Double plaid and paper doll catch up outfits

I wanted to find a way to post the outfits that I had worn, without re-wearing or putting things on and running around my living room taking shots (mostly because bf like's to ask questions when I'm wearing shoes inside and thinks that I'm going to ruin the floor), so that I could get through this darn 30x30 round before the Texas Style Council Conference this weekend.  So I made a paper-doll Heather and some clothes to match.  Unfortunately, there's no navy colored pencil.

I'm a little sad that I didn't get pictures of these guys, esp since some of them I really loved (third in the top row, first and second in the bottom), but I'm sure I'll be wearing the combinations that I really loved again, and I'm pretty ready to be done with this round of 30x30.

But wait!  I also have a real outfit.  Because I couldn't resist wearing both of my plaid items at the same time.

And they are the best part of my outfit (since the rest of me is in the hot mess category, but don't worry, I was totally wearing my oxfords so I'm 30x30 compliant).  I snapped a quick shot after picking up some chai at the nearby Starbucks (working my way through a Christmas party raffle giftcard), and was surprised to find them handing out this sweet treat (Cake pop!).

Maybe a little too sweet.  I'm finding myself pretty antsy over here to get on with the frightening amount of packing (and closet cleaning) and camera battery charger finding (that I go through every time I take a trip and know I will want to take pictures), since I've mostly been ignoring the rest of my closet (and letting it get into a state of disrepair.  Are you packed and ready to get your fine self to Austin (if you are attending the conference)?  I'm traveling with Erica and hoping that being responsible to someone else means that I won't end up running too late in terms of getting outta the city.  I'm really looking forward to getting to meet everyone including some of my long-time blog crushes like Kendi, Kyla, Jen, and Indiana and people who are becoming new daily-reads (um, too many to list).

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I should look in the bag I used for my last weekend trip for my charger.

Sonny feeling

I love, love the leaf print and fun ruffles on this shirt (even though I don't look totally thrilled about it in the picture below- gotta work on my facial expressions guys).  This outfit actually made me super happy, since I got to throw on my new favorite necklace and mix prints and textures (plus I finally got to wear this dress without a slip underneath (unfortunately the attached slip stops a couple inches before the hem).  And it didn't hurt that the weather was gorgeous.

Outfit: Shirt, Cardigan: Anthropologie, Dress as Skirt: Ruche, Flats: Gap, Necklace: Urban Outfitters

This dress has swiftly become one of my favorites, and I'm jazzed to up it's usability even more by wearing it as a skirt in addition to as a dress.  Do ya'll have any surprise versatile items in your closet?

Faux-lka Dots

Today one of the undergraduates in my lab told me that he thought I always looked very put together (which was nice, since sometimes I run around lab looking like a hot mess, but I'll take your compliments), and then he tacked on something along the lines of, and sometimes it makes my day (which was kinda weird).  Maybe it's a Southern thing?

So here's the thing- I was fully aware of EBEW polka-dot day, but apparently my closet wasn't.  I was about ready to cheat on my 30 for 30 when I realized that I had a loophole- I had never actually picked out 30 items (I gave up after about 28), so I ransacked my closet searching for dots, and found....very little.  I had plenty of repeating patterns, but few dots (and most of my dots weren't evenly spaced), and of the few things I found, there wasn't anything that I felt comfortable teaching in (I'm working with an after school program to work with middle schoolers on one of my favorite things: Science!)  For some reason though, my "sexy going out skirt" translates in my head as appropriate for teaching (I think it's because it's not as short as a lot of my things, and it's a more professional straight line as opposed to full-skirted).   And then I realized that from far away my repeating pattern BR shirt (already part of the 30 28) looked pretty dotty to begin with and got dressed with a sigh of relief.

Outfit: Skirt: Target, Shirt: BR, Shoes: Wanted via Delias, Tights: We Love Colors, Necklace: Ruche, Polka dots: Gift

But I still had to put on some polka dots in addition to my faux-lka dots to dot it up.

I won't lie to you, at least some of these pictures were included purely because I curled my hair and it actually looked I did something to it intentionally (which is very exciting for me).  Happy polka dot day!

