Dressing for the Occasion

Shirt: Forever21, Thrifted // Skirt: Refashioned // Tights: JCP // Flats: Marshall's // Bag: Target, Thrifted // Belt: Windsor // Scarf: Daiso

I may have mentioned before that I'm taking a public speaking class this semester. It's an interesting class because since I'm an online student, it's online. So for every speech, I have to assemble an audience of at least two people (usually the other four members of my family and my grandmother), and videotape it, then submit the video. According to the last feedback I got from my teacher (two speeches ago), I need to work on my level of energy while presenting--apparently I tend to be more lethargic than animated. For the speech after that, which was my persuasive speech, I decided I would try dressing a little nicer and in colors that I found gave me energy. It seemed to help (though I haven't gotten my grade back, so I wouldn't know!), so I decided to try again for the speech I had to give this past weekend! I wore one of my new favorite tops with a brightly colored scarf and then a cute skirt, my favorite tights, and my favorite shoes. I ended up being very pleased with the look, and I think I was able to channel--hopefully!--just the right amount of energy into my speech. There's just something about dressing a little nicer than you might every day that helps give a confidence and energy boost, at least for me. It may sound a little silly, but I feel like it helps me to stand a little straighter and present better and with more confidence than when I was wearing a more casual, t-shirt and jeans kind of outfit.

This skirt is a new one! Well, new to me, anyway...I'd been looking for a knee-length, casual black skirt for awhile now, and a couple weeks ago, my grandma gave me this skirt, which she had bought for herself, and didn't realize that someone had already tried to alter it and had not only done a terrible job with the hemming, but whoever it was used white thread! She didn't want to have to take off any more length, so she passed it on to me, and I chopped off the bottom, sewed an invisible hem, and voila! A new skirt. I did realize after wearing it, though, that I still need to take in the elastic waistband a few inches...but that won't take long at all.
This scarf is actually kind of funny; my family was at the mall the other week, and my sisters wanted to stop at Daiso (a Japanese store where just about everything is $1.50), and right when I walked in the door, I noticed that they had a whole bunch of pretty chiffon scarves for $1.50! I had been looking for some new scarves, and had just put back a $7 one at Penney's, and I was incredibly excited to see these! I had to keep myself from getting all of them...as it was, I bought three--a tribal print, a floral/gingham print, and the floral one I'm wearing here.

I hope you all are having a wonderful week! This is my final week of school before break, and I'm incredibly excited! Just a few more days!

Mom for a Week

Dress: Made by me // Blouse: Thrifted // Tights/Ring: Fred Meyer // Oxford Heels: Thrifted

I absolutely love the retro details of this outfit. If you follow me on instagram, or if you saw this post, you might have seen me hinting about this sewing project. The "dress" is actually two pieces--a skirt and a top. I made the skirt first, and was not thinking of making a top at all, but then I was inspired by some of the Modcloth dresses, and I thought I would attempt a top as well! This is the first actual top that I have sewn (I believe...at least that's turned out!), and I made it with some help from a couple of tutorials. It also has a peplum at the waist and an exposed zipper all the way down the back, so it looks very cute worn by itself as well. The adorable retro plane fabric is actually from an old scrub top of my dad's which he was getting rid of. I loved the print, and thought it would be perfect for a skirt, so I made that up, then I had leftover fabric that I was able to use on the top! Then the red fabric and zippers were thrifted for just a few dollars.

Anyway...you may be wondering about the slightly odd title of this post, as well as my absence on the blog! Well...I was away for several days babysitting my four cousins while my aunt and uncle were on vacation. I was hoping to have time to post while I was there, but things were pretty hectic and my priorities were the kids and my schoolwork. It was definitely a fun experience, though--I love the kids and I love getting to watch them. It was very new to me, since I had never done anything like it before, and their schedule is very different from mine (goodness...my schedule is pretty different from most people's!), but everything went smoothly, and I was able to stay caught up on school, thanks to help from my family. I'm going to miss those kiddos, but still...there is no better feeling than coming home.(:

I hope you all are having a lovely week!

A Trip to the Art Museum

Blouse: Thrifted // Skirt: Thrifted + Refashioned // Tights: Claire's // Sweater: Fred Meyer (I think! It's an old one) // Necklace: H&M // Boots: Snagged from my Aunt's closet

One of my closest friends is an art history major, and she's currently taking a museums class that requires her to visit museums and write about the makeup of exhibits and whatnot, along with a couple of other art history classes. I'm quite the art geek myself (I was so close to choosing an art major!), and the Seattle Art Museum has an amazing exhibit right now featuring Rembrandt, which we both really wanted to see, so we headed up there last Thursday on the museum's free day to wander the museum. Well...after getting lost several times on those tricky downtown roads and then walking four blocks to the museum in the wind and the rain (yay for typical Seattle weather!), we made it. We spent over three hours in the special Rembrandt exhibit alone, overanalyzing details and gazing in awe at the elaborate brushstrokes, pushing our noses as close to the canvas as museum etiquette allowed. Wow. There were fangirl moments and times when our voices got just a little too excited, causing other visitors to giggle (not that we cared). One of my favorite paintings was by Edwin Landseer,and it was of a hawk attacking its prey, a heron, large as life, with a hawking party watching on in the background. I probably stared at that one for at least a good five minutes before moving on.

