Red pants (you said what??!!)

My friend Keala and I went out for lunch yesterday, and since it was so nice out this is what I wore. It's so far from my usual colorless self but I liked it. (Please excuse the lack of makeup and hair, it was a lazy sunday and I'm still a little sick, I know excuses, excuses.)

striped top: H&M

scarf: H&M

red jeans: Forever 21

yellow flats: Tommy Hilfiger via Marshalls

crossbody bag: Forever 21

I've also been into scarves lately. I have so many but only knew two ways to wear them, looped and the way I'm wearing it here. But scarves no longer have to be boring thanks to this video from Nordstrom that I found on http://gummyvision.blogpost.com/. Go have a look for yourself it's full of fashion, makeup, and skincare for all you junkies out there.

Breaking up is hard to do

I finally did it, I dumped my closet (on the floor of course). It was the next step in making my closet work for me. So with the help of my VERY critical friend (thank you keala@ http://www.gummyvision.blogspot.com) I purged and it felt great.Now I have a more manageable collection of clothing, maybe not as large as before (I'll miss u circus t) but the peices collecting dust at the back of our closets certainly aren't making us fashionistas so it's time to let go.

Why I did it: My options were overwhelming. It wasn't due to sheer size of my closet (I actually didn't have that much this time around) or that I wanted to get rid of things so I can get new things (which is my usual reasoning). Some of the clothes I owned weren't working for me anymore (some never did). Ever have one of those days where you feel you have nothing to wear, thats everyday for me. Having things that didn't work made my mornings go a little like this. Stare at my closet. Pick out a shirt, pick out some pants. Decide it doesn't work well together after putting it on. Change shirt, change pants, change shirt back to the first shirt, repeat, get frustrated and stay in whatever outfit I had on when becoming frustrated because I couldn't continue this cycle, walk out the door looking less than great. To some of you this may sound familiar, rediculous to others (and to those of you that know me, you have probably witnessed this madness on more than one occasion and thought I was crazy.) When it came down to it did I really have nothing to wear? No, I had too much to wear and had no idea what was in my closet.

Here is what made it back in my closet. I am now left with a stack (20) of basic tops and a stack (20) of layering peices (sweaters, blazers, button ups, and random peices) and 6 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 3 dresses (of which 2 are special occasion dresses) and 1 very casual skirt. To some of you this may sound like a lot to others it may sound bare minimum, but compared to what I had in the past (purged 3 times in the last year) this is not a lot. And for the first time im excited and not in a great hurry to get more (or at least not going to replace all I got rid of ha ha). And here's the best part. This morning when it was time to get ready I could actually see everything in my closet in one glance, thought about combinations for a minute or so, pulled out what I needed , put it on, gave myself the once over, and walked out the door. Amazing. (for those of u who know me and are shaking their head in disbelief right now, true story this really did happen and it was eye opening.) I wish every morning was like this. So is purging the answer to all of our closet disasters? Not quite, there's more to this story. But it's a great start. I'll leave you with my outfit of the day from yesterday as I forgot to take a pic today. Thanks for following me on my fashion journey.

blouse: H&M

cardigan: target

belt: H&M

jeans: The Limited

shoes: Vera Wang Lavender (patent nude flats)

watch: Fossil (Rose Gold)

Spring Teaser

So the weather today inspired me to write this blog post. I'm back (unofficially).

It was 70 degrees today, and for Chicago that's unseasonably warm, even for March.

Every year that first day of really nice weather after the long hard winter (even this year with the winter being pretty mild SO FAR) I am inspired to wear something spring appropriate, which inspires me to go out shopping. Shopping for springs clothes is exactly like shopping for cute leather boots, if you don't get them when they first arrive, WAY before you actually need them here in Chicago, then you'll be stuck with what's left, reminiscing about what could've been, I know dramatic like always. So spring shopping was on my mind but no $$= no spring shopping.

So I went with plan B, going through fashion blogs for inspiration. And while on Pinterest the heavens opened up. I stumbled upon a blog, one that I sat on for hours, amazed at all the outfit combinations. The blog: www.kendieveryday.com

This blog told me I must purge my closet and make it work for me. Working on it soon. Shop my closet... Sounds like fun. The main subject in all the posts was to see how many combinations you can make with the things you already own, mainly by layering. That sounded pretty easy and cost effective. Ok, let's slow it down for a moment.

Layering: Putting on a tank top or shirt under another tank top or shirt for practical reasons like sheerness. Putting on two or three shirts or sweater in order to stay warm in the cold weather. (this is my definition if you haven't figured that out by now.)

In an attempt to purge, a sad attempt at that, I found a couple of things that I'd worn a couple of times (this means never) and went on to make outfits out of them.

So what do all of these have in common? The pink/peach tank top that I bought for layering and then never used. I liked it then, and I like it even more now that I have some idea what to do with it.

So by the time I actually went to leave the house it had cooled down and this is what I ended up wearing.

But this is what I really wanted to wear (since I've never worn this either)

Spring needs to hurry up already because even the boots that I love so much (which I also purchased when it was still hot out, weird) are getting old.

Thanks for reading, see you soon (hopefully) !!