"Why Would You Wear Shoes that Make You Not Know How to Wear Your Pants?"

I really like the color of this sweater, and it's perfect to pair with this flannel button up. However, the sweater is very lightweight & not-quite-almost sheer, and would look funny with a dark button up shirt underneath it. So, I pulled the ole' switch-a-roo and wore the sweater UNDER my flannel shirt (kind of like a regular long sleeve shirt), and VOILA! I packed a punch with neon while keeping the rest of my outfit pretty simple (and warm).

I didn't get the chance to take pictures of this outfit when I was in Minnesota, but I did recreate it for  blog pictures just for you! 

As I was putting my booties on, I asked my Mr.

"How should I wear my pants? Tucked in? Rolled up? Or just however they end up?"

He replied with:

"Why would you wear shoes that make you not know how to wear your pants?"

I cracked up at this and could hardly get out my answer to him:

"Because. I like them. And, and, *giggle* they. are. fashionable."

So then, a few minutes later, I put on my snow boots (since they are what I wore when I wore this outfit in Minnesota) and asked him:

"Do these pants look ok? Do they look ok with these boots?"

I got the same response.

But what I really meant was "Do these pants fit me funny?"

The point is, sometimes you have to question how to wear your pants when you wear some funky little booties. Because getting things right and feeling comfortable in your own skin when it comes to fashion & trends takes time. and lots of experimenting. 

 

shirt: Old Navy similar below

sweater: Old Navy similar below

pants: thrifted (Joe Fresh) similar below

booties: Old Navy exact & similar below

snow boots: SOREL exact below

scarf: Aéropostale

SHOP SOMETHING SIMILAR

Better in my Mind

Well, this outfit sounded a lot better in my head than it looks on the internet. It has all the components of a great outfit: chambray, skinnies, booties & a cardigan. But, the execution is a bit disappointing. Better luck next time? Every get let down by your favorite wardrobe staples?

chambray: thrifted [similar below]

cardigan: from a clothes swap with friends (Daisy Fuentes)

pants: thrifted (Lauren Conrad)  [similar fits below]

booties: Old Navy [similar below]

30 for 30: Day 27 & Day 28

Day 27

I feel like I spent this day running around like a chicken with my head cut off – work was BuSy! And then, since I’d been slacking, I had to go to the store after work to get everything for our Thanksgiving Dinner. The grocery store was a MADHOUSE. [Note to self: don’t ever, ever, ever, EVER wait again until the day before Thanksgiving to go shopping] People were blocking the middle of the aisles (pet peeve of mine), cutting each other off, and generally not being very “thankful” the day before Thanksgiving. 

*harumph*

However, I did make it out alive, and with all the fixin’s we needed for the next day! Oh, and the liquor store was a happenin’ place – I gave them some business, too, in the form of wine (white for myself & my mom, and red for my Dad). The Mr. had plenty of beer in the fridge, and my mother-in-law likes to bring her fancy cocktails when she comes to visit. This time it was “Hot Apple Pie" (she threw a Halloween party this year and made a “Dumpster Sludge, which was a really gross-looking brown-ish gray color, but was really quite yummy). I didn’t have any (I just love a good Pinot Grigio, or Riesling), but imagine Apple Pie, but with vodka & caramel & other yummy flavorings instead. Sounds pretty delicious, right??

Day 28

Day 28 was Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law came to visit, along with her sister and her husband. They are the first company we had in our new house (my folks came up Saturday - Sunday, so they were a close second)! Everyone loved our new home (we do, too!) and our meal feast was AAAAAMAZingggggg.

My sweet Mr. wanted to be in charge of the turkey – he didn’t let anyone else do anything to it. 

He also made sweet potatoes and apple dumplings (from my new Pioneer Woman Cookbook!).

He followed the recipe and prep and carving instructions in the book for the turkey, and it. 

Was.

DELICIOUS. 

I’m not normally one to go gaga over turkey at Thanksgiving, but as soon as the delicious aroma of turkey began to fill up the whole house, I couldn’t wait to dig in.

We had a nice Thanksgiving Dinner, just the 5 of us. There wasn’t a lot of stress – we’d told our visitors we’d still have boxes everywhere, so they weren’t expecting our house to be put together. We didn’t end up having boxes EVERYWHERE (we grouped a lot of them in the basement or the garage…aaaah, the joys of having a basement AND a garage!), but we did have them placed in corners and a few in every room.

All in all, a nice & relatively quiet Thanksgiving, made even more special by the fact that we celebrated in our new home – just one more thing to be thankful for :)

linking up here today

30 for 30: Day 18 & Day 19

Day 18

this two-toned coat is from Aéropostale, I wore it earlier here

snapped this at work

Chambray and a pencil skirt. Not two items I would normally pair together, but on a wild hair, I did. And I'm thinking it turned it pretty darn well. From a distance, I look like I'm wearing a nice dress shirt with my skirt. But, as you get closer, I appear more casual and, possibly (hopefully!), fashion-savvy? ;)

Sorry for my extended (and completely unintended!) absence. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I've been pretty busy the past few weeks (we bought a house! and moved! and are settling in!). 

