Past, Present, and Future

When I started this blog, I was inspired by other blogs that I read. I was inspired by those who were able to remix their clothes and make it seem like they had never-ending wardrobes through their creativity. I was inspired by those who didn't feel compelled to have the latest, trendiest, or higher end items. I was inspired by those who did 30 x 30 remixes and style challenges and all of that other fun stuff. I wanted to do that. I wanted to inspire myself and others by being a normal girl with normal clothes who learned how to look put together on a budget, a bad hair day, or when she woke up in a panic after hitting snooze too many times.

But, things didn't turn out that way.

My little blog, even with its blurry pictures and semi-structured posting schedule, isn't fun or inspirational. I find it awkward to take pictures of myself, even when I'm inside. Because of the 30 pounds (yep, 30, as confirmed by my doctor this morning) I've gained this year, I'm not happy with how I look in clothes, so I find myself taking fewer and fewer pictures. I'm not even wearing decent outfits these days. I was alone at work last week for the three days we were open, and I wore sweats two of those days. Sweatpants. To work. Something has got to give.

So, I'm shelving (ha) this blog. It may be temporary or it may be forever. I will continue to write on my other blog, so if any of you really just need to read something new I've written, you can find me there. I'm also going to be massively purging my Feedly account. I'm tired of tons of sponsored content and seeing things that just aren't wearable in my daily life. I want to feel inspired again. I want to see normal people, not content churners. It's time for a new year, a new me, and all of that other good stuff. I really, really hope to be back, brighter and lighter and ready to inspire.

I hope that all of you reading have a wonderful New Year and that 2014 brings you even more happiness and success!

Of Santas and stomach bugs

Well that was another disappearance, wasn't it?

It's been a crazy past week-and-a-half! Last weekend, I travelled to East Tennessee with a couple of friends to participate in the Santa Hustle 5K:

A race that gives M & Ms! Score!!

We had a lot of fun! We stayed at a hotel with an indoor waterpark and a hot tub that had a door that let you go outside while still being submerged. I need one of those! The downside to the fun weekend was that we were all exhausted at work on Monday! Monday night, I had the first of many family Christmas gatherings, and unfortunately, I picked up a stomach bug that has plagued me off and on all week. The gift that keeps giving, right?

I've been taking outfit pictures inside, which gives me fabulous (note the sarcasm) results like these:

(And weird formatting also, evidently)

But that's about it for me lately. I finally feel like a normal person again, and I want to try to start sneak photographing in the backyard so I'll have better lighting and spare people from seeing my messy house!

Merry almost Christmas!

A Work in Progress

As I mentioned last week, I've got an idea for my Wednesday feature in 2014. Presenting, What I Own Wednesday:

This may or may not be the final logo. I've just discovered PicMonkey, and I feel like the first time I did when I found Microsoft Paint and could make circles and color them in on my computer. My mind was blown!

Anyway, I'll get more in-depth with it next week and kick off the feature in January.

Speaking of January, don't forget to submit a look for the Outfit Inspiration Calendar. It's as easy as filling out the form below, and you're guaranteed to have upwards of ten or fifteen people visiting your blog via mine. ;-)

Have a fantastic night!

Hibernation Mode: Activate

It's cold. 

I know, I'm not telling anyone anything that they don't know, but I thought I would add to the extensive Internet literature that already exists and refers to the cold December weather. I'm more insulated than I would like to be, but I'm still not built for this type of weather. All I want to do is hibernate! Unfortunately, I don't have a job that allows that, and the groceries and Christmas presents aren't going to buy themselves. So, I layer up and maybe rely on an extra warm, caffeinated drink from a certain place to help warm me from the inside. And ladies and gentlemen, I may have figured out where some of that extra insulation came from!

