HI, friends! Welcome to week three of The Wear Color Challenge. I gotta tell ya, this week was a bust. I wore mostly neutrals. I was in a funk all week, and it was super stressful. We had state testing at school, and my students and I were all nervous. There’s too much pressure put on third graders! Not to mention a full moon. The state should seriously review the moon patterns before scheduling these tests.
Anyway, I started out on a high note, but it went downhill from there.
I got some positive feedback from my first week of outfits, and I just want to thank you for that. Y’all know I’m no fashion blogger nor do I pretend to be, but it’s been fun to do this. I’m still going for a colorful month and so far so good. Here’s what I wore this week.
Hi, friends! Don’t we all wish our closets looked like that? I mean, come on. Dreamy! However, having a closet like that would definitely mean I had to spend some money. Like a lot of it. And that just doesn’t fit with the theme of today’s blog post.
I mentioned in week one of the Wear Color Challenge that I had cleaned out my closet and had a pretty decent amount of space left over (like a whole foot). You can read what the Wear Color Challenge is here. Most of you know that I live in a small, two bedroom apartment. When we moved from Louisiana, we left a three bedroom house, so we definitely downsized. However, coming here to two small closets meant that I was not sharing. I moved all of my clothes, shoes, and accessories into the closet of the guest bedroom, and Paul got the closet in the master. I’ve always had a sort of “system” to how I organize my closet, but since this is the smallest closet I’ve had since I’ve been married, I had to get creative in order to fit everything in (and then some).
Since the great closet clean out of 2019, I was left with a whole foot of closet real estate. This also meant that I had parted with many of the options I had been leaving myself. I still have plenty to wear, but in an effort to really see what I have and wear, I’ve decided to document my daily outfits whether it be work or play. My goal is to figure out what I wear most, what I need more of, and what I do not/did not wear at all during the month of April.
Hi, friends! Anyone else got a real case of the hurry-up-and-clear-out-the-pollen-so-I-can-get-outside-and-enjoy-the-spring-weathers? This self-proclaimed winter lover is really ready for the warmer temps, but only like the sunny and 75 stuff. Nothing higher. I immediately want winter again at the first sign of sweat.
Lately, I’ve been dressing for the season and not the weather. It gets a little old when I break a sweat walking from my car to my classroom because October in Alabama is still in the 90s, but we’ve gotten a tad bit of relief in temperature this week, so I feel it’s the right time to share a little fall outfit inspiration. Continue reading “Seven on a Saturday- Fall Fashion Inspiration”
Some of you might say, “Elizabeth, I know your favorite fall accessory is definitely a scarf.” And you’d be making a pretty valid point, but fall in the south is still pretty warm, and the accessory I always pull out first will not make you hot. Continue reading “My Favorite Fall Accessory”
I know a lot of you are not fans of the awards shows since people in Hollywood are quite vocal about their opinions on everything. But I’ve never let my political views come in between me and the Oscars. It’s my super bowl. I pregame with red carpet coverage, and I used to finish it up with Fashion Police the Monday after, but they have since canceled that show. Now, thanks to Instagram, I’m able to get a rundown on everyone’s favorite dress.
First thing’s first… Kobe won an Oscar!Fun fact about me- I used to be a pretty big Lakers fan. Not sure why. I’ve never been to L.A., never saw one of their games anywhere else, but I just really liked them when I was in junior high and high school. I remember staying up really late once to watch one of the championship games. Anyway…now that I’ve thoroughly lost cool points with most of you…He won for Best Animated Short Film called Dear Basketball. I thought it was pretty cool. Also, his wife looks incredible. She’s beautiful, and that dress is her color.
Wonder Woman, I mean, Gal Gadot
This dress is liquid metal. Liquid, fringed metal. (not really, obviously) I love it so much. And that necklace…holy moly! It was the perfect accessory for the neckline of this dress. Her party dress was a similar neckline and she didn’t wear the necklace! What?! I supposed it had to go back to Tiffany’s. 🙂
Jennifer Lawrence
She’s like a bronze goddess. Her hair is not very “Oscars”, but she still looked really pretty. The warm makeup was a bit dark on her eyes for me, but overall I think it works with the dress. She also wasn’t nominated, so it was definitely her year to just kick back a little, enjoy the night and look gorgeous.
Gina Rodriguez
I loved the Old Hollywood feel of this dress. She pulls off this nude color so well with her complexion. Her hair was perfect for this look to showcase the dress and the plunging neckline. And the belt and train were just stunning to me. Very glamorous.