So, I'm back! Just in time for the holidays :)

Day 19

tough to tell in these pictures, but those pants are navy corduroys

my Mr. told me to "act cold!" so, I did.
normally, when I'm cold, I'm frowning and grump-ing and generally unpleasant.
#truestory
anything for fashion, right? ;)

It was at this point in this challenge I started having a tougher time putting together outfits with my 30 items. I originally felt like I was reaching a bit with this outfit, but looking at the pictures, 

it doesn't appear that way (at least to MY eyes). 

Ever feel uneasy about the outfit you put together? But then think about it later and realize you looked FABULOUS?!?!

linking up here, here and here today

30 for 30: Day 11

No, your eyes are not deceiving you - I did jump straight from Day 9 to Day 11 in my 30 for 30 challenge. However, Day 10 was a throw-on-an-old-t-shirt-and-sweats-and-do-chores-and-pack kind of day. I only made it out of the house to take the trash out and walk the pups, so I didn't think it necessary to get all dolled up and do brush my hair. I'm thinking this busy outfit more than makes up for missing Day 10, though.

If you remember from this post, the navy blue top I'm wearing here is actually a dress. 

STOP.

HOLD ON.

I DID WHAT?

I wore a dress as a shirt.

This is (I think) the first time in my life I've done that (unless my parents can come up with something from my toddler or awkward preteen years?). However, the idea has been there for a while. Obviously it depends on the skirt and the dress, but it seems like the type of dress that would work best is one without a lot of volume in the skirt. Unless you're wearing a full skirt, and want a little more fluff underneath it (have I mentioned before that I like full skirts? The skirt of my wedding dress was 4 feet wide. On purpose. And I LOOOOOVED it.).

Scratch what I just said about the type of skirt and dress work best - this is a very case-by-case basis sort of thing. 

And in this case, I like it. I like it alot.

I really like this skirt, but always have a hard time deciding what top to pair with it. Until, one day, I remembered this navy dress with cream trim. And voila! A genius (and loud!) outfit was born! 

Ever have those clarity/lightbulb/genius moments? With your clothes, I mean ;)

linking up this schwanky outfit over here :)

30 for 30: Day 7

Day 7 - one week down. I typically have a hard time putting black and brown together, but I guess this worked for me because it's more cream/tan with black :)

With these booties, I can't decide if I should tuck my pants INTO them, or show a wee bit of ankle skin OR show off some of my fancy socks...any bootie experts out there?

I completely forget to mention this in my blog post on Monday, but happy (belated) Veteran's Day! I've got several veterans in my family, and am thankful for each and every one's service & sacrifice for our great nation. My two favorite vets are my Mom & Dad - thanks for everything, you two are the best. Love ya.

30 for 30: Days 1 & 2

Day 1

Day 1 of my 30 for 30 challenge. I chose my 30 items late on the 31st of October, and threw this together in the morning - not too bad for the first day ;)

Day 2

 

my Dad took these pictures for me, right after we had dinner last weekend.
this is me asking "do I have anything in my teeth?"

I LOVE this necklace I got at a consignment shop #truelove

Last weekend we made a trip to visit both sets of parents. They live pretty close (I could make it home for curfew in about 13 minutes), so we get to see both sets of folks. And this trip, we really DID get to see everyone - we got to see our good friends, M & L, who just moved back to our beautiful state after having spent the last year and a half out east. We are SO glad they're back - we missed them so much!

More headed your way, including a post that lists my 30 items for the rest of this month. Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

Double-y Plaid

if this picture doesn't perfectly encompass autumn, I don't know what does

I thought this was the perfect fall outfit for the perfect fall day. It incorporated some very fall-esque items: plaid, flannel, olive, booties & a down vest. Oh, and the requisite pictures with leaves (above & below). 

The weather this day was perfect, and it made me fall more in like (we're not at love. yet.) with fall. Normally I hang on to summer with every fiber of my being, but this year I've embraced autumn with halfway-open arms. Maybe it's the beautiful colors, or the slight chill in the air. Or that this summer was SO. HOT. Whatever it is, I don't hate it!

don't worry, we were stopped at a red light :)
I really dig the double plaid we had going on

This day was also amazing because this is the day we made an offer on our house, and it was accepted! I can't help but think that both of us in plaid is good luck. Don't be surprised if you see a lot more plaid over the next few weeks!

shirt: Old Navy

vest: (Aéropostale) thrifted

pants: Aéropostale

booties: Old Navy

sunglasses: Kohl's

his shirt: Kohl's

linked up over here with my layers