October Catch-Up: Jax Teller, Name Plate Rings & an Undercut

It seems like the first few days of the month I completely drop off this blog –  especially this month as I've been housesitting for two weeks straight. Angelo and I finally made it home on Sunday, and our cats almost passed out from excitement. So here's another round up post to catch up with what I've been doing recently.

Wearing – I've been sticking to my Capsule Wardrobe, and have been itching to get rid of a ton of older stuff to make some space in my closet.  I talked Angelo into giving me an undercut – which we naturally dyed blue – so I have been keeping my outfits more on the simple side. I like the mixing of simple, classic closet staples with the bright blue undercut. Makes me feel like myself, not quite young, not quite old but still wanting to have some fun with my wardrobe.

One of my favorite outfits, EVER.

And introducing my new navy blue undercut - easy to hide at work.

 Watching –  We binge watched the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy in a week, and are now making our way through the third. I absolutely LOVE Ron Perlman, so that's been great, but I've been struggling with my feelings towards Jax Teller. Half the time I hate him, half the time I love him. 100% of the time I think he's a babe. My absolute favorite character is Happy, even though he's a pretty much complete psychopath. If I was in a motorcycle gang, I would want him on my side. 

I'm only in season 3, so Jax is still relatively white-trash but I do not judge.

Listening –  My current favorite-d  tracks on 8tracks are as follows – Family of the Year, "Hero." Boyce Avenue, "Fast Car." Gin Whitmore, "Black Sheep." Emily Kinney, "Expired Lover." Taylor Swift, "Out of the Woods." Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers, "Forever Young." Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers, "John the Revelator." Richard Thompson, "Dad's Gonna Kill Me." The White Buffalo, "The House of the Rising Son." Clearly SOA has infiltrated my 8tracks activity.

 

This is my official "walking home from work in heels" song.

Planning – I've started to get pretty into planning our Christmas vacation to Seattle and Portland. I really want to get a tattoo, visit the Space Needle, stay in the Ace Hotel and visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium – where you can apparently shake "hands" with an octopus.

Buying – I took advantage of some Columbus Day Sales, and snagged a perfect dress from ASOS for more than 50% off it's original price. I have had my eye on it for a while, but when the sale price dropped a second time, I jumped on it. I also took advantage of Lo&Chlo's weekend sale, and ordered myself some nameplate rings and a little necklace. I absolutely love her stuff, and have a bracelet from her that is one of my favorites. When she released a coupon code for 30% off, I acted on it pretty quick.

Have you been busy this October? What are you up to? How do you feel about Jax Teller?

Head to Toe Black and 73 Questions

Have you caught the 73 questions with Anna Wintour video? It's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself and when I watched it I noticed that Anna Wintour and I agree on a lot.

Favorite Action Star? Hugh Jackman. Yes.

Polka Dots or Stripes? Both. Yes.

Sparkling water or flat? Sparkling. Yes.

What would you never, ever wear? Head to toe black.

Wait.

What?

Yes, that's right. She mentions it AGAIN too, so she really means it. Really, really means it. And it is sort of rocking my style morals. I've got black hair, an abundance of black cardigans, staple black tees and black jeans that get the most wear out of anything in my closet. And now I'm hearing that head to toe black is a no?

Like I said, WHAT?

To give me even more of an existential crisis, it's Anna Wintour of all people saying it. That woman knows what she's talking about - so I decided to test out some basic outfits that I would normally wear head-to-toe black and added a small pop of something non-black. This doesn't really mean color, since my closet is pretty monochromatic at this point.

Round 1.

On Friday, instead of throwing on my favorite oversized black tee, I paired my black jeans, black boots and fuzzy black cardigan with a light grey tee from Madewell. I liked the break up of the grey because it brought some attention to my waist – and combined with the booties seemed to elongate my legs. Ok Anna, you win this round.

Round 2.

Over the weekend, I tossed on my black jeans and black sweatshirt from Madewell and brushed my newly dyed black hair, but added my cream colored Converses for good measure. Along with a small pop of green from the flannel that I layered underneath, I think that my sneakers paired with all the black helped me achieve the sort of laid-back cool, look that Madewell achieves so effortlessly in all of their advertisements. So, I guess Anna wins this round too.

