Victory in Gingham

After searching and complaining for almost a year, I finally found the perfect navy/white gingham shirt a few weeks ago.  I had gone to the J.Crew Factory with the intention of buying this one, but they didn't have my size.  I figured I would just order online, but then I saw it was back-ordered, and wouldn't ship until July.  Nope, not waiting that long!  Then I found this one at F21.  I'll be honest, I don't like the idea of being "plus size," but this shirt is exactly what I was looking for, and it fits like a J.Crew large, so I just have to suppress my irrational fear of plus-sized-ness.  Besides, no one else will know.  Oh wait, I just told the whole internet.  Oops...

Also, 2 quick stories about necklaces:

1. It's hard to see, but I'm wearing the necklace that I won from Brynn's giveaway. My husband was like "cool antler necklace!" and I was like "it's not an antler! It's a tree branch!" but he doesn't believe me. 
2. The day I bought this shirt, I also bought a fun nautical necklace at F21.  It looks like this.  I can't find it anywhere.  I'm worried that it was still in the bag and got thrown away.  I mean, it was only $1.80, but I hope I find it!         

Oh, and I don't really believe in April Fools Day, so all of the above stories are true.  And I will try not to believe anything that I hear today.  

Shirt: F21
Skirt: Sunny Leigh
Shoes: Old Navy

Random Thoughts for Monday

Here are just a few random thoughts for your Monday:

• Last week, I saw a car with eyelashes.  Have you heard of these?  I don't even know what to say.  If you have carlashes, I will probably be judging you.  
• If my hair looks extra lustrous to you, it's because I ran out of my regular conditioner, so I've been using the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Hair Mask.  It says you just need a small amount on a weekly basis to get lustrous hair, but I've been using a large amount on a daily basis and it seems to be working quite well.  
• A very large spider has been lurking above the door from our garage into our house.  Yesterday afternoon, he was hovering directly over my head when I got out of the car.  I called in reinforcements (husband), and the spider won't be bothering me anymore. 
• Yesterday, I had my first Salted Caramel Mocha Creme Frappuccino of the season!  Delicious!
• This outfit is from Sunday.  After church, we went out for lunch downtown.  I thought we should take pictures with a cool background, but I didn't have my camera, and there were lots of hobos around, so we just went home.  Maybe next time!  
• These shoes are falling apart.  I need to find some replacements soon!  
• My mom is coming to visit on Friday!  I'm pretty excited to hang out with her this weekend!  

I hope you all have a lovely week!  

Scarf: Forever 21
Top: H&M
Skirt: Sunny Leigh
Shoes: Gap

Bad Drivers

I'm jumping back into Blog Every Day in May for today's topic: Rant about something. 

I try to keep it pretty positive around here, but since it's part of the challenge, I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to complain.  I've created a very crude drawing below to show you what I mean.  When I leave work, I turn right onto a road that has a median separating the southbound lane from the northbound lane.  Right where I turn out, there's an opening in the median (so I could turn left, if needed).  Pretend I'm the red line.  There are people who work in an office to the north (they are the yellow line) who think it is appropriate to turn south (into the northbound lane) and then cross over into the southbound lane at the gap in the median.  THIS IS NOT OKAY!      

I understand it's annoying that you can't turn left, but just take a right and flip a U-turn at the next opening.  You can't drive the wrong way, even if it's just really quick.  Every few weeks, I almost run into one of these people, because they come from the wrong direction/lane.  I'm not looking there when I go to turn right!  I always honk at them, and they sometimes flip me off (because I'm the jerk in this situation??).

I have a few (or maybe several) other traffic-related topics to rant about, but I'm sure no one wants to read that!

Shirt: Old Navy
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Shoes: Target
Purse: thrifted

Bloglovin'

By now, you've probably heard that Google Reader (and maybe Google Friend Connect) is going away.  When I heard the news, I switched to Bloglovin for my daily blog reading.  It was really easy to make the switch, and I was able to import my Google Reader blogs into Bloglovin.

Pros:

• It was a good time to trim down my list of blogs.  The list had grown so much that I was missing out on the ones I really wanted to read.
• Bloglovin seems easier to make groups of blogs, and mark certain ones as read.  

Con:

• I have to open each blog to read the full post.  Google Reader had the full post most of the time (depending on the blogger settings).  I don't think it actually takes longer, but it seems annoying to have to open each blog in a new tab.

One thing I have heard/read from other bloggers is that it will be nice for GFC to go away, because then we won't all be so focused on the number of followers.  I don't really get this, because Bloglovin' still tells you a number of followers.

Anyway, if you are currently using Google Reader, I would recommend Bloglovin as an alternative.  You can import your GR subscriptions, or just start fresh.  You can find and follow me here!

PS - I'm being an outfit copycat again.  I don't think I would have thought of combining yellow, pink, and purple, but this picture inspired me!  I was going to wait until it was warm, but I got impatient, and I really like how the denim jacket and gray boots tone down the crazy bright colors. 


