Fall Returns?

Yesterday the weather finally cooled off again here in north Florida. We don't have the lovely fall weather that other parts of the country are experiencing right now, but I'll take what I can get. ;-) Dropping over 15 degrees actually feels chilly to us Floridians! So, I pulled out my Old Navy boots and a cardigan for my outfit yesterday that I wore to the library to do some writing.

Dress: LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Cardigan: LOFT
Boots: Old Navy
Necklace: Anthropologie

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and enjoying some fall weather! :-)

Q & A and an OOTD!

I've shared some of my outfit misses in the past and this is another one to add to that archive. Just keeping it real! ;-) I snapped this picture before I dashed out the door to go teach my classes (that's my textbook in my hand). I didn't look at the picture until I got home so I didn't realize that my outfit wasn't really very flattering.

This dress always gives me trouble but I keep giving it another chance. It needs to be belted but I inadvertently created a maternity look by putting it higher than usual. And I'm not pregnant so that's a problem. This dress is a tad too long so I was trying to remedy that by tucking some of it under my belt to shorten it but the dress has an empire waist so that's why I belted it so high.

I think I'll get the dress hemmed to solve the length problem and only wear it with a belt at my natural waist over a cardigan. We're having a little heat wave today -- seriously it feels like July again! I had to dig out my sandals from the back of my closet.

Dress: LOFT
Belt: Anthro
Cardigan: LOFT
Sandals: Target
Bracelet: vintage

Now for the Q&A:
I randomly picked three more of the questions that I got from readers to answer today:

1. Mandy asked: if you could personify yourself as an animal, which animal would you choose and why?

The first thing that came to mind was a cat. I'm very independent and like to have a lot of alone time. I can also be warm and cuddly at times too. I think a cat best captures that duality of my personality.

2. Debbie Deb asked: is there a fashion trend that you used to wear growing up that makes you cringe when you think about it today? if not, is there a trend today that you'd like to see disappear?

I was a kid in the 80's so you can imagine some of the crazy things I wore back then. My sister was a teenager and I loved to copy her style. I remember wearing my jeans "tight-rolled" (some people called it "pegged"). I also had this outfit that I loved which consisted of black leggings with lace at the bottom with my sister's over-sized purple sweatshirt. I think I had a crazy-big bow that I wore with it too. Yeah, I thought I was stylish at the time. I'd cringe now if I found any pictures of those outfits! :-)

3. Tricia asked: What are you most afraid of?
I'm a big scaredy cat but at the top of the list of things I'm afraid of are:
--heights: mostly open-heights -- I had a scary experience at the top of a jungle gym as a kid
--spiders: eeeeeek!!
--getting in a car accident: If I could live somewhere that had good public transportation, I'd never drive again! I got into an accident about 8 years ago and totaled the car but somehow managed to walk away unhurt. I still have nightmares about my car spinning in slow motion across three lanes though.

Travel Tuesday: Chicago (& My New Anthro Goodies)

Our day of sight-seeing started off a little rainy but ended up being beautiful! It's a good thing I packed my trench coat. We walked around inside Navy Pier while it rained and then hopped on a trolley for a tour.



It was still sprinkling when we got to the Sears Tower so we headed inside. Here's a picture I snapped while we were up there. You can see the Hancock Building in the distance.



I'm a little afraid of heights but I scurried out on the glass observation area for a quick picture. What a view!



By the time we came back outside the weather was clearing off. I got this picture of the Sears Tower from the top of the double-decker bus we rode after lunch.



One of my favorite places we visited was Millennium Park. It's such a beautiful spot nestled between all of those tall buildings.



In the park is "The Bean" which is a sculpture with a highly-polished surface that reflects the cityscape. It was very unusual!





We ended the day by going to a performance of The Lion King. It was such an amazing show! The costumes and settings are stunning and I just loved the music. I highly recommend seeing this play if it tours anywhere near you!



And here's the outfit my mom got me when we visited the new Anthropologie store. I knew I wanted the Pilcro Cohort Cords after seeing how adorable they looked on Tricia in this post. My mom picked out the Shine-Through Button-up from the sale rack to match the pants and they look great together! Check out Jan's posts here and here for some other great outfits featuring that shirt. I know I'll be stealing those ideas for future outfits! :-) I also got the purple Time In, Time Out belt. It matched the Southward Stop Dress that I was wearing so I ended up putting it on and wearing it for the rest of that day.

