Disappeared

Hey there, Internet Friends!  I didn't mean to completely disappear for a week, but I didn't have any downtime to blog while I was in Indiana visiting my family.  I did post a few updates on Instagram, so I hope you weren't too worried.  You know, all 10 of you who read this blog. 

Anyway, I'll be getting my pictures together for a little recap of my adventures in Indy, but for now - an outfit from a couple weeks ago.  This is still pre-haircut, so I'm cringing about how frazzled my ends look.  I shouldn't let it get to that point!  BUT I really liked this outfit, so I'm posting it anyway! 

I love the look of yellow and pink together.  This combination goes back to my favorite swimsuit from childhood.  It was pink with yellow polka dots.  I was a very classy 3rd grader. 


Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me) (option, option)
Tank: Gap (option, option)
Skirt: Chaus
Shoes: Old Navy (option, option)

Formerly Known As Dress

The last time you saw this top, it was a dress.  It was a very cheap dress, and probably a little on the short side anyway, so when it ripped, I almost just got rid of it.  Then I thought it might make a cute top.  Then it sat in my "sewing projects pile" for over a year.  Then I finally took the 20 minutes needed to chop it and hem the edge.  Why did I wait so long?  We may never know!

Anyway, I'm digging it as a top.  I actually wore it immediately after completing the project.  I even paired it with this cardigan that was also a DIY dye project.  I should really make more time for easy refashioning projects!  

Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed)

Top: Kohl's (refashioned dress)

Shorts: J.Crew Factory

Sandals: Carlos Santana

    

Nautical Week - SAIL

It's the last day of Nautical Week, and I saved this Sailboat top for the grand finale.  The funny thing is that Laura also has this top, and used it for the first day of the week!  I think there are a few other bloggers who have it, and also one of my co-workers.  So it's either a really cool top, or was on the Target clearance rack for $6.  I'm going with both.  

I also went for the DOUBLE NAUTICAL look by adding the anchor bracelet.  I bought it as a consolation prize for myself after I bought and lost the ship's wheel necklace from F21.  

Also, while wearing this shirt, I had this song stuck in my head all day.  Hint - if you actually want to wake up in the morning, set it as your alarm song.  It's quite jarring first thing in the morning.  (or alarming, ha ha).

Anyway, happy Friday and thanks to everyone who joined in on Nautical Week, and especially my co-host, Laura!  You still have time to link up until Monday.  Linky info is after the jump!

Top: Target

Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed)

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Old Navy

Watch: Fossil

Bracelet: F21

Safety First

 

So, one weird thing about being married is that you end up with all these inside jokes, and no one else has any idea what you are talking about.  BUT, since I spend the majority of my free time with John (who is in on the joke), I forget that other people don't know what is so funny.  And it probably isn't funny, but we think it is, so that's all that matters.  Maybe this isn't a weird thing about being married.  It might just be a weird thing about being married to me.

Anyway, "Safety first!" is one of these things.  Last summer, John bought a few of those fancy workout t-shirts off the clearance racks and they are obnoxiously bright neon, which is probably why they were on sale! Like, I need sunglasses to look at him.  Since I'm the best wife ever, I was teasing him about his ridiculously bright shirts, and now every time he wears one, I say "Safety first!" in an obnoxiously nerdy way.  It's hilarious, trust me (it probably isn't).  This has evolved into us saying this and discussing the level of safety of any person we see wearing neon items.  And these people are everywhere!  Especially on a Caribbean Cruise - there was a lot of neon swimwear.  Needless to say, we felt very safe on our vacation.

All that to say, neon is the last theme I needed to tackle for Sarah's April Looking Lucky Style Challenge.  I don't have a whole lot of neon options, so I knew I needed to plan an outfit around this belt.  Then I remembered my confetti t-shirt is kind of neon-friendly, and then I added my bright yellow cardigan to be extra safe.  It was nice to be dressed so cheerfully on the dreaded first day back at work after vacation.

Tee & Shoes: Gap
Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me)
Skirt: Target
Belt: Chinese Laundry     

FIVE HUNDRED!

This is my 500th post.  Just let that sink in for a minute.  I'm sort of shocked that I've done that many, but I guess I have been blogging almost every weekday for almost 2 years.  I thought it would be fun to look back at my centennial posts, so here it goes:

100 - March 11th, 2012 - this happened to be my 10,000th day of life, so it was a pretty exciting time! 
200 - July 7th, 2012 - I didn't notice this was a significant milestone at the time, so I was just weighing the pros and cons of wearing a cardigan.
300 - November 18, 2012 - epic remix to celebrate my blogiversary! 
400 - March 29, 2013 - again, I didn't notice the milestone, but this fell at the end of the 5 Days, 5 Ways challenge, so it is a fun post about remixing a black and white striped tee.

