GRR...THESE PANTS

Today's outfit had to meet very specific criteria: A) No denim (I'm a glutton for punishment, and decided to pick up another WW meeting tonight, so it's another long work day) B) Must include sneakers and C) NO WINTER ITEMS

I have very limited choices for non-denim trousers. Three choices, to be exact, and one of those is wool, so they were out. These pants are from JCP ($20ish) and were bought on a whim for an interview. They fit kind of funky though and the one pant leg won't get off my darn sock! My husband suggested wearing jeans to work and changing before my second gig, but since I'm extremely stubborn and just a general pain in his ass, I immediately disregarded him. Hmm ... he may have had a point...

So, anyway, this is what it is: AA shirt ($22), black pants, a funky scarf (H&M $10) and my beloved gold Keds ($26). Added a little bracelet (Claire's, $5/3) for flair. Life will be so much easier when it's warm enough to wear skirts sans tights.

LONG DAY INTO NIGHT

This was yesterday's outfit. Sunday was our big Day of Fun and it was a late night. We went to see Gaslight Anthem in P-burgh. It was an AWESOME show. The guys were really fun and very energetic. Check them out here.

Before the show, we went to IKEA. It was very fun, but very packed. Just like EVERY time we go to IKEA, we spent about 2 hours wandering around the showroom, then 15 minutes running around the warehouse trying to find our goods, another 10 minutes of me convincing my husband that everything will indeed fit in the car (I'm a Tetris genius), and the longest 10 minutes EVER standing in line at the checkout ready to kill each other as a result of extreme exhaustion and hunger. I swear, it's really fun, though.

So, then we went to the show and as I said before, decided to drive home afterwards. I always wondered who the losers were who left before the encore. Apparently, they are people who have spent the entire afternoon at IKEA and still have to drive 3 hours to get home. We totally left before the encore :(

Then came the ride home. I promised that I would do my best to stay awake and keep my husband company the whole way back. And I did. Unfortunately, because we purchased 3 rather large bookcases at IKEA and had to put half of the back seat and the front passengers seat down in order to fit them in the car, I had to keep him company while staring at the back of his head for 3 hours. Every conversation sounded like this:

Husband:
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Me:
HUH?

Husband:
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...

And so it went for 3 hours...

So, yesterday, we did take a couple hours in the morning to sleep in a bit, then I had PT, then off to work and then work after work. I got this sweater on sale at Target for $15. It's so easy to toss on over all black, as I did. I added the blue beads (Target, 2 years ago) for a little color and my riding boots (Kohl's, $16). Works for me!

SUNDAY SAFARI

It's been a couple of days since I posted. On Friday, I took pictures, but the lovely sun blew them out so badly that I couldn't use them. But that's okay, because is was gorgeous! And yesterday, I wore a rockin' outfit (if I do say so myself) but got so wrapped up in the day's happenings that I forgot to take a picture. Oh well, that just means that I will have to wear it again very soon!

Today, we're going on a little day trip. It's going to be a long, long day with lots of driving, walking and standing, so comfort is number one. First up, IKEA. Yay! I mean, who doesn't love IKEA? Then, dinner with some friends and on to see a show tonight. Unfortunately, we'll be driving back after the show, which means we won't be getting back until 2 or 3 in the morning. I don't know why we insist on doing this to ourselves every time we go see a show, but as long as it's worth it, I don't care. Especially since my husband will be driving. I told him to come up with a list of things to talk about if he expects me to stay awake for the whole drive back. I see a couple LARGE coffees in my future...

Okay, on to the real reason you're here. It's not a stupendous outfit today, but it has to be functional. My super stretchy = super comfy jeans (JCP, $20), paired with my gold suede Keds (endless.com, $26), topped off with all thrifted finds: a short-sleeve sweat shirt (Lucky Brand, $2), an awesome safari jacket (Talbots, $2), and long gold chains ($2).

Now, if my driver (a.k.a. husband) would get his butt in gear, we can hit the road!

P.S. I hate the days when I have to wash my hair. It looks like butt. Grr...

HAVING A BALL

So, I've been having some back issues lately, caused mostly by the fact that I spend 75% of my life sitting in front of a computer. Add too much running and over stretching on top of that and you've got a lovely little clusterf*** of deeply rooted evil in the base of your spine. Fun... I've been going to PT for a few weeks now, which is very helpful, but the healing process is pretty slow. And patience is not exactly my forte. In addition to laying off the heels for a while, I've decided to replace my desk chair at work with an exercise ball. It's full of bouncy goodness and allows my butt the freedom to roll around to hit different sit points. The downfall is that every time I get up and walk away, my "chair" rolls halfway across the room. Oopsie!

Anyway, I digress...once again.

Today's outfit is a direct result of more digging around in the back of my closet. At 12:30 in the morning. I can't imagine why I'm tired. But, I think it was worth it. I bought this gauzy little number on clearance last year at Old Navy for like $10. And even though I swore off tights two days ago, I really wanted to wear a dress today, so I bit the bullet and pulled them out again. I tried to give the flowy dress more structure and sharpness by adding the black boots (Kohl's, $16) and gray belt (vintage, mom's closet). Yes, I think I like it.

WHAT DAY IS IT?

I've fallen back into the bad habit of not laying my clothes out the night before. Mostly due to the fact that I've been working on projects waaaaay too late. Then, I sleep in and end up throwing on anything I can find. For all of the 4 minutes of effort I put into today's outfit, I think I'm okay with it. The ruffled shirt (JCP, sale $7) adds a lot of interest, along with the argyle cardi (BonTon, sale $20). The black skinnies (Target, sale $27) are old stand-bys and my new favorite shoes, the gold Keds (endless.com, sale $26).

Hope this week goes fast! Who am I kidding - is tomorrow seriously Thursday already?! Visit from my little bro, IKEA, and Gaslight Anthem this weekend. (In between all of the work, of course.) Can't wait!

CONTROVERSIAL STRIPING

I'm pairing those controversial stripes again. Didn't feel much like a skirt this morning, so I remixed the cardi (Sears, $10) with a striped tee (Old Navy, $10) and flared jeans (Limited, TJMaxx, $13). I'm soooo sick of wearing tights and can't wait until it's warm enough for bare legs. Then, I get to blind everyone with my ridiculous whiteness. Mmm...can't wait. So, jeans it is! Finished it off with the new gold kicks (Keds, Endless, $26). I'm lovin' them!

P.S. I just realized that this entire outfit cost a mere $59. Go me!

BLACK AND BLUE

I can't believe it's Monday already. I probably say that a lot, though. We had wonderful company this weekend which was fun, but makes the weekend go too fast.

I wasn't very prepared today. I didn't select my wardrobe until this morning, which is a bad idea because I can barely function, let alone style. So, I went for old faithful - that darn $8.99 black dress from Sears. This is not how I intended on wearing it, but my initial thought looked awful, so with 30 seconds to spare, I threw on the boots (Kohls, $27), grabbed a giant wood cuff (Claires, $7) and ran out the door.

The earrings are new and I received several compliments on them. Wood earrings are a summer staple for me. I'm sure to get lots of use out of them. My previous wood earrings broke on the dance floor of a local dive bar. Sad, but at least they went out with a bang.

Anyway, for any locals, I got the earrings at Crushed Ice for $3. Sadly, they're closing up shop. But happily, everything is 40% off.

"See" you all Tuesday! Night!