Outfit #4 for the 30 for 30 Challenge. These are coming along quite nicely now that I’ve given the rules a little breathing room.

I wore this to a meeting at school about our internship requirements. The bad news is I was in a car for three hours because I had to drive to campus and back but the good news is they gave us free lunch.  I had planned to wear a black pencil skirt but decided to go with the crop pants because it was a little chilly out this morning. The plaid blazer was a good choice because it added some interest, but I could have incorporated some more color. Although, you clearly can’t go wrong with neutrals!

I really like wearing crop pants, which can be a bit tricky when you’re as short as I am (5’1”) because you run the risk of them being too long and then they’re not cropped, they’re just cut off below the ankle. I stick to petite sizes because they’re prefect for us shorties, and that’s what I recommend. Otherwise you can get them hemmed.

Since Nick has become my photographer, my photo shoots have gotten much more fun! He makes me laugh a lot. It’s a quality I love about him, a good quality to have.

BONUS: The photographer becomes the photographed! Here are a few shots I snapped of Nick this afternoon. Look at that handsomeness!

UPDATE: I’ve linked up with Bri of Work Clothes, I Suppose and Bethany of Perfectly Coutured so be sure to head over there to check out all of the other amazing fashion bloggers who are linking up!

Outfit #3

I kind of felt like Elle Woods in this outfit, with all the pink. But pairing the pink with navy shoes and blazer toned it down a bit and made it feel professional. It works because the two pinks are different enough that it’s monochrome without being too matchy-matchy. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’m taking some creative liberties with my challenge. The top, skirt, and shoes are in the original 30 pieces list but I added the navy blazer and scarf.

Nick admitted that he didn’t love the scarf with the outfit so I took it off and you could better see the cute sequin detail on the pocket of the sweater. I would have added a nice necklace if I knew I wouldn’t be wearing the scarf. I’ll admit that isn’t one of my favorite outfits that I’ve ever worn, so this might be the first and last time it sees the light of day. You win some, you lose some.

Official outfit #2.

I started the 30 for 30 Challenge because I was feeling a serious lack of creativity and wanted a reason to love the pieces in my closet again – without feeling the constant need to go shopping. The original rule of the challenge is to create 30 outfits using the 30 pieces, but I found that some of the items I chose are rather plain and that some of the outfits needed a little extra umph to make me truly enjoy wearing them. Based on this observation, I’ve decided to use the 30 pieces as “foundation pieces” and go from there. The result: this outfit! The top, pants, and shoes are on the list. When trying to figure out the best way to complete it, however, I felt all the cardigans and blazers in my list were too boring. When I paired with this blazer (which is new and therefore not in the list) I loved the outcome. It’s definitely a winner.

The stripes on the blazer and shoes are the same color (navy).

And just for fun!

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!

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.