So I Walk into GAP for the First ((and Last)) Time....

And an hour and several trips to the fitting room later, I'm the proud owner of
THE MOST AMAZING PANTS EVER!!!

shop here

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.....

+ look at the color! And to imagine I was thisclose to buying a GRAY pair. Sheesh.

+ they are so comfy! I always had something against jeggings - no clue why - but now that I own a pair, I love them to death

+ they go with...um, everything in my closet! No kidding. I stayed up way late last night just putting together jillions of different outfits with them.

+ they were FREE

hand-me-down shirt & scarf,
GAP jeggings (cuffed because it's a gajillion degrees outside)

thrifted cardigan & bandana/scarf,
hand-me-down shirt & belt, GAP  jeggings,
wet seal flip-flops

hand-me-down blazer & shirt & necklace & belt,
GAP jeggings, wet seal flip-flops

So you remember M:PT? I was one of the lucky winners of the voucher for free GAP jeans! ((See the other winners here)) I had never been in a GAP store before, and I don't imagine that it will be happening again in the near future - have you seen the price tags in there? I would have had to pay over $70 for these pants! That's a bit much, especially considering that pretty much every other item of clothing I'm wearing in these pictures is a hand-me-down. But they were free, so it's not an issue.

Happy happy day!

It's Over? Already?

I can't believe it's been an entire month already! I've really enjoyed doing M:PT, in spite of the fact that it was harder than I had anticipated. To finish it off, I've come up with my favorite outfits and a list of what M:PT has taught me.

I'll start with the outfits:

{click to enlarge}

What I've Learned from M:PT:

#1) The four elements of a PT outfit: color, pattern, texture, and shine -  and this isn't just because RA said so. I've noticed that prety much all of the fashion bloggers that I follow use this, too

#2) That having been said, guess what four elements I'm going to be working on getting more of in my closet?

#3) I can pull off trends just as well as anyone else! I've always been scared to jump on with the colored denim, cuffed jeans, pattern mixing, and tucked-in-and-belted trends, but I tried all of the above this month for M:PT and it turns out there was nothing to be afraid of! Silly me...

#4) Actually doing one's hair can add A LOT to an outfit. Generally, I just brush my hair in the morning and leave it at that. For some silly reason, doing my hair made me feel self conscious. But this month, I've tried so many new hair styles (and I have plenty more tutorials I have yet to try!), and I've loved all of them! I still wore my hair down most days, but there's been a huge improvement!

#5) I've gotten much better at taking self portraits, and this prompted me to get some better photo-editing software

#6) Dressing in a PT manner gives me such a boost in self confidence! I just feel better about myself and am overall happier when I'm trying to look nice.

A huge thank you to RA for putting this together! I've loved the support and wonderful styles of everybody who participated! Everybody was so kind in their comments -  I've loved every minute of this!!! 

Culinary Pursuits...and a Hairnet

For the next two weeks, I am enrolled in a Culinary Arts class. So though I will be attempting to dress for M:PT, this is what I'm really going to look like for the majority of the day....plus a highly flattering apron and hair net that I spared you all the joy of seeing. The apron is actually all right - but the hairnet is just awful.  Today was my first day, and I LOVED it! We made a super-yummy fruit salad, and the professor taught us how to properly cut the fruit (yes, apparently there is a wrong way to cut a strawberry...).

There's only one minor downside to this class: the dress code is going to 1) make M:PT extremely difficult this week, and 2)possibly kill me from heat exhaustion. This week's M:PT theme is shine. I have...well...zero shiny clothing items, so I was going to rely on my accessories and sequined ballet flats to save the day. But then the dress code for this class came, and it turns out that there is NO jewelry or scarves allowed, and all shoes must fully cover the foot. That kinda kills my back-up plans....so this week will be interesting for M:PT. Another part of the dress code is that we are required to wear full-length pants and mid-calf length socks, hence the possibility of death by heat exhaustion. It's HOT here!!!

 

Here's to a fabulous week-

Day 2 - FUSCHIA!

scarf: free from a Susan G. Komen 5K
top: hand-me-down
tank: Salvation Army
trousers: target

I am SOOOOO much more comfortable in this outfit! It's kind of sad that I've already had to resort to only a pop of color, though. My closet is made up of about 50% color - half of that which is long-sleeved and no longer appropriate to the weather - and 50% blacks, browns, whites, and grays. So here is SUMMER GOAL #1:

Shop in COLOR!

Speaking of shopping - a word about Salvation Army. I think it's really disgusting. Is that just my local store, or is that everywhere? I never ever ever wear anything from there unless it has gone through a few washes, and as soon as I get home from shopping there, I scrub my hands skinless and feel like taking a shower. That being said, I LOVE Salvation Army!!! Shopping either there or at Goodwill is one of my most favoritest things. Probably over half of my closet is thrifted, and because of that, I pretty much never have to worry about having the same clothing as anyone else. That, plus the fact that it's suuuper cheap, will keep me braving its germ-infested aisles for a looong time.

Happy Wednesday!

M:PT Day 1 of COLOR

earrings: 99 cent store (because I'm classy like that)
shirt: target - my color piece for the day
belt: hand-me-down
trousers: F21
shoes: they got cut out, but they're from wet seal

Don't worry, I'm not going totally fashion blogger on you. Not that I have anything against fashion bloggers - I'm actually kind of addicted to them right now - that's just nowhere near what I had in mind when I started this blog. But since I'm participating in M: PT, and I haven't been posting too much lately, I figured that this would be a great motivation for me to post! I'll already be online putting my outfit pic on flickr, so it'll be easy for me to head on over here and do the same.

This transition into summer is always hard for me clothing-wise. Once I can no longer hide under my well-beloved sweaters and cardigans and such, I suddenly hate my entire closet. That is why having M: PT in May is so perfect! I'm hoping this will help me love my closet, and get comfortable with it. With that being my goal, I went entirely out of my comfort zone with this outfit. I tucked in my shirt, and you can't tell from the picture, but my trousers are rolled up. Both of those are looks that I love on others, but always shy away from wearing myself. And, to be honest, as soon as I left the house, the shirt came untucked, and a few hours later, the trousers were unrolled. Oh, well. I'll get there...

A Challenge

Just a two-second post here-

           Have any of you heard of Mission:Put Together? I found about it from Kayla over on Freckles in April. It's run by RA of Definitely RA, and I think it's a fabulous ides! I'm joining - who's with me?