Laura Dern
This woman could wear a potato sack, and it would look pretty. She just has a great frame for clothes. White had a moment on the red carpet, and I liked this statement shoulder. I was a little sad she was wrinkled. Her jewelry and hair looked great, though. The simple look was elegant and timeless.
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. looked amazing. This corseted gown was so. good. The camera for TV picked up on that beautiful beading on her dress better than the still camera did. I just thought she looked so elegant. And if you did watch, did you not absolutely love her performance for Best Original Song for her movie Mudbound? She took us to church, complete with a choir, and it was incredible.
Margot Robbie
This was my favorite white dress of the evening. The silhouette on her was just perfect in all the right places. Her simple waves and pretty makeup completed the look beautifully. It didn’t overpower it at all, which can sometimes happen with a white dress. I thought the draping straps were different at first…maybe a little like Christmas tree garland, but it grew on me. I really like this one. It ended up being one of my favorite dresses of the night. Also, I cannot wait to see her in I, Tonya. I think the Tonya Harding scandal was the first scandal I actually remember, so it’ll be interesting to watch a film about it.
Viola Davis
Don’t like her hair. Don’t hate it, but don’t love it. What I do love is this pink dress. This dress is EVERYTHING. I had such a positive, happy reaction to it when she came on screen. She wears color so well. I hope she always does bold and bright colors. Fabulous! Just fabulous!
Nicole Kidman
Okay, I don’t know if I love it or hate it. I love the color. She is a beauty in blue. Her hair and makeup are flawless, and those earrings are oh so good. But this dress…I think I like it. But then I’m not sure about the fabric…or that very heart-y sweetheart neckline. The bow is architecturally interesting and I can appreciate that about the dress from an artistic standpoint, but I just can’t decide. What do you think? Love it or hate it?
Zendaya
I love when someone does chocolate brown right. It’s such an underused color, but she really made this work. The other sleeve of the gown is drapey and long and flowy. I love her hair up as to not take away from the dress. And those stacks of diamonds on her wrist are the perfect accessories. Beautiful.
Jennifer Garner
Um, I think she found her color. And her voluminous, side-parted hair is the stuff my dreams are made of. Her makeup was flawless, and she knew just how to work this dress. She’s was another one of my best dressed of the night.
Meryl Streep
I know this is a very simple, understated look, but she looks so beautiful. I think she’s really owning this deep V and this shade of red. She looks effortless, and I think it was worth a mention. She’s such a pro, too. She broke her own record this year with number of nominations. You go, girl!
Greta Gerwig
I predicted that she would wear yellow. And I think it was the right move. She has a great skin tone for yellow. I’m so jealous. Her makeup was really pretty, and the dress seemed to be something she was comfortable in. She had to be so nervous coming in as the potential second woman to win the Oscar for Best Director. She did’t win, but you could tell she was so thrilled to be there. And why not? She’s young, she made an Oscar-nominated film, she produced work worthy of an Oscar nomination herself, and the talent in her movie was also nominated. She’s the whole package and the real deal. I can’t wait to see Ladybird and see what everyone’s been talking about.
Rita Moreno
The repeat offender! Just kidding. Kind of. She did repeat her Oscar gown from 1962, but it was really pretty and fresh for 2018. The only thing I didn’t understand was her headband. It looks like what I put in my hair before I put on my shower cap on days I don’t wash my hair. She’s still quite the beauty, and her necklace was such a statement piece. I loved it. Just imagine the look without that silly headband. Goodness gracious… 🙂
Allison Janney
BEST DRESSED! This look deserves that little gold man. The dress was my favorite the moment I saw it, and it never left first place. The plunging neckline with that blinding, icy necklace is lovely on her. But those sleeves. The sleeves are my favorite part. I think maybe this is the best she’s ever looked on the red carpet. It was truly her night. Everything is perfection.
The Vanity Fair After Party
Allison Janney
Well, here she is again in more red and an elegant white collared shirt. Oh my goodness. It’s too good. That Oscar is the best accessory she could have for this party. What a great night on all fronts for her. Bravo, Allison Janney.
Emma Watson
This dress is so beautiful on her. I love the beaded necklace. It drapes over the shoulders so delicately. It’s very elegant, but her choppy bangs give the look a bit of an edge. She is totally pulling it off, though. Fierce.
Mindy Kaling
So, she just had a baby. Wow! She looks so beautiful. I love a good sequin moment, and this dress delivered. Her hair and makeup are really great, and she looks sexy. Work it, Mindy. She’s one of my top party looks, for sure. Second only to Allison Janney. Love this.
