Aren't Mondays the best?

{Shop: Skirt, Similar Tank, Cardigan, Similar Heels}

I now present outfit twenty-five. You can't hear it but I'm giving myself a golf clap right now. (A golf clap because a standing ovation seems a bit indulgent.) This was a hard remix, much more than my last one. If there was ever a lesson to be learned it's this -- don't trust Texas weather and include something other than pencil skirts. Variety is my best friend. When will I learn this, when?

If you are wondering what's up with my hair, and even if you aren't, it's been misting rain in the mornings here lately. And apparently my hair remembers that I permed it about 10 years ago with an at-home perm and a friend. A friend who went on to work in business, not as a hair stylist. When mist hits my hair, she curls right up. All the products in the world can't make it curly, but a light misty rain after I've spent 10 minutes perfecting it? Works every time.

How was your Monday? People keep asking me how my day was and I can't remember. That's how good/bad it was. You decide. I don't think I can. Oh and my post title? I was kidding. Mondays are the worst.

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Over the Weekend

{Shop: Similar Scarf, Jeans, Wedge Boots}

I don't usually do this but I snuck in another outfit over the weekend. So I wore this on Saturday, but I'm blogging it on Monday. Make sense? I didn't think so either.

Speaking of weekends, how was yours? Mine was good. If I was a liar, I'd tell you that I cleaned out our garage, I held a spontaneous block party for our neighborhood, and I ran a 5k for a local charity. But since I'm not a liar, I'll tell you this. I watched an embarrassing amount of Greek episodes and didn't move for hours at a time. Don't judge me, okay? We've come to the point in our Netflix queue where we've run out of good things to watch instantly. The Cosby Show is next.

We did get up and go out Saturday night, when I wore this gem of an outfit. Some would call it a date, I just call it a night that I don't have to cook. It's romantic to me either way.

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Sunday Morning

I might have just woken up from a nap. We took photos this morning, I went to the grocery store, the mister made banana pancakes and then we accidentally took a nap all before noon. It was a total accident, I swear. I have no idea how my pajamas got back on and the how I ended up in bed. All I know is that before noon naps might be the best thing ever.

Who's watching the Oscars tonight? We don't have cable, so I might just end up peeking into a few neighbors windows. I'm sure they won't mind. I won't set up my couch in their front yard again this year. That was a huge mistake.

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Day to Date Night

{Shop: Skirt, Similar Belt, Similar Boots, Paisley Necklace, Similar Gem Necklace}

I don't know about ya'll but Friday happened too fast. I won't go into details but let's just say things did not get done. Posting my outfit was one of those things. However, date night did happen so there was an upside. What am I talking about? There's always an upside to Friday.

So here I go from day to date night. Throw on some jeans, add a belt and a scarf. Find a nice patio and you've got yourself a date night. The only thing easier than that is throwing on sweat pants and a t-shirt and ordering a pizza. There is no shame in that kind of date night either.

{Shop: Jeans, Similar Boots, Similar Scarf, Bangles}

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Tabitha on Why I Remix

My husband is a Financial Advisor and being married to me is no walk in the park. He was aware of my financial ignorance and knew that I had a shopping habit from the very beginning of our relationship, but never knew how much I spent or how often I shopped. When we got married and merged our finances, he became more aware than ever - evaluating every single dime I spent, where I spent it and why. After being grilled so many times for my expensive hobby, I realized that I needed to re-adjust my thinking. In order to save money for those rainy days, I changed how I shop and had to reinvent ways to use every piece of article in my closet.

Why I Remix?

I have a fear of being seen wearing the same outfit twice. Hi, my name is Tabitha and I’m a repeater phobic. Not really true, but sort of. I’ll be honest, I'm not proud of this reason, but it's partially the truth. I used to be, and to a certain extent still am, someone who buys a new outfit for every occasion. Friend's wedding? New dress. Reuniting with old friends? New outfit. Friday night out? New shoes and accessories. You get where I'm going.

The worst part was when I would log on to Facebook, upload photos and realize that I was rotating the same 3 or 4 same outfits when I went out with friends. It made me more self-conscious about wearing the same outfit twice.

I started remixing because I don't have the budget to buy a new outfit every single time I go out. That's an un-realistic fantasy to be able to swing that. I realized that instead of wearing the same outfits, I could remix items to create new outfits. I now love the endless possibilities that one item brings and am not so quick to go shopping when I feel like I have nothing to wear.

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Follow Tabitha (and wish her a Happy Birthday tomorrow!) at her blog, Fashion Therapist. 

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Twenty Something

{Shop: Blazer, Similar Top, Similar Belt, Similar Heels}
I am not going to lie. I'm really excited to be 2/3 of the way through. I have a confession to make: I don't really like winter all that much. That is what this 30 for 30 has made me realize. Spring, Summer, Fall you are all right in my book. Winter, you are a distant cousin I will not miss.

Some people* ask where we find all of the places to shoot our photos. Well this is behind a Big Lots. Sometimes people take smoke breaks around the corner and it's awkward. Until I tell them that I'm just snapping a few photos for my style blog. Then it gets real awkward.

*My mother. My mother is the only person who asked this, okay?

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Orange You Glad

{Cardigan, Skirt, Similar Belt, Similar Heels}
I'm actually really impressed with myself that I haven't named a post "orange you glad" yet. This seems like a given title for every time I wear orange. Of course if you ask J.Crew this cardigan isn't the color orange, it's bright cinnamon. But "bright cinnamon you glad" doesn't quite sound right. 
The ruffles underneath my cardigan is a hint of the top you guys voted for my last 30 for 30 item over my red heels. I'm not going to lie I've been missing those red heels. They might be my favorite shoes I've ever owned, beating out my silver velour Doc Martens from high school. On second thought, nothing can beat silver velour Doc Martens with a two inch sole. Nothing.

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Win a $45 Gift Certificate from Adri Apparel!

This week you can win a $45 gift certificate to Adri Apparel! That's just enough money to get an adorable oversized hoodie. If that doesn't instantly brighten up your day, I don't know what will. 

1. Visit Adri Apparel and find your favorite item. 

2. Leave a comment below and let me know what you'd get with the gift certificate. 

3. Check back next week to see if you're the winner! 

Giveaway open until Sunday, February 27th at 10 pm. One entry per person, please. 

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And now for the winner of the Shop Ruche giveaway....

Congrats, Courtney! Email me to claim your gift certificate and necklace!

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Casual Tuesday?

{Shop: Top, Jeans, Similar Belt, Similar Cardigan, Boots} 

Yeah I'm wearing jeans on a Tuesday. If I dress like it's Friday, that means I can take tomorrow off, right?

So I'm going to go ahead and state the obvious that this is my second post for today. This makes me either awesome or pathetic. Say what you will, but I'm going to go ahead and say awesome. And I must say posting more than 1x a day is a bit of a stretch for the ol' noggin. I've written this post about 4 times now and every time I read it to my dear husband his laugh gets smaller and smaller. This is not a good sign. I haven't read this to him yet, but I'm going to put money on it that I just get a smirk. Possibly a wink. Definitely not a high five. Which is what he usually gives me after each post. It's like we're on a high school academic team and we're not allowed to hug.

Awesome, not pathetic. 

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Dangerous Minds

{Shop: Similar Skirt, Boots, Similar Belt}
So....I'm a little behind and it's only Tuesday. This is not a good sign of a productive week. I wore this yesterday, when it was a chilly 81 degrees. I've lived here all of my life but I keep forgetting that winter is a tease in Texas. I have 3 items in my remix that might not get mixed unless it cools off here in the next two weeks. I always gamble a little bit when I plan my 30 for 30 during mid-seasons. What can I say? I'm a risk taker. Do you see how close I am standing to that ledge that's only two feet above the ground below? I'm only a few hundred feet away, one wrong move and I'd probably roll my ankle. Danger is my middle name. 
This was another one of those "why didn't I think of this outfit yet?" outfits. Easy and not a cable knit sweater? Sounds good to me. 

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Half-Way Tips, Full On Advice

Reader and fellow remixer Sara emailed me and asked if I had any good tips for getting over the half-way hump. First I thought "how'd you get this email address?" Then I remembered that I've posted some remix tips before from my fall remix. So if you are finding yourself in a place of "I don't want to remix anymore" then here are a few words of encouragement:

1. Go window shopping. No, not for new clothes but for new ideas. Find outfit inspirations that include similar items in your remix and go from there. Start building a few more outfits and once you start, you'll soon be out of your remix rut. I like to look at catalogs, my favorite stores online and of course other style/fashion blogs. I keep an inspiration folder on my computer and save a cute outfit inspiration when I find one.

2. Be your own inspiration. If you have it, go through your outfit archive on your own blog. Maybe there was an outfit you put together that you'd forgotten about and you can re-create it with what you have in your remix. Sometimes a little refresher course on your own style is the best thing you need.

3. Follow along with other 30 for 30 remixers and find new inspiration. I can't start to tell you how many fantastic remixers there are on that list. It blows my small town mind that there are that many stylish people out there, doing there own thing.

4. Plan ahead! If you are struggling with putting outfits together each day, then take a few minutes and make a plan for the week. Just because you have less items to work with doesn't mean you can't be just as creative.

5. Don't give up. Look, every outfit won't be the very best outfit you ever came up with, but that's not the challenge, is it? Not every outfit in my remix is my most shining moment of fashion but my body is still covered and I still look (arguably) cute. I promise at the end of the challenge you'll be a better remixer and shopper. Heck, if anything you didn't spend a dime on clothing for one month! Can we say savings account?

Feel free to leave your own remix mastery tips below!

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Date Night

{Shop: Jacket, Similar Top, Jeans, Heels}

"Date night is the best night." I would just like to go on record saying that. So that someday, somewhere, most likely on the internet, this truth will be attributed to my name.

Of course so will "It's like the Olive Garden of outfits." But I'm okay with that. I'm no Oscar Wilde, but I do know a few things about date night, olive garden and internet quote databases. That, my friends, is better than...nope. Oscar wins. I've got nothing but a good husband who takes me on dates.

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Me, Myself, and I

{Shop: Similar Top, Skirt, Tights - Amethyst, Similar Necklace, Similar Shoes}
I spoke too soon. It's a little chilly today, so I'm back in tights. It's fine because I like these tights. But I'm warning you winter, stick around for any longer and you'll be sorry. That's a threat and a promise.
I love this shirt and this skirt so I had to ask myself "why haven't you worn this outfit before??" But I'm glad I didn't so that I could have another outfit for this remix. Look at that, my past self was just watching out for my future self. And I appreciate that....about myself. 
Enough rambling. Happy Friday.

Remixed:

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