#26 - Last Hurrah

Well, I think this skirt has come to the end of the road.  I've worn it about a million times (okay, maybe 20) over the past 2 years, do I think I've gotten my $8 out of it.  I'm a big fan of knit pencil skirts, because they look nice, but are really comfortable, and don't need as much ironing.  But they do tend to get worn out faster than a woven pencil skirt.  It's probably good I don't spend more than $10 on them!  I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for a new green skirt! 

It's Tuesday, so I'm linking up with Laura!  

Jacket: J.Crew Factory (exact)
Shirt: Gap (option, option, option)
Belt: Gap  (similar)
Skirt: Target (exact, similar)
Sandals: Target(exact, similar)

#5 - John Deere Green

For some reason, I felt kind of like a farm girl in this outfit.  It's probably the way my shirt is tied Daisy Duke style.  And my skirt isn't quite John Deere green, but it still makes me think of this song.  Wasn't 90's country just the best ever?

Anyway, for the record - my family is strictly Farmall people.  Red tractors all the way.

Oh, and I'm finally remembering to link up with Laura for Confident Twosday!  Go check it out and join in!

Top: Old Navy (similar, similar)
Skirt: Target (exact, similar)
Shoes: Old Navy (option, option)

Getting Old

Most of the time, I'm not too worried about getting older.  I mean, I'm on my last few months as a 20-something, but 30 seems okay.  Every once in awhile though, something happens that makes me feel really old.  One of these things happened yesterday at the eye doctor.  My previous eye doctor moved away, so I got to see the new guy who replaced her at the office.  He was great, but I think he was younger than me.  I mean, it's possible that he just looks young.  Anyway, if he is in fact younger than me, I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've been older than a medical provider.  It feels kind of weird. But hey, my eyes haven't gotten worse, so that's something to be happy about! 

At least I still wear color combinations that a Kindergartener would approve. 

Cardigan: J.Crew Factory
Necklace: Dillard's
Top: Old Navy
Skirt: Target
Flats: Payless

Green Week - Skirt

I finally remembered to bring my wind machine with me for outfit photos! Or maybe the windy season is just upon us. I actually love windy days, as long as it's not too cold outside. Blame it on growing up in Kansas!  Unfortunately, windy days are not ideal for taking pictures. There are a lot more outtakes than usual, and most involve my hair obstructing my face or me trying to prevent my hair from obstructing my face. Hashtag StyleBloggerProblems.

This is what I actually wore on St. Patrick's Day. One of my co-workers said "I see you are wearing lots of green today!" and I thought "not LOTS, just a skirt!"     

I was inspired by this outfit, and then obviously made some changes based on the items in my wardrobe. I thought my bright blue cami would show through the sheer floral pattern on my shirt, but it actually isn't noticeable at all. Maybe I should have worn my lace shirt instead. Maybe next time!

We are halfway through GREEN WEEK.  Remember you can link up any day! I'm also linking up with Pinned It & Did It and Style Swap with Ginny and Jenn. 

Blazer, Tee, Cami: Gap
Skirt: Target
Necklace, Shoes: Old Navy

Linky info is after the jump!  

Trendy Tuesday - Gingham

I think it is so fun that Danielle and her co-workers do Trendy Tuesday each week.  One of my co-workers tried to institute "Flannel Friday" every week, but I didn't have any flannel.  I think mostly 3 of the guys participated.  Anyway...  today's theme is Gingham and/or cords.  I don't have any corduroy items at the moment, so I went with my one gingham shirt.  And I got my inspiration from this pin.  

I really want a blue/white gingham shirt.  This one is dark blue and light blue, and I just don't like it as much as I want to.  Plus it is a really flimsy fabric and doesn't look as sharp as others I have seen.  So this is an item on my wish list.  I think this popover from Target would be perfect, but it is not available in my size online or in stores.  On Friday, I went to Old Navy looking for this option, but it was really boxy on me, so I ended up getting a random polka dot blouse instead.  I keep hoping to catch a 40% off sale at JCF and snag this one, because I'm not willing to pay $50.  So the search for the perfect gingham button-up continues.  

Also linking up with Pinned It & Did It and Style Swap with Ginny and Jenn

Sweater & Top: Gap
Skirt: Target
Boots: Madden

Elephants on Parade

This is my new elephant scarf that my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday.  I like how from far away it just looks like a generic print, but then when you get closer the elephants are more obvious!  Plus it has a lot of different colors going on, so I can wear it with several color schemes.  Here's a closeup shot: 

Speaking of animal print....  Remember that next week, I'm rocking leopard print every single day!  It's going to be tricky because I'm going to keep TOPIO going, as well.  And then Friday will be a link-up, where you can share your looks with me and Brynn.  I'm pretty excited! 

One week of TOPIO down, 3 to go!  

Scarf: gift
Sweater: Gap
Skirt: Target
Boots:  Steve Madden

Circular Inspiration

By the lack of leaves on the ground, you may guess that this is from a few weeks ago.  You'd be right.  This was an outfit I had in mind to use for Stripes Week, but then I had too many striped outfits.  And now it's a couple weeks later.

