Another Two-fer

Another two outfits for you in today's post. They both include a button up under a sweater, colored skinnies and ankle boots. Not a new combination at all, but a tried and true favorite, especially this past winter. 

I've been so obsessed with wearing my button-ups this fall & winter that I gave them their own little section in my closet. That way, I don't have to dig through the rest of my tops to find the one I want. I just let my eyes run over all the button-ups (sorted by color, of course) in one little area and choose the one I want to wear that day. 

SHOP THE LOOKS...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

1st outfit

shirt: GUCCI (from a friend) similar below

sweater: GAP (thrifted) similar below

corduroys: Joe Fresh (thrifted) similar below

booties: Old Navy exact & similar below

2nd outfit

chambray: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's similar below

sweater: local consignment shop

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's (thrifted)

booties: Old Navy exact & similar below

Early [Weekend] Mornings

oh y'know, just shivering & trying to stay warm while trying to take cute outfit pictures ;)

This cold weather look is something I wore when we had to take one bulldog (the handsome one, Turbo) to the vet for an appointment on an early, snowy, cold Sunday morning. We dropped him off at 7:30 (7:30! on a Sunday!) to get his (sparse & very crooked) teeth cleaned. After we dropped him off, we headed to a favorite breakfast place that usually has a crazy long wait on the weekends. But since we were there before 8, we had no wait and were seated right away! 

And then, since we were up, and in town, and full on pancakes, bacon, and coffee by 9 am, we decided to run some errands. We were done with our errand running, shopping, productive-ness, and on our way home with the freshly-cleaned teeth of Turbo by NOON! This is unheard of for us, people! We like to sleep in on the weekends and take our time getting things done. We had so much done on this day before we're normally even out of pajamas, it made me start thinking about starting every weekend day early.

But then, I remembered that I and my Mr. enjoy sleeping in. Especially when it snows. And is cold outside. And there's fresh coffee to be drunk. And unwatched House of Cards episodes on NetFlix to be watched. And snoring bulldogs to be snuggled.

SHOP THE LOOK...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

sweatshirt: Old Navy [similar below]

vest: Old Navy [similar below]

scarf: GAP (gift) [similar below]

jeans: Aéropostale

boots: SOREL [exact below]

Some Football, and a WiLd sweata'

I'm writing this post during the last quarter of Super Bowl 48. 

*shakes head & sighs*

I do not profess to really "follow" football, but this season I HAVE been watching the Broncos with my husband. I provide a really funny commentary peppered with comments like:

"That was dumb."

"Why did he do that?"

"What does THAT mean?"

"Wait, what?! I thought the rules were THIS way...do they keep changing them??"

"Why are their pants so tight?"

Confession: even being married to my husband-who-was-previously-my-high-school-boyfriend who was a tight end and a defensive end, and having a brother who was All-State Football, played the O-Line & D-Line, and attending almost every game since he started playing tackle football at the tender age of 10, I'm not TOO sure on all of the rules. I mean, I get the premise of the game (you have 4 tries to move 10 yards, touchdowns are worth 6 points, yadda yadda yadda), but some things trip me up: the names of ALL of the positions; when and why you can't tackle someone (you mean tackling is not the name of the game?), etc. etc. 

Anyways, given my limited knowledge & understanding of the game of football, I DID watch (almost all of) it. And I was really disappointed in the Denver Broncos. I did just jump on the bandwagon, but hey, they're a Colorado team, and I'm obligated to cheer for a team from the Mile High City. And I'm a big fan of Peyton Manning. He seems like such a genuinely nice guy (like you could backyard BBQ with him & his family and have such a great time - I have many dreams in life: 1) hang out with Peyton Manning; 2) get to be Dinger [the Rockies mascot] for a day (or 5. or forever. whatever); and 3) be BFFs with Tina Fey & Amy Poehler).

That being said, I'm shaking my head over here at how the Broncos played. I'm wondering why it took us 3/4 of the game to show up and put some points on the board?! I'm also wondering why we played the way we did. Was it really the "12th Man"?

Anyways, I'm sure you don't want to hear more about our terrible loss, and Seattle's win...

Oh, did you want to read about my outfit? I'm sure that's why you're here. That, and my dazzling smile & fabulous sense of humor, no? ;) 

This outfit is nothing super special, but I've come to realize that every outfit simply can't be a home run (or, ahem, Super Bowl win *sigh*). They can't all be knockouts. And that's ok. Some days I just can't get the creative juices flowing while I'm picking out my outfit. Especially when it's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee IV hooked up just yet (I wish someone would hurry up and get those on the market). Not to say that this outfit is bad (far from it!) but it's not my most creative. 

Wait. What am I saying?

Back up.

This sweater is pretty wild (let's hear it for leopard print, the new neutral!), and I knew that, so I let it steal the show while keeping everything else pretty simple, with dark wash skinnies & black and white ;) 

Quick recovery, huh? See what I did there? Very unlike Denver today...oy.

P.S. I know it looks like I'm wearing the same vest from yesterday, but you'll have to trust me that there were a few days in between these 2 favorites.

sweater: Target similar below

vest: Aéropostale similar below

jeans: Gap very similar below

boots: UGG similar below

SHOP SOMETHING SIMILAR BELOW

Cold Snap

Recently in Colorado we had a cold snap. By cold snap, I mean the temperature didn't get out of the single digits, or even teens. For DAYSSSS. Denver set record-breaking temps (so many days in a row of a really cold temp; coldest temps for so many hours; temps for this early in the season - I used to work with climatologists, so I'm in "the know").

