Check out these shooties! They’re a cross between a shoe and a bootie. Before I started reading fashion blogs and then blogging myself, I never would have bought anything like these. I would’ve taken one look at them and thought to myself, “How impractical. My feet will get cold!” But now that I’m in the know, I took one look at them at thought to myself, “I have to have them.” Also, before blogs, I probably wouldn’t have rolled my jeans, and I certainly wouldn’t have rolled them in a carefree cuff like this, but I like how it gives my otherwise polished look a little casual feel. I wore this outfit to the grocery store and my feet only got cold once, when we opened the pizza freezer. It was a  worthy sacrifice.

And here’s the fun one:

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!

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!

My best friend is flying in from Los Angeles today and I’m pretty sure she’s bringing that L.A. weather with her! Because of that, it was a beautiful day. I realize that I talk about the weather on the blog a lot – pretty much every post – but that’s because I dress for comfort and the weather plays a big role in that. This is what I wore to finish up my holiday shopping, hence the flats, and there was a light breeze so I wore the cardigan.

I wasn’t sure if this outfit was blog-worthy but this is my comfy casual look and it’s just as good as any of the others so I went with it.

I saw folks out today wearing shorts and sandals. It was only 65 degrees, which is nice, but definitely not shorts weather for me. And since when did North Carolina become Florida? Personally, it drives me crazy because I like for it to be cold in the winter.

Cardigan: Gap | Top & Necklace: Old Navy | Jeans: Loft | Shoes, Sunglasses & Earrings: Target