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!

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.