And I know it's winter, and it's almost Christmas, and why am I whining about cold weather when I live in a mountain state (that's a can of worms I don't think you want to open #beachloverforlife #everytimeitsnowsiwanttomovetothebeach)? However, 40 degree days are a whole lot different than barely freezing temps, which are a whole other ballgame compared to temperatures that stay in the single digits for days on end. When it's that cold, it hurts to breathe, and your nose hurts after being outside for 2 seconds. Forget about dashing outside for a quick second without your coat - you'll be a popsicle before too you can get back inside.

So, what's a girl to do when she experiences temperatures that usually wait until January or February to show their ugly faces? Several things:

1) sweaters
2) multiple sweaters
3) scarves
4) down vests over sweaters
5) sweaters UNDER down vests UNDER down coats
6) start the car a good 10 minutes before she needs to leave
7) lots of coffee/hot chocolate/warm drinks & blankets
8) not venture outside. for any reason.
9) make sure the puppies go in & out really quickly, so they don't freeze their little wrinkled selves
10) whine a little bit and dream about moving to Florida, specifically the Gulf Coast

while I DID all of the above, I've also decided that by having the appropriate "gear," I can save myself a lot of coldness. i.e. coats, sweaters, scarves, and new snow boots (an early Christmas gift from the Mr. - they're essential so I don't complain to him about how my toes are cold, even though I'm wearing 3 pairs of socks).

Interested in seeing my cold weather gear? I'll be honest, cold weather clothes make up way more than half of my closet, and our coat closet is quite full of coats for all different temperatures. 

Any other good strategies for dealing with the cold? And I mean REALLY cold, like "Since when do we live in Siberia?" cold?

sweater: J Crew (thrifted)

scarf: WalMart

jeans: GAP

boots: Rack Room Shoes

Pink & Orange Stripes

 

This outfit came out to play in October, so I'm doing a bit of blogging catch up (that, and I'm CRAZY busy for the next few days! more to come later...)

The shoulders of the shirt are bright pink, and the rest of the stripes are orange. My vest (remember this?) is cream-ish, my scarf is ombre, going from dark pink to tan. 

And you can probably figure out the pants and jeans :)

shirt: Old Navy

vest: thrifted (Levi's)

scarf: gift

jeans: GAP Outlet

boots: Rack Room Shoes

Mint, meet Python. Python meet Mint AND 30 for 30: Day 5

I wore this outfit a few weeks ago, back in October. I saw this lady on Instagram wearing mint pants and a leopard top. Now, I DON'T have a leopard top, but I DO have a python print top. So, I substituted the python for the leopard. And was pret-teeeeeee pleased with the results. This is something I would never have thought to pair together. 

Where do you get your outfit inspiration? I've started taking screenshots of some outfits on Instagram so I can look back and be re-inspired when I'm picking out my clothes.

Day 5

this is a wool sweater. I was "shivering." you know, cold weather & a wool sweater go together like peas & carrots

I thrifted this sweater a few weeks ago at our local Habitat for Humanity. It's from GAP, and is VERY warm, since it's made of wool. Almost too warm - I was warm (and a bit too itchy) all day, even with a soft tank underneath. I like the fit (the boatneck collar *swoon*) and the color of this sweater, but am hesitant to wear it again until it's REALLY cold, so I don't overheat walking from the copy machine to my desk. Also, I think the person who had this sweater before me folded it in half longways - the middle puckers just a wee bit where the fibers "cross." 

Or did you not even notice until I pointed it out? ;)

linking up over here

Some of us were in costume...

Cali was a princess, and Turbo was a shark. Clever, huh?

I wore this black and orange get up on Halloween last week. I thought I could at least dress like Halloween if I wasn't going to don a costume. This top is the other orange item I own (orange just isn't my color, however, "Pink is my signature color." Name that movie!). 

from my Instagram. aren't they just too cute? 

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and a nice weekend - we didn't have trick-or-treaters on Halloween, but we did have a very nice weekend visiting friends and family out of town.

I have picked out my 30 items for my November 30 for 30, but forgive me for not posting about it yet - some of the items are in the wash, and I've got a backlog of several outfits from October to share with you. I AM completing my challenge and taking pictures though, so please be patient with me - I will share! Promise!

Also, get excited for me! I'm meeting The Pioneer Woman tomorrow! Her latest cookbook came out last week, and a stop in Colorado is on her book tour - yessssss! I'm taking the afternoon off and can't wait to meet Ree, and have her sign my cookbooks. And become besties. Nobutseriously. I can vouch that every single one of her recipes is TO. DIE. FOR. Trust me :) 

shirt: Kohl's

scarf: thrifted

jeans: GAP Outlet

flats: Kohl's

Turbo's hat: WalMart

Cali's crown: WalMart

Cali's tutu: Target

Purple & Gray, Purple & Mint

 

This was one of those outfits that just came to me when I was standing in my closet in the morning before heading to work. It was like a lightbulb went off, and I grabbed purple, purple & gray. Like I mentioned before, I do better when I pick out my clothes the night before - there's less of a hurried scramble in the morning to get dressed & ready, and out the door (my brain seems to work in slow motion before my first cup of coffee has been digested). However, this must have just been one of those lucky days, I guess ;) 

It was lucky in that we went house-hunting with our realtor, and fell in love with the second house we looked at! We did check out other ones just to make sure, but, this house is 

THE HOUSE. 

I'm hesitant to share too much until we actually close, but please keep your fingers, toes, and all other appendages crossed for us! We're very excited to be taking this big kid step and purchasing our own home - we're definitely ready! (and tired of paying someone else our rent)

Hope you've had a great weekend - our Saturday was spent being so lazy and enjoying each other's company. It. Was. Perfect. Now, to be productive today...

shirt: Target

blazer: Aeropostale

scarf: gift

jeans: GAP Outlet

booties: Old Navy