Mr. Picks Mondays: Black Friday Swag

Late on Thanksgiving night, I left the comfort of my warm house to pick up my friend, Amanda, to do some Black Friday shopping. We had BIG plans: we were going to hit up our local outlets, stop at a HUGE outdoor mall, check out Kohl's, maybe go to Target, and see what other places were open for the day that has now become  than Thanksgiving: Black Friday.

However, for all of our plans, bottled water, and coffee in travel mugs, we didn't make it past the outlet mall. After waiting in lines at several stores, and power-shopping & power-trying-on through several others, we made our final purchases and called it a night. I was home, snuggled in bed by 2:30.

This lacey sweater/sweatshirt was one of those final purchases. I picked it up at rue21 - don't think I've been in to one of those stores in a very long time, but good thing we went in that night morning. I found this lacey sweater/sweatshirt and another striped cardigan. I modeled my purchases for my Mr. later that day (after much-needed sleep), and when it came time for him to pick this week's Mr. Picks Mondays, he picked out this lacey sweater/sweatshirt & my mint jeans. He knows me too well - he knows that new clothes burn a hole in my closet and I just can't wait to wear them! 

I've got some more Black Friday swag lined up for you this week - find any great Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals you couldn't wait to wear?

lacey sweater/sweatshirt: rue21

mint jeans: Lauren Conrad via Kohl's

boots: Rackroom Shoes

scarf: made by me!

linking up over here & here (for the first time!) today

30 for 30: Day 29 & Day 30

Day 29

Aaaah, Day 28. Day 28 was filled with turning in the keys to our apartment (!!!), a(nother) stop at The Home Depot, a trip to Kohl's, and some celebratory/farewell-apartment TCBY. Busy busy days, I tell ya! 

I threw on my chambray & corduroys with my oxfords - I've hardly worn those shoes during this challenge so I wanted to make sure I got another wear in during my 30 for 30. 

Day 30

The weather this day (and really all of Thanksgiving weekend) was beautiful - high 50s at the end of November! Unheard of! 

So, to commemorate the last day of my 30 for 30 challenge and this occasion of warmth & sunshine, I wore a dress. Without tights. For the last time until March/maybe April/probably May. I'm glad I got in my last bit of sun & bare legs - we've been hit with well below freezing temperatures this past week. It's so cold it hurts to breathe! And a short walk to my car in the parking lot at work is enough to make my whole face numb - BRRRRR! Good news is, I've been pulling out a lot of my sweaters...!

linking up here today

30 for 30: Day 27 & Day 28

Day 27

I feel like I spent this day running around like a chicken with my head cut off – work was BuSy! And then, since I’d been slacking, I had to go to the store after work to get everything for our Thanksgiving Dinner. The grocery store was a MADHOUSE. [Note to self: don’t ever, ever, ever, EVER wait again until the day before Thanksgiving to go shopping] People were blocking the middle of the aisles (pet peeve of mine), cutting each other off, and generally not being very “thankful” the day before Thanksgiving. 

*harumph*

However, I did make it out alive, and with all the fixin’s we needed for the next day! Oh, and the liquor store was a happenin’ place – I gave them some business, too, in the form of wine (white for myself & my mom, and red for my Dad). The Mr. had plenty of beer in the fridge, and my mother-in-law likes to bring her fancy cocktails when she comes to visit. This time it was “Hot Apple Pie" (she threw a Halloween party this year and made a “Dumpster Sludge, which was a really gross-looking brown-ish gray color, but was really quite yummy). I didn’t have any (I just love a good Pinot Grigio, or Riesling), but imagine Apple Pie, but with vodka & caramel & other yummy flavorings instead. Sounds pretty delicious, right??

Day 28

Day 28 was Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law came to visit, along with her sister and her husband. They are the first company we had in our new house (my folks came up Saturday - Sunday, so they were a close second)! Everyone loved our new home (we do, too!) and our meal feast was AAAAAMAZingggggg.

My sweet Mr. wanted to be in charge of the turkey – he didn’t let anyone else do anything to it. 

He also made sweet potatoes and apple dumplings (from my new Pioneer Woman Cookbook!).

He followed the recipe and prep and carving instructions in the book for the turkey, and it. 

Was.

DELICIOUS. 

I’m not normally one to go gaga over turkey at Thanksgiving, but as soon as the delicious aroma of turkey began to fill up the whole house, I couldn’t wait to dig in.

We had a nice Thanksgiving Dinner, just the 5 of us. There wasn’t a lot of stress – we’d told our visitors we’d still have boxes everywhere, so they weren’t expecting our house to be put together. We didn’t end up having boxes EVERYWHERE (we grouped a lot of them in the basement or the garage…aaaah, the joys of having a basement AND a garage!), but we did have them placed in corners and a few in every room.

