winter shorts

I braved the wind and the cold yesterday to wear my new shorts I got on sale at Anthropologie. (The only way I can buy anything from that store.) I took some cues from S. over at Academic Chic. Ever since I started following the girls over at Academic Chic, I've admired S. and her way with mixing shorts and tights in the winter. When I found these little puppies on sale for $29 and I decided to take the plunge. It was actually kind of difficult to pair something with these shorts. So I give S. big props for perfecting the winter shorts style. Bravo!

This was my first shot at winter shorts, so be gentle. Also, I traded in a day of work for a day in Austin, so I decided to try the tweed shorts out, away from work. I don't think that I would be able to pull this off for work. They aren't super short or anything, but I can just see the looks upper-management will give. So, I think that I'll stay on the good side with HR and keep my shorts for the weekends.

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the one that got away

Is it bad that when I first start typing out a post I always start with the weather? Just a like I would if I were sitting next to a stranger and trying to start up a general conversation. So cliche and so true. I think most of my posts have covered the weather the last couple of weeks. So tonight I will spare you. Ok, ok -- it rained today. But that's all I'm sharing.

My friend Amy and I were talking the other night about "the one that got away." You know that one piece of clothing that you either gave away or you didn't buy and it's haunted you since. (Okay so haunted may be a bit strong...) My worst thing that "got away" was a pair of brand new jeans -- I mean never worn, tags on and still had that just-purchased smell kind of brand new. I was helping at a garage sale and somehow my new jeans got thrown into the sell pile. I don't even know how it happened. But before I realized it, they were gone. Some lucky person hit the garage sale lottery that day. Maybe this means that I have good thrifting karma floating around out there. Maybe one day I'll find a brand new pair of jeans, just my size marked down for $1.50. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and eyes open. So, did you ever have that one that got away?

I have to tell you about how cheap my outfit is today. We'll start from the top:

Cardigan -- $10

Dress -- $25

Belt -- $20

Shoes -- $8

Necklace: -$3

All together: $66 -- less that what the original price of that dress cost. What a good job of saving I did! I think that I deserve a raise...

B and I are taking tomorrow off and we're heading down to Austin to hang out with some friends. Let the three day weekend begin.

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orphan girl

First off, I am blown away by all of your fantastic responses I received on my last post. What wonderful answers you all shared! You guys made me feel a lot better about not forcing my blog on everyone I know. But you also made me feel okay about it if I did. Of course, wouldn't you know after my post I get a call from my mother and sister who confess to me in low, quiet voices that "they know." I went through my whole "oh that old thing?" spiel but they encouraged me and thought it was great. Whew. I'm glad that awkward bridge has been crossed. Let's just hope my grandmother does not stumble upon this. I'm not sure if there are enough words to explain.

Second off, Jentine over at MyEdit featured me today on her "Blog Loving" post. And boy do I feel loved, thanks for all of your comments. Except I'm kind of having a Twin Peaks experience here. I remember stumbling on her blog when she started it last year and thinking how her style was unbelievably cute and how pretty she was! It feels a bit weird to be featured on her blog now. Is it alright if I feel like a celebrity for just a little bit here? I just snapped my fingers at my husband to bring me a chilled water and some M&M's. But only the brown ones.

It's getting chilly here again. Welcome to Texas. Literally it will 70 degrees one day and 25 the next. You could almost see the cold front blow in today. The sky was absolutely gorgeous with heavy, dark clouds. Makes me sleepy just thinking about it. I decided to pull out an old sweater dress I've had for years. I got it for our engagement pictures. It's a cable knit dress with a huge cowl neck, which I love. But I thought that I'd throw on a scarf to add some dimension, it turns out it worked pretty well. I got a few side looks today at the office, but that usually means I'm doing something right.

Thanks again for all of the comments -- you really helped me out.

By the way, the title of this post is not an allusion to my past, it's just a song that's in my head right now.

