Tag Archives: LOFT

New York, New York

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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

A few of my favorite things

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Top: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Skirt: Forver 21 (via Revolve)
Sandals: Dansko Neve (via eBay)
Necklace: Express
Bangle: Vintage

I had a pretty awesome Christmas this year.  Lots and lots of family time (all within Tampa this year, yay!), lots of great food (turns out holidays are great for eating Paleo), lots of treats (not very Paleo) and lots of fantastic gifts.  I wore the above outfit all day on Christmas, which turned out to be perfect.  It’s really out of my usual comfort zone (midi peasant skirt, white top, heels) but I loved it.  The simplicity of basic neutrals with turquoise accessories looked nice without being overdressed or too casual.  The jersey skirt meant that I didn’t have extra discomfort after eating too many cookies.  And the wedge sandals dressed things up and weren’t super uncomfortable.

This is what my awesome boyfriend got me.  He had already bought the eBags packing cubes from Amazon for me (I’d been wanting these for years; I can’t wait to try them out next time I travel) and he wasn’t sure what else he should buy me for Christmas.  I suggested he try Anthropologie.  He went, found some presents for me, and told me that Anthro could be called the “Diana store” because he could have closed his eyes and pointed at anything there and I would have liked it :)

I’ve already been digging into the book he got me, and I absolutely love it.  The other present I was super excited about.  Carlo has a very sensitive sense of smell and most perfumes irritate him.  Thus I haven’t worn perfume since we’ve been together for the past five years.  But I was really missing wearing a scent.  Without me eve telling him to, he found a perfume at Anthro that didn’t irritate his senses and bought it for me.  And I love it!  It’s light, floral with just a hint of ocean breeze.  This will be a favorite for years to come.

Here’s some other random pics from the festivities:

 This is the stuff I got from family.

Carlo and Elvis on Christmas day

I got this ornament when I was a kid, and it’s still awesome :)

“Living is simple”

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Right now, life is a crazy, hectic and over-stressed world, and I’m just trying to make it through it one day at a time.  Nothing particularly bad is happening, there’s just lots and lots of deadlines as the school year winds down,  lots of bored kids who don’t want to stay on task, and lots of stressed out fellow adults dealing with their own deadlines.  I know that this just goes with the territory as the school year comes to a close, so I’m just taking it one day at a time.

At this point, I’m trying to keep the rest of my life as simple as possible so that I can really focus on the important things and not get bogged down by clutter.  That includes physical, mental and emotional clutter.  I took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill during spring break.  I’ve started listing stuff I know longer use on eBay (if you’re interested, check out here.  It’s just shoes right now, but I might add books and other misc later).  I’ve been clearing mental clutter by cleaning out my inbox and cutting back on mailings that don’t interest me.  I’ve been trying to deal with some emotional clutter by getting rid of items that I was holding onto because I was trying to cling to a part of me that doesn’t fit anymore.  These items were things that used to be a strong part of my identity, but my identity has changed, and I think that they had simply become emotional weight that was bringing me down subconsciously.

I have a feeling that the tone of my blog is changing and evolving.  I don’t really like to write short, frequent posts anymore (and it’s difficult to find the time).  But I love to share with my readers (you!) and I love to express my thoughts and my journey through life in this blog.  I think my posting style is going to change to longer, deeper, but less frequent posts.  That’s just what works for me right now, and I think it’s best to go with the flow of how my life is rather than to stress myself out conforming to a pattern that doesn’t work for me.  We’ll see how it goes :)

Tank: Ann Taylor LOFT (Revolve)
Cardigan: J Crew (eBay)
Slacks: Gap
Shoes: Dansko Sally
Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Quote: Living is Simple, by Switchfoot

“Live in the moment”

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I’ve noticed some changes in my style lately.  I think these changes have mostly evolved over the past year, as a result of working at a middle school and from deepening my practice of yoga.

I have no tolerance for uncomfortable clothes anymore.  Shoes that kill my feet after eight hours, restricting and tight button downs, clothes that fit too tight or constrict in the wrong places.  These things didn’t bother me so much when I worked a desk job, but in education, you’re on your feet for a majority of the day.  Yoga has given me a deeper awareness of my body and how things affect it, so it just doesn’t make sense to wear things that are uncomfortable.