This outfit was inspired by this pin, because I really liked the green jeans with the navy stripes.  Then I felt like I had worn it before, and searched through my archives.  It's really similar to this outfit that I wore back in March.  Inspiration is a strange thing.  I think I came up with the first outfit on my own.  Then did I like the Pinterest outfit because I remembered liking that combination when I wore it myself?  I don't know.  And when I clicked through to the original source, I'm pretty sure she's not wearing navy at all, but black.  So, my interpretation wasn't even true.  The internet is so weird.

I'm linking up with Pinned It & Did It, What I Wore and What I Wore to Work.

Cardigan & Top: Gap
Skirt: Target
Shoes: BCBGeneration

Stripe Week - Sweater and Link-up

Stripes Week is coming to a close, but I'll probably have stripes on the blog most of next week, because I kind of over-prepared.  I could probably keep this going through the rest of the month, but I'd get tired of that (maybe).

Anyway... you guys!  FALL!  I mean, BOOTS and LAYERS!  There are even recently fallen leaves on my shoe in the first picture.  Seriously, though - it got kind of cold over the weekend, and we had all the windows in our house open.  I think it was about 50 degrees inside when we woke up on Saturday.  Not awesome.  But I did bust out the boots on Sunday.  And then it was 80 again on Monday.  I'm hoping we won't see snow until December.  Come on, Nebraska!

Pinned It & Did It

Pinterest is pretty cool.  I don't spend waste as much time on there as some people (you know who you are - I'll judge you as I play Candy Crush Saga), but I do love using it as a source of inspiration when I am just not sure what to wear.  I try to pin outfits from my favorite bloggers throughout the week/month/whatever, and then when I am staring at my closet, I can pull up my inspiration board and have several ideas at my fingertips.  So of course I have to join in on Heather's Pinned It & Did It Link Party! 

I love green and I love leopard, so when I saw this collage that Jill (from Good Life for Less) put together waaaay back in January 2012, I immediately pinned it, because PRETTY!  I've worn green tops with my leopard print skirt 2 times (here and here), but somehow forgot that I should wear my green skirt and my leopard top together until I saw Heather's version!  So easy.  So classic.  Pretty much a perfect outfit.  Jean jacket optional for freezing office.

Do you get outfit inspiration from Pinterest?  

Also linking up with Summer Style and Tres-Chic.   

Top: home made by me
Skirt; Target
Jacket: Izod
Sandals: Carlos Santana

Thoughts on Cost Per Wear

Target week continues with skirts/pants/bottoms!  This skirt was the topic of a recent remix post, and I suspect I will be wearing it quite a bit throughout the summer.  Jenn recently mentioned a theory of shopping where you should be able to wear an item as many times as the dollars you spent on it, so the price per wear is $1 or less (and she's doing a challenge right now about it).  I think most of my clothes end up with a cost per wear of $1 or less (except for fancier dresses, probably).  This skirt cost me $8, and this is the 7th outfit I have blogged.  I don't remember if I have worn it any other times, but I think it is safe to say I will wear it again.

I really like this theory, because I think it takes into consideration how frequently an item will be worn, and how many seasons/years it will be in your wardrobe.  For example, my nude pumps were $40, which is more than I would normally spend on a pair of shoes, but I have probably worn them at least once a week for the last year and a half.  A knit pencil skirt from Target probably won't last for that many wears, so I wouldn't spend more than $10-15 for it.  

Do you have any rules or theories on how much you will spend for certain items?

Blazer and top: Gap
Skirt: Target
Shoes: Seychelles via DSW

Green Skirt Remix

Random thoughts for you on this Friday:

• I thought the colors in this outfit were so pretty together, so I am copycatting!   
• My broken boot is fixed!  When I picked it up from the repair shop a couple weeks ago, it was about 70 degrees outside.  I joked that my boots were fixed just in time for warmer weather.  Be careful what you joke about, because it might snow in mid-April! 
• Meet my new lace tee from H&M.  I've had this on my list for a few months, so I'm excited to wear it with everything I own!
• I got this skirt on clearance at Target just before Christmas.  It was $8.  And then I found out the emerald is the "color of the year," which I really don't understand how one color gets that honor, but I am so ready for wearing green!  I've already worn it several times, so thought it deserved a remix post.  Here are 5 other ways I've worn it! 

1/2/3/4/5

I'm also linking up with AJ for her weekly remix!  Go check it out!