Anyway, it seems like an appropriate time to thank you all for reading!  I honestly can't believe the amazing friendships I have found through blogging.  It's a weird club and I am so happy to be a part of it!

I'm linking up with Summer Style and Look What I Got (because these sandals are new and were only $6!!). 

Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me)
Top: H&M
Shorts: Loft
Sandals: Love Culture
 

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

Bridge to Iowa

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that my nieces are visiting this week.  We are having WAY TOO MUCH FUN and I love every minute of it!   On Sunday, we ventured downtown to the Pedestrian Bridge.  It was a beautiful day, and we had fun taking silly pictures at the border line.  

 

 

We are sort of weird, I guess

We're trying to fit in as much fun as possible, so I'll probably be posting more about our adventures.  If you come here for the clothes, I'll still include my outfit details.

Shirt: Gap
Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me)
Shorts: J.Crew Factory
Purse: Target
Flip Flops: Old Navy

Yellow Cardigan Remix

It's Friday, which means the weekend is almost here.  More importantly, it means my sister and nieces are on their way to my house for a whole week of shenanigans.  You may remember them from last summer and Thanksgiving.  I am WAY TOO EXCITED to see them!

I'll be honest, I don't actually plan ahead for my Friday remix post.  I usually just pick a random outfit that is in my draft list and go find previous outfits, make the collage, and call it good.  This week, I was busy wearing my new items from Loft, so most of my un-blogged outfits don't include frequently worn items.  Good thing I wore my trusty yellow cardigan on Thursday!

Recently, I've been really drawn to both pink and yellow, so pairing them together just made sense.  I probably shouldn't say "recently," because when I was a kid, my favorite swimsuit was pink with yellow polka dots.  I remember my friends telling me it didn't match, but I thought it was awesome.  Some things never change...

I've actually already done a remix collage on this cardigan, back on my one year blog-iversary.  So, I have 4 looks from spring/summer 2012 here:

1, 2, 3, 4

And here are 4 looks from spring/summer 2013:

5,6,7,8

With the exception of #4 (because pants are the worst), I really like all of these outfits.  Which one is your favorite?

Linking up today with Friday Favorites, Casual Friday and Favorite Fashion Friday!  ! 

Dress: Gap
Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me)
Belt: Chinese Laundry via TJ Maxx
Shoes: BCBGeneration

Another Day, Another Mixed Print Outfit

Lately, I just want to MIX ALL THE PRINTS!  Floral and stripes are one of my favorite combinations, so it is likely that I would have come up with this outfit on my own eventually, but I was helped along the way by this and this.

So, I was recently nominated for a Liebster award by the super sweet Brynn. Since I've been blogging for awhile and still have less than 200 followers, this is my 4th time to get this award (previous posts here and here), so I'm not going to do the whole thing again.  But I will answer Brynn's questions.  (and you should go visit her, because she is great!  Plus she is doing a 30X30 challenge in July, which I am still too chicken to attempt). 

1. What do you like to do in your free time?  I read a lot, and watch a lot of TV (usually something on Netflix because I have no patience for watching shows in real time).  Obviously I like to shop.  When I have more free time, I like to get a little crafty with sewing or other projects.  
2. If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people (dead or alive), who would they be and why?  This question is overwhelming!  I mean, ANYONE from ANY TIME?  Also, I'm not that interested in having dinner with celebrities.  Honestly (if I'm not being afraid of getting religious on the internet), my first choice is Jesus.  Anyone else at this dinner would be ignored.  
3. What is your favorite household chore and why?  Favorite chore?  Seriously, Brynn???  I guess my least-hated chore is doing the laundry.  I like how I can be "doing laundry" all day, but it is mostly remembering to transfer to the dryer, and start a new load.  Plus the clean clothes smell so good, and I can fold them while watching TV.     
4. What's your favorite item of clothing that you currently own?  Again, this is hard to answer because everything is my favorite!  Lately, I've been pretty excited about my navy/white striped blazer and want to wear it all the time, but it's not the best for 90+ degree days! 
5. When you're on a road trip, what is your go-to music?  I usually put my iTunes on shuffle and just let it play.  It ends up being a lot of Ben Folds, Weezer, and Regina Spektor. 

How would you answer her questions?

Necklace: Dillard's
Top: Alfani
Cardigan: Old Navy (Dyed by me)
Skirt: Old Navy
Shoes: Seychelles

Today I am linking up with What I Wore Wednesday and  Fashion and Beauty Finds.

Sunshine Yellow

Whenever I buy something new, I pretty much go straight to Pinterest and search for ideas of how to style it.  I found this outfit when I was looking for mint jeans inspiration.  I really love the bright yellow and mint together, so I was anxious to put my spin on it, but then it was cold and snowy and rainy every day!  I refused to bring down the brightness with boots, so I waited patiently for the sun to return.  Spring arrived just in time for Marion to pick Yellow as the Trend of the Month, so it all worked out!

