M.O.A.

When I was in Minnesota earlier this month, I made sure I went to THE MALL OF AMERICA.

THE MALL OF AMERICA (aaaaaaahhh!) has everything. Every store you could ever imagine or dream of. And several food courts & coffee joints to keep you shopping all day. While I did spend several hours there, I didn't end up getting anything for myself - I got some shirts for my husband, and a belated Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. So, I klumped around in my super warm (but very heavy) snowboots, carried my extra layers all day and didn't even get a shiny new outfit to show for it! I kid ;)

We entered the mall through the Radisson Blu attached to the mall, and they had this nice fireplace area with these funky Hershey's KISS shaped chair/couches. Naturally I had to take some pictures. 

On the escalator up to the mall, I asked my Dad to hold my purse so I could readjust all of my layers. He was holding my purse just "so," so I tried to snap a pic of it, but he was too fast for me. So, instead I have a nice picture of my cute parents, instead of an incriminating one of my Dad.

Dad: you take selfies on my phone, I post them on the internetz. them's the rules.

linking up:

Work Clothes, I Supposed for Third Thursday Threads

shirt: Old Navy exact below

sweater: thrifted (GAP) sort of similar below

pants: Aéropostale

boots: SOREL exact below

SHOP THE LOOK

Layering

I wore this during the cold snap I mentioned yesterday. I had a long sleeve shirt under my chambray, which was under my heavy (and very warm) sleeveless cardigan, and topped off with a big scarf. 

Oh, and warm socks - those boots, although cute, are really not conducive to keeping my toes warm.

linking up with:

Simply Lulu Style for What I'm Loving Fridays

DC in Style for Monday Bloom

chambray: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

sleeveless cardigan: gift from my mama (Eddie Bauer)

olive skinnies: Aéropostale

scarf: Aéropostale <-- one of my new finds!

boots: Rack Room Shoes

30 for 30: Day 15

Looking at these pictures now, this outfit looks like I tried to be a little "tough" (black boots, black sweater, olive green pants), but then I veered the other direction wearing a scarf with hearts on it. 

Pass?

Fail?

There IS something to be said for "juxtaposing" looks/styles/seasons/textures/aesthetics. 

Right?? Right.

I wasn't thinking that when I put this outfit together - I really just wanted to wear my green pants (have I mentioned they're incredibly comfortable?) and my new scarf. I've found that lately (and by lately, I mean since the first day of this 30 for 30 challenge) I am really drawn to more neutral colors instead of brights & prints, like I have been in the past. 

It feels easier to pair black with black, or taupe, or green, and not worry about matching, but just know that everything will look OK when I pair them together. That said, I just don't think I can give up my love of brights and prints and sequins and twirly skirts and volume and layers and things that me warm & fuzzy (all of the above).

30 for 30: Days 3 & 4

Day 3

I did some necklace layering, and wore a fancy new bracelet from my mom / from Lia Sophia

This ensemble spent the day at my in-laws house, watching football reading and taking naps. Did I mention the naps? The naps were great - the bulldogs agree, too. Hard to see in the pics above, but I was wearing my olive green skinnies. They are so. comfortable. Perfect for lounging, napping, and reading books instead of watching football...

Day 4

this whole getting-dark-before-5-thing is really cramping my style. BIG TIME. so, a goofy pose to brighten up these dark & orangey photos in our entryway...

Again, hard to see my pants in these pictures, but these are my navy corduroys - never would have thought to wear them with this sweater before (aaah, before, when I had full use of my closet). Now, I have to look at things differently, squint a leetle bit, and take a creative license and assure my husband that my clothes DO actually go together :)

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!

Double-y Plaid

if this picture doesn't perfectly encompass autumn, I don't know what does

I thought this was the perfect fall outfit for the perfect fall day. It incorporated some very fall-esque items: plaid, flannel, olive, booties & a down vest. Oh, and the requisite pictures with leaves (above & below). 

The weather this day was perfect, and it made me fall more in like (we're not at love. yet.) with fall. Normally I hang on to summer with every fiber of my being, but this year I've embraced autumn with halfway-open arms. Maybe it's the beautiful colors, or the slight chill in the air. Or that this summer was SO. HOT. Whatever it is, I don't hate it!

don't worry, we were stopped at a red light :)
I really dig the double plaid we had going on

This day was also amazing because this is the day we made an offer on our house, and it was accepted! I can't help but think that both of us in plaid is good luck. Don't be surprised if you see a lot more plaid over the next few weeks!

shirt: Old Navy

vest: (Aéropostale) thrifted

pants: Aéropostale

booties: Old Navy

sunglasses: Kohl's

his shirt: Kohl's

linked up over here with my layers

Comfort in Neutrals

ever tied your scarf like this? fold it in half, loop it around your neck, take the 2 loose ends, and thread them through the looped end: one over then under, and the other under then over. clear as mud? 

new bow earrings! #fancy

While this outfit wasn't anything TOO super special, it did two things: 

1) was comfortable

2) incorporated several current trends: chambray, colored skinnies & a scarf

I've subconsciously tried recreating it several times because it was just so easy to throw together. 

Does that make me a bad style blogger? 

I prefer to think no, it makes me pretty real & normal - most mornings I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off, so really, the easier, the better. 

But sometimes, I'm up for more of a challenge ;) 

Which do you prefer: easy to put together, or something requiring more effort?

chambray: Kohl's

pants: Aéropostale

flats: KMart

scarf: thrifted

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!