Some Random Things...

So this was my Super Bowl weekend outfit!  So sorry for the late posting - I am all jumbled with my posts and what not because of how life has intervened into my little style blog.  And I am sorry little Small Time Style, life sometimes just takes precedent over you!

Anyway - One of my new blogging friends and favorites, hurricanekerrie of Books and Looks tagged me with a Stylish Blogger Award, which is like the sweetest thing ever!! THANK You hurricanekerrie!! You are too super sweet, and if you haven't visited her blog, take a moment to do so because this girl rocks color like no one I've seen!! She is awesome!

 

So as part of this award, I now have to list 7 things that you would never know about me otherwise. So if you care to keep reading, here they are!

1 - I am a bonafide Web 2.0 nerd.  I started blogging in 2007, which is now 4 years ago!! Craziness!  If you ever care to read some random ramblings on all sorts of things like reality TV, the Middle East, book reviews, or dance, check out The Road Goes Ever On.

2 - In Nov 2009, which was arguably one of the busiest months of my life, EVER,  I went to NYC specifically to see the world-wide one-on-one b-boy battle extraordinaire, the Red Bull BC One.  I can name all the elements that make up a good b-boy set and what the judges are looking for - top rock, footwork, power moves, and freezes - in case you were wondering.

3 - My taste in music runs the gamut from Mozart to Talib Kweli and everything in between.  You can just as likely find me at a performance of the NSO as you can at a Kayne West hip-hop concert.  You will however NEVER find me at Taylor Swift concert.

4 - I am Young Life leader in my small town and have been a leader for 5 years.  It is THE single best thing that I am blessed to do with my life and will be the only eternal and lasting thing I will do with it.

5 - I LOVE baseball and every year, for the past 8, 9 years I have worked with a summer collegiate baseball team - first with the Fauquier Gators and then the Herndon Braves.  Baseball is what launched my professional career - and I'm not even kidding.

6 - I have won a March Madness pool twice in my life!! Once in my office and once when I was in college - you have no idea how much I relish those wins.

7 - My great, great, great (or just great great - I can never remember whether its two or three) aunt was the Good Witch of the North in the Wizard of Oz! 

Thanks again hurricanekerrie!  

Jeans - Gap

Sweater, T-Shirt - J.Crew

Belt - TJMaxx

Necklace - Kiamchi7

Headband - MuchLoveIlly

Shoes - Target?

Blazin' It Up

Well - First of all, today bloggers across the blog-o-sphere donned their blazers to blaze a trail of awesomeness across the interwebs.  You should click on the link below (by clicking the image) to see the unique stylings of some awesome ladies and how they rocked their blazer today.

A blazer is one of my favorite wardrobe items.  I think it often adds an extra touch to an outfit, providing that one layering piece that can take an outfit from good to great!  I've really gotten into belting my blazers, because nothing adds more to an outfit than a great belt!  Belts and Blazers - I think that should be a book title!



In COMPLETELY different news and ramblings, some major, major happenings have been going on in my life the past week.  My small world that I have lived in for over six years is going to change - for the better, and I am super, super excited.  I got offered and accepted a new position over the weekend at a firm in my little town!! (which I randomly found out that the lovely Megan Nielsen actually lives in - SUPER small world!!)  But anyway - NEW JOB!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!  I can't quite comprehend it - I have been with my company for a long, long time through the best of boom times to the worst recession in our economy since the Great Depression, in the industry that arguably got hit the hardest and has actually been in a depression while everyone else has been in a recession.  I have had so much opportunity and done a lot with the company, but it is time to take a leap of faith, a risk, and a step out of my comfort zone.  A CHANGE!  For this small town girl, it is a big, big deal.

BUT because of this new development, I have really been wrestling as to whether or not to try to continue on in this 30 for 30 challenge.  I honestly still haven't narrowed down my items yet - STILL.  But, to be fair to myself, I've been a little bit distracted with other life developments.  I really don't want to quit, which is evidenced by the fact that I am still trying to work within the items that I did actually select.  I hate quitting or giving up things.  But because of the impending changes, I don't know if it is the right time to be limiting my closet.

SO - I am going to continue with this challenge until I leave my current job - but I just wanted to throw it out there that I am only going to be halfheartedly in this.  Hopefully when spring or summer rolls around, I'll be in a better position to jump in again.  So please don't hate me!  All 3 of you who actually read up to this point! :)

Blazer/Jacket, T-shirt, Dotted Blouse, Belt - J.Crew lovefest
Jeans - Michael Kors via TJMaxx
Boots - DSW
Sunnies - Old Navy
Earrings, Necklace - Jess LC

Matters of the Heart

Today is Go Red for Women day, and heart health and raising awareness for it is a cause (forgive this pun) near to my heart.  A lot of my relatives have had heart-related issues.  Both of my grandfathers passed away from heart attacks - one when I was just six months old and I never had the privilege of getting to know him myself.  And my mom, who is one of the healthiest people on this planet, has always preached the necessity of being good about heart health.  So when I stumbled across this Day of Awareness at What Andie Wears blog through the randomness of the blogosphere, I decided to make sure that I participated.

