Spring Break and Some Spring Style!

Whew! It has been a solid two week spring break for us over here at TMS! We took some much needed time off to rest and rejuvenate. Holly is of course still spending all of her time with her new, precious twin baby boys! If you want a little peek, click here!

Well we are back to the real world and in the real world it is officially Spring! Where we live spring is often an enigma. Sometimes it shows up and sometimes we simply jump from winter to summer. Spring is a tough season fashion wise because you are in a very in-between temperature time where it is not warm enough to bust out capris, tanks, and sandals, yet it's too warm for all the comfy, cozy layers of winter. I find myself transitioning into spring with color, texture, and (gasp) revealing my pasty white legs one tiny inch at a time in a few cropped pants and rolled skinnies. Here are three spring trends I plan to jump on pronto! Join me in saying hello to spring and goodbye (good riddance!) to winter with these three trends.

1. Color: Radiant Orchid
This is Pantone's 2014 color of the year! It really is a stunning hue and will lift your spirit and your style this spring! Try starting with just a pop of the color and move your way up to a top or sweater in this delicious hue! I even just bought a gorgeous nail color in this shade!

Radiant Orchid Spring by embellishedangel featuring Phase Eight

2. Texture: All Over Lace
Lace is such a fabulous feminine touch for spring. I am a huge fan of lace no matter the season but it really fits perfectly in spring. Try finding a wardrobe piece that is ALL OVER lace for a big wow effect. Also, try a lace piece in a bold, spring hue.

Lace Spring Trend by embellishedangel featuring a blue shirt

3. Length: Cropped pants and rolled jeans
This is the perfect trend for spring. It allows you to show a little bit of leg while still keeping warm on cool spring days. The length you are looking for is just above the ankle--showing a teeny bit of calf. Old Navy has a new line of pants called the Pixie that are perfect for this look.  Cropped pants and rolled jeans look adorable with just about any shoe too. I love to pair mine with flats, heels, Sperry's, and tennies. Try and snag a pair or two in a bold spring hue or print. My latest fashion find is a pair of distressed cuffed skinnies that I simply love. They are the cutest thing with flats!

Cropped Pants by embellishedangel featuring skinny pants

Inspiration for an OOTD!

One of my favorite fashion blogs (and one of the reasons I started my own) is J's Everyday Fashion. The best part of her blog and the foundation behind nearly every post is an inspiration photo. She must scour fashion catalogs and magazines for hours for these photos! Does she have a stock pile? I would love to know her process! Magically, she then pulls items she already owns and puts together an outfit eerily similar to the inspiration photo. There are times when instead of creating the exact outfit in the inspiration photo, she simply tries to replicate the color scheme or pattern. I have always marveled at her ability to do this.

One of my favorite places to go for inspiration (as crazy as it sounds--I don't subscribe to really any fashion mags or catalogs) is Polyvore and of course, Pinterest. Polyvore is an account based site where you can build outfits using fashion pieces they provide. We have all probably pinned these "body-less" outfits that we wish would just magically appear in our closets. I have found myself in a winter clothes rut the last few weeks and have been relying heavily on outfits I have pinned from Polyvore. I'm telling ya--they have come through when I am desperate for some outfit inspiration. The plan is to share a few of these with all of you!

Here is a super simple look that looks super pulled together. I love combining black and brown (which a few of you are still afraid to do...bah!--get over it!!) I boycotted our endless winter and showed some pretty white knees but stayed warm with some cozy boot socks. I tried to stick very close to the inspiration photo using items from my own closet. Sometimes the best part of this process is getting to try out a combination or color scheme that you would have NEVER come up with on your own. Go ahead and get some outfit inspiration and re-create the look!

{Shop the Style}

Scarf: Steve Madden at Herberger's

Cardigan: Old Navy

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft

Boot Sox: TJ Maxx

Boots: Steven Madden 

Bloglovin + some bloglovin!