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the outfit theory

Do you ever wake up and the outfit you planned to wear just doesn't work out? This has been happening a lot to me lately. They seem like such good ideas in my head while I'm drifting off to sleep but in reality, I look like a hot mess who is running late. "Outfit Theories" as my husband calls them. I also do this when I pack for a trip. I conjure up these crazy outfits and whenever I get to where I'm going, I can't find anything to wear. Anyways, that is what happened this morning. My outfit theory just did not work in any way, so I had to pull something together fast. I decided on the trusty ol' boots + blazer + skirt combo. You just can't go wrong. It may not be my best outfit, but hey it isn't the worst, right?

Last night our two best friends came down from Austin to eat dinner with us. Since I needed to take my outfit picture I ended up having to tell them about my blog. I haven't really told anyone about this yet, since I'm still new to everything. Really only my best friend and husband know. (Well and you guys of course.) But as it turns out they were totally cool and didn't even call me vain, at least not to my face. Now those are true friends. But it makes me wonder if this is normal -- to have a blog and not tell anyone about it. If you have a style/fashion blog or a personal blog, do you keep it a secret or tell everyone you know about it?

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What the what?!?!

Ya'll I was featured on Weardrobe's homepage yesterday afternoon!! I went to log in last night to upload a few pictures and there I was on the homepage. I'm not going to lie -- it kind of freaked me out. But I thought I'd share with you guys. Pretty cool, right?

Screen shot:

close up:

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mellow yellow

I think that I subconsciously wore black today to mourn the loss of our perfect weekend. I got to meet, see and drink wine with my absolute favorite musical duo in the entire world, Over the Rhine. It was surreal. I can't even explain it. And the best part? I wasn't awkward. Normally I freeze up and say something embarrassing when I meet new people but I didn't. Even my husband said that I wasn't awkward. This is a milestone here, people. And although it was probably just another concert for them, I'll never forget that Saturday night.

So my husband found another great location outside of the library. We found these fabulous stone steps with grass growing up through them (I love when that happens). Every few steps there are little mosaic tiles that create scenes out of children's stories. How had we not seen this before? I kind of feel like I'm somewhere other than south Texas. It feels a little European, no?

I have such a love-hate relationship with this skirt. Definitely more love than hate. It was a christmas gift two years ago from my husband. He knew that I wanted it very much but it was like a million dollars (as most things j.crew are). It went on sale but I never bothered to purchase it because we needed to spend money on gifts for others and not for myself. (Sadly I fight this temptation every year). But on Christmas morning I open up a package and there it is -- the little mustard pencil skirt I had been wanting. Isn't that sweet? I only hate it because it wrinkles so much. Sorry for the post-work cubicle-inducing wrinkles, they are inevitable.

Thank you guys for all of the sweet words you sent me over the weekend. My dad is doing much better -- he is on a new medicene and the doctors are hopeful that this one will work. Fingers crossed.

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where's waldo?

Well I didn't show up to work in the sweats + snuggie combo, like I promised. But I did go for comfort as much as I could. I paired some skinny black pants with my new "Where's Waldo-inspired" striped sweater then slipped my 3/4 trench jacket over it. Texas winters always go back and forth from cold to warm, so layers are important. For example, when I went to sleep last night, no rain. Woke up this morning and there was rain everywhere. Today was one of those days when you just need some sunshine. Thankfully, the sun finally decided to show around 5, just in time for pictures.

Oh and I went to the doctor today and got a shot. Feeling much better now.

As I was flipping through my google reader this afternoon, I found a post from Kyla at Blue Collar Catwalk talking about style versus fashion, which is something that I've thought about for a while now. Initially when I started this blog I was hesitant because I am in no way a fashionista or would ever consider myself high-fashion like many great bloggers out there. I love clothes and I love dressing up, but to me that doesn't exactly equal fashion. I see other bloggers take risks that I would never take, solely because of my lack of courage. For myself, I would never consider myself "fashion", rather I would consider myself styled. As Kyla said in her post, she wanted to represent what a real woman with a real budget looks like and dresses like. I feel the exact same way. I live in a very small town that is basically one big retirement home. I am not able to spend hundreds of dollars on one t-shirt or dress or a pair of jeans. But I do like to keep up with fashion and trends and I try to find a style that not only suits me but is appropriate for my environment and circumstance. Although I may not be high-risk and high-fashion, I still very much appreciate those who are and am inspired by them to create my own look that works for me. Her post definitely gave me affirmation to where I was going with this blog -- I may not be a fashion blogger, but I am a style blogger.