Which also means that this red blazer made it into my 30 for 30 items.  I decided to really play up the red with this amazing red heart necklace and my red dotted earrings.  I could have gone all out and used my red pumps, but I decided against it and went with the animal-print wedges instead.  Also, on a whim I decided to add a flower, but instead of my pink flower pin (which would have made this into a complete Valentine's Day homage), I went instead with my beige flower pin.

I hope everyone has had a great Friday!! I am super happy that it is the weekend because I desperately need some rest and I am glad that the Super Bowl will finally take place.  As a big sports fan, but even bigger baseball fan, I am kind of over with football season, and ready for some spring training to begin.  Thank goodness some March Madness will be coming up soon as well! There is nothing I like to watch more than games that mean something (and especially when an office pool is at stake!).

Will you be watching the Super Bowl? Who will you be rooting for?  Did you wear red today? If so, let me know and leave a link to your blog, because I want to see!

Jeans, Blazer - Gap
Shirt, flower pin - J.Crew
Wedges - Franco Sarto via TJMaxx
Belt - ?? It's a long-lost mystery
Earrings - Turkoyz
Fabulous Heart Necklace - Botanical Bird

Introducing Some New Loves...

Picture taken when wearing a different outfit...

 Everyone, I would like to make some introductions for some new guests that have recently taken up residence with me.  First up is my new haircut!  Doesn't she look nice?  She's not that strange looking and honestly, she's looked kind of the same before, but it is to see her again.  Especially after the Animal-esque fiasco that she was sporting yesterday!

Second, please meet my newest shoe loves.  I am very, very, very fortunate to own some beautiful pairs of shoes, but these lovelies are a new fav!! Look at them - they are a perfect neutral grey color, yet have textured flowers all over them!! *Swoon* Thanks and many props go to TJMaxx for supporting my shoe obsession.

And yet some more items pop up for my 30 for 30 - to be honest, I've been kind of flying by the seat of my pants because I still haven't completely nailed down all of my items yet.  I promise I will do so.  But thus far, I am only showcasing those items that have already made the cut.  This khaki jacket/blazer has always been a wardrobe favorite because it is so season-less - meaning it crosses into all seasons.  It has often been called upon to add that last finishing touch to an outfit.

Top, Jacket/Blazer - J.Crew
Jeans - Michael Kors via TJMaxx
Shoes - Chinese Laundry via TJMaxx
Necklace - Kiamichi7 and Jess LC
Belt, Sunnies - Target

Winter, Meet the Color Green

So like most everyone else, I included a striped shirt in my 30 for 30 items.  It's so funny - I almost feel like stripes has become a neutral at this point due to its proliferate exposure in all magazines, blogs, and stores - a wardrobe essential like a little black dress.  Can you ever have too many striped shirts or black dresses? In my case at least, the answer is no :).

Anyway, I decided that I needed a bright pop of color to counteract the dreariness of winter.  I am definitely the kind of girl who thinks that if I dress the way I am hoping the weather to be, the weather will bend to my sartorial will!  And actually, kind of serendiptiously, the sun DID end up coming out for a few minutes!  Hoorah and hooray!

I also am posting these pictures a day late - my apologies to everyone who was on the edge of your seat wondering what in the world I wore on Day 2 (don't burst my bubble :)).  These are the last set of pictures before the awesome and amazing haircut I got yesterday.  So say goodbye to my Muppet hair and get ready for its debut tomorrow morning!  I am just happy to have it in a manageable state again.  It is almost as if my hair is a separate entity from myself and decides on its own whether or not I am going to have a good or bad day based upon its appearance.  Does that happen to you? Does your hair take over like some kind of alien-symbiotic entity and dictates the course of your day?  Or am I the only strange one? (Because I am not ruling that option out!)

Shirt, Sweater, Belt - J.Crew
Jeans - Gap
Shoes - Target
Scarf - Street vendor in Italia

Here We Go!

I think that I am participating in this 30 for 30 remix challenge, along with hundreds of other blogs out there, but I haven't posted my 30 items yet because I haven't quite figured them all out yet.  Yes, procrastination is the name of the game.  Actually, to be honest, I blame it all on the weather.  You see, I had ordered a few items for this remix (don't judge), and was waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for like forever for them to arrive.  Because of the snowmadaggedon last week here in the DC Metropolitan area, the said packages were delayed and delayed and delayed from arriving and in fact did not arrive until yesterday.  SO I didn't get to try them on until last night when I got home AND of course, some of them did not work out the way that I was hoping them too.  I mean, I had all my outfits set! I was ready to go!

