turbulence.

merona dress  & cardigan and
mossimo virginia pumps {all thrifted target stock}

​oct 22nd / the color marissa & i are featuring today for our pantone-inspired fall color challenge is turbulence, a smoky blue-gray.  this color gave me the most difficulty; i have a scarf that matches the color perfectly but i just couldn't build an outfit around it!  finally, i settled on this faux-wrap dress from target.  i thought the combination of blues in the swirly vertical pattern definitely gave an effect of turbulent ocean waters in the above hue.  plus, it's a dress that i don't seem to offer much wear, so it felt good to have a purpose to build an outfit with it.  i think the blue looks great with the maroon/burgundy necklace & heels.

how do you think i did?  did you, too, have to stretch a bit to find an article of clothing that resembles the color of turbulence above?  we're linking up at marissa's blog the modern austen today so head on over to add your link.  i look forward to seeing your looks!

be sure to come back to my blog tomorrow to link up with your koi orange looks!

get the look:  similar dress / this season's cardigan / similar belt / similar heels

monday (magenta & green)

merona sheath dress ·  old navy turtleneck
fioni tate booties {ebayed}

i love browsing target.com because you never know when there will be an additional sale offered on clothing & accessory items.  most of the time the clothes on target.com aren't discounted to the extent that they are in stores, but sometimes you can come across online-only items or have a second chance at nabbing something if it has already come & gone through your local store.  i came across this dress one day when i was browsing and was immediately attracted to the style and print.  it sat in my virtual shopping cart for a while and i kept watching the price bounce around.  finally, i purchased it when target.com was offering a promotion last week and i found another coupon code online for an additional $5 off (thanks to totallytarget.com).  not too bad!  the length could be an inch or two longer, but i'm willing to work with it for the great style and and print.  i also picked up these two things in the same order:

peggy recommended this top a while ago and now i see what she means - it is really cute and versatile and i can't wait to wear it!  and the heels... well, they were on sale and i just couldn't say "no."  they are a little darker in real life but i like that a little better...  in fact, they would have gone great with this dress!  do you do much shopping at target.com?

friday (striped)

jones ny blazer {thrifted}   ·   merona doubleweave skirt

merona mattie flats & belt {both thrifted target stock}

 

if there were ever a day to wear stripes... it should be on a friday!  this is a big step for me guys, i can count the number of striped items in my closet on one hand {i know, it's blasphemous} so i'm easing my way in on a relaxed friday!  have a great weekend - thanks for visiting this week and an especially big thank you to my recent followers.  i hope you'll leave a comment and say hello!

 

monday.

old navy cocoon cardigan   merona slacks {thrifted target stock}  

target belt {thrifted target stock}   lela rose for payless madison pumps

 

every day at my workplace there is a morning meeting to share updates or education related to our senior housing campus, staff birthdays/anniversaries, a verse, and we close in a prayer for the day.  almost every day it seems like the employees who attend have all received a memo to wear a certain color or print and we all have a chuckle about it.  i guess we need something to comment on or talk about at 8:15 in the morning and it is always the color of clothes we are wearing.  at least it's not usually about the weather!  isn't small talk about the weather the worst?  today a few people who were wearing dark colors/black all ended up sitting on one side of the conference table and other employees in more colorful tops and shirts had congregated towards the other end of the conference table.  whenever someone new walked in the room to join the gathering, someone would jokingly point them towards the right side of the table where they should sit based on what color they were wearing.  GUESS WHAT SIDE OF THE TABLE I WAS SITTING AT!  the boring, dark, drab colored side.  even if i put together outfits to wear over the weekend, monday always seems to roll around and zap my creativity and whatever outfit i picked out just doesn't look or feel right, so i default to repeating an outfit that worked in the past or i throw something on just to make do so i can head out the door.  so yes, i admit that this is a pretty drab and boring outfit today (and i've worn it before - i can't think of any other way to wear this sweater).  hopefully i can sit at the colorful end of the table tomorrow!