These changes have led to a greater simplicity in my look.  I don’t like to wear a ton of accessories anymore – usually just two or three is fine.  I do mix patterns and colors somewhat, but I don’t like to go for loud or outrageous combinations.  The only change I am a little sad about is the fact that I hardly ever wear heels anymore.  I still wear them sometimes – but only for special occasions, and very rarely, for work.

Tee: Ann Taylor Loft
Necklace: Etsy (don’t know the seller)
Capris: Levis (thrifted)
Purse: Morelle
Sandals: Clarks

Quote: Amit Ray

 

Shopping Plan: November

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*November edition of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*

Between money left over from October and the $125 I budgeted for November, I had $188.50 to spend this month.  Here’s what I bought:

Tank Tops, Target, $8 each

Terribly exciting, I know, but I needed some new tank tops for layering.

From L to R:

White Tee: Ann Taylor LOFT
Green Long Sleeve: Aeropostale
Red Beret: ?
Black Cardi: NY & Co
Brown Dress: NY & Co
Grey Tunic: French Connection
Goldenrod Sarong: ?

Total: roughly $30 at various garage sales

Neighborhood garage sales where there’s a lot of well-off, young hipsters are the best.  I got some fantastic items, at a really good quality, and there was a minimal amount of digging through nasty old polyester clothes to find them.

Earrings: $3 from local artist at garage sale

They didn’t have a website that I know of, or I would link.  These are fast becoming my new favorite earrings.

Keen Chamonix Boots: $51 on eBay
Keen Barcelonas: $25 on eBay

Once it started getting cold this year, I realized that I had no comfy, flat boots that I could wear all day.  I love my boot collection, but they don’t cut it for eight hours on my feet.  The chamonix boots turned out to look a little more like snow boots than I had expected, but they’re comfy, and they’ll be great for cold weekends.

The Barcelonas I bought because I adore my black nubuck ones, and I decided it made sense to get them in more colors and fabrics.

Denim Capris: Levis
Tunic: Forever 21
Striped Tee: Old Navy

All bought from Revolve with store credit

Oh how I love shopping with store credit.  Revolve Clothing Exchange is the best.

So I spent exactly $125 this month, leaving me with $63.50 to add on to December.  After next month, I’ll go back through my original wardrobe gaps list from the beginning of the year and see how many I filled.

“A new experience for her”

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As you may know, I generally shy away from primarily neutral outfits.  I love color – bright, bold, saturated, etc.  Wearing an outfit of navy, brown and white with just a little turquoise is a bit of a stretch for me.  But at the same time, I absolutely love how this outfit turned out.  The neutrals all work together perfectly, and they created an outfit that is both simple and chic.

I found it interesting that this outfit contains an unusually large number of non-secondhand items for me.  But what I also love is that each of these items was chosen and purchased with care, and have served me through many outfit remixes.  I can’t even count the number of times I’ve worn that cardigan – it works great with just about everything.  That turquoise necklace always makes for a fantastic pop of color.  And my Anthro belt always adds some extra interest to outfits.  As I’ve said before, I’m not against buying things from larger, corporate stores.  It’s always about balance and buying things that you love.

Dress: Soprano (via Li da la)
Cardigan: LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Shoes: Dansko Sally (courtesy of Dansko)
Necklace: Express
Bracelet: Vintage

Quote: No Talking, by Andrew Clements

Shopping Plan: Week 31

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*Week 31 of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*

I had $104 left in my August budget last week.  And this week began September’s budget, giving me another $125.  It’s weird how your budget builds up when have no money to spend.  As you can see from the image above, I went on a nice little thrifting spree this week, which cost me all of $25.

a.n.a. tunic
Design history tank
Old Navy Tank

Ann Taylor Tank
Ann Taylor LOFT button down

I’m really happy with these tops.  They’ll give me a lot of new things to wear for work and play.  But quite honestly, my favorite finds are the least glamourous – those two pairs of lounge pants.  Before this week, I only owned two pairs of yoga pants and three pairs of pajama pants.  While I like all of them, I was beginning to get sick of them, and craved more variety.  These two pairs that I thrifted fit fantastically, they’re 100% cotton, and they’re super soft (the green ones are organic cotton, which is doubly awesome).  I’ve been wearing them all weekend, except for when I went out in public, of course.

