Y’all, it was cold out when we took these photos! I had been at the public library for several hours doing some homework (fewer distractions there) and Nick met me to take photos. When we left, my car thermometer read in the 20s. I’m sure some of you are laughing at me because you’re dealing with negative temperatures, but this is cold for North Carolina. And Nick is such a trooper because he forgot his gloves!

Normally, I really like cold weather but, I gotta tell ya, I’m ready for Spring. That’s why I’m wearing Spring-ish colors in the pink shirt and floral scarf. The shirt is actually more fuchsia than pink (or even purple as it looks in the photos) and it has really cute dot details.

I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll mention it again: I think sweaters are the perfect match for this white puffy vest! What do you think?

I had to put my coat back on before my arms froze off!

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!

Isn’t yellow such a happy color? I mean, it’s the color of sunshine, daffodils, and lemonade, all of which are some of the happiest things on the planet!

It was bright and crisp out today so I decided to wear yellow to keep the happy spirits up while finishing up some holiday shopping. It was a valiant effort, but, alas, I still have some shopping left.

Button front and vest: Old Navy | Sweater: Target | Denim: Loft | Shoes: Crown Vintage via DSW | Necklace: Caroline G. | Sunglasses: Target

I might as well just stop trying to fashion blog right now because I’ve found my new favorite outfit. I’ll probably wear it every day for the rest of the season. I was going to say ‘the rest of my life’ but the weather will eventually warm up and I’ll end up sweating it off. But seriously, I love this outfit. I first wore it on Thanksgiving, even though I had planned to wear something slightly different, and decided then and there that I would wear it again every chance I got. And I almost have!

I absolutely adore this sweater because of the beautiful lace-like detail on the front. I don’t wear sweatshirts, but with this one I can get the feel of a sweatshirt with a look that is still casually elegant and put together. Also, the pattern on this vest is great! I know I mentioned in a previous post that you couldn’t really see it but in this photo you can. It’s not quite houndstooth but it works!

 I didn’t intend for my porch umbrella to end up in these photos, nor did I intend to match it! Actually, the umbrella is a burnt orange and my sweater is red so I don’t really match. *whew*

Sweater and Vest: Banana Republic | Jeans: Old Navy | Boots: Steve Madden

It’s a rainy Monday in my neck of the woods and I’m studying for my last final tomorrow so I won’t be leaving the house all day. What that really means is that I won’t be changing out of my pajamas so I won’t have a nice outfit to share with you today. Instead, I’ll leave you with the outfit I wore for family photos last month. For the last few years, we’ve had beautiful family photos taken by our favorite photographers – who also photographed our wedding and are available if you’re in the market – to put on our holiday cards. They offer an event where you have 10 minutes to take all the photos you can get for a very reasonable and inexpensive price. The photos always turn out gorgeously, as you can see, because Thad and Sarah are artistic geniouses!

As we do for every event in life, Nick and I coordinated our outfits with a pink/navy/brown color scheme. I’m wearing a pink sweater with denim (for my navy) and he’s wearing a pink button-front under a  navy pull-over sweater. Unfortunately, Nick wouldn’t let me dress up the dogs, even though Mia has the cutest little seersucker dress in pink!

These photos could also serve as engagement photos if we weren’t already married so I hope it gives you some good ideas for your own photos!