Florida’s Two-Day Winter

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Diana

Every year in Florida, we never really have a “true” winter. Instead, we get sporadic days of weather below 50 degrees, after which the temperature will go back up to the 70s. Seriously. It’s 40 degrees outside as I’m writing this. Saturday is set to have a high of 74. So, when we actually get truly cold weather here, I milk it for all it’s worth. I break out one of my two coats, I resurrect my hand-knits, I wear cashmere and boots like crazy. Because I know that before we know it, winter will be gone from Florida again.

This is my, “I’m trying to smile even though I’m really cold” face

The key to days like today is lots and lots of layers. I layered wool knee socks over tights. I layered a slip, long sleeve tee, sleeveless dress and cashmere sweater for the rest. And then coat and scarf after that. Most Floridians, I’ve noticed, don’t get cold weather dressing. I see people trying to get by with hoodies or cotton turtlenecks. Everyone complains so much too. But it’s really fantastic if you’re prepared for it, and it doesn’t have to be expensive if you search for good winter pieces year round.

At first I thought about belting the sweater, but the dress has such a strong pattern that I really wanted to let it shine. By using the tie from the dress as a belt, I brought the attention back to the beautiful pattern.

How do you layer for winter? What’s your winter climate like?

Dress: Mlle Gabrielle (thrifted)
Sweater: J. Crew (via eBay)
Long sleeve tee: J. Crew Factory
Tights: HUE
Boots: Keen Bern Baby Bern
Watch: Fossil
Coat: Target (2008)
Scarf: Handknit by me

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Diana

The last week before Christmas break, I challenged myself to wear red and green everyday without being tacky. I was also battling a cold that had me slipping into pj’s and going to bed the second I got home everyday, so unfortunately, this outfit is the only one I had enough energy to capture. Fortunately, it was my favorite, so it all evens out.

It’s not unusual to get compliments sometimes from people I work with. This was one of those rare, wonderful outfits that garnered compliments from total strangers. As I was leaving my dermatologist’s office, this cute little old lady stopped to tell me how much she loved my skirt. At the grocery store, a clerk commented on how I must be dressed up for something special. Thus, this skirt remains one of my all-time favorite second-hand finds.

Speaking of the dermatologist, I finally made myself go and find out what was making my lips peel and get irritated during the winter. Turns out, lip balm addicts like myself have a habit of licking their lips a lot, and in the winter, it dries them out to the point where lip balm stings and does more harm than good. My lips are better now thanks to some lotion my dermatologist gave me. She recommended that I switch to lip stick or lip gloss during the winter, since you’re less likely to lick it off. So here’s where I ask for your help: I’m a total lipstick noob. I’ve always been a diehard balm user, and I think I own maybe four tubes of lipstick (which I got for free in Clinique gift sets).

So here’s my questions:

How do I go about finding my perfect shade?
What’s your favorite shade of lipstick?
Do you use different shades of lipliner for different lipsticks, is there a one-shade-fits-all, or do you use it at all?

Tank: Target
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Skirt: Mix Noveau (via Revolve)
Shoes: Born Codder
Necklace: garage sale
Watch: Fossil outlet
Purse: Morelle Oyster

Mis-matched Day

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Diana

Remember back in school, when you would have Spirit Week and each day would have a different theme, like Sports Day, Twin Day, etc? One fun thing about working in a middle school is that you get to experience that every year Our Spirit Week was last week, and this is what I wore for mis-matched day, my favorite day of the week. It’s so fun to put together an outfit that is as intentionally mis-matched as possible. I tried not to make my outfit so jarring that it was painful to look at, and also not so shabby that I looked homeless. I think I succeeded.

Leopard and polka dot = pattern mixing

I wore two different socks, two different styles of Converse Chuck Taylors, two different earrings. I tried to keep the base of the outfit a little more simple, so the solid colors didn’t match, but also didn’t clash painfully.

I can French braid my hair again. Yay!