Well, you know I want to know your thoughts. Who was your best dressed? Did you watch the show? Did you watch the red carpet coverage? Let me know in the comments.
*All pictures are from Instyle Magazine and Vanity Fair Instagram accounts.
I know the Emmy Awards were last Sunday, but I keep seeing these wonderful pictures of the beautiful gowns that were strutted down the red carpet, and I have to share my favorites. Here they are in order of my most favorite to my least favorite.
Millie Bobby Brown in Calvin Klein by Appointment
She is my best dressed, hands down. I thought she looked stunning. Gorgeous, classic, and conservative (she’s only 13). Her simple hair and minimal makeup were the perfect styling, and I even loved the shoe pairing. Two thumbs way up!
Nicole Kidman in Calvin Klein by Appointment
The tea length dress was very popular on the red carpet last Sunday, and though I didn’t love all of those dresses, this one was beautiful. I love the bit of sparkle. I love the deep V, but loved even more that it wasn’t all cleavage. The color looks amazing against her fair skin, and the pink shoe is a fun way to add a little something extra. She rarely gets it wrong on the red carpet and this was no exception.
Thandie Newton in Jason Wu
She always looks so beautiful on a red carpet. But she usually does something very fashion-y. This look is so gorgeous. I think this color is perfect on her. I love her hair and makeup, too. She knocked it out of the park with this look.
Felicity Huffman in Tony Ward
Now that’s a red carpet moment! I just love everything about this. The color, her hair, and let’s not overlook the fact that her body is killer and the dress makes her look 8 feet tall. So beautiful.
Mandy Moore in Carolina Herrera
Okay, so I know people said she looked a bit like an Oreo, and I’ll give them something because the still shot of this dress is NOTHING compared to when she walked. It was a beautiful, flowing bit of nothing that resembled an Oreo. She looks fabulous. And that pink lip…Perfection!
Anna Chlumsky in Sachin and Babi
This dress looks like liquid silver poured over her body (well, the bottom half). I love how it’s mirror-like and totally picking up the red from the carpet. I really like the ombre to gold around the shoulders. Just a beautiful dress. It was even better on television. I would have rather seen her hair not so slicked back, but she looks incredible.
Claire Foy in Oscar de la Renta
And so continues my obsession with the designs of Mr. de la Renta. I know he’s been gone a few years, but the clothes with his name sewn into them NEVER disappoint me. (It’s one of my favorite Instagram feeds.) 🙂 I loved that it was a jumpsuit, and that half-cape-train-thing is very chic. It was just something unexpected that I really liked.
Ellie Kemper in Jenny Packham
I love the top half of this dress. The navy color and the beading is bananas, but why couldn’t they line it all the way to the ground? That would have probably put her at number two. I love the color of the dress with her hair color. And she’s just flat out beautiful! Though, I would have liked it to be a tad different, it’s still one of my favorite looks.
Zoe Kravitz in Dior Couture
I know this one isn’t for everyone. But I loved the rainbow skirt on this one. I feel like this one isn’t just a dress for an event. I feel like she was trying to make a fashion statement. Some people have said she maybe looks a little like a bird, but I think it’s so unique and just so dang pretty. I love the rainbow with the black bodice, and I’m kind of liking her darker hair. Pretty.
Jessica Biel in Ralph and Russo
Yes, this is my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely gown. I love that it’s drapey at the top, and I love the train. But can someone please tell me why they covered up this pretty, shiny, sparkly goodness with gauzy badness? It would have been SOOOO much better had it been all silver and ALL sparkly. That being said, I really do like the dress. And you just don’t get much better looking than Jessica Biel.
Well, y’all, that’s it! Hope this brought some pretty to your Friday!
Wait! One more. I love Stranger Things and can’t wait for it to come back this Halloween, and the boys of the show looked very dapper. I love how their own personal style is displayed for each young man.
I follow quite a bit of fashion and beauty bloggers and YouTubers, and lately, I’ve been seeing these earrings pop up in a few places.
I instantly fell in love with them, sourced them out, and went to place my order. I found they were at one of my favorite jewelry websites, Baublebar, but they had to be pre-ordered and they were $38. In the grand scheme of things $38 isn’t really that much money, but if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I love myself a good Walmart clearance deal. I’ve also linked several more budget friendly jewelry retailers in a previous post. See, I’ve always been told I have champagne taste on a beer budget. And right now my budget is not willing to pay for much more than Natural Light. So, to me $38 made me initially go, “Aw man.” As I did the back and forth of “do I really need these?”, “but they are so cute”, “no one is going to have these”, “but they are nearly $40-especially after taxes and shipping”, “they are definitely an indulgence”, etc…I realized that they were made of thread. And then I thought, I’m kind of crafty. I used to cross stitch when I was a kid, so I know my way around a needle and thread. I can absolutely MAKE these! Luckily, I had a similarly shaped pair of earrings (that I got on clearance at Walmart), but I hadn’t been wearing them lately, so I decided they were getting up-cycled.