I still really love channeling my inner witchy woman and rocking all black – but now I'm interested in adding small pops of something (whether it's a purple-pink lipstick, some peach colored heels or even a brown scarf) to my outfits. In my opinion, it just sort of elevates the outfits from normal to badass while still looking effortless.

Case in point - I broke up the combination of this black tee-shirt romper and long black sweater with my cream colored sneaks and a bright red lip.

Do you agree with Anna about head-to-toe black? Or are you struggling to come around like I was?

Work & Work & Work and Ten Minutes of Play

I know that Wednesday is supposed to be the middle of the week hardest day, but for me that's Thursday. It's so close to Friday, but still so far from Saturday. Ugh. It's definitely a day where I tend to fall into my work-uniform closet basics.

It's so easy to slip into bad habits for work – even harder if your office is casual. I try to have a go-to outfit work looking polished and pulled together at work, especially if you're feeling less than. For me that outfit goes as follows: black high waisted skinny trousers, a black zipper tee from Madewell, a black cashmere cardigan that I stole from my grandmother's closet, a camel colored scarf and black booties. By mixing nicer pieces together and keeping it monochromatic, I get a look that translates well for work.

When I got home from work, I had about ten minutes of down time before Angelo and I were off again to run around Baltimore City and the surrounding counties. I wanted to spend my ten minutes sitting on the couch, so I grabbed another go-to outfit for the evening. I kept on the Madewell zipper tee, slid into my American Eagle overalls, tied my Minnetonka moccasins from @sweet_petite_shop and was good to go.

That's one thing I love about having a Capsule Wardrobe – it's easy to get dressed and doesn't take time away from time that I get to spend with Angelo, with our pups or friends. Taking the stress out of getting dressed is definitely worth the closet downgrade.

What are your go to outfits when you're busy, tired or in a slump? Do you have any special tricks for looking pulled together?

Happy First Day of October!

One of my favorite habits that my grandmother had was to wish everyone a happy first day of the month, every month, so it's no wonder that I've been walking around all day telling people "Happy First Day of October!" I made sure to send my mom a text, "Happy First Day of October" and now I'm telling all you readers, happy first day of October!

I'm really going to try and step up my blogging, and I'm taking a page out of other bloggers' books and am going to mass take some pictures of my Capsule Wardrobe. This will allow me to most more regularly and give you an opportunity to see how I work with a limited amount of options in my closet, instead of rushing through work days and coming home to take a picture each day. My bangs are too temperamental for that.

Also sometimes I just come home and immediately put spandex on. Because it's Fall.

 Here go some OOTDs for different situations, just to give you a general vibe of what my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is like:

 

1. **Flawless Work Outfit. Can you guys wear a plaid button up without thinking about Beyonce in the **Flawless video? I can't, and this green one from Madewell especially reminds me of Queen Bey. It's a great outfit for work because it makes me feel pulled together and professional, while still being casual enough to walk to work in. 

My black skinny slacks from H&M are high waisted and when paired with my boots, they create the illusion that I'm taller than 5'3. I think it's important to have nice pairs of black pants if you're working in an office - even one with a casual dress code - because they're an easy way to look polished. Jeans are great to wear sometimes, but investing in a nice pair of work pants is always a good call.

Also channeling this, especially when you have to walk a mile to work in heeled booties, is always a plus.

2. Monochromatic Mini. I have been scoping out this mini dress from H&M for about two weeks now, trying to figure out if I could work it into my Capsule Wardrobe or if I just wanted it on a whim. Finally, I decided that yes, yes I could work it into my 40 items, and in a variety of ways. First off, this mini is actually a perfect addition into my Capsule Wardrobe because it fits the monochromatic bill. The color blocking on this dress is also super flattering to a variety of body types, which is another plus. The dress itself would be easy to dress up for work, with black tights, flats and a sweater. It would be cute with my chucks and minimal makeup on a casual day out, and it would be fun to dress it up for a date night - with heels, bare legs and a bright lipstick.

                                                                                                    One of the things that I've learned since starting my Capsule Wardrobe is that it's important to be able to work pieces in a variety of different ways. Almost all of my 40 items can be used at work or home, dressed up or down. That's why I personally stick to a more monochromatic palette for my Capsule Wardrobe - it makes it easy to pair different looks and pieces together!

