Happy Birthday to Me: Year in Review

Today is officially the one year mark of when I posted my very first baby blog post!  I think it's come quite a long way since the days of headless torso shots, although I still pull out the old iPhone mirror photo from time to time...  To commemorate both the actual new year and my blog's new year, I decided to pull together a little list of my 12 favorite posts from the last year.  I also made a list of a few things I've learned along the way, and I have outfit photos for today, so let's get to it!

12 Favorite Posts

1.  New Orleans

I actually really, really love taking and sharing travel photos (even more than taking pictures of myself and my outfits, if you can believe it), so this post about my quick trip to New Orleans last year is one of my favorites.  I loved it there and I love looking back through this small sampling of the 100s of shots I snapped over 1 day (really!).  I may start sharing a post or two a month of just photography!

2.  This outfit

I just really like the individual pieces here, the effort I put in with the extra details (earrings, belt), and how it all came together without looking too "styled."  I was just going to say that I can't wait until spring so I can wear this dress again, but I actually think I might just pull it out soon and pair it with some tights or leggings.  I miss dresses!

3.  Nautical + Arrested Development + Mary Poppins + Puns = Possibly My Best Post Ever

Not my best posing, but it was still new to me (still is, actually).  I just loved the outfit and all of the nautical details, I actually put some effort into my hair, and anything with Gob Bluth in it has to be on my list of favorites.  :)

4.  Minty Madness

Mint was a huge trend this year, yes, but any shade of bluish-green or greenish-blue is my favorite color and always will be, so I was definitely on board.  I loved the different colors in this outfit, the actual outdoor pictures, and the shoes.  Oh those shoes.  I need to wear them again as soon as possible.

5.  My Anniversary Purse

I was so, so thrilled with this Kate Spade bag my husband got me in my favorite color (see above) for our wedding anniversary last year and couldn't wait to show it off!  I paired it with a bunch of other aqua/teal accessories and one of my favorite striped camis, and I still love this outfit.  I'll probably wear it again 100 times this summer.

6.  Coral + Mint

Ahh, I loved this outfit too.  So light and refreshing, and I was so excited about those shoes.

7.  Tweed and Tees

I hate feeling overly stuffy, and pairing this tweedy Chanel-inspired pencil skirt with a simple v-neck tee was the perfect dressed-up, dressed-down combo for me.  The dusty shades were a win in my book too - colorful but not garish.

8.  Stripes and Skirts

I don't usually rock sunglasses in my outfit pics, but it was so sunny that day that every picture I tried without them resulted in massive stinkeye.  Anyway, I loved every piece in this outfit, so it was kind of inevitable that I loved the result too.  Great combination of neutrals and brights, and the mix of classic stripes with trendy loafer pumps worked for me too.

9.  Neutrals

I actually super love neutrals, but I don't often feature all neutral outfits on the blog because I'm worried they'll seem be boring.  This outfit reminds me that neutrals can be even more fab than colors, so I just need to make sure to pair classic and interesting pieces when everything in an outfit is neutral.

10.  Classics

Jeans are definitely a staple for me, both on casual Friday and on the weekend, so my ongoing goal is to make sure I don't get too standard/boring with them.  I loved this combination of jeans, a polka-dot blouse, blazer, and gold flats.  Each piece in this was a classic and I loved how they all came together so well.

11.  Fall Staples

Burgundy, chambray, cozy sweaters, and boots are all the best things about fall.  I was so comfy and cozy in this outfit all day too - ahh, I'm warm just thinking about it.

12.  Recent Success

After a really busy end of the year and several colds, I was definitely slacking off in blogging, mostly because I was slacking off with getting dressed.  I finally started feeling better and putting in more effort, and I loved the result here.  Neutrals with a twist of fun polka dots has turned out to be one of my favorite combinations (see below for more).

I have to say, looking through all of my old posts definitely made me miss summer and the days of open-toed shoes.  It also re-motivated me to keep trying harder to be fun and creative with outfits, which I really needed a dose of after the craziness of the last few months.  The ones I picked as favorites were definitely ones I put effort into and used pieces I loved, whereas ones I didn't like were either boring, didn't fit well/flatter, or just kind of felt lackluster.  With that said, instead of posting the ones I hated (who wants to look at those again?  not me!), I put together a little list of a few things I learned this year.

Lessons Learned

1.  Almost all of my favorite outfits are summery and light.  That could be due to the fact that it's the dead of winter right now and I'm hopelessly wishing for warm weather, but I think I do just really prefer warm temps and light, breezy clothes.  I'm learning that it's more of an effort for me to be stylish in the cold, so that's something I need to keep in mind and work at.

2.  Almost all of my favorite outfits involve aqua/teal/mint/variations of blue-green.  I suppose the lesson here could go either way: use this color in every outfit (not likely), or learn to love other colors equally (not likely).  So I guess there's not as much of a lesson here as an observation that I tend to lean toward liking outfits with this color more.  So I'm biased, who knew?

3.  Learning what works best on my body is an ongoing project, but even just glancing through my 12 favorite posts makes it clear that my favorite items are ones that are flattering.  Outfits I really, really didn't like after looking back were ones that just didn't fit well or I know I didn't feel comfortable in.  Lesson learned.  A cursory glance tells me that pencil skirts, cropped/ankle pants, and heels, heels, heels are definitely favorites of mine.  I know I've said this before, but I need to rededicate to wearing heels - I tend to get lazy in the winter because I'm already lugging so much stuff with me to the office (coat, scarf, etc.), but that's no excuse.  New resolution: wearing heels more often!

4.  Wearing items that work well on me is definitely a good lesson, but that doesn't have to mean sticking with the same boring pattern over and over.  Getting out of my comfort zone is still something I want to work on.  I think we all tend to fall into comfortable patterns, especially when we're busy or tired, and I typically fall into a routine of black pants, flats, a cami, and a cardigan.  Sometimes that's a fine fallback, but I definitely relied on it too much for my liking this year, especially considering how much I do really like skirts and dresses.

5.  Remembering to stay true to myself and my style is something I think I'm much better at than when I first started this blog a year ago.  Getting involved in the blogging community is great for many reasons, one of them being the unlimited inspiration you find in others' style on a daily basis.  The danger in that, though, is letting others' influence take over a bit too much.  Taking risks with new styles is always fun, but there are definitely a few things I didn't feel like myself in, usually because they were either too stuffy or too "blogger" style.  I don't know if I have an actual term for what I think my style is just yet, but I think I'm getting closer, if only by knowing what I don't want my style to be.

6.  Finally, I realized that I had to take several week-long (or longer) breaks from blogging throughout the year, often unintentionally.  I have to admit that I just don't think I can keep up a schedule of posting daily, especially going into this year.  I got a promotion at work, which means my free time there to keep up with more administrative parts of blogging will be much more limited, and the timing of taking outfit photos can get kind of demanding especially in the winter.  Don't worry, I'm not saying I'm quitting the blog (although I don't know that I'll be doing this forever either... but I'd let you guys know beforehand when I decide to stop), but I probably won't be posting M-F anymore, it will be more like 2-3 times a week.  I hope you'll still stick around to chat because I love interacting with you guys!  And if/when the time comes that I stop blogging altogether, I still plan to stay in touch with some of you through your blogs, Instagram, and other social media! :)

And on that note, let's get back to the real goods - today's outfit!

Today

 

Yeah, I still wear Uggs to commute in the winter.  They're warm!!!

Showin' you mah toggles!

I'm Wearing

J. Crew tippi dot sweater (got for $35 on Christmas Eve, whatwhat!)

J. Crew jeans (also got for $35 on Christmas Eve!)

J. Crew striped socks

J. Crew Factory suede flats (they're more peach IRL than orange like they seem here)

Fossil watch

Banana Republic toggle coat (got for $100, marked down from $225, on Xmas Eve!)

Zara scarf

Uggs

 

Seriously you guys, Christmas Eve was one of the most productive, discounted shopping trips of my life.  So  many J. Crew things, all were 30% off (can't wait to show you the rest in my budget post next week!), this amazing Banana Republic coat that I lusted over all season marked down to $100... I had been wanting a toggle coat since last winter, so I couldn't pass it up!  Ahh, it was glorious.  And so awful because the next day was Christmas, so I felt terrible buying myself all of those things... But still glorious.