Fringe Benefits

// (1) // (2) // (3) // (4) // (5) // (6 - cute alternative) // (7) // (8) //

// (9) (budget friendly bracelet here) // (10) // (11) // (12) // (13) // (14) //

For those who live in the north or midwest, I'm sure you can understand my feeling that winter has had its fair share of calendar time and should move aside to let spring make its appearance. Where I live, we only had two days of sun in the entire month of January. 

TWO. 

DAYS. 

While I've been doing my best to practice the trendy and clever Hygge lifestyle the Danish have perfected (aka lots of coffee wrapped up in all the blankets), the thing that seems to get me by the best is planning trips to places that are warm, tropical, and full of sunshine. Even if sometimes the trips are just dreamy ideas. Fortunately for me, I have a trip to Hawaii on the books in a couple months! I will be going to Kauai for one week with a few days spent in Oahu (first timer here, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated)!

While I wish I was getting on the plane right now to head for the north shores of Oahu, imagining myself wearing all of these different items while sipping a Pina Colada and watching the surfers catch some waves will have to do for now.

Ripped Denim x Neon

 Top - Forever 21 (old, very similar option here) | Cami - J.Crew Factory (on sale!) | Jeans - AG Adriano Goldschmied | Shoes - J.Crew (old, cute pair here) | Clutch - J.Crew Factory (love this option) | Shades - Ray-Ban

 I wore this outfit to a Cinco de Mayo party a few weeks ago and had to recycle it again this weekend. It's finally summer weather and while I love my neutrals (I sometimes wonder if gray is my favorite color), I can't resist a look with a good pop of color!

I had accidentally shrunk the top (I'm apparently still learning how to do laundry) and it had been sitting in my closet pretty much since I wore it on my Italy trip (post here). Luckily, crop tops are in now and I don't feel as silly wearing it out and about. I layered it with a cami that perfectly matched the embroidery for a weekend gathering to be a little more family friendly.

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend with family and friends!

-Meagan-

 Side story: I thought this shirt was ruined at the Cinco party after a whole glass of red sangria spilled on my back (risks of taking group photos at a party centered around tequila I guess ;) ). By some miracle I managed to get the entire thing out! It may be shrunk, but it isn't stained :)

Black Out

 Blazer - H&M (similar) // Shirt - Forever 21 (similar) // Pants - Paige Denim // Shoes - Tibi (old, cute alternative here) // Bag - ZAC Zac Posen // Shades - Ray-Ban

Happy Friday everyone!! This week has been tough work wise; all I do is sit at a computer for 10+ hours, but then when I get back to my place all I want to do is sit and do nothing. With Boston Marathon exactly one month away, I need to be making sure I get my butt out the door and run! 

I went back home the other night after a long day of work since my sister and roommate were not around (they're nurses and we all work completely different schedules..sometimes we don't see each other for days!). While I was there I was able to take advantage of their availability to snap some pics for Running on Coffee, eat a good home cooked meal, talk outer space and physics with my dad, and run around their neighborhood. 

With all the snow we've had the past few months I've mostly stuck to treadmill running, and let me tell you, my legs were in for a rude awakening on that little jaunt. Holy hills, Batman! I may need to start running there every day leading up to Boston...Heartbreak Hill will seem like a bump in the road after training there :)

Happy Vernal Equinox aka SPRING!!!

-Meagan-

Earth Tones & Warm Weather

Jacket - Joie (old, want this floral version) // Top - Ann Taylor // Jeans - Forever 21 // Boots - Tibi (on major sale!) // Purse - ZAC Zac Posen (also here) // Necklace - J.Crew (similar) // Shades - Ray-Ban // Watch - O clock

You guys. Today was unbelievable: we hit temperatures above freezing! In fact, we made it all the way to 50 degrees! *ahhhh* But for real, this is a huge deal. You wouldn't believe the number of people that came out of the woodwork to enjoy this nice break in the weather, I think I saw over 25 people running during my 15 minute commute home.

As soon as I made it home I knew I had to do an outfit post, sans winter coat.

Typically I'm a colorful person when it comes to my wardrobe (I'm known at work for wearing lots of colored pants and obnoxious bright neon sweaters), but lately I've been embracing a more neutral, earthy palette. This may be influenced by my new bag pictured above :) It goes great with all colors, but I think it makes its biggest statement with natural hues.

What colors do you tend to wear most? Do you lean towards the classic black/white combo or is your closet as colorful as a rainbow?

-Meagan

Red, White, and Plaid

Jacket - Miss Selfridge // Sweater- Forever 21 (love this one!) // Jeans - 7FAM // Boots - Old Navy (old, similar here) // Hat - J.Crew // Scarf - Local shop // Purse - Coach (vintage, similar option here)

A quick hello from freezing cold Michigan! 

(Took these pictures in literally two minutes because 10 degrees in November is just unacceptable. Bring back the forties, Mother Nature!)

This weekend consisted of watching a lot of cross country running (my little sister's team won Div. II Nationals, woohoo!),  drinking tons of coffee to stay warm, fan-girling over Catching Fire, and cleaning in preparation for my aunt and cousins' arrival today.

