day 15: new hairstyle

After yesterday's complaints about the awkward length of my hair, the next prompt in the 21 Day Challenge - try a new hair-do - was quite timely. I am in serious need of finding new things to do with my 'do as it has grown out just enough from the bob length to make it impossible to wear down nicely, and it has been at this stage long enough that I am sick nigh unto death of the ponytail.

The issues with this: (1) I am hair stupid - I don't know how to do anything but blow dry, flat iron, and ponytail (though I did accidentally figure out a cool up-do recently!) and (2) though I've been working hard on growing it out for months, my hair still isn't long enough to actually do a whole lot of anything.

But today I bravely decided to attempt this hair twist tutorial from My Edit.

I definitely have some perfecting to do, as there was some re-pinning required throughout the day and it ended up looking slightly weird in the back (also, I think I might have done a little overkill on the hairspray), but it was so nice to have a different hairstyle for once. Most types of up-dos feel just a little fancier and more polished than the usual ponytail, and that just makes me feel a little snazzier about my whole ensemble.

skirt: JCrew; top: Loft; sandals: Target

Also: this is my third remix of the top from Day 1's challenge; coincidentally it's also my third remix of this skirt...

day 14: imitation

I love simple, classic outfits. When I'm out and about, the people who catch my eye as really looking sharp are inevitably dressed that way. An example I re-pinned of Olivia Palermo looking very chic in an outfit of pretty simple elements:

                                                                                          Source: instyle.co.uk via Anne on Pinterest

But somehow, when I'm getting dressed and try to do my own version, I often end up feeling my outfit is boring or underwhelming. I've been trying to figure out why that is. Partly it's a self-confidence thing of having the belief that I can pull it off, and that I am looking classic and chic. (Can I just say this is more difficult to feel when you are in the awful stage of the hair-growing-out process?) 

So for the Day 14 prompt - be a copy cat - I thought the above inspiration photo would be a good one. Easy to mimic, since I have all these simple elements (navy skirt, striped shirt, big necklace), and also practice in feeling as glamorous in a similar outfit as she looks in it (even if my outing is just to the grocery store)!

skirt & purse: Gap; tee: JCrew; necklace: Loft; flats: DSW; sunnies: TJMaxx

home again

We've made the 7-hour trip back home... sad to leave the cottage (nobody who goes to that wonderful place wants to leave it!), a little sunburnt, pretty well rested (after a year of residency, I think Peter's sleep bank will never quite fill), and definitely well relaxed. Peter said he felt ready to go back to work (if not super excited for Monday morning...) - which means the vacation was a success.

We had a few last vacation week hurrahs at home this weekend though, including walking to breakfast at our local diner (upon realizing this is probably our last chance for summer [!] with Peter's call schedule and all) and dinner at one of the other resident's house.

To which I wore neutrals with a pop of color provided by my trusty summer necklace (21 Day Challenge prompt #13):

blouse: Forever 21; shorts: JCrew Outlet; necklace & sandals: Target

And now back to reality on Monday morning (which will come much sooner for some of us than others).

dress up

(Note: I’m all out of order again on the 21 Day Challenge, but Day 11 was to wear a dress or skirt, and I had more occasion and warm enough temperatures for this one after I wore Day 12’s outfit…)

Wearing dresses and skirts is not much of a challenge for me, I have to admit. I’ve always liked to wear them in the summer months, and I liked wearing them to work too, even if people would comment on how dressed up I was (whatever). Really, dresses are practically lazy dressing... you have only one item to pick out and throw on. How easy is that?

photos taken by my mom in front of her hydrangeas

(not just) jeans & a tee

It’s a good thing I’m at the cottage during Day 12’s prompt – jazz up jeans and a tee – because it’s been some time since I’ve put on jeans in Cincinnati. We’ve had a few absolutely lovely cool evenings here though. On this evening, we took a walk with Ginger, had a late dinner on the porch, and then retired to the couch (I’m in serious vacation mode, can you tell?) to watch the sunset.

 jeans: Loft; tee: JCrew; necklace: Target; shoes: Toms

I’m not sure the photos show this as nicely as I felt in it… definitely an outfit I will re-wear (okay, I actually already am - I thought it was also perfect for my morning trip to the coffee shop/bookstore to work for a few hours). To make my jeans and tee jazzier, I made the tee a striped and more flowy one instead of a plain v-neck, and I added a big statement necklace. Super easy to keep it casual but not messy or dull.

 

Stripes add snazz to everything, really. And this necklace has gotten frequent use this summer for the same. I’m not one to buy tons of jewelry, but every summer I tend to pick up one new necklace that I use a whole bunch to spice up simple summer outfits. This summer I actually ended up with two – this blue beaded one from Target and the one my mom birthday gifted me (seen here and here). 

day 10: rescue a closet orphan

So this was an interesting prompt for Day 10: rescue a closet orphan.

This skirt may well be the oldest item of clothing I have - I think I've had it 6 years, which would be the summer before my last semester in college. I wore it ALL the time that summer - including for our engagement photos and to my first job at a publishing company - and the next couple summers as well. I'm surprised it has any white left on it from all that wear. And then it's just been sitting in my closet unused for a couple years.

