Seeing Spots

I wore this on Wednesday, which I thought was Thursday.  After a long day at work, I convinced John to go out to dinner and do some Christmas shopping.   We went to Toys R Us with a list of all the weird toys my nieces and nephews want this year.  I swear, all these things sound the same, and I can't keep track of what is what.  The lists are like Orbeez, Gomus, Zoobles, Beyblades, etc.  I'm sorry, what??  We actually had a pretty successful trip, and got presents for 4 of the 6 kids!  This weekend is going to be serious shopping time!

Anyway, we took pictures after our adventures at the toy store, and I couldn't narrow it down to just 1, so you get 2 pictures today!  



Top: Sunny Leigh from TJ Maxx
Skirt: Express (from approximately 1998)
Belt: Francesca's
Booties: Target - these were $8.98 at the store!

Throwback Thursday - 15 year old me

I think this picture pretty well sums up my sense of style my freshman year of high school.  This was on a ski trip with the youth group.  I didn't even think about skiing, because I'm about the least coordinated person in the world.  My brother's girlfriend (now wife) was on the trip, and she and a few of her friends decided to dye their hair one day.  I'm still not sure how the sponsors let this happen!  Anyway, I got in on it.  You can't tell in this picture, but we put pretty bright red streaks in my hair.  Then we straightened it, and it actually looked good for a few days, in the low humidity of Colorado!  My mom wasn't thrilled when I came home with red streaks in my hair. 

The rest of this outfit is composed of a few of my favorite things from that point in my life:

Shirt:  Calvin Klein Jeans - my sister had the exact same shirt and we both wore it all the time (sometimes on the same day!).  I think this shirt is still hanging in my closet at my parent's house, because I just can't quite let it go.

Jeans:  I think these are from Aeropostale, which was fairly new in town.  Or maybe these were Express...  Either way, jeans were the best thing ever for a girl who had to wear a very unfortunate pleated skirt everyday.  I'll have to post a uniform picture one of these days. 

Shoes:  I found these Skechers at a Nordstrom Rack when I was visiting my sister in Chicago.  I don't know when I got rid of these, but I'm thinking I need some new red tennis shoes. 

Watch:  Anne Klein - I think this was a gift from my mom for something, and I loved it! 

Earrings:  most of my earrings at this point were from The Limited for 2 reasons:   1) they sold earrings for sensitive skin, which I needed.    2)  they sent me $15 off coupons all the time. 

I wonder why Limited doesn't send me coupons anymore...  I should really look into that!

Wedding Wednesday - Always a Bridesmaid...

Actually, I've only been a bridesmaid a few times, and I have been a bride, so I guess that saying doesn't really work for me.  This summer, I was a bridesmaid for one of my friends, who was marrying one of my husband's friends, so we were both in the wedding party.  The wedding was in July, and outside, so needless to say, it was a little warm!  The ceremony was beautiful and pretty quick, so we got back into the air conditioned reception hall before we completely melted. 

For me, the trickiest part of being a bridesmaid is getting my hair done.  Most stylists just have no idea what to do with this mess of curls.  I always break the rules and show up with my hair freshly washed, because otherwise, it is unmanageable.  On this particular day, I told the stylist that I wanted it  up and as contained as possible, since I knew we would be out in the heat and humidity.  I told her to just leave it curly, and use the natural curl as much as possible.  She proceeded to blow dry my hair into a giant fro.  (One of the other bridesmaids took a picture at this point, which I still haven't seen.)  Then she straightened and teased my hair into a little side cascading deal, and curled it with the curling iron.  Completely the opposite of what I asked for!  And so much work for her!  All that to say, I actually liked what she did, and it held up ok in the 100+ degree humidity. 

Dress:  David's Bridal
Shoes:  Payless ($8!)

EBEW: Sequins + Sparkles

 

If you are thinking I wore this skirt last Tuesday, you are correct.  I'm wearing it again for the Everybody, Everywear Sequins and Sparkles challenge.  Also, I love this skirt, so I'm happy to have an excuse to wear it again this week.

Most of my pictures are taken after work, and you can totally tell that I am not quite awake in this picture.   

I took inspiration from my gold skirt, and decided to pull out some of my yellow gold jewelry that I hardly ever wear.  These 3 pieces were all gifts from my parents when I was in high school:

Pearl Ring:  birthday present when I turned 16, I think.  My mom found this really cool ring at one of the mall jewelry stores, but it turned my finger green, even though they said it was 14kt gold.  So, we returned it, and went to a different store, where I picked out this one.  I love this one, too, but I wish the other one would have worked, since my mom picked it out for me.

