Traveling in the UK

So I thought I would have oodles of time to update the ol' blog while traveling, but that has not happened! Just a quick note to say why no posts are going up. I need to plan more in advance and post some things automatically next time....

It's cold and sometimes rainy so there are lots of boots, scarves, and sweaters. Have almost finished book two of four.

Limited wardrobe

So next week I'll be traveling, heading over to the UK for work and play. While I'm excited (and anxious too; I don't like being away from home), I also spend a lot of time stressing my clothes. I do tons of laundry (I can't usually have too many clean clothes at once because my closet looks...swollen), but also don't want to actually wear anything because what if I end up wanting to pack it?! This led to a lot of staring this morning in my closet.

Headband - Missoni for Target, Scarf 1 - Missoni for Target (matches the headband!), Scarf  2 (Leopard print) - Present from Parents, Nordstrom Rack, Shirt - J.Crew, Cardigan - J.Crew, Jeans - Gap, Blue boots - Frye

Does everybody else just grab jeans when they can't think of anything else?

And a couple of scarves?

Thursday is the new Friday, right?

Thank goodness my office is super casual.

Hard florals

Tuesday I finally took the sick day that I've probably needed to for weeks. But Wednesday I was back in full form and ready to wear my recently exchanged Christmas boots!

Jacket - Diane von Furstenberg, Black cami - Express, Dress - Anthropologie, Tights - Target, Black buckle boots (style is called 'Teresa') - Sam Edelman

Recognize this dress?

It's my prettiest dress.

Sometimes I like to mix a "pretty" dress with some harder elements--grays and blacks, bit of a structured jacket, butt-kickin' shoes.

And for when it's a chilly evening...Hat - American Eagle, Fifi Lapin scarf - Charlotte Russe

What? Can't see the boots well enough?

Love. The boots and Husband for the lovely present!

Monday chores

I had off from work on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. I had some chores to knock off my list, and needed a comfy outfit to keep me going.

Hair in a bow!, Zippered tunic - Nordstrom Rack, Chartreuse vest - America Eagle, Pink belt - American Eagle, Leggings - bebe

Nothing makes me happier than an outfit including a hood. This outfit included two hoods. So, yeah, I guess that makes me happier.

Boots - Uggs

I really, really wanted to wear my new Christmas boots with this outfit, but one of my errands included going to the mall to exchange them for a bigger size.

To be revealed soon!

Fave of the week: January 7-January 13

Well this is a surprise. You would think I would love the super commented on outfit from Thursday, but my fave of the week is actually Tuesday's outfit:

Maybe it's because I love purple. Maybe it's the new hairstyle or the new lipstick. Maybe it's the fun belt or unexpected shoes. I'm not sure, but I think it's just because sometimes I like to look like a lady. Nothing says "I'm a lady" like a good hair bow, a silk blouse, and a pencil skirt, amirite?

Haturday - 14 January 2012

Last month I debuted Haturday, then managed to not wear any hats since (again, holidays, sick, blah). But I'm not going to beat myself up because I never intended to wear hats every Saturday, as much as I do love them. But finally, another Haturday!

Trapper hat - American Eagle (Present from Sister, Gray sweater (technically a sweater dress, but folded and scrunched up) H&M, Quilted scuba jacket - Kenneth Cole, Jeans - J Brand, Boots - Some shoe store in the UK

Technically, this outfit both celebrated Haturday and whatever Hat-pun day we can think to call Sunday because I was feeling lazy and wore this twice. Whatever, I barely left the house and when I did, it was cold.

And this is hands-down the warmest hat on the planet. Or in my closet. Whichever.

Do you have a trapper hat that you love?

Because you should! They're fun, casual, and warm. And will illicit a lot of compliments.

How do I mix patterns?

I love pattern mixing, as I have attested to many times. It's fun and playful, and it expands your closet by...approximately a thousand percent.

Striped blouse - Express, (flipped up in the front, oops) Sweater - Banana Republic, Skirt - Anthropologie, Boots - Frye

I've read lots of tutorials online on how to pattern-mix, but I don't usually think too much about those helpful hints or rules. Here's all I think about: Find similar colors, put them together, then throw in a solid color belt/cardigan/sweater/etc. to pull it together/mute the craziness.

Exhibit A.

I noticed the other day how this very colorful striped shirt and this fun skirt shared similar oranges, pinks, and muddy browns. I put them together, then softened the look with this sweater in the same shade of brown.

See? And ignore my hair; it was the end of a long day.

Usually I like to put the solid color between the mixed patterns, which is why a belt is so helpful for pattern mixing, but on this day, I let the top peek out from the top and bottom of the sweater. I love pattern mixing, to the point I should have created a whole blog section on it, but please feel free to look through some of my faves:

• pattern mix your scarves!, 
• mixing your stripes!,
• the skirt above with polka dots!,
• florals with stripes!,
• super crazy pattern with another super crazy pattern!,
• another super crazy pattern with stripes!

And then give pattern mixing a try yourself!

Sunrise, sunset

And then it randomly got warm. Is this why I've so sick lately? My body is so confused. Anyway, I love taking advantage of the warm weather, and I love wearing bright colors in the winter.

