What I Wore: A Night to Honor Israel

Marshall's leopard-striped dress, Salvation Army blazer, Target nude pumps

Josh and I had the honor of being a part of Rochester's seventh annual Night to Honor Israel this past weekend. The event was described as "formal" with "dresses and suits more than welcome." I was in a floor-length wine-colored gown an hour before leaving when my Mom called to inform me that my sister (ever mortified by my wardrobe) had texted all of her friends who had gone to this event in previous years to confirm that it was "not that kind of formal."

I'll be posting more about the event later, but for now I wanted to let you guys have a look at my toned-down version of formal.

What I Wore: This Is Snow Awkward

Okay, so the reason that I didn't list where I bought all of my outfit elements in the caption like we bloggers are supposed to do is not because its been months since I have posted a What I Wore and I forgot the protocol.

It's actually because I was pretty embarrassed about all of the awkwardness of this outfit.

• So everything on my body in this pic was purchased at either Target or Walmart. Budgetista at her finest up in here.
• Except my coat which is from Spain. I guess that's kind of cool.
• My husband and both of my parents all said independently of each other that this beanie makes me look like a homeless person.
• My friend Ben said, "Nice orphan hat," when he saw me at church. I guess orphan is better than homeless person . . .
• Those white things around mt ankles are huge insulated hunting socks. It's 13 degrees here.
• I'm actually wearing huge earrings that go perfectly with my dress, but they're kind of invisible in all of ma hurr.

If you live in my neck of the US, happy snow day! I hope it's an awkward and awesome one.

What I Wore: The Great White Way

I realized recently that I haven't posted What I Wore since coming back form Spain two months ago. You all must have assumed I haven't been wearing any clothing! Haha ;-)

No worries. I haven't let myself go and become neither a nudist nor a sweatpants-and-Uggs style slacker. Not sure which would be worse . . .

Thrifted sundress, Payless shoes, Charming Charlie clutch, Amish shop watch, necklace gifted from Grandma

What I (Almost) Wore to Church

These pictures crack me up. They were taken months ago but never made it onto the blog. I didn't think the dress I almost wore to church here in Avila but instead ended up trading for a sweater and slippers a few short hours after the photos were taken would hold any particular interest for you all. I say "almost" because our darling host mom forgot on this particular Sunday that we had told her of our plans to go to church. She started making us an elaborate lunch minutes before we were supposed to leave. Yes, lunch. Church starts pretty late over here in the land that honors sleep enough to devote three hours a day to its healthy maintenance. Viva la siesta!

Anyway, we probably should have gently reminded her according to the boundless honesty of the Spanish culture, but in reality, we really needed to stay home to work on homework anyway.

What's worse? We had to catch a flight yesterday and didn't go to church yet again. *GASP!* I know. Heathens one and all.

Thrifted dress and headband, K-mart sweater leggings, Charlotte Russe T-shirt, Payless shoes

Just pretend I'm winking in the above picture instead of awkwardly holding one mascara-smudge eyelid half open. "LOL, I'm so cute in my sundress and sweater leggings. Wink wink! GTG to Sweden now. BRB!"

Also, don't be jealous about the short sleeves sans jacket. It wasn't (and isn't) anywhere near being warm enough to leave home dressed like this. I took my coat off just long enough to get the photos taken and then slithered right back into it. Can't wait to return to New York where we get four seasons in the standard order and where church typically doesn't interfere with eating or sleeping schedules.

Actually, I take that back. Sweden is the most beautiful place I have ever visited in my life, and I kind of want to live here forever. Pics tomorrow!

What I Wore: Miss America

Target jacket and t-shirt (the shirt is Josh's), DIY tie-dye corduroys, and Payless boots

Yes, we're still wearing jackets here in Avila. Sometime full-blown winter coats. I think this particular freckle on the face of Spain is a little confused when it comes to the seasons, because it reached sunny and 70 in January here while it is now rainy and (if we're lucky) 50.

On the other hand, I could really care less, because in a little over three weeks, I will be enjoying Rochester's balmy spring weather. And you know what? I really couldn't care less if it wasn't sunny in my hometown right now. I'm so excited to go back to my busy life.

Not that the break hasn't been absolutely lovely and the experience of a lifetime. It's as if Josh and I got to have a gap year and work towards our college degrees at the same time. How many young married couples get to do that? No, we're really at a place right now where we're excited about everything. We can't wait to squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of our last few weeks in Avila, every drop of knowledge out of our last few Spanish classes, and every memorable moment out of our final trip--our friend-filled trip to Sweden; but of course, we also can't wait to return to the US.

