Missed the Target...so to speak

Ack! I missed the Literate & Stylish/Along the Lines of Style Target linkup this week. Part of it was because I was off work a little more than usual so I didn't wear anything beyond t-shirts and grubby shorts. The other part was because we were busy with this...

We got a puppy!!!

Me in my grubby glory and the pup

This is my first dog and our first pet together. He's a shelter puppy, so we're not sure what breed/breeds he is, but the employees estimated that he could be 50-60 pounds. Eep! So pardon me during my adjustment period. I hope to be back next week for Inspiration Monday.

Any pet owners out there with tips for new owners like me? =)

What I Wore: Monday, May 20 (Inspiration Monday!)

It's Inspiration Monday time again! Here's today's picture...it's bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s...

Hollaback Girl

And here's my interpretation:

Just a Girl

I don't have a sweet denim vest, so I went for the denimish top, black pants, and bright shoes. Here's a close up of the neon shoes

Playing with color saturation! This still doesn't quite convey the neon...

And just for fun, one more shot after playing with my photo editor a little more:

I think I've created a photo editor monster...

Hope everyone has a great week!

Heavy Heart

I kind of live under a rock. My husband and I don't really watch, read, partake in the news. I'm an ignorant citizen, and I'm more okay with that than I should be. However, the news of the recent garment factory collapse in Bangladesh made its way into my blog feed, and it's hit me...hard. To know that over 1,100 people have died because people like me insist on having cheap clothes is just too much for me.

I've read Overdressed, and to be honest, I completely disregarded what she had said just days after finishing it. I love clothes. I love to shop. I love a bargain. I've never even purchased anything from some of the popular blogger stores like J Crew or Madewell because I have never wanted to pay too much for my clothes. As a result, my closets are stuffed with cheap and low quality goods that were probably made by people similar to those who were killed. This is weighing on me really heavily.

So, what should I do?

I've been doing some research (because that's what librarians do, yo), and a lot of the companies that offer ethically made clothing (i.e., clothes produced in humane conditions where the producers are paid more than minimum wages), but to be frank, it's expensive. If I have to choose between buying groceries or a skirt, groceries are going to win every single time. Plus, I've never been a big fan of buying online without being able to try things on, and a lot of these places are only online or don't have stores in my area.

I also looked at companies that produce items in the United States. I did find one company that has a store relatively close to me. Unfortunately, once I looked on their website (the clearance section of course since the regularly priced merchandise was still to expensive for me), I found a couple of shirts that expressed messages that I, a conservative Christian from the South, didn't agree with, so I decided that I didn't want to give that company my money.

So, again, what should I do?

For now, I'm turning to thrifting. I've always loved Goodwill and other thrift stores in my area, and I think this is a great opportunity for me to really go out and explore what my region has to offer. I'm also going to work on cutting down the blogs I read, particularly those who seem to embrace fast fashion and really looking at how others have tackled this issue. Three blogs that I can think of off the top of my head that are great examples of this are October Rebel, Thrifted Shift (who is unfortunately on a blogging break), and Thrift Eye (who just wrote a great post about this topic). I think you can still find great, trendy pieces from thrifting. I also think this will be a great chance for me to refine my style since I won't be able to just pick up anything from whatever store I want to. Oh, and there's the whole money saving aspect, which will definitely help my little family!

This is just the start for me, and there are still a lot of other things I need to change, but I'd like to think that this is putting me on the right path to help making a difference. Anyone have any tips or similar experiences? I'd love to hear them!

What I Wore: May 13, 2013 (Inspiration Monday!)

Do you ever have those mornings when you think you have a lot of time and then you look at the clock and realize you should've left 5 minutes ago? That was definitely me this morning. I went to the gym and came home to quickly rinse off, change, gussy up for work (gussy up...Southernism of the day), and frittered away more time than I anticipated. Oops! The point of telling all that was to justify my phone pictures for Inspiration Monday! ;-p

The look

My interpretation

The shoes!

Sideways close up detail of the lace detail on my shirt

I don't have a lace dress or a white dress, so I just used the top half for inspiration. I was pretty excited to wear these shoes because I haven't really worn them that much, and I got them at least three years ago. Sorry for all of the blurriness today! Thanks for helping me get dressed this morning, Inspiration Monday!

What I Wore: May 9, 2013

I was running pretty behind, so I had to take a lot of phone pictures instead of my standard "camera balanced on a chair arm" shots. This was my "jungle-ish" outfit that I wore to work and a performance of The Lion King. The show was AMAZING!! I had fussed because it was going to cause me to be up late on a work night, but it was well worth it. Unfortunately, there were a lot of adults around us who needed some etiquette lessons, including a 60+ year old man who was texting during the show. Texting! I even said "dude, you're blinding us," but he wouldn't put the phone away. Luckily, an usher came to our rescue, but seriously, shouldn't he have known that was rude?!?

