Slouch

People, I was in a BAD mood this morning. Just... bad. I had planned this outfit the night before, but I probably would have grabbed this sweater anyhow. It just... soothes me. I like that I have an excuse to slouch and stuff my hands in the front pocket like a sullen teenager. And I wasn't too far from a sullen teenager this morning.

But then! I blew off my work and disastrous house, and went for a massage. I can't remember the last time I did that. And then instead of being in a bad mood, I spent the rest of the day wandering around in a half-awake stupor, which actually made me much more pleasant to deal with really. Wow - pedicure last night and massage today. Who do I think I am, one of the Real Housewives?

Grey metallic "inside-out" sweater: DKNY

Skinny jeans: Lauren Conrad

Black boots: Target

Silver circle necklace: Kohl's

Where: Preschool dropoff & pickup, massage (!!!!), errands, music class.

Ruffled

I got this ruffle-trim wool cardigan to wear on the plane during a recent trip, and it's quickly becoming an MVP of my closet. So warm and soft! The only thing I don't love about it? No front closure. I'm going to have to add a few hooks there; today I have it oh-so-classily held shut via safety pin. Luckily the necklace and ruffle distract from that little detail.

Ruffled wool cardigan: Marshall's

Purple v-neck t-shirt: Kohl's

Bootcut jeans: Lauren Conrad (although these are clearly not "bootcut" enough - look at how they're clinging to my boots!)

Brown harness boots: White Mountain

Multi-tone pearls: Misaki, a gift

Where: Gymnastics class, grocery store, farmshare pickup, pedicure (!)(I had a sitter booked, and then my obligation got cancelled - woohoo, me time!) and errands.

Needs color

It's Action Tuesday at our house! Which means comfort, but also means I'm going to be seeing a lot of other people today, and want to look at least a little bit presentable. Tricky, tricky.

I like this outfit, but I think it really needs some more color. I'm trying to figure out how to punch it up. In person, the shirt is a deep indigo color - but the ruffled tuxedo neckline makes it hard to accessorize with scarf or necklace. Hmm.

Indigo blouse: Target

Grey skinny jeans: Old Navy

Black boots: Target

Where: Preschool dropoff, work at home, errands, preschool pickup, lunch with my grandmother, more errands, gymnastics class, playdate.

Autumn colors

Well... hello! So. Some stuff happened (as stuff does) and our end-of-summer hiatus seems to have turned into a most-of-fall hiatus. Sorry about that. But things are fine! We're all good! And the change of seasons is good impetus to begin actually thinking about what I'm wearing again... So here goes.

Today's outfit was actually planned around its smallest member: this "jeweled" leaf pin that I thrifted last week. (Funny, that makes it sound like I go thrifting all the time, when in reality I've been maybe three or four times, ever. Anyhow.) I fell in love with it at first sight, and despite its hefty $1.99 pricetag, it came home with me. I'm not usually a "pin" person. I haven't yet figured out how to wear them without looking... senior. But I'm working on it.

Anyhow, the "jewels" are brown, orange/yellow and green. So I wore a brown tunic/dress, sage green leggings, and my beloved sunflower-yellow scarf.

My favorite part about this tunic? The cool half-mitten sleeve details. (I don't know the actual name for it... that thing where your thumb fits through the sleeve? I love it... but I've already had a couple of near tragedies while washing my hands today.)

Brown tunic: CAbi

Sage-green leggings: Target

Sunflower-yellow scarf: F21

Brown harness boots: White Mountain

"Jeweled" leaf pin: thrifted

End-of-summer hiatus

Hi there! Suburban Plumage is taking a short break for some end-of-summer festivities. Fear not, we'll be back soon to wear our fall clothes!

Bottoms-up

So yeah, I'm wearing the same thing from the waist down as in my last post. But at least it's two days removed! And a completely different audience: dinner with a girlfriend.
I wanted to wear this thrifted shirt again, and it seemed like a 70s sort of vibe, so I paired it with the wideleg trouser jeans and platform clogs I wore on Tuesday night. Add some chunky silver jewelry and call it a day. Or night.

