plum. 2 ways.

If you have a deep purple/plum colored dress, and you want to wear it in more ways than one, fear not! Here are two ideas for your purple-wearing self.

The first, a bit fancier. Maybe for a date night or nice party. Deep purple dress, magenta wedges, statement necklace and a clutch. Keeping it pretty simple, yet something so simple and classy packs quite the punch, don't you think?

Also, maybe I should quit with the center part in my hair? I'm not sure it's doing me any favors.

Up for discussion...

And this second look is a bit more casual. Perfect for dinner at a bar, then a rousing evening of grocery shopping and the hardware store (like I did when I wore this). Jacket, scarf, belt & boots to add a bit of depth, and also keep you warm - in case you have to park REALLY far away in the parking lot and/or wait for a table. Or something.

linking up over here, at A Touch of Tartan

dress: thrifted (Banana Republic)

wedges: ALDO

statement necklace: WalMart

clutch: thrifted

jacket: c/o Aéropostale

scarf: thrifted (Lucky Brand)

boots: The Frye Company via Nordstrom

belt: Target

classy in leather

I don't ride a motorcycle (but I DO ride a beach cruiser), and I’m not one to wear lots of leather (besides a jacket, shoes, or bag). However, I found this skirt at a thrift store and have silently been plotting ways for my sunshine-y/fuzzy/warm self to wear it.

Enter winter.

And tights.

And sweaters.

I added a cream sweater (with a wide v-neck collar - very feminine) to soften it up, and take the look from “lady of the night” to “fashion forward young strawberry blonde on a date with her husband.”

Did I nail it? I mean, if anything, the sweater helps, and the black herringbone print tights also contribute. The booties help a teeny bit, but maybe the low bun in the hair is really what takes it from edgy to modern classy…?

And cool.

Definitely cool.

sweater: American Eagle

skirt: thrifted

tights: I don't remember...

booties: Old Navy

Cheese & Wine

Waaay back at the end of May/beginning of June, we went on a fancy date night to celebrate our 2^nd wedding anniversary. We went to a local wine and cheese place (The Welsh Rabbit)  - I was in wino heaven. D isn’t much for wine (he prefers beer), but I think he even enjoyed himself a teeny bit. He ordered a glass of a sweet white before moving on to a cider, and I had a flight of Austrian wines (Vienna, here I come!). And we also tried a variety of cheeses. Really, I think we tried at least 6. If not closer to 8. And all sorts of meats and salamis and crackers and other good eats.

After we were full of cheese and wine and meat and bread, we wandered around downtown and I picked up another Pioneer Woman cookbook (her first one – the only one I was missing). We then went to a new-ish whiskey bar and met a friend there for a drink. This girl steered clear of the whiskey (shots of Fireball are the only whiskey I’ll partake in) and had a refreshing Moscow Mule instead ;)

the far left was D's sweet white - the remaining 3 my Austrian flight

cheese. bread. meat.

peplum top: Ann Taylor Factory

faux leather jacket: Miley Cyrus & Max Azria via Plato's Closet

skirt: Aéropostale

sandals: Shoe Carnival

Fancy Schmancy Legging Pants

see the stripe?? see how fabulous they are??

These fancy schmancy leggings made an appearance on date night. We went to Olive Garden for some delicious soup, salad, and breadsticks, and then home to finish watching our latest obsession on Netflix, "Orange is the New Black." Have you seen it? It's an original series, based on the memoir of the same name, fictionalized & sensalized, of course. We love it. Watch it. And report back. Please :)

Do you see why I love these pants? Regular leggings with an edge, and I need all the edge I can get. They'll be great with a sweater and some boots this fall & winter - they're nice and thick and warm! We've had some cooler weather this past week, so I've been able to wear more transitional pieces without overheating. 

Happy Monday tomorrow!

shirt: Jones New York

leggings: Aeropostale

shoes: KMart

bag: thrifted

Kacey, Eric, Kenny & the EYB

yes, those are croakies attached to my sunglasses - my brother & sis-in-law got me hooked. this pair came from a CO Rockies game, but for my next pair, I'm thinking something with my monogram...and yes, they are essential to my everyday life

This is what I wore to a concert last Saturday. Not just any concert. More like a get together of some old and new friends. Old friends like Kenny & the EYB, and new friends Eric & Kacey. We're such good friends that we're on a first name basis. 

*I wish*

I saw Kenny at Cheyenne Frontier Days (the mother of them all!) in 2009 with my Little, who is also named Annie and is blonde. And then I saw the Eli Young Band at the Grizzly Rose in 2010 with my roommates - the guys dressed up like the characters from South Park since they were performing in Colorado (nice touch). Great shows by both.

My sweet Mr. got tickets to see Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, the Eli Young Band, and Kacey Musgraves as part of the No Shoes Nation Tour at Sports Authority Field at Mile High (where the Denver Broncos play) for our first wedding anniversary in June (the first anniversary gift is paper). He told me I could take anyone I wanted to the show and I said "You. Obviously!" and he said "Are you sure? You can take ANYONE." (he's not a fan of country). But I think he enjoyed himself at the show - he even liked a few of Eric's songs, and some EYB tunes. And he admitted that Kenny puts on a good show. Cause he really does. 

NO SHOES NATION forevaaaaa!

in the car on the way to the show

don't worry - we were at a complete standstill. we sat in traffic for well over an hour to get to the stadium

in our seats, watching the Eli Young Band. gosh, they're so good!

his Corona, my marg. typical.

Colorado sunsets - nothing better

Kenny! Kenny Chesney!

Thank you for the tickets, and for being my date, sweetheart! You know how those 4 musicians speak to my soul. Them and Jimmy Buffett, of course. (I'm a HUGE Parrothead - did you know?) No one else I would have wanted to go with! Now it's my turn to go to a show of your choice, I guess ;)

and I'm linking up over here today for Friday's Five Link Up, so check it out!

Dress: Kohl's

Boots: Steve Madden via DSW

Hat: Target

Bag: thrifted

30 for 30: Day 29

Day 29 

I successfully put my hair into a top-knot! (with the help of a bun shaper thingey-deal...)

what I wore to my friend's shower

I DO love my monogram

the metallic wedges I wore to another friend's wedding a few weeks ago

As I mentioned in my initial 30 for 30 post, I planned to wear something NOT in my 30 for my friend's shower this weekend and another friend's wedding a few weeks ago. This dress I got at Old Navy last week for a song - a less-than-$13-song. 

And then I put on something a lot more casual for the rest of the day. We had a nice date night that started off with dinner at Noodles & Co., saw Monsters University, and then indulged at Coldstone. AND THEN I got word that a group of friends was at dinner, and then were heading downtown after. So, we went! And had a great time catching up with friends we don't see too often. We called it a night around 11 (early for some, late for us) and headed home to the pups, and kept saying to each other "We should be social more often!" And really, we should! And we will! Sometimes we're just homebodies and would rather have a night in than head out downtown. 

And you know what? 

That's ok, too ;)