Day 10 - Wear an Orphan

I got this top in the Spring, from JCPenney, but have only worn it once or twice.  I usually pair it with a peach colored top.  I went with simple today by wearing a white tank underneath from Target, and my olive green crops from J Crew.  I just have to express my love for these crops.  They are so comfortable!  I love them.  I think that this outfit turned out really cute. 

Day 8 - Mix Fancy & Casual

I'm sporting my remix top from the first day (2nd time).  This is my fancy item.  I feel like this top is dressy, but not so dressy that it can't be casual.  I paired it with a pair of denim shorts, and accessorized it with a skinny black belt, and turquoise jewelry and shoes (not shown).  I feel like I actually got some weird looks with this outfit.  I'm sure I won't wear it together again, but it was fun to try something new.

Top: DownEast Basics, belt: JCPenney, Shorts: a.n.a from JCPenney, Necklace: Cookie Lee, Shoes: Target.

Day 4 - Color Blocking

My original idea for color blocking didn't pan out as well as I had hoped, so this was my back up.  I wear this skirt a lot, but haven't paired it with this brown top before.  I added the silver chain belt to mix things up a bit, and add a little dimension.  I think it turned out ok.  The lesson I've learned today is that I need more skirts/pants/bottoms that are colorful, such as green or turquoise, or yellow....the options are endless.  I would have liked to have done something a little more dramatic. 

Brown top: Worthington from JCPenney, Light Blue skirt: DownEast Basics, Sandals: Target, Belt: Heirloom piece, not sure if it is vintage or not.

Day 3 - Mixing Patterns

I've been wanting to put this dress/jacket combo together for awhile now, but neither have fit.  I've been trying to lose some weight to fit back into the clothes that I love, and I am getting so close.  These clothes are a little snug, and I didn't end up wearing it all day.  I just wanted to see what the final product looked like.  I think that I'll definitely put this together again.  It's incentive to keep on losing!

Day 2 - The Tuck In

Like so many others, I struggle with the tuck in.  The dreaded tuck in.  I don't think I have tucked a shirt in for about 10 years.  I know, CRAZY huh?  So this is definitely going to be a challenge for me, but in the famous words of Barney Stinson (HIMYM), "Challenge accepted!"

Shirt: JCPenney, Cropped pants: JCrew, Belt: Banana Republic

I have to admit that I didn't feel as ridiculous as I thought I would.  I actually liked the outfit that I put together.  I haven't worn these pieces together, so it was fun to find something new to wear. 

Remix - Polkadots

It's day 1 of the 21 Day Challenge!  I've picked this polka-dot top from Down East Basics as my choice to remix 3-4 times over the next 21 days.

My sister gave me this top for my birthday 4-5 years ago, and I've struggled with finding a great way to remix it. I'm hoping this 21 day challenge will give me what I need to put this in my regular clothing rotation.

21 Day Challenge

I'm so excited about this new challenge that I'm participating in.  It's called "the 21 Day Challenge".  Kayla over at http://frecklesinapril.blogspot.com/ is hosting this challenge, and here is what she has to say about it:


"For 21 days I will post a daily outfit prompt. Each Saturday I'll post the list of prompts for the week so you have some time to prepare, then the day before I'll put up a more detailed post with inspiration pictures.

Then, get dressed, take a picture and upload it to the 21 Day Challenge Flickr group* and/or blog about it and submit your link here on my blog. Cell phone pictures in bathroom mirrors are perfectly acceptable here (but if you want to go all out and take pictures in natural light and cool locations I will applaud you wildly).

I set up the Flickr group specifically for people who have a private blog, no blog at all, or prefer to participate under the radar (ie not in front of all the friends and family who read their blog). But you are welcome to post your photos in the Flickr group and on your blog if you wish.

I found some really awesome sponsors for this challenge (see my sidebar for a not quite complete list) so there will be some darn good prizes for a handful of lucky participants. I'll be spotlighting each of the sponsors** and the prizes they're contributing over the next couple weeks leading up to the first day of the challenge on August 15th.

Participation will earn you points and each point is an entry in the drawing toward prizes. I'll be keeping track of points on a spreadsheet and then using a random number generator to draw winners from my spreadsheet at the end of the challenge.

Here's how to earn points:

• Each outfit submission is one point 
• Blogging or tweeting about the 21 Day Challenge between now and August 12 is 5 points (make sure to let me know you've done it. You can get the HTML for the 21 Day Challenge button in my sidebar if you'd like to include it in your post)
• Participating in all 21 days earns you 5 points 
• Adding Freckles in April to your blog roll is 5 points (make sure to let me know you've done it!)
• There will occasionally be bonus points up for grabs during the challenge! 

I've been working on this for a couple months now and I'm so so excited. I hope we'll get a wide variety of participants...fashion bloggers, mommy bloggers, non bloggers, everyone! The more the merrier. Hopefully you will stretch yourself and see your wardrobe for all its wonderful possibilities (and maybe win something pretty as well)."

Night Sky

The full moon rises over the mountaintop

Making it's way into the night sky

It illuminates everything within reach

Casting shadows into the unknown

It plays peek-a-boo with the stars

As it hides behind drifting clouds.

Words to Live By

A few weeks ago I met up with a group of ladies for frozen yogurt. We were having a good time chatting when I casually mentioned that my friend couldn't make it. One of the women there decided that my mentioning this friend meant that the conversation was open to continue talking about her. She told everyone about how my friend isn't good at her job and that her managers don't want to give her very many clients because she just doesn't know what she is doing.

I was speechless. Here we were out trying to have a fun time when Miss Gossip-pants decided to ruin the party. I wish I would have said something right then and there to discredit this woman, but I just kept my mouth shut. I can only hope that the other women there considered the source, and didn't take what she said to heart.

As I pondered this conversation I came up with a saying that I think is the perfect words to live by. I'm not perfect by any means. But I'm working hard at trying to live by these 3 simple phrases:

Is it true?
Is it uplifting?
Is it kind?

1. Is it true?
The answer to this question could be yes, but that doesn't mean that it should be repeated.

2. Is it uplifting?
Will it encourage, comfort, or strengthen someone?

3. Is it kind?
If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.


My advise to you is to stop and think before you speak. If you are going to talk about someone, double check to make sure it is true, uplifting, and kind.