Shorts

Hi. Here's a Saturday post. Yeah, I've been a little MIA this week; sorry about that. But here's the thing: I wore shorts a lot this week. Not the cute kind, either - the kind you wear with just a t-shirt and sporty sandals and get all sweaty in. I've spent the past few days pulling kids up hills in wagons, putting on bug spray, and getting covered with mud, food, and who knows what else. They were happy days, for the most part, but not particularly photogenic.
I'll make a little confession: I kind of hate how I look in shorts, usually. I don't like my knees - unless I am wearing some kind of heel, and then I can accept them. So it follows that I'm okay with shorts as long as I wear them with heels. Sadly, heels don't really work for the pulling-wagon and bug spray kind of days.

Black-and-white striped shirt: Kohl's
Steel grey linen shorts: Gap
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer

Where: Groceries, work at home, general Saturday stuff, hosting a cookout.

Socialite

Let's pretend for a moment that I really am a socialite and I am constantly being covered by my local paper's society section. Ok, stop laughing. I think if I were, this would be my go-to outfit. I feel very confident and comfortable. I'm business but relaxed (much like a mullet.) I'm indoors at the office and out by the water. It works for a Friday afternoon lunch and an evening for drinks by the bay. So there. I'm actually happy with what I'm wearing for a change. Cha cha cha!

The Wear:
Blouse: NY & Co.
Dress: Old Navy
Shoes: Mossimo

The Where:
Work, lunch with husband, pick up the boy, boy brought home to stay with babysitter, out for happy hour with work colleagues.

That 70s hoedown

I am kind of "meh" about this outfit that I wore last night... I think it might be the shirt. I love this shirt so much on the hanger but on my body it just falls flat.
Anyhow, I had a meeting and no time to get dressed so I seem to have gravitated towards a 70s/hoedown sort of look. Yeehaw! I think the outfit has a little potential, though - a belt to cinch in the waist may have helped a lot. But otherwise, sadly, I think it's Strike Two for this shirt.

Tan gingham shirt: Old Navy
White tank: Kohl's
Wideleg trouser jeans: Lauren Conrad
Yellow platform clogs: Target
Lobster necklace: gift from my sister (see it better here)
Yellow rubber watch: swag from my husband's old job

Where: casual evening meeting.

Eat, Nap, Love

Sometime in the last week, my husband and I watched Eat, Pray, Love. I had no interest in reading the book and honestly I never planned on watching the movie but when nothing else was on the other 873 channels, E, P, L was our only hope. And honestly, it wasn't that bad. I loved the scenery and locations. If my hypothetical publisher wanted to pay me to go eat a ton in Italy, get all centered and sh*t in India, and then lounge or be a guru's assistant in Bali, you probably wouldn't have to twist my arm too hard. However, I'd need to bring my son and husband. And perhaps my cats. And the dog. So my hypothetical trip finding myself and relaxing actually wouldn't be too relaxing because I would be trying to keep the boy out of the Roman fountains and trying to keep the dog from killing too much livestock.

What the heck does any of this have to do with this outfit? This is my effort at being all yoga zen relaxed today. The tunic is long and soft, the dress underneath is a cozy jersey and honestly feels like a nightgown (wait, am I wearing a nightgown at work?!) and the shoes are the most comfortable flats ever! No really, ever! I'm not sure if I've been totally zen today but at least I'm making the effort. Ommmm....

Oh, and I changed it to Eat, Nap, Love because I'm all about naps and not that there is anything wrong with prayer but I'm more familiar, at least I was, with naps.

The Wear:
Tunic: Merona from Target
Dress: Old Navy
Shoes: Mossimo
Necklace: Superhero Jewelry

The Where:
Home, Work, and the gym but I won't be wearing this to Zumba. Such a shame, no?

Graduation

I wore this last night for my youngest cousin's eighth-grade graduation. A few things:
1. This is not the outfit I planned to wear. When I put on the clothes I'd planned, they just looked all wrong. And I had exactly zero time to figure out what to do about that. So I grabbed this dress and these shoes, and crossed my fingers.
2. I took this photo at the end of the night, so I hope that helps explain all the rumpling...
3. I bought this dress in the summer of 2010. Hopefully that help alleviate any suspicions that I was trying to duplicate "the" blue dress... I had mine first!
4. I am officially old. I couldn't believe the outfits some of the eighth-grade girls were wearing! Kids these days...

Royal blue wrap dress: Old Navy
White camisole: Costco
Nude pumps: Franco Sarto
Small starfish necklace: Target

Where: Driving, toddler-wrangling, graduation-attending... all in the rain.

Everybody, Everywear: Itty Bitty Lace

Actually, I do have a very nice white lace shirt which would be cute with something; however, a lot of my clothes are in storage while we sell our house and I am afraid that shirt is one them. Sigh. So instead I am wearing a hint of lace to add color to this rather brown ensemble. It's actually one of my favorite camisoles which I purchased before going to Taiwan where I knew it would be steamy hot. Now that I am in cooler climate, I wear my camisoles under shirts for modesty (oh my!) and as I am here, to add a hint of color (despite the photo, it's more of a olive or pear color) and texture (lace.)

I find myself inspired by two themes of late: 1950's and 1960's fashion and the west. I am embracing outfits which flatter my curves because let's face it, I cannot really hide them. I plan to invest more time in thrift stores and looking for belts to cinch in my waist. On the other hand, I love the western look and if I could get my hands on a great, but reasonable, pair of cowboy boots, I would be pleased. These boots are the closest I can get to cowboy and this full skirt makes me think of a square dance, although I hated them in middle school!

The Wear:
Brown tissue tee: J. Crew
Camisole (with lace!): Elle by Kohls
Skirt: Willi Smith
Harness boots: White Mountain

The Where:
Work, telephone hearing with clients, Co-Op for rice milk for the boy, home

The Easter Bunny Meets Miami Vice

I am sure that there are days where my coworkers look at my outfits and think, say wha'? This might be one of those days. For some reason, I couldn't locate a short sleeved white shirt so instead I decided to go with a long sleeved pink tissue tee. Yes, I was in a hurry. No, I did not lay my outfit out last night. So sure, it is thrown together a bit but what the hell. If the Easter Bunny and Don Johnson from Miami Vice picked out an outfit, I'm sure this would fit the bill.

The Wear:
Blazer: Merona
Tissue long-sleeved tee: Merona
Tank: Banana Republic
Skirt: J. Crew
Shoes: American Eagle.

The Where:
Work, meeting with client, home. I will be changing into jeans for book discussion group.

Monday, Monday

In highly unusual circumstances, I am not spending a good chunk of today crawling on the floor as usual. I know!
I don't have a ton to say about this outfit, really. It's on the cooler side today but it's finally sunny again. Woohoo! Of course the entire weekend was pretty much lost to rain, but I'll take whatever nice weather I can get.
We have a graduation to attend tonight so I may have another outfit later. Or not. We'll see. I'm unpredictable like that.

Brown cardigan: Ann Taylor
Coral and brown sundress: Old Navy
White camisole: Costco
Brown harness boots: White Mountain
Giant starfish necklace: self-made at bead shop

Where: work at home, errands, lunchtime meeting, more work at home.