Black and White (and Red...All Over?)

double black & white polka dots, for the win!

If you didn't know, I love polka dots. Lovelovelove. Large, small, medium, doesn't matter - I dig 'em. If I see something in a store with polka dots, I'm highly likely to leave with it (how's that for a statistic?). I was picking out my outfit the night before (which I should ALWAYS do, but don't always ACTUALLY do), and had a thought "What about DOUBLE polka dots??" 

Obviously, I thought it was a great idea. And I'm thinking you do, too...right?? 

Hope you had a great day today, friends!

shirt: WalMart

tank: Kohl's 

sweater: Banana Republic (via a clothes swap)

pants: Aeropostale

shoes: Kohl's

inspiration for this outfit: that brain of mine - sometimes I dream up great things in my sleep! 

linking up over here and here, since my beautiful red sweater is 100% merino wool!

Print Mixing (before it was cool)

I wore this a few weeks back, and have been scrambling to make sure I got it up in time to link up with Bri for Third Thursday Threads over at Work Clothes, I Suppose. Is it just me, or is this time of year so much busier?? I can't keep up! Especially on this little blog here :(

So, I've been dying to wearing this sweater vest again. You won't believe how long I've had it...

High school. 

And not just right before I graduated...more like sophomore year-ish for DECA competitions. Interested in hearing more about DECA? I've got a whole schpeal I'd love to share! Basically it's a marketing club. I was the President my senior year, and went all the way to Nationals in Orlando once, and to the State competition all 3 years. It's fun playing grown-ups for a few days and getting to dress up. Oh, and traveling to cool places with your friends. And winning at competitions.

I must give credit for this sweater vest and the striped button-up underneath it to my sweet Mama. I remember she found both items on the clearance rack at GAP. I would have never thought to put a striped shirt under a striped sweater vest! (to be honest, I would have never thought to look twice at a sweater vest) My mom was print-mixing before it was cool, you guys. Oh, and she helped me pick out these loafer/oxford style shoes, too (again, they were purchased in the same "time period"). The layered necklaces above were wholly my idea, but all 3 belonged to my grandmothers before me. You could say inspiration and style run in the family ;)

shirt: GAP
vest: GAP

jeans: Kohl's

shoes: DSW?

necklaces: 2 Grandmas with good taste

Falling Into Plaid

 

This ensemble made an appearance at a college football game tailgate. Not the game, just the tailgate. Very important distinction. I did originally wear different shoes to the tailgate, but swapped them out for something a bit fancier for dinner with that handsome husband of mine. I wore rain boots earlier in the day, as the weather called for precipitation, and I knew that the tailgating would take place in a field (of sorts). However, the sun came out and there was not a cloud in the sky. But, rain boots are a lot easier to wipe dirt & mud off of than almost any other shoe, so they were ok. 

I knew the day would be chilly, so I layered up accordingly, with a long sleeve shirt under the plaid button up, and threw this sleeveless sweater (vest?) on top, then had a jacket, a scarf, and gloves in the car. I didn't end up needing those last few accessories, but was glad I brought them - I'm almost always cold. 

I'm so glad I was finally able to comfortably wear my leggings with the faux leather panel - last time, it was still pretty warm out. I've got a feeling these will be on repeat a lot this winter. 

Today I'm linking up with Walking in Memphis in High Heels, The Fashion Canvas, and It's Not That Deep for their weekly Trend Spin Link Up, featuring gingham & plaid. I wish I'd gotten a picture wearing my rain boots - they're a black & white plaid, so I would have been able to showcase plaid (times two!) AND a bit of print and texture mixing. Better luck next time!

plaid shirt: thrifted

sweater: Eddie Bauer

leggings: Aéropostale

shoes: Jessica Simpson

Mr. Picks Mondays: More Monochromatic-ness & Mint

what? you don't make weird faces and post them on the internet for all the world to see?

always wearing a pink ribbon - it's Zeta Tau Alpha's national philanthropy

What is the deal with me being so behind on my outfit posts?! I wish I could explain, or at least have a better excuse than 

"I got busy."

But really though, I got busy!

My Mr. picked out this get-up, and was really excited for me to go monochromatic again. Maybe this will be a trend every week? We'll have to wait and see!

It's time for me to get to bed, so that's all the regularly scheduled programming for tonight :)

linking up this over here today, check it out!

jacket: Old Navy (from a friend's closet)

shirt: Target

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

shoes: KMart

Minted in Stripes

Cali girl in the background 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...

Happy 1st day of Fall!

I'm a summer-lover, and usually detest fall & winter, but this year, I'm ready for a change. I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune by November, but, for now, I'm looking forward (a little bit) to fall. 

We've got football on the TV, a fall candle burning, and I've got plans to swap around my closet a bit this afternoon. I won't put away summer clothes entirely (we still have warm temps into October, sometimes into November), but I'll pull my colder weather clothes towards the front, so they're easier to access. With that said - layering, here I come!

On a different note, I painted my nails this morning and used a new trick an old friend told me about. This friend's mom owns a nail shop, so this friend is kind of an expert. She told me to paint my nails, then put them into a bowl of ice water for a few minutes - the cold water would "set" my nails and dry them. I was skeptical, but I tried it, aaaaaand, it worked! My fingers felt all tingly after, but it sped up the drying process, and who doesn't want their nails to dry faster??? Give it a try and let me know what you think!

shirt: Old Navy

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

sandals: Target

Turbo is like me and prefers warmth & sunshine to cold & snow - he likes to lay in the grass or on our patio and bask in the sun. Cali, on the other hand, LOVES to run (OK, not a real run, more like "hop like a bunny") in the snow. They sure do take after their favorite person in our house ;)

linking up over here today, for "What I'm Loving Friday" [2 days late...] 