One thing that I try to keep in mind is that my unique style belongs solely to me. This blog is really just a way for me to be intentional with my style, a way to help me find exactly what my style is. For so many years I just copied what my friends wore or worse I would try to replicate what I saw in a store on a mannequin. That's right -- I was stealing the style of an inanimate object whose clothes were choosen by a corporate marketing professional most likely based on the amount of money it was forecasted to make. Original, no? But after years of buying something because it looked good on a friend or less a mannequin or worse a hanger, I realized that I was wasting a lot of money on things that I didn't really like. I would wear a shirt once and toss it to the side, because it just wasn't me. When I started following fashion/style blogs a few years ago, one thing that I noticed was the way that people would remix their clothing over and over to create wonderful outfits with just a handful of great pieces. I realized that although it took a lot more creativity and time (and in turn a lot less money) it forced me to be intentional with what I bought and how I wore it. I try to really think about a piece before I buy it now, instead of just grabbing something off the rack because it looked okay on a hanger. I try it on, I tug on it, I make sure it really fits before I invest. I try to think of at least 3 things in my closet that I can pair it with and if it seems like a nice addition, then I buy it. Of course I always have that mistake buy or something that just doesn't work the way I thought it would. But that's all a part of it, I suppose.

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nineteen: 1.19.10

Bad news on the home front: I think I'm getting sick. Actually I know I'm getting sick. Bummer.

Anyways, enough about me. How are you? Okay, back to me.

I got this cute little polka dot shirt the other day at urban. It has just the right amount of sleeve poof. Sleeve poofs are very tricky -- too little and it just looks wrinkled, too much and I look like a linebacker. I paired my new little tee with my favorite american apparel skirt. I felt very Betty Boop-ish today. Well, Betty Boop with a bad cold. Just a fair warning to my co-workers -- I may show up in my sweat pants and a snuggie tomorrow.

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eighteen: 1.18.10

What a wonderful weekend we had. To celebrate our two year anniversary we decided to take a little 25 mile road trip to a few wineries around where we live. I discovered a few things on our little wine tour: Two hours of "tasting" portions is equivalent to many glasses of wine; desert wine on an empty stomach is the devil and I've got every expensive taste. We capped off the day by buying silly gifts for one another and a few bottles of wine to save for our next anniversary.

I went to work today, even though it was MLK Jr. Day. It was a quiet day at work for the most part. Felt more like a Tuesday than a Monday. A week without a Monday? I'll take two, please. I just hope tomorrow doesn't make up for how polite today was. Be nice Tuesday and we will be nice to you.

So I don't actually think that this sweater dress qualifies as a dress on me. It's more like a sweater tunic or a long sweater vest. At 5'9 most dresses don't actually qualify as dresses. For work I use the fingertip rule -- if it's longer than my fingertips when I hold my arms to the side then it's probably appropriate. Keyword here being probably. (The fingertip rule is not patented by me, so if you'd like to use it for your wardrobe planning, be my guest.) As you can probably tell, I began to rip a hole in the middle of the sweater because I kept pulling it down today and it would ride right back up. I'll probably stick with actual pants underneath this sweater the next time I wear it. Just to be safe --and to stay employed.

p.s. We thought that we'd pay homage to the upcoming season premiere of LOST with the location today. Sadly Jack and Sawyer were nowhere to be found...

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seventeen: 1.15.10

I'm really ready for it to stop raining. It has been raining for the past week it feels like. That can really take a toll on your mood, you know? I'm ready for the sunshine and to get back outside for my outfit pictures. I'm getting a bit tired of posing in the living room.

Tonight was date night for the mister and I. We have this perfect little mexican-italian-steak place (seriously) that we like to go to. I threw on my favorite anthropologie sweater and belted it. I usually just let it hang loose, but this is a good alternative and made it a bit dressier. I'm not much of a jewelry person but I remembered these earrings that my mom gave me a while back. This outfit just kind of came together. As did our date night. A bottle of wine and a slice of cheesecake later, we were back on our couch watching '500 Days of Summer.' We are just that exciting.

