may 1st {lemon zest}

merona cardigan {thrifted target stock}   ·   talbots skirt {thrifted}

we are on day three of marissa's and my pantone-inspired spring color challenge!  as a recap, monday we featured emerald looks and african violet was on tuesday.  even though it's the middle of the week, there is still time to link up!  but today we're talking lemon zest. i have to admit that when we choose this color i knew quite well that i have only two yellow articles of clothing in my closet.  i picked this cardigan up not too long ago though in an attempt to add more yellow to my closet, so it was really the only item i had to wear to come close to lemon zest.

sadly, i wish i were more excited about this outfit.  i think yellow & gray pair great together, but it just felt like it was missing something.  maybe another accent color?  a belt?  how did i not add a belt?!  i'll see what i can come up with the next time i wear this cardigan!

are you wearing lemon zest today?  be sure to head over to the modern austen and add your link!  thanks for participating with us!

check out the emerald post here and african violet post here!

feb 4th {unworn}

j crew vintage cord skirt {thrifted}   ·   gap blouse {thrifted}

lauren conrad hadley flats   ·   haberdashery blazer {thrifted}

i've had this blog for a year and a half now, but there are definitely many items in my closet that i have not worn in that time--this skirt is one of them.  in fact, i've only worn it a handful of times since buying it in 2010.  corduroy is a tricky fabric, especially when fashioned in a skirt.  it won't work in the summertime (who wants to wear thick corduroy when it's 90 degrees outside?) so it's relegated to the winter, and it's just not a skirt i typically reach for since corduroy also comes across as a little more casual to me.  i was in a day-long training today though, where people tend to wear whatever, so i figured it would be a good day to pull it from the depths of my closet!

i'm trying to wear more of what i have in my closet and not immediately reach for the same items week after week (it's hard, i really want to wear this blouse & this dress again already!).  i think this is helpful for many reasons--i may realize i don't really like the item and choose to donate or sell it.  it also makes my closet feel more versatile when i'm not always wearing the same skirt week after week.  for some reason, my "older" clothes don't seem as fun or interesting to wear or remix, but i'm trying to challenge myself to do just that.

let's chat!  / have i inspired you to dig deep in your closet and wear an old favorite sometime this week?  maybe kimme at blue paper lanterns can, she is hosting a link up next monday to show off our oldest item in our closet and i'm thinking it couldn't be more timely!  thanks for dropping by!

tuesday {targeted}

merona dress {thrifted target stock}   ·   gap cardigan {thrifted}
merona mittie cap-toe flats {thrifted target stock}

targeted / i picked up this dress at the goodwill on sunday for $4.99.  i think there were about twenty of them on one of the dress racks.  does anybody want one?  haha.  maybe more were shipped to the nearby target than they could ever possibly sell.  you know me and how much i love dresses with sleeves and that hit at the perfect length, so it didn't take much thought to throw this one in my basket!  same with these cute flats that i found at a different GW.

the other item that caught my eye at the GW sunday that i did not  purchase were these via spiga kelis oxford heels, priced at $24.99.  if they were the color tag that was on sale this week{making them half off} i likely would have purchased them.  i'd never heard of via spiga before but loved the light lavender hue, brown cap toe, and interesting oxford style.  aren't these a lovely pair of shoes?  does anyone know anything about via spiga other than whoa man, all of their {her?  his?} shoes are over $200 apiece?

do you ever have buyer's remorse when you walk away from an item that's a well-known or high fashion brand because it's set at a price you're still not quite willing to pay, even if it's still a good deal?  i kind of felt that way about a pair of j crew juliet heels i saw at a consignment store earlier this year.  these shoes may have been an eighth of their original retail price, but i have a hard time spending $25 on anything, much less something from the GW.  i'm sure i'll forget about these lovelies after a while but right now i'm feeling that ping just a tiny bit.

the other questions i think about related to thrifting & brand names include: do you ever purchase something based on the brand even though it's ill-fitting?  and do you ever purchase something because of the brand name even though you wouldn't have given it a second glance if it were a different brand?  i have definitely fallen victim to both, but that might be another post for another day.  thanks for reading!

tuesday (b&w)

 old navy blazer {thrifted}   merona scarf   forever 21 belt   

merona slacks {thrifted target stock}   fioni booties {thrifted}

i have to preface this post by saying that i have a bias against the color black.  i think women dress in far too much black.  i also know that i have worn my black skirt & black slacks more than any other item so maybe i am a culprit too!  either way, i was a little bummed when the challenge for ebew this month was black & white but i'm giving it a go here!  and i just had to sneak in a colored accessory.  hopefully that isn't against the rules!

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!

tuesday (red)

daisy fuentes dress   old navy sweater   target scarf

simply vera tights   mossimo kachari boots

hello, from tuesday.  i realized that i never posted this outfit that i wore yesterday because i was too busy catching up on my google reader instead.  i get really overwhelmed when it reaches over 200+ unread posts!  the reason why i am posting my outfit from yesterday instead of what i wore today (even though i am wearing my new blowfish bylth booties today that i will be swearing by all winter), is because of a dream my coworker told me about this morning that featured the two of us.  she said we were both sharing a work apartment and she had books & clothes strewn everywhere (that sounds more like me, i should show you all my bookcases sometime) and there was a cat there as well that had eyes she described as red as the tights i was wearing yesterday.  now, i realize that my photography isn't really showing the true color of my tights here, as they are really a rust color...  but if i am leaving that sort of impression with my coworkers that the hue of my tights pops up in thier dreams... well, maybe my tight color choices are too crazy.  i don't know!  what do you think?