Sunday Best and All the Rest

   Greetings ladies! How do you do this February evening? Thus far, I've had another week of being busy both in my home and "abroad". I'm getting ready to teach the first in a series of drawing classes tomorrow morning. Though I've already taught children arts and craft classes, this will be my first class focused solely on drawing. Drawing is definitely my cup of tea, and I hope my students will come to enjoy it too! :)    The outfit that I am sharing with you today is what I wore to church yesterday - it seems fitting that I should post my Sunday best now and then. ;) You will notice that only one of the pictures in this post was taken outside. That was because  I was getting rather wet! You see, here on the coast we had a wonderfully rainy weekend. The precipitation was certainly needed, and it was a bit more exciting than the bland, overcast skies had been. There's something about rain which lends ...

    In one of my first blog posts (here) , I discussed my essential clothing items and what makes them so dynamic to my wardrobe. Today, I would like to expound upon my neutral colored dress. When my inspiration is running dry, this is the dress that I turn to. With little effort, it can fit many moods, occasions, and climates. Below, I have modeled five outfits to show you how to make a basic dress look fabulous.      First, is my "spring" look. I spruced up the dress by adding one of my favorite elements, which is my red leather belt. The dress has short sleeves, so throwing a cardigan on over it gives it warmth and adds dimension. With my elegant flats and green clutch, I could be ready to head out the door for a birthday party or dinner at a friend's house.         In the summer, I can wear my button-up dress with sneakers and tooled leather belt for a more casual ...

(above items are from Modcloth, Ruche and Anthropologie, respectively) We all have go-to items in our closets and dressers that have more outings than our other clothes. Their cute-factor, practicality and versatility have us wearing them again and again. In short, they make the outfit. Here, I have compiled a list of my essential shoes and clothes. They are great for starting you on your way to being more stylish, or just sprucing up your present wardrobe. Though you may not like them as much as I do, or find them to fit your lifestyle, they are what has worked for me and I just want to share them. J Striped knit tee This is so simple and yet so fun. The secret is in the stripes! If you want a quick way to make a casual outfit more chic, wear some stripes.   A Neutral Cardigan After buying this oatmeal cardigan, I wore it almost nonstop until a recent heat wave. I usually wear it with the sleeves pushed up, and it goes with nearly everything. Cardigans add ...