Fashion Forward Fridays: Spring Shoes

Since I've been bartending so much, I have been wearing a lot of flats and sneakers recently. Which has led me to fall back in love with my KANDALS and want to order something similar but bolder. My decision would already be made if KANDALS created a shoe with some sort of pattern on it, but alas!

one: ModCloth | two: Target | three: UnionJack Boots | four: Blowfish Shoes

I've narrowed down my options to these four and really like them all for a different reason. At the bar, the other girls and I all wear the same t-shirt and jeans so really our shoes are the only part of our outfits that make us look different. Because of this, I have found a new love for flats and sneakers, which is mind blowing to me more than anything. Coming from the girl who wore heels everywhere for the past five years, this is a major step.

Which of these do you like best?

Chels Wears: Something Simple

Shoes, Shirt, Jeans: WalMart | Headband: Gabe's

You guys. I have a lot to talk about. Like, I've made lists. I realize that I've taken a lot of random blogging breaks recently and I am certain that it is because so much is changing in my life right now and I didn't feel like my blog was making that change with me. So if there is some different content around these parts, don't be alarmed. I am literally the happiest I have ever been right now in my life and I'm sure some of the topics I discuss will help you understand where I'm coming from. There will still be fashion related posts, because that makes sense to me always. But stay tuned, I'm excited.

In other news, yes this outfit is super simple but it was perfect for a little Sunday funday action with MJ this past weekend. We went out to lunch and got to eat on the patio! (Yay, nice weather!) And then we went for a walk around a nearby park. Since I haven't really been blogging recently, I don't plan to go out to take outfit photos, so I'm pretty happy with how easy these were and love the look of them. Seriously, I could go on little nature walks everyday and never be bored. How awesome is this little area? When we came up to this little clearing I just stopped MJ and asked, "doesn't this look great right here?" And of course that led to these pictures. I like when he plays along with my need to see myself in pictures, ha!

Chels Wears: Green Dress & Blue Tights

Dress and tights: Target | Shoes: Kmart | Scarf: Walmart | Jacket: Deb

It is finally warm outside! When the tempurature broke to 20 degrees I thought I was going to burst so now that it's around 40 I cannot even talk about how happy I am. If only it will stick around!

How great is the color of this dress? I bought this for the combined graduation party that Eric and I had for when we both got our Masters, and I still love it more than most items in my closet. Unfortunately I have not worn it that often because I feel like it's feels very spring time and it is not often bright and gorgeous out around Erie. But it felt like the perfect item to wear when the sun was shining and the day was longer on Sunday. In yesterday's post I talked about losing 25 pounds and now I realize that you cannot really tell in these pictures either because of my coat so hopefully soon I'll be able to show you guys for real and not have to wear a coat. Fingers crossed!

Chels Wears: Puffer Vest

Cardigan: Target | Vest: Peebles | Jeans, Scarf, Boots, Headband, Shirt: Walmart

Oh man have I been awful at blogging recently! My apologizes. I actually took these photos almost three weeks ago and just never felt inspired enough to post them. To be honest, my mind has just been pre-occupied, but real life has to trump blogging at some point and every time I would go to blog, I just didn't want to. I know some people will say to write through a writer's block, but I hate seeing bloggers who clearly don't care about what they're writing. I don't think that's fair for blogger or reader, so I don't do it.

Since these pictures have been taken, a lot has changed with me personally. I no longer work for Family Video, which is allowing me to focus on my business, and has put me back to bartending a few nights a week. I actually really like being behind the bar and cannot say that I mind this change. It was just very much time for me to move on from Family Video. After two years and constantly trying to out-do myself for overall company sales rankings, I had enough and needed a breather. I'm now focusing on custom projects from clients (mostly wedding invites!!) and looking for where my next move is career-wise. I feel like a big move is on the horizon and I'm excited/nervous about that but letting God lead in me figuring that out.

I have also lost about 10 pounds since these pictures were taken, 25 total since the beginning of the year. I have basically been living at the gym and really focusing on what I eat, pretty much to the point of obsession. I don't think that I look different, you'll be able to judge for yourself with tomorrow's outfit photos that were taken on Sunday, but I feel so much better. As you guys know, I am a very confident person so my weight has never really been an issue, I know I'm a big girl and I'm fine with it. But I just really felt like garbage which is why I knew I needed to change what I was doing and I will never go back at this point. It's a lot of work and pre-planning, but I cannot imagine going back to how I was eating. Plus now I can do squats like a beast, so there's that.

What have you been up to!?