My Lucky Day!

My mom and I are in Chicago today and tomorrow to meet up with my sister and her friend for a girls weekend (and belated birthday celebration for my sister who I don't get to see very often since she lives far away from me). Since we got here several hours before my sister, Mom and I decided to check out the grand opening of the Anthro that just moved over to the big store that used to house American Girl Place. How lucky is it that we happened to be here the same day it was opening?! If we'd been here last week we wouldn't have been able to see it.

The new store is amazing! And huge! Kim from Anthroholic posted some pictures of the beautiful interior -- check them out here.

Here I am in front of the sign (debuting my new Southward Stop dress!!):



Snapping an OOTD photo in one of the full length mirrors:


Several people in the store stopped me to ask how I liked the Berry-Stitched Boots and I told them how comfortable they've been for walking around a lot. Highly recommend!

All the sales people were so nice and handled the huge crowd of shoppers really well. They even put out some refreshments for us! Here's my mom getting a snack. ;-)



Here was my favorite part of the store -- the SHOE section, of course!



It was so fun to be able to check out this new store! My mom even got me a few things as a special treat. ;-) I'll take some pictures of them when I get home. We're having a wonderful trip so far and it's been so great to see my sister again. We had pizza at Giordano's tonight. Yum! It will be a very quick trip but we have a full day of fun sight-seeing planned for tomorrow and we're going to see The Lion King.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll post again when I get back home. :-)

Last of the Tampa Anthro Reviews

These are the last of my reviews from a few weeks ago when I was at the Tampa Anthro. First up is the Jacinth Sweaterdress. It's a really nice orange color and it's very soft & comfortable but I don't think it's super flattering on me. It looks a bit strange in the hip area. I like the neckline though and the ruffled edges.



Here it is with my Button Bin Cardi and Gift Bow Belt. I think it looks a little bit better this way but overall I think this dress is a pass for me.



Next is the Tria Sweater Skirt. I was surprised by how much I liked this skirt! It's stretchy and the material is nice (not itchy). It's a great length and I just love the rows of ruffles along the bottom. This is a size small and it's too snug but I think a medium would be just right.



For comparison, here's the size large that I tried on recently and it's too big. I actually folded over the top to make it shorter. If this goes on sale and there is a medium left somewhere, I'd definitely like to have this skirt.



And last, here is the outfit that I wore shopping that day:

Button Bin Cardigan (Anthro)
Tank (Belk)
White Shirt with Pearl Buttons (Steve & Barry)
Gift Bow Belt (Anthro)
Jean Skirt (Old Navy)
Sandals (Lands End)

OOTD: Purple & Chocolate Brown

I'm exhausted from a long day of teaching and grading, so I'm going to make this a quick OOTD post. This was another quickly thrown together outfit that I think turned out alright. Surprisingly, I don't think I've ever paired this deep purple dress with brown before. I always love this color combo when I see it on others so here's my take on it:

Dress: Target, Converse
Cardigan: NY&Co
Belt: Target
Necklace: Maurices
Suede Ballet Flats: Lands End

I love that I can wear this dress in the summer and in the fall and create totally different looks just by changing the color palette and accessories. What's one of your favorite pieces in your wardrobe that works for multiple seasons?

Sunday in the Park

My husband and I had a great time on Sunday strolling around our favorite urban park. There was a nice autumn breeze and there was golden light filtering through the trees that lined the path along the park. We try to come here often and we always see a diverse group of people enjoying the park -- everything from people fishing along the edge that borders the river, to groups playing kickball or frisbee, to dog-walkers, to picnickers, to photographers, to people doing yoga! Today was no exception and it was a truly beautiful day for a visit.

I seem to be on a roll with getting my husband to take my OOTD pictures. Check out these nice pictures he snapped during our stroll:

Necklace: Anthropologie
Sweater Hoodie: Maurices
Tank: Belk
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Old Navy
Socks that were peeking out but slid down out of sight: Target
Boots: Anthropologie

Below is one of my favorite quotes by Einstein that someone had written in chalk on the sidewalk amongst some drawings: "Imagination is more important than knowledge."



