Dressing for America's Birthday, Part I

Since this Friday is the 4^th of July / America’s Birthday / Independence Day / one of the best days of the year, I thought I’d share at least TWO patriotic / festive outfit ideas with y’all (one today, and anothertomorrow). And I thought I’d share them early for two reasons:

1) So you have time to go shopping for your festive gear if you are lacking in that department.

2) I plan to be on a boat or on the beach (or both!) for the 4^th in a festive bikini with one of my best friends and family, so, there won’t really be much of an outfit to share…Of course, I’ll be Instagramming & Tweeting pics of boating, day drinking, floating, beaching, frolicking, celebrating, and general debauchery.

Up first, a layered look. White pants, a festive burnout tank with stars (so. much. glitter. everywhere), and a chambray thrown over the top. I went with metallic sandals to tie in the stars in my shirt, but I was this close to wearing red wedges. Obviously, comfort won out – as it typically does for me...

Check out last year’s festive 4^th of July get-ups: here and here

star tank: WalMart

chambray: thrifted

pants: Old Navy

Cleopatra sandals: Target

Cheese & Wine

Waaay back at the end of May/beginning of June, we went on a fancy date night to celebrate our 2^nd wedding anniversary. We went to a local wine and cheese place (The Welsh Rabbit)  - I was in wino heaven. D isn’t much for wine (he prefers beer), but I think he even enjoyed himself a teeny bit. He ordered a glass of a sweet white before moving on to a cider, and I had a flight of Austrian wines (Vienna, here I come!). And we also tried a variety of cheeses. Really, I think we tried at least 6. If not closer to 8. And all sorts of meats and salamis and crackers and other good eats.

After we were full of cheese and wine and meat and bread, we wandered around downtown and I picked up another Pioneer Woman cookbook (her first one – the only one I was missing). We then went to a new-ish whiskey bar and met a friend there for a drink. This girl steered clear of the whiskey (shots of Fireball are the only whiskey I’ll partake in) and had a refreshing Moscow Mule instead ;)

the far left was D's sweet white - the remaining 3 my Austrian flight

cheese. bread. meat.

peplum top: Ann Taylor Factory

faux leather jacket: Miley Cyrus & Max Azria via Plato's Closet

skirt: Aéropostale

sandals: Shoe Carnival

Navy Stripes

Here's a simple look for this Friday eve. I got this shirt from a friend, and while I love the stripes and the lace, I'm not sure I'm such a fan of the elastic waist on the bottom of the top. 

The jury is still out...

shirt: from a friend

jeans: Aéropostale

Cleopatra sandals: Target

Mr. Picks Mondays: Oldies

the sash in the back

The Mr. chose this tiered almost-but-not-quite-maxi skirt that I’ve had since...my senior year of high school...

Its triple-print-mixing and pretty color has helped it survive many closet clean-outs. The bow on the back helps, too ;)

I wore this to work (for part of the day - I went on a jobsite tour, and had to wear pants AND close-toed shoes AND a hard hat AND a neon vest for that part) and then to dinner with the Mr. to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. We went to Jax Fish House and Oyster Bar - we’ve been trying to get there for ages. Oh. My. Word. Delicious. 

I’m a huge fan of seafood - crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, oysters, calamari, you name it. I love it. Turns out they have all-evening happy hour on Mondays. So, we indulged and tried a bit of everything on the menu. And it was all divine. I would eat seafood all day, every day if I could. But I’m sure my checking account wouldn’t appreciate that...

shirt: WalMart

skirt: Nordstrom

Cleopatra sandals: WalMart

Oh Hey. Chambray.

I’ve worn this dress several times before (check them out here), and every time I do, I’m again reminded of the sheer brilliance of it. 

Chambray. 

Shirt dress. 

It’s perfect in it’s simplicity. It’s lightweight, easy to dress up or down (obviously, I leaned towards casual), and the best part of wearing a dress: it’s a WHOLE entire outfit in 1 piece of clothing. 

Is there anything better? 

Raise your hand if you’re into keeping getting dressed simple.

*raises hand*

dress: Kohl’s

Cleopatra sandals: WalMart

1 Black Maxi. 2 Ways.

 

 

 

  

 

Here are two different ways to style a basic black maxi dress. Yes, they both include denim, but trust me, they’re different! 

One incorporates a denim jacket AND a scarf (a wild, leopard print scarf), and the other a chambray shirt. The chambray can be worn similarly to a jacket (open, unbuttoned), OR buttoned up like a shirt, letting the maxi shine as more of a skirt than a dress. Whatever you prefer! Great for when you need options...or when the weather’s being weird and you may or may not need layers...

maxi dress: Old Navy

on the left:

denim jacket: from a friend (Old Navy Outlet)

scarf: WalMart

Cleopatra sandals: Shoe Carnival

on the right:

chambray: Lauren Conrad via Kohl’s

Cleopatra sandals: WalMart

Mr. Picks Mondays: Peppy in Peplum

The Mr. selected this striped blue peplum dress for me to wear (apparently he prefers that I wear blue striped dresses). This dress came with a skinny yellow belt, but in an effort to be more creative and not wear it EXACTLY as prescribed, I went with a brown belt and sandals, and mint jewelry. 

Peplum is great for many things - it’s sweet, a wee bit flirty, and expertly hides the evidence of a few too many breakfast burritos that one may or may not consume...

dress: Target

belt: thrifted

Cleopatra sandals: consignment shop (Candie’s via Kohl’s)