January 2018 – Page 2 – L'ensemble du jour

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Basic Invite Stationery Review

Published on January 21, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

A long time ago, back before I had my own laptop (and actually, probably before my family even had a home computer – just my mother’s work laptop that she would bring home on the weekends sometimes) I was really into writing.

Okay, that was a lousy way of wording things – I’m still into writing, it’s not like that’s changed. I mean, what am I doing here other than writing (though maybe not very well, as evidenced by that last confusing sentence)? But back then, I was into…handwriting? Or rather, writing things out by hand?

I don’t know if this is true for kids today, since it seems like they’ve all got their first iPhone by 6 and are on Instagram by 7, but way back when (and by that I mean like 10 years ago), typing was a rarity for an elementary school kid. I remember having to take typing lessons in the computer lab to learn how to position my fingers correctly and get my WPM up, but that was about all we ever did. There were few typed assignments, and we rarely had computers in class.

Handwriting was the only kind of writing a kid did – and I remember really loving it. I think it probably had to do with that it was a relatively novel thing to me, having only learned to write at all a few grades ago, after all. I had really lousy handwriting – my third grade teacher, if I remember, rated it as “poor” once on a report card – but that didn’t matter to me.

I like to think my handwriting’s gotten better since then, even though I don’t do it as much as I used to, especially since I’ve entered college and just about all my assignments are typed in my computer.

But I want to do it more. Noticing this recent decrease in handwritten writing, I decided to order some cute stationery samples – some thank you cards, stickers, notes – to test the waters and see if maybe by getting supplies, I’ll convince myself to write more. I figure if my writing supplies are nice, maybe I’ll be more motivated to write, you know?

The website I went through was called Basic Invite, and I must say, I’m very satisfied with my experience. What’s great about this particular brand was the sheer about of options there were – options for different kids of stationery (wedding invitations, children’s party invitations, thank you cards, etc.), different kinds of paper, colors, you name it. Along with the vast customization features that allow you to create invitations that are perfectly tailored to your needs, I was equally impressed with the service I was provided. I was emailed when my order was completed, when my samples were queued for print, when they were being shipped out, and when they had a delivery date estimation for me. Everything arrived neatly packaged, undamaged, and ready for use.

Will these new supplies actually encourage me to write more? We’ll see. One of my professors has already specifically stated she doesn’t allow computers to be used in her class, so that’ll be a good motivation for me to work on that. I’ll have all my different colored pens, my stickers, my stationery – I’ll be so organized I may even forget to pay attention to the lecture.

Basic Invite is currently running a promotion for 15% off with coupon code 15FF51, so I would definitely recommend giving them a look if you’ve got any stationery needs. Or, if you’re like me, and you don’t really know if you have stationery needs or not, but want to order some samples to test them out, Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers the ability to order a printed sample of their actual invitation so they can see exactly how it will print as well as the paper quality before placing their final order!

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one with more updates on my life here at Notre Dame. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Disclaimer: This post includes products that were sent complimentary to review and affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

January 17, 2018 – Conclusions (OOTD #204)

Published on January 20, 2018January 20, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I think this jacket is it – the last new article of clothing I bought in London that I hadn’t yet worn.

As of January 17, 2018, I have worn every single thing I bought over my summer 2017 London trip – I guess, except for a vintage riding hat I bought in Shoreditch, but I don’t think that counts.

I would say this is a bittersweet, sentimental moment, but it’s really not – I mostly just find it weird that I bought this jacket in the summer and didn’t find a way to wear it until six months later. It’s not like it’s a winter coat that just wasn’t seasonal to wear until now; it’s literally just a light jacket I honestly could have worn a day after I bought it in July in a Zara on Oxford Street.

Why did I wait so long to wear it? I’m not entirely sure. It was probably one of my favorite purchases in London, so I guess I was hoping to save it for something special? A certain kind of spectacular outfit that would deserve to have my finest piece from a great trip as a part of it, you know?

But then there were no spectacular outfits that deserved to have my finest piece from a great trip as a part of it, at least, none that I could come up with. The proportions were always just a little off, or I didn’t feel like the outfit did the jacket justice. So I waited.

And then I got tired of waiting. I woke up on Wednesday morning, the second day of class for the second semester of my freshman year, and I realized it was dumb to keep waiting for some kind of magical moment to prompt me to wear this jacket I liked. So I finally wore it with a perfectly average (average for me, at least) outfit, and brought my London fashion story to a close.

