2018 – Page 16 – L'ensemble du jour

February 1, 2018 – For The Love of February (OOTD #216)

Published on February 6, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Did you know? February is actually my favorite month.

I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of it – it’s normally pretty grey, cold, and in some parts, snowy. There’s also not really much to get excited for, save for maybe Valentine’s Day, which, as holidays go, is about as applicable to me as as Hanukkah. It’s nice to observe from a cultural standpoint, but I don’t necessarily participate in the festivities, you know?

I think it has to do with the way that February has always been a month that’s heavy in snow days – not that I get any of those now now that I’m in the Chicago area, where several feet of snow is just an average Tuesday. I wonder what it would take for Notre Dame to cancel classes for the weather? I feel like even in the event of a blizzard, they’d have us trudging through the ice and winds unless Mary herself descended from the heavens and told Father Jenkins to let us stay in.

I heard a horror story once of some time in the early 2000’s when, upon students’ return from winter break, the windchill was 40 below on campus. If that happens while I’m here, I think I may have to reconsider the winter’s status as my favorite season.

As for February though, I feel like no one else tends to really favor (or even like) it, so it’s in need of some love. Plus, by proclaiming it as my favorite month, I get to tell people about the time my junior year of high school that I only went to school for one week the entire month of February because Kentucky didn’t know how to handle #snowpocalypse2016.

Notre Dame’s excessive snowfall hasn’t yet hampered my love of the stuff, though. It helps that I swear it actually makes things feel warmer here. And when it’s 0 degrees Fahrenheit when you wake up for your 9:30AM, you take anything you can that’ll act as a buffer to the horrific winds.

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 (thrifted)

jeans: American Eagle

top: Forever21

January 31, 2018 – Maroon Moron (OOTD #215)

Published on February 4, 2018 by lensembledujour2 Comments

I like maroon, and I personally consider myself to be a moron…so Maroon Moron? That works, right? It’s too bad I’m not a Mormon too. And that it’s not the morning. Then we could’ve had a truly alliterative title.

Okay, so maybe it’s not the cleverest blog title I’ve ever come up with. But I do this every day, so I’m kind of bound to have some misses every once in a while. It’s got to beat “petal to the metal,” which was so out there that no one even understood it.

I’m presently sitting in my dorm room’s common area watching the Super Bowl, which, presently, is going pretty well for the Eagles. I think it’s because I have my old McNabb jersey on. It’s a lucky charm that hasn’t failed me yet.

This is my first Super Bowl away from home, which if it weren’t for the Eagles playing, wouldn’t be a big deal. But seeing as the Eagles are the favorite team of my family, and seeing as my parents always put on a good Super Bowl party, and seeing as this is the first time I’ve ever actually seen them play in the Super Bowl, it’s a little more unfortunate. My dorm room’s common area is fine, and their store-bought chicken tenders were edible, but it’s nothing on my living room and my mother’s Hawaiian roll sandwiches.

I haven’t much gotten to see the commercials so far, as the people who are watching the game with me are pretty noisy, but the few I have seen have been pretty funny. I liked the one that had Morgan Freeman and Peter Dinklage rap battling each other. I don’t know what on earth the commercial was for, but the imagery at least was funny.

Welp, I think I ought to go back to watching the game. There’s a really vocal Patriots fan behind me who just groaned, so something must have happened good for us.

Fly, Eagles Fly!

Sweater: Abercrombie

Skirt: Forever21

Scarf: My mom’s closet (don’t tell)

Saturday Musings + Coffee – Go Iggles

Published on February 3, 2018February 3, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Actually, it’s tea. Blueberry pomegranate açaí tea, to be exact. I didn’t really feel like coffee today, but I knew I still needed some pictures with me and a mug for this post, so I made some tea instead.

These last few nights, I’ve been hard at work playing with my hair. You know how I was discussing getting tired of my new short, brown hair a few weeks back? That sensation never really left. It’s annoying to style, I have to put more effort into making my makeup and outfits look feminine, and it’s beginning to grow out, which in itself, is not problematic, as I want to get my hair long again, but it’s growing out in a kind-of awkward way.

So when Influenster offered me my first VoxBox with some Clairol hair color products to review, I jumped on the chance. A haircut likely won’t solve my woes, but perhaps a new, more exciting color than light brown will. Keep an eye out for a review of said products on this blog coming soon!

In other news, I’m getting temporarily kicked out of my dorm room tonight so one of my roommates can have some “friends over.” Normally, that might thoroughly annoy me, but seeing as I’ve spent pretty much all day cooped up in my room distractedly doing homework, it should actually be nice to be forced to go outside for a little. I’m thinking of headed to the haunted art building, Riley, to finish up my still life. Then, when my roommate’s party is over, I’ll come back and play with my hair some more.

In other other news, the Super Bowl is tomorrow! For the first time in my lifetime, my Philadelphia Eagles are actually playing, so I’m fairly excited. My dorm is having a watch party with typical game day food, which, while not as good as my mother’s Super Bowl party cooking, should still be a nice change from dining hall food. That’s part of the reason why I’ve been so eager to get my work done tonight rather than tomorrow – I want to give the television my full attention when the Eagles win their first Super Bowl!

Go Iggles!

January 30, 2018 – Art Student Aesthetic Squared (OOTD #214)

Published on February 2, 2018August 13, 2019 by lensembledujour5 Comments

On Tuesday, I found myself in something of a pickle – I couldn’t find a good opportunity for someone to take pictures for me.

It’s not so much that there weren’t people I could ask – I’m always surrounded by people, so in theory, I could always just ask a random stranger – but I never found myself in a good situation to get a friend to do them for me. My typical Tuesday lunch friend was too busy to meet with me, the people I ate dinner with went too late to get good lighting, and I didn’t really feel comfortable asking someone to go out of their way to help me, so I found myself at 8pm with no outfit photos.

In that case, I decided to take my photos myself. I took my phone, my watch, and a pencil case to prop my phone against, and headed to Riley, the creepy haunted art building.

I actually had some work to do on my still life for my Drawing class, so hangout out at Riley wasn’t just for this blog. When I arrived in the drawing studio, there were still some people there, which forced me to actually focus on my art for a few hours until the people finally left.

At last, once everyone was gone and I was alone in the room – around 10pm – I was able to set up my camera on top of a drawing table, and, using my watch’s remote photo-taking feature (a true lifesaver here) to take what I consider are some decent photos, given the circumstances. I even managed to get a few shots with the depth perception on.

What I love best about these shots is the giant artwork in the background. I actually have no idea what it’s supposed to mean, or what class it was for, but it’s not a doorway or a brick wall, which means it’s totally unique in comparison to what I usually get for my photos at this school. I get some street art vibes here, actually, which, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you’ll know if my favorite kind of background.

If I ever find myself in this pickle again, I’ll definitely swing by Riley again late at night to do my pictures. Maybe I’ll even manage to get the Riley ghost in one of my shots one of these nights!

Jacket: Evan Picone

Shirt: J. Crew

Sweater: Abercrombie (thrifted)

Pants: The LOFT

January 29, 2018 – Art Student Aesthetic (OOTD #213)

Published on February 1, 2018February 1, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

I guess I can finally consider myself an “art student.”

I never expected to be able to say that, actually – I thought for certain I was going to be done with art classes after high school.

Not done with art entirely, but certainly done with formal lessons in art a part of graded classes. I always figured I would continue it as a hobby on the side, but I was pretty burnt out by the end of high school of staying up late every night, struggling to compete the numerous art classes I was never able to take the time to develop as much as I would have liked to anyway.

But then it turned out that I missed it. I had hoped Notre Dame would at least have some sort of art club, but for whatever reason, we don’t. The visual arts don’t really have a very strong presence here, which I can kind of understand, given we’re not an art school, but they’re so nonexistent it’s a little bizarre.

They do have a very small art and design department, which, now that I’m attempting to minor in studio art, I suppose I’ve joined. I’m in a beginning drawing class right now, which, while not particularly creatively challenging, is still nice to break up some of my more writing-based academic courses.

So here’s my best attempt at embodying my newfound art student identity – plaid pants, baseball shirt, my “tattoo artist” jacket, and of course, my boyish pixie cut. It’s not the sort of look that would make it onto a “preppy fashion” Pinterest board, but I think it’s interesting nonetheless.

Shirt: Zumiez

Jacket: Vintage (thrifted)

Pants: The LOFT

January 27, 2018 – All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go (OOTD #212)

Published on January 31, 2018January 31, 2018 by lensembledujour3 Comments

You think I’m kidding? No – I really did get all dressed up here just so I could take some pictures and then sit in my dorm room the rest of the day trying to convince myself to do homework.

