An anniversary

Apparently I had a blog anniversary yesterday! I've now been blogging for one year. (If you want to see the very first, less-than-thrilling post, it's right here.) Here are a few of my favorite outfits from the past year - the link to each post is under the photo. All of you have my thanks for making my first year of style blogging so much fun!

Thanks Dad

Retro gal

Men and women

Sunday brights

Cotton candy and bubblegum

Witchery

Leopard and snakeskin

War and Peace

Comfort

Monogrammed

Styled by my husband

This one's for you, Tim Gunn

Stripes, stripes and stripes

Love and leopard print

Floral striped dress

Layered

An evening stroll

After spending nearly all of Memorial Day lounging around the house, Josh and I took Onyx out in the evening for a walk up to a nearby park. Now, I love my dog, and like any dog owner think he's the smartest, funniest, cutest dog in the whole world, but man, he was such a brat on that walk. First, he kept trying to eat sticks and garbage. Then he woofed at two people who walked past us. (Okay, so that was actually kind of funny, but I didn't want them to think he was going to attack them. At the most, he would have attacked them with kisses.) And then when we tried to take photos of him and us, he kept trying to climb on top of the hedges in these photos. So we just tied him up to a nearby post and took the photos anyway.

The pattern mixing in this outfit felt very intuitive - I think it worked so well because the top and skirt both contained red. Plus, in my opinion it's hard to go wrong combining stripes and floral print.

Lately I've been trying to use the manual focus on my camera more, but I have such crappy vision that I can't necessarily tell whether the object I'm photographing is in focus. This flower pictured above was one of the few nature photos that turned out well on our walk.

Red striped shirt: Old Navy

Floral skirt: thrifted, hemmed by me

Jean jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Espadrilles: Ann Taylor Loft (about six years ago)

Necklace: possibly American Eagle Outfitters

Red belt: free from my aunt

Blue bracelet: Dress Barn

Red dress

I felt like this outfit was very simple, being comprised of only five elements; but it also felt like there was a lot going on, with the bright dress, unusual boots, and leopard print hat. I got a lot of attention from this outfit at church and Costco on Sunday. I have to admit, I'm a bit of an attention whore when it comes to my clothes. Sometimes I wear things just because I know people will "ooh" and "ahh" over them. Like these boots - they're fun and interesting, but I'd never wear them if I were to spend the whole day at home alone. Shoes like that need to be seen by other people.

Red dress: BB Dakota from Lulu's

Blue boots: Steve Madden (Carnaby heels) from Zappos

Leopard print hat: Albertus Swanepoel for Target

Gold necklace: Dress Barn

Gold bracelet: gift from my mom, from Yosemite

Normally I avoid posting unflattering photos of myself on here, but Josh took this self-portrait of us that's just hilarious, and I had to share it. We have fun together :)

A picnic in the countryside

This outfit was a bit of a fashion hodgepodge (gingham! floral! embroidered belt! bright wedges that don't really match anything!), but I liked it. I've been displeased with many of my outfits lately, so it was satisfying to finally hit on one that felt sufficiently quirky and interesting.

My family went on an early Memorial Day picnic on Saturday because it was supposed to be the nicest day over the weekend, but it was still a bit chilly so I layered some long-sleeved tops and brought a blanket to wrap around my bare legs while sitting at the picnic table. Then we went on a short hike - and yes, I wore these heels, which just proves how comfortable they are. (Or how stubborn I am. Or how determined I am to look stylish even in the woods.)

Blue sweater: Anthropologie

Gingham shirt: J. Crew

Floral skirt: thrifted from Village Merchants

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Purple necklace: gift from my aunt

Embroidered belt: Scandinavian Midsummer Festival in Astoria

A rainy day Prince Charming

While we were taking these photos the sky started to darken, so we finished up quickly and walked to the nearest Starbucks as it started to rain. Josh and I shared a coffee, and then, because the rain hadn't let up, we started to walk the half mile home. After two blocks, though, I realized my white wedges were turning yellow! Ahhh! I dashed under a nearby awning, and Josh offered to walk the rest of the way home, get the car, and drive back to pick me up. As a staunch feminist I usually hate the idea of being rescued in any way, but when it comes to my shoes I will take the assistance of any available Prince Charming.

