Floral

I don't often wear florals, but I really love this blouse. (However, I hate the word blouse. But this is clearly one.) Anyhow, I was saving this outfit for a special occasion and wore it to speak at a conference today. Everything fit perfectly and I felt great. (Plus, the advantage to a loose flowing blouse: no worries about nervous sweat! Ahh, I'm so glamorous.)

Floral silk top: CAbi
Grey linen sailor pants: CAbi
Brown & silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target (see them better here)
Green glass bracelet: self-made

Where: Attending and speaking at a conference.

Two halves

Today had two distinctive halves... first I was running around town getting things done, then I had a conference to attend in the afternoon and evening. This is the knockaround outfit.

Polka-dot blouse: Allen B for JCPenney
Jeans: Calvin Klein lean bootcut
Beaded flip-flops: Target
Octopus necklace: a gift from my sister

Where: Laundry, bank, music class, furniture workshop, groceries, work at home.

This second outfit looked sharper in person than I was able to photograph. It would help if I didn't try to take my pictures at 11:00 p.m. after a day of rumpling. Anyhow, I felt like I looked good... and very tall. (You also have to picture this outfit with one of those conference nametags and lanyard... hence my lack of accessories. The nametag more than made up for it!)

Striped shirt: French Connection
Wide-leg denim trousers: Lauren Conrad
Yellow platform clogs: Target

Where: Conference, dinner, casual dessert reception.

Fancy Friday

You know the scene from Carrie when the pig's blood pours down on her? My morning is worse. As soon as a look at my desk there are disasters to fix and legal problems to solve which appear to be not resolvable. Fortunately, I have a lunch time event which will distract me for a little bit. Go me!

The Outfit:
Blouse: J. Crew
Camisole: Banana Republic
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Patterned Stockings: ???
Belt: The Limited
Shoes: Nine West

Where: work, luncheon, grocery store

Stripes

Sorry no outfit post from me yesterday... there were actually two different outfits worn, but both got completely trashed (we're talking mud, popsicle juice, what have you — at one point I had to climb a tree to unstick a kite...) before I could take a picture.
Today is a strange day — warm, humid, windy, and rainy. At least it's not snowing, so I won't complain. And yes, I'm wearing white shoes before Memorial Day. (Is that the rule?) Honestly, I couldn't care less about old-school fashion rules. Who has time for that?

Striped dolman top: TJ Maxx
Jeans: Calvin Klein lean bootcut
White leather sandals: Etienne Aigner
Loop necklace: Kohl's

Where: Furniture-making workshop, bank, pizza/arcade playdate, work at home, meeting.

Have Child, Will Travel

Today is one of those days you don't want to face as a parent. You want your child to be illness free. And don't get me wrong. Many children are seriously I'll; however, you can't help but fret when the terms surgery and anesthesia are used in reference to your child. Unfortunately, the little guy takes after Frumptastic when it comes to obscenely large tonsils. It tells you a lot when the ENT specialist is shocked by the size of your child's tonsils. So here we are today. The three of us are heading to the city for a second look by a specialist.

The Outfit
Cardigan (remixed): Motherhood Maternity
Shirt (remixed): Banana Republic
Jeans: Gap Long and Lean (I am neither of those so I feel like a poser wearing these jeans.)
Belt: Gap
Shoes: Mossimo
Necklace: Superhero Designs

Where: Children's Hospital, Lowes for more crap for selling the house.

Asian Inspiration

About a year ago, I began getting ready for a five week trip to a small Asian country with my fifteen month old and parents. My husband had been there for the last four months on sabbatical researching things and using laser beams. For the past few weeks, I have been itching to return. Out of all of the countries I've visited, this one has a special place in my heart. I do not know if it was the length of time spent there, the wonderful people, or just that there was just something about it that drew me in. We talk about going for a summer but I do not know how realistic that is given my work. Perhaps a nice two week vacation will do the trick.

Today's outfit is inspired by my time there. While traveling, we visited numerous Taoist and Buddhist temples. At this one particular Taoist temple, they had exhibits of tradition wear of the monks (at least I think they were monks, my memory is fuzzy here.) For some reason I remembered a grey and black outfit but apparently I made that up in my head. This is the closest example of what inspired me to wear this outfit today.

The outfit:
Tunic (remixed): Merona
Wrap skirt (remixed): Banana Republic
Leggings (remixed): TJ? Target?
Shoes (remixed): Mossimo
Belt (remixed): Banana Republic or J. Crew

Initially I did not think I could throw this brown tortoise shell belt with all the grey and black but then I remembered this post and thought, what the heck. I think it is relatively successful and it makes me happy and nostalgic.

Where: Work, massage, home.

Rainy night out

Another outfit! This one is more successful, I think. Since I got these shoes I've been wanting to pair them with these pants, which are brown with silver threads running through the pattern. I got these pants AGES ago and haven't worn them in a few years... and although I still like them, they're a little bigger than I remember them!

Grey silk tuxedo shell: JCrew
Brown cardigan: Target
Brown/silver wool pants: To the Max
Brown/silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target
Grey and pink flower barrettes: Icing
Scared dog: courtesy of thunderstorms

Where: Dinner with friends, frivolous shopping (my favorite kind)

Busy Bee

Today has been a busy one. I think the frenetic zigzags on my skirt are a good reflection of my day. I have had meetings, petitions to prepare, and tonight I pick up the boy, go for some relaxing waxing, and pick up a drain spout to handle the monsoons effecting our area. I think we might be helping Lowes make their quarterly profits.

Hey, guess what! Besides the rain it is wicked warm outside. Have I been able to enjoy the warmth? NO! Why? See above.

The outfit
Cardigan (remixed): Merona
Camisole (remixed): Elle for Kohl's
Skirt (remixed): Lapis
Biker Shorts: Benetton (likely from 1989.) Why biker shorts? Because I don't like the sensation of my thighs rubbing together and I do not always sit like a lady. Whoops.

Where: Work, Client Meeting, Fancy Meeting (not really,) The Early Learning Center to pick up the little man, home for dinner, salon for wax, and Lowes.

Rainy day rut

I'm feeling uninspired lately, outfit-wise. Maybe it's the weird in-between season we're in right now. Still cool, wet and grey outside. So neither spring nor winter clothes seem right.
This outfit is as boring as you can get - black shirts, jeans, black boots. Blergh. But I'm going out tonight so maybe I will make up for it with my second outfit.
I also just realized I don't have my rings on in this picture. Probably because it was taken in a rare moment of quiet between cleaning up the breakfast dishes and rushing out the door.

Black foil-print t-shirt: Marshall's
Black v-neck long-sleeve (underneath): Kohl's
Jeans: Gap skinny
Boots: Target
Double-loop necklace: Kohl's

Where: laundry, storytime at the library, haircut for the little man, out for burgers and fries for lunch, fabric store, work at home.

Color on a Grey Day

Yes, it is grey outside. Yes, the rain is falling on a 45 degree angle. At least I think that it's 45 degrees. I don't carry a protractor with me anymore. How cool with that be to whip out a protractor at any time? Not really unless you're my husband who is all mathy.

Generally at work I need to dress fairly "business-like" which to me means "not jeans." Mondays are tricky because I tend to forget everything (on purpose) over the weekend and I could have a surprise meeting with someone fancy. Typically my day does not involve fancy people.

So look at this outfit. I got all preppy springy by throwing in a green swirly shirt and pink shoes with roses on them. I think that is pretty good considering it's Monday, I did not hear the alarm (the husband did), and I picked out the outfit in the morning. Go me! The one thing with this shirt is that I feel like it accentuates my tummy pooch. And no one wants there tummy pooch accentuated unless they are a kangaroo. And maybe even they don't. I think it's the material, the shirt's not the kangaroo's, and I am thinking a fitted camisole might do the trick.

Wow, full of fun segues today!

The Outfit:
Black Swing Coat (remixed): Motherhood Maternity
Green Swirl Shirt (remixed): Banana Republic
Grey Pants (remixed): Banana Republic
Pink Suede Rosebud Shoes (remixed): Mossimo

Where:
Work, home. I will change when I go to ZUMBA! Ole!

Lazy

Today is actually not a "lazy" day at all... but I think I was kind of lazy putting this outfit together. It seems so... predictable. Although I am wearing my beloved octopus necklace - and though you can't see them, I have grey and pink flowers in my hair. So hopefully that helps me look not so... boring.

Striped t-shirt: Costco
White cardigan: Target (looking like it needs replacing soon!)
Cargo pants: Old Navy
Gold/ivory ballet flats: Aerosoles
Octopus necklace: gift from my sister

Where: Errands, furniture delivery, work at home, who knows what else? The day is young.

Easter at home

Easter isn't a super formal holiday in our family, and this year I was hosting a casual family brunch at our place. Still, I wanted to look a little bit Eastery - and I've been wanting to try wearing purple and yellow together for a while (how have I never done this before?).
The brunch went great, although this outfit took a beating before I got a chance to take my photo. I may or may not have had to Photoshop out some food stains on my cardigan.
Oh - and this is my second pair of ballet flats for the day. The first pair got a wee bit muddy when I had to chase down my son, who went out to try playing in the mud in his "good" pants.

Lilac cardigan: Target
Yellow "petal" tank: Old Navy
Navy jeans: Lauren Conrad
Gold/ivory ballet flats: Aerosoles
Bunny pendant: gift from Frumptastic (I love that at certain angles, this looks like an alien head)

Where: hosting Easter brunch.