Spring in my Step

(Or: "How I was Unwittingly Trendy")

Having spent the last three days holed up with a fever, today, when I finally felt up to showering and facing the world again was AH-MAH-ZING.

The azaleas were in bloom, the birds were singing...it was lovely, even if all I did was run a few errands.

earrings: Vintage

tee: American Apparel

belt: J. Crew

skirt: Thrifted

shoes: Target

I hadn't realized how sheer this skirt was until I saw the photos. It's definitely semi-sheer, bordering on sheer in the sunlight. I had worn a short slip, so I did have opacity over, you know, the important parts.

The overall effect was definitely a bit like the half opaque, half sheer skirts that are so IN right now. And I think it balanced out the below-knee length.

And, in other amazing news, I think I solved my "Taco Bell" problem. We live near two college campuses, so they make great photo spots. If questioned, I can just say I'm working on a class project.

I'll do my best not to flash the undergrads.  :)

Taco 'Bout Embarrassing

I'm trying this new thing: not taking photos in my backyard. A good idea in theory, until I realize that the out-of-the-way office building I think is somewhat private is actually in full view of the Taco Bell Drive-Thru.

Talk about awkward. People just want their cheap, somewhat-reminiscent-of-Mexican food, and there's me, slowly scurrying back and forth from camera to pose. (I lost my remote.)

I'm just glad nobody called me a Gordita.

 

scarf: Vintage Schiaparelli

shirtdress: Anthropologie

bracelets: Birthday Gift

oxfords: Vintage

 

 

nail polish: OPI "Mod About You"

 

These oxfords were such a find! I love that they're leather, the punched fleur-de-lis and their bronze-y color. I picked up 4 pairs of shoes on this visit to Goodwill and all were size 8 and 1/2. So, thank you, little old lady who had awesome taste in shoes. I think I owe you a taco. 

Luck o' the Irish

Before my trip to Austin, I had wanted to pick up a new dress, but Bear and I had just tightened up our budget a bit, and I knew that spending $50+ on a dress just wasn't in the cards. I knew I just needed to wear older things I loved, and I already have so many, but somehow, a new dress just felt like it would provide that extra oomph of confidence during all the social events of TxSC.

Hoping to find something on a clearance rack, I popped in to our local Belk for the very first time.

(And...just as a side note...I am finding that I'm not sure which section I'm supposed to be shopping in at department stores as a 32-year-old. There seem to be two sections: "WAY-too-old-for-you" and "Trying-WAY-too-hard". Anyone else have this problem?)

This lovely lime dress was in the juniors section, and unbelievably, only $5.99.  It was a size too big, but nothing a little blogger belting couldn't fix. It wound up being too rainy and cold to wear during the Austin trip, though.

 

dress: Belk

scarf: Gift

belt: Anthropologie (via eBay)

bangle: F21

shoes: Cynthia Vincent for Target

Finally, the way I knew this dress and I were mean to be? Pockets.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you. I'll be in OKC for the weekend for a dear friend's bachelorette party. I'm hoping to get some fun outfit shots in Bricktown!

Springing Forward

 If there's anything that might make me get back into blogging, 7 acres of nothing but daffodils and a great thrifted find might just be it. 

Bear and I went to Wye Mountain last year (here's the post), a local small town that boasts a little daffodil festival featuring 30 different varieties. The heat of this week had already wilted most of the flowers, but we had a good time anyway.

  

earrings: Vintage

dress: Vintage, thrifted, no brand tags

belt: Forever 21

shoes: Target

On my lunch break today, bolstered by incredible luck thrifting this weekend in Austin, I headed in to my local Goodwill and scored big time. I found several pairs of shoes and a few dresses, including this great one. 

 

 

I just love the back of this dress. 

  

And it's lovely to be able to wear sandals again. Thank you, weather. 

 

  

rings: Vintage, James Avery (a friend inscribed Eph. 1:15-19 in it, so sweet!)  

That nail polish looks obscenely bright, and it's pretty true to life. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. 

Everyday Present Post

If you're interested in this sort of thing, I posted my re-cap of Kendi's TxSC keynote over at Everyday Present today. 

It's long and emotional, and if you read the whole thing, I'll owe you a hug.

TL;DR

This weekend, while at TXSC, I had a few people ask if I intended to keep posting here while still posting at Everyday Present with Liz and Kara.

"Of course!" I would say. "It's just hard to maintain both, but I like having both a personal blog and a co-blog," wondering why someone would ask that.

Well, I just realized that it's been almost a month since I've posted here, so that question now makes sense. And that "not posting" has happened probably for a couple of reasons: I haven't felt inspired by my clothes, have felt self-conscious about my body (hey, it happens!) and have had some busyness (not a lot, but some) come up lately.

There's also been a lot of life stuff going on. Nothing bad--don't worry! Just processing and growing, and trying to figure out what this next year will look like. Trying to figure out what the next step in life for Bear and I is. Trying to figure out what exactly it is that I'm trying to do with my blog(s). Trying to, as cheesy as it sounds, figure out some more of who I am and what I'm good at.

The truth is that I've lost myself a bit. A lot of aspects of my life changed, and I either failed to change with them, or changed myself without knowing why. The saddest thing was that, in a lot of situations, I became afraid of being myself. Deathly afraid. Hiding under the bed afraid.

Once I realized this, it was time to pull back and re-evaluate. That's never been the way I want to live my life.

To me, style blogging is an outlet. And one that fills me, not drains. But lately, I just haven't been excited about it. And if there's one thing I can't do, it's fake interest in something that I'm just not feeling. All this processing and thinking has really drained me of any extra creative or mental energy.

The good news, I suppose, is that I firmly intend to keep blogging here. I'm just waiting for the day that posting an outfit doesn't feel like a chore, but is something I'm proud of and excited about.

That day is coming. I'm just not there yet.