Mr. Picks Mondays: Black Friday Swag

Late on Thanksgiving night, I left the comfort of my warm house to pick up my friend, Amanda, to do some Black Friday shopping. We had BIG plans: we were going to hit up our local outlets, stop at a HUGE outdoor mall, check out Kohl's, maybe go to Target, and see what other places were open for the day that has now become  than Thanksgiving: Black Friday.

However, for all of our plans, bottled water, and coffee in travel mugs, we didn't make it past the outlet mall. After waiting in lines at several stores, and power-shopping & power-trying-on through several others, we made our final purchases and called it a night. I was home, snuggled in bed by 2:30.

This lacey sweater/sweatshirt was one of those final purchases. I picked it up at rue21 - don't think I've been in to one of those stores in a very long time, but good thing we went in that night morning. I found this lacey sweater/sweatshirt and another striped cardigan. I modeled my purchases for my Mr. later that day (after much-needed sleep), and when it came time for him to pick this week's Mr. Picks Mondays, he picked out this lacey sweater/sweatshirt & my mint jeans. He knows me too well - he knows that new clothes burn a hole in my closet and I just can't wait to wear them! 

I've got some more Black Friday swag lined up for you this week - find any great Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals you couldn't wait to wear?

lacey sweater/sweatshirt: rue21

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

boots: Rackroom Shoes

scarf: made by me!

linking up over here & here (for the first time!) today

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!

Pants Decisions

I wore this combination on a particularly gray & rainy day. Sometimes I like to wear brights when the weather is cold & gray, but sometimes I like to blend right in - it really depends on my mood. 

And what items are not in the laundry...

Lately, I'm loving purple in all shades. Sometimes I just want to put on every purple item I own and dance around and pretend to be a grape. Or an eggplant (it's always food...). Anyone care to join me? 

I got this pair of coated denim on major clearance this past May at Kohl's, from the Lauren Conrad line. It was between these and a pair of (vegan) black leather pants (vegan leather is a fancy way of saying faux leather, because as you know, it is trendy to be a vegan/paleo/gluten free in this day & age). I agonized over this life-altering (hardly) decision for a good 20+ minutes. As you can see, I ultimately went with these pants. I'm just not sure that my blonde hair, blue eyed, sometimes-gets-confused-for-a-high-schooler-self could really rock (vegan) leather pants. However, as my bestie pointed out, this pair of coated denim fills that hole of "badass-ness" in my closet. 

AND, they're purple, instead of typical black. 

AND, purple was my favorite color in the 6th grade.

linking up here, here and here today - check it out!

gray lace shirt: Victoria's Secret

sweater: Maurice's

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

flats: Jessica Simpson

Doubly Laced (and less than stellar pictures)

my photographer was working on a night project this evening

lace on top

aaaand

lace on bottom

a new "pretty" from Trends, which has temporarily closed its doors while they move to a new location

and sorry for these super grainy pictures - it started to rain while we were taking these...

I'm linking up over here today, where the theme is lace. Soooooo, being the super blogger that I am (jklolzlolz), I have not one, but TWO (TWO!!) outfits with lace to share with you. The first is obviously a lace top with a hi-low maxi, and the second features a lacey-sort-of skirt that I just love. My mom picked out both skirts for me last summer, and I have to say, I think she did good, don't you? 

However, she did have a critique about my second outfit from today's post. She (and my husband) said the shirt was too casual for the rest of my outfit. I'm not sure that I agree - it's all about stretching your wardrobe and crossing/breaking style boundaries and rules, right? Right?? #wearwhiteafterlaborday Help me out here, guys! 

What's a bit funny about this combination is that my husband first critiqued me, then said "I want to know what your mom thinks about your outfit. I think she'll say the same thing I did." So, I asked my mom and she said the. exact. same. thing (that the shirt was too casual for the rest of the outfit). So, of course I burst out laughing then had to explain to her what my husband had said and how he guessed her response. Do they think along the same lines or what?? Maybe they both just like to give me a hard time...

1st outfit

top: gift from a friend

skirt: Nordstrom

sandals: WalMart

necklace: WalMart

2nd outfit

chambray: Kohl's

skirt: Nordstrom

heels: Target

necklace: Trends

Mr. Picks Mondays - Neutral. like Switzerland.

The Mr. picked out the lace top, and I decided to take neutrals for a spin. I'll be honest - I kinda like it. It's not something I would have worn before I had this here little blog. Look at me, steppin' outta my getting-dressed-box! (it's pretty small, and is filled with matching items & a wee bit of adventure)

I realize the pants look REALLY long & REALLY flared, but, boho is back, right?

Either way, enjoy the rest of your week! I've got more headed your way :)

lace shirt: gift

pants: Hollister Outlet (2008)

Sandals: Mi Amore (Sears, 2009)

linking up over here, with Coffee Beans & Bobby Pins and FACE IT Catalog

Mr. Picks Mondays: a [pink] variation

When my Mr. originally picked out my outfit yesterday, I thought I'd wear this dusty pink blazer with it. It's a nice look, but a bit too dressy for my work - a more casual take on a suit. 

So even though I didn't wear it, I thought I'd share it here.

I wanted both of the pooches for a picture, but Handsome likes to burrow under our bed, with all the luggage...

So Pretty Girl and I took a picture...

And he sensed that she was getting more attention than him...

So he made an appearance, and consented to be in the picture, as long as I promised to give him lots of lovin'...which of course, I did :)

Mr. Picks Mondays: Blue & Brown

Sorry for the indoor pictures - it was not pretty outside. We're under a blizzard

warning, or something like that. And it was SO nice this weekend...

Today, he picked out the top & bottoms - I got to add the sweater. Which didn't seem necessary at lunchtime, but by 3 o'clock today, wasn't warm enough!

I'm a newbie poser - I'm working on it, promise!

The verdict is still out on these pants. I've had them FOREVER, and I hemmed them so I could wear them with flats, or shorter heels. But they're such a wide leg, on such a short person - what do you think? Keep them or toss them?

Top: gift from a friend

Sweater: Eddie Bauer

Pants: Kohl's

Shoes: MIA

I know it's not Thursday, but here's a throwback for you, anyways :D

*why am I cheesing so big? If I remember correctly, this was around 6 am*

Here's me in this same sweater, my first day of my senior year of high school...proving that I hang onto clothes for a long time. Too long? But I love the color, so I just can't part with it!

Sweater: Eddie Bauer

Shorts: Old Navy (still have those, too!)

Sandals: Payless (those are gone, proving I CAN get rid of things. Sometimes...)