Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Blue

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What I wore:
Vest: Thrifted
Dress: Urban Outfitters (2009)
Circular "The Sun" necklace c/o Sisters of the Moon
Triangle necklace: gift
Purple necklace & bracelet: Swapped
Gold bracelet c/o Lulu's
I wore this to: Resurrect an old favorite

I bought this dress way back in 2009, while working in admissions, and at the time it felt extravagant and special. And you know what? It still feels special. What originally caught my eye still does: the flippy hem, embroidered neckline, and draped silhouette. My style has changed significantly since then, but there are those few pieces that have withstood the test of time, this being one of them.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Overgrown

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What I wore:
Purple bracelet: swapped
Bra: American Apparel cross-back bra

I wore this to: try something new

Well, one trip down, two more to go. I can honestly say that, with each trip I take to the Pacific Northwest, I fall a little more in love. This was my fourth time visiting Seattle (always for work, funnily enough), and I just want to turn around and go right back. I'll be sharing a few photos from my trip to Timber Fest next week, but this week I'm keeping it short and simple because life is crazy. My brother leaves this week for Oregon, and I can't wait to have him here in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night, he'll be the first of my family to visit us. Then, I'm off to Texas, and then on to San Francisco after that. And between now and then I have a presentation to make! Phew.

About this outfit though, I've been skeptical about the floral jeans trend, but this pair from Guess surprised me. The material is nice and stretchy and they keep their shape, which for me can be a denim deal breaker, I hate when jeans get knees. I love the pairing of purple and dark grey, perfect with a drapy top and minimal accessories.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Life Lately

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Just a few of my favorite recent photos from Instagram (OrchidGrey), mostly of the cat. Big surprise. Tomorrow marks the start of a rather travel-heavy few weeks, and right on schedule I'm sick as a dog. This always, always seems to happen. I wish it didn't freak me out so much, but ever since I traveled so frequently for admissions, I've felt a lot of anxiety towards traveling. I love the destinations, sure, but the act of getting there is enough to send me into a tail spin. You'd think it would be the other way around, that I'd be used to it by now, a pro. But nope, not at all.

So, I'm off to Seattle tomorrow, or more specifically, to Carnation, WA for the Timber! Music Festival. I haven't been to Washington since...2010, maybe? Maybe 2009. It's honestly one of my favorite states, and I love Seattle. I used to travel there frequently for admissions. Next week, I'm off to another favorite city: Austin, TX for the Texas Style Council Conference, and then I'm headed straight to San Francisco for work! Oof, I feel like August has already come and gone. Not to sound too cliche, but this summer, it's flying by. We're still living among boxes and other detritus from our move, and have just accepted the fact that we're not going to be settled in for a while. It's just been too hot to get unpacked. We have shelves to build and art to hang, but that's all going to have to wait. It will happen, eventually.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Shape-up

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What I wore:
Jacket: Estate sale (similar)
Dress c/o Ruche
Boots c/o ShoeMint
Necklace c/o InfinEight

I wore this too: a movie date

I found this jacket at the world's worst estate sale a few weeks ago, and bought it for a couple of bucks with the intent of chopping off the sleeves. As it goes with most items (usually denim) that I initially intend to hack up in some way, I ended up really liking it as-is. Nearly perfect in it's roughed-up state, I took a dremel tool to it to rough it up a bit more around the pockets and hem. Oversize and and a little gnarly, it's the perfect balance to a sweet and slightly girly dress.

Chris and I went on a movie date this weekend (our first trip to the movies since October, yeesh) to see The Heat, which I thought was surprisingly hilarious (not that I didn't expect it to be funny, just not as funny as it actually was). Melissa McCarthy, I just love how she swears.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lemon-aided

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What I wore:
Jumper: Nasty Gal ($48 sale)
Top: ModCloth (last year)
Shoes: Avalon Exc./Bally ($30)
Necklace: Spotted Moth ($25 sale)
Bracelet c/o Lulu's
Bag: Thrifted/Vintage coach (old)

I wore this to: keep cool

Despite the fact that the weather has been nearly unbearably hot the past few days, my brain is in fall mode. A weird side effect of working in retail/e-commerce: I'm nearly always thinking a season ahead. Already I'm seeing holiday dresses pass over my desk, so it's near impossible to not be thinking about my autumn wardrobe right around now. Which is where this little jumper comes in. I've been iffy about the whole overall/jumper trend, mostly because I really hadn't seen anything that really caught my eye, but I love the pared-down simplicity of this denim jumper from Nasty Gal. Easy enough to throw on with a breezy top now, and even cuter with tights and loafers or ankle boots this fall. Are there any trends that you're excited about styling for fall?

