Navy & Some Hot Pink

the shoulders of this dress have a fancy-bow-thing that I'm a fan of, except for when I try to layer a sweater over my dress, then it looks like I have lumpy & knotted shoulders

Nothing super fancy for you today. Just layering a shirt under a dress, and matching my shoes ;)

Hope your weekend is off to a great start! I'm at a Women of Faith conference with my sweet mama. She attended this same conference last fall and really enjoyed it, so invited me to attend with her this year. It's gotten so big they had to change the venue from previous years, so, we'll be battling the crowds by the time you read this, with coffee and snacks for the day in hand!

Happy Saturday!

shirt: Hollister via Trends

dress: thrifted via ARC

sandals: Maurice's

Chambray Dress

Again, mirror pictures. Sorry, my friends! Tell my Mr. and his job that he's no longer allowed to work in the evenings - somebody needs to have pictures taken for their blog. I kid - I am very very thankful he has a job, it's something he enjoys, and that it provides a comfortable lifestyle for our little family of 2 people, and 2 (high maintenance) bulldogs that are the sweetest little nuggets you ever did see. And you thought it was only necessary to be thankful during Thanksgiving... ;)

Onto this dress. I scooped it up at Kohl's and couldn't wait to wear it. But then I got caught up with the belt issue:

Do I wear it with the belt it came with? 

Try a different belt? 

Use a scarf as a belt? 

Go without and miss an opportunity to define my waist? 

After much deliberation that ended with all my scarves & belts sprawled out across my room, I decided to go with the belt that came with the dress. Original, I know. I wish I'd taken pictures of the "process," but all the other options looked like I was trying too hard to punch up my dress. And who wants to try too hard to punch up a new dress when it's hot outside and you just want to be cool in a nice, light, chambray dress? Not I! Maybe I'll try a funky scarf as a belt this fall/winter with some tights and boots...

dress: Kohl's

sandals: Born via DSW

Featuring my Mr.

A few weekends ago, we went to a music festival with some friends - Bohemian Nights at New West Fest. One of these friends told me she really enjoys reading my blog. She also told me she thinks I should feature my husband a bit more. And I couldn't agree more, (thanks, Amanda!) so here he is!

While he wasn't thrilled to have his picture taken and outfit featured, I think he looks pretty nice. He's very much a jeans/shorts & t-shirt kind of guy, and he's pretty good at matching shirts to shorts/pants. He sometimes asks for my opinion, but overall picks out the majority of his outfit combinations on his own. I get consulted for big events (weddings, interviews, etc.) and have "final say" on if a hole-y t-shirt needs to go (yes, always - he will wear a t-shirt until you can see through it).

he's a good sport about pictures for only so long...*sigh* #bloggerproblems

we saw a live show by the band, Head for the Hills. we liked them so much, we bought their album and have pretty much been listening to it over&over when we're at home

After the show, we headed to a local bar for delicious blended adult beverages and people watching - my most favorite activity.

linking up over here, like I do every Friday :)

his outfit

shirt, shorts & shoes: Kohl's

sunglasses: Oakley

my outfit

dress: Kohl's

belt: thrifted

sunglasses: Target

necklace: gift from a friend

shoes (not seen): Gap

Doubly Laced (and less than stellar pictures)

my photographer was working on a night project this evening

lace on top

aaaand

lace on bottom

a new "pretty" from Trends, which has temporarily closed its doors while they move to a new location

and sorry for these super grainy pictures - it started to rain while we were taking these...

I'm linking up over here today, where the theme is lace. Soooooo, being the super blogger that I am (jklolzlolz), I have not one, but TWO (TWO!!) outfits with lace to share with you. The first is obviously a lace top with a hi-low maxi, and the second features a lacey-sort-of skirt that I just love. My mom picked out both skirts for me last summer, and I have to say, I think she did good, don't you? 

However, she did have a critique about my second outfit from today's post. She (and my husband) said the shirt was too casual for the rest of my outfit. I'm not sure that I agree - it's all about stretching your wardrobe and crossing/breaking style boundaries and rules, right? Right?? #wearwhiteafterlaborday Help me out here, guys! 

What's a bit funny about this combination is that my husband first critiqued me, then said "I want to know what your mom thinks about your outfit. I think she'll say the same thing I did." So, I asked my mom and she said the. exact. same. thing (that the shirt was too casual for the rest of the outfit). So, of course I burst out laughing then had to explain to her what my husband had said and how he guessed her response. Do they think along the same lines or what?? Maybe they both just like to give me a hard time...

1st outfit

top: gift from a friend

skirt: Nordstrom

sandals: WalMart

necklace: WalMart

2nd outfit

chambray: Kohl's

skirt: Nordstrom

heels: Target

necklace: Trends

Mr Picks Mondays: Summer's Last Hurrah

Since yesterday was Labor Day, and I had the day off, Mr. Picks Mondays was VERY casual. He chose the shorts AND the top (typically he chooses the top and lets me pick the bottoms, or vice versa) for a very summer-y combination. I know Labor Day marks "the end of summer," but since the first day of autumn isn't for a few weeks yet, I'll be sporting my summer clothes as long as I can (that, and I LOVE summer). Have I mentioned that I don't love fall, because it leads to winter? #truestory 

Also, I don't like Pumpkin Spice Lattes. 

There. 

I said it.

I find them underwhelming. Whip me up a cup of coffee and I'm a very happy girl. No artificial pumpkin flavoring for me! Blegh!

Anyways, enough of my rant about fall & winter (#summerforever). As I mentioned yesterday, we were in a wedding this holiday weekend, and then spent Sunday & Monday laying low and getting caught up on little things around the house, er, apartment.

My Labor Day started off with this read by Jessica Quirk of What I Wore. A really interesting and beautiful book, and I even took it to the pool with me and jotted down some notes. I think she did the illustrations for the book herself - umm, amazing! I can only draw stick figures, so I'm always really impressed by the artistic ability of others. I've been reading a lot of fashion books lately, and can't seem to get enough! I think I've checked out all the ones at our local library...I've already ready "Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible" and Stacy London's "The Truth About Style," among others. Any recommendations for me??

Wellllll, here's to a (short) week, my friends!

enjoying not laboring on Labor Day ;)

parrot tank: Target
shorts: Kohl's
mint tank: Marshall's
sandals: a recent find at Target for $6!

linking up over here today, because I loved spending Labor Day with my sweetie ;)

Blue for Days

Blue, and blue, and a pop of pink & polka dots for your viewing pleasure. I wore this dress so I could participate in this link up over here :) fancy, huh? These weekly link ups are helping me to dress a bit outside my comfort zone and try new things, which, let's be real, are only good things, right? RIGHT??

Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend - we were in a wedding (pictures to come!) and then laid low for the remainder of our weekend, and it was great. Truly great. Love me some long weekends!

making weird faces & pulling my hair

        

dress: Gap
cardigan: Trends
shoes: Nordstrom

Pretty Blue Paisley

The last time I wore this dress was to my friend's bridal shower in June (so far my cost-per-wear is something like $6), and I dressed it up with heels and a top-knot. I recently wore this to work and dressed it down with flat sandals and straight hair. This dress covers my shoulders, and arms, which is tough to find. I love sundresses, but for work I like more coverage. And wearing a sweater or jacket over every dress is unbearably hot. Enter a dress with sleeves! However, because of the fabric and cut of the dress, I don't quite have a full range of motion with my arms. If I stretch too far, I run the risk of splitting the seams. Good thing I avoided heavy lifting that day :D

*sigh*

The things we do for fashion, right? ;)

dress: Old Navy

sandals: Born via DSW

necklace: WalMart