Setting Fire to the Rain on Cinco de Mayo

Earrings: Handmade --- Cardigan: Urban Outfitters --- Top: Anne Taylor Loft --- Belt and Skirt: Thrifted --- Shoes: Vera Wang for Kohls --- Vintage Clutch: Etsy/LookBackCloset

I am very much not in love with this look. Maybe it's just because I'm not used to seeing myself with bangs yet, but I think the most likely reason is that I picked out this outfit this morning. I rarely pick out clothing in the morning anymore... in fact I usually pick out outfits several days before I wear them.

Anyhow, I'll quit my complaining and wish you all a happy Cinco de Mayo! I'm not sure what people who celebrate this day usually to do celebrate it... do any of you guys celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Do you have a big party? Piñatas?

Thanks for all the kind words on the hair yesterday... when I woke up this morning and my bangs were pretty much sticking straight up in the air and looked ridiculous, I started panicking again that I made a mistake, but I read through the comments you all left yesterday and it calmed me down a bit. :)

This morning I bought myself Adele's 21. Her first album 19 was pretty incredible, but let me tell you, 21 is stunning. Just listen to these songs:



I could never get tired of listening to her voice... it's just so perfect.

Outfit + Etsy Finds: Blue and Yellow

Let me tell you, I have been waiting to wear this outfit for-ev-er. I picked it out almost a month ago, thinking surely it would be warming up enough that I wouldn't feel stupid wearing bright yellow and blue shorts. But Oregon March laughed at me and decided to send lots more rain and gray weather, and my cute blue shorts from Chloeegray and bright Vera Wang tank top have been hanging sadly in my closet ever since. But this is a new month, and this was the first morning in a long time that I woke up and wasn't living in a cloud of gray and darkness, so I seized the opportunity and threw this on as fast as I could. And now it's sunny outside! Happiness all around.

Also, I forgot to mention this the first time I wore them, but these booties came to me as a result of my bargain shopping skills. I was looking on Lulus in the shoe section and saw these same booties. They were $39, though, and I didn't want to spend that much. So I checked UrbanOg, and sure enough they had the exact same pair for $27.90. It pays to check around, people.

Anyways, I had a fun time finding Etsy items yesterday that kind of matched what I was wearing, so I think I'll do the same thing today. Sound good? Sweet.

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Outfits: Skippy Doo for New Shoes!

March 11-

I scored myself some sweet little gray oxfords from UrbanOg, as well as two other pairs of shoes I don't need but wanted anyways. You can see them/buy them HERE if you like. I'm kind of wishing I bought the camel ones now, but too late. The gray ones are plenty cute and I think I'll be able to wear them with more outfits.

Anyways, I'm quite proud of this outfit. I managed to combine a chiffon dress with a "boyfriend" sweater (don't ask me why they named it that, they just did) and not look like a total bum. Well, at least I don't think I look like a total bum.

March 12-

These new lovelies are some flat ankle booties. I should have taken a picture of the insides... they have the cutest floral print in there. I really wanted the brown version but those didn't come in my size. Boo! You can check them out HERE.

Hope you are all having lively Saturday afternoons (I meant to type "lovely", but I suppose lively works, too)! Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Outfits: My Favorite Skirts

March 9-

Favorite Skirt #1 also qualifies as my favorite thrift store find ever. Seriously, I love it. A lot. You can't really see it that well in the pictures, but it is pleated all the way around and has a great motion when I walk. So glad I found this guy.

This top was another Vera Wang item I picked up at Kohl's. It was on the clearance rack for a gazillion dollars off so I couldn't resist. I love how it ties at the neck.

March 10-

Favorite Skirt #2 is one that I bought a long time ago and didn't wear it for months because I thought is was really unflattering. I eventually figured out that if I got it to sit at my waist instead of my hips, though, it looks much better. I just use the waist sash to tie keep it in place. And now it's my best friend and I wish I could wear it every day. 

Side note: this is one of my new ModCloth coats! I love the color, and the buttons are super killer. And don't even get me started on the pink lining... pure gorgeousness...

The other coat I got is pretty cool, too. Not quite as fabulous as this one, but still good. The skirt, on the other hand, was awful. On the ModCloth site is said that it ran large so I should order a size down. So I did. And it's too small. Thanks for nothing, ModCloth. At least it was only $15... I can't imagine who would have paid the original $50 for it. The darn thing wasn't even lined.

Outfits: The Lost Look, the White Dress, and the Petri Dish

March 5-
I may have accidentally deleted the picture of this day's outfit, as I can't find it anywhere on my computer. Perhaps I'll come across it in a few days on some deep, dark corner of my pictures folder. I was able to find the picture I took of my new necklace that I made for myself, though, so not all is lost. I used some sweet Amethyst nuggets that I've had kicking around my bead box forever and a day. It's simple, but I really like it.

March 6-

Love love love love love love love love love love love love love love this dress I traded for with ModernMode. Meg (the shop owner) is so sweet and I love doing trades with her. She gets awesome jewelry and I get awesome dresses. Happiness all around!

I'm really looking forward to wearing this one without the cardigan and tights. It'll still probably be another few weeks before the weather allows for that, though.

Just noticed I forgot to list the belt! It was $6.29 at Urban Outfitters.

March 7-

So I finally got around to going to Kohl's yesterday to get myself some new gray tights, since both my dark and light gray pairs had huge holes in them and were no longer wearable. Naturally I found two other pairs I liked, but they were a good price and I had a 15% off coupon so I let myself splurge and get 4 pairs total (2 gray, 1 ivory, and the lavender ones I'm wearing right now).

