Aspens quiver

Jacket: Loft Outlet | Top: Gap Factory | Camisole: Gap Factory | Pants: Loft Outlet | Boots: Belk

My camera REALLY struggled to take these photos. I can't decide if it's because it's just not doing well, or if it's because it sat in the cold in my car for two weeks. To be fair, if I had to sit in the cold in my car for two weeks, I wouldn't work too well either.

Check back tomorrow for this week's Style Imitating Art roundup!

Donna Draper

Glasses: Prada (ooh la la) | Necklace: gift from my parents | Dress: Anthropologie | Boots: Belk | Lips: NARS Funny Face

Okay, so a few notes on the things I'm wearing.

First of all, I have new glasses! I smudged them within five minutes of wearing them, which is par for the course for me. I feel very modern Mad Men in them. Trying on glasses is probably the only opportunity I'll ever have to wear things by the likes of Tom Ford and Prada.

Second, this dress was a Christmas gift from me to me, wrapped by my mom because I'm weird and like to buy things for myself for Christmas and then unwrap them. I stalked the green version of this dress online for a while but it was ridiculously expensive and I resigned myself to the fact that I would never have it. I ended up in Charlotte to get a new Mac power cable, and I swung by Anthro while I was at the mall and they had this colour version of the dress--and it was $40! WORTH IT.

Three--that pink thing on my arm is not some cool new thing. (If it is will someone please tell me so I know?) Over the weekend I went for a walk with my mom and on the way back I caught a glimpse of our neighbour's horse with her leg through the fence. We went down into her field to try and help her, and of course she bit me. Like the took a big old chunk of my arm. Nerves, definitely, but I wasn't too pleased. (We ultimately got her separated from the fence, thanks to a sharp pair of wire cutters.) I iced it but it actually turned slightly green--and I don't bruise, so greenish is bad for me--and it's extremely tender, sore, and slightly hard. I read online that KT tape sometimes helps with swelling and soreness, so I swung by the Cardiganland sports place and picked up a roll. So far, it's at the least stabilized the area and it doesn't hurt as much, so that's nice! And now I have a roll of KT tape in case (for when?) I get hurt running. Because let's be honest, when you run, it's bound to happen.

The water is wide

Scarf: JCPenney | Jacket: Target | Dress: Gap Outlet | Belt: Target | Tights: Target | Cowboy boots: Belk

Cardiganland spent most of this past weekend bracing for impact, and expecting the worst, but I'm very lucky to say that most of Joaquin missed my part of the state. We got plenty of rain--about 7 inches overall--and one person did die in the area last week, but the situation could have been much, much worse. I have friends who live in Columbia but were in Charlotte over the weekend and now they can't get home, because every interstate between the two cities is flooded in some areas. I hate that there are parts of South Carolina that are in such dire straits right now. It's devastating. But one thing I know about this state is that for better or worse, people band together. And in this situation, I believe it will be for the better.

Check out Jen's blog tomorrow for more outfits inspired by this week's SIA selection!

Bells are ringing

Cardigan: J.Crew Factory | Dress: Old Navy | Boots: Belk | Lips: NARS Jungle Red

It rained like it was time to get the arc yesterday, and I had to pull out my boots to help my boyfriend look at houses. (He is buying, not we.) I realized partway through the day that I wasn't ready to give up boots yet, so despite a mostly nice day today, I clomped around work in these suckers. DON'T EVEN CARE. And it's a good thing I wasn't ready to give them up because they're really the only thing that first SIA this week. I was struggling to find the right thing to wear, and I ended up picking out an outfit that was motivated by the idea that this is what I would wear if I were in the painting. I'd be wandering around in the back.

For more outfits inspired by this week's Style Imitating Art pick, check out Jen's blog!

So not okay

Necklace: antiques shop | Jacket: Target | Dress: Boden | Boots: Target | Nails: butter London Fiver

Last weekend, I took my bff S. to the store where I got my running shoes so she could get her own pair. (They do a foot assessment and everything! It's awesome.) She walked away with a pair of shoes, but we both walked away having watched a grown man tell a 70+ year old woman, out of the blue, that she was retaining water and that's why her ankles were so swollen.

There are no words to adequately describe a person like that.

The struggle is real

Top: Target | Skirt: Boden | Tights: Target | Boots: Off Broadway | Lips: NARS Heat Wave

I've bemoaned my gray hair before (truth is that I love them), but it's getting real now. I have found no fewer than four gray hairs long enough that they we cut the last time I trimmed my hair, and they're blatantly obvious now that I'm no longer dying my hair. I read online that the age you gray is usually tied to genetics, but my parents--and THEIR parents--went gray at a normal middle-to-older age. And yet there I was, in front of the mirror at age 21, staring at a gray hair protruding straight out of the edge of my hairline, practically reaching out to the mirror to say hello to itself. The only person I have to blame is my dad's dad, because my father can't remember when he went gray. But he had a full head of snow white hair by the time I was old enough to have memories of him, so there's plenty of upside. Silver fox, here I come.

Fish out of water

Brooch: heirloom | Cardigan: Target | Tank: Target | Skirt: eShakti | Boots: Off Broadway

My very first pets were goldfish. Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder. (I was creative.) I was maybe 6, and didn't know a whole lot about how my life would go petwise. Little did I know that the goldfish would lead to guinea pigs, which would lead to rabbits, which would finally hit cats, and then horses, and most recently, a dog. Those goldfish didn't live for very long, but they certainly did start a long-lasting trend. So thanks, little crew, for biting me with the pet bug.

For more women who used this week's inspiration to create outfits for Style Imitating Art, check out Salazar's blog!

Twu wuv

Umbrella: lost and found at work | Coat: Gap Outlet | Top: J.Crew Factory | Skirt: J.Crew Factory | Tights: Target | Boots: Off Broadway

I am so in love...

With my new 50mm lens. Like whoa.

I rented a 50mm f/1.4 lens from Lensrentals.com to use for a little while after the death of my beloved 50mm f/1.8, and I loved it so much that I bought the darn thing. I needed a new lens anyway, and the natural progression of my life--which involves outfit photos and a growing number of requests for portrait photos from friends--said that it was time to take the upgrade. Don't mind me, just nerding out over here in my tiny corner of the internet.

Bloop

Necklace: gift from parents | Dress: Gap Outlet | Belt: Target | Tights: Target | Boots: Off Broadway

My boyfriend downloaded the game The Unfinished Swan yesterday, and I spent some time playing it. (A rarity for me--I'm terrible at video games.) So today when I looked at this dress I thought I looked a little bit like I got hit by the paint gun in the game, but hey--looks good! I'll take it.

Leopard & lace

Sweater? Shrug? Whatever it is: Forever 21+, via Dani at DIYFATSHION | Top: Gap Outlet | Necklace: gift | Jeans: Target | Boots: Target | Lips: NARS Red Square

I have never worn leopard before. So what better time than the present? And it turns out I love it. I don't think I'll ever be a full-animal-print kind of gal, but you know what? A dab now and then isn't too bad after all.