Nautical Downpour

Here are more rainy pictures from my outfit photo day over the weekend.

I wore this nautical-inspired dress to a wedding a couple years ago, and it had since gotten lost in the sea of clothes that is my wardrobe. When my closet exploded recently, this dress was one of the fabulous items I rediscovered. I wore this outfit to work on one of my first days.

Outfit Details:
Jason Wu for Target Dress (old)
Calvin Klein Cardigan via Ross Dress for Less (old)
Charlotte Russe Shoes (old)
Payless Purse (old)
Ring (gift from Matt's mom)
H&M Umbrella (old)

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

And just for kicks, here are a couple photos from that wedding in March 2012. Matt was a groomsman, and my hair was its natural color! :)

This post contains Payless affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

How to Make Cute Twirling Fruit

The Cutest of the Fruit Dress from ModCloth is one of the items I put on my March Wish List that quickly made it to my March shopping list.

I love fruit prints for summer, and this one has all my favorite fruits (minus strawberries). Once it arrived, I was super impressed with the flattering fit, as well as the twirling potential of the skirt.

Speaking of twirling, did you know ModCloth is having a "Twirl Around the World Contest" through March 31? Snap a photo of yourself twirling in your favorite spring ensemble and upload it to the Style Gallery or post it on your Instagram account with the hashtag #modtwirl, and you could win a $350 gift card. Videos will also be considered on Instagram. The contest ends March 31 at 10 a.m. PT, and one Instagram winner and one Style Gallery winner will be chosen that day.

Here's my twirling photo:

So, you might have noticed my blogging absence for the past week. Since I started my new job, I haven't found a good blogging schedule. I decided I'd take all my outfit photos over the weekend, write up all the posts, and then schedule one for each day of the week.

Well, as you can see from these photos, picture day found Tampa drenched in rain, so I had to take many of my outfit photos inside. Bummer. I much prefer the natural light and surroundings of the outdoors. Fingers crossed for next weekend.

Outfit Details:
Cutest of the Fruit Dress from ModCloth
Old Navy Cardigan (old)
Target Shoes (old)
Urban Outfitters Purse (old)
Revolve Clothing Exchange Earrings (local)
Petit Point Ring (handmade locally)
Fossil Strawberry Charm (old, similar)

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

This post contains ModCloth and Urban Outfitters affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Daisy Nails Tutorial

When spring began last week on the day I started my new job (woot!), I made sure my nails were ready for both occasions with this cute daisy nail art design that I made up myself.

Want to replicate it? Here's how!

I started out by peeling the Revlon By Marchesa 3D Jewel Appliques in Silk Rosette off my nails. The Color Club Factory Girl nail color underneath was still intact, so I didn't change the polish.

Then, I used a white Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen to draw the flower petals. I gave each full flower about five petals, and I also painted partial flowers at the edges.

Next, I used a dotting tool dipped into yellow polish to create a dot at the center of each flower. If you don't have a dotting tool, you could use a toothpick instead. I originally thought I would stop after this step, but the flowers looked kind of like fried eggs, so I decided to add some leaves.

I used a smaller dotting tool dipped in a green polish and randomly added leaves to the flowers where I thought they looked best.

Finally, I added a topcoat, and voila! Daisy nails complete!

How are you painting your nails for spring? Tell me in the comments!

Indiska Dress and Closet Explosion

Several things to talk about today, you guys, and there's good news and bad news.

Let's start with the good news: I got a job! I'm working for The Tampa Tribune/TBO.com as a web editor. I started Thursday, and although I don't really have a desk/office yet, I'm super pumped to be working full time again. The team I'm working with is awesome, and everyone has been so welcoming. Win!

Now, let's get to the bad news before I move on to talking about my Indiska dress, which is why you're really here and what I promised in the title of this post.

My closet exploded, and I don't mean in a good way. A good way would be that my clothes somehow multiplied and I had double the outfits. No, I mean my closet exploded in a bad, super frustrating, spend-all-of-Sunday-fixing-the-mess way. :'-(

See those two brackets at the top of the photo that are angled downward? Yeah, those are supposed to angle upward. The weight of my clothes was too much for them, and the shelf they were supporting came crashing down at some point on Friday when Matt and I were both at work.

I didn't realize what had happened until Saturday morning when I tried to open the door and couldn't get in. Matt and I had plans that day, so we couldn't work on repairs until Sunday. I had to pull out all of the clothes and purses that had fallen, and then we had to go to the hardware store to get new brackets.

Matt spent the afternoon installing five new brackets and re-positioning the shelf.

Then, I had to put all the stuff back. One of the worst ways to spend a Sunday!

The only positive that came from the closet explosion is that I've rediscovered items that had gotten pushed to the back of my closet. Hashtag bright side.

Matt and I had planned to take a few outfit photos on Sunday, so I could post what I had worn on my first two days of work, but we had to put that on hold. Maybe we'll get to it later this week.

Instead, I'm sharing photos that we took a while back that, for whatever reason, haven't made it on the blog.

If you've read my blog for a while, you might notice that I sometimes reference a 2011 trip to Finland. One of my college roommates is from Finland and still lives there. After college, she came back to the states a couple times to visit, and in the fall of 2011, I decided it was my turn to visit her. We had an amazing time, and I returned to Florida with lots of Nordic trinkets and clothing, including this pink floral dress from Swedish retailer Indiska.

I so wish we had Indiska in the states, or at least that they shipped to the U.S., because I would shop there all the time. The clothes--especially their dresses--are so easy-breezy with a bohemian vibe. The word "Indiska" in Swedish means "Indian," so that gives you an idea of the styles you'd typically find: a perfect blend of Indian and Scandinavian.

