Wearing Red and Being Uncomfortable

 

It's the last day of the Pantone Spring Color Challenge with Marissa and Heidi, and also the most difficult for me - Poppy Red.  I have a long and complicated relationship with the color red.  It was probably my favorite color from about 3rd grade through high school (in large part due to my enthusiasm about Nebraska Cornhusker football).  In the last almost 10 years (what?!) since I have lived in Nebraska, I very rarely wear red.  I still like it, but it's too common around here, and everyone assumes you are wearing it because of football.  My living room has an accent wall that is red (visible here), and a lot of people have asked me if it is a nod to the Huskers.  No, it's a nod to the fact that my accent pillows have some red on them!   Long story short, I don't have a ton of red in my closet.

I'm jumping into the "Blog Every Day in May" challenge, and today's topic is "Things that make you uncomfortable" (Yes, I skipped Day 2 - I might go back and do it).  In no particular order:

• Pants - I prefer skirts or dresses.  I think I have worn pants (other than jeans) exactly 3 times since starting this blog (Exhibit A, B, C).
• If I see a stranger with toilet paper stuck to their shoe, or a tag sticking out, I will usually get my courage up to tell them, but I feel super awkward about it.  (Update - this applies to the internet, too.  If someone gets a name completely wrong, or a terrible spelling mistake, do I tell them?  Or would that be mean?  PANIC!)
• Speaking in front of groups of people
• Hearing myself on a recording.  
• Seeing myself on a video. 
• "Ice Breaker" activities.  I'm pretty outgoing, until someone says I have to be, and then I go blank.  
• Trying to pick a favorite anything.  Favorite Movie?  Favorite Band?  Favorite Color?  I have no idea!  There are so many great things, it's impossible to pick one favorite.  And then I feel boring, because why don't I have a good answer??  I guess there are a few topics where I can pick a favorite, like "Favorite Guy" is easy:  John.  
• Reality Television - I can't get behind reality TV, because WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!  I don't know why anyone would sign up for it.  It is especially bad if there are kids on the show.  I mean, Honey Boo-Boo?  It would be funny, but it's too disturbing! 

I'm probably forgetting something, but that list seems long enough!  What makes you uncomfortable?

Tee: H&M
Cardigan: Gap
Skirt: Old Navy
Boots: BareTraps

Mint Jeans Remix

These mint green skinny jeans are way more of a staple in my wardrobe than I ever would have expected.  I felt foolish when I bought them, but they were only $13, so I figured it would be okay if I only wore them a few times.  Now I feel like I need to remember to only wear them once per week. 

Here are 6 ways I have worn these over the last 4 months.  I'm sure they will continue to be worn throughout the spring and summer.  I might even try rolling them up a little to keep my ankles cool once the weather warms up!  

1/2/3/4/5/6

What other ways would you style mint jeans?  Any color combinations I should try? 

Outfit details:
Cardigan and Jeans: Gap
Tank Top: Old Navy
Shoes: Target

Linking up in a few places today:

• Inspired My Style - I take inspiration from other blogs and Pinterest quite a bit.  This outfit was actually inspired by one of my previous outfits.  I really love the mix of cobalt blue pieces, so I suspect I will wear this outfit again with different skirts or jeans.    
•  Style Link Up with Agi
• Friday Remix with AJ

Carbon Copy

It's been such a busy week with Christmas and being lazy, that I haven't had much time to upload and edit current pictures, so I'm glad I had these pictures on reserve. 

This outfit is from a couple weeks ago, when it was still somewhat reasonable to wear flats with no socks.  I wore a very similar outfit back in September.  Since my jeans are pretty much the same color as that skirt, it was a no brainer that I should recreate the look. 

I'm looking forward to another 4 day weekend!  I am hoping to get a lot of stuff done around the house, and then kick off 2013 with some motivation to be better at everything (but more on that later)!

Happy Friday! 

Cardigan and Jeans: Gap
Tank Top: Old Navy
Shoes: Target

Guest Starring

I'm guest posting for Bri Marie today, over at Work Clothes, I Suppose.  You should go read my post over there, where I completely copycat one of her outfits.  Then you should start following her blog!

This worked out nicely, because I am still in somewhat of a sugar-induced stupor from all the birthday treats I had yesterday! 

