EBEW - Back to School Polka Dots

EBEW's September theme is "Back to School," so I figured I would do a little throwback inspiration from an old "first day of school" picture of myself.  I went to private school from 2nd grade through high school, so most of my first day of school outfit decisions were whether to wear a khaki or plaid skirt.  I had to go all the way back to Kindergarten to find a good one!

posing in front of a brick wall like a real fashion blogger!

I guess 6-year-old Andi knew I would want an excuse to wear my polka dot cardigan again. Of course, I had to wear double polka dots to channel my inspiration photo!  

Cardigan: Old Navy
Shirt: Gap
Belt: Limited
Skirt: Express
Shoes: Jellypop

Santa Fe, Are you there?

Every time we go to Santa Fe, I get this song stuck in my head for the whole day.  Any other Newsies fans out there?   It was pretty much my favorite movie when I was a kid.  I am really hoping the Broadway version comes to Omaha soon, so I can see it live.  I think I heard once that Christian Bale is embarrassed about starring in this movie, but I mean, look at those awesome dance moves.  Who would believe he'd be Batman someday? 

Anyway, we went into Santa Fe for two very specific purposes:

1. Eat lunch at Tomasita's.  It's another favorite restaurant in the area.
2. Find a store for me to buy Insurgent.  I finally got Divergent from the library before we left and thought it would last me the whole week we were gone.  I was very wrong, mostly because I stayed up super late every night reading. 

We ended up at Target, where I found the book AND some cobalt sandals for $4 - BONUS!  (Dreams really do come true in Santa Fe!)

Then we got lunch at Tomasita's.  It is right by the train depot, so we even saw the trains that Jack Kelly dreamed of taking to Santa Fe.  So exciting.

Unfortunately, neither John nor his grandparents had any idea what I was talking about with the Santa Fe song.  I'm not sure what movies they were watching in the early 90s, but apparently they missed the live action Disney musical.

El Chapulín

One of the top priorities whenever we are in New Mexico is to eat at John's favorite restaurants.  He loves the spicy chile, and I pretty much order a cheese quesadilla at every restaurant!  One of the most important places is Rancho de Chimayo.

My favorite thing is the sopaipillas!  In the midwest, sopaipillas are a dessert - basically flour tortilla chips covered in cinnamon sugar (which are also delicious).  In New Mexico, it's a fried pastry served with honey - SO YUMMY!

Another important thing to do at Rancho de Chimayo is to take pictures by the grasshopper statue. 

Gap Cardigan, Old Navy tank and shorts, Carlos Santana sandals

Waaaaay back in October of 2006, when John and I were just dating, we took a trip out to New Mexico.  Here's our grasshopper picture from that trip:  

I suspect we will take many more pictures by the grasshopper as the years go on.   

New Mexico Adventures

Well, I took off again without telling you all I was leaving. John and I were gone to New Mexico for about 10 days visiting family.  On Friday the 24th, we flew into Albuquerque and took the tramway up to Sandia Peak.  

We look pretty good considering we woke up around 4am

When we got near the top, we were in the middle of the clouds and couldn't see anything at all.  It was kind of freaky!

There's a restaurant at the top, so we ate lunch and hoped the clouds would clear some.  It was also pretty cold up there - like 42 degrees!  Compared to the 85 degrees at the bottom, it was a big change!  And it was a tad windy, as you can tell from these pictures. 

The tramway was really cool, as long as I didn't think too much about the possibility of falling to my death.  I definitely don't recommend it if you are afraid of heights!

Well, that was day 1 of our adventure.  More New Mexico tomorrow!

Twinsies!

Extreme Close-Up of my belt

Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets super excited when I see another blogger wearing something I have.  I know that we all shop at the same places, so it's pretty likely, but I still think it is fun to see how someone else wears an item.  I recently saw Typhanie wearing this dress on her blog, and remembered that it was in my "need to iron" pile, so I dug it out.

Then, the first time I put these shoes on the blog, Bri Marie let me know that she has them too!  (And now I want a white lace top!)

Whenever my twin nieces see someone matching, they squeal "twinsies!" like total teenagers, so I figured I would channel them for my title.

Dress and Shoes: Target
Cardigan: Gap
Belt: TJ Maxx

Closet Ultimatum Update

You may have noticed that I am totally slacking on my Closet Ultimatum Challenge.  I think the items that I still haven't worn are stuck hanging in the closet for a reason - like I shouldn't be keeping them!  I've also been distracted by all the new things I got in Iowa at the beginning of August. So, here's my list of items and the current status:

1. Gap Pale Yellow Tank top - I'm keeping this, but it's getting demoted to a cami for wearing under other tops.  
2. H&M Floral tank top - going to Goodwill.  
3. LOFT blue sleeveless blouse - still on the fence.  I like it, but I hate to iron it. 
4. Ann Taylor knit top - another tough decision.  I got several positive comments about it, but I just don't think I will wear it very much, and I think it would sell nicely.  
5. Ann Taylor Coral Sweater - keeping it. 
6. Limited Pink and Brown top - selling it.
7. H&M Red T-shirt -keeping it.  I had forgotten that I actually wore this a few times recently (here and here). 
8. Gap Plum sweater - keeping it
9.  DKNY Navy top - selling it
10.  Target Tiger tee - I will keep it for now, and see if I wear it at all.  
11.  Gap dyed tee - I can't sell it, so I'll hold onto it.  I should probably make a rule that if I haven't worn it again in the next few months, I have to give it to Goodwill.  
12. Gap black skirt - selling it
13. Gap black linen skirt (worn here) - selling it
14. BR White skirt  - keeping it for now. 
15. Old Navy white skirt - the zipper is messed up, but still works.  I don't think I can sell it, so it is either Goodwill or keep.  I'm thinking about dying it, but I can't decide what color.  I think a cobalt blue or kelly green would be cool, I'm just not sure I can get the results I want.  
16. Loft graphic skirt  - keeping
17. Gap Purple skirt - keeping, but probably will only wear it with tights
18. Tommy Hilfiger green mini skirt - keeping it, but letting the hem out a bit. 
19. Ann Taylor floral mini - worn here and here.  I'm keeping it, but only to wear with tights. 
20. Loft geometric mini - worn here and here.   I'm keeping it, but only to wear with tights. 

I'm noticing a trend with my skirts being too short.  This is tricky when you are tall, so I probably just need to pay better attention when I am shopping.  Some of these skirts are probably at risk of being taken to the consignment shop just depending on what I decide the day I go.

Overall, I think this was a pretty good little Closet Clean-out challenge.  I'm getting rid of a few things that I have held onto for too long, and I was reminded about some items that have been forgotten in the back of the closet.

I need to finish sorting the rest of my closet - dresses, shoes, long sleeves, pants... the list goes on.  I might do another similar challenge once it gets colder.

How often do you clean out your closet?  Any tips?  

The Return of the Bootcut Jean

With the hotter than usual summer we have had, I don't think I've worn my regular jeans in 3 months!  When I threw on these jeans and the plain navy t-shirt the other day, John quickly declared this was another of his favorite outfits.

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say John really hates skinny jeans.  I didn't think it was possible, but he actually likes boyfriend jeans even less.  He would be happy if the only type of jeans in the world were good old-fashioned boot-cut.  Needless to say, he was not impressed when I mentioned I was in the market for some hot pink skinnies.

Tee, Jeans, Shoes: Gap
Cardigan: Marisa Kristina