Mr. Picks Mondays: Purple Plaid

The Mr. chose this purple plaid shirt, and I paired it with dark wash bermuda shorts to beat the heat. I love summer, but this heat lately is draining me - this girl is exhausted by the time she gets home from work, and ready for bed super early. Call me an old lady, but I sure do love my sleep ;)

shirt: from a friend (American Eagle)

shorts: thrifted (Citizens of Humanity)

sandals: Target

Failed Execution

This outfit had all the makings of something great, but I feel like the individual elements didn't come together well.

Plaid button up?

Check.

Embroidered cardigan?

Check.

Gray skinnies?

Check.

Whatever the reason (the fit of the cardigan? the combination of everything together?) I didn't love this outfit. And then it got me thinking that this style of cardigan is not very flattering on me. Which got me thinking about how long I've had it.

High school.

Freshman, maybe sophomore year.

So, a long time. And for how pretty it is, it's not something I wear often. Maybe once or twice a year. So, in an effort to be a grown up, we parted ways. That's happened to a lot of other pieces in my closet lately. I'm realized more and more that FIT is EVERYTHING.

Really.

Interested in hearing more about that? 

Maybe I'll share some more of my insight on fit, and well see if I've applied that to my style lately...

Shirt: from a friend

Sweater: Express

Jeans: Aéropostale

Shoes: thrifted

Sunshine and Sweaters

 

 

 

 

I promise the orange shirt (left) isn’t as blinding as it appears in these pictures – it’s a very pretty coral-meets-orange-meets-almost-pink shade.

However, here are two more transitional spring looks to check out. I layered with sweaters, scarves & belts because the weather isn’t QUITE there, JUST yet, but I made sure to use spring shades & textures. Oh, and flats – so nice to be able to make the switch from boots.

I’m itching to go full throttle with sandals and skirts and shorts and truly summer-y looks, but I’m holding back, for several reasons:

1)      We might get more snow. This weekend, actually.

2)      I’m going to wear my summer clothes ALL summer long, and eventually I’ll be dying to wear boots and sweaters again. I’m trying to prolong this feeling by wearing sweaters with skirts and bare legs, light jackets and light tops, and flats with everything.

3)      Eventually in the summer, I will be sick of all of my summer clothes, and want to replace them all because I hate them all (not really, but you get the point). So, by mixing them in with my colder weather items, I feel like I’m forced to be creative with cold AND warm weather clothes, and what is creativity if not a muscle? The more you use it, the better it is/becomes/looks/feels! Right??

4)      I have TONS of sweaters (even after recently paring them down. again.) and I want to make sure they get a wee bit more lovin' before they’re packed away until this fall/winter.

How do YOU dress for spring? Hang on to sweaters and coats as long as possible? Or do you embrace the warmth and break out sandals at the first sign of warmer temps?

SHOP THE LOOK...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

left

shirt: WalMart similar below

sweater: thrifted (Hollister) similar below

jeans: Aéropostale

scarf: gift

flats: WalMart similar below

right

shirt: JCPenney similar below

sweater: Ann Taylor similar below

jeans: Aéropostale

flats: KMart similar below

Black&White Stripes&Dots

In looking at these pictures, I noticed two things:

1) this sweater is not as long as I always think it is. Instead of hanging past my hips and covering my rear end, it hits AT my hips, and does NOT cover my rear. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just different than how I always picture this cardigan in my head.

2) I look really tired in these pictures. And I know why. It's because...I've been really tired lately. We're talking exhausted. Can't-get-enough-sleep-even-though-I-go-to-bed-early-exhausted. The Mr. says I'm oversleeping, but to that I say "No way, Jose." So, here they are: tired eyes. Correction: tired face.

shirt: Old Navy [[similar below]]

cardigan: Ann Taylot [[similar below]]

scarf: Aéropostale

pants: Aéropostale

boots: SOREL [[exact below]]

SHOP THE LOOK...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

An Evening Out

if you look closely, there's a little bitty Cali-pup photo bomber...

Several weeks ago, the Mr. and I went "out" on a Friday evening. We met up with friends for drinks and a light dinner, then wandered the streets of downtown and made stops at several old favorite watering holes. 

As we left the house, I said to D: 

"Who AM I? 

Going out on a Friday? 

We haven't done this in ages! 

At LEAST since I was in college!" 

But, it was nice to spice things up and get out, although we were back at home,

enjoying Netflix the following evening :)

linking up with:

Vodka Infused Lemonade for Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday

Everyday Fashion and Finance and Perfectly Coutured for Three-fer Thursday

The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday

SHOP THE LOOK...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR:

shirt: Old Navy [[exact and similar below]]

jacket: thrifted (Plato's Closet - Miley Cyrus + Max Azria) [[similar below]]

pants: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's [[similar below]]

clutch: thrifted [[similar below]]

booties: Old Navy [[exact and similar below]]

The First Wedding of 2014

Like I mentioned last week, I traveled to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to celebrate my cousin's wedding. They're a couple that's been together since high school, so, I'm kinda partial to them.

