Partial Ingredients

Everyday Style & Recipes. Est. 2010

sneakers

Babydoll Swing Dress

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I’ve never been a huge fan of babydoll dresses or tank tops as they tend to be a bit unflattering for me personally. I see them on other people and they look great so I think it’s just me! I think I am more of a ‘fit and flare’ gal. This babydoll dress from American Eagle is the exception and I love how it fits. It’s somehow very flattering even though its loose and flowy — not boxy or tented out like I would expect. It’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised by a great fit.

Since it’s been warming up here, I have been wearing this non-stop! It’s so light that it is perfect for hotter days. Seriously, I wore this when it was 89 degrees and it was a life saver. It looks great dressed up or down, as a casual look with sneakers or with heels or sandals. I’m partial to the Converse All-Stars myself. Spring days tend to have colder nights so I paired this with a cozy pullover sweater…perfect for late night bonfires during this gorgeous time of year. Today is Memorial Day and it’s great for a cookout or picnic. Make sure to wear it with a wide brimmed sunhat to protect yourself from those rays!

Outfit Details: Sweater: American Eagle; Dress: American Eagle; Shoes: Converse; Bag: Leather Strata; Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

Spring Violets

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Spring is always a weird time–65 degrees one day, snowing the next. This outfit brought to you by the fickle nature of Spring, when you really want to wear a dress and sneakers, but you also gotta wear tights and a cozy sweater because we’re not quite there yet. It’s close though! I can feel it. The rhubarb plant in our garden sure knows it’s Spring, snow and freezing temperatures be damned! I’m always amazed at the early Spring plants that can tough out a freeze.

This sweater, from American Eagle, is a perfect pullover and so soft! I feel like these types of ultra soft sweaters don’t really hold up during the washer/dryer — they get kind of dry and scratchy but this one has held together quite well! The skirt is actually a full length chiffon wrap dress from Abercrombie and I absolutely love the pattern and the quality of this one. It has become a closet staple since you can easily dress it up or down.

Since warm weather is right around the corner, we recently splurged a bit on these incredible linen sheets from Cultiver (which were on sale but still pricey for sheets). I hate being hot at night (I mean, who does) but waking up at 3AM sweaty is the actual worst. These sheets are made from a 100% natural flax fiber that is breathable and helps regulate temperature. I was a bit unsure about Linen as a material to sleep in. Kind of scratchy right? But nope, I was pleasantly surprised that these come soft right out of the box. They are seriously the most comfortable sheets ever and worth the splurge. They come in a variety of colors that are all so gorgeous, I kind of want them all!

Outfit Details: Dress: Abercrombie & Fitch; Sweater: American Eagle; Tights: Target; Necklace: Etsy; shoes: Vans

Desert Vibes

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Sooo Fall snuck up on me pretty fast and I still have a few more Summer ideas to go through–dang it! Is it just me or has this season gone by way too fast? That’s coming from someone who absolutely loves Fall, but I’m not quite ready for Summer to end just yet. Luckily it’s still been quite warm the last few weeks so it’s still jeans and t-shirt weather during the day. This latest look features one of my favorite desert themed graphic tees from Etsy and these acid wash jeans from Levi’s. Yuuup, they are acid wash. Thought I would never say those words ever but here we are. Gotta say I’m a big fan of this updated offering from Levi’s. It’s like a more mellowed out version of the ugly classic 80’s acid wash. They are also super soft and feel more like leggings than jeans. I don’t like super stiff jeans and these have the perfect amount of stretch. They go great with my favorite pair of Vans sneakers. Now that the nights are getting cold, throw on a pullover and you will be good to go for Fall!

Outfit Details: Jeans: Levi’s 720s; Tee: Etsy – StarkAmbition; Shoes: Vans

Prairie Dress & Spring Cuts

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Spring is always a wacky time in Colorado, it’s never clear when you can wear Spring attire or bundle up in layers again.  Lately I’ve been into longer “prairie” inspired dresses and when it finally warmed up I jumped at the chance to wear this one from Adored Vintage! Adored Vintage has been a recent favorite online boutique–they have so many gorgeous options for Spring!  It was hard to limit myself to just a few pieces since they’re all amazing.  Love the ditsy floral pattern and the color of this one.  While I salivate over Christy Dawn dresses, the price point is a little much for me, and this one is way more affordable.  And just as beautiful might I add!  Since I’m on a dress and sneakers kick (no pun intended) these converse All-Stars add a perfect casual vibe to make it a more every day or “out to brunch” outfit.

