Mr. Picks Mondays: Not Dressed for Fall

My Mr. picked this out for today. I love this dress - it's bright, & cheery it's comfortable, and it's conservative enough to wear to work. I was set. I went to work, did my thing, then sometime this afternoon the clouds rolled in. The RAIN clouds rolled in. And with them, cooler temperatures. Extremely cooler temps - we're talking in the 60s, whereas over the weekend we were in the 90s. So, I was a wee bit chilly and dressed for the wrong season by this afternoon.

*sigh* 

I guess I should start thinking about dressing for fall... 

Moral of the story: Colorado weather will always keep you guessing, and you WILL dress for the wrong season. 

No matter what your weather app tells you.

my new sandals from Target - they're the best of mix of metallic sandals: gold, silver, AND copper

In other news, Sons of Anarchy is back on tomorrow night - weeeeeeeeee! Anyone else a fan? I was never into motorcycles (or riding) until D introduced me to the show last summer. A few episodes in, I was hooked. Maybe it's because my life is NOTHING like the show? I mean, they're a motorcycle club (MC) that runs guns and drugs, and they operate an auto shop as the legal side of their business. 

Anyways, it's really good, and you should get into it. And then we can talk about it. Tweet me.

PS - Charlie Hunnam (Jax from Sons) was just announced as Christian Grey for the 50 Shades of Grey movie. 

#truestory #mc

#morecharliehunnamisagoodthing

#samcro #sonsofanarchy

dress: Kohl's

sandals: Target

Makeshift Peplum & Skirting the Question

 

 

Let's talk about this skirt. I have had it FOREVER (by FOREVER, I mean since high school - and not just senior year, more like sophomore year...). Every time I go through my closet, I go back & forth about this skirt. I love the dusty rose color, the flower applique, the ruffled hem on the bottom, and it's a very light, very thin corduroy fabric, so I can wear it in warmer weather, or pair it with a sweater and emphasize off the corduroy/winter aspect. The only thing I don't love about it is the fit. 

In the above pictures on the left, the skirt is sitting on my hips. It fits there comfortably. If anything, it might be a little big. On the right, I pulled the skirt up to my belt under my shirt, so the skirt is a bit shorter. However, it didn't stay there all day. I can't help but think that the shorter version of this skirt (right) is more flattering on me - it shows more of my leg, doesn't cut off my legs or give me weird bagginess around my hips, like wearing it on my hips does. I'm short (5"4'), so if anything, I want to elongate my legs & torso, not shorten them.

So, here is my question: is it worth getting this skirt taken in, since I've had it forever and I love it? And my other question: Is it more flattering on me to wear a skirt that shows my knees?  

Onto my shirt - this polka dot chambray is a bit boxy fit, but I love it, and I keep challenging myself to come up with ways to wear it that don't show off the "box" shape. So, I belted it as a "makeshift peplum" that also coordinated with the ruffled hem on my skirt. 

How did I do? 

Did I hit it out of the park, or fail miserably?

I think maybe it wasn't my BEST look, but it wasn't TOO bad ;)

Hope you have had a great weekend so far! I've got some ice cream calling my name, so I've gotta scoot!

shirt: (Liz Claiborne) thrifted

skirt: American Eagle

belt: came with another dress

sandals: Born via DSW

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 ;)