Ageless Style is a monthly style challenge and link up for women of all ages. Each month we pick a different theme and style an outfit based on that theme. This month's theme is "Pop of Color" and was picked by Joanne!
This month's Ageless Style theme is "Pop of Color" which is the perfect theme for early fall as the world is certainly "popping with color" right now. It's always too warm this time of year to pull out the flannel shirts and jeans, but I still like to look like "fall" so I do it with color. I put away the whites and brights, and switch to neutrals and earthy colors. I found this adorable shift dress on Amazon that is just the perfect sage green yet is cool and comfy for the hot temperatures we are still experiencing. But I can also see wearing this dress into the fall/winter by adding a cardigan/jacket and tall boots.
The muted sage green is earthy, calming, and acts as the perfect neutral base. But I wanted to add some fall color to this otherwise dull so I used an easy styling trick: adding an intentional Pop of Color.
Adding a vibrant accent to a soft, muted tone creates an instant focal point. It makes your entire outfit look thoughtful, stylized, and incredibly chic without feeling overwhelmed by bright hues.
By introducing just one deliberate, high-quality pop of color into your look, you can completely elevate the soft undertones of sage green, creating an outfit that feels fresh, modern, and intentionally styled.
Here is exactly how to pull off the look:
Choose Your Accent Color:
Fiery coral/terracotta, blush pink/dusty rose, rich burgundy/plum, sorbet yellow/pale peach, and deep navy are all accent colors that go great with sage green.
I chose this fiery coral handbag to bring some "fall" pop of color into my otherwise very neutral outfit.
Pick One Accent Area
I chose a handbag as my accent, but other ideas could be:
Footwear: Try a bold heel or a colorful sneaker
Accessories: Think a bright neck scarf or statement earrings
Additional Layers: A colorful jacket, cardigan, or shawl
Don't have any colorful accessories? Why, even a bright, bold lipstick like a rich plum or deep berry would do!
Whether you are heading to a weekend brunch, church, or fall festival, a sage green dress paired with a fiery coral handbag or any pop of fall color, is the ultimate formula for effortless chic. This look perfectly balances the calm, earthy serenity of sage with a bold, high-energy pop of color. By stepping outside the box of traditional neutrals, you create a sophisticated yet playful outfit; so add a pop of color to your neutral outfit and step out with confidence letting your vibrant style do the talking!
Now be sure to link up with us and check out what the other ladies in the group are wearing as well.
This is part four of a travel series of our midwest road trip covering four states and two national parks. We began our journey in Lake Geneva Wisconsin. If you missed it, start HERE
On day one in the Cuyahoga Valley so far we visited a nature center, hiked a short trail, and took a twelve mile bike ride, but there was still plenty of daylight left so after a quick lunch of leftovers from the previous nights dinner, we headed out on our next adventure.
Bedford Reservation
Since we still in the northern section of the valley, we decided to drive over to the Bedford Reservation to see Bridal Veil Falls.
If you ever get to the Cuyahoga Valley, please don't just visit the national park, but go to these reservations too (Bedford and Brecksville). They are so beautiful and well maintained and we noticed a PAVED bicycle path there too that looked a lot nicer than the Towpath Trail in the national park.
The picture below is a scenic overlook we stopped at while driving to the falls. How gorgeous is that? I can only imagine how beautiful this view is in the fall.
The Bedford Reservation is a sprawling 2,900 acre park located in Cuyahoga County Ohio and is managed as part of the Cleveland Park System. The park's defining natural wonder is Tinker Creek Gorge: a deep 220 foot gorge carved out by Tinker Creek. The deck pictured below is where you can view this gorge. It was designated a Natural Landmark in 1968 because its rugged terrain left the area largely unlogged.
There are two waterfalls in the Bedford Reservation: The Great Falls of Tinkers Creek (a 17 feet tall 50 feet wide waterfall we didn't visit 😢), and Bridal Veil Falls. The Bridal Veil Falls parking lot was so well marked and just look at that road! Just driving in this park is a joy in itself.
The trail to Bridal Veils is very short but includes lots of steps. The decking and steps are so well maintened.
This short 0.3 out and back trail is just so peaceful and beautiful. It winds down through a forest till you reach Deerlick Creek.
The serenity and beauty of this place is just magical, no wonder it is considered to be one of Ohio's best waterfalls.
The water here is so shallow and gentle, making it the perfect place for to take off your shoes and let the gentle waves wash over your feet.
Bridal Veil Falls is a relatively small, gentle cascade rather than a massive vertical drop. It is 20 feet tall and the water tumbles down a sloped shale gorge across multiple terraced layers rather than free falling. It is so PRETTY! The crest of the falls reaches a maximum width of 10 feet.
The waterfall gets it name because it starts wide at the top crest and narrows as it flows down the rock face, mimicking the shape of a traditional bridal veil.
And here is a short video of the falls because I know they do so much more justice to the falls than just a photo. We were also there after several storms moved through, so there was lots of water!
We loved the beautiful little wooden bridge which crossed the creek.
