Burgundy, pink and...orange?

So my cardigan and my pants don't match - let's just get that out in the open now. They looked great together when tried on in my dimly-lit bedroom on an overcast afternoon, but once I got outside I realized that next to the burgundy and pink in the cardigan, the pants looked a lot more orange than I had previously thought. I don't, however, think they look too horrible together. There's something about the combo that almost works - but then again, there's something about the combo that's kind of "off." But I'm determined to share both my hits and my misses with you guys, so take from this outfit what you will. (And maybe what you take from it will be: "Don't ever wear an outfit like this." And that's okay.)

Turtleneck: Old Navy

Cardigan: free from a friend of my aunt

Pants: Anthropologie

Shoes: Crossroads Trading Co.

Scarf: Fred Meyer

Earrings: church craft sale

Necklace: Bauble Bar

Belt: thrifted

War and Peace

Even though this outfit is entirely black and white, I didn't find it to be boring at all. It's got some fun pattern mixing going on, some funky space age wedges, and a gigantic furry hat that makes me feel Russian whenever I wear it.

Speaking of Russians....I just finished reading War and Peace. (Nice segue, right?) It took me four and a half months, which is longer than it's taken me to read any book, ever. I was an English Literature major in college, so by nature I love epic novels, but I had a lot of trouble with this one. On the one hand, the author Tolstoy was brilliant at creating characters who are endearingly and annoyingly human. On the other hand, he really loved to talk about politics and war strategies for hundreds of pages. It was a struggle to read, and so I feel very proud of my accomplishment of finishing this 1,400-page novel, and wanted to share it with you guys! And also, now that I've finished this book that I've been reading through for months, I'm at a loss as to what to read next, so I thought I'd ask - do any of you have any book recommendations? What are some of your all-time favorite novels?

Shirt: H&M

Jacket: Forever 21 brand from Jen Loves Kev's closet sale

Skirt: Anthropologie

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Sam Edelman Kendall wedges from Piperlime

Hat and scarf: Fred Meyer

Earrings: free from aunt

Necklace: from running the Portland Marathon

Belt: gift from my parents, from Uruguay

Cathedral Park

On Saturday Josh and I went out to Cathedral Park in North Portland. It has such a majestic feeling to it - all the arches you see in the background are the support beams holding up the St. John's Bridge, and they truly do give it the appearance of an outdoor cathedral.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about this outfit - it's comprised of those basics that I wear time and again: jeans, boots, striped top, black jacket, hat. There was so much black in this outfit that I felt like it really needed the pop of color provided by the orange scarf.

Top: Loft

Jeans: Gap

Jacket: Forever 21 brand, from Jen Loves Kev's closet sale

Shoes: Lulu's

Hat: gift from aunt

Scarf: self-made

Necklace: Bauble Bar

Bracelet: In Pink

Watch: free from aunt

And here are a few shots from the park and the St. John's Bridge:

Neon referee

I hope all you Americans had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! There's something so wonderful about getting a day off work to lounge around and eat :) I made sure to wear a loose skirt and a drapey sweater because really, you should just wear comfy clothes on a holiday. And even though I traditionally find tights to be very restricting and uncomfortable in the stomach area, these were not. I bought an American Apparel Groupon a few weeks ago, which meant I got four pairs of their tights for only $31. Even at the original price of $14 each I think they would be a worthwhile purchase - they don't suffocate my stomach, they don't have that horrible drop-crotch that a lot of tights have, and they come in about a million different colors (actually 38, but I like to exaggerate).

I'll be the first to admit that this outfit, especially with the striped blazer, might not be the most flattering, but it was so much fun to wear. The blazer gives it a referee vibe, and I actually think the whole thing looks more tasteful without the blazer, but sometimes I just feel like going for a kooky look.