I really do not have an addictive personality at all. Most foods I can take or leave. Definitely not into anything harmful. Rarely binge watch any television shows (except for maybe Downton Abbey...). However, when I find something that I love (or maybe AM addicted to) , like, um hangers, or a beauty product, or an app--I MUST share it and get other people to love it too! Maybe my addiction is getting other people to love what I love. Is that good or bad? (That was a rhetorical question by the way!)

My latest addiction, er, love is an app called Bloglovin. This is by no means a new site but it is new to me and I thought maybe it might be new to some of you too. It's a website but I much prefer the app for its layout and ease. This lovely little app allows me to follow all my favorite blogs from across the interweb and stacks all the latest posts up for me to read and enjoy. It is my new favorite past time to snuggle up with a snack and drink and browse through my Bloglovin goodies. It is so convenient to have all the blogs I follow in one place (very similar to an RSS feed reader like Google Reader for those of you that have used that system). You can "like" posts and they are stored under your profile to visit later. You can also go directly to the blog right from Bloglovin if you want to leave a comment or share a post. Now instead of visiting all of your favorite blogs separately, they are now all lined up in one tidy app. Whoo hoo! Want to sign up? Here's how-

1. Go to bloglovin.com

2. You can either sign up using your Facebook login or with an email. I chose my email and I also get an email each day with my Bloglovin feed.

3. Once you are logged in you need to add blogs to follow. (We would love it if you followed TutorMyStyle!) You can search directly using the titles of blogs you love or you can use their search features. You can search by category or you may search their list of top blogs.

4. Once you have a few (or 30!) blogs that you are following, the new posts of each blog will be in your daily feed.

Get yourself some Bloglovin! 

And here are a few blogs that I follow with some pretty adamant love~ follow them too! 

www.maskcara.com: 
LOADS of hair and beauty tips from an amazing self-made guru

imlovinlit.blogspot.com: 
One of my favorite teacher blogs and sellers on TeachersPayTeachers. She has tons of freebies!

abeautifulmess.com:
A gorgeous home decor, photography, design blog that I drool over on a regular basis. They also have an amazing photography app by the same name

Blah to BAM! ~family style!

This weeks's blah to BAM comes courtesy of my gorgeous niece. She is such a great supporter of this little blog and is always up for trying out our fashion tips. She texted me a few pics asking for a little advice on how to get a dress to work with layers. Honestly, I didn't even give her any tips before she texted me with her BAM! outfit. To say the least I was impressed and not to mention, a little proud. On top of it all, she was willing to let me use her photos for one of these posts. Thanks girl!

 Blah....

This is not a bad start. The dress is a fabulous cobalt blue which is totally on trend. Also, she did what I probably would have done first too--grabbed a blazer to make a summer dress work for winter. However, a few things make this look a bit blah....

1. The blazer is a boyfriend style and therefore has no shape. Her waist is completely lost somewhere in the middle. Never a good thing. 

2. The outfit looks mashed together color wise. This is due in part to the similarity in color tones of the blazer and dress. 

3. Lack of accessories doesn't give our eye anything interesting to rest on. 

Three easy additions to move this from blah to BAM...

WOW. What a difference. She made some super easy and super quick changes and the WHOLE outfit is way better. 

1. Contrasting cardigan: This was a huge change. Adding a cardigan in a much lighter hue than the dress makes the whole outfit pop. Despite the overall new color tone, the outfit appears MORE cohesive than the original. 

2. Belt: Holy moly did the belt MAKE this outfit. She has a waist! A tiny, gorgeous waist! Whoo Hoo! Never underestimate the power of a good cinch at the waist. Well played girl, well played. 

3. Accessories: She added two simple accessories that gave us the perfect focal point. Her necklace is SPOT ON for placement--just above the belt and her bangle bracelets add a air of femininity that I am a sucker for. 

The cognac boots are a perfect winter option for this outfit. I maybe would have even thrown on some gray boot socks too for a little extra warmth, but I live in the frozen tundra so...

Feel free to send us your Blah to BAM photos! We would LOVE to feature them on the blog!!