WIWW #11

Hello bloggy (and a few real-life) friends! As usual, I am linking up with WIWW at The Pleated Poppy.

I ordered a bunch of shorts from Old Navy this week during their Friends and Family Sale. Once I start wearing shorts, my fashion sense goes completely out the window because all I care about in the summer is my tan and baseball! Can’t wait! However, we have plenty of spring left before shorts weather hits Illinois, so I think I have a few more weeks of trying to look somewhat stylish!

I just love the look of a button up shirt under a short sleeve T. You may be seeing a lot of that around here now that it is warming up a tad.

checked shirt (it’s actually pink but looks red): Target (girls section)

Tshirt and necklace: Forever 21

jeans: Target

shoes: Old Navy

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I wouldn’t be caught dead not wearing green!

sweater: Walmart

shirt and shoes: Old Navy

jeans: Angels from Gordmans

necklace: JC Penney

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Is it the 4th of July? NO! Am I the captain of a ship? NO! I know this get-up is a little matchy-matchy, but I do like it. I wish I had a turquoise necklace to wear with it….that would have been cute!

striped shirt: Gap Outlet (it’s navy but it looks black in the pic)

red shirt: Target

jeans: Angels from Gordmans (2nd day in a row) Funny story about these jeans—they were on clearance for $5.00 and I was excited at that price, but when I went to pay, they had 50% off of all clearance, so they ended up being $2.50. I cut them off, cuffed them and sewed the cuff so it wouldn’t come undone in the wash. They are the best jeans ever—they never get baggy in the booty or knees!

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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The funnest thing about this outfit is my leopard shoes and you can’t really see them! I need a little bit of spring today and the robin egg blue shirt did the trick.

Cardigan: Gap Outlet

shirt: Target

jeans: TJ Maxx

shoes: Old Navy

favorite brown belt: thrifted

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This is were my warm weather dilemma begins….too warm for layering so “outfits” become pretty much jeans and a shirt. I tried to bump it up a notch with the belt and necklace.

shirt and necklace: Forever 21

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Old Navy

favorite brown belt: thrifted (see that little bit of white showing on the belt? That’s double-stick tape that worked right up until I took these pics at the end of the day!)

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This morning, my youngest said, “Mommy, you don’t look very pretty today.” I asked him why. “Because you are wearing brown stripes.” Luckily, I don’t place much value on the fashion advice of a 7 year old boy. Unless he tells me that I’m beautiful, of course!

“not pretty” brown striped shirt: Target

white shirt: Steve & Barry’s

jeans and shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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I do believe that spring must have finally arrived (although they are calling for snow on Thursday) because I went an entire week without wearing boots—or even socks!

Thank you for stopping by and have a WONDERFUL week!

WIWW #10

Hello there! As usual, I am linking up with WIWW at The Pleated Poppy. I’m betting there will be lots of lucky girls out there sporting flip-flops this week while I’m still wearing boots. JEALOUS!!! Make sure you go and check out as many links as you can! There is always tons of great inspiration.

I put a belt with this outfit, but frankly, I was going for comfort over style so I got rid of it. I do like how belting sweaters and shirts looks, but it isn’t always the most comfortable thing to wear.

Cardigan: Walmart

shirt: Target

jeans: TJ Maxx

shoes: Old Navy

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I keep hearing that primrose is THE color of the season—really anything pink. I’ve had this sweater for a while and it has never been one of my favorites. Maybe now it will become one! Sorry for the fuzzy picture. And look, there is thrifted brown belt who is my new best friend!

cardigan, shirt, jeans: Target

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

belt: thrifted (I’m 99% sure it is one of those cheapy belts that sometimes come with pants at Walmart)

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I’m undecided on this cardigan. At $20, it is a little more than I like to pay. (Yes, I’m THAT cheap.) However, I see loads of potential—dress it up/dress it down….etc.

Cardigan: TJ Maxx

shirt: Walmart (old---I wish I had one in every color because it is a slightly dressed up long sleeve T with a slight boat neck and buttons on the cuffs—and it’s super stretchy and NEVER loses it shape!)

jeans and shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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This is the world’s most unphotogenic shirt. I think it makes me look a linebacker in pictures, but not in person. It’s those darn butterfly sleeves. I also swear that my necklace really made the color of the boots make sense.

unphotogenic shirt: Gap Outlet

t-shirt: Sears

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Walmart (I originally bought them on clearance for $20 and then I took them back. A few weeks later I saw them for $7.00 so I bought them again.)

necklace: Forever 21

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Jack wanted some face time on the blog. This picture shows how short (I prefer petite) I really am….Jack is only 7 and he’s gaining on me. For the record, I’m 5’2. I started out the day with ballet flats, but then I went outside and froze my toes off, so I changed to boots. It was 35 degrees today but it’s supposed to be 70 degrees on St. Patrick’s day—God willing!