My plan involved wearing these shoes, but then I remembered that I needed to do a fair amount of walking between buildings for meetings, so I went with a more practical heel.

Are you wearing yellow this spring?  Go link up!

Tank and Jeans: Gap
Cardigan: Target (and then dyed by me)
Shoes: BCBGenerarion

Criminal in a Yellow Cardigan

Day 3 of the link up with Marissa and Heidi for the Pantone Spring Color Challenge means Lemon Zest!  Of course, I had to bust out my yellow-dyed cardigan.  I really like how it pulls out the yellow in the dress.  

I wore this on Monday.  Also on Monday, I had a little run-in with the law.  Here you think I am this nice girl who obeys rules, but I am basically an outlaw.  Apparently, I've been driving around with an expired vehicle registration for over a year.  Oops!

The truth is that I think the DMV messed something up, because they have no record of my vehicle in our current county.  I specifically remember going to the DMV when we moved to update everything, so they must have lost it somehow.  This is the same trip where they were supposed to register me to vote.  Needless to say, I have lost all faith in the DMV (as if I ever had any).   Somehow, John's car is registered just fine, and he was in the voter database, too.  I must have offended the worker somehow.

Anyway, I have to venture downtown sometime soon to appear in court and pay my fine.  Believe it or not, the "court fees" are twice as much as the actual fine.  Ridiculous!  I guess I shouldn't break the law, because the consequences are very frustrating. 

After work, I was feeling particularly brave, and went to the park to take pictures.  Other than the weird guy staring at me from the picnic tables, it was a pretty good spot!

Dress: Kohl's
Cardigan: Target (dyed by me)
Necklace: Bass outlet
Shoes: Carlos Santana via DSW (get ready to see these a lot this summer)

300th Post and Blogiversary

I can't believe it has been one year since I started this little blog!  Time flies when you are having fun, I guess.    One of my favorite posts from the year was this "Repeat Offender" one, where I showed some of my most worn pieces.  One of the reasons I started blogging was to get out of my style rut.  I was wearing the same outfits on a rotation and was just getting pretty bored with it.  In the last year, I've really had fun trying new and different combinations!  Here are just a few of my frequently worn pieces:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Thank you all for reading along!

So Long, Sweet Summer

 

Growing up in Kansas, people would often say something like "If you don't like the weather here, just wait 5 minutes and it will change!"  People in Nebraska and Indiana say this, too.  In Waiting for Guffman, the mayor of a small town in Missouri mentions the same saying, but thinks with hard work, he believes they could get that down to 3 or 4 minutes.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a saying everywhere.  Do people say this in Michigan?  Texas?  South Carolina?  Probably not in Alaska or Hawaii, right?  Is this a saying where you live?  I'm just curious if all the states think their weather is more ridiculous than everywhere else.  We all want to be special, I guess.

I think it is safe to say that summer days are gone for this year.  I really do love the fall, but winter always makes an appearance too soon.  I'm half hoping we have another mild winter, but just harsh enough to kill all the bugs.  We had a very buggy summer and I'm not down with that at all.

Cardigan: Old Navy, dyed by me
Top: Sunset Rd.
Pants: Gap
Shoes: Born

EBEW: Color Blocking

It's Everybody, Everywear time again!  Pretty much my favorite day of each month, and since I wasn't out of town this month, I actually had a chance to think through my plan for color blocking!

I decided to use my new mullet skirt as my starting point.  The first time I wore this skirt, I stayed within my comfort zone with black and white.  This time, I am going the bright color-blocking route.  It was also a good excuse to wear my crazy new shoes, and my recently dyed yellow cardigan, which is apparently my new favorite thing to wear.        

Go check out the other colorful outfits here. I'm also linking up here today, for more color-blocking fun!

Cardigan: Old Navy (dyed by me)
Shirt: Gap
Skirt: Limited
Shoes: Target

Shoe Crazy?

Some co-workers accused me recently of having too many pairs of shoes.  This has been a common accusation throughout my life.  My current defense is that I don't have nearly as many pairs of shoes as I did when I was in High School.  I think I've mentioned this before, but when you have to wear a uniform to school, shoes are the only piece of self-expression you get.  Full-disclosure:  My AOL screen name may have been "shoecrazy7".     

Anyway, these shoes are relatively new.  I bought them when my sister was visiting.  My nieces did not like them.  I think their exact words were "Aunt Andi, NOOOO!  You look like a giant!"  But looking like a giant is a small price to pay for some fun new wedges - and they were on sale! 

I should probably count my shoes to see how many I really have!  So, what do you think?  How many pairs of shoes is too many? 

Shirt and tank: Gap
Skirt: George
Necklace: Charming Charlie (gift)
Cardigan (Old Navy, dyed by me)
Shoes: Old Navy