Florals Made Cold Weather Appropriate by...(you guessed it!) Navy!!!

This sweater is something I found at Old Navy a few weeks ago, when I found a lot of other things I didn't "need" didn't know my closet was missing! Two of them being this navy blue sweater & peacoat. And a navy blue down vest.

I feel like you're judging me for buying so much navy.

*crickets*

Haven't you heard navy is the new black??

Affirming my love of the dark hue of blue is my sweet godmother. She texted me a few days after this post and told me that we must be related, since she's always loved navy! She's got great style and we love to talk fashion and shopping, especially our fave, Lilly Pulitzer. She's also who I have to thank for introducing me to the magical land that is Nordstrom.

*sighs & dreams*

So, thanks for always talking clothes with me, Auntie!

the newest addition to my modest coat collection - it's love

On a different note, I REALLY liked this outfit. I really want to repeat it, or recreate something similar with some of these pieces (and soon!), and then wear the heck out of this skirt in the spring and summer. I mean, are florals better suited for any other season(s)? 

Except for when you pair them with a warm sweater in a darker shade, tights and boots, that is ;)

sweater: Old Navy sort of similar below

skirt: J CREW Factory similar below

boots: Rack Room Shoes similar below

scarf: gift similar below

coat: Old Navy similar below

SHOP SOMETHING SIMILAR

Mr. Picks Mondays: Clearing Snow

subtle print mixing. sneaky sneaky.

The Mr. chose this cream sweater that I found at Old Navy a few weeks back. I've worn it twice already, because I just looooove it. It's just the right weight, a nice cream color, isn't itchy (this is BIG, people), and goes with just about everything. I didn't realize what a huge hole I had in my closet until I brought home this lovely cream cable knit sweater. Who knew?? Makes me wonder what OTHER holes I have in my closet...care to take me shopping, anyone?

Bueller?

The day I wore this we had a lot of snow. This is myself with my darling co-worker and a big shovel that has been dubbed "Sultan of Snow." No big deal, we just had to clear two HUGE sidewalks, (mostly) by ourselves. But the snow kept coming down, so 5 minutes after we'd cleared an area, you couldn't even tell! boo hoo :( You might have seen this before on my Instagram, but if not, as soon as we started clearing this big area behind us, someone turned on the big loader behind us and back-dragged the snow, so, that was nice :)

linking up with:

Because of Jackie for Favorite Winter Trend

Vodka Infused Lemonade for Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday

Simply Lulu Style for What I'm Loving Fridays

Two Thirty-Five Designs for Casual Friday

Simple Sequins for Fashion Item Friday

shirt: Old Navy exact below & similar below

sweater: Old Navy exact below & similar below

necklace: Old Navy many similar below

pants: Plato's Closet (Old Navy) similar below

booties: Old Navy exact below

coat: Coldwater Creek similar below

scarf: I made it! something sort of similar below

snow boots: SOREL exact below

SHOP THE LOOK...OR SOMETHING SIMILAR

"Why Would You Wear Shoes that Make You Not Know How to Wear Your Pants?"

I really like the color of this sweater, and it's perfect to pair with this flannel button up. However, the sweater is very lightweight & not-quite-almost sheer, and would look funny with a dark button up shirt underneath it. So, I pulled the ole' switch-a-roo and wore the sweater UNDER my flannel shirt (kind of like a regular long sleeve shirt), and VOILA! I packed a punch with neon while keeping the rest of my outfit pretty simple (and warm).

I didn't get the chance to take pictures of this outfit when I was in Minnesota, but I did recreate it for  blog pictures just for you! 

As I was putting my booties on, I asked my Mr.

"How should I wear my pants? Tucked in? Rolled up? Or just however they end up?"

He replied with:

"Why would you wear shoes that make you not know how to wear your pants?"

I cracked up at this and could hardly get out my answer to him:

"Because. I like them. And, and, *giggle* they. are. fashionable."

So then, a few minutes later, I put on my snow boots (since they are what I wore when I wore this outfit in Minnesota) and asked him:

"Do these pants look ok? Do they look ok with these boots?"

I got the same response.

But what I really meant was "Do these pants fit me funny?"

The point is, sometimes you have to question how to wear your pants when you wear some funky little booties. Because getting things right and feeling comfortable in your own skin when it comes to fashion & trends takes time. and lots of experimenting. 

 

shirt: Old Navy similar below

sweater: Old Navy similar below

pants: thrifted (Joe Fresh) similar below

booties: Old Navy exact & similar below

snow boots: SOREL exact below

scarf: Aéropostale

SHOP SOMETHING SIMILAR

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

The Liebster

You saw this outfit in a picture on Boxing Day - a lunch date with one of my best friends. We stopped on our way home to take these pictures just before the sun went down. It's easy for me to get annoyed at our crazy, ever-changing weather in Colorado, but beautiful 60 degree days in December (and January. and February.) and really pretty sunsets & drives remind me that this is a beautiful place to live.

************************

Last week, I was nominated by Paige over at Life's a Party - Dress Like it for The Liebster Award, which is given by bloggers to new blogs with smaller followings but lots of potential. Thanks so much, Paige!

The rules of The Liebster Award:

- Mention the person who nominated you with a link to their blog (check!)

- Answer the 11 questions they asked (below)

- Nominate 11 other bloggers with a smaller following, but a lot of potential (I would, but to be completely honest, I don't know know 11 other bloggers with a smaller following than myself - I follow plenty of other bloggers, but I don't know 5, let alone 11, that are smaller than myself. We all have to start somewhere!)

- Create 11 of your own questions for them to answer (see above)

- Notify your nominees (and again, see above)

Here are Paige's questions for me to answer:

1. What is your biggest pet peeve?

Hmm, definitely spelling & grammatical errors

2. Where is your dream vacation?

Somewhere on a beach

3. Statement necklace or arm candy?

Statement necklace - I just got several more this past week at Old Navy!

