Some of us were in costume...

Cali was a princess, and Turbo was a shark. Clever, huh?

I wore this black and orange get up on Halloween last week. I thought I could at least dress like Halloween if I wasn't going to don a costume. This top is the other orange item I own (orange just isn't my color, however, "Pink is my signature color." Name that movie!). 

from my Instagram. aren't they just too cute? 

Hope everyone had a great Halloween and a nice weekend - we didn't have trick-or-treaters on Halloween, but we did have a very nice weekend visiting friends and family out of town.

I have picked out my 30 items for my November 30 for 30, but forgive me for not posting about it yet - some of the items are in the wash, and I've got a backlog of several outfits from October to share with you. I AM completing my challenge and taking pictures though, so please be patient with me - I will share! Promise!

Also, get excited for me! I'm meeting The Pioneer Woman tomorrow! Her latest cookbook came out last week, and a stop in Colorado is on her book tour - yessssss! I'm taking the afternoon off and can't wait to meet Ree, and have her sign my cookbooks. And become besties. Nobutseriously. I can vouch that every single one of her recipes is TO. DIE. FOR. Trust me :) 

shirt: Kohl's

scarf: thrifted

jeans: GAP Outlet

flats: Kohl's

Turbo's hat: WalMart

Cali's crown: WalMart

Cali's tutu: Target

Green Pants and Furry Treats

turtles for good luck!

A few weeks ago, my best friend had a HUGE bag of clothes she was ready to part with, and she gave them to me. I pawed through them and pulled out my faves. Among them, these green pants. 

Can I say I'm in love? 

The color, the fit, even the length - we are a true match made in heaven. Why hadn't she given them to me sooner?! I guess she was wearing them? I digress.

Anyway, I was thrilled, and I have a few other goodies I snagged that I'm going to share with you soon - I have to think up new and creative ways to wear them, first! She gets a kick out of the different ways I wear her old stuff (this is definitely not the first time she's shared her closet with me).

I realize today is Halloween, and I'm not wearing a costume. So un-festive, I know. It's not that I dislike Halloween - the opposite, actually! I especially love seeing the creative & thoughtful costumes that people put together - I get the biggest kick out of people watching, and I consider Halloween to be the championship. However, we don't get trick-or-treaters where we currently live, so, it's a little tough to get into the "holiday spirit" when you know that cute little kids in costume won't be coming by for some candy! But, I'm not a total party-pooper - my work is having a little Halloween potluck, and I'm bringing...

........................

........................

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DEAD MICE!

EUUUUW! 

GROSS! 

Except for not! 

Except for the part where they're delicious!

They're jalapeno peppers hollowed out and filled with cream cheese, then wrapped in bacon and baked (I know some people call them "jalapeno poppers", but "dead mice" is SO much more appropriate for All Hallow's Eve). I leave the stems on, so when they're all done, they really do look like little dead mice. They're pretty time consuming (I made them for FOUR hours straight last year), but SO. YUMMY. And they're always a hit, so the appreciation (and praise! and thanks!) is well worth the effort. If you're interested in the recipe, let me know and I'll be sure to post it and share. 

it begins with hollowing out the peppers, which takes FOREVER.
wear gloves. DO NOT touch your face. eyes. anything.

see the little "tails"?

there they go...

Hope you have a great Halloween today! Any great costume ideas?

shirt: Express via Marshall's

pants: my friend

scarf: Aeropostale

flats: KMart

linked up over here

Double-y Plaid

if this picture doesn't perfectly encompass autumn, I don't know what does

I thought this was the perfect fall outfit for the perfect fall day. It incorporated some very fall-esque items: plaid, flannel, olive, booties & a down vest. Oh, and the requisite pictures with leaves (above & below). 

The weather this day was perfect, and it made me fall more in like (we're not at love. yet.) with fall. Normally I hang on to summer with every fiber of my being, but this year I've embraced autumn with halfway-open arms. Maybe it's the beautiful colors, or the slight chill in the air. Or that this summer was SO. HOT. Whatever it is, I don't hate it!

don't worry, we were stopped at a red light :)
I really dig the double plaid we had going on

This day was also amazing because this is the day we made an offer on our house, and it was accepted! I can't help but think that both of us in plaid is good luck. Don't be surprised if you see a lot more plaid over the next few weeks!

shirt: Old Navy

vest: (Aéropostale) thrifted

pants: Aéropostale

booties: Old Navy

sunglasses: Kohl's

his shirt: Kohl's

linked up over here with my layers

Orange-ish & A Tutorial (of sorts)

I don't own much orange (it's not a good color on me), so this coral-y/orange-y sweater is the closest to orange that I own (I know - these pictures make it look pink-ish, just trust me!). But I wanted to share so I could participate in this link up with Walking in Memphis in Heels, The Fashion Canvas, and Vodka Infused Lemonade for their weekly Trend Spin Link Up. The theme this week is black and orange (for Halloween, obvi). So, please excuse my dark and grainy pictures - the sun goes down so early (curse you, shorter days!)! But please appreciate my enthusiasm for blogging/Halloween/link-ups :) 

A for effort?