friday (mustard + a cat)

merona artist cardigan {thrifted target stock}   handmade (by me) skirt

lela rose for payless charson side-bow pumps

i wish i could say i wore these shoes with this outfit all day, but this photo is all lies.  i know, the deception!  i schlepped them to work to change into once i got into the office but they felt a little bit off as i walked around my office in them... they are 1/2 size too big and so i need some heel pads or something.  aren't they lovely, though?  and i noticed that i have quite a few skirts with some mustard yellow in them that these shoes will go wonderfully with.  i'm glad i caught them at a good deal online when i did, especially since they are now sold out {although still available in navy online!}.  i can't wait to see what lela rose's next line of shoes at payless are like!

a couple of my favorite ladies have posed with their cats this week and i have to say, i think outfit photos are 100% better when furry friends are featured.  i love seeing pictures of people's cats!  my cat, who i inherited from my nana, has appeared a couple times on my blog before, but i wrangled her into these shots with me.  she wasn't too into it, probably because she hadn't had dinner yet.  eating comes before snuggling.  say "hi" to ann!  have a good weekend!

thursday (bold)

 

 old navy v-neck sweater   j crew chiffon ruffle blouse {thrifted}

handmade (by me) skirt   merona mattie cap-toe flats {thrifted target stock}

i've had the fabric i made this skirt out of lying around for a while and finally cut it and made it into a skirt this past weekend.  i've gotten lazy and have stopped putting pockets in my last few skirts too, so it was even more easy.  i'm so used to tearing my fabric to the size i want that when fabric isn't "tearable" i ignore it for a while.  thankfully my aunt has loaned/gifted me a rotary cutter and mat and i think i cut pretty straight lines?  just don't look too closely at the hem!  i love the tealish green color of this skirt though and so i had to pair it with some other bold colors.  i think it all goes well together.  my coworker complimented me on the colors, so that's always a nice affirmation when i look around at all the other ladies around me who are always wearing black.  let's dress in more color!  :)  have a good evening!

thursday (fontana)

 j crew swiss-dot fontana dress {thrifted}   fioni heels {thrifted}

merona cardigan & belt {thrifted target stock}

the last time i wore this dress was last july when the temps were much different than they are now, but i'm glad that it is a dress i have found myself wearing year round.  i really like looking back on that post and reading the thoughts i had about thrifting this dress because it still rings so true.  it still remains my all time favorite thrifted item and i am so sentimental about it!  i mean really, it's just a piece of navy swiss-dot fabric with ruffles but every time i wear it, it feels so special.  okay, enough sentimentality - see, i told you! :)

and what is the favorite thing you've ever thrifted?

wednesday (wrapped)

 merona wrap dress {thrifted target stock}   merona essential cardigan {thrifted target stock}
target belt {thrifted target stock}   merona meaghan ruffled flats

i know, i am a walking target/merona advertisement.  i just love the classic pieces of their brand that work really well paired with other items in my closet and for my work lifestyle and yeah, it's fun to find them at the goodwill at an even bigger discount.  i've had this wrap dress since 2008 and this cardigan since this weekend and they look like they were made for each other.  i'm happy to get some additional use out of this wrap dress as well, that has only been worn a couple times!

{enter my giveaway for a handmade skirt!}

monday (presents: the favorite)

 old navy blouse & cardigan   merona belt {thrifted target stock}

handmade (by me) skirt   old navy sueded rider boots

even though i love looking at the walls of fabric and seeing so many fun colors & cute prints, 95% of the fabric that i buy to make skirts out of comes from the red tag section at joann's.  this fabric was $7 a yard, but i got it on a day that there was an additional 50% off... so this skirt was a whopping $3.50 to make!  this is such a fun print and i think it's by far my favorite skirt that i've ever made.  and can you believe i could wear it outside with no coat?!  even though these outside pictures didn't turn out that great, i just had to post them because it's january and i live in minnesota!  have a happy evening!