Opal necklace:  present on my 18th birthday.  Opal is my birthstone, and my mom picked this style, which I really love.  I think I wore this necklace almost every day for about 4 or 5 years.  I've been thinking I should get a longer chain for it.

Hebrew Name necklace:  my dad got this for me on a trip to Israel.  I just put my name into Google translator, and the necklace is correct.  Wouldn't that be embarrassing if I was wearing a Hebrew necklace all these years that said "stupid American" or something??  I do think it is backwards in this picture, so that's probably embarrassing enough.

Skirt: Gap
Shirt: handmade
Cardigan:  Merona from Target
Boots: Bare Traps from DSW
Leggings: can't remember, but they are really great, so I wish I knew where they were from!

Christmas Music

The holiday season is in full swing, which means I am blasting Christmas music at every opportunity.  Here's what I've been listening to this year:

• When I was really young, my family got "The christmas tape".  It was contemporary (at the time) Christian artists singing Christmas songs, and this tape was played pretty much non-stop from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Day.  The tape is still in working order as far as I know, but it lives at my parents' house.  A few years ago, I found it on iTunes, and was so excited! 
• Relient K's Christmas Album is also one of my favorites.  These guys do a really great job mixing traditional carols with some fun new stuff.  Love it. 
• Weezer put out a short Christmas album a few years ago.  It pretty much rocks.  
• I've been taking advantage of the streaming music websites, too:
•  Rdio is my favorite, because you can listen to specific albums or songs, and create playlists.  I've mostly been listening to A Very She & Him Christmas and Michael Buble's Christmas Album.  One downside:  I have used up my free monthly allowance of listening, so I am stuck until my new month starts in 5 days!
• Pandora is my backup, so I'm listening to it right now.  I've tried to make Christmas stations, but it always starts to play regular music at some point, and I have to make a new station.  

I'm also loving this version of Baby, It's Cold Outside, by Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles (skip to about 2:20 for the actual performance to start):  

What are your favorite Christmas songs or albums?

All Aboard!

Friday night, we got all dressed up for John's company's Christmas party.  It was downtown at the Durham Museum (old Union Station), so we took the opportunity to take a picture on the train.  I wish they had some landscape pictures outside the window, so it actually looked like I was going somewhere. 

I almost wore my new green glitter shoes, but I thought it was a bit much, and I was pretty sure they'd be ruined the second they got snowy.  I think I tried on 10 pairs of shoes before I settled on these.  It was the wrong decision for sure.  Next year, I need to remember that there is a LOT of standing around, so I need to wear more comfortable shoes.  By the end of the night, I almost couldn't walk, especially on the ice and snow!  As of Monday morning, my toes are still a little numb.  That can't be healthy. 

Anyway... this dress is from Ann Taylor, and it was originally $138.  The other day, I stumbled across a blogger who had bought it full price, and was explaining that sometimes it is worth it to splurge on such a great basic item.  It's on sale online now for $99.  I got it for 7.  That's right, SEVEN dollars.  That is 95% off the original price.  It makes me feel a little ridiculous that my belt cost twice as much as my dress, but I think I'll manage. 

Dress: Ann Taylor
Belt:  Francesca's
Shoes:  BCBGirl
Clutch:  Loft

Snow Boots, kind of

This is what I wore to work on Friday.  It was snowing again, and I felt like being as comfortable and cozy as possible. 

I bought these fleece inserts for my Wellies a few months ago, and this was their debut.  I thought they were genius when I first got them, but there were a few practical problems:

1. There was really no good way to get them all assembled.  I tried putting the insert into the boot, but then it got tangled up when I tried to put it on my foot.  I finally put it on like a sock, and then put the boot on.  But then my toes were kind of smashed.  I don't know.  Maybe it's just me.

2.  There was so much fleece crammed into the boot, that it was super tight around my arch, so I lost circulation in my toes.  At work, I just slipped my boots off, but this would have been a problem if I was out and about.  Again, maybe this isn't a problem for most people.  I suppose a flatter foot might work better.

Despite the problems, I really loved the way these looked, with the polka dots on both the boots and the cuffs.  

Shirt:  Gap
Sweater/Hoodie:  Gap
Coat:  DKNY
Hat: Gap
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Target
Boot Inserts: Betsey Johnson from Marshall's.