purple all over

As I said last week, I bought a couple of items of NY&C. One of them was this skirt in a delicious color and texture. It is a great classic and work appropriate shape in such a rich and warm color. I decided to complement the deep color by going with other purple pieces. I really love how it came out!

fur two ways

I have been wanting a fur piece so badly, but with a ban on shopping, that is so not happening right now. Yesterday, I wandered into Banana Republic and saw some amazing pieces. Here are a couple of ways to style them.
First up is a casual and fun look:

faux fur vest

floral dress

apartment decorating UPDATE

So we have been doing a lot of work with the apartment and I love love it! Here are some pics:

his and her comfy chair corner in master bedroom-those pillows were a housewarming present from my husband when we were engaged for our first apartment

our gallery wall- more to come!

floral skirt celebrity inspiration

As I'm sure many of you can relate, window shopping can be a painfully tempting experience. Something that helps me is trying stuff on- many times it does not look right which takes away the temptation. Yesterday, while I was at NY & Co, I saw some beautiful skirts that were not in my price range, but oh what pretty fabrics! One skirt I really liked was silky with wide pleats in black and pink floral print.

ebay.com

(This picture is similar; for some reason, I can't find it on the store's website). 

Beautiful skirts like these are so amazing because they don't really need anything else- they make their own statement. Wearing a plain black tee and some sweet shoes are all that's needed. 

classic skirt + brights

Lime green, purple, sky blue, and rose red- all such fun colors in this outfit! I paired a classic neutral skirt with lots of color everywhere else. The top and skirt are very simple and appropriate for work, but the colorful accessories spice it up. The hoop earrings and wedges give it a bit of sassiness.

floral and plaid mixed prints

Wearing mixed prints makes me feel like a rebel! Growing up, style advice I got from my grandmother was not to look "too busy"- more than one print in an outfit was "too busy". So now that I started experimenting with mixed prints and seeing how amazing and fun it looks, it feels exciting and a bit rebellious. When I first heard of this trend, I thought that it was crazy, and that I wouldn't be able to do it with things in my existing closet. But with a little creativity, I put stuff together and I love it!

scarf as a belt

Who cares about what's in style? Dress for yourself!

For some reason, I got an itch in my brain to wear one of my head scarves as a wide belt. I thought it would be a great divider between the purple and burgundy colors that go so well together. This was a very satisfying outfit, with the rich color combo and graphic print to break it up. It was also super comfortable, as maxi skirts usually are. The earrings and ring from michal negrin have even more beautiful and rich colors.

wall decorating for rentals

I love walls- they feel like a huge canvas waiting to be filled. I like filling a room with color by painting and using accent walls. My last apartment, we got it before we actually moved in so we had time to paint. And literally every day I was there (about a year a half), I would exclaim "I just love these walls, they look so good against the flowers, the picture frames, the tablecloth, etc".

In this new apartment, all the walls are a cream white. This is really not my usual thing, because I love color but I am seeing the pluses to it. The light is really bounced off the walls well, and I see how it is possible to inject color into a room without necessarily painting it- like pictures, furniture, and fun accents. That being said, I still really want to decorate my walls. There are so many solutions for renters now- I will round them up for you. 

1. Fabric as wallpaper with using starch as glue

howaboutorange.blogspot.com

I'm back...and decorating :)

So the past couple of weeks have been crazy with making my apartment liveable and finishing up a paper for school. I have also been procrastinating getting back into blogging because it is intimidating for me to keep up relevant and exciting posts. I get a little nervous sometimes. But I know I want to do this, and that its good for me, so I'm just gonna push through the discomfort.

I am so happy to be in this new apartment. It feels so spacious and has very bright lighting, even being a basement. All the white walls feel like an exciting canvas that is begging to be filled up.
Originally there are two small boxy rooms that are meant to be bedrooms, and a large random shaped room for the living area. But I don't like such small bedrooms, so we switched it- one of the small rooms will be our dining room, and the large room will be for us. We are not doing that much entertaining at this point in our lives that it makes sense to crowd ourselves into a tiny room. This apartment is for us to feel comfortable and relaxed in. Hosting is fun, but its really not the main point here.

Below are pictures of what I would call stage 1 of decorating- it is liveable, most of the boxes are gone, and the main furniture is there. Next up will be the start of injecting some style and color into the place. I have already started putting up a gallery wall, and I have so many ideas for everything. so fun!

Our boxy dining room- we are currently using folding chairs, but I want to get proper wood ones, and a red comfy chair for a corner. I put up display shelves for the random bottles and vases I have- I love collecting them!

when feeling blue...get creative!

I started this blog because I was feeling pretty down and useless. I didn't have a job, and being a stay-at-home mom is so not my thing. I was in such a rut, not using my brain at all. When I got the idea to start a blog, all of sudden my brain woke up! I had ideas like every second and I had to keep jotting them down. This has been a wonderful creative outlet for me, because its keeps me accountable to use my brain in creative and fun ways, and constantly try new things.

What's funny is that I was speaking to a coworker, and she said that she was also unemployed and feeling down, and also used a spark of inspiration to start using her creative abilities, which pulled her out of it. I am wondering if anyone else has had experiences like this?

Now the trouble is making time for myself to express my ideas and keep the creativity coming. I just started a job last week, and I just moved apartments, and I am so busy! But I try, whenever I have a few moments, to brainstorm or sketch in my notebook, and stay on the lookout for things that will inspire me. I am happy to say that I have been feeling much more fulfilled and happy in the past few weeks!

Here's a blue outfit to start you off- turning "the blues" into something fun!

fake valentinos

Friday flowers and showers