I do what I want

sweater dress: secondhand (H&M)
earrings: gifted (Lia Sophia)
shoes: Target
Can you call this a sweater dress? I mean, I'm going to anyway because it's my blog and I do what I want but I'm not 100% convinced that I'm right. Whatever it is, it's cute and comfy and cost me $4 at my friend's garage sale. And that's all that really matters, yeah?

Speaking of absolutely nothing because I have a terribly short attention span and am horrible at transitions...

So I think I mentioned that I had a fitness coaching meeting recently. A friend-of-a-friend is a personal trainer, and she gave me some tips on how to achieve my personal fitness goals. It was insanely motivating, and her ideas were spot-on in terms of what will help me make a plan and stick to it. I've been getting up half an hour earlier on weekdays to squeeze in some yoga, because I never manage to do it before bed, and I've been getting a lot better and making time for evening workouts. Yesterday was my first real "blow it off" day, as the class I wanted to go to got cancelled and an Ikea order I placed was delivered. It's like the universe WANTED me to spend my evening drinking bourbon-spiked cider and building a few chairs and a closet. (On that note, I will have a home-decor update soon; the living room is *nearly* finished, finally!)

Tonight might be a little rough for me as well, because I scheduled a massage therapy session for right after work (I get a lot of wrist pain from my job and freelance schedule), and working out right after all my muscles got worked on seems counterproductive. I might just do a longer, slightly more intense yoga sesh instead of hitting the climbing gym. Actually, that sounds really pleasant. I have a couple hour-long yoga vids I've been meaning to try.

(And mom, if you're reading this, my "blow it off" day TOTALLY doesn't count for our wager. If anything, I should get seven freebie days, since you started your workout regimen a week after I started mine :P I've been brainstorming where I'd like you to take me to dinner when you lose...! Haha.)

Autumn is coming

shirt: secondhand
sleeveless button-down: New York & Company
khaki skinnies: Old Navy
shoes: Target
necklace: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
I have very mixed feelings about autumn.

For the most part, I'm a summer girl. I love the heat (though not always the humidity). I love sun and golden skin and massive thunderstorms and ice cream and pools and beaches and breezy dresses and fireflies and sunsets after 9 p.m.

But autumn is kind of special, too. It brings crisp mornings and leaving the windows open all day and especially all night. It brings football and two of my favorite holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Hot toddies are acceptable again and sweaters are so cozy. I've also felt for the last several years that fall can mark the end of a bad era. I like to take time in the fall to find everything that's been weighing me down over the last year and shed it to crunch underfoot with the leaves.

But.

But autumn is so brief and temperamental in Ohio. It seems like you just blink and suddenly it's all shitty half-hearted snow and gross grey slush and feeling so cold that each inhale freezes your lungs. And because I have SAD, winter is especially difficult. Watching the sun set from my office window is heartbreaking. There are days when I feel like I'll never see the sun again.

Fortunately, it's early in the season. There's still time to enjoy cute boots and pumpkin-flavored everything before things really get tough. And I feel a little more optimistic than usual about winter this year. I joined a new climbing gym, and I'm going to go back to vitamin D therapy via tanning beds (with proper sunscreen on, of course). Plus I found a therapist I really like who I can return to if things get really out of hand, so that's a comfort.

How do you feel about autumn? Are you heralding its imminent arrival with three daily Starbucks PSL runs? Or are you already holed up in your hibernation nest, counting off the days until spring arrives again?

Lucky/unlucky

blouse: The Limited via Discount Fashion Warehouse
khakis, necklace: Old Navy
blazer, shoes: Target

A lot of people consider Friday the 13th to be bad luck. I used to be one of them, right up until the most recent Friday the 13th. It was six months ago, and I was asked the most important question of my whole life. And of course, I said yes. Ever since Matt decided to propose on a Friday the 13th, I've claimed it as my own personal good-luck day. Take THAT, superstition!

Okay no joke, that whole paragraph right there was just an excuse for me to let off a little excitement at this little milestone. My friend/coworker/bridesmaid, Hayley, commented that it seems like it's been much longer than six months. To which I replied, "That's probably because I have the whole wedding planned already." And while that is an exaggeration, it's a slight one. We've tackled the venue, the officiant (aka Matt's brother-in-law), the caterer, the photographer, the videographer (aka my office's video intern from last summer), the DJ/photobooth, the cake baker (aka Hayley, who grew up decorating wedding cakes in her mom's bakery), the dress, what the attendants will be wearing, and some of the minor decor details. All that we really have left is:

- making sure the bridesmaids/groomsmen place their orders
- picking out Matt's tux
- finding my undergarments, shoes and veil (the latter of which I will probably DIY)
- engagement photos (courtesy another friend/bridesmaid, Emily)
- DIYing the save-the-dates
- DIYing all the flowers and the centerpieces
- DIYing the invitations
- write the ceremony
- buy attendants' gifts
- GET FREAKING MARRIED ALREADY :)

Ugh. I hate when I start writing a post with intent to talk about something, then go off on a tangent about wedding stuff. I can't help it; I'm a woman obsessed. #sorrynotsorry

It's just as well, I suppose. These photos didn't turn out so great, but I really liked the outfit and frankly, my re-shoot list is way too long to add this outfit to the queue. C'est la vie!

Guest Photographer!

sweater: Old Navy
short-sleeve Oxford, slacks: New York & Company
shoes: Target
This is the first of three photo shoots my friend Chasity did with me. I have to say, I really love how these turned out. And it was so, SO nice to have someone else taking the photos...I feel like it really let me loosen up a little. (And having someone else edit the pics wasn't too terrible either, haha!)

There are a lot of other photos, too. You can check them out on the Verbal Mélange Facebook page (and like it while you're there, maybe?). Most are just extra shots, but there is one sweet black and white photo and a couple goofy/terrible ones. If you're in to "watching other people embarrass themselves online" sorta thing. Ha.

Ok, well I gotta go finish prepping for tomorrow's Halloween party. I'm trying out a new drink recipe (come back for Pinspiration Monday if you wanna check it out) and making some spiked cider and Jell-O shots (kind of the house specialty) as well. I love hosting parties. Squee!

Fickle Ohio

sweater, slacks: thrifted
polo, shoes: Target
necklace: InPink
ring: TaDa.com
hair flower: H&M
I've complained about it before, I am now and I probably will again. But Ohio weather is just the craziest thing. When I wore this outfit last week, I was waking up to 30 degree mornings and frosty grass. Today, the high creeped up to a balmy 73 degrees. What the what? I guess it's not so bad, really, to get unexpected spurts of warm weather. But it makes it really hard to find coats (I have a couple lightweight and a two heavier coats, but nothing in between) and it's really annoying to leave the house in gloves/scarf/coat and have to carry it all home because it's too warm out. Blah.

Anyway, I really like this sweater, but I kind of wish it was just a size bigger. It's my official mission this fall to find the comfiest oversize sweater possible. Anyone have any favorites they'd like to mention? Ha :)

(BTW, if you're wondering why there are only two photos here today, it's because the rest were just awful. No lie. I looked drunk in some of them. Ick.)

Yay photos, boo allergies

dress: H&M (thrifted)
cardi, belt, tights: Target
shoes: Payless
necklace: Banana Republic, I think?
This week, I've been going out with my friend Chasity (one of the girls who live upstairs that I've mentioned) to take outfit photos. At first, it was a little awkward, of course, but today we went down to the park at the end of our street and got some really awesome shots. I can't wait to show them to you guys! (She's even editing them for me, so I might actually have some professional-blog-quality photos on here soon. I'm a little excited.)

This outfit really makes me feel like fall is pretty much in full swing. It's been getting steadily chillier (until a weird warm day today), but it's definitely tights season. In other news, allergies are kicking my tail. Things have been a little rough the last few mornings, and as I type I have to pause every so often to sniffle a bit. Ugh. I'm just gonna curl up in my sweats and watch me some Grey's Anatomy with those upstairs girls :)

I forgot to title this one before I posted it.

Foof. That's the sound I made when I flopped down onto the couch after work today. Adjusting to new schedules has always been a tad difficult for me, and this week and last have been no exception. I switched to writing my blog posts at night and scheduling for the morning, and wouldn't you know, I forgot to write a post for yesterday morning. I almost didn't get this post written, thanks to everything else that's going on right now, but I managed to remember as I was making dinner.

And then, when I stepped away from dinner for half a second to chat with Chasity (one of the upstairs neighbors), Spazzcat the dufus started eating at my hot dog. This is a pathetic dinner as it is, Spazzy! You could at least let me eat the whole damn thing.Le sigh.

The fact is, there is a LOT going on right now. I don't really want to go into the details, because it will only make me more stressed, but suffice to say that things are caraaaaaazy.

So. Outfit photos.







shirt: JC Penney
pants: thrifted
belt and heels: Target
hair pins: H&M
ring and necklace: gifted

This shirt was part of a fairly restrained shopping spree I went on the day I found out my start date for this new job. I say "fairly" restrained because I did wind up spending more than I wanted to, but I only bought basics and items that I could remix easily. But man, have you been to JC Penney lately? Their spring lines are AWESOME. I walked into the dressing room with more than a dozen items and had to ruthlessly pare down to just three. When I have a clothes budget again (starting next month!! but more on that for Fiscal Fridays this week), I am gonna have to hit that place up again.

Plan B

Sometimes, outfits just don't work out. Like yesterday, I wore a dress with a white Oxford layered under it and a belt. I was getting ready to take my outfit photos when I turned to Matt and asked, "Does this make me look pregnant?"

Naturally, he got pretty wary right away. I assured him it wasn't a test, and I just wanted to know if I should refrain from taking pictures. We agreed that I did, in fact, look a little preggers. So even though I wore that dang outfit all day, it'll never appear on the blog. The outfit I changed into, however, will likely show its face around here in the next few days.






lace shirt: Forever 21
cami, shoes: Target
short-sleeve Oxford: New York & Company
skirt: thrifted
necklace: The Limited
This outfit here is another great example. I was so excited to bust out this lace top again, as I haven't worn it on ages. But once I got it on, I noticed that there were little strings hanging off of it...everywhere. At first I just tried to trim them down, but then I realized that the shirt itself (which is made of this elastic-y, stretchy material) was unraveling. So, with a heavy heart, I took some photographic evidence and put the shirt in the trash. Sad.

The Plan B outfit wasn't bad, per se, but I spent the whole day thinking about the shirt I had to toss. I guess that's what happens when you pay eight bucks for a shirt at Forever 21. Rest in peace, lace shirt. You will be missed.

That's better

Well, it looks like the worst of whatever had me down yesterday is over. Still feeling a bit blah, but at least I know I'll make it through the entire workday, unlike yesterday when I left at 11:30. Blech. I hate being sick.

But you know what I don't hate? You guys! (Terrible segue, I know.) But seriously, you guys rock. Comments on my Monday blah post and my yesterday blah post really made me smile. And, without going into too much personal/professional detail, I need all the smiles I can get! So thank you. Truly.




shirt and cardi: Old Navy
skirt: thrifted
shoes: Target
necklace: Canal Street in NYC
So I just noticed my cat creepin' in that first picture. She's a little stinker for sure. Thanks for the photobomb, Spazzcat!

Let's see, what else is going on? We're supposed to get our first real snow of the season tomorrow (previously, we got about an inch, if that). Which, for Ohio, is just absurd. Though I have to admit, I've been just fine with the warmer weather lately. What can I say? Guess I'm truly a southern girl at heart. Give me a skirt-without-tights Christmas over a white Christmas any year :)

Weekend recap

Do you ever come away from the weekend feeling like it was longer than just two days, because you simply did so much in that short time span? That's how my weekend was. Hard to believe it's Monday!

This is the last of those yuck-o indoor shots from when it was constantly raining a week and a half ago. And though it's supposed to rain the latter half of this week as well, I've definitely got a couple nice outdoor shots from this past week and weekend, when it was in the upper 70s/lower 80s. Loving this Indian summer!




top and slacks: thrifted
shoes: Target
necklace: H&M?
bracelet: Forever 21
The shots from this outfit didn't turn out so well, to be honest, and I only found one that I really liked. Had to cut my face out of the other one because it was just plain weird and I didn't want to scare you all off. The cat probably did something goofy right as the photo was snapping. I make weird faces at her a lot.

So anyway, this weekend. I wound up getting cut from work on Friday before I could even take a table, because we were so slow. It was kind of a bummer that I didn't make any money at all, but I got to go home early and hang out with Matt, who had been gone since Tuesday on business. So it was definitely worth it!

Saturday I cleaned the whole house (!), did some work for my freelance job, then went over to have dinner with Matt's family. Four of the grandkids on his dad's side have October birthdays, including Matt's sister, so we did a kind of quadruple birthday celebrating. I love his family :)

Then we went to a friend's house for a football party (Go Bucks!). I had to leave to pick up two of my siblings from a band competition in Westerville, but I took them back to the party in time to watch our team lose miserably. It's been a rough season for us, unfortunately.

Sunday morning, at the crack of dawn, my siblings and Matt and I all headed up to my parents' house for their 25th wedding anniversary celebration and vow renewals. It was a really sweet renewal ceremony; all my siblings and I stood up at the altar with my parents. My dad got all choked up during his portion of the vows, and most of us kids were in tears. Even the 8-year-old. It was so precious. All I could think was how lucky my parents are, to have found their soulmates and spent 25 years together in a truly happy marriage, and how I could only hope to be that lucky someday too.

Then my extended family all met up for the reception. It was really great to see my cousins and grandmas too. Like Thanksgiving, only without the turkey :)

Then back to Columbus for Matt and I. We both had to do more work Sunday night, sadly. But it was such a productive and eventful weekend, I was just glad that I could fall into bed at an insanely early hour, haha!

What did you do this weekend?

Bloggers Do It Better: Animal Print

This one is debatable...the fact that I "do it better," that is. This outfit seems pretty plain Jane to me. Which, I suppose, is an accomplishment; how many other people can make animal print boring? Probably not many. A dubious distinction.




shirt: Forever 21
cami and shoes: Target
slacks: New York & Company
necklace: gift from Matt

The truth is, this was my fourth backup. I'm a bit of a procrastinator, you see. (Understatement of the year.) My first choice was this leopard print shoe from Target. I've been wanting leopard flats for AGES, but I hate buying shoes online (my right foot is slightly larger than my left, so I fluctuate from a 9 to 9.5 to 10, depending on which foot is more comfortable) and these shoes are online only, so no dice. Sad, though...they're kind of perfect.

Source: target.com via Emma on Pinterest

Then I wanted to get a leopard tunic from F21 after Sydney told me they had some great choices. But it's sold out, so I can't even show you a photo because F21 is lame like that.

So on to the third choice...this really cute zebra-ish top. I kind of love it. But alas, it is another of the "we have it online but not in the actual store sucks to be you" category.

Source: forever21.com via Emma on Pinterest

Oh, well. I will probably end up getting all three of these eventually...they're affordable, and I like them enough to pay full price, and I doubt thrift stores are carrying much (stylish) animal print these days anyway.

And on the up side? Spazzy loves this shirt. She has her face buried in my stomach as I type. Call it animal attraction? (Har har)

Fall in

Okay, okay, I suppose I'll admit it. Fall is here in full force. I mean, after all, it is October. It's colder out, the evenings are definitely shorter. And, for some reason, central Ohio has decided that fall means rain, and lots of it. We've had rain or dreary overcast clouds five or six days out of seven these past few weeks, and it's really getting me down.

The day I took these photos was nice, however, so there's a good thing. The number of stockpiled outfits I have is down to two, unfortunately. Like I said...dreary weather makes me not want to get dressed well, or take photos when I do dress well. All I want to do is laze around in my PJs and cuddle with my cat. And my boyfriend. (But mostly the cat, haha.) Blah.






blazer, khakis, shoes: Target
shirt: thrifted
necklace: Figleaf
Yesterday was a gorgeous day, however, which is nice because Matt and I had a little date night. He won discount tickets to see Shadowbox Live perform. For you non-Columbusites, Shadowbox Live is a sketch comedy troupe paired with a sweet rock band. They do original skits and have recently expanded their lineup to include broadway shows, original full-length productions, and such classics as The Rocky Horror Show, which is what we saw last night.

It was phenomenal. I'm a huge fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, so it was really cool to see the original stage version. Matt had never seen any version of the show, and he really enjoyed it too. The cast has excellent comedic timing, and all the guys looked really comfortable in the six-inch heels, fishnets and corsets. That's how you know they're good actors. The guy playing Frank N. Furter channeled Tim Curry really well. Overall, an excellent production.

If you're ever in Columbus, I highly recommend seeing a Shadowbox Live show. Hit me up, because I love to go any chance I get :)

The fickle photo gods

Oh, they exist. And they don't like me. At least, not when I'm wearing this shirt. Remember last time? Yeah. The sun and my camera just team up every time I wear this shirt. It's a conspiracy, I tell you.

Oh well. It's a good reason to re-wear or re-style this top...which is fortunate, because I freaking love it. Not sure if I like it just for it's sheer awesomeness, or because I bought it for only $8. Probably both.






shirt: Forever 21
tank: Old Navy
skirt: H&M, thrifted
shoes: Target
necklace: Short North Gallery Hop street vendor
Just now, I couldn't remember where I got these shoes. So I scrolled through my archives for a while and finally found them...apparently, I haven't worn these in ages. Or at least, I haven't blogged them in ages. (I don't blog every outfit I wear. They can't all be winners.) But what I was going to say, before I got distracted, was that I love looking through my archives! I've put together some outfits that I really love. And that I probably wouldn't have worn if I hadn't started blogging, since blogging forces me to be creative and come up with new ideas most days.

I mean, I do repeat outfits sometimes, but not nearly as often as I did before April. (Confession: I had about 10-15 outfits that I just sort of cycled through. Yikes.) And it's funny, because I worried when I started Verbal Mélange that I wouldn't be able to come up with new outfit ideas. I thought I'd fizzle out. And here I am, 5 months later, still going strong. With my attention span, that's REALLY saying something!

So, anyway...oh look, something shiny!

Rainy days

You know what sucks? The flu. And rain. Guess what's plaguing me today. If you guessed both, you're right. Lame. So I'm posting an outfit from sunnier and healthier days last week. Positive thinking, right?

Coverup: part of a set from Burlington Coat Factory
Cami: Old Navy
Skirt: thrifted
Belt: Plato's Closet
Shoes: Mossimo via Target
Necklace: New York & Company

No more commentary today, folks. I'm going to work for a couple hours and then going back to bed for the rest of the day. Hope you all are feeling better than I am. *weak smile*

Everybody, Everywear: Florals

Normally, I'm not a fan of florals, so when I saw this month's Everybody, Everywear challenge was the very same, I was a bit disappointed. I didn't think I even owned any floral patterns. Then I remembered I bought this dress for Easter. I restyled it for work, and voila! A floral-wearer is born.

Blazer: New York and Company, secondhandDress: Karin Stevens via Burlington Coat FactoryShoes: Mossimo via TargetWatch: Walmart
Necklace: New York and Company

I think I did pretty well styling this one. I actually got compliments! The real secret, though, is that this blazer isn't really a blazer. I think it's just a really heavy button-down shirt. The button holes kind of reveal that. But you know, I don't care. I think I'll keep wearing it as a blazer.