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sixteen: 1.14.10

This outfit may look effortless but trust me it wasn't. After changing outfits a record-breaking amount of times this morning, this skirt and sweater were literally the only things still hanging. Survival of the fittest, no? So reluctantly I threw them on and turns out that it worked out okay. I love when that happens.

A co-worker at work commented on me wearing brown boots and belt with a black top.At first I wasn't sure what she was referring to and then it dawned on me. The old "don't mix black with brown" rule. I don't buy into that rule though. To me, black is just as neutral of a color as white, grey and brown. Plus, I don't have black boots.

If mixing brown and black is wrong, I don't want to be right.

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fifteen: 1.13.10

Don't you hate when you plan an outfit in your head and you put it on and nothing about it works out right? This happened to me this morning. So instead of some glorious outfit that I dreamed up, I ended up throwing on the wrinkle-proof, super flattering, work appropriate black dress (read: the perfect dress)with a long cardigan and some tights. It's not the most original or daring outfit, but there's always tomorrow.

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fourteen: 1.12.10

sweater: urban outfitters

tank: old navy

pants: gap

shoes: DSW

necklace: anthropologie

I'm going to go ahead and break the news to you -- this is not a body suit. I am wearing a top and a bottom, not a lycra one-piece jumper. Although that would be awesome as well. But that's the problem with all black, it never quite translates in photos. I feel as if I am gravitating towards black lately. Do you ever do that, find something -- a style, a color, an accessory -- and you wear it for weeks and then you are suddenly over it? I do that a lot. I date a style for a little bit and then without warning I dump it. Well black and I have an open relationship. I see other colors for a while, but I always seem to come crawling back.

In other news, I finally found the perfect pair of black cigarette pants. They are at Gap right now, and they are perfect. The fabric is thick and stretchy, or as my husband said "they are like exercise pants." I'm just thankful he remembers that I own exercise pants. Anyways, even after working for 8 hours I still do not want to take these pants off. I feel like I'm getting away with something sneaky by wearing these to work. They look really nice, but seriously they are so comfortable. Plus, I feel like a taller, slightly rounder version of Audrey Hepburn. In the words of Rachel Zoe "I die."

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thirteen: 1.10.10

dress: anthro, gift

belt: anthro

jeans: banana republic

boots: steve madden

Tomorrow is our two year anniversary, and since it falls on a Tuesday and we live in a very, very small town where the nicest restaurant is a Chili's (I'm not pulling your leg.) we decided to head to the city to celebrate. We found this cute little place with an unbelievable happy hour and enjoyed ourselves a few happy hours indeed. Here's to 2 years and the many more to come.

PS: The dress over jeans debacle. Most people think this is a fashion crime. I thought that perhaps the skinny jeans and boots helped the look? Maybe it was a stretch, but there was no way that tights were going to keep my legs warm, so jeans were my only choice.

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twelve: january seventh

sweater: gap, $15

jeans: banana republic, $20

boots: steve madden

necklace: anthropologie, gifted

bracelet: fossil

I do believe that there is a direct correlation between the temperature dropping and my ability to dress cute in bulky sweaters. Having lived in Texas my whole life, cold weather is optional. Last year at this time I was in short sleeves and flip flops. This year, I can't wear enough clothing. I pretty much want to wrap myself in a snuggie, sweat pants and uggs and call it quits in the morning when it's 24 degrees outside. But my husband talked me out of the snuggie and thankfully tall boots are in. I popped on this pretty little sweater and styled it up as best I could with my pretty necklace from Anthro (thanks Gran). I'm pretty sure mint green and purple were meant to be best friends.

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eleven: january sixth

to scarf or not to scarf? that is the question.

cardigan: urban outfitters

shirt: loft

pants: banana republic

belt: forever21

shoes: target

scarf: target

Today I just couldn't decide -- with the scarf or without the scarf? So I played King Solomon and I cut the scarf in half. Then I wore the scarf for half of the day and took it off at noon. Just kidding. I wore it all day. But now I think that I like this look without it. Problem solved. Thankfully no scarves were hurt during this experiment.

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