Friday's Fancies: The best of ...

First, I want to send huge kudos to Alison over at {long distance loving} for celebrating her 150th Friday's Fancies link-up today! That's almost three years of fashion-related posts every Friday! For this special anniversary, I decided to pick my five favorite fashionable creations from the past and reshare them here. You can click on any image to see the original post. Enjoy!

This was the second outfit I ever created for Friday's Fancies, back in February 2012.
I would definitely wear this now!

Currently: celebrating my favorite season!

It's the first day of fall! Woohoo! Get ready for an autumn-centric "currently" post today. I absolutely love autumn—it is my favorite season of the year, hands down—but I've been holding off on any autumn posts until the official first day. I'm happy it's finally here!

Autumn pleasures by mcszr3 on Polyvore

reading | Skeletons at the Feast still. I took a short break last week to read Blue Like Jazz because its due date at the library was approaching, but I didn't get the chance to finish it before I had to return it. I've heard great things but honestly wasn't too impressed with the nine chapters I was able to read. Thoughts from anyone who has read it are appreciated!

Friday's Fancies: Short Story

I usually gravitate more toward skirts and pants than shorts (unless, of course, it's a pair of my beloved Norts, a.k.a. Nike shorts), but I've had my eye on this pretty mint pair from Target for a while. I couldn't pick just one outfit, but I knew I wanted a sleeveless chiffon blouse and a fun statement necklace to dress the shorts up while keeping the color palette light and summery. You can find links to all the items below in my Polyvore set.

What's your favorite combination of the above items? Do you like wearing shorts?

Travel Tuesday Contributor: Just Another Smith

It's time for another Travel Tuesday guest post! Today Andi is sharing some quick packing tips for a weekend away. If all is going as planned with my trip, I'm on a plane to Athens, Greece, right now. :) Wish me luck!

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Hi there!  I'm Andi and I blog over at Just Another Smith.  Most of my posts are about my everyday style, with some random stories thrown into the mix and maybe a book review now and then.  I'm pretty jealous of Megan's adventures in Europe.  I love to travel, and would go on vacation every week if my budget allowed it.  My most recent trip was a quick weekend to Arizona with two of my best friends.  Here are some tips on what to pack for a four-day weekend adventure:

Spring into Chevron

When I first started linking up with {av} for Friday's Fancies last January, I had no style. I have since developed minimal style, and I'm proud to say I could put together a very similar outfit to the one below from my current wardrobe, except for the skirt. I am definitely on the hunt for some flirty skirts for this spring!

Spring into Chevron by mcszr3

The best part? Each of these items (except the watch) costs less than $50!

How did you celebrate the first day of spring? Personally, I snowshoed up a small mountain in Vermont with some Alpha Delta Pi sisters from UVM. It was beautiful and I wouldn't have had it any other way!

P.S. — Check back on Tuesday for my spring wish list with Jen from Live Beautifully!

Advice Needed: Stylish Walking Shoes for Europe

I don't know if I've mentioned this on the blog yet, but I'm in the midst of planning a six-week backpacking trip across Europe with my sister, brother and boyfriend this summer. (Eep!) I've been searching for the perfect pair of shoes to wear on this trip: A pair that matches everything, isn't too bulky to pack and will keep my feet comfortable even after walking down cobblestone streets for hours on end each day. I then realized I have the perfect people at my disposal to help me with this conundrum: my loyal readers! I know many of you are avid travelers, because that's probably what attracted me to your blog in the first place, so I would appreciate any tips or insight you have! I've highlighted a few options below, but I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Photo of Prague by Tambako by Jaguar; design by Megan

Fall Friday: The Footwear (Friday's Fancies: Week 14)

I had been planning a footwear-themed post for this Fall Friday post anyway, then I saw {av}'s Friday's Fancies theme this week was autumn-inspired, so I decided to combine them (again)! I know this Friday's Fancies is technically supposed to be inspired by a fall treat, but {av} always encourages us to post about anything we want, so I'm going to pretend like riding boots are my "treat." :)

Fall Friday: An Instagram

I had planned to do a wonderfully delicious post about fall food today, but that will have to wait until another week. You see, I took the most quintessentially perfect fall photo in Pullman, Washington, earlier this week, and I just had to share it with you.

