Well, many of you who chat with me on a regular basis know that I've been on a self-improvement kick lately, and it's going quite well. I've been adding to the self-improvement piece by piece since the beginning of January: First, I started reading at least one chapter of the Bible every night. No mandatory order in which to read, so whatever I want/need that night is fine. I haven't missed a night since I started.
The next step was to brush and floss my teeth every single night. I've missed only one night since I started that one.
Then I started a new food plan. I bought 28 days' worth of lunches and dinners in one bulk shipment from Personal Trainer Food; each lunch/dinner is one kind of protein and one kind of vegetable, and I can supplement with some healthy carbs (in moderation) as I want. I have to say, the food is honestly REALLY tasty, so it is totally not a hardship to be eating it. It's also SO easy, because I just grab a protein (like teriyaki chicken, angus burger patty, or meatballs), a veggie (like broccoli florets, green beans, asparagus, of any number of veggie blends), and maybe some type of carb (brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or these awesome low-carb whole wheat tortillas I found) and toss it in my lunchbox to take to school. It microwaves in less than five minutes and I am good to go. Same thing for dinner. And since it's frozen, it stays good if I decide to eat something different, like if I want to go out with friends or something. This plan has me eating SO MUCH HEALTHIER than I was before (when I pretty much lived on fast food), and that has me doing a lot of healthier things. I went for a walk to the grocery store instead of driving last weekend, I snack less, I drink more water, etc. It's awesome.
[EDITED TO ADD: If you are interested in maybe trying out this plan (and I really do highly recommend it), please let me know! I can give you a link to use that will give YOU a discount and ME a referral bonus!]
Then I started using actual dishes instead of disposable ones at my house, and I made a promise not to let them pile up but to actually wash them on a regular basis. And my sink currently has not a dish in it; there are clean ones drying in the drainer.
And from the beginning of the semester I've been working on forcing myself to work diligently so as not to fall behind on planning and grading. As of today, I am ahead of the grading schedule I set for myself.
So now, I'm gonna see if I can start improving myself as a blogger. Because let's be honest, this blogger needs improving. One of the big improvements I'd like to do is not to do huge catch-up posts anymore. Especially now, looking back to previous posts, I don't like having to look at 8 different outfits in one post if I'm looking for one piece or look that I remember. I don't like that the tags don't really help with anything since one post might have tags for 8 different outfits in one. I also don't like having to see the failed outfit choices mixed in with the good ones; I'd rather look at the bad ones when I want to critique or learn from my mistakes, and look at the good ones when I want to feel good about my fashion sense. So one at a time.
Of course, doing just one at a time means I have to keep up well enough that I won't need to catch up all at once. But I can do it if I set my mind to it: Look at everything I've already done.
So for today, let's choose arbitrarily from the myriad outfits I've worn since the last post and see what we have:
I bought this skirt at a second-hand store in Los Gatos and I love it. I decided since it was winter (and therefore more appropriate for darker colors) and since I wanted to highlight the pretty sage color that I would wear simple black pieces with it. A classic black cardigan (with a white camisole), black patterned tights, and black boots gave a nice backdrop for the skirt, and a multi-strand necklace and small cuff bracelet finished off the look.
So what do you think? Self-improvement blogging: Yay or Nay?
I'm feeling more like doing posts categorically, rather than chronologically, so let's look at some outfits with mid-calf and ankle boots, rather than knee-high boots.
February 19:
This was the debut of these boots, which I bought because I really liked them, knowing that some people probably would actively DISlike them. I suspected that some would find them too "man-ish" for a female to wear, but maybe I was wrong to think that since everyone seemed to really like them. The sweater is burgundy and navy stripes, and I had a burgundy lace-trimmed camisole underneath. The socks sticking out above the boots are also navy. I probably should have worn a necklace (but a shorter one, since there's no "block" to break up here), but I like the overall look here.
February 23:
Same boots, different outfit. This was a weekend outfit (hence the jeans with no "blue and gold"), out to lunch I think. I think it would have been better if the cardigan were a slightly darker brown color instead of this lighter tan, but I like the floral top as a feminine touch to offset the "tough" look of the boots.
February 25:
And here we have completely different boots with a completely different look. These ankle boots have appeared numerous times on the blog already, but it's worth repeating how much I adore them. Despite the height of them they are very comfortable and I can wear them all day at school and still walk easily. I liked the simplicity of this outfit, with the flowered belt as the "star" of it and a "supporting cast" of a well-cut dress and patterned tights. Lastly, keeping it classy with a pearl necklace, bracelets, and earrings.
April 16:
This is fairly straightforward - white collared blouse, red cardigan, black skirt, black tights, and black ankle boots. It's a very classic look, and it always works well.
