What I've Been Wearing Lately: Fall Edition

I have one more Pantone post to do, but I am going to save that for a later date. This week I wanted to share with you a few of my day to day outfits that I have been wearing this fall. As I have done before, I will give a bit of the philosophy behind my outfit choices, why I like it and a few style tips. I hope you enjoy this quick look into my every day style.

Outfit 1 - Colorful Flannel with Gold Chenille Sweater and Fall Tee

Inspiration - Instagram challenge prompt on favorite fall fabrics

Thrifted Pieces - Flannel tee, and combat boots

Style Tip - Don’t be afraid to layer over layers and think outside the box when it comes to color. Bright colors are our friends, especially in the dreary days of winter. In addition, flannel shirts make great shackets for those not so cold early days of fall.

What I like about it - It’s casual, cheerful, comfortable, and incredibly cozy. (Fun tee purchased at Love in Faith tees.)

Outfit 2 - Brown Velvet Blazer with Black Jeans and Gray Button Down

Inspiration - Pinterest Dark Academia Style

Thrifted Pieces - Brown blazer, black cropped flares, and gray polka dot button down

Style Tip - Don’t be afraid to try new styles. I came across the Dark Academia Style on Pinterest and instantly knew it was something I wanted to try. It combines dark pieces to make outfits that look ready for the college campus, or that could easily be translated to the work arena.

What I like about it - I definitely like the modest factor, at least in many of the pins I found, though there could be some very short skirts or shorts, but even there, the styles are often worn over top of dark hose or tights. In addition, this is a look I am comfortable in that makes me feel confident. I am excited to try more styles in the Dark Academia vibe.

Outfit 3 - Purple Tie Dye Top, Utility Vest and Jeans

Inspiration - Instagram challenge prompt on our favorite layer.

Thrifted pieces - Utility vest

Style Tip - Just like boots are made for wearing, so are vests. Don’t be afraid to wear them over dresses, sweaters and even sweatshirts. A vest can make a casual outfit look a bit more polished and dressier. Just add a heeled boot and a bit of jewelry for a fun date night look like this.

What I like about it - I like the way the vest pulls everything in the outfit together. The purple in the sweatshirt didn’t really match the blue of the vest, and yet when the whole thing came together it was perfect. The dark navy boots and the beaded necklace were the cherry on top.

Outfit 4 - Tulle Skirt, Tee and Cropped Denim Jacket

Inspiration - Instagram “Roctober Style Challenge” prompt For Whom the Bell Tulles

Thrifted pieces - Tulle skirt, cropped denim jacket

Style Tip - Get a tulle skirt! These things are the bomb. I have yet to wear it out in public, but just having it in my closet to wear for an Instagram challenge, makes me incredibly happy. I looked for a long time for one at the thrift store and when I found this I felt like I had won the lottery. Ha, ha.

What I like about it - What’s not to like? A tulle skirt combined with a kick butt Wonder Woman tee, denim jacket, and burgundy combat boots?? It is my description of pure fun.

Outfit 5 - Yellow Cable Knit Sweater, Dark Floral Scarf and Distressed Boot Cut Jeans

Inspiration - Instagram challenge prompt, add an extra accessory

Thrifted pieces - Yellow cable knit sweater, and distressed jeans

Style Tip - Layering accessories is a fun way to wear more of your pieces all at once and it adds texture and interest to your outfit. Using a long pendant necklace with a simple scarf wrap like this highlights the necklace, the scarf and the bright sweater backdrop.

What I like about it - I love the contrast of the bright yellow with the darker burgundy and green in the scarf as well as the bronze color of the necklace.

I hope you enjoyed this look at some of my every day outfits, or outfits I donned as part of Instagram challenges. All of these looks, except for the tulle skirt, I wore for the whole day and is very typical of what I normally wear. I like to be intentional about what I put on each day, because it reminds me that I am a special, and beautiful individual with a creative eye and a love for color, fabrics and fashion.