Two things I love about fall: The leaves and the footwear!

There's actually quite a long story behind my acquisition of these flats, but that, too, will be shared another day. Hope you're enjoying the first Friday of November!

Follow me on Instagram at @mcstroup for more stereotypical Instagram pictures. Am I following you yet? Leave your handle in the comments below!

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Idea

I am cheap. I'm not quite Extreme Cheapskates-cheap, but I'm pretty cheap all the same. Therefore, I do not like to spend any money when I dress up for Halloween. No buying or renting costumes for this girl; when I can't borrow, I make do with what I already have in the closet. In the event you share this tendency for frugality with me (or maybe just waited too long to secure a costume for tonight), I thought I would share my wonderfully easy and inexpensive costume from last Halloween: blackmail.

Blackmail Costume by mcszr3

All you have to do is wear all black and safety-pin envelopes and other mail to yourself. Clever, right? I also thought it might be fun to wear an "envelope" clutch with this costume, so I included some of my favorites from Polyvore above.

So tell me, what are you dressing up as this Halloween? Do you have any easy and inexpensive costume ideas? I won't be dressing up as anything tonight, as I'm currently in a small college town and don't want to risk running into any of my collegiates at the local hotspots. That might get awkward. ;) Happy Halloween!

Fall Friday: Friday's Fancies (Week 13)

I know I just did a fall fashion post last Friday, but {av} is hosting a "Leaf Love" Friday's Fancies link-up this week, and I thought it might be fun to play along. Plus, I keep finding great autumn outfits on Pinterest that I want to share:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I originally created an outfit centered around this fabulous sweater, but then I decided I should let the colors of the fall leaves inspire me, as {av}'s theme suggests. I also threw in hints of navy, just because I like it, and a little beanie that I would never be brave enough to wear. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel silly in hats? Anyway, this is the final product:

Leaf Love by mcszr3

Click the button below to see what other leaf-inspired outfits bloggers created this week:

Fall Friday: The Fashion

Left: 1 | 2 | 3                                                             Right: 1 | 2 | 3

Welcome to my second installment of Fall Friday! Today I wanted to highlight the wonderful fashion of fall. I absolutely love fall clothes: the boots, the sweaters, the leggings, the cardigans, the tall socks ... I just love the layered look!

Clockwise from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I probably wouldn't wear the leather pants in the bottom right picture, but I love all the other looks! Scarves, tights and cardigans are my jam. I especially love boots and tall socks over tights.

What is your ideal fall outfit?

A skirt for every woman.

Happy Friday! First of all, I'm featured on The Observant Turtle today as one of Whitney's June sponsors! Go check it out; her blog is awesome. Plus, I just found out we both graduated in December 2011 will practically the same degrees. She studied communications and history, and I studied journalism and history. Now if that isn't a sign we should be blogger besties, I don't know what is. :)

For the meat of this post, I'm participating in my first-ever Fashion Friday link-up with Blonde Episodes today.




Lately, I've been loving the pencil skirt trend, but I've also been wanting to branch out and get some looser styles to fill out my professional wardrobe. I was able to find a ton of adorable yet professional skirts on Shabby Apple. Fun colors, fun patterns, and you can find a skirt for any body type (though I realize all these women are about a size 2). Here are five of my favorites:

Clockwise, from top left: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Of course I included a few pencil skirts, but I'm also loving the looser style in the top two. (Is anyone surprised I picked a yellow skirt? Haha.) Which is your favorite?