3. The Classics. With any Capsule Wardrobe, it's important to have a "go-to" outfit and mine is usually a variation of this - a black top, comfy jeans and a killer shoe. I wanted to pair my boyfriend jeans with these pointed nude heels, so I picked a bit more of a fitted black top over one of my go to oversized tees. The look is simple, classic while still being current and fun - I feel that it perfectly sums up the vibe I'm going for with my Fall Capsule Wardrobe. It shows I'm dressing with intention, without falling into trends or clothes that won't flatter my body.

So that's a sneak peek of my Capsule Wardrobe for Fall! What do you think? Do you have a favorite outfit out of these three? Have you given a Capsule Wardrobe a shot? Let me know in the comments!

Fall Lipsticks: Channeling my Inner Owens Woman

So now that we're all on the same page – it's officially fall! (Well not officially, but it's close enough.) While some girls flock to the church of Pumpkin Spice as soon as the temperatures take a dip, I'm more inclined to lean towards the patron saint of fall, Alice Hoffman.

This house though.

I grew up in a house where Practical Magic was pretty much a mandatory requirement, as it should be. It weaves a story of strong, interesting women and how much stronger women can be when they support one another rather than tearing each other down. Plus, the movie version has killer scenery. Who didn't want to live in that house? I still want to live in that house.

So basically, Practical Magic (and all Alice Hoffman novels) have a pretty solid influence on my life. There's just something cool about magical, sassy women. That being said, the Owens family does hold a special place in my heart, so this fall I decided to focus on channeling my inner magical feminist (is that a thing?!) with some dark lipsticks from NYX Cosmetics.

I fell in love with NYX when I was deep in the throws of a Target obsession, but I've noticed that Target has not been stocking their NYX supplies for the past few months. And I've checked multiple Targets – trust me on this. I've been dying to get my hands on two specific NYX lipsticks – the matte "ARIA" and the macaroon "CHAMBORD."  Unfortunately for me, Target wasn't coming through and my local Ulta didn't have them. So by the time I was ready to order them online, I had a 20% off coupon and they offered free shipping on orders of $25 and over.

Let me say that NYX cosmetics are definitely not pricey – so that's when things got a little out of hand. Four lipsticks, three lip pencils and an eyebrow gel (why not?) later, my stuff was set to arrive in 7-10 days.

From left to right: Chaos, Medusa, Aria and Chambord

The four lipsticks I wound up ordering were: Chambord, Aria, Medusa and Chaos. I actually already own Chaos and just needed to restock it – it's an awesome red-blue lipstick that appears super complimentary to pale skin tones. So today I'll just be discussing Chambord, Aria and Medusa.

First thing's first: CHAMBORD. I was so excited for this, I had read beauty reviews all over the place – including my beauty bible xovain. One of the general consensuses (consesi?)   about this BLACK LIPSTICK (!!!) is that it isn't super wearable on a day to day basis. This is true, I'm not going to be rocking this at work any time soon. But I was super impressed with how it applied, thick and solid – not at all patchy. I applied a couple coats and was pleased with the overall look. I kept the rest of my makeup pretty minimal because I wanted this look to be as wearable as possible. All in all, I love it! I love how it enhances my fair skin and seems to make my eye color pop. With my freshly dark hair, and uniform of all black, I feel like a cool girl who probably spends full moon nights making midnight margaritas vs. a very grumpy goth sixteen year old. I don't know how often I will actually wear Chambord, but I'd like to try and rock it on the one night per month that I wind up going out.

Cragged salt like a sailor's stubble, flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble!

Next up: ARIA. If you're on Pinterest, or follow any sort of beauty blog, you've probably heard of Aria. Think of it as an ideal MAC dupe. It's super flattering on a variety of skin tones, and it's matte style just adds a bit of edge. I definitely will wear Aria in a variety of places – the whole look makes me feel sort of like "Teen Witch gets First Office Job." It's fun goth without being too overwhelming, weird without being black lipstick, spooky but not so spooky that no one will hold the elevator for you. Basically, it makes me feel like Gilly Owens when she showed up to Back to School night and used her sassy-magic skills to make Sally the head of the Phone Tree.

