Book locket

I have a husband that pays attention.

Silk blouse - J. Crew, Green cardigan - Gap, Black blazer - American Eagle, White watch - Michele Watches, Jeans - Gap, Boots - Luxury Rebel

I showed him a necklace weeks ago, and was surprised to get it as a Valentine's Day present!

Book locket - Kate Spade

Then the day after Valentine's Day, he told me how much he likes my hair in this messy braid.

He pays attention to hair too?!

I'm a very lucky lady.

By the way, does this count for the "Books" portion of "A Books & Clothes Diary"? I hope so....

Valentine's Day 2012

I hope everybody had a lovely Valentine's Day!

Turtleneck - Arden B., Belt - Primark, Dress (as skirt) - Proenza Schouler for Target, Socks - Target, Boots - Frye

It's one of my favorite holidays!

Who can resist a day celebrating love?

Husband and I spent an evening at our own house, as we normally do on Valentine's Day, eating one of his favorite meals and then his favorite cookies for dessert (covered with pink sprinkles!).

I wore pink for the occasion but muted it with lots of blue.

I hope everybody else had a great day, whether you celebrated with your partner, friend, parents, or anybody else you love!

Bloggers Do It Better: Red

So I missed the challenge before this one (sparkles? sequins? something), but as you know, I'm trying to get back in the game.

Headband - Nordstrom, Purple cardigan - Banana Republic, Floral shirt - Express, Snakeskin belt - Primark, Dress - H&M, Socks - Target, Boots - Naughty Monkey

So here's my entry for the latest Bloggers Do It Better challenge, Red.

I'll have to see if anybody else mixed in purple.

As you know, one of my favorite color combos is red and purple (and orange and purple!), so when I sat in my closet to figure out this challenge, I thought, Gotta do purple too. Then I saw this floral top!

Aww, man, pattern mixing too?!

Then, okay, I was still carrying around my green travel purse, so I had to change that too. And maybe then I went a little overboard.

Purse - Marc by Marc Jacobs

Cough. It's a different shade of purple. I acknowledge that it isn't perfect but, ugh, I love this bag.

Sunshine cleaning

You guys! Sunday here (the entire weekend really) was freezing cold! (Saturday was so cold, in fact, that I wore sweats and cleaned the house. I know.)

Scarf - Burberry, Gray coat - Banana Republic, White tee - Splendid, Yellow cardigan - Gap, Jeans - Destination Maternity, Boots - Vince Camuto

I was actually going to wear a red leather jacket instead of the gray coat and put on a different red-accented scarf, then submit this for Bloggers Do It Better: Red. Nope.

I do love this coat, though, so it's fine. Sister has the same one!

Also, I kind of forgot how much I love bright yellow?

How could I forget? Never forget.

It's so cheery! And though I don't expect it to, seems to flatter my skin tone.

I should incorporate it more into my wardrobe!

Do you have a favorite color that you wear often (or should wear more often)?

Fave of the week: February 4-February 10

I must really be back on my game because I had a tough time choosing this week's fave! I liked Saturday's warm coziness and Friday's color palette (even with the maybe questionable maternity pants), but I ended up going with Tuesday's outfit as my fave.

This day's pictures all completely sucked (I had to take them myself and it was the end of a long day [hello, frizzy hair]), which always makes the decision hard too. But in the end, I remembered the day's compliments, and how I felt comfortable, stylish, and particularly proud of my belt. Who knew a snakeskin patterned belt would fit so seamlessly into my wardrobe (also purchase in red/pink/orange, and also integrated in already)? Next time you're at Primark or Target or some other fabulous place frequently selling belts on sale, take a look and buy something a little out of the ordinary. You might surprise yourself too!

Sweater head

So I don't wear hats usually during the weekdays, which is why I made Haturday...but sometimes I bend the rules just a little bit. I mean, a hat without a bill or brim is more like...a sweater. For your head.

Hat - White House Black Market (Present from Sister), Scarf - Club Monaco via Shopbop (Present from Sister), Gray bomber jacket - H&M, Top - Destination Maternity, Jeans - Destination Maternity, Gray socks - Charlotte Russe, Heels - Sofft

Amirite? That's totally just an extension of my top.

My billowing, accommodating top.

By the way, how do we feel about these pants? They are, like my top, accommodating for my growing bump, but I feel they are a smidgen too loose...everywhere.

Ami...still...rite?

I promised myself that I wouldn't splurge on maternity wear, but I think maybe some high-end jeans would be worth it, right? I would obviously wear them at least...twice a week? Or should I just wait for the warm weather and wear lots of maxi dresses? And find maternity shorts?!

