A Month of Suitcase Living: Milan 30 for 30 recap

My 30 for 30: Milan edition is finally done! Thanks so much for your feedback on my original post & packing. I'm so ready to wash and put away all of those items and get back to the rest of my closet.

see some thoughts below.

I didn't get to take photos everyday, so I recreated a few of the outfits I wore for a cohesive board. Cheating was impossible because I only had what I packed - but I did purchase a pair of sandals that I wore twice.

From my original packing list, I removed 4 items (2 tops, 1 cardigan, 1 pr of shoes). I added a pair of gray leggings and the floral tank. I never wore one skirt (just wasn't a practical an inclusion), so I ended up with 27 items.

Items worn least: olive pencil skirt, teal top, black jeggings

Items worn most: flip flops, brogues, bermuda shorts, boyfriend cardigan.

What I would have changed:

1.

Bringing this adorable coral skirt was a bad idea. It was a little too short for me to wear to church events, and too dressy for our days off of traveling and sight-seeing.

2.

In general, I brought too many dresses and not enough casual pieces. Would have loved to have a pair of cute yoga pants, and a couple of plain t's.

3.

I brought too many scarves. I managed to wear each of them at least once, but I wish I would have spent more time picking out necklaces and packed them - it was just way to hot for a scarf most days!

Otherwise, I felt really good about what I chose, and how I wore it! And I'm going to spend the next few weeks making the rest of my wardrobe feel less lonely (they missed me, I could tell).

30 for 30 roundup: It's all over!

Get ready to see way more Latte poses than you ever wanted to...

Here's what I've worn for the last thirty days:

and...ending on extremely awkward facial expressions

A few lessons learned:

1. I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a fashion blogger. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm not. But this challenge really helped me get over my morning ritual whining "I have nothing to wear!" and I'll still continue to share an occasion favorite outfit.

2. I am really lacking in the accessories department! I had planned to wear often a beautiful green scarf that I got from paris a few years ago. Right before the challenge began I lost it in the airport. (and I did not handle this discovery maturely.)

3. Planning outfits ahead of time was they KEY to my success in this challenge. I woke up in the morning, looked on my sheet (this remix guide from Kendi was really helpful) and got dressed.

4. I wear waaay too many neutrals. I picked out every bright piece in my whole wardrobe for this challenge. For the next few months, I'm forcing myself to buy more bright accessories.

Things I wore a lot:

brown pumps (8), gray flats (8), khaki pencil skirt (6)

Things I hardly wore:

bermuda shorts (2), brown flats (2)

At least 1/3 of them were 'new' outfits to me.

I'm pretty happy with how I used all the pieces I picked, but I definitely should have included more warm pieces (sweater and boots) as November was much colder than I had planned.

Finally, my favorites: Days 2, 5, 8, 13, 16, 25

16 definitely got the most compliments from others(Also, 4, 17, and 27)

I would love to hear your thoughts and/or advice! Thanks for sticking with me through this remix.

30 for 30 Roundup: Week Four

2 days left, and I am anxious for this remix all to be over. Partly because I've been feeling really inhibited by my choices (and trying to not repeat outfits), and partly because I feel much more inspired to remix my whole wardrobe better--I want to get back to the rest of my closet!

I'll share my final two days and some thoughts in recap later this week.

(p.s. I'm sorry to all of you readers who don't live in a coastal desert climate. I feel just a teensy bit guilty posting all these pictures outside with the sun glaring in my eyes while some of you are suffering through cloudy, snowy days)

I realize how awkward me not smiling looks and I'm going to avoid it from now on.

Also, I completely over-wore my gray flats this week. They are just too easy to love.

Some more shots:

ugh, I hate night-time indoor pictures

and you've already seen these

ps. that blue striped dress is what I bought with my Shabby Apple groupon: L'Artiste.

I love it!

um....thank you?

Today I got a compliment that I think was meant as a note of pity.

A condescending compliment, if you will.

The words were: oh, that's a cute outfit, with the layers"

but it sounded like "nice try honey, but it's not really working"

I have never had this happen to me before.

for reference, here's what I'm wearing today:

[Day 24/30]

(granted, I should have worn a necklace, but otherwise I'm still happy with this outfit)

Have you ever received (or given) a fake compliment?

ps. today I also received a compliment from a barista at a new local coffee shop that my hair was "perfect." So he got an extra tip today.

30 for 30 Roundup: Week Three [Cheater]

Where is the time going? I can't believe I'm almost up to day 22!

I have to admit a couple of cheats this week. Before taking my family all over San Diego I realized I needed a more practical pair of shoes and added my rocket dogs to the mix for this week.

I also added in a casual yellow shirt I got on Target clearance.

I feel slightly guilty about this, but sharing it takes the shame away. so now you know!

I did a terrible job of taking outfit photos, so some of these are just pictures of us out and about that I had to severely crop so you could see my outfits.

I have been so busy with my family, but I can't wait to share our adventures with you this week.

In the meantime, here are some outtakes and close-ups.

Day 16 was my favorite outfit so far of the challenge. I haven't worn tights since we've lived out in Cali, and it was nice to have a brisk enough day that required them.

Otherwise, I didn't plan nearly enough warm clothes--so lots of scarf accessories have been necessary!

A good use for the stump

eaaarrrly morning

I love this necklace so, so much.

Hope you all had a happy weekend!

30 for 30 Roundup: Week Two

Tomorrow I'm half way through the 30 for 30 challenge (!)

I noticed late last week that some of the bloggers I'm following from the challenge appeared to be posting a couple days behind me. After looking through the details of the remix, it looks like Kendi didn't mention whether or not weekends counted in the mixing.

She doesn't include weekends, but I (and lots of others) have! It's the difference between finishing in 30 days consecutively, or 6 weeks--but getting a break on the weekends.

At any rate, here are remixes 8-14

This week proved to be a little more challenging as my picks were more meant for warmer weather than we experienced. A few days, (today especially!), left me a little chilly.

I have already become a true Californian where 55 and raining feels like the dead of winter.

necklace is DIY

30 for 30 Roundup: Week One

Last week I signed up for the 30 for 30 challenge,

Below are my choices for the first week!

So far it has been surprisingly easy. I hardly had to rewear anything, and I still have a lot of pieces you won't seee until later on.The first 5 are work days, my outift for Saturday worked from breakfast at a cafe with MIL to shopping, to a play, and date night with E (versatile!) Then todays outfit was for church.

I learned very early on to make time to take photos in the morning, since its dark when I get home from work at night.

I'm having a lot of fun, and amazed at how easily I've been able to put together outfits with about 1/3 of my wardrobe.

Here are some more details shots/outtakes:

Who else is doing the 30 for 30 challenge? How is it going for you?

30 for 30

Frustration with my closet lately and a limited clothing budget has motivated me to participate in the 30 for 30 Remix Challenge (along with over 300 bloggers!)

The idea is to take 30 items for closet and mix and match them into 30 outfits over 30 days.

At some point E thought I was going crazy (so did I)

But I finally settled on my remix pieces for the month! It was kind of nerve wracking picking out what to wear--30 items turned out to be not nearly as many as I thought.

Without further adieu:

12 tops

5 pairs of shoes

4 cardigans/jackets

4 pants

2 skirts, 1 shorts, 1 dress

A couple of comments:

You might be wondering on my lack of seasonal items like sweaters and boots. For better or worse, the weather over the next month will be somewhere in the 60's-80's. So even though it's late fall, in Southern California I can still get away with wearing sandals and bermuda shorts.

If you counted the above items, you may have realized that there are only 29 pictures.

As I'm writing this, I realized that I forgot to take a photo of my jeans (I'm wearing them). They will show up later!

I had to include a lot of work attire. Between work and church, I'm dressed up 6 days a week. This made the remix items a little trickier (/less adventurous?) but I'm really excited to work with what I picked out.

Rather than overwhelm you with my clothing every day on this blog, I'm going to post my outfits in summary just once a week. Hope you enjoy!