An Education

{Top: coming soon @Bloom | Pants: Anthropologie | Shoes: Similar | Bag: Hobo}
I'm not sure what it is about these blue pants but apparently my mind goes to black and white stripes. I'm starting to believe that stripes are the great equalizer of my closet -- I can pretty much find anything to go with my stripes. Moral of this story: if you don't have a striped shirt, I'm going to have to shake you until you get one. You see, there are a few lessons you can learn from my blog :
1. Stripes are your friend. 2. Get a blazer, or else. 3. Socks were made for buns. 
I'm sure there are some other lessons buried in these 700+ posts, but I can't remember most of them. So good luck with that. 
***PS -- thank you to everyone who came out last night and shared my wine at Bloom's event! Fun was had :)

A Few of My Favorite Things

{Top: Modcloth | Jeans: Gap | Sunnies: Target | Shoes: Gap}
You know me with trends -- it's either all or nothing. So why not mix polka dots with a peplum top? It just makes sense. I'm killing two trends with one top. Boom. 
I have to be honest -- these shoes are not in the least bit practical. So cute, right? But they come untied with about every 5th step. Good for standing still, not good for walking around for things called work or life. Will I still wear them? Oh yeah. Mainly because it gives me something to whine about. 
Also, please note that wearing one pant leg higher than the other is not a new trend. Apparently one of my legs really is longer than the other. She knows who she is.
________PS: Winner of last week's Questhaven Giveaway is Kelsey Balch! Email me to claim your giveaway!

TGTDF

{Dress: c/o Ruche (2011) | Cardigan: Gap | Bag: Brahmin}
This is one of those dresses that holds you in, if you know what I mean. And if you don't, I mean that my insides feel a bit squished when I zip it up, when I eat, and when I sit down. Other than that though, it's the perfect dress. I was a little bit afraid to put it on this morning since I haven't worn it since last year. You see, I was really into being fit last year at this time, now I'm just really hoping things fit. Same thing right? And yes, the title is an acronym for Thank God This Dress Fits. It's not catchy, but it is relieving. 
Speaking of not exercising and enjoying too much drink, this Thursday at Bloom we are having our first in-store event! And if you knew me as a child and how much I would stress over planning sleep-overs, you will know this is big for me. So if you want to come shop and drink some booze, come on down from 5 to 8. Three solid hours where I will share my wine with others. (<-----we worded this a little bit nicer on our Facebook page.)

Sunny with a Chance of Jeans

{Jeans: Similar from Target | Wedges: Similar | Bag: c/o Brahmin}
I tend to ask myself "self, what do you want to wear today?" in the mornings and usually the answer is something with colored jeans. This is when I tell myself 'no, you need to look a bit more professional', so I choose something else a bit more constricting and not quite what I wanted to wear. But my heart -- my heart is sitting in my closet with my colored jeans on the shelf. So today I gave in and I'm wearing my sunny yellow jeans on a Monday. 
But for professional sake, I am calling them pants.

Old Favorites

{Jeans: Similar | Shoes: Seychelles | Tote: Jess LC | Glasses: c/o Bonlook}
You guys, I got my hair did. That's right I got bangs. Now I wanted them a bit shorter but it turns out I have more of a three head instead of a forehead. So side bangs it is. I figure changing it up a little will help me grow back my mermaid hair of last summer. You always want what you used to have right? 
I reached for one of my favorite shirts this morning. That's my rule -- when all else fails, go for your favorite. It never fails me. 
Same top remixed a few other ways:
1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7
(See? I told you it was my favorite.) 

Win $75 to Questhaven Fashions!

This week you have a chance to win a $75 gift certificate from Questhaven Fashions, good towards anything in the store! All you have to do is:

1. Visit Questhaven Fashions and sign up for their newsletter.

2. Leave a comment below and tell me your favorite item from the shop!

* Bonus entries for following Questhaven Fashions on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Just let me know in the comments. :)

Giveaway open until Monday, June 26th at 10 pm. Open to US residents only. If you can't wait until next week, Questhaven Fashions is offering 20% off to readers -- just use code "KENDI" at checkout.

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Winner of last week's Beso.com giveaway is ...

Congrats, Jessica ! Email me!