In other news, it's Inspiration Monday. Here's the picture:

I went for an interpretation- scarf, sweater, leggings, boots:

Ugh, grainy cell phone picture. I tried to edit it a little to make it more crisp, but that didn't really work! It's been raining for approximately 35 years now, so I've been stuck taking pictures inside. Meh. I should've at least used my camera! 

I just liked how this one looked for some reason. This was when I was setting up my phone/self-timer. A little soft-focus action for ya today.

Also, I brought this up earlier in the fall, then my life evidently blew up with work, family, etc, but I'd like to try it again! If any of you ever read Fab Finds Under 50, then you may remember the Outfit Inspiration Calendar. She has since stopped blogging, but before she did, I asked for permission to take this over. To submit a look for the January calendar, just fill out the form below by Friday, December 27. This will be a new experience for me, so I'll try to make it as smooth as possible! =)

Linking up with:

Inspiration Monday and Thrifters Anonymous (since my sweater was thrifted! Woo hoo!)

Too many ideas, too little free time

This time of year gets a little hectic for everyone. I didn't think we were going to be too busy until I started figuring up our family commitments, friend commitments, and a few other things that I've got going on, in addition to my husband's overtime schedule (he works for Amazon Fulfillment, so this time of year is C-R-A-Z-Y for him!). It's also the time of year when you start reflecting on the past 11 months and looking ahead to the next 12. For me, this means thinking about this blog. I've made a few changes, tried to be a more consistent poster, co-hosted a linkup, and participated in a few other linkups. I've made good progress, but I'd like to do more!

I decided my "What You Wear That Wednesday" feature wasn't something I wanted to continue, but I have another Wednesday idea, and yes, it will probably have alliteration because that's how I roll and all. But, since things are a little crazy right now, I'm not going to jump into that feature until 2014. Also, my posting may be sporadic since I haven't been taking a lot of pictures lately. I've lost a little weight since I felt frazzled and fluffy earlier this fall, but I'm still not where I want to be in looks or confidence, and my wardrobe definitely reflects that! Plus, now that I've taken a few pictures outside, I'm hooked on how much better the lighting is than inside. Three cheers for natural lighting, huh? 

I guess what I'm trying to say (in more words than I need to use) is that Section 391 is under construction. I want to grow this blog, make connections with other bloggers, and work towards opening doors that will allow me to generate income through writing. I want to ramp this little hobby and my other blog up to the next level. I do have a passion for writing, and I would love to make it a full-time career (with some part-time libraryin' or instructional technology), but for now, that isn't realistic for my little family, so I need to improve my skills to make it an eventual reality. So, I'm putting on a hard hat (there's the "fashion aspect" for today...ha!), and getting to work on making this better. Thank you to those of you who have been reading here over the past few months. Your encouragement means a lot to me, and I do look at your blogs for inspiration and ideas on what I can do to improve this little corner of the Internet. If anyone has any resources or tips on how you've improved your own blogs, I would love to hear them!

Source

Style Imitating Art: What does the swan say?

Very quick and very late tonight. My computer, like me over the weekend, contracted some type of virus, so I've been battling both of the viruses tonight. Also, the human virus seems to have taken away my writing skills and patience with the man and fur creature in my house. Lucky everyone...

Jess from Animated Cardigan chose Swan Lake as her Style Imitating Art picture. Be sure to read more about it, including who the famous illustrator is!

My interpretation:

Clearly, the swans and I both have the long, graceful neck in common. Also, I think my eyes were closed in this one too! Double also, my kitchen looks so blah!

The pattern on this dress gave me an underwater vibe, plus the blues kind of echoed the blues in the picture (I'm working on my artsy comparisons. Maybe one of these days I'll use something other than "echoed"). I found this dress earlier this year on the clearance rack at Burke's Outlet, and it had a lavender sale sticker, which meant 90% off, so it was under $2. I'm working to shop more ethically these days, but sometimes you just have to talk about a good bargain!

Also, here's my fox earring. Foxes and swans are friends, right?