"Yep, that's right, I'm back."

Finally: MEDUSA. I snagged Medusa on a whim, and also grabbed the corresponding lip pencil. I was surprised that Medusa isn't as matte as Aria, it's actually a bit lighter and a bit more sparkly. All's good though because out of all three lipsticks, Medusa is perhaps the most office friendly. It makes me feel put together while also feeling like I could turn dumb, dangerous dudes like Jimmy Angelov into frogs  – so a pretty good look for your work week.

"She's not saying they murdered him, just maybe they shook his hand, and then... he died. It's very mysterious."

All three lipsticks definitely capture the whole "adorably spooky" aesthetic that one of the ladies in my office blessed me with this summer. They definitely make me feel like a 2014 version of the Owens family – strong and in charge, confident in taking risks in my beauty routine. If you've been debating black lipstick, dark purple lipstick or whatever, I say – go for it! Why not? As Frances Owen would say, "My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage."

A Confession: All I want to do is Raid Claire Beauchamp's Closet

 It seems that every Monday, I find myself calling Angelo's mom to compare favorite outfits on Outlander. Are you watching Outlander? It's one of those random shows that I immediately fell into, being a historical fiction and sci-fi lover, but luckily after being forced to watch the first four episodes, Angelo seemed to accept and enjoy it – so now we watch it every Sunday night at dinner. I'm really struggling not to read the books, and have only held out on Angelo's request that I do so, so that we can both be equally surprised when we watch it.

The coat of my dreams

That being said, since I can't read the books and spoil the whole show for myself, I basically just obsess over the clothes. Historical shows, when done right, can be downright amazing with their costumes. Think The Tudors. When done incorrectly, historical shows can annoy the shit out of history buffs. Think Reign. Outlander seems to do a great job of keeping clothes historically accurate, while still having a ton of fun with accessories and costumes. Maybe it's not entirely realistic to have Claire change her outfit five times when she's out on the road, but someone in the wardrobe department is seriously knitting their heart out – and deserves the recognition.

I would be okay with just living here, in that outfit, in all seriousness.

Claire's Scottish wardrobe is basically made up of all things wonderful – plaids, chunky knits and killer coats. When she gets her first "makeover" into 1743 fashion, I couldn't get past the arm warmers that seemed to be knit specifically for her. The next few outfits she rocked the comfiest looking cowls and then, a few episodes later, she was wearing a coat that almost killed me. Seriously. I love fall, I love cold and rainy weather, and I love chunky knits. I basically want everything she wears – except the weird corset.

That scarf and those arm warmers - I just can't deal.

It shouldn't come as any sort of surprise then that my Fall Capsule Wardrobe is slightly Outlander inspired. I wouldn't even be surprised if I turned out to be part-Scottish – I can get pretty sassy and Angelo says I'm hard to understand when I talk.

While it's still a bit too warm to rock a cowl, arm warmers and a fur coat, cold weather accessories are making their way onto websites and into stores.  I've got my eye on a few from ASOS – particularly this faux fur infinity scarf. It's super cozy and adorable, and totally reminds me of Claire's coat that I'm so in love with.

ASOS - Faux fur infinity scarf

I also have no problem with integrating plaid into my Fall Capsule. Maybe it's the 13 years of Catholic schooling, but it just seems right to throw on a plaid skirt when it's cold out. I snagged this one from @10dollardressshop and I'm in love with it. It's a vintage little Tablots plaid pencil skirt, and it makes me feel very modern day Claire Beauchamp.

Excuse the mirror pic, I'm computer-less for the next two days.

Do you watch Outlander? If so, are you as costume obsessed as I am? I mean – did you see that coat?!

August Roundup: 19 Days Left of Summer

I've been really mentally preparing for fall, but as Angelo's mom and this incredibly humid holiday weekend reminded me, there's still about a month of summer left. Maybe that's why I've been running around and busy like a crazy person recently? Stuff seems to slow down in fall and winter.

Anyways, I know I've been pretty absent from this blog, so I took a page from some of my favorite blogs and decided to do a basic August catch up post.