This is a beautiful statue perched above the fountain in the park. It's called "Winged Victory" and it was done in 1924 to memorialize the 1,200 soldiers from Florida who died in WWI. The statue is supposed to depict youth rising above "the mad maelstrom of earthly passions."



In the middle of the park is a large field where people often play different sports. The river is in the distance.



Beautiful palm, magnolia, and oak trees ring the park.



I hope everyone else had a nice weekend too!

These boots are made for walking....

I'm back home and enjoying some time with my husband and fur-babies this weekend. Yesterday I decided to break in my Anthro boots since I plan on wearing them a bunch next weekend when I'm traveling again. It turns out they don't need any breaking in because they feel great! This was a comfortable outfit for going out to lunch and then to a matinee showing of The Town (which turned out to be a better movie than I expected). It's not the most creative of outfits but my husband said I looked hot so I'll count it as a success! ;-) He even agreed to take my OOTD picture for me:

Sweater: LOFT
Jeans: Target
Boots: Anthropologie
Bow Earrings: F21

You might have thought I forgot about those great questions I got in the entries for my giveaway but I promise I haven't! I'll try to tackle a few of these each week. And if you have more questions, please feel free to post them in the comments and I'll add them to my list. :-)
Here's one that Kelly asked:
I have to ask, what got you into blogging? I'm always curious how other bloggers got their start!!!

I discovered the world of fashion blogs earlier this year when a grad school friend posted a link on Facebook to Academichic. I was completely inspired by their OOTD posts. They made me start to reevaluate my own outfit choices and put more thought into buying and wearing clothes that better reflect my personality. I like to look professional in the classroom when I'm teaching but I also like to include items that are "me" like fun tights, a cool necklace, or a cute belt. In addition to the influence of the girls at Academichic, the re-discovery of my love of Anthropologie has also helped me to define my sense of style and how I want to present myself to the world. I stumbled upon Kim's and Roxy's Anthro blogs and from there I found a whole wonderful blogging community that I wanted to be a part of. So that's why I decided to start this blog. I enjoy reading everyone's blogs everyday and try to post my outfits and other random thoughts as often as possible, although sometimes life gets in the way (as soon as the fall semester started, my schedule got so busy). My blog might not be the most exciting blog out there but I have fun doing it. I appreciate those who have taken the time to read my posts. I'm always excited to get your comments and I'm trying to be better at responding. I've met some really nice people through this blogging community! :-)

Anthro Reviews from the Road & My Conference OOTD

I had a little free time today after my conference presentation (which went well, by the way!) so I headed over to the Anthro store in Albuquerque.

This first outfit was my favorite. I wish I could have walked right out of the store in it! The jeans were so comfy and I just adore this plaid shirt.
Joe's Provocateur (Petite) Jeans with the Carefree Shirt:



Next I tried the same jeans with the Raining Lines Henley (strangely the website is saying this is no longer available but it just came out recently so there must be a temporary glitch). I accidentally grabbed an XS and it fit ok but I'd go with a S for a more comfortable fit. This shirt was just a tiny bit sheer so I'd wear a cami underneath. This is definitely wishlisted for me.



I also love this shirt in the purple striped version:



One of the first things I saw when I walked in the store was the bird skirt (a.k.a. In the Trees Skirt)! It's never been available at my store, so I was excited to try it. Unfortunately the largest size they had was a 6 and I couldn't zip it up all the way. It's kind of an awkward length on me too.



I was also looking forward to trying the Garment District Blazer but it turned out to be a disaster. I don't know why I keep trying on blazers since they very rarely work on me. This one looks weird in the hip area and is just unflattering overall. Love the plaid print though! ;-)



In the sale section I found the Two Worlds Tee and remembered that I've been wanting to try it on. I tried it on with some Pilcro jeans that I can't find on the website. This color was blah on me but the fit was pretty good. It's kind of embarrassingly sheer in this picture though!



I was hoping to find it in the orange but no luck. I think my store still had some of these left though so I might check there.



Here's what I wore this morning for my conference paper presentation. I wore darker colors which is typical conference attire but added a bit of my own personality with the purple tights and belt over the sweater.

