It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Layers

Dress: Old Navy

Cardi: ???

Belt: Target

Flats: DSW 

Headband: Ann Taylor Loft

Finally!! The weather is cooperating! (It's not cooperating with my hair, but that's another story). Surprisingly, I get a lot more wear out of this dress than I ever thought possible. I bought the dress on sale a while ago from Old Navy and it was totally worth it. When it's cold out, I add tights and boots. And when it's warmer out, I ditch the cardi. However, I never wear it without the belt. It has no shape otherwise. 

This style shown above is my go-to look: dress, cardi, and belt. 

I neeeed to get a close up on my nails. It's China Glaze "Midnight Mission" It's one of the most amazing colors that I have in my collection. Or check out Michelle at All Lacquered Up to see her swatches. They are better than anything I will take on my own. 

 

The humidity is awful right now. During this weather, I have a lion's mane instead of a head of hair. Luckily for me, tomorrow, I'm chopping it off. (Pictures will soon follow). 

Girls Night Out

Skirt: Kohl's 

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft 

Shoes: DSW 

Saturday night turned out to be interesting. Once again my hopes for fall-weather clothing was shot down. It was almost 80 degrees. Eek! We are in Massachusetts here!!! Today is a nice relief from the heat. Last night felt like a summer night. The humidity was so bad that my hair just wasn't cooperating. I used to headband to hold back my lion's mane and give it some style.

Sidenote: I'm thinking to cutting my hair. Thoughts? Also, I'm searching for a hairdresser. 

I went out with my college roommate and her friends. We attempted to go to the new dueling piano bar in Boston buuuutt the line was a block and a half long at 9pm. So our night ended up in Faneuil Hall aka it turned into a mini UConn reunion.

I went with a high-waisted denim skirt and my new purple tee from Ann Taylor Loft. (I think jewel tones is one of my favorite fall trends). I bought these shoes at the beginning of summer and have only worn them twice. I just couldn't find enough excuses to wear them. I was pumped to wear them last night. The wedges were a good choice since we were walking on cobblestone most of the night.

We'll Always Have Paris

This is what I call 'lazy day' dressing. My feet were still killing me from the concert the other night so I needed to wear something comfortable on my feet. (Now I know, Michael Kors always says that 'comfortable' is not a word that should not be in a fashionista's vocabulary but my feet were in real pain so I thought he would excuse me). I decided that my Sperry's were the most school appropriate. This skirt is my go-to skirt when I am lazy. I don't need to think about it and I know that everything will match it. So what are your thoughts on my lazy day outfit? Can I still be called a fashionista?

Many people have been asking me, "Do your clothes and style work for other body types?" And here is my response. My style may look good on other body types, no doubt. I tend to wear skirts, dresses, and cardigans which anyone can wear. But my advice to you, is to own your style. Make it your own. I tend to cut clothes, colors, and jewelry out of magazines to create and "inspiration book." Its easier for me to see colors and styles that work well together.  As long as you feel confident, you will carry yourself well and be a fashionista. OWN IT BABY! Hope that helps. Leave me comments with anything else you would like me to answer.

Rascal Flatts Concert

Yesterday was the Rascal Flatts concert aka the end of summer concert series. I love summer concerts. Being outdoors, tailgating, meeting new friends, listening to great music. It's fabulous. Last night another wonderful concert season comes to an end.

Once again, I run into the same dilemma as last weekend. I want to dress like fall but it still feels like summer out. I had better luck yesterday finding a happy medium. I went with a fall floral dress. The colors say fall while the dress itself is still warm enough for summer. I was searching for the perfect necklace to wear with this dress when I came across this sparrow necklace. It was just screaming "Maureen" all over it. A very me necklace. I will definitely get some good use out of it. (Btw-- the dress and necklace are from Forever21).

Since it was a country concert, I of course needed to wear boots. I forget where I bought these boots but they are a size too big for me but I just couldn't pass them up. For someone who rarely wears heels (because I work with children and am running around all day), my feet were killing today.

pants. enough said.

As many of you know, I do not like pants. I loathe pants. At 5 foot nothing, it's difficult to find pants that fit me and I think they make me look like a boy. That was until I saw until two weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I casually walked into JCrew and started strolling around. I had my eye on their corduroys because I thought it might be something I wanted to try this fall. Since, I was trying on pants, I picked up some other styles. As I tried on JCrew "Minnie" pant, the heavens shined down on me. (In my head I pictured a scene similar to the Lion King when Simba was born). THEY ARE AMAZING!! They make me feel girly and they fit perfectly and most of all, they don't need to be hemmed. I bought them in three different colors. I can't stop raving about them.

I just want to say thank you JCrew! Now my challenge is styling these pants. Below are my khaki colored JCrew Minnie, Lauren Conrad for Kohl's striped top, and another excuse to wear my amazing oxfords. So, what do you think of my first attempt styling these amazing pants. 

Anything Can Happen on a Tuesday

Today is my favorite day of the week. I love Tuesdays. As I always say "anything can happen on a tuuuuesssday". It has been my favorite day since high school. I'm not sure why. (Damies--did we do anything special on Tuesdays in high school?)  Anyway, today I am a walking ad for Ann Taylor Loft (ATL).. everything except my flats are from ATL. My flats are from Old Navy.

I tried to capture my fabulous nail color on camera. It is China Glaze "Ingrid" from their new fall collection. It's a great basic that goes with any outfit. (Not that your nails have to match your outfit, just saying). It's a brown slash purple slash grey with a little shimmer aka AMAZING!  It may be my new favorite. (Previous favorite OPI "Brand New Skates").

I hope you enjoy my Tuesday outfit. And enjoy your Tuesday.

Just Call Me Annie Oakley

In my eyes, this weekend marked the beginning of fall. I was spending my Saturday in New Hampshire at a Wine and Brew Fest...twenty or so wineries and breweries coming together to share their fabulous autumn brew. I was attending with my friend Tracy who suggested we go shooting before this. Yes, you just read that correctly, shooting. Prior to this, I had never shot a gun, never held a gun, and for that matter, never even saw a gun up close! It was very empowering but guns still scare me. I don't think I will be joining the NRA any time soon.

Here was my clothing dilemma. I needed something that would look and feel fall-ish for the Brew Fest but also something that I could wear shooting. Tracy gave me specifics, nothing low cut and closed toe shoes. Once again, I was craving the cool fall weather, but it just wasn't so. I finally decided on jeans, sperry shoes, a mustard yellow scoop neck top from forever21 and a tweed vest from the gap. It was a mix of the seasons, a little summer and a little fall. So how did I look in tweed, shooting a gun??

Overall, it was a great day. It was probably the most New Hampshire day ever. The morning was spent shooting guns and the afternoon drinking beer. Thanks Tracy and Co. for an amazing way to begin fall.

A New Beginning

As a teacher, each September, I get the chance to start over again. This year, I was excited to be in a new school, teaching 3rd grade (one of my favorite grades), and working with on a great team. As much as I wanted to dress for fall with layers and fabulous fall colors, it was just too hot to do so. The first day of school was a sweltering 85 degrees. My fall wardrobe would just have to wait a few more weeks. I had been tired of my summer dresses that I had already worn a number of times. I looked over my "teacher clothes." I decided on this dress bought last year from Anthropologie and my fabulous new oxfords. I usually layer this dress throughout the winter but it stands alone perfectly for a warm day. I thought the outfit screamed "First Day of School, as a teacher".