Sweater and earrings: free from aunt

Skirt: Zara

Blazer: thrifted from House of Vintage

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Lulu's

Belt: thrifted

Necklace: vintage, from my mom
Hat: H&M
Scarf: self made

Towering heels

This is what I wore to my scarf sale on Sunday. There were quite a few people there who were mildly horrified and amused at my shoes. It's funny - I've seen these shoes on so many fashion bloggers, and they seem quite reasonable to me now, so I forget that everyone who doesn't follow fashion blogs is going to be shocked when I bust out a pair of six-inch platform heels. Plus, they look much more intimidating in real life - in photos, these heels look like they're only about four inches tall (at least to me they do), but in reality they vault me up so high that I tower over my husband, which I absolutely love. It's nice to have him stand on his toes to kiss me for a change :)

Dress: BB Dakota from Lulu's

Tights: American Apparel

Shoes: Jessica Simpson Dany heels from Macy's

Earrings: church craft bazaar

Necklace: Simply Jo Designs

Burnt orange

These are the corduroy pants that I mentioned on Friday (while wearing my other corduroy pants). I love them. Every top that doesn't go with my red cords goes with these navy blue cords. I decided to keep the body of the outfit really simple so the scarf and earrings could stand out. I knitted the scarf a few days ago because I had a scarf sale at someone's house over the weekend, where I sold various knitted scarves, but this one didn't sell. I'm secretly happy about that because it was my favorite, so I can keep it for myself now! I love the burnt orange color and the giant buttons, and in this outfit I was particularly pleased with the contrast between the scarf and the turquoise earrings.

Top: H&M

Pants: Anthropologie

Coat: thrifted

Shoes: Payless

Scarf: self-made

Earrings: free from aunt

Baby, it's cold outside

It has turned cold here in Portland - so cold that it snowed in the West Hills a bit on Friday! I'm a big fan of snow because Portland isn't used to getting much of it, and when it snows more than a few inches, everything in the city practically shuts down. I kind of love it. Two years ago we got a foot and a half of snow at Christmastime, and Josh's classes were cancelled and I couldn't make it to work, so we would spend our days alternately holed up in the apartment with mugs of hot tea, or tramping through the knee-high snow up to Washington Park. I'm hoping for a big snowstorm like that this winter!

Taking these photos was miserable. Even when I had my gloves and scarf on (I took them off for the pictures) I was freezing. I've been piling on a lot more layers lately, but I think I'm going to have to start doubling up on tights, and I'm definitely going to get some knee-high brown boots - these shin-high boots just aren't cutting it anymore.

Turtleneck: Kohl's

Jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Skirt: Urban Outfitters

Tights: Forever 21

Boots: Ether (store on NW 23rd)

Hat: H&M

Necklace: self-made

Belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Two of the same

I've often heard the tip that if you find a basic item of clothing you like, you should buy it in multiples. I did that once about four years ago - I bought two pairs of bootcut jeans from Gap because they were the only jeans I'd ever found that looked good on me. And it's been nice not having to worry about finding another decent pair of bootcut jeans since then. When I bought these rust-colored cords a few weeks ago from Anthropologie, they pretty much instantly became my new favorite pants, so I went back to Anthropologie the other day to see if they still had them in navy blue. (Which they did - for only $30!) Now I have two pairs of the same pants, and what's great is that because they're different colors, they'll go with practically every top in my closet - I can wear the reddish pair with more neutral tops, and the blue pair with brighter tops.

Sweater: from my mom

Pants: Anthropologie (here in beige)

Shoes: Sam Edelman from Nordstrom Rack

Hat: H&M

Necklace: Forever 21

Bracelet: free from my aunt

Belt: thrifted from Goodwill

Foggy

Lately I've been loving to use the roof of our building for photos because of the spectacular autumn leaves on the hills in the background (like in yesterday's post), but I also love these foggy hills! They add a nice moody atmosphere to the photos.

This outfit was not at all a reasonable one for spending time outside in, so it's a good thing that the only time I went outside while wearing it was for these photos. If I were to run errands in this outfit, I would definitely add a thicker scarf, gloves, a hat, and possibly a cardigan under the jacket. But for hanging around the house and knitting all afternoon, these layers were just right.

(I rolled up my sleeve to show off the bracelet, but now I realize it looks kind of dorky to have one sleeve rolled up and one sleeve down. Oh well.)

Dress: Anthropologie

Jacket: Forever 21 brand, from Jen Loves Kev's closet sale

Tights: American Apparel

Flats: Urban Outfitters

Scarf and bag: thrifted

Bracelet: In Pink

Round two

This is my second outfit with leopard print this week - maybe I should make a point to wear my leopard print heels on Friday, and then I will have worn all the leopard print I own in the same week. (Clearly my collection isn't extensive.) This is the first time I've worn this thrifted leopard print blouse. It was tricky to find a way to wear it because when I tuck it into a skirt it tends to bunch up around the waist, so I decided to treat it like a cardigan and left it open. I'm not sure it's going to be a keeper, though, because if this is the only way I can wear it then I'm going to run out of options fast.