Patterned silk shirt: Banana Republic, thrifted
Wideleg trouser jeans: Lauren Conrad
Yellow platform clogs: Target
Circle necklace: Kohl's
Engraved bird bracelet: Kohl's (see it better here)

Where: dinner with a girlfriend, assorted errands.

Quick change

I'm low on posts this week! It's been chaos around here, and I haven't been putting much effort into what I've been wearing; it just hasn't been practical! But last night I had a meeting (and the clothes I was previously wearing were a disaster) so I made a quick change before heading out. I have a feeling I may have posted this exact outfit before, though...?

Silk blouse: CAbi
Wideleg trouser jeans: Lauren Conrad
Yellow platform clogs: Target
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: Evening meeting.

Circus outfit

We had a big family outing last night, to a little Italian family circus that's come through town. It's small, with just dogs and horses and acrobats, and I figured that'd be perfect for my son. He alternated between loving it and being a little scared of the "mean" clown - but he wouldn't stop talking about it, so I'll mark it down as a success.
Not as successful: the completely obtuse woman behind us, who first stepped on my son's fingers (and took her sweet time moving) and then spilled her drink on my backside. Huh.
About the outfit: I can't say for sure how it came together - I guess a hidden desire to wear two different kinds of stripes at once - but in the end I felt a little like a French circus mime. This circus was Italian, but hey - still Europe, right?

Striped dolman-sleeve top: TJMaxx
Navy pinstripe shorts: Dockers
Navy-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Yellow rubber watch:
Background onlooker: fueled by cotton candy and lemonade. Also very sticky.

Where: Circus!

Where is Frumptastic?

I apologize for my lack of appearances on this blog as of late. I thought I would be able to take pictures, be creative in my outfits, etc. but it seems like that is just not happening. Work is a busy disaster, we've been traveling a lot, we are trying (in vain?) to sell our house and I'm focusing most of my (nervous) energy on my son's surgery a week from today. Frankly, I don't care what I'm wearing. Add in some body issues and you have a good mix for not wanting to get dressed up and take a picture of myself. I AM doing some things to resolve this problem.

First, I am returning to the gym. I hope that this will make me feel both physically and mentally better because right now, both fronts are not great.

Second, I am eating better. I am exploring some different recipes, healthful meals and snacks, and cutting out as much processed food as possible.

Third, I am giving myself a break. I hope to be ready to start posting entries with photos in September. I will try to express some thoughts here about body image and my process (hopefully it won't be too depressing) when I have the inspiration.

Yours in Frump,
Frumptastic
::Insert jazz hands here::

One of those days

It was a crazy day, full of errands and running around, and by the time it was late afternoon, I was thoroughly grubby. I had an evening meeting, and I wanted to at least look presentable - so I changed on the fly and sped off. Halfway there, I realized I had my shirt on backwards and had to pull over and change on the side of road. Yeah. Super classy - that's me.

Black-and-white striped top: Kohl's
Purple jersey skirt: Old Navy
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: Evening meeting.

Baby, baby

I have something to tell you. I have a favorite item of clothing: this orange ruffled mini-dress. It was love at first sight; I bought it without a second of buyer's remorse. Do you want to know how many times I've worn it? Just twice, before this weekend.
The thing is, I can never figure out how to style it; it's too short and sheer to wear alone, and kind of bell-shaped at the bottom. I got the dress last summer and first wore it with pewter-grey leggings and grey cage sandals, and a cardigan. The second time I wore it in the winter with leggings, tall grey boots, and again a cardigan. I thought I was doomed to only ever wear it with leggings.
On Saturday I was getting dressed to go to a garden baby shower (it was gorgeous!) and pulled out my favorite dress yet again, as I've done a hundred times, pretty sure I'd just be putting it right back. But! The coral shorts from the night before were still left out! And the blue wave belt I wore last week! It was serendipitous. And I know the shorts peeked out the whole time, but I didn't care. I got a ton of compliments on the dress, so I was happy.

