Somewhere in the Middle

Plastic poppies, silk flowers & me

For the past several months I've been consumed with reading fashion blogs especially ones focused on petite wear. Last winter I vowed to break out of my turtleneck & jean uniform. And I was pretty good too. Although in a moment of weakness I bought a cowl neck sweater. In my defense, the sweater was just too pretty & comfy to pass up.

Building a wardrobe with pieces you can layer & will easily transition into various seasons takes quite a bit of effort. Slowly, I've been adding some  fun and casual pieces to my existing wardrobe. But breaking out of my normal routine isn't easy. Mixing and matching new items in different ways takes time. Time that would be better spent sleeping. lol! I'm also trying to play with accessories too.

Like the other day, I tried to add a little color to this seersucker jacket by adding a silk flower. I thought it looked pretty cute myself but when S & I met for lunch he started to tease me about my flower... "What's up with that flower?", "You're not going to squirt me are you?" "Hey look... you & that car are twins."  Suddenly, my husband turned into a 12 year old! lol! We both had a good laugh about my flower that day. But I refused to take it off. I like how my little flower adds a little burst of color to my jacket. But I won't lie it did get me thinking... does my flower look silly? Of course, when I asked S  he replied, "Oh, I don't know anything about fashion! I think you should ask Baklava Grrrl what she thinks. She'll tell you the truth".

Later when I met up with Baklava Grrrl for tea I asked her what she thought of the flower... "Does it look silly?"

"Silly? no way. I love it", she replied.

So what's your vote? Do you like the flower or is it a no go?

 

It's all about fashion.

For the past week, well maybe more than just a week I've been obsessed consumed with getting ready for the fall/winter season.  This may seem odd with the temps in the US reaching the upper 90's but here in Belgium it feels like fall is just around the corner. And I'm on a mission to spice up my wardrobe this season. Which means I need to give my winter uniform (turtlenecks + jeans) a rest. It's going to be difficult since turtlenecks keep me nice & toasty but they can be a bit boring. So this year I'm making a change. It's going to be rough trying to resist those cashmere turtleneck sweaters once they go on sale but I need to be strong. I'm making a promise to myself "No more turtlenecks!" I think the dozen I currently own is enough! lol!

My search for a more updated & fun fall/winter wardrobe started with boots. I always thought knee high boots wouldn't work for me since I'm petite but I decided to give them a try this year. So I went crazy ordering boots. The photo above is just the first installment of my shipment! Searching for knee high boots with narrow openings is not an easy job. These babies are tough to come by.

So I ordered 43 pairs of shoes... all different styles. Yup, that's right. 43 pairs. Granted, 2 pairs were for S, 12 for C, and the rest were for lil' old me. Twelve may seem like a lot for C but finding the right size can be tricky. My favorite brand for C is an Italian company called Primigi. Love their shoes, they're a bit expensive but totally worth it. No matter how hard C is on his shoes they look great. C wasn't too excited about trying on 12 pairs of shoes but he did really good. And now he's set for the year.

His favorite shoes by far are these Puma's. They're great for school. I'm not a big fan of black shoes for kids but I knew C would love the red strip, the little embroidered Puma plus there is a Ferrari symbol on the back too. Very cute. He was really excited to wear his new shoes to school!

In my family, my Dad is as much of a shoe fashionista as my Mom so I think it's important I do what is necessary for C to carry on this tradition.

For a few days my house looked like a shoe store! If you're a size 6.5 or 7 my house was the place to be! lol! I normally procrastinate when I return things but I was good this time. After numerous visits to the post office I think I've finally made a decision and I'm keeping two that I'm quite happy with.

While I was searching for boots I stumbled upon two blogs (Alterations Needed + The Chloe Chronicles) that I'm just smitten with right now. They're both written by petite women with a great eye for fashion. Especially love the layered looks on Chloe's site. Layering is so important when you live in a country where the temperatures vary & where you can experience all four seasons in one day. What I love most about both blogs are their recommendations & the photos they post of themselves in various outfits. This is huge for me since I order all my clothes online.  Both of these sites have inspired me to dress a little nicer this fall even if it's just to drop C off at school and visit my local bakery.