Outfit Inspiration: Valentine's Day Inspo from Pinterest

Today I am showing you an outfit that was inspired from a Pinterest pin. I have a number of Pinterest boards and with this being the month of Heart Health Awareness and Valentine’s Day I thought I would create a new board and pin outfits that contain the color red. This is the pin that inspired today’s outfit.

Red on red is definitely a bold choice, but so is any bright color combo. I knew I wanted to do this when I rediscovered this red coat out on our back porch covered with a plastic garbage bag to keep it clean. I hang a few of our winter things out there when we are off season. How could I have forgotten this beauty? Truth be told it is a tad tight around the middle since I have put on a few pounds, but that doesn’t mean I need to get rid of it.

This lighter weight, thrifted jacket works well for those not super cold days. It is Worthington brand. I love the textured fabric and the buttons on the back. My pictures do not do it justice.

Style Tip: If you are a thrift shopper always check out the coats and jackets. You never know what beautiful piece you will find, especially in the off seasons. If you don’t do a lot of thrifting, buy coats at the end of the season. This is when you will find the best sales, and if you shop stores like Kohl’s or JCPenney you might get an additional percent off with coupons.

My bright red mock turtleneck sweater was just thrifted; I didn’t even wash it yet. When I decided to do this outfit, I knew it would be a perfect partner for the coat. This is A New Day brand.

My jeans were also thrifted and are Jennifer Lopez brand. I know Kohl’s used to sell her clothing, but they stopped carrying her line in 2020. These are slightly distressed skinnies and comfortably stretchy, making them perfect for boots.

I found these leather, Clarks boots at the same thrift store as the red sweater. How awesome is that? I have really been trying to find a least a couple of pairs of leather boots at thrift stores. They are so expensive to buy full price, even though they do last almost forever. When I saw these I was so excited they were in my size. They had a little bit of scuffing, but my hubby has a shoe polish kit and was able to shine them up.

Style Tip: Whether you are a pro second hand store shopper or and avid fan of regular retail, it is always helpful to make a list. Keeping a running list of things you are regularly looking for or in need of is good planning and will help you save money in the long run and keep you from overbuying.

My bag was from Amazon and a gift.

Style Tip: I think most of us know we don’t have to match our bag to our shoes anymore, but what about matching our bag to our clothes? Isn’t that too much matching? You tell me. I think anything goes, and I am loving this monochrome look on the top. Plus the little bits of gold on the bag goes perfectly with my gold jewelry.

As is the outfit is great, but what if you want just a little bit of extra color or warmth around you neck by adding a scarf? Why not? I chose my Southwest oblong scarf that I have had for a number of years. It does a great job of pulling it all together with the reds, browns and blues of my outfit.

What do you think of this outfit? Does this look like a good Valentine’s outfit? Would you wear something like this? What would you do differently to make it your own? I love to hear what you think. Those of you who take time to comment always give me things to think about as well.

A few shopping links for you to peruse. We are coming to the end of boot and coat season, at least in the retail world. Ha, ha. Have a great week.

Having Fun with Layers - Dressy Valentine's Day Look - 5 Year Bloggiversary with a Giveaway

Today I am showing you a more dressed up Valentine’s Day look. Although, so many of us are choosing to not go out very often, or at all, there still is the opportunity to dress up for a date night right in your own home. Obviously, this is harder for those of you who have kids, but those of us who are empty nesters can do this a little more easily. If you are a young couple, there is no reason you can’t have a fun Valentine’s party with your littles and reserve some of your own special time once they are in bed.

Today’s outfit revolves around a beautiful blouse I recently acquired from Maurice’s clearance rack. I love everything about this blouse from the high collar, to the pattern and the flowy, sheer fabric. Just like I did for my casual outfit on Tuesday, I am wearing the same under layers consisting of the black tights and black tank top.

My long, black maxi skirt was a Meijer clearance find. It is a summer weight skirt of lighter material, but it is not sheer, so doesn’t need a slip underneath. The brand is Ava James. I like the textured pleats which gives it the look of crepe. It also has a comfortable elastic waistband and pockets.

You can see from the above picture that I drew on the gold, metallic splashes that are on the blouse for my jewelry inspiration. There is plenty going on, on the blouse, but I thought a few simple gold pieces would compliment the look just right.

I added the metallic, blush moto jacket as my over layer piece. This jacket, I’ve styled before on the blog. I got it a few years ago at Nordstrom Rack and it is a brand called Coffee Shop New York. You can see how I styled it with a camo shirt and with a Mickey Mouse tee.

In keeping with the gold jewelry and the gold flecks on the blouse, I decided to carry my small gold, clutch. This is a thrifted piece and perfect for those special occasions that require you to dress up. I don’t have very many of those any more. How about you? Do you still find occasions to dress up?

