Romantic Modernista: Part I

Adventure I: Analyze your top talent.

Dress

Long cream cardigan 

Coral floral maxi dress

Black ballet flats

Cream slingbacks

Silver heart headband


Casual

Butterfly Skirt

Op Plaid Shirt - Pink

Op Plaid Shirt - Purple

I compiled this list without looking at my closet - just off the top of my head. Do you notice a trend among my clothing? I do, but this maybe because I can picture the clothing. The trends I notice are: Winter palette, romantic i.e. girly and feminine, bright colors. Looking at this shows me I don't have very much modern clothing. And this lets me know that I have to work on that aspect. I do own more clothing than this, I just picked what came to my head the fastest.

Isn't this fun?!

P.S. I know this is Friday not Wednesday!

Romantic Modernista: Debut

If you want to read a summary of the steps I'll be going through, click here. I've recently been on a "reinvent" craze. I'm trying to revamp my closet, and I thought the best way to work it out would be on The Jolly Cottage with all of you, my readers. So hopefully by the end of this series I will have found a better me. Just so you know, here's a little bit about my fashion tastes.

Colors: If you've ever read Color Me Beautiful, you know what I'm talking about. I am a Winter for sure!

Shape: I'm definitely a pear, and I try to do my best with my assets and the other not so likeable parts that make up Charlotte Parker. 

Hybrid: Romantic Modern Vintage with a pinch of Bohemian. For an explanation, you can check out these posts here, here, and here. It does sound a little bit weird, but in the end it's a great mix. (I think so, anyway.)

My fav celeb: Duchess of Cambridge, also known as Kate Middleton. She is simply amazing! She has breathed so much life into the British monarchy, and she dresses with classy romance! So adorable!

Top five places to shop:

1. Anthropologie - Bohemian & Romantic flair all the way!
2. Dorothy Perkins - Adorable fashions at (almost) adorable prices for an DoC fan!
3. Kate Spade - A modern romantic's dreamland.
4. J. Crew - Clean cut & cute.
5. Vintage - Nostalgia never looked so good!

So now that you know a little bit about my style preferences, join me Wednesday for Part I of Modern Romantic. Adventures. Until then, Cheerio!

Fashionista turned Frugalista

I am a self proclaimed fashion lover. Why? It is entirely feminine and beautiful! I cannot imagine the world without fashion! But as much as I love fashion, I cannot love the 4 digits (or more!) needed to be plunked down for a designer frock. Suffice to say Sarah Burton is more Duchess Kate's designer of choice than my own.
                                      

I am also a self proclaimed frugalista. Among the ordinances I observe, one is to only pay 3 digits for the white dress that I will don on my wedding day. No other piece of clothing is worthy of that extravagance. Am I right?

Besides the fact that my wallet will thank me, it is much more creative to shop bargains than putting down 10 of these for a dress.

                                   
Yes, it's a bit of a challenge to find clothing since I have many clothing rules, but better to be principled than have no principle. So here are the rules:

• No dress shall be shorter than 7 inches below my knee. Maxi length preferred. 
• No shoe shall be taller than 3 inches. 
• Nothing masculine shall be donned by me. 
• I will wear pajamas in my chamber, not Walmart. 
• Hair is meant to be done.                                    

Hopefully this shows that being a frugalista is not being a frump. And certaintly not like this:

                                           

Rather, something like this: 

                              

I have learned so much from this darling lady! She is an absolute wealth of knowledge that is worth the time it takes to read her cyber platform. Thank you ever so much, Reachel!

She blends so many of my favorite style elements and because of her influence on my life, I will be walking through her series, Charting A Style Evolution part I and part II.

This post has prompted the coming of a new series: A Romantic Modernista. I'll explain more about the title in the debut post, premiering April 2nd! 

Shoes,shoes,shoes.....

                                                     


                                         

Blue and green plaid Keds.These are my faithful friends. Whenever I exit my four walls, my feet are usually adorned with these. Given to me by a friend, I wear them habitually when doing something casual. The only problem is that they are dirty,dirty,dirty. I really would like a new pair of shoes, I'm just not sure what to get. And just so you know, I did not go out and buy these. I got them for free from a friend in time of need (like dress shoes + snow = not working). I love the colors and the little ruffle thingie, so they worked. Anyway, can you recommend any inexpensive casual shoes? Just something to chew on over the weekend! Thanks in advance!

D.I.Y Lover...

I've been reading a TON of D.I.Y. blogs lately and it has really gotten me in the spirit.....

So I've made a goal!

Do one D.I.Y. project in April!


You D.I.Y. queens are probably laughing at me but it's a start!

Here are some of things I'm dreaming of doing:

• furniture makeovers
• spray paint parties
• sewing fun
• before and after glamour 
• etc.

So I could go on and on but I won't bore you! Now there's only one problem! 

I don't have a camera! 

I just never needed one, but now that I need it I don't have it! So until I do, please just believe that I actually do these projects! 

Now you guys need to keep me accountable April 30th is the deadline! Ready,set,go!

I'm catching a dream!

This post is in response to the FFA's first assignment as assigned by Mandi Gubler!

The assignment: Decide how you want your home to feel.

I want it to feel colorful, cheery, and inspiring. To demonstrate....

                               

                               

                                           

                             

                                      

                                     

                         

                                  

Elegant but liveable, inexpensive but creative. A challenge but one that I'll be happy to meet.

So you want this article in one sentence?

Creative elegance without sacrificing money.

Go catch a dream!

May the best blogger win....

Okay, so have you ever looked at enjoyed your favorite bloggers and just wish you could just combine their styles? 'Cause I sure have! Here's who's won in each department. (Now: To you fashion blogger gals please don't get in a knot because I didn't include you. I will be doing a fashion one at some point.)

Entryway: Mandi Gubler!


I LOVED the whole tandem/bike thing! A stroke of genius! And in my favorite colors, too!

                            


Kitchen: Mia and Jilly!

                           

I love the pot storage thingie! Amaze-ing!!!!!!!!!!! And the cabinets didn't detract points either!



Bathroom: Reachel Bagley!

                          

                         

Kudos to Reachel! I love both bathrooms! Especially the green picture frame to spice up against the pale wall.


Master Bedroom: Reachel Bagley!

                         

The bedding's so cute, and the portraits are also ADORABLE! I'm guessing that Beth Allen did them, talented lady that she is. Am I right, Reachel?  Side note: I was looking at the blog of a minamalist one time, and I loved the pics of her bedroom, which consisted of a bed on the floor and a storage cabinet/clothes closet. The only problem was that it was all white. Now, I love a good coat of white paint, but I don't know, it just seemed so stark. I like Reachel's room because it's simple AND colorful.

Children's Bedroom: Natty Cox!


               

I love the wallpaper and the mobile!!!!! Oh yeah, the baby too! JK The baby is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

Office: Stacy Risenmay!

                               

Isn't this awesome?! I love the bright colors, and especially the rug!



Random Area: Mandi Gubler!


                                           

I love the mix of yellow and green! And the gray walls look great, Mandi!

So there you have it! If you feel that you should have won in one of the categories,send me pics! I might do a second edition!