Workin' with Megan

Hi, I'm Megan from Feathers & Freckles, and I'm so excited to be filling in for Christine while she's on her dream trip to Europe!

I love traveling, but I hate looking like a typical tourist. I like to pack outfits that are versatile and comfortable without compromising my personal style. It's all about layers, cute bags to store my camera in, and comfy footwear. (As a redhead it's also all about sunglasses, 8 layers of sunscreen, and hats). My husband likes to go by the motto "travel light", but I go by the motto "stuff every nook of your suitcase and then put what doesn't fit into your husband's bag since he travels light".

Here are some outfits I'd love to be roaming Europe in...



 Hope you're having a blast, Christine! Eat some gelato for me, would ya?

Wearing clothes in Venice

Shirt: Target

Cardi: TJ Maxx

Pants: Target

Shoes: Sperry's

Scarf: NY & Co

Beautiful weather, in an amazing city!

Sophie: workin' Intern-tastic

Since I'm off running around Germany, Switzerland and Italy right now, here's some other people's clothes to look at:

This little beauty is my creative, smart and gorgeous friend, Sophie. She is now a senior at Indiana University (GO HOOSIERS!). And she scored her dream internship at Red Frog Events in Chicago for the summer while wearing this outfit (she plans to blog about her experiences here, if you'd like to learn more). She also used the outfit again later for a final group presentation in one of her classes.

I love that she went with the red blazer and just a touch of leopard print with her skinny belt. If  you know anything about Red Frog, showing her creativity and vibrant personality through her clothing likely gave her a leg up walking in to her interview. I find it fascinating how feeling great about the way you look can affect the way you carry yourself and the confidence you have in these high stress high steaks situations.

Good Luck, Sophie!

Wearing clothes in Interlaken, Switzerland

Jacket: H&M

Shirt: TJ Maxx

Jeans: Banana Republic

Shoes: Sperry's

Bag: Target

Hello from Switzerland! Hubby and I had an amazing adventure in the Jungfrau region. This is an outfit I wore on a beautiful evening bicycle ride throughout the town.

(Sorry if the images are poorly formatted, posting from my phone!)

What I read!

Since I'm gone far far away in Europe (today we're leaving Interlaken and heading to Montreux on an amazing scenic train ride) you're getting an interesting smorgasbord of different things to see here on the ol' bloggy blog. I've been hearing from a few that you'd like to know what blogs I love to read and get inspiration from, so here they are!

For Fashion:
There are too many to say, so I'll try to give you the cliffs notes version...

I really enjoy getting inspiration from other bloggers in Indiana, so the only ones I know of so far are:

1. Catherine - Small Town, Big Wardrobe
2. Arielle - Beauty by Arielle
3. Jessica - What I Wore

• Note: If you know of any other Indiana bloggers, please let me know! I'd love to follow them!

Other blogs off the top of my head that give me inspiration are:

1. Professionally Petite
2. Feathers and Freckles
3. Along the Lines of Style
4. 26 and Counting
5. Penny Pincher Fashion
6. Snappy Casual
7. Style Sidebar
8. Kendi Everyday
9. Blue Paper Lanterns.
10. Sidewalk Ready
11. Putting Me Together

Some of these great people you'll see guest posting here this week! 

To be fair, I'm about 2 months behind on my blog reading, so there are many not listed here. I just wanted to share a few, so you can find some more awesome bloggers to follow!


For the Home:

1. Forgive me, but I love Young House Love. They are quirky and goofy like me and that just makes me smile. They also have a more personal blog called Young House Life that I enjoy.
2. I've also been Following Abby over at A Delightful Design, because I met her and she's fantastic!

Also as a note, if you're not using a blog reader of some kind to read all your blogs, you might look into it. I've always used Google Reader, but they are killing it soon. So now I am trying to get used to using Feedly. 

Workin' with Elissa!

Hey "Work It" friends! I'm Elissa and I blog at Professionally Petite. I'm so excited to guest post for Christine while she's away on her dream vacation! I blog a lot about my work outfits, and sometimes about my weekend outfits. Since I work as an attorney, I often have to wear a suit, and I blog about ways I mix and match suit separates while trying to insert some fun, too. Today I wanted to share the main way I dress for "day to night" when I know I have to go anywhere right after work. 

Because I try not to carry an entire suitcase of clothes and accessories in my car, I like to keep as much of the outfit the same for dinner as possible. With this in mind, I decided to ditch the work-appropriate blazer and large bag, and carry a snake-print clutch instead. Since I was already wearing "fun" snake-print shoes to work, I kept those the same. I also kept all the accessories the same, but you could inject some more edgy pieces for nighttime if that's your style. Personally, I debated wearing my favorite chain necklace and bracelets instead of this jewelry, but I wear them ALL the time so I thought I'd change it up. How do you go from work to dinner? Please share any tips and tricks in the comments!

Blazer: Zara

Dress: H&M (check local stores, it's on clearance!)

Necklace: Barney's

Belt: Forever 21

Watch: Michael Kors

Bag: B. Makowsky

Clutch: Urban Expressions

Shoes: Corso Como

Packing for Europe.

My packing process mostly lacks organization. Here I have laid out 4-5 pairs of pants, 10 shirts, 3 blazers, 3 sweaters, 3 dresses, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 belts and 3 scarves. In my head, almost all of these items go with almost all of these items, so, in theory, my mixing possibilities are almost endless.

So here are my challenges:

1. Weather - we are traveling from Munich and Switzerland where the high temps look like they'll be  in the 60's (and below freezing up at the top of the Jungfraujoch!) to Italy where temps will likely be in their 70's-80's. (hopefully NOT 80's)
2. Space - I am not checking any baggage, so everything will need to fit inside the little carry-on bag you see in the picture. I'll also have a backpack, but it will likely be housing camera, books, travel itinerary etc. 
3. Shopping - We WILL want to buy a few souvenirs while we're traveling, so we'll have to have room in our luggage to bring them home. This could be a logistical issue!

I'm a problem solver, so here are my solutions:

1. Weather - Layers! I'll throw in a hat and wear a medium jacket on the plane for going up to the top of the Alps where the temps will be quite cold. These accessories with lots of layers should help me overcome the differences in temperature. I'll also use the blazers to tie my outfits together as well as stay warm. If it gets too hot when we're in Italy, I'll stick to wearing the dresses! Easy Peezy!
2. Space - My strategy is ROLLING. I'm going to roll all the clothes you see at tightly as possible. Hopefully rolling will also help to prevent wrinkling issues. I'm also limiting my shoes which take up valuable luggage real estate. I'll be wearing the largest pair on the plane and only packing 1 (maybe 2) more. 
3. Shopping -  My suitcase and will not be at capacity when we leave. If I don't at least have a little extra room I'll have to pear down on my cloths. perhaps cut out a sweater and a shirt or two! This way we can buy some small things and still have room to bring them home!

Wearing clothes in Munich

Top: H&M

Blazer: TJ Maxx

Scarf: gift

Jeans: H&M 

Boots: DSW

Guten tag, from Munich! This is our 3rd, and final, day in Munich! It really has become a place where we feel welcome. This photo was taken at the Residenz right in the middle of Munich.

As for the outfit,  I'm so glad I decide to bring these boots instead of the lavender shoes I was originally planning to bring because it has been both rainy and cold pretty much our entire visit. Good work, self!

Baylee loves packing.

This is how excited Baylee is about my packing for Europe... I've been thinking about what a huge part of my every day life Baylee is, and we really really are going to miss her while we're in gone. We're so lucky to have so much family close to us that loves our sweet Baylee and loves to hang out with her. She's lucky she will get so much fun playing with her grandparents and aunts and uncles while we're gone!

Workin' arrivederci

Top: H&M
Blazer: H&M
Pants: H&M
Shoes: GUESS (via gift)

Today Hubby and I are Jetting off to Europe! I've been thinking/planning/dreaming/worrying about this for so long that it is hard to believe it has finally come. I have some fun stuff lined up for you guys while I'm out of the country, so stay tuned! I'll also try to post some outfits as I can. See you soon!