On day two of Sarah’s Real Life Take One, Pass it On Challenge 2.0 I’ve “taken” the plaid blazer from yesterday and “passed it on” to dress up this pink sweater and jeans combo. I have to tell you, I haven’t had this blazer long, but I think it’s quickly becoming one of my favorites. I have a black one already, which is nice, but the plaid makes any outfit so much more interesting! I might just start passing it along to everything!

It was really windy out while I was trying to take these photos so my hair was all over the place, my hands were freezing, and my camera kept getting knocked over. I wanted to get a close up of these cutie booties but I was struggling so much just getting regular outfit photos that I had to give up. I’ll feature them some other time, though, because they’re awesome.

Blazer: Target | Sweater and Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Target | Necklace: Hawthorne Collection online

Take One, Pass it On: Day 2

I’ve decided to try Sarah’s Real Life Take One, Pass it On: 2.0 Challenge. As Sarah explains on her blog, the way  the challenge works is participants will:

• Start out by wearing any outfit you want to wear.
• The next day, take one thing from the previous day’s outfit and wear it again in a new way.
• The next day, take one thing (besides the already repeated item) from the day before, and…you get the idea.
• Do this for as long as you want!

Yesterday, I wore an easy outfit for working on a group project. Today, I’m “taking” those jeans and “passing them on” to today’s outfit (see photo at the bottom for recap). This is my first real attempt at pattern mixing and I’m pretty sure that polka dots and plaid are BFFs.

And these shoes! I’ve been looking for a pair of oxford/brogue style shoes for a while (heel optional) and finally found these. The color is flawless and the heel is just the right height, but those laces have got to go! I’m going to change those out and then they’ll be perfect. And look how great they are for playing in the leaves!

Top: Old Navy | Blazer: Target | Jeans: Old Navy | Shoes: Crown Vintage via DSW | Sunglasses and Earrings: Target | Necklace: Old Navy

Take One, Pass it On: Day 1

When I was working 9-5, it was Monday through Friday and my weekends were free. When you’re a grad student, you’re ALWAYS working. This is what I wore to meet my study group on Sunday to work on a project that is due next week. Truthfully, if it wasn’t for that, I would have staying in my pajamas all day. But, It was a beautiful day with the temperature around 70 and very few clouds in the sky. I apologize for the less-than-stellar quality of these photos, but I’m in a different location than usual and have to figure out the best lighting.

I just got these booties this weekend and I am in LOVE; I’ve hardly taken them off my feet!  On the other hand, when I purchased this flowy vest, I wasn’t sure I would get a lot of wears out of it. In fact, I wasn’t even planning on wearing it today until I saw all the wrinkles in my shirt (please don’t judge) and realized I should throw something on over it to cover them up. This vest is a clear winner. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner!

 Top: Target | Vest: Ross | Scarf and Jeans: Old Navy | Booties: Target

What do you normally wear on the weekends?

Vest: Old Navy | Sweater: Banana Republic | Jeans: Banana Republic | Shoes: Rocket Dog via Zappos | Pearl Necklace: Francesca’s |Feather Necklace and Bracelet: Old Navy

I’m wearing my white puffy vest again! I almost didn’t get it when I saw it in the store because I was afraid it would get dirty and that it wouldn’t go with much. I had the same fear about the white vest as I did with white pants but I’m realizing just how well it goes with just about everything! And, unlike white pants, I love pairing it with dark colors.

I decided to switch out the dark denim for these lighter washed Old Navy jeans and rolled them up at the bottom. I think I like this look better than the long jeans because you it shows off the shoes, and the rolled bottoms add a nice balance to the sweater and vest.

Would you wear a puffy white vest?

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.