Casual Friday: Turquoise, Stripes, and Dolman Tops

Happy Weekend, lovelies!
It is the weekend already, and I couldn’t be more thankful.  I have had SO much on my plate with applying for jobs and looking for jobs, I have spent hours each day staring at a computer screen, and I will be more than happy to take a break from it this weekend.  Plus the promise of good weather is too enticing to remain inside 🙂  I will warn you upfront, this might be a little bit of a long-winded post, so I’ll break it up with pretty pictures 😉

I posted this outfit yesterday on my Instagram account, and was surprised at how well everyone liked it!  I told my hubby  my amazement, and his response was “Honey, people like the simple, everyday outfits the most, not the dressed up, overly fashionable ones”.  So that got me thinking, as do most things my husband says, and I came to the conclusion that he wasn’t far from the truth.  I guess I got caught up in thinking I had to dress up in these fantastic outfits, always trying to outdo the last one, each time I did a photoshoot for my posts.  That can become very frustrating and tiresome if you don’t feel like expending a lot of effort!  We all have those days, don’t we? 🙂

So, I have decided to start posting my everyday outfits on here, the ones I change into when I get home from work, the ones I usually wear when running around on weekends, the ones I wear in between the fabulous posts you see on here 🙂  I think it’s refreshing when I see fashion bloggers include “everyday” outfit posts, because it takes the pressure off of knowing that they don’t dress to the nines all the time.  I like seeing their laidback side, another glimpse into their personalities.  Don’t get me wrong, my go-to outfit usually is a button down, pullover, and colored shorts or denim, but there are moments when I just want to be relaxed, and without so many layers (I am totally guilty of over-layering, by the way!).  Or as is (more likely) the case, I am in a hurry to run errands and I need to throw something on and head out the door.  Which happened to be the circumstance last night. 🙂

 It was pretty humid yesterday, even though it was only in the 70s, and it had been raining and storming for half the day.  The rain had subsided and the beautiful sun was finally peeking out for the last couple hours of daylight.  I needed to run to the store for some last minute dinner ingredients (don’t you just hate when you have everything prepared only to realize you are missing some key ingredients???).  Anyways, I really wanted to enjoy the fresh air, so I decided to ride my bicycle to the store.  We live five minutes from a small Kroger, and there are sidewalks to practically anywhere you want to go!  Gotta love my city =).

My cute little baskets!!  And yes, I have reusable bags…How environmentally conscious of me 😉

Let me just say that dolman tops are my go-to shirt for when I want to be comfortable but still look put together.  The shirt is loose fitting on top and breathable (perfect for summer), but it tapers down at the waist and looks fitted.  Oh, and did I mention I have only striped dolman tops?  Actually, I have about four striped ones.  Chalk it up to my love affair with stripes, but honestly, you can’t go wrong with a striped dolman top, or striped anything!  A little bit of sophistication is added with stripes, no matter the shape of the top.  A girl can never have too many striped shirts, or dolman tops for that matter!

I had to show you what the print looks like…My favorite scarf in the entire world!!

The top is paired with coral skinny jeans (coral + turquoise = trendy, oh yeah!), and a printed scarf to complete the look.  Definitely one of my go-to outfits, and European chic!

P.S. Be sure to check out this FABULOUS giveaway happening on Charming Lucy!  I would LOVE to win some of these fabulous pillow covers (and great prices, too!!).