May 22:
Same black tights repeated here, but this time with my umbrella dress. I ADORE cute printed dresses - I don't mean floral dresses, which are also cute (I have many), but I mean dresses printed with kind of quirky and fun objects, animals, etc. Check out some I've come across recently:
Some of you asked me to explain why I kept talking about my "failures" to wear long necklaces with certain outfits in the last post. So let's talk about what long necklaces bring to the fashion table, shall we?
February 17:
We see here a very simple - verging on plain - outfit. There's nothing wrong with simple, of course, and there are a few things that are making this outfit simple rather than plain (which is really something to avoid). First, we have a rich color in the shirt, which warms the look up against the cold black. Next, we have an interesting layer effect with the long sleeve shirt under the short sleeve cardigan. And finally, we have the long gold owl necklace.
What the necklace is doing for the outfit is breaking up the huge BLOCK in the top half. When I use the word "block" in this context, I mean that it is a large area of body/outfit that has nothing whatever that is visually engaging. Ways to avoid a plain BLOCK include:
- The pattern of a piece of clothing.
- Layering clothes of various colors, cuts, and/or patterns.
- An embellishment in the design of a piece of clothing.
- Accessories like brooches, necklaces, scarves, etc.
In the case of necklaces, only a long necklace will actually visually break the block - anything shorter, staying close to the neck, isn't going to do much good. So THAT is why I say sometimes that an outfit really needed a long necklace.
Let's look at some other blocks that were broken up by necklaces...
February 22:
This breaks up the block of the white sweater both with the yellow blouse at the neckline and with the statement necklace. (And the combo of the yellow blouse + blue necklace was great for a blue&gold day!)
March 12:
The denim jacket also helps break it up, simply by adding a new color and texture, but the necklace does great for when I'm not wearing the jacket.
March 13:
And then we have another example of where I should have been wearing a necklace. Sigh. I'm still working on it. (Other than the "block" of navy, I really liked this outfit. I liked the shoes with it especially.)
So there you go - more than you ever needed to know about long necklaces! Here some of my favorites I've found recently:
1. New York and Company
2. Target
3. New York and Company
4. Target
Let's just get the skinnies and boots done, yeah?
February 21:
I really like this shirt, which is a little variation on the classic button-down blouse. The buttons are closer together and there's a little bit of shirring (that's a fancy fashion word for "gathered material"). The print is understated, but more interesting than a plain color (or white) would be.
February 26:
This is another variation on the chambray trend I talked about back in November (and I'm being generous with my usage of the word "variation"). Classic and beloved.
February 27:
This only makes me unhappy because it feels too similar to the February 8 outfit, and that's really close timing to repeat basically the exact same formula AND coloring.
February 28:
This shirt was a Goodwill find, and unfortunately, I think it kind of looks like it. Mostly, though, I like that it's sort of "cheesy rodeo quirky," so I roll with it. Also, it's comfy.
March 6:
And this one's very similar to the February 21 outfit up above. For all my "I never repeat outfits" claims, I do come pretty close on many occasions. Differences here include the scarf, the boot socks, and the bright green necklace. I think they're all good additions to the outfit.
March 7:
Who's been reading long enough to recognize EXACTLY what is missing here? A long necklace, yes.
March 18:
This top was another hand-me-down from Mrs. Toth, and I love it. It's comfy and the color is unusual. This outfit overall is very simple, but it works, which I think is an argument in favor of simplicity.
March 20:
The outfit overall works fine here - I especially like the pink in the argyle pattern of the sweater with the burgundy of the skinnies - but I think black boots was the wrong choice. I'm just not convinced I had a better choice on-hand, since my tan boots also wouldn't have worked. Gray boots maybe? Not sure.
[Note: After this point, pictures become annoying selfies taken with my phone in my bedroom mirror. Since I took my fancy camera to Malawi with me, I got rid of the tripod set-up where I had been taking the pics. Then my apartment was such a mess from never fully unpacking and cleaning up after returning (school was CRAZY) that I couldn't really set it all back up. So... yeah. They're bad pictures, but fortunately good enough. This coming year we'll return to the timed shots from the tripod.]
April 15:
If I weren't wearing the scarf, I needed a long necklace; with the scarf, I don't. I really liked this top, which was a sale item from Gap (I think). It's a nice mint color with subtle white stripes. I paired it with plain black skinnies and my tan boots.
May 23:
IT NEEDS A LONG NECKLACE. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
Okay, thus ends the saga of "Skinnies and Boots: 2013-2014." Don't worry, there will be more next year - I mean, I do love the look for a reason. But for a while, we can be on a break. A much-needed break.
