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.

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.

Confetti, Baby's Breath and Other Details

Navy and pink is a nice color combination, but for me, this outfit is all about the details.

Remember when I told you I went thrifting with my friend Karen over the weekend (Roses are Red, Stripes are Black and White)? Well, I found this standout vintage purse while we were hunting in La France in Tampa's Ybor City. I'm calling it my confetti clutch because of the sparkly bits of amazing that adorn both sides.

I've never seen anything like this bag before. I wanted to get more information about it for this post, but couldn't find much on Google.

From what I can tell, it's made from clear plastic with the sparkles fused directly to it. The oatmeal color comes from the fabric lining inside, which has "Mel-Ton" or "Mel-Tan" imprinted on it. Anyone know anything about it or seen something similar?

Remember when I talked about my trip to Whigfest, a local music festival (Pennyfarthing Print Dress)? Well, one of the vendors I met there was Lauralie Bradford, who makes jewelry, including this pretty Baby's Breath necklace, and sells it in her Etsy shop, The Genesis. The charm actually opens like a locket, so I can put my own dried flowers inside and change up the look. I picked some last week, and they're in the process of drying out!

The funny thing is that once I got home and looked on Etsy, I realized I had stumbled onto Lauralie's shop before. Around Christmas, I was searching "terrarium jewelry," and I almost put one of her Baby's Breath pieces on my wish list!

Outfit Details:
Urban Outfitters Dress (old, similar)
The Webster Cardigan via Target (old)
ModCloth Shoes (old)
Thrifted Purse from La France in Ybor City
Baby's Breath Necklace from Etsy shop, The Genesis
The Native Source Ring
Charlotte Russe Earrings (old)

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

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

One Bird, Two Birds, Pink Birds, Blue Birds

Don't know where the Dr. Seuss inspiration is coming from today, but I'm going with it!

Oh, the places I'll go in this dress! (See what I did there?) But, no, really, I'm super happy with this purchase from Simply Be because it's perfect for spring, Florida's year-round warm weather, and just about any occasion.

Shopping with friends? Check.

An outdoor music festival? Check.

Date night? Check.

Work (if I dress it up a bit and ever get a full-time job)? Check.

I'm excited about the versatility of this dress as well as the cute watercolor bird print, the ever-so-slight high-low hem that dips in the back just enough, and the SLEEVES with a little bit of poof.

Why is it so hard to find a fit-and-flare dress with short sleeves that's reasonably priced these days? Am I the only one having a difficult time?

Anyway, I feel really comfortable in this dress, which you might recognize from my Simply Be Wish List. I'm looking forward to wearing it a lot, so maybe you'll see it again in some sort of remix.

Outfit Details:

Simply Be Dress

JCPenney Hat (old, similar from Amazon)

Bamboo Sandals via ModCloth (old, similar from Bamboo, similar from ModCloth)

Perk Me Up Bag from ModCloth (sold out, similar)

Words of a Feather Necklace from ModCloth (sold out, similar in gold)

The Native Source Ring

Earrings from a local craft fair (similar from ModCloth)

Photos by my sweet fiance, Matt

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