My shoes you have seen multiple times on the blog. They are Aerosoles and I got them on clearance at DSW. Again, I apologize for the dirty shoes. I didn’t realize how much cat hair is just laying around, and I have vacuumed several times since Christmas. Those darn fur balls. Ha, ha.

What did you think of this outfit? Do you like floral blouses? Do you prefer maxi skirts, midi skirts or a knee length or shorter? Are you doing anything special for Valentine’s Day? I don’t know if we are doing anything or not. As we get older, it has become less about the particular days and more about making every day special. Don’t forget about the giveaway. I’m including the rules again, below. If you haven’t entered yet, be sure you comment and subscribe.

If you want to be entered into the drawing to win either a $25 Target card, or a $25 Amazon gift card, please be sure to read the rules and enter. Entries will be taken until 12 midnight on Friday, February 12th. If you are not sure how to subscribe, just click the link at the top of home page that says, Subscribe and fill in the information. Being a subscriber does not cost you a thing. It just allows me to sent you a once a week email, to remind you there are new posts on the blog. You can either comment on today’s post, or on this past Tuesday’s post. You can also earn more entries by commenting on Facebook and Instagram. Have a fabulous Thursday!

Having Fun with Layers - Casual Valentine's Day Look - Celebrating 5 Years

Here I am again, celebrating another year of Faith and Fashion blogging. When I started this little hobby back in 2016, I had no idea how my sense of style would change and evolve. I also never realized how doing this 2 or three times a week every week for the last five years would help my ability to write. Starting this blog, in part to help me write regularly, has helped me to become a better writer. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect. I am no where near perfect, but I do have more confidence, not only as a writer, but as a woman who knows something about fashion. As I have done in recent years I wanted to have a giveaway, so be sure to read all the way to the end, so you know what the drawing is for and how to enter. This year there will be two winners!

I decided to spend a few weeks talking about layering. I realize we are all looking forward to spring, but we are in the middle of the deep freeze here in the mid-west and I really don’t want to be trying to take pictures of light weight, flowy spring outfits. Well, I really would rather be doing that, but I would have to take everything to Florida to take pictures. Ha, ha. No chance of that happening right now. Instead, what I am going to do, is show you a few spring pieces that I have doctored up for the cold weather, and that means layering.

I love layers. I love being able to wear multiple pieces from my closet all at the same time and it has a very practical purpose. Layers keep me warm. I do understand that many women are menopausal and that means hot flashes, so layers are not as practical, but what I hope to do is show you layers that are easy enough to take off when those heat waves blow through.

Today’s outfit revolves around a light weight pair of floral pants that I recently purchased at Kohl’s.

When I saw these cute twill joggers on the rack at Kohl’s I thought, “I’m going to buy myself something that is new for the season.” Typically I wait until the end of the season to purchase new pieces and then wear them for the remaining weeks of the season, or put them away until next year, but these were on sale and I had a good coupon. I love the floral print and the light weight fabric, which makes them great for spring and summer. These are Sonoma brand.

If you are anxious to wear your new spring finds, but it is still cold, I would start with an under layers. I chose a pair of black tights and a black tank top.

Most under layers will not add a lot of extra bulk, but they will add warmth. If you are suffering with hot flashes, don’t add the extra under layers. You will be warm enough with the normal pieces.

I wanted to draw on both the dark, almost burgundy pinks and the light pinks in the flowers on the pants, so I chose a light weight thrifted SO sweatshirt. Layers do not have to add bulk, as I said before. This sweatshirt is a lighter weight fleece, making it much easier to wear something over the top.

For my top piece I chose a light pink, faux leather, Christopher and Banks moto jacket. The light pastel pink certainly makes me think of spring with all of its pretty flowers and of course Easter outfits and colored eggs.

I added a few simple details like my fringe pendant necklace, which actually has some olive colored beads; a couple of beaded bracelets, my blush colored, thrifted New York and Co bag and my Spirit burgundy ankle boots.

I noticed after the fact that my shoes were all scuffed and covered with dust and cat hair. I’m sorry for the poor photos as well. My glasses were picking up the glare from the windows. I wasn’t going to go outside, as it is so cold and I was trying to get the best light, but didn’t take the glare into account. The joys of being an amateur photographer. Ha. ha. My daughter has been so busy and I haven’t want to add more work to her already full plate. That’s okay, because this is real life.

I hope you enjoyed this post on layering fun. Think about the spring pieces in your closet and how you could make them wearable in the cold temperatures by adding layers. What could you wear?

I’m including a few shopping links to get you thinking about spring. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Have fun shopping, and don’t forget about the giveaway. Just follow the directions and you will be entered to win one of two gift cards. Entries for the give away will close on Friday February 12th, at midnight. I will announce the winners of the give away on Tuesday February 16th.

