What I Wore | Garden Variety

WhatIWore: Here’s what I wore over the weekend to check out a new cafe in Jasper, IN called Brew. They’re a coffee shop in the morning and a restaurant by night and they’re carrying lots of craft Indiana beers and Cardinal Spirits, so Adam and I wanted to check it out. If you’re in the area, you’ll love it!! 

Felix stayed behind in Bloomington with Nana and Paw Paw so Adam and I could make a date of it, and I wore a black knit dress that was the perfect canvas for my embroidered denim jacket. I love it so much! From the front, it still has a really neutral appeal but from the back… surprise!! party time!! 

When: September 4, 2016

What:
Necklace: Madewell (on sale!)
Dress: ASOS Maternity (regular sizes here)
Denim Jacket: Embroidered by me!
Booties: Rag + Bone ‘Newbury’

Where: Morning road trip to Jasper

I did a little searching and found a handful of similar shopable jackets, but fair warning - they’re not cheap! Rightly so - even done on a machine, this kind of thing takes a lot of time! My jacket was probably between 30-40 hours of work!

What I Wore | Denim and Lace

WhatIWore: This is one of my favorite dresses! Like I mentioned last time I wore it, it almost looks like something you’d find at an antique shop or vintage store. This time, I flipped it back around and am wearing it as intended (earlier this summer I wore it backwards for easy nursing access). These days I’m spending mornings out of the house so I have a chance to wear more of my wardrobe that doesn’t need to be baby friendly. It feels really good to just wear something I want to wear and not worry about stains or feeding or any of that.

When: September 28, 2015

What:
Shades: Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’
Dress: ASOS (also worn here and here)
Jacket: Mavi (similar here)
Belt: Target 
Boots: Rag and Bone

Where: Coffee Shop work session

Why: I love the textures of the crocheted lace and denim next to each other. It’s sort of sweet, isn’t it? To toughen up the look I decided to go with black booties. They’re my go-to fall walking boot and over the past couple of years have been worn in perfectly. They were a major splurge (I decided to skip NYFW that year and justified the cost that way), but the quality has really held up. When it comes to things like boots, bags or jeans, I always say buy the best quality you can afford. And when you take care of your nice things, they can last a really long time. 

Another core closet piece I want to mention is my jean jacket, which I must have worn hundreds of times over the years. (Scroll through my gallery to see the different ways I’ve worn it!) Again - a quality jacket is just going to look better and better with time. I wish I still had my first ever denim jacket - a cK Calvin Klein number I blew almost all of my fall clothing budget on when I was in seventh or eighth grade. I hope to take good enough care of my favorite pieces that they last for the next twenty years and some day (fingers crossed I have a little girl someday) my daughter will be begging to borrow. 

What I Wore | Anchors Away

WhatIWore: I write this post from my office on campus, and I can’t help but get a little sentimental as the semester wraps up. Last night we ran a few errands, but opted to take snake through the neighborhoods near campus and finally drove down Jordan Avenue, past my old sorority house. I wouldn’t trade today for yesterday, but it really is fun to look back. I’ve really enjoyed teaching and spending time with students and I hope to be back into a classroom in the near future!

When: May 5, 2014

What:Shades: Karen Walker ‘Northern Lights'Lips: NARS 'Red Lizard'Anchor Necklace: Elma Blint (similar)Striped Tee: ASOS (similar)Jacket: Anthropologie (similar)White Maternity Jeans: GAPHeals: BCBG (similar)

Where: Campus office (grading!) and errands

This outfit is only slightly inspired by my college days, but there’s definitely a tie in. I’m a Delta Gamma and the anchor is our symbol. There’s a real US navy anchor (permanently on loan) in the front yard of our house on campus and I’ve been rocking my little signature anchor necklace for over five years. 

The other thing that pulled this outfit together was an abundance of clean laundry, including my striped Breton tee. There’s no disguising my bump these days (and I was never really one to hide it in the first place), but my regular tops are starting to retire into bins for next summer. Either they don’t fit my chest, my belly or are too short at this point. I’m kind of freaking out now that my options are getting seriously limited, but I have those flowing hippie dresses and a mass of navy, black and striped knits to keep me going (see more of my maternity style here) . I’m just going to do my best with accessories and remind myself that getting dressed isn’t a contest (although sometimes it totally feels like it when you write a fashion blog. Ugh).

Today I feel pretty great though, so I’m just going to run with it! Have a great week!