checkered & versatile

This is my last look featuring bare legs & sunshine, as well as clothes that don't have some room for an expanding midsection. That being said, I've worn this dress with booties (above), with sandals, as a tunic over leggings, and as a button-up shirt with jeans. How's that for versatile?

red & white checkered dress: The Screamin' Peach

booties: Old Navy

belt: thrifted

very delayed

You thought my post a few weeks ago was a flash-in-the-pan for me and that I'd disappear again, huh? Not the case! I'll spare you the details, but I've made the switch from my beloved MacBook (*tear*) back to a PC, and switching everything over has taken some...finesse (and help from a computer engineer friend), aaaaand, every evening at about 7 pm, our internet goes bad (we're told it's a volume thing and the equipment/infrastructure needs updating. I know, #firstworldproblem, but, when you pay for uber-fast internet, you'd like to be able to use it when you're at your home...) BUT! technological issues aside, we're back in business!

If you're at all observant, you'll notice that these pictures don't appear to have been taken recently, since it's still winter and the bottom of our driveway is still a sheet of solid ice and I'm not wearing 18 layers and tights. And, you would be right. These pictures (and this pink & navy outfit) happened this fall...in September...ages ago! The Mr. and I headed to the mountains for a quick weekend to celebrate our dating anniversary (5 internet gold stars if you can guess what milestone we were celebrating) and he suggested I bring some backlogged outfits to take photos of, because, you know, FALL IN COLORADO. ALL OF THE LEAVES AND ALL OF THE BOO-TIFUL COLORS. 

And, he was right. So smart, that one. Lots of beautiful colors, still some green grass, and you know, some blonde girl wearing a lacy dress & heeled booties out in nature. And also, this is before I knew I was pregnant, as are the next few looks I'll share with you. However, this dress is something I did wear a few times in my first trimester before it got too snug (and subsequently, short); it's currently boxed up until we can be reunited.

So, again, apologies for the delay and my absence, but I'm back! And I've got some maternity-esque looks to share with you (I'm not in FULL maternity gear yet, just lots of stretchy pants) - stay tuned!

navy lace overlay dress: Banana Republic outfit

pink ombre scarf: gift

taupe ankle booties: Old Navy

gold clutch: thrifted

if you were a lumberjack

When you wish to appear as a cute human traipsing through the woods during the fall, you should wear something like this: plaid, vest, olive green & boots.

Oh wait, if you’re ACTUALLY going traipsing through the woods, you are most likely: 1) hiking, 2) a lumberjack, or 3) a forest ranger. In any of those 3 cases, you would not wear something like this (cute, yes. practical, not quite).

However, if you want to look cute in a mountain town in the fall, you SHOULD definitely wear something like this. Which is exactly what I did. Be sure to pose in front of the scenery (trees, mountains, nature), or a really neat looking garage door, wear a fancy statement necklace, and be sure you’re having a great hair day like yours truly.

plaid shirt: American Eagle

white vest: Levi's (thrifted)

olive pants: c/o Aéropostale

booties: Old Navy

statement necklace: WalMart

Oktoberfest and High Latitude Style

Hi friends! Good morning!

I'm co-hosting a linkup with Nicole of High Latitude Style. And I thought this layered fall look that I wore to Oktoberfest in the mountains would be perfect to share today.

I layered a dark chambray (knotted, of course - my jam lately), over a teal midi length dress. I added a teal & blue plaid infinity scarf and comfortable flats for traipsing all over Breckenridge. Wearing so many layers gave me the ability to shed my layers to keep cool in the sun while we enjoyed Bavarian pretzels and streusel, but it was nice to have the option to add back my chambray and scarf when the temperatures cooled down and the steins were empty.

The print of the lace on my dress, the plaid in the scarf and the print on my shoes allowed for subtle, yet cohesive print mixing. A must for looking put together while waiting in lines at a festival. And did I mention this dress is stretchy? That's really the whole reason I wore it - schnitzel, bratwursts, pretzels, streusel, and German beer - to camouflage a day of indulging.

Switching gears, this is Nicole, and I love reading her blog (based in Alaska) for cold weather outfit ideas - another blogger to glean inspiration from when the snow flies! This red on red look she's got going on is just perfect for fall. Without further ado, here's a bit more about Nicole and the link up:

Nicole Mölders is married, has one cat, no kids, and is a fashion, and science enthusiast from Fairbanks, Alaska. She is the blogger of High Latitude Style – an Alaska fashion blog with science bits for the stylish 40+ woman. She shares how to dress stylishly on trend over 40 without looking like a fashion victim.  

Now let's get the party going. Everyone of any age and gender is welcome to share their fashion and style posts.

1. Please follow your Host via wordpress, twitter, facebook, google+, bloglovin and your co-host via her blog, bloglovin, twitter, instagram
2. Linkup any of your fashion/style posts by simply adding your link below
3. Please stop by your linkup-fellows' blogs, introduce yourself to them, and make new friends
4. Please spread the word and invite your friends to this party Invite your friends on twitter

monday, monday

A two-fer today, on this snowy and cold Monday morning. Because if TWO outfits in ONE post doesn't put a smile on your face on a February Monday morning, then I don't know what will.

These pictures turned out quite blue, but I think you get the general idea: new plaid button up, navy blue pants, and ankle booties. Pretty simple, but incredibly functional.

And then this more elaborate and layered look. There's a v-neck tee under that black chambray, covered with a navy down vest, ponte knit faux leather stripe leggings, regular socks, fleece boot socks over the regular socks, SOREL snow boots, a gray infinity scarf, new ski jacket, then a Colorado flag knitted headband on top of everything.

Whew.

Lots of layers. But that's what you do when walking around a cute mountain town, checking out ice sculptures, drinking hot toddies, and wishing to move to said cute mountain town and be a ski bum.

I've mentioned before that I used to never wear black and navy together, but I've changed my way of thinking (and maybe become more chic in the process?), and I LOVE how this outfit came together. Perfectly comfy-casual, layered, dark and interesting, yet nice and warm, and to me, the epitome of "Colorado style."

similar plaid button up: c/o Aéropostale

navy skinnies: Target

ankle booties: Old Navy

black chambray: Old Navy

navy down vest: Old Navy

gray infinity scarf: c/o Aéropostale

ski jacket: Anakie

faux leather stripe leggings: c/o Aéropostale

snow boots: SOREL via JAX

Colorado flag headband: Akinz Boardwear

Bye Bye, Ski Season

Late last month, two of my cousins came out to visit for their Spring Breaks. We took them up to the mountains for some skiing and dogsledding (yes, for real, like "Mush! Mush!"). 

And we had the. best. time.

The weather both days was unbelievable. Beautiful Colorado bluebird skies, sunshine, and not yet slushy snow. Both girls took right to skiing and were navigating blue and BLACK (!!!) runs by the end of the day. We ate great food, did some shopping, and tried to convince the youngest to come to Colorado for college (I think we made progress!)

So, in honor of several mountain resorts extending their season to this past weekend, here are some pictures from our weekend ski trip, and my last time skiing this season. Until next year...

*sniff*

my Dad with his pupils

my sweet Mama

I warmed up to ski with my Dad in the afternoon (blacks, blacks, moguls, oh, more blacks) by heading down "Callie's Alley", in honor of my sweet pup, Cali

view from the top...

Dad and I rode the T-Bar together for the first time, and I skiied my FIRST BOWL!
it wasn't pretty, but I did it!
can't wait to do it again next season...! how many days til Opening Day??

I stopped for a #selfie at the top, of course

Dad with part of our dogsledding team

hot on the trails with our dogsled team! the rest of us were riding on a snowmobile in front of the dogs

these pups love running - look at those smiling faces!

these pups were pooped after their morning jaunt with us

If you ever get the opportunity to go dogsledding, I can't recommend it enough! It's SO fun, and how many people do you know that have been behind a dogsled team (I've been twice!)? If you'd like a recommendation of a place in Summit County, Colorado, please shoot me an email and I'll share with you the name of the outfitter we went with.

I had a great ski season this year - I feel like it's finally clicking for me. Must be the good teacher I have (my Dad) - thanks, Pops!

Snowy Weekend

Early last month, I spent the weekend in the mountains with my parents. Sadly, my Mr's work kept him from coming at the last minute. However, I know my folks weren't TOO upset that they had me all to the themselves ;)

my Mom and I did Tubbs Romp to Stomp out Breast Cancer - it's a 3k & 5k in snowshoes. The snow that day was UNREAL. So heavy & thick - think big, wet flakes that immediately soaked anything and everything they touched.

my OOTD - ski jacket, snowpants, & lots'a layers

rented demo snowshoes for the event

we found this neat chair by Colorado Ski Chairs - now I've got a hankering to get some adirondack chairs for our backyard...

before Dad and I headed out skiing Sunday - we're good skiing buddies

I put my monogram on my ski helmet, obvi

Dad and I skiied together all day Sunday. He's a part-time ski instructor, so he's a pretty good skiier.
He had me doing drills down the mountain and "watching film" - gotta say, I think I'm on my way to becoming a much better skiier! Thanks for the help, Dad!

Are you into skiing? What about snowshoeing? What about...dog sledding? Look for my post on that soon!

Oh oh, and HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY! Although, nothing in this post is a trick :)