Reading: Audio books count as reading, in my humble opinion. And I go through about an audio book a week at work. The one that really stuck with me this month was The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. One of the things I enjoy about Gaiman's audio books are that he tends to narrate them himself, and he's a great story teller. "Ocean" is a great, short story that Gaiman actually wrote for his wife. It's got strong female characters, and paints a poignant tale about growing up – with his classic elements of spooky fairy tales. I highly recommend.

Watching: Speaking of strong female woman, after lots of reading and overlapping disappointment concerning Steven Moffat, I've been searching for a new show to binge on that offers up female characters that aren't just there for show. I think I found this in "Elementary," which I’m currently watching the first season of and am now recommending to anyone who talks to me for longer than five minutes. It's a modern day take on Sherlock Holmes, with Lucy Liu in the role of Watson. It's a really great comparison to "Sherlock," which I also love but which has a complete lack of strong female characters. Lucy Liu's Watson is smart, independent and has a great relationship with Sherlock. I'm all about it.

Wearing: I'm cheating on my Capsule Wardrobe a little bit, since I ordered these overalls from American Eagle last week, I haven't really taken them off. I just want them to be perfectly broken in by fall! I've been searching all over for a great pair of overalls, and had my eyes on a pricey pair from Free People, until Lauren alerted me to a similar (on sale) pair at American Eagle. I absolutely love the wash of the denim, and that the overalls themselves are fitted. I sized down in these, since AE tends to run a little big. I've also noticed this pair from Target popping up on my Instagram and think that they are equally adorable and flattering.

Wanting: I've got my eye on this killer fringe coat from H&M, but I'm trying to save up a little bit each week for it. At $130, it doesn't exactly break the bank, but I'm trying to be more responsible and focus on bills (and student loans, ugh) before I run off any buy this amazing coat. Seriously though, it's perfect for fall so can the weather just cool off and I can go ahead and have a need for it?

Changing: Oh, and I guess it's a change to mention – I'm back to dark hair again! After getting tired of using special shampoo and frying my hair every four weeks with bleach, I went back to dark hair with the help of my cousin, Kristina. She does REALLY AMAZING THINGS with hair color, that makes me wish I didn't work an office job, and that I didn't live states away from her. With her helpful instructions and list of what to buy, I transformed from a tired bleach blonde with dark roots to a dark brown haired happy camper. Check out her work Instagram, and if you're in the St. Louis area – go to her and let her make you fancy.

What have you been keeping busy with this August?

Encouraging Beauty: A Week Long Celebration

I was so busy last week, dealing with a sore throat that just won't go away and prepping for a board meeting, that I didn't have time to post! Then Angelo and I spent the weekend at his mom's without computers or internet, opting instead to go on a five hour motorcycle ride and celebrate his grandmother's birthday. That beat out posting too. So anyways, here I am on Monday and ready to share something cool with you guys.

Relaxing means stealing your boyfriend's baseball cap because you don't feel like washing your hair all weekend and not blogging. Sorry guys!

This morning, I was scrolling through my instagram feed and noticed that one of my favorite stylish ladies was talking about something pretty cool. @hilaryrushford (of Dean Street Society) is taking the week to #encouragebeauty. As she describes it, "it's a proclamation that you have power, with your words and your example, to make the world more beautiful and the women around you feel more beautiful." I immediately loved it, and signed up by heading over to weencouragebeauty.com to sign up. Once I signed up, I was sent the prompts for the week, so I figured I would post them on here, so I can talk about them  a little more.

My Monday Prompt was: #makesmefeelgirly. If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have admitted that I shied away from being "girly." I grew up in a house where we weren't allowed to wear nail polish until we were thirteen, didn't need anything more than mascara for day-to-day makeup and didn't worry much about day-to-day wear because I wore a uniform from kindergarten to senior year of high school.  Hell, I spent this weekend wearing the same tee shirt, black jeans and baseball cap – so it's not like I'm a super high-maintenance girly-girl. But in the past few years, I've realized there is something fun about being "girly." I've gotten way more into makeup, and will be the first to admit that my go-to-colors have shifted from blues and greens to pinks and reds.