Cropped white cardigan: Old Navy
Ruffled orange dress: Lulus.com
Coral linen shorts: Gap
Brown & silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target (see them better here)
"Ocean jasper" necklace: local jewelry shop (see it better here)

Friday night Thai

We had a bunch of cousins and family in town and staying with us for the weekend; it was a fantastic chaos of playing kids and beach and parties. Perfect summer weekend.
When our contingent arrived on Friday afternoon, they had a craving for pad thai. So we packed up and drove downtown ("Hey, it's New York City!" said my son... it was definitely not) to eat at a nearby Thai place. It was a little rainy and muggy, but it was still a fun dinner. I wanted to be cool and casual, but still a little colorful, so I went with the coral linen shorts that everyone loved so much when I first wore them! No heels this time though - too much walking for my still-sore right foot.

White cardigan: Target
Chiffon ruffled tank: Old Navy and altered by me
Coral linen shorts: Gap
Ivory/gold ballet flats: Aerosoles
"Ocean jasper" necklace: local jewelry shop (see it better here)

Where: out to dinner with my lovely aunts and cousins.

Blue wave

My sister got me a gift certificate to ModCloth for my birthday, and I've been stalking this belt ever since, waiting for it to come back in stock. When it was finally back, I pounced. It arrived yesterday and I had to wear it first chance I got - even though I was only headed to a picnic at a local farm. I may have been a little on the dressy side, but I still got several belt-related compliments. Hey - it's a lot better than the outfit I wore there last week!
(And yes, these shoes did hurt with my broken toe. But sometimes you have to suffer for your art. In this case, art = eating sandwiches and cookies on a blanket and watching my son do a completely insane dance with his friends.)

White v-neck t-shirt: Kohl's
Stretchy black jersey skirt: Old Navy
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Blue wave belt: ModCloth
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: concert and picnic at a local farm.

Aaaaaaand repeat.

So here's the thing. A few days ago, I broke a toe on my right foot. Just a little toe, but still: ouch. And with the turning purple and swelling up and whatnot. So this week my footwear options have been pretty limited: running shoes and anything else supportive/protective. But last night I was going to dinner with a group of friends and reeeeaaallly didn't want to wear sneakers to the restaurant... and the next most supportive footwear I could think of was my harness boots. With this post fresh in my mind, I just couldn't get this dress out of my head in conjunction with boots... so I wore it again.
Different company, different night. That's allowed, right?
(Also, I think I look a little like Peter Pan in the last post, and a girl scout in this one. I don't mind either comparison.)

Forest green shirtdress: Kohl's
Studded belt: Jessica Simpson
Harness boots: White Mountain
Pendant: "ocean jasper" from a local jewelry shop

Where: out to dinner.

Sidenote: When I broke my toe, I was with my son, and asked him to get me an icepack. He was thrilled to be asked to help and went running off as fast as his little legs could go... and came back with a popsicle. "You can wrap it in a towel!" he said. But no, I asked him again to get me an icepack. He ran off again... and this time he didn't come back. I found him several minutes later, sitting next to the open freezer with a popsicle in his mouth. The temptation had just been too much for his little three-year-old willpower to overcome.
At the moment, it was aggravating. But in hindsight, it's pretty funny.

Date night

Friday night was date night! And I broke out a new dress.
I got this dress last week because there is a small, secret part of me that wants to be Betty Draper, and shirtdresses seem like something she would wear. I like the color and the fit (and how it makes my waist look so small) but it's an inch or two shorter than I normally wear. This time I wore it with my nude pumps, but I think I'm going to try it with flats next time. Somehow heels make the dress seem even shorter than usual. But I'm totally going to wear it with tights and cowboy boots this fall.
Side note: Husband says he likes these shoes but that in his opinion, they're "the color that's left on the rack after all the colors are sold." Huh. I still like how they make my legs look, so we may have to agree to disagree on this one.