The Fine Print: I am a Shabby Apple affiliate. Every time someone accesses the Shabby Apple site through a link on my blog and buys something within two weeks, I get 5 percent commission. So, if you're thinking of buying something from Shabby Apple, feel free to click one of my buttons first. ;)

Friday's Fancies: Week 12

This week's Friday's Fancies theme from {av} was just too good to pass up. I'm sure I'm one of a gajillion people who are crushing on coral today, but I used it anyway. It wasn't hard to find inspiration, either, considering how much coral I already had on my Pinterest. Here are some of my favorite finds. Enjoy!

Left column: dress / blazer / dress / watch

Right column: outfit / shorts + clutch / flat / skirt

What color are you crushing on this summer?

Check this out: Workday.Weekend

The lovely Sarah over at Workday.Weekend wrote a color consultation post today featuring my yellow pencil skirt! Remember when I asked for advice on what to wear with it a few weeks ago? Well, Sarah came up with three different outfits for me. Plus, she wrote me a super-sweet introduction that makes me sound way more interesting than I actually am! Check it out, and while you're at it, poke around her site a little. It's great!

Advice needed!

Hi friends. Welcome back to another combined edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday and Oh How Pinteresting Wednesday. I love Wednesdays because these link-ups give me the chance to throw a bunch of random, positive and/or pretty things out there. First, though, I've decided to host my own summer book challenge on this blog, so please check it out if you like to read! :) And here goes....

First, I am loving so many things about this week!! On Saturday, my dad came through Albuquerque on a road trip, so I got to spend Saturday evening and Sunday morning with him. We had dinner, checked out an Irish pub, played some blackjack (I kicked his butt!) and had Dunkin' Donuts the next morning. (As a Southern transplant to California, my dad drinks Dunkin' Donuts as often as he gets the chance. Fun fact: There are no Dunkin' Donut shops in California. Until this military base gets one, that is.)

As if seeing my dad wasn't great enough, I'm leaving for Columbia tomorrow, which means I'll get to see this girl and this girl and this girl and so many more of my Mizzou friends! #lovelovelove

Back to Albuquerque, though.... I decided to stop by the mall and see if I could find something to match my awesome yellow skirt I bought last week. (Y'all remember how excited I was about that find, right?) I didn't end up getting anything to go with the skirt, but I did buy a really cute navy blazer at Forever 21 to add to my ever-growing "young professional" wardrobe. Also, thanks for all your comments and fashion advice last week! I've decided I want to get a charcoal gray pencil skirt suit this summer; let me know if you see a cute one anywhere! Now that that's decided, I have two more fashion questions for you:

1. What other color blazer should I get (in addition to my navy one)? I'm thinking something pastel or bright, just to be fun, but I still want to be able to wear it with a lot of different pieces.
2. What the heck should I wear with my yellow skirt? I'm thinking light blue and/or white, inspired by this fabulous outfit, but I can't think of anything else that would look good. Help! This is it:

Image via The Limited, but product no longer available

If I were fashionable, this is what I would wear.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope your weeks have been good so far. I'm sticking with my usual Wednesday link-ups for now, but please take my survey if you have a few minutes to give me some feedback on my blog. It's only ten questions and all questions are optional. Now, on to what I'm loving this week....

First, please indulge me for a minute while I tell a roundabout story: I've been wanting a yellow pencil skirt for a while now (remember this?), and I thought I struck gold when The Limited had a 50% off sale on its website last week. I had put a yellow pencil skirt in my cart a while ago but was putting off buying it. Of course, when I went to buy it at the reduced price, it was no longer available! Luckily, I had to pick someone up in Albuquerque on Thursday night, so I went down early to stop by the mall. There were only about three yellow skirts left, and only one was close to my size, but alas, not close enough. Then, a saleswoman found my size on a mannequin and I was able to buy the skirt! It was 40% off in the store and I didn't have to pay shipping, so it ended up being a better deal than if I had bought the skirt online! Score.