Warby Parker Holiday 2014

When I first started wearing glasses as a teenager, glasses were not cool. Once I needed glasses full time, I immediately went to contacts. Fast forward a decade (or perhaps two), glasses are suddenly hip with people preferring glasses to contact lenses. Makes me miss my glasses just a tiny bit (no fear...I've been assured I'll eventually be reacquainted in the form of readers- also not hip). Lucky for me Warby Parker is also launching a great sunglass collection for Holiday 2014. I'm loving Reilly Sparrow Grey and Laural Oak Barrel. 

What are your favorites?

Reilly Sparrow Grey (photo credit Warby Parker)

Laurel sunglasses (photo credit: Warby Parker)

May style recap

If you follow me on Instagram, you know how I love participating in style challenges with @hilaryrushford being a favorite. But as fun as the challenges are, I wanted to see if I could find my personal style without using a daily prompt. Would I be inspired without resorting to frantic changes as I was rushing out the door?

Overall, I did mostly okay. My style- classic prep. And stripes. Yes, I have a small obsession wearing stripes. I wore stripes twelve of the last twenty-one work days (the month of May had 21 work days).

Here's a recap by week:

Week One

Week Two. Stripes four out of five days!

Week Three. More stripes!

Week Four. Stripes only made an appearance once this week.

Look at those stripes! And also my favorite outfits for the month.

 

Do you find yourself gravitating to one particular color or style of clothing? I torn between embracing the pieces that I love and work with my shape- cropped pants, pencil skirts, stripes (!) and experimenting to find new styles. I'm a little of afraid of waking up one day in a closet full of beige (or in my case stripes) like Susan Sarandon's character Lavinia Kingsley in The Banger Sisters.

XOXO

Angie

Pattern mixing

I feel like pattern mixing takes my wardrobe up ten notches. And as I work in a mildly conservative office with a dress code (no casual Fridays for this girl), I try to keep it office appropriate. 

So here are my mostly made up pattern mixing rules:

1. Keep the patterns similar in scale.
2. Keep the colors cohesive.
3. Keep other accessories in check. Save the statement necklaces for another day. Keep shoes neutral.

Happy mixing! 

Angie

Road runner? Not so much....

Yesterday I skipped the gym and took my run outdoors. Once a week I briefly turn into a dance mom giving me an hour of solo time. The gym is near the dance studio but I lose time in the car and then there is the stress of finding an empty treadmill and then rushing back before class ends. Rather than race around, I decided why not give the path near the studio a try. And so I did. I hit a few snags--neither app I use would sync up to GPS so I did most of my run blind. I had no idea how far I'd run or at what pace. And when the GPS did start working, the pace wasn't accurate because of the time elapsed. Note to self: check distances before setting out. I turned around at what ended up being about a mile because it felt like I'd gone a long distance. I did enjoy the change in scenery but the constant hum of road noise meant I had to turn up my music a bit louder and as I was running with the road to my right and mostly undeveloped land to my left, I was nervous. The parts that were developed were housing developments with lots of cars turning in during rush hour.

Post run selfie

I'd like to run it again for the goal of running the full distance (about 4 miles total) and while it was nice to run off the treadmill, the cars and wooded areas make me uneasy. I can't seem to get into a running zone when I'm constantly checking my surroundings. 

How do you get used to running outdoors? 

Angie 

Run like you're being chased... a running update.

I am going to apologize in advance for this post. My thoughts are a little jumbled so this post will likely reflect that. My routine was thrown off and my workouts are reflection. I talk about a big game about getting up at 5am for the gym, but that snooze button has been getting a lot of use making for shorter and shorter workouts. One of my fitness goals is 10K steps daily and the last two weeks I've been averaging 8K at best. Another goal for April was 30 miles in 30 days and I missed it by 1.46 miles. Less than 2 miles!! Rather than pat my myself on the back and congratulate myself for almost making it, I took some time to reflect what my goals were and why I wasn't meeting them. Sabotage! I self sabotage over and over again. I can't pinpoint the exact reasoning but not allowing myself to succeed is probably pretty close. I know that sounds vague, but I'm thinking you know exactly what I mean!

No more phoning it in. Focus on meal planning (I am not counting calories or avoiding foods; the goal is to plan ahead to avoid hitting the candy jar so frequently. I'm bored with my food). Organize workout gear so I stop wearing the same four pieces. I don't need new, I need to rotate what I own. 

Firm goals:

30 miles in 30 days.
Adding core in 3-4 days a week.

Reward:

Shopping at lululemon. I'm in between sizes on the skirt...I'd like to fit comfortably in the smaller size.

 

Thanks for stopping by.. Angie 

Confessions a shoe-holic

As spring approached, I edited my closet and found my spring/summer selection of shoes a bit wanting. Over the last two months I have been on the hunt.  I've hit my regulars- TJ Maxx, Macy's without any real luck. But Saturday I had big plans for a trip to DSW. The nearest store isn't actually all that far, but it's in the opposite direction of most shops I frequent so it feels further away than it actually is.

We started the outing at a local pizza place. There's something about grabbing a slice and sitting at a table outside that is utterly relaxing.

Even Anna loved it!

I made a quick stop at Ulta...I want to replace my mammoth round brush but hot dang, they were $26 and didn't have a flat top (yes, my round brushes have requirements) so I decided I'd check Sally's before committing to one of the Ulta options.

And now to the main attraction: DSW! The mother ship has beckoned me home!! Upon entering, I head straight to the back. All the best deals are in the clearance racks. Only an additional 30% off the marked down price...please!  What else do they have? Ten boxes later, I piled them on the double stroller (the real reason I take it shopping) and headed to the new arrivals where I may have added a few more pairs.

And then fun begins! I retry on every pair...walk to the mirror and weigh each choice. This visit's haul- four pairs! Eek!