Cardigan - Express, Shirt - Martin+Osa (please come back into existence), Silver cuff - Present from In-Laws, Jeans - Citizens of Humanity, Clogs - Frye

You won't believe how many people commented on this outfit. Everybody. From "You're so bright!" to "Your colors are so well-coordinated!" and tons of "You look like a sunrise..." or "...sunset!"

I've worn this shirt before, so it must have been the addition of the cardigan and jeans.

Wear bright colors in the winter! It'll brighten up your day, and apparently everybody else's!

Also still trying the bright lipstick!

Black and brown mash-up

The other day, one of my coworkers wore a beautiful outfit mixing black and brown, which inspired me to do the same.

Brown hooded sweater - Zara, Leopard print cardigan - Target, Dress - Charlotte Russe?, Tights - Target, Boots - Naughty Monkey

Maybe her outfit was a little more simple (camel pencil skirt, black top, brown belt), but I just bought this cardigan and it was begging to be worn.

And serious face. For a seriously good deal: This cardigan was $8.

So I know it's January but I can't quite handle how cold it's been. And it rained Wednesday. Lucky that I had my super warm hood!

Please, please, please, Zara, come to North Carolina.

Hair bow

Husband and I took off Monday together for some extra, after holiday relaxing time, but it also helped me a lot in getting over whatever crazy cold I've been dealing with for weeks. We did manage to get to the movies to watch The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (American version). Have you read the book? It's worth a read! I also spent some time watching hair tutorials on YouTube (one from here, and lots from here, though they're in Japanese), which is maybe one of my favorite lounging at home activities.

And I learned to turn my hair into a cute bow!

How cute is this? Yes, it's very girly, but it's also a fast, simple up-do that looks impressive.

Silk blouse - J.Crew, Black cardigan - Gap outlet, Cheetah belt - dEliA*s, Purple pencil skirt - Nordstrom, Silver cuff - Present from In-Laws, Boots - Uggs

Do we have any opinions on my lipstick? Sometimes I try to be That Lady with the Fabulous Red Lipstick, but I decided that I just have the wrong coloring for it. So now I'm trying to this bright pink, fuchsia-looking color.

Leather jacket - Michael Kors, Scarf - Present from Mom

Are you known for having killer hair? Or being able to carry off bright red lips, a la Gwen Stefani? I would love to hear what others are known for (or want to be known for).

Fave of the week: December 31-January 6

Okay, okay, so I only have two outfits to choose from for this entire week, but I'm pretty sure Thursday's outfit would have won anyway:

This sweater dress is starting to look tired and pill-y in real life, but I love the shape and fit so much that I haven't had the heart to get rid of it. Instead I try to distract with a bright color underneath and a belt. Layer your dresses! You would be amazed at how far your closet stretches! This is one of my favorite tricks; last week's fave featured a (shrunken and now pretty short) dress under a skirt.

Fave of the week: December 24-December 30

Decisions, decisions! Slinky, tight, and sparkly (day after Christmas outfit) or Christmas Eve lady-like outfit....

Let's go lady-like! I love finding new combinations of tops with this skirt, and I love all of the knee high socks I picked up at Forever 21! I feel like they've breathed new life into my closet!

Fave of the week: December 17-December 23

Wow, I also have a lot of Faves of the Week to catch up on! Holidays and being sick can really knock you down! So, looking way, way back for this week, I've decided on my black and white mixing outfit:

Because I love mixing patterns!

It was a big decision between this and my maxi skirt/vest outfit. When you compare them, wow, it looks like a choice between showing no leg and showing lots o' leg. But really for me, it was about the fun patterns, and the shot of color, especially with the scrunched down knee high socks.

So then I was sick...

...and while I did go to work, I looked terrible, and didn't take any pictures to document this. One day I wore a gray maxi skirt, a blue and white turtleneck, and gray cardi Uggs, making me look like, well, essentially a giant walking blanket. It was a new sartorial low for me. Once I started to feel better, I thought, I need to start dressing like my real self again.

Pink shirt dress/tunic - bebe, Gray sweater dress - Forever 21, Black belt - Lacoste, Tights - Target, Gray booties - Vince Camuto

A dress! Color! My favorite boots!

Hair in a fun bun! I'm back!

Super hot leather jacket!

Leather jacket - Michael Kors

Ahhh, feels good. Then the next day, a Friday, I felt kind of sick again, like I overindulged in being me.

Yellow turtleneck - American Eagle, Leopard belt - dEliA*s, Red pants - Citizens of Humanity, Boots - Some shoe store in the UK

I still tried to stay colorful!

And accessorize! And have a kicky ponytail!

But I kind of felt cruddy anyway. No matter! It was Friday--wheee!

I will take a sick Friday over a sick Monday any time.

Christmas catch-up

I know, I know, where have I been? Well not only did Christmas happen (which meant a little bit of a break), but then I got sick. I'm not even completely over it! I'm nearly there, though, so I'm trying to put some effort into my outfits again. Here are a few outfits that I failed to post around Christmas.

From Christmas Eve.

We had a lovely time with Husband's parents, eating our traditional Christmas Eve meal.

Black scarf - Present from Mom, Sweater - Banana Republic, Skirt - Anthropologie, Knee-high socks - Forever 21, Booties - Nine West

And we exchanged presents. I received this monogrammed bracelet from my In-Laws.

Christmas Day itself was also fabulous, filled with more family, more food, more presents.