#highschoolsweethearts #HSSoftheworldUNITE

Here are some pics from their big day. My sister-in-law couldn't make it, as she was in one of her best friend's weddings on the same day - we still had a really great time, but really missed her.

with MY high school sweetie

Big Brother and us

Mr. & Mrs.

originally my youngest cousin agree to split 1 of every flavor with me, so I wouldn't be a TOTAL glutton. However, he filled up on Shirley Temples and couldn't help a girl out

Cousins - 1 of them was the Best Man!

me & Dad. sorry for the grainy pics - the lighting was low at the reception so we could get our dance on

ain't he handsome?
*swoon*

my family has a long tradition of breaking out hats at a wedding.
don't believe me?
proof from our wedding is below

I made a dainty little fascinator-top-hat, and my groom sported Nemo. don't worry - he's only kissing one of my besties/bridesmaids because she traveled the farthest for our big day (all the way from Hawaii!)

It's tough to see, but the dress I wore was a really pretty plum color, originally from Banana Republic,  but I thrifted it before we bought our house this fall - thrifting for the win! See something sort of similar below...



SOMETHING SIMILAR...

when traveling to Minnesota

wearing at least 6 layers. plus a scarf. and snow boots.

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw that I went to Minnesota a few weeks ago during the really really cold weather that covered most of the US over/right after New Years. 

And it was cold. 

Bone chilling, make your nose hurt to breathe cold. 

So, what does a Colorado girl who's used to snow one day, and 50 degree temps the next do? 

Pack as many warm articles of clothing into her suitcase, and wear the rest on the airplane. 

I've got 3 more outfits from this trip (plus pics from my cousin's wedding!) to share with you 

over the next few days.

I wore my warmest pants: corduroys. And a Christmas present from my sweetie: SOREL snow boots. Get this, the name of this style is "Joan of Arctic."

Bahaha. 

Too clever. 

Anyways, they'll keep my tootsies warm up to -25 degree temps, and they've got fur on the top. 

Plus, they're black AND brown, so my black vs. brown dilemma won't be an issue.

*whew*

So, I wore the boots on the plane. Plus the outfit you see above. And carried my down coat and vest in the airport. The boots are crazy warm, but after wearing them all around the frigid Twin Cites for several days in a row, my feet were a wee bit tired. 

Having all that warm & fuzziness makes for heavy footwear (and tired feet & legs - guess I should start working out more).

My extended family got a kick out of teasing me for wearing so many layers. One uncle called me "Anne-ook of the North." Hey, when it's cold, I don't mess around. #layersplease

So, look for a few more extremely-cold weather outfits. Although I was thoroughly chilled in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I'm glad that I got to practice my layering "technique" and look of "snow bunny chic." And of course see my cousin marry his lovely bride, and the rest of my sweet fam, too!

t-shirt: WalMart sort of similar below

button-up shirt: thrifted (Old Navy) sort of similar below

cardigan: from a friend (Banana Republic) sort of similar below

corduroys: thrifted (Joe Fresh) sort of similar below

scarf: Aéropostale

down coat: Coldwater Creek sort of similar below

snow boots: SOREL

CHECK OUT SOME SIMILAR ITEMS BELOW

Mr. Picks Mondays: Navy & Plum

The Mr. chose the blue sweater dress, and I chose the purple plaid for underneath and the plum patterned tights. Looks like for the past two MPM he's got me in a dress or a skirt...I'm sure my mom is loving that! Side story: when I was really little, I would only wear dresses or skirts. Every day. 

Then, from fifth grade through high school, I hated wearing them. I think it has something to do with the fact that I have a love/hate relationship with tights/stockings/pantyhose/whatever you want to call them - yes, I have many pairs, but no, I don't find them very comfortable.

I'm coming around to them though. I'm seeing lots of value (and excitement!) in being able to wear skirts & dresses in the winter (I'm late to this game, I know!). And seems like whenever I wear them to work with boots lately, I tend to stay a bit warmer than I do in pants. Odd? Yes. Or maybe it has something to do with the outside temperature...and consequently the temperature in my drafty, exterior-walls-only, drafty office?

Either way, a sweater dress is one way to make sure you're adding variety to your winter outfits. In winters past I've just done pants & sweaters, with the occasional vest or blazer. But THIS year, I feel like I'm really mixing it up, and staying warm AND fashionable AT THE SAME TIME!

linking up:

Still Being Molly for Funday Monday

Fizz & Frosting for Mix it Monday

Style Elixir for Style Sessions Fashion Link Up

Vodka Infused Lemonade for Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday Link Up

sweater dress: from a clothes swap (Target) sort of similar below

shirt: from a clothes swap (American Eagle) sort of similar below

tights: WalMart sort of similar below

boots: Rack Room Shoes sort of similar below

SHOP MY LOOK (or something sort of similar)