I also scoped out some sweet Vera Wang tank tops that were only $15 each, and after the additional discount I thought they were a pretty good price so I got two (the other one has a different print). I like this one a lot even though I think it looks like a petri dish.

And I never thought this would happen to me or that I would ever be willing to admit it on the internet, but I fell in love with a pair of Lauren Conrad shoes. I'm not really sure who Lauren Conrad is except that she was on some dumb TV show a while back (maybe she still is? I don't know...) so I automatically want to hate everything she designs. But there was no way I could make myself hate these shoes. So stinking cute. They were also $45, though, and no matter how much I wanted to get them I couldn't make myself spend that much on them. I found them on the Kohl's website and now have them bookmarked, so if they go on sale I will be ready. Check them out HERE and tell me if I'm crazy for loving them or not.

Outfit: Poofy --- Day 3: Drugs/Alcohol

Today I let myself get all dressed up and wear a skirt and heels to make up for dressing like a hobo yesterday. I also set 5 different alarms on my cell phone this morning to avoid another over-sleeping episode.

I caught the back of my tights on something when I wore them last time, so a small hole had started. Since they only cost me $2.54 I wasn't too broken up about it, and I decided I'd give them one last hurrah before condemning them to the trash can. Unfortunately, I ended up getting my pinky caught in said hole while putting them on, making the little hole quite a big hole. Somewhere in the world, a 3rd grade boy turned to his friend and said, "Smooth move, Ex-Lax." You know it's true. It was too late to pick a different pair, though, so I just wore them anyways. Oh well.

And you can't see them in the pics, but these are the earrings I'm wearing:
I made them a few weeks ago and haven't worn them yet, but I couldn't resist wearing them today since they match the triangles on my skirt. Fun!

And now my next topic for the 30 Day Challenge... click HERE to see the full list.

Day 3: My Views on Drugs and Alcohol
Oh gosh. People usually lump these two together in the same boat, but they really aren't in the same boat at all. I don't know anything about medical marijuana so I'm in no position to make any statements about that, but other than that drugs are not okay in any situation, period.

Alcohol, on the other hand, is fine. It's what you do with the alcohol that makes it not fine. Enjoying a glass on wine with dinner? No problem. Drinking a whole bottle because you're sad? Problem. The Bible never says that drinking is a sin (in fact, in a few places it is recommended), it says that getting drunk is a sin. Big difference.

Outfit: Way Back in 2010

I'm going out of order here and returning to an outfit I wore wayyy back in 2010 and forgot to post. This is what I wore to a Christmas party a few weeks ago. I actually did not realize this at the time, but it looks like I'm not wearing any shoes. Well I can assure you that I am... if you looking really really close you can just barely make out the outline of my favorite little felt flats.

How fabulous is this shirt? I don't often spend $18 on tops (well, come to think of it I think my mom may have bought it for me, so never mind), but it's Anne Taylor and was super-duper on sale. Anne Taylor and Vera Wang all in one outfit... designer overload! I guess wearing stuff from Target offsets it, though.

Outfit: Shorts Love Tights

Last Sunday I decided to be brave and trying wearing shorts over tights to church. I was a little unsure, since church-folk aren't exactly the most fashion-forward bunch of people, but I decided to try it anyways and count how many funny looks I got. I ended up having to count the compliments instead, because apparently church people love shorts over tights. People were going out of their way to come tell me how cute my outfit was, and one lady even was raving to my mom about how great I looked. It was a little crazy.

Outfit: Vintage Part 3

This is my 3rd vintage dress that I've debuted here on my blog, and I must say I think this one is my favorite, at least for casual wear. I wore it to church last Sunday and got so many compliments... from old people and young people. A cross-generational dress! Huzzah!

Vintage Navy Dress: $26 (traded), ModernMode
Vera Wang Maroon Tights: $2.54, Kohl's
Union Bay Heels with Ankle Straps: $18.06, Kohl's
Wide Gray Belt: $4.50, Forever21

Again, the lighting my my room is horrid and the pleated detail on the front of the dress got complete lost, so I took a separate picture of just the top:

Sooo cute, am I right? I couldn't bear to cover it up with any necklaces or whatnot, so I went relatively accessory-less (I was wearing earrings but you can't see them in the pic).

I got so excited when I saw these shoes at Kohl's because I have been on the hunt for a pair like them for a while now. There are several different pairs online that I've been lusting after, but I have resisted them for a while because of their price tags. This pair was a cool $18, though, and I love how it has 3 straps instead of the usual 1.

Outfit: A Giant Flower is Eating Me

Hibiscus Striped Oatmeal Tunic Top: $17.80, Forever21

MEK Nagoya Bootcut Jeans: $81.97, Buckle

Black Quilted Shoulder Bag: $17.80, Forever21

Simply Vera, Vera Wang Charcoal heels: $48, Kohl's

Just look how gloriously long these pants are! I'm about 6 feet tall, so jeans that fit me properly are few and far between. Yes, Buckle jeans are expensive, but they fit me the way jeans are supposed to fit. End of story.

I had a slight mental debate about how to accessorize this outfit. The top really does not need any additional embellishment since it already has a lot going on, and I originally just planned on adding the purse. But I ended up wanting a little more, so I opted for a simple, clear teardrop necklace with a copper chain that matched well with the orange flowers.

Side note: this necklace was my 100th piece I sold in my Etsy shop. Yay!

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Black and White Peacock

Another Forever 21 day.

-Black Military Inspired Jacket: $24, Forever 21

-Black capris: Unknown

-Peacock Burnout Tank: $14.24, Forever 21

-Topaz and Clear Czech teadrop necklace: $13, VioletReaction

-Vera Wang Charcoal heels: $48, Kohl's