.......................................

Let's switch gears. Majorly.

If you have a scarf that you think would be just divine as an infinity scarf, look below for a few simple (REALLY simple) steps to make that happen. 

Place a rubber band around both ends of the scarf, so you have a large loop, and a little "tuft" for the ends.

Place looped scarf around your neck. I put the "tuft" at the nape of my neck.

Now make a figure-eight with your scarf, by crossing one side over the other.

Flip up the bottom of the eight, and place it around your neck. 

You should have 2 loops of scarf around your neck.

Fluff your hair. 

Adjust your scarf. 

Give yourself a pat on the back. Or a thumbs-up.

You have now made an infinite scarf a (temporary) infinity scarf! Ta da! 

I've found that the "tuft" is smaller (and thus, more manageable) when you use a thinner scarf. However, it's not impossible with a thick scarf - I would recommend wearing your hair down so you can cover up the "tuft." Or, become an expert at scarf arranging so you can cover it up with the 2nd loop :)

Ever tried this? I do it all the time! It's just a different way of tying a scarf. Tell me how you stretch your existing closet and wear things in a new way.

sweater: Target

shirt: WalMart

 (temporary infinity) scarf: thrifted

jeans: Trends

Boots: Kmart

Mr. Picks Mondays: Zeta Colors

sorority girl pose - we call it the "chicken wing," or the "skinny arm"

wearing a lot of turtles lately - they're considered good luck in Japan

This sweater was a gift from my Grampa the Christmas before he passed away. However, instead of trying to guess my size & what I would like (although the man had great taste and always did a great job), he took me shopping for my Christmas present. I had just joined Zeta (this was several years ago), and had all things sorority on the brain. The official colors of ZTA are turquoise blue & steel gray, so I picked out a sweater that would allow me to show my Zeta pride, even if I wasn't wearing letters.

Imagine my surprise when my Mr. picked out turquoise & gray for me to wear! I added some warmth with a chambray under the sweater and a scarf, but really, staying pretty true to my ZTA roots :)

Looking at these pictures, I don't think I'd pair this chambray with this sweater again - the chambray is too casual for this cashmere sweater. In some light, the chambray looks almost white, and that could possible match this look a bit better. Anyway, this is what I wore!

that's the Zeta hand symbol: a 5 pointed crown. ya dig? Turb would try it, but he doesn't have thumbs...

chambray: Kohl's

sweater: gift from my Grampa via Kohl's

scarf: thrifted

pants: Target

shoes: Kohl's

linked up over here today

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

Saving 2nd Base

As many of you know, October is a BIG month for breast cancer education, awareness, research, and fundraising. What you might not know, is that my sorority (Zeta Tau Alpha)'s national philanthropy is breast cancer education & awareness. What you also might not know, is that several NFL teams have paired up with ZTA for a "pink-out game." Depending on the organization, some teams keep it low-key, while other teams go all out and sports pink jerseys & cleats. The Broncos allowed us to hand out ribbons, magnets & programs at every gate of the stadium hours before the game, and for at least an hour after kick-off. There was a large number of active collegiate members, and a good group of us local alumni.

Zeta's philanthropy is one of the main reasons I chose ZTA over any other house during recruitment. Breast cancer is something that has affected several women in my family, and several women in friends' families, so the cause is near and dear to my heart. And pink is my most favorite color, so the match was really meant to be ;)

Luckily, I got paired at a gate with some of my good friends from the house, so it was really quite the fun little reunion. We handed out countless pink ribbons that say "Think Pink! Think Zeta!" which is trademarked by ZTA, so that's pretty cool. Another corporate sponsor of the event was USBank, and they were with us, handing out pink ribbon magnets - mine is proudly displayed on my car (one on my husband's car, too). 

The downfall to the day was that inside our gate to the stadium, we were completely in the shade. So, within 20 minutes we had chattering teeth and numb fingers - not conducive to handing out little safety-pinned ribbons. However, we took shifts warming up in the sunshine, and handed out pins, magnets & programs with smiles on our faces. It was really fun seeing some people get so excited to wear pink for a great cause, and even more fun seeing some dear friends I don't get to see too often.

the whole group before going into the stadium

the alumni group, with some active collegiate members in the background

this girl is one of my oldest friends from Zeta - we lived in the house together and spent many nights sneaking snacks from the kitchen, staying up late studying & writing papers, and early mornings going to an aerobics class :)

back at home, after the game. glad to have some downtime with my pups

the shirts we all wore

I made sure to layer up, because I knew it'd be really really warm, or really really cold (like always in Colorado!). I got stuck at a chillier gate and was still a little chilly, but at least I had some layers & a scarf to help ward off the chill!

I didn't stay for the game - my friends and I went to get a bite to eat at a sportsbar, then I headed out before the end of the game to avoid that awful post-game traffic. All in all, it was a good day, but I was pooped and slept like a baby that night :)

t-shirt: local ZTA alumni group with the Denver Broncos

chambray: thrifted

scarf: gift from my sis-in-law

pants: Old Navy

shoes: Nike via Finish Line

linking up over here today!