OTI: Voted Choice

Today's Choice is one that I actually pinned back in January or February...and then forgot about.  I'm so happy that it got picked, because I really love the combination of colors.

Shirt and Cardigan:  Old Navy, Jeans:  Forever 21

Here's to a super awkward pose, but an outfit that I kind of love.  I had to go with green stripes, because I don't own any gingham, actually, and I went with Blue on the bottom and pink on the top.  I also had a yellow watch on, but my adorable niece needed something to chew on, so that got lost in the car for now.  

In other news, visiting family is awesome, and I really, really love them all.  Hope your week is as good as mine is going so far!

To see more creative interpretations, check out Erica, Grace, Kayla, or anyone else who linked to their blogs!

OTI: Kayla's Choice

Super boring interpretation from me.

Shirt:  Shade (one of my favorite Maternity Shirts, and free shipping both ways!), Skirt:  Made by me.

I went with the, "slightly neutral colors on the shirt, brighter skirt, similar silhouette" interpretation.  Check out Grace, Erica, and Kayla for more inspirational interpretations.
 

OTI: Grace's Choice

Day two!  This one was Grace's pick, and I thought that I had the perfect idea for it all.

T-shirt embellished by me, skirt was a hand-me-down, belt stolen from Husband. 

"The shirt is blue!  And it has that navy and blue patterned fabric on the bow thing, and the belt could be the interpretation of the bag, and my hair is long enough for a side braid, and I have a skirt that's white!!!"

These were my excited thoughts as I saw the picture.  Then I put the outfit on and started taking pictures this morning, and it went a little bit downhill from there.

Yeah...the white skirt is not helping me look any smaller.

"Hello 29 weeks baby boy!"

So, yeah.  It was good in theory, but in practice it might need to wait until there's a little less of me...or just one person in the outfit photos.  Good things though:  hiking the skirt up like that covered up the mysterious grease spot that appeared right over my belly button that won't seem to leave.  Guess it's good that I got at least one more wear out of the shirt.

Check out Grace, Erica, and Kayla for more ideas on how to channel the fabulous Reese Witherspoon.

OTI: Erica's Choice

It's another round of Open to Interpretation!  Yesterday was Erica's Choice, and here's my attempt

Gap t-shirt, Old Navy Maternity Shorts, Ralph Lauren Sneakers

 Yeah...it's a white T-shirt and Jean shorts.  I tried on another day to interpret this with more exciting and daring options (stealing husbands clothing, wearing a shirt as a skirt, etc.) and they were all pretty miserable failures.  Every outfit just made me look more like a Walrus...which is not what I want to feel like right now (even if the thought of lounging around on an ice float is very appealing at times).  I went with the "White Shirt, Cuffed Shorts, Sneakers" interpretation, and had a grand time at playgroup.

Sneakers...I tried.

Erica, Kayla, and Grace interpreted it much better.  Check them out for the real deal.

Open to Interpretation, Round 3

It's that time again, another...

Amy's Pick

I have to admit, when I saw this, the super intelligent thought of, "Uhhhhh" was about all I managed.  Then I forgot all about it, until I saw Erica's reminder tweet, which happened to fall during nap time.  So I went to my closet, and grabbed a few things.

Polka Dot Shirt (actually maternity dress), Skirt (thanks Emily),  Cream colored belt (thrifted), Chunky Necklace (Kohls)

I...think I like it?  I don't know if I like it enough that I'd wear it outside the house.  I can't decide if I need a slip under the skirt to keep the polka dots from peeking through, and I can't decide if the really high waist makes me look more massive than I actually am.  Thankfully, the excuse of being 18 weeks pregnant lets you get away with being thick-waist-ed.

Also, remember when Janssen posted about her Leopard print flats?  It's probably one of the only items of clothing I regret not buying immediately.  Now, no leopard for my picture.  Tragic, really.

Be sure to check out Kayla, Erica, and Amy!

Day 10: Something that Scares You

Well, there are a lot of fashion things that scare me...but I don't really own any of them.  Pattern mixing is still a little bit scary to me, so I went with that for the outfit.

This isn't even scary pattern mixing...

Something that's always difficult for me is feeling like I look too "done up."  I want to look like I put some effort in (I certainly don't want to look like I just gave up), but I'm not quite sure where the line is yet, I guess.

