Red Boots

I know this outfit isn't anything particularly unique or special but I liked it and felt good wearing it. I think that, sometimes, it's the little details that make an outfit. In this case, a pretty collar paired with delicate jewelry and an unexpected pop of color. If someone had told me a year ago that a pair of red boots would be my go-to shoe, I would have called them crazy (and probably made some HIMYM reference to Ted's red cowboy boots). But, I love these little booties. They add just the right amount of fun to an ensemble and they keep me from taking myself too seriously when I'm wearing them. This look is really minimalistic, which is a little outside my usual approach, but it still felt very me. I think that's the great thing about having this blog, it encourages me to make clothing decisions that I would normally shy away from. These experiments don't always turn out great, but I almost always enjoy doing them.

Top: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Kohl's

Booties: Old Navy

Initial Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Watch: Charming Charlie

Easy Peasy

I'm pretty sure these shorts were meant to be pajamas, but they're just too cute to keep inside the walls of my apartment! I love the delicate arrow print and the sweet little scalloped edge, I'm a sucker for small details like that. I've pretty much lived in some variation or other of this outfit all summer long. It's just so easy to throw on in the morning and it makes me feel put together. For me, ease is what summer dressing should be all about. I have a few more weeks of no fuss mornings before summer finishes its final gasp and fall rolls in with sweaters and tights in tow.

Tee: Gap, Thrifted

Shorts: Eloise, Anthropologie

Jacket: Abercrombie & Fitch, Thrifted

Sandals: Sam Edelman, Urban Outfitters

Watch: Fossil

Necklace: Anthropologie

DIY Distressed Corkboard Jewelry Organizer

I told you guys I've been crafting like crazy lately, and this is one of my favorite recent projects. I needed something to keep my necklaces and earrings organized and I just couldn't seem to find anything in stores that suited my needs. So, being the resourceful young woman that I am, I decided to make my own! And, because I love all of you so much, I thought I'd share how I did it.  So, here it goes!

First off, you'll need a corkboard. You can use pretty much any size/shape, but for me, bigger was way better. I found this one at my local Goodwill for $1.99, but if you don't have the patience for thrifting, you can get something similar at pretty much any hardware or craft store. 

You'll also need thumb tacks, paint, paintbrushes, twine (if you want to hang earrings on it), hammer, nails, paper towels, tape measure, and a pencil.

The first step is to paint the frame. I wanted lots of texture, so I did a pretty thin coat and lots of brush strokes.  Let the paint dry for a couple of minutes before continuing.

Now, take a damp paper towel and rub it around the frame. Alternate grazing the paint lightly and pushing down hard to get an antiqued look. For a more distressed finish, you could sandpaper the surface once the paint is dry.

Let the corkboard sit out to dry completely. I left mine overnight, but it was probably ready earlier than that.

Once it's dry, measure the length of your board and decide where you want to hang your necklaces, marking the spots with a pencil.

Now, hammer in the nails according to your pencil markings. Make sure you're hammering the nails to the same height. You could use hooks on the frame instead of nails, but you would probably need a drill to place those.

Take a length of twine and tie the end to secure it. Attach it to the top left corner of the corkboard with one of your tacks.

Arrange the twine across the top of the board in small loops, periodically securing with thumb tacks.

Now, hang your creation on the wall and arrange your jewelry on it!

I had a lot of fun making this and I love the way the finished product looks! I hope you guys enjoy this project as much as I do, feel free to let me know what you think!

Throwback

This outfit felt like such a throwback for me. I used to almost exclusively wear little fit and flare dresses and I was in to all things cutesy (I now refer to this as my "Zooey Deschanel phase"). These days, I try to shy away from those super sweet pieces I used to adore. However, I still love a good A-line skirt. I thought the edgier sandals and fun color pop kept this outfit from crossing into saccharine territory. 

I made a trip to the craft store the other day and I've been DIY-ing up a storm since then. I have a few projects in the works that I'm hoping to share with you guys over the next bit. I'm really excited to start working on more things now that I have the extra space. I've been thinking about starting an etsy shop or something to sell some of my creations. If you guys have any thoughts/advice about that, I'd really appreciate it!

Dress: Target

Sandals: Pacsun

Belt: Thrifted

Necklace: Urban Outfitters

Watch: Fossil

Bracelets: Charming Charlie, DIY

Rings: Urban Outfitters, Charming Charlie

Ready

Summer's still hanging on around here with an iron grip. Temperatures are going to be in the high 90's all week. We're talking too hot for a belt kind of weather here. Which was quite unfortunate for me, considering I decided to wear a belt. I know I've been whining about summer a lot lately, but I'm just so ready for fall. I can't wait to bust out all my boots and sweaters. Dressing for the hot temps is getting to be such a burden every day. All the outfits I can think of involve layers and it's way too warm to even consider leaving the house like that (don't think I haven't tried). I'm longing for those lovely crisp days of light sweaters and hot apple cider. This girl is beyond autumn ready!

Top: Edme & Estylte (Anthropologie), Thrifted
Skirt: Target, Thrifted
Booties: Old Navy
Belt: Thrifted
Watch: Charming Charlie
Necklace: Charming Charlie
Rings: Urban Outfitters, Charming Charlie, Thrifted