I'm not one to keep things around if I don't wear them, generally not even if they have some sentimental attachment, like this skirt does. If anything, I'm an over-purger when it comes to closets; at the start of one winter I was all ready to put on a cozy turtleneck and realized that I had donated them all the last spring. So I'm not sure why I kept it all this time - but thought it would be the perfect rescue for this challenge!

skirt: Tommy Hilfiger (maybe only item I've ever owned of this brand?); 

top: Loft; belt and sandals: Target; location: bookstore 

in town (where we go for our internet when staying at the cottage)

Also, I got in remix #2 (from prompt #1) of this chambray shirt - not even one of the many uses I thought of for this shirt when I bought it, since the skirt obviously wasn't on my radar. It was an easy choice though, as I know I frequently wore my denim jacket with this skirt back in the day. Now there's an item I wish I hadn't purged from the closet (you were right on that one, mom) - I've been eying them to wear with my white jeans...

fancy & casual for dinner

We went out for dinner last night with Peter's family to belatedly celebrate his dad and brother's birthdays, which was very nice. Day 8's prompt for the 21 Day Challenge - mix fancy and casual - was perfect for my vacation week suitcase, in which I have casual things like plain white t-shirts. But then it's also easy to throw in a fancy necklace and a skirt (which I consider fancy mainly because it was a splurge purchase at JCrew this spring).

It was raining on our way out of the restaurant, so I didn't get a photo last night and this is my next-morning re-creation of the look for posterity. You can see it's a rather overcast and windy day here at the lake. I was a bit disappointed that it's looking like it won't be a beach day (especially since yesterday wasn't either), but I'm still on vacation with a stack of books... And while I'd prefer to read them at the beach, when the weather isn't right for that, this cottage is a place built for reading: 

That would be the most comfortable couch ever, with Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt (Newberry Honor winner and professor in the English department at Calvin College), a young adult book I read on the first day of vacation. It was great.

Window reading seat - where I'll be finishing The Emperor's Children shortly and then moving on to Room.

day 9: monochromatic

21 Day Challenge, number 9: monochromatic. Peter's off this week - a much needed break for both of us - so we're spending the week at the beach. It's been so nice to see some family and also a chance just to see each other... In fact, I think I'll just get back to that and not elaborate on this one... except that white felt like just the color for a monochrome cottage outfit.

Cincinnati tennis

The big highlight/purpose of my family's recent visit was to spend a day at the professional tennis tournament taking place about 20 minutes from my house in the past week... We had a full day of seeing lots of great players and sweating a lot in the sun.

 Just hanging out with Roger and Lleyton

Waiting for James Blake's match to start

Center court with Serena Williams warming up in background

Taking photos of Serena's warmup

With her fancy camera, my mom got some really great photos of the players - some of her handiwork:

Rafa! On the practice court

James Blake in action

 

Owen about to get a signature - he collected more than 20

day 5: belt it

I was feeling rather busy and uninspired, so there's no way I would have made it out of my workout clothes had it not been for the 21 Day Challenge prompt: put a belt on it. I dug out this skirt that I hadn't worn yet this summer as it's now rather too big and made it wearable with some folding and a belt. Handy.

For good measure, I added in some stripes (to complete day 3's pattern mixing prompt, which I didn't get to when I was off having fun with my family visitors) and put on some heels. Upped my feelings of accomplishment.

skirt: JCrew Outlet; tank: JCrew; belt: Target; shoes: Indigo by Clarks

color blocking at the museum

My mom, grandma, and I went to the Cincinnati Art Museum during their visit this week. They enjoyed the collection and the building architecture as much as I have on previous visits...

 Miro mural

 A gallery

 A Matisse

I got dressed for our outing following the day 4 prompt of the 21 Day Challenge: color blocking. I felt like mine was a tiny bit of a cheat since one of my colors (navy) is really more of a neutral - but I was still doing bold colors and was pretty happy with how it turned out. Plus I went around the museum and found some artsy color blocks to add to the effect.

Color-blocked outfit + Andy Warhol portrait of Pete Rose

Nearly literal color blocks from Helen Frankenthaler

An Italian renaissance Madonna & child dressed in color blocks!

day 2: tuck it in (with a view)

Day 2 of the 21 Day Challenge is to tuck something in. I'm just not a tucker when it comes to pants - high-waisted skirts are okay, but pants just leave a lot of hips feeling exposed... So this may appear a rather simple outfit, but it's still a little challenge.

My mom, grandma, and little (but way taller, see above) brother are in town for a visit. We went again to Mount Adams and saw the view of the city from the steps of this church. 

We could see the Montgomery Inn restaurant from our Mount Adam vantage point - Peter and I have been there in the past with his parents - and when I mentioned the ribs and pulled pork, my visitors were all over that. So we had a lovely lunch on a perfect day for sitting outside by the river, though our rib-eating bibs did blow in the breeze a little...

day 1: remix one item

It's day 1 of the 21 Day Challenge, and the prompt is to pick one item to remix at least 3 times during the challenge. This top is fairly simple, but I was still thinking I could get several varied uses out of it when I picked it up on clearance recently. The first variation was an easy one for a trip to check out Findlay Market (now checked off my summer to-do list!) and breakfast at the local diner.

mixed up

Everybody, Everywear is mixing patterns today. A couple rounds of 30 for 30 have made me more comfortable with the idea, and I love how it can add some interest to an outfit. But I still worry a little about how to do it without crossing the line into looking like it's clash day at school...

I did two versions this week. The first, a little more classy for going to a cooking demonstration.

The second, very casual for a full day at home editing my buns off.

I think they work, because the first has similar colors (and using an accessory adds only a little more pattern), and the second involves neutrals and small patterns. Nothing clashing about it, right?

Also, how handy is it to be given direction for getting dressed in the morning? So I was excited to see that Kayla at Freckles in April is doing a 21 Day Challenge with daily outfit prompts to be more creative, try new things, and look more put together. And there are even prize winning opportunities for participating. As a rather goal-oriented girl (if you haven't noticed by now from all the challenges and lists around here), I'm in!