Field Trip and the Hoarder Project

My sister in her natural state--texting. Me in my natural state--goofing off.


I look Cullen-pale next to her!


A quick bite to eat--It's Atlanta tradition.


This was the part where a car was coming our way. Watch out!


Outfit details:
J. Crew Frances Stripe Ruffled  Tuxedo shirt
Forever 21 dots skirt (similar here and here)
Gap tomato red leather ballet flats
Amanda Gary handmade leather bag
The Look for Less: (shirt), (skirt), (flats).

Since my sisters are concerned for my well being and both love to help me out so much, I invited them downtown to help me go apartment hunting. Since all of the appointments I made for viewings were spread out across the entire city, we made a whole day of it!

Ultimately, it felt like a big field trip kind of day (especially with the IKEA excursion), so of course we had lunch at the Varsity. While not tailored for the most gourmandise of tastes, it is an Atlanta institution. And well, I love the onion rings.

And recognize my shirt? Well, you probably don't as I've never worn it. I found it stashed in a consignment store earlier in the spring and was absolutely thrilled. It was brand new and from the current J. Crew offerings and all of a sudden within my financial reach at $20. And then it sat in my closet for several weeks until this recent rediscovery of its existence.

Which leads me into my next endeavor. As I've mentioned, I'm moving soon. If you follow my Twitter or have ever seen the full extent of my closet, you know how expansive it is and how close I am to becoming a Gold Star Member of the Hoarding Society.

That's where this rack comes into place. Closet space is limited in my current home, and it's impossible to tell what I've really got shoved in there without some kind of order. This extra garment rack serves as my limbo rack--the items undergoing the "audition process" as Jacquelyn would say. New items go directly onto this rack and older items I haven't worn in a while make their way back to this rack so I can decide if they should stay or if they should go.

Having a whole rack of clothing like this makes me feel itchy and anxious that so many items are in flux! My goal and project for the month of July is to clear off this rack, Clean Sweep style. Things unworn will either go back to the store(s), be sold, or get donated at the end of this month.

This is working up to my ultimate goal of having a closet full of things I L-O-V-E love instead of having an overflowing rack of maybes and that one skirt I wear every other day. Please chime in with your "yeas" and "nays" during this process, since shopping in my closet can end in mixed results!

Here are some new things I desperately need to summerize during this process since I love them so:

I found a few Lift Off Jackets left at my local store during inventory.
I immediately grabbed the last one in my size and added it to my discount pile.

Lost Time skirt. Similar story with this skirt. It immediately struck me as classic Anthro and I ran to the fitting room with it thinking mineminemine. It's been a challenge to style so far, though and is getting lonely.

And even worse are the things I am literally hoarding. These oldies but goodies still have tags on them! I'm in that mentality that I don't want to use them because I don't want to spoil/ruin them. Which, if I learned anything from the Hoarder documentary series, is a red flag. I would like to use and enjoy all of my good stuff.

Jacqueline dress, version two with grosgrain ribbon. I wear the yellow, but despite my penchant for navy dresses, never have pulled out this version.

And the infamous Bold Boutonniere dress. I spotted this the day Anthropologie added it to their website. I was on vacation out of the country at the time, and thought it would be silly to order it right away since I was still working for the brand. The day it came in I took it home and have enjoyed pulling it out, looking at it, and putting it back. It's decision time for this dress.

I've got my work cut out for me. How does everyone else audition and sort their belongings? I find myself wishing I had a really bossy and opinionated friend around to be strict with me and this rack...