Honeymoon Dress...

When hubby and I got married 8 months ago, we honeymooned in Disney World at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Having gotten married at the end of October, we predicted autumn-like weather for our time there, and holy cow, were we wrong! We had packed mainly jeans, tshirts, and hoodies, but we were so hot on our first day out, I knew we wouldn't make it through the whole week dressed like that. Luckily hubby had brought a few pairs of shorts, but I don't own shorts and hadn't thought to bring a skirt other than my dressy outfit. I knew I had to remedy my sartorial situation STAT!

Our first day out, we decided to visit Animal Kingdom. I spied this dress and instantly fell in love. It was a tad more expensive than I normally would have paid for a piece like this (yay, tourist-pricing!), but I knew it would be a nice souvenir of our honeymoon, since I would be able to wear it again! (And I did -- every day that week -- talk about a capsule wardrobe!) I knew once I got home I would be able to wear it on weekends and after work, but I wanted to find a way to make it office-appropriate. On weekends I would just wear this dress solo, but for work, I wanted to ensure there would be no wardrobe malfuntions, so I opted to wear both a bra and a cami underneath, just in case. All straps are hidden by the cardi, which was also needed for extra warmth in my overly-air-conditioned office.


Dress: Disney World
Cardi: Target
Shoes: Fioni via Payless
Ring: Laila Rowe
Earrings: gift

Closeup:


I love being able to make more casual clothing work for the office. While my office is business-casual, we are really allowed to lean a little heavier on the casual side. I'm lucky in that respect. I know not everyone would be able to wear a dress like this one to work, but I love that I was able to pick up a fun reminder of my wedding and honeymoon that won't just sit on a shelf. Every time I wear this dress, I remember all the fun we had and how lucky I am to have such a fabulous husband.

Do you have any souvenir clothing that has special memories for you?

I'm a Pixie, I'm a Paper Doll, I'm a Cartoon...

Welcome to another edition of the Paper Doll Project, hosted by Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy!



As you may remember, I participated in the first round of this fun project back in March. I had so much fun with the first go-around that I was excited when Suze announced round two! I signed up immediately!

This time around, I was paired up with the awesome Betsy of Miss B Gets Dressed. Betsy has a great sense of style -- comfy, cozy, and really chic all at the same time. Plus she is really talented and does the most amazing sketches! (This is in no way a shameless plug for her to do a sketch of one of my outfits -- only it totally is.)
I was really excited to see what outfit Betsy put together for me, and the gal did not disappoint! Check it out for yourself:



Dress: H&M
Blazer: Sashimi via Nordstrom Rask
Shoes: Michael Shannon via Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse
Necklace: NY&Co?
Sunnies: Plato's Closet
Earrings: gift
Belt: TJ Maxx

Closeup:


You've seen me wear this dress several times on the blog, but I had never thought to pair it with this blazer. I really like how the pairing makes the dress a little less flowy and a little more businessy. I also really like how she chose my bright orange wedding shoes to go with this outfit. It added a pop of brightness to an otherwise darker outfit, and I really like how well the orange played off of the coral color in the dress. They don't match, but they go. And yet another detail I like about this outfit is how the texture of the necklace mirrors the pattern on the dress.

If you'd like to see how I styled Betsy, check out her Paper Doll Post. I totally want to steal every piece of that outfit, and possibly some other items in her closet too.

I'm Still Standin (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)...

Hi all!
While I still consider myself to be getting back into the swing of posting, the swing has been kinda jerky and bumpy. Nonetheless, I have been *taking* some outfits shots -- I just haven't managed to actually get a post put up.
I am working on revamping the way I do my posts by taking all photos during the week + spending time on the weekend to edit photos, create collages, and write and schedule my posts. It's tough to get things done in the evenings, so I think this new plan will help be get back onto a regular schedule.

Despite my lack of posts, I really have been getting dressed. And leaving the house, too. In fact, I even managed to get myself to my first-ever blogger meetup!
I recently joined a Google group called DC FABB, which is for DC-area fashion and beauty bloggers. One of the gals put together a meetup, so I went! The only person there whose blog I was familiar with pre-meetup was Allie from Wardrobe Oxygen. But once there, I met several other gals and I am now following a handful of new blogs. Yay for newness!

Here is a photo of me and Allie (please excuse the craptastic quality of my point-n-shoot camera:

Allie is even sweeter in person than I already thought she was.

Also, here is another (still craptacular quality) shot of some of the other lovely ladies there:

From L to R: Oby (aka Vivi), Fashion Cloture, Allie, and Katherine.

I also managed to get a few late-night shots of my outfit after I got home.


Top: JC Penney
Pants: Marshalls
Shoes: Payless
Bracelet: thrifted
Earrings: gift
Scarf: made by me

Closeup:


I was really excited to be sporting this scarf I made, and it was a hit at the meetup! Many bloggers have been sporting similar scarves over the last few months -- it seems to be one of those DIYs that has been making the rounds.
I finally decided to make mine after it was chosen as the first DIY for the Made This, Love This group, started by Indiana of Adored Austin. I'm now kinda obsessed with it and want to wear it all day, everyday. I totally plan on thrifting tshirts in all colors so I can make myself an arsenal of awesome.

Flash, Bam, Alacazam, Out of the Orange Colored Sky...

To be honest, I can't even remember when I wore this outfit. My best guess is sometime at the end of February or early March. I know it wasn't recently, but we must have been having a "heatwave" if I want tights-less.

There is not too much to note about this outfit other than the fabulous shoes.



Blouse: Forever XXI
Skirt: thrifted
Shoes: Michael Shannon via Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse
Scarf: Laila Rowe
Belt: Amazon.com
Earrings: gift

Closeup:



These, dolls, are my wedding shoes. And man, were they a biotch to find!
You see, orange heels are tough to hunt down to start with, and when you add a VERY picky bride, darned near impossible! I was just about to give up and resign myself to more traditional shoes when I found these on the clearance rack -- just over $20. Umm, yes please!

I have already posted a few of my wedding photos, but I haven't yet posted one with my shoes -- and how can I not do that?!



Dress: Michelle Roth via Kleinfeld
Shoes: Michael Shannon via Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse
Earrings: Gift from hubby a long time ago
Sapphire Bracelet: shower gift from MIL
Hair Feather: Etsy seller sibodesigns

Our wedding had a "Rustic Elegant" theme, with a strong reliance upon natural elements and autumnal colors. I hadn't told my hubby that I would be wearing these shoes (as they were intended to be a surprise to everyone except my mother and my 'maids), and I was shocked when he decided upon orange ties and pocket squares for all the guys in our wedding party -- could we be more in tune? I went with the flow and had my gals' gorgeous flowers wrapped with orange ribbon. As you can see from the photos I had already posted, our "aisle" brought us down a short flight of steps, and everyone was pleasantly surprised to see my shoes as I descended. I got so many compliments on them!
What I love most about them, though, is that I can still wear them. Had I opted for more "traditional" wedding shoes, I'm not sure that would be the case. But I love that most of the pieces I wore that day (other than the dress itself) are ones that I can still wear.

Something old,
Something new,
Something borrowed,
Something blue,
And a sixpence in your shoe.

Of course, I still have the sixpence taped inside my shoe.