My favorite time of year is fall. There is just something about the lovely leaves turning color, the spiced chai drinks, and cool nights and mornings that I love. However, it is now the time of year that brisk fall nights are turning into chilly winter mornings! I used to hate winter because it required so much covering up and layering, especially when I moved to Kansas from South Texas and suffered through my first snowy season.
BUT! Since leaving the Lone Star state behind almost 5 years ago, I have begun to love winter and all of its glory. I have even developed a love for ultra warm wool knits something that I thought would never happen.
Yesterday morning I woke up needing to be around nature because in Seoul, the amount of nature you see can sometimes be limited to the fake flower pots in the subway. I took a morning walk and here is my outfit that I slipped into for the day when the temperatures dipped into the winter zone.
I hadn't had the chance to wear my black leather Mizz-Mooz boots because the weather had not called for them in the city. I love the riding style of the boots and I will be looking for another pair very shortly when the snow begins to fall. I got these boots during my annual trek to Nordstroms during the winter. I love to head there for quality boots at the start of the winter season because all of last season's boots have been drastically marked down and put on clearance. I paid under a $100 for these boots and I love them! If you remember to shop with seasonal sales in mind and you will be able to save a significant amount of money. I have never paid more than a $100 for any boots bought at Nordstroms using this shopping method.
I chose those bright green scarf by Nautica to brighten up my warm outfit. I fell in love with this vibrant scarf while wandering around a Burlington Coat Factory and had to have it. It's a men's scarf, but that didn't stop me from snapping up this lovely buy.
I found my oatmeal colored wool knit sweater on a shopping adventure in Seoul to one of the vintage markets that I frequent. I fell in love with this sturdy nautical inspired sweater because of the neutral color and the durability of the garment when considering the winter temperatures in Seoul. Also, I wanted the sweater to be a foundational piece in my winter wardrobe which I would be able to dress up or down, simply or heavily accessorized.
I am excited for the cool weather and I can't wait to spend the next couple weeks with friends and family. My husband and I are so grateful for the time that we are going to be able to spend away from the city and in the comfort and quiet of the relaxed American countryside. Also, the food is going to be amazing! ;)
Boots:Miz-Mooz: $80.00 Similar style, here.
Sweater: Vintage
Jeggings: American Eagle: $34.99, here.
Belt: American Eagle: $15.00 Similar style, here.
Scarf: Nautica: $10.00 Similar style, here.
If you have been following my blog for a bit then you know that I love smoothies and breakfast. I can't help it and there is nothing that I love more than a great apple.
Hence, the Apple Oat smoothie!!
Ingredients: 1 massive apple of your choosing 1 cup Soy Milk 1/3 cup Oats 1 tsp Honey 1 tsp Cinnamon Ice- This is completely up to you, but I love frothy thick smoothies and I found that 1/2 cup of ice was perfect.
First, half and and then quarter your massive apple. Make sure to core your apple so that you don't end up with any of the hard bits or seeds in your smoothie. I don't have a fancy tool to core apples, so I just cut them into quarter pieces and then cut the bits off that I don't want.
Next, put everything into your lovely blender and hit the on button!
Pour out your healthy and delicious smoothie and enjoy. <3
Hi there! When Crystal (a.k.a. my best friend) asked me to
write* a guest post on my own style, I a) knew I couldn’t say no, because that
is just NOT DONE and b) immediately started thinking about an outfit to put
together.
Now I don’t claim to be the most fashionable. Full
disclosure: I’m writing this wearing a thermal sweater I stole from my
boyfriend, gray leggings from Wal-mart and some sweater booties with pom-poms I
bought with Crystal from Target. And I’ve been wearing this all day because I
haven’t left my apartment once.
But Crystal knows my style as well as anyone, and we’ve
always joked that it could be basically summed up as “picnic in the park,”
(when, you know, I’m not lounging around being totally worthless). Blousy
shirts, high-waisted skirts and flats are my uniform. Particularly the
high-waisted skirts part.
With the exception of the a-line skirts I wear for the
business casual aspects of my job, I can’t remember the last time I wore a
skirt at my hips. Or without tucking my shirt into my skirt. Even my boyfriend
makes fun of me for it.
But now that I have a big person job, the short,
high-waisted skirts that I lived in during college just aren’t professional
enough anymore. I still wear them outside of work (and okay, sometimes to work
when it’s hot and I don’t care or when it’s cold and I can wear them with
tights) but for the purposes of this post, I decided to showcase an outfit that
reflects more of my evolving, professional style.
Now, I never dress appropriately for the weather (shut up,
Crystal), but this outfit is perfect for the winter or at least late fall. It
was actually a gorgeous Kansas day when I made my boyfriend take photos of me
for this post, but for chillier days, the tights can easily be doubled/tripled
up and a big old wool coat thrown over the top.