Lesson learned here: don't wear white leather shoes in the rain. (Other lessons to be learned: Always carry a pair of flats in your purse; don't live in a state that rains more than half the year if you want to frequently wear white leather shoes; get a husband who will go out of his way to protect your shoes.)

Black lace top: Quincy top from StyleMint

Black cardigan: gift from my aunt, from Macy's

Gray skirt: thrifted

White wedges: Sam Edelman (Kendall wedges) from Piperlime

Purse: thrifted from Salvation Army

Hair clip: gift from a friend

Pearl necklace: gift from a friend

Black flower bracelet: from my mom

Gray bracelet: made by me

Pointy shoulders and pointy heels

I love these crazy boots, but they're so hard to match to most of my clothes. Technically they don't match this shirt, but I liked the combination anyway, especially with the coordinated spikes on the shoulders and heels. I've tried to wear these boots several times since their inaugural wearing, but I just wasn't satisfied with any of those outfit photos until now.

Striped shirt: Urban Outfitters

Black faux leather skirt: H&M

Black cardigan: gift from my aunt, from Macy's

Pointy boots: Solestruck

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Silver earrings: gift from a friend

Spider necklace: Bauble Bar

Silver bracelet: won in a giveaway

Downton Abbey

It was so darn cold outside yesterday that I wanted to wear these blue boots with this outfit, but couldn't decide if it looked dorky or not, since the boots stopped right where my pants started. And when I'm in doubt about possible outfit dorkiness, I tend to play it safe with something like black wedges. In the end, though, this look felt a little boring, so I almost wish I had risked the potential dorkiness and worn the boots.

In other news, Josh and I have been watching Downton Abbey in the evenings, which is incredible and surprisingly funny at times. It's on Hulu if you want to watch it. My favorite line so far was when the Dowager Countess said in all seriousness, "What's a weekend?"

Blue sweater: Gap

Pink blouse: H&M

Floral pants: H&M

Black wedges: Lulu's

Bag: Urban Outfitters

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Bracelets: In Pink

Gingham

I tend to overdress for nearly everything. When I hang out with friends, I wear a dress and heels. When I go to a potluck, I wear a dress and heels. Basically the only things I'm not overdressed for are occasions that actually call for a dress and heels. But Sunday was a drizzly day, and I just wanted to feel cozy, so I wore jeans to church. I felt underdressed, even though the majority of the people at my church wear jeans on Sundays, so next Sunday I will probably return to my fancy-schmancy-ness.

A few weeks ago I won several blog giveaways and chose some J. Crew gift cards as my prize. Since the cheapest piece of clothing at J. Crew is about $60, I've never purchased anything from them until now. I bought this gingham shirt (and some tank tops that were too big that I returned) that cost $75 of my hard-earned prize money. I love it, and I think I might get another color with the rest of my gift cards. The fabric is much more lightweight than I expected, which means I'll be able to wear it alone on warmer days, and on colder days it will layer well with sweaters. The sleeves and hem are the perfect length - usually those are the parts that are either too short or too long on button-up shirts. I ordered a size smaller than I should have based on the size chart on their website, but it ended up fitting perfectly. I'm not sure I could ever bring myself to spend $75 of my own non-giveaway money on a casual shirt, but hey, I'm cheap like that :)

Gingham shirt: J. Crew

Gray cardigan: Gap

Jeans: Levi's from Urban Outfitters

Beige wedge boots: Urban Outfitters

Owl necklace: Forever 21

Watch: free from my aunt

Layered

Sometimes I think the fashion world tries to be innovative by adding a lot of layers. I mean, seriously, J. Crew - is anyone really going to wear a button-up shirt, a sweater, and a jacket with shorts? (Except for Blair from Atlantic-Pacific. She may look cute, but I don't imagine that she's ever really comfortable.) The problem with layers on top and bare legs on bottom is that you're pretty much guaranteed to have one half of your body be either too warm or too cold. In the case of this outfit, I was too warm on top. But at least I felt cute, and I eventually got some ice cream to cool down. (From Salt & Straw, of course.)

Lace dress: H&M

Chambray shirt: Sears

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Purse: Michael Kors, thrifted from Salvation Army

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Blue and green necklace: purchased in Florence, Italy

White bracelet: H&M

White belt: Forever 21

Today I'm linking this post up to Monday Mingle and Visible Monday.