Cardigan: Target
Blouse: LOFT
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: LOFT
Purple Tights: Hue via Anthropologie
Shoes: Steinmart

More Anthro Reviews

Here are some more of my reviews from the Tampa Anthro.

Alice in Autumn Sweatercoat in Grey

I'm not sure how flattering this is on me but I love it anyway. It's so soft and cozy! I love the big buttons and the ruffly collar. And it has pockets! I didn't realize that until after I took this picture and they were a little bunched up causing that weird bump on the one side. The sleeves are a little too long on me. Clothes like this make me wish I lived somewhere with weather that gets a little cooler.

I had to try the gold version also:


Here's what I'm wearing underneath:

The Humbled Hydrangea Top is really cute! I love the color and the tiny polka dots behind the print. It's very flowy so I sized down to an XS to avoid the maternity top look.

I paired the shirt with these Citizens of Humanity "Kelly" Bootcut Jeans.
These were really long on me but other than that I liked the fit. They are a littler lower rise than I usually wear but the top helped cover that. The wash is a nice color. I don't really need any more jeans but if these went on sale I might consider them.

OOTD: Grey, Black & White

I wore this outfit yesterday to teach. I was in a rush and had to throw it together on the fly but luckily it turned out ok! I don't usually wear outfits without any color but I like that these neutrals let the pattern on the skirt be the focal point.

Grey Ruffly Sweater Top: Target
Belt: Anthropologie
Skirt: Marc Jacobs via Macy's
Shoes: Steinmart

I'm headed to a conference in New Mexico today. Hopefully I'll have internet access so I can keep up with my blog. I'll try to get some outfit pictures while I'm away!

Anthro Review: Southward Stop Shirtdress

While at the Tampa Anthro I also got to try on the super popular Southward Stop Shirtdress. I've been resisting trying on this dress because I didn't think I liked the pattern but I changed my mind once it was on. I love this dress! The cut is flattering, it's comfortable & has pockets, and it will transition well into fall with tights, sweater, and boots.

Here are some of the way I "styled" it in the dressing room:

With the Roaming Frills Cardigan & Gift Bow Belt -- I know this is a lot of beige but I kind of like it!

With the purple Delicate Drafts Cardigan -- I LOVE this color with the dress!!

Anthro Review: Mullany Dress

A few days ago I was in Tampa and of course I had to visit the Anthro store there! So, I'll have some reviews for you this week. First up is the lovely Mullany Dress that has looked fantastic on so many bloggers. It has never been available at my local store, so I was thrilled to see it at the Tampa store and get a chance to try it on myself!



Mullany Dress with Precious Materials Cardigan

This dress is so adorable! I love the cut of it and the material was even nicer than I expected. I paired it with this cardigan (on sale, still available in some stores) which I think works really nicely with the dress. I have on a size 6 in this picture. Surprisingly, I was able to zip it up and it fit everywhere except being a little snug in the bust. I would have sized up but this was the largest one they had in the store. I'll be keeping my eye on this dress hoping that it goes on sale soon! :-)

Fall Boot Recommedations

Recently I got a request from reader Jenn G asking for my recommendations for Fall boots so I thought I'd share them with everyone in case others are also on the look out for some great boots. Feel free to leave links to your favorites in the comment section as well!

1. Target Merona Kamischel Suede Boots in grey
I tried these on the other day and they are so comfortable and cute! The price is great too. I'd say they run true to size. I see online that they also come in a nice chocolate brown and black but I only saw the grey at my store. I'm hoping to get a pair of these in grey!



2. Madden Girl Zarah Riding Boot
I tried on these boots in black at DSW and they were really cool. They rubbed a little bit on my left pinky toe though. I'd consider sizing up a half size in these because they ran a bit small on me.



3. Old Navy Silver-Wedge Boots
I've had my eye on these boots at Old Navy but they're only available online so I haven't tried them yet. They look cute though! I like the camel color but they also come in black. The style looks a lot like the Steve Madden Intyce boots and Target Kady Boots that were popular last year. Has anyone tried this Old Navy version? I'd love to hear what others think about the fit and quality.



4. Anthropologie Pebbled & Primped Boots
I haven't gotten to try these but I just love them! They are pretty pricey though.



If you missed my review of Anthro's Berry Stitched Boots last month, you can check it out here. I highly recommend these boots! :-)