And now here is the justification.  I "needed" new sandals that weren't flip-flops. 

I have been eyeing Sperry's for more than a year. 

I tossed a favorite pair of wedges last year and never replaced them. 

And yellow shoes, I have no justification other than they made my heart sing.

I'm still on the hunt for floral shoes. KOHL'S has a very lovely pair but they are currently sold out in most sizes.

How do you shop? Mad, crazy haul or a pair here or there?

The weekly recap

Continuing on with the weekly recap.....

Monday marked week 2 of #stylemeapril: Pretty in Pastels; Jungle, Tribal, Tropics; Pump up the volume; Borrowed or Thrifted; Matchy Matchy.

My closet is clearly lacking in pastels.  I was working from home so I kept it casual. I was not a fan though not doing hair or make-up may have played into my dislike of this look. I changed mid-day.

This, on the other hand, I loved. Like LOVED, LOVED.  The print is fun and the dress has POCKETS! Need I say more?

I have to admit I wasn't super crazy about this look. The necklace and the shoes seemed too matched for me. Plus, I was rushing. I would have preferred this with a jacket. It just felt like something was missing.

I have nothing thrifted and not a lot borrowed, but I really liked this look. This was a combination I'd had in my head for a few weeks and I really like how it paired together. If I were to change anything, I'd add a statement necklace. 

Can we talk about how amazing the Old Navy Pixie Pants are? They are AMAZING!!

So that was my week in nutshell. Hope you had a great week! 

Weekly Recaps

I've been a little MIA again. Sorry! My 5AM gym calls during the week leave me pretty tired at night leaving little room for fun stuff like blogging.  While I've been away, I have been mulling over what defines my personal style and trying to find a balance between what defines me and what is trendy. I am inspired by all the fashion on IG, but there is a fine line between inspiration and imitation. Logging all my looks on Instagram is great but it's hard for me to see the big picture when I'm looking at images so tiny.

 

Forgive the poor quality picture... sometimes a poorly lit selfie as I'm heading out the door is the most  I can manage. Monday's look was one that was good in theory, but one I ultimately hated. All black is just not me. We can just cross "Chic in Black" off my list of possible signature looks.  

 

Tuesday's look marked the beginning of #sylemeapril "Skirting around Town".

 

Wednesday's look is "Neutral with a Pop of Color". I really loved this look. And I had to wear my pink heels because on Wednesdays we wear pink.  

 

Thursday's look was "Oh Hello Sailor".  Skinnies are fun but wide leg pants are just perfection.

 

Friday's prompt was "Day to Night". Again with the poorly lit picture which means you cannot see the detail in the sweater. I liked this combination. It was comfortable but looked pulled together.  

 

Do you struggle to define your style? What helps you?

Thanks for stopping by.

Angie

 

2013- a fashion review

I began documenting this new and more stylish Angie via Instagram about a year ago.  Looking back, some of the first Instagram posts are a bit cringe worthy.  We have to crawl before we can walk, right? Cringe worthy posts aside, I have made some huge fashion strides trying a number of trends along the way. I was a boot-cut pant wearing girl who has embraced skinnies, cropped pants with bold prints, pattern mixing and statement necklaces. Along the way, I discovered a new love of blazers. I finally understand what Stacy and Clinton of What Not to Wear have been preaching for a decade (anyone else still miss the show?)- blazers are finishing pieces that really complete your look.

Print mixing and cropped pants

Loving on some blazers

Looking forward to a more fashionable 2014.

XOXO

Angie

January recap part 2

And here's the big question. ..how did I do with my self imposed shopping ban? I made one purchase that one an out and  purchase- Sam & Libby metallic heels purchased for $12 from $40 at Target.

 

I also made a few other purchases that I feel were justified: new gym clothes on super sale from Old Navy (total purchase $40);

two pair of pants from The Limited (I used returned a few items and purchased using Limited Cash); an anchor top from Old Navy $12 and striped skirt $15. I had a coupon for $15 because I'm a loyal Old Navy customer-ha! Plus $15 off the purchase of $50 so the top was basically free and the skirt was completely free.

 

 

 

 

Did I shop: the truthful answer would have to be yes. But I'm okay with the purchases I made. I really did need new gym clothes. I mean, the last time I seriously purchased gym clothes was before my oldest was born and she starts school in the fall. It was long past time to toss those old clothes. The few purchases I made were paid for using returns and discounts. And what did I take away from the challenge? I have a lot of wonderful pieces that I am working hard to use instead of focusing on the newest item in the stores. I am looking forward to continuing remixing my current pieces and only purchase when I have an actual need.

January recap Part 1-#2014closetremixchallenge

It's the end of January which means the end of month one of the #2014closetremixchallenge.

 

How did I do? What did I learn?  Let's skip how I did for just a minute and focus on what I learned.  I  managed a month full of work looks remixing only a handful of items. That's right, twenty full outfits without repeats. And mostly I'm embarrassed thinking about all the items hanging in my closet still waiting to be worn.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Rather than talk about the looks that worked, I'd like to discuss the ones that didn't.

Week One: 

I didn't like the tights with this skirt. I grabbed cheapy tights from Target and found the fit to be too uncomfortable to last the day.

 

Week Two: 

The fit on these pants aren't working for me here. Hence the #fitandfab2014 I'm also doing on IG (Isn't IG wonderful?)

Week 3:

Can we talk jewelry overload? this would be IG gone wrong. It just wasn't me.

 

 

I stripped off half the jewelry and it felt much more me.

Week 4:

Monday's look. I had a blah day and it totally showed in my look. 

But my very favorite look is this. All the stars aligned and this perfect look emerged.

 

Check back next time to see how I did during the challenge and why I'll be continuing into February.

 

XOXO

Angie