Forest green shirtdress: Kohl's
Studded belt: Jessica Simpson
Nude pumps: Franco Sarto

Where: Date night.

Hot, hot, hot

(Not my outfit, the weather.)
I wore this tonight to host a casual dinner party at our house. It's still crazy hot here, and I needed to be cool but presentable too... Of course now that I'm looking at the photo, my shorts (these ones) look kind of shapeless and baggy... but I'm going to blame that on the fact that I took this photo at the end of the night after cooking/grilling/making ice cream sundaes for the kids.

Ruffled coral/tan tank: Testament
Brown tank (underneath): Old Navy
Olive-drab linen shorts: Gap
Bronze flats: Target
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: hosting a casual dinner party (six adults, five kids) at our house.

Nobody needs to see this

I haven't posted much this week. Do you want to know why? I present to you the above photo of yesterdays' outfit.
This week has been hot, and muggy, and did I mention HOT? My days have consisted of sweating, and digging in the sand with my son, and fishing frisbees out of the lake. In short, I have not dressed up. In fact I have barely dressed at all.
Yesterday I wore a dress for the simple reason that it was cooler than shorts. I got the dirtiest I think I have ever gotten while wearing a dress. And note the footwear! Dinner was a picnic at a farm. I wore studded sandals for most of the day, but I really just wanted my feet covered when walking though a barnyard; that's just me.
(I realize this post sounds very complainy. I don't mean it; I've had some awesome days this week. Well, except for the heat part. I mean it about that.)

Purple jersey dress: Target
Yellow tank: Lands End
Sexy amphibious sandals: Teva
Small starfish necklace: Target
Dirt: courtesy of beach, park, gym and farm.

Where: Park/beach playdate, grocery store, work at home, swimming lesson, picnic and concert at a nearby farm.

Shoeless Saturday

It was hot on Saturday. Really hot. And I am not a hot-weather person. So this is what I wore. I did pretty much nothing on Saturday, didn't once get in the car. I could have put on shoes for this picture, but that would be a lie. It was a no-shoes kind of day.

Coral tank: Target
Print skirt: Old Navy, shortened by me
Giant starfish necklace: self-made at bead shop
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: Lazy Saturday at home. The best kind.

Worst Blogger EVAH!

I apologize for my lack of blogging. It seems that life has gotten in the way. We spent last week in Seattle for a little vacation. I planned on taking photos there but with all the business, I plum forgot! Having fun can get in the way of blogging too.

I did purchase a few new items for my wardrobe. We scurried up to a super fine outlet north of the city and I FINALLY bought some new gap jeans. I love their Long and Lean jeans because I don't have the constant fear I will be exposing some crackerage and they are not so high up that I could be on a commercial for Mom Jeans. Win win! I found two cute shirts in the BR Outlet two which are colorful, light and perfect for summer. I wore one yesterday and I plan on wearing the other on Friday. With my new jeans, of course!

Besides my lack of posting, I've been neglecting the gym and it shows. I plan on returning to said gym and getting all fit and sh*t. It will be rad fab (ridiculously fabulous!)

I hope to post tomorrow night. I'll have the good professor take a photo of me tomorrow night after work and from there, I shall go forth and POST!

Morning meeting

Today I had an early meeting. Usually it's boiling in the conference room where we have these meetings, but today it was freezing. Hmm. Lucky thing I had this totally boring cardigan to wear!
(Wow, if this isn't the least interesting post ever...)

Favorite dress: Target
Beige cardigan: Casual Corner (which tells you how old it is; I don't think that chain exists anymore!)
Ivory/gold ballet flats: Aerosoles
Multi-tone pearls: Misaki, a gift (from my husband, who also recommended this tying option. Nice!)
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: Daycamp dropoff, early meeting, work at home.