Last weekend, I found myself unpacking my closet and when going through one of my purses where found a lost MAC lipstick - a shade called Love Forever. These days I tend to stick to either a neutral or bright red lip color, but when I found this missing MAC lipstick, I opened it up and was surprised to see it was a bright, magenta pink color. Pumped, I wore it every day this past week. Lightly to the office, a bit more deeply on the weekends. Paired with my monochromatic capsule wardrobe, it made me feel like a confident, cool and grown up girly-girl. So it may not be something big but my Love Forever Mac Lipstick #makesmefeelgirly. 

I tried to capture how pink it was, but the light was not on my side. Take my word for it though!

That wasn't my only Monday prompt from Dean Street Society. In encouraging beauty, they also sent out a list of prompts to tag someone else in. I think that's a great way to encourage self confidence, positivity and a sense of sisterhood. In her explanation of "Encouraging Beauty," Hilary talks about how taking risks and growing bolder with your personal sense of style encourages other women to do the same. That's one of the reasons I loved this whole week, and knew I wanted to participate. I know so many strong, wonderful women and they definitely deserve the recognition.

My "for her" prompt of the day was #bringsouthereyes and I immediately knew who to feature. One of my best friends, Lauren, who has worked through a serious of dog-centered jobs with me. If we're going to be talking about eyes, I knew that Lauren needed to be featured. I mean, she's pretty much a husky in human form. Check out those eyes!

I stalked her selfies to find this picture, but gave her a heads up that she was going to be posted - so it's okay.

Lauren is way more talented with makeup than I ever will be and can do a killer cat eye with liquid liner, but what I love about this picture is that she looks so fresh faced – and it shows that she's super naturally gorgeous. I think that her fresh faced look in this picture totally makes her eyes the focal point. It shows that she doesn't even need anything to #bringouthereyes because they're stunning all on their own!

I'm really loving this #EncourageBeauty week long celebration, and I highly encourage you to check it out. Just head on over to www.weencouragebeauty.com or check out @hilaryrushford on Instagram. It's basically a week of beautiful positivity, and that makes any stressful Monday better. I'll be listing my prompts all week on this blog, so be sure to check back regularly!

Week Two Review: A Thunderstorm and a Climate Change

Gosh it's been a week, hasn't it? Baltimore got hit with an insane day of thunderstorms (my favorite kind of weather, personally) and the humidity's been pretty nonexistent. Fall is fast approaching – I hope! It's my second week of having a Capsule Wardrobe and I still love it. It's taken a ton of stress out of my daily routine, which is great because other stressors have been popping up more recently. Here's a quick recap of a few of my outfits this week.

Not my normal set up for pictures, but we weren't at our house all day so!

1. Sunday introduced a new stressor into my life and that is – dun dun dun – Angelo bought a motorcycle! I've never actually been on a motorcycle before, but I couldn't resist hopping on it to take a picture to send/scare my parents. I made my grumpiest face and hopped on. I sort of loved how my comfy Madewell midi dress looked paired with the bike. I absolutely love this midi-dress (it's hiked up a bit here because of the bike, but it hits a few inches below my knees). It's easy to dress up with heels or fancy flats, but it was also perfect for lounging around Angelo's mom's house all Sunday while he worked on the bike.

2. To add more stress into my life, I came straight home and cut all my hair off. Well, I didn't, exactly. My neighbor did, and she did an amazing job – but that didn't keep me from having a full blown panic attack about it Monday morning. What a cliché girl moment. Since I was self conscious about my hair, I stuck to wearing something that I felt comfortable in, to give me more confidence. I paired this "rough" polka dot blouse with my favorite distressed Levis. I love the polka dots on this H&M blouse. Polka dots have become super popular as of late, and I've become super picky with my polka dot print. (I'm nuts!) But go with me here – I think that solid, smallish polka dots can sometimes look sort of cheap. These bigger, rough polka dots create less of a uniform pattern and more of a unique look. Am I crazy? Probably…

3. Tuesday it rained. All day. No seriously, there was no wind and so it just thunder-stormed all day and there was flooding everywhere. To make matters worse, my train home broke down at the stop right before mine and completely shut down the trains. I waited for two hours in a torrential downpour, meekly staring at all the backed up trains down the line, before I accepted defeat and Angelo came to my rescue. That being said, I was pretty exhausted and woke up on Wednesday with no desire to go to work or make an effort with my appearance. I paired this cool, geometric J. Crew tee that I thrifted with my high waisted skinny trousers and was pleasantly surprised that I still managed to look put together. J. Crew makes awesome tee shirts that are easy to dress up. When I wear them to work, I usually pair them with heeled booties and a skinny pant, but you could easily add a blazer or a cute skirt with them too. Plus they're easy to find while thrifting, if you're not into spending $50 on a linen tee.

