Two Months Ago

 

I was sorting through my pictures this weekend and realized I never posted this outfit.  I wore it on Feb 29th!  I guess I just didn't have anything interesting to say about it, so never got around to posting it.  I still don't have anything interesting to say.  It was an easy outfit to throw on for work.

I also found some videos on my camera from the past couple of years.  Most of them are of my nieces.  They always convince me to do ridiculous things, like have a crazy fashion show and make a movie of it.  Of course, I'm the only grown up who will dress up and be in the fashion show.  They make their mom or John be the judge of the fashion show.  I always get last place, and they tie for first.  Someday, they will probably be super embarrassed of these movies, but for now, I'm the only one who is embarrassed.  

Happy Monday! 

Cardigan and Shoes: Gap

Top:  I.N. Studio (from Dillard's)

Jeans: Loft

FBFF - Be Prepared?

Today's topic for FBFF is all about Outfit planning.  I confess, I am not good at pre-planning in most aspects of my life.  I have good intentions when it comes to planning meals and outfits, and sending birthday presents on time, but then I just get distracted and end up making the same things over and over (frozen pizza, anyone?), throwing outfits together at the last minute, and mailing my nieces and nephews their birthday presents 4 months late.  It's really bad!

Minnie Mouse -Worn here

Here are the questions from Katy, and my answers:

• How do you go about picking your outfit for the day? (Do you lay stuff out the night before? Do you plan a whole week's worth of looks Sunday night? Do you wing it every morning?) 
•  I pretty much wing it every day.  Some days, this works just fine.  Other days, I try on 20 different things, don't have time to pack my lunch, and run out the door, leaving a pile of rejected clothes on my bed.  When I was doing the Winter Challenge, I tried to plan ahead a little bit, to make sure my things were clean and ready.  Those mornings were so nice, because I didn't even have to think about it.  I just put on the clothes I had decided on the night before.  I would like to plan ahead more, but so far, it hasn't happened.   

  

  Snow White, Opton 1

• Do you try stuff on and then take pics to see how it looks, like Cher in Clueless? 
• I think the only time I have done this is before an event, when I'm trying to decide what dress to wear, or which shoes to wear with a dress.  I've emailed my sister pictures to get input on these occasions.  The pictures I have within this post are from the "Channel Someone" day of the Winter Challenge.  I was trying to be a Disney character and laid out some ideas.  I settled on the Minne Mouse outfit, but then wore one of the Snow White outfits recently.   

  

  The Little Mermaid

  
  
• And are you consistent in your planning or lack thereof, or is your planning limited to special events? 
• I am very consistent in my lack of planning! 
  
• Do you have a way of keeping track of which outfits you wore when? 
• Not really.   Now that I am taking pictures almost every day, I can check back through my picture folders and see what I have worn when.  
• How do you come up with new clothing combinations? (An app?  Computer program? Trial and error?)
• I get inspiration from other bloggers, pinterest, etc.  I don't have a really good way of coming up with new ideas, just kind of go with whatever I feel like on a given day.    

  

  Snow White Option 2 -Worn here

  
  

Do you plan outfits in advance?  Go see what everyone else says here.

Airplane Museum

This past weekend, my parents came to visit!  It was so great to see them.  The last time the were in Omaha, we went to the zoo and the pedestrian bridge downtown, so this time, we ventured west to the Strategic Air and Space Museum.    When we got there, a tour was just starting, so we were able to join it.  Our tour guide was wonderful!  He had some really great stories, and it was way more interesting than just walking around reading all the signs.

This little plane was so cute, I just had to take a picture.   

John and me in front of the SR-71 in the front of the museum.  

And I made my parents pose by the rocket out front!  

I feel like I failed at taking pictures of the weekend.  I didn't get any pictures of myself with my parents! 

Mom and Dad, thanks for driving all the way out here to see us!

Shirt & Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Converse
Purse:  Thrifted knock-off Hermes.

Half Birthday!

Today is my half birthday!  And everyone knows I take advantage of any opportunity to celebrate.  I don't throw myself a party or anything, but if my husband wants to make me a half birthday cake, who am I to stop him?

Blazer:  Limited
Shirt:  Sunny Leigh
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Born

Throwback Thursday - Prom! (and homecoming)

I haven't done a Throwback Thursday in awhile, but I though it would be fun to post some old pictures from my high school formals.  Last Saturday, my high school had prom, but crazy weather made things interesting.  The kids spent most of prom night huddled in a tornado shelter.