Is it strange that I actually had more fun getting dressed when it was mis-matched day than on a normal day? I love having a theme or challenge for an outfit – to me it makes things more interesting than just pulling clothes out of the closet and wearing them.

Did you have mis-matched day at your school when you were a kid? How did you dress up?

Cardigan: J Crew (eBay)
Top: Target (thrifted)
Skirt: Thrifted
Tights: Hue
Socks: Hue (grey) Smartwool (green)
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylors
Scarf (in hair): Vintage
Belt: Thrifted
Watch: J. Crew/ Timex

Outfit: 10-2-11

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Diana

Today was the first day that it really felt like Fall here in Florida. I know that we’ll have many more 80+ degree days before it really cools down, but this weekend, I was just relishing in the cool weather. It was the first day that I was able to turn off the A/C, open up the windows and enjoy the cool breeze. Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year. Winter is too erratic (in Florida at least), Spring is too short (it lasts maybe two weeks here), and summer is too blasted hot. Fall is cool and fresh and full of possibilities. It’s the start of a new school year (and work year for me), with new and old faces all mingling together. It’s the time to bring out your long-sleeved tops and jackets that have been sitting in a box in your closet since May. I love Fall.

So of course, I celebrated by wearing a cardigan that I haven’t worn in months. I’m not even sure if it’s ever made it onto the blog before. It’s super soft, with beautiful details, and pockets. I love a cardigan with pockets

I was having a good hair day today too. I really love how long it’s getting. Short hair was fun, but I think I really missed wearing it long.

By the way, this tree in my backyard always starts blooming right around the first week of Fall. All those little yellow flowers will soon turn into pink ones. It’s been in several of my outfit shots in years past (see here and here). I actually wrote a post about the tree last year. Happy Fall everyone!

Tee: Gap (via Revolve)
Cardigan: Bobeau (via Nordstrom Rack)
Capris: Levi Strauss
Shoes: Born Barcelona (via eBay)
Necklace: ??
Watch: Target

Outfit: 9-17-11

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Diana

This outfit’s from over a week ago, but hey, who’s counting? There are so many things about this outfit that made me smile, I’m not sure which to talk about first. I guess we’ll start with the skirt, since it’s the oldest. I bought this way, way back during my shopping ban (almost two years ago!) and have worn it maybe once since then (didn’t blog it though). I always struggled with figuring out how to wear it and thought about tossing it, but I couldn’t bear to get rid of something so gorgeous. Finally, I realized that it just needed simple black and white to be perfect. Adding some dressy black flats (new!) and red accents, and I was all set.

That moves me onto the shoes. I’ve been looking for a comfortable, stylish pair of black flats FOREVER. I tried all my favorite brands, bought and returned shoes many times, but somehow could never seem to find anything.

I went shoe shopping with my boyfriend last week (not usually the best idea). And stumbled up a pair of Merrell Brios on sale. For once, we actually both agreed that they were cute and would be perfect for me. Unfortunately, the store didn’t have my size, but I was able to try on a larger pair to get an idea of their sizing. A few eBay searches later, and these babies arrived at my doorstep. It’s LOVE people. I’ve never had a pair of shoes this comfortable out of the box before. Buttery soft leather, a soft back of heel thing that doesn’t dig in (don’t know the right term). Lots of support and comfort (with room for an orthopedic insert, too). Amazing.

Yep, this outfit definitely made me happy. It made me feel more “me” outfit-wise than I’ve felt in a long time.

Tank: Target
Cardigan: NY & Co (thrifted)
Skirt: Mix Noveau (via Revolve)
Shoes: Merrell Brio (via eBay)
Purse: Morelle
Earrings: Wear-thou

My California Dress

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Diana

Personally, I’m not a big fan of knick-knack souvenirs. They usually end up gathering dust on a shelf, only to be taken to Goodwill after a few years. When I travel, I like to buy an article of clothing to remind me of where I went. Then you actually get to use it! In California, it seemed like a surfer-chic dress was the perfect thing. I’d never really noticed Element brand clothes before, but when stopping in a shop in Oceanside (the items weren’t second-hand, but they were name brands severely discounted) I discovered that every item I liked there was Element. I’ll have to keep my eyes out for more items from this brand.