I guess you could say I'm kinda-sorta-starting to like fall, it's not love. yet ;)

So Green!

action shot! not sure how my Mr. managed to capture me mid-fair-flip, but he did!

these shoes left me with some wicked blisters - the verdict is still out on whether they stay in my closet or not

Only after looking at these pictures did I realize how GREEN everything is. Normally Colorado has some green, but there's lots of brown, too - it's very dry here. With all the rain we received last week & weekend, everything "greened" right up. And then I added to it by wearing green pants (previously here), and this lovely scarf with hints of green. Sometimes I like to dress to match my environment. Only sometimes, though - sometimes I'll wear neon when it's gray & raining.

I have to say, these pants are so comfortable. They're quickly becoming some of my favorites. They're soft, and stretchy, and oh-so-easy-to-wear. I'm sure you will be seeing a lot more of them this fall and winter. And this scarf - it fades from peach to mint and back again. My friend, Lara, brought it back for me from Belgium when she went to Europe this past May with her brother. I also have another beautiful sky blue scarf she got for me in Italy when she studied abroad in college (it matches my eyes).

I put together this outfit with fall in mind, but in my new office, it seems to always be a wee bit too warm. I was roasting all day in this short-sleeved sweater and scarf. Needless to say, this winter will be interesting - at my last job, it was always freezing so I layered a lot and wore my heaviest sweaters. With this new job, I'm hoping I can still wear my winter sweaters and boots without being too toasty. We shall see!

sweater: American Eagle

pants: c/o Aeropostale

shoes: Target

scarf: from my sweet friend

earrings: Kohl's

Handsome looking for lovin'

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

Pulling out the Neon

ignore my weirdly strained face - I was twirling!

If you look closely, you'll see the little pink flowers in my skirt that matched my shirt. Those little bitty bits of pink are what I was trying to pull out of my skirt with this bright top. Before, I always wore this skirt with a tan/beige top, but I'm realizing there really are a lot more ways to wear it than with a plain top. I thought about wearing something with stripes to do some print mixing, but the skirt already has 3 different prints, so instead of adding to the busyness, I added a solid. What do you think?

Oh, and it was a bonus that my new necklace perfectly matched the mint color in my skirt :)

Linking up over here today!

shirt: Kohl's

skirt: Nordstrom

necklace: Trends

sandals: Sears

My Gosh, Galoshes!

Before we begin, this pretty girl (above) is one of my oldest friends, and the first person besides my husband who I told about my blog. Last Saturday, she sent me this picture and said "Pattern mixing & coordinating details (sandals+belt&clutch+lipstick) inspired by Sweet Bananie. What do you think? :)"

I have to admit, this was pretty flattering! And doesn't she look great? Makes me itch to do some more pattern-mixing...What's funny is I'm the one who always sends her pictures of my outfits and asks for advice ;)

Sorry for the terrible picture quality (again). My Mr. has been crazy busy with work the past few weeks, and with the rain & floods this past week, was stuck in Denver due to road closures. Don't worry - he stayed with friends and had a grand time ;) But I haven't seen him in days, so I'm starting to forget what he looks like...just kidding! But, I sure do miss him. And the pups do, too - I'm not as fun to wrestle with, as I'm more of a cuddler.

This is what I wore to work on Thursday. Someone teased me about wearing rain boots in the morning, and by the afternoon, I'm sure they were eating their words, as that's when we heard about flooding all over the front range. The boots were a bit heavy to wear to all day inside, but whenever I had to run outside, I was glad I had them on - dry feet FTW.

Hope you have a great (and dry) Saturday. Reports of the devastation due to the flooding are coming in, and some areas were hit very hard - it's tough, especially since some areas in Colorado were hit so hard by the fires this summer & last. 

Maybe we should move? I vote the beach.

Linking up over here today for What I'm Loving Fridays. I'm not loving the flooding, but I am loving being safe, and having dry feet, thanks to my boots!

tank: Old Navy

sweater: Express

jeans: Trends

boots: Christmas gift from parents

Featuring my Mr.

A few weekends ago, we went to a music festival with some friends - Bohemian Nights at New West Fest. One of these friends told me she really enjoys reading my blog. She also told me she thinks I should feature my husband a bit more. And I couldn't agree more, (thanks, Amanda!) so here he is!

While he wasn't thrilled to have his picture taken and outfit featured, I think he looks pretty nice. He's very much a jeans/shorts & t-shirt kind of guy, and he's pretty good at matching shirts to shorts/pants. He sometimes asks for my opinion, but overall picks out the majority of his outfit combinations on his own. I get consulted for big events (weddings, interviews, etc.) and have "final say" on if a hole-y t-shirt needs to go (yes, always - he will wear a t-shirt until you can see through it).

he's a good sport about pictures for only so long...*sigh* #bloggerproblems

we saw a live show by the band, Head for the Hills. we liked them so much, we bought their album and have pretty much been listening to it over&over when we're at home

After the show, we headed to a local bar for delicious blended adult beverages and people watching - my most favorite activity.

linking up over here, like I do every Friday :)

his outfit

shirt, shorts & shoes: Kohl's

sunglasses: Oakley

my outfit

dress: Kohl's

belt: thrifted

sunglasses: Target

necklace: gift from a friend

shoes (not seen): Gap