It sounds like they made the most of it, and hopefully still had a fun night.

Anyway, I thought it was a fun excuse to dig up my old formal pictures.  Faces have been changed to protect my dates.  I'm not sure everyone is cool with having their high school formal pictures posted on the internet.  I should also explain that homecoming at my high school was in February, for basketball, because we didn't have football then.  And we all dressed up way more than most other schools did for Homecoming.  The girls were just as formal for homecoming as prom.  The boys just wore suits mostly for HC, and then got tuxes for Prom.  Here it goes..

Freshman Homecoming, I went by myself.  After the dinner (yes, we had dinner at the event, not before like most schools), one of my friends who had also gone solo asked me to be his date for the rest of the night.  Very tricky, he didn't have to pay for my ticket or buy me a corsage!  My dress was from the clearance rack at Dillard's, and my mom sewed black satin under the arms, because it had a lattice thing, and it wouldn't have been allowed if my skin was showing through.  I also don't know why I thought it was cool to wear elbow length velvet gloves, but I was convinced it was awesome.  

Sophomore Homecoming, I also went alone, and didn't even get a date at the event.  This dress was like $20 at the Dillard's Outlet that used to be near Kansas City.  You can't really tell, but I am wearing giant hoop earrings. I also had silver elbow length gloves that I was going to wear, but I changed my mind at the last minute. 

Junior year, I actually got asked to homecoming BEFORE the event.  My grandpa died that week, so I missed a few days of school for the funeral.  I got a call from my date on Saturday afternoon wondering if we were still going.  I probably should have let him know I would be there, even though I had missed school.  This dress was from a random bridal shop in Wichita.  I can't even remember why my mom and I were there, but I fell in love with the red velvet dress and just had to have it.  I still really love it, but I'm sure my classmates thought I was kind of a weirdo. I mean, velvet dresses weren't really a thing.  But then again, neither were velvet elbow gloves...

For Junior Prom, one of my best girl friends and I hadn't been asked yet, so we asked one of our guy friends from another school, and we went all 3 together.  We didn't get a formal picture, because that would have been a little awkward.  I had borrowed this dress from a friend, who wore it to Homecoming the previous year.  It had been strapless (not allowed!), so she sewed ribbons on it and wore it as a halter.  I decided to mix it up and tie the bow in front, which I think was pretty cool of me.  I also straightened my hair instead of getting a standard up-do.  Several people had no idea who I was, because I looked so different.  Of course, it was a super rainy night, so by the end of everything, my hair was not so straight anymore, but it was fun to do something different. 

Senior Year, I actually got dates to both Homecoming and Prom!  For Homecoming, I found this really simple black and white dress.  You can't really tell in the picture, but there was a white ribbon bow around the waist.  I also loved the tulle peeking out at the bottom.  I think I had to beg my mom to let me go without tights.  Or maybe she said I had to, and then I took them off once I got to the dance?  It's hard to say for sure...

 

For Senior Prom, my mom and I were at another bridal shop.  We must have just gone there looking for dresses.  Anyway, I found this red strapless dress, which was like $300 dollars.  It was amazing!  The bodice was beaded, and then it had this huge tulle skirt.  Wearing that dress was the most princess-y I have felt other than my wedding.  We almost bought it, but I couldn't justify spending that much.  Plus, I wasn't sure the skirt would have fit through a doorway, much less into my date's car.  I ended up getting a simpler dress, which was way more appropriate for prom.  You can kind of tell that my eye shadow and toenail polish match my dress exactly.  

 

Formal posed photos are so awkward.  

Anyway, thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me! 

Fairest of them All

Not like the prettiest girl in all the land, I mean the palest.  

I really need to get some color on my legs.  These shoes are a pretty light tan color, and you almost can't tell where my legs end and the shoes begin.  I think the idea of nude colored shoes is that it makes your legs look longer.  I'm feeling like it just emphasizes how much mine need sunshine!

I do love these shoes, though.  I think they are just more interesting than wearing black shoes all the time, which I would have done with this outfit before I had these shoes. 

Cardigan: Gap
Top: home-made
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: BCBGeneration

New Hat

When my shopping ban expired last week, I really wanted to go shopping.  I had all sorts of ideas for what I wanted to buy:  pink, red, or green skinny jeans, flat black sandals, more colorful scarves for summer,  new shorts, more skirts and dresses, the list goes on and on.  But then I had a cold and felt terrible after work on Thursday.  On Friday, I was feeling just slightly better and decided to swing by Marshall's to see what I could find.