Hair Curled and make-up done.

I never really wore make-up and such in high school...or most of college...or...most of anything, until about the last year or so, and it's because I feel a little bit like this:

Source

And really, what self-respecting, non-diva mom wants to feel like she's putting on Miss Piggy airs?

Not me.

Be sure to link up to Kayla for the last day!

Day Nine: OTI

Today was another round of Open to Interpretation.  Kayla picked this lovely lady:

Teal skirt, sweater, white something, heels.

So I, quite loosely, interpreted it as this:

Green Shirt, white something, sweater...

The funniest thing is, I'm sure this is an outfit that I've worn before, and I'm very much aware that it's not fashionable.  I love it though.  To make myself stretch a little, I decided to do something that I've never done.

Brown heels, like the brown purse in the picture.

I wore heels with my jeans.  I know this is no great anything to anyone out there, but I've always felt kind of fussy wearing heels with anything except an outfit that's equally fussy.  I really loved it though, and, it turns out, that jeans are made for people who are about 4-5 inches taller than I am.

Perfect hem!

Yeah, with the shoes, these pants, which were heading toward the repair pile, are the perfect length.  Maybe I'll keep them this way, just to wear heels with them again.

Be sure to Link up to Kayla (or Erica, or Amy) today!

Day Eight: Dress Up Your Coat

I really loved this prompt in theory.  I usually feel like it doesn't really matter what I wear in the winter because everywhere we've lived is cold...which means I'm in my coat mostly whenever we go out anywhere.  I've got a lot of great coats, so it's not too sad, but the idea of dressing up a coat with a little extra something is nice.

Flower--made by me.

I like the idea of a boutineer,  so I just added this flower hair clip to a button hole on my coat.  Aand done.

Be sure to link up to Kayla if you're participating too!

Day Seven: Bright Colors

Yesterday really didn't happen for me.  I got up in the morning, threw something on...and then I got busy doing catch-up chores and such...so, yeah.  The end.

Today was bright colors day.  I bought this coat on sale back a few years.  I actually bought it for it's bright colors, because winter had been getting me a bit down.

My face was painfully awkward...so no head.  But look!  A coat, and it has toggles!

Also, yesterday, in the mail, I happened to get this awesome watch that I'd ordered.  It's yellow...and a slap bracelet.  Katie likes it as much as I do!

Yellow Watch!

Happy brightening up your winter!  Be sure to link up to Kayla when you do.

Day Five: Pattern Mixing

As I stared at my closet, trying to figure out which pieces I wanted to mix, I knew immediately that I wanted it to be this outfit.

Sorry it's blurry...night pictures with the bean can be hard.

I also knew that outfit pictures were going to be more fun than usual, because we were going out for my birthday that night, and I had specifically requested that we go and see "The Bean". Apparently it's called "The Cloud Gate" but I literally didn't know that until right this minute when I looked it up on Wikipedia.

Stripes and Paisley

All night as we walked around, boarded the train, and went out to eat, I just couldn't stop being in awe that we live in this city.

Nate got in on the pattern mixing too, and wore a paisley tie with a striped shirt.  Apparently, he was even complimented at work for it. 

Seriously!  I still can't get over it.  So far, I'm completely happy.

Katie mixed floral details on her jeans with leopard print lining in her coat.  She pulled it off magnificently.

We loved Pennsylvania, and Utah, and everywhere else that we've lived, and there are definitely things that I miss about them all...

Katie:  She's just the best.  I can't believe she's getting so tall!

But there's something immensely satisfying about loving where you are at that moment, and finding excitement and joy in what you've got when you've got it.

Panorama Nate took...awesome!

Basically, if 27 goes like yesterday promises, it's going to be one amazing year.

Be sure to link up with Kayla if you're doing the challenge!

Day Four: Channel Someone

Today's prompt was to channel someone...and I couldn't think of it for the life of me.  Disney princesses were mentioned...and so I picked Belle, who was always my favorite growing up.

Source

Blue, white, something twisty with the hair, and ballet flats.  I mean, Belle is the reason I started wearing ballet flats as an adult...I added a yellow belt as an homage to her other, more famous outfit and this is what I came up with:

Outside pictures (Barely...they're in my stairwell...and I ran inside as soon as I saw my neighbor coming home). 

