Weekly Recap #43, 2021

What a whirlwind of a week! I was so nervous before starting senior year that it would be disappointing without so many of my friends who graduated in the spring, but it’s safe to say that this school year has been an absolute blast so far. One of my best friends from high school visited me in Denver this weekend, so we were running around like madmen trying to squeeze in as much as possible in the two and a half days she was here. I feel like I need a weekend for the weekend! My only complaint is that my outfits were really lackluster this week—I should’ve stepped up my fall style game.

Monday, October 18

I spent the day in my three classes, working on an Octoly product campaign, and knocking out homework in preparation for my friend’s visit. I was running late this morning (what’s new?) so I just threw on this plaid dress. Clearly, I should have washed my booties after last weekend’s excursion at the pumpkin patch.

Brown Plaid Dress: JCPenney, $30, last worn here | Beige Socks: DSW, $5, last worn here | Brown Booties: DSW, $35, last worn here

Tuesday, October 19

I worked on homework all morning before swimming laps at the gym. I embarrassingly have not been to the school’s gym since pre-Covid—I prefer outdoor exercises anyway, and all of the pandemic-related rules made it hard to find the motivation to go. However, it felt so good to get back in there and swim some laps! Afterwards, I grabbed lunch with a girlfriend and discussed all things “Squid Game” and Halloween costumes. I went to wine class in the afternoon, followed by a business casual three-course dinner cooked for us by the hospitality school’s students. It was such a fun evening with good food and lots of wine, but I can’t remember the last I overrate so much! I could barely walk home. I also always find it amusing to see what other people constitute as business casual—one guy was wearing a full-on suit while some girl was wearing a tube top. I thought my tweed collar dress, complete with an old-fashioned collar brooch, was the perfect balance for the event.

Black Tweed Dress: Macy’s, $30, last worn here | Collar Brooch: Etsy | White Mules: Rebecca Minkoff via Saks Off Fifth, $70, last worn here

. . . . .

Wednesday, October 20

I woke up super early this morning to clean my apartment, go to the grocery store, and get gas all before my 10 am. I am ashamed to admit that I wore a t-shirt and running shorts to school for the first time in my life… and it felt so wrong. After my second class of the day, I rushed to the airport to pick up my friend and then skipped my third class (naughty naughty!). We spent the night cooking dinner, catching up, and testing out our trivia skills at a nearby dive bar, where we, unfortunately, got dead last. I forgot to snap a pic of my outfit at the bar, but it was uninspired to say the least! Just a purple sparkly sweater and jeans.

Thursday, October 21

We took the light rail downtown this morning to get brunch at Union Station, wander through 16^th Street Mall, and check out Colorado’s capitol building. In the afternoon, my friend somehow managed to snag us free tickets to the Denver Botanic Gardens, which was spruced up with such a fun array of Halloween decorations. My professor let her come to my wine-tasting class today, and we ended up walking away with some of the leftover wine! Guess it pays to stay and chat with the professor afterwards. We had leftovers for dinner before hitting up a casual bar within walking distance from campus and then watching The Shining.

I’ve worn a variation of this outfit before, but something about it was not working for me today—these jeans look unflatteringly tight in this pic. The outfit seems kind of bulky overall, but it was so chilly this morning as we walked around town that I needed all the layers!

Grey Cropped Sweater: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Maroon Moto Jacket: BB Dakota via local boutique, $25, last worn here | Tuxedo Stripe Jeans: Bohme, $40, last worn here | Black Booties: DSW, $45, last worn here | Plaid Scarf: Loft, $40, last worn here | Beanie: Love Your Melon, $30, last worn here

Friday, October 22

After recovering from our late night, the two of us drove an hour and a half to Estes Park, which I have been wanting to visit for the last few years. It was a beautiful day and the drive, with all the fall colors, was absolutely gorgeous! We started by wandering the grounds of the Stanley Hotel, which is the place that inspired Stephen King to write The Shining, before exploring the shops downtown. After the drive home, we got ice cream at my favorite spot near campus and hit up a new-to-me thrift store in the area. We changed into saucier outfits (I wish I had snapped a pic!) before heading to the River North Arts District to get some drinks.

Today’s outfit seemed cute in my head, but I feel like it was kind of boring on—I’m not sure the oversized look of this hand-me-down sweater is very flattering, no matter how much I love the rust color.

Rust-Colored Sweater: Hand-me-down, last worn here | Black Moto Jacket: Blank NYC via local boutique, $25, last worn here | Skinny Jeans: Francesca’s, $20, last worn here | Black Booties: DSW, $45, last worn here

Saturday, October 23

After another late night, my friend and I woke up before 6 so I could take her to the airport to catch her flight. I was so grateful to have her here and to share the apartment I love so much! I hurried back to campus for a quick nap before attending my last Saturday class. For those of you who are new, my entrepreneurship minor requires several one-day, one-credit courses on Saturdays. After four years of giving up my weekends, this was finally my last class! I just have to submit the final project before finally completing my minor.

I think this outfit is cute in theory, but it seems too bulky to me—the corduroy skirt is already thick enough without my heavy sweater tucked into it. I also should’ve scrunched the socks down, instead of over the knee, so that only a little white was peeping through the boots. I think that would look less awkward than the stark stripe of white across my legs.

Later in the evening, I went with a friend to a Harry Potter themed party! I thought I was a Harry Potter fan, but boy, the attendees were at a whole new level. It was so fun to hear everyone discuss which book/movie was their favorite and argue their positions about various issues in the wizarding world… nerdy, I know. The decorations and amount of detail put into this party were unreal. We played HP-themed games and sipped butter beer all night long! I wish I had taken a pic of my outfit, but I wore a green striped tie, a short-sleeved white button down, the same black skirt from earlier in the day, and knee-high Slytherin socks, complete with green eyeliner. Sometimes people are shocked to hear I’m a Slytherin, but ‘tis true.

Maroon Embroidered Sweater: Francesca’s, $45, last worn here | Black Corduroy Skirt: Francesca’s, $35, last worn here | White Knee Socks: Gift, $15, last worn here | Black Knee Boots: Clarks via DSW, $100, last worn here

. . . . .

I wish today could have been a day of rest after such a fun and busy week, but I spent the afternoon catching up on homework and cleaning my extremely messy apartment instead. I can tell this upcoming week is going to be another long one—just from residual tiredness from the festivities of the past few days—but I’m really looking forward to Halloween next weekend. Are you planning to wear a costume??

As always, thanks for stopping by the blog today, and I hope you had a great week.

 

Miles of smiles,
Grace