Currently, February 2019.

I love doing these currently posts that ANNE from Anne In Residence rolls out each month. I love answering the questions as I catch you up on my life. Without further adieu, here are this month's prompts/questions... 

anticipating: One word: SPRING! I cannot remember any previous Winters where our temperatures have been more bi-polar than they have been this Winter. Let's take today for example. Within less than 6 hours we had light fog, icy streets, below 30 temperatures, sunshine, clouds, rain, frozen rain, humidity, heavy fog and 50 degree weather. Tomorrow is supposed to be black ice in the morning which makes for horrible road conditions and a difficult commute. If the rumors are true, the kids will have another day off due to bad weather. This is the third consecutive week where the schools have had snow days, freezing days or bad weather days. Vivian has had 7 school days off within the last 3 weeks. Plus last week with the Polar Vortex that hit the Midwest, we had several days where the temperatures were below 10 degrees and at times with the windchill they felt as low as negative 40. Long story short, I am already over Winter! Oh, and as a style blogger, the weather affects us more. Not just what we wear but also our photo-shoots - it sucks!!

going: I wish I could say the name of a place - a warm place preferably lol - but for the moment I have no answer to this. I am not going anywhere, unfortunately. Is any of you taking any vacations anytime soon?!

making: money. I have been working hard every day, so like most working people I have been making money and trying to be good with saving it. Wish me luck, folks! 

watching:"The Bachelor", "Project Runway All Stars", "Manifest" and just starting the last season of "Scandal". Those are the 4 shows I am alternating between lately. I am really invested on "The Bachelor" this season though I haven't been in over 5 years. Most of the girls seem pretty normal, for a change, though they are all so young. And I am sure all of us are curious to see if Colton will loose his virginity. After all, the V word has only come up about 500 times lol. Oh and I just started watching "A Million Little Things" and it seems like a great show that needs my attention. I want to start watching "The Good Doctor" and "New Amsterdam" next. Thoughts on any of these shows, ladies?! Also, looking forward to the new "Whiskey Cavallier" that starts at the end of this month. And, come Spring I plan on watching the Marie Kondo show on Netflix.

wearing: My Puffer Coats - mostly the two cozy and warm down coats I have from Land's End - my beanies, scarves, gloves and all the Winter gear. After all I have even posted about how I bundle up and (try to) stay stylish in beanies and scarves during this brutal Winter cold.

Now, let's take a look back at several outfits I have worn and blogged around this time of the year, in the previous years. Since next week is Valentine's day I am focusing on outfits featuring either red or pink. You will notice too that not only has my style changed, but so have my photos, etc. All of these outfits are entirely different, yet I would wear them all again, today. I decided to take a look back at each of the previous 7 years, since it has been exactly 7 years since I started this little old blog of mine. Let's look at each of them in detail, below. 

7 years ago.

Ohhh the memories of this outfit. This is one of the very first outfits I have worn, photographed and blogged for my blog, pre-Vivian, pre-birth. My blog started on the same year I got pregnant with Viv, but a fun fact - it was called "Elegance Personified" back then, I wasn't a mother yet. I titled this post "A Taupe Warm Look" since the main item is a taupe/mushroom sweater dress (by Loft) which I layered with a Bourdeaux Peplum Velvet Jacket (by White House Black Market) and since it was cold I was wearing thick Fleece-Lined Navy Tights (purchased in Albania) and my Flat Cognac Boots (by Payless). I had just moved back to Albania with my husband and had just started my first job there. This is one of the outfits I wore in January 2012. The photos are shot at our first (very modest) apartment, in the hallway. There is a little pink+white Valentine decoration hanging on our main door, too.

6 years ago.

I don't have many if any outfits from February 2013 because I had just become a mom, since Vivian was born on January 19th of that year. I for sure didn't have any outfits featuring either red or pink from February. I was lucky if I showered and wore even the simplest, most casual look as a brand-new mom. But, I did do a pregnancy shoot, exactly 13 days before our daughter was born. This outfit above featuring a Pinkish-Lilac Embellished Long Cardigan (from Albania) over a "French Cafe" Graphic T-Shirt (by White House Black Market) was one of the two outfits I wore during my maternity shoot we did in Tirana, Albania. This particular outfit I shared during my "Pregnancy Photos, Part Two" post. Coincidentally, for the first outfit I also wore pink: a Hot Pink Cableknit Boat-Neck Sweater. This was my favorite of the two looks. Our photographer did a great job capturing our joy as soon-to-be parents. I also loved all the pink touches since I was having a girl. I matched my Embellished Light Pink Cardigan with a Fun, Feather-Embellished Headband (by Bebe). And can you believe how warm it was in Albania in early January when we took these photos outside!?

5 years ago.

This very pretty and very colorful outfit was part of "The Six Remix" Series I used to do and plan on bringing back this Spring, in March. The post was titled "The 6 Remix: Olive Green Pants Collaboration styled for Winter" because it was a collaboration post I did with my friend Inge who unfortunately doesn't blog anymore, but I was one of her biggest fans and followers when she used to blog, and vice versa. Each one of us showed 3 different ways to style Olive Green Skinny Pants. I showed this dressy look (featured above), a sort of in-between look, as well as a casual look. Inge did the same (look at the collage below). We all were able to style entirely-different outfits and all 6 outfits came out so cute. I would re-wear all of my outfits in a heartbeat. Especially the one I am featuring today. The Dark Red Corduroy Blazer (by Old Navy) paired so well with the Silk Turquoise Blouse (by Express) and the Olive Green Cargo Skinnies (by Gap). I paired them all together with a Colorful Jewel-Tone Statement Necklace (a gorgeous piece purchased from a local boutique in Albania) and Nude Peep Toe Cork Pumps (by Lord and Taylor).

4 years ago.

Here is where I shared a "Hot Pink Sheath to Work". This Gorgeous Hot Pink/Fuchsia Sheath with the Black Piping Detail and Faux Pockets is by The Limited and the material is such a nice thick ponte, which makes it perfect to wear and layer with during the cold months of Winter. All the items I paired it with are in neutral colors: Cream Chiffon Collared Blouse (by Express) under it, a Tan/Nude Velvet Blazer (by Old Navy) over it, Black-on-Black Leopard-Print Tights (by Hue) and Chocolate Brown Oxford Wedge Booties (from Albania). For jewelry I chose a pair of Stud Crystal Earrings and a Mesh Silver Pave Collar Necklace. I wore this outfit to the office. I just love this Little Pink Dress so much! This is such a classic, sophisticated, feminine and colorful layered look for Winter. If you click on the post you will see a very adorable and smiley 2-year old Vivian, also.

3 years ago.

In this post I also did a remix of my wardrobe because I styled "Pink Patterned Leggings from Day to Night". First of all how fun are these Candy-Colored Geo-Print Leggings?! I love them so much! With the daytime look I simply changed shoes and purses and added a Millennial Pink, Light Puffer Vest. But I love these leggings so much with these Criss-Cross, Burgundy Patent Leather Pumps (by JC Penney). I paired the Leggings with the most comfortable Jersey Cotton Cowlneck Tunic (by Bebe). The little Fun Colorblocked Bag is by Express and I wore pretty jewelry from Rocksbox.

2 years ago.

This was a post where I did a matchy Mommy+Daughter Style Post. I titled it "Mommy+Mini Valentine: Pinks and Grays". I always love how any shade of pink looks with any shade of gray and this cozy, street-style, very put-together outfit was no exception. I love this V-Neck Sweater Dress so much I also own it in a heather gray. I love that it fits loose and the length is a hi-lo style. It is from Target. My Marbled Grey Tights are from DSW and the color is one and the same with those Faux Suede OTK Boots (by DSW). I kept my shoulders warm with that Pashmina Colorblocked Scarf (by Old Navy). But my favorite thing here is the layering of the Blush Pink Lace Collar Necklace with the Gold Tone Lariat Chain Necklace. I need to find this sweater dress and wear it ASAP. Vivian also wore a pink dress on this post, in case you were wondering.

last year.

This is the outfit I wore last year to work on Valentine's Day rocking a "Neon Pink and Red Office Valentine" without any hosiery even. It warmed up to mid 40s that day, perhaps even around 49-50 later on, so I decided to skip the tights and deal with the freezing cold in the morning, because let's face it this outfit looks a thousand times better with bare legs, no tights or nude hose. This Stunning Asymmetric Pencil Skirt I have worn with a red blouse during the Summer too. The skirt and pretty feminine top here are both by Loft while those Nude Laceup Peep-Toe Pumps are by Dolce Vita. I decided to do some Fun Feathered Pave Dust Pink Statement Earrings (by Express) with this outfit. Hands down one of my best office looks of 2018!