It started off with a very productive morning – I got up at 9:30 (which is fairly early for me for a weekend), then, I worked out and took a much needed shower. At that point, 11:00, I proceeded to spend an obscenely long amount of time on my makeup simply because I could and I was feeling it that morning. Most days, I roll out of bed ten minutes before class is due to start so I barely have time to draw on some eyebrows before I rush out the door, so getting to spend some quality time on my makeup is a luxury.

After making myself look pretty for nothing and no one in particular, I tackled the challenge of trying to find some good lighting and a decent background in my dorm room to snap some selfies. The end result, which I’m pretty proud of, bar the bunk bed background, you can see below.

By afternoon, though, all of my motivational energy from the morning was drained, and I was left with nothing but a dull sense that I probably ought to get some work done and the even stronger sense that I had no desire to get work done whatsoever. As I result, I wound up sitting around in my room for most of the day doing a whole lot of nothing.

In fairness, I did have a rather eventful evening the day prior. My friend, Michaela, and I decided to go to the Max Schneider concert on campus, which, while not as exciting to me as the Wombats, who were there the week before, was still pretty fun.

I wasn’t really familiar with any of his work before we went, but I wound up really liking some of his stuff, for pop music at least. He was an excellent entertainer with a ton of energy, and you couldn’t help but feel his enthusiasm for what he was doing, which was really neat to see. Plus, we arrived early enough that we were able to stand right up next to the barricade, which was an experience I’d never had at a concert before – but one that I’d love to have again, especially if it was for a band that I was really into.

All that excitement though completely wore me out, and now I’ve caught a cold. Since starting university, I swear I’ve gotten sick more times within just two semester than I ever was during the entirety of high school. I also just ran out of NyQuil, so I’ve been trying to cure the virus with cough drops and allergy nose squirts alone. I don’t think it’s working.

Dress: Missguided

Watch This: Wood Watch Review + Giveaway with JORD

Published on January 30, 2018February 25, 2018 by lensembledujourLeave a comment

Stay tuned for details on how to enter a contest for a $100 gift code for a wooden watch from JORD!

Welp, Valentine’s Day is coming up, and as usual, I have no one in particular to share it with.

In years past, I’ve usually gone out to eat on a “date” with my dad. This year, as much as I would love to have our usual date night, I’ll be away at school on Valentine’s Day, and we likely won’t be able to do anything together except perhaps talk on the phone. And that’s too bad, but c’est la vie – colleges and distances will do that to people.

Of course, there’s that radical and ridiculous concept that I could actually find a significant other within the next two weeks to go on a romantic date with on Valentine’s Day, but we all know that’s not particularly likely. Besides, I’m pretty content as I am, and I’m not really in the market at the moment. Seeing as Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday this year (no really – check a calendar) it seems like my only Valentine this year at Notre Dame is going to be Jesus.

Anyway, as I will likely be eating Valentine’s dinner at my university’s ever-glamorous dining hall on a date with myself, I figured I would at the very least treat myself to a gift – a new watch. That’s where JORD comes in.

The folks at JORD were kind enough to send me this beautiful Olive and Acacia wooden watch to try out, and after wearing it for a few days, I’ve come to the conclusion that it would make for a lovely Valentine’s Day gift – for your significant other, or, if you’re gloriously single like me, for yourself.

My favorite part about my new wooden watch is probably the elegant mechanical movement. The uninhibited view behind the beautiful grained acacia and velvet olive wood case shows a mechanical movement and steel grey ring, effortlessly pairing modernism with the simplicity of natural materials. It’s a dazzling way to show someone you love just how deep that love runs.

And now, for the GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

JORD Wood Watch Giveaway: How to Enter

You can check out JORD’s women’s and men’s shops over here. If it looks like something you might be interested in getting as a Valentine’s Day gift (or honestly, just for any time of the year) for yourself or for someone else, JORD and I have partnered to create a giveaway for you guys! Follow this link, enter your information, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift code courtesy of JORD! Giveaway ends February 25, 2018.

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

Luxury Wooden Watch
//www.woodwatches.com/widget-article/lensembledujour

January 26, 2018 – Sweaters Forever (OOTD #211)

Published on January 29, 2018January 29, 2018 by lensembledujour4 Comments

You know, I think two of my all-time favorite sweaters are Karen Scott ones that I bought at a Goodwill.

This purple one, if it weren’t obvious enough by that lead-in sentence, is one of them. The other one is this oversized navy turtleneck. Neither sweater fits me in the way they were designed to – in fact, I think they’re both mediums, when I am definitely an extra-small – but it’s their oversized-ness that makes me love them so much.

