Nautically themed items are currently trending, but it’s a style that’s been around for years. When a style is timeless like this, you can often find it in vintage items. Here’s some vintage nautical lovelies I found on Etsy :
Vintage 80′s Nautical Mini, $32
Vintage Navy and White Striped Sailor Top, $16
Size 7 Navy and White Spectator Heels, $32
Vintage Nautical Braided Rope Belt, $16
Usually, I tend to mix many different pieces and elements into my outfits. But sometimes, a gorgeous patterned dress, a great pair of heels and some earrings are all you really need. I think I’ve decided that I could have a closet full of Boden dresses and great shoes, and I would be pretty happy.
This gorgeous dress was one of my recent finds on eBay. I decided to keep things simple for my first wearing of it, and let the dress shine. Since there’s so many colors in the print, I think it will have many remixing possibilities.
Do you like to wear printed dresses on their own, or do you mix them up with other items and accessories?
Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Shoes: Tsubo Acrea(via eBay)
Earrings: wear+thou
Quote: Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (Aladdin Picture Books)
Sorry if I seemed really stressed out the other day. I am actually feeling really happy overall, and I’m gradually learning how to arrange my new schedule in a way that meets my needs.
I’m learning that the most important thing to me is to have meaningful relationships with other people. This includes family, my boyfriend, my in-real-life friends and my blog friends. Reading blogs used to stress me out, because I felt like I was always behind and never able to keep up. I recently culled my Google Reader down to my absolute favorite blogs and to the blogs of those who stop by here frequently. This is allowing me to focus my blog reading time on a few people (well okay, it’s still about 50 blogs, but that’s a lot less than what I was reading before). Now, I feel able to actually comment and cultivate relationships with other bloggers. My stats may have suffered for it, but I really don’t care.
On to the outfit: I was trying to find a way to make too-short dresses work at my new job. Then I realized that if I simply view them as tunics and wear them with leggings, they work just fine. Since the weather has officially become too warm for tights, I’m thinking about getting some new leggings from We Love Colors to expand my options.
How do you remix not-quite-appropriate items in your wardrobe to make them work?
Cardigan: Fossil
Dress: Express
Belt: Anthropologie
Leggings: Target
Shoes: Born Sokal (via eBay)
Quote: The Rag Coat
Since I didn’t really focus much on filling up any wardrobe gaps last week, I felt that I should use the last $43 of my budget money (er, birthday money from February) on something that would fill a gap, something that could be useful at my new job. And then the most amazing eBay deal ever fell into my lap.
J Crew Super 120s Blazer
$40!!!!!!! on eBay
Gap filled: High quality blazer
Yes, that really says $40. Yes, those really are the original tags. A brand stinkin’ new J Crew blazer. These things are $238 on the website people. I could not believe that I got this. J Crew blazers rarely show up on eBay, and when they do the price usually gets bid up beyond my range, or they aren’t in my size. But I was the only person who bid on this one. Wow. Albeit, the extra pocket flap is a bit weird, and it’s a bit longer than I prefer. But even after I pay my tailor to fix those problems, it will still be less than half the original price. Now I just have to find a J Crew Super 120s pencil skirt in charcoal in my size at a reasonable price.
I was also the lucky recipient of two wonderful gifts this week. Two months ago, I saw Jen of Jen Lovs Kev wearing an adorable robot necklace from ModCloth, and I immediately wanted it. I sent my boyfriend a link telling him it was what I wanted for my birthday, and dropped constant hints about how much I would like a robot necklace. Then, it sold out on ModCloth before he had the chance to order it, and I was so sad. I resigned myself to not getting a robot necklace. And then my super-smart boyfriend did a search on Etsy, and found a necklace almost exactly the same as the one on ModCloth. I don’t think it really counts as homemade, but I don’t care because it’s freakin’ awesome. It shipped from the Philippines, so I just now got it this week. Love.
Robot Necklace from Love Spell Jewels on Etsy
Gap filled: Super awesome robot necklace
I also received a lovely gift from Kate of A Tale of Two Closets. I met up with her a few weeks ago when she was in Florida, and gave her a skein of my hand-spun yarn. She sent me a lovely thank you note, and included a bracelet from her mom’s Etsy shop. Thanks Kate!
Rainbow bracelet from Accidental Artists
Gap filled: Stone bracelet
So I had $3 of b-day money left at the end of March. Since I’m starting a new job, I’m raising my budget next month from $125 to $175 to spend on clothes. I’m going to try to focus on beefing up my working wardrobe.
Edited by Fashion Pulse Daily
It seems that across the board, there has been a resurgence in DIY, as we are very much living in a world of ‘Do it Yourself’ everything; ranging from creating or updating or garments’ silhouettes and decorative details to showcasing our own versions of runway looks, virtually styling with tools like Polyvore, tackling self-photography, and of course self-publishing via our blog platforms. We reign supreme in the DIY world on a daily basis, and I only see this trend gaining momentum. The roundup of this week’s links is definitely an indication, directly and indirectly, of the incredibly creative, innovative, persevering, motivated folks that are part of the new DIY frontier, and of course, IFB!
As expected, there was a fabulous round-up of links in the forum as well, all worthy of your eyeballs!
Wow! Now that I’m working full time at a job where I actually have something to do eight hours a day, I’m finding myself with significantly less free time. I really love my new job though. I love what I’m doing, and the hours seem to fly by because I always have something to be working on. I’m just having to learn how to budget my time outside of work. It’s hard, because I have so many things that I love doing. I love to blog. I love to workout. I love to cook. I love to knit and watch movies with my boyfriend. And while I don’t love it, I also have to take care of everyday tasks like cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, etc. And fitting all of these things into the hours between 3:30 pm (when I get home from work) and 9:00 pm (when I go to bed) is no easy task.