I may be a world traveler now, but I am also an American girl. 

While I wouldn't trade the mind-opening opportunities I have encountered here in Europe for anything, I miss the breadth of opportunities my home country has consistently provided for me all of my life. I am thrilled to be able to return to take advantage of them with new appreciation.

Take that, Avila weather!

What I Wore: Last Sweater of Spring

I know I make it look romantic, but it's basically just cold.

Thrifted dress, DEB sweater, K-mart sweater leggings, Payless boots, Walmart necklace

I've decided that I don't care if it is 35 degrees and sleeting out. I am NOT wearing one more sweater this April! In fact, I do not plan on wearing another sweater at least until the semester starts in the fall. There are too few sweater-free months of the year as it is without random hailstorms during Easter weekend.

It NEVER rains here!!! It just does not rain in Avila (ahem, exaggeration). Of course, the year that I am here, the cosmic weatherman decides that not only will it rain for all of spring break, but that it will spontaneously hail. Hence the out-of-season fashion choice to layer up. The cold is severely limiting my wardrobe as I strive ineffectively to sneak some spring-and-perhaps-summery items into my daily ensembles.

I can't lie. I love a good sweater. I am particularly fond of the near-comically oversized variety of sweater known as a cat-lady sweater. What I cannot abide, however, is leaving my good jeans in Ireland, having nothing but skirts and shorts to get me through my final weeks here, and freezing to death when I attempt to don such pieces on a frigid day such as today (and all the days of the past week!).

Let my casting off of all sweaters be symbolic of my rebellion against the forces of Old Man Winter and Punxatawney Phil!

What I Wore: Semana Santa

Thrifted blouse, DIY corduroys, Payless boots, vintage earrings

You might recognize this outfit from yesterday's April Fool's post. Clearly the only fool here is me, haha. I do hope, however, that the pictures that made it into this post are a little less foolish and mostly just cute. Josh is always telling me to have more fun in photo shoots. I get so intense! For some reason smiling is a very rare thing for me in front of the camera. When you see my latest fashion shoot, you'll understand what I mean.

To compliment my fun-loving smile, I opted for simple and conservative, yet light and cheery on this Monday of Holy Week, the week preceding Easter Sunday which the Spanish call Semana Santa. So far we've been to two very interesting religious processions which were very much alike--as all of them are, apparently--but I don't want to say to much about that because we have a great video and plenty of photos coming up later in the week.

Don't forget about Nine to Phive's Spring Giveaway! It couldn't be easier to win a gift card to the incredibly versatile store, Hobby Lobby.

You can never see the earrings in the wide shots, so here ya go!

What I Wore: Traveling Light

Thrifted sweater, Charlotte Russe hat, Stradivarius coat, DIY corduroys and scarf, Payless shoes

This is my favorite outfit to wear when we travel. Something about it makes me feel cute and sophisticated while staying warm and comfortable. Layers are always nice in the event of changing weather, too.

My keyboard is broken, and I've had to type these two lines one letter at a time. So I'm signing off!

Josh and I visited Windsor Castle and the London Zoo today, so pics from that will be coming up later :-D

This world is so big!

Take a bow for finally getting through typing this post . . .

What I Wore: Gray Day

DIY tie-dye cords, Josh's shirt, Israeli prayer shawl/scarf, Payless lace-up boots, Walmart earrings

Yesterday was not a nice day. In fact, it was gray and gross.

I might be able to get over this fact more easily, except the weather was so stinkin' nice in Milan! I feel so conflicted (and I'm sure Josh does, too). We can't wait to get out of Avila to have adventures, but after a couple of days, we can't wait to return to the low-pressure pace back "home." Then we get here, and we can't wait to go exploring again! Or in my case . . . to do anything in any country that is enjoying sunshine right now . . .

Also, I have a really bad habit of wearing either gray or otherwise dark and bland and colors on days that end up being themselves gray and dark.

Also also, does anybody actually read the little caption under my outfit pictures of what I'm wearing?

If you don't usually, you should today. I don't know why, but as I was typing it, it kind of tickled my funny bone. I'm wearing a lot of random stuff from all over the place! It's kind of cool.

What I Wore (plus a suprise): Or Are We Dancers?

