What I wore, my way

I recently picked up a few skirts at Anthropologie, on sale, complete with pockets! I was thrilled to see the always fashionable Jessica from What I Wore wearing one of the skirts I had just bought. Here's my take on it:

White blouse - Anthropologie, White tank underneath - Don't even know, Cognac belt - Primark, Skirt - Anthropologie, Watch - Michele Watches, Green wedges - Steve Madden

This skirt is super swingy and fun.

I kept wondering what shoes to wear because black would have been easiest, but perhaps too heavy. I threw on my trusty green wedges, and put on a cognac brown belt to bring up some of that brown color from the cork wedges.

I felt super feminine all day, though the detail on the front of my blouse made me feel a bit like I was wearing a bib. So today I was a feminine baby. Don't hate.

It's Memorial Day

I woke up this morning and sent up a prayer for all the veterans, all those currently serving, and their families. Then I decided to find something to wear that was red, white, and/or blue. I was surprised to find that I don't have a lot of patriotic colors in my wardrobe. Here's what I came up with:

Tunic worn as shirt - Arden B., Belt - Target, White skirt - Charlotte Russe (Husband found), Pink-ish (Nordstrom site says they're Red) Wedges - Me Too

And that's the pose I came up with when Husband said, "Do something different!" I'm attempting to frame my curly hair...

...complete with a French braid!

Fave of the week: May 21 - May 27

I had a tough time deciding on my favorite outfit of the week, and I also did not want to choose a non-work outfit (it makes me feel sorry for my work clothes, like they're my red-headed stepchildren), but I had to...my favorite outfit was from last Saturday.

Also, um, how awesome was my hair that day? I've started to come to the realization that hair can make or break an outfit, so I've been trying to spend more time on it. You know what's annoying, though? I've also realized that my hair does not photograph well. Yesterday, my hair was awesome, eliciting many compliments from Husband, but it looks like complete crap in my picture.

Anyway, back to Saturday's outfit--I was happy with the bright yellow color (so happy!) and the accessories that went into this outfit. Casual, comfortable, but still stylish.

Orange you glad?

Yesterday, Husband and I went to the Nordstrom Half-Yearly Sale, requiring comfortable and easy-to-take-off clothes. And though I wanted to wear a summer dress (it was really hot), I dislike trying on just a top...and realizing that I also need to find bottoms to get a realistic picture.

Orange Blouse - Banana Republic, Tank top - Target, Watch - Michele Watches, Bracelets - Uniquities, White Shorts - Martin + Osa, Colorful Wedges - Target

These are some of my favorite summer shoes. I saw that at Target and needed them, and was delighted when I saw the real shoes that Target ripped off a few weeks later at Nordstrom, costing a whole heck of a lot more. They looked exactly the same!

I was too exhausted after hours of scouring the mall to put up my outfit post, so there's yesterday's, and here's today's:

Shirt - Anthropologie, Gold leaf necklace - Arden B., Bracelets - Uniquities, Skinny jeans - 7 for all Mankind, Gold wedges - Michael Kors, umm...bra strap - Victoria's Secret

More orange!

I saw this top on sale at Anthro and was feeling like, Ehhhhh, but I enjoy trying on things when I think they look terrible on the hanger. Because when they end up looking fabulous on you, it's an extra fun surprise.

The maxi dress

Guess what I finally did today?

Wore a maxi dress! I know, I know--how behind am I? But I'm not the only one! Kendi from Kendi Everyday just wrote about finally getting on the trend too.

Chambray shirt - H&M, Maxi dress - Gap Outlet, Watch - Michele Watches, Wedges - Sam Edelman

I just couldn't resist these fun colors. And I've seen so many other people rockin' the maxi, no matter how tall or short they are--for example, here's one of my favorite outfits from Between Laundry Days. I've already thought of 10,000 ways to remix this dress, which has me even more hyped up about it. Truthfully, I need to hem up the dress a bit, but I was so hyped that I just wore some big wedges to keep it from dragging. And today, because I went to work, I had to cover up with a chambray shirt.

Also, I broke my vow about going to bed early last night. Instead I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Sigh. I just couldn't resist.