I don’t want to give up doing the things I love, so I’m finding compromises. Some days, I’ll go to the gym and not have time to comment on blogs. Some nights, I’ll stay in and catch up on the blogosphere. I’m learning quicker recipes to cook during the work week, and saving the more complicated stuff for the weekend. I’m still wishing I had about five hours more in every day, but I’m learning to live with less free time. The fact that I love my job helps a lot.
In order to keep myself from stressing out, I’m changing up my blog posting schedule a bit. Starting this week, this is what I’ll be posting: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays will be daily outfits. These are my favorite posts to write, so I don’t want to cut back on them too much. Wednesdays are Etsy Love, because I love supporting handmade. Saturdays will just be Links a la Mode. On occasion I will post feature articles on Saturdays, but they won’t be regular. And Sunday’s will be Shopping Plan posts. Changing things up will let me still post daily, without feeling stressed out. I love this blog, I love the blogging community, and I do not want to stop. I just have to cut back a bit. I’m still visiting other blogs and commenting, but not as much as I used to. I still love and appreciate all my readers, and I try to visit your blogs as much as I can, but please understand that often I won’t have time to read blogs until the weekend.
How to you budget your free time to make room for all the things you love?
Blouse: Anthropologie
Cardigan: Fossil
Jeans: Gap Curvy (altered by me)
Shoes: Born Sokal (via eBay)
Necklace: Jorgensen Studio
Purse: Morelle Charlotte
Quote: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
I soon as I bought this breton-striped tee, I knew that I would have to create a French-inspired outfit with it eventually. The navy stripes look fantastic with pops of red, and the corduroy blazer helps it look polished. I loved wearing this so much. I’m very drawn to classic European styles.
The other thing I really love about this outfit is the necklace I’m wearing. It belonged to my grandfather. He was Catholic, and he wore this while fighting in World War II (I think he was at Guadalcanal, or one of the other Pacific battles). It’s a St. Christopher Medal; he’s the patron saint of travelers, and wearing this is supposed to protect you. I’m not Catholic, and I don’t really believe in the power of wearing objects to protect you, but I still think it’s a neat story.
I know a lot of people prefer to keep jewelry they have inherited tucked away in jewelry boxes, because they’re afraid of damaging them if they wear them out. But I see wearing items like this as a way of connecting with my past, with those I have lost. I was only nine when my grandfather died, but wearing this necklace helps me to feel like a part of him is still here.
How do you feel about wearing items that you have inherited from family members?
Blouse: J Crew (via eBay)
Jacket: Coyote (garage sale)
Jeans: Gap Curvy
Shoes: Born Codder
Purse: Morelle Truffle
Necklace: Belonged to my grandfather
Quote: Anatole over Paris
(Note: Because my new job is leaving me with less free time than I had before, I’m cutting back outfit posts to four times a week, Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri. Etsy Love will be on Wednesday mornings.)
As I’m writing this post, there is a lovely spring shower going on right outside my window. Sometimes rainy days are just so calming. I love sitting in my bed and reading a book with the window cracked open on days like this. This is a set of items I found on Etsy inspired by days like this.
It’s Raining Slider Pendant, $45
Umbrellas in the Rain signed print, $14
Mod Vintage Yellow Rain boots, $28
I wore this last week when meeting the district support team for media specialists. I wanted to be polished and professional, since this was my first time meeting most of them. I think the outfit came together quite nicely. All the color allowed me to feel “me”, but the structure of the blazer and pencil skirt plus the smart heels kept me looking sharp.
Putting together outfits like this over the next few months will be very important. I want to make sure that I am constantly making a good impression, because how I do over these next few months will determine whether or not I get to work at the same school in the fall. Learning to dress in a way that is professional, while still incorporating my own personal style, is going to be an enjoyable challenge.
I love how it looks like I’m flying in that picture. Fun pictures really are the best pictures ever.
What do you wear when you want to make a good first impression?
Blouse: Anthropologie
Blazer: Forever 21 (thrifted)
Skirt: Semantiks
Shoes: Clarks Apple Sky
Purse: Vintage (via Advintagous)
Necklace: Coryell Design
Watch: Target
Quote: Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
Between starting my new job as a media specialist (school librarian) today and letting go of the pressure I was putting on myself with blogging and blog-reading, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I’m free now to enjoy life, I’m free to take fun and happy photos, I’m free to stop worrying quite so much about making it to my next paycheck, I’m free to participate in this lovely blogging community because I want to, not because I feel obligated. It’s amazing what a change in perspective can do to lift one’s spirits.
My smiles feel genuine again, and I’m enjoying writing this blog and sharing with my readers more than ever. It is so good to have an outlet where I can share with others, to have an excuse to take fun and joyful photos everyday, and to hopefully pass some of that happiness along to others.
When I took these photos, I had just finished up a long and stressful day of dealing with bureaucratic paperwork and processing for my new job, wrapping up tasks at my old job, and retrieving my car that had been at the mechanic for almost a week. But when I took these photos, I was able to leave all that stress behind and have fun. Having fun is the best stress-relief ever.
Do you incorporate a little fun into your life everyday? Why not jump in a puddle while wearing wellies? Skip rope? Draw with sidewalk chalk?
Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Cardigan: New York & Co (via Classy Consignment)
Shoes: Dansko Sally (courtesy of Dansko)
Purse: Axcess by Liz Claiborne (thrifted)
Pearls: Coryell Design
Bangles: Jill Popowich Designs
Quote: Bring on that Beat
