Late Feature

Y'all, I meant to post this way earlier (way, way, way earlier....) but you know how life is - especially life with limited Internet connectivity.
Anyway, I was featured over on Weesha's World as part of her "What makes me feel beautiful" series. It's such a great idea, y'all. Anyway, you should check out my humble contribution....

Styled by B

Top: New York & Co.
Skirt: J Crew
Belt: Banana Republic
Cami: Target
Booties: Aldo
Bracelet: Sarchí
Earrings: Kohl's

Y'all, I have barely been able to get dressed this week. Putting outfits together felt like a chore. So, I did what anyone else would do: I asked B to pick out my outfit. And this is what he picked - including shoes and bracelet, not including earrings and belt.


My students were all like, "You look so elegant!" And then I told them that B picked out my outfit and they were amazed. Amazed! I have to say I was pretty impressed myself. It's very me and I like the pop of yellow in the bracelet against the plum of the skirt.


Have any of y'all had your husbands or boyfriends style you? How did they do? I'm thinking I might need to have B style me more often...


Also, get a load of that blogger bun! My hair is so big!

Wanna Be Style Blogger - My mamita

Cardigan: Target
Top: Banana Republic via Marcas
Jeans: Ann Taylor
Sandals: Chaps via Kohl's
Jewelry: I'm going to guess Kohl's

This is my mamita. This woman is so many levels of stylish and put together that I can't even stand it. As I've said before, she's the reason I have any kind of fashion sense.


My mom is all about classic pieces and funky jewelry. I mean, seriously, she loves her chunky bracelets, necklaces, and rings. I think she's also caught my love of dangly earrings.


I love the way she finds classic pieces (a black wrap top) with pretty details (eyelet) to keep things from being too boring.


How pretty is my mom, y'all? Also - good genes. If I've inherited her genes, I should look young for the rest of my life.


¡Te quiero mucho, mamita linda!

To be featured as a Wanna Be Style Blogger, email me, find me on facebook, or send me a tweet!

Embellished

Tee: Ann Taylor (gift from mom)
Jeggings: J Crew
Cardigan: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Target
Earrings: Turkey

Y'all, I made out like a bandit when my mom was here. She got gifts for everyone and I was happy to take some weight out of her suitcase. You know, clothes are crazy heavy. Or something....


I was so pumped about this pretty tee that I wore it the same day I got it to see my mom off at the airport.


See how pretty?

Back

Top: Nectar via Marcas
Skirt: Gap
Booties: Aldo
Belt: came with a blazer
Earrings: gift from sister-in-law

So, my mom was here last week, which is why I pretty much didn't touch the computer. And I'll be honest, I'm kind of having a hard time bringing myself back to the blog. But! I've got all these pictures sitting around! And I have to do something with them, right? So, here I go....


So, my mom's suitcase didn't arrive with her, which meant that we ended up going to the mall to find clothes for her. We ended up stumbling into this store called Marcas (that translates to "Brands") which basically sells seconds from stores like Express, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Hurley.... So, US stores. Y'all! So. Stinkin'. Cheap!


My mom got this top, and I immediately borrowed it because I loved the pattern and the color. It's an XL, which, you know, isn't my size, but I figured I could make it work. And I think it did. The lesson? Sizes mean nothing.

Not my favorite

Shirt: Gap
Dress (worn as skirt): Ann Taylor
Socks: Target
Boots: Nine West
Belt: Target
Earrings: Target

You win some, you lose some. I wanted to like this outfit more; maybe it's the hair that's throwing it off. Either that, or the fit of this shirt.


So, I'm ambivalent. But, it's done, it's worn, and it's on the Internet. Let's not do this again, Frances, okay? Okay.


The end.

Friend Friday: Gratitude

Hey, look, y'all! It's a Friend Friday post! Remember when I used to do this? Yeah, me too. This week, we're celebrating the one-year anniversary of Friend Friday - started by Katy of ModlyChic, and that kind of coincides with the day that I realized that I'd missed my own blogiversary. I'm lame like that. I guess it's due to the lack of Internet access, general busyness, and planning for my mom's arrival (Tomorrow, y'all. Don't expect me to be around.)

So for this week, we're being grateful and filling in blanks.

1. When it comes to me personally – I owe a lot of who I am to: my parents and extended family. I get my sense of humor and love of music from my dad, my sense of style and sassiness from my mom, my love of travel from my Army brat upbringing, my need for sun from my Puerto Rican heritage.... You know, all of those fundamental things. So, thanks, family.

2. When it comes to be professionally – I owe a lot of who I am to: again, my parents for being models of hard work. Also, Mission Year for giving me a framework for combining my love of justice and service with my faith in my everyday life, because, yes, that's professional. Oh, and Dr. Zuffi, my college advisor who gave me some amazing opportunities and saw more potential in me than I saw in myself.

3. When it comes to the art of blogging, I’m grateful to these people for helping me through some rough spots: First, B, of course. Then, my bestie M and my mamita who secretly and not so secretly read and enjoy. Finally, all my blogger friends. Y'all are such an inspiration.

