Hanging on

I'm thinking of everyone impacted by the events of yesterday in Oklahoma. There was a tornado in northern Colorado in 2008 that tore through the town of Windsor - the city is still recovering, 5 years later. It's terrifying what Mother Nature can do, isn't it?

Unrelated, I'll be back with a Mr. Picks Mondays post late tonight or tomorrow. My Mr. monopolized my computer last night and I took a yoga class, then all of a sudden it was time to curl up in bed with "Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn. Until then...

[Mother's Day] Brunching

pockets! pockets!

my Mr. snaps away with the camera, while I throw out as many goofy things as I can. aaaaand they all get captured. 

see what I mean? I think I was twirling here, and he just snaps away. and laughs.

This skirt combination is what I wore to celebrate Mother's Day with my in-laws. We had a delicious brunch, then everyone headed home to take naps. 

Sunday afternoons are made for naps, don't you think? There's a window from about 1-5 where they're most acceptable, and I'm always on the look out for such an opportunity. In my bed, on the couch, by the pool, with the pups - I don't discriminate. 

I threw this jacket in the car since I'm always freezing, and my Mr. is always roasting. He'll crank up the AC cause he's hot and my teeth are chattering. This past February, we drove up to the mountains to do some skiing and I made sure I was prepared for his freezing cold car temperatures. Or so I thought...I wore at least 3 layers on top, a scarf, leggings, wool socks, and boots, along with a North Face jacket in my lap. He closed his car vents so I could have all the warm air, and I was still freezing! He opened his window to get some air, and I just couldn't get warm! *sigh* The next car we buy WILL have separate climate controls for driver & passenger! Until then, I'm becoming an expert at layering, and will have to keep extra blankets, jackets, socks, gloves, snowpants, and parkas in the car...

Top: Wal-Mart

Skirt: via clothes swap with a friend (the one who came to visit recently!)

Sandals: CLASSIFIED via Shoe Carnival

Jacket: Miley Cyrus via Plato's Closet

Necklace & earrings: Target

Bracelets: ???

Dressing Down a Sequined Skirt

this is the skirt I was telling you about from Kohl's

So, what do we think of my new sequined skirt??? I'm a BIG fan and I have BIG plans for this fancy skirt - trust me!

Above is what I wore to a friend's graduation party. I couldn't wait to wear my new skirt, so I dressed it down with a t-shirt and flat (but fancy!) sandals. The jacket was in flux all day - I was too hot, then I was too cold, so it was off and on the entire time.

My t-shirt is from Tour de Fat, a bike parade sponsored by New Belgium Brewing. Everyone dresses up in goofy costumes and rides their bikes along a marked route, then celebrates with a festival and lots of beer. I volunteered at last year's Tour de Fat pouring beer with some folks from work and got this t-shirt. Love the color, and love the design. New Belgium Brewing is a pretty cool place that brews Belgian-style beer, is employee owned, runs on alternative energy, and encourages alternative forms of transportation, hence, the bike parade. If you ever get the chance, you should check out a Tour de Fat near you and celebrate bikes - it's quite the experience!

***ERRRR - switching gears***

Let's talk about my hair. It's really not doing me any favors in these pictures, is it? It's pretty long, but it's also very fine, so I lose a lot of volume and thickness towards the ends. I've got a hair appointment this weekend and I'm debating switching it up majorly. I'm hesitant to lose any length - my hair grows SO. SLOWLY. and it's taken what feels like forever to get it to this length (6+ years). I've had bangs several times, and as you can see, have grown them out. I did get highlights at my last appointment, and while I like how they broke up my hair color and added some light, I think I'd like something more drastic so I'm not such a "dishwater blonde." Any suggestions/thoughts/ideas for my locks?

Jacket: Old Navy

Shirt: Tour de Fat

Skirt: Kohl's

Sandals: Sears

Mr. Picks Mondays: Pink & Navy

pockets, my friends, pockets

I'm working on my posing #help

I'm really obsessed with these two - they're just so lovable & squeezable!

 My Mr. picked out this navy dress for me to wear today. It's a little funny - I have FOUR (count: 1, 2, 3, 4) navy dresses in my closet, but they're all VERY different! Trust me! 

