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.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Sandals: Dansko Novalee (via eBay)
Purse: Vintage
Pearls: Vintage
Ring: Belonged to my grandmother
Bangles: Jill Popowich

Birthday Shoes: Which to choose?

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Diana

My birthday is next month, and I know that one of the things I want is a new pair of shoes. I want a nice low heel and a closed toe; something that would be good for work. Something that looks good with slacks or dresses and skirts. And of course, comfort is a must. I’m debating several pairs of Danskos from their Sausalito line, which is one of my favorites. My Sally’s are from this line, and I’ve tried on several sandals from the Sausalito line, and they are always supremely comfortable. Here’s the pairs I’m looking at:

Dansko Stephanie, on sale for $99 on Zappos

I’ve been eyeing the Stephanies for months. I actually did purchase a pair on eBay, only to resell them when I found out that these run much smaller than the Sallys. They are basically the same style as the Sallys, except that they have the added floral and leaf embroidery. They’d be a perfect year-round shoe – only on the really cold days in winter would they be inefficient. I don’t have a pair of black work heels right now, so these would fill that gap. They also come in red, which is gorgeous.

Dansko Savanna, $125 on Zappos

I like the idea of a mary jane with more coverage, because sometimes my feet get cold. These take care of that. They’d be perfect everyday at work shoes. I’m not sure how I feel about the floral design though – I don’t like the placement as much as the Sallys. These are a little cloggier looking too, and I worry they might look too heavy with some outfits, especially in the spring and summer.

Dansko Sam, $120 on Zappos

While these do come in practical black, I just can’t get over how gorgeous that shade of blue is! These obviously provide the least amount of coverage of the three, and thus provide the least warmth. But then again, I live in Florida. These will be plenty sufficient for 10 months out of the year (and then some. Today it was 75 outside!). They’ve still got a closed toe so they’re good for work. And blue is basically a neutral in my wardrobe, which has tons of blues and cool colors in it.

I’m leaning towards the Sams right now, largely because of that color. Which pair do you think I should get?

Bento Box Saturday: 1-28-12

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Diana

Snacks: Cottage Cheese and Peaches, Chorizo and mozzarella, pumpkin seeds and almonds
Lunch: Kourma Chicken, Spinach salad with feta, clementines

Every once and awhile, I decide to try cottage cheese again. And every time, I remind myself of why I prefer Greek yogurt.

Snacks: Greek yogurt with strawberries and walnuts, hard boiled egg with cheddar cheese
Lunch: Feta burger with spinach and ketchup, carrots, celery, baked sweet potato slices

Feta burgers = awesome. I can’t believe I never tried making something like this before.

New York, New York

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Diana

No, unfortunately this post is not written from NYC. Nor do I have any plans in the immediate future to go there (although if the chance came up, believe me I would go!). But, I am wearing a little piece of NYC today in the form of my new favorite vintage scarf. I found this one while shopping at a local vintage shop a few weeks ago and found this scarf while digging around there. I immediately fell in love with it, and even though I sometimes have trouble styling vintage scarves, I went for it. And I’m so glad I did.

The simple black, white and yellow color scheme is so “me”, and it goes with pretty much everything. I styled it as a sort of handkerchief tie this time (tutorial up soon) and I really like how it looked. Plus, the silk provided just enough warmth for a balmy 65 degree winter day (seriously, this winter is way too warm this year).

This is what the scarf looks like unfolded. It has nine different panels, each with a different scene from 1960′s NYC. The World’s Fair was held in NYC in 1964, and the location is show on the subway map panel. Other panels include the Rockfeller Center, the Empire State building, Central Park, the United Nations, the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and the public library It also shows lower Manhattan pre-construction of the World Trade Center, which started in the late 1960′s. Kind of sad since that’s now how Lower Manhattan looks once again.

I’ve included thumbnails of several of the panels below. Click on them to get a larger view.

Tee: Ann Taylor LOFT (via Revolve)

Cardigan: Bobeau (via Nordstrom Rack)
Capris: Erik Stewart (thrifted)
Shoes: Merrell Brio
Scarf: Vintage (via Sherry’s Yesterdaze)
Purse: Morelle

New uses for old things

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Diana

I’ve had this cardigan for a long time, but it never occurred to me until this week that it could work great tied up as well as loose. I like how the layering allowed the sleeve cuffs of the dress to peek out. The overall look here is really simple, but I was going for something a little more minimal this day, so I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Sometimes I find that dresses which work great on their own can be some of the most difficult pieces to style originally. It feels like there’s only so many combinations of cardigans and belts I can come up with. So I’m always really happy when inspiration strikes and I come up with something new. I’d put together a look like this with one of my longer drapey cardigans before, but never my short one.

Dress: V Fish (via Why Not Boutique)
Cardigan: Anthropologie (via eBay)
Shoes: Merrell Brios
Watch: Fossil
Earrings: Gifted

Anglophile

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Diana

There’s lots of different elements that influence my style. Lately one of my favorite inspirations has been 60′s English and French styles. I feel like the above outfit has a little bit of both, but it felt more British to me. The dress actually is British, so that should count for something.

I’ve never actually been to England, but it’s one of those places that I’d really love to visit one day. My grandfather was stationed there during WWII (in Bassingbourn, near London) so I’d especially love to visit the base he was at and the museum that’s there.

This beret always makes me happy when I wear it. I finished knitting it while waiting for a cab at LaGuardia during my trip to NYC several years ago. It always reminds me of how great that trip was. Not to mention the fact that it’s cute and warm.