Daily Look 1.15.19

Shirt: J.Crew // Sweater: Madewell // Jeans: Madewell // Coat: ASOS // Shoes: J.Crew // Earrings: J.Crew Factory

You know you've found a staple outfit when you've worn the exact same look three times in a week!

I've been reading the book "Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris" by Jennifer L. Scott, where the author talks about her host family living with a 10-piece wardrobe. She also goes on to talk about creating this kind of capsule wardrobe by defining your true style to help guide you with what you should keep, add, and remove from your closet. 

Taking her advice of giving your style a fun label rather than something generic like bohemian or preppy, I settled on my current style being labeled as casual chic. While I love attending events where I get to dress up in really feminine dresses and skirts, that isn't the norm for me. As a person who works from home, I've found my daily outfits are more simple with classic silhouettes paired with accessories to add a bit of flair. 

Having a label for my style also helps me when shopping for new items: does this shirt fit within my casual chic style, or is it a cute, eccentric top I like but will not actually wear? While this is still new to me, I feel like it will really help me make thoughtful purchases and may actually help keep my spending down!

Shop this look by coffee budget:

-Tall-

Shirt // Sweater // Jeans // Coat // Shoes // Earrings

-Grande-

Shirt // Sweater // Jeans // Coat // Shoes // Earrings

-Venti-

Shirt // Sweater // Jeans // Coat // Shoes // Earrings

 

Leave a comment with the label you would use to define your style!

-Meagan-  

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.

Pretty in Pastels

Clockwise from top left: 
Earrings - Marc by Marc Jacobs // Necklace - Zara // Heels - Zara //  Jacket - Pull&Bear // Coat - Zara // Top - Joa // Purse - Rebecca Minkoff // Heels - Alexander Wang // Heels - Alexander Wang // Heels - Zara // Purse - Loeffler Randall // Purse - ASOS // Shirt - TOPSHOP 

Wow, it's been a long time since I've last updated Running on Coffee! 

My blog went into hibernation once winter hit, but now it is having a spring awakening! And what better way to kick off its revival than with some pretty spring colors :) 

This spring I am feeling all things pink, pastel, and girly! It is still cold and snowy in Michigan so it might be a while before I can pull off some of these pieces (aka open toed shoes), but every degree the temperature rises the more excited I get to work them into my wardrobe. Which judging by the winter we're having may not be until June! ;)

TGIF! It's good to be back :)

-Meagan

Bedazzled Boho

 Shirt - ASOS // Shorts - VS PINK (want this pair) // Ankle Booties - Isabel Marant (similar) // Jewelry - ASOS, H&M (similar) // Shades - Ray-Ban

 For the past week I've been meeting my dad after work and going for a 5 mile walk with him through our favorite parks. Ann Arbor gets its name from the large number of trees found in the city and it does its best to preserve the nature for all to enjoy. Ann Arbor is the equivalency of a small Portland, Oregon and you will find many people biking, running, and being active all year round throughout the city and parks. The best part is most of the nature parks are connected or close enough together where you never have to repeat areas when working out!

I quickly snapped these pictures at the park before I changed into walking clothes and got all sweaty :) There are three farm ducks that were dropped off and now live at the park and I'm obsessed with...they are so cute! The trio wander around together and are surprisingly friendly; sadly, they were not in the mood for a photo op :(

I hope you all have a fabulous Mother's Day weekend! Mine will be spent in Grand Rapids with my sisters then visiting my Grandma and jumping off hay bales on my uncle's dairy farm. :)

TGIF!
-Meagan

Springtime Florals

Dress - ASOS // Purse - J.Crew // Booties - Old Navy // Rings - ASOS, H&M // Shades - Illesteva

 The grass is finally green and winter coats are no longer needed! 

To be honest, I had been in quite a funk with finding inspiration for this blog and outfit ideas and I know it was all due to the weather. But now the sun is shining, sending down warm rays on my pale face, and I want to spend as much time outdoors as possible!

 I bought this dress on a frigid cold day in January and have been waiting for the opportunity to pull it out and wear. The bright print of the flowers brightens my mood making me want to twirl all the time! :)

Happy Spring!!

-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? ;)

Maximum Style

From left to right: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been a while since I've updated my blog...my life has been pretty hectic the last few days with work and studying partial derivatives (Calculus 3, why must you be so difficult?!). I had grand plans to take all of these awesome pictures while in Chicago over the weekend and I literally took only two pictures with my phone. Believe me, I'm mad at myself too! All the more reason to go back soon though, right?! ;)

To celebrate the fact spring is finally here (despite the snow and cold temperatures trying to prove otherwise), here are some great maxi dresses to help kick-start your spring fever with some bright colors! For how much I love maxi dresses, I'm sad to say that I only have one in my closet. This needs to change because they are the perfect staple for the spring and summer seasons! Maxi dresses are one of those pieces that easily transitions from day to night with the simple addition of accessories and layers. Wear it at the beach and when it's time to get dinner in the evening, throw over a jean or moto jacket with a necklace and a ring or two and you're good to go!

-Meagan

 P.S.

Here is one of the two pictures from the weekend...the sun came out long enough to capture the bright kelly green color of the Chicago River!

Colonel Mustard (Skirt) in the Library with the Purse

 "You are here"

 Shirt: Lands End Canvas (similar shirt here, love the print!) // Skirt - J.Crew (like this red version) // Shoes - BCBGeneration (similar) // Purse - Dooney & Bourke // Cuffs - ASOS // Ring - ASOS

My sisters and I were big gamers growing up: computer, board, video, card games...you name it and we probably played it.

One of our all time favorite games to play was Clue. Every time played we would fight over who would be Ms. Scarlet and the losers of the argument would have to settle for Mrs. Peacock and Mrs. White (because heaven forbid we couldn't be boys! Gross!).

Unfortunately as we grew older we caught on to the strategies and outsmarted the game. While most of our gaming is now reserved for cards during the summer, sitting in this room always makes me think of our whodunnit days. Maybe next time we're all home we will pull out Clue for old times' sake...I call being Ms. Scarlet! ;)

-Meagan

Cold Weather Essentials

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11

I had a rude awakening this morning when I walked out the door to head to work and was met with blustery winds and a temperature of -8 degrees! The second part of the rude awakening is when I realized how ill prepared my wardrobe is for the bitter cold.

Luckily for my poor planning self, most stores are having major sales right now on all of their winter items. While the majority of us may be in the heart of winter battling to stay warm, clothing retailers have their sights on spring and making room for their next collection's inventory. Go check out your favorite stores and see what sort of steals you can grab! You know I have my eyes on that J.Crew sale ;) I mean, an extra 40% off sale items?! I think I'm in heaven! *cue Hallelujah music*