some friday loveliness.

words.

street style fashion inspiration

I love to follow street style on fashion websites because I like to see how regular people are interpreting fashion rather than a stylist or fashion editor. The following pictures are of girls and boys who I think got it right and look pretty damn fabulous.

I love the ease of this look. She looks comfortable yet chic and the color combination of the skirt, shirt, and purse are perrfffect! And you know how much I love a good scarf...

I thought I would include a couple of men in this post for the few men who follow my blog. I always like a guy who cares about what he wears but isn't too "done up". This is a great casual, but hip, look. I know there are conflicting opinions about men wearing scarves, but I dig it!

A great example of how easy it is to use accessories to work color into an outfit. And I lOVE her bag!

I often shy away from black and white when I pick out an outfit. I feel like I should be catering a wedding! But this look shows that it can be done. The ruffles on the top make it fun and flirty and the blue shoes ... well, they are just frickin' fabulous.

I have always loved these mod-style dresses. They are so 1960s Twiggy. The short skirt is balanced out by the long sleeves, giving you some coverage. Instead of the knee highs and short boots I would just wear tall black boots.

I love that she belts the cardigan to create some shape. And the purple tights are so cool - I am trying to figure out how to do colored tights and she is great inspiration!

Here's another guy whose look I am liking. I love his sneaks and that plaid shirt with the letter jacket is very stylin'.

Great necklaces! What an easy way to make her otherwise simple shirt pop!

I pretty much love everything about this outfit. The contrast of her flowered skit with all that black is just so brilliant. It really shows off the skirt yet keeps it from being too precious. And then, of course that camel colored scarf and her quilted bag ... love.

Turquoise tights ... need I say more?

Well, there are so many things that I like about this girl's outfit. First of all, I love pencil skirts ... especially those with a high waist. I also think her sweater is incredible - long sweaters are a great fall coat option and I am a sucker for stripes. Finally, that big orange bag adds a nice dose of color.

all photos courtesy of copenhagenstreetstyle

wednesday inspiration.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin

Hello everyone! I have been very negligent lately about posting, much to my dismay (I am my harshest critic, of course), but lately life has evolved in such a way that my mind has been elsewhere ... wandering around thinking my thoughts and reflecting on my life experiences (both past and present) and exploring possible future plans. I went on vacation somewhere beautiful with people I love, saw new things, enjoyed nature, ate good food, read good books. Since I have been back many things in my mind have shifted and I have been consumed with how to move forward with my life. It has been both refreshing and overwhelming. Life is funny that way, isn't it? Well, anyways, I thought I would share a mishmash of the things that have been inspiring me over the last couple of weeks.

Liz Gilbert's journey of sorrow, self-discovery, and joy has resonated with me in such a way that I just can't ignore the message it is sending me. My identification with her is profound. As I read about her journey, I knew that this book was presenting itself to me at a very specific point in my life and that reading it was going to be a turning point for me.

"God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen." --Elizabeth Gilbert

Like most people I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook - the amount of time I spend on it is ridiculous but I absolutely love that I have connected up with so many people from my past. One of those people is my friend Kelly Connor - back in the day we worked together at Goodbye Blue Monday Coffeeshop in lovely Northfield, MN. She and I, along with our friend Dana, had many fun times together ;) - but being in our twenties we all inevitably moved away and began new adventures. Well, through Facebook we are back in touch and I have started following her blog religiously. Many things about her blog inspire me ... she is an incredibly talented artist and photographer. She is uber-fashionable and ulra-creative. But, the thing that I am most touched by is her endless optimism, motivation, and joy for life. She is the definition of living life to the fullest! Please check out her blog at kellyloveswhales.blogspot.com! Thanks Kelly for inspiring me!

I recently discovered this AWESOME online boutique shopruche.com that carries gorgeous, inexpensive clothing and accessories for ladies who love to look lovely but are on a budget! I found an interview with the owner, Mai, on the blog Simply Hue that made me start thinking about possibilities for my future. Here are some snippets:

"My dream was to start my own business because I didn't LOVE my career as a computer programmer. I couldn't see myself sitting in front of a computer for the rest of my life..it just wasn't ME."

"I felt that ladies needed a store that could make them feel feminine but the most important thing is that they don't have to spend a whole lot of money."

"I wanted to give ladies a unique selection of clothing and jewelry that they can't find at their local stores, just so they can stand out in a crowd."

And last, but definitely not least, Paris. The City of Lights and European hub of culture, art, fashion, and cuisine. I have dreamed of moving to Paris and learning to speak french fluently. My years of high school and college french seemed to go to waste when I didn't study abroad. Could Paris be in my future?

happy saturday!

Here are some more pages from my book!

Mainly fashion related stuff - and a few other random things. Hope you are all having a nice weekend. Stay tuned for a follow-up to my fall fashion basics post. My friend Amy, who is a mom to four lovely kiddies, commented that she loved that she could link up to the websites through my blog to find the items I suggested. So, for my next post, I will be scouring the world wide web for MORE options and the links to take you right to them. Plan to do some online shopping ladies!!


p.s. you can click on these images for bigger/close-up views!

inspiration

Happy Wednesday!

Well, I have definitely fallen off the wagon in the last few days. It is more difficult than I thought to blog everyday or even to just get some little tidbit posted. Some days I am uninspired, or tired, or have other things on my mind. So, I guess I will do my best and that's about all I can do right? With that said, I am proud to announce that I am the owner of a $35 scanner that I bought on craigslist! I have been wanting to get one since I started my blog so that I could share more than just stuff I have on my computer. For years I have been cutting things out of magazines and putting them into what I call my "inspiration book" - things I find that I love or are beautiful or are interesting to me. So, I thought I would start sharing some of it on here! I hope you like!