Zoo pants

We went to the zoo last weekend, and I had the perfect pair of pants for the day! You might remember my love of "pajama" pants from last summer in this post. It seems that wide leg / palazzo / pajama like pants are here to stay, as I've still seen them at many retailers.

 

Now I'm not talking about throwing on your flannels and drudging off to the store. This look is only successful is you dress it up! It's best if the pants are fitted around your waist and hip area, and then flare out from there - you don't want them baggy in this area. I recommend a fitted top so that again, it doesn't look too sloppy. Lastly, nice sandals. Not flip flops and preferably not a flat. I like wedges the best.

 

These Flora & Fauna Loungers from Anthropologie stole my heart because not only do they have peacocks on them, but also camels (and other cute animals). I'm not much of a shorts person, so wearing pants like these are a great alternative to a skirt or dress on a hot day because they keep your legs from sticking together. They are light and airy!

 

Also wearing:

Apt. 9 Top : Kohl's

Party Animal Necklace (Giraffe) : Anthropologie

Mossimo Lindsay Jo Wedges : Target

 

Ohhh, and waiting for sales on these and these at Anthropologie. The bigger and bolder, the better!

I think this was the first time that I was able to capture the white peacock with his feathers out!

My two loves!

They even walk the same!

Of course, the other peacocks were ready to show off too!

Exchanging Talents

A wonderful thing about spending 6 years on the Board at The Art Center of Battle Creek, is that I have made many artist friends who are so special! One such person is Dena Phaff Haas who owns Phaff Portrait Studio. We connected last Fall when she saw one of my posts where I said how frustrating it is sometimes to get good photographs for my blog when the weather, lighting, etc... play such an important factor. She was kind enough to offer me a session to "play" around with different techniques, as she had an intern under her wing. What a fun time we had!

 

I am sharing this first group of photos, and will share another group in another post. I am just in awe of these! I absolutely love how they turned out! I am so glad to now have professional pictures for when I have to send in bios for publications and such.

 I wanted to thank Dena for her time and efforts, so I made a necklace for her. She loves the beach. And fairies. It was so fun to combine both into a necklace. The focal is from Green Girl Studios, and the necklace is composed of a variety of shells, pearls and stones that look like beach glass. I am so glad she loves it!

 

Check out Dena's website, and like Phaff Studio on Facebook! You won't regret it!

Minted

Here they are! The mint jeans I was talking about. Of course I cannot find them online, but I got them at Macy's and they are Levi's Mid Rise Skinny's. So happy I finally found the perfect pair, and I've already worn them a ton. They are fitted, but not skin tight. Cropped but not capris (big difference). And, I love how the ankle has a little flare to it to help balance things out.

Today, I paired them with a super comfy tee from Anthropologie that features a camel print. Learn more about my camel nickname here. To dress it up a bit, I wore a sparkly statement necklace. In addition to looking for mint jeans this Spring, I was also looking for a mint statement necklace. This unique one stood out for me at Target and I couldn't be happier with it. I have not seen it at the store or online since so I'm glad I scooped it up.

Levi's Mid Rise Mint Skinny's : Macy's

Lilka's Petaline Pocket Tee (green motif) : Anthropologie

Candie's Sandals : Kohl's

Statement Necklace : Target

Vogue Sunglasses : TJ Maxx

No regrets pants

 

Earlier this Spring, I was looking to add some mint green jeans to my closet. I mean, after all mint is one of THE colors of the moment. And I had a lot of things I knew they would work with. But no matter which pair I tried, I wasn't happy with any of them. Sometimes, the whole skinny jeans trend is really annoying. It seems that any colored jean is in the skinny style. While I do like some "fit" to my pants, I really don't want them so tight that I can hardly get my foot through! And, as we all know, the lighter the color = the more lumps and bumps show.

Anyway, while on my search, I ended up finding these from Apt. 9 at Kohl's. (The link is for petites, but that is the closest I could get to what I got). They were more of an aqua color, and not jeans, so I wasn't sure if I was going to regret buying them since they really weren't what I set out to get. Luckily, I haven't regretted them. AND, I did finally find my mint jeans which I will show soon. Hope you are having a great week!

Apt. 9 Curvy Fit Capri's : Kohl's

Black Tank : Old Navy

Boho Dragonfly Top : Matthew Williamson

Black Wedges : Steinmart

Jessica Simpson Sunglasses : TJ Maxx

Layering Necklaces : made by me

Boho Weekend

Excuse me while I strike an odd pose, but trying to show off the sheer volume of my hippie jeans is a bit difficult! Not only do I want to share this outfit, but also a necklace I just completed. Details below......

Citizens of Humanity Wide Leg Crops - Anthropologie (seen previously here)
Peplum Top - Daisy Rae Boutique
Gomax sandals - Zulily
Necklace - made by me (seen previously here and here)

By now you know that I love statement necklaces, as well as doing inexpensive DIY versions when possible. It's been interesting to see what statement necklace designs have become the most popular and most mass produced. For instance, J. Crew's bubble necklace and abstract bib can be found everywhere now. As well as Anthropologie's Stormy Sea necklace, which is what I based my design on. I had been thinking this would be a fun necklace to make for quite some time, but it wasn't until I found these drops on clearance at Michael's for $1.99 that I finally decided to do it. I had to buy 3 packs, so my investment was $6 since I already had all of the other materials at home. I love how it turned out and I can't wait to start incorporating it into some outfits. The turquoise color is probably my favorite color, so it won't be hard to match it up! 

Songbird on a rainy day

Necklace that I made to match Anthropologie's Songbird Circle Skirt. Sometimes I feel like I get a little carried away with my "matching". But it's fun and almost like my own little personal challenge! I loosely based this design off of the Mixed Alloy necklace. I made my own decoupaged beads with music paper, and then strung them up with some other large round pearls, metals, and sky blue ceramic beads.

 Taking the outfit pictures was probably more of a challenge than the necklace! It was one of those days where it rained on and off. After work, I ducked into a new location I found and while I loved the industrial look to it..... gah! those legs and skirt are blinding and could not be fixed with photo editing.

 So then I ducked into another place I often go (under a bridge) and while I enjoyed the wind effects, the coloring was still off.

 So, I went back to one of my tried and true spots: the stairwell to the garage I park in. Going against the window certainly brought out the details in the skirt, but then everything else was too dark.

 I do really like this one though, just not for getting the best details of the clothes.

 Ahhh, finally just enough natural light to balance it all out.

 The one I submitted to Effortless Anthropologie

 And then the sun came out! Oh, how I would have liked to have played around more. But, I had to get home to my family. Even though this was a frustrating situation at first, I ended up enjoying the experience as I continue to learn about lighting and editing with such simple equipment!