Anyway...it was good fun. I had only been to the SAM once a few years before, and that was with a group of my cousins, so it was great to go again and revisit old favorites and discover new ones. We're already planning to go back next month for a second time, and I can't wait!

For going to the museum, I wanted to wear something simple and artsy, but a little more dressed up, so I settled on this citron skirt that I thrifted the week before and a black and white patterned blouse that I picked up the same day, paired with my polka-dotted tights, and boots, of course, for walking through the rain. I ended up refashioning the skirt the night before, at the last minute. I didn't realize how short it was when I got it--I thought it was knee-length, but when I tried it on at home, it fit more like a mini skirt. So, I took out the hem, which added about two inches, and then added a strip of black fabric (from a thrifted pillowcase!) to the bottom. I really like the final result, since the black adds a nice contrast along with the length!

Walking on a Cloud

Top: Thrifted // Tank: Fred Meyer // Jeans: Ross // Boots: Snagged from my aunt's closet // Necklace, Bracelet: eBay

This fringe top makes me feel like a hippie that decided to channel the flappers of the 20s. There's just something about fringe that screams 1920s to me, though I have no idea why. In any case...the fringe on this top just makes me want to twirl around just to feel it fly out around me, but when I'm out and about and feeling too self-conscious to twirl, I just enjoy the feel of it bouncing against my legs (which probably sounds totally weird). I like the top because it's simple, flattering, and fun, and perfect for wearing on a shopping trip with a friend, which is what I wore it for.

My friend had her spring break last week (lucky her!), so I took some time off from my homework and we headed to the mall for lunch, a movie, and a shopping spree. One of my favorite places to eat for lunch is Johnny Rockets--they have great burgers and sandwiches (I got the egg salad!), and also amazing milkshakes. They're a bit on the pricey side, especially the milkshakes, but I discovered that I could order a children's milkshake, which was half the cost of the regular size and the perfect size for me. I've finally gotten to the point where I'm no longer embarrassed to order off the kid's menu...it's only awkward when I'm at sit-down restaurants and the waiter asks if I'd like the children's menu (which actually happened a few months ago!). It was a fun shopping trip, and a great way to de-stress after the first few weeks of school. And I was very happy with myself for only buying one thing during the whole trip outside of lunch and my movie ticket, and that was a necklace from H&M on sale for $2.50 (I'm a notorious cheapskate, but hey--it keeps my wallet happy!).

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

A Field of Roses

Dress: H&M // Tights: JC Penneys // Boots: Thrifted // Ring: Fred Meyer

After coming down with a bad cold last Thursday and a slightly more hectic weekend than usual, I'm incredibly grateful to have been able to relax Monday and today, only having to worry about my reading for school. Colds are obnoxious things, aren't they? They always seem to strike, for me at least, at the worst possible times. Last weekend I had a midterm exam for statistics and a speech to give, and then the cold came along, before I had gotten even half of my preparation done! Thankfully, however, I was able to power through, and now I'm almost completely recovered. I'm thrilled by the fact that I didn't sniffle or sneeze once during my speech (which ended up being about 8 minutes long!), although I did have to stop in the middle of the introduction to run and blow my nose! And my midterm went better than I had expected, especially after the fog my brain had been in for the last few days. I have. to admit, though, I was a little panicky for a bit--I forgot that "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me"!

Anyway! This dress is one of my new favorites. I picked it up on clearance at H&M, and it's actually what I almost ended up wearing for Easter. I really like the print and colors, as well as the classic, flattering shape. It also has a super cute cut-out in the back (which I forgot to get a picture of!), which I sewed a lace panel to so I wouldn't be baring too much skin (and it also disguised the tank top I had on underneath). Because of the bold print, I styled it fairly simply, with just a pair of colored tights and boots. I can't wait to come up with new ways to style it in the future!

Also...It's time to announce the winner of the Shabby Apple gift certificate.
And the winner is....
Tory S!
Congrats, Tori! I'll be sending you an e-mail soon!

A Beautiful Easter

Dress: Ross // Cardigan: Thrifted // Necklace: H&M // Sandals: Cotton On // Earrings: Claire's // Tulle Slip: DIY // Parasol: Renaissance Faire

Easter was absolutely lovely this year. It sort of crept up on me unawares this time around, probably because of school, and ended up being even more wonderful and blessed than I expected. I didn't even have a clue what I was wearing until a couple of days before Easter! Every year I usually wear a new dress, and this year I had sort of been looking around for one, but I didn't find any I particularly cared for. The one I did find was too short and it didn't fit right, so I resigned myself to wearing an "old" dress. Then my mother surprised me with this yellow one, which I immediately fell in love with! I love anything with pockets, and it had two lovely, deep pockets. However, it was a good deal shorter than I cared to wear, so I ended up sewing a white tulle slip, which definitely helped (later on, though, I plan on adding a strip of fabric to the bottom to lengthen it). I love this color yellow--it's so bright and springy!

How was your Easter this year?



PS~ If you haven't already, be sure and enter my giveaway for a gift certificate to Shabby Apple!