More from the dark recesses of the closet - OOTD

It's been a bit of an internal battle to put off wearing some of my newer clothing in order to dust off some of my older stuff.  The skirt today comes from the same years ago sale room haul as my "donkey" skirt from last week.  As Overcaffinated commented the other day - wow, I really do have a ton of stuff.  It just seems that none of my bottoms, tops, accessories compliment each other.  I'm in true need of a stylist to come over, go through my stuff and show me all my options.  I'm sure I could probably get through a year or two without a repeat with all my stuff.  LOL

Anyhoo, this skirt my husband hates - hates!!  He says it's too poofy and big for my body (there are three additional layers under here, including crinoline).  Well, I can't help it, I love items that channel June Cleaver.  :)  I think the only reason I don't wear it more often is because I can't see beyond pairing it with white on top.  I'm sure red or another color would work too, but I just don't have the guts or the vision I guess.  So today I did the usual and put white on top.  Was thinking of red shoes but then stuck with the old safe choice again.  Looking at the pics, I don't care for the bright yellow on top, but what can ya do.

Promise, I'm not picking my undies in that first pic.

skirt - Odille for Anthropologie; tank - Loft; cardigan - Old Navy; shoes - Preview; bracelet - Anthropologie "Rock Candy"; necklace - Etsy; toes - OPI Anklets of Amethyst

Can't say I'll keep this on much after getting home from the office, but perhaps I'll vacuum and dust my house the whole ensemble so I can really be like June!

Do you like fuller skirt styles?  I'd be perfectly happy living in an episode of Happy Days or Grease.

Elementary School Meets Fountain of Youth

Took the day off on Friday so I could attend the Mother's Day Brunch at my daughter's school.  It was so nice to not go to work and to watch my little girl put on a show with her friends.  I was told the night before, in no uncertain terms, that I was to "dress up" for the event "in a dress".  Since the weather seemed to be cooperating, I chose the Fountain of Youth dress.  Can't tell you how much I love it!  There doesn't seem to be much you can do to dress is up or down so basically my outfit consisted of dress + shoes.  Easy!

I did put on a cardigan for the walk to school.  The show and all the little notes and gifts the kids gave to their moms were so cute.  They sang us some songs, we enjoyed some bagels and juice, and took pictures with the teacher.  It was very well put together and extremely adorable.  Here's me and my little princess in her classroom.

On me: dress - Anthropologie Fountain of Youth; cardigan - Merona for Target; shoes - Seychelles "Joan"; toes - China Glaze Purple Panic (neon)

On Lil Miss (she asked me to include her OOTD deets): dress - Target (was a mere $17 and we get so many compliments on it); cardigan - ? from Neiman Marcus a few years ago; glasses - Sears

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

WTF? - Scarf OOTD

Ok, I know I can't be completely alone here.  So you know that whole scarf trend?  Yeah, I love it too.  BUT, I can't ever get mine right.  I need a how to on scarf tying.  Is there a Scarves for Dummies book out yet?

Today's scarf I got on sale at Anthropologie.  It's such a great print but I wasn't sure what to wear with it.  When I saw the scarf online, the model was shown wearing it with a black and white striped top.  I'm not big on horizontal striped shirts, but I did have this cute tube dress and decided to give it a try today.

Here's my scarf experimentation (long, short, add jacket - not sure what the heck to do).

dress - American Eagle; scarf - Anthropologie Sevea; denim moto jacket - Juicy Couture; shoes - Preview via Nordstrom Rack

Don't mind my puppy there (he's the white blur of fur behind me).  The school bus arrived for my neighbor during our photo session and he had to make sure she got off ok.  Barking at the bus apparently gets the job done.  ;)
Have you embraced the scarf?  Care to share any tips or styling ideas?  I have accumulated quite a collection, but most I just have no idea what to do with.

Doing the 70s Full On

Since I have been so in love with my Paige Lou Lou flares, I decided to go one step further and purchase a pair of bell bottoms.  Saw the AG Farrahs on Anthro but the price was too steep for something I was unsure about so I hit up Ebay and scored a pretty good deal.

While I do love the shape of these jeans, the higher waist will take some getting used to.  The low rise usually works for me because I carry my little flab pooch above the low rise waist.  These mid rise jeans hit me right at the flab so they were a tad tight in that area.  But I have been working out fairly intensely for almost a week so I'll keep them as I'm hoping the pooch will disappear in time (if I can keep the momentum going).  Also, these aren't as "bell-bottomy" as I thought they'd be.

