All-Time Favorite Interiors

I've been in a bit of a decorating slump lately.  Sometimes I feel like the more exposure we have to design, via Pinterest, blogs, magazines, and more, the more our own personal style gets diluted, because we start mimicking what we see online rather than establishing our own personal 'voice' or design point of view. 

To that end, I decided to peruse my Pinterest boards for the images that I love the most and that most represent a home in which I would like to live. Here goes: 

Entryways: 

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via (I think it's originally from Lonny or Domino? shot by Melanie Acevedo)

via (shot by Teri Lyn Fisher)

original source unknown, anyone?

Kitchen/Dining Room/Pantry:

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via

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via

via

(original source unknown, anyone?)

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Living Room: 

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Bedroom:

via

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Bathroom:

via

(original source unknown, anyone?)

Pulling all these images together really helped me reinforce my true personal style. For example, I love a lot of color in other people's homes, but this little exercise has shown me that maybe I don't want to live with it myself. I also like modern and funky homes when I see them in magazines, but for me I like a more rustic, industrial, masculine space with feminine touches. Pattern mixing features largely in many of these images, as does high contrast (charcoal juxtaposed against light cream, for example). I also noticed that vary rarely do I like the purest versions of color--meaning, I rarely pick out pure black or straight white tones, but rather prefer a dustier dark grey or off-white. 

Solidifying my viewpoint will make it much easier to pull together my own home, I think. Check back soon for some inspiration on how to pull all of these images into one cohesive look!

Weekly Wishlist: Black, Gold, and Blush

Fall has rolled around and inevitably so has my penchant for black clothing. Add in a few gold and blush accents, and I'm sold.

Weekly Wishlist by mjchirpich-1 featuring taper candles

Particularly I'm in love with the striped sweatshirt from Old Navy and the black maxi dress from Lulu's. And would you have guessed that lamp is $40 from Ikea??

Packing a Week's Worth of Business Casual in a Carryon

I thought I'd change things up a bit and post What I'm Wearing Weekly at the start of the week!

Today I'm in Anaheim, CA for a couple of back-to-back work conferences. I absolutely hate checking luggage, so I had to pack smart to fit everything for a week's worth of business-casual in a carryon. It's all about bringing easily-mixable clothing! Here's what I brought:

Packing for a Week-long Work Conference by mjchirpich-1 featuring t shirts

And here's how I'll wear it!

A Week's Worth of Business Casual Conference Wear by mjchirpich-1 featuring knee high stretch boots

Hopefully I'll have time to sneak in some extra-curricular activities, so I had to plan outfits for such adventures as well:

Extracurricular Activies by mjchirpich-1 featuring Merona

Some travel tips I've picked up along the way:

• When you're trying to pack everything in a carryon, pick a baseline color and stick to it. Here, most of my basics (boots, pants, etc) are all black, so they all mix well with the colorful items I brought. If you're more of a brown/tan basics girl, that works well too! Just make sure your big-ticket items all work together.
• Stripes go with virtually anything. They pair well with patterns, like the floral-print scarf shown, and can be easily dressed up or down. 
• Dresses are an all-in-one outfit option. You just have to add jewelry and shoes!
• Wear your bulkiest items on the plane--in my case, my denim jacket and black boots. 
• Conversely, pack your slimmest items. My silky pink pants pack down tiny and make a major style statement--same goes for silk or chiffon shirts, which can get wrinkly but hotels will have irons :)
• If you pack mostly basics, pack fun statement necklaces and other jewelry. Scarves pack down tiny too, and packing scarves with lots of colors provides more outfit options.

For other editions of WIWW, please click here,  here,  here,  here, here,  here,  here, here, here, here, here,  here, here,  here,  here, here, here and here :)

Truth in blogging: In these boards I try to use the exact items I own, but if those items aren't available online I've replaced them with visually similar items. This week, I actually own: Travel Day's shirt, bag, and scarf, Monday's dress, necklace, and shoes,  Wednesday's scarf, Thursday's pants, necklace, and shoes, Friday's top and shoes, and Last/Travel day's dress, scarf, and bag. I also own Leisure's 2 shirts, Sightseeing's scarf, Dinner's dress, necklace, and shoes, and Bar's top and shoes.

What I'm Wearing Weekly: September 30-October 4th

Phew, this week just fleeeeeeewwwwwww by! I have a series of work conferences all next week so I'm trying to get ahead on paperwork...seems like I bury my head in papers and computer screens all day and don't take a breath until it's time to leave!

The weather locally definitely took a turn into 'Fall' this week, and the leaves are starting to turn as well! So lovely :)

Here's what I wore this week. For other editions of WIWW, please click here,  here,  here, here,  here,  here, here, here, here, here,  here, here,  here,  here, here, here and here :)

What I'm Wearing Weekly: Sept 30-Oct 4 by mjchirpich-1 featuring cone heel pumps

Anyone else overjoyed to be eating pumpkin-flavored everything and sipping chai lattes without overheating??

Truth in blogging: In these boards I try to use the exact items I own, but if those items aren't available online I've replaced them with visually similar items. This week, I actually own: Monday's dress and shoes, Tuesday's dress, shoes, and necklace (from an Etsy shop though), Wednesday's shoes and skirt, Thursday's pants (thrifted) and shoes (thrifted), and Friday's pants (thrifted) and shoes.

Spice up your workout wardrobe!

Hey friends, I've missed you! Work is crazy right now and I've had to put blogging on the backburner. Today I'm happy to be back with a roundup of workout gear that's currently on my wishlist.

I'm pretty sure it's mathematically proven that the better you look, the better you feel.  The better you feel, the more self-confidence you have, and the more self-confidence you have, the more comfortable you will feel at the gym, in a yoga studio, or out on a long run. Thus, cute clothes = better workout. Ahhhhh, the power of the transitive property....

With that in mind, I've been on the hunt for cute workout capris. It's surprisingly hard to find workout tights that aren't boring black, grey, or see-through. Although I've never seen most of these in person, I'm currently pondering the purchase of the following items:

Spice up your workouts! by mjchirpich-1 featuring NIKE activewear pants

Seems I've stumbled upon a color theme here....anyway, anybody have experience with any of the leggings shown? What is your favorite workout gear?