I'm Back!!

{Top: GAP, gift}{Skirt: H&M, $16}{Tights: Target, $10}{Belt: Sister's}{Flats: Target, $19} {Scarf: Francesca's, $14}{Sweater: gift}{Sunglasses: Mom's}

Sorry for the week and a half break in blogging... But I'm back now and although finals are quickly approaching, I'm going to try really hard to stay up to date from now on out. My goal is to have the 30 for 30 finished in the next 2.5 weeks before heading home. It seems like a little stretch, but I have some saved photos on my camera, so I think I can do it ;)

Anyways, this post is from the University of Tennessee game last Saturday. My dad has some pretty awesome seats on the 50 yard line so he took me and Greg to the game. My dad is an alum (aka crazy UT fan), Greg's a UT student so not wearing the traditional orange and white just wasn't an option. The only problem... I only own one orange shirt, and it's not in my 30 items. So, on Black Friday (the only day in my 30 that shopping was ok) I got this super soft scarf for half off at an awesome little boutique in Knoxville called Francesca's. Khaki Skirt, white button down, comfy flats, an extra sweater just in case, and three pairs of tights later I was ready for the (cold) game.

Also... to all of you who have left the sweet and encouraging comments, THANK YOU so much! It was a bit of a tough week, and seeing your comments was so great!

About the Lack of Blogging...

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the long break in blogging- I promise I'm not slacking off on my challenge (I'm wearing all 30 for 30 items right now!) or on outfit pictures... But I am home for a while on Thanksgiving break and I forgot my camera cord in my room at school. If I can find a way to post pictures before going back on Sunday, I definitely will. If not, prepare for lots of posts on Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving weekend :)

1/3 Done!

{Jeans: TJ Maxx}{Top: The Limited}{Blazer: Thrifted}{Belt/Necklace? Francesca's}

{Necklace: Puerto Rican Market}{Flats: Payless}

So this is the 2nd set of outfit pictures I took today. Where are the ones from my first outfit? They're in my trash folder, because the wind blew my messy braid everywhere, my glasses were fogged, and it was just all together bad. I may or may not repeat that outfit... until then here is today's (second) outfit. Nothing spectacular. Just a plain top and jeans dressed up by a blazer and some accessories. Ah, the life of a college student...

Outfit Roundup: 1-5

Eventually I will learn the ins and outs of photoshop. Until then I will have to deal with odd colors, little sizes, and missing feet. Oh well, at least I'm trying :) I did think it was nice to see all of the first five outfits side by side though. So heres a round-up of the pieces I used.

Tops

1. Chambray Button-up

2. Blue and White Gingham Printed Button-up

3. Gray and White Striped

4. Printed Blouse

Layering Pieces

5. Black Cardigan

6. J.Crew Cardigan

7. Cream Cardigan

Pants

8. Skinny Jeans

9. Navy Slacks

Skirts

10. Khaki

11. Layered Purple

Dress

12. Layered Black Mini

Shoes

13. Brown Oxfords

14. Nude Flats

15. Black Flats

Wow, exactly half of my items. Hmm...

Nine.

{Top: GAP Outlet}{Skirt: Target}{Heels: Target}{Cardigan:Old Navy}

{Tights: WeLoveColors.com}{Necklace: Lucky}

To any of you that blog about outfits: Do you ever have a day where you just LOVE what you wear- only to take blog pictures and just not be satisfied? Well, today was one of those days. All day I felt great in what I was wearing; I loved the mix of the black and cream with the red maroon colored tights, the mix of shapes with the tight pencil skirt and flowy layered top, it all just felt like it "worked."

But later on when I was getting blog pictures, nothing really made the pictures show what I was feeling. Seriously, what I saw on the camera was not what I felt like I was seeing in the mirror. Idk, maybe I'm just overly confident until I'm faced with film. Ever have one of those days?

Day to Night- Without Changing

{Dress: Urban Outfitters, $15}{Blazer: Thrifted, $4}{Necklace: Urban Outfitters, $8}

{Tights: WeLoveColors.com, $10}{Flats: Payless, $15}

Stereotypical "cheerleader pose"

So this was actually last Friday. I planned on putting the outfit back on to get individual pictures... but that didn't really work out. So here are group pictures; that works right?

Anyways, I wore this all day Friday to classes and work, and around 5:30 pm I was working on a project when I was reminded that I had a banquet to be at in twenty minutes. Thank goodness I chose to dress up for class anyways!

As for the banquet, it was nice to celebrate the end of the football season. All of the players, cheerleaders, and some family members and supporters were there, so it was alot of fun.

When Cheating Fails

{Skirt: Banana Republic Outlet, $25}{Sweater: Old Navy, $5}{Belt: NY& Co., with pants} {Tights: T.J. Maxx}{Flats: Payless, $15}{Bag: Charlotte Russe, $13}{Necklace: gift}

This weekend I planned on doing lots of homework. I also planned on getting ahead with outfit posts and studying for my upcoming exams... In reality, right as I was beginning all of this I got a knock on my door- from my boyfriend who lives nine hours away. Of course that pretty much got rid of all my schoolwork aspirations resulting in me staying up until 3 am last night to finish everything for today. Because of that, I planned on cheating. Yes, I PLANNED to cheat. How ironic is that? But this morning, when I was putting on my cheater outfit, I felt too guilty. And even with less than 4 hours of sleep, I pulled on my houndstooth pencil skirt and purple tights. Yay for not cheating!

On a side note: I'm a day behind on posting- but it's not because I took time off, it's just because I ran out of time to take pictures this weekend.

Indian Summer

{Top: Gift}{Skirt: Abercrombie &Fitch}{Belt: Gap Outlet}{Oxfords: Urban Outfitters}

I know... a (too) short floral skirt in November? But guys, it was almost 70º and sunny out today! I was even hot just standing in the sun for pictures. Today was a pretty normal day, just work and class.

About the outfit... I had planned on wearing this outfit with maroon tights. Actually, I've only worn this skirt once without tights, it's just too short for my personal taste. Today I did start out with tights though! It just got too warm to leave them on. Overall I was okay with this outfit, I just felt like it was missing something. This is when I hate being limited to the 30 items!

Farewell Tights

{Dress: Fashion Bug}{Tights: Vintage, my mom}{Cardigan: Old Navy}{Flats: Target}

{Necklace: Puerto Rican Store}

Seeing as though I would be spending most of the day at the coffee shop, I decided I wanted something comfortable and relaxed. I picked this solid black layered dress and paired it with my mom's vintage tights and a beige cardigan. I felt very artsy for some reason (I got compliments from 2 art majors today though, so I consider my hypothesis proven, lol.)

Anyways, to get to work I either drive the very short distance, or like today, I walk. On the walk I encounter a long outdoor staircase. The steps vary in size and unfortunately for me I didn't pay any attention to that. I tripped down the concrete stairs- and I don't mean a little whoops, I mean a full out tumble face forward- laptop in one hand, drink in the other. I was so focused on saving what was in my hands, the laptop- not the drink, that I caught myself solely on my knees. Luckily, I saved my laptop (and my drink.) Unluckily, I skinned both my knees 5 year old style- and ruined one of my absolute favorite pairs of tights. So please ignore the random holes in the pictures. Also, please let me know if you happen to run across a pair of maroon polka dot tights.

Where its from.

{Pants: Old Navy, $4}{Top: Walmart, $1}{Pink Belt: J.Crew, $14}{Oxfords: Urban Outfitters}

{Bracelets: Forever 21}

Although my outfits aren't always super put together and trendy I do try to look nicer than the average college student. This leads people to often ask me where I purchased something I'm wearing. If it's from Urban Outfitters or J.Crew or some cool vintage find I usually excitedly tell them from where, how much, and usually way too many more details they probably never wanted to know... But if I get something from somewhere not as "cool" I usually just mutter the details.

But surprisingly, I know a lot of people that are the same way. We're so proud of our "cool stuff" but not as excited to show off our cheaper things.

Personally, this all started in the 9th grade for me. One day one of the popular girls told me she loved my skirt and asked where I got it. I was new, and floored that she liked my outfit, so I replied that I had gotten it from walmart. She wrinkled her face, and as she turned to walk away replied, "ew, nevermind." For the rest of highschool if someone asked where I had gotten a Walmart item I always replied, "Thanks! But I'm not sure where it's from; it was a gift."

I know this isn't the case for everyone, but I still think it is sad that anyone at all would be ashamed at where they buy their clothes. Of course not all of us can afford the "popular" expensive brands, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be proud of our great deals!

I got my shirt for $1 at Walmart, and I got my pants for $4 at Old Navy, and I'm proud of it!

Classic Color Combo

{Top: The Limited}{Cardigan: J.Crew}{Skirt: Charlotte Russe}{Tights: WeLoveColors.com}

{Necklace: Forever 21}{Flats: Payless}

Sometimes when I have a hard time putting an outfit together I rely on the classic neutral + pop of color outfit combo. Yeah, it's probably not always the most trendy mix, but it works almost every time. Since I have plenty of neutrals plus a few interesting pops of color in my 30 pieces this outfit was somewhat of a gimme. Let's see if I can still find these easy combos at outfit #20!

two.

{Cardigan: GAP outlet, $10}{Shirt: Old Navy, forever ago...}{Jeans: TJ Maxx, $20}

{Flats: Target, $20}{Bag: Charlotte Russe, $15}

I like this outfit, and I'm not totally sure why. I think it's most likely because of the fact that while it was put together, not one person gave me the "why are you wearing that" look. Yeah, I know fashion is supposed to be about expressing your personal style and while I agree with that completely... I admit that sometimes I get a little self conscious about my outfits when everyone else is wearing sweats and I'm in something completely different and getting 'that' look for it. I still wear what I like, it just takes some of the fun out of it. And with that in mind, although I love my little school, I cannot wait to get out into bigger cities for day to day life!

one.

{Top: J.Crew, $30}{Skirt: H&M, $16}{Tights: WeLoveColors.com, $10}{Necklace: Target, $8}

{Oxfords: Urban Outfitters}{Belt: Charlotte Russe, $8}

I know I've said this constantly for the past few weeks, but I love fall! Today as I was out I saw this gorgeous yellow tree by the hay bales i couldn't help but get some pictures. About the outfit though, I saw this chambray shirt on a blog the other day- and since I was already planning on going to the J.Crew outlet I couldn't help myself... But I do think it will be a great basic for fall and then hopefully spring too! When I added this khaki skirt (I would like it better if the pockets weren't there... I might just have to change that) maroon tights and oxfords, it just felt really right. I wish all outfits came together this easy...

confession: I actually wrote this post about a week ago- the day before the 30 for 30 challenge came out. But I knew instantly that I wanted all of these pieces in my 30 items, so I saved it... But from now on I vow complete honesty and timeliness :)