Be My Valentine

I have a confession to make- I freaking LOVE Valentine's Day! It's my favorite cheesy holiday, what's not to love? It is in my nature to love things that are sweet, romantic, and full of pink and hearts, candy and chocolate. It's everything I enjoy rolled into one gloriously commercialized holiday.

This year I had way too much fun making my own handmade valentines, and this one is probably my favorite!

My lovely valentine sent me two dozen gorgeous roses to my office on Tuesday, so that I would have more days to enjoy them at my desk! They definitely brightened up my week along with my cubicle.

Hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day!

Splash of Prabal

what i'm wearing: lilly pulitzer 'helene' dress in bomber blue, forever 21 flower pendant necklace, prabal gurung for target nolita print pumps, bow from korea / on the wrist: chevron elastic hair tie (handmade), david yurman bracelets, tiffany & co heart bracelet, tatum bradley co. monogram stamped cuff

(Yes, I know this dress is also featured in the previous post, but it has actually been a few weeks since I wore it! And I want to get as much wear out of this sweater dress before it gets too warm.)

I have to admit that I love a good Target designer collaboration. I try not to get too affected by all the hype and end up with a load of things that I really don't need. (But let's be real, do I really need anything? We all know the answer to that is a solid no.) 

But when I was hanging out with my family this past weekend, my sister reminded me about the collection launching this weekend, so I finally succumbed to checking out the Prabal Gurung for Target lookbook online. With its bright colors and fun floral prints, I knew I had to at least check it out. I didn't wake up at the crack of dawn or anything, but I ended up picking up a few items that I'm super excited about. Like the printed pumps above (I think they will be perfect with my brightly colored dresses this summer) and the printed tee below (great layering piece). Did anyone else check out this new collection?

I've been MIA from the blogosphere for far too long, would love it if you shared some of your current faves. =) Feel free to post your own as well.

Why Hello There

Why hello there, blog! Haven't seen you in quite a while now. Even though I haven't had a chance in a very long time to take good pictures of my outfit of the days, I've still been taking quick snaps whenever I like what I'm wearing - so now they've become my #ootds on instagram. And yes, I do realize that I have pretty much the same pose in every photo.

I've always been drawn to quirky animal prints and patterns. When I first saw this crab sweater at f21, I knew I had to have it. Who needs a sweater with crabs printed all over it?? Apparently me. I really had no idea how I would wear it, but in a quick last minute decision, I paired it with my pink gingham shirt, which worked out surprisingly well.

I've been MIA for a few months (it was still 2012 when I last posted!) but the following is my attempt to play catch up.

Dress Obsession: I'm always extolling the virtues of the most basic of female clothing items, the dress. It's a way to feel instantly put together with minimal effort and coordination (which is good when one is lingering in bed on a cold winter morning instead of putting the time in to put together an outfit). They're just so easy! Throw on a statement necklace, a pair of tights if necessary, any type of shoe, and you're good to go. 

Layers: I feel like I always have go to combinations when it comes to layering. I get stuck in a rut of wearing a button down under a sweater, or a cardigan layered over a sleeveless dress. But unexpected pairings and bright colors always make it better.

I feel like I've done enough photo collage spamming for one day... things that I am planning on working on very soon: finish updating blog layout, post photos from the Christmas holiday (spent it in Korea), share some easy DIYs I've done recently, and of course my favorite... post some recent handmade valentines that I've made. If anyone's out there reading this, I'm going to try a lot harder than I have the last few months to get this blog up and running as a creative outlet for me.

Going Prep

what i'm wearing:

jcrew (outlet) navy gingham shirt

american eagle bow sweater

american eagle red jeggings

shoemint ankle boots

Looking over some of my older outfits, some variation of this look (gingham shirt layered over sweater, skinny jeans + ankle boots) is probably my cold weather uniform. It's pretty easy to put together when you're like me and have far too many colorways of gingham button downs and skinny pants. Feeling very preppy today, even more than usual, I think it's the combination of navy & red along with the bow. But that's not a bad thing (in my opinion).

Catching Up

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post on this blog. I haven't abandoned it completely, but I haven't had the time lately to take good quality photos and post them. I've been doing things the easy way, snapping some quick outfit photos with my phone and instagraming them. A lot has happened since then, I feel like it was still semi-warm out the last time I posted (I have bare legs!) and now it feels like we're right smack dab in the middle of winter. In the past couple of months, I've run a half marathon, developed quite the heavy craft addiction, and have really been putting a lot of heart and soul into my etsy store, Adore Prep. More photos on what I've been up to after the jump!

joe fresh sweater + loft skirt

diy print & painted frame

f21 top, anthro necklace

cheap frames painted with martha stewart paint

gap sweater, jcrew gingham

monogram etsy pullover, jbrand houlihans