Sometimes in the Fall

I'm not sure when it happened, but the tree in our backyard decided it was definitely fall!  The leaves are much prettier than our mostly brown lawn.  The photo-shoot didn't last long before I was throwing leaves into the air.  I was just slightly concerned about the potential for spiders or other bugs that might be in the leaves.  I really didn't want to throw spiders into the air.

Cardigan, top, skirt: Gap
Shoes: Target
Bangles: Charming Charlie
Ring and necklaces: gifts from my parents

A Marketer's Dream

The giveaway is closed and the BIG WINNER is Conolley from Third Grade Rock Star.  This completely cracks me up, because I have known her in real life since for as long as I can remember.  I think we were probably friends as babies at our church.  What are the odds that she wins my first giveaway?  Congrats, Conolley!  Thanks to everyone else who entered and spread the word!

Do you all know about the Wrapp app?   My sister told me about it, and it's really quite nice.  You can give digital gift cards to your friends, via email.  There are quite a few free options, such as $5 to Gap that my sister and I have been giving to each other.  The problem is that I go into Gap with the idea that I don't need to spend much, just find something for close to $5 and basically get it for free.  Then I get into the store and end up in the dressing room with several items!  Then I decide that I should buy this fuchsia skirt, and end up spending more than $5.  I'm sure that is the whole plan for Gap to offer these $5 gift cards on Wrapp, and I fall for it every time!

Since my degree is in marketing, I usually don't fall for these tricks, but Gap is just trouble for me.  In my defense, isn't this skirt cute!?  I think I will wear it quite a bit year-round, so I think it's a decent investment.

Top: Old Navy
Skirt and Cardigan: Gap
Shoes: Target

I've Got the Blues

Don't worry!  I'm not sad; I'm just wearing a lot of blue.  I mean, I went to the grocery store(Target) on Saturday and just happened upon the clearance shoe section, and these adorable little blue cap-toe flats were calling my name.  Of course I had to plan my Sunday morning outfit around my new shoes.

Whenever someone says "I've got the Blues", this song immediately pops into my mind.  And then I want mac and cheese for dinner.  Does anyone else remember this commercial?  How adorable is this little girl?  Now think about the fact that she's probably about 22 now.  Feeling old yet?  Me too.

Dress and Cardigan: Gap
Belt: Francesca's
Shoes: Target

Tangerine Twist

The last few days have been totally crazy and awesome.  My sister leaves tomorrow, so life will be back to normal soon.  This outfit is from before I went to Phoenix.  I've been wearing my orange cardigan with bright blue tops all year, so when I recently got this new orange shirt, I naturally grabbed my blue cardigan to wear with it.

My sister and nieces are either good luck or a bad influence when we go shopping.  I have snagged quite a few new items in the past couple of days.  I'll probably blog about our shopping adventures one of these days. 

Shirt and Cardigan: Gap
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: BCBGeneration

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

 

On Friday, I wanted to sport some Kansas colors to support the Jayhawks!  I remembered this outfit as on of my options back in January, when I was trying to Channel Someone for the Winter Challenge.  This was my Snow White inspired look, but I didn't have any tights that would work, so I went with Minnie Mouse instead.  I bought this red tee at H&M in 2006 when I was working at target.  I haven't worn it a whole lot since then, but apparently it is just great for dressing like a Disney Character. 

Here's hoping the Jayhawks can pull out a win tonight! 

Skirt and Cardigan: Gap
Shirt: H&M
Shoes: BCBGeneration
Necklace: gift (from China)

Shoe Repairs are Magic

I bought these shoes in the summer of 2007.  I completely wore the heels away, and didn't know of a good shoe repair shop in town.  Instead of putting them away until I could fix them, I just kept on wearing them.  The rubber heel was completely gone, and by the time I found a good shoe repair shop, I figured these shoes were goners.  I took them in anyway, and the guy said "No problem!" and fixed them right up!  $10 later, my brown peep-toe shoes are back in action! 

Top: NY&Co
Cardigan:  Gap
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes:  Target

Y is for Yellow

The ABC Challenge is drawing to a close, and Y is obviously for Yellow!  I really love this color, but I have to be careful, because sometimes it doesn't go so well with super pale skin.

I wore this on Thursday, which felt like a Friday.  Mostly because a meeting that we always have on Fridays was moved to Thursday.  Then, just to add to my confusion, John and I went to a movie last night.  

FYI, popcorn and Milk Duds are not the dinner of champions.  Not that I had that for dinner, I'm just saying.  Ok, I might have.

I'm so excited for the weekend!  I don't have any big plans, but am just excited to have some free time.  I'll probably get caught up on stuff around the house.  Maybe even go to the grocery store.  Do you have any exciting plans?? 

Tank, Shirt, Cardigan:  Gap
Jeans:  Old Navy
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

Keep it Simple

Today's ABC challenge topic is "Q for Quick and Simple."  This is the outfit I threw together last week when I overslept and had about 10 minutes to get ready for work.  When I'm in a hurry and need to look put-together, I usually grab a dress.  It's a whole outfit already!  Then I add a cardigan, maybe a belt and I'm good to go.

Go check out the other looks here.

Dress:  Target
Belt:  Francescas
Cardigan: Gap
Tights:  Target
Shoes:  BCBGeneration

I'm blue da ba dee da ba da

Tonight, I went to see Blue Man Group with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  In honor of the occasion, I wore blue.  I'm so clever!

Most days, I sit here with nothing to say, but today was an eventful day, I guess.  

1. This is a dress I usually wear for weddings, or similar occasions, but I decided to rock it as a skirt today.  This is a trick I'm going to have to do more often.  
2. It's also the first time I've worn these sweater tights.  I got them for free, with a $10 off your purchase coupon at Younkers.  I'm sure they expect you to spend more than $10, but I just picked up some socks and tights and I think I paid about a dollar total.  Awesome.  They look like cable knit confetti cake, with little colorful spots all over. 
3.  I had a crazy static cling problem all day, too.  My dress just got shorter and shorter as I walked.  I felt like I was in an early 90s Bounce Commercial.  I'm going to put a dryer sheet in my purse to prevent future static attack. 
4. Blue Man Group was crazy.  I've never tried mind altering drugs, but I imagine the experience is similar to the crazy Blue Man shenanigans.  I had to close my eyes a few times to prevent a strobe light-induced migraine.  Overall, it was a pretty cool show, but just very strange! 
5. I accidentally went to Iowa tonight, too.  When I see a sign for the interstate, and it doesn't specify direction, I assume I will get to choose a direction at some point.  That is not always the case.  I ended up driving around Council Bluffs with no idea how to get back to Nebraska.  Don't worry, I finally made it home. 

Dress as a skirt:  Limited
Cardigan: Gap
Belt:  from another dress
Tights:  Steve Madden
Boots: Bare Traps via DSW

Blue Christmas

I am back home after a week-long Christmas extravaganza with my family in Indiana.   We have a pretty good system, where we trade off Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, so we are all there at the same time.  We had 9 adults, 6 kids, 3 dogs, and 9 vehicles to move around anytime someone needed to go somewhere.  It was a really fun week, and I'm already trying to scheme up a plan to visit them again soon.

Since Christmas was a Sunday this year, we had to change our normal schedule for church in the morning.  We woke up and opened stockings, then had breakfast, got dressed up and went to church, and then came home, opened the rest of the presents, and had a later lunch.  It was a really fun day!   Here's what I wore for church: 

Skirt:  Express
Cardigan: Gap
Button-down shirt:  Loft
Boots:  Bare Traps

Later that day, we played some games that people got for gifts.  One of my nieces got "HedBanz", which is basically like twenty questions, but you get a cool Mickey Mouse hat:

You are only allowed to ask Yes/No questions, but there were several disputes among the participants about what the correct answers were.  Here are some of the arguments that came up:

-Is Piglet male or female?
-Can pigs be described as "furry"?
-Are insects animals?
-Where does Jiminy Cricket live?  And is he friends with Pinocchio?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and were able to spend time relaxing and hanging out with friends and family.  Going back to work tomorrow is going to be pretty rough after 7 days of playing around.  I'm skipping my Wednesday/Thursday theme posts this week, to get back on track with outfit posts.

Bits and Pieces

After making my new top yesterday, I remembered Kendi's outfit that I had pinned recently.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?  So I thought I'd pretty much copy her idea with leopard and blue.



I thought I was being so clever using the timer on my camera this morning.  First mistake:  I set it on our patio table, which made an awkward angle.  Second mistake:  I can't run and pose in a normal way with just 10 seconds. So, we are going with some cropped photos today. 

Tank:  made by me
Cardigan:  Gap
Jeans:  Gap
Shoes:  BCBGeneration
Necklace: anniversary present from Mr. Smith.
And you can't see, but I'm wearing these earrings from InPink.  They came as a set with my necklace from yesterday.

I'm really going to have to step up my game with outfit photos.