I tried on about 20 things, but just came home with 2 items.  Some purple Reebok shorts for working out - not blog-worthy at all.  

I also got a floppy hat!  This is really exciting.  I've been wanting a floppy hat since I was last on a beach, over 2 years ago!  We just might be going on a beach vacation this summer, and I really wanted a floppy hat for it.

So, this is what I wore to work yesterday:

When it was time to take outfit photos, I thought it was time to model my hat:

Isn't it fun??   I actually had to fight off another shopper for it.  OK, not actually fight, but it was a little awkward.  I had this hat and 2 others that I kind of liked.  I took them over to a mirror, and set them down on the shelf nearby.  I was standing in front of the mirror trying on hat #1, when this woman came over and grabbed hat #2, tried it on, and maneuvered her way in front of me at the mirror.  I'm so non-confrontational, I was like "um yeah, I was just trying these hats on, because I want to buy one, so um..." and then just grabbed the other hat and backed away slowly.  Luckily the hat she stole from me was my least favorite of the three, and I really like the one I ended up with.  Crazy shoppers!  I just can't believe how rude people are sometimes.

Dress & Belt: Old Navy
Hat: Calvin Klein
Shoes: Rampage
Clip-on bow: handmade by me

Fun!

Last Tuesday, we went to the fun. concert!  It's tricky to explain when you are going to a concert of a band named fun.  It's like "I got my tickets to fun!" What?  Also, if I had a dollar for every person who asked me if fun. was fun, I would be a rich woman.  I mean, if you consider having about $12 being rich.  And if you are wondering, it was very fun!  They put on a great show.  My only complaint is that there were SO MANY TEENAGERS!

We were pretty close to the front, so had a good view of all the girls who were practically fainting when Nate looked at them.  Crazy teenagers!

I really wish there were more 21 and over shows.  Nineteen-year-old me would disagree, but she didn't really know anything, did she?

I'm a terrible fashion blogger, and didn't take any pictures of myself.  Just believe me when I say that I was wearing a mint colored tank top, jeans and my light blue Chucks.

We also went to Chick-fil-A for dinner that night.  There was a person dressed as a cow out front, with a sign for people to "Eat Mor Chikn."  I should have taken a picture with the cow, but I didn't do that either.  I did at least instagram an picture of my nuggets.

Back to regularly scheduled outfits tomorrow. 

FBFF - Fitness

Fashion Beauty Friend Friday's topic this week is fitness!  


Here's the deal:  I really hate to exercise just for the sake of exercising.  I like doing fun things that happen to be exercise.  A few years ago, I lost a bunch of weight and felt awesome, but then life got busy and I got lazy and I've gained most of it back.  So far, I haven't been motivated enough to really focus, work out a lot, count calories, etc, but I am trying to be healthier and more active. 

I wrote about this a little on my 2012 goals and quarterly checkin, but I've been taking advantage of the daily coupon deals lately (Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Daily Deals, etc).  One month at a time is working well for me, and I don't get bored with always doing the same thing.  Even if I'm just going to Zumba at a different location, the instructors all have different songs, so it feels new.

Now that the weather is warmer, I'm hoping to take advantage of it and go on walks, play tennis, etc.  (Side note: I think I use "etc." alot).  Or I just need to make sure John is my outfit of the day photographer, because he thinks it is cool to do action shots.  I don't know how many times I had to jump in the air before we captured me in mid-air. 

Do you workout?  What are some fun ways to get exercise without being stuck on a treadmill for an hour??

Cardigan: Marisa Christina
Black T-shirt: Target
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Leggings: don't remember
Shoes: Born

Shopping Ban Over!

 

April 12th is here!  This means my self-imposed 3 months of no shopping is up.  I was pretty good at following my rules, mostly by staying away from stores.  There were some very tempting sales going on, so it was tough!  Here's the list of items I ended up with since my ban started on Jan 12th.