The Boston Mill Area
The Boston Mill Visitor Center is where most visitors start their visit in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It is usually very busy, and the parking lot fills up fast on weekends. It was definitely one of the busier parts of the park when we were there on a Monday, but we still found a parking spot.
It is such a pretty area filled with wildflowers, old buildings, a cute bridge, and old train station. Even the rest rooms are adorable!
The Boston Mill Visitor Center is housed in a fully rehabilitated, historic 1905 building that originally served as the company store and general store for the Cleveland Akron Bag Company. Here you can see a 3D tactile tabletop model that provides a geographic layout of the valley, regional murals, historical displays, and boat-building exhibits. There is an information staffed with park rangers where you pick up maps and plan your visit.
After talking with a park ranger about the best things to do in the park, she said Brandywine Falls, Ledges, and Beaver Marsh were the must-sees. I knew that already as I had done my research before the trip, but it was nice to have it confirmed. She also said that the best part of the Towpath Trail was between here and Beaver Marsh, but after another heavy rain over night, I was hestitant to get my bike and clothes all dirty again. I was bummed that we didn't get to bike "the prettiest part of the trail" that the ranger recommended, but we still enjoyed the highlights because we drove to those places instead.
Brandywine Falls
After hanging out at the Boston Mill Area taking pictures, we then went over to the famous Brandywine Falls and it did not disappoint! The entire trail is a beautiful boardwalk built around massive rock formations leading to several different viewing platforms of the falls.
On our boardwalk hike we spotted a sweet five month old kitten walking like a dog on a leash! I couldn't believe it! I've had cats on leashes before, but I could never get them to walk alongside me like a dog. The owner said she trained her kitten to walk on a leash. Incredible! She was such a sweet kitten.
The Brandywine Falls boardwalk is a short 0.3 out and back accessible trail leading to views of Brandywine Falls.
In these next few phots you can see how amazing this boardwalk is: you have views of the Cuyahoga River on one side, with amazing cliff formations on the other.
The path is wheelchair and stroller accessible to the upper lookout, however the side stairs to the lower lookout are not.
With all the rain the area had experienced the past few days, the falls did not disappoint. The stunning 65 foot falls drops dramatically and powerfully over a layer of shale and sandstone.
There are great views into the gorge below too.
Here is a short video to see the lower falls in action:
These are the steps to the lower viewing deck, which gives you the best views of the falls in my opinion. But sadly, it is not wheelchair/stroller accessible.
Such a cool boardwalk! I love it when parks provide a safe, easy way for people to experience nature and not harm the environment.
The view from the upper deck is wheelchair and stroller accessible.
And here is a video taken from the upper falls viewing deck. You can see the lower falls viewing deck in the video.
Finally, a third viewing option is to see the falls from the bridge which crosses right over the falls!
We spotted a part of the Towpath Trail while up by the bridge. How cute is this little tunnel?
And we saw lots of gorgeous wildflowers!
Well, by now we had a full day. We explored the town of Brecksville, went to the Brecksville Nature Center, hiked the Gorge Loop, biked the Towpath Trail, visited Bridal Veil Falls and the Boston Mill Visitor Center, and saw Brandywine Falls so now it was time to call it a day and have more adventures in Cuyahoga Valley tomorrow.
But first dinner! I was so happy that there was a Mexican restaurant right next door to our hotel and we didn't have to drive anywhere...and it was good! We were both starving! Hubby got a fajita and I got a quesadilla. Apparently the restaurant, Cozumel, is a small, regional group of Mexican restaurants in Ohio as we spotted more later on our trip.
I hope you enjoyed my post, next week I'll be back with adventures from our last day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
There is something incredibly special about combining the texture of textiles with paper crafting which is why I am so excited to share this week's craft project with you. In this post, I am diving into the beautiful Spellbinders "Stitched Taking Notes" die set (on clearance now!) to create a handmade card that is truly "note-worthy" 😀. Whether you are an experienced paper-stitcher or looking to try sewing on cardstock for the very first time, this design strikes the perfect balance between cozy texture and classic stationery.
The die set creates the look of a notepad with the spiral coil cut outs at the top of the die, and then the piercings on each side where you "sew" your thread to create the look of blue lines. There is even a margin piercing where I used red embroidery floss; just like a real notepad!
The die set comes with five different sentiment tags, I used two of them on my card and then I added a little birdie stamp from the retired Stampin' Up! set "From the Heart".
For more interest, I added another little stitched die from a different set called "Stitched Flowers" (no longer available).
This was such a quick and simple stitching die to use as the die is as large as the card front and it doesn't require a lot of stitching (if you don't add the stitched flower like I did). It really delivers a lot of punch with very little effort.
The A2 sized note card would make a wonderful, personal card for friends, teachers, and thank you notes.
I find stitching on paper so relaxing, especially with an easy, large die like this. A lot of Spellbinder's stitching dies can be a bit more complicated or a lot of work. This one was so simple and a great die for mass producing cards if you'd like to have extra cards on hand.
So what about you? Do you ever combine sewing with paper crafting? I'd love to hear from you.
