In honor of my first day at my new job at my favor In honor of my first day at my new job at my favorite local coffee shop (everyone say “YAY!” 🥳)… would you take the characters from your current read for a cup of coffee? ☕️

💎 I feel like it would be so fascinating to take Brynja, Ballast, and Saga from When the Light Returns to go get coffee. I’d have so many questions about their magic!

🐦‍🔥 I would give anything to take the entire group of characters from Ruin and Rising to get coffee. It would be such a dream to talk to the people from my favorite series!

📖 To sit down and have a chat with Diana and Matthew from The Book of Life over coffee would be incredible. They’re both so intelligent and I think I’d just sit there gaping at them the entire time!

♟️Honestly, I’d be thrilled to have coffee with *anyone* from The Inheritance Games universe. They’re BRILLIANT and I want to pick their brains for hours on end. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Have you read any of the books I’m currently reading? 📚

—

#fantasyreads #fantasybooklover #bookcommunity #cozyreads #bookishvibes escapism, book hangover, fantasy world-building, book recs, reread worthy, books and coffee
Tell me about some of the media you’re obsessed wi Tell me about some of the media you’re obsessed with that’s unrelated to books! 🫢

Last summer, along with the rest of *absolutely everyone*, I watched KPop Demon Hunters... and fell head over heels in love with every single thing about it 🙈 

It was a chain reaction of epic proportions 💥 I watched it about a week after it premiered because I kept seeing it online. I liked it, watched it again a week later, LOVED it, suggested it to friends who suggested it to their friends, started deep-diving into all of the behind-the-scenes info, wound up listening to the soundtrack so much that my entire Spotify Wrapped was just songs from that album, still somehow manage to talk about it nonstop to everyone I encounter, and I can’t WAIT for the sequel. Let’s just say it kinda became my personality 😂

Along with KPDH, I spent the last year and some change obsessing over One Tree Hill (first time watching it, got to meet some of the cast last summer, have turned Wilmington into my second home, you know... normal obsessed fan things 😉) and Marielle Kraft’s music (SO FREAKING GOOD. Saw her in concert and got to meet her as well and she’s the sweetest human) 🤎

Do we have any obsessions in common? 🤝🏼

—

#kpopdemonhunters #bookphotography #bookishvibes #bookaesthetic #booknerd cozy read, weekend read, book photography, cozy aesthetic, bookish
Recommend a book that feels like a fairytale 🧚🏼‍♀️ Recommend a book that feels like a fairytale 🧚🏼‍♀️

Recently, I finished THE SUN AND THE STARMAKER by @timesnewrachel ☀️ While it was quite different from the modern, witchy fantasy books I’ve come to associate with her (otherwise known as some of my favorite books of all time), she has created a signature style of storytelling that made reading *this book* feel like coming home 🥰

I felt it instantly when I sensed her intense love for nature and the earth woven through the story, paired with such atmospheric writing that I regularly forgot I was not *in* the ethereal, whimsical world I was reading about 🌌 I felt it again in the way she writes of longing and love so powerful that there’s no doubt the characters will overcome every obstacle they face together 🤎 I felt it once more when I began to cry over supporting characters that (possibly) weren’t meant to elicit such strong emotions in the first place 🥹

THE SUN AND THE STARMAKER was everything I could possibly hope and dream a fairytale would be. It was beautiful and magical, and left me feeling so filled with joy and hope. It’s an absolute masterpiece 🙌🏼

Have you read this or any of Rachel’s other books? 📚

—

#fantasyreads #fantasybooklover #thesunandthestarmaker #rachelgriffin #fairytalebooks escapism, book hangover, fantasy books, book recs, reread worthy, favorite author
Tell me the last vampire book you read 🧛🏻‍♀️ I go Tell me the last vampire book you read 🧛🏻‍♀️

I gotta be real honest with y’all... I don’t read a ton of vampire books 😅 I was a wolf girly starting in middle school, and that really hasn’t changed much. I do love a good vampire book, but they haven’t always been my favorite supernatural creature 🙈

However, maybe due to the V.E. Schwab magic, I absolutely adored Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil 😍 It was precisely as toxic as she promised it would be, and I ATE IT UP. It was dark, seductive, sometimes bloody, and there was never a dull moment. I genuinely didn’t want it to end.

Have you read this one yet? 📖

—

#buryourbonesinthemidnightsoil #veschwab #vampirebooks #fantasyreads #fantasybooklover supernatural fantasy, book hangover, fantasy world-building, book recs, reread worthy, sapphic, late-night chapters @veschwabfeatures
Do you pay close attention to monthly releases? 📖 Do you pay close attention to monthly releases? 📖

For several years, I would write a blog article every month that included somewhere between 20-40 new releases 🫢 While I was working my previous job, I didn’t have the opportunity to blog, let alone pay attention to new releases, and I feel like I missed SO MANY 🙈 

I’m happy to be back to blogging semi-regularly, and equally thrilled to be back in the habit of knowing which books are coming out each month! 🙌🏼 If you swipe through, you can see 24 March releases and their corresponding release dates 🗓️

Which of these titles are you most looking forward to reading? 🤎

—

#bookcommunity #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #cozyreads #readersofinstagram cozy read, new book releases, fantasy books, book recs, TBR, romance books, late-night chapters
Do you have a library card? 🪪 Ya girl is the self Do you have a library card? 🪪

Ya girl is the self-proclaimed biggest fan of the library to ever walk the earth 🌍 Okay, that could be an exaggeration, but most of the time it doesn’t feel like one. I cried with happiness over my first library card as a kid, and I won’t purchase a book until I’ve borrowed it from the library and loved it enough to own it. I have 5 library cards, swear by Libby and Hoopla for all of my audiobooks and ebooks, and at this point, I feel like an Arthur tattoo might be necessary (IYKYK) 😂

But I digress... February is National Library Lovers’ Month, and I think you should get a library card (or 5) and celebrate not only the perk of FREE BOOKS but also the countless ways public libraries are integral to our lives and communities! 🙌🏼

What was the last library book you checked out? 📖

—

#nationallibraryloversmonth #libraryloversmonth #bookcommunity #bookphotography #readersofinstagram support your public library, library lovers, bookish vibes, cozy aesthetic, book nerd
If you could only recommend one book for the rest If you could only recommend one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? 📖

This one has been an easy answer for me since 2020, when I read THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY. It completely changed my life.

Since then, I have recommended it to countless people, and have felt intense amounts of joy as I’ve seen those people recommend it to others, buy copies for friends, suggest it for their book clubs, and come back to me to tell me how it changed their life just like it changed mine 🥰

Which book would you say changed your life for the better? 🤎

—

#themidnightlibrary #magicalrealism #mentalhealthbooks #bookcommunity #bookishvibes Matt Haig, books with mental health rep, magical realism books, book recs, favorite books, escapism, book hangover, reread worthy, comfort book
Would you want to have the same occupation as the Would you want to have the same occupation as the main character(s) in your last read? 💼

I recently finished Thunderhead, and I absolutely would *NOT* want to be a Scythe! 🙅🏻‍♀️ I also definitely wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the royalty in my other previous read, A Psalm of Storms and Silence 😬

Is there a book character’s “career” that you know you would love to have? 💭

—

#bookcommunity #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #cozyaesthetic #readersofinstagram current read, currently reading, cozy aesthetic, escapism, late-night chapters, what I’m reading
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Fashion, Spring · March 25, 2022

How to Style a Basic Cardigan for a Simple Spring Outfit in 2022

Wondering what to wear during these early spring days? Check out this basic cardigan outfit and get inspiration for styling the items in your wardrobe.

I feel that it’s important to note that I’m back, baby! It’s been almost two years since I’ve shared a new style article on this blog. After rebranding from She Saw Style to The Espresso Edition, I completely stopped taking outfit photos. If I’m being perfectly honest, I kind of stopped caring about fashion entirely. However, a few weeks before my birthday, I had the opportunity to go shopping (for fun) for the first time since 2020. Naturally, I went straight to H&M, which is my go-to retailer. They didn’t disappoint and I walked out with several cardigans, shackets, and tank tops – all pieces that could easily be transitioned from winter into spring!

