Holy cow, a nighttime post!

This might be the first time I ever posted at night, haha. But I need a break from cranking out all my freelance writing...between today and Friday at 7 pm, I have to crank out about 8,000 words. I have about 2,000 down. Not bad. But I wanted to write about something other than Mac external hard drives for a little bit, and I still have New Year's Eve photos to post, so...




dress: New York & Company, last year
tights: Target
pumps, clutch: thrifted
broach: came with a NY&Co shirt
bracelets: don't remember
hoop earrings: gift from Emily


Matt and I, just before midnight.
I look nervous in that first picture because, well, I was. Turquoise tights. TURQUOISE tights, people!! This is unprecedented. I know it's a bit lame, since I've been doing the style blogging thing for nine months now, but I truly never would have worn an outfit like this one in December of 2010. In fact, I bought this dress for NYE 2010, couldn't figure out how I wanted to wear it, and promptly forgot to return it. This dress sat in my closet, tags on, for a full year! The fashion sacrilege. Now, I think it might be one of my favorite dresses. (It's kind of hard to tell, but it's got this chiffon-like fabric ruffled all down the front. Very pretty.)

In fact, this outfit throws into sharp focus just how much has changed for me in the past year. Some of the big things have remained the same, of course—Matt, and my job—but so many other details have changed. We moved into our first house (okay, we're still renting, but it's a house!) and got a spastic kitty. (Who I love dearly.) I went on a Financial Diet, saved more than $1,000, and got on a solid plan to get out of debt. I worked three jobs for a time; something I never thought I'd have the determination or energy to do, but somehow managed anyway. And I started this blog.

I'm not one for resolutions, but I've been trying to improve my life, health and well-being in general these past few months, so I'm going to continue with that. I'd like to go down to just working one job, but I'll do what I have to do, to get where I want to get. And I'm going to keep up with this blog; something I wasn't really sure I'd be able to do when I first started it.

Sorry for the rather long post. I get this way when I start reflecting and whatnot. Anyway, here's to a bright, productive, blessed and happy 2012...for all of us.

This is not yesterday's outfit.

In fact, it is the first of a series of outfits that were worn/photographed before the 30x30 challenge. Time to play catch up, amiright? :)

Sadly, yesterday's outfit was not photographed at all due to unfortunate circumstances. I don't want to bore you, so long story short, my clutch system in my car is screwed up. We think it has something to do with engine temperature running slightly too high, which makes some metal part--probably a spring or a worn-down pad--expand and stick. So I'm driving through some terrible stop-and-go construction traffic, trying to get back to work after a doctor's appointment. And my clutch starts sticking. Then it stays stuck. As in, pushed all the way in, so when I hit the gas, my car goes nowhere because it thinks it's in neutra, even though it's really in gear.

So there I am. It's 95 degrees (higher if you consider the heat index) and I'm backing up traffic. Everyone's beeping, even though my hazards are on and I'm waving them to go around. Finally, some kind soul stops and helps me push my car off to a side street. I call the tow truck and wait 45 minutes in the sweltering heat. My outfit is soaked through with sweat (gross, I know, but that's why I couldn't take pictures of it). When the tow guy gets there, my clutch is perfectly fine again. UGH.

Was up all night with stress dreams about money, the work I missed yesterday, etc. Feeling like crap this morning. There's ten bucks in my wallet, I'm thinking about taking it to the thrift store for some discount retail therapy. Cause you KNOW I can't afford real shopping now that I have a car repair to deal with.

But on the bright side. I love this outfit and it makes me smile.

shirt, brooch and long shorts: New York and Company
shoes: Franco Sarto via Marshall's

I missed these shoes during my 30x30 challenge. I wore them yesterday, too, which made me look ridiculous--running around by my disabled car in a cami (had to ditch the button-up shirt, too hot), a bright red pencil skirt and these monsters. It was so hot (HOW HOT WAS IT?) it was so hot I had to actually walk up to a woman doing some yard work and beg her for a glass of water. She was the sweetest lady--she and her son brought me inside, where it was air conditioned, and gave me two full glasses of ice water, plus one for the road. They also offered me OJ and snacks. Sometimes, the kindness of people really makes a bad situation a bit better.

Happy birthday to me!

Yep, today is my 23rd birthday. I like birthdays. I mean, that's kind of a dumb thing to say, because most people not having a mid-life crisis enjoy birthdays, but I really like birthdays. What's not to love about a day that's all about me? Haha. I swear, I'm not vain. I just take pictures of the clothes I wear every day and post them on the internet and talk about it. (Not helping, right?)

So anyway, I think I'm going to tweak my 30 items one last time to replace number 3, the teeny black dress, with something else. Not sure what yet, but I only put it in the 30 so I'd have something to wear out tonight. But when I put on this safari/shirt dress thing this morning, I decided this is what I want to wear out tonight. Maybe.

It'd be fun to restyle it from work to play though, right? So I might do that, and update this post with the same dress, going-out-version. We'll see how I feel around 8 tonight, haha.

items: 2, 27
scarf: The Limited
brooch: New York & Company
jewelry: really old bracelet/necklace from Claire's

So this brooch thing came with a great purple shirt I bought from New York & Company when I was shopping for work clothes last summer. I ruined the shirt with bleach (did you know bleach sometimes stays in the washer AFTER the load you use it in?) and had to toss it. Haven't really looked at the brooch since, but I thought it would make a fun hip accent with this scarf-belt. Hooray, remixing!