So because of that setback, I am taking a little bit more cavalier approach and making up the rules as I go, which means that I still haven't completely decided as to what has made the list of items.  BUT, that being said, all the items pictured here - dress, shirt, cardigan, and boots - have all made the proverbial cut :).

I'm hoping to set the list in stone tonight, but I have a few other priorities right now that I am attempting to handle.  Coupled with the fact that I am fighting massive exhaustion for some reason, I am not promising anything :).

And KUDOS to everyone who has started off with a bang today! I can't wait to see everyone's outfits come alive over the course of the next month.  I am excited to be creatively inspired by everyone - that is my favorite part about doing this challenge :).

Dress - Banana Republic
Cardigan - J.Crew
Shirt, Belt - Target
Boots - Steve Madden
Necklace - Vintage Valley Girl

Guess What Happened Today??

If you guessed snow, you are correct!! You win the million dollar prize!! Except the government is going to take half of it away for "tax reasons", and then you'll only have $500k, which isn't the same as a million, but I hope you will be happy with half a prize ;).

But yes, indeed, it snowed yet AGAIN today.  Thankfully it didn't do too much to the roads and then later on the SUN CAME OUT!! I had begun to think that it didn't exist anymore, it's been so blah and gray and wintery for so long.  I am craving some sunshine and something green sprouting up from a ground - even if it is a weed - just something!

Anyway, again, here I am with the leggings and hiking boots - I don't wear much else when it snows (unless it is jeans and hiking boots).  Trying to be work appropriate with the dress and button-down.  I almost forgot to add a belt to this morning - it doesn't really need one, but I like the pop of print it adds to the basics.  Also, that bubble dress is actually a deep purple, which hopefully you can see as purple in your web browser - my little camera did not feel like picking up different color hues this morning other than black, gray, and white - I think it too has seasonal affectiveness disorder.

Hope you have a happy weekend!! I am excited for another free weekend - except I have to pick out my 30 for 30 items (eep!).  I guess I'll do that when it is SNOWING again.  This winter 30 for 30 remix is going to be all about the layers - that much I can tell you straight away!

What are your plans for the weekend? Have you picked your 30 for 30 items yet?  Are you lucky enough to have sunshine in your neck of the woods or is it more like perpetual, endless, Narnian winter and can commiserate with me?

Purple Bubble Dress - TJMaxx
White Button Down - LE Canvas
Zebra Belt - The Limited
Leggings - Victoria's Secret
Gloves - J.Crew
Hat, boots, socks - Gift

30 Things Learned in the 30 for 30 Challenge

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

1. Style does not equal fashion
2. I like to wear jeans - a lot (half of my looks are in jeans!)
3. I wish I had exchanged one shirt for another pair of shoes
4. I love, love, love belts
5. I will always dress casually on the weekends
6. A strapless dress can be worn a myriad of ways, making it surprisingly versatile
7. A bright red dress can be intimidating to wear, but with the right elements it can become wearable
8. I LOVE to layer
9. I think that there are more outfits I could have created out of my items
10. Dressing for the cold is difficult to do stylishly (the cold saps all creativity out of me)
11. The blogging community is AWESOME (I already knew this, but it just reiterated it for me)
12. Attempting this challenge is a whole lot more fun when 337 other girls are doing it too
13. We style bloggers need each other to inspire creativity and ideas for outfits (or at least I do!!)
14. No shopping for a month is hard
15. No shopping for a month during Black Friday and all of the requisite holiday deals is harder
16. One of my items only made it twice into the challenge - and I thought it was going to be one of my more versatile pieces (my denim shirt)
17. I discovered some more awesome style bloggers who are now new favorites - Hello Monkeyface, Linley of Dwelling and Telling, Joanne of Sidewalk Chic, Kendra of Closet Confections, Good Girl Gone Blog, and scores of more (you can see them in my blogroll sidelist)
18. Tania, Kyla, Jamie, Sarah, Sydney, and of course Kendi continued to prove their style prowess.
19. I will stretch my straight hair for many, many, many days (hint - you can tell I've washed my hair that day if its curly or if it goes straight the day after being curly)
20. Taking pictures EVERY day is kind of hard - especially on days when you don't feel like it or aren't particularly stylish (but you're trying to get through a challenge so that you can regain access to your closet) or you run out of time (or daylight) to take some good pictures (ie, sorry for all the indoor pics)
21. I generally like to smile in my pictures - even if it gives me a double chin sometimes.
22. I got to "wear" bare legs 3 times (thank you Virginia fall)
23. I really want a purple pencil skirt (here and here)
24. Some good necklaces can go a long way
25. Heels can be worn with socks
26. Cardigans and blazers are my best friends
27. My bank account likes it when I don't shop (even though it still somehow manages to go down...funny how that happens)
28. None of my coworkers noticed me wearing the same items multiple times
29. I like to be dressy some days.  But I also really love to be casual on others.
30. It's all about the accessories.

