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When I bought these shorts and this sweater at Loft, I knew I would wear them together at some point.  I think I have a mild addiction to mixing prints!

Anyway, as you may have noticed, it has been a completely crazy summer.  I feel like I have just been running from one thing to the next for the last 4 months.  It's been a lot of fun, but I am ready to get back into some sort of routine again. I've got big plans for going to the grocery store on Saturday, right after I sleep in as late as possible.  It's a glamorous life, I know.    

Sweater & Shorts: Loft
Jacket: Izod
Shoes: Gap
Necklace: Dillard's

Inspired By

Freckles in April is hosting a bi-weekly Style Challenge and I am jumping in!   I had a blast doing the Winter Challenge back in Jan-Feb 2012, so I'm excited to play along again.  What can I say - I like being told what to wear sometimes!

The first prompt is "Take something from your inspiration board and DO IT!"  This is easy for me, because I am a frequent copy-catter and am not ashamed to admit it!  It's also nice timing, because I was pretty bummed out when I missed most of Sarah's Pin to Real Life week. 

Anyway, I just got these white shorts from J.crew factory and I was excited to wear them ASAP.  I have had white pants or shorts on my list for quite awhile and had pinned this outfit and this outfit because I loved the combo of mint/green and yellow with white pants.

This was an easy outfit for a Friday in the office.  I have felt weird wearing shorts to work, but then I looked around and realized several of my co-workers wear denim, cargo, or athletic shorts, so my fancy shorts are probably fine.  I'm not sure I can bring myself to wear shorts on a non-Friday, but we will see how the rest of summer goes!

I'm also linking up today with What I Wore Wednesday and Fashion and Beauty Finds.

Cardigan: Old Navy Dyed by me
Tank and shoes: Gap
Shorts: J.Crew Factory

On Wearing Floral Shorts to Work

Last Thursday, I commented on Ginny's post that I really needed to find some fancier summer pieces.  She replied letting me know that Loft was having a 40% off pretty much everything sale.  I promptly went shopping after work.  I got a few things, but I think my favorite new item is this pair of shorts.  I wanted to wear them the next day, which was Friday.  My office basically has no dress code, and the shorts aren't super short, so I figured I would go for it.  After changing tops a few times, I ended up with this combination.  Because if you add a blazer, shorts seem more respectable!  Also, I can't stop wearing stripes with florals.

John and I met for lunch, and he proceeded to mock me (lovingly, of course) for wearing a blazer when it is almost 90 degrees outside.  When I took my blazer off, he thought my "summer sweater" was even more ridiculous.  He obviously doesn't keep up with fashion bloggers.

File this outfit under "looks better in my imagination than in reality", but I still felt fancy all day long.  Except for the 5 minutes when my CEO stopped by to catch up about a few things.  Then I felt sort of embarrassed.  Why doesn't he stop by on the days I am dressed like a normal person?

Blazer and shoes: Gap
Top: Ann Taylor
Shorts: Loft

Ten Years

My high school reunion is this weekend.  I really can't believe it has been 10 years!  One of my best friends was Senior class president, and somehow I promised her that I would help her plan the reunions, so she and I have been busy gathering everyone's contact information and planning the event.  I'm really hoping everything goes well!  (If not, I will deny my involvement in the planning)

Honestly, I am super excited to see everyone!  I wasn't sure how many people would actually come, but most of my favorite people from high school will be there.  I had a dream the other night that we were at the reunion and I was so excited that John locked me in one of the classrooms to calm down.  I mean, I hope that doesn't happen.  I'm not THAT crazy, right?

Many things have changed in my life over the past 10 years, but 2 things have stayed the same:

1. My car - my parents bought a 1997 Honda Civic for me in 2002, thinking it would last me through college.  Well, I'm still driving it.  I'm way too sentimental about this car, and will likely drive it until it stops running. 
2. My Hairstyle - since my hair isn't every particularly trendy, I think it's okay that I have the same style 10 years later, right?  I even use the same mousse.  I've tried other products, but just don't like anything as much as Pantene! 

If you are interested in learning more about high school Andi, you should check out this post I did last year about my adventures at school dances. 

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?  Or any fun stories about high school class reunions?

I'm linking up for Casual Friday today!  

Top: Target
Cardigan & Shoes: Gap
Jeans: Old Navy

Falling for Plaid

This top is one of my favorite new items from the outlet mall trip.  It's from J. Crew, and it has so many great colors in it. I'm already planning to wear it with at least 4 different cardigans!  The weather has finally dipped back down into reasonable temperatures, so I jumped at the chance to wear jeans and a new shirt.  I played off the different colors with my accessories, and I really like the casual vibe.

When I got home from work, John said "Oh, you're wearing a man shirt!  It still looks nice!"  Just the vote of confidence I was looking for!

Speaking of plaid, I tend to shy away from plaid, and pleats, and polos, because I got my fill of those styles back in my school days.  Just in case you are imagining the kind of cute uniforms with the short skirts, here's some evidence to prove it wasn't cute.  (Please excuse the poor quality!  It's a picture of a picture.)

The sombrero was not part of the standard uniform.  This was at the end of my senior year, when we had an assembly to honor students for various things.  I got the award for Spanish student of the year (AKA "Most Likely to Still Speak Spanish in 10 years").  This was "el mistake-o", as I have forgotten almost everything I learned in Spanish classes.

Top: J.Crew
Jeans: Jessica Simpson
Shoes: Gap
Purse:  thrifted and refashioned Liz Claiborne
Sunglasses:  Fossil

Closet Ultimatum #10 - Roar

This shirt takes animal print to a whole new level.  It's a little weird to have a leopard face on your shirt, but I kind of like it.  What do you think?  Should this shirt get to stay in my closet?

In other news, I got to talk on FaceTime with my nieces last night.  It was so much fun to hear about their first day of school.  I asked Delia if she was going to learn cursive this year, because I thought I had learned cursive in 2nd grade.  Then I wondered if they even teach cursive anymore, since everyone uses computers.  Delia said something like "Whoa, I knew you went to school in the olden days, but I can't believe you didn't have computers back then!"  Way to make me feel old!

Top: Target
Cardigan: Marisa Christina
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: Gap

Linking up here again today!