I think there’s a moral in there, but I don’t feel like figuring it out/putting it into words. Instead, I’ll leave you with this fun fact: I’m actually wearing the Zara jacket here with the exact same shirt I as the one I was wearing when I bought it and fell in love with it, meaning I’d known the right piece to pair it with all along. Haha.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one. Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: Zara

Shirt: Free People

Skirt: Abercrombie

January 16, 2018 – Golden Hour at the Golden Dome (OOTD #203)

Published on January 19, 2018August 14, 2019 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Okay, so I’m technically not standing at or near the Dome here, but whatever.

As much as I appreciate the Dome for being iconic and a huge staple of campus and what the outside world imagines when they think of us, it’s kind-of weird taking photos in front of it, you know? It makes you look like an outsider to your own school, even though I’m definitely a student here and I literal pass Main Building (super creative name, right? Our big famous building with the iconic golden dome atop it is literally just called “main building”) every day.

Instead, I take photos in front of boring locations like South Dining Hall or my own dorm building because I literally have no where else to go and it’s totally not at all awkward when people pass me posing in the middle of the sidewalk on their way to get food.

This lighting though? Amirite?

Last semester, I found myself usually forcing very kindly requesting that my friends take pictures for this blog after lunch every day, with some exceptions when I had to beg someone to take time out of their probably busy schedule and meet me somewhere to do them. This semester, or at least this semester as it’s played out so far, has turned out that I’m meeting people for dinner more often than lunch, meaning my photos have got to be done before sunset.

Today’s shots were taken pretty much literally at sunset – golden hour. It’s a little more orangey than I typically go for, but beggars can’t be choosers, so I take whatever I can get. Regardless, I do rather like the peachy, glow effect. It reminds me of the warmth of the sun that I haven’t seen since I left Kentucky and came back to the frozen cornfields of Indiana.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! Don’t forget to check me out on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr! For business inquiries, shoot me an email at lensembledujour@gmail.com!

Jacket: vintage

Sweater: thrifted

Jeans: Abercrombie

Scarf: the LOFT

January 15, 2018 – Amelia Earhart, The Sequel (OOTD #202)

Published on January 18, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

So this was a thing that happened.

A little context: my mother has a friend who’s a big Notre Dame basketball fan, actually so much so that he used to play for the team. He was headed up to Notre Dame over the weekend for the game Saturday against North Carolina, and he offered me a ride back with him.

What was fun, though, was that he offered me a ride in an airplane. And not just a normal commercial plane – a private one, flown by his friend, a pilot.

Due to the snowy weather, our basketball fan friend decided not to go on Saturday, but he still very kindly offered to allow me to fly with his pilot friend up to South Bend on Sunday, just in time for the start of classes.

I’ve never flown in a private plane before – though I expect not many people can say they have. I did once get upgraded to first class on an international flight to London, but that’s as lavish as it’s ever gotten. I’m usually just lucky if I don’t get called out of like at the TSA security check for something stupid like having my phone in my pocket.

In many ways, the private flying experience was much nicer than flying commercially – no lines to wait in, no security checks, no accidentally going over the weight limit for your bags and having to frantically repack them in the airport. It also got me there much faster, as I didn’t have to fly to Chicago and then catch the several hour-long bus back to school. Going directly, I got from home in Lexington to campus in South Bend in like two hours.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it was super comfortable though. It was a very small plane, and with my parents and bags along for the ride, it ended up being pretty cramped. There was also no in-flight entertainment, bags of peanuts, or WiFi – it was much like a car ride.

We did get some really lovely views of the passing landscapes. It was all white and snowy, and at some point (though I don’t really know when), it transitioned from the hills of Kentucky to the flat farmlands of Indiana, which was interesting to see.

It was definitely bittersweet when we landed in South Bend because I expect I’ll never be able to afford to fly privately again.

Unless, of course, I somehow wind up fabulously rich and famous – which I suppose could still happen. 19 years and it hasn’t yet, but I still have time. I think?

Jacket: Altar’d State

Leggings: The LOFT

Boots: LL Bean

January 13, 2018 – Winter Shorts Part 2 (OOTD #201)

Published on January 17, 2018 by lensembledujour6 Comments

If you’re looking for context behind the meaning of today’s blog title, look no further than this blog from earlier this week.

However, unlike the situation from earlier this week, when I found myself in 65 degree temperatures in mid-January, making shorts an unusually rational choice, this outfit features shorts for no particular reason other than I couldn’t find anything else I wanted to wear with this sweater. Also, it was like, 10 degrees and snowing, so you can rest assured that I’m still as irrational about my fashion choices as ever.

