  I think the dress is actually a child's because it is a medium.

I had the most difficult time trying to take pictures in my apartment.  We have terrible lighting and there isn't a single blank wall. I did get this interesting picture in the hallway:

For reference here is what I wore for the first day of school this year:

Please ignore the messy apartment. We were still moving in.

I wish that I had a picture from my first day of college to see how much that I have changed.  

I know that many of you are still in the middle of finals, so I won't gloat too much. I am glad to be done and that all the hard work has paid off but, I know that it will take a while to get used to being out of school.

Stay sane everyone!

What I Wore: Valentine's Day

Now I know I said that I'm not really into Valentine's Day this year, but I'll take just about any excuse to get dressed up, even if it is just to go to class.

If you haven't met me, you should know that I am very petite. I'm about 5'4" and I've never hit 100 lbs. I started sewing mostly to alter clothes to fit me.  Because I am so small, I used to hate dressing "cute" because I thought that it made me look like a child. Now that I am 22, I have pretty much embraced the fact that I look young (the guy that I bought a car from this Christmas thought that I was 18!). Oh well, I'll just look 22 when I'm 30. So bring on the bows and ruffles!

I hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day

XOXO,

Map Dress

Remember how much I like maps?

Well, I like them so much that I bought a map dress! A map of Middle Earth that is.
Check out my new feathers:

Hey look! The Shire is on my ribs!

In case you were wondering, the dress is from Black Milk and cost waaaay more than I would like to admit.

Now I need to find somewhere that sells kick ass shoes. Any suggestions?