Fashion Forward Fridays: Pantone Color of 2015

Well I figured that it was about time that I talk about the Pantone Color of the Year. So for today's Fashion Forward Fridays, here are three ways to wear the color of 2015; Marsala. I'm in love with this color, mostly because it's in the red family, which is one of my favorite colors to wear. This isn't my favorite "color of the year" ever but I'm certainly loving it way more than last year's.

How do you feel about Marsala as the color of the year?

Fashion Forward Fridays: Wearing Leggings As Pants

Alright, alright, I know there is much debate on whether or not women should wear leggings as pants. Blah, blah, blah. Personally, I don't care what you're wearing as long as they are not sweat pants or GOD FORBID pajama pants in public. I also know that people are busy (and lazy) and I have been guilty of wearing yoga pants to work just so I could force myself to actually go to the gym afterwards too. So yoga pants, leggings, workout pants, whatever you call them (they are all basically the same) as long as the rest of your outfit is golden, they are all okay in my book.

For today's Fashion Forward Fridays, I've styled the same pair of workout pants in three different ways that you could "get away" with wearing them to places other than the gym. The typical argument about these usually comes down to keeping your butt covered, which with leggings (typically made out of thinner fabric than yoga or workout pants) I get that. But the other two (usually) have a decent kind of fabric that won't let everyone see your whole booty if you bent over. I'm not even going to get into the discussion about whether or not you should wear these for "modesty" reasons either, because I get dressed for me and if my cute butt is too distracting, that is not my issue. I'm distracted by guys who wear nice, fitted suits to work but you don't see me complaining that I cannot get my work done because of it.

I have literally worn these exact outfits before, which is why I know they work and look good. On a side note, if you're going to do the workout pants to work look, proceed with caution. There is a serious debate about these pants even if you haven't heard it, trust me, it's going on. I have worn this exact work look (shown last) to a corporate office before and no one thought twice about it because of the way it was styled. Your nicest workout pants should be the ONLY ones that you consider wearing to work. They should also be plain, no logos or visible patchwork to them and the rest of your look, including hair and makeup, should be polished. Otherwise, be comfortable! That's why we're wearing these pants after all, isn't it!?

Which look is your favorite?

Chels Wears: Skirts in the Snow

Skirt: Thrift Shop | Shoes: Kmart | Shirt: JCPenney | Jacket: Deb | Scarf: WalMart

Oh look, guys, I'm not properly dressed for the temperature again. Imagine that. I just hate snow too much to let it ruin my fashion plans, though I wish my legs weren't so white, holy cow. It was actually fairly "warm" when we took these photos. Like 25 degrees or something that felt decently warm. Erie is a confusing place to live around this time.

This is the first time this skirt has ever made an appearance. Well, that's not totally true. I got it at a thrift shop back home over a year ago and it (along with one other) have been hanging in my closet waiting to be worn by me since. I'm just not normally a midi skirt kind of person. I'm usually maxi or mini so this length has been a weird one for me to decide to wear. But I'm thinking I like it! I'll have to pull out that other thrift shop skirt that I got with this one because I'm really liking this look and I really am surprised by that. I wore this on Sunday to church. I really only decided to go with this skirt at the last minute because I didn't feel like wearing tights and didn't want to wear a maxi. (I always wear a skirt or dress to church, I feel weird when I don't.) So this skirt was the winner...long enough to not really need tights and short enough to not be considered a maxi. Maybe it's time to embrace the midi?

What's your favorite skirt length?

Chels Wears: Summer Favorites In Winter

Boots, Jeans, Shirt, Hat: Walmart | Sweater: Deb | Ring: UrbanOG | Scarf: gift

Don't try this out of home...I've been working from home a lot recently, which means that I tend to not worry about the weather and dress how I feel like it. Which explains why yesterday I thought this outfit would be a great idea. All of these pieces are very thin and wouldn't be considered winter attire, but I really liked the combo together so I ventured out in the snow to take these pictures. This would be the perfect outfit for early fall, but middle of winter? No sir! And since my brother is my photographer and he (although properly dressed for winter) did not want to be standing outside, we had to be quick about these. Certainly not the coldest we've done outfit photos in, but this is the least amount of layers I've worn before. Things you do to get back into the blog groove.

Fashion Forward Fridays: Wearing Winter Hats

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I love wearing hats and I think winter is the perfect time to do so. For today's Fashion Forward Fridays, I'm sharing with you three of my favorite ways to style different hats during the cold months. 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend! Which is your favorite look?