Favorite combinations

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Diana

There are certain combinations that I always love to wear. Everytime I put an outift together with one of these combinations, I feel so “me”. Black and white with pops of turquoise is one of these combination. I could wear stuff like this almost every day. Turquoise is such a fun, happy color and it mixes so well with neutrals. And of course, I can never have enough polka dots.

Normally, when I wear a watch, I either wear no bracelet at all, or wear it on the other wrist. With this outfit, I tried layering the watch and bracelet on the same wrist, and I loved it. I think it worked well because the watch and bracelet both have the same shade of silver.

Top: Anthropologie
Cardigan: J. Crew (via eBay)
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Merrell Brio
Watch: Fossil
Bracelet: Gifted

Family Heritage

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Diana

Some weeks, outfit posts just don’t happen. This was one of those. I had after work meetings every day. I was setting up a bookfair. I was re-arranging my library and needed really practical (read: not so stylish) clothes. So I didn’t take any outfit pictures this week.

To make up for it, I thought it would be fun to share some old family photos I recently received. One of my cousins found a box of my grandparents’ slides in his garage. He got them scanned and gave a copy of them to everyone in the family. These are from the late 60s (I think) and there’s some really great photos of my parents.

These are my grandparents at the airport, I think getting ready to fly to England. I love my grandmother’s horn-rimmed glasses. Their luggage is pretty awesome too. I think it’s so cool that you actually used to go out on the tarmac to catch your plane.

Dad and mom. My mom had the best Mary Tyler Moore/That Girl hair in the 60s and 70s. And that dress is so cute.

Mom and dad going to dad’s fraternity social or something like that. Love my mom’s hair.

And this is by far my favorite photo out of all the them. It’s got my parents and both sets of my grandparents in it. This was when my parents were flying back out to Texas during the brief couple of years that they lived out there. I love my grandmother’s red purse and shoes. And my mom’s suit! I told her I wish she had kept all her old clothes, although I would never be able to fit into them.

Hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past

12 in 2012: January update

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Diana

I’m currently working towards completing 12 goals in the year 2012. Here’s the progress I made in January:

Style

Fill at least 12 of the gaps from my Wardrobe Gaps list. I bought the above skinny jeans using store credit at Revolve, only to realize that maybe they weren’t such a gap after all. I have yet to actually wear them out, mostly because I’ve grown to like boot cut jeans more as they flatter my figure better. I’ll probably end up wearing these with tunics at some point, but I’m not sold on skinnies right now.
Blog at least one outfit a week. Blogged an outfit once a week in January. Yay!

Crafty

Knit a Fair Isle Sweater. I picked out a possible pattern, but I haven’t had the money to buy the yarn yet.
Sew three garments for myself. I’ve done some minor alterations, but I’ve been too busy for a full garment yet. I’m looking forward to spring break in March for this one.

Pot Roast made in oven, with roasted potatoes (which are not Paleo, but still delicious)

Health

Try one new Paleo recipe every month: While I had technically made pot roast before, I had always made it in a crock pot. In January I made it in the oven using a slightly different recipe. I still like the crock pot version better, but the oven one can be useful if you don’t have enough lead time to use a crock pot.
Get that co-op subscription/ or go to a Farmer’s market once a month: This one just didn’t happen
Go to the dentist: Didn’t have enough money for the dentist in January as things were still tight from Christmas. February is turning out to be insanely busy, so this will probably be in March.

Fitness

Be able to do at least one unassisted pull-up or chin-up: Not even close yet
Try at least one new-to-me or oldie-but-goodie form of exercise: I’ve been scoping out some inline skates at a few sporting goods stores, but other than that, no progress.

Work

Finish my teaching certificate: Signed up for the last of the courses I need. Started to get my paperwork in order.

Life and Money

Have $500 in my savings account by the end of the year: I’m pretty proud of myself on this one. I went to my credit union and set up an automatic payroll deduction of $20 a paycheck directly into my savings account. Now I can save up $500 by the end of the year without having to think about it.
Keep my credit card paid off: I paid off a substantial chunk of my credit card debt with my tax return. I still have about $230 left to pay off, which isn’t bad at all.

Overall assessment of the month: Pretty decent progress for 31 days and tight finances.

Bento Box Saturday: 2-11-12

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Diana

*Welcome to Bento Box Saturday. Every once and awhile, I post photos of one or more of my bento lunches from that week. I use a Laptop Lunches bento box and I love it because it helps me to reduce the amount waste I create, since I don’t produce a lot of extra garbage from throw away packaging. I also love how it creates perfect portion sizes. To learn more about how I pack and carry my bento, check out this post and this post too*

Baby Bok Choy, Chicken Kourma, Celery and Muenster, Grapes and Banana

(not shown: greek yogurt and strawberries)

The bok choy was leftover from a restaurant trip, and it paired perfectly with homemade kourma.

Flowers in her hair

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Diana

Inspired by my new ultra cropped red cardigan, I decided to put together an outfit that was part flamenco dancer, part librarian chic, and all fun. The outfit (minus the flower) came together in the morning. I kept my hair down, because wearing it up made the librarian effect a little too severe. But it felt like it was missing something, and I couldn’t figure out what I needed at home. A colorful brooch would have been nice, but I didn’t have anything to fit the ticket.

Then at school, I found the perfect finishing touch. Our Culinary Arts students were selling cupcakes and carnations in the cafeteria for Valentine’s Day, so I bought a red one, cut it short, and put it in my hair. This gave the outfit exactly what it needed

White shirt: Sandra Ingrish (via Nordstrom Rack)
Cardigan: Target (via Revolve)
Skirt: Thrifted
Shoes: Merrell Brios
Watch: Fossil
Earrings: Gifted by my cousin

Something old, something new

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Diana

I went to the wedding of two good friends a few weeks ago, and decided to wear both something old and something new. The old came in vintage accessories: a vintage purse (80′s, I believe), vintage pearls from a garage sale, and my grandmother’s ring. The new came in a brand new (discontinued) Boden dress that I bought on eBay. I had to get it tailored, so this was its first official outing.

I didn’t get to take any photos at the wedding, but the location was gorgeous. It was at Cross Creek Ranch, a little rustic spot just outside of Tampa. The ceremony was under a huge oak tree, while the reception was in a quaint renovated barn. It was really beautiful all around, and one of the nicer, more personal weddings that I’ve been to.