Grainy almost full body shot

Tried to get a shot of my shoes

Wooden earrings

My hair was big (for me) and curly...like a lioness...ha

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What I Wore: May 7, 2013

I was a little more colorful on Tuesday than I was on Monday, and it really helped my attitude! So did the boatload of blogs I read during the day, the sunshine, and knowing that we're one day closer to finals being over and our summer terms beginning (summer terms = slower pace). Yay for colors and happiness!

Full body shot!

Close up of my TOMS

Kind of blurry but wanted to show more shirt detail

Do any of you feel like color affects your mood? I always thought that was silly, but as I've started paying a little more attention to what I wear, I'm finding that it's accurate! Also, what color are my pants? I thought they were mint, but I don't think that's the case!

And a Random Wednesday linkup with Because Shanna Says So for good measure...

What I Wore: May 6, 2013

Did anyone else who participated in last week's Pantone challenge find it difficult to get dressed yesterday morning? I had planned to attempt Inspiration Monday for the first time ever to ease myself back into having to choose my own clothes, but my only maxi skirt is not sheer and not clean! Instead, I settled on this:

Not really digging this one

This is a pretty blah outfit. It was raining yesterday for what felt like the millionth day in a row. I felt pretty uninspired, and now I see that I needed some color or something different. I feel a little sad just looking at it...ha ha. The shirt does have butterflies on it. That's my only concession to spring...

I can fly!

Seriously. These pants are way longer than I realized! I may need to see if I can get them hemmed! This is really going to inspire me to stay away from just black and gray!

Doing another link up today!

What I Wore: May 3, 2013

I can't believe it's the end of the Pantone challenge! This is the first challenge I've successfully completed, and it gives me a boost to take on 30x30 again, possibly this summer in the 30 days leading up to my 30th birthday! I also am thinking about doing a Goodwill themed challenge. It's amazing what doing one challenge will do for you...and your wardrobe!

Before this week, I had never paired things together like yellow, blue, and gray. I had gotten into a rut with my wardrobe, and I had all but disappeared from blogging. This has been fun, and it's definitely re-inspired me, so I'm grateful to Heidi and Marissa for sponsoring this.

Now for today's outfit:

Bigger picture! What do you think?

Today's shirt is from Goodwill also! It came from my shopping trip on Monday. I got a few other things that day too, so I'm thinking I definitely need to do a Goodwill week on here!

Here's the best close-up shot that I got of the fabric:

Poppy red and flowers?!? Yay Spring!

I'm definitely a fan of tunics because they hide all of the evidence from your lunchtime personal pizza...and the snacks I'm going to have at Iron Man 3 tonight! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Can't wait to see the last day of looks from everyone who participated in this challenge!

What I Wore: May 2, 2013

It's been a rough day. Between allergies and some work drama, I've felt like my butt has been dragging the ground all day. Let's just say I've already consumed an adult beverage slushy and dinner may include another one.

Also, I'm still trying to get a good handle on my picture taking location and camera settings, so today's pictures weren't super great. Maybe sometime in the next 45 years, I'll figure it out!

Didn't get a full body shot

Weird shoe shot

My pants were the first item that I chose for this challenge, followed by the dress from Monday. Also, both my top and wrinkled pants came from Goodwill today. It's hard to see in today's pictures, but the pants have subtle pink pinstripes, so I was pretty matchy-matchy. This post from October shows the stripes a little more clearly. 

Only one more day left in the Pantone challenge from Literate & Stylish and The Modern Austen. Tomorrow's color is poppy red, which sounds like a great color for FRIDAY!!

What I Wore: May 1, 2013

So, I'm not loving my outfit today. I started out planning to wear this:

Blah

But, it was so wrinkled and blah that I wasn't feeling it. The shirt is not quite as fitted as I thought it should've been either, so it may go to the giveaway bag.

My next move was to try on my new yellow pants. After a lot of combinations, this is what I came up with:

Still not feeling it

I liked the blue tank top and yellow pants, but I didn't love the cardigan and shoes. Although now that I look at it, it's not as bad as I thought. However, this was what I finally settled on:

The verdict is still out on this one...

"Artsy" shot

I think I didn't love the gray/blue/yellow together, but maybe I've just been too self-conscious about yellow pants all day. That's silly too because I have maroon pants, and I wouldn't have thought twice about a colored skirt. Maybe it's just a grumpy Wednesday. Even my beloved rastanana from yesterday isn't making me laugh as much. I predict an early bedtime in my near future! 

Also, does my phone camera take better pictures than my digital camera? Is it time to save some pennies for a new camera, or should I be using my phone every day??

Mirror camera shot

Two more days of the Pantone challenge! Join Literate & Stylish and The Modern Austen's link up with your best linen tomorrow!

Also linking up with Shanna at Because Shanna Said So for Random Wednesday (although today isn't quite as random as yesterday...)