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).

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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!

Would You Wear That Wednesday: Brief Hiatus

I just don't feel like it's appropriate to post about fashion today, so I'll be back Friday.

Four Eyes, One Heart

Today's outfit was loosely inspired by this week's Inspiration Monday pick:

I don't really like sheer tops that much (except for my mint top...), so I went for stripes and color blocking tucked into my black skirt. I don't have any black heels either, so I wore flats. 

I had a co-worker take my pictures because I wanted to show my husband that I wore my glasses to work (he usually leaves for work about an hour before I do). I had some horrible sinus problems today, so I had to bust out the spectacles. I like them, but they kept sliding off my face when I bent over or looked down. Oops! 

This photo cracked me up!

I can't wait to get off work today! My big plans tonight include drinking a milkshake and reading more about the Warrior Dash; we're doing it on October 5, and I'm terrified beyond belief slightly nervous. The milkshake is to soothe my fears...and help me gain more padding before the race, of course. 

I've Lost That Loving Feeling

This used to be one of my favorite outfits; I couldn't wait until it was summer, and I could wear it. For the past couple of years though, I haven't been as excited about it. In fact, I only wore it once last summer and once this summer. I think I've lost that loving feeling (and now it's gone, gone, gone, whoa ooh whoa ohh whoaaaaa....heh heh). 

There are a few reasons I'm just meh about this one. The dress is completely sheer, and it feels really short to me. Also, it billows out awkwardly in the back, making me look wider than I really am. The cardigan has a hole in the pocket and just feels shabby. One of the shoes is coming apart also, but I think a date with the glue gun will fix that problem. My coworker assured me that the outfit looks fine, but I think I'm ready to give it a date with the giveaway pile.

The tank top underneath gets to stay. It was lucky this time...

Would You Wear That Wednesday: White Pants Past Labor Day

Even though it's September 4, it's still summer. As I've semi-ranted a couple of weeks ago, I'm a seasonal purist, meaning I don't "celebrate" a season until the calendar officially marks it. I'm fine with people getting all trigger happy about autumn/fall, but this girl doesn't want to acknowledge it or hang her seasonal decorations until September 22.

Phew. With that mini-rant over, let's get to it for today. Here's today's selection: white pants past Labor Day:

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As a Southern girl, this one is difficult for me. It's still summer, and it's still warm (it's supposed to be near 90 here Friday), so I still want fabrics and colors that will keep me cool. However, I also get really into social conventions and "rules" (guess that's the librarian in me), and I've always lived by the edict that white pants/shoes/bottoms are for between Memorial and Labor Days. I know that some rules are meant to be broken, but while I'm here in the south, I'd rather not be tsked tsked by ladies like my grandma who don't agree. 

But, if I lived somewhere a little more liberal with some of these fashion rules, I'd wear them in a second!

Who's with me? 

A "one piece, many ways" observation...

Before I get started, I want to say thanks again to everyone who participated in Friday's linkup! I know it wasn't a huge linkup, but I really enjoyed it and was excited to see what all of the participants wore. 
So today, I had planned to participate in Putting Me Together's One Piece, Many Ways linkup. I started going through my post labels, trying to find something that I had worn 3 or more times. To me, I thought 3 was a good number because it represented versatility. I didn't want to pick shoes because there's only so many ways you can wear them- with a casual outfit or with a dressier outfit- and I felt like that would limit my post (unless I'm just missing something really obvious here...). 
The only thing I found was a pair of black pants, and two of the posts had broken picture links! This observation made me start thinking about my wardrobe, or, my clothes, since they're not really a cohesive, remixable wardrobe right now. On my other blog, one of my goals during the time between turning 30 and 31 is to learn to remix each item in my closet with at least 3 other items. That may be a tall order, and I may not be able to fully complete that one, but the sentiment of the message- wear things more than once or twice- is there.
Also, I found that I had gotten rid of many items that I've photographed for the blog, either because they don't fit me anymore, or I just wasn't wearing them. I'm thinking about going through and removing those labels (when I do the rest of the blog cleanup work that I've been wanting to do for a few weeks). I use the labels to see how I've worn items, so it makes sense that if I don't have the items, I shouldn't keep the labels. Anyone have any thoughts on that? 
Whew. That was a lot of writing, and it didn't even really fit in with the theme of the linkup (well, maybe it kind of did...). Go check out how other people have actually remixed their clothes! I might get a few ideas of my own! =)