4. TGIF – by the time Friday rolled around, Angelo was in the midst of his motorcycle safety course and I was dealing with a Boston Terrier who had an epic ear infection. After staying up late with a crying puppy, I woke up early on Friday to see if I could snag a vet appointment. I let my hair air dry last night so I took it casual with the tiniest ponytail ever, doubled up chunky sweaters and my favorite tee shirt I stole from Angelo. It's a tee shirt designed by Pizza Party Printing – and if you don't know who they are you definitely need to check them out. They're local to Baltimore and their designs are awesome, especially if you're into horror or classic movies. I love this Pan's Labyrinth shirt because of their spooky design and color combination. Tucked into my black skinny jeans and paired with ballet flats, it's totally acceptable for a casual Friday at my office.

So the Pan's Labyrinth shirt is sold out on their site, but I do own the Bill & Ted tee, and I have my eye on this epic The Labyrinth one, because David Bowie is looking fierce.

All in all, I'm loving this Capsule Wardrobe. It's fun, stressfree and it keeps my mind focused on other things. I can't wait to start building my Fall Capsule, and with the way the weather's been - it's looking like I'll be doing that sooner rather than later. Have you been thinking about starting a Capsule Wardrobe yet?

Capsule Closet Questions: What about my Homebody Wear?

Angelo and I spent the weekend out at his mom's, which is pretty much my favorite place to retreat to on the weekends. There's nothing better than packing up the pups and getting out of the city for a night.

When we first got out there, laundry and puppies in tow, the first thing Angelo's mom said to me was that she liked my outfit from my Capsule closet. She's been reading my blog and is super tempted to try the whole Capsule Wardrobe idea, but raised one question to me that I also dealt with.

"What about things that I only wear around the house – do they count as part of my 37 items?"

I was quick with my response. I say no. A few of my favorite things that I wear are things that I only wear when I'm bopping around the house. I don't wear them out, they're basically just lounge clothes, but if I added them in with my 37 items – I would go over my limit! I did however go through my house-only wear and downgrade them. I don't need ten over sized tee shirts, even if I love them all. I think that five or six items max is a good place to set your homebody wardrobe.

With that being said, here's mine!

Perfect when paired with a chunky sweater from H&M after being stuck at the train station for 2 hours in the rain.

 1. I thrifted this floral romper because I thought it was a cute tank, but when I got home to try it on I realized I had hit the jackpot and found myself with a new romper instead. However, this romper is way too short to wear in public, and it's too revealing up top for me to feel comfortable anywhere but my couch. It is, however, perfect for cooking in my non-air conditioned kitchen and laying on the couch to watch MasterChef reruns.

Some days you just need a good polka dot headband to cover your roots, ya know?

2. White Studded Cutoffs: These cutoffs remind me that I am my mother's daughter. No, my mom doesn't wear white, studded cutoffs, but she does keep things forever. I've had these cutoffs for going on six years now, and they've been on their last leg for probably two. They've got holes in the back pockets and they're missing some studs – but they're the softest denim and they're a perfect length.

3. Loose T-Shirts: For me, there are few things better than coming home from work and putting on a clean, crisp loose t-shirt. They're the shirts that I lived in when I walked dogs, and used to get the most wear out of everything in my closet. When I started my capsule wardrobe, I downgraded these tee shirts, retiring some of them that so greatly deserve it. My favorites now are two that remind me of my mom, a Cher tee shirt she got me when we went to her concert, and an Edward Gorey tee that has a quote about reading and dogs on it – that I pilfered from her closet when I was sick once.

One of many, many Boston print things I own.

4. Boston Terrier Related Clothing: I am, first and foremost, a Boston mama. This means that anything I see that has a Boston Terrier/ Boston Terrier pattern on it, I will buy it. Eagerly and without thinking. My favorite of all Boston related clothing is a BDG tee that @shopjodiscloset found and realized that I needed. Thank god she did, because it's probably one of my favorite articles of clothing. It's incredibly soft, a cute mint green color and it's got little Boston faces all over it. It's almost sheer, and so it's the perfect tee to wear when I crawl up into bed on rainy afternoons to binge on Netflix.

Do you agree with me – should lounge clothes be separate from your Capsule Wardrobe? If you're a homebody like me – do you have a special homebody wardrobe that you wear around the house? Comment below and let me know!

Also, I got a haircut.

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Week One: My First Week with a Capsule Wardrobe

This week was definitely one of those weeks where I woke up Tuesday and was ready for it to be Saturday.  It's just been one of "those" weeks. I've been working pretty hard on keeping our house clean, figuring out the self timer on my camera and having Skype dates with my mom. Since the Skype dates are never set to last that long, but end up lasting about an hour, other things have fallen to the wayside – which means we've been eating out a lot this week, getting to bed late with wet hair, resulting in a lot of buns and one semi-successful top knot.

One thing that hasn't been eating up tons of time, though, has been getting dressed! With a significantly smaller, streamlined closet, I've found picking out outfits for work the night before has become a stress-free process. The only issue I've run into is figuring out which shoes to wear, but I figure this will always be an issue for me, and it's one that can be quickly solved by Angelo pointing at one foot and muttering, "that one."

Here are my four capsule wardrobe outfits that I managed to document this week:

I booked plane ticket and a hotel room for my boss in this outfit - so I'd say it made me look trustworthy and dependable.

 1. If you don't have energy, my mantra has always been to fake it til you make it. This plaid chiffon top from H&M definitely makes me feel like a powerful professional. I paired it with a nude tank top and skinny black pants (also from H&M). I added in my black, cutout heeled booties from Target and the whole look had me feeling ready to collate copies and draft some memos. H&M has a ton of fun pieces that are so great for work, I've become their BIGGEST fan since I got an office job, but that's another post in itself.

Red lipstick also helps on days where you need to convince your coworkers you're not half asleep.

 2. Like I said in my previous post – belts! This vintage belt from my mom really elevated this basic work outfit. It makes the whole look a bit dressier and put together, while still letting me stay true to my personal style even though I'm in the office. I absolutely love this little denim-colored pocket tee, it was a lucky thrift store find that I kept for myself. I paired both with my Madewell slouchy trousers, which are perfect on days where you just can't move at full speed.

Ah Thursday, nothing like coming home and realizing there's a pen in your top knot.

3. By the time Thursday's rolled around, I'm dreaming all day about watching Doctor Who in bed and telling Angelo that it's baked potatoes for dinner tonight. An all black outfit the day before casual Friday is probably the best way to go. I've paired the black lace Madewell tee I got from the wonderful Brennan, (who basically started my insta-shopping addiction with her (now closed) shop, @brenscloset) with a black tank and my skinny, high waist pants from H&M. Finally, since I didn't want to look like the grumpy looking goth girl in the office, I slipped on my Boston Terrier flats that Angelo's mom got for me. I had totally forgotten about these flats, they had been buried at the bottom of my closet but I definitely added them to my capsule wardrobe. They're insanely comfortable, and ridiculously adorable.

4. Ah, Saturday. After a laid back Friday night, I woke up feeling pretty refreshed on Saturday morning. Angelo and I decided to head out to his mom's for the weekend, so I paired my super skinny H&M pale pink jeans (my $3 version of AA Easy Jeans) with a simple white muscle tee and my black vest. All three are total closet staples, and I feel like this is the type of outfit that could handle it if we ended up spending the night without an overnight bag - which we did. The combo of the pale pink jeans and the vest that the wonderful Jackie at @southernsunvintage found for me make me feel like a modern day Rizzo. My attitude is - give or take - a little better.

Did you realize I was such an insta-shopping addict?

I'm loving this whole capsule wardrobe and am having a blast dressing with intention. Week one is definitely being chalked up as a success. Have I tempted you enough to try it? Which is your favorite of my OOTDs?