The moment that I got home, I went to work, putting together ensembles that reflected my personal style here and now in 2022. This was the first look that I came up with and it’s what I wore on my birthday celebration day (the Saturday before my actual birthday)! I received so many compliments that I decided to actually take photos of it to share on here. I have to admit, it felt bizarre to stand in front of the camera again after several years of only taking bookish flatlays! But I just loved this outfit too much not to share it with all of you.

In addition to the outfit I styled, I’m also sharing three other looks that can be created with this cardigan as the focal piece. One outfit is very similar to what I’m wearing, one outfit is a little more elevated, and the last outfit is trendy! Hopefully, you’ll find inspiration in at least one of these cute spring looks.


Shop the post
cardigan | tank top | denim | similar bag | similar loafers | similar necklace
Classic

Elevated

Trendy

One of the greatest parts about a basic white cardigan like this one is that you can wear it a million ways.

As I’ve shown above, you can style this cardi with denim and loafers, with a satin skirt and heels, or even with trendier pieces like twill, wide-leg pants and platform sneakers! I’ve already worn this particular cardigan several times since I purchased it, making it completely worth the money I spent on it. I truly believe that it’s the perfect basic to have in your wardrobe at all times. Cardigans are never going out of style, so whether you choose to wear this in a more trendy way or something classic like I did, you’ve got options for years to come.

The outfit inspiration collages above are clickable! Select any item to be redirected to the retailer page so you can shop the pieces.


related posts
What to Wear When the Temperature Won’t Make Up Its Mind // How to Shop for a Graphic Tee Like a Pro // 4 Classic Spring Items You Need in Your Closet

Would you wear this basic cardigan outfit for spring? How about any of the other looks?


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In: Fashion, Spring · Tagged: basic cardigan, cardigan outfit, cardigan outfit ideas, spring cardigan, spring cardigan looks for women, spring cardigan outfit, white cardigan

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Sumedha @ the wordy habitat
4 years ago

Not going to lie, I’m actually not one to wear cardigans a lot and they’re missing in my closet BUT you make them look so stylish! I should go looking for a nice one and try it sometime. The trendy combination that you shared caught my eye 👀

Reply
I'm All Booked Up
4 years ago

It’s great that you’re getting back into fashion blogging! Cardigans are great for spring, especially with the dramatic temperature changes.

Reply
Deborah
4 years ago

Ooh that cardigan is so cute! I love cardis because they’re so versatile! I love all the outfits you came up with but my favorite is the middle one with the skirt – accordion skirts are my absolute faves!

Reply
Amanda
4 years ago

I would definitely wear this– such a cute find! I love that you can pair with jeans and pants or with skirts and dresses. Hope you’ll keep posting outfit photos!

Reply
Maria Kossman
4 years ago

Cardigans are absolute must-have in my wardrobe! They look so casual, yet intellectual 🙂
Love all those styling ideas.

Reply
Ashley@AttemptsAtDomestication
4 years ago

I love seeing photos of you mixed in with your bookish content! It’s so lovely to see how you express yourself in your words, decor, photography and fashion.

I’ve been doing a March challenge of getting dressed every day. While dressed for me is still a t-shirt and leggings almost every day, it’s been a really fun exercise!

Reply
Simona
4 years ago

Classic – as you’ve done! – would be the way to go for me! This outfit is brilliant and can be so great in so so many occasions! I need to head to H&M myself because I just love the cardi you have here Stephanie. Stylish, simple and oh so classy – 5 stars from me!

Reply
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Welcome to The Espresso Edition, a cozy bookish blog (with just a pinch of lifestyle goodness). I'm Stephanie, and I'm overjoyed to welcome you to this safe space designed for book lovers old and new who are seeking everything from book recommendations to reading tips to reviews and so much more.

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In honor of my first day at my new job at my favor In honor of my first day at my new job at my favorite local coffee shop (everyone say “YAY!” 🥳)… would you take the characters from your current read for a cup of coffee? ☕️

💎 I feel like it would be so fascinating to take Brynja, Ballast, and Saga from When the Light Returns to go get coffee. I’d have so many questions about their magic!

🐦‍🔥 I would give anything to take the entire group of characters from Ruin and Rising to get coffee. It would be such a dream to talk to the people from my favorite series!