Anyway, this is my first time wearing this cute printed number. I picked it up at ARC back in January or February with the plan to wear it when the temperature heats up. And today, it did just that! Still had to wear a sweater in my office, but overall, a dress keeps me so much cooler than pants. And if I get really hot, I can just flap my dress a bit to get a breeze ;)

I went on my first run since my half marathon today on my lunch break. The sun was out, there was a bit of a breeze, or I just run SO fast there's always a breeze...bahaha, I kid! I was really glad to be running again, but then my right knee started hurting. It hurt during my race, and a few days after, so I iced it and took plenty of ibuprofen. I thought I was good to go, but it hurt a bit today. Not unbearably so, but I definitely don't want to injure myself. So, I'll be taking it nice and slow for the next few days - run when I can, and walk when it hurts. With some ice and ice cream thrown in, too :) It's not surprising that my knee hurts - I didn't really train for my half, so, that was dumb on my part. Never again will I do something like that without preparing - I'm so lucky I didn't get seriously hurt. #thatwasdumb

Dress: Old Navy

Sweater: Old Navy

Sandals: Born

Earrings & matching bracelets: Claire's

All other jewelry: gifts from my Godmother

Minty Fresh

lovin' on my Pretty Girl

LOVE this jacket, but I've had a hard time styling it, so today is its first appearance on Sweet Bananie!

Without the jacket, this outfit looks colorblock-esque. With the jacket, monochromatic-esque. With, without, with, without. Tricky, huh? ;) Either way, I like it! Perfect for having brunch with a friend before hitting up a thrift store on a beautiful spring day. 

I've been wanting to put together a monochromatic look for a few weeks. This outfit was a way to dip my toes into the monochromatic-outfit-pool without diving in headfirst. I'm afraid of putting something together that is just TOO much. But, this has given me the confidence to try this again with a different color scheme - hooray! Hooray for confidence building exercises in outfit choosing! (Was that nerdy? I think it was - oh dear...) Any other suggestions/ideas for my next monochromatic look?

These mint jeans are part of my purchase from Kohl's last week. I just couldn't wait to wear all my new finds - I was thinking up ways to wear them before I had even left the store. Does anyone else do that, or is it just me?

Also, Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! We celebrated Mother's Day with my sweet mama last weekend, and are spending today with my mother-in-law, feasting on seafood and going to a movie. Be sure to tell your mom how much you love & appreciate her!

Shirt: Kohl's

Pants: Lauren Conrad - Kohl's

Jacket: local boutique

Sandals: Sears

Earrings & matching necklace: gift from my brother when I got my ears pierced ;)

Other necklace: gift from my Mama

Coated Denim

just hanging out at a playground

so many rocks in my sandals #playgroundproblems

my first pair of coated denim!

So, I did some shopping the other day. Let me just tell you a wee bit about it.

I had some Kohl's cash after a recent shopping trip for my Mr. So, after work the other day, I took my happy self to Kohl's to see what I could unearth from the clearance racks. About an hour later, I left with the above pants, a pair of mint jeans, and a sequined skirt. Those three items for under $10! I had downloaded the Retail Me Not app earlier in the day and discovered a 20% off coupon that I could use in addition to my Kohl's cash. Can we talk about a deal?!

Anyway, this is my first pair of coated denim. This is a different look for me, and I really like it! It's a bit edgier, and not so "sunshine & rainbows." Not that there's anything wrong with that, or that I dislike being an optimist who enjoys wearing bright and happy colors, but sometimes it's nice to mix it up and dress for a change - "live on the edge," if you will ;)

I wore this outfit on a double date to have dinner at Red Robin and then to see Iron Man 3. Robert Downey Jr. is so great as Tony Stark (and also as Sherlock Holmes). He's quick and witty, and delivers his lines so naturally and easily. Robert Downey Jr. IS Tony Stark.

Sweater: thrifted

Tank: Target

Pants: Kohl's

Sandals: Shoe Carnival

Necklace & Earrings: Target

Polka Dot Skinnies

Here's those polka dot skinnies again. I just love 'em!

ERMAHGERD! POLKA DOTS! I CAN'T GET ENOUGH!

And look at me, wearing polka dot pants and a striped scarf. I'm a print mixing master. 

Not really. But sometimes it's fun to pretend, right?

Let's talk about my shoe choice for a minute. I know they're flip flops. Foam flip flops. From a Walgreen's on the Las Vegas strip over Spring Break. Let me explain: I was in Vegas on Spring Break and my friends and I had gone out. I wore sandals that I had worn plenty of times before, but for whatever reason, a few hours in, my feet were swollen & bloody, with some pretty bad blisters. So, I ran into Walgreen's and bought these bad boys. Surprisingly, they're still around. Enough about how I acquired this spectacular footwear. 

My feet got pretty torn up during my race this past weekend, and I'm not able to wear regular shoes just yet. So, please, bear with me while my tootsies heal up and I rock my Vegas flip flops.

Shirt: thrifted

Pants: Old Navy via Plato's Closet

Scarf: gift from my sis-in-law

Earrings: graduation gift from my parents

Necklace: gift from my Mr. on our honeymoon cruise

Watch: New Balance via Kohl's

Flip Flops: Las Vegas, circa 2010