I really don’t know much about the brand, and I’ve never bought anything from this designer new or full-priced, but for used and significantly-discounted, I’m a big fan. They’re just the right kind of oversized-but-not-frumpy, well-made-but-not-overpriced, vintage-but-not-dated that I’m into.

I haven’t been thrifting for a while (read: I haven’t been thrifting since like, two weeks ago when I left home for school) because there’s not really anything close enough to campus to warrant bundling myself up and walking for forty-five minutes to. Granted, we have had some really beautiful weather these last few days in South Bend, and I haven’t had quite as much homework as usual, but it’s not been a huge priority for me. It’s not exactly like I need any more clothing – I mostly just love the hunt for a good bargain.

I’ve always been so amused by the cliché of a rich girl you might see in some preteen drama who turns her nose up at discounted or secondhand items – it seems to me that even if you can afford to buy everything brand new and full price, you’d want to take advantage of a sale if you see one. Maybe that’s my “broke college student” status talking, but I’m pretty sure saving money is in vogue regardless of your economic status.

Sweater: thrift

Dress: Kohl’s

Saturday Musings + Coffee – That iPhone Depth Effect

Published on January 27, 2018 by lensembledujour1 Comment

Look, I’m no photographer, but I like to think that my new phone makes me look something like one.

No, this isn’t a sponsored post – though hey, Apple, if you’d like to share some of your massive wealth with me, that’d be neat – I just really legitimately enjoy the camera feature on my iPhone X.

Granted, I never had the iPhone 7, so the jump in technology from 6 to X was more dramatic, but I think regardless I would have noticed the shift in quality. This phone just takes some nice photos – and notice how I said the phone takes nice photos, not me. I know it’s not my artistic vision or technical skill that made these shots look neat.

I’ve actually switched my OOTD photos for this blog from all on my old Canon camera to my new phone, and honestly, I think my new phone does a better job.

I brought it along with me to some concerts I’ve attended recently at my school, including The Wombats (who were truly fantastic, and whom I didn’t realize how much I appreciated until I saw them live) and Max Schneider (whom I didn’t know of before the show but whom I am now interested in), and I’ve managed to capture some fun videos for my Snapchat story. I’d add them here but like…I don’t think you care to see my shaky cam 10 second video clips of college kids screaming what, if you concentrate, sounds like lyrics.

I love a good concert – my summer shenanigans seeing Train, Cage the Elephant, and All Time Low are testaments to that. I’m hoping to see Fall Out Boy next fall, maybe the Wombats again this summer, and maybe hit up Warped Tour for its final run depending on who they get to perform. I’ve been getting spoiled with all of these free shows on campus; I’m going to hope I get a better summer job than Home Depot again if I expect to pay for all of this.

January 24, 2018 – Return of the Brick Walls (OOTD #209)

Published on January 26, 2018January 26, 2018 by lensembledujour7 Comments

That title makes it sound like a Lord of the Rings installment.

Unfortunately, my life is significantly less interesting than either of the Bagginses’, and significantly less full of beautiful Middle Earth scenery. I also don’t have a magical ring that can grant the wearer unlimited but horribly corrupting power, so I guess that’s one point to me, at least.

Even though some Notre Dame buildings looks to be straight out of a Harry Potter film and the amount of snow we get makes it comparable to Winterfell (look at me go with these fantasy references), it’s still a lot of tan brick and fancy doorways. It’s fairly nice tan brick and fairly pretty fancy doorways, but it makes me miss some of the more variable, natural scenery I got in Kentucky.

Today’s photoset reflects my attempt to get some more variation in scenery of my Notre Dame photos – by including some snow covered bushes! It’s no babbling brook or rolling mountain range, but at least it’s not a wooden doorway with a brick border. I’m trying.

I must admit, Notre Dame is much more more varied in architecture than my high school ever was, not to mention the fact that it’s so much prettier. I never would have done my OOTD at my old school – partially out of the embarrassment of having to go through my various awaked fashion poses in the visibility of judgment teenagers, and partially out of the fact that my high school looked like a prison.

Good thing I’ve totally gotten over my embarrassment of having to ask a friend to go out of their way to indulge this narcissistic hobby of mine, and good thing it’s not all awkward anymore to have to pose in from to people’s dorms and classrooms! I’m so glad the end of high school meant the end of all my social anxiety!

Jacket: H&M

Sweater: Forever21

Skirt: J Crew (thrifted)