50 Ways to Wear a Dress

{Dress: Gap (different color) or similar | Flats: Target | Bracelet: c/o Oia Jules}
The worst and best part of a style blog is the constant question of "what else can I do with this piece of clothing?" It's best because it makes you think, it forces you to be creative which then leads to outfits you had never thought of before. It's worst because well for me anyways I feel like I constantly have to wear something different. Somedays I can't just wear a maxi dress -- instead I must make it awesome! amazing! best idea ever!
But today I just wanted to wear a maxi dress and try my 90's-licious vest with it. (As I'm headed to the Peach Pit for lunch. And if you don't get that reference I can't even look at it.) Is this awesome, amazing, the best idea ever? Probably not, but I like it. And that's good enough for me. 
Forgive me -- the title of this post was misleading at best. I only have about three other ways to wear a maxi dress, so with the vest that makes about 4. Only missing 46 other ways. I'll get on that soon. 
Other ways to wear a maxi: With a scarf, with a blazer and all alone.  

Weekend Wear

{Cardigan: Gap | Jeans: Gap | Shoes: Dolce Vita | Bracelet: c/o Oia Jules | Bag: Jess LC}
I'm a little bit sad that you can't see how obnoxiously lime this cardigan is in the photos. I'll blame it on the iPhone photos, but just know this cardigan would blind you if you looked directly at it. 
An easy date night outfit from this weekend for your Monday morning. Cruel isn't it? 

An Ode to Heels (while wearing flats)

{Blazer: Similar | Tank: Similar | Shorts: Similar | Shoes: Similar}

Well friends, I've reached that point in one's life that they wear heels so much it causes a pinched nerve in one's leg to happen. Apparently this doesn't happen to a lot of people, only over-acheivers who wear heels all the damn time. The Great Wearer of Heels now has to switch from flats to heels every other day. Becoming an adult is so.much.fun.
I don't know if I can actually commit to flats full-time though. Me and heels have been together since high school. (Yeah, you read that right.) 10 years together, so many almost twisted ankles, so many awkward almost falls, ah -- so many memories. 

Seeing Stripes

{Skirt: Similar |  Purse: Brahmin - Elisa | Shoes: Seychelles | Bracelet: Oia Jules}
This skirt. 
It is so pretty and so full of life. But it is dang hard to find a shirt to go with it. I don't even know why, I love a good colored bottom. (Quote me on that.) You are lucky I found this one or you would have been seeing a lot of skin today. 
Minutes after this photo I tripped and scuffed my shoe. But the good news? I found a shirt to wear today. Always good news, right? 

Win a $150 Gift Card from Beso.com!

This week you have the chance to win a $150 gift card to Beso.com which means you can basically shop from any store you'd like! If you aren't familiar with beso.com, it's basically an awesome website that scours the web to collect the best of shopping out there. When you sign up for an account, you can create collections (like mine below) to keep all of your favorites in one place, just when you need them.

 

Collections created on Beso

View Entire Collection >>

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is: 

1. Head on over to Beso.com and create an account. 

2. Build your shopping collection* (I made one for summertime!). 

3. Leave a comment below and share the link to your collection! 

Giveaway open to US residents only. Participants must be 18 and older. Contest ends 6/19/2012 at 10 pm. One entry per person, please. 

*TIP: To create a collection, search around the site and click the “+” symbol next to each product and select “Add to New Collection”. Continue to shop, shop, shop! Check out mine for inspiration!

______________________

Winner of last week's Five Bamboo giveaway is...

Congrats, Taylor! Email me :)

Old Dress, New Shoes

{Shoes: Gap | Necklace: c/o Linkel | Lips: Sephora "It Girl"}
Today I'm feeling boring, so prepared to possibly be bored. I wasn't feeling it this morning in getting dressed, so I reached for this dress I thrifted and hemmed last summer. But then I reached for my new red shoes, which might make everything better. It at least makes my outfit better, so I'll take it. Also what is it with me and red shoes? Should I seek help on this? Is three pair too many? Don't answer that.
Sometimes I feel bad about repeating an outfit on the blog, but I guess since I told you I'm feeling boring today it's legit. What a way to start a blog post, right? I promise tomorrow there will be fireworks. Or at least my red shoes again. 

Hello, Vacation

A few snapshots from our min-vacation near Austin this past week. We headed down last Tuesday to celebrate B's birthday. The best part of getting older? Birthday get-aways that involve pools and a swim-up bar. Yes, ma'am. 

Of course, I couldn't stop taking outfit photos. What is wrong with me? Oh that's right, I'm a style blogger. That's what's wrong with me. 

So here is my vacation-style, in all it's glory. 

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For those of you who asked here is where everything is from! From the top:

Cardigan - Gap | Tank - Target | Brown Shorts - Target | Sandals - Blowfish

Tank - Target | Maxi - Target | Sandals- Tkees | Bag - Target

Cardigan - Gap | Shorts - last year Gap (Similar) | Sandals - Tkees | Hat - Target

Dress - last year Ruche (Similar) | Necklace - JewelMint