pop! of style

Courtney here, introducing Missy from Pop of Style, the very last guest post that I have for you, concluding the end of my vacation. I can't wait to sit down and catch up on my favorite blogs, snuggled in a cozy blanket with a nice cup of hot tea. Mmmm. Yesterday's party was a huge success! I made some new friends, caught up with some old ones, and I think the kids had a blast. Pictures from the trip and the party to come! Now for my guest post... The best way to describe Missy is brave,  bold and beautiful. I envy her attitude towards fashion and can't wait to share these tidbits with you! Enjoy!

What makes me smile...

-when I wake up and my puppy is cuddled up next to me
-sweet little surprises from my boyfriend
-that "a ha!" moment when I put together and outfit that works unexpectedly
-warm days when the sun is shining and anything seems possible
-an awesome find at a thrift store
-that moment when I know I got through to a student
-curling up with a glass of red wine and a movie
-seeing palm trees

place clever title here...

Hi everyone, this is Courtney, introducing Lizzie's post for I Can Be Many Things. I am finally home from Florida, however, the unpacking begins. Oh, and I spontaneously planned a Halloween party for my little girl for tomorrow. Yeah, you heard correctly. A whole day of flying on Friday and a Halloween party on Sunday. What am I thinking? I'm thinking it's going to be a blast! Oh, and I was going to take outfit photos but I spilled my supper on my sweater... Okay, so maybe that's my excuse--I did stain my supper, but that was after I decided I wasn't taking photos today. I was pretty tired and had no make up on and while I have no problems posting my face sans make up, today I just didn't have the energy! No worries though, today we have the most beautiful Lizzie from place clever title here... Not only is her photography gorgeous--but so is she! Enjoy!

What makes me smile:

-The first thing that comes to mind is my sweet husband for sure :)

-Finding an amazing item while thirfting, that fits perfectly and is in great condition

-Dresses

-A good Double Dirty chai on a cold day

-Going for a walk while the air is crisp and the Autumn leaves crunch under my feet

-The dreamy, beautiful light at Dusk

-My cat and animals in general

-Photography

-Going for bike rides

-Floral Prints & Lace

-Vintage and quirky knickknacks

And of course being asked to do a guest post on I Can Be Many Things made me smile a ton! :)

Thanks again Courtney, you and your blog are soooo very wonderful!

xo

Lizzie

this time is a charm

Hey guys and galls! It's Katya here from This Time is a Charm

I am SO incredibly excited to be guest posting! Eeek!

Courtney is by far the most down to earth, coolest blogger gurlie I've met.

Plus she has a huge heart and amazing style :)

Please don't stop being so awesome kay?

She wanted to know what made me smile
&& and that in itself made me smile ear to ear!

As well as..

{looking through old e-mails}
{taking silly pictures}
{painting my nails a bright color}
{talking to my mama into the late hours of the night}
{the smell of coconut}
{hugs}
{fallen leaves}
{holding hands}
{anything and everything pumpkin}
{making others smile!}

All the little things in life!
Smile – it’s the second best thing you can do with your lips ;)

bravoe runway

Hi There! I’m Bessie, the writer of Bravoe Runway! I was extremely thrilled to receive an email from Courtney to guest post! I hope she is having fun while on holiday!

Dress: Marc Bouwer Glam It!
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Clutch: Coach

This is my favorite dress! I always smile ever so brightly once I put it on! Every time I put this dress on, it feels like it’s the first time I’ve ever worn it. While we can switch tops and bottoms, often times with a dress, it loses its novelty quickly! My dress has made a debut in my hometown Chicago, Miami, and Las Vegas. Each time I’ve worn it, it was with a different group of friends. I have so many fond memories of the chit chat, the great food, the dancing, and laughing we did on those nights out! I will keep this dress forever, the style is simple yet it’s the paillettes that give it the maximum impact!

What is in your closet that always makes you smile?

brooklyn.life.style

Hey guys! Liv here from Brooklyn.Life.Style. I'm so excited to be guest blogging while Courtney is away. I Can Be Many Things is one of my favorite blogs, mostly because Courtney covers diverse such interesting topics and always brings a positive outlook (and her various poses are amazing!). For my guest post I'm featuring outfit photos taken at various locations around Brooklyn (my blog is all about affordable living and styling in BK). Courtney has mentioned to me that she loves New York City, so I'm trying to woo her to Brooklyn the next time she visits :)

Brooklyn Academy of Music

You find street art all over Brooklyn and grafiti backdrops are a personal fave.

Trespassing at a School Yard (anything for a good photo)



Williamsburg, Street Art



Under the IRT Elevated Train Line

What makes me smile?
Lots of things make me smile so I came up with a top 5 list (I love lists):
1. Falling in love with an item, purchasing it, and finding out at the cash register that it is marked down from the original price- I am very lucky with this (shoes at Urban Outfiitters and a necklace at Express have been the most recent surprise bargains)
2. Red Velvet Cake from Cake Man Raven (famous Brooklyn Bakery- its a must have!)
3. My new iphone 4s- I am so excited to finally have a replacement for my ipod touch (it was stolen from my office months ago and that did NOT make me smile, I love my music).
4. Meeting new blog friends- Hi Guys! (Seriously blogging has been such a positive and inspiring experience)
5. Being blessed with incredible friends and family (and my sweetheart!).

