Hey, y'all!  I don't know about you, but I'm glad it is finally fall.  I've been shopping way less than I used to in The Before Times, but I have been allowing some bits of retail therapy here and there for fall fashion purchases.  I just love fall fashion the most!  I'm into layering, the richer colors, boots, being a little more covered up and comfortable.  I'm hoping that, now that it is colder, I can take some more photos in my most recent purchases (although it has been raining non-stop for a week now...).

Sean and I recently joined our friends for a wine pick-up day, so I decided to get dressed all fall cute.  We were running out of light for photos because we haven't seen our friends in forever and spent a lot of time laughing and chatting.  Sean talked me into jumping out into the driveway of our favorite winery for a few quick photos! (Like, literally jumped out of the car as other cars were leaving at closing, so we had maybe two minutes to snap some shots in between cars.)

Also, I practiced some of the new editing techniques I'm learning in Lightroom and I'm aware these are a bit overly edited.  I'm fine with it, I don't have time to change it right now, and I like the way they look.  You are just witnessing my progress as I *fingers crossed* hopefully get better at jazzing up my photos a smidge.

I ended up purchasing the Lace-Up Neck Midi Dress after debating about it for a few weeks.  It sat in my online cart calling to me as I impatiently waited for fall.  I'm wearing a 24 and find it fits pretty true to size.  The dress is currently only available in sizes 14 & 28, but it is 50% off on clearance.

As midi dresses go, this length can sometimes be tricky.  I think adding a belt in the future will take it up a notch, help to define my waist, and tidy up the proportions.  It may look a bit more polished that way.  But I was all about easy comfort for our wine day.  The fabric of the dress is rayon so it is lightweight enough that you aren't overheating, but you may need some layering in cooler temps.  Rayon also means the dress wrinkles, but with the overall print it isn't too noticeable and doesn't look disheveled.

The elastic at the arm cuffs isn't too tight and the sleeves fit my larger upper arms comfortably.  I do wish the elastic in the waistband had a bit more hold to keep it in a place slightly higher than my natural waist.  The elastic is fine, but it is looser than I would like.  I love the color combo and mix of prints as well.  It's a really fun dress and I bit different than other things in my closet.

I paired the dress with my brown Hayley Boots by Dansko.  I found both the black and brown versions of this style on Amazon for a great deal, but it appears the brown are no longer in stock.  The black ones are still available though, in my size 11.5-12.  They are pretty comfortable to wear and only exacerbated my planter fasciitis a little bit.  They are sturdy and make me feel extra sassy!

I know outfit photos, and fashion posts in general, have been fewer lately.  I'm still not going out much or doing much outside of my house.  I barely see my friends.  I just went out to eat in a restaurant for the 5th time since all this started.  So I'm not getting dressed much outside of my leggings and big t-shirts and hoodie that I love to wear around the house.  I've become a bit obsessed with graphic tees from Zulily.  Let me know if you'd like to see those for fit comparison.

Anyway, because of not going or doing much, my priorities have been directed towards working on my art and opening my Etsy shop, reorganizing and changing things around the house to accommodate the fact that my husband will be working from home for the foreseeable future, trying to come to terms with my priority changes and keep my mental health in check, and learning new techniques for photo editing and the like.  I want to do some more artistic shoots (I will have a few coming up on the blog next month), so learning presets and dodging and burning has been pretty helpful for that.

Have your priorities, spending, or thoughts about grind culture changed?