Shirt: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

5 Days, 5 Ways Bonus - Purple Skirt

When I was preparing for the 5 Days, 5 Ways challenge, I thought my purple skirt would be an excellent item to feature.  After mostly finishing this post, I realized that skirts were not one of the days.  Fail!  The good news is that I am adding a bonus day to the fun of last week!

1/2/3/4/5

Digging through my archives, I realized that I usually pair this skirt with more neutral tops.  I've never had a lot of purple in my wardrobe, so I guess I don't know how to pair it with other colors.  I have had this look pinned for awhile, so I will probably try it out soon!

I am thinking I will try to do a remix post on a weekly basis.  They are some of my favorite posts to put together, and also my favorite topic to see on other style blogs.  What do you say?  Would you like that, or do you think remix posts are lame?

Top: Dillard's
Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Boots: BareTraps via DSW

Swapping Buttons

Take One, Pass It On Item:  gray tights from last Thursday

Here's the deal - I started blogging before I knew anything about blogging.  Almost a year and a half later, and I still don't know all the tricks of the trade.  In December, I realized I should really have a blog button, so I did some Google searches to find instructions and realized it was super easy.  Why did it take me a whole year to do that?  I have no idea.

Anyway, for the past 3-ish months, I have done some button swaps, and sponsored a few blogs to get a feel for things.  Here's my question:  Do you actually think button swaps or ads on a sidebar do any good?  In my experience, I have gotten almost zero traffic from the blogs that just have my button on their sidebar.  For the  blogs I actually paid to sponsor, I did see traffic, but I think that was more from their "Meet the Sponsor" type posts, giveaways, and twitter shout-outs.  The one blog I paid to sponsor who didn't do those extra things pretty much sent me no traffic.

I have considered the possibility that my button is lame and doesn't catch the attention of potential clickers.  So I am curious what you all think about button swaps:  Do you think they bring new readers your way?

I'm still trying to decide how to proceed with the whole sponsoring/swapping buttons deal.  I'm not trying to make money off this blog, but it is fun to have more readers.  Instead of a button swap, I have been wondering about the idea of swapping posts with other bloggers, where we would just guest post for each other on a given day.  Other bloggers, would you be interested in something like that?  Readers, what do you think of guest posts?  Do you see it as a way to meet someone new, or do you just scroll past it?

Shirt: Gap
Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Tights: Target
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

Another Weekend

Take One, Pass It On Item:  silver belt from last Thursday's post.

**copycatting myself.  I just really liked this sweater/shirt/belt combo with my green skirt, so I wanted to try it with purple. 

On Mondays, I feel compelled to give some update about the weekend.  I started to think about it, and realized this weekend was very similar to last weekend.  During the day on Saturday, I tried to get caught up on household tasks, because who has time to to laundry during the week?  Saturday evening, John and I met up with a friend for dinner and some Red Mango, and then back to our house for another epic game of Catan.  I feel like I should mention that I won last weekend and this weekend.  I think I should retire while I am at my peak.  Sunday was church, followed by lunch, and a quick run to Ulta because I was completely out of makeup.  In the afternoon, I just tried to take it easy because I am afraid I have a cold now.  I'm trying to ignore it in the the hopes that it will go away, but so far, this is not working.  I need to move somewhere warmer, preferably where there are no germs.

How was your weekend?  


Top and Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: Sunny Leigh
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Boots: BareTraps

Striped Laser, I mean Blazer

Marion's trend of the month is stripes, and I am super excited to show of one of my favorite Christmas presents!   One of my guy friends asked me if I got any cool presents for Christmas, and then he heard me say "Yeah, John got me a really cool laser!" and then I think he was a little disappointed when I clarified.  I'm not sure what a striped laser would be, but it does sound fancy.  

The only problem with this blazer is that I want to wear it every day, and I think my co-workers just might start to notice.  I just feel like it should be worn immediately with all the other items I own.  I will have to be careful and only wear it on a weekly basis or something.

The other problem (I guess there are 2), is that I am terrified of getting it dirty.  My car is filthy from all the mess of wintry weather, and at work, I am notorious for leaving uncapped pens on my desk.  Needless to say, I was a bit paranoid all day.  I will just have to be more responsible on the days I wear this blazer.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!   You have all week!

Sweater and Blazer: Gap
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Tights: Target
Boots: BareTraps via DSW

Transitioning

I wore this to church a couple weekends ago, on a day that started out unseasonable warm, and then became more seasonably cold that evening.  Instead of coming up with a whole new outfit for that evening, I just made some slight modifications and was good to go!

Which version do you prefer?

Base outfit:
Shirt: J.Crew Factory
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's

Outfit #1
Belt: Old Navy
Shoes: Seychelles
Sunglasses: Jones New York

Outfit #2
Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

In the Garage

 

Outfit photos are so difficult in the winter!  I am getting bored of my indoor spots, so I decided to be crazy and take pictures in the garage.  It's kind of like being outside, because there are leaves on the floor.

After raving about the awesomeness of knit pencil skirts recently, I was pretty excited when I found this one on the clearance racks at Macy's.  And this is way more practical than my other purple skirt!

Sweater: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Tank: Old Navy
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Tights: Chinese Laundry via TJ Maxx
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime