Halloween 2011

What is this?

Spider and veil headband - Hallmark, Black long-sleeve shirt - Target, Bronze belt - Target, Jeans - 7 for All Mankind, Boots - Frye

This is such a normal outfit! One that makes you question my dedication to both clothes and books on this Halloween day!

I mean, that headband is super sweet and all...

BAM.

Oh no she didn't.

Could it be...the most amazing Halloween costume ever? But what is it?

Does this face expression help? The shock and horror?

Still don't know?

(Pic way darkened so you can read the words.)

You guys, I'm a V.C. Andrews novel.

Thanks to everybody that helped with the costume--Husband for finding big boxes with me and taping shoulder straps in this baby, Dad for box cutting, Mom for the general design, Child for growing out of the clothes used on this board. And of course V.C. for endless hours of happy reading.

Beyond the Frame

What did you do Sunday? Because I hung out with Claude Monet.

Hat - Nordstrom (Present from Husband), Sweater dress - H&M, Necklace (as bracelet) - Aeropostale, Watch - Michele Watches, Purse - Wilson's Leather, Black leggings - Arden B., Brown and beige striped socks - Target, Boots - Frye

Yeah, not really. Sunday was the last day of an art exhibit nearby called Beyond the Frame, which showed life-size statues imitating Impressionist paintings. The one above, though, is the artist's statue of Monet, whose art he features a lot.

Such as Monet's La Japonaise, which John Seward Johnson featured in his Oriental Fan.

Husband and I also hung out with Johnson's Landlady.

Based on Van Gogh's L'Ariesienne: Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux

And it was incredibly cool to hop into Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party.

Just chatting with some buddies.

In particular, this lady.

Renoir's wife.

There were a few other pieces, and they were all amazing to see. The colors, the size of them, the details, and just to see things in 3-D, especially the people in the background was a lot of fun.

Homecoming 2011

So I finally went to a Carolina Homecoming game. They did a great job of hyping it up to my graduating class since it's been five years. I had to wear my class shirt, and could not wear anything over it. It was very, very cold so that meant layers!

Flannel shirt (underneath) - H&M, Blue long-sleeved shirt - Carolina, Crossbody bag - Present, from Japan, Pink belt - American Eagle, Jeans - True Religion, Blue boots - Frye

I thought I had blue accessories in the form of a hat, scarf, and gloves...then I realized because I never wore them, I gave them away. Sigh. While I definitely believe in donating things you really never, ever wear, I do pretty much eventually wear everything, so I was surprised when I couldn't find these things in my closet. I decided to just go with pink, purple, and gray then, and ended up finding a great accessory once at the game:

Ahhhhhh!

I couldn't walk around with Ramses the whole time, but it seriously made my day. And cold, cold night.

Hat - Nordstrom (Present from Husband), Fifi Lapin scarf - Charlotte Russe Outlet, Black gloves - Target

Oh! Can't forget to show you my shirt.

Loved seeing the alumni turn out, especially the marching band's ultra-energetic old drum major who helped at halftime.

Finally, we crushed Wake Forest--49 to 24. Great game!

Fave of the week: October 22-October 28

So after blahblahblahing about how much I loved Tuesday's outfit and it would be my fave of the week...I ended up having a different fave.

From Thursday!

These wool/mohair pants are going to be a fall and winter fave, and elicited quite a few comments, most of which bordering on dubious, but the man repeller within me usually just equals that as a win. One of my other favorite parts of this outfit are my shoes, which so nicely tie the colors of the outfit together, I just want to run upstairs and give them a hug. Finally, I like wearing a ladylike outfit and topping it off with a cool chick leather jacket.

Costumes and Cocoa Vino

Apologies for the slowness of my posting lately. I have been working mad hard on my Halloween costume. No hints!

Gingham shirt - J. Crew, Black sweater - J. Crew, Jeans - Gap, Boots - Luxury Rebel

Casual Friday! Thank goodness because this week has been ridiculously busy.

I've been staying up late but waking up early to get everything done, so I'm wiped.

Weekend plans: Carolina homecoming game, outdoor art exhibit?, and finishing up my costume (still no hints!). But first started out with:

Not bad actually!

My coworkers and I have been curious about this chocolate wine, so I finally tried it. The alcohol taste is strong in this one, folks. It was the weirdest mix of Ack! and Mmm.

Rejects

First of all, I lied about the cold front and the boots; those came into play Friday, not Thursday. Thursday got weirdly warm as the day went on (ahhh, why can't I stay on top of the weather?).

Leather jacket (for the cold morning) - Michael Kors, Two necklaces - Target, Shirt - J. Crew, High-waisted, pleated pants - J. Crew, Heels - Missoni for Target

Second, can you believe I found this shirt and these pants on the second to last day of the J. Crew warehouse sale, the point where everything had been picked through so, so much? These pants are one of my favorite things from the sale, and I only found them when Sister and I were slowly approaching the registers to finally pay after many hours of searching. I 100% love them, which is so weird because they're both high-waisted and pleated, which sounds terrible but apparently I am a slave to fashion who can be convinced of anything looking good.

Plus, I instantly love any pants that don't need to be hemmed.

I also could not believe this neutral cotton shirt with simple flower details had not been picked up yet. And I tried so, so hard to give it to Sister, who decided it was too plain. I could not just throw it back in a box.

What other new thing did I sneak into this outfit?

These Missoni for Target heels.

Present from Husband. How perfect are they?

Speaking of Husband, I think he was expecting to hate this outfit but he ended up surprisingly loving it. The pants reminded him of the 80s, his favorite decade.

Break from boots

So I did something I never do once it's fall.

Yellow cardigan - Gap, Black cami - thrifted, Skirt - Romeo & Juliet Couture, Strappy sandals - Jeffrey Campbell

I wore sandals! It's just that it's been getting so warm in the afternoons that I didn't even care to wear tights with these.

Plus the top of my outfit was so light I didn't want to weigh it down with dark tights.

Seriously, I live in boots for the entire fall and winter seasons, but I expected a warm, gorgeous afternoon. Gorgeous it was, warm it was not.

D'oh! Cold front comin' through!

Back to boots tomorrow!

Putting together a fave

All day yesterday I felt like, This outfit is going to be my fave of the week.

Striped tunic - Arden B., Blue cardigan - Gap Outlet, Cheetah belt - dEliA*s, Skirt - Anthropologie, Boots - Sam Edelman

I wanted to wear this striped top to play off the blue and white in this skirt. When I put it on, I didn't feel like it looked bad, but there was something missing. With pattern mixing, wearing a solid color that works with both pattern can unify the outfit.

What was the solid color I went with?

I went with this blue cardigan that let the fun neckline of the top peek out. Originally I went with a loose black V-neck that also worked with the neckline that I also quite liked, but it so cold yesterday morning so I switched it out for the cardigan.

Then the problem was shoes!

Mixing blue and black can be tricky because then you wonder what color shoes to wear. I'm a strong believer in this shade of brown in the boots going with anything, but the black heels and tips also help to mix it in with black outfits. Then I threw on the belt to better tie in the brown and black boots.

Finally I attempted to put my hair in a French twist.

I believe when you're short and you're wearing flat shoes, you should put up your hair! It gives an illusion of height when you're needing it.

Pierogies over outfits

No outfit post from Sunday because I was cleaning all day then making these:

Homemade pierogies. With bacon and onions. Because everything is better with those.

I looked like a crazy person with a bright green shirt, maroon sweatpants, and a teal sweater. But today people told me I looked pretty, which was really sweet to hear.

Flower (in hair) - Nordstrom Rack, Cardigan - J.Crew, Dress - Proenza Schouler for Target, Tights - Hue, Suede booties - Me Too

Most people complimented my hair, which was in a crown braid again, so I think it was the flower that put it into the compliment-inducing zone (because it didn't get any compliments on Saturday).

I need more ginormous flowers for my hair.

I also wore my first J.Crew warehouse sale find today! It's a simple cardigan, but I liked the collar that makes it a little bit different.

Happy Monday!

Fave of the week: October 15-October 21

I truly try to have a mix of casual and work clothes for my faves, but I so often lean toward the more casual....

I almost went with Wednesday's clothes just to have a work outfit but...

I went with Friday's outfit. Like white, wearing all black can make you feel crisp and chic, and looks great with a pop of color. I liked throwing in yellow accessories in my hairband, vest, necklace, and purse. The fur cuff from the shoes went perfectly with the inside of my vest's hood. And I was oh so comfortable and warm in those shoes!

