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.

Nautical

Date night! Casual, though. As in, my husband wore sandals, and we ate nachos. It was great.
It cooled off later in the evening and I wore a long coral scarf (this one) for a pop of color. My husband was agog when I suddenly pulled it out. "Where did that come from?" My giant handbag of course. Don't you wish you had one too?

Striped top: French Connection
Grey linen sailor pants: CAbi
Brown & silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target (see them better here)
Silver link bracelet: Tiffany, a gift

Where: Date night! Whee!

Uninspired Friday

So... yeah. I'm sorry. I look really boring today. Also if I were wearing different shoes, I'm pretty sure people would think I was there to take their drinks order or clean their hotel room.
Anyhow, it's Friday and I'm beat. I just could not come up with something more colorful to wear. But I'm going on a date with my husband tonight, so I'll try to come up with something a bit more interesting later!

Black jersey dress: Target
Black tank: Kohl's
Black ruched leggings: Old Navy
White cropped cardigan: Old Navy
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Grey pendant: Baked Beads

Where: Cleaning, music class (complete with traumatic accidental headbutt to my mouth and subsequent lots of blood), relaxing lunch with my aunt and grandmother, work at home.

P.S. Have you ever rediscovered something in your closet and suddenly find yourself wearing it all the time? That's these shoes for me. I bought them ages ago - actually in two colors, this black pair and a navy pair, thinking I'd wear them constantly. And then I hardly ever wore them. But I pulled them out the other day and suddenly they seem to go with everything. Huh. Part of it is the heel height - pre-children, I deemed these wedges too low for me. But now that I'm chasing a toddler, the height is perfect!

Down by the boardwalk

If I lived by a boardwalk, I would like to be on it or perhaps even by it, as the song goes. And actually, it doesn't look at nice out so maybe stuck in my office will have to be the way to go. Lately I seem to be inspired by the 50's and 60's. Something about the ballet slippers and rolled up jeans make me feel like I should be bopping with a milkshake in hand and listening to some Beach Boys.


The Wear:
Pattern shirt: Banana Republic
Jeans: Gap
Belt: Gap
Shoes: Mossimo

The Where:
Work, grocery store, home.

Retro

For some reason, this outfit makes me feel late 1980's retro. I feel like I should be wearing these boots and listening to The Specials or Violent Femmes. I could be totally off but I'm getting that vibe. The skirt is actually a dress but I am feeling under the weather due to an unfortunate encounter with a falafel sandwich so a tee just felt more comfortable. The skirt has a funky pattern and the necklace goes along with it. It's sort of a geometric theme today, I suppose.

The Wear
Black tee: Old Navy
Dress: Old Navy
Shoes: Mossimo

The Where:
Work, home, salon

Fat day

This title is pretty self-explanatory. Fat days. We've all had them, right? (At least humor me and say yes.) I'm just feeling... thick today. And I also had a zillion errands to run this morning. Normally I would put on stretchy pants and a baggy t-shirt for this, but I'm trying to look at least slightly presentable. So I grabbed this stretchy jersey skirt and a purple shirt for some color...
And that's really all I have to say about that. Except that I'm really glad nothing is hugging my stomach area today.

Lilac twist-neck t-shirt: Kohl's
Black jersey skirt: Old Navy
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Lilac "sea glass" pendant: Baked Beads

Where: Drycleaner, veterinarian, tailor, grocery store, town offices, work from home.

Some like it hot

So! Summer has arrived! It's hitting 95 degrees today, and I'm bleary and chugging caffeine in a desperate attempt to keep my eyes open and not succumb to a long afternoon nap. So far it's not helping so much in the wakefulness department, but I am having to visit the ladies room a lot. Hmm.
Anyhow, I had an early morning meeting and it was too hot to do much more than a t-shirt and skirt combo. But I think it turned out okay. I got this skirt right after my son was born, so of course now it's too big but I still like it. I particularly like how my beloved wedges (man I love these shoes) match the skirt so perfectly - metallic and tan and all.

White v-neck t-shirt: Kohl's
Tan and silver skirt: TJ Maxx
Brown & silver platform wedges: Mossimo/Target (see them better here)
Silver double-loop necklace: Kohl's

Where: Early morning meeting.

In the interest of full disclosure (also, see above re: 95 degrees), I'll tell you that as soon as I came home, I changed into this:

... which, let's be honest, is basically pajamas. But comfy.

Lime-green dress: Old Navy
Studded thong sandals: Target
Pink-and-green bead necklace: Baked Beads

Where: Work at home, trying not to fall asleep.

How Now!

Today I am wearing one of my favorite pair of shoes! They are brown and white fake cow hide sandals. Unfortunately, my front food got cut off and I don't have time to retake the photo, or a closeup of the shoes, so this will have to do. I bought them years ago when I lived out west. The backs have some chew marks from my very large pooch but they are not noticeable unless you are on the ground looking at my feet and if you are, ew! Go away, perv! The rest of the outfit basically was put together to go with the shoes. It's comfortable and cool for this hot humid day.

The Wear
Cropped white blazer: Merona
Dress: Target
Shoes: Franco Sarto

The Where:
Work, lunch out, the boy's ENT appointment, home

Busy Bee

Today I am quite busy at work so it is only appropriate that I am dressed like a bumble bee. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz... I think I need to invest in another wide belt because I'm liking the look. That's all I have for today as I said, today is a busy day and I'm waiting on some paperwork to be brought to me.

The Wear:
Shirt: J. Crew
Skirt: J. Crew
Tank: Banana Republic
Belt: Express
Shoes: American Eagle from Payless

The Where:
Work, home, salon

That 70s outfit

A second outfit! Since I was channeling the 1950s earlier today, I thought I'd jump ahead a few decades and work on the 70s tonight.
I've been wanting to see how these shoes paired with this dress; I think I've only worn them each once before. It seemed to work out well! I like the way the studs on the clogs echo the studs on the belt. I went out with some girlfriends and sat outside for a long dinner and chat. Aaaaaannd then I stopped at the grocery store on the way home. I may have been a bit overdressed to be buying bananas and flour; I got some funny looks. Mostly from much younger men. I'm going to go ahead and believe that they were admiring me.

Gold dress: Jones New York
Studded belt: Jessica Simpson
Yellow platform clogs: Target

Where: Dinner with girlfriends, grocery store.

It Might Not Match

This outfit has been brought to you by Benadryl, allergies, and sleep deprivation! I am not 100% sure if this matches but I wanted to wear this skirt and I was too lazy to find a shirt which matched. Oh well. I almost took a picture of the outfit I work Saturday but dammit I didn't have time! All this house selling, open houses, keeping it immaculately extra clean. Bleck. I just want to lounge around in my underwear with chocolate wrappers thrown about. Is that too much to ask?

The Wear:
Shirt: J. Crew
Skirt (remixed): Willi Smith
Shoes (remixed): Mossimo
Necklace: Who the heck cares? (Or, I don't know)

The Where:
Work, home. Wow. That is yawn-worthy.

Retro?

My outfit today has me feeling like I belong on the set of a 1950s era movie. Or Grease. It's some combination of the polka-dots, "cropped" pants and wedge sandals. I kind of wish I had a Pink Ladies jacket to complete the look. Or just to wear in general, because: how awesome would that be?!?
And I don't know what's going on, but all my jeans are suddenly too short. Super annoying. Which is why they're rolled up like this today. (Also not thrilled with the way my blouse keeps riding up to expose the bottom of my camisole. But better exposed camisole than exposed muffin-top, I always say.) (No, I don't really always say that.) (But it's totally true.)

Polka-dotted blouse: Allen B for JCPenney
Black camisole: Costco
Jeans: Calvin Klein lean bootcut
Black-and-white wedge espadrilles: Naturalizer
Octopus necklace: gift from my sister (see it better here)

Where: Doctor's office, errands, work at home.

In love with neutrals (and also apparently Target)

Sorry to be AWOL for a few days, I've been really grubby and not photograph-worthy. Argh.
Today it's gorgeous but cool outside, and I had a super busy morning. So I needed to be comfortable and ready for action... and that of course means that I reached for another jersey dress. This is a new one; I love the tone-on-tone stripes. But I had to wear leggings today (it's cool, plus I was spending a good chunk of time sitting on the floor with toddlers) and I wish I'd had a lighter or tan pair of leggings to go with the dress; the brown seems a little dark. Oh well. I'm still cuter than if I'd thrown on jeans and a t-shirt, which was my first inclination!

Brown cardigan: Target
Striped jersey dress: Target
Brown leggings: Old Navy
Bronze ballet flats: Target
Multi-tone pearl beads: gift from a friend

(Seriously, people, I'm like a walking Target ad here. Only the leggings are exempt, and really they could just as easily have been from the Tarjay as well... It's kind of silly actually because there is no Target within hours of my house!)

Where: music class, furniture workshop, doctors office, burgers/fries/ice cream with my son, work at home, cookout tonight.

