Proud to be an American

Somehow when I woke up this morning, nothing seemed appropriate but red, white, and blue.

I wore this shirt untucked at first - a mistake I realized and corrected after one picture. Too bad that was after my whole day.

I LOVE this skirt. It's basically a tailored pencil skirt at JUST the right length, but made out of the material of sweatpants. I want to wear it every day, except it does this ugly bunchy thing on the front of me. *sigh*

I took this to show you my red earrings (thanks, mom!) but posted it to show you how brooding I can accidentally look.

Aaaaand the day I publish my cookbook (I will finally reveal my fantastic secret for toast, and all the recipes I stole from friends and Real Simple. All will buy.) this will be the author picture in the back. How cheesy am I? (Very. But it's okay, cheese will be a very important component of my cookbook.)

If you are interested in this outfit, I don't think any of it is still for sale anywhere, but shirt and skirt came from NY&Co. The shoes are Classified, also several years old, and the earrings were Mom's. 

Storytime: These shoes were pretty uncomfortable when I first purchased them, maybe three years ago. I had just about given up on them when, maybe last week, I forced myself to wear them again - no idea why. But this time, they really didn't hurt! Not even one blister! I have no idea why it took these shoes dozens of wears to cross that break-in threshold, but I am glad they finally got with the program. I hate working through that, but am so glad these shoes weren't just a waste of a perfectly good $15.

I hope all is well with you, reader(s)! Take care.

If You Just Smile

See if you can spot the picture wherein my pose was inspired by Brittney.

Button-up: NY&Co. Tee & necklace: Ann Taylor Loft. Skirt: Thrifted Gap. Shoes: JC Penneys.

Yup, that's the one. Go check that blog if you don't know who I'm talking about. She's really cute, and a witty breath of fresh air. Also, do you like how it took me several pictures to remember that I was still wearing the sticker from subbing all day? That's always a fun realization, nine poses later.

The following outfit is pretty much just this crazy cool skirt I have. I spotted it on the clearance rack at Penney's while in the line to pay. I had a friend hold my spot while I ran to get it ($2 and in my size?? Amazing!) and decided to get it even without trying it on. When I rejoined the line, my friends' faces were abundantly clear: "You're kidding, right?" But I was not. See what you think:

Tank: Gap. Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft. Skirt: JC Penney's. Sandals: Teva.***

I like this skirt, especially as it is about my only flattering full skirt. And I feel like it has enough going on that it doesn't require a lot of work from me. Opine below, please.

Take care, all!

***Though I LOVE these sandals like nothing else in life, I did not wear them all day with this outfit. I had on my cute pointy-toed black flats, I think. No need to worry.

My Strongest Suit

Might be dresses. I am loving this clothing option lately. You three potential ways to wear it without even getting creative, you can wear it as a whole outfit without worrying about pairing or proportion or any of that nonsense, and I just feel so dang figure-flattered in mine lately! Love the dresses. Like these:

Dress: Sine (Anthro) via Half of Half. Accessories: from Grandma. Honestly, probably from some dollar store. Shoes: Thrifted.

I love how this outfit came out. "What do you mean? That's just a dress. You put on a dress and congratulate yourself for an outft?" Well, right. I mean the way the color of the shoes looks with the dress, and the way the necklace length works really well (to my eye) with the neckline; that stuff.

Cardigan: Banana Republic. Dress: Thrifted Express. Earrings: Mommed. Shoes: Naturalizer.

Don't you just love purple and red together? When I put this dress on, I knew I would need something more for warmth and modesty but had no idea how to add to the classic polka dot without detracting style . . . but I think this lovely color combo (at least I love it) works. Probably I could have used a necklace, but I had to get the heck out the door, so earrings were the best I could do.

Why is it that sometimes our favorite pieces are the most difficult to style? They seem to take more effort so you don't take away from what you love about them . . . odd. What pieces do you have that just confound you when you try to pair them outfits?

Take care, all! (There's a pretty serious storm going on here; here's hoping I don't end up without power AGAIN!)

P.S. Do you like my new "layout"? It's still just experimental, but I think I'm liking the various-sized pictures better than the long series of massive, vertically-stacked shots. Let me know what you think.

More, More More

Here we go, keeping up with all the posting that needs to get done.

Outfit one: A shirt I LOVE, but rarely wear because of its slightly-short length. A new (to me) pair of nice brown pants. Nude heels I have loved for their whole 4-year-long lives.

Whew, excuse the crazy hair in the second shot there. That was the night before - I didn't look like that in public. Also, excuse the phone in the first one - I was talking to the hubby while shooting. Why couldn't I retake after hanging up? . . . hindsight, people, it's amazing.

Blue headband: Urban Outfitters. Shirt: H&M. Pants: Thrifted Gap. Shoes: Bandolino.




Outfit two: A dress I bought a year ago and wore to get my hair done on my wedding dress (easy to get it off without mussing) and never again - yet. A new (to me) sweater from a thrifted twinset. Old gold sandals.