My Granny has recently passed away, and she was a bit of a “collector”-of lots of things. One of these things being thread. *Thank you, Granny!* My mom also has a rather large collection because she likes to sew and used to do her fair share of cross stitching too. I asked to peruse her collection, but she brought over two large containers from my Granny that just so happened to have the perfect colors and plenty of each one.
I started out with the black and white pattern around the earrings.
I got a little carried away and cut the thread early on after I had tied knots, but I underestimated how much I had to handle the earrings, and they promptly fell apart. So, back to square one. Live and learn, right?
I decided to leave long strands to tighten again if needed. Once I had it completely wrapped, I made sure the knots were tight, cut the excess string, and Superglued the ends down to the back. I tried to make it as nice looking as possible, but since the backs don’t really show, I wasn’t too worried about it.
You know when you set out to do a task, especially a DIY, and you think that it’ll take like an hour, maybe two? Yeah, I thought this too, but it took me all dang day and then the next afternoon to complete these things. So, when I got one completely done in black and white, I was super excited.
My Aunt Rena told me that it was fairly simple to make a tassel. I followed her instructions of wrapping the thread around something (my two fingers), cutting the bottom to open up the loop, pulling up the top a bit and wrapping a sting of the same color around to make the tassel. It really was simple. But then as I looked back at the original earrings, I saw how many I had to make. Holy cow!
I made them according to the picture but ended up not needing them all. I made up my pattern of tassels and laid them out to see if I liked it. I did. Then I had to decide how to attach the tassels to the base. This is when I went to bed. My brain had had enough.
When I got back to work, I thought I might need some jewelry wire, but turns out I could thread the tassels together using white or black thread (I chose white). I then wrapped the extra around the part of the earring that was already wrapped in white and Superglued it to make it secure.
I also added a little Superglue along the bottom of the base so that the tops of the tassels would lay flush to it.
I think they turned out cute. I have enjoyed wearing them, and though they don’t look exactly like the originals, I think they are pretty darn close. I also love the fact that I didn’t have to pay a dime (except maybe $2.00 for the actual earrings when I originally bought them).
If you’re still reading by now, I want to say that I wrote this post to show that just because you may have expensive taste without the budget to go along with it, you don’t have to go without. Sure, these earrings might not be of the same quality as Baublebar, but with a little imagination and creativity I was able to recreate something that I might never have bought for myself because it seemed a little indulgent. Also, I know that I appreciate them more because I put the time and effort in to making them with my own hands.
I challenge you to get crafty this month. It’s spring! It’s time to do something fun. Make a pretty wreath for your door, sew some cloth napkins or place mats, arrange a pretty spring bouquet for your table, or perhaps you want to make some earrings. 🙂 Happy Crafting, everyone!
Fun fact about me- I used to be a pretty big Lakers fan. Not sure why. I’ve never been to L.A., never saw one of their games anywhere else, but I just really liked them when I was in junior high and high school. I remember staying up really late once to watch one of the championship games. Anyway…now that I’ve thoroughly lost cool points with most of you…He won for Best Animated Short Film called Dear Basketball. I thought it was pretty cool. Also, his wife looks incredible. She’s beautiful, and that dress is her color.
I think maybe this is the best she’s ever looked on the red carpet. It was truly her night. Everything is perfection. 
She is my best dressed, hands down. I thought she looked stunning. Gorgeous, classic, and conservative (she’s only 13). Her simple hair and minimal makeup were the perfect styling, and I even loved the shoe pairing. Two thumbs way up!
The tea length dress was very popular on the red carpet last Sunday, and though I didn’t love all of those dresses, this one was beautiful. I love the bit of sparkle. I love the deep V, but loved even more that it wasn’t all cleavage. The color looks amazing against her fair skin, and the pink shoe is a fun way to add a little something extra. She rarely gets it wrong on the red carpet and this was no exception.
She always looks so beautiful on a red carpet. But she usually does something very fashion-y. This look is so gorgeous. I think this color is perfect on her. I love her hair and makeup, too. She knocked it out of the park with this look.
Now that’s a red carpet moment! I just love everything about this. The color, her hair, and let’s not overlook the fact that her body is killer and the dress makes her look 8 feet tall. So beautiful.
