A Dress as a Skirt

This skirt is not really a skirt...

it's a dress! 

Didn't fool you, did I? When I did my November 30 for 30, I wore a dress as a shirt. This time, I wore a dress as a skirt. That's all my creativity in those two outfits, so I'm calling it good and ending this year (2014) on a high note. See ya.

I kid - again!

I'm just wondering why I haven't worn this dress as a skirt before - what have I been doing?! Living under a style rock, obvi. You're going to be seeing this look A LOT. Oh, and I have another black dress that looks perfect as a skirt, so, seriously, get ready to see this look doubly often. 

the herringbone pattern on my tights - lovelovelove

sweater: gift (Coldwater Creek)

dress as a skirt: thrifted (Target)

tights: ??? - had them since high school...

boots: Rack Room Shoes

linking up with:

Two Thirty-Five Designs for Casual Friday Link Up

Simply Lulu Style for What I'm Loving Fridays

Style Elixir for Friday's Fab Favorites

Boxing Day

The outfit I'm featuring today is what I wore in our Christmas card this year. After celebrating Thanksgiving (round 2) with my parents, we stepped outside to take some pictures in front of our new house with the pups.

While the pups are darling, squishy, and oh-so-sweet (I'm typing this with both of them snoozing snoring under my desk), they don't seem to understand "posing" for a picture, so we had to cut the animal actors after just a few shots, and focus on us people actors.

My Mr. picked out his purple gingham-esque shirt & jeans, and I figured I should coordinate (I mean, Christmas card pictures - hellooooo!), so I threw on a chambray & a purple scarf. I went with the same color family, so we weren't TOO twinsie-ish...on Thanksgiving Day, we both ending up wearing plaid button ups...

Big thanks to my Dad for snapping our pics - he likes to pretend he's a professional photographer and *snap snap*

away ;) Some of them are a bit grainy, but that's what happens when you crop

BIG pictures down to a smaller size.

In other news, we celebrated a very quiet & laid-back Christmas at our house, just the two of us, plus 2 bulldogs. We had friends over for dinner, and then, I received the best Christmas gift today - I got to see one of my very best friends! 

She lives in paradise with her husband, and I don't get to see her nearly enough. We met up for lunch at a place where the husbands could be entertained while we caught up (for hours!) - Dave & Buster's. They flew back to Colorado for the holidays, and I'm so thankful I got to see her & her husband for just a few hours - I was on Cloud 9 as we drove home after our lunch date.

So, A, thanks for "kayaking across the ocean" so I could see you and hug you!

xoxo

great minds must think alike - we both wore slouchy sweaters, skinnies & VERY similar boots

In other other news, I'm being featured on Simply Lulu Style for this week's What I'm Loving Fridays Link Up, so be sure to check it out!

Christmas Card pictures

chambray: thrifted

purple scarf: gift

black skinnies: Aéropostale

boots: KMart

his outfit:

shirt, jeans & shoes: Kohl's

pink sweater & leggings : Aeropostale

boots: Rack Room Shoes

Purple Pants, Polka Dots, and a(nother)...Bulldog Shirt?

Cali loves blog pics. but mostly shirts with her silhouette on them

I think the title of this post really says it all. The only thing I didn't mention up there is that these purple pants are my only pair of coated/waxed denim, and I wore black boots.

This bulldog shirt was another Black Friday find. I spotted it at J. CREW Factory weeks ago but didn't pull the trigger. But when I popped in on Black Friday Thanksgiving Night, only a few shirts were left, and only one in my size. 'Twas fate, my friends, 'twas fate. Oh, and isn't this polka dot cardigan fab? You know I luuuurve me some polka dots, so really, 'twas a no-brainer - and I'm a fan of those, especially when it comes to shopping. 

However, when I showed it to the Mr, he said it looked like something I already had. 

I asked to clarify:

"Something I already have? Or something I would wear?"

His response:

"Something you already have."

"Oh, honey, I sure don't have a black & white polka dot cardigan in my closet. 

However, this one will fit right in..."

shirt: J. CREW Factory

cardigan: J. CREW Factory

pants: Kohl's

boots: KMart

linking up:

here, here, here, and over here

check 'em out!

30 for 30: Day 7

Day 7 - one week down. I typically have a hard time putting black and brown together, but I guess this worked for me because it's more cream/tan with black :)

With these booties, I can't decide if I should tuck my pants INTO them, or show a wee bit of ankle skin OR show off some of my fancy socks...any bootie experts out there?

I completely forget to mention this in my blog post on Monday, but happy (belated) Veteran's Day! I've got several veterans in my family, and am thankful for each and every one's service & sacrifice for our great nation. My two favorite vets are my Mom & Dad - thanks for everything, you two are the best. Love ya.

Purple & Gray, Purple & Mint

 

This was one of those outfits that just came to me when I was standing in my closet in the morning before heading to work. It was like a lightbulb went off, and I grabbed purple, purple & gray. Like I mentioned before, I do better when I pick out my clothes the night before - there's less of a hurried scramble in the morning to get dressed & ready, and out the door (my brain seems to work in slow motion before my first cup of coffee has been digested). However, this must have just been one of those lucky days, I guess ;) 

It was lucky in that we went house-hunting with our realtor, and fell in love with the second house we looked at! We did check out other ones just to make sure, but, this house is 

THE HOUSE. 

I'm hesitant to share too much until we actually close, but please keep your fingers, toes, and all other appendages crossed for us! We're very excited to be taking this big kid step and purchasing our own home - we're definitely ready! (and tired of paying someone else our rent)

Hope you've had a great weekend - our Saturday was spent being so lazy and enjoying each other's company. It. Was. Perfect. Now, to be productive today...

shirt: Target

blazer: Aeropostale

scarf: gift

jeans: GAP Outlet

booties: Old Navy

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

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

Just Following the Trends, Y'all!

wearing my pups on my clothes. it's cool, right?

5 pointed crown - another ZTA symbol. told ya I sneak 'em in there

Does wearing a bulldog shirt make me look like an over-excited soccer mom? If so, too bad, so sad. 

I love reppin' my breed of pups - they're just so cute! 

And sweet! 

And wrinkly! 

And loud. 

They're very loud. Loud breathers, loud snorers, and loud going up the stairs. 

You would NOT believe how loud they are.

I have a voice memo recorded on my phone of both of them breathing, if you're interested ;)

I am digging the animal-on-the-shirt/sweater trend. I've seen a lot that I would love to take home and make part of my closet, but this is the only one I've been able to pull the trigger on. But that's ok, it's got a pretty special animal on it. 

Now, to find a shirt with TWO bulldogs on it - one that's mostly white with his tongue sticking out, 

and the other brown & white...

shirt: J CREW Factory

sweater: Ann Taylor

jeans: Trends

shoes: Kohl's

Mr. Picks Mondays: Monochromatic

Let's all take a moment and be impressed that my Mr. put together this monochromatic look. All by himself. I'm NOT kidding. Good job, honey!

He chose this shirt first (I picked it up at Kohl's last week - it's Chaps and it's no-iron [hallelujah!]), and then when I asked him what on the bottom, he said 

"Hmm...let me see...pants...these! Monochromatic. You will be monochromatic! 

Is that the right word?" 

I was so impressed with him, especially since I can never decide if these pants lean towards pink/rose, or purple/lavender. But paired with a purple gingham top, they definitely look more purple. And I don't think I would have seen that if not for Dustin pairing them together. 

However, he's not a fan of my shoes - sad day. I picked them up at a thrift store with my friend, Amanda (hiiiii!), because I've been on the hunt for oxfords. They're lightweight and un-stiff (is that a word?), the opposite of how I imagine genuine leather oxford-style shoes would be. I will say that I'm not opposed to upgrading to a nicer version of these shoes...let me know if you see any that would fit the bill!

And while I'm bragging on my sweetie, tomorrow is our 8 (!!!) year dating anniversary. He stole my heart in high school and I'm thinking he can keep it forever ;) 

I love you, D! Happy anniversary, and happy birthday in a few days - you're the bees knees & the cat's meow, and I'm so glad you're mine. xoxo

Do you celebrate a dating anniversary? We sure do. And our engagement anniversary. And wedding anniversary. And the dates we adopted our pups. I just think it's important to celebrate milestones :) 

Do you agree?

shirt: Chaps via Kohl's

sweater: Hollister via Plato's Closet

pants: Lauren Conrad via Goodwill

shoes: ARC

P.S. Dad, don't worry - I didn't forget about your birthday!

P.P.S. this week of September is cRaZy BuSy with 2 important mens' birthdays, and a dating anniversary. Oh, and my parents' dating anniversary, too. Whew.

 

linking up over here today :)