Outfit: It’s Only Fitting

Apart from not being able to find clothes that fit, another petite style problem I have is finding jewelry that fits.  Have you ever noticed that I never wear rings and have, like, one watch?  It’s because everything else just slips right off my hands.  As luck would have it, though, I was able to add to my tiny collection of hand-jewelry this week!

Bead Artistry by Marian gifted me a very pretty hemalyke-and-fire polished bead bracelet that was custom made to my wrist size!  It fits me perfectly, and now I wear it all the freaking time.  I seriously never want to take it off.  My bracelet goes with pretty much everything, and it’s really just so nice to have something that I know is going to stay put.

I also now have a matching set of two red beaded bracelets, so expect to see those soon as well!

Bag: old, Gap

Top: old, Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Gap (I’m not sure if these are the same, but they’re definitely similar)

Shoes: old, ModCloth

Bracelet: c/o Bead Artistry by Marian

 

Outfit: Off to the Races

If you’ve been following Mox and Socks for a while, you’ve heard this a million times already, but I have a hard time balancing my life and this blog.  In fact, the two are often combined, and it was starting to get to an unmanageable point.

I have a full-time job, a boyfriend, friends, and family, and I’d been a little neglectful to all of them.  I’d check my phone at work every 30 minutes or so to respond to Instagram comments (and yeah, keep tabs on my follower count).  I’d sit at my kitchen table writing posts while my boyfriend started dinner for us.  Friends would call and I’d always have to tell them I’d call back later when I had time.  I’d miss out on family dinners and chats just to edit photos.

And for what?  While I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to get a little more blogging popularity, the fact is that I just plain love this and want to do it full-time.  I dream about quitting my job and spending all my work time taking pictures, conjuring up ideas for shoots, learning more and more about the business of blogging.  And I believed that if I kept working super super hard and spending all my time outside of work on Mox and Socks, I could do that.

But that’s not realistic.

I’m not saying that turning this into a full-time job isn’t realistic, mind you.  What I mean is that my whole process is all wrong.  I don’t need to be obsessed with Instagram or get five posts up a week.  Work smarter, not harder–that’s the saying, right?

Over the weekend, I had a lot of time to myself.  And you know what I did?  I chilled the eff out.  I hung out with my dog and read and ran.  It was amazing, and when I got into work on Tuesday, my mind was overflowing with ideas for Mox and Socks.  All day, I kept scribbling things down as they came to me, so by 4 o’clock, my purse was just full of notes from my scratch pad.

I don’t think this would have happened if I had just kept pushing along, past my endurance.  I was burning out, and it started to mess up the rest of my life. So in the future, I’ll be cutting down on the number of shoots and posts I do each week and will instead focus that time and energy on the rest of my life.  Now that I know the keys to getting rejuvenated (read, run, ruff!), I’m ready to tackle the next chapter of Mox and Socks.

 

Hat: French Connection (I cut off part of the brim, and now it looks right!)

Necklace: old, Forever 21

Dress: old, ModCloth

Shoes: thrifted

Bag: old, Gap

 

Outfit: Dam, Girl!

I’m pretty sure this place is going to become one of my favorite shooting locations.  In my quest to visit every forest preserve in Dupage County, I zigzagged all the way out to Churchill Park for an afternoon of pictures, and the things I saw made the whole thing positively magical.

Everywhere I looked was a riot of color.  Every flower was in bloom, and all the other foliage was aglow in the early sunset.  I wandered up and down the park, parting the tendrils of willow trees, creaking over the boardwalks, and stopping at the still ponds to watch the fish below.  On my way back to the car, I heard a loud SPLASH and got my camera ready just in time to snap a little beaver busily working his way back to the dam.

Really, the only thing this park is missing is a big old Victorian mansion, but you know what?  I bet I’ll find one if I just go on a little further.

Top: old, ModCloth

Necklace: old, ModCloth

Shorts: ModCloth (Made in the USA!)

Shoes: old, ModCloth

Bag: old, Gap

Outfit: Shake It Off

It’s been a looooong week, y’all.

On Monday, I got moved to a new position at work.  I’m basically doing the same thing as before…except with a lot of other duties.  I’m in a different department, and I’m so excited to be there, but this whole week has been about training (read: being talked at all day).  I can hardly sit still through a gripping movie, let alone something as dry as data manager software, so it’s been a little rough.

But you know what keeps me going?  A goooooood dress.  The kind you can’t wait to wear.  The one that makes you look amazing.  And that’s what this guy is.  I recently found this on a thrift binge, and I wish I could wear it everywhere.  I can’t get over how perfect it is.  Just the right length, twirly-whirly skirt, and THOSE MESH PANELS OMG I CAN’T WIGHEIWUGH

Okay, sorry for the freakout.  I just can’t help myself!

Dress: thrifted

Bag: old, Gap

Shoes: Payless

Outfit: I Think We’re Alone Now

With the fair weather here to stay, everyone and their mom is out and making excellent use of the parks and forests near my home.  Unfortunately, that means most of my usual locations are now populated by dozens of people.  You get all types: the ones who gawk at me taking pictures of myself, ones who are completely oblivious and walk straight into the shot, ones who ask if I’d like them to help me–I can’t fault any of them for it, but it does get a lil frustrating when you’re working on getting that perfect shot and it keeps getting ruined by one thing or another.

 

Fortunately, this is one of those lonely, forgotten places that I can rely on for a beautiful backdrop, even on the nicest days.  It seems no one ever likes to come out to the Glos Gardens, but I can’t see why.  This place is beautiful!

By the way, I started playing with the highlight/shadow colors again now that the foliage is alive and so springy.  If you’re curious about how to do that, you should check out this blog post by Liana at Finding Femme.  It really makes a difference!

Necklace: old, ModCloth

Top: thrifted

Sweater: old, Stitch Fix

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: old, ModCloth

A Staying-In Valentine’s Day Outfit

Until very recently, I never put much thought into Valentine’s Day.  I’ve usually been single on the holiday, so I’ve grown accustomed to treating it like any other day–well, maybe with a little extra ice cream or Nutella.  This year, though, I’m extremely lucky to be dating someone incredible, and we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day by doing exactly what I want: catching up on The Walking Dead and indulging in plenty of heart-shaped cookies and wine.

I had put together this outfit on a whim over the weekend, but I realized it would actually work really well for the kind of Valentine’s Day I’m planning.  I’ve got the red, I’ve got the heart, and that’s all I really need, right?  (Although there IS an obnoxious pink dress with a heart-shaped bodice and tiny hearts printed all over it in my closet just in case I want to get fancy at the last minute.)

What are you planning on wearing for Valentine’s Day??