Anyway, here's the best 70s I could do with what was in my closet.

jeans - AG Farrah via Ebay; top - H&M; tank - Gap; shoes - Enzo Angiolini; bag - Michael Kors

What do you think of bell bottoms?  Are you loving the whole Bohemian fashion thing going on this season?

A Two Skirt Kinda Day

Hello there.  Long time no see.  With a large work project finally off my back, I was anxious to get back to the blog.  Regardless of who reads it or doesn't read it, creating blog posts is therapeutic for me.  Therefore, today is a good day.  :)

This morning I was all set to wear this skirt.

In fact, I had it on and was ready to go, shoes and all.  That was until I stood in front of my bedroom window - a sunny bedroom window.  My husband walked in and said "Whoa, hello everything.  That skirt is totally see through!"  After a few seconds of unplanned groping, I changed my skirt.  I will be ordering a slip today.  Where does one even buy slips anymore?  Hmmm...

Being pushed for time and knowing it was a maxi day for me, I kept everything the same and decided upon the Water's Edge skirt.  Double layers of thick jersey, you are not seeing through this one.

I did have to choose between a clunky necklace and scarf though.  It was a bit cool out so I opted for the scarf.  Did I do ok?

skirt - Anthropologie Water's Edge maxi; tank - Victoria's Secret; sweater - Old Navy; scarf - Anthropologie; shoes - Enzo Angiolini wedge; necklace - Emma Stine (Groupon offer); toesies - OPI Passion for NY Fashion

Wow, I need a haircut BAD!
I felt super comfy all day if not just a tad boring.  Perhaps I should've been born in the 60s.  They totally had the best and most comfy clothes!

Feeling Like Me - OOTD

Alright, I confess.  This is me.  If the weather is anywhere under 70 degrees, I just adore my jeans.  Simple, simple, simple.  Fussing over accessories just ain't my bag man.  A plain tee or blouse, an awesome pair of jeans and some cute shoes is how I'm comfortable.  It makes my day seem less stressful and I feel light.  That's not to say it's not fun to shake it up a bit now and again, but I've been fussing so much over trying to look like I've "got it", whatever "it" is, that mornings have been much less than fun.  Top that off with being tired from long work hours and we've got one miserable momma.

So today, well actually Friday, I went back to me.  With just a touch of classic Anthropologie girlyness (see belt which actually reminds me of Laura Ashley).  :)

jeans - Paige Lou Lou via Anthropologie (big giant Xs and Os for these); top & belt (from a three piece set) - Anthropologie; shoes - Target; bracelets - gift; necklace - Ruche

And words cannot describe how I feel about these jeans.  I mean the back could be a little more butt flattering, but they fit like a dream.  No squeezing the muffin top, perfect length; just super comfy.  You want your legs to look long and lean, definitely give these a whirl.  Sold out at Anthro online, but quite a few have popped up on ebay recently.

A Rare Occurrence - OOTD

Yup, wore a dress today.  A girly sophisticated dress no less.  This does not happen often.  Think I took my husband by surprise.  Actually this is my second dress of the day.  The first one put me in a bad mood as I couldn't fill out the top.  :(  This one was a little better but there is extra room in the rear and bust even with a push up bra on (surprise, surprise).  Guess we'll have to start an account with the tailor.

When I first put this dress on something didn't seem right on top.  Nothing a necklace could fix either.  So I went online and checked out Anthro's styling for this number.  Then I pretty much copied it the best I could (although I had the fishnets on before seeing this pic).  I admit, I'm far from a stylist and need all the help I can get!  I couldn't get the scarf right either.  It looks like I'm wearing a neck brace.

dress - Anthropologie Pittore dress; scarf - Aerie; fishnets - Cynthia Rowley via Gilt Groupe; shoes - Damita K via Tillys

Why is it that fishnet stockings still draw so much attention?  I thought they were pretty commonplace these days and these are micro nets.  What do you think?  Fishnets ok for the office (my office is very casual, usually jeans and a tee are fine)?

