This year I’ve been busy with grad school and Nick is busy at work so Halloween was very last minute.  This is why I’m just now getting around to posting about it (and putting away decorations) on November 7th. We might be a little more on top of our game next year, but I won’t make any promises.

Our costumes were inspired by the movie Pitch Perfect. I love that movie! If you haven’t seen it, stop reading this and go watch it right now. I’ll wait. Or you can just watch this clip:

Luckily, Nick likes it a lot, too (we don’t always have the same tastes in movies) so I was able to convince him to dress up as a Barden University Treblemaker and I went as a Barden Bella. And it was aca-awesome!

How To Get The Look

The Barden Bella uniform is pretty standard: white, sleeveless button front; navy cap-sleeved blazer, navy pencil skirt, yellow paisley scarf and black heels. Oh, and don’t forget the microphone!

Button-Front: JC Penny | Blazer: Saks Fifth Ave (on major sale) | Skirt: Target | Shoes: Target (really old) | Scarf: Michael’s

The Treblemaker uniform was even easier in that all Nick had to do was find a maroon/red jacket, gray tshirt, jeans, and a patch.

He had to make the patch out of red and yellow felt that he purchased at Michael’s. Using a photo he found online, he cut the Treblemaker symbol out of the felt and then pinned it to the jacket. I think it turned out really well!

 The best part is that I can rock the blazer and skirt in job interviews after school!

BONUS: Since I wasn’t really blogging last year, I’ll leave you with a blurry photo of our costumes last Halloween; we were R2D2 and C3P0 from Star Wars:

We spray painted an old suit gold and wrapped a cumber bun in red and white plastic to achieve the C3P0 look and Nick painted R2D2’s details onto a white cotton dress for me.

So, please stay tuned….

Happy Sunday!

Today’s serenade is “My Favorite Book” by Stars. I think it was this song that gave me the idea to begin this series. My favorite line is, “And to this day, when everything breaks, you are the anchor that holds me. And that is why we’ll always make it.” Not to get all mushy on you, but Nick is my anchor.

I’m going to try to improve my Sunday Morning Serenade series by including a list in each one of 5 things that make me happy.

This week, my list is going to be mostly about school-related things because that’s what’s on my mind. In case you’re unfamiliar, here’s the background: I live in one city and commute about two hours to attend graduate school in another city during the week. On the days I have classes, I stay with family to make the commute a little more bearable. That means I’m only home on the weekends and am away from my husband and dogs during the week. So, keeping that in mind, here are 5 things that make me feel happy:

1. My dogs. Being away from them all week is really hard because they’re the loves of my life. But seeing their wagging tails and getting bombarded with puppy kisses makes coming home the best feeling ever.
2.  Getting good grades. I’ve been out of school for about 6 years and, although I was always a really good student, I was a little worried that it would be hard to get back into the swing of things. Luckily, I was wrong and I’ve been making really good grades so far. It’s a huge relief.
3.  Cooking with Nick. It’s really hard to cook for one person and, considering that I spend a lot of time on campus without microwaves or refrigeration, I eat out a lot. So, as you can probably imagine, getting to cook and sit down at the table with Nick on the weekends is a happy thing.
4. Date nights. Again, I’m gone during the week so I don’t get to see my other NCsquared half as often as I’m used to, which was every day for about 6 years. We’ve started having regular date nights as a way to ensure we get to spend time together and that we can just be near each other. They make me warm and fuzzy.
5. Coffee. I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was about 25 and spent about nine months commuting about an hour to my job. In order to avoid heavy traffic, I would get up early and leave early. I’ve never really been a morning person so I started drinking coffee to wake me up and now I’m hooked. What started out as one cup a day has gradually grown over to 2 or 3 cups each morning. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Sunday Morning Serenade series is where I present you with music and a list of happy things to help start your week off on a positive note.

Cardigan, Blouse Belt, and Trousers: Banana Republic | Bracelet: Old Navy | Shoes: Target

This is another outfit where the majority of the pieces came from one store: Banana Republic. There are two main reasons why I regularly shop there: 1) Nick works there so we get a sweet discount and 2) Most importantly, they carry petite sizes that [almost] always fit me perfectly, meaning I rarely need to get anything hemmed or taken in. When you’re 5’1″ it can be a real chore to find clothes that fit you properly, but Banana Republic really delivers when it comes to us shorties.

Hey, look, more ruffles! I know I said I’m not usually a fan of ruffles, but again, these are fairly subtle and add a little something extra to the blouse. Also, purple is my favorite color, and I love the rich, fall-ness of this cardigan. I would probably wear it every day if I could. When it gets a little colder out, I’ll probably wear a purple scarf with it, too!

What’s your favorite color?

Top: Banana Republic | Vest: Conversation Pieces | Jeans: Old Navy | Boots: Steve Madden | Necklace: Old Navy | Earrings: Targe

Happy Halloween!

This outfit was pinspired by Audrey at Putting Me Together, which is one of my favorite fashion blogs. It took me a while to find the right vest but, once I did, I couldn’t wait to recreate this look. So, I didn’t mean to copy it so completely but I had all of the pieces and it looks so, well… put together! And the layers are perfect for Fall. Thanks, Audrey, for being such an inspiration; I’ll pretend that I meant to be you for Halloween!

This shirt is one of those that I wore every chance I got after buying it and then it took a little rest in the closet for a while. But now it’s back and it’s ready to rock this season. I was actually going to belt the vest with a cognac belt but it was just too hot out when I took the photos. Seriously, it’s almost November and we’re still getting 75-degree weather. I miss the little chill we had in the air last week.

Have you been pinspired and able to recreate the look to your liking?