Sweater: TJ Maxx

shirt: Target

jeans: Old Navy

boots: Walmart

pearls: fake, but old.

cute kid making weird face: Jack—his outfit: Nike

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As it gets warmer, I feel less like layering my clothes. This turns most outfits into just a shirt and pants. Not sure if anyone is really interested in seeing that? I know that in addition to ideas about styling outfits, I love to see the good deals that other WIWWers have found. So I guess I will keep plugging away!

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

WIWW #9

I forgot a few picture days this week but I’m still linking up with WIWW at The Pleated Poppy. Make sure you go and check out as many links as you can! There is always tons of great inspiration.

Oops. I cut off my feet. I’m wearing black boots in case you wondered. I subbed this day so this is my slightly more dressed up look. I kind of loved that tan belt with this outfit. My instinct said wear a black belt, but I really ended up liking how the belt broke up the outfit.

striped shirt: Walmart

white button-up: Steve & Barry’s

black pants: thrifted but they are from Limited

belt: thrifted

necklace: Forever 21 (this has totally become my favorite)

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Oh Lord. Yuck. I hesitated to even put this out here. It probably would have worked with different boots. This is one of those days that I wish I would have taken the pictures BEFORE I left the house.

Chambray tunic/dress: TJ Maxx

sweater: Target

flowers: made by me

leggings: Walmart

boots: Clark’s from Bergner’s

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Just to prove that I do not always make an effort, I am showing this “outfit”. This was Casimir Pulaski Day so we didn’t have school and we stayed home all day. (Seriously. Who is Casimir Pulaski, you ask? No one really knows, but we don’t go to school on his day.)

Long sleeve T: Target

Braves shirt: gifted from friend

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Walmart

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I subbed again today—high school English and Sociology. I had a student teacher so….I read the newspaper. Every time I sub I wear black pants because those are the only dress pants I own. I think I need some more. I’m getting sick of black!

cardigan and belt: old from Walmart

shirt: Old Navy

pants and boots: Target

Visiting Tracy’s Closet

We visited my sister this weekend. I have mentioned before that she is one of the most stylish people I know. She definitely has the most amazing wardrobe of anyone I know—in real life or in blog world. Pretty much everything she owns is from Anthropologie. Rarely does she buy anything full price from there though. She sniffs out the bargains. She also has a great eye for finding stuff at other places like Forever 21, H&M and Ann Taylor Loft that have the Anthro look. Let’s visit her closet, shall we?

Floor to ceiling beautiful clothing.

Pretty shoes…all heels, of course.

Three tiers of fabulous.

Lots of baubles. (This is after a bunch of it was stolen from her luggage. Sob!)

Sweater coats from Anthro.

Tons of gorgeous blouses. So adorable on their own or under cardigans.

And even more way up there.

Jackets and cardigans.

I told her I was going to do this. I would love to show you each and every piece. I like to just stand in the closet and admire the beauty around me!

Of note:

• My sister is a stay at home mom with 3 kids: 5, 4 and 7 months old but she doesn’t let that stop her from looking fabulous and wearing high heels at all times.
• She is teeny-tiny and there are very few things of hers that I can borrow. Sigh.
• This is only half of her closet. The other half is essentially the same but with pants/skirts/jeans and coats. Oh…and purses and bags, of course.
• She thought I should mention that her husband’s closet is about 3 times the size of hers and equally filled with clothes. I know he has more shoes than everyone in my family combined.
• She also thinks it looks messy in these pictures. Yeah, right.

Maybe tomorrow we can visit my closet. It will be a quick visit as there isn’t much to see!

WIWW #8

I told myself that I wasn’t going to participate in WIWW at The Pleated Poppy this week because putting together “stylish” outfits and taking pictures has become somewhat of a chore. I discovered that it has also become a habit! I’m not saying I’m always stylish…just that where before I might have just thrown on a shirt, now I accessorize and layer it. I wore just a long sleeve T and jeans the other day and I felt incomplete all day! I can’t imagine doing this in the summer though. It would be the “WIWW Swimsuit Edition” or the “WIWW Sweat My Butt Off at Baseball Games Edition”!

These boots are on their way out. They drove me nuts all day. I love them, but they have no structure and end up very slouchy unless I keep pulling them up. Drives me nuts!

Sweater: Old Navy

Shirt & belt: Target

jeans: TJ Maxx

Boots: Ross

necklace: Forever 21

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This is a good example of bumping it up a notch (a small notch.) A few months ago, I would have just worn the striped shirt, jeans and boots. Now, I added a shirt underneath and the scarf. Not a big deal, but looks a little more “stylish” than the shirt by itself. (At least that’s what I tell myself!)

Shirt: Gap Outlet

Jeans: Old Navy

scarf: Walmart

boots: Clark's from Bergner’s

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Cardigan (old), button up shirt: Target

skinny jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Life Stride

belt: very old from Walmart

necklace: Cato

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Another case of old me would have just worn the t-shirt. New me kept adding stuff.

