Foodie Pen Pals

One of my favorite things in college is getting mail.  So, when I heard about the Foodie Pen Pals program, I knew I'd love it.  Basically, each month you get matched up with someone to who sends you a package of goodies, and someone to send goodies to.  

This month I got matched up with Jessica of Opened Earth.  She sent me an awesome box of chocolate foods: coffee, organic cookies, bunny grahms, and an espresso chocolate bar- Delicious!

Thanks Jessica, I loved them all :)

 If you're interested in joining, head on over and fill out a form!

Interested in seeing what I sent?  Cassie did a sweet little write up!

While I'm working on the camera situation

You should check out my travel blog. 
I posted about this a while back, but as an update, I am going to be spending the fall semester in Malaga, Spain.  I leave in exactly  33 days- not that I'm counting down or anything ;) 

While I defnitely DO want to blog while I am in Spain, the blog will have more of a travel/adventurous (i hope!) tone and probably a little bit less emphasis on style.  Don't get me wrong, I will constantly be taking pictures of fashion, marketing, shopping, etc... But chances are I'll be having a few more jeans/toms/breezy tops days. 

I'm not sure how or even if my style will change.  As of now I'm planning on packing lots of layering items as well as casual skirts and dresses.  But if I had to guess, I would say that I'll be spending more time out and about and less time picking out outfits. 

I'll be updating this blog super regular until I leave, and after that as much as I can. 

But if you're interested, head over to my other blog and check out what I'm up to. 

Adios!

I'll be joining in the blogging silence today, but I'll be back tomorrow with some fun posts. In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the recent natural disaster.

Warning: Picture Heavy Post...

Jeans: T. J. Maxx, $20

Tank: Abercrombie & Fitch, $10

Button up: Banana Republic, gift

Boots: T. J. Maxx, $25

Necklace: Puerto Rican Store, $25 for set

So I live kind of in the country. Like, everyone on my street/area has lots of land, but downtown knoxville is only about 15-20 minutes away. I like it that way, it really is the best of both worlds. Anyways, Man Vs. Food from the travel channel came to knoxville, and one of the places they went was this amazing little bar-b-que place called Sweet P's. And where is it located? Less than 5 minutes from my house. Literally, the closest business of any sorts. It's in this little building right by a local marina, and they make the BEST bar-b-que burritos ever. Especially when they have mac and cheese on the side (or inside...) And the banana pudding- to die for.

Another happy thing about today- having someone to actually take my pictures. They turn out so much better (and easier... and faster...) this way. Yay for a great start to the (last) weekend!

Also, 1/3 of the way done! How's everyone else doing??

Wearing White.

**I didn't do so well on outfit posts this time. haha. No detail shots or anything, but I place full blame on my camera dying- yes, again. And the last picture- I hardly even touched the colors, so I have no idea how it came out like this when I took it in broad daylight. However, I really like it :)

What

Dress: Urban Outfitters, $20

Cardigan: Charlotte Russe, $18

Sandals: Gap, $20

Earrings: Target, pack of 3 for $8

Where

Classes and work

Why

I know that most people say its bad to wear white after labor day. But sometimes I just have those days where I could care less about what other people say. Today was one of those days. It was warm and beautiful and I love my new dress, so I just paired it with this long and flowy navy cardigan to make it not quite so summery. Does anyone else love to wear things, even though they technically are a no-no?

My 30 for 30 Items

4 Dresses

Blue Rose Dress: Target, gift

Pink Pencil Dress: Target, $17

Airplanes and Roses Dress: Shopmamie.com, $35

One Shoulder Dress: Forever 21, $23

11 Tops

1 Cardigan

Brown Tank: Old Navy, $4

Ruffle Tank: Forever 21, $20

Printed Tank: Forever 21, $14

Green Ruffle Tank: Old Navy, $5

White Sheer Blouse: Old Navy, $9

Hot Pink Top: Banana Republic, $25

White T: Forever 21, $7

Black ruffle sleeved top: Target, $6

Embellished T-shirt: J.Crew, gift

Floral Shortsleeved top: Rue 21, $3

Striped Top: Forever 21, $12

Cardigan: Old Navy, $8

6 Skirts

Pencil Skirt: Target, gift

Purple Print skirt. G.A.P, $25

Navy A-line: Target, $26

Magenta Jersey Skirt: J. Crew Outlet, $11

Turquoise Jersey Skirt: Target, $3

Floral Fabric- will be a handmade skirt in the very near future: $3

4 Bottoms

White Shorts: Target, $10

Denim Shorts: GAP outlet, $10

White Jeans: Old Navy, $5

Trouser Jeans: American eagle, gift

4 Pairs of Shoes

Black Wedges: Target, $15

Black Sandals: Forever 21, $18

Leapord Heels: Target, $25

Flats: Old Navy, $6

Finally, here are my 30 items. I'm just a little bit nervous- I think I may have picked too many tops and not enough other things. Another thing I noticed was that most of the other bloggers included a few more pairs of shoes than I did.... but personally, as much as I love shoes I would rather have some extra actual clothing options. As excited as I am about this challenge, I think it may end up being just a little bit harder than I expected. I'm crossing my fingers though :)

Every Vacation Must Come to an End...

What

Dress: Target, gift

Wedges: Target, $15

Trench: Old Navy, $9

Necklace: Steve and Barry's, $6

Where

Back to work...

Why

It's been SO incredibly hot and humid here lately, so today's solution was a dress and ponytail. I know I say this about lots of things, but I seriously do love this dress. Since I normally want to wear it way too often, I figured it would be a good fit for the 3o for 30.... That's how I picked most of my items actually (pictures coming tomorrow!), just by choosing the items I would love to wear over and over again.... plus a few randoms to make everything fit together. If you're doing the 30 for 30, how's it coming?

30 for 30

Kendi Everyday is one of my favorite blogs. From the cute outfits to the hilarious posts, I seriously just love reading it. Back in April, Kendi challenged herself to something called "30 for 30" in which she had to choose thirty items which included tops, skirts, pants, dresses, AND shoes, and wear only those thirty items (accessories not included) for thirty days. She's doing it again this month, and she's asking other fashion lovers to join...

I'm in...

For someone who loves variety and hates to re-wear the same pieces quickly, this will definitely be a challenge. Ironically though, I'm REALLY excited because this challenge will force me to think outside the box and come up with totally new ways to wear items I already love.

Since I'm on vacation for the rest of the week, I won't be able to post my items and start the remix until I get home, rest assured I'm already planning out some fun stuff though :)

If you want to join in too, head over to KendiEveryday to get the rest of the details!

Hearts & Stripes

What

Skirt: Target, $3

Top: Forever 21, $11

Sandals: Forever 21, $19

Necklace: Gift

Belt: Target, $17

Why

I really ended up loving this look. I started out with the turquoise and black and white, but then added the red necklace and lipstick for another pop of color. Another element I tried to incorporate in the this outfit is the tough and girly mixture- as you can see, the studded black belt and gladiator sandals add a little toughness to the girly heart necklace and bright turquoise skirt.

On another note, I'm terribly sorry for the lack of blogging this week- it really has just been one of "those" weeks :( I'm working on getting caught up this weekend though!

Happy Friday!

Fun Find Friday- My New Site!

A really good friend of mine named Sadie is a communication major with a knack for web design. As you can tell from my overly simplistic blog, this is obviously not something I'm very good at. So, Sadie has completely redesigned my blog. She's worked on it for quite awhile now and I LOVE the new site. Check it out and be sure to let me know what you think about it too!

Visit me at theclosetfiles.com!

The New Ace of Cakes

I LOVE fashion, and this blog is definitely focused towards that. However, there are lots of other things in life I find intriguing, and I'd really like to share those things with y'all too! I'll try to limit non-fashion related posts to 1 or 2 a week, but be sure to let me know your thoughts. What else would you like to see here?

Anyways, last night my mom and I started cake decorating classes at Hobby Lobby. I was all excited about the price ($20 a person included four 2 hour classes) until I found out all of the things I would need to buy... But regardless of my new investment, we had lots of fun. Sure, all we learned in our first class was how to make "stars," but that inspired me to go home and take matters into my own hands. I looked ahead in our beginner's book and taught myself a few things (Just don't tell the teacher, haha.) Sure, I'm not amazing yet, but I thought it was pretty dang good for a first timer!

This is the cake I made after class!

To make my cake I used Pillsbury Devil's food cake mix (yes, I cheated), ready made buttercream icing, and wilton's chocolate decorator icing. I torted the cakes (split each of the layers in half) and filled each layer with buttercream frosting and fresh strawberries. I did a basketweave around the edge and a few vines, leaves, roses, and chocolate chip "buds" on top.

I was really worried the strawberries would soak through and make the cake soggy, but after a night of refrigeration the cake wasn't soggy at all, just perfectly moist. The whole cake tasted like chocolate covered strawberries- SO good.

I'll have to let you know how the classes progress, maybe I'll cheat on fashion with cake and become the next ace of cakes... or maybe not :)

Fun Find Friday

Today is National Donut Day! Find out if your Krispy Kreme is participating in the free donut giveaway here.

If you know me, you know that one of my favorite pastimes is to pop out and scare people. I've never really liked Ozzy Osborn, but I do appreciate a good prank.

Speaking of funny videos, the Huggies commercial for denim diapers is hilarious! It makes me laugh everytime.

Been to see Sex and the City 2? I went opening day, and although it wasn't the best movie in the world, I'm definitely a fan. Here Patricia Field (Costume designer for SATC) answers questions about the cast's wardrobe.

I love InStyle.com, and I definitely love their slideshow on how to dress up your T-shirts!

Sadly, that's all I have for today, but I have an outfit post scheduled for tomorrow!

Fun Find Friday

Happy Friday everyone! Here are some fun little links, some fashion related, but not all :)

• I don't normally enjoy computer/video games, but I LOVE Robot Unicorn. It's a fun little game that's surprisingly addicting.
• Coach has recently teamed up with bloggers to design 4 limited edition bags. Although I probably won't be shelling out my hard-earned cash for them (prices range from $398-$498), it's awesome to see each of the bloggers' styles show through in their individual bags. From SHEfinds, here are some pictures.
• I love wearing cute flats to work because they're a great way not to sacrifice style for comfort. Glamour has a great feature on 29 Flats for Under $50. Now that's my kind of shopping!
• Another awesome article from Glamour- Summer Dress Under $50.
• From ABC news, here's a video of an extra special valedictorian speech- mid speech she pops to question to her longtime boyfriend, who happens to be the salutatorian. SO sweet :)
• Ever read FML? It's my homepage, and it makes me laugh every time... but here's a new one that just might be replacing my daily FML- LGMH (LoveGivesMeHope). I've had a little trouble with their website, so here is their tumblr

Outfit posts coming this weekend :) Have a wonderful Friday!

Going There Series

Now that it's summertime I'm so excited to do more than just outfit posts. One of the projects I'll be working on is the "Going There" series. It will consist of outfit ideas and advice on what you should wear and bring to any type of event that might occur during the summer. I have so many fun event ideas to start working on, but I need your help! Let me know what you'll be doing this summer and the type of events/places you would like me to work on.

Have a wonderful summer!

TheClosetFiles- featured on WeLoveColors.com!

Eek! As you can probably tell, I love tights by WeLoveColors.com. They fit well throughout the day, resist ripping and tearing, and of course, are available in tons of colors. So why am I writing about this? I just found out that WeLoveColors featured me on their trends blog! You can see it here. The post itself really isn't a big deal, it's pretty much the same post from Trendy Tuesday last week. But the fact that someone saw my blog and thought it was good enough to feature on the trends website was pretty cool, to say the least ;) I'm still new to the whole blogging thing, but I'm definitely excited to continue learning and building my site!