Seeing Red - Red with Tan - Velvet Jacket

(For those of you who entered the Bloggiversary Givaway, be sure to read to the bottom to see who won.)

As I was preparing for this series, I knew there were certain pieces I wanted to feature. Today’s red velvet jacket is one of those. This thrifted Briggs NY blazer is such a fun and unique piece. I originally got it as a holiday blazer when I was doing my 20 Days of Christmas series back in 2018. You can see the post featuring that Christmas outfit here. I wanted to be able to style this jacket in another way and what better than to wear it for the month of February. Whether you celebrate Valentines Day or are wearing red for Heart Disease awareness month, a red jacket, or blazer is a great way to do it.

Let me share a style secret with you. I typically don’t button or zip my sweaters or blazers. If I am using a piece as outerwear, then I do want to be able to zip or button it. More often though, I add a jacket or sweater as a layering piece for warmth, but leave it open, so the under layer, whether it be a graphic tee, button up or a textured sweater like the one in this outfit, can be seen. That also allows any necklaces or scarves to be an added focal point in the outfit. This blazer is too tight, but it fits well through the shoulders and back so I bought it, knowing this is exactly how I would wear it. The fashion gurus might say I am committing a crime worthy of jail, but I don’t care. After all, part of the reason many of us blog about fashion is to remind people to wear what makes you feel good and is completely you.

Just like the red and black of last week’s post, red and tan also make a wonderful statement. My tan Sonoma sweater is older than the hills. I don’t wear it too often, but it goes with so many things and was the perfect topper for this recently thrifted Worthington skirt. I like that the sweater is an open weave, so I can layer any cardi under it and you’ll be able to see the color. For this outfit I just did white, but it would have worked well with black or red too.

I fell in love with this skirt when I saw it. I have way too many skirts and don’t wear them very often at all, but I like having them, if just for the sake of showing you outfits on the blog. Plus, I like to have choices. My problem is, I have too many choices. Ha, ha. Anyway, the skirt is easy on and easy off with an elastic waist. It is a medium weight swingy knit. I wasn’t sure about the pattern at first, and even when I put it on and looked in the mirror I wasn’t sure if it would make me look too wide on the bottom, but I think the diagonal pattern works well for both narrow and fat bottomed girls. ( Do you hear Freddy Mercury singing, “Fat bottomed girls make the rockin’ world go round”?)

I found this fun necklace on clearance at Meijer. The pretty leaf is what sold me.

I also chose my bracelet with the gray stone and my silver clutch.

The same suede Aerosoles that I wore in last week’s post are making another appearance. I opted for the black hose for two reasons. With the black shoes, they make my legs look longer and thinner. In addition, the fact that it is still winter and they were a heavier weight seemed like a good choice.

What do you think of this outfit? Do wear printed skirts or do you choose to wear only solids on your bottom half? Do you like your sweaters and jackets to be worn closed or open? I’d love to hear your thoughts

For those of you who entered my Bloggiversary giveaway, thank you so much for participating. I didn’t get nearly the response I did last year, so I’m not sure if people are just too busy, or if a Target gift card isn’t that big of a draw. Ha, ha. Anyway, for those who took the time and my one new person who subscribed, thank you, thank you, thank you. You all are truly the reason I keep doing this. I also want to say thanks for your kind remarks. You all made my day and my week.

The winner of the $30 Target gift card is Karen Anderson. Congratulations, Karen!

Thanks again, everyone who supports the blog. Have a great Tuesday.

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.

I’m including a few shopping links for red blazers and jackets, just in case you find your closet lacking. Have fun shopping. These are affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Seeing Red - Red with Black - Taking Care of Our Hearts

We don’t often think of pairing red and black for Valentine’s Day. More often we style red with white or some version of red and pink. There are also many of us who don’t even visit the red or pink idea for Valentine’s because we either don’t celebrate that special day, we don’t like traditional holiday color schemes in our outfits or maybe are more into blues and greens than reds and pinks.

For these February posts, I’ve chosen to focus on red or darker versions of red like burgundy. I also wanted to make each of these outfits, not be so much about Valentine’s Day, although you could use them for a Valentine’s or Galentine’s outing, but more about the color red.

February is Heart Disease awareness month, and the color red certainly represents the age old idea of what a Valentine’s heart looks like, but it also represents that most important muscle in our bodies. This major fireball, which is about the size of your fist, works hard, pumping blood to keep us alive. Try to envision the heart as the UPS hub, where everything comes to and goes out that our bodies need to survive. Heart disease, like cancer, drug addictions and infectious diseases can be life threatening. It can manifest itself with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries and many other complications. Take a look at some of these statistics that I got off the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) website:

“Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.1
One person dies every 37 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.1
About 647,000 Americans die from heart disease each year—that’s 1 in every 4 deaths.2,3
Heart disease costs the United States about $219 billion each year from 2014 to 2015.3 This includes the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost productivity due to death.”