4. Where's your favorite place to shop?

Hmm, anywhere with pieces I love [that I can afford!]

5. What is one thing in your closet you could not live without?

Any of my skinnies

6. Why did you start blogging?

Several reasons: 

1) to help to develop my personal style

2) I love reading other blogs, so I thought "Why not?"

3) to make me dress up a bit every day, rather than jeans and a plan t-shirt

4) I have a lot of clothes, so what better way to wear them and then share them? 

7. What's your favorite phone and/or tablet app?

Instagram - lovelovelove

8. What's something your readers probably don't know about you?

I'm driving a new (to me) car, and I just love that it's a sports-meets-luxury car...it goes fast...and it's awesome

9. Favorite fashion trend?

Print mixing

10. What's your biggest blog goal for 2014?

To grow. growgrowgrow.

11. Favorite TV Show?

We don't have cable right now, so I'm watching re-watching all of Ugly Betty on Netflix

sweater: Aéropostale

leggings: Target

boots: Rack Room Shoes (sort of similar below)

SHOP THE BOOTS (sort of)

Festive

This outfit is several weeks behind - it's what I wore Christmas Eve. I had to work (bummer, huh?), but we did get to go home early, so I was able to take outfit pictures outside during daylight! Woot woot! I figured if I had to work on Christmas Eve, I might as well wear something with a bow, something sparkly, and something red - it doesn't hurt that the item with the bow was in the form of my new bulldog tee. 

Christmas Eve started my 5 days in a row off. I'm going to be completely honest with you - it was aaaaamazing. I slept in, wore sweatpants, drank lots of coffee with Irish Cream, and spent lots of time with my favorite men & woman (husband, bulldog & bulldog). I had a huge list of things I wanted to get accomplished, but I hardly did any of them. Instead, I lounged, relaxed, soaked in the time with my sweetheart, and truly enjoyed my down time. We had no plans to go anywhere for Christmas, so the two of us stayed at home and laid low. Going back to work was TOUGH. OY. SO. TOUGH.

Now that Christmas is about three weeks behind us, do you think I'm the worst blogger ever? 

Or, are you thankful that I keep reminding you of the holidays & celebrating well into January?

We're having (belated) Christmas with both sets of parents this weekend - I'm a fan of drawing out the celebrating :)

linking up with:
Two Thirty Five Designs for Casual Friday
Simply Lulu Style for What I'm Loving Friday

shirt: J CREW Factory similar below

sweater: from a friend - Banana Republic similar below

pants: Aéropostale similar below

shoes: KMart similar below

Hemingway-ed

I don't know if you know this, but I really love my local library. They've saved me tons of money when it comes to reading - I can just check a book out, read it, and turn it back in, rather than purchasing a book I might not really like or want to keep. I also check out audiobooks on the regular, and listen to them on my drive to & from work. I'm finishing up Jane Eyre, and this time last year listened to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, among several others. The Mr. listened to all 5 books of A Song of Ice & Fire, sparking our interest in the TV show "Game of Thrones," and subsequent Halloween costumes. 

So, anyways, I love the library. A few weeks ago I finished The Paris Wife. It's a novel about Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson, and their life in Paris as he was working on some of his first works.

Finishing The Paris Wife piqued my interest in Hemingway, so, on this fine (read: not freezing) day, I went to the library and headed to the H section of the fiction area. I checked out two books by Hemingway, and am halfway through the first one, To Have and Have Not.

Now, my knowledge of this great American author is limited to The Paris Wife, the novel I'm currently reading, and what I read on Wikipedia (I never read The Old Man and The Sea in high school). Based on this small bit of information, I don't think Ernest Hemingway is someone I would have gotten along with. Seems to me he was a bit of a womanizer (he left his first wife for her best friend), and kind of selfish. That being said, I AM enjoying reading To Have and Have Not, although I wish it provided more background & detail for each character.

So, since I knew I was headed for a literary center, I wore a hat. I don't know why a hat makes me feel more cultured and traveled, but it does a little bit. Maybe it's the fact I don't normally wear them? Or that a fedora seems a wee bit old school? Either way, I wore a hat. And checked out some books by Hemingway. And took some pictures of my outfit.

linking up with:

Vodka Infused Lemonade for Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday

Color Blind for Thrifters Anonymous

shirt: GAP similar below

sweater: thrifted

jeans: thrifted (True Religion) similar below

shoes: thrifted similar below

hat: thrifted (Target) similar below

Mr. Picks Mondays: Covering up (Some Overindulging)

the sweater-y knit of my maxi skirt

I don't know why, but I have a hard time with this skirt (and it's charcoal gray twin). They're both a heavy, sweater knit and have slits on one side. Easy to pair with boots, or even flats. Perfect for chilly weather, except for when there is moisture on the ground, as they kinda-sorta skim the earth, and I simply can't have the bottom 2 inches of my skirt soaked through. 

Maybe it's the fit? They've got an elastic waistband that can easily produce some muffin-top, especially in a too-snug top. Enter a chambray button up. Not too snug, still on trend, and perfect for after the holidays, when I've overindulged in treats & fancy beverages.

I realize the last time I wore this skirt, I paired it with this same chambray. So much for my remixing skills...

*shakes head*

Buttttt, totally different look this time! This time is more of a "wintery-fresh-with-boots" look, and last time was a "purple-y-scarf-and-blustery-bun" look...too much? ;)

chambray: thrifted

skirt: thrifted

boots: Rack Room Shoes

scarf: gift

linking up:

DC in Style for Monday Bloom

The Style Record for Monday Must Haves

Still Being Molly for Funday Monday

Fizz and Frosting for Mix it Mondays