Errand girl

I wound up running errands over the weekend and thought I'd use it as an excuse to dress in 30x30 items to get this baby done (I've also got something up my sleeve for posting outfits without throwing the clothes back on and taking lots of pictures in my dining room, but more on that later).  The combination of being nice out, but with a little more chill in the air than there has been meant that I took it as an opportunity to bare-leg it and fit in another wear of my favorite boots.

Outfit: Shirt: Express, Skirt: Gap, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce, Socks: Target, Scarf: I made it!

I loved having some bare legs, but unfortunately, I almost put on an a show for my fellow gas-getters at the Kroger.  I might have to invest in some bike shorts so I can keep wearing lightweight full skirts...any suggestions?

Down by the bay(ou)

I was inspired by Monk to find a bridge of my own (okay, it's actually on my bike route and has been on my mental list for awhile).

Outfit: Dress: Ruche, Shirt: Urban Outfitters, Shoes: Gap, Leggings: Target, Necklace: Gift, Scarf: Modcloth

Unfortunately, mine would not be good for a nap, it's mostly best for getting from one place to another across the bayou.  And for being excited about wearing a belted scarf.  I was going to take a close-up of it, cuz I think it's preeetty, but then I got scared into packing up by hearing someone coming along the path singing (he was on a bike going places, I'm not going to lie, there have been times when I have considered singing while on my bike, but the memory just isn't that good).  And now it might be time for a lazy Sunday catnap (Happy weekend all).

And then I found five dollars

So one of the cats and I have this thing.  And by this thing, I mean that he likes to steal my hair bands so that he can play with them, and then they mysteriously show up a week later in the water bowl, or I have to fight him to get them back so that my hair can be restrained.  I worked hard to remember to not leave them out on the counters, and for a time my hair bands were safe.

By time, I mean about one day- he figured out how to open the drawers that I was keeping them in (except for the one in the kitchen... shh. Don't tell).  So I started to keep them in my zip up cosmetics case.  Aaand after it got filled up for my weekend away I couldn't totally zip it shut, so I shoved the hair band way in there and thought it would be fine for a night.  And then it was missing the next morning and I complained to the bf that Kitten had gotten into the case, which naturally led to the bf telling me that was crazy and wouldn't me leaving it out somewhere make more sense?  Fortunately, I was vindicated when the bf started cracking up and admitted that possibly Kitten had in fact gotten at the case, since he was on the bathroom counter and fishing around inside the case to see what he could find.  Bf also said that while I might have been right about Kitten, it didn't mean that I wasn't still crazy, just for different reasons*.  Which I'm totally fine with- I just like being right.

On the bright side, he hasn't moved on to accessories yet (best accessory of the day, my ID badge that I forgot to take off for photos), so at least these pretty babies are still safe.

Outfit: Dress: Modcloth, Cardigan, Leggings: Target, Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Gilt, Flower: I made it! Necklace: Gift, Badge: Pure Awesome

That's right, I wore red to match the wall.  This flower was actually made as a present for my bestie, but I've been terrible about getting my act together enough to send it to her.  It has all the colors of this dress, so I just couldn't resist matching them up (and I asked for forgiveness).

You can't always see it, but I've worn this necklace frequently since the bf gave it to me at Christmas.  That's right, it's reversible.  How awesome is that? 

Above, successful twirling picture (joy!)  Below, near-flashing moment (Outtake!)

*If my bf edited these posts, he would tell me that I have to end this with, "and then I found $5" since I don't always tell the best stories.

Amidst the mist

In a startling change of events, I actually had a reason to get dressed this weekend out of my jammies.  Woo!  My department had its annual retreat in a nearby coastal city, so I took advantage of that fact to mysteriously sneak off before breakfast one day (and almost missed it, which would have been tragic).  I couldn't resist the combination of rocks, water, and creepy fog that covered the seawalk for most of the time that we were there.  I tried to channel my inner Rebecca, but I don't really have it down yet, and I certainly don't have that put together look she has even though she's frequently in the middle of a wild-looking backdrop (usually with some sort of fabulous heels).  It sure wasn't helped by leaving my hair down to spaz out with all the moisture in the air, although I did have an unexpectedly delightful experience over the weekend of having one of my guy friends look at me and say that he really liked my hair (on a different day).