Wow, I wrote a lot more than I thought I would! Maybe sinus meds make me chatty! Bless my poor husband, then! ;-)

I break for turkey

Yes, Blogger spell check, I know it should be brake, but that wouldn't have the same effect!

I'm taking a short break and not posting again until Monday. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday!

Say cheese!

This past Saturday, my husband, puppy, and I had family Christmas pictures made. Yes, we took the puppy. Yes, we're those people that say fur child. There's no shame here.

Saying cheese makes my eyes close

Swooning or protecting my face from the sun?

What I would look like with a bit of a tan...

Puppy in a bow tie!!

That's about all I've got tonight. It's been a rough evening between the snow and crazy puppy. Tennesseans aren't well equipped for the white stuff or the freezing rain stuff or anything other than sunshine.

What kind of animal is that?!?

Today I'm linking up with Bri at Work Clothes, I Suppose for hehr Third Thursday Threads: Animal Prints feature. I have a pair of leopard print flats, but I wanted to wear a new-to-me pair of black wedges that my boss gave me earlier this week. I don't have any other animal print clothes, so I went for something that looks animal print-ish.

I'm still getting the hang of lighting when I take outside pictures, so hopefully this isn't too over-processed! 

Here's a close-up of the print of the shirt:

It's kind of leopard-y, right? It also reminds me of our puppy's fur, so I could say I'm puppy-printed! 

I also wore actual animals with my elephant earrings, so I'm good to participate, in my opinion! =)

(How did I just find out about Flickr's photo editing software? Prepare for my future postings to have an onslaught of edited pictures. Focus + blurring, ftw!)

Finally, here's my "model pose". I always enjoy seeing some of the faces I make!

Watch out, Zoolander! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! It's only supposed to be 38 degrees on Sunday! I want to hibernate!!

Would You Wear That Wednesday: Keep or Quit?

In light of last week's thoughts about recommitting to shopping more ethically, I'm wondering if I should continue this feature. I'm still trying to figure out where to shop, but I know that I don't want to shop at places like Target or Walmart anymore, so I don't know if I should still feature items from those places on here. I'm thinking about tweaking my Wednesday postings to something like "Whatever Wednesdays" (clever, right?) and posting fashion/shopping related stories, an outfit posting if I have it, stuff like that. Obviously, I haven't thought this through completely, but I welcome any thoughts that any readers have!

Style Imitating Art: What's Black and White and Re(a)d All Over?

Does anyone remember the old joke about what's black and white and red (or read) all over? There were a couple of different answers- a newspaper, a zebra with a sunburn. I think there was another one too, but those were the only ones I could remember on this crazy Monday!

I'm excited to be participating in Jen from Librarian for Life and Style's first Style Imitating Art selection. You can read more about the selection and why she chose it here, but here's the inspiration:

Here's my interpretation:

I tried to take pictures outside this morning, but the light was too bright, and they kept being washed out. Instead, you get to see my after-work blah hair and part of my bedroom, including the Employees Only sign on the door. ;-)

I went with a black, white, and red (more maroon actually) color scheme. No stripes on this outfit, but the flowers on my cardigan kind of echo the wallpaper behind him. Clearly, I excelled in my art appreciation class in undergrad!

Here are a couple of closeups of the cardigan:

It should be fun to see how others interpreted this painting! 

Awkward pictures and weekend plans

This title is in honor of my patented Friday blogging formula! ;-)

I took these shots during the Pantone challenge week but I was still in my swamped/life funk phase so these were never posted. When you have pictures this awkwardly charming though, you can't keep them to yourself! This is the first time I've put this cardigan and dress together, and I liked it! I've also never worn this dress with tights and boots, but I'll be trying it again with this one and the other two I have (in green and black). I've actually shown this dress on the blog before too, so yay for remixing!

I don't even have an explanation. Maybe I was showing the cardigan's shape?

Attempting to show the ring and tights at the same time...

