Great Day

Necklace* // Bag // similar Sweater (under $25) // Shoes (on sale) // similar Jeans

You guys, I had the BEST Saturday. Let me give you the rundown:

• I had a great brunch (hence the oversized sweater…I planned ahead);
• I got a new phone (an iPhone 5c, upgraded from an iPhone 4 that still had iOS5 so I was pretty much living in the dark ages);
• A package of stuff I ordered from J. Crew Factory came in the mail, and it all looks great;
• And finally, I got to debut this stunner of a necklace from Stella & Dot!

I recently met up with Rachael, a new Stella & Dot stylist, and when she showed me this necklace, my reaction was: “It looks like it could be in a museum!” Being the museum nerd that I am, I obviously had to have it.

This is my first Stella & Dot piece, and it’s pretty fabulous. In case you don’t know, you can order from Stella & Dot online, but you can also host trunk shows for yourself and your friends in your own home (and when you do that you get some perks!). If you live in the central Indiana area and want to host a trunk show, be sure to give Rachael a shout at osu0105@gmail.com or (248) 953-4647.

But if you’re more of a shop online in your pajamas type (like me), I’ll give you a head start and show you a few more of my favorite Stella & Dot pieces. (P.S. That striped scarf has little elephants on it! Don’t even try to tell me you already have a nautical elephant scarf.)

1. Sanibel Reversible Pendant // 2. Avalon Tote // 3. Frida Necklace // 4. Palm Springs Scarf // 5. Renegade Cluster Bracelet // 6. Ivie Drops // 7. Tia Crossbody

*Necklace provided courtesy of Stella & Dot in exchange for this post, but I chose all content and the opinions are my own.

New Accessorizons

A few years ago, I was all about earrings and rings. These days I’m more of a necklace and bracelet girl (although I did get a couple really freaking nice rings in 2008 and 2011). But I picked up these ginormous earrings on a whim recently, and I got these fun rings as a gift. So for this first day of the Black Out challenge, I decided to start with some really basic non-black neutrals, and then let my bold new accessories do the talking. I even made the strategic decision to go with a neutral lip and minimal eye makeup because seriously…these earrings are huge.

similar Earrings // similar Scarf // similar Sweater (almost identical) // Jeans // similar Boots (on sale) // similar Round Ring* //  Nails “Oui”  // Lips “Please Me”

*Rings provided courtesy of House of Gemmes.

Stay Warm, Stay Cool

I used to think wearing long sleeves and shorts was ridiculous. Long sleeves are for cold weather. Shorts are for warm weather. So the only logical reason for wearing them together is if you have some malfunction in your car where it blows cold air from the top vents and hot air from the bottom. Right? No, silly. I finally get it. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my top half tends to get chillier than my bottom half. So shorts keep my legs from sweating when it’s warm out (we hit 80 last week! yay!) but long sleeves keep me from freezing once I get inside an air-conditioned building.

Shorts + long sleeves = springtime comfort. It’s like a whole new world has opened up for me. And speaking of new, are you digging these new Cole Haan shades? Because I totally am. I went looking for classic black sunglasses, so naturally this is what I bought. You can’t tell that well from the photos, but the lenses are tinted blue! I think they look like perfect poolside shades (where I probably will not wear long sleeves but you never know).

Blazer (on sale) // similar Shorts (on sale) // other similar Shorts // similar Shoes // Sunglasses (on sale)

Bracelets for Small Wrists

Much like most of the rest of me, my wrists are very petite. They’re great for looking dainty while I’m fanning myself on my fainting couch, but they can make bracelet-wearing a challenge. Bangles slide up, they slide down, they get stuck on my hand…OK that’s pretty much it, but it’s still annoying.

I used to buy bracelets without trying them on, which was a big mistake because I ended up not wearing them once I realized how distractingly large they were. I remember Googling “bracelets for small wrists” at one point and didn’t find anything helpful. Now that I’ve found a few favorite bracelets that work for my small wrists, I thought I’d share my findings and fill that little void on the interwebs.