Outfit Details:
Indiska Dress (old)
Target Tights
Payless Shoes (old)
Target Purse
Charming Charlie Necklace (in stores only)
The Native Source Ring

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

This post contains Payless affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Current Obsession: Society6

Society6 is a site where hundreds of thousands of artists sell their work printed on a variety of products, and I have to say: I'm completely obsessed.

Original artwork is printed onto canvases, T-shirts, throw pillows, tote bags, phone cases, mugs, shower curtains and more. What a cool way to display, wear, or decorate with interesting pieces!

I first learned about the site through one of my favorite bloggers and Society6 artist, Kate Gabrielle of Scathingly Brilliant. She posted on her blog a few weeks ago about how Society6 had added wall clocks to its list of items.

I clicked over to the site and spent a lot of time looking through the artwork. I'm one of those people who wants to see it all, and with this site, that's nearly impossible. There's so, so much available, and I instead had to start searching for things I like. "Vintage floral" and "hot air balloons" were my top queries, as evidenced by the items I ended up buying.

I purchased three totes (from left): "Voyages" by David Fleck; "vintage 9" by kate gabrielle; and "Voyage around the world" by Budi Satria Kwan.

The little people in the hot air balloon in "Voyage around the world" by Budi Satria Kwan reminded me of Matt and I. :)

Have you ever bought anything from Society6? Which artists/works are your favorites? Tell me in the comments!

I am not affiliated with Society6. My opinions are my own.

March Wish List

Here are all the cute things I'm wishing for this month.

1. Cutest of the Fruit Dress from ModCloth, $52.99
I love fruit prints for summer, and this one has all my favorites. It also may or may not already be on its way to me. ;)

2. Red Strawberry Dangle Earrings from SheInside, $6.52
The only fave fruit the first dress is missing? Strawberries! These earrings would totally complete the look.

3. Candy Color Messenger Bag in Khaki from Oasap, $29.99 (on sale)
Name one thing this bag wouldn't go with. You can't? Exactly!

4. Women's Tucker 2-Piece Flat Sling from Payless ShoeSource, $24.99 (on sale)
I've been seeing these types of sandals in lots of stores, and I stop to look at them each time. I have a feeling I won't be able to resist the magnetic affect they seem to have on me much longer.

5. Boucle Sailor Collar Dress in Salmon from Lily Boutique, $19 (on sale)
Can you believe I have zero pink dresses? Maybe now's the time to remedy that, especially since this one has a sailor collar!

6. Watercolor Exhibition Dress from ModCloth, $74.99
Beautiful, floral and vintage-y? Gimme, gimme and gimme!! :P

If anyone wants to send me any of these things, my mailbox is open. ;)

What are you wishing for this month? Tell me in the comments!

This post contains ModCloth, SheInside, Oasap, Payless ShoeSource and Lily Boutique affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

A leprechaun must have been playing a trick on me yesterday when I went to snap these photos.

I always use a Nikon D40 to take outfit pictures, and I had charged the battery and slid it into the camera. But when I turned the camera on, the battery immediately died.

So, I had to go to Plan B: my point-and-shoot Canon PowerShot. It does the job, but the colors and contrast vary greatly from one photo to the next.

I guess as long as that leprechaun doesn't pinch me, everything will be OK. ;)

Although today is St. Patrick's Day, Matt and I already celebrated yesterday at a local Irish pub appropriately named Shamrock's Ale House. Here's what I wore.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Outfit Details:
H&M Dress (old, similar at ModCloth)
Plenty by Tracy Reese Cropped Blouse via Anthropologie (old)
Target Leggings
Target Boots
Icing Earrings (old)
Ring (Christmas gift from Matt's mom)
ModCloth Hair Accessory (freebie)

Photos by me :)

This post contains ModCloth affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.

Boho Beauty vs. Gardening Granny

I'm a ModCloth affiliate, meaning that I've partnered with the online retailer to offer links to their site on my blog. Those links are meant to generate sales, and in exchange for each sale, I receive a small commission.

Every so often, ModCloth sets a fashion challenge for their bloggers, and most recently, they asked us to style our best boho/festival-themed outfit. Always up for a challenge, I decided to participate and pulled all my best boho pieces from my closet.

But when I took a look at the first set of pictures (the outfit on the right above), something about the combination of the straw hat with the crocheted shrug read more "grandma in the garden" than "boho girl at a festival."

So, I gave it a second try (the outfit on the left above). The dress and jewelry were right, so I kept them the same. But I switched the straw hat for a flower crown, the crocheted shrug for a lacy cardi, and the beachy sandals for gladiators.

Although the second look is similar to the first, I think it's more of a success as far as the challenge is concerned. Do you agree? Tell me in the comments!

Here are both looks so you can compare.

First Attempt:

Outfit Details:

Old Navy Dress (old)

Torrid Shrug (old)

Old Navy Sandals

Vintage Hat via eBay

Free People Long Necklace (old)

Charming Charlie Short Necklace (in store only)
The Native Source Ring

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

***

Second Attempt:

Outfit Details:
Old Navy Dress (old)
Victoria's Secret Cardigan (old)
ModCloth Sandals
Flower Crown from the 2010 Bay Area Renaissance Festival (This year's festival is going on now!)

Free People Long Necklace (old)

Charming Charlie Short Necklace (in store only)
The Native Source Ring

Photos by yours truly

***

Check out other boho/festival-themed looks in the ModCloth Style Gallery! One of my other festival-inspired outfits is there. :)

This post contains ModCloth and Free People affiliate links, and I will be compensated if you click on them and make a purchase.