Spring? OOTD

There are some upsides to being strapped to my computer and the Internet all day.  During slow times I can catch up on my blog roll, grab a pair of shoes at the start of a sale before they sell out, enjoy commercial free radio on Pandora, obsessively check on the airfare for our summer trip...  Last week I was lucky enough to catch Lisa from Respect the Shoes' blog sale post pretty much the minute it hit the airwaves and quickly landed a super sweet skirt from J Crew.  It arrived last week and I was excited to wear it out. 

The weather however has had other plans for me.  Today I decided it had to happen and paired my new-to-me "springy" skirt with my winter wear.

skirt - J Crew via Lisa's blog sale; tank - Gap; cardigan - Land's End canvas; tights - DKNY; boots - Matisse; spider necklace - gift from the husband (such a romantic wedding gift, no?)

My husband did not like my navy blue cardigan with this outfit at all.  He also didn't care for the skirt (it's not skin tight).  But I wore it anyway and felt quite happy with it.  Do you think a different color on top would work better?  Perhaps pulling a pink or even the mustard yellow from the skirt?

If you haven't checked out Respect the Shoes, please do so now.  Lisa has awesome fashion sense and is a master of knowing what to put with what (something I don't think I will ever grasp).  Her blog sale is still running as well.

Not Feeling It OOTD

Another day when there was a dress and heels on the agenda.  Another day where I woke up and said yuck, can I just wear my sweats.  We didn't resort to sweats and I did manage to keep the sweater and shoes from the original plan in the mix, but this was the best I could do.

Anybody else really missing warm weather?  I don't need 80s, although that would be great, but can I just leave my damn gloves and coat at home already??!!

Here's my cold weather alternative to a beautiful feminine dress that's begging to be worn.  I really love this sweater.  The details and fit are very nice, but something about the collar reminds me of that ruffly ring clowns wear around their neck (see close up below).  What do you think?

cords - Blank NYC via Piperlime; tank - Madewell; sweater - Anthropologie Ha'Penny; shoes - Target; nails - Zoya Eve

I did make a discovery today.  I have no bright colors in my closet.  There is color yes, but bright color, no.  A nice bright tank would've been better under this sweater today in my opinion.  Gonna have to remedy that with more shopping!!

Ok, ok, I admit it - I changed into flats before work.

OOTD - First Day of Spring & a B-Day

This year on the first day of spring we had a party to go to.  My little nephew (actually, he's my grand nephew but that just makes me sound much older than 37) is turning 2.  Party was held at my sister-in-law's house and the weather was pretty nice.  Warm sun but the wind had a bit of bite to it.  I figured a good ole cardigan was the way to go here.

And luckily I decided not to have my new Paige Lou Lou's hemmed before washing and drying them.  The length is now perfect for the wedges I would typically wear with these.  Probably could lose an inch off the bottom, but after seeing how much they shrunk, I'm just going to keep 'em as is.

jeans - Paige Lou Lou via Anthropologie; tank - Gap outlet; cardigan - Land's End Canvas; shoes - Preview via Nordstrom Rack ($21 score!); nails - Zoya Eve

The kids all had a blast playing outside for the first time in a while!

 The beautiful birthday boy.  Can you say eyelashes for miles!

And we had skebbies for dinner.  This is my grand niece and her first spaghetti slurp.

And one of the hubs just cuz I think he's cute.  :)

Happy Spring everyone.

Cutesy on a Rainy Wednesday OOTD

**DISCLAIMER - Currently having computer display issues which are prohibiting me from accurately determining the coloring and exposure of my uploaded pics.  Apologies for the over and under exposed or just plain crappy photos**

Not typically one to gravitate towards the "cute" fashions, this outfit was a little uncomfortable for me.  The feminine sweater made it feel a little more girly than I'm used to.  But, we made it through the day and I finally got to wear a new skirt that's been sitting in my closet for well over a month.  I still think I'm missing the mark on something, but eh what can ya do.  This is me.  Typically a day late and a dollar short.  :)

I have to say though, I LOVE this skirt (available HERE - also comes in olive green at stores).  The Gap is usually hit or miss with me, but when they do it right, it's awesome.

Skirt - Gap; hoodie - Anthropologie; tank - VS; velvet burnout tights - Hot Sox; boots - Matisse; earrings - H&M

I've been dying to wear these earrings ever since I picked them up about a month ago.  They may not really go here, but heck, I needed to wear 'em.

Puppy love on a rainy day.  Hugs to you all!