T-shirt: Target

white button-up: Steve & Barry’s

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

belt: thrifted

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A shirt story

I bought this shirt from Old Navy for less than $10. I had my eye on it for a while and snapped it up when it went on sale. I love it. A few weeks ago, Nicky put it together with a pretty pink sweater.

I liked it so much that I copied her.

It turns out the Old Navy copied Kate Spade (or vice versa). This is Kate’s version. It can be yours for $245.

And Nordstrom styled it very much like Nicky did. The cool thing is that she saw this outfit after she had worn hers. That’s when you know you are doing something right!

WIWW #7

I’m linking with What I Wore Wednesday at the The Pleated Poppy today. Come, join the fun!

It just about killed me to wear red shoes with this outfit. I mean, I love them, but my instinct said to wear black flats. But one of the things I love on other people is when they aren’t matchy-matchy. Old habits die hard! I look like I am sporting a bouffant, but I swear it’s just the angle of the picture—at least I hope so!

Cardigan: Target

Shirt: Walmart

skinny jeans & shoes: Old Navy

scarf: made by me If you want to know how I made it, you can see my “Scarfy Secret Tutorial.”

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I wore pretty much the same outfit last week but no one saw me that day (other than everyone who visited my blog) and I changed it up a little this week with different pants and a belt.

sweater: Target

tank, skinny cargoes and leopard flats: Target

belt: thrifted

scarf (again): made by me

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This falls into the keeping it real category. See that spot on my shirt? Well, I didn’t notice it until I saw these pictures. It’s just water, so it dried out and we were good to go.

Cardigan: Target (last year)

shirt: Walmart

jeans: Lee from VF Outlet

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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I really do love this striped shirt from Walmart! Very versatile.

striped shirt: Walmart

button-up shirt: Target

jeans: JC Penney

shoes: Old Navy

necklace: Forever 21

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I stole this look from Thursday Threads, but I’m sure I’ve seen lots of other WIWWers do the same look. I just thought there was something so cute about the plaid shirt underneath a simple tee. (Although I’m not sure the pimped out Braves (high school mascot) shirt counts as simple!)

plaid shirt and black flats: Target

jeans: JC Penney (these are going into the giveaway pile because they are humongous and unflattering)

pimped out Braves shirt: gifted (along with all her other Braves paraphernalia) from my sweet friend Denise who moved away from Braves territory and no longer needed the shirt (sob).

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Welcome back crappy weather and welcome back boots. I love these skinny cargos as witnessed by the fact that I have worn them twice this week. Every time I wear them with boots, I get a Hogan’s Heroes kind of feeling. I wear ‘em anyway though.

denim jacket: Old Navy but I got it at a consignment store

shirt and boots: Target

skinny cargos: Old Navy

scarf (again): made by me

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Straight up stole this look from Nicky at Momma Gets Real. I love her style! I had my dream sub job today—ART! And I’m going back for more tomorrow.

Cardigan, trouser jeans and shoes: Target

Shirt: Old Navy

tank: who cares….they sell them everywhere

belt: probably Walmart----really, really old

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That’s what I wore this week. Thanks for stopping by!

My Scarfy “Secret”

I wear this gray “scarf” a lot. It’s simple, it’s not bulky or long or annoying to me. It matches my favorite boots. It’s turned into my little go-to accessory. The funny thing is, it isn’t really a scarf at all. It’s basically a fabric remnant.

I bought one yard of t-shirt fabric from Hobby Lobby. (Using a 40% off coupon—of course—which made it less than $4.00) I cut it in half lengthwise and gave the other half to my friend Angie. You really need to use t-shirt type cotton because it doesn’t fray. The sides will curl up a bit. That is a.o.k.

Look, it’s a scarf now! The problem is, it’s a little short to be a real scarf.

So I turned it into an “infinity” scarf. Tie the two ends together. Try to leave your leftover ends as short as possible.

Then I just tuck the leftover ends into the the knot. It may take you a few attempts. Just shove them wherever there is room and wherever they will stay put. Aww….look….it’s a pretty little knotty rosette.

Normally, at this point, I would put the scarf around my neck with the knot in the back and then loop it back over my head so that the knot is now in front….however, for today, we are doing it on the floor.

In a nice little double loop.

Meet my bestie—the giant safety pin. She is a necessity with all my scarves. (I pin my scarves to my shirts because I can’t stand to have them in my way.) Her purpose here is to pin the knot to the loops of the scarf. The knot is pretty heavy so this helps the scarf keep it’s shape and prevent it from dragging one loop down and strangling you with the other loop.

Here is the back. I pinned it through BOTH loops of the scarf. Then I just pull it over my head and situate. And you are good to go!

b.a. from do.think.wear.see.love.dream has a fun and helpful little tutorial about scarves that inspired me to tie the ends together in the first place. Genius!

Here are a few other times I’ve worn it. See….a little too short to be an actual scarf. It worked better when I I just looped it around my neck and didn’t tie it and then pinned it together with my bestie and covered the pinning with the flower.