February Freeze, vol. 3: girly in green

     Green is a color I always avoided. That is, until the Mr. introduced me to this color. He dragged me to Abercrombie & Fitch or Hollister -- I have trouble telling them apart, as they both reek of cologne/perfume and require me to elbow aside the 8- and 12-year-olds also shopping  in the sale section. He picked out a long-sleeve henley top in a sprightly shade of green. The henley eventually developed a hole (proving my point that their stuff is massively overpriced and poor quality), but my affection for this color continues.

     This dress is previously loved by my cousin K, but it's been hanging in my closet for the past few years. I took my cue for accessories from the gold buttons at the waist and decided to go with girly. I found the deer charm jumbled up with some jewelry I had as a kid.
     I would normally pair this dress up with a neutral blazer/cardigan, but I decided to throw in some colors. The cardigan's print always reminds me of exuberant crayon scribbles.

Banana Republic dress, previously loved by K

Joseph A. cardigan (Macy's)

gold and "fancy stone" earrings, India

gold deer charm, old

        I tried to find a way to make this outfit suitable for Try-it-out Tuesday, but I didn't think I did anything new with this outfit. So come back later this week for a belated Try-it-out Tuesday post!

Banana Republic dress, previously loved by K

Joseph A. cardigan (Macy's)

gold and "fancy stone" earrings, India

gold deer charm, old

Try-it-out (Wednesday): doubling up

    Classes are still keeping me busy, but one final project is completed, two more to go! :)
    T+J Designs is running a style challenge about statement jewelry, so I thought it'd be a fun idea for a belated Try-it-out post.
    I've mentioned my love of whimsical/cute tees before. A tee and jeans is the ultimate in comfortable and simple, but I decided to see whether this Jedidiah tee could be dressed up a little. Enter this Forever 21 pearl-and-chain necklace:

  I also added a light blue cardigan (previously loved by E.I.):

    (Click here for a good look at the tee shirt's design.)
    I'm not a fan of pastels, but I'm surprised at how much I like the soft blue and pink together.

    Pairing a printed tee with a bold necklace is a little out of my comfort zone, but I think the necklace and cardigan add polish to an otherwise basic outfit.

Try-it-out Tuesday: the complexity of apple pie

        After looking at my posts, I've realized that I'm a little like Sally in the movie "When Harry Met Sally." My thought process when getting dressed seems to run like this: I like this shirt, but it's too girly; I'm going to toughen it up with a shirt jacket. This print is too big or overwhelming, so I'm going to cover up part of it by tucking it in or layering something over it. I'm not sure whether this reflects creativity or if it really means I should just buy clothes that don't need fussing with (???!?)
      Today's challenge: my purple shirt from Goodwill. Love the deep purple, lavender, mint and blue print that reminds me of horseshoes. Don't love that it's extremely shiny polyester (I guess I really do have a thing for the 1970s). I bet that's why it was marked down to $2.50. I figured it would be fun to put together an outfit that makes the shirt look a little more contemporary for Try-it-out Tuesday.

         I ended up taking the necklace off because due to the black cord, it looked like it was floating in the middle of my chest.
        The black sweater, INC petite pants, and earrings (can't see 'em) were previously loved by my mom, friend's aunty and sister, respectively. 
        While sitting in last night's class and listening to the professor explain exactly what he wants for the term paper due on Monday, I realized that I am going to be spending most of the holiday weekend cursing at databases, catching up on a mountain of readings that I need to evaluate, and other similarly fun activities. : P But I hope you have a more relaxing weekend ahead.
        Happy Tuesday!

Try-it-out Thursday: it's not easy being green (and red)

     I decided to continue my exploration of color, and since the holidays are coming up, I just had to take on red and green. I thought mint would be a fresh alternative to the forest green usually associated with Christmas.

          Can you tell I'm still giving this red cardi a lot of love? :)
          Today I met the group of first-graders I'll be working with for the next 5 weeks, and they're kind of adorable. :) Our Green Thumb Club will be growing lettuce and beans, and learning science along the way. I'll admit I've never grown anything from seed before, but I've got my fingers crossed that this will work out. :O (The kids actually applauded when I announced at the start of the class that we were going to grow plants).
         Next week I'm hoping that we can start our bean plants, so I'm trying to sprout some beans in a zip bag. I put the zip bag on a windowsill that gets some sun, and I can't help checking them multiple times a day. I know that's such a kid thing to do, but I'm excited about seeing that first itty-bitty sprout!
        An excerpt from today:
        Me: What plant can we see outside our classroom? (a large tree)
        First-grader: A pumpkin!
       Happy Thursday!

Try-it-out Tuesday: the versatility of red

    Way back when (OK, maybe a year or so ago), I thought black or brown were the best colors for things like shoes, jackets, or anything you would end up wearing often. I figured it matched everything and no one would notice how often you wore it. Color was pretty, but seemed impractical.
     This cardigan has changed my mind.

JJ Basics cardi, AE camisole.

    While I've paired this camisole with stripes before, I like how pairing it with red makes the bright colors in the camisole's floral print pop. (Florals might need to be added to the list of surprisingly practical items too!)

Forever 21 flower ring

    For a dash of whimsy I added my flower ring (a garden can never have too many flowers, right?) I also put on faux-pearl studs from Forever 21 and a classic pearl pendant.

Pearl necklace (previously worn by mom)

      Happy Tuesday! What's something you once thought was impractical, but now can't live without?

Try-it-out Tuesday: mixing brights

    The original plan was to participate in the red and pink fun happening in honor of Rule Breaking Mondays at Clothed Much. Alas, a quick scan of the closet told me that it wasn't going to happen. I hardly own anything pink, for starters.
    Plan B: figure out how to wear a scarf and play with some bright colors.
    The biggest problem with wearing a scarf was how to pull it off without looking irredeemably foolish, as the temperatures are well into the 80s right now. I decided a light chiffon scarf would be a good way to introduce scarves into my wardrobe.

   I wore this outfit to class, where I usually wear two jackets at a time to deal with the frigid, bottom-of-the-library-so-it's-on-full-blast AC.  I figured the scarf would be functional in this environment. I stowed the cardi and scarf in my bag during my walk to class so I didn't have to worry about heatstroke. (Yay for tropical-weather-friendly layering!)

You've got mail!

    I love the look of pins on a coat, cardi or jacket, but I never do it. For a smidgen of cute I added my Moomin pin at the last minute. (I'm not sure what a Moomin is, but I do know they have a TV show, star in books, and for a brief time had their own store here).

    Note to self: remember to comb your hair before shooting photos ...   :O