I've been pretty terrible about taking OOTD photos lately. That's about to change, thanks to some really cool photography-related Christmas gifts I received, but that's a topic for another post. Today's post is strictly about what I wore for the various and sundry holiday gatherings I attended this year (and every year, really, because big families rule).
sweater: H&M
short-sleeve oxford: New York & Company
skinnies: Forever 21
boots: Madden Girl via Famous Footwear
necklace: Express
If the background looks unfamiliar here, it's because these photos were taken by my sister at our parents' house. I literally dragged her away from the party and snuck into an empty room so we could snap these really quickly. I bet being a style blogger's relative is so much fun, haha. We celebrated Christmas with my dad's side of the family the Sunday before the holiday, so things got kicked off nice and early for us.
sweater: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
jeans, flats: Target
necklace: Jane.com
This is easily one of my favorite sweaters, and I guess I must have good taste because I always get compliments on it. I swear, this thing no sooner comes out of the laundry before it's back on me. I don't know if it even ever gets put away on the shelf. Anyway, I wore this to a few gatherings on the unseasonably warm (like, 60s warm, it was magnificent) Christmas Eve. We started at my parents' house for our immediate family's celebration just west of Cleveland. It sounds like it'd be small, but even with one of my sisters in Hawaii with her husband and his family, we still were up to nearly 20 people. Between my parents, me and Matt, my two sisters and their fiancé and boyfriend, my two brothers and their girlfriends, and my youngest brother and sister who are way to young to have significant others, it was quite a party. From there, Matt and I popped over to Akron to hang out with his dad's side of the family for a few hours before driving back to Columbus and collapsing exhaustedly into bed.
sheer button-down: Express via Discount Fashion Warehouse
red plaid tank top that you can barely see in the pic: Target
skinnies: H&M
boots: Target
necklace, bracelet: Etsy
Christmas Day dawned much colder (welcome to Ohio), but we roused ourselves and prepared for another long day. Fortunately, this year we were able to stay in Columbus the whole time, heading over to Matt's parents' house for a quiet present-opening sesh with them and Matt's sister and brother-in-law. Then Matt's mom's side of the family descended on the house and everything dissolved into chaos. I kid, it was a really nice gathering. My soon-to-be-in-laws are pretty rad. After that was over, we popped over to Matt's grandparents' retirement home for a quick visit, then over to his aunt and uncle's house (on the other side of the family) to greet the newest addition – an eight-day-old little girl who basically stole my heart. Matt got to hold her and, having never held a newborn in his life, he did pretty well! (Though if you ask him, he'll say it was the most tense 10 minutes of his whole life, haha.)
Wow. I'm getting exhausted again just thinking about all the festivities last week...and that's with us skipping out on a gathering! Yup, big families rule, but they also are crazy as hell. And I wouldn't have it any other way :)
shirt: secondhand
jeans, flats: Target
Oh man, you guys. I can barely keep my eyes open to type right now, and it's not even 8 pm. Work has been absolutely brutal this past week or two...the fiscal year and biennium are both drawing to a close, so all of my agency's offices are writing up their budget requests for the next biennium...and sending them to my office for proofing. My boss and I have been through something like 40 requests, and it doesn't sound that hard, but it has just been physically draining for me.
Do you remember back in high school or college, when you were writing a paper but came up a few hundred words short of the minimum word count, so you repeated yourself and turned phrases like "X caused Y" into "The ramifications of X were numerous, ultimately resulting in the effect of Y" like it was your job? Yeah, it's kind of like reading essays like that. All. Damn. Day. Professors, teachers and TAs have my ultimate respect...right now, I'm so brain dead I can hardly think.
So my friend at work gave me this shirt, tags still on and everything. It's pretty cute, but I think next time I'll have to wear a bra with less push-up...the gals are looking pretty prominent here, haha. Ugh. Now I'm blogging about my boobs. I need a nap. Or maybe just a super early bedtime...
shirt: The Limited
skirt, belt: Modcloth
flats: Target
A short post, that is, as I don't have much to say today and I only had two photos I liked from this shoot. Usually, I take five to nine photos of each outfit. Any more and I start to get bored. (Yes, I have the attention span of a five-year-old.) So sometimes, in those few I'm-not-bored-yet shots, I have like seven good photos to choose from. Sometimes, I can't even find three that I like.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm having lunch with a marketing rep from an online jewelry store startup that's based here in Columbus. The concept is a little like Groupon or Google deals, only substitute all the discounted food/haircuts/whatever with jewelry. CUTE jewelry. I'm really excited to be collaborating with this company...and I mean really excited, not oh-I-got-free-stuff-I'm-gonna-pretend-to-be-enthusiastic excited. I can't wait to introduce you guys to the site, and with any luck, do a little jewelry giveaway!
Huh. Look at that. Guess I did have something to talk about today :)
shirt: thrifted
skirt: H&M
shoes: Buckle
necklace: don't remember
bangle: secondhand
Last night, I was starting a sentence about go-to outfit styling and was fully prepared to write a semi-dull post for this morning, but then I turned my head to glance out the window. And saw an unconscious man lying in the street. Of course, Matt and I both rushed outside to see if we could help at all. Someone had already called 911, and the cop who arrive first told us that he's a "local."
Turns out, the cop actually knew the guy, who apparently has a habit of getting drunk and passing out in public. I don't know for sure, but I think that was this situation this time as well. At any rate, he's regained consciousness and is being loaded into the ambulance now, so I guess he's probably going to be fine.
Writing something banal about this outfit seems a little ridiculous now, so I guess I'll just sign off. Happy Monday(?)
I've been a terrible blogger this past week (or two). I could tell you that I've been incredibly busy with my freelance stuff, but the reality is, that's only half of the reason I've been absent. The other half of the reason I've been absent is because I have some big, exciting news to share...but I can't share it just yet. And I'm terrible at keeping secrets, so it's just been easier to limit my blog and Twitter usage. I promise, I'll tell you all about it soon. Just not yet.
(But just to avoid rumors...no, Matt and I aren't engaged. For some reason, everyone hears "big news" and assumes engagement. Guess that'll happen when you've been together almost four years, haha.)
shirt: secondhand
skinnies: The Limited
boots: Old Navy
I've been wanting a shirt with some fun floral embellishments for a while now, when lo and behold, two days ago a package arrives on my doorstep. It was from the lovely Joanna of Fabulously Average, who recently cleaned out her closet and sent me some goodies. Thanks Joanna, I love these shirts!!
Joanna and Sydney (of Take Me For a Twirl) are both doing closet cleanouts, which reminds me that my closet is in desperate need of an overhaul as well. In fact, the trunk of my car currently has a giant bag of clothes that I keep forgetting to take to Goodwill...I should go through it first and see if anything would suit my bloggy friends! I don't think any of it is nice enough to warrant a giveaway, like Syd's (She's giving away a Cartier scarf this week. Oh my God.), but there's definitely some wearable stuff in there.
Want a little surprise package of goodies? Send me your address (verbal.melange{at}gmail{dot}com) and I'll see what I have for ya :)