4. One blogging challenge I’m grateful happened because it made me stronger was... my first experience with blogger burnout, because it taught me just to roll with it and move on with the blog my way. And now I feel better equipped to deal with the same.

5. To my readers, I’d like to say… a million thank yous. Mil gracias, en serio. Thanks for sticking with me through patchy internet connections, a drastically limited wardrobe, an international move, three jobs, and all the craziness that has been the last year and one week of blogging. Y'all are the best.

Oh, is that the music? They're telling me to wrap this up, so....

Lots going on

Top: Apt. 9 via Kohl's
Skirt: Target
Booties: Aldo
Earrings: ???

I. Love. This. Look. I thought it might be too much, but I was going to a quinceañera and I figured that this was the occasion to go all out. So, studs on my shoulders, booties, and leopard print it is.


It felt so rock star, y'all. The purple eyeshadow helped, I think.


The eyeshadow or the exposed zipper. Can I also confess that the zipper is why I even got this shirt? I'm not usually into exposed zippers, but it just seemed to WORK on this top and I fell in love with that little detail.


So, yeah, I wore this to a small-town quince. And the whole town was there. And most people wondered who the girl dancing with the tall gringo was. The tall gringo was B, just for the record, and they were also probably wondering who invited the gringo, too.


And this outfit reminded me of how much more confident I feel about unorthodox outfit choices. Because, honestly, there's a lot going on here, especially in this rural, traditional environment. But you know why I think it works? Because I feel amazingly confident in it and I love it.

An Ode to my Booties

Turtleneck: J Crew
Skirt: Target
Belt: Ann Taylor
Booties: Aldo
Earrings: gift?
Sunnies: Puerto Rico


Dear booties,

I love you. I love that I found on super sale at the Aldo Outlet and thus paid a fraction of the price for you. I love that you have a sturdy heel, that you've challenged me in my shoe styling options, that you're warm but not too hot.


I love how comfortable you are and how strong I felt the day I walked uphill for 3/4 of a mile on my way home from work while wearing you (I won't mention how sore I was for the next couple days). You're probably my best shoe purchase is what I'm saying.

Don't ever change.


Love,
Frances Joy

Thankful

Top: Sonoma via Kohl's
Skirt: Gap
Belt: Banana Republic
Earrings: Turkey
Booties: Aldo
Sunnies: Puerto Rico

Y'all, I live here. This is my front yard. Let me say that again, because it is so amazingly beautiful, that I can't even believe it: this is my front yard.


I have to admit that sometimes I have a crappy attitude about living in the middle of nowhere. We have no phone service at our house, not even cell signal. We can't get Internet until the state-run communications/electric company approves the request for phone service that was put in for this house ten years ago (yeah, you read that right). We don't have a tv, can't get mail, and have electrical issues that I won't even go into because they are myriad and complicated.


And I'll readily admit that I'm not outdoorsy and don't believe I'm cut out for country living. If this were Green Acres, I'd be Eva Gabor. But this, this beauty around me? This reminds to be thankful.


And I am thankful. I'm thankful for the experience, for our sweet, sweet students, for the mountains and volcanos around us, for the strawberries grown in this region, for the hospitality and friendliness that's been showered upon us. I'm thankful for my coworkers, for the fact that Kiku is here with us, for the miraculous health care I received here, for the fact that I'm forced to take a mini vacation every three months to keep me refreshed. I'm thankful for the blog and the connection that it provides to the rest of the world....


And seriously, how amazing is it that I live here?

Wordless on the beach

Dress: J Crew
Sandals: Chinese Laundry
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Earrings: Turkey
Bag: H&M

Y'all, my words can't compete with that sunset.

Color Rotation - Purple

Dress: New York & Co. via Ross
Earrings: Turkey
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Beach: San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

I think I'm going to make this my last color rotation post, just because I've lost track of what I've posted, what I've photographed, and what I've blogged. I'm lame like that.


Anyway, this is purple. When I was fourteen, I wore purple almost everyday, and then my mom said, "I'm not going to buy you any more purple stuff." I think she was afraid I was going through a Prince stage or something - funny because I've never really liked Prince (Sorry). Anyway, after that, I kind of didn't really like purple for a long time and I avoided it. Clearly, I'm less avoidy now, but I don't have a whole lot of it.


Anyway, we spent the past weekend in Nicaragua renewing our Costa Rican visas. Basically, we need to leave the country for forty-eight hours every three months. Some people might consider this an inconvenience, but I have to say that I NEEDED the weekend off - for real off, not off like, I just have one meeting this weekend! Yay! No, this was like, no cooking, no alarm clocks, no being far from the beach off.


I did a whole lot of this (three books in a single weekend, y'all!), a lot of swimming, and a lot of tanning (yell at me; I know better). I ate well, I walked on the beach with B, and I relaxed more than I have in a long, long time. It was nice. Really nice.