— Centers for Disease Control Website

As you look at the pictures of this outfit I put together, I’m sure you can think of at least one person you know that has been affected by heart disease. This past fall at the college my husband teaches at, a 24 year old student died from a massive heart attack. It was a tragedy.

The Heart Association, formed in 1924, is the major force behind raising awareness about heart disease in the United States. Their website has a bucket load of information. You can see some interesting historical facts on their history page here. I am not getting paid to mention this, but merely want to raise awareness of a disease that affects so many people. You would think in our world where we have so much awareness about health, good eating, exercise and so on, that heart disease would be a thing of the past, but it’s not. We all struggle to make good choices and taking care of our hearts should be no exception.

I have not touched my camera for months, but this is what you get when schedules for taking pictures don’t coincide. Ha, ha. I just did not want to stand outside and try to get my settings figured out, so I tried to stand by the windows to get enough natural light. The skies were gray, as usual, thus the shadows on my face. Oh well, I tired and the pictures are good enough that you get the idea.

For this outfit I wanted to showcase this cute black Croft and Barrow tunic that I found a few weeks ago thrifting. It is probably meant to be more of a summer piece, and when I saw it, I thought it would look cute with cropped jeans and a tee or tank top in the warmer weather, but I also thought it would be the perfect topper for a winter look, thus this red and black combo.

My red cropped pants, I have styled on the blog before. You can see them with a black kimono and with a navy blazer. I found these a while ago at Meijer on the clearance rack and they are a brand called Stitch Star.

The lace 3/4 sleeve, Lauren Conrad top was a thrift find. Typically I would wear a cami underneath, but because I knew the black tunic was going over the top, I didn’t bother. The idea was to create a monochrome layer underneath and even though the pants and top are not the exact same shade of red, it works fine because they are not right next to each other.

To keep the look fairly stream lined I chose my thrifted black and gray houndstooth, Thirty One purse and my Aerosole black suede heels.

The jewelry I am wearing I bought for my oldest daughter’s wedding, so I am often looking for other reasons to wear the necklace and bracelet. I thought this was the perfect finishing touch. You can also see the fun metal rings on the tunic.

Would you wear red and black? What sort of occasion would you wear it for? I could see wearing this outfit for a date night with my hubs where we go somewhere more fancy than Five Guys. Ha, ha.

Do you take care of your heart? I need too. My cholesterol is borderline high, so I have started eating oatmeal more. Exercise is very important, especially cardiovascular. I try to walk a few days a week, but I know I need to be more purposeful in that area as well. I want to do better and my heart needs me to. I hope you all are taking care of your hearts. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than to give the gift of health to our hearts.

Have a great Tuesday!

I’ve included a few shopping links for black tunics. These would be great to pair with red pants, pencil skirts or shorts. They could go with all sorts of colors. Feel free to peruse at your leisure. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Seeing Red - Layering Light - Monochrome Pink Outfit

Seeing as it is the beginning of February, I thought it would be fun to make this whole month revolve around the color red, or some derivative thereof in keeping with a Valentines theme. Today’s outfit is the last in my Layering Light series, but I felt it fit into this month’s theme, because pink is just a lighter shade of red. I remember in grade school, learning how to make pink by mixing red paint with white paint. Even though this outfit is mainly pink, just think of it as a shade a red with white mixed in.

I got these dark pink Sonoma corduroy jeans at Kohl’s this past fall. They are soft and stretchy, and the narrow wale corduroy is extra warm in the chilly winter weather.

This light pink moto jacket is a clearance buy from Christopher and Banks. Can you have too many moto jackets? Of course not! Ha, ha.

This light pink Gap turtleneck was a thrift find. I like that it is lighter weight, because that makes it easy to layer under other pieces. The ribbed neck is also soft and comfortable, with no itchiness or irritation. Different fabrics affect my skin in different ways. I cannot wear wool and usually try to stay away from fabrics that are stiff and scratchy.

You can also see in the above picture, I added a pink scarf which subtly ties in to the darker color of the pants. The coppery metallic ring necklace and the thrifted copper bag were a way to add a touch of earthy color to the outfit.

These SO block heeled blush boots were the perfect choice to finish off the outfit.

This outfit would be a great date night look to wear with your significant other for Valentine’s Day. My husband is not a huge fan of pink, so I might wear this out with friends and choose something else for the romantic holiday.

Would you wear all pink? Do you own a pair of corduroy’s? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

This month I will be having another give away since this is my bloggiversary month, so keep a look out for that.