the verdict is still out

My dryer is still broken & I felt TERRIBLE when I woke up this morning and this leads to me wearing a glorious dress {I hate ironing, yo}. I've had this gem in the back of my closet waiting to wear it. The problem? I thrifted it & the tags are missing- I have no idea if it's a maternity dress or a muumuu, but I was obsessed with it so I had to make it my own. I figured I would sew it so that it fits a narrow waist, but let's be real okay? So I put it on this morning and wrangled up a black ribbon to wrap around the waist. I'm pleased with it.

Where I spend the majority of my time & energy

The dress I tried on was a great color, but looked weird. What to wear to a beach wedding?!

In other news, part of our science for the end of the year is weather & clouds, so we went out to observe & identify clouds. The observations & wonderings were so amazing. This is my favorite, "Isn't it cool how the sky looks so small like it's swallowing us and we're the only ones but there countries and people thinking the same thing on the other side of the world?" I love my job.

here comes the sun- do do do do do do

Remember when I said that fall doesn't scare me? That was some legit bravado on my part.  I said it under the beautiful wall of 80 degree weather. The truth is, as soon as the temperature hit below 70 {this week}, I can be found wearing wool socks up as high as I can get them and a sweatshirt with the hood covering my ears. This doesn't include the blanket wrapped around my lap and the one draped over my shoulders. This year might be different though- I'm armed with some iron supplements and after 20+ years of living in New England, I think I may have started to develop a thicker skin.

Either way, I have all of these great tights to keep me slightly warmer AND help keep my wardrobe alive. I can't take wearing long pants & sweaters all winter.

In case you're interested, here are some of the looks & items I'm loving for the fall and plan to make a ridiculously MAJOR part of my wardrobe.

Blazers & Cardigans, brown boots, mixed patterns, scarves scarves scarves scarves scarves, long socks/leg warmers that peek out, pops of color, and pencil skirts- Oh my!

and, of course, glorious red hair!

What are your favorites for fall?

what a girl wants

This gorge {like that? I just decided to start using it... but I don't think I will anymore} starfish cuff. Anthropologie has a version, Macy's sells a version. One way or another, I will get my bony hands on this.

Jeffrey Campbell 'Mention' Flat

Midday airway asymmetrical dress

Chiffon Full Length Skirt

Rounds and Rounds Top

This H&M fabulousness

Maybe it's the surge of fall catalogs that I've been getting in the mail (Helloooooo, J.Crew! Ruche lookbook? Yes, please!) or maybe it's the shopping freeze that I've been on but something is certainly in the air.

the basics & the reality

As an avid reader of fashion blogs, I like to save pictures of outfits that I love for inspiration. I do this with magazines, catalogs, heck I'd use the TV Guide if I got it and someone was wearing something cute. I've noticed that over the years my styles & tastes have changed slightly, but there is something that ties all of the inspiration I have clipped together. The general core of most of the outfits is the same. This got me thinking and I said to myself,
     "Self..." {Because that's what I call myself most all of the time}
     "Self... you need to get your closet together. Figure out where the gaps are, fill them in and get to the rocking wardrobe you pretend you have when you clip these pictures."

You know what? That's just what I'm going to do. So even though it's been done before {I personally like Kendi's working closet series} I'm going to do it my own way. I found some websites & people who said additional things {a suit, for example} but those didn't work for me so I didn't add them. If I show up to work in a suit, I'm going to end up covered in chalk, fingerpaint, and pencil shavings.

Step 1-
Uncover the basics & the reality. What is said to be essential to every woman's wardrobe? I want to work on my own list of things I'd like to add {chevron patterned top, breton striped top, paper bag skirt} but first I want to see how I measure up:

Clothing

√ Black blazer or jacket

√ Black dress

Classic trench

√ White button down shirt

√ Tailored pants 

Black turtleneck

√ Well-fitting jeans

√ Any occasion top

√ Day dress

cardigan

√ Simple skirt 

√ Camisole

Accessories

√ Opaque tights

√ Leather purse

√ Ballet flats

√ Bangle bracelet

√ Gold hoop earrings

√ Pearl necklace

√ Cocktail ring

Diamond stud earrings

√ Pearl stud earrings

√ Neutral-colored pump

Not too shabby. It looks like I need to get:

~ a classic trench {remember when I didn't buy that one I found at Goodwill?}
~ a black turtleneck {how is it possible I don't have one already?!}
~ a cardigan {in a neutral color. I have pink & red, but nothing in black, gray, or white}

~ diamond stud earrings {although, I think the various stone ones I have will suffice for now. I'm really more of a pearl girl.}

How are you doing on basics? Did anyone discover that they have 8 black turtlenecks and a soft gray cardigan or two that they want to throw my way? Until next time friends...