Outfit: Shirt, Cardigan, Purse: Anthropologie, Skirt: Loft, Shoes: Wanted via Delias, Tights: We Love Colors in Mocha

 

Which is kinda awesome, since 1) he's a dude and 2) I had been feeling kinda insecure about how my hair was looking/feeling.  But by Sunday, my hair was a little out of control, and I found myself cropping it out of photos (and focusing in on my shoes and purse instead).

I think that last post should have been triumphant-ish

Not that I'm not still improving everyday, I've just been struggling to fit in outfit photos.  Turns out, that a week without picture taking was enough of a break to make it difficult for me to get back in the habit of leaving work before dark (really need to work on that waking up early and doing this in the morning thing).  Which is why I snuck off to the parking garage for a couple minutes this evening in between things that needed to be done.  Turns out, once again, having the tripod makes my life easier- much less running between point that could be focused on and the camera was required.  Which is good because these shoes weren't quite the haven of comfort that I remembered from last fall (I think that's more the fault of my feet being spoiled by tights/socks/boots).  Still, it felt good to have some skin exposed as a concession to the changing weather (since I still get cold enough at work to make bare legs solely non-work occasions).

Outfit: Shirt: Express; Button-down: Urban Outfitters; Skirt: Anthropologie; Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Gilt; Necklace, Bracelet: Gifts

And this is me trying to use a wall as an accessory (Sartoriagraphy-style) and just ending up with some goofy shots.

Triumphant return

Happy President's Day- hopefully you're lucky enough to have the day off, or at least surrounded by good people to work with (after being shut in for a week, I'm a little excited to be back).  I really appreciated your good wishes and comments while I was busy being sick!  Yowza, it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm excited to get back to reading blogs and taking photos again (and actually showing my face at work instead of being at my desk at home- yes, I was asked to leave when I came in on Friday, since my coughs were still frightening sounding (and I may have still looked pretty awful, considering people have told me I look much better today, and I don't look that awesome)).  Fortunately, I don't have to wait until after school to post, since I managed to snap a few shots right before the week that is now missing out of my life (too bad I didn't include leggings and pj tops in my 30, because I was totally rocking those all last week). 

Outfit: Dress: Ruche; Skirt under: Loft; Jacket: Banana Republic; Tights: We Love Colors; Boots: Steve Madden Intyce

Unfortunately, while I love all the stairs and the near location of this area, it may not be the best place in the world for outfit photos, since I was approached by someone who gave off a sketchy vibe.  I am admittedly not the best at people, but even so, I don't want you talking to me about posing (and especially not referencing emphasizing a little cleav).  How about ya'll- is one totally awkward experience enough to turn you off of a place, or are you willing to give it a second chance?  (And how do you handle people talking to you?  I can deal with staring, double takes, and awkwardly smiling at people, but not someone who wants to talk to me)

FBFF: I love Color

It's Friday!  And this week's Friend Friday questions are about one of my favorite things- color.  Read on below for my answers and check out Katy's page to learn more about FBFF.


This one is definitely going down as one of the quickest outfit photo sessions in Inner Cupcake history (seriously, even quicker than my lazy indoor shots).  I had about two seconds in between meeting someone to get a ride to a teaching outreach training session and biking over to Chipotle to get dinner (so that I didn't end up getting hangry at people during a training session and a capella practice last night).  This all makes me sound a lot more important than I usually am (when I was in middle school, I thought it was the coolest thing ever that I would have to practically skip lunch in order to work on after-school activities, and that it made me really important), and it also meant that I made sure that there weren't any cops in the cop cars nearby, so I could sneak next to the ramp up to the parking garage next to my school, bust out the tripod, take a couple rounds of shots, and then flee the scene in less than 5 minutes.  And then someone walked by, and it wasn't the end of the world (and no cops were called on me).