Enjoy the luminescent counter shot, free of charge

And, to talk about the second part of the title, what are everyone's weekend plans? =) I'm going to spend at least a few minutes cleaning out ill-fitting clothes and planning next week's outfits. Also, it's going to be close to 80 here on Sunday! Hope it doesn't make the ladybugs and wasps attack our house again. EEK!! 

It's a long fall from the top of my soapbox

I started to post a "Would You Wear That Wednesday" entry today, but something is weighing heavily on me again. Thanks to my Facebook news feed, I discovered the rabbit hole that is Upworthy and all of the videos posted on it. As I was skimming through them and deciding which ones to watch, I started seeing a lot about the fashion industry, particularly about the Bangladeshi tragedy and the use of child labor, and quite honestly, it made me so mad-  at the industry,at consumers, and at myself. I made two commitments in May and July to only shop thrift stores and then to stop shopping from August until the end of this year. I haven't kept either of those commitments, and I've completely buried the anger that I felt that this "hobby" of mine is killing people. It's not just garment factory collapses, fires, etc, but it's also the pollution from the chemicals used to dye garments and the ruin of land/water in places like China. Also, people in these countries don't have hope. I can't imagine having a child who only has the option of working in a garment factory for the rest of her life and earning something crazy like $45 a month for working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. This injustice has just been weighing on me.

I am blessed. I was blessed enough to have been born into a loving family, marry a wonderful man, and have fantastic in-laws. My husband and I aren't rich by any means, but even our worst day is probably better than some of these people's best day. (I know I'm making a huge overgeneralization here, and I can't even begin to know about their happiness levels, but this is just my perspective). I'm a Christian, and I'm trying to live my life according to biblical principles, and yet I support this industry that literally kills people. What Would Jesus Do, indeed?

I didn't mean to get on a soapbox here or go off on a complete rant, but I think that it's past time that I fully commit and dedicate myself to this cause. I want to do so many things to help balance the scale of injustice, and this is a great place to start since this is my hobby and passion (to a certain extent). I don't quite know what my next step is, but I know I need to do some restructuring and go back and see what else I said I was going to do so I can recommit myself to it. Also, I don't want to completely give up the fun aspects of this blog or quit enjoying reading other people's blogs or become a comment troll who quotes horrifying fashion industry statistics on people's blogs (the Internet equivalent of throwing paint on a fur coat...ha ha). I just want to be a more socially responsible consumer and help make a difference in these people's lives however I can.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where I can start? As a librarian, I've already done some research and have ideas about where to look for more information, but any information that people have already gathered would be really helpful!

Also, if I haven't lost you yet, thank you for reading. I may have gone a little overboard here, but I just wanted to get everything out. I'll be back Friday with more awkward pictures and references to the weekend. =)

Freedom

Thank you to all of the veterans who have served and are serving to protect our freedom. It is because of these brave men and women that I can take pictures of myself scowling and put them on the Internet for everyone to see...

An outside picture! With a scowl!

The last time I'll wear these in 2013!

I'm not all scowls in the morning...

Also, I just realized that I completely forgot to post on Friday. My husband and I had an impromptu date/Christmas shopping night, and I guess we were out too late for me to remember to post (we were out until 9:30. Proof that I'm old.).

Edit: I did write an entry on Friday, and I even uploaded the pictures! I guess I just never hit publish on the draft! Gah, where is my brain lately? So, everyone gets two entries for the price of one tonight! (Even though I'm changing the date on Friday's entry because librarians like things in order and such...).

A Year Late and Several Dollars Short...

As a frequent clearance rack shopper, I often find that I'm a little behind on the "blogger trends" that go through my reader. Honestly, because I tend to primarily shop at Old Navy and Goodwill, I'm usually behind on the trends for other reasons as well! Today's sweater was a fall/winter 2012 favorite for many bloggers, but it has all but disappeared from the blogosphere (is that the right word? It sounds so awkward!). The exception to that, of course, is the fabulous Jen at Librarian for Life and Style who is actually a real person and remixes her clothes and doesn't make you feel like you need a second or third job just to be able to wear cute outfits! Whoa, let's call this Flattery Friday, okay? Didn't mean to gush quite so much, but it's always nice to see people actually re-wear items and use them in different ways, especially if I own the same item and can get inspiration from it!