As I got dressed, I was looking through my shoes, trying to pick the right flats, and I saw my floppy boots.  Then I thought, "What if Belle and Gaston had gotten together and had some sort of weird fashion baby?"  That would be this outfit.  So, no flats, but slouchy boots instead.  I think he's also where the skinny jeans come in.  Once I put on my red coat to walk to playgroup, the whole thing really changed mostly to just Gaston.

I did not, however, eat 5 dozen eggs this morning.  I would prefer to avoid being "roughly the size of a barge" if possible.

Go and link up with Kayla!

Day Three: Embrace a Trend

These pictures were taken at the very end of a somewhat long (but not bad) day.

And you can't really see the trends that I was embracing unless you get really close (unless the striped shirt counts).

Trends:
Blunt Bangs.  I cut them on Saturday...just in time, and I think I like them?  This was sort of how my bangs were all throughout high school and middle school (though a bit shorter), so it almost feels like I've gone backwards.  We'll see if they stay.
Winged Eyeliner. Can't really see it here, but it was pretty decent.  I think I'd do it again.
Mustache Fingernails:  Between the shirt, the red shoes, and the mustache, I almost felt like this post should go up tomorrow when I could claim I was channeling a mime...but I still like it.

Be sure to go over to Kayla's and link up!

Day Two: Monochrome

Last challenge I went all green...much like the wall behind me.  It was a neutral-ish color, so I thought I'd try something a little more daring this time.

PINK!  I wish I could say I felt like Elle Woods, or Barbie, but I mostly felt silly.  It really helped that I wasn't going anywhere...at all.  Except to take the dog out.  Going nowhere makes me really bold in my clothing choices...or really lazy.

Actually, it's usually really lazy.

I never utilize monochrome in my normal outfits.  I can't decide if it's too boring, or if I just forget about it, or if it makes me feel too daring.  I know, boring and daring?  Doesn't make a whole lot of sense...neither do my outfits much of the time.

Head over to Kayla to link up yours!

Day One: Layers

I love all the yellow I've been seeing around, and it makes me happy, especially when the winter has been a bit bleak for the last little while.  I also kind of like that the thin yellow shirt almost becomes a striped shirt.  It's a fun effect.

Striped shirt: Target, Yellow shirt:  Old Navy (thrifted and altered), Jeans:  Old Navy, Shoes: Thrifted

As soon as Nate started taking pictures, everyone else jumped in too.  I completely adore both Katie's face, and her pose here.  She makes me laugh.

Check out the rest of Day One Here

10 Day Challenge: Winter!

Ahhh Kayla, you've done it again.  It's the end of winter (well...sort of the beginning, since we've just now been getting snow here), and I'm in need of some inspiration, and a good reason to do more than wear my stretchy pants and sweat shirts all day.

Starting next week (my birthday week, incidentally :D ), it's time for another little set of prompts.  I'm totally going to do it (it was awesome last time), and I hope you'll do it too.  Head over to Kayla's blog to learn more about the basics and to catch all the prompts.

Pants Refashion and OTI Post

I don't know if you read Kayla, Amy, and Erica's blogs, but they're pretty great.  Anything I ever wear that's halfway fashionable has probably been inspired by Kayla's 21 Day Challenge, which got me out of just jeans and a T-shirt...at least sometimes.

These three ladies have been doing a fun series called Open to Interpretation, and, tomorrow, we're all invited to play along as well.

As per the usual rules of the whole shebang, one of the three chooses an inspiration picture, and people go and get inspired by it, and then post pictures.  Here is the inspiration:

Now, you don't have to dress exactly like the outfit.  In fact, you're more encouraged to dress like yourself.  That being said, I happened to have, or have access to almost everything in this picture.  Even though it's just about nothing like what I usually wear, I decided to give it a go.  Before that though, I had to fix the pants.

I'm not super up on fashion trends, but I've seen enough pinterest to know that colored denim is pretty hot for fall.  I may be one season late, but why not, right?  I found these very, very large pink jeans at the thrift store for $0.30.  Originally, I passed on them.  When they were still there a week later, I thought, "Meh, what the heck?"  So I plopped down my money and proudly marched home with a pair of very pink pants.  Then I worried that pink pants might not fit into the whole colored denim trend...that it might just be red, blue, etc.  I threw them in my "do something with this later" pile and figured I'd do something later.