• Black flats (worn in today's pictures) - these were legal for 2 reasons:  I had a gift card to Dillard's, and I desperately needed a new pair of black flats.  My other pair was literally falling apart, so these were on my list of cheats if I found a good pair during the ban. 
• 2 shirts at Loft (one worn here and here, and the other hasn't been worn on the blog yet) - I was using a gift card.  I still have half of the gift card, so I will need to hit Loft again soon.
• Brown Belt (worn here)- no gift card, but this was on my list of cheats.  I've been wanting/needing a brown belt for quite awhile and hadn't found one I liked.  I was killing time at Urban Outfitters after the baseball game, and before Pub Quiz, and just saw this belt on clearance.  I couldn't pass it up! 
• Pink skirt (worn here)- this falls into the thrifting category of cheats.  J. Crew skirt for $3.50 - not too bad!
• I<3fun. t-shirt- I had to get a souvenir from the concert.  This falls into entertainment, not clothing, right??

 So, I think I might be going shopping after work!

Top: Alfani
Cardigan: Target
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Born

Cinnamon Perfume

At my office, there's an air freshener in the bathroom.  This is a good thing, as we wouldn't want a smelly bathroom.  There's just one problem:  this air freshener has a personal vendetta against me.  It likes to go off right when I walk in the door, so I'm hit with a blast of cinnamon scent, which settles in my hair and I smell like Big Red gum for the rest of the day.  I should probably stop wasting my actual perfume, because it is just overpowered by cinnamon. 

This entire outfit is from the Gap.  I guess the shoes are technically from the Gap Outlet.  And the scarf was a Christmas present from my sister, but it's also from Gap.

Zebra Dress

Remember when I wore this zebra skirt and I said it was really a dress?

Well, here's the proof that it is, in fact, a dress! 

I've had this dress for a few years, and I've only ever worn it with flip flops.  I just wasn't sure about heels with a maxi dress, but I think it is the right decision.  I also think I would like this outfit better without the cardigan, but April is a little early for strapless dresses, even if it was 90+ degrees on the day I wore this. 

Dress: Old Navy
Cardigan: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Shoes: Steve Madden

Sneaky Inspiration

I think this outfit was inspired by 2 recent posts over on Eat, Sleep, Denim.  I didn't realize it at the time, but then I remembered reading this post and when I just went to grab the link, I saw this other post, which I also remembered reading.  So, there you have it, subconscious inspiration from reading blogs! 

John and I met for lunch on the day I wore this, and I took advantage of the opportunity to have him snap some outfit photos before heading back to lunch.  It was a little awkward, but we didn't have any strangers notice us.  I have major respect for all you bloggers who frequently take pictures out in public. 

I haven't worn these shoes since the Christmas Party where they pretty much destroyed my feet.  They are much nicer when I am sitting at my desk all day. 

Blazer: Limited
Shirt:  Sunny Leigh
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: BCBGirls
Purse:  Hermes (in my dreams - it's actually a thrifted knockoff)

I'm also linking this post up to Everybody Everywear for Pastel Day.  I realized I don't have much pastel in my closet, and my light green cardigan is sitting in the laundry pile, so I'm cheating and using my pale pink purse, which is featured in exactly 1 photo above.

Happy Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!!   I hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating and spending time with family.  After church, we went over to John's parents' house for lunch and family time.   We were throwing the frisbee in their backyard when the wind caught the frisbee and it went into the neighboring yard.  John went to get it, and as he picked it up, some kids from the next house over yelled at him that it was their frisbee.  He explained it wasn't, and came back into our yard.  I'm not exaggerating when I say the one kid was wailing at the top of her lungs for about 15 minutes.  The older kid kept yelling at us that it was their frisbee.  They got it in their Easter basket and they wanted it back.  Then his sister would sob "Say it louder!" After a bit, their mom came out to see what was going on, and then shortly after that, she came out with a frisbee very similar to ours.  And that is how we ruined Easter for 2 little kids.

This is what I wore to church.  I'm just not sold on the color of this dress.  It's way too similar to my actual skin color.  I'm still tempted to dye it.  Maybe an eggplant purple color?  I'm a little scared I will ruin it, but I don't think it is flattering on me in it's current state.  Such tough decisions...

Dress:  Old Navy
Scarf:  Gap
Belt: from another dress
Shoes: Seychelles

Sunshine Day

It's seriously so nice outside.  As I sit in my office looking out the windows, I just want to take a walk outside.  Like the sun is calling my name.  I just can't stay inside all day.  Someone should write a song about this.  Oh wait, they did.

And now you can have the song stuck in your head all day, just like I do.  You're welcome.

Cardigan and Dress: Gap
Belt:  Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Target
Pearls:  Gift from China (every time I write this, it's like the country of China sends me presents.  I wish I was that cool.  Countries don't send me presents.  Just to be clear, the gift was from my friend Kim, which she purchased in China).