I'm a (tired) girl, wheee!

I did a silly thing last night and stayed up late reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And I actually felt full of energy this morning, mainly because my outfit made me happy. Then I started to draaaagggg after lunch. I vow tonight to go to bed at a decent hour. Even though I'm in the middle of one of the last chapters, The Servant of Lord Voldemort (which means I'm about halfway through the exciting conclusion). Here's the outfit that kept me going through the morning:

Shirt - Lacoste, Belt - New York & Company, Skirt - Anthropologie, Wedges - Sam Edelman

 I recently got the skirt on sale at Anthropologie. The most exciting part? It has pockets! I adore skirts and dresses with pockets. And this cut of skirt will always make me want to twirl around, squealing that I'm a girl, wheeee! But then I got home with newly-purchased skirt and realized that I didn't have a top to go with my fabulous skirt. Uggghhh. I wore this shirt with it, thought it was looser than I wanted it to be.

It's just the right color! Oh well. I wore the belt hoping to distract from the bagginess. I adore this belt. It's actually three belts that you can zipper together to make one wide belt. And I normally wear it backward.

Actually, I normally braid the three belts and then wear it backward, but that will be for another day. I hope a happier, energy-filled day.

P.S. You know what I just realized? I took off my belt and pulled out my shirt a smidge, and it looks so much better. I just had to embrace the looseness of the shirt. A perfect example of just working with what you've got.

I am a professional.

Today the big boss was in the office so I thought I should wear more of a "serious" work outfit. I saw a good amount of black and white on others too :) I've really tried to move away from black in order to challenge myself--it's a lot more difficult to mix and match when you eliminate black.

And of course the hair had to be in a bun.

Button-down shirt - Express, Black dress - BCBGMAXAZRIA via Ross, Belt - Express, Teal Watch - Michele Watches, Black patent leather shoes - BCBGirls

I do love this shirt because the colors are just fantastic. Unfortunately, Express used cheapy-looking buttons on it.

Buttons can make or break an outfit. A cheap shirt can look a lot more expensive with nice buttons, and an expensive shirt can look terribly cheap if the buttons are, and these buttons aren't stellar. I do like the shiny silver details on the sleeves of the shirt, though.

After a long day of work, I had to pop over to Forever Young Adult to see how we felt about the news that Lenny Kravitz has been cast as Cinna in The Hunger Games movie. Most of us range from confused to hell-to-the-no. Some of us have moved on to wondering what the heck they're going to do when it's time to cast Finnick. If you're not invested in the casting news coming out of this movie, then I am assuming you haven't read the books, to which I say, "Call in sick tomorrow and stay home to read these books." Yes, I am serious. Just look at my outfit.

Arizona!

I believe in shopping while traveling. It brings back good memories from your trip. Even if this dress is available at every Gap in the world, to me, it still says, "Arizona!"

Blue cardigan - Gap Outlet, White cami - American Eagle, Dress - Gap Outlet, Watch - Michele Watches, Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

When I bought this cardigan, I thought it would be perfect with this dress, and it is...color-wise. It looked a bit too loose, though, sadly  hanging around the dress, not close enough to my body. I tried to button it and then tried to belt it, and it just didn't look right. Finally I pulled it behind me and buttoned the bottom two buttons.

It looks kind of terrible in the picture with that bright flash, but in real life, it just looked like it was tied back. (Or maybe in real life it did look terrible and I couldn't see that clearly looking back into the mirror.) And it looked how I wanted it to from the front and side, which was not so billowy.

Even though my outfit still says, "Arizona!", I'm definitely back into the swing of things at home. I'm catching up on all of the shows I DVR'd and made dinner tonight (Martha Stewart's rigatoni with sausage and parsley). I've even made a dent in The Instructions!

Make Old New

I recently realized that I own a lot of dresses. It's great because all by itself, it's an entire outfit (you know, once you add shoes). But it's also difficult if you're trying to make exciting ensembles. Because you put on the dress...and you're done. So I need to add things over or under the dress.

Collared tank top - Express, Faux wrapdress - Ann Taylor Loft, Shoes - Jeffrey Campbell

I've had this dress and the shirt underneath it for five years, and I've never worn the shirt under the dress. I couldn't believe that I never noticed that the blues matches perfectly. And it worked really well because both have such deep V-necks, but together, they managed to make a work-appropriate neckline. (Sorry not to have a good close-up, by the way. Still new to the style blogging, will be my excuse.)

I adore my Jeffrey Campbell shoes.They threaten to make me look stumpy but they're comfy and soft and gorgeous.

I am not a model. I am a reader.

Literally, this is the best picture of me today.

Pink tanktop - Target, Yellow shirt - American Eagle, Pink belt - American Eagle, Khaki green shorts - The Survivor via Uniquities, Pink wedges - Target

Husband and I laughed that I am not a model. Seriously--what am I doing with my arm? But you don't want to know what the other pictures looked like, so here you go.

I felt like having a lazy Sunday, so I barely got dressed and make-up definitely did not happen either. I decided to at least put on a pink belt, in the hopes it would make my clothes into an outfit. Then I tried to cover myself up with big books too. These are the books in my life right now.

The just finished Christopher Pike book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, The Instructions by Adam Levin (at just over 1,000 pages, my friends), and The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson. Friday evening, I promised myself that I would finish HP and The Elephant Keeper, and get to at least page 200 of The Instructions. None of that happened. I was napping.

Fave of the week: May 14 - May 20

Oooh, it was tough choosing a fave of the week. I almost went with my outfit from the Bloggers Do It Better challenge because it was my first time wearing a tie, and that was a lot of fun! Then I almost went with Friday's outfit, but I think I just liked my hair that day (a renewed attempt to stop being so darn lazy with my hair). I have finally decided, though, on Sunday's outfit:

Okay, not the best lighting there. But I was super pleased with myself for coming up with an outfit that was comfortable for walking in (note the boots), kept me cool in hot Arizona (short skirt), but still look funky (mixing the shirt with the skirt, and also with the boots).

Also, I should wear my hair back more, right? I keep getting drawn to tied back hair pics. And actually, my least favorite part of my BDIB outfit is my hair! I should have bunned it, or gone with a severe pony.

Look, Ma, no hands!

Today was one of those days where I felt like such a grown-up. I went to the gym! I cleaned bathrooms! I flipped through Martha Stewart magazines for recipes! I accompanied Child to the school's carnival! And I went grocery shopping, remembering to bring my own reusable bags. And I just thought, How did this all happen? When did this all happen? I counteracted all of that grown-up stuff, though, by wearing a romper.

Yellow cardigan - Gap Outlet, Striped romper - Gap Outlet, Chain belt - Nordstrom Rack (gift from Mom), Watch - Michele Watches, Hat - American Eagle, Sandals - Jeffrey Campbell

I even dried my hair properly and used rollers and everything. Then promptly covered up all of that hard work with a hat.

And sunglasses - Ray-Ban

I believe in protecting yourself from the sun. And accessorizing.

Mom got me this belt last Christmas, as part of an inside joke. I don't know if she even expected me to wear it, but I took it as a challenge. And it actually goes surprisingly well with a lot of things, giving a little bit of bling to unexpected outfits.

Also showing how much of a grown-up I'm not, here's my latest book review. I read The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood by Christopher Pike. I read the series when I was a kid, and remembered them as being fabulous. I still love vampire books, shows, movies, etc., so I thought I would see how the books held up. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Keepin' it cas

Ahh, casual Friday. After mostly being on vacation this week, I managed to do one day with a tie and immediately wanted to jump back into non-work clothes.

Scarf - Charlotte Russe, T-shirt - from the Lady Gaga concert, Belt - Banana Republic (Present from Mom), Watch - Michele Watches, Capris - 7 For All Mankind, Shoes - Target

I adore cheapy accessories. Check it:

I was at an outlet mall in Arizona and ended up in a Charlotte Russe (it was the strangest outlet mall), which I haven't set foot in for a couple of years probably. I was thrilled to find light scarves on sale, including this pink one with hearts. Luckily my blue sparkly belt was a present because I hate spending more than 10 bucks on any belt. And my shoes tying in the blue and pink are from Target:

I only had a couple of seconds today to see how others dressed for the Bloggers Do It Better challenge, but am going back now to check it out. The little bit that I looked through has already inspired me so much! I already have three other outfits planned around ties!