Hope you guys enjoyed my post and if you'd like to keep in touch be sure to visit me at Brooklyn.Life.Style. and leave me the link to your blogs!

 Liv.Love.Life.

(courtney loves) maeby

Hi everyone!

My name is Maegan and originally Courtney and I were supposed to start a blog together. I decided that I was too busy to regularly blog, so instead, here I am in a guest post! I'm currently in school to become a Primary/Elementary teacher, work two jobs and sell handmade paper crafts on the side. I found it really difficult to figure out what to wear for this post at first, and then I realized that I was thinking too hard about it. So, here's an outfit that makes me smile...

Here are some more things that make me smile:

• spending time with my family
• inside jokes with my sister
• phone calls from my boyfriend while he's away with work
• chunky jewelry
• sharing nachos with good friends (here's looking at you Courtney ;) )
• thrifting
• DIY projects
• working with the Folklore department
• and lists!

Hope to see you all again soon and don't forget to smile :)

(Don't you just love my bestie Maegan? Love love love that she guest posted for me--thank you! In case you missed it... falling leaves and the perfect fall outfit; my last post, see here. Love, Courtney.)

petite femme jolie

Here's another guest post for you; the lovely Sam! Enjoy! Sorry I was late today--internet problems. Tsk tsk. In case you missed my last post, see here. Love, Courtney.


Hello! Sam here from Petite Femme Jolie! I am extremely, extremely excited to be guest blogging for Courtney today. I love this girl! I fell in love with her blog over the past few months and am insanely hooked like you wouldn't believe! Thanks again, Court, for letting me guest post on your fantabulous blog!

Meet me, Sam, and boyfriend Ryan!

I recently took a mini-vacation to California this past weekend. I absolutely LOVE it there! The weather, the people, the atmosphere, the food, the diversity... everything! I met quite a few interesting folks while there. I know every place has some "weirdos", but, LA may have an over-abundance of these characters. No hate, they actually made my vacation even more entertaining! So thank you, man-with-the-40-chains hanging from your neck and talking to yourself, and to the lady with the see-through pants, singing "RESPECT" down Hollywood Blvd... You rock!

My main goal was to, sadly, see as many celebrities as humanely possible in four days. I can't say I was unsuccessful, but I wasn't overly impressed with how it turned out. I met Harvey from TMZ / The People's Court in LA on Saturday - PLUG! I'll be on The People's Court November 16th, be sure to watch me make a fool out of myself! I was so nervous that the only words I could gather to say was "Ummmm, no." I........... am awesome. I don't think that short phrase will help me with my claim to fame. The second (and last) celebrity I saw was Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy. I had a very awkward moment when I saw him, and just stared at him - mouth open, didn't say a word. Can I be any more tourist-y? I think not.

A few things I noticed while visiting CA that are much different from things here in good ol' Wisconsin:

1. At clubs, people dance in this imaginary box, and don't move out of that little space the entire time. It's "not cool"...

In Wisco, we like to get down a bit more. I'll teach YOU how to Dougie!

2. No ones in LA uses blinkers. I realize I made that a generalized statement, and there are probably some of you LA'ers that DO, indeed, use your blinkers while driving... but I didn't see any of you. Not ONE!

3. There are a lot more Creepy Mc'Creepersons... Can you tell from all our faces that we just want this guy outta here?!

4. It's way more fun to eat steak skewers in Hollywood, than it is in Madison, WI. Every meal is presented so nicely, with picturesque parsley leaves - just for looks! In Wisconsin, we slab on some extra butter or cheese and think, 'Ooh - you fancy!'

5. There are no public benches in LA that are NOT made into 3 separate seats. I heard they do this so that homeless people can't sleep on them. That's not nice!

Any way, vacation-time is over and it's time to hit up the real world again. Work + school + homework + studying + paying bills is not my favorite, but that, my friends, is what we adults must do! Hope you all have a fantastic rest of the week, and an even better weekend!

Now, what makes me smile? So many things... here are my top 10!

1. Blogging

2. Crafting (DIY thangs)

3. Fashion - Especially Fall Fashion

4. Baking Cupcakes

5. My Future Career - Nursing

6. Pumpkin Patches + Apple Orchards

7. Traveling

8. Anything & Everything California-Related

9. Singing 90s Jams In My Car (Hi NSYNC!)

10. Canoodling With Celebs 

{Unfortunately, my #10 does not happen as often as i'd like.}

Don't forget to visit me over at Petite Femme Jolie!!

falling leaves (+fbff)

f21 blazer, necklace & belt, gap skinnies, garage sweater (SO old&worn)
boots - gift from my mother in law!

Halloween Friend Friday! And... a gorgeous fall setting for a photo shoot!

