style yourself e-course!

Happy Valentine's day!  Today of all days, the day of love, I'm launching my newest e-course!  As a personal style blogger, I get lots of questions about personal style, how to wear certain items, how to banish the self conscious bug that keeps you from dressing with confidence, and how to dress for your body shape, among many other questions.  I love answering questions like that and I figured making an e-course all about personal style would be the perfect way to put everything in one place! Style Yourself is an e-course all about discovering your personal style, learning how to express your amazing creative and beautiful personality through your clothing, and gaining the confidence to rock the styles you feel like you were born to wear.
Discovering your own personal style is fun and exciting, though we all know how frustrating it can be when you're in the dressing room or standing in front of your closet and nothing seems "you."  It's not always easy, and can take a lot of trial and error trying to figure out what style makes you feel the most and best you.  Hopefully this e-course will help with that process!

In addition to the e-course, if you sign up in the first two weeks, you'll have the opportunity to enter a giveaway with over $400 total in prizes from Emerging Thoughts, Ruche, Lulu's, Blowfish, ModCloth, Minnetonka, Radiant Cosmetics, Spotted Moth, & Lace Affair.  Nine lucky e-course students will win prizes including gift cards and merchandise from those sponsors!  So not only will you jump start your personal style, you'll have the opportunity to win prizes that will let you go out and buy new clothes which match your personal style!  The giveaway is open to anyone who signs up in the first two weeks of launch, so if you sign up before February 28th, you'll be able to login to the e-course and enter to win!
I believe that style is something totally unique and individual, and much more than just what's trendy or walking down the runways that season. Style is about expressing something about yourself through the medium of clothing. Whether we like it or not, our clothing says something about us. We assess things and people around us based on appearance, even though most of us try not to "judge a book by it's cover." When I get dressed in the morning, I feel like it's an opportunity to say something, visually, about who I am to the world around me. And depending on the day, that could be something totally different from yesterday! The beauty of style is that you aren't limited to just one style, though fashion magazines sometimes give the opposite impression. I can wear a vintage 1950's dress one day, and a body-con dress the next!

There are no rules. Many of us were taught "fashion rules" as kids. Don't wear black and brown together, don't mix prints, no wearing white after labor day, etc. etc. This e-course is about throwing the rulebook out and starting from scratch– starting from YOU. Personal style is something that should emanate from within. Your passion and personality should dictate your personal style!

In this e-course I'll cover topics including wardrobe basics, finding your style inspiration, dressing for hot/cold weather, layering, mixing prints, and tons of other fun stuff! Let's go!

Session List:

 Personal Style: Catalyst for Confidence
 Thoughts On Style
 Wardrobe Basics
 Your Style Inspiration Board
 Vintage Style
 Bohemian Style
 Tomboy Style
 Classic Style
 Rocker Style
 Fashionista Style
 Jessi Arrington on Personal Style
 Embrace Your Inner Pin Up
 Your Body Shape
 Tips for Thrifting
 Expand Your Wardrobe by Swapping
 On Remixing
 How to Mix Prints
 My Closet Tour
 Spring + Summer Outfit Ideas
 Hot Weather Styling
 Fall + Winter Outfit Ideas
 Cold Weather Styling
 The Evolution of Style
 Thoughts on Style and Age from the Advanced Style Ladies
 Expressing yourself at work



Any questions? Don't hesitate to email me!

e-course giveaway will be open until 2/28 at 11:59 pm and can be accessed to enter on the front page of the e-course. all sales on e-courses are final and non-refundable.  This giveaway is a work at your own pace giveaway and can be started at any time and worked through as fast or slow as you like.  The e-course will be accessible for at least 1 year after you've signed up.  You will be emailed your username and password to access the e-course within 24 hours of purchase.

low key

Do you guys have any special plans for tomorrow?  We don't.  We almost never do.  We're not "good" at stuff like Valentine's day.  Grand gestures, flowers, candy, dress-up dates.  I can't even think of a fancy date that I'd really want to go on.  It's not us, or me, which I'm perfectly happy with.  I think we might go out to breakfast or something, but other than that it's just any old day.  I do like fancy dates on the rare occasion, but they tend to happen spontaneously, rather than on days like valentines or anniversaries.   Thankfully Dan is the same way. 

dress/dainty june courtesy of modcloth :: cardigan/thrifted bag/courtesy of rouge & whimsy :: tights + boots/target I have a dress super similar to this one in a different fabric that I got a few years ago.  This one was on super sale at ModCloth's Cabin Fever sale, and even though I had a similar dress already I couldn't help but get it.  In the past few months my style has been shifting towards a more laid back, bohemian, tomboy look, so this dress is definitely a hold over from my more feminine, vintage style of the last couple years.  Not that I think that part of my style will ever completely phase out, but it is funny to still find myself drawn towards pieces that I know I'm not going to enjoy styling as much as I would've a year ago.  This cardigan, though, is definitely something that fits more with my changing style.  Of course, it's chartreuse, which apparently is my new favorite color.  I shouldn't be surprised about that, though, since chartreuse is basically just a mix of my other two favorite colors, mustard and avocado.  I suppose this cardigan is probably more a mustard color, but since I'm all about chartreuse lately I'm calling it chartreuse.  You never know, maybe I'll make a cocktail out of Chartreuse... in my kitchen which is painted chartreuse to really bring the obsession to a new level.

everything soup

I had some broth leftover from a couple recipes I had made, and I didn't want to let it go bad, so I figured throwing together a hearty soup would be a good way to take care of it.  I love being able to just look in the cupboard and fridge and grab a bunch of stuff that seems like it would make a good soup and toss it in a pot and voila!  Soup!  We've been getting these smoked sausages from Grocery Outlet lately, and I'm loving them.  So easy to add some flavor and protein to breakfasts and they worked perfectly in this soup.

This recipe is pretty fast to make, and is nice for just grabbing a bunch of random stuff you have in your fridge, or in cans in your pantry.  This was one of those recipes I made when I thought we didn't have anything in the fridge but upon closer inspection I realized I totally had a bunch of stuff that would go great together in a soup!

Ingredients

32-48 oz beef or chicken broth (or use some broth + add water.  In a pinch I've used ramen chicken/beef flavoring + water in lieu of broth...haha)
2 smoked sausage links, sliced
1 (15 oz) can stewed tomatoes
2 sticks celery sliced
1 10 oz can corn
1/2 onion diced
dash oregano
salt & peper to taste
1/1 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cups pasta

Put your broth in a large pot and add the sausage, stewed tomatoes and spices.  Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and let it simmer.  Simmer for about 15 minutes and then add the celery and corn.  Saute the onion in butter/olive oil until it turns translucent and toss that in.  Keep simmering for about 30-40 minutes more to let all the flavors mix together.  I like to taste my soup as I go and add more spices if necessary.  Add any spices you want, don't feel like you have to stick to what I listed!  I'm not even sure if those are the exact measurements I used because I was adding a bit here & there as I went along.  Read the instructions on your pasta to see how long it says to cook, add your pasta, and let cook until the pasta is done.  Soup's ready!

I really love a soup that has a hearty meat added, though you could omit the meat from this recipe and use just veggie broth and make it vegetarian friendly!  You could add more veggies (like some carrots and beans and diced potatoes) to make it more filling instead of meat.  My favorite thing about making soup from scratch is how easy it is to just play around with the recipes and add something different the next time, or substitute something if you don't have all the "right" ingredients!  Plus, it's hard to screw up soup.

abby galloway giveaway

Today I'm partnering with Abby Galloway to give away two prizes! One winner will receive a tank top or tank dress in any of her prints (you can also customize the size of the print!), and the second winner will receive an iphone case in their favorite print! Abby's got some really fun prints and you can check out all the print options here! You can see some of my favorite prints by Abby below.

If you want to go ahead and purchase something else from Abby's etsy (she's got some super cute dresses and clutches!), make sure to use the code "DELIGHTFUL" to receive 25% off your order!  To enter the giveaway, just follow the directions below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

here + there

Life feels so full these days.  There's never a moment when I feel like there's nothing to be done, but it's good.  I decided to paint the kitchen and did it all Friday night.  Chartreuse and chalkboard!  We went down to the craft fair at King's Books on Saturday and got some awesome prints from Slide Sideways to hang on the wall.  I can't wait to frame them and get them on the wall!  We also got some letterpress letters, and I'd love to collect more.  Printmaking geek decor.  Going to the craft fair really made me miss screen printing.  I'm trying to figure out how to finagle some kind of print studio because I really miss making art.  But really my problem is more in making the time to do it.  I must make time to make art!  I spend so much time editing photos, which I love doing and is definitely part of my love of photography, but making things with my two hands is something different.  I still have paint on my hands from painting the kitchen, and while that's not really "creative" painting, it still felt so good to be painting and creating with my hands, regardless of how mundane it was.