The dress and tights are from The Gap, the purse is a mini
Arno tote from Brahmin and the shoes are Gianni Bini’s Rebecca platform,
purchased at Dillard’s.
I can’t say I shop at The Gap all that often because I don’t
love the fit of their clothes on me, and the one where I live (and where Miss
Crystal used to live) doesn’t have a very good selection, but after I tried
this dress on, I thought it would be fun to play up with jewelry. And I had just bought the booties from Dillard’s
and knew they would look great with this dress and opaque, black tights.
I don’t typically buy sack dresses, because anyone with the
semblance of a chest knows they are not flattering, but the cute factor of the
dress won me over. It’s polyester, but it doesn’t look cheap, and you could
easily wear a black turtleneck underneath it if you wanted to be even warmer in
the winter.
Ideally, I would have paired the dress with a bunch of
variously styled gold bangles (like everyone and their mother, I’m all about
spikes at the moment), but to be honest, I’ve never been much of a jewelry
wearer until recently so only now am I surely but slowly building a collection,
one cheap piece of costume jewelry at a time.
Ever since I bought the purse in September, I’ve been
wearing it with anything and everything. Because it goes with anything and
everything despite its bright color.
Okay, not everything. But more than you’d think. (Or I’ve
just been walking around like I’m color-blind).
But I have had girlfriends who think you can’t wear an
accessory (or a pair of shoes) unless its color is reflected somewhere else in
your outfit. Which, honestly, I find to be the dustiest fashion rule in the
book. Forget that nonsense or you’ll be forever doomed to the too
matchy-matchy.
I’ve also been trying new styles with my hair lately. I have
naturally wavy hair and I used to religiously blow it straight every other
morning. I’d spend about 30 minutes on the blow-dry part, using a medium-sized
round-brush to methodically dry each layer, then I’d polish it by straightening
the top layers and I’d finish it off by curling the ends this way and that with
a curling iron. The whole process took at least 45 minutes.
Now I’m into wearing my hair wavy. But, of course, not
naturally wavy (because why would I want to make it that easy for myself?). So
now, I let it air dry while I apply my make-up and then blow it completely dry,
letting the strands dry however they want to (I don’t use a brush). Prior to
drying it though, I use Argan hair oil throughout it and a leave-in conditioner
for split-ends at the tips. If I am not in a total rush, I then curl about
1-inch sections of my hair at a time at every layer and then comb it out with
my fingers when I am all done so it doesn’t look too rigid or “done.” If I am
in a rush, I curl in larger chunks and comb it out more, so by the end of the
day, only my ends are really curled, but it still has body and texture.
I’ve also been all about tucking my bangs into a braid (I
prefer Dutch braids to French braids), but that’s only because they are at a
weird length and fight me at every turn and are generally just horrible and
selfish. I guess I need to decide if I want to trim them or grow them out and
be done with them.
Being on vacation has forced me to close the shop for the time being, and while I am on vacation I have decided to make sure that a steady stream of fashion and OOTDs will soon be gracing the pages of my little blog. In order to make this happen I have asked a few fashionable friends to lend a hand!
I bring to you: GUEST POSTS! :)
I am thrilled to share the fashion forwardness of my friends and give everyone else the chance to see how unique and fun each of them are.
Each of the ladies that will be participating in the Fashion Friend series is a beautiful woman who has had a great impact on my life. Original, creative, quirky, loving, strong, entrepreneurial, wise; All of these words describe the character of my friends and I know that you will fall in love with them and their sense of style just like I have. My first Fashion Friend is Katie Wartell: My Hetero-lifepartner.
You may have noticed that things have been pretty quiet from me on the blog front, and the reason is that I have been busy making arrangements and packing for my upcoming 3 week trip home. I am beyond stoked!
My husband and I are like little kids running around as the days tick down and we realize that we will be in Florida within the week. We honestly love living in South Korea, but home is home, and we are thrilled to get a chance to see family and friends stateside.
We are pretty much like this right now when we realize that we are going home.
Of course I will miss my kimbap and the hustle and bustle of Seoul...BUT, there is something to be said about the wide open skies of Florida and Texas.
In addition to the packing and general excitement of the vacation I have also been finishing my graduate school applications and I have felt pretty tapped out concerning writing after all of the essays I have written.
Not to fear though because I have been hoarding a collection of posts, ootd's, recipes and guest blog posts to share; all of them lovingly photographed and just ready to be posted. Expect to see fresh and lovely content while I am in America. The shop will go into vacation mode for the duration of our stay in America, but I have some wonderful new vintage just begging to be shared so there will be great things to look forward to when we get back to Seoul.
I cannot wait to post everything when while I am lazing away the days in America!!