If you ignore the half-opened eye, this is kind of a cute picture of me "dancing"

I love to dance.

I'm not really sure how to qualify my relationship with dance besides this simple phrase. I wouldn't dare say that I am good at dancing. Someone in my family might die laughing, as I have a reputation for being quite the klutz. After all, I've never even taken a single dance class.

On the other hand, I have choreographed dance teams of fifty K-4 and later 5-8 grade students at the summer camp where I used to work (My team won first place in the end-of-camp competition one year). I've danced in talent shows. I've taught the electric slide to a wedding party :-), and I've ended up in countless photos and videos from weddings, graduations parties, and school dances where I have been gettin' ma groove on.

Thrifted jacket, gifted scarf, Charlotte Russe T-shirt, American Eagle jeans, Payless slouch boots

Whether or not I'm good at it, dancing is a part of who I am. I often can't help but break into spontaneous choreography in malls, supermarkets, and the occasional public square in Spain during carnival . . . I think anyone who loves music, is grateful for the healthy body God has given them, and loves to just do feels the same way about dance.

Sometimes you just have to let the joy and excitement out. For example, in the photos included in this post, I am wearing a very sunshiney outfit in some of my favorite colors (with a new scarf from my grandma) that made me incredibly happy. So what did I do? I danced, of course.

In the words of Colin Firth after accepting his 2011 Oscar for Best Actor:

"I have to warn you I am experiencing stirrings somewhere in the upper abdominals that are threatening to form themselves into dance moves."

To show you that I'm not alone in this love and in this tendency to cast off social propriety in favor of a pop, lock, and drop, I have whipped up a little something extra for this particular what I wore.
 

The surprise is after the jump!

What I Wore: Warm and Worn-In

Thrifted sweater, DIY vest, American Eagle jeans, White Stag earrings, Payless boots, nasty roots

This is the outfit I wore to Segovia last weekend.

Its comfy cuteness was scarcely seen because I kept it tucked inside my puffy winter coat and accompanied by gloves. These items were shed solely for the purpose of photos. I can do anything for five minutes, right?

Stay tuned for:

• The rest of the modeling pics I promised
• The rest of the pics of Segovia I forgot
• Pics from today's trip to Salamanca
• More frumpy outfits designed to keep me warm in this tundra
• The turnout of my awkward hair situation

What I Wore: Frumpy Fresh

Forever 21 cropped sweatshirt, Target tank, American Eagle Jeans, Walmart scarf, and DIY slippers

I guess you could say that this is the closest I come to leaving the house in sweats and Uggs. It's definitely easy to grab for the comfiest and least-awesome-looking thing in your wardrobe on days when you feel under the weather, but that's why I implemented a genius plan!

I call it Operation Overseas Scarcity!

I did not bring a lot of clothes to Spain. You guys have seen my closet here. Since I had a hard enough time fitting enough clothes to get me through the semester into my suitcase, things like PJs and sweatpants were some of the first things to get thrown back into storage.

It's really quite wonderful. Since they're 8,000 miles away, I'm never tempted to wear them! Even when doing so would be so much easier than putting together an actual outfit!

Also, please tell me that these are so much cooler than Uggs.

So get this. These boots used to be a pair of flimsy, pre-pubescent, mid-calf, felt boots complete with fake fur and pompoms. They were hideous, and when I finally realized this, I cut them off at the ankle, lined them with cozy fur, and replaced the dangling pompoms with subtle ribbons.

I now gleefully wear them around the house as my slippers (which are a hygiene must in Spain!), but if need be, the fact that they also have actual treads means that I can wear them outside, too. They are the warmest and most comfortable shoes in the world <3

Happy February 10th! I hope you are enjoying your "six more weeks" of winter as foreboded by the groundhog!

What I Wore: My Kind of Princess

Thrifted blouse, pants, and choker; Payless shoes

Less of a unicorn thing going on and more of a rhino. This pose needs to stop happening . . .

I am not the world's biggest fan of dresses. I know that they come in endless varieties and are incredibly versatile all year-round, but I just don't think that I look my best in dresses. I don't know if I imagine they make my legs look stubby, or what . . .

All I know is that I feel most beautiful in dress pants and a blouse.

This is what I wore to church last Sunday. I believe the crown jewel of this ensemble is the 1970's blouse I bought at Veterans of America and revamped with gold and ivory heart-shaped buttons.

Who says you need a sumptuous gown to feel like a princess? Kate Middleton would wear this. Right?