Bloggers Do It Better: American Prep Menswear

I am so excited to be doing my first Bloggers Do It Better challenge, an idea from Pretty Shiny Sparkly. I missed out on the first couple of challenges, but now I'm on board. This definitely falls in line with one of my reasons for starting the blog--to challenge myself, fashion-wise. So here I unveil my call to the challenge of American Prep Menswear:

White button-down - Petite Sophisticate, Yellow Tie - Hot Topic (present from Mom ages ago--don't ask), Navy Cardigan - Gap Outlet, Watch - Michele Watches, Purse - Kate Spade, Green Belt - American Eagle, Shorts - Gap, Green Wedges - Steven Madden

I went with simple, prep school colors--a bright yellow, navy blue, and classic green. The white made the colors pop. The purse and shoes were worn to girl-ify the look.

A few things surprised me about this look. How easy it was to do a half-Windsor knot, how special a tie can make you feel, and how completely un-special it seemed to be for everybody else! Look, I don't dress for anybody but me, and I don't expect compliments or comments (yes, I even say that though I am blogging my clothes), but look at me--I am wearing a tie. After a long day of feeling special about it, but becoming more confused over the lack of comments, Child finally said to me after work, "You look kind of like Hermione." Ha! And she doesn't even know that I'm rereading Harry Potter. Then a manager at Chick-Fil-A complimented my look and said I pulled it off well. Bless her. I was growing seriously concerned that nobody noticed my bright yellow tie.

One, it's the most gorgeous yellow, two, it matches my purse, and three, just look at that half-Windsor knot! It only took me two tries!

Homes

It's our last day in Arizona! Husband and I went to Taliesin West, the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Denim jacket - Gap, Tunic as dress - Uniquities, Watch - Michele Watches, Boots - Frye

I kept the outfit super simple today because we woke up early for the house tour and I could only think about being comfy. I was going even simpler without the jacket but it was really cold this morning!

I said to Husband that we needed pictures with cacti or nobody would believe we were in Arizona. So here I am, with cacti.

Now we're just waiting to hop on a plane to go to our winter/summer/fall/spring home. I've already finished up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and am starting on The Elephant Keeper. Here's my old review of HP on Goodreads. What's funny is that I just reread this review--I got to the Aragog (a giant talking spider) chapter late at night the last read around, and stopped so I wouldn't get nightmares. This time around I also got to the Aragog chapter right before bedtime but kept going. I didn't have nightmares, but man, I always forget about that chapter, and truly, it creeps me out.

These boots were made for walking

Husband was feeling a little bit better yesterday so we went exploring! First we started out at C-Fu Gourmet, a dim sum restaurant, to get some fuel. (If you tell us there's good dim sum somewhere, we'll be there.) Then we drove out to Biosphere 2! (If you're wondering, Biosphere 1 is...the planet Earth.)

Sunglasses - Ray-Ban, Dress - Libertine for Target, Purse - Treesje, Watch - Michele Watches, Boots - Frye

That's Biosphere 2 behind me, containing five different biomes--rainforest, ocean, savanna, marsh, and desert. And, yes, those are the proper walking shoes I chose to wear. Those boots have visited Chicago, trekked all over Seattle, and now stomped through Arizona.

After a full day of exploring, we needed more awesome food, this time at Pizzeria Bianco. Husband is a pizza fanatic, so we had to go. I got the Four Peaks Hop Knot IPA, which was so yummy, and definitely made me feel like I was on vacation. And I had to get the Wiseguy pizza, covered with onions and sausage.

Easy, breezy

Couple of problems today. Husband was feeling sick (on vacation!), so we ran to the doctor and the pharmacist to get him on the track to feeling better. And when I wasn't at the gym giving him nap time, I was wearing this.

Shirt - Urban Outfitters (White tank top under the shirt, hard to see in the pic, though - Target), Bracelets - Uniquities, Watch - Michele Watches, Belt - Primark, Skirt - PacSun (Husband found), Sandals - Jeffrey Campbell

And here was our other problem today, walking to and from restaurants, the doctor, the pharmacy. You see it was breezy. And I think I flashed some people. Sigh. I was just wanting to wear a short skirt since I'm on vacation, and I specifically wanted to wear this skirt to do some mixing instead of my usual matching.