I'm kind of on the fence regarding this outfit, but Josh really liked it. (Then again, he hated this fun outfit...) It's "slouchier" than most of the things I wear, but it was a super comfy outfit to lounge around the house in. I'm also on the fence about my jewelry, and wonder: is it tacky to wear a rosary if I'm not Catholic?

 

Black tee: Forever 21

Leopard print shirt: thrifted from Goodwill

Jeans: Gap

Boots: Crossroads Trading Co.

Bag and scarf: thrifted

Bracelets: H&M

Bring on the black

I find that I wear a lot more black in fall and winter than I do in summer. I think it's because black doesn't feel appropriate or cheerful enough for hot, languid summer days; but when the weather turns cold and the skies get gray, my tastes turn more towards darker colors that allow me to embrace the dreariness of the season. Of course, I can't get rid of bright colors entirely! Thus the cheerful color blocked skirt (also worn here, here and here), which stands out quite well against all this black.

Turtleneck: Old Navy
Skirt: Forever 21 brand, thrifted from Crossroads Trading Co.
Jacket: Forever 21 brand, from Jen Loves Kev's closet sale
Tights and necklace: Forever 21
Shoes: Lulu's
Hat: H&M
Scarf: Fred Meyer
Earrings: free from aunt

Leopard and snakeskin

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this brilliant blanket of yellow leaves along the sidewalk the other day! It may not have been the best backdrop against which to showcase this outfit, but I couldn't resist. I always find something to be giddy about in every season. Winter: snow! Spring: daffodils! Summer: heat! And in fall I love scenes like this, where the world looks like it's been showered in gold.

This outfit started with the shoes. Josh and I were walking past Urban Outfitters on Saturday and saw that they were having a 50% off sale items sale, so we went inside and I found these faux snakeskin loafers for only $10! When I got home I tried them out with a bunch of different outfits, and it was tricky at first to find anything besides jeans that went with them, but then I decided to just try the weirdest combination possible and put on my leopard pants, and I kind of liked the look! And yes, some people may think it's tacky to wear two animal prints together, but I would much rather be eclectic and adventurous than classy :)

Sweater: Target

Chambray shirt (under sweater): Sears

Pants: thrifted from Salvation Army

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Hat: from my dad, from a hat shop in York, England

Earrings: church craft sale

Bracelets: H&M, In Pink

Office friendly

Most of the clothes I wear are not what I would consider to be "office friendly." But since I don't work in an office, that really doesn't matter. Every once in a while, though, I get the urge to put on a pencil skirt and a button-up shirt. It makes me feel professional and career-driven (though I'm really neither of those things). If I were to wear this to an actual office job, I'd probably swap out the boots for a pair of pumps and the denim jacket (pictured below) for a blazer.

Also - this outfit is pretty subdued for me! No belt, no hat, no plethora of crazy bright colors...I like the simplicity, though, and I feel like the necklace and the patterned tights keep it from being downright boring.

Oversized button-up: free from my dad

Skirt: thrifted from William Temple House

Jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Tights: Forever 21

Boots: Urban Outfitters

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Necklace: purchased in Florence, Italy

The clash

One day back in high school I wore brown pants and a purple sweater to school. As far as I can recall, they looked good together, but a friend of mine came up to me and said, "You can't wear brown and purple together!" I felt so embarrassed that ever since then, I haven't worn those colors together.

Then over the summer I tried to wear a red and pink outfit, and Josh said those colors don't go together. So I didn't wear them. But then the other day I saw Catherine seriously rocking the red and pink combo, and I thought, "Why not? Fashion rules are for wimps." So I put on my brightest red and pink, and felt quite delighted with the combo. And sure, Josh still didn't like it (and I'm still not sure if it clashes or not), but I felt very happy and Valentines Day-ish, and a lot of people on the street stared at me, which is a sure sign that I'm doing something interesting :)

Top: free from a friend of my aunt
Skirt: H&M
Tights: Forever 21
Boots: Lulu's
Earrings: free from aunt
Necklace: vintage, from my mom
Bag: thrifted