Friday Hoedown

Okay, I'm not going to a hoedown. For some reason with the rolled up jeans and the espadrille wedges, I feel a little bit country. Or maybe it's because I just went down to the "Rib Fest" for lunch. It is not a place this vegetarian likes to hang but out summer intern wanted to try the Tennessee ribs so away we went. I tried not to gag when I saw the whole pig rotating on a spit. Super gag.

So yes, the outfit. Actually, let's talk shoes. In case you haven't noticed, I wear flats 113% of the time. Today I decided to go all CRAZY and wear high heal wedges. They are actually the only type of heals I will wear without screaming Uncle! I tried to put a closeup photo of the shoes but it appeared upside down and I didn't want to strain anyone's neck trying to look at them. So, trust me, they are cute.

The Wear:
Cardigan (remixed): Motherhood Maternity (Not. With. Child.)
Beaded shirt: Boutique in San Diego from a gajillion years ago
Camisole: Banana Republic
Jeans (remixed): !it Diva
Belt (remixed): C. J. Laing
Espadrilles: Franco Sarto

The Where:
Work, Rib Fest, eye doctor, grocery store, cookout

Bad in Black

Today I had to have my portrait taken for the local bar association picture guide. Because that it just what you need, a photo guide of local attorneys. Whoowee! We were told to wear solid colors or a dark suit. I came this close to wearing my fancy charcoal grey suit but then decided that no way, if I do not have to be in court, a suit does not go on my person. So there. Instead I decided to jazz up this black number with more black. See that creativity? Actually, I like this outfit. I feel a little bit like Joan Harris with the belt on. I just need the red hair and saucy attitude to go with it!

Tomorrow is casual Friday and I have a picnic in the evening. I need to step up my game, as SP did in this post, and move out of my comfort zone. I have some ideas brewing, it's just a matter of putting it all together.

By the way, I am proud that this post is relatively coherent and I am not wearing my dress backwards. Our two year old son had a sleep study on Tuesday and although I do not like the term "epic fail" that is the only way to describe the study, my lack sleep and I really mean no sleep, and the resulting crankiness of all parties involved. Be ye not so stupid: avoid sleep studies on two year old children who end up also having double ear infections!

The Wear:
Dress (remixed): Shabby Apple (I loves me some Shabby Apple)
Belt (remixed): Express
Shoes (remixed): Mossimo (I wanted to wear some red wedges but I thought my tiredness might result in falling.)

The Where:
Work, portrait sitting (gag,) meeting with clients, massage (High! Five!), home.

Two cookouts

So. This is the story of two cookouts - one we went to Sunday night, and one I hosted on Monday night. And two outfits. One of which I liked, one of which I did not. Shall we begin? Good.

This is what I threw on for a last-minute get-together at my aunt's house Sunday night. I had run half a marathon earlier in the day, and I was SORE. Still am, actually.
Anyhow, the skirt is a new purchase because I liked the color (surprise, surprise!) and the floaty fabric. But now that I see the photo, I like it a lot less. Maybe it's the combination with this shirt, but I look kind of matronly. Blech. Maybe I need to shorten the skirt. Or maybe I need to get rid of this shirt.

Tan square-neck t-shirt: Macy's
Coral print skirt: Old Navy
Coral and tan sandals: Bass
Pink beaded necklace: Kohl's

Where: last-minute cookout with family.

And this is what I threw on to host a cookout with neighbors on Monday night. Much better. This was the first time I've worn this dress and it works for me. I like the loose waistline because I could eat as much as I wanted and not worry about a big belly showing... and the hemline is a little shorter than I usually like, but I think it's okay. The loose silhouette makes me think of a early 1900s flapper dress, but I'm kind of enjoying that.

White floral dress: Old Navy
Coral and tan sandals: Bass
Pink and green beaded necklace: Baked Beads

Where: grocery shopping and hosting a cookout.

Bottle of red, bottle of white

I've been wanting to wear this exact combination of clothing for a while now, and just haven't had the opportunity until Saturday night. I was meeting some friends at an Italian restaurant for a night-before-the-big-race dinner, and it was both warm and rainy out. I hadn't gotten to break out these shoes yet although I've had them for a while. I like how they make my legs a lot longer!
I really love how this outfit turned out, and I liked how I looked. Although I did get some funny looks from older women in the restaurant. Ah well. Could have been the giant polka-dot coral flower in my hair.

Striped top: French Connection
Coral linen shorts: Gap
Nude pumps: Franco Sarto
Polka-dot coral flower: Icing

Where: spaghetti dinner with friends.