Channeling Mindy

Basically, if I could steal any fictional character's wardrobe, it would have to be Mindy Lahiri from The Mindy Project.  She wears lots of bright colors and crazy patterns, so we are basically style soul-mates.  I'm probably pretty obnoxious when watching the show, because I'm always saying I want her outfit, or I have the same items to copy it.  John is not as invested in the wardrobe choices as I am.

I couldn't find any internet evidence of it, but this outfit is 97% stolen from Mindy.  She was wearing a navy cardigan instead of a v-neck, and I honestly don't remember her footwear, but the basic idea came from her.  I also love Mindy Kaling's book.  She just seems like a person I would actually want to be friends with.  And I don't want to be friends with very many celebrities, because most of them seem pretty terrible.

It's Tuesday, so go link up with Laura!

Sweater: Gap (similar)
Top: JCF (exact)
Skirt: Old Navy (similar)
Tights: Old Navy
Boots: Wanted

Weekend Happenings

Well, it is Monday, so how about a quick weekend rundown!  I was supposed to just rest all weekend, but I got distracted with a few fun things.    Friday evening, we went to a hockey game.  As far as hockey games go, it was pretty fun.  UNO won, so that was good!

Saturday, I was as lazy as possible.  I mostly just binge-watched Netflix while editing blog photos and taking occasional breaks to switch loads of laundry.  Saturday evening, I decided that we should go to a BBQ place for dinner and learned that there aren't many options in town.  We went to once place and they were out of smoked turkey (which was very specifically what I wanted), so we went to the other place and it was actually pretty delicious!  Some of the good BBQ places in KC should franchise up here!

Sunday was FREEZING, but we ventured out for church and lunch.  Evening church was canceled due to the frigid temps.  I think we were supposed to stay home and stay warm, then some friends invited us over for dinner, and that's more fun than staying at home!

Overall, it was a pretty great weekend!  Did you do anything fun?

Outfit notes - I've been neglecting my polka dot jeans for a few months, so I pulled them out again.  I feel like they are a little ridiculous, so I tried to keep the rest of the outfit more mature.

Scarf: Calvin Klein
Sweater: Gap
Jeans: Limited
Boots: Madden

Closet Orphan - Gray Booties

Back in summer 2012, I did a little Closet Ultimatum challenge for myself.  I basically took out all the summer clothes that I hadn't worn, but wasn't quite ready to get rid of, and I gave myself a month to wear everything or it had to go.  I thought I'd do it again in the winter, but then I kind of forgot about it.  Well, in January, Danielle did a Reverse 30X30, and Kate is currently doing her No Longer Neglected posts again.  After my real 30X30, I'm more aware that extra closet clutter makes it more difficult to decide what to wear, so I should really dig out my closet orphans and either rescue them or send them away for good.

I'm not going to do an official "challenge" or anything, but I'm going to try to work in these neglected items in the next few weeks.  So first up are these gray booties.  I bought them in September, from Payless, because they were $7 and I thought I'd wear them frequently this winter.  I think I've worn them once or twice. I like them, and they are very comfortable, but they are just awkward to style for some reason.  I think I need to try them with a skirt or dress and see if that works better.

Top: J.Crew factory
Necklace: Dillard's
Sweater & Jeans: Gap
Boots: Payless

Literary Junkies

It's the Third Tuesday of the month, and that means LITERARY JUNKIES DAY!!  I'm very excited to be co-hosting the linkup this month.  See all the details below!  

Here are this month's questions and my answers:

1. What are you reading right now? Tell us about it! 

I'm almost finished with The Girl You Left Behind.  It starts out in France during WWI, and then moves to modern day London.  So far, I like it!  

2. What books are on your bedside table at the moment? 

Right now, I don't have any books on my bedside table!  I usually have a stack of library books, but I don't have any checked out at the moment.  I'm reading The Girl You Left Behind on my Kindle app, so I don't even have that sitting there!  

3. Amazon recently released the 100 books to read in a lifetime. What did they miss that you would add? 

I would add East of Eden and A Tale of Two Cities.  Oh, and The Chronicles of Narnia (at least #1). 

4. Are there any books being published in 2014 that you are anxiously awaiting? If so, what are they? 

 There are 2 that I am very excited about - Edge of Eternity and Landline.  I keep checking the library website to see if they have pre-ordered copies yet.  I want to get on the waiting list ASAP!  

5. Name the next 3 books in your To Be Read List (the ones you will be reading next on your list.) 

This will mostly be based on when my holds are available from the library.  So, my next book will be The Good Luck of Right Now, because it is ready to pick up.  After that, I don't know.  I'm hoping I will get Serena and What Alice Forgot soon, so I can read them for our next 2 book club chats!

Sweater: Gap
Scarf: Target
Jeans: Limited
Boots: Wanted

<a href="http://pinkheelspinktruck.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Pink Heels Pink Truck" src="http://pinkheelspinktruck.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Literary-Junkies-Button.png" width="250" height="250" /></a>

Hello Fellow Book Lovers! It's the 3rd Tuesday of the month...Literary Junkies Link Party Day!! And Literary Junkies Book Club Twitter party (tonight at 7pm CST). A time where all our fellow book lovers get together and share our love and joy of books! Grab our button, grab the questions below, write your post and link up with us!! LITERARY JUNKIES HOSTED BY LIFE WITH A SIDE OF COFFEE AND PINK HEELS PINK TRUCK YOUR JANUARY CO-HOST: ANDI JUST ANOTHER SMITH  
Now it's your turn! Grab the questions, grab our button, mingle with your fellow #LiteraryJunkies and link up your post below.

Keep It Simple

Take One, Pass It On Item:  gray boots from last Wednesday's post.  This sort of feels like cheating, because I wear these boots all the time, but I'm following my modified version of the rules, so it's all good.

I really love this outfit, even though it's kind of boring.  It was just super comfortable and (I think) still stylish.  Kate has been talking about getting back to basics lately, and I think it's a good reminder, especially to those of us who post our daily outfits on the internet.  Sometimes, I just want to wear jeans and a cozy sweater, and I don't always feel like it is "blog-worthy."  Then I feel dishonest if I don't post my less exciting outfits.  So here's a simple outfit - