Would you roll like the wind does

Sweater: No label, thrifted; Tie blouse: NY & Co; Jeans, belt: Loft; 

Shoes: Ipanema, thrifted; Carpet saddle bag: vintage, thrifted.

Currently listening to: "November Blue," The Avett Brothers.

I seem to have a  penchant for wearing bows lately. Normally I never use this blouse's ties, but I decided to wear a little bow outside of my sweater and I like how collegiate it all looks. Perhaps I'm beginning to reflect my academic pursuits in my wardrobe, as that's where I'll be spending all my time from here until eternity (or  until early December). Until then, I'll be dreaming of blue skies, warm beaches, and everything that does not typify November weather in Georgia ...

The morning foxtrot

Dress (as skirt): Elie Tahari, salvaged from Aunt P.; 

Blouse: NY&Co; Belt: Loft; Sandals: Miss Trish of Capri, Target; Ring: Target. 

I've been waiting to wear this outfit for a couple months now, even though I've worn warmer-weather variations of it before. It seems like the perfect summer outfit with red detailing and pleats, and I suppose I wanted to do it justice before fall started with the right morning photography session. 

It ended up being a memorable day -- for the first time I've ever gone to this particular park, I saw a pair of foxes. Usually I see lots of exotic birds -- egrets, owls, etc. -- but it's the first time I've seen any kind of predator. I wasn't in any real danger, since they were on the other side of the lake, but my beloved ducks were -- there were a few moments where their lakeside wading would have led them straight to hungry claws.   They narrowly missed, and there was a standoff before the foxes retreated and just gave up. All of this was enough reason to convince me that a new camera may be in my future -- standing on the other shoreline watching all of this go down without any photographic evidence was too much.

Anyways, here are some ways I've worn this dress before: 

The longest distance between two places

 Blouse: NY&Co; Skirt: Kensington Square, thrifted; Shoes: Zigi Soho.

These photos by Jeremiah.

I woke up extremely late for work the other day, and this is what I had time to throw on. A year or two ago, I probably would have thought it looked like I got dressed in the dark (which actually happened this time), but I like that the colors red, black and white echo each other in both patterns. Necessity may indeed be the mother of invention -- this may end up becoming an old favorite!

Condemned to repeat it

 Skirt: Liz Claiborne, vintage, thrifted; Heels: Bongo, thrifted;

 Blouse: NY& Co.; Bracelet: Kohls; Bag: thrifted. 

I wore almost this exact outfit six months ago and it feels just as relevant to fall weather as it does to spring. Sometimes it's nice to repeat an outfit that you know is just going to work no matter what, and I'm a big fan of the high-waisted silhouette these days.

My picture plans were nearly foiled by a biology class taking measurements by the creek. I've run into many university biology classes these past few months, and often I have to change my photo plans (or not take them at all) because the students are on the shore line or right where I had envisioned where I would do my shoot. And let's face it, it's a little awkward being overdressed and taking photos near an audience of 30 pairs of eyes. Not this week. I felt a little bolder and decided not to repeat this cycle of giving up photography in the spot I wanted. As soon as I saw the crowd of students clad in rainboots and  assessing their gear in the parking lot, I high-tailed it to the creek and did quite possibly the world's fastest photo shoot. Despite the buckets of creek sludge they brought back to their labs, I'm sure in my five-inch heels I was the most unexpected specimen they saw that day on the shore.

Happy weekend! Friday finds will be up later this afternoon.

Prep school prima donna

Dress (as skirt): Elie Tahari, salvaged from Aunt P.; 

Blouse: NY and Co; Sweater: Faded Glory; Tights: Simply Vera;

Belt: Loft; Moccasins: Minnetonka.

This outfit and shoot didn't go the way I wanted them to. For whatever reason, I just couldn't figure out what combination I wanted to showcase more of the dress, and ended up styling it as a skirt again. And then when I got to the park later in the day, I became frustrated because I couldn't seem to capture the photos I kept envisioning. Like the lighting and composition would just be a tad off. Oh well, not every day is perfect photo day.

I do like the reds and whites in this outfit, and of course, I'm in love with the pretty uniform pleating of the dress's skirt. I really enjoy wearing items in different functions -- dresses as skirts and blouses, etc.

What are some unusual outfit combinations you've done lately/are proud of?

The Breton Stripes agreement

 Black sweater: Target, gift from Rachel;
Geometric tie blouse (underneath): NY&Co.;

Pleated dress (as skirt): Elie Tahari, salvaged from Aunt P.; 

Bracelet: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI; Belt: LOFT; Moccasins: Minnetonka.

I decided to participate in Everybody, Everywear's Breton stripes day and don my favorite black sweater. The weather was so nice on Monday that I didn't need tights or a coat, and so I played up the nautical theme by wearing my pleated Elie Tahari dress, which was recently salvaged from Jeremiah's Aunt P. I feel like such a teaser, not showing you the rest of the dress, but I promise I will when it's warmer to go out without sleeves. It's very second season Betty Draper on "Mad Men" with a little bit of Reese Witherspoon in "Cruel Intentions."

Here are a few ways I've worn this black sweater before:

What are your favorite ways to remix your stripes? And be sure to check out some more striped looks at Everybody, Everywear here!

If I only had a heart

Top: NY & Co.;
Skirt: thrifted, vintage;
Watch (as locket): Waltham;
Shoes: Target.

Here's what I wore on Friday -- the weather was so nice I didn't need a sweater. I particularly liked this pattern combination of reds and blues. I've worn my pocket watch as a necklace a couple of times, but this is the first closeup I've taken of it. Its tick-tick-ticks are a pretty comforting sound, and make me feel a little like the Tin Man from the "Wizard of Oz."

The weekend was pretty great. One of our good friends V. came to town and we got dressed up in costumes and headed downtown. Downtown is a whole other experience during Halloween -- so many conversations were started because of this costume detail or that. I ended up rewearing my Wonder Woman costume when I couldn't assemble all the pieces for my Tippi Hedren "The Birds" costume. It ended up being okay because Wonder Woman is pretty recognizable.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching football, eating Brunswick stew and watching scary movies. How was your weekend?