As I mentioned in yesterday’s Sunday Morning Serenade, I’m a big fan of brunch. This was the outfit I wore to have brunch with Nick, our good friend (who is like a little sister to us), and her boyfriend. We went to a cute little French bistro downtown and I had delicious coffee and steak frites, which is a pan-seared steak topped with an egg and served with pommes frites (french fries) and Béarnaise sauce. Your mouth just watered, didn’t it?

So, I know I’m supposed to be participating in this 30 for 30 Challenge, but I did some unexpected shopping this weekend and wanted to wear all of my new pieces, which is what I’m doing in this outfit. The shirt and the black ankle boots are new and I figured they’d pair well with the black skirt. I also got Nick to take these photos instead of using my tripod and they turned out so much better than usual because I was able to have more fun. He’s going to have a new job from here on out!

I promise I’ll get to that challenege. Most of the pieces I chose for it are more “office wear” than casual wear but classes have started back so I’ll be able to wear the outfits in public instead of just sitting in them at my computer. Please be patient, they’re coming!

Sunday Morning Serenade has been MIA, for which I apologize. But we’re back in full swing so I hope you enjoy!

I’ve had several songs stuck in my head all week and today I’m sharing “Break the Walls” by Fitz and the Tantrums.  I bought this album last week and have been listening to it in the car. I wish I had gotten it sooner because the whole album is really good. I recommend it!

This Week’s Top 5

1. A New Year. It’s a new year with new goals and new possibilities to be the best possible version of myself that I can be. I’m happy, and even a little excited, to prove to myself that I can meet my goals and be the person I want to be! I invite all of you to join me.

2. Frigid Temperatures. I can’t be the only person on the planet that actually enjoys cooler weather, right? Really? Okay then. The only thing that would have made it better is snow! Unfortunately (for me, I’m sure everyone else would disagree), we didn’t get any here in my neck of the woods.

3. Brunch. I love brunch; it’s my favorite meal. And it’s even better when it’s enjoyed with friends, which is what I did this weekend. I had a delicious steak frites from a lovely little French bistro in town. Stay tuned for an outfit post from the outing.  

4. New Shoes. I got several pairs of new shoes recently and, I mean, who doesn’t love new shoes?!

5. This Top 5 List. Too often I find myself dwelling on the negative things in life, like I didn’t wake up as early as I wanted to or I didn’t make it to the gym again today, etc. But when I create this list, it forces me to focus on the positive things, which brightens my mood and makes me extremely grateful for all of my blessing. I would recommend you try it, too: when you find yourself feeling down and out about something that is happening in your life, take a few minutes and try to create a list of at least 3 positives that you can appreciate.

Photo of the Week:

A delicious mug of hot cocoa and cozy blanket during the frigid temperatures we experienced here at my house thanks to the Polar Vortex. It was 9 degrees on Tuesday morning when we walked the dogs. We bundled them up big time to keep them warm, like they both wore a little sweater AND a coat. The high was about 20 degrees, so we stayed inside all day. I’m sure some of you are laughing at me because you were dealing with temps in the negative, and I would laugh at me, too, if I were you. But this was the coldest it’s been here in my lifetime, so we were cold! We survived. And I loved every minute of it!

I interrupt the regularly scheduled 30 for 30 Challenge to bring you an outfit that was pinspired. I enjoy finding new fashion blogs to inspire my own wardrobe, and when I saw this outfit this morning from the lovely Bethany of Perfectly Coutured (a new blog I stumbled upon today), I knew I had to recreate it. It’s so simple yet so stylish. It might be a new favorite.

On an exciting but slightly different note, I got a new fancy camera for Christmas so hopefully the quality of my photos will improve significantly. I also have a tripod so I went a little crazy with the photos this afternoon taking over 40! Since this is technically a lifestyle blog instead of solely a fashion one – my husband will post every now and then on cool DIY projects and recipes – I’m going to try to take more pictures to document our lives! Although, most of our time is consumed with work, school, and the dogs. But hey, we do some fun stuff, too, and you might like reading about that.

I present to you the first outfit of my 30 for 30 Challenge. It was fairly easy to put this look together, but then I figured it would be easy in the beginning. I wore this to run some errands and then to a small dinner party, and it was very comfortable. I didn’t realize, however, until I started writing this post that I’m wearing red, white, and blue so here’s to being patriotic in the winter!

These are fleece-lined tights. I got them from my auntie for Christmas and this is the first time I’m wearing them. Let me tell you, they are amazing. Where have these been all my life? These boot socks were also a Christmas gift from our housemate, Chris. He did a great job becaue these things are amazing, too. You should get definitely get some!

Pinterest is the best for fashion inspiration! I’ve found so many amazing fashion blogs with beautitful women sharing their super-smart and creative outfits and advice. And shoes I would have never considered purchasing because I didn’t know how to wear them suddenly make sense! Ever since I discovered Pinterest, fashion inspiration and fashion blogs, I’ve wanted to do a 30 for 30 challenge but I’ve always been too afraid… afraid that I would be too limited and wouldn’t be creative enough. But, it’s a new year and I’m trying to get serious about fashion blogging, so I’ve finally decided to do it!

The rules are almost too simple: Take 30 items from your closet and make 30 outfits. What I really like is that this isn’t necessarily a 30-day challenge as Kendi pointed out (because I’m not great at completing those) but it’s a 30-outfit challenge. So I don’t have to try to create something new EVERY day, just when I’m feeling inspired.  My own rule for the challenge is that I’m not counting accessories toward my pieces so things like scarves, belts, jewelry, etc. will be added to the outfits each day. I’m really looking forward to this challenge because it’ll get the creative choices flowing.

I’ve chosen the following 30 items:

Alright, 30 pieces from my closet to make 30 outfits. This is going to be fun!