Let me know which outfit is your favorite, or which one you most identify with. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week everyone!

Packing for a Short Trip

I thought I would do something a little different and take you through my thought process when I am packing for a short trip away. I am not really into capsule wardrobes, because I really love my clothes, and I also love having variety and choices. I think capsule wardrobes are great and maybe some day I’ll give it a try, but for now I am trying to use the many clothes that I have. However, that does make it harder when I am packing for a trip to decide what to bring with. I try not to get into a rut and wear the same things over and over as far as my tops, so when I pack for a trip I usually pick a theme, an accessory like a scarf or bag or a color to work around to limit my choices.

For this little trip I am taking to my moms for her birthday, I decided to go with the color pink. Usually I pick two or three colors to focus on, but this time I chose a dark pink and a light pink. I have two lighter weight sweaters that I thought would be perfect for a late summer trip where the temps will still be warm during the day, but possibly cooler at night and also thinking about air conditioning in stores and restaurants.

Once I chose the two sweaters, then I started to pull out tops that would coordinate with those and this is what I came up with.

After I chose my sweaters and tops, I decided to add a necklace for each outfit, even if I decide to not wear one, at least I have the options with. I also swapped out the coral tank top under the floral button down for a more neutral light beige one.

I knew I was going to be ultra casual as is my normal style so I chose simple shoes and jeans to complete my looks.

Using things like colors, a special accessory or a theme can help you narrow your selections for a trip whether short or long. Next week I’ll show you all the outfits as I wore them.

How do you decide what to wear for a trip? Do you have a capsule wardrobe or a large wardrobe like I have with many choices? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a comment or two.

I hope you are having a great week.

Spring Transition - Striped Jacket

This last outfit in my Spring Transition series features a striped jacket that I got from Christopher & Banks. This jacket was one of the first purchases I made from Christopher & Banks after I became familiar with the retailer. The material is a heavy weight cotton, almost like a denim or canvas. This jacket makes me think of an old time train conductor's suit or hat. Actually, I think I used to have a hat that looked very similar to this pattern. 

The jacket has long sleeves that can be rolled up and kept in place with a snap tab. It has a full zipper and a thick collar that can be stood up and kept in place with drawstrings. This makes the jacket a great piece for a cool summer evening outing as you can lengthen the sleeves and zip it up all the way, to keep yourself a bit cozier. 

i am not sure why these jeans are so wrinkly. These are ANA brand. A dark wash skinny ankle jean is a great piece to transition to the warmer weather. In fact, when the heat goes up, I just turn up a pair of pants like these to form a cuff and have a pair of crop pants. 

This red tee has 3/4 length sleeves and a lace up v-neck. The lacing makes for a fun added detail. I found this Chaps tee on the clearance rack at Kohl's. 

For shoes I chose my SO floral flats. Yes, I have three pairs of these fun and comfy shoes. They are great to wear with jeans, skirts and would probably be cute with shorts. Here is a link for the same flats, but in different colors. I have fairly narrow feet and they fit me perfectly. 

I chose my green Style & Co. bag, just because the shoes have a little bit of green in them. I added the blue fringe dangle to add a little bit of fun to an otherwise plain bag. 

To add a little bit of jewelry, I threw on a couple bracelets. 

This is a very casual outfit and you could easily put your own version of this together with your own jeans, tee, jacket and shoes. You could even use a pair of fun sneakers like Keds, Converse or Vans, if you don't like the ballerina flat option. If you like a little more color, you could use a hand bag that has a bright, fun pattern or a jacket with a floral pattern. This is easily an outfit that you can put together from things you already have in your closet. 

Let me know what you think. What would your version of this outfit include? I love hearing your thoughts.

This is a late post today. My hubby and I just got back from our vacation late last night and I spent most of the day trying to restock the fridge, unpack and, of course, I had to pick up my Grandson from school. It was his last day, so summer officially has begun.

I hope this post finds you well. Until next time, thanks for stopping by the blog. 