Top: H&M
Belt: Gap
Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Skirt: Target
Boots: Guess via TJ Maxx

Five Things

I've seen this "5 things" chain floating around, and at first I was like "Phew, I hope I don't get tagged!" because of fact #1, but then I started to feel left out, so I was pretty excited when Kate tagged me.  Without any further ado, here's my 5 facts:  

1. I totally choke whenever there is any pressure.  I mean, I think I am a fairly interesting person, but whenever I'm in a group and we are supposed to share a "fun fact", I completely panic, and end up saying something like "I'm really bad at coming up with fun facts, but I am fun, I promise!" and then everyone thinks I'm kind of strange.  The same panic applies to any competition.  I'm not a great bowler, but I can usually get about 100 if I am not paying attention to the score.  However, if someone points out to me that I have 98, and my previous turn was a spare, so I really only need to get 1 pin in the 10th frame, I will almost always roll 2 gutter-balls.  This is super frustrating!
2. I have broken my front right tooth so many times that I have lost count.  The first time was when I was 7, and I did a flip on a bike rack that was much shorter than I thought, and I smashed my face on the concrete.  The next time I was 9 (and super graceful), and a mean boy tripped me when I was running.  I pretty much skidded face first across the sidewalk.  Over the next 5 or so years, I broke it several other times, on a random candy cane, or biting too hard on a fork.  I stopped counting around the 10th time.  I am very thankful that my dentist was able to fix it and you can't tell unless you get very close (and unless you are my husband, you shouldn't be that close).   
3. I collect elephants as travel souvenirs.  My dad traveled a fair amount when I was a kid, and brought back souvenirs for us kids.  When I was pretty young, I ended up with a set of elephants from Zaire (which no longer exists), and a set of elephants from India.  In 2002, I bought some from a flea market in Istanbul.  In 2003, one of my friends got me one from her trip to Guatemala.  In 2005, I bought one in Rome.  In 2006, I hit the jackpot in Kenya and got the little ivory elephant, plus elephant bookends!  My recent travels have been trickier, because there aren't as many elephant figurines in the tourist shops around the Caribbean, but I found one in Puerto Rico, and another one in Honduras.    
4. I'm sort of tall.  I have been 5'9'' since I was about 13 years old.  This was not great in those awkward middle school years when I towered over all my friends (and all the boys).  For some reason, I have embraced the tall, and always wore high heels anyway.  I don't feel super tall anymore, probably because I have quite a few tall friends and co-workers.  People still give me a hard time when I am wearing heels, like "aren't you tall enough?" and I sort of wonder if they go around teasing short people who wear flats.  I think probably not.
5. I have a complicated relationship with Nebraska Cornhusker football.  I was born in Nebraska, but then moved to Kansas when I was a baby.  For some reason, I decided as a very young child that I would be a huge Husker fan.  It probably helped that they were awesome in the mid-90s, too.  I continued my superfandom throughout middle and high school, and decided I was going to the University of Nebraska.  I remember my dad saying something like "You can't pick a college just because you like their football team!" and I was kind of like "well, yeah, I can..."  Once I got to Nebraska, my love of the Huskers started to fade.  It probably didn't help that they were awful when I had my student season tickets.  (Bill Callahan, anyone?)  Anyway, I don't really pay attention to the Husker games at all anymore, and have found that game days are the best time to go grocery shopping, because there are no lines!         

I am too lazy to figure out who has already done this, so I'm tagging anyone who is reading this!  What are 5 random facts about you?

Tee and Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: Target
Boots: Wanted

I Heart Chambray

This is another total copycat outfit.  Whenever I get a new item of clothing, I go on Pinterest and search for it to get inspiration.  I pinned this shortly after buying my green pencil skirt.  I just love bright green and mint together!  Due to the weather, I had to add tights and boots, instead of nude pumps, so I guess it's not a total rip-off.  I do think it would be cuter with the nude heels.  Maybe I'll do that when it gets warmer!

This is my first outfit in the modified "Take One, Pass It On" challenge.  I picked my chambray shirt from Friday's post.

I am also guest posting today for Laura over at Calm Delight.  I'm showing several ways you can style a chambray shirt!  Here's a sneak peak:

Outfit details:
Shirt: J.Crew Factory
Cardigan: Gap
Skirt & Tights: Target
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime
Pearls:  gift (from China)

Feeling Better

Happy Friday!  I think I am officially recovering from the flu.  I actually worked a full day in the office yesterday, complete with dressing up and putting on make up!  After about 9 days of feeling terrible, it was nice to be back in the swing of things.  It was not so nice that the temperature outside was "feels like -7," but I just wore lots of winter accessories to stay warm.  I would love it if the temps went up, but I am trying to remember that the cold weather helps reduce the creepy bug population in the spring.  So yay for freezing temperatures!      

Sweater: Old Navy
Shirt: Gap
Skirt: Target
Boots: Rampage

Just Another Giveaway

Gap Sweater; Loft Scarf; Target Skirt; BareTraps boots

What better way to kick off the first Monday of 2013 than with a giveaway?  I said I would do another one when I hit 75 followers, but that happened right before Christmas, and I figured the holidays were crazy enough, so I decided to wait until January.

Since I love Charming Charlie, I had to include another of their fabulous necklaces.  I went with cobalt blue, since I've been loving it so much lately.

I'm also throwing in a $5 Starbucks gift card for the winner.  I truly want to thank all of you lovely people out there who take the time to read my silly little blog.  I wish I could give each and every one of you a present, but that's probably not in the budget!  For now, there will be one winner, but I hope to do more giveaways in the future.  The winner will be announced next Monday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway