Friday, February 26, 2010

FRIDAY = FUNDAY

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Not that all of my clothes aren't fun, but Friday's clothes are extra fun.  I can throw caution to the wind and be inappropriate, as casual as I want and just downright experimental.

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I'm really surprised at how much I'm utilizing the tights + cut-off combo.  I think a majority of my obsession comes from the freedom and confidence I feel wearing these shorts with tights.  'Cause I'll tell you right now - when mother nature finally decides to turn on spring, I'll be packing these bad boys away.  Not a big fan of them sans tights.

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As you can see, we have a little bit more snow.  It's actually worse than it looks.  The wind is wick-ed and so everything is drifting all over the place.  So, we took it easy this morning and didn't head out until 1.

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Now, I must go be productive.   Perhaps I should clarify - I must go be more productive in the real world, as opposed to the blog world.  But really, on a day like today, where would you rather be?

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Blazer: JCP, $25 - T-shirt: American Apparel, courtesy of Buffalo Exchange - Cut-offs: Thrifted DIY, $4
Boots: Wanted, $30 - Hat: Gap, $10

Thursday, February 25, 2010

MY FAVORITE THINGS

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Black and white stripes.

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Knit moto jacket.

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Springy skirt.

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Side-swept braid.

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Being ridiculously comfortable and pulled together.
Knit Jacket: Strawberry, $30 - Tunic: H&M, $25 - Skirt: self-made - Brogues: Target, $25

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

PROCRASTINATING JUST GOT BETTER

 

 Procrastinators rejoice!  Here's one more thing for you to do before that "to do" list!

Hop on over to Couturious and whip up some fancy looks.  It's like paper dolls, but better!  I'm loving the feeling of throwing together a look with no boundaries.  Try it yourself - just don't blame me when you get sucked in for the next six hours.

Like my looks so far?  There's more where that came from, so click on through to the other side.

SEASON'S FIRST

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Looks like winter's going grace us with more snow again tomorrow.  Yippee...  On the bright side (quite literally), for the first time since October, I was able to take my pictures outside after work.

There wasn't a ton of light and my camera's batteries died, so I was only able to get off a few shots.  Most of which turned out something like this:

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Either way, I'll take it!  Girl needs a little vitamin D!

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This outfit was 100% blogger inspired.  It's been sitting in my inspiration folder for some time now, and I finally decided to pull it out.

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In other news, I finally upgraded to Windows 7 last night.  I've only had it sitting around since October.  Unfortunately, I started it around 10:30 and was a little deflated when I saw "upgrade may take several hours."  So, needless to say, I was up rather late, dozing off in between prompts.  So far, so good, so I think it was worth it!

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Trench: Old Navy, $35 - Dress: Old Navy, $4 - Tights: Hue, $4 - Shoes: Target, $25 - Scarf: Target, $13

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

SOMETIMES IT REALLY IS JUST BLACK AND WHITE

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I anticipated adding a little more color this morning, but I just couldn't bring myself to disrupt the harmony of my black and white.  So, I just added lots of red lipstick.

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I love the days where I feel as though I've walked off the pages of The Sartorialist ... or the front page of Lookbook.nu.  I'm so not that cool, but a girl can pretend.

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There's also a small part of me that can't stop thinking about Paula Abdul every time I wear these shoes with these pants.  You know - in Opposites Attract?  The one with the cat ...

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I keep forgetting to tell you all about my 30¢ finds at Goodwill.  Our local Goodwill has a clearance section.  I'm so cheap, that I even shop the clearance at Goodwill.  Anyway, the whole section is marked down to 30¢ - okay, it's actually only 29¢, but who's counting?

On an entirely different topic, is anyone else kind of excited about the Ladies Skate tonight?

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Pants: Thrifted and hemmed, 30 29¢ - Tee: Target, $6 - Necklace: Target, $3 - Knit Jacket: Strawberry, $30
Belt: Express, $10 - Shoes: Steve Madden via Ross, $17

P.S.  Thank you all so much for your kind comments regarding my hair.  It's suddenly feeling very long and my bangs were getting really shaggy, so I'm just styling it a little differently.  Thanks again!

Monday, February 22, 2010

I LOVE LITTLE ELVES

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Being married is sometimes* like living with little elves.  I notice sometimes* that little things around the house will magically get done.  I'm sure that's it's because of the husband and not little elves.  But one can dream.

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For instance, I decided to try and take photos on the back porch.  As I peered out the window, I was crossing my fingers that the snow would be melted.  Not so much.  However, there was a perfect little shoveled pathway.

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My first thought was "oh, how'd that get there?"  Followed by, "those little elves..."

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Then, I remembered that the recycling had to go out, so the path was really a necessity and not a lovely gesture to ease the picture taking.

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This outfit walks that fine line between cute and cowgirl.  I'm hoping to be a little less on the cowgirl side, but I couldn't resist wearing the last of my 30¢ Goodwill purchases from a couple of weeks ago: a little boys Wrangler shirt, complete with pearly snaps and all.  Giddy up.

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Shirt: Thrifted, 30¢ - Belt: Thrifted, $1 - Skirt: Charlotte Russe, $5 - Boots: Target, $35

*I want to stress that this is only SOMEtimes, because OTHER times,
a girl has to ask until she's blue in face.  Love you, honey!


EDIT:  Someone just made a really great point.  SOMEtimes the little elves do not so helpful things, too.  So, beware the little elves!

RAMBLINGS OF A MONDAY AFTERNOON

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!  Mine went something like this:

1.  I've been working a lot more this month.  Seems impossible, right?  Anyway, for the third Saturday in a row, I worked from 7-4ish.  Blech!  Luckily, they were only temporary hours and just happened to all fall in the same month.

2.  Thanks to the snow (f__  you, winter!), I've been doing a LOT of Jillian Michaels workouts.  Which means I've been doing a lot of push-ups.  Which means my arms are starting to look a little scary awesome.  Which means I've been flexing my muscles a lot.  Which means I've been harassing John until he feels the "guns" ... a lot.

3.  Someone said something this weekend that upset me.  In an attempt at self-growth, I addressed it.  It turned out awesome and completely lifted my confidence.  So, stand up for yourself.  Everyone needs a little feedback now and again.

4.  I don't know where the time has gone today.  There's part of me that doesn't care and then the other part of me that wants everything to stop.  Just for a minute.

5.  Went to see Shutter Island yesterday.  Good stuff, people.  Go see it.

Friday, February 19, 2010

DENIM DAY

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First of all, I just realized that today is the 19th.  I've written the 18th on everything today.  Go,me.

I feel like I almost make myself wear jeans on Friday, since the only day of the week that I actually can.  I suppose I could on Mondays, I would just have to change before work.  I never realized how much I really do love jeans in the winter until my new job removed them as an option.

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The good side to that is that I'm much more creative and wear a lot more skirts.  It's also made me much less reliant on the wardrobe staple.  The bad side is that some days, you just wanna wear jeans.

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I can't wait until it's a little lot warmer and I can pair this sweater and necklace with a pair of long, tattered jean shorts.  It's 100% inspired by a picture of Taylor Swift in a summer issue of Glamour.  If I wasn't feeling so lazy, I'd show it to you, but I am, so I won't.

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Luckily, no one is standing behind me here.  Looks like the rear view may be a little scandalous.
booty + low rise = hello, butt crack

Hahaha ...  that reminds me.  I once had a very dear friend tell me that I was lucky that my butt crack starts way low, swearing that hers practically starts in the middle of her back. Hahaha ...  What kind of people have these conversations?  And who the hell would ever repeat it on the internets?!

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Love you, Lindsey!

Sweater: JCP, $18 - Necklace: courtesy of Rebekah of Stella & Dot
Jeans: Bitten by SJP, $10 - Shoes: Madden Girl, $23

A MOMENT IN TIME

MOMENT IN TIME

When I returned from my run this morning, I noticed this.  I couldn't resist snapping a photo.  It looks like it should be in motion, but it's not.  It's just a frozen moment in time.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

PURPLE PEOPLE EATER

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Anybody else remember that movie?  That's all I can think of whenever I wear purple.

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In an attempt to add a little color to the gloomy winter, I remixed this dress with a bright pop or purple.

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This is certainly a little on the sweet side for me, but I'll take it!  It's cute enough.

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And as long as it has pockets ... well, you know.

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Dress: Twinkle by Wenlan, Gilt.com, courtesy of credit
Tights: courtesy of We Love Colors - Brogues: Target.com, $25

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

DAPPER DAME

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Oh, indoor pictures ... you're so boring.  Unfortunately, I just wasn't in the mood to be cold today.  Mother nature on the other hand ... very cold, indeed.  I've officially hit that point in the year where my patience with winter is rapidly dwindling.  I'm counting down the days until I can pack away my heavy coat.

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Luckily, these pants are amazing and will certainly help me get through the next couple of months.  I've been wanting a pair of cropped trousers forever.  Well, forever since Octoberish, anyway.  Unfortunately, finding a pair to fit me was a bit challenging.  So many of the fashiony ones are made for legs much more slender than mine.  But I knew Goodwill wouldn't let me down.

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I picked these up at the same time I got the plaid ones that I made into shorts.  Of course, these were much longer and had a cuff on them.  They were hideous mom pants (not my mom, though).  It's amazing how a couple of inches can totally transform a garment.  Now, they are sure to be my go to pants in the coming weeks.  They're a super soft wool and are fully lined for added warmth.

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And just in case you didn't notice the shoes.

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Pants: thrifted and hemmed, 30¢ - Blouse: Sears, $9 - Belt: Ross, $7.50
Cardigan: JCP, $12 - Shoes: Steve Madden via Ross, $17

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

FLAT OUT LOVIN' IT PT. 2 - FLATS WITH TIGHTS

As promised, here's my best tips and tricks for styling flats with some of your favorite tights.

THE SHOE
The secret lies primarily in the shoe itself.  While some flats can be worn quite well with tights, others will look hideous.  So, what should you look for?  Think about your flats as body-con dresses for your feet.  Look for something that follows the curve (or maybe even adds curve) to your foot.  This defined shape will look more like a sexy extension of your leg and less like a cement brick strapped to your foot.  It's also a pretty good lesson in wearing the shoe, instead of letting the shoe wear you.

Avoid clunky or chunky toe boxes or adornments.  Again, you want to wear the shoe - not the the other way around.  In my experience, the bigger the shoe looks, the shorter my legs appear.  No good.  The same can be true for a super pointy toe box.  I've worn the super pointy flat before, but only with pants.  The main reason is because they just don't allow for my foot's shape to come through and end of looking like skis.  Also, no good.

I have 2 main preferences in flats - either a round toe with the opening right along the base of my toes or an almond shaped toe with a shorter toe box.  More recently, I've added a third preference - brogues.  The secret here is pretty much the same - not too round and clunky, not too pointy, and enough of a shape to see the curve of my foot.

NOW, ADD THE TIGHTS
How many times have you put flats on with a pair of tights and just feel ... off?  You either look barefoot, cut off at the ankles, or weighted down and a bit shlumpy.  I think we've all been there.  Here's a few things to keep in mind when pairing your flats with tights:

1.  Don't forget the aforementioned shape of the shoe.  Makes all the difference in the world.

2.  Texture & shine can go a loooong way.  Make sure that your shoes don't match your tights exactly.  This doesn't mean that they should be a different color entirely (that can have the opposite effect sometimes), but just a little something so they stand out.  A subtle texture, like patent or tweed, or a subtle color variation can work wonders.

3.  When I talked earlier about my preferences, you'll notice that I pay great attention to wear the opening of the shoe lies on my foot.  Just like photography, I think a rule of thirds applies.  If the top of the shoe comes half way back on the top of your foot, guess what.  You're foot looks half as long and most likely, out of proportion with your legs.  Especially if you have short legs like me.*  The reverse is also true.  If a shoe opening just covers the tips of your toes, your feet will look monstrous compared to the shoes.  And again, out of proportion.  So, remember the rule of thirds, and shoot to leave 2/3 of your foot open.

Of course, everything has an exception.  In my case, it's brogues.  But again, they only work, because they show my foot shape and don't come all the way to my ankles.  I also tend to stick with a similar color palette.  A light colored brogue against dark tights, on me, would seriously stump my legs.

Here are some of my best examples: 

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The brogues: perfect shape, elongating, but not too pointy, black on black

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Utilizing both a subtle difference in color and a patent texture

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Black on black, but with the patent texture to differentiate

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A little tweed texture to pop the shoes, and in this case, a little embellishment for added interest

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Subtle color variation, perfect shoe shape

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Again - black on black, but with the patent texture to differentiate

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Again - a little tweed texture to pop the shoes, and in this case, a little embellishment
 
I hope this helps!  Feel free to email me with any questions.

* For the record, I am only 5'3" with a 30" inseam ... so short legs.

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