Valentine's Day Style | Outfit

Mood board inspired outfit number two! This was inspired by the cuter images as I wore this to a children's party. Someone should have put a stamp on me because I felt like a valentine in this.

Interestingly enough my and my husband's story sort of begins on Valentine's day. We met when I was 15 and he laid the flirting on pretty thick. I was flattered by his attention and because I was 15, developed a little crush on him. Weeks went by and we started sitting next to each other at lunch and enjoying in some playful banter for the 30 minutes alloted for stuffing our faces.

I was absolutely sure he liked me and I was giddy with excitement. It was February and student council was selling those cheap carnations to have delivered to people on Valentine's day. A few days before the main event, and after a serious round of flirting with me, my crush sauntered up a to the student council table and bought some pink and red teenage dreams.

When the day came, I just knew this was going to be our moment. The kind of cute, cheesey moment that teen movies are made of and I had always dreamed about. I bounced around all day with excitement and finally the flowers came. A boy from student council came to the door with a big bunch of carnations and began passing out the 99 cent flowers. Marking each student as either accepted or rejected. Having never been the kind of girl that got those little trinkets delivered on these days, I was thrilled to finally have my little piece of adolescence validation.

Slowly his pile dwindled and my anticipation built as the boy walked closer to my desk and then it all fell to the floor like crepe paper the day after prom when he went right past me and delivered the whole stinking bunch to the girl in front of me. 

Turns out my husband is just a horrendous flirt. He apparently talked to every girl that way and he hadn't paid me much thought at all. And flowers he bought that day? Well those just happeneded to be for the girl who sat in front of me. Oh, yeah.

I still got my movie moment though because I was totally the Gretchen Weiners to her Glenn Cocoa.

And if your curious, Glenn Cocoa rejected him hard so, ha.

Cardigan: Target | Dress: Shop Apricity | Belt: Target, similar in S-L, similar in plus | Shoes: Thrifted, similar | Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Pure Hollywood

How to Use Pintertest to Create a Personal Valentine's Day Look | Advice

 

Let's talk mood boards 'cause I love 'em. They're a collection of images and materials that evoke a certain style concept and putting one together can provide inspiration and direction for many projects. Not everyone is a thematic dresser. That's ok! But, I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that I am. Being a holiday junkie, I could a wear a million different looks to celebrate and using a mood board helps me understand what is most meaningful and enjoyable to me about a holiday. 

Pinterest is a great place to store ideas but, it's also an easy as pie mood board maker. Using my pinterest, I search keywords and pin whatever catches my eye to a fresh, new board. Then I go back and spend time looking at each individual pin and the collection as a whole. Are there any overarching themes and styles? Which elements draw me into each picture? What I saw in my mood board above was soft fabrics, pale colors complemented by deep red, romantic florals, and promises of sweet moments. 

For some Valentine's is hot and sultry. For others it's a big-eyed kitten holding a lace heart that says, "you're purrfect." Mine lands somewhere in between candy hearts and squishy kisses with my kids and stolen romantic moments with my husband. It's sweet, it's cute, and it's romantic in a familiar way and my mood board reflects that. With just a few moments on pinterest, I was able to create a visual tool that is a personal expression of what makes me the happiest on Valentine's day.

Knowing exactly what is in my heart allows me to do my favorite thing; take those feelings and flip them inside out for the rest of the world to see. I'm not getting dressed to impress, I am surrounding myself in a collage of little moments that I hold dear. Little things that effervesce with joy inside of me that I can wear as a badge of honor and share with the world.

Let me know in the comments what you love about Valentine's Day and stay tuned for my second Valentine's day mood board outfit inspiration!

Cardigan: Thrifted, similar in XS-4X | Skirt: Forever 21 similar in XS-4X | Shoes: Target, similar | Bracelet: Vintage similar | Lips: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Aria