casual Fridays

Good evening everyone,

I went out with my coworker tonight so I decided to try and get a more scenic picture for you all :) This sweater is the same style that I wore yesterday but in a much brighter color. This denim skirt is another one of my summer clothing items that has been packed away and I don't think I'll wear it to work again. I felt rather self conscious with the shorter length and the slit in the back.

Happy Friday!

Trench: Old Navy

Tomatoe red sweater: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: Old Navy

Flats: Poetic License via SmartBargains

Necklace: Kate Spade

Bag: Eloquii

leather skirt Thursday

Hi all,

We're having another cooler day so I decided to break out my leather skirt. A year ago I never would have thought I would own a leather skirt but now I do :)

Happy Thursday!

Sweater: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: Talbots

Flats: Kohl's

Belt: NY & Co

Silver/gold ring: QVC Outlet

Thin gold ring: Etsy

Green ring: Gifted

Necklace, earrings: Ann Taylor Loft

Black bangle: Ann Taylor Loft via Ebay

Abalone bracelet: Lia Sophia via Ebay

Bag: Eloquii

a well-heeled Wednesday

(Weird smile courtesy of my second set of Invisalign trays. Stupid pain)

 Good afternoon everyone,

Last night I remembered my attempt to wear heels once a week, so I based this outfit around today's blue suede heels. I promise they're really blue and not black-see this post for proof :) I had forgotten how long it's been since I wore the shoes. Can't say the same for my skirt. It still had tags on it...My winter cleaning brought it back out and at first I thought I'd put it away since I consider tweed more of a fall/winter fabric but then I decided it would be light enough for spring...It's from Talbots, bought at a price I couldn't resist (under $25) and I knew it would be of the wrinkle variety. I didn't quite anticipate just how wrinkled it would get. Oh well. 

This purse isn't new at all. In fact it's looking a bit battered, but I just can't part with it. I bought it at least 3 years ago at a Naturalizer outlet and it has been my go-to bag ever since. I would buy three of the same bag all over again if I could find it :)

(Image credit)

You know what's not feeling beat up (har har lame transition)? My feet! Have any of you ever used Body Glide? It's an anti-chafing balm that runners use, but I use it to keep my skin from going crazy during the warmer months. All of a sudden it occurred to me to use it on my heels before I put shoes on. And it really works! My heels feel great! No redness, rubbing, or blisters. So if you have similar issues you might want to give it a shot :)

Happy Wednesday!

Cardigan: T.J. Maxx

Cowl tank: Ann Taylor

Tweed skirt: Talbots

Blue suede shoes: Jessica Simpson via T.J. Maxx

Necklace: Gifted

Marcasite ring: Marc & Pearl

Blue stone ring: Wisconsin business trip

Bracelet: NY & Co

Earrings: Coldwater Creek

green around the gills and what's in my bag

Good morning everyone,

The weather has gone from warm to much cooler, so I wanted to get another wear out of my favorite boots. It's so hard for me to say goodbye to tights and boots. They're just so comfortable :) 

This past weekend I managed to pack up all of my winter clothing but my wool cardigans and skirts are still sitting out so I grabbed this one out of the pile. Today actually needed a jacket but I was in a rush so I froze on the way to the car. Good thing my office always feels like a sauna.

What are you sad to pack away in anticipation of warmer months?

Oh, I finally unpacked my bag and took a photo of the contents. I like carrying a big bag, although now that I've laid out my stuff it doesn't look like much.

Bottom row (left to right):

Owl container (filled with papers, pills, hygiene stuff, etc...)

Fossil purse

Bliss lotion

2 Burts Bees lipglosses

Zune (yeah, I'm one of three zune owners. I wouldn't trade it for anything)

Camera

Top row:

Altoids

Invisalign case

Work badge

Tic Tacs

Planner

Ancient phone (I'm working on an upgrade, yep)

A few months before getting Invisalign I stopped chewing gum (since you can't chew anything with the retainers in). So now I always carry multiple breath mints. I'm a little paranoid about bad breath, although no one is usually that close to my face at work :)

Happy Tuesday!

 

Cardigan: Gap

Dress: Eloquii

Boots: Nordstrom Rack

Bag: Ross

Ring: Ebay

Necklace: Coldwater Creek

Bracelet: Ann Taylor Loft

birds eye view

Good afternoon,

This dress has garnered more attention that I anticipated for a lazy Friday. I decided to pair it with an old sun charm that my grandmother gave to my mom quite a while ago. My grandmother must have also bought one for herself because somehow a second pendant with the same design is now in my possession. My mom suggested making earrings out of them, but I was thinking a ring would be neat.

Have you all ever had jewelry custom made for you? I customized a necklace via Etsy a while ago but I don't generally feel creative enough to make my own jewelry. Well, except for those beading kits that were all the rage when I was in school. :)

Happy Friday!