An all-cheapo outfit-yay! I'm so proud! Check it:

Sweater: Thrifted Gap. Dress: Thrifted Ann Taylor Loft. Shoes: Payless.
Not positive, I'm guessing the total was  ~$25.


I plowed through a BUNCH of backlogged crafty projects this weekend, so I should be able to show the results here pretty soon. (Ironic piece missing from this success? That skirt I asked for nagging about. Sheesh.)

That's it on this end - I hope everyone had a delightful and blessed Easter!

Be well.

Back in the Saddle Again

I feel like I was doing so well there for a while, and then gone! Don't feel bad if you didn't notice, I'm sure it wasn't as noticeable as it was for me - I was gone because I spent 36 hours without power.

36 hours without power.


It was ridiculous. I woke up on Wednesday to a call from my husband who wanted me to get on Skype. I tried, but realized I wasn't getting any internet. I investigated my router, but realized it wasn't even on. I messed with it a while, before realizing NOTHING was getting power. It really wasn't a bad day except for the following:


1. It gets dark a LOT earlier than you may realize. I was all huddled around a candle for hours, trying to finish my hubby's anniversary box - that was a bit nuts.


2. How long does food last in a non-refrigerated refrigerator? I didn't know, but (per my dad's suggestions) I went out late last night and bought two styrofoam coolers and a stinking ton of dry ice. I loaded all the food that I could fit into the chests, wrapped each one with a blanket, and then covered the whole set with another quilt. I am not even kidding you, this worked REALLY well. The power came back on around 10 am this morning so I put the food back, and everything that had been frozen going into the cooler (which was most everything from the freezer) was frozen coming out, so I'm pretty proud of the results. I also took the opportunity to clean out both my fridge and freezer. Wow, what an interesting day, aren't you glad I shared? Okay, you paid your dues. (Or, wisely, skipped past all that text, whew!) Here's the pictures.

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft. Yellow necklace and white belt: Thrifted. High-waisted pants: Thrifted Ann Taylor. Heels: Bandolino.

Here are a couple more things I picked up while at home:

The necklace and button up were thrifted in KC, and the yellow tee was a new Loft purchase. Boring, but I'm proud of myself for stocking up on solids lately - I just really don't have them.

And this little beauty is a thrifted JCrew turtleneck, and I decided to try turning it into a crewneck. How did that work out, you ask? Well, have no fear. I'm wearing the result! I'll show you soon, I already have some pictures of the finished product.

Take care, and always be sure you know of a place that sells dry ice!
: P

I Want to Twirl!

This post's title is actually a quote from a three-year-old who attended my church for the first time this Sunday. She came from a church where the kiddos were encouraged to dance and move around to the music. Apparently she deemed our more-traditional music danceable, and was very upset when her mother attempted to keep her in the pew. I couldn't help but relate, though. Who doesn't want to twirl? Especially in the first of the three following recent acquisitions.

1. Light jersey dress. A couple of years ago, a friend gave me a dress (for some reason) in this GORGEOUS kelly green jersey. It was very flattering, comfortable and perfect for dressing up in summer. I somehow lost it at some point (BAH!) and have been looking for a decent replacement. Until I found this crazy gem:

See the twirling? This thing could not be more comfortable. And it's hard to see here, but I love the deep blue-green color of it. It came from the (Half of Half) store with a REALLY HUGE rip (seriously, maybe 5 inches?) in a seam, but there is so much fabric in the skirt that I realized it would be extremely easy to fix. So I did! This dress is by Sine and distributed by Anthropologie. (A discount store with a separate anthro rack? Why isn't there one near me?)

2. Next is my motivation to exercise (aka bikini) from a thrift shop. (NWT.) I wasn't quite sure how to show you, so I improvised:

It's difficult to see, but keep in mind that those are cool-looking paislies and the cups are a lot less over-full without the dress and things on.   : P  It's Victoria's Secret and I love it. Don't tell them, I'm still playing mad because they have so few small-chested offerings.

3. Skirt to be altered!

I would never have considered high-waisted things for myself before beginning this blog. Amazing, especially as I have a little high-as-my-waist-can-go moment here for the last few weeks. Anyway, this lovely linen skirt called out to my in its especially melodious 99-cent voice, so I had to take it home. What do you think about my proposed length there? It's a bit shorter than most of my skirts, but the knee-lengthe or just-touching-knee length really just didn't work for me. Pleeeeeease feel free to leave a suggestion below!

See you soon!

I recently bought a silk scarf (finally found one for less that $17 at TJ Maxx! Woo!) but realized that I don't know what to DO with them. I love when others wear them, but the square shape is so completely different than any scarf I've ever worn before.

Suggestions, friends? I'd love either tips on how you wear them, or even a link or picture of great ways others do this thing. Help, help!

Thanks.  : P