This jersey dress is super comfortable. The green tie on the side help to cinch in the waist, and I love the print! I’ve been trying to add more kelly green items to my wardrobe, so this was perfect.

And check out the new sunglasses! I got these beautes with my store credit at Revolve. It truly does pay to clean out your closet – these Roberto Cavalli’s can retail for over $100, but I got mine for a mere $40 in store credit. Awesome!

Dress: Element
Leggings: Target
Sandals: Clarks (via 6pm)
Necklace: Wendy Brandes Little Woolf
Earrings: Wear-thou
Sunglasses: Roberto Cavalli (via Revolve Clothing Exchange)

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night”

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Diana

Well folks, this week is Bookfair week at work, which basically means that I’m going to be pulling my hair out, working long hours, and having very little computer “free” time. I love it, because it really is a great fund raiser for my library, but it’s exhausting. If I’m pretty much absent from the blogosphere this week, you’ll understand why.

But I did at least manage to snap a few quick outfit photos yesterday. This outfit was based on trying to find something that could be secretly warm and not make me look like a marshmallow. Because lately that’s how all my sweaters make me feel. There’s a tank and a slip layered underneath the dress, and I layered a coat and hat over this for most of the day. Florida’s weather is so ridiculously erratic. The day started off in the 40′s, but then climbed up to the high 60′s. Lately, I feel like I never know what temperature to dress for, even though I check the weather online every morning. Oh well.

Dress: Boden (via eBay)
Leggings: Target
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Scarf: Target
Boots: Frye 8Rs (via eBay)

Quote: Steve Martin

“Each with a star dissolved in the blue”

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Diana

I really didn’t intend to be more or less MIA for the past few weeks, but as we all know, life has a way of being overwhelming sometimes. I’ve been extremely busy at work: tech conference out of town, preparing for a bookfair, working on my teaching certification (more on that later this week). Needless to say, it’s been busy and stressful. The stress caused some of my skin problems to flare up, so I didn’t want to take many outfit pictures. Things are started to calm down now. Just don’t get worried if my posting is occasionally sporadic in the next few months – I should always be posting at least once or twice a week, but right now, I can’t handle much more than that.

I love this beautiful Boden cardigan, but for awhile I was a bit frustrated with it, since I always ended up wearing it with the same combination of jeans and a solid tank over and over. I wanted to find a new way to wear it, and my answer came last week as I was trying to find a new way to remix my favorite navy dress. Turns out, this cardigan makes a really cute wrap bolero too. (And by the way, it was in the 70s that day. No snow for Florida :/ )

Cardigan: Boden
Dress: Soprano
Shoes: Dansko Sally
Necklace: Express
Headband: Target

Quote: George MacDonald

“I still read fairy tales…”

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Diana

Tunics and leggings and boots always make me think of woodland fairies. Reading two volumes of The Legend of Zelda mangas today only added to that association. It’s true, I’m still kind of a video game nerd, even if I don’t play them as often as I used to.

And of course, cute (and not so cute) cats frequently appear in fairy tales. This one is my neighbor’s cat, but she likes to cross the street and visit sometimes. She’s actually made a guest appearance on my blog before.

Thermal: Target (thrifted)
Tunic: French Connection (via Revolve)
Leggings: Target
Boots: Frye 8R (via eBay)
Scarf: Target

“If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all.” ~ Audrey Hepburn

“Whoa, that’s so…. girly.”

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Diana

Last year I did nothing for New Year’s Eve. This year, my boyfriend and I went out to a local restaurant and watched Dex Romweber Duo while ringing in the New Year. It was a bit pricey, but it was tons of fun. The weather here was really cold last week, but thankfully it warmed up for NYE. I did end up switching to tights before we left, but that was the only difference.

In the background you can see our “Chirstmas pole”. We didn’t have room for a tree in the house this year, so I wrapped lights around our pole in the living room to create some holiday spirit.