Just look at how the blue, yellow, and black work so well together without being too matchy-matchy. And I adore my Alice in Wonderland shirt because I generally love Alice.

I'm reading another favorite children's book right now. I just finished the first Harry Potter book today and moved into the second book. Here's the review I put on Goodreads forever ago. I still truly believe that the first chapter, The Boy Who Lived, is one of the best first chapters ever.

I'm rereading HP in anticipation of the second half of the last movie. I always reread the books before the books came out, and I've done the same for the movies. I can't believe this is the last time I'm doing this! Well, in anticipation of something. I will obviously reread these at other times.

Fave of the week: May 7 - May 13

So not only am I posting this a bit late (I hope to cover faves of the week every Saturday), but because of my lack of camera knowledge, I don't even have a lot of outfits to look at! It's okay--they were mainly work outfits that I'll eventually post on here. Regardless, my favorite outfit of the week was from Saturday (posted on Sunday, whoops).

That's right, the harem pants come out on top. Why? Still the same reason I was digging them so much when I wore them--whatever to trends, this outfit makes me happy. I was comfortable from head to toe, but everything was still fitted enough that I didn't feel like a schlep. And I was digging my hair in a bun. Why don't I do that more?

2 for 1

So I took a break from blogging my outfits because I was traveling for work...and I haven't figured out how to set the timer on the camera. Here's me before flying away:

Denim jacket - Gap, Kiss T-shirt - Husband bought and doesn't remember from where, Watch - Michele Watches, Skirt - Old Navy (Husband found), Boots - Frye

This is generally how I look before hopping on a plane. Short-sleeve shirts are necessary for hot planes or running to a gate. Jackets are necessary for cold planes and airports. And shoes need to be comfortable, easy to slip on and off, and go with other outfits during the trip (and I believe these boots go with everything).

So now that Husband has also flown out to join me for a mini-vacay, I'm back to posting outfit pics, like today's. Guess where we're at?

Don't believe my shirt; we're not in Texas. Arizona!

Shirt - Houston Airport (Husband found), Purse - Treesje (Husband found), Watch - Michele Watches, Skirt - H&M, Boots - Frye

This purse accompanies me a lot on trips, as it's the perfect size and the silver/gold color of it goes with everything. I was pretty proud of myself for combining the rest of this outfit. The burnt red and yellow on the shirt blended well with the off-lavender skirt, and the blue on the shirt went well with the boots.

So what happens besides boot-wearing when I travel? Lots of reading! I read Dead in the Family, the 10th Sookie Stackhouse book (the series True Blood is based on). I gave it 2/5 stars.

Go for colors

I'm still digging the dresses I picked up from Target's Go International Collection.

Cardigan - Express, Dress - Proenza Schouler for Target, Belt - Primark, Clogs - Frye

This dress has turned into one of my favorites. The color is fun, and happens to perfectly match this cardigan I've had for years. Lately I've been wondering how to mix up the dress with other things, though. It's almost bad that the dress so perfectly matches the cardigan because I want to always combine them. I threw on this belt today too:

I liked how the spiky plants were echoed in the stars on the belt.

Now what else can I wear this with?

Saving Mondays

I was not really wanting to deal with a new week. What's the best way to handle that? Wear a pretty skirt covered with flowers and polka dots and zebra stripes.

Cardigan - PacSun (Husband found), Skirt - Romeo & Juliet Couture from Off Saks 5th (Husband found), Wedges - Target

I normally wear this skirt with a white shirt...or a black shirt. Big stretch, right? Or...just pretty predictable. So what did I do today?

Shirt - Disneyland, Necklace - Target

It's hard to tell in the picture, but yeah, that's Mickey frolicking all over my shirt. And my shoes match my cardigan. Getting perfect pictures for your blog, by the way, is hard to do.

Tonight I had a book club meeting. We talked about Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. Have you read it? I gave it two or three stars. I really couldn't decide...