If I had to pick my 5 favorite outfits, it would #s 1, 2, 11, 12, and a tie between 15 and 23.

And a big heartfelt thank you to all of you who have followed me (and thank you to all the newcomers) and for all of your kind, supportive comments throughout this whole challenge.  Like I said yesterday - I am really proud of myself for making it to the end of this.  I really did miss my shoes a lot, but other than that, I enjoyed the creativity that this forced me to use in coming up with a different outfit each day.  You can totally tell how I am feeling about a day (uber-creative or just comfy-casual) by my outfits.  There are definitely probably some outfits that I would not have posted, but because I wanted to do this 30 days straight, there are some duds thrown in there - but I also think that reflects the reality of daily dressing.  We all have some winners and we all have some losers.  And (surprising to me) by limiting my closet, I feel like I actually increased the ease in which I got dressed each morning.

Now - What in the world am I going to wear tomorrow!?!

Journey's End

Well here we are, the LAST OUTFIT OF THE 30 FOR 30 CHALLENGE!!!! I MADE IT!!! I ACTUALLY MADE IT!!

I was really scared that I wasn't going to make through this challenge - that I would end up giving up at some point, that the lack of availability of my wardrobe would hurt me too much - that my shopping ban would be broken (BUT I ACTUALLY DIDN'T!!) - that I just wouldn't make it all the way through to the end - especially last week - I didn't think I had any other outfits in me last week.  But here I am, last outfit of the challenge, and I. Am. Done.

I'll post some more reflections on making it through my first 30 for 30 challenge along with an outfit recap (i think/hope, given my lack of photo editing resources) tomorrow.

For now - I go back and forth on this particular outfit.  I like the subtle stripes on stripes look going on here.  I also like that my dress is working as a skirt.  And for some reason I like the dusty blue ruffled cardi over the navy blue stripes.  Somehow this outfit both works and doesn't work (in my eyes).

And with that my friends, I humbly submit my last look of Kendi's Fall 30 for 30 Remix Challenge.

Dress, Cardigan, Striped Shirt - J.Crew
Tights, Sunnies - Target
Shoes - Banana Republic
Belt - ???
Necklace - DIM (Did It Myself)
Bracelet - Payless
Earrings - Loehmann's

Monochromatic Experiment #2

Day 29 of the challenge.  I like that I was able to squeeze another monochromatic look out of my items for the challenge.  This is a very, very, very minimalistic outfit - all black.  I feel like I should be working in Kelly Cutrone's office at People's Revolution.  Me and Stephanie Skinner would probably get along great.  Although, I don't know how I would feel about working at a big long table with all of my coworkers rightthere on top of me, all up in my business.  I am a girl who needs her personal space.

Anyway - I tried to take some outdoor pics today, I really did, but y'all, the wind was fierce and cold and nasty and I said "forget this".  So bad indoor pics it is. Lo siento to all.

One. Day. More. To Go. In the 30 for 30.

(And thanks to scheduled posts, by the time you read this I will have finished! Yippee!!)

Black Pants, Black Turtleneck - Gap
Black Sweater - J.Crew
Grey Ombre Heels - Tahari via TJMaxx
Gold Necklace - Jess LC
Black Bead Bracelets - Tuesday Morning

And Now Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming...

Saturday

Sunday

Here are outfits #27 and 28 for the challenge - 2 basic weekend looks.  Not much to them - As you all can tell from my other weekend posts, I like to keep things very simple on the weekend - just basic jeans and a cute top (plus sweater these days) to get through the day.

Two more outfits to go and then this challenge is officially done for me!  I also tried to take some pictures today of #29 outside, but it was an epic fail.  WAY too windy and cold for this girl - I wanted to cry.  So be prepared for some more indoor pics. Lo siento.

Jeans - Calvin Klein
Teal Sweater, Purple Sequin Top, Grey Turtleneck Sweater - J.Crew
Flats - Charles Albert via endless.com
Sunnies - Target

Accessorize to Maximize

I'll post up looks from this weekend (including what party dress I wore :)) shortly, but first, an outfit post leftover from Friday that I didn't get a chance to put up this weekend.  It is so funny because my dear sartorial friend, Monkeyface did pretty much the same outfit last Friday too :).  Great styling minds think alike, right? 

And I tell you what - without the bright pops of color in the accessories, this outfit is a big bore.  When I was changing out of this into my party outfit on Friday, I was struck by how much the accessories were the look, as opposed to the basic pieces underneath.

Jeans, Black Turtleneck - Gap
Grey Cardi - TJMaxx
Red Heels - Wet Seal
Scarf - Thrifted
Belt, Sunnies - Target
Socks - ?