Open knit cardigan: Eloquii

Bird dress: Eshakti

Brown and cream flats: Urban Outfitters

Belt: NY & Co

Necklace: Gift from mom

Bracelet: Ann Taylor Loft

Earrings: Liz Claiborne Outlet

girl in a blue dress

Good morning,

I always seem to pass over this dress when I'm looking for work wear options so I decided to get some use out of it today. I forgot how nice and soft it is! Perfect length, flattering, and a cutesy pattern. I just had to add some fashion tape to the bust so it wasn't a boobage filled Wednesday. :) While my dress is wonderfully comfortable I can't say the same about my shoe choice. Heels are still uncomfortable for me but I want to try to wear a pair at least once a week so I get back into the routine. I have too many shoes that aren't getting worn! And that's not a complaint, just a fact. :)

Happy Wednesday!

Dress: Target

Shoes: Poetic License via Must Have Shoes

Necklace: Stella and Dot via Craigslist

Bangle bracelet: Eloquii

pop of spring

Hi all,

I've been anxious to wear this necklace so I decided to keep the clothes plain and let the jewelry speak for itself. It's a kate spade piece that I got from a newsletter (I've bought stuff from the same seller on ebay) and although it was a little pricier than what I normally pay for costume jewelry I think it's worth it (it was around $50, if you're curious). Now if only they had it in silver with some different shades of blue. 

This plain black dress came from Syms right before they went out of business. It's funny, I passed that store every day on my way to work downtown and now I work very close to it, but I never knew it was a clothing store. Their big sign said something like "an informed customer is the best customer" or something like that. I thought they were a data logistics group or something. Too bad I found out about them a week before they all closed! Actually, good for my wallet :)

Are there any defunct stores you enjoyed shopping? I was never a huge fan of Filene's Basement (they owned Syms, I think) but I'm still mourning the closure of our local World Market. 

Happy Tuesday!

Dress: Tianni B. via Syms

Flats: Kohl's

Necklace: Kate Spade

Earrings: Grandma

Belt: NY & Co

a road to straighter teeth

 Hi all,

I felt a bit overwhelmed yesterday when I was trying to find an outfit for today. I wanted something comfortable because I thought I was going to be running errands, light because the weather is abnormally hot for this time of year, and something that worked for my 9-5 and a dinner out. Apparently I get stuck when all of these things come in to play. To then take a photo of what I'm wearing and blog about it makes all of the decision making harder. So in the end I tossed all of my options and went with jeans. To be honest, I almost broke out my puma sneakers. You know it's a shitty day when I'm wearing sneakers (or a day that my leg is bothering me).

Possibly related, I think my lack of eating is causing me to get a bit irritable. I started my Invisalign journey on Monday of this week and the no snacking no soda combination is really turning my world on top of itself. If you don't know, Invisalign is an alternative to braces. It's a series of molds for your top and bottom teeth that in the end, will straighten them like braces. Except you can't see them. I've been wanting to straighten my teeth for years (yes I had braces, no I didn't wear my retainer enough) and when I saw a Groupon for a local orthodontist I decided to have a consultation. 1.5 years later my teeth are behind plastic molds. You're supposed to leave them in for 22/24 hours of the day, and I find myself paying much more attention to the amount of time it takes me to eat a sandwich and drink a soda during lunch. And of course you have to take the molds out before you eat, shovel food in your mouth, then brush your teeth and clean the molds after you eat. So I'm down to one soda per day (if that) and no snacking. Any time I think of eating something I think "is it worth it to take out "my teeth" for this?" Usually it's not worth it. Especially when I'm at work and I get to brush my teeth while folks are going to the bathroom. Gross, yes. If my waistline starts shrinking perhaps I'll see this in a different light. For now I'm chugging water and anxiously looking forward to dinner. Oh the perils of vanity.

Have you all had any experience with Invisalign? 

Let's end this on a good note. I love this bag to death. 40% off sale plus an extra 30% off at Eloquii a few weeks ago. Winner!

Happy finally Friday!

Purple cardi: Nordstrom Rack

Dotted tank: Eloquii

Jeans: Levi's via T.J. Maxx

Flats: Frye via DSW

Necklace: Target

Earrings: Ann Taylor Loft

Bag: Eloquii

Annoyed Expression: Invisalign

my better half often surprises me

Good afternoon everyone,

Not to get too complainy but I've been sitting here feeling sorry for myself all day. A while back my coworkers celebrated someone's birthday (who I knew, and who I invited to my own birthday lunch) and I was the only one in my hallway that was not invited. Then today there was a combined birthday lunch, I knew both people, and again I wasn't invited while the rest of my hallway stomped off to eat together. I'm really trying not to take it personally but you know I'm crossing those names off my birthday lunch list for this year! Petty, maybe. But I feel left out so that's my reaction.