Anyway, getting back on track here!

Love playing with the settings in Picasa!

 TGIF! It's supposed to be a nice weekend here, so I'm excited to open the windows and get some fresh air in the house while I do some desperately overdue cleaning. The weather folks are calling for flurries (!) Tuesday night, so I'd better enjoy this nice weather while it lasts. Anyone have any fun weekend plans?

EDIT: This was supposed to have been published Friday night, but I guess my brain didn't hit the publish button when we got home from Christmas shopping. I know I could save it for another day, but I don't like drafts languishing there too long, and knowing my brain lately, I'm liable to let this one sit until February...

Would You Wear That Wednesday: Patterned Leggings

Do you know what the most difficult-to-find clothing item in the world is? Evidently, it's plain brown leggings. I got mine snagged on a bin of Halloween decorations a couple of weeks ago, and the hole was in a low spot that most of my tunics/dresses won't cover. I've been on the hunt to replace them ever since, and I haven't had any luck! I finally did a couple of online searches where I could narrow by color, and was excited when Target said they had a pair. Unfortunately, the item below is what they classified as brown leggings.

Image source

While they are technically brown leggings and would probably allow for some interesting pattern mixing options, they're not quite what I had in mind. Also, with my, er, generously sized legs, the pattern probably would not look the same as it would on a true "junior sized" female. So, my quest continues...

Would you wear these? How would you style these if you got them?

Mundane Monday

I promise that I'm not trying to be a grump lately; I'm just going through a funky stage right now related to work, and it's touching a lot of areas in my life, unfortunately.

Also, camera phone pictures. Blah.

Here's hoping to a Terrific Tuesday...or at least one where I don't have to tell someone not to run in the library...

Struggling...

I've been in a funk lately, and I'm just now starting to get out of it. October was a really busy month, and every time I started to blog, I just felt meh about the whole thing. I kind of felt meh about everything, and it was hard to motivate myself to do things beyond my basic responsibilities. My wardrobe reflected it too. I would just throw on whatever kind of fit and go with it. It was a vicious cycle; I felt "off" so I dressed like it, and then my blah outfit made me feel frumpier and more off. That really help me see the connection between looks and attitude.

Thankfully, I'm coming out of this blah phase, and I'm ready to hit the ground running again. I've taken a couple of pictures over the last month:

A layered look from October 3

My look for the Pantone Challenge: Carafe

I'll be back on my regular schedule next week. I may even try venturing outside for pictures. Scary thought, right?

Has anyone else struggled with the blahs? How did you get past them?

A reason to return...

Pantone-Inspired Fall Color Challenge with The Modern Austen and Literate & Stylish. Sign me up! I had so much fun with this during the spring challenge that I can't wait to do this one next week!

Also, I finished my busy instruction season, so I feel like I can have hobbies again! Yay!! 

What's everyone been up to for the last month? I've been trying to keep up with and comment on blogs over the last few weeks! 

Feeling Frazzled and Fluffy

I'm feeling a little frazzled and not so into blogging right now.

We're extremely short-staffed at work, so I'm the Reference and Instruction and Electronic Resources Librarian right now, and there are a ton of big projects going on that are all coming up.

I'm still settling into married life- six months in! Everything is great, but there are just a lot of adjustments that come with merging two lives; especially since I've never lived with a guy before. They're fascinating creatures...ha ha.

Our puppy is six months old. He's settling down some, but it's my first dog, and there's a lot to adjust to with that.