All in all, a nice & relatively quiet Thanksgiving, made even more special by the fact that we celebrated in our new home – just one more thing to be thankful for :)

linking up here today

30 for 30: (No Day 24) Day 25 & Day 26

Day 24 

was another sweatpants day, simply because we were packing boxes/moving boxes/moving furniture/unloading boxes/unloading furniture/unpacking boxes all day. 

Aaah, the life of a fashion blogger - not always so glamorous ;)

Day 25

Sequins, polka dots, boots, a sweater, and my sweet Cali girl in our new home.

My idea of perfection.

Day 26

You'll have to trust me that in person, this dress does NOT make me look an inmate like the picture seems to do. Maybe it's the braid in my hair...? I really like this dress, but it just doesn't photograph well, which is a HUGE bummer, since, y'know, I like to take pictures of my clothes and post them on the interwebs. 

In other news, that dark square up above is my newest pair of tights. My new fleece-lined tights that I'm obsessed with. Everyone should own a pair of these. 

Fleece-lined tights for EVERYONE! 

They are the key to world peace, solving world hunger, and global warming, I just know it. 

Because, really, you can't wear these and not be cozy, 

and warm, 

and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

#trustme

30 for 30: Day 22 & Day 23

Day 22

Not sure if you can tell or not, but I LOVE this plaid flannel shirt from Old Navy. I wish I'd gotten it in every color so I could wear it every. single. day. (that's an exaggeration...every other day!) I love it so much I keep wearing it, keep wearing it, and keep wearing it. 

But if the shoe shirt fits, wear it!

Day 23

You might have seen on my Instagram last week that the Mr. and I went to see "The Book of Mormon." It's a Broadway show created by the same guys who created the show South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (both guys are Colorado natives - woot woot! AND South Park, Colorado is a real place #truestory). 

Whatever your views on organized religion, Christianity, Mormons, missionaries, or even musicals, the show was very well done - the tunes were catchy, the singing and dancing impeccable, and the acting superb. It had all the elements of a great musical (I love musicals, did you know?).

We had a wonderful time catching up with the friends we saw the show with, and it was a welcome reprieve from the cycle of packing/moving/unpacking we'd been in for a few days at that point.

goofing around during intermission - he doesn't like to take selfies. boo.

I wore this outfit (with gray tights) to see the show. Yes, that is a flashy gold handbag.

30 for 30: Day 20 & Day 21

Day 20

Day 20 was a big day for us...

We closed on our house! Our first house!

We are officially homeowners. Now we talk about things like the HOA, trash pick up, and window treatments. And I'm going to be honest with you, I LOVE it!

I LOVE our house.

I LOVE that this is OUR home.

And most of all, I love the person I share my new home with (and those two little wrinkly dogs).

He's incredibly handsome, smart, funny, and really good at moving furniture and packing boxes (those last two things I am NOT good at, so it's good we have a balance).

So, we bought a house, moved out of our apartment, and are settling in to our new home. That's why I've been absent from this here blog - reasonable, right?

We made a trip to The Home Depot (the first of many), and I got my very own
Homer Bucket for all of our upcoming projects!
#let'sdothis

Since this was such a big day, I didn't really get outfit pictures, but I wore my black & white striped top, black velvet blazer, olive green skinnies, leopard flats & gray infinity scarf. I wanted to be comfortable, but stylish for our
BIG DAY!

Day 21

I wore this the day after our closing when it was very chilly, so the chambray layered under a wool sweater was perfect. The pants I wore the day before (a symptom of moving) and my hat helps to hide "I-just-moved-and-can't-find-any-hair-stuff-because-it's-all-in-boxes" syndrome. Tell me you've been there, please!

linking up here today

Mr. Picks Mondays: Lady. In Boots. (like Puss. In Boots.)

This double-sweater action was from October, but I didn't have a chance to share it before I started my 30 for 30 challenge. Better late than never, right? Right! As I remember, the 2 sweaters my Mr. picked out were perfect for this chilly day. My parents got me this sleeveless sweater from Eddie Bauer a few years ago for Christmas, and I love to pull it out when it gets cold. It's nice and toasty, without being TOO warm, and it's something a bit different than the chunky sweaters I see on everyone else. 

I've had this raspberry colored v-neck sweater from Hollister for ages. I even wore it in my senior pictures - I'll have to ask my mom if she can send me one. Man, I looked goooood. 

Ever double up on sweaters for extra warmth? It's best to do it with one that is really light/thin under a heavier one, to avoid looking like a marshmallow. 

Unless, of course, that's the look you're going for, then just keep piling on heavy layers! ;)

raspberry v-neck sweater: Hollister

sleeveless sweater: Eddie Bauer

pants: thrifted (Lauren Conrad)

boots: Rack Room shoes