monday (challenged: olive print skirt)

merona olive print skirt {temporarily swapped}   converse blouse {thrifted new}
old navy cardigan   target belt & necklace   simply vera tights   unlisted heels {thrifted}

this week my friend whitney from between the lines and i will be participating in a challenge to style some of each other's clothes that we get stuck wearing the same way over & over.  this is one of her skirts that i have been an admirer of each time i see her wear it.  my subliminal messages must have gotten through to her because she sent it my way for our challenge.  of course, once i got it, i wasn't sure how i would style it.  i didn't want to recreate an exact replica of one of whitney's outfits, but i didn't want to play it too safe either.  

i love how whitney paired this skirt with colors like lavender, sea foam green, and pinkish red.  i was still stuck, though.  whenever i am not sure what color to wear with an item, i always reference academichic's color tutorials.  all i needed was to see was the photo on the bottom of this tutorial highlighting analogous color combinations and i knew i could pull that off with this skirt.  so, i am adding navy & teal to the mix here.  i'm starting to think any color would look great with this skirt!  what do you all think?

{see how whitney wore it here, here, and here} 

thursday (frosty)

merona leigh crosshatch dress, merona cardigan, & target belt {all thrifted target stock}

old navy tights   lela rose for payless finsbury heels   target necklace

today was the first morning that i had to scrape frost off my window shields.  as soon as i approached my car and ran my fingers down my back window and realized it was indeed ice and not condensation i thought, "here we go."  i have some interesting winter-related car ordeals.  the best from last winter was getting a car wash on a mild day, my doors freezing shut over night (this has happened a previous winter as well.  if i mention any time between now and march that i am going to get a car wash, feel free to kindly discourage me not to), and not being able to open either of my two car doors.  there are only so many options you have in situations such as these.  i was finally able to pry the trunk open and crawled into the trunk and through the backseat wearing a skirt and the boots i was wearing yesterday.  you know, when it's winter in minnesota you do what you have to do.  after this morning i'm realizing... winter is calling.

tuesday (in tights)

old navy high waisted skirt   fossil white button-down shirt  old navy blazer {thrifted}  

merona belt {thrifted new}   old navy bauble flats   dress barn earrings

l&s readers, welcome to tights season in my land.  i couldn't be happier.  i love the season changes in minnesota!!  i got my outfit inspiration today from a banana republic photo i saw on kimberly's september outfit inspiration calendar (see below).  this skirt is a little too short for me to wear without tights, so i was happy to finally pull it out since it's become a seasonal skirt.  i paired it with this great old navy blazer i thrifted a couple years ago at the goodwill and accented with the black accessories instead of brown (those loafer heels are cute though!).  so happy that fall is here!

{photo from bananarepublic.com}

thursday (blocked)

merona nicole dress {thrifted target stock}   merona essential cardigan {thrifted target stock}

old navy bauble flats   target belt {thrifted target stock}

you guys, is this color blocking?  i googled the term and the images that came up weren't that helpful, so i just picked my brightest skirt (actually it's a dress) and a cardigan with a hue i thought was complimentary and called it color blocking.  does it still count if i break it up with a belt?  should i have buttoned all the buttons on my cardigan?  please advise.  meanwhile, i'll go check out the other color blockers who are taking part in freckles in april's 21 day challenge.  tomorrow we're all wearing belts, hopefully i can figure that one out on my own!

monday (professional)

merona leigh crosshatch dress {thrifted new, $4.99}   merona artist light cardigan {thrifted new}
target belt {thrifted new}   merona "marylynn" mary jane heels   forever21 bracelet

i've been hoarding this dress since may and decided it was high time to just wear it already. no sense in waiting for the perfect opportunity.  honestly, what really detracted me from wearing it up until now was that it almost felt too professional for my work environment.  i figured today was as good a day as any to wear it, though, since we had some guests in our office.  and i think i felt better once i put a cardigan over it.  nothing like setting the tone for the workweek with a great dress!