Then, I saw these on GAP's website: http://gap-mag.com/work-together-wear-together-bright-denim and I thought, "If that color of pink can be in, why not?"  Then the OTI crew showed this picture for the interpretation, and so, the pants finally became something less than size 20W.

Before (inside out so I can figure out where to start taking them in)

I took in the waist about 2 inches from the seam on both sides (about 4 inches of fabric, folded in half) and just sewed down the entire length of the seam.  Then I tried them on.  I thought about doing Liz's trick of taking in the crotch so that they could sit lower, but I just wore them up really, really high (like, above my belly button) with a belt.  Maybe I'll still take them in properly later...maybe I'll just wear them up really high.  As long as I don't have to tuck in a shirt in them, I should be good.

Once I'd sewn them to be small enough to be in mostly the right places up top, it was time to skinny the legs.  I just pulled the seam I'd sewn, and then pinched and marked where I wanted to skinny it with a washable marker.

And, Voila!  I gathered together everything I owned that was similar to this darling woman, and put it on.

Hat:  Nate's, Sweater: Cable-knit cardigan worn backwards from Old Navy (gift), Striped Shirt:  Thrifted, (refashioned), Jeans: Thrifted (refashioned) Shoes:  Crocs (gift)

To be perfectly honest, I felt a bit ridiculous in this outfit, especially the backwards cardigan, and we had to go to the vet.  Part of me thought, "Who cares, we're moving soon!"  The other part of me didn't want to make my husband shake his head the whole time we were together.  So this is what I actually ended up wearing:

I thought I would be kind of self-conscious about the hot pink pants...but no, I wasn't.  I actually didn't even think about my clothes the whole time (we even went out to eat after the vet appointment).  I would say that that makes this a pretty successful attempt at utilizing a trend that I probably would have never tried without another challenge.  Thanks guys!

Work It

Well, it's the end of the challenge. I've loved it! Thanks Kayla for such a fun (and flexible) series of prompts. If you ever feel so inclined to try it again...I'll jump right on that ship.

Today I got dressed in something else...and then decided that I didn't like it. I was trying too hard. I switched into this outfit, and it just felt right. I think that's a big thing about getting dressed--it has to feel right, otherwise your outfit just looks off as well. Also, I got compliments all day long at church, so something was working for me.

Dress: Swapped with Ali, Belt: Thrifted, Shoes: Mervyns...back when it existed, Necklace: Kohls, Watch and Earrings: Gifts from Nate

Prior to this challenge, I never would have belted this dress...but now it's fantastic. I also probably would have just skipped all the accessories, but they really added to the look, and I tried something new with my hair, it had wilted a bit by the time I took the pictures (serious humidity), but still good. All-in-all win, win, win.

Also, I love the clothes that I have gotten from Ali so much...maybe we should work out some kind of 21-Day Challenge-wide clothes swap? Anyone?

Thanks again Kayla, you're awesome.

Sunday Shoes

Please tell me that I'm not the only one here who thought of this video when they saw the prompt today:

This is me dancing:

Shirt: made by me, but inspired (see Thursday) by Merrick, Jeans: Target, Shoes: Gift from my mom from Crocs

Anyway, in honor of Footloose, here are two pictures with moving feet. If I could make one of those moving picture awesome things, I would have. Just scroll fast...

By the way, these You by Crocs shoes are really crazy comfortable, and they're satin, not foamy plastic.

Wear Something on your Head

These pictures were taken at the end of a long day. I had a dentist appointment to get two fillings, on the top right, and center of my face. Our dentist is great, but my nose was numb for an hour or so...which is odd. Straight from there I went to work, which was fine, and now, here are pictures.

Shirt: walmart, Undershirt: Shade Shorts: thrifted, Shoes: crocs, gift from mom

This outfit looked boring when I put it on, so I added the yellow belt. My fingernails are also yellow. This outfit is such a good combination of prompts from this challenge: Belted, something new with my hair, neutral base with a pop of color, I even ended up wearing that undershirt backwards because I spilled on it. That's creative...right?

I made this hair thing a really long time ago--actually out of some of the scraps from the trench coat that I refashioned. I've just never figured out how to wear it. Finally, here it is.