So in the midst of my pity part (population uno) my better half surprised me with this gorgeous orchid. Now, it could be coincidence that I got it today but either way it made me feel better. Way to go awesome boyfriend! You are so invited to my birthday lunch this year :)

What would you do in this situation? You can tell me to suck it up and deal with it. I'll understand :)

Green cardi: Old Navy

Purple (not black) cowl top: Coldwater Creek

Striped skirt: Dorothy Perkins

Flats: Coach via DSW

greenie meanie

Good afternoon everyone,

How was your weekend? We went "hiking" at a local park on Saturday. And by hiking, I mean more like slowly trampling up and down a trail with me complaining half the time. Fun right?  It was nice to get out though :)

Know what else is nice? Everybody, Everywhere Green month! We ate lunch at our local park again and I got a chance to get some outdoor photos. This is wonderful weather for the middle of March. 

Happy Tuesday!

Cardigan: Old Navy

Striped dress: Ann Taylor Loft

Silver flats: DSW

Necklace, bracelet, ring: Stella & Dot

Earrings: Grandma

and finally, the suit jacket

Hi again,

So here is the jacket I've been wearing all week. Crappy photos but you get the idea. I'm ready to get back home so I'll have access to my whole wardrobe. No more pencil skirts for a week! Well, maybe...

My meetings have finally come to a conclusion and I know I've said it before, but I can't wait to get back. Who knew I was such a homebody? :)

Happy Wednesday!

Suit jacket: Coldwater Creek

Floral top: Ann Taylor Outlet

Black skirt: Talbots

Black boots: Nordstrom Rack

one more day to go

Good morning all,

I was so exhausted after our second meeting yesterday that I fell asleep before thinking about the blog. I did manage to get a photo before we went out to a sushi place for dinner. Like Monday, switch out the moto jacket for a suit jacket and it's what I wore for the meeting. I'll try to get another photo today if I don't fall asleep during lunch. I'm ready to go home!

Happy Wednesday!

Top, skirt: Talbots

Moto Jacket: Coldwater Creek

Necklace: JewelMint

Boots: Nordstrom Rack

a long Monday

 Good evening all,

Considering it's nearly 11:30pm already I'm going to keep this short. This is basically what I wore for our first meeting today, except for the meeting I had a black suit jacket and my coach flats on instead of the moto jacket and boots. After seeing how everyone else was dressed today I think I might wear my boots tomorrow. I counted at least 4 leopard, 1 zebra, and one unidentifiable animal print in my meeting today so boots shouldn't be too outlandish :) After our meeting was over my coworker and I escaped and took the metro further into downtown to meet an old coworker for dinner. It was nice to catch up but I'm ready for a deep sleep.

Happy Monday!

Cardigan, cowl top, skirt: Talbots

Jacket: Coldwater Creek

Boots: Nordstrom Rack

Necklace: Stella and Dot via Craigslist

corsaged cardi

Good afternoon,

This morning I had planned on wearing a jean shirt tucked in to this skirt but that didn't pan out. So I decided to give this a trial run instead. This cardigan has been hanging in my closet for quite some time because I couldn't decide if the huge flowers looked ridiculous or not. I keep thinking it looks like I have a shoulder algae problem. :) Quite a few people have stopped to comment on how nice I look today so algae aside I'll put this in the winner pile. A day without getting the stink-eye is a great day indeed!

So what are your plans for the weekend? I have a work meeting Monday-Wednesday of next week so I'll probably spend most of my weekend getting ready for it. We have to wear suits! I don't have a matching pant/skirt/jacket combo so I'll just wear separates. I'll try to get pictures but I make no promises because I'll be staying in a hotel sans my photographer. You know I still can't take a proper vanity mirror shot? Oh well, I know you all will manage regardless :)

Happy Friday!

Cardigan: T.J. Maxx

Purple top: Coldwater Creek (I shrank this a good 4" in the dryer on accident. It's now officially a skirt top since it barely comes to my belly button.

Skirt: Talbots

Metallic flats: Coach via 6pm

Necklace: Etsy

Bracelet/Earrings: Ann Taylor Loft

Stack rings: Stella & Dot

Stone ring: Nordstrom Rack

Bag: Ross

a favorite floral frock

Hi all,

Some days you just go for an old favorite. The pockets still thrill me. I couldn't resist pairing my new belt with it though. :) Happy Thursday!

Dress: INC via Ebay

Boots: Steve Madden via 6pm

Necklace: Grandma

Earrings and belt: Eloquii

*Not that you can tell but I busted out almost all of my make up moves this morning. Mascara, blush, and lipstick, oh my! :)