📖 To sit down and have a chat with Diana and Matthew from The Book of Life over coffee would be incredible. They’re both so intelligent and I think I’d just sit there gaping at them the entire time!

♟️Honestly, I’d be thrilled to have coffee with *anyone* from The Inheritance Games universe. They’re BRILLIANT and I want to pick their brains for hours on end. 
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Have you read any of the books I’m currently reading? 📚

—

#fantasyreads #fantasybooklover #bookcommunity #cozyreads #bookishvibes escapism, book hangover, fantasy world-building, book recs, reread worthy, books and coffee
Tell me about some of the media you’re obsessed wi Tell me about some of the media you’re obsessed with that’s unrelated to books! 🫢

Last summer, along with the rest of *absolutely everyone*, I watched KPop Demon Hunters... and fell head over heels in love with every single thing about it 🙈 

It was a chain reaction of epic proportions 💥 I watched it about a week after it premiered because I kept seeing it online. I liked it, watched it again a week later, LOVED it, suggested it to friends who suggested it to their friends, started deep-diving into all of the behind-the-scenes info, wound up listening to the soundtrack so much that my entire Spotify Wrapped was just songs from that album, still somehow manage to talk about it nonstop to everyone I encounter, and I can’t WAIT for the sequel. Let’s just say it kinda became my personality 😂

Along with KPDH, I spent the last year and some change obsessing over One Tree Hill (first time watching it, got to meet some of the cast last summer, have turned Wilmington into my second home, you know... normal obsessed fan things 😉) and Marielle Kraft’s music (SO FREAKING GOOD. Saw her in concert and got to meet her as well and she’s the sweetest human) 🤎

Do we have any obsessions in common? 🤝🏼

—

#kpopdemonhunters #bookphotography #bookishvibes #bookaesthetic #booknerd cozy read, weekend read, book photography, cozy aesthetic, bookish
Recommend a book that feels like a fairytale 🧚🏼‍♀️ Recommend a book that feels like a fairytale 🧚🏼‍♀️

Recently, I finished THE SUN AND THE STARMAKER by @timesnewrachel ☀️ While it was quite different from the modern, witchy fantasy books I’ve come to associate with her (otherwise known as some of my favorite books of all time), she has created a signature style of storytelling that made reading *this book* feel like coming home 🥰

I felt it instantly when I sensed her intense love for nature and the earth woven through the story, paired with such atmospheric writing that I regularly forgot I was not *in* the ethereal, whimsical world I was reading about 🌌 I felt it again in the way she writes of longing and love so powerful that there’s no doubt the characters will overcome every obstacle they face together 🤎 I felt it once more when I began to cry over supporting characters that (possibly) weren’t meant to elicit such strong emotions in the first place 🥹

THE SUN AND THE STARMAKER was everything I could possibly hope and dream a fairytale would be. It was beautiful and magical, and left me feeling so filled with joy and hope. It’s an absolute masterpiece 🙌🏼

Have you read this or any of Rachel’s other books? 📚

—

#fantasyreads #fantasybooklover #thesunandthestarmaker #rachelgriffin #fairytalebooks escapism, book hangover, fantasy books, book recs, reread worthy, favorite author
Tell me the last vampire book you read 🧛🏻‍♀️ I go Tell me the last vampire book you read 🧛🏻‍♀️

I gotta be real honest with y’all... I don’t read a ton of vampire books 😅 I was a wolf girly starting in middle school, and that really hasn’t changed much. I do love a good vampire book, but they haven’t always been my favorite supernatural creature 🙈

However, maybe due to the V.E. Schwab magic, I absolutely adored Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil 😍 It was precisely as toxic as she promised it would be, and I ATE IT UP. It was dark, seductive, sometimes bloody, and there was never a dull moment. I genuinely didn’t want it to end.

