30 Outfits in 30 Days Challenge | Fall Edition

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // October 2, 2014 // 11 Comments

Tada! Cue exciting trumpet fanfare!

I am so excited for this.

If you missed the July version, let me quickly walk you through how this works.

I picked 30 items from my wardrobe (tops, bottoms, dresses and accessories). The challenge is to make 30 unique outfits, every day, for the next 30 days.

Every day, on Instagram and Twitter, I’ll post a photo of my OOTD (I apologize now for being obnoxious on your feed). Then every Thursday, I’ll post the week’s 6 outfits. Since I’m doing 6 outfits at a time, it will take 5 weeks to wrap up the challenge!

Make sense? I hope so!

It was so hard to pick the 30 items. I have so many pieces that I absolutely love in my Fall/Winter wardrobe. So narrowing it down to just 30 was a challenge on its own.

I made the decision not include shoes and handbags in the 30 items count. First, I just enjoy all my shoes for Fall. I can’t help it. There are also a few I’m determined to use more!

Second, I decided to challenge myself to use more of my handbags. I have a really nice collection of handbags, but hate that I’m really just using diaper bags all the time. To be honest, I don’t really need to carry a diaper bag around every day. So I’ve made a challenge in a challenge 🙂 Sneaky.

Alright! On to what I’ve picked for the 30 items! You’ll see a few familiar pieces from the last challenge as well as the items I showed in my Fall Haul!

Shirts (Short Sleeves) from L to R

Long Sleeved Tops & Cardigans from L to R

Dresses & Bottoms from L to R

Outerwear & Scarves from L to R

So what do you think? I’ve already got some new outfit ideas floating around in my head.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram or Twitter to keep track of the daily outfits. And check back here on Thursdays for the weekly recap!

You might be interested in these other posts:
30 Outfits in 30 Days | Summer Edition
Wardrobe Refresh I & II
Fall Haul | Clothes + Makeup + Tea

Linked up with Style Sessions & What I Wore

Fall Haul | Clothes + Makeup + Tea

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 30, 2014 // 8 Comments

I’ve been buying a little bit here, a little bit there, in preparation for Fall weather and the return of the 30 Outfits in 30 Days Challenge!

30×30 kicks off on Thursday (excited squeel here!) but to give you a little peek into what will be included in the 30 items, I put together a little haul video of all my favorite new Fall items.

Items Mentioned:

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Rooibos Tea
J Crew Factory Gigi Pants in Black (on sale!)
J Crew Factory Grey Tee Peter Pan Collar (on Clearance! Or similar)
Boden Sparkle Collar Breton
Maison Jules Lace Stripped Tee (On clearance)
Old Navy Polka dot Shirt
Boden Olivia Top
Old Navy Utility Jacket
Purple Peridot Pearl Cluster Necklace
Revlon Color Stay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey 001
Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in 127

Menu Monday!

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 29, 2014 // 4 Comments

Hey y’all!

Um…. October starts this week…

WHAT?? When did that happen? Before I know it, Fall will be all over.

I decided this week’s menu needed to have some cozy Fall foods, like risotto (which we should have had yesterday, but Trader Joe’s didn’t have arborio rice – shocking!) and ravioli. We’re also trying out a new soup on Friday night! I’m a sucker for a good brothy soup, and this will hopefully fit the bill. I also have an itch to make some bread, but don’t hold your breath.

Anyway, enough chatting! Let’s get on to the menu for this week! For more information on how I menu plan, look at this.

Monday:
Baked Butternut Squash Risotto

Tuesday:
Tex Mex Omelet with Roasted Tomato Salsa

Wednesday:
A salad of some sort… maybe a chopped southwest salad?
I feel like this week’s menu just needs a big gigantic salad…

Thursday:
Pumpkin Ravioli from Trader Joe’s with a Walnut Brown Butter Sauce & Balsamic Drizzle

Friday:
Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Saturday:
Tacos

Sunday:
Sage Polenta Bowls with Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Wild Mushrooms

Need ideas for dinner? Follow my Pinterest board – it’s where I save all of my dinner ideas!

http://www.pinterest.com/ktcupoftea/good-eats-dinner/

Linking up at Menu Monday with Org Junkie

Hey Hey! It’s Friday!

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 26, 2014 // 16 Comments

Hello hello! Hope you all had a glorious week!

Onward!

1. I am just 1 week from kicking off the Fall version of the 30 Outfits in 30 Days Challenge! I’ve been purging/cleaning out summer clothes and getting things put away, but more on that. I’m also planning next week on a new Fall clothes haul video, so stay tuned. If you’d like to catch up with my last challenge, start with this post. But the main launching event is on Thursday! (FYI, can you believe next week starts October???)

2. Fall! Fall! Fall! (Getting tired of hearing about it yet?) I got into a serious Fall mood this week. The weather here in NC was just so nice and cool, that I couldn’t help it. But Monday I went to Trader Joe’s and snagged some yummy pumpkin treats.

3. And because the weather was so nice, we all snuck out for a hike at the Eno, right by our house.

4. Yesterday I went over to the Durham Life & Science Museum with a friend and her little boy. We had such a lovely time! And since most of that museum is actually outdoors, we got to enjoy the crisp fall air some more.

5. I’m excited for the weekend. We don’t have much planned this weekend, so hoping it will be nice and relaxing. And maybe I can catch up on some magazine reading and do more planning for Elizabeth’s 1 year birthday party.

Let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments below! Have a great weekend!

Linking up with:

Travel Makeup | What’s in my Makeup Bag

by Katie @ Cup of Tea // September 25, 2014 // 8 Comments

I’ve mentioned MANY times that I am no expert in makeup, or makeup application.

I can barely get the crease of my eye looking right with eye shadow. I always end up looking like a bad boxer.

BUT I do know a few things about travel, packing lightly, etc. I am sure I’ve mentioned that before I quit my job to stay home full time, I worked at a job that had me, on average, flying to various parts of the country on business trips at least twice a month. I am really good at packing a carry on that has every thing I need!

Since we’ve just returned from a family trip to Colorado, I thought I would show you what products made the cut in the makeup bag!

(This is real life folks, dirty containers and brushes).

*None of the links below are affiliate links. I’m just not that cool. Just saying.*

This little bag from Forever 21 managed to hold all of my makeup items in one pouch (except the bronzer/blush compact – so close!). Everything I need to get my makeup on is all conveniently in one place. I may have a few more tinted lip balms in my diaper bag, but this is it!

Here are my face/base basics. (I could have cleaned off the foundation lid, but meh. Attention to detail, Katie!)

Foundation Brush | BB Cream in Light | Foundation in N1-2 | Concealor in Warm Ivory | Corrector in Light Bisque

To start, I love this BB Cream! I could easily use it as a stand alone foundation, but I prefer a little more coverage. This Light color is a touch to tan for me, so next time I’ll pick up the Fair, but I like to use this as a primer before my foundation.

Speaking of foundation, I’ve talked about my love for this foundation before. It’s so dewy on the skin, and is a great medium coverage. This N1-2 color I have is perfect for my skin tone.

I’ve never been a huge brush girl, but I recently started using this e.l.f. powder brush to blend in my foundation. It’s cheep and gets the job done.

Finally, the Bobbi Brown corrector and concealer are two products that I’ve used forever. Seriously. Since I was a Sophomore in college. In 2003. *shudder* But my dark circles are no joke. That’s where the corrector comes in. It does a great job of covering up the dark patches. The concealer is also fab. I don’t typically get blemishes, so can’t really speak to how it covers those up, BUT the duo does a great job camouflaging dark circles.

Powder Brush | Blush/Bronzer Duo | Cream Blush in Sheer Berry | Brow Pencil in Dark Brown | Brow Gel

So I forgot to include my brow products, but I love the Milani Easy Brow pencil and the Sonia Kashuk clear brow gel. They both get the job done. I can also get away with using just one of the products, if I had to. But I’ve gushed about the Milani brow pencil before in my July Favorites post.

On to the rest of the face! Let talk the brush first. I’ve had this Bobbi Brown face blender brush for over 10 years! Talk about investing in quality! The sucker doesn’t shed, it’s so soft, and the bristles are the perfect shape for my face. Love love love!

For travel, I like a blush/bronzer duo, and this one from Neutrogena is really pretty on me. In particular, that blush color is just right. They both have a touch of shimmer, which is fine by me.

That tiny cheek stain stick is from Tarte. I received it as a free gift at Sephora, and thought it was the perfect time to give it a try. I just used the e.l.f. brush to blend it in. The cheek stain took up very little room in my makeup bag. Love trial sizes of luxury brands! Try before you buy!

Mascara | Eye Shadow in Champagne | Eye Liner in Espresso | Tinted Lip Balm in Honey | Perfume Rollerball

Finally, the eyes and lips. I already mentioned I’m eye shadow challenged, so when I travel I stick to just one neutral, everyday shade. I recently picked up the eye shadow in a champagne shimmer color at it’s so pretty!

I also keep it fairly simple when it comes to eye liner. I just use a pencil in brown (no preference on brand!). I feel like this summer was my chance to try bright lip colors. Maybe this Fall is branching out to liquid liner?

I’m not typically married to one particular mascara. I float around, trying different ones each time. I really like this Maybelline one, though. The brush is really great. The formula is just fine. Nothing too glorious there. I think this one is all about the brush! Really fine, tiny bristles to grab even the finest of lashes.

And then, lip products. I’ve always been a tinted lip balm girl. This Revlon lip stain/balm was decently moisturizing, but the color was pretty! Very fall-like. Plus, it was buildable. The more swipes I took, the deeper the color got. It started off as a “My lips, only better”, then built up to a nice, darker shade.

That little Coach Poppy roller ball is the best thing ever for travel! It’s really compact, and applying the perfume just feels glamorous!

That’s it! A full face look that fits in one tiny make up bag!

I could go on and on with tips for actually packing a carry on suitcase, how to strategize about the little ziplock bag to go through security, and so on! I feel like it’s the one thing I can actually say I’m an “expert” in 🙂 If you’re interested in anything like that, drop a line in the comments below and let me know what you’d like to know about!!

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