As much as I love and look forward to eating (and eating, and eating...) all the delicious food on Thanksgiving, my favorite part of the holiday is spending time with my family members who we don't get to see as often as we would like. My cousins, sisters, and I are all very close and it is a guarantee whenever we all get together we are in for a crazy-weird, but awesome time. Perhaps this year we will get The Nacho Band back together for a post-meal performance. And yes, The Nacho Band was a real thing. Our #1 single? Nacho Man (just switch out "nacho" for "macho" in The Macho Man song and you'll get the idea). You know you're jealous of how cool we are :)

Happy Tuesday! Safe travels this holiday!

-Meagan-

 

Blues, Greens, Wishing for Spring

 Jacket - J.Crew (old) // Blazer - H&M (want this one) // Shirt - J.Crew // Jeans - Forever 21 // Booties - Old Navy (similar) // Clutch - J.Crew // Jewelry - J.Crew, ASOS, H&M (similar) // Scarf - J.Crew

 This weekend was spent studying partial derivatives and Lagrange multipliers, and celebrating my dad's birthday. My dad has become a big health nut in recent years, so for his birthday dinner we tried out a vegan restaurant in downtown Ann Arbor called Jazzy Veggie. All of their food was delicious, especially their healthy heart aka sweet potato fries! I could eat those every day and never grow sick of them. :)

Of course, birthday celebrations would be incomplete if we didn't have the whole family together! Because of that, we made a day trip out to Grand Rapids to visit my sisters and of course eat at our favorite Coney Island restaurant (this family loves to eat, if you haven't noticed ;) ).  The rest of the day was spent checking out some new exhibits in the Grand Rapids Art Museum and eating chocolate espresso cake. Yum! :)

It's still cold here in the mitten, but I couldn't resist wearing some fun colors out and about. Maybe if I keep dressing as if it were spring outside, it will eventually warm up?! One can dream!

Happy Monday!

-Meagan

P.S. My sisters and I ended up wearing coordinating colors completely by accident! So, of course, I saw it as a photo opportunity we couldn't pass up...can you tell which individuals weren't too pleased with me about that? ;)

The Neutral Zone

From left to right:

Jackets: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Shirts/Cardigans: 1 // 2 // 3 (need this t-shirt!) // 4 // 5

Jeans: J Brand

Shoes: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

From left to right: As soon as I purchased my plane ticket to Europe, I immediately began searching on Pinterest to see what sort of fashion and clothing Europeans wear. I'm one of those people who does not want to stick out like a sore thumb in places unfamiliar to me, so serious the clothes I pack for my trip. 

The first thing I noticed right away was the color choices in clothing, or lack thereof is more like it. Nearly every picture I found featured a tall, leggy girl dressed in layers of neutral colors and a scarf or statement necklace to complete their look. If they were wearing a more playful color it usually was used as an accent, like with the scarf or their shoes or purse.

I've always been more drawn to wearing brights (which is probably why I'm drawn to J.Crew...I'm like a moth attracted to the light in that sense), but there is something about wearing all neutrals that feels cool, edgy, classy, and glamorous all at once. After looking through those pictures, I felt inspired to come up with my own ideas on how to pull together a neutral ensemble. *p.s. Can you tell I'm obsessed with moto jackets as of late? ;)*

Borrowed from the Boys

Outfit Details: Vest - J.Crew | Sweater: AE, Men's (old but similar here) | Jeans: Forever 21 | Booties - Report, Piperlime | Watch - Target | Sunglasses - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sometimes the best thing to wear isn't your own, it's a sweater from an old boyfriend or guy friend. In this case, it's a sweater from your sister's freshman college roommate's ex-boyfriend. Paired with an oversized gold watch, this makes for the perfect Sunday uniform.

Midnight Madness in Kerrytown

 My best Buddha impression...sadly this was not staged.

Outfit Details: Top - Forever 21 | Skirt - J.Crew (on sale here!) | Tights: Capezio | Coat: H&M (old but loving this coat here!) | Necklace: Bauble Bar | Bag: Dooney & Bourke

 Friday night after work I met up with my parents in downtown Ann Arbor for the Midnight Madness event in Kerrytown. Kerrytown is such a cute neighborhood in the city with interesting independent shops and businesses and is home to my favorite farmer's market and the delicious Zingerman's Bakery! We had fun looking at all the items offered by different vendors and the tasty looking pastries that tempted our empty stomachs. However, we weren't anticipating how big of an event this turned out to be! You could hardly move around and were somewhat forced to move with the masses. My parents and I were a little confused why there were so many more children than you find at typical community events, but we found our answer when we were leaving...does the name Santa Claus mean anything to you? ;)

A Week of Thanks

Coat: Banana Republic (old, but similar here), Shirt (not seen): Forever 21, Scarf: J.Crew (old), Leggings: Hollister (old), Booties: Report via Piperlime

As I've gotten older, Thanksgiving has climbed up my list of favorite holidays. It isn't often that my sisters and I are able to be together for more than a day, let alone with our cousins and extended family. This week of family really made me realize just how lucky I am for the great people in my life and their good company, who are always a source of laughter and joy that kick-starts the holiday season on a happy note.