Procrastinator

shirt: The Limited
cardi, shoes: thrifted
Bermuda shorts: New York & Company
necklace: gifted
If I were a superhero, I'd be The Procrastinator. My power is to put off everything that can possibly be done later, and even some things that can't. Then, at the very last moment, I somehow manage to pull it all together into a pretty good, if not awesome, final product.

And that's exactly what I was doing last night and will be doing for the rest of this weekend. That, and taking photos of some outfits I wore this past week, and slowly sweating to death in 100-degree weather and an air-condition-less house. And reading Game of Thrones. I just started it...and it's awesome. Hope you all have an interesting weekend (if slightly less weird than mine)!

Nostalgia

Because I like to keep a cache of outfit photos, the outfits I post here are rarely the outfits I wear on a given day. (Exception: When I forget about EBEW or BDIB and wear the theme the day of. Then I have to get up earlier to shoot, edit and post the photos all at once.) Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that because of this cache, I often wind up with an incongruity between the day's weather and the outfit that I post that day.

For example, if I were actually wearing this outfit today, my toes would be the color of my shirt. This was taken during our freak heat wave last month, when temps were hitting record-breaking numbers in the 80s. And today? It's currently just above freezing, and not scheduled to get too much warmer in the afternoon. Boo.







shirt: secondhand
pants: New York & Company
sandals: Target
tie-worn-as-a-belt: thrifted
In high school, I used to wear ties with T-shirts in an attempt to be somewhat punk. I still maintain that it didn't actually look too bad. So when I saw this tie at Goodwill a while back, I got far too nostalgic and bought it. It's actually pretty cute, and I'm tempted to wear it as an actual tie at some point...I just have to figure out how to make it look not like teenage-me and not like the man-version of me. You gotta love a good challenge!

What about you? Any trends from younger-you days that you want to re-create, but are hesitating on?

Gross shoes and awesome bags

So I've got about five more outfits that I shot at the old apartment, and I want to get those all posted before I start putting up photos from my new place. Don't want to be all flip-flopping on my locations...for some reason, consistency seems important. Hm.






shirt: The Limited
collared shirt & shorts: New York & Company
shoes: Target
ring: American Eagle, about five years ago
bag: street vendor in NYC
I got this bag on Canal Street in NYC last month. I've been carrying it pretty much every day...it's basically the perfect bag. Great size, lots of interior pockets, high quality material (I think). The lady who sold it to me slapped a Michael Kors charm on it, but it looks cheap and I think I'm going to take it off. Except, it makes a great zipper pull, so maybe I'll leave it and be one of those awful people who contributes to the counterfeit fashion fiasco. Oops.

Speaking of NYC, the city pretty much ruined these shoes. Seriously, they are so dirty. I want to take a Magic Eraser to them, but I'm not sure how the faux-leather material will take it. But check this out: The color of the underside of the strap is the shoe's original color. Gross.


The really gross part? I haven't stopped wearing them.

Wherein Emma Learns to Live Without Sleep

Ugh. Can we talk for a moment about what a terrible style blogger I've been lately? As of today, it will have been more than a week--a WEEK!--since my last style post. It's true, this blog is a mélange, it's not supposed to be about any one thing. But in the months since I've started it, there has been a definite focus on style on a budget. And food on a budget. And budgeting on a budget. I guess I'm kind of disproving my own point here. Regardless. I'm sad that I haven't been posting as much this week as I would have liked to.

shirt: thrifted
cami: Marshall's
shorts: New York & Company
shoes: Target
necklace: Forever 21

The simple fact is that honestly haven't been able to post that much this week. This post? This one you're reading right now? It was written in multiple sittings, most of them during my lunch break at work. See, I normally write posts in the morning, before I leave for work. But this month has been a whirlwind, and I'm behind on my freelance work, so mornings this week have been devoted to catching up.

So Emma, why don't you just post in the evenings? Ah, dear reader, if only it were that simple. No, my evenings have been taken up with training for my moonlighting gig as a waitress in a corporate restaurant. (Oh God, so many hours of training. I seriously could complete it alone in about three hours, but it's group-style, so we're looking at 20+ hours instead. Lovely.) BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.

Matt and I were supposed to move in to our new place on September 1st. Last week, the landlord mentioned that he wanted us to move in early to deter copper thieves (really!), so we agreed. On Sunday, he called and said we should pick up the keys on Monday. Guess how much we have packed/ready to move? Not. One. Damn. Thing.

So in the evenings (if I'm not sitting through hours of training) I'm packing, cleaning, painting, unpacking and generally losing it. And guess what I'll be doing this weekend? Bingo. Freelance writing, training, moving/cleaning/painting. Sounds exhilarating, no?

I'm sorry. This sounds so much more whiny (whinier?) than I meant for it to. I just feel like you guys deserve an explanation. I'd blog if I had the time! Which I may not for another week, depending on how everything goes. Anyone else want to guest post?

(Don't worry, Fiscal Fridays will persist tomorrow. I promise. The topic? Groceries. Thrilling, I know. Try to contain yourselves till then ;) You can start distracting yourself by entering my giveaway and taking this short, anonymous, 8-question survey about budgeting (to help me with next week's Fiscal Fridays post)!

Teasers

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

So in the next week and a half, I will:
- 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 givewaway

Sounds 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?

BDIB: Arm Party

I just love this phrase. Arm party. I think it's hysterical. What I find even more amusing, however, is that this trend is something I used to do back in high school. I even used the DIY friendship bracelet idea to create my arm party, which is what a lot of people are doing now, too. I was going to whip up a few friendship bracelets and wrap some old bangles with string for today's Bloggers Do It Better challenge, but I didn't have the time to run to the store to get embroidery thread, let alone actually make a few of those bad boys. I guess, for now, they'll remain a nostalgic memory for me.

tunic: Artifacts Gallery in Athens, Ohio
tank: Walmart
shorts: New York & Company
shoes: Payless
bracelets: don't remember where I got ANY of them, haha

The only think I don't really like about the arm party? My arm is constantly jingling at my desk as I type at work all day. Boo.

Well, Matt and I board our train to New York City tonight! We're leaving Kitty (who still doesn't have an official name) with a few friends, and our neighbor is keeping an eye on the apartment (so don't try breaking in, creepy people who might read this, haha). I have a few awesome guest posts lined up between now and Monday, so make sure you stop by to check those out!

Also, I dyed my hair last night. I was well overdue for a touchup! But I still have about a week's worth of outfits from pre-hairdye, so expect a few changes in apparent hair color over the next few days ;)

Until next week...stay well, readers!

Internal debate

I don't often post weekend-wear, simply because on the weekends I'm usually found wearing sweats/workout shorts and an old show t-shirt from my high school days as a thespian. Not really blog-worthy. In fact, I'm not even sure where I wore this last week...might have been at a cookout/drinks to celebrate a friend's birthday. But I suppose the "where" doesn't matter as much as the "wear." (See what I did there? My cleverness astounds me sometimes.)

lacy tank and top tank: Old Navy (?)
shorts: DIY'ed from an old pair of jeans
shoes: Target
bracelet: don't remember
earrings: Leslie's Baubles

So lately I've been thinking a lot about posting frequency. The recent 30x30 challenge (I swear, I'll stop talking about it someday) had me posting every single day, including many weekend days. Before that, I was posting 3-5 times a week.

Now, I'm in the habit posting every single weekday, and I worry that it's too much. Too much time on my part (because I don't already have enough on my plate), and too much of me forcing my photos into your RSS feeds every day. I know a lot of bloggers post every single day, but they also have far better style and photo quality than I do.

So, I turn to you, readers. After all, this is just as much for you as it is for me. What do you think? Should I cut back on the post frequency? Or do you like my random babble every day? (Be honest. I won't be offended, I promise.)

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.

Womp Womp

Seems to be my refrain for the past few days. Last night, Matt and I had to cancel our much-anticipated trip to New York City in August. I've seriously been looking forward to this for months, but when both your cars start having issues (and, in Matt's case, "issues" means "overheating in under three minutes of driving") and you have to put down a $700+ deposit on a house lease, dropping several hundred dollars on a trip to the Big Apple just isn't feasible. Womp #1.

Then, to add injury to insult, I got the holy mother of migraines last night. Seriously, it woke me up several times throughout the night. I barely slept at all. Thank god I had a single pill left on my prescription, or I wouldn't have made it in to work this morning. Womp #2.

Being exhausted, I put virtually no effort into this outfit. There. I admit it. If I weren't doing the 30x30 challenge, I wouldn't have blogged an outfit today at all. But, I think I salvaged it a little with the cute satin bow at the hip. No idea where this belt came from. None. Thanks, mystery belt, for saving this otherwise un-blog-worthy outfit. Womp #3.

items: 5, 18, 27
necklace: street vendor at a Short North Gallery Hop

That, my friends, is the face of exhaustion.

But, I have a non-womp tibit to share: My first giveaway! Call it the anti-womp. Have you entered yet?

A perfect storm

Today seems to be one of those days where everything aligns perfectly...in all the worst ways. This outfit is what happens when:

- You wake up with a migraine. You take your prescription, but it knocks you out so hard that you oversleep and are pressed for time. Your head doesn't hurt, but you feel like you haven't slept in days.
- You're doing a 30 for 30 challenge and you have been too busy/lazy/forgetful to do laundry all week. So instead of 30 items to choose from, you have about five.
- You are me.

items: 13, 18, 20, 24
necklace: gift from Matt
bracelet: don't remember

I'm not entirely disappointed in this outfit, but I definitely could have done better. Ah, well. There's always tomorrow, no?

And of course, there's the long weekend to look forward to. If you ask me, one of the best perks of working in an office is that they pay you to not work on days like the Fourth of July. Awesome.

Finally, two questions: Anyone else experiencing issues with Blogger in Draft and Google Chrome? They do not like each other. Which is sad, because I like them both on their own. Oh, Blogger, don't make me choose! And the second question: If you haven't given me feedback on a possible name change, could you take two seconds and let me know what you think by clicking here? I'll give you a hug :)

Stepping outside the box

Today I did something a little risqué...for me, anyway. This t-shirt-and-bermuda shorts combo wasn't really doing it for me, and I was kind of stumped as to how I would jazz it up with what I'm sure is a poor selection of 30 items. Then I thought, a belt! And then I thought, two belts!! It's daring! It's bold! It's...two belts.

items: 6, 19, 28
brown belt: came with a skirt from Spotted Moth
striped belt: no idea
jewelry: American Eagle, I think?

So, what's next for me, now that I'm breaking fashion rules? I have no idea. I feel kind of stupid wearing this, to be honest, but I'm going to go with it. A lot of trendy things are kind of dumb, if you ask me. Fake it 'till you make it!

What do you think? Do you ever wear trends or pieces that you think are kind of awkward/strange?

(Note: Sorry for the strange photo quality. I had to take photos in gross overcast lighting and had no time this morning to color adjust!)

If April showers bring May flowers...

...then what do May showers bring? You're probably sick of me writing about the rain. Well, join the club. This has been the wettest spring I can remember. And here's another fun fact: we've had our heat on for most of this week. I keep double-checking the calendar to make sure it isn't still March, because it sure feels like it! Next week is supposed to warm up a bit, though it won't get any drier. Hey, I'll take what I can get.

Shirt: thrifted
Bermuda shorts: New York and Company
Shoes: Mossimo via Target
Necklace: Figleaf
Sunnies: No idea. Target?

Oh, so I have seen the sun this season, and here's proof! I wore sunnies! Apparently, they give me the kissy-face attitude that thus far has been lacking on this blog.

This feels like such a great spring outfit to me. Bright, bare arms/legs, peep toes. It has everything. Also, I love the color combo of light teal and faux-old gold. So pretty and feminine! Kind of wish I had different shoes for this, but I'm not sure what I'd wear. Any ideas?

Take two?

Well, still no sign of my lost posts coming back, so I'm going to try to re-create them. I happened to have the copy from my outfit post saved, but I'll have to re-write the food post. Blerg. In other news, here's the outfit post from last Thursday.

Button down: Banana Republic
Cami: Old Navy
Capri/short things: New York and Company
Shoes: Mossimo via Target
Necklace: Tiffany
Bracelet: American Eagle?

This necklace is one of the nicest pieces of jewelry I own. My aunt gave it to me as a college graduation present. The second I saw the Tiffany blue box, I cried. No joke. It was pretty exciting. I can't remember where I got this bracelet, on the other hand. Just like most of the rest of my jewelry.

In other news, Jill mentioned yesterday how great it is to have a bit of wind when doing blog shoots, and I have to agree. When I took these photos, there was just enough of a breeze to make things interesting...but not so much that my hair or shirt got out of hand. Lovely :)