Outfit: Shirt: Express; Cardigan: Target; Skirt: Anthropologie, Boots: Steve Madden Intyce; Scarf: Inner Cupcake designs; Tights (2x): We Love Colors; Coat: Old Navy; Glittens (glove/mittens): Mommed

In a happy coincidence with today's topic, I was wearing a ton of color.  Also, I love that my gloves have a ton of color (and match my coat and scarf) in them and that this coat is so bright, so I thought I'd throw in a goofy test shot, since I'm in said outerwear (and I'm not sure what I'm trying to do to the wall there).


1. What color dominates your closet?

I think that I tend to wear a lot of blues (especially navy), grays, and maroon, but I definitely consider myself all color-friendly now.  I used to stay away heavily from white, yellow, orange, pink, and red, but I no longer feel like I can't wear a color- instead I find that there are shades within the color that work best for me (for example, not a big pastel person).

2. If money weren't an issue how would you change the color emphasis in your closet?

I wouldn't- I'm pretty happy with what I see when I look into my closet, if anything, I just need to work on wearing more of it and relying less heavily on certain things, but I've started to purchase things in shades that I've recently become a fan of (whites, creams, nude/blush, gold, and rust) while still getting a lot of great use out of old favorites.

3. What is your mantra about mixing colors?

I'll try anything once! (and maybe even twice for good measure)  I feel pretty confident in mixing colors and patterns- not everything works as well in my head, but more frequently unexpected delight is the result.

4. For you, how do you incorporate color into your outfits?

All over, except jewelry I guess.  I definitely have plenty of brightly colored clothes, accessories, and shoes.  Colors or shades that I'm unsure of how I feel about are most likely to be in shoe format or skirt format.  As far as skirts, this can be advantageous for having something to balance you out instead of having it right next your skin tone (tights ftw!).


5. Which blogger(s) do you think do a good job of incorporating color into their wardrobe?

To repeat everyone else, Suze of Miss Vinyl Ahoy is pretty awesomely fearless and a great color inspiration source.  I have also seen some great color combinations on Kendi of Kendi Everyday and  Sal of Already Pretty.

Check out more FBFF answers on Modly Chic!  Also, this is the first sponsored post of FBFF, which is pretty cool.  Although I am not a part of it, I am  totally wearing We Love Colors tights, because it has still been cold enough (I feel like I betray my Midwest past when I say things like that), and two pairs of their tights make me toasty on the walk/bike in!  Plus they're super soft and don't do weird things the way some other tights do. 

One pair of tights on a two-pair day

To be fair, it totally started out as a one pair of tights day, but then sharply dropped to a two-pair early evening with a side of windiness.  Fortunately, the bf came home early and brought all of our plants inside (Thanks!).  Plus I got to pair a leaf shirt with my tree necklace (totally matching).

Today's been a long day, so I'll cut myself off from rambling (I don't even want to want Glee! which is basically crazy talk), but I will say that I was smart enough to get on two pairs of tights and a sweater skirt so I was cozy all day, even though I biked in this freezing morning.  Our unusually psychotic winter will hopefully be back up to something a little balmier tomorrow, so that we can get an outside run in this weekend (seriously Houston, I did not sign up for this).

And I may even stop complaining about the weather.

 

Outfit: Skirt: Loft; Shirt: Anthropologie; Cardi, Socks: Target; Boots: Steve Madden Intyce; Tights: We Love Colors; Necklace: Modcloth

Fake fall

Initially I was planning to wear this with my gray jacket, in an attempt to pull of the monochrome look Hello, Monkeyface did so well here.  But then I wanted to make sure I didn't flash anyone, so the skirt went on, and I couldn't find any straight gray tights (so I turned to patterned), and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't too warm at work (so I threw this cardigan in the bag at random).  And my shoes aren't all gray either.  Turns out I'm a fail at the whole monochrome business, but I love the way that the black of the cardigan and the skirt frame everything.  Good thing I still haven't gotten around to picking 30 full items- otherwise these two guys wouldn't have wormed there way into that envied section of my closet.

Outfit: Dress: Ruche; Cardigan: Target; Underskirt: Loft; Tights, Shoes: Anthropologie; Circle Scarf: Me!