Ordinary Amy - Tomboy Memories

I am using the word ordinary as a term to mean usual, not plain. I don't want any of you thinking I only think of myself as ordinary...okay, so once in a while I do struggle with the old self image, but that is not what I am intending to address with this new monthly column on the blog. 

Ordinary Amy is going to be a monthly column emphasizing outfits that are my go to's. These will be pieces that I frequently reach for, because I find them, comfortable, easy to wear and pair other pieces with, yet still stylish. 

A v-neck sweater, red in honor of Valentine's Day, a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of combat boots. Casual, comfy, warm and a masculine edge. 

I grew up in a home with two older brothers. Being the only girl and the baby, it was my goal to try to keep up with the boys, as annoying as that was to them. Ha ha. From playing in the creek behind the house, to making trails in the field down the road for their dirt bikes, I tried to follow them everywhere. As far as I was concerned I was a boy, just like them. I had a short hair cut and wore pants as often as I could. I can still remember my mother and I fighting about the fact that she thought I should wear dresses to school. She gave that fight up before too long. When we went swimming in our pool, I would wear a pair of shorts and that was it...no top. I was a boy. why should I have to wear a top? (This was before I began to blossom and hit puberty, so flat chested, was flat chested.)

I can still remember when I got my first period. I explained to my mother what was happening and when she told me what it was, I ran from the house angry and crying. I didn't want to be a girl. Gradually, hormones did their job. I started to change in shape and I also began to notice boys! I became extremely private and modest, even around my brothers, and I became interested in clothing, hair styles and eventually make up. 

However, I still prefer pants over dresses and I like looks that have an edgy, military or masculine vibe. 

This type of look is something I turn to again and again. I love boots. I also like skinny jeans. I used to never wear them, so when I finally tried them, I fell in love. The thing I like about skinnies is that I can wear them all year round. In fall and winter I tuck them into boots and in spring and summer, I roll them up and pair them with ankle boots, sneakers, flats or flip flops. 

A chunky, cable knit sweater is stylish, but forgiving enough that I don't have to worry about my bulges. This particular sweater is Chaps brand from the Kohl's clearance rack. I am wearing a short sleeve lace tee underneath which provided an extra layer of warmth and a touch of ivory around the neck line. 

When I started putting this outfit together, I chose the sweater and jeans first, but then I thought of adding this fun bomber jacket which I introduced on the blog earlier in my travel post from last March. This little number is actually quite warm. It was a JC Penney clearance rack find and is Arizona brand. I think I paid about $5.00 for it. 

With the bomber jacket I knew I had to wear my thrifted combat boots, giving the whole look a WWII feel. With that in mind, it made me think of my dad. 

My dad, who grew up in a pacifist Mennonite family, was a hard working farm boy with a fascination with airplanes. When he was old enough he left home and went to work for the Curtiss-Wright airplane factory in Buffalo, NY. making wings for the P-47 for WWII. My dad, however was not content to make wings, he wanted to enlist. When he went to sign up, they asked if he was employed. When he told them where he worked they rejected him, saying his work was more important to the war effort than being in the service. Being the man he was, he waited a little longer, quit his job and went back to enlist. They let him right in. His enlistment came late in the war and he ended up serving in Air Sea Rescue on a B-17. 

I found this little pendant necklace somewhere along the way, possibly at Charming Charlie. What originally drew me to it was the bling, but it suddenly occurred to me that it would be a good piece to remind me of my dad. My dad passed away eleven years ago, but obviously I still think of him often. 

There you have it...ordinary me, on an ordinary day. I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you have an extraordinary weekend! 

(With the awful tragedy that occurred yesterday morning in Parkland, Florida I thought to add a note to this post. I pray for the families, friends and school staff left behind after the mass shooting. My heart is heavy as you deal with the aftermath and I pray that time will bring healing for the loss you are feeling.)

Friday linking up with Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Jo-Lynne of Jo-Lynne Shane and Jennie of A Pocketful of Polka Dots.