Bunniest dress

Though I wanted to skip work Thursday (very seriously, because I could not talk about this game), I put on my pinkest tights and my bunniest dress and tried to keep things happy.

Black top - Destination Maternity, Bunny patterned dress - Erin Fetherston for Target, Tights - Hue (Present from Sister), Boots - Sam Edelman

Inside I was wrecked.

Because of the defeat and because Baby doesn't like to stay up.

I toughed it out and got lots of sympathetic words from fellow Carolina alums and fans.

Thank goodness our one and only Dookie was out of the office.

Duke at Carolina 2012

Well. Wednesday should have been an epic day.

Scarf - Anthropologie, Sweatshirt - A not-remembered store on Franklin St., Dress - Anthropologie, Boots - Frye

Because Carolina should have smashed Duke in our latest basketball game.

Look at that proud face. Doesn't even know what's going to happen later this night.

I talked about this basketball game heatedly all day.

Wha-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

If you don't know what happened...well, I still can't talk about it. Here's the latest, plus more info on the greatest rivalry in sports.

See you again in March. We're going to make it happen this time.

Wear mor chikin

I woke up Tuesday and thought, Why haven't I worn my blazers more this season?

Green corduroy blazer - H&M, Black long-sleeve shirt (underneath dress) - Gap, Dress - Nordstrom Rack, Green snakeskin pattern belt - Primark, Tights - Target, Boots - Sam Edelman

I chose this particular blazer to wear because...I probably haven't worn it in two years.

And it deserves some love!

Also, it's a lovely shade of green which is duplicated in these little dots all over my dress.

And then of course, I could not resist this new belt either for the green color.

I got a lot of compliments on Tuesday with this outfit, mainly because of the dress. People love the roosters on it! Men and women!

So when in doubt: wear mor chikin. Then go to Chick-Fil-A. Because it's delicious.

Spice it up

Ahh, back to another week of work. Black seems appropriate for work and mourning the fact that I'm back at work.

Collared shirt (underneath) - Express, Black sweater - J.Crew, Necklace - Nordstrom, Floral belt - Primark, Watch - Michele Watches, Skirt - Old Navy, Booties - Nine West

Please ignore that my sweater is see-through with the camera flash. And that dog bed behind me.

I am still somewhat out of the habit of taking pictures. And was never that good to begin with.

So "spice it up" does not refer to wearing see-through sweaters (as this is not), but instead refers to spicing up a black ensemble. Throw in some patterns in fun colors (the collared shirt and belt), grab your fun jewelry, and don't just go for your standard heels (could have gone with a fun color here too!).

Or I guess wear an actual see-through top. That'll really heat things up.

B-I-G N-E-W-S! Big news!

Have you noticed anything different about me lately?

Flower pin - Nordstrom Rack, Vest - American Eagle, Striped shirt - Destination Maternity, Capris - Destination Maternity, Boots - Luxury Rebel

Besides not posting as frequently? (Which is partly explained by my actual big difference.)

Scarf - Necklush

Well, when I wrote this post, I actually had just become a mama, at least I had just recently found out!

That's right--there's a bun in this oven.

I've kept it quiet for a long time, mainly for privacy for me and my family, and I wanted to hit the 12 week mark first. Plus I've been so tired that I wasn't posting anyway, even if I wanted to share my news. So sorry for the infrequent posts, but there was a really, really good reason! I'm starting to get back to my old schedule, so I expect to post regularly again. If I'm not, well, now you know the reason why.

I'm still wearing a lot of my usual clothes, but this post features pants and a top from Destination Maternity, which I bought the day before, with the help of Husband and funnily enough, an old manager of mine who now works at that store! It was fun sharing the news with her then having her help to buy a lot of things!

Haturday - 4 February 2012

Have I mentioned my love of berets yet?

Hat - Target, Scarf - Burberry, Shirt (underneath) - Ann Taylor Loft, Gray dress - Forever 21, Blazer - Nordstrom, Socks - Target, Boots - Frye

I love soft knit ones. And while I love this soft color pink, I don't actually own a lot of soft pink? (How did that happen? I'm so girly you would think I would have it everywhere....) I managed to pull it together for this Haturday, though!

This soft scarf ties it in well.

Pulling together all of the grays, browns, and pinks?

My shirt that's just peeking out.

Saturday was a great day--I caught up with my parents over dinner, then got in some shopping!

Fave of the week: January 28-February 3

While it's true I didn't have too many outfit pics from this particular week, I'm pretty confident Thursday's outfit would have been my fave anyway.