Watch – $12

I also somewhat impulsively bought this watch.  At an antique shop.  Which is weird, because the watch isn’t antique.  I’ve been wanting a watch to wear to work, because mine needs a new battery and needs to have the band shortened, and I’ve been too lazy (and broke) to get it done.  Not the best reason to buy a new watch, but whatever.  It’s good to have some variety.

So I had $229 in my budget, and I spent $37, so now I have $192.  There will probably be more thrifting and consignment trips this week, and maybe I’ll actually look at my wardrobe gaps list for real.  There will also be *cough, cough* a new pair of used shoes to check out next week.  I’ll give you a hint: they start with “flue” and end with “vog” :)

“We did nothing at all”

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On my last few days of summer, I’m craving simplicity.  Short, t-shirts and sandals are pretty much all I want to wear.   I wore this outfit this past weekend, and today I go back to work.  I guess I wanted to get as much mileage out of my summer casual clothes as possible, since this week it’s time to go back to professional wear.  It’s been a great summer, but I’m looking forward to having structure to my days again, as well as a reason to get dressed up.

Tee: Outlooks (via Revolve)
Shorts: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Sandals: Clarks Rime (6pm)
Purse: Morelle Charlotte
Bangle: Garage sale
Earrings: Wish by Felicity

Quote: The Cat in the Hat, by Dr Seuss

“Tweetily-tweet”

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I think it’s true what they say about haircuts, that they usually look better about two weeks after you get them.  I was feeling a bit frustrated with my new hair cut when I first got it, but now it’s really starting to grow on me (no pun intended).

My jewelry was quasi bird-themed with this outfit.  The cuff has engravings of birds on it, and the earrings are shaped somewhat like feathers.  And I even found a blue jay feather on the ground while taking these pictures.  I used to love collecting feathers like this when I was a kid, and I fancied myself quite the birdwatcher.  I even made a “camouflage” cover out of an old green wool blanket, thinking that the birds wouldn’t notice me if I cut holes in it and watched them from underneath.  Needless to say, that idea didn’t work very well, especially in the Florida heat.

Tank: Soma (thrifted)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Shorts: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Sandals: Clarks Rime
Earrings: wear+thou
Cuff: Vintage via Sherry’s Yesterdaze
Purse: Morelle Charlotte

Quote: Jazzmatazz! by Stephanie Calmenson

“We never catch butterflies”

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(my camera battery died in the middle of this shoot, so I only got two photos)

This outfit may look familiar.  That’s because I wore a variation of it just a few weeks ago.  There have been a lot of repeat outfits this summer, and I’m okay with that.  If I had a larger space for storing clothing, I might have a greater variety of outfits.  I have a small closet, and the heat limits what I can wear even more, so there are repeats, and that’s fine.

With blogging, I’ve become a lot more conscious of where items of clothing come from, and I’ve begun to happily notice that a majority of my wardrobe is second-hand and/or handmade.  When I had my shopping ban (as opposed to shopping plan)  I was only allowed to shop at non-second hand/handmade locations once a month.  I got rid of that restriction with the shopping plan, but honestly I still haven’t bought much that was new and mass-produced.  Most of the times when I go to the mall, I end up not finding anything that I really love, even when I’m more than ready and willing to spend money.

All of this fits in with my sustainability focus, because when you buy second-hand, you’re keeping clothes from going to the landfill, and reducing the amount of new clothing that needs to be produced.  When you buy hand-made, you’re supporting small businesses and helping artists to earn a living.  Being green can be a beautiful and stylish thing.

Shirt: St John’s Bay (thrifted)
Shorts: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Sandals: Clarks Rime (via 6pm)
Scarf: Vera (vintage via garage sale)
Cuff: via Classy Consignment
Earrings: The Peach Tree
Purse: Morelle Charlotte

Quote: Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire, by Jane O’Connor

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