Fall Fashion with Marshall's // Outfit Number Three

When the weather cools down, inevitably there will be days which call for jeans.  As much as I advocate how easy it is to continue wearing dresses throughout fall and winter, there are just some days where I'd rather just throw on some jeans and a sweater and be done with it.  Lately I've been excited that a cropped or ankle length jean is popular, because that means I can buy jeans and not have to alter them!  I thought it was pretty funny earlier this year when I bought some capris from Target and they fit perfectly as full length pants.  Oh the pitfalls of being short.


top + jeans/courtesy of marshalls :: total- $37.00 boots/courtesy of modcloth :: glasses/target :: photos by Dan
Yesterday we decided to go on an urban gleaning adventure and try to find blackberry bushes.  The other night when we took the outfit photos for the second outfit, we discovered that there were enormous blackberry bushes lining most of the alleyway, a fun find!  We started our blackberry adventure at a nearby public park, and there were lots of bushes, but it looked like other people had the same idea and they were relatively picked over.  We stopped by the alley on the way home, though, and got a bunch of nice big ones.  I might make a blackberry pie.  I've been on quite the baking kick lately.  In the last week I've made two of those blueberry breakfast cakes, rhubarb lemon bars, and a strawberry rhubarb crumble. Harvesting all these awesome berries is the culprit.  We're planning on going blueberry picking again, and I still have some blueberries leftover from our last trip... and today we're going to harvest some apples... yikes!
I snagged one of Dan... couldn't resist that smile.

Fall Fashion with Marshall's // Outfit Number Two

Second outfit!  Kind of print-crazy, but I love it.  So many fall hues at once!  Once the temperatures cool down a bit more, outfits like this will work wonderfully with tights.  I think this outfit would look good with a pair of mustard or cranberry tights!  For now, though, the temperature is still pretty dang summery and I'm not complaining.  One of these days it'll rain and everyone will mourn the death of summer.  Kids around town are probably already entering the mourning time, as they've gone back to school.  It's funny to think about all those years of childhood and adolescence spent craving summer vacation, and then seeing stores start to stock back-to-school supplies- getting simultaneously excited for the new year at school, and sad that the freedom and long days of summer were coming to an end.  I think maybe that feeling lingers on in adulthood.  There's excitement for all the holidays and events that the end of the year brings, but also a twinge of sadness for the end of long, lazy, hot summer days. dress + top/courtesy of marshalls :: total- $32.00 shoes/minnetonka :: lady tie/courtesy of flapper girl :: photos by Dan
I've had a couple lady ties sitting on my dresser, begging to be worn, but the summer temperatures were calling for sundresses and other tops which weren't lady-tie friendly.  I suspect, though, that I'll be wearing them all the time in the fall, paired with collared shirts.  I usually forget about details like jewelry and accessories, but sometimes they can really just give that extra "umph" to an outfit.  I think this outfit would be perfectly cute sans lady tie, but dang if it isn't just that much better with the addition of this little mustard lady tie!  A touch of sophistication and a fun detail, at that.

Fall Fashion with Marshall's // Outfit Number One!

Marshalls recently contacted me asking if I wanted to participate in a fall fashion challenge: create a whole outfit for only $100.  Well, I wanted to take the challenge a bit further.  Whenever I see splurge vs steal sections in magazines where the "steal" is still over $100 I don't really consider that a steal.  So I decided to up the ante.  I wanted to be able to create at least 5 outfits out of the items I bought using that $100.  Okay, well I ended up spending an extra $20 more than the $100 I was given because I can't do math, even though I checked like seven times.  I didn't get any shoes from Marshalls because I couldn't find anything in my size (damn you baby feet), but other than that, I'll be showing you five complete remixed outfits!  Another guideline for the challenge?  Base the outfit off of one of the following: Color, Prints, or 'Ladylike with an Edge'. Obviously I chose prints!  I can't avoid a good print, and mixing prints seems to be in my blood. Oh, and the best part?  I get to give away a $100 gift card to Marshalls one lucky winner so she can snag her own fall outfits!  So, next week after I've posted all five outfits, there will be a giveaway for a $100 gift card to Marshalls. 

dress + cardigan + shades + purse/courtesy of marshalls :: total- $60.00 boots/courtesy of modcloth :: necklace/handmade :: photos by Dan
Cozy sweaters are a necessity for fall, and I loved this slouchy oatmeal cardigan.  I thought the neutral color was a nice contrast to the crazy prints on the dress.  I didn't even realize when I got the dress that it's kind of mixing prints on it's own.  There are geometric prints mixed with more animalistic prints and stripes and such, all together on one dress.  No wonder I chose it.  Sometimes I think I mix prints so much because I just don't even see the print.  I don't think I even really took a good look at the print on this dress until I was looking at these photos as I composed this post.  Huh!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Breakfast cake?  Yes, breakfast cake.  Breakfast cake?  I know, right?  Really, though, we eat tons of things that are just as bad as cake for breakfast and don't bat an eye at it.  Muffins?  Just cupcakes without frosting.  Pancakes even have the word "cake" in their name, but because "pan" got tacked onto the front we don't notice.  Donuts, croissants, apple fritters, bagels and cream cheese.  It's just dessert disguised as breakfast food.  But all of that is to say that breakfast cake is a great idea.  I like blueberry pancakes and all, but this breakfast cake is amazing.  I found the recipe over at Alexandra's Kitchen, and it's bomb.  Just looking at these pictures while writing this post is making my mouth water.  We got lots of blueberries from the park this weekend, so I plan on making some muffins or something too, but this was a great way to use up lots of blueberries.  Luckily we had a friend over to help us eat it!

The Remix Archives // Stripes

I saw this skirt in a Forever 21 in Portland when I was there on a trip about three years ago and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Since then, it's probably become the most worn piece in my wardrobe, or at least one of the most remixed pieces I've worn. It's beautifully bold and graphic, yet it goes with almost every color and pattern I've paired it with, which makes it the perfect piece for remixing! Oh, plus it has pockets. Bonus!