Olive and White

Ready for my philosophy on colors?  When people say they can't wear certain colors, I usually argue with them.  I think the only color that I like but don't wear often is blush/light pink, because well, my skin is kind of that color, and I get washed out pretty quickly.  

Now, there are some colors I just don't really like, and those are the traditionally fall colors.  Olive, mustard, burnt orange, maroon (although I will make small exceptions for maroon).  So I decided to jump in on an instagram style challenge thing last week, but didn't really think about it.  Day one was Olive and White.  It was too hot to wear my camo jacket.  A quick mental inventory of my closet made me realize I don't have anything else olive, except for the small portion of this top.  I was going to wear my white shorts, but they looked weird with the shirt, so I swapped in the skirt and called it a day.  

Also, wearing white after labor day?  #sobrave #notreally

Cardigan: JCF  (exact)

Top: Tinley Road

Skirt: Banana Republic (similar, similar)

Sandals: Target (similar)

Copycat Aunt

So, this is my niece.  She's awesome.  You may remember her from the last time I shamelessly copied her outfit.  What can I say?  The girl has great style!  Anyway, she recently sent me these pics of her in a super cute outfit, and I thought it would be fun to do another copycat post.  I wore my version out to dinner with my 2 favorite guys, and then we walked around the duck pond.  Somehow, taking outfit pictures turned into copying all of the poses that E did.  

Tree hugging isn't my forte, especially since there was a spider on the tree.  I also sadly didn't have a red hairbow!  

There also weren't any fancy benches at the park we were at, so I had to settle for this boring green one.  

 Thanks for the inspiration, E!

Cardigan: H&M (similar)
Tee: Gap (similar)
Skirt: Banana Republic (eyelet option that I have been tempted to buy!)
Shoes: Target (similar)

#19 - Survey Says

Most of you probably don't know this, but my day job is at a market research company.  I deal with surveys a lot, so I'm kind of surprised I haven't done a blog reader survey before.  Most recently, Ashley's post reminded me that I wanted to do one of these.  It's pretty short, because Survey Monkey is only free if you keep it to 10 questions!  I'd really appreciate you taking a couple minutes to answer the questions, so I can then have data to be nerdy about.  And then I'll probably share the results, and be like "what, 99% of my readers are female!"

Click here to do the survey. 

I'm linking up with Laura for Confident Twosday!

Top: Gap (option)
Skirt : Banana Republic (similar, similar)
Belt : Gap (similar)
Sandals : Target (exact, similar)

#1 - Numero Uno

Kicking off the 30x30 with some neutrals.  And since I couldn't think of a clever title, I am tricking you all with some Spanish.  It basically just says "Number one - number one" up there, but it looks kind of fancy.  Now, if I was really fancy, I'd have gone with French.  But I'm not that kind of blogger.

Speaking of speaking Spanish, have I ever mentioned that I won the Sombrero Award in high school? (yes, it was literally a sombrero. yes, that might be offensive)  It was given to the student most likely to still be speaking Spanish 10 years in the future.  Someone should tell my Spanish teacher that he was 100% correct, if by "speaking Spanish" they meant "occasionally using Spanish in a blog post title, but really not remembering how to say anything useful."  A quick search through the archives and yes, I have mentioned this before.  There's even a picture.  You're welcome.  (I mean, "de nada!")  
A great start to the 30X30, amiright?

Jacket (chaqueta): J.Crew Factory (exact)
Tee (camiseta): J.Crew Factory (exact)
Skirt (falda): Banana Republic (similar, similar)
Belt (cinturon): Gap (similar)
Sandals (zapatos): Target (exact, similar)

**I only had to cheat on belt.  And there's probably a more specific term for sandals, but "shoes" will have to do.  I guess I remember more than I realized!  But still, not that useful.  

On the Radio

From 2002 until 2011, I didn't listen to the radio very much.  I was all set with my iPod and my car mp3 player, so the radio was just not necessary.  Then some total jerks decided to break into my car and rip my stereo out, and I really hope they felt stupid when they tried to pawn it and only got about $5 because it was SO OLD. But I digress...

For the past 2 years or so, I've been listening to the radio every day to and from work, and wherever else I might drive.  Over these years, I've noticed a few things about the radio that are just very strange.  As a blogger, I am pretty much an expert at sharing my opinion about frivolous things, so here we go!

• Modern hit music.  Define "modern" please.  I think if you are going to describe your station as new/modern, you should play mostly songs from this year, or at least the last couple years.  One station in town frequently has their little jingle for new music and then plays something that I remember listening to in high school.  It's been 10 years, okay.  That's not new.  
• No Repeat Workday!  - this applies to those 80s-now stations.  Shouldn't they have no repeats for several weeks?  I'm making some general assumptions here, but say they are playing music from the last 35 years, and say they stick to only the 100 top songs from each year.  That gives them 3,500 songs to play.  I have it on good authority (Google search), that most radio stations play between 200-300 songs in a day.  This means that I shouldn't hear the same song more than every 2 weeks.  Sure, current hits will get more play, which means I REALLY shouldn't hear the same Pat Benatar song every day on my drive to work.   
• Delilah - I don't understand where they find these people who call in (sorry if you are one of these people).  I recently heard a guy who wanted to dedicate a song to his friend, who he had asked on a date, and she's been avoiding him ever since then.  Delilah played "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, which includes the line "do you wanna get married?" I bet the guy's lady friend is completely freaked out if she was listening.  I also wonder if they just play the same "callers" over and over again.  I'm sure no one would notice. 
• Certain Artists - I know everyone has their own opinion, but can anyone explain to me why Katy Perry and Bruno Mars are so popular?  Katy Perry's voice is so irritating - I can't change the station fast enough when her songs come on.  Bruno Mars has a decent voice, but all of his songs just sound like bad leftovers from the 80s.  Am I alone here?  They get played all the time, so I assume most people like their stuff.  

 Do you listen to the radio?  Any pet peeves to share?  Or am I just crazy?

Top: Target

Cardigan: Gap

Skirt: Banana Republic

Sandals: Love Culture

Closet Ultimatum #2-3 - White Skirt and Printed Top

This outfit is a 2-for-1 closet ultimatum deal!  I know that 2 wrongs don't make a right, but I was hoping that 2 closet orphans might make an outfit.

Top:  this is from Ann Taylor a few summers ago.  I think I wore it quite a bit that first summer, but it has mostly been forgotten in my closet since then.  I really love the print, but I think the black border on the top just lays funny on me.  I would say I love this shirt, but I'm not "in love" with it.  When I got home from work, I wondered if a different skirt would make a difference, so I grabbed my trusty black pencil skirt.  I don't know.  I'm still not convinced I should keep it  What do you think?

Old Navy Skirt, Loft flats

Skirt:  I got this at the BR outlet in Kansas City in the spring of 2011.  I'd had a white A-line skirt from Gap, that I bought for my high school graduation reception.  That skirt was fantastic, but it was starting to look a little worse for the wear, so I bought this one, and got rid of the old Gap one.  It didn't take long for me to decide this was a mistake.  The Gap skirt was just way more flattering.  I think the gathers on this skirt makes me look bigger and I don't need that at all!  I've actually worn this skirt a few times over the summer, but haven't taken outfit pictures on those days.  Maybe because I don't feel cute in it?  Funnily enough, I actually think it looks pretty good in the pictures.  Naturally, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration and found this picture of Kendi.  So, I pretended it was fall and pulled out my boots and a cable knit sweater, while hoping John wouldn't get home from work while I was in my fall outfit.   It's not quite perfect, but I think there is possibility.

Old Navy sweater, Wanted boots

So, what do you think?  Are either of these keepers, or do they belong in the "sell" pile?

Top: Ann Taylor
Skirt: Banana Republic
Shoes: Born

I'm linking up over here today, as well as the usual places!