Fire in the Night [SIA Post]

July 17, 2017 Office Appropriate Outfits - Summer · Style Imitating Art

In a case of serendipity, just before Jen sent this week’s Style Imitating Art challenge, Jason and I went to the July edition of the Full Moon Fire Jam. The week of the full moon, a group in Chicago puts on a show full of drummers and fire dancers and it’s completely free! And since this week’s Style Imitating Art choice is light in the dark, I realized the pictures Jason took at this event were perfect.

And we can’t forget my outfit. I realized after the fact that the black dress works as a black background and my tan kimono is the light spot in my dark outfit.

similar dress | kimono from Belle on the Roe | similar shoes

This is the second time I’ve been to the Full Moon Jam. There is something both relaxing and exhilarating about it. If you’re in Chicago when one of these is going on I highly recommend it. Bring some food for a picnic, bring a lawn chair or blanket, and get there early so you get a good seat.

2 Replies		black dress, lularoe, oatmeal cardigan, sandals

California Dreaming

July 12, 2017 Casual Clothes · Office Appropriate Outfits - Summer

It’s been a month since my vacation to Sonoma and Healdsburg but I still have one more outfit that I wanted to share with you! I actually wore this outfit to the GrowARTS art show the day after I got back from California since it’s both classy and comfy (and was at the top of my suitcase).

In California, though, I wore it to taste wine at Quivira. My parents belong to their wine club which meant we got treated like royalty! Wine being served to us on the patio? A pour of any wine they had? Charcuterie and olives from their very own farm? Yes, please and thank you. Plus, this view:

We’d packed our own lunch and basically spent the entire day at the same winery. After we drank and ate our fill we wandered around the gardens on site.

If you’re in wine country, I HIGHLY recommend Quivira. Even if you aren’t a member of the wine club they’ve got wonderful wine and beautiful but unpretentious grounds full of flowers, vegetables and fruit plants.

Dress – Moonfish | Jewelry – Stella & Dot | Sandals – Shopbop | Hat – Chicago street fest

P.S. If you spend $50 at Stella & Dot using this link before the 15th you can get 50% off any of these beauties! (by the way, I’m only $100 away from hitting my max party hostess rewards so if you’ve been drooling over any of the jewelry I’ve been featuring, now’s the time to order!)

3 Replies		dress, moonfish, navy, sandals

A Light in the Dark [SIA Post]

July 10, 2017 Style Imitating Art

Monday’s here, everyone! I know that some of us dread Monday mornings for a variety of reasons, but this Monday also means a new Style Imitating Art challenge which may just be a light in the Monday darkness.

Appropriately, this pick from Jen could be referred to as “Light in the Dark.” It’s from an Italian photographer and, based on the photo tags, it’s burning steel wool. I’ve heard of other people taking photos like these and I think it’s something one of my photographer friends has been wanting to try.

“Light in the dark” photograph by By-Jo is in the public domain

I don’t really own anything orange (unless you count my coral dress) but Jen pointed out that:

Even though the photo art is pretty simple, there are a few different ways you could go with the inspiration. Color-wise, there’s black and gold, or extend that to yellow or other metallics like rose gold. You could go with a graphic print, or even polka dots. (That would be fun!) You could also go with metallic jewelry or hoops or multiple necklaces or bangles. You could take a photo at dusk — to rage against the dying of the light. 😉 Lots of options!

I’m looking forward to finding a way to interpret this photograph….and it’s given me an idea for my next SIA pick, too!

Are you inspired to create an outfit? If so, just snap a photo and send it to Jen by next Monday evening, July 17th, so she can include it in the round-up on Tuesday.

1 Reply		style challenge

The Flower Seller Outfit [SIA Post]

July 3, 2017 Casual Clothes · Casual Friday

Is there a blogger out there whose attention to detail you admire? For me, that’s Jen at Librarian for Life and Style. Not only does she kill it with the accessories and details for the weekly Style Imitating Art challenges, but she also looks for the perfect backdrop. Well, for this week’s challenge I KNEW I had the perfect backdrop. A flower seller right in our neighborhood!

Actually, I saw an even more perfect stall at our local farmer’s market the weekend before but when I went this week they weren’t there. Sad face! So, I made do with the one I found.

Interestingly, this was my second time going to our local farmer’s market and while many of the vendors were the same, they were in different spots! I suppose that’s a good marketing strategy since you have to wander the whole place to find the one you want. And you never know what else you’ll see along the way.

Like seeing other dogs. So many other dogs. Chewie really wanted to sniff all of them.

Also, I know I just wore this top on the blog but, let’s be honest, I wear it like twice a week now. It’s just so comfy! And the colors of the top and jeans, along with my silver sandals, just matched so perfectly with the art for this week.

Oh, these are my newest Principle Denim jeans and I love them just as much as my other pair. I cannot wait for the next Moonfish pop-up!! I’m not kidding when I say that my entire outfit (minus the shoes) is from Moonfish. Top, jeans, bralette and necklace. I’m definitely a convert.