This fun floral dress allowed for a lot of pattern-mixing. I picked up on the dress's black background and went with this black and white star scarf (I love all of the star patterns that have been around the last few months). The pinks, reds, and oranges of the flowers went perfectly with this snake skin patterned belt. The same flowers also allowed for these beautiful colored socks. Play with colors! Play with patterns! Then wear it with confidence.

Go Giants!

Friday at work we celebrated the upcoming Super Bowl by wearing our team's gear.

Shirt - Husband's, Belt - Primark, Jeggings (that's right--I said jeggings) - American Eagle, Boots - Frye

Guess who I was rooting for?

The winners, of course.

The Giants aren't so much my team as they are my Husband's, but I guess I've adopted them as my own.

He was thrilled to lend me this shirt.

Did you watch the game? It was exciting, especially the last quarter, and I was thrilled that the Patriots lost!

Debuting my Primark haul

Sorry--I missed a few days of pictures! One from the day I traveled back from the UK, then the next day just flew by and I was so tired by the end (jet lag), then the next day I had a great outfit! Which I splashed my dinner on and had to throw in the wash ASAP. (Don't worry, I saved my white tee.) Picking things up on Thursday!

Scarf - Primark, Dress - Tucker for Target, Belt - also Primark, Socks - Forever 21, Boots - Sam Edelman

I wish it was appropriate for me to wear this length dress/skirt all the time because it's probably the most flattering with my short stature. But it's a bit scandalous for work.

Good thing I took the day off!

Child had a school event in the morning, and I had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, so I thought, Eh, might as well not go in at all.

A lot easier than running back and forth all day.

My scarf and belt are both from my Primark shopping trip! Throwing in some pattern-mixing with accessories is one of my new favorite things.

Obligatory close-up!

Fave of the week: January 21-January 27

There wasn't a lot of competition this week truthfully. I had a limited wardrobe, and I never pack as well as I would like to--I end up with outfits that weren't as cute as they were in my head, or I'm wearing unflattering shoes (too practical sometimes). The winning outfit is from Thursday:

I was comfortable and warm (oh, those tights are thick), I love mixing purple with reds or oranges, and this is one of my favorite blouses (ever). It's not the most groundbreaking outfit, but I do encourage you to wear colors! And wear them in ways you wouldn't normally. One, it took me forever to embrace orange, and two, I wouldn't have immediately thought to pair it with purple, but it works!

London Calling

So after almost a full week of work, Friday-Sunday I had time for sightseeing in London. I've never spent extra time there, even though I've been to the UK more than a handful of times. That meant packing in as much as possible! Which I always do even when I tell myself over and over to put in some relaxing time.

Day 1 outfit: Hat - Nordstrom, Scarf - Nordstrom Rack, Pink tee - Pac Sun, Cardigan - J. Crew, Jeans - Gap, Sneakers - Puma

It was actually sunny! And not warm...but definitely not freezing with that nice sun out! I went for a Shakespeare walking tour, then listened to a free audio walking tour from Rick Steves for the City of London, and finished with a Blood and Tears walking tour (serial killers, prisons, executions, that sort of thing). Since I didn't exercise all week while working (and ate all of those scones), it felt good to walk a lot!

Glad I had the hat for extra warmth and to avoid the blinding and surprising sun!

Day 2 was filled with...too much walking.

But seeing Big Ben was probably my favorite thing!

Outfit look familiar? I wore the same thing on Haturday a couple of weeks back. But the black coat is Gap, the changed out purse is from Target.

Check out this Beefeater's outfit! Very sharp-looking.

I started out at the Tower of London (guys, more than just a tower--who knew?). My favorite part of touring around there was seeing the Crown Jewels! Gorgeous. There was a scepter there with a diamond on top that was bigger than a chicken egg. And a gold punch bowl (you know, for parties and such) that was roughly the size of my car (maybe that's an exaggeration. But just by a little.). Then it was off to St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, the Tate Modern, and lastly a Jack the Ripper walking tour. See? Too much walking.

Green turtleneck - J. Crew, Brown hooded sweater - Zara, Purse - Target, Jeans - Gap, Boots - Jeffrey Campbell

Shoe change! The cobblestones killed my feet on Day 2, so I went for something sturdier for my final day.

Also, the strap on my crossbody bag shortens--so convenient when traveling to have options.

Day 3 started out at Buckingham Palace where they canceled the Changing of the Guard. I was so bummed! I trotted over to Harrod's to make myself feel happy again :) I stayed there for hours, and loved it. The food area was fun, the clothes were gorgeous, even the bathrooms and escalators were elegant. I ended the day at the British Museum, using another Rick Steves audio tour to see the highlights.

Whew! Big trip!

Have you been to London? What did I miss that I must go back for?