replacement sandals

You guys, a rare day of sunshine. No joke - it's been raining for the past three weeks or so. Flood warnings all over the place, and everything is SO GREEN (except for my hydrangea plant, which died just a few days after it came home, so, that stinks).

And I got some new sandals. I got asked if I really needed them, and my answer is decidedly "YES." I got rid of my brown sandals at the end of last summer, and have been on the outlook for replacements (same with my black sandals - I'd had those bad boys since 2008). I found these tan t-straps with jangly beads on a recent shopping trip with a friend (I also found some black tassel sandals - I'll show you soon!). So, to all you haters who questioned my big girl decision to buy some sandals, I DID need them. And they look goooood.

And that pretty necklace? From Rocksbox. Use the code sweetbananiexoxo for a free month of jewelry rental.

white v-neck: WalMart

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

white cardigan: thrifted (Hollister)

tan sandals: Kohl's

brown belt: American Eagle (a decade ago...)

still classic

One of my best friends gave me this cardigan over the summer. I was so excited to have a classic argyle cardigan, but I wasn't sure what to wear with it. I was a little stumped, until I decided to think beyond solid black, white or gray. Somehow this striped button-up got put next to the argyle, and a slightly print-mixed outfit was born.

The shirt and the cardigan are both classic pieces on their own, and paired together, they're still classic, but a bit more modern, and slightly cheeky. And instead of defaulting to skinny jeans, I chose mint jeans to brighten this up a bit. And my new black boots were a no-brainer.

shirt: GAP

cardigan: from a friend (J. Crew)

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

boots: c/o Aéropostale

number 2 of 7

from the Mr:
"I chose this shirt simply because I like it. I like the different collar style and I am a big fan of Annie wearing white. Annie is a big fan of blue so I figured it was a win-win."

This shirt was easy to style. It reminds me of a pretty Greek village, right on the coast, with white buildings, blue roofs & doors – Santorini-esque. And while that’s somewhere I’d love to be, I don’t live on the coast, or in Europe, or in a white house with a blue roof, so I wore my blue & white button up with mint jeans for a “refreshing” look, just in time to say goodbye to summer and welcome fall (why didn’t my brain create this outfit when it was HOT this summer??).

shirt: Aéropostale

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

belt: American Eagle

sandals: WalMart

shifting

The entire day I wore this, I kept getting told that I looked 

“Bright! And spring-ey!”

which is normally a look I very much enjoy. But lately I find myself more drawn to neutrals and clothes that aren’t quite as “loud.” Not that I think my love for neon will ever go away, but I recently went through my closet (again), and comparing what I got rid of (lots of brights) to what is remaining in my closet (neutrals and solids), is almost comical. However, a friend of mine is very into brights lately, so she benefitted from my purge. What’s funny is that we used to be on opposite ends of that spectrum – me into brights and prints, and her more into neutrals and solids. And now, we’ve done a complete 180. However, both of these items made the cut, so, I’m not completely on the dark side. 

Yet…

blouse: J. Crew Factory

mint skinnies: Lauren Conrad via Kohl’s

sandals: Target

Mint & Navy. Again...

Apparently I'm really into mint and navy together lately (here and here).

They just look really good together, mmk?

Happy Friday!

chambray: WalMart

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

sandals: WalMart

Minted

I don’t know what it is about my mint jeans, but every time I wear them, without fail, I spill something on them.

Coffee.

Lunch.

Bug guts.

Margarita.

They’re almost as much of a magnet for spills and stains as white pants.

Or maybe I just notice stains more on these pastel pants than, say, dark wash jeans.

Whatever the case may be, I wore this outfit.

I wore it to work. I wore it to a jobsite.

I wore it to see a friend. Wore it all day long.

Have I mentioned before that I really like this top from Eddie Bauer? I have the same one in purple, and I can’t help but wish the store had had 18 more colors to choose from…probably would have bought them all…

shirt: Eddie Bauer

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl’s

sandals: WalMart

Mr. Picks Mondays: Shades of Blue

I found this gem (haha, get it?) of a pair of kicks at ARC last week.
they're navy blue.
they are bedazzled.
and I'm obsessed.

I've done some shopping in the past few weeks - I've been pretty very successful at Old Navy, ARC, and Aéropostale (don't worry - those goodies are coming your way!). This shirt was a thrifted find at ARC, as are the shoes. The Mister picked out the button-up for me to wear, and I added the rest. 

Navy blue is my new obsession, so any time I can wear navy, or add it to an outfit, I have been. Probably more than I should (is every day too often?). I even scored a navy blue peacoat at Old Navy that I just loooove. I've been hearing that "navy is the new black," and I like to think that I'm ahead of the curve, having always liked it - both parents proudly wore Air Force Blue (growing up it wasn't called navy blue, it was AIR FORCE BLUE). Hey, I even have a navy blue car now ;)

shirt: thrifted (Hollister) sort of similar below

blazer: Aéropostale

scarf: Aéropostale

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's sort of similar below

flats: thrifted (Adrienne Vittadini) sort of similar below

SHOP THE LOOK - OR SOMETHING SIMILAR...

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

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 ;)