button-down: New York and Company
skirt, necklace: The Limited
flats: Target
earrings, belt: H&M
One of the reasons I started blogging (almost two years ago, wow) was to kind of push myself out of my style comfort zone. To explore new trends and really expand the range of outfits I wear to work and outside of work. To develop my own personal sense of style.
If you had told me then that I'd be wearing a Crayola-purple skirt and a leopard print shoes/belt combo, I would have laughed right in your face. That wasn't "me" back then. But this is hands-down one of my favorite outfits featuring this skirt. And it definitely is "me" now.
Also, I'd like to take a moment to honor these poor ol' shoes. They finally bit the dust after being worn two to five times a week for more than a year. I've since replaced them with pointy-toe leopard print flats (with studs, another "I never would have guessed I'd be wearing this" accessory)...so stay tuned, I guess, if you're interested in that kind of minutiae. If you really like gold studs, or leopard print, or Target flats, you might want to get excited. I know I was when I got them!
So I was all set to write a post for yesterday evening. I edited photos, got them uploaded, and was just about to start writing, when...fondue happened. And some other things, but I'll talk more about that on Fiscal Friday this week. So anyway, blame cheese. Cheese is the reason why I didn't post yesterday.
button-down: old, don't remember
cami, necklace: Target
slacks: secondhand
flats: Payless
bracelet: H&M
So last weekend was a lot of fun. I got to hang out with my bloggy-turned-real-life friend, Kellyn of The Church Mouse, who just moved here from Texas. I showed her a little bit of the city, we got brunch, and we went thrifting. (I scored an AMAZING faux leather moto jacket. Can't wait until the temps are above freezing again to wear it!)
Speaking of warmer temps, Ohio had a nice little "heat wave" last week, with temps in the 40s, 50s and even 60s! It was glorious. I took these photos outside simply because it was warm enough to do so, but I failed to realize the post-work light would be less than ideal for photos. Womp womp.
(P.S. to all you Columbus-ites: Don't forget to enter my giveaway! It ends this week!)
Now, it's back to the dismal 20s and 30s that are more characteristic of Ohio in January. Le sigh. At least it hasn't snowed again (yet).
sweater: thrifted
short-sleeve Oxford: New York & Company
skirt: The Limited
necklace: InPink
tights, shoes: Target
Well, yet again, it's hard to believe that a new year has arrived. 2012 held so many changes for me and those close to me. New jobs, weddings, relocations, breakups, graduations...it's been such a whirlwind, no wonder I'm having a hard time believing it's already over.
And while I'm a little sad to think about some of the changes — particularly those that took my sister and new brother-in-law, and swept them away to a new home — I'm also very, very excited to see what 2013 has in store for me and my loved ones. I already know of a few who will change their marital and/or parental status this year, and there are some who I really hope find new jobs and new homes. What more will the year bring?
I'm not a fan of winter. I hate the cold and I'm terrified of (and terrible at) driving in snow/ice. But there's always something about the first week or so in January that has so much hope, so much promise, I can't help but enjoy it. Anyone else like that, or am I just a weird one? (Well, I am a weird one in many other ways...don't hold that against me.)
sweater, slacks: thrifted
short-sleeve oxford: New York & Company
shoes: Target
necklace: Forever 21
This weekend, I did a little shopping. Mostly because I was bored and felt like I needed to get out of the house, but also because I hadn't spend any of the money I'd budgeted for clothing on my last two paychecks, so I had a pretty sizable amount just kind of sitting there, asking me to turn it into new clothes.
I also have a pretty sizable list of "winter wants," which is the name I just now made up for my fall/winter wardrobe shopping list. At the top of that list was cute booties, sweater dresses, more tights (you can never have enough colored/patterned tights!) and big, comfy sweaters. I got almost all of the above, though I'm still on the hunt for the perfect cozy sweater. I hit up Forever 21, H&M, the Limited and Target, though I spent more time in Target's shoe and hosiery department than its clothing section. I want to try to search JCPenney with my next paycheck's clothing budget before I turn to the wide world of online shopping. Any other suggestions?
(By the way...these pics aren't of the new clothes. I have a few older shoots to post before I get to the ones I wore today, haha.)
shirt: old, don't remember, maybe New York & Company?
skirt: The Limited
heels: Target
necklace: InPink
cocktail ring: giveaway win, maybe from Modcloth? don't remember
Sometimes, I really appreciate a low-key evening, even if it's on the weekend. Maybe especially on the weekend, because lately I feel like we've spent so many Fridays out and about. Tonight it's just me, the cat, a bottle of wine and my iTunes getting some much-needed cleanup and updating. Does it make me a complete nerd that I'm completely content to weed through nearly 4,000 songs, deleting stuff I don't listen to anymore and fixing the album title/genre categories for my library? It does? Well, I guess I'm okay with that.
What about you guys? Do you have anything more exciting planned for you this weekend? For your sakes, I kind of hope you do :)
button-down: New York & Company
cropped slacks: The Limited
shoes: Target
necklace: InPink
bracelet: don't remember
If I were a superhero, I would be Captain Productive. I'd rush around the house, checking items off my to-do list and generally being awesome at getting things done. My arch nemeses? The television, distractions in general and lethargy.
This week, I've definitely been channeling Captain Productive. Going to the gym, experimenting with a recipe that's plagued me for ages, working on next week's Pin-spiration project, taking and editing outfit photos...I've been doing it all. Which is good, because my arch nemeses have been winning more often than not as of late.
Fun fact: This shirt has been sitting in my closet, unworn, for nearly two years. And I have no idea why. It fits perfectly, is flattering, and goes with just about everything I own. Funny how some parts of your wardrobe can be so neglected, isn't it?
blouse: old, don't remember
skirt:secondhand
heels, belt: Target
necklace: gifted
flower: H&M
I really love the simplicity of this outfit. The pencil-skirt-and-button-down-blouse is a classic, timeless combo, one that pretty much instantly makes me feel classy. Until I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, from behind.
This is the one and only item in my closet that actually makes it look like I have some badonk-a-donk. Because I definitely don't, in real life. But in this skirt...well, it's the only time that I feel like I can flaunt my assets. (Get it? Ha. I'm 24, going on 5.)
In other news, I've been thinking a lot lately about how I just don't utilize Pinterest as much as I should. I mean, I pin a million things, and never follow through on any of them. (Well, that's not entirely true. I did this and I attempted this. Guess which one was a major fail.) So anyway, I thought I'd take a page out of Young House Love's book and do my own Pinterest-project tackling challenge. I'm shooting for once a week. We'll see how well I do there ;)
shirt: secondhand
short-sleeve Oxford, cropped pants: New York & Company
shoes: DSW
hair flower: H&M
necklace: super old, don't remember
This morning, Matt left for a week-and-a-half trip to Utah to hike through the Rocky Mountains. It's such a cool opportunity for him, and I'm happy that he has the chance to do this, but a big part of me won't rest easy until he's home safely. It's the longest hike he's been on (try three times as long as any other he's done) and at a much higher elevation, with a much higher difficulty level. He and his friend are both excellent at "surviving" (what they prefer to call camping/hiking), and I know they're more than capable of this trip. But still. It's gonna be a long almost-two-weeks all by my lonesome. It's the longest we've been apart in years, and it'll be the longest we'll go without talking since we started dating, as he doesn't have a cell phone signal at 15,000 feet.
Le sigh. Anyway. This outfit. Some lady at the grocery store just walked up to me and complimented me on this hair flower. It was a random impulse purchase as I was checking out at H&M...the day I bought it, I wore it clipped to my cardigan. Multifunctional!
These are the shoes I picked up to wear to Abby's wedding, instead of these guys. I'm thinking about selling them, because they're a tad too large and too tall and I can't really walk in them very well. Anyone wear a size 10? (Ally, I'm lookin' at you!)
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 LimitedThis 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.
Every morning when I get dressed, I compose a blog post in my head that corresponds to the outfit I'm wearing. I think about talking points, like how I almost paired a different shirt or necklace with the outfit, or a funny story about an item I'm wearing.But by the time I actually post the outfit, a few days to a week later, I've almost always forgotten what talking points I had thought up and inevitably wind up talking about something else. Like with this outfit, I'm sure I had intended to say something about how I'm not sure if this all-neutrals outfit is chic or if it just makes me look washed out. But all I want to talk about this morning is how Spazzy keeps staring at me and mewing, and how stinking cute she is.
button down: New York & Company
cami: Old Navy
capris: Target
shoes: Franco Sarto via Marshall's
necklace: Banana RepublicSometimes I remember what talking points I had wanted to touch upon, and then it starts to compete with whatever's going on at the moment I'm writing, and the post winds up sounding like two different people wrote it. Which I'm sure is rather weird to read, particularly if you can't follow my train of thought. (But don't feel bad if you can't...few people can. Even Matt makes me stop for clarification at times, haha.)Oh well. Spazzy is now asleep next to me on the couch, and there's more adorableness going on there, so I think I'm just going to forget about my split-personality blogging habits and bug her for a little bit :)
I'm baaaaaack!Well, sort of. I'm having a really hard time catching up on everything that is my life this week. Work is a madhouse (well, only for me), I'm way behind on my freelance work, and the blog...well, let's just say I didn't really prepare anything--ANYTHING--to be ready when I return. Oh well.It doesn't help that I spent Monday, the day I had set aside for rest and recuperating, running errands and whatnot. But the good news is that one of those errands was picking up my car from the garage. It's fixed! And it didn't cost me an arm or a leg or my firstborn child. That's always good.But I'm still so exhausted, as I've spent the last week averaging 6 hours or less of sleep per night. Last night, I fell asleep at 8:30 with my laptop on my stomach, trying to play catch-up with the freelance job. How sad.So today, I'm going to just post an outfit and some teasers for the week or two ahead. Kay? Kay.
pink short-sleeve oxford and shorts: New York & Company
gray tee: Old Navy
necklace: The Limited
- upload my NYC pics to Flickr for your entertainment and write a little post about the trip itself, which was hectic, crazy and wonderful
- reveal the kitty's name, along with a video that demonstrates why it's so perfect
- reveal a new givewawaySounds pretty do-able. The uploading photos is going to take the longest...there are more than 200 of them, and I have to just weed through to find the best. Ick.What are your plans for the next few weeks?