For reference, my wrists are just slightly over 6″ around.

Madewell

These are the only three bracelets I have from Madewell so far, but I’ve tried on others and they fit very consistently. It’s hard to find cuffs that fit skinny wrists, and I like how Madewell cuffs are simple but unique.

Marc by Marc Jacobs (rubber)

This bracelet is actually more average sized, but since it’s rubber – not metal – it’s light and doesn’t fall down too far even when my arm is dropped. Marc makes a couple different styles and colors of this bracelet (changing each season), and they’re available at various upscale department stores.

Nordstrom Juniors’

I’ve also had good luck with funky, trendy bracelets in the Juniors’ department at Nordstrom. The three in this picture are all stretchy and fit nice and snug!

J. Crew Pavé Link Bracelet (with link removed)

After seeing the popular J. Crew pavé link bracelet a zillion times, I decided I simply had to have my own even though it was way too big. You can’t remove the big pavé links from this bracelet, but there is a little link that connects the last big link to the fastener. My father-in-law removed that piece easily with needle nose pliers and sidecuts.

Voila!

A Note on Watches

I love the look of oversized or men’s style watches, but on me the face alone is wider than my wrist. I realized that a “normal” sized watch has an oversized look when it’s on a small wrist, and a traditional adjustable leather strap makes it easy to adjust. Anne Klein makes some cute and affordable options, like the one I’m wearing here.

Forever 21

The quality can be inconsistent, but Forever 21 has a ton of stretchy bracelet options that almost always fit well on me. Since they’re cheap, I don’t worry too much about how long they’ll last. It’s just fun to mix and match different styles.

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Nail colors: Essie Tart Deco and Penny Talk

New Additions (updated Jan. 2014)…

Since writing this post back in March 2013, I’ve added more bracelets to my collection! I want to keep this post relevant by adding new options for all of you skinny-armed girls, so here are even more petite bracelets to shop! Let me know if you know of other stores/brands that are good for small wrists! If you are a retailer and you want your products featured on this post, please contact me.

ASOS Charm Bracelet

This little bow bracelet is so damn dainty there’s no wrist it could possibly overwhelm! There are quite a few links, so it’s adjustable for a range of sizes. I removed all but the last 3 or so links so there isn’t a long chain hanging down. (This bracelet was provided to me courtesy of ASOS.)

Dainty Wrist Jewelry

Dainty Wrist Jewelry is an online shop that specializes in – you guessed it – bracelets and watches for people with very small wrists. Each product’s description will let you know what size wrist it is made for. (This watch was provided to me courtesy of Dainty Wrist Jewelry.)

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At Last

A few days ago, one of my fellow WordPress style bloggers posted an outfit with statement earrings. I made the mistake of telling her how I’d had a pair of crazy earrings in my jewelry box for over a year and had never worn them. Then she demanded I wear them immediately and post them on the blog. I haven’t met her in person, but she looks like she might work out so I don’t want to make her mad. So here you go, Biscuits (or do you prefer Ms. Navy?).

I went to a comedy show on Friday night, and I put on these leggings, tank, and cardigan, and I started to pick out accessories when I realized I had just created a great backdrop for THE earrings! Sometimes I’m even surprised by my genius styling ability. Since the earrings make enough of a statement for 12 outfits, I decided to forego all other accessories. My earrings were very excited to see the outside world. They say it’s nice to meet you.

My Week in Over-Processed Photos

Happy weekend, everyone! I’ve gotten quite a few new followers this week, so if you’re one of them, welcome. Today’s post is a feature I started a couple weeks ago. It’s where I take a few photos from my real life over the past week, and then I add cool effects so that my life seems more interesting. It’s quite the ego boost; I recommend it.

My very chocolatey breakfast (it’s OK because it’s in muffin form), Trying out my new lipstick (a bright red shade of Revlon Just Bitten Kissable), COCO BEING ADORABLE AS USUAL, Saying goodbye to my office on the last day of my summer internship

Counting down the minutes til the weekend Friday at work, A delicious pineapple and green pepper pizza that I MADE (recipe below), Teaching my friends’ kid Gabby how to pose for outfit photos, A gift from the UPS man: the boots I ordered!

For anyone who wants the pizza recipe, read on…

First of all, don’t expect recipes to be a regular thing. I am pretty much the opposite of a house wife and cooking is not at all my specialty. But when I do discover that I’m pretty good at making something (and it’s easy), then I get pretty excited and want to share.

I’m especially proud of this pizza because I started with a recipe from a cookbook and then added additional ingredients on my own, which I’m pretty sure makes me a culinary genius. So here’s what you need:

• Pre-made pizza crust (I’ve tried several brands and they all worked fine)
• Pizza or pasta sauce
• Small can of crushed pineapple (drain out the juice as best you can)
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Fresh green pepper, sliced whatever size you like
• Olive oil
• Oregano
• Parmesan cheese (like the kind in the green shaker)

I listed the ingredients in the order that you use them. Take your crust, spread the sauce, layer bits of pineapple, then mozzarella, then green pepper. Drizzle a couple spoonfuls of olive oil, then shake  on the oregano.

Just follow the directions on the pizza crust package for the temperature and time, although mine usually takes longer than they say. I set a timer for 10 minutes and then keep checking until the cheese starts to get slightly browned.

After it’s cooled a little, sprinkle parmesan on top. Delicious! The leftovers aren’t bad either.

I’m Baaaack (with a new Accessory)

Greetings, dear readers! I come to you bearing good news. Although my face is still a bit oddly shaped and I have not yet advanced to the chewing stage, I am feeling a little better. I didn’t go to work, but I did venture out to lunch with friends. And by lunch I mean frozen yogurt, but the details aren’t important.

In other good news, this bubble necklace that I ordered on eBay a couple weeks ago finally came in the mail, so I decided to feature it in my “lunch” outfit. I don’t usually do the monochromatic thing, but for some reason I was inspired to try it. The lime green looked so nice against my navy top, that I just went all out and wore a navy skirt and navy shoes, too. Why the hell not?

I like how this little ensemble turned out, but of course I’m already thinking of other ways to style this necklace. Here’s a peek into my outfit-schemeing mind:

Against a Contrasting Red Dress…

Fancying up Chambray…

Adding Even More Color to a Bright Print…

Which option is your favorite? I need help deciding how to wear it next…

Bubble Necklace available in various colors at J. Crew or other less legit sources

Shoes are Sperry Top-Sider Authentic Original 2-Eye Boat Shoes

Working for the Weekend

On this particular day (casual Friday – woo hoo!) I was sporting what my sister would call “big country hair.” In the South, this would actually be kind of flat, but by my standards, it’s big country hair. I thought about wearing my daisy dukes and confederate flag crop top, but then I remembered that I don’t own those things. Plus, I don’t think they would be work appropriate. Just a hunch.

I do believe this ensemble is work appropriate, however. And this would totally be one of those outfits they show in a magazine as something that could go from day to evening (“just take a clutch!”), but as I am an old lady who stays home and watches Pretty Little Liars on Netflix on Friday nights, it was just a particularly sassy work outfit.

Top: Kensie / Jeans: Seven / Necklace: LOFT / Bracelet: What to Wear Boutique / Shoes: Nine West

Solo Adventures

I had nothing else to do yesterday, so I went on a little excursion all by my lonesome. Just me and nature. But nature can’t take my outfit photos, so in case anyone’s looking for a fashion fix today, I can show you my accessories (which really make the outfit – I was just wearing jeans and a black v-neck tee).

If you live in Indiana and you haven’t been here, you are missing out. I’ve walked around the IMA grounds many times before, but this time I wandered into some new places. It never gets old!

No matter what my sister says, I like my boat shoes. Sometimes I want a little preppy in my life (at first I typed “preppy in my steppy” but that just seemed corny…and yet here I am typing it again because I really want to say it). And on rare occasions, I am actually on a boat. Now I can fit in.

This is my house. (Did you fall for that? Maybe just for a second?)

Beautiful, isn’t it? You should go.