Oh, and as you’ve probably noticed already, I lopped off a good 8 inches of my hair a few weeks ago.  Does anyone else grow out their hair and cut it all off for Summer?  It feels amazing getting rid of the unhealthy ends and the excess weight!  Since I’ve gone with longer hair styles for several years, I had to relearn how to style short hair, and that required an addition of several products into my routine.  I’ve always loved natural waves but it was so easy to throw wet hair in a braid and be good to go in the morning.  Now that’s not really possible so I’ve started using Bumble and Bumble’s BB Texture Cream and Ouai Wave Spray on damp hair in the morning.  I just scrunch with my fingers and voila–laid back beach waves!

Outfit Set:Outfit Details: Dress: Adored Vintage; Shoes: Converse; Bag: Unbranded; Necklace: Forever 21

Vintage Florals

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Lately I’ve been enjoying the warmer weather and getting into more vintage items for Spring.  Being able to wear dresses and skirts without tights or boots has been amazing!  Instead of going to the local thrift store, I’ve been finding some really awesome boutiques online that have great vintage finds.  I recently discovered a couple Etsy shops that sell dresses and other items from all different eras.  This floral dress is from FoundPretty and looks to be from around the late 80’s/early 90’s.  I was drawn to the pretty pattern and flowy shape of the dress.  It’s a perfect dress to layer up for Spring!

While this is easier said than done, I always try to keep vintage pieces looking modern.  My general rule of thumb is one or two vintage items max per outfit.  Anything more can, but not always, start to look a little costumey.   I personally love pairing dresses with laid back sneakers like these “Old Skool” Vans for a fresh, updated look.  And you get to avoid wearing heels which is always a plus!

Vintage Florals - The Partial Ingredients blog

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Dress: FoundPretty, Bag: Vintage/Etsy, Shoes: Vans, Cardigan: Bajee Collection

Spring Blazer

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When Spring has officially sprung, the weather can get a little funky. It’s almost, barely but not quite t-shirt weather! So close but not quite. So what to do? Throw on a blazer over a t-shirt of course! I’ve been loving casual looks with oversized blazers lately. I usually associate blazers with work outfits, but they look great dressed down too. Who would have guessed they work great with jeans and sneakers? This one from Zara is oversized and inspired by menswear suits. Love the pattern on this one and it’s a perfect outer layer since the material is a wool blend.

Another recent obsession has been anything Levi’s (though you probably got that impression by the t-shirt already). Love these super skinny 720 high-rise jeans in Azurite–I feel like they’re the perfect lighter wash jean without looking too mom-ish. They have a more modern look with a perfect amount of stretch. Oh, and did I mention their jeans are super affordable? It’s a win-win! To complete this casual look I added a pair of comfy sneakers that also look great with blazers–these Van’s “Old Skool” sneakers have been my go-to shoes for a while now. They’re surprisingly versatile, and look great with both jeans, dresses, and skirts!

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Blazer: Zara, Jeans: Levi’s, Tee: Levi’s, Shoes: Vans

Summer Daze

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It has been insanely hot for most of the Summer so I have been in hot pursuit (see what I did there?) for more cute summery dresses.  Lately, I’ve been into polka dots, breezy wrap dresses and button down fronts, so when I saw this one I knew I had to snap it up!  Where I used to live on the California coast, with the exception of September which could get into the triple digits, the Summers there were almost entirely 65 degrees year round.  I remember when my parents came to visit one July and they brought only shorts and t-shirts, and had to buy sweaters while they were there! The nice thing about Colorado Summers is the low humidity which makes it way more tolerable. This place has the most finnicky weather I’ve ever seen too, and I’ve lived in Ohio where the mantra was “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”  Well Colorado takes that saying to new heights as I’ve never seen such rapidly changing weather ever, but I digress.

Anyways, back to the outfit. I’m typically not super into cherry red in general? But for some reason I like the darker hue of this one. I’m also weirdly picky about polka dots.  Sometimes I hate the pattern of polka dots so much, but this one I dig. It might have something to do with how the dots are patterned. This is going to sound very OCD but if they are too even and symmetrical I get annoyed, and this dress is more randomly spaced out.  So now that you know I’m officially crazy, I recently, picked up a pair of white Converse All-Stars. I know they’ve been something of a trend for a while now but now that I’ve got more Summer outfits, I needed some cute sneakers to match! They are really comfy too, which is always a plus!

Outfit Set:

Outfit Details: Dress: Goldie London, shoes: Converse, tank top: Forever 21