But, I think the biggest reason is that I've gained weight. I've gained about 20 pounds since getting married, and I'm definitely feeling ti. Most of my clothes don't fit, and the ones that do make me feel uncomfortable both literally and figuratively. It's hard for me to take pictures of my outfits when I don't particularly like them or really feel inspired by them.

So, I've got to take a break. I could keep doing text posts, but I think that gets boring after a while and completely defeats the purpose of a fashion blog. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but it may be for at least a month so I can get through the busiest instruction portion of the semester and help migrate our off-campus access to a different service. And truthfully, I'd like to lose a little weight!

I know that I don't have a ton of traffic here, but I did want to give an explanation for my disappearance this time around. I think I'll be back soon, but in the meantime, feel free to chat with me on Twitter- @ambersection391. I'll still be reading blogs and commenting, so I hope none of you are feeling frazzled and fluffy! =)

Teeing Up

For today, I decided to link up with the Work Clothes, I Suppose Third Thursday Threads Linkup. Her theme this month is dressed up tees, so I decided to try a look for work that I've worn on the weekends before. To be honest, I felt a little casual wearing this to work yesterday. Plus, the shirt is a few years old, so up close, you can notice that the birds are beginning to look worn. I definitely want to try dressing up a t-shirt for work again, but I probably won't go with something quite as busy next time. 

Book Necklace!

Shirt Closeup

Don't forget to submit a look for October's Outfit Inspiration Calendar! I've never done this before, so help me out! =) Have a great weekend!

Would You Wear That Wednesday: Boom!

This week's pick is one of the Phillip Lim collection pieces from Target. I don't really know his designs or anything, but I really like this shirt! I don't like the price though, so if I could find it on clearance, it might come home with me (er, so I'm not doing so great with the no shopping thing either).

Source

Would you wear this? Have you bought it already? This seems like a good buy for the late summer/early fall when it's cooler at night and in the mornings. 

Now, what I alluded to on Monday: the Outfit Inspiration Calendar!

If you're familiar with the Fab Finds Under 50 blog (which is now only accessible via invitation...or through the cached copy) and Kimberly's Outfit Inspiration Calendar, then you might be sad after her recent announcement that she is stepping down from blogging. The Outfit Inspiration Calendar was one of the first things that inspired me to start paying attention to what I wore and eventually lead to the creation of this blog!

On her last posting, I asked if she would be okay with me taking over the calendar, and she consented. Of course, you can't see it now that the comments are locked, but I promise it's true! =)

If you're interested in submitting a look, fill out the form below by Friday, September 27. I'm going to try to have the calendar posted by Monday, the 30th, just in time for you to choose your October outfits! Spread the word also!

Manic Monday

Today has been really busy- lots of stuff going on this week at work, plus it's my brother's birthday, so we've been at my parents' house tonight celebrating. This will be a quick post, but I want to tease something I'll be talking about more on Wednesday.

Three words: Outfit. Inspiration. Calendar.

Oh yeah...

Also, here are some clothes I wore, along with some cameos from a growing puppy...

He's going to be taller than me!

He should have his own Tumblr: "K-pup is not impressed..."

Let's ignore my dirty rug in the last picture. If I don't vacuum it daily (which, let's be real, weekly is a major accomplishment sometimes), then it looks like we're the filthiest people in the world...

Here's to a calmer Tuesday!

The Right to Bare Arms

Bare/bear, whatever.

I'm not normally a sleeveless person, especially at work, but I've been so hot at work lately (even though it's getting a little cooler outside), that I wanted to try going sleeveless for probably the last time of this year.

Honestly, I don't really like to wear sandals either. I had that realization yesterday, so I think wearing them today was one last attempt to make myself be a sandal gal. It failed. And, these pants are kind of low rise (plus, I've gained some weight since I bought them), so they crept downward all day while my shirt crept upward. The only thing that saved all of this discomfort was knowing that it's Friday, and that I liked my jewelry.

 

 

It's the little things, right?

Have a great weekend!