Lemon Zest : Part II

Here's a curated collection of my favorite yellow clothing and accessories this spring. Wish I could wear all of it! Do you have any favorites from this list?

Lemon Zest : Spring 2013 by emz5390 on polyvore.com

From My Own Closet: Printed Tee and Fur Vest

Tee: Marshall's

Fur vest: Topshop via Plato's Closet

Jeans: Grane via Macy's

Shoes: Payless

Ring: Made by me

Earrings: Claire's

A basic tee and jeans outfit gets an upgrade! It has a touch of glam, but it's still easy to wear and comfy-casual. This is the last fur vest outfit I'll show you, promise! For this winter anyway...

   

From My Own Closet: East Meets West

Top and Tights: LOFT Outlet

Skirt: Target

Scarf: Gift from sister "K"

Boots: DSW

Necklace worn as a bracelet: from India

I think this outfit has a slight oriental feel: the spicy colors, the jacquard weave in the scarf, and the wooden bracelet. The denim skirt and the cowgirl boots? I'm not only a Texan at heart!

For the longest time I didn't know how to tie a scarf, other than wrap it once around my neck. Then I found this YouTube video called 25 Ways to Wear a Scarf in 4.5 Minutes!
:

If was in the habit of swearing I could swear she does the same one twice (Infinity and DIY Infinity?) but I picked up a few new styles that I love. Never knew tying a scarf was so easy!

Linking up to What I Wore Wednesday for the first time!

From My Own Closet : (And My Childhood Dress Up Jewelry Box)

It's good to be back.This blog is my baby, and I think about it far more than it appears! I had a hectic end to the fall semester (So far, I have known no other type of end to a semester. You know how it is, when, two weeks before finals, you still have practically an entire semester's work ahead of you, as well as the last thirteen weeks to review in your mind as you try to figure out what exactly you were doing that kept you so busy, because it's obvious what you weren't doing? I sure do.)

After finals, I still had all my Christmas shopping and wrapping and cooking and cleaning (well, if I have to be honest, the last two were accomplished 99% by my sisters and mom), followed by a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Here's a little proof of the fun we had...

...as well as our creativity...

...and all-around cuteness...

 I'm a shameless braggart. And then Christmas morning...

... I sneaked around with some of these shady characters, leaving behind no trace but these candy canes on our neighbors' doors.

Now that life is more or less routine again, I think it's time to start a new habit, aka blog. This has nothing to do with the fact that it's January. Blogging is not a procrastinated, two-weeks-late New Year's Resolution for me. OK, OK, you all can see right through me, so ... I have never kept a New Year's Resolution in my life, even though I have put together a comprehensive list of resolutions every year from the time I was 11 years old. I didn't (and it's painfully clear, still don't) have time or self-discipline to tackle all of it at once, miss one day of doing this or that, and then never pick it up after that day. Nevertheless in 2012 I somehow managed to start doing two things regularly: studying the Bible and exercising.  The Bible study was started probably around April or May, and the exercising sometime in the summer. I've missed quite a few days here and there- especially with exercising since there are more days that I don't do it than do- but they're still something I can say I do. I do it, maybe not consistently, but persistently; I haven't stopped studying the Bible or exercising since. So I've decided to approach my blog the same way. I can't say I'll post three times a week or on Wednesdays or anything like that. But I will post persistently.

Did you know...

• White button-up shirts are hard to wear without looking too professional for a low-wage retail job? I can't wear jeans to work, but that would look cute with this outfit. I should do that for one of my days off.
• The lacy cardi only has three-quarter length sleeves, so I had to roll up my shirt cuffs to make it work? (And you never would've known if I hadn't told you =)
• I have worn these shoes (scroll all the way to the top to see them) in every outfit I have posted so far?! No, they're not my only pair. Yes, they are my favorite pair. No, I don't have nearly as many shoes as a lot of girls I know. And yes, if a girl is only allowed one pair of shoes in her life, I firmly believe they ought to be a pair of black pointed-toe 2-inch heels with designer detail (2-inch only because she's gonna have to walk at some point)!
• My necklace came from a box of jewelry my sisters and I used to play dress up with? We didn't have a whole lot of money when I was growing up, so my parents were sometimes creative with the gifts they gave us. When I was about 6, for Christmas my parents gave me and my sisters a box of scarves and hats and jewelry they got from the thrift store. We loved it! It was probably cheaper than buying dress-up clothes from the toy store, and we got to fashion the scarves and shawls into skirts or dresses or whatever we wanted them to be. (It might have been the same Christmas or another, my parents also gave us a huge box of toy food- only it was carefully salvaged food packaging that my mother had collected over the last year. We had the best food set ever!) Anyway, my sisters were cleaning out the hall closet and came across the box of thrift store dress up jewelry and asked if I wanted to use any of it as supplies. I saw the necklace and thought, I can wear that! Bonus: the purple-ish beads in the necklace match the color of my sweater! It was meant to be!

So tell me, where is the strangest place you have gotten a fashion accessory or garment? I'm sure someone reading this blog has a much better story =).

From My Own Closet: Glittery Dolman Sleeve Sweater and Jeans

Sweater, Cami, and Necklace: LOFT Outlet

Jeans: Grane from Macy's, with style alterations

Shoes: Steinmart

Scarf: Made by Me

We're finally getting some sweater weather here in SE Texas. It was a lovely 45 degrees when I walked out the door this morning! By the time we got out of church... different story.

I love this sweater for many reasons. First, it has a roomy fit that's not too clingy but not too baggy. A lot of tops of this style have a too wide neckline or are sheer or have some other fault. Not the case here! After a few wears and washes, the neckline does seem to have gotten a little bigger, so I wear a cami underneath. You can't really see it in the photos unfortunately, but the sweater has gold metallic threads throughout, making it extra special. It has a subtle shine appropriate for anywhere.

I picked the scarf for the blood orange color. That with the gold is a color combo I've seen a lot in store displays lately and I'm really loving.

The jeans were originally flared when I got them; for some reason, flared jeans have a little more ease where you need it than skinnies do. Anyway, I left the upper thighs and above intact and narrowed the legs below the knee to make skinny jeans. I love having jeans now that can be worn with boots!

I'm so glad I've finally completed another blog post. It's been two weeks since my last one, and I was getting afraid maybe blogging was another short-term interest that I wouldn't really ever get in the habit of. Doesn't it seem as though every time you want to put together a post, you don't have time, or it gets dark before you get around to it, or your sister with the camera is busy? Or maybe it's just me? I've still been keeping up with a lot of the blogs I follow, and I must say, I really feel like the novice I am right now.

If you have any comments or suggestions remotely related to this post, I'd like to hear about it. I so appreciate all of you who read, comment, and follow my little blog.

From my own Closet: Black and Blue

 Dress: Emilie Couture (aka made by me)

Sweater: LOFT Outlet

Necklace: LOFT Outlet

Belt: Kohl's

Shoes: Steinmart

This is the first time I've done a photo shoot like this. I think I need a bit of modeling coaching! But my sister did a great job with the photography despite the small space we were in.

Lately I've been seeing a lot of royal blue paired with black. This dress isn't quite the same shade of blue as has been dictated to us by the fashion powers-that-be, but I don't care a bit! It's still strong enough to hold its own against the black. I wasn't even thinking about this when I put the outfit together, but don't the different textures look really good together too?