Have you read this one yet? 📖

—

#buryourbonesinthemidnightsoil #veschwab #vampirebooks #fantasyreads #fantasybooklover supernatural fantasy, book hangover, fantasy world-building, book recs, reread worthy, sapphic, late-night chapters @veschwabfeatures
Do you pay close attention to monthly releases? 📖 Do you pay close attention to monthly releases? 📖

For several years, I would write a blog article every month that included somewhere between 20-40 new releases 🫢 While I was working my previous job, I didn’t have the opportunity to blog, let alone pay attention to new releases, and I feel like I missed SO MANY 🙈 

I’m happy to be back to blogging semi-regularly, and equally thrilled to be back in the habit of knowing which books are coming out each month! 🙌🏼 If you swipe through, you can see 24 March releases and their corresponding release dates 🗓️

Which of these titles are you most looking forward to reading? 🤎

—

#bookcommunity #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #cozyreads #readersofinstagram cozy read, new book releases, fantasy books, book recs, TBR, romance books, late-night chapters
Do you have a library card? 🪪 Ya girl is the self Do you have a library card? 🪪

Ya girl is the self-proclaimed biggest fan of the library to ever walk the earth 🌍 Okay, that could be an exaggeration, but most of the time it doesn’t feel like one. I cried with happiness over my first library card as a kid, and I won’t purchase a book until I’ve borrowed it from the library and loved it enough to own it. I have 5 library cards, swear by Libby and Hoopla for all of my audiobooks and ebooks, and at this point, I feel like an Arthur tattoo might be necessary (IYKYK) 😂

But I digress... February is National Library Lovers’ Month, and I think you should get a library card (or 5) and celebrate not only the perk of FREE BOOKS but also the countless ways public libraries are integral to our lives and communities! 🙌🏼

What was the last library book you checked out? 📖

—

#nationallibraryloversmonth #libraryloversmonth #bookcommunity #bookphotography #readersofinstagram support your public library, library lovers, bookish vibes, cozy aesthetic, book nerd
If you could only recommend one book for the rest If you could only recommend one book for the rest of your life, what would it be? 📖

This one has been an easy answer for me since 2020, when I read THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY. It completely changed my life.

Since then, I have recommended it to countless people, and have felt intense amounts of joy as I’ve seen those people recommend it to others, buy copies for friends, suggest it for their book clubs, and come back to me to tell me how it changed their life just like it changed mine 🥰

Which book would you say changed your life for the better? 🤎

—

#themidnightlibrary #magicalrealism #mentalhealthbooks #bookcommunity #bookishvibes Matt Haig, books with mental health rep, magical realism books, book recs, favorite books, escapism, book hangover, reread worthy, comfort book
Would you want to have the same occupation as the Would you want to have the same occupation as the main character(s) in your last read? 💼

I recently finished Thunderhead, and I absolutely would *NOT* want to be a Scythe! 🙅🏻‍♀️ I also definitely wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the royalty in my other previous read, A Psalm of Storms and Silence 😬

Is there a book character’s “career” that you know you would love to have? 💭

—

#bookcommunity #bookphotography #bookaesthetic #cozyaesthetic #readersofinstagram current read, currently reading, cozy aesthetic, escapism, late-night chapters, what I’m reading
Is there an author who consistently writes books t Is there an author who consistently writes books that bring you to tears? 😭

I have cried while reading every single one of Amber’s books... and that’s only a small part of what keeps me coming back for more 🤎

I’m struggling with even knowing how to put in words what her books mean to me, because even thinking about it is making me tear up 🥹 So instead of trying to craft the perfect thing to say, I’m just going to urge you to read everything she’s written. You can thank me later 🙏🏼

What was the last book that made you cry? 📖

—

#theleavingroom #booklover #bookcommunity #cozyreads #bookishvibes poetry, Amber McBride, The Leaving Room, sapphic books, books that will make you cry, book hangover, book recs, reread worthy, late-night chapters
Who are your favorite book pets? 🐈‍⬛ I absolutely Who are your favorite book pets? 🐈‍⬛

I absolutely love when a book has animals in it—whether that’s someone’s pet, familiar, or when the animal is the main character 😻

I’m always absurdly happy when there’s a cat, and if they have a creative name it’s even better. I think the stand-out for me was a cat named The Darkling in Accidentally Amy. I’ll never forget it! 😂

Do you have a furbaby companion? Tell me all about them! 🐾

—

#cozyreads #readingescape #bookishvibes #bookaesthetic #booknerd book animals, cats of Instagram, book cats, fantasy books, romance books, cozy aesthetic

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