Scalloped Mint and a DIY to Match!

I recently realized that with all the mint colored clothing I've acquired in the past few seasons, I had no mint jewelry to pair it with. So what did I do? I made some! I took a cheap Forever 21 sparkly necklace, and painted one row of the crystals with my Revlon mint nail polish, and there you have it! DIY statement necklace that will go with all my mint items and so much more!

 Tank: Charlotte Russe( (similar here), White skinny pants: Forever 21 (buy here), Belt: J Crew(buy here), Sandals: Enzo's via Bloomingdales Outlet, Watch: men's Target, Necklace, sunglasses and earrings Forever 21.

 Before..well almost before, except for those three stones at the end I already started.

 ...and after! I was thinking of doing every other stone on the bottom row hot pink. What do you think?

Back To School!

These pictures are from Monday, which was the first day back to school. I felt this was a very "teachery" dress: for those of you who don't know me, I'm a 5th grade teacher on the south side. You will hear that term describing many things I wear in the school months to come, considering that's what I have to look like. 

I have been waiting all summer to wear these pointy-toe bow flats I purchased back when the Nordstrom sale was going on. And this striped dress from Anthropologie is very 50's housewife-ish, which is a look I never seem to tire of.

I was all ready to get my outfit pictures taken during the day at school by some of my lovely coworkers, but silly me, I forgot the memory card in my computer at home so I couldn't save any pictures on the camera. It was a major bummer (I never like to waste a good outfit) until my awesome yoga pal Angelique was able to meet me a bit before our hot yoga class later that evening to take pictures... before we turned into un-photograhic sweaty messes! The sunset was awesome from our rooftop view and made for a grab backdrop.

Big thanks to my guest Photog Angelique! She did a great job!

Sunwashed Dots Shirtdress: Anthropologie, Pointed toe bow flats: Nordstrom, Sunglasses: Target, Earrings and Eiffel Tower Pendant: Forever 21, Patent nude belt: J Crew outlet.

And of course, here is the silly yet fashionable (even in her yoga duds) photographer, Angelique! 

Faux Pockets & Gold

What I really love about this seemingly simple outfit is all the details. The faux pockets, yes, I said faux pockets, are just the the flaps. I thought it made for an interesting detail on the chambray button-down trend so I decided to add it to my growing collection of them. Apparently you can never have too many denim/chambray shirts...

This gold skirt was a great little H&M find for just $5. Elastic waistband, great texture and super comfy: can't beat that. Really goes nicely with the texture in my grandma's old bag. Grandma left me a few gems in the bag department that I will forever be grateful for.

And these caged lace-up heels were picked up in Ireland about 3 years back. I knew they were meant to be when I put them on and thought to myself that they were probably the most comfortable heels I'd ever laid my feet in! That's hard to find! And they pair well with my Vegas tan, if I do say so myself!

Spike necklace here for just $8.80!
Denim Top here for $22.80

Greek Fest/Rain Fest

What a crazy day it was yesterday! Originally we were supposed to go to Greek fest in our neighborhood with friends but then it started to drizzle... then rain... then it turned into a monsoon! Streets were flooded and the fest vendors started to close up. My friend Erica came up with the great idea to just go to Greek Islands restaurant. Just as we were getting our dessert, the power went out! BLACK OUT! And not just one of those flicker on/off/on kind of things, It stayed off! Even when we left the lights were still out! I'd never seen such a thing in all my years living and dining in Chicago.

We did manage to catch a few dry(ish) moments to take a few pics early in the day. 

My fresh new dye job is rivaling that truck

Necklace: Vintage, Ruffle Tank: very old Banana Republic, Accordian pleat skirt and bangle: recent Forever 21, Wedges (or as I like to call them my Kate Middleton wedges): Rampage, Nails: OPI Koala Berry

One more thing, today is my first day back to teaching since mid-June! Summer is officially over and I'm not too happy about that. Expect to see more teacher appropriate outfits for the next 9 months while school is in session!

Sparkly Yet Casual

I'm going to say it, I was COLD in Las Vegas! Even though it was 107 outside, every hotel, restaurant, casino and shopping center overcompensated by being freezing inside. I knew this fact when packing and brought a few long-sleeve options along with me. And right I was, because I felt perfectly comfortable in this sparkly sweater and white shorts combo. Perfect for a late night walk on the strip.

Pretty stair case we found in City Center

Sparkly sweater: Forever 21(Love 21) similar, Shorts: Loft, Sandals: Zara, Bib Necklace: Forever 21, Bag: H&M

 Bellagio water show.

 Chocolate fountains dripping from the ceiling in the Bellagio. Yum!

What a mall looks like at 1:00 in the morning... sad.

For all you Chicago readers, this weekend is the Randolph Street Market & Greek Fest. So if you didn't already have plans, now you do!

Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for reading!