The sale to end them all

On Saturday, Sister and I went out early to the J.Crew warehouse sale, where we got sucked into five hours of rummaging through boxes of everything from belts to wedding dresses (and we could have stayed longer). We maybe only went through 1/25 of the store, but both managed to walk out with tons of clothes. It was one of the best shopping experiences of my life.

Top - Primark, White tank top (underneath) - Target, Leggings - Express, Boots - Luxury Rebel (Edit: After nearly a week of having this posted, I just realized how incredibly wonky my eye looks in this pic. I am neither a model nor a photographer. Apparently I am also not a very good blogger, as I'm pretty sure most of them only post incredibly flattering pics of themselves. From me you get wonky eyes.)

Most of the ladies there were dressed in some variation of my outfit, in order to easily try on all clothes without a dressing room. I actually also had on my black Cardi Uggs, because those are so easy to slip on and off, but changed later in the day (but continued to essentially not wear pants by keeping on these leggings). I scored: two dresses (one casual, one fancy), two pants (slim black, high-waisted and pleated! olive), one pair of leggings (for Child, not too many kid options and only khaki pants for men), two silk sleeveless tops, two short-sleeve tops (one cotton, one cashmere!), one gingham button-down, one turtleneck, two sweaters, three cardigans, one vest, and one poncho!

Another essential when power-shopping? A good crossbody bag, one that isn't too heavy or bulky.

So, yes, I realize this completely blows my shopping ban. But this was obviously a gigantic exception, and now I really, really don't need to shop for...ever. After this amazing victory, I joined Husband and Child at the mall, where I did not shop at all (obviously), then later to a fun birthday party for Sister!

Leather jacket - Michael Kors, Fish purse - Present, from Japan

Another amazing thing that happened? I managed to do a crown braid. I know--yesterday was basically perfect.

Not always a challenge

Husband sat down with the camera and said, "So is this a Black Thing, or did you just want to wear black?"

Headband - Missoni for Target, Necklace - Nordstrom, Black long sleeve shirt - Target, Vest - American Eagle, Black jeans - Gap, Boots - Uggs

I had no idea what this meant. "Black," I answered stupidly.
"That in no way answers my question," he pointed out.

This was true.

"I...don't understand what you're asking," I finally said.
"Is this, like, that thing you do? With the outfits where you wear certain things?"
"Oh! The Bloggers Do It Better challenges!" Isn't that sweet that he realizes what the heck I'm doing with my wardrobe? But..."No, I just felt like wearing black."

And with the purse of course! Purse - tokidoki for LeSportsac

Special shirts for special girls

Another special birthday.

I decided with the cooler weather to wear some serious fall colors. Also I wanted to wear my Martin+Osa shirt that I love so much because I was gifting the birthday girl with a M+O shirt that I bought way before they closed!

Long sleeve shirt - Martin+Osa, Skirt - Anthropologie, Socks - Target, Boots - Frye

The pink and orange of the skirt echo some of the colors on my bag.

Purse - tokidoki for LeSportsac

And I went for a French braid that wrapped to the side--I've improved on my French braids a lot!

Happy birthday to yet another special person in my life! We had a lot of fun celebrating with dinner and a delicious cake.

Mmm...can't wait until my own birthday!

Seeing green

Today's outfit picked up the majority color of my purse.

Green cardigan - Gap Outlet, Black cami - Express, Alice in Wonderland T-shirt - Urban Outfitters, Brown skirt - Urban Outfitters, Purse - tokidoki for LeSportsac, Brown boots - Naughty Monkey

I felt very early fall in these colors.

Though it's not early fall, just feeling like it with record highs lately.

It was a busy day, wrapping up with a trip with Husband to Child's trial class.

A lot of fun!

Spot the orange

So this outfit worked with my bag a little bit better in my head.

Navy cardigan - Gap Outlet, Orange polka dot blouse - Banana Republic, Dress - Gap Outlet, Navy belt - Primark, Purse - tokidoki for LeSportsac, Boots - Frye

This purse has touches of orange, but the inside lining is completely so, which was the color in my head when I put together this outfit. But...you can't see the inside of my purse, can you?

Also the darker blue was a bit heavy.

But the outfit without the purse worked well!

I loved mixing the polka dot pattern of my blouse with this dress.