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

ShoeMint Giveaway (+ an outfit post) (Closed)

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In this outfit: Top c/o Lulus -- Skirt: Vintage/Avalon ($12) -- Necklace: vintage/yard sale ($3)-- Gold bracelet c/o Lulu's -- Yellow bracelet c/o Musana -- Bra: American Apparel ($30)-- Petticoat: Vintage/yard sale ($2) -- Booties c/o ShoeMint

I'm so excited to bring you today's giveaway from ShoeMint! As a self-proclaimed shoe-obsessee, ShoeMint is basically a dream come true: a collaborative effort between Rachel Bilson and stylist Nicole Chavez, ShoeMint is a free, members-only website (with free shipping and returns!) offering personalized style recommendations, trend reports, and of course, amazing shoes all manufactured by Steve Madden, with most ringing in under $80.

ShoeMint kindly sent me this pair to style up (and style them I have, this was the fourth time I've worn them!), and one lucky winner from this giveaway will win a pair of ShoeMint shoes of their choice!

To enter: Visit ShoeMint, sign up (it's completely free with no obligation to buy), and leave a comment here telling me what your favorite pair of shoes is. Giveaway is open to US and Canada only. A winner will be chosen on July 16th.

See something you love? ShoeMint is kindly offering Orchid Grey readers 20% off their first purchase, just click through to redeem!

Monday, July 8, 2013

A Few Small Goals for July

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Happy July! I skipped setting goals for June, knowing full well that the entire month would be dominated by moving. And I was right. I barely remember June. But July is here and we're all moved out and all moved in (if you count piles of random crap 'moved in'), and I can't wait to enjoy the rest of summer. My general goal for July is just to make the most of summer in Pittsburgh, which is lovely, also, I really need to hop back on the "acting like a grown-up" bandwagon and do things that are responsible (i.e. pretty boring), as in:

Have a clothing sale
This has been on the back burner for some time now. I've been meaning to host a clothing sale on Instagram or Ebay or some other platform for awhile and just haven't had the extra time. But I'd like to do this, it'd be nice to make a little extra room in my closet and lighten the load a little, mentally and materially. As a bit of a clothes hoarder, I'm pretty proud of how much stuff I've been able to part with.

Get a haircut
Confession: I'm incredibly lazy- and impatient- when it comes to my hair. Which is why I keep it long. But, even long hair needs to be maintained and my hair has once again reached the point of weed-like wildness that I just can't deal with. It is time. Also, I wanna look good for Texas!

Sleep
These goals are super exciting, right?

Go hiking!
We haven't been hiking since last fall, and I'm craving it. Now that our weekends are freed up, I'd love to take an Ohiopyle trip.
 
Read more
I've been taking full advantage of the city pools this year, and I'm looking for some pool-side reading! Any recommendations?
 
Build my desk and create an inspiring space
My old desk consisted of an Ikea table-top stacked on top of two filing cabinets. Functional, but not fun. We have all the plans to build a simple desk for me and a workspace for Chris, but at the moment that particular room of our place is packed to the brim with the extraneous stuff in our lives. I can't wait to have a nice, spacious office/studio!
 
Well, that's it. Nothing groundbreaking, but it helps to list them out. What do you hope to accomplish in July?

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Un-Manic

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What I wore:
Top: Thrifted ($1)
Skirt: Thrifted ($6-ish)
Booties: Zara ($70- similar)
Necklace: Vintage/ Avalon ($12)
Bracelets: Thrifted & gifts

I wore this to: work!

Told you I was into these shoes. Like, really into them. It's been hot- and rainy- lately, making crop tops and breezy fabrics not so much a choice as a necessity. The proportions of this outfit were a little out of my comfort zone, but as you most likely know by now, I enjoy stepping out of that zone quite frequently. As much as possible really. I find that as I get older, I care less and less about my outfits fitting into other people's ideas of what makes sense, and more and more about wearing what excites me and just having fun with the clothes in my closet.

If you're on the hunt for a thrifted crop top of your own, I suggest looking in the children's, intimates, and sportwear sections of the thrift store, as these tiny tops are often mistook for children's tops, bras, and sport tops (as this one was).

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Crisp and Clean

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What I wore:
Jacket: ModCloth (find it here)
Dress: c/o Lulu's
Boots: Zara ($70)

I wore this to: feel a little more awake on a Monday

A jacket so nice, I bought it in white! Ha. I've been dog-tired lately, recovering from a few too many early mornings and late nights, and a move that pretty much destroyed us. The solution? Well, I don't really have one, other than making more of an attempt to get to bed early (seemingly impossible), but keeping things simple and bold outfit-wise certainly helps. Crisp colors and simple silhouettes.

As you'll soon find out by way of photographic evidence, I've been living in these sandal-bootie-things from Zara for the past week and a half. I've never been much of a Zara shopper, in fact everything I've previously bought from the retailer has been subsequently returned (for various reasons), but these, shoes? I'm really happy with these shoes.

ps- Lulu's is offering 15% off sitewide! Use code: happyJULY4th