I've had my eye on this location for so long and I finally got the chance to take my camera/tripod there. Like I've said before, I have some guest posts lined up for this week, but I had to post these pictures for this week's FBFF--they are so perfect! Answers after the jump!

A big thanks to Megan for guest posting yesterday :)
Stay tuned for the others...now I'm off to enjoy the sun!
xo,
Courtney

Feathers and Freckles

I'm Megan from Feathers & Freckles and Courtney and I go wayyy back. No, I'm kidding, we only "met" a short while ago but I instantly felt like I had known her forever. It's bloggers like Courtney that make me so thankful I started doing this!

My blog is all about finding my style and laughing along the way. Before blogging, I was living in my hello kitty pajamas and my days consisted of talking to my cat and watching Teen Mom reruns. The only remixing I was doing was with ice cream and different toppings.

Now? Well I still do that stuff but only after I've taken photos of my outfit in random locations that usually include dumpsters (which always make me look better).

I don't take clothing too seriously and I'm not fashion forward. Basically, I copy Kendi cute girls with whatever thrifted junk I can find in my closet. The fun part is taking the photographs and editing the crap out of them. What you guys don't know is that I'm really a tan brunette, I just photoshop on freckles and use a "ghost effect" on my skin. (Again, I'm kidding.)

I like to blog about my life and the funny situations I get into. I take all of my photos myself with the help of my tripod (aka my partner in crime). When I say crime, I mean we cross "No Trespassing" areas and act like spies as we try to avoid all human contact.

Courtney asked us to talk about what makes us smile. Well, while I do enjoy the cheesier things in life (raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens) the thing that always makes me smile is making someone laugh. Seeing someone's mouth turn up because of something I've said or done gets me every time. Laughter is contagious, and if I see someone smile or laugh I can't help but repay the favor.

blogger inspiration

This isn't a misfit (or maybe it is). I haven't worn it because it is too big... it looks like a huge job for alterations though. It's a dress with a full circle skirt, sewn together perfectly. It's sewn in patches (I don't sew so I don't know how to properly describe it); it doesn't have a straight seam line so it looks like a huuuuge piece of work to take in. I'm confident it can be done though and I'm willing to pay the money for it because I LOVE this dress. I have it in another print too... also only worn once. They're made of thick material so I didn't feel comfortable wearing them during the summer.

So being too big, and the material being so thick, I felt really uncomfortable wearing this imitation outfit, but I liked the idea of it. Again, just not sure if it works for me. Is this a recurring theme or what? Thanks to everyone's comments on the last post. My words of wisdom: embrace your shape and your style. Inspiration should inspire an outfit of your tastes, not have you copycat someone else. My lesson learned: next time I'll definitely do something different with the cardigan. Inspiration stolen from Kendi; see this post. Maegan pointed out her cardigan is shorter and I definitely think that makes a difference. Overall--your thoughts?

A side note -- it was so muggy (SO MUGGY) when I took these photos! Hello hair frizz!

Stay turned for some guest posts this week! These girls are all amazing wonderful friends of mine and I'm excited to showcase them on my blog! Yay!

xo,
Courtney






Outfit details:
Spotted Moth dress, F21 Cardigan & Shoes
necklace by NFLD jewelry designer Amanda Rose

number nine

Guest Post over at petite femme jolie today (well, yesterday, forgive me)! Please go and show her some love! Sam is a wonderfully positive person who never fails to put a smile on my face! Starting Thursday I'll have a string of guest posts for you as my family goes on vacation. This weekend was busy and wonderful: lots of quality time with friends and family, just the way I like it.

Also, I really love all my readers, so I'll keep you in on all the giveaways going on! You don't have to have a blog to enter them, all you have to do is leave a comment. Visit Modly Chic to read more about A Fashion Giveaway Extravaganza.

I am ready for this misfit challenge to end, folks. This item was not originally on the list, but since I tried to wear it Saturday night...took pictures...looked at the pictures...then ran upstairs, tore the dress off, and considered burning it... I then decided it was a horrible misfit and I should probably throw it out. I then changed into an outfit that was awesome, flattering and perfect but I didn't take a picture of it. Somebody please share my frustration! Anyone have this happen? I love the outfits I throw together without any thought. When I take pictures in clusters nothing turns out right. This is one of my October goals that just isn't working for me.

Please excuse my crooked-arse-face. I can't help it! I was so distraught by this dress! Is anyone screaming for me to keep this? The pack-rat in me still doesn't want me to throw this out... I envision myself frolicking in the woods or walking a trail in this someday. But every time I put it on I feel so...wide. Part of my problem is I saw someone gorgeous wearing it and really loved it and am slightly frustrated with how it looks on me. (Click the sentence if you've had this happen to you--Dress With Courage wrote an article about this last week; it's fantastic)

Anyway, what do I do when I try to make something work? Throw on my favorite things: military jacket and my favorite princess boots.





Outfit details:
Old Navy dress, Seychelles platinum boots, Smart Set necklace

dress: toss, keep?

Please help!
xo,
Courtney

In case you missed it...

misfit by #: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th