I did opt for the tights-under-shorts look in a (mostly vain) attempt to warm up my legs a little. It might have also had something to do with the fact that I wanted to get more wear out of the patterned black tights I had worn the day before… but like I said – it was vain.

(Peep my dog)

The decision to layer a collared shirt underneath the lace-up sweater actually came from an LL Bean catalogue I saw my dad flipping through. Normally, I’m more one to get my fashion inspiration from Pinterest and Tumblr rather than print sources, but that’s a preference rather than a rule. I’ll take new ideas from whatever I can get – I don’t believe there’s any intellectual elitism in inspiration, only in how you explain the inspiration.

Anyway, I saw some model in the catalogue wearing a collared shirt underneath a lace-up sweater, and I thought to myself that I had to give it a shot. And that’s how we got here with me in a collared shirt and lace-up sweater with tights and shorts on a snowy, 10 degree Kentucky day: one part practicality, one part vanity, and one part inspiration.

Oh, and one part just frantically trying to pick out an outfit in time to take the dog for a walk with my dad before he got irritated and missed much of the Eagles game. Does that fit into the practicality category?

Sweater: American Eagle

Shirt: Hollister

Shorts: Hollister

January 12, 2018 – Snow Place Like Home (OOTD #200)

Published on January 16, 2018 by lensembledujour4 Comments

It finally happened! We got snow in Kentucky!

It didn’t really do much for me personally, as I headed back to school at Notre Dame a few days after it fell, and if there’s anything we in Northern Indiana are accustomed to, it’s snow. That and corn fields.

Kentuckians, on the other hand, are significantly less familiar with that white fluffy stuff that falls from the sky – in fact, I’m pretty sure we see more falling cotton from the cottonwood trees than snowflakes.

Winter has always been my favorite season in Kentucky because it’s fairly mild. Not so mild that it doesn’t feel like winter at all, like what you get in warm places like Florida or California, but not so bitter cold that you get tired of it quickly. Snow in Kentucky is a pleasant rarity – the sort of thing that you only get a few times a year so it never outstays its welcome.

Though, once, my sophomore of high school, it rather did outstay its welcome, and I wound up staying home from school for weeks. I think I only went to classes a few days out of the entire month of February (which is, interestingly, why February is now my favorite month). That’s fairly unusual though; Kentucky snow is usually either only a slight dusting, so little that it barely impacts anything, or when it is more substantial, it’s gone within a few days.

Life at Snotre Dame has yet to kill my love of snow and winter weather – though it was getting a touch old by the end of last semester. I have months to go before the start of spring, so I hope that my favoritism for the cold stays around. If it doesn’t, I don’t see how I’m going to manage to stay around campus.

Jacket: American Eagle

Sweater: Altar’d State

Skirt: Forever21

Shoes: Target

Review: Alya Skin Australian Pink Clay Mask

Published on January 15, 2018 by lensembledujour6 Comments

It’s been a long day.

And by a long day, I mean it’s actually been quite a nice day – it’s just had a lot of things to do in it. I started out frantically finishing up packing to head back to school before flying from Lexington to South Bend – in a private plane I might add, but more on that when I post the OOTD from today later this week – and finally making it back to school by early evening in time to get dinner with my friends and then unpack.

It’s days like these when I like to pamper myself a little – you know, to reward myself on a job well done of not messing anything up horrifically and actually getting a fair amount of productive “adulting” in. Those days don’t come by often.

Recently, my friends at Alya Skin sent me their Australian Pink Clay Mask to review, so it seemed like the perfect time to crack it open and give it a shot.

The first thing I noticed about the product was its nice packaging – a simple matte pink box, inside of which was a simple pink jar. Was it anything spectacular or artistic? No, but it was very fashionable, like something I wouldn’t mind having sat out on my bathroom counter. Minimalistic.

The mask itself was very standard mud mask fair – apply to cleansed skin, let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse off with a damp cloth.

Alya Skin claims that their Australian Pink Clay mask helps with removing pigmentation clusters from skin’s surface, stimulating regeneration of skin cells, and drawing out and removing pollutants and toxins from skin. Did it live up to those claims?

(After application: no face makeup, some eye makeup)

To be honest, I’m not sure. I can say, though, that after one use, my skin felt smoother, softer, and more refreshed. I’m no facial mask expert – I’m don’t understand the chemistry of skin or the science behind skin care – but I can speak to my own experience, and my experience was positive. I liked the rose scent, I liked the pearly pink texture, I liked that the product is vegan, gluten free, and not tested on animals.

(After application: full makeup)

In the end, I got everything I was looking for out of the Alya Skin Australian Pink Clay mask – some relaxation, a calming scent, and the satisfaction of knowing I was doing something good for my skin after having fallen asleep with makeup on a few too many times over winter break. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a simple way to pamper themselves every now and then, and to anyone looking for a quick way to even out their skin’s texture and tone.

You can check out the product over on Alya Skin’s website here, if it looks like something you might be interested in purchasing. Use code lensembledujour for 10% off at checkout!

Disclaimer: This post includes products that were sent complimentary to review and affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

January 11, 2018 – Looks like Kentucky (OOTD #199)

Published on January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

When you think of Kentucky, what do you think of?

Probably some mix of horse farms, hillbillies, bourbon, coal mines, and bluegrass bands. Maybe throw in some University of Kentucky/Louisville sports for good measure?

I wouldn’t disagree with any of those descriptions, but for me, Kentucky is best represented by its small towns, which are usually less exciting than the stereotypical image- coal-mining hillbillies riding horses and drinking bourbon while bluegrass music plays in the background – would suggest.

Admittedly, I’ve never lived in a small Kentucky town, so I can’t really speak to their character, but I do like to visit them sometimes for little day trips to get out of the city. There’s usually not a lot to do, maybe some antique shops, a café, and if you’re lucky, historical site of some famous settlement or battleground or birthplace.

A few days before I went back to school, my parents and I went out to Harrodsburg and Danville KY to pass an afternoon. Like most small towns, there wasn’t a lot to do in either place, but that was sort of the point.

In Harrodsburg, there was an old pioneer settlement that had been converted into a park that we visited for an hour or two and where I did my photos. Being winter, it was pretty empty. The most exciting bit was honestly a cat that was roaming around and some friendly sheep that let us pet them.

Second most exciting was probably this cool old tree just outside the park. If I’d been wearing something other than a mini pencil skirt (which, interestingly, was ruined in the wash immediately after this trip) I would’ve climbed it more extensively because it was honestly one of the most perfect climbing-type trees I’d ever seen – knotty, twisty, and with thick branches in all the right places.

In Danville, about 20 minutes drive from Harrodsburg, we saw an old dollhouse museum, an antique shop, and got dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I don’t have any pictures from that part of the trip because the sun had started going down and the lighting made it so it wasn’t worth the effort, but it was more of the same: old buildings and old trees and old back roads.

I am not and will likely never be a country girl, but every once in a while, it’s nice.

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Compose Yourself

Published on January 13, 2018January 13, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Have I ranted about how difficult flatlays are yet?

What? I have? And they’re not actually that difficult, considering all it takes is for me to gather up a bunch of knick knacks and then photograph them in a pretty composition on top of a white bedsheet, so I should probably stop complaining about stupid, meaningless problems?

Sometimes I feel like these blog posts, especially on days when I haven’t really done anything and thus have nothing to talk about, are just me coming up with a problem to rant about for a few paragraphs before pointing out to myself that that’s not really much of a problem.

That’s kind of the downside of doing blog posts every day isn’t it? There are only so many mildly interesting things for me to talk about.

As mildly interesting things go, I’m headed back to school tomorrow, and I’m actually kind of excited. All through high school, returning to school after winter break just meant dread and angst, but after having a month off, I think it’ll be good to go back to having work to do.

I mean, I’ll be complaining about all the work I have to do within a few days of being back, but for now, I’m optimistic!

January 10, 2018 – Shorts In The Winter (OOTD #198)

Published on January 12, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

Well, I was praying for warmer days, and we sure got them.

Kentucky is the strangest state I’ve ever seen in terms of winter weather – you can have one day that’s 15 degrees and freezing, and the following day will be sunny with a high of 75. It’s not so much the 15 degree cold or 75 degree heat that bothers me – it’s that they follow one after the other. It just doesn’t feel natural, you know?

If you’d told me in mid-December when I was still at Notre Dame with its sub-zero temperatures and two feet of snow that I was going to be standing in front of my garage door in on January 10th in denim shorts, there’s no way I would have believed you.

Here I am though – shorts in January. The ice caps are melting and the polar bears are dying, but at least I got a little more sun than usual in a winter month.

I’m probably going to need to look back on these photos in a few weeks when I’m back in the frozen, sunless cornfields of Northern Indiana to motivate myself to make it through to the spring. Even my darkness-loving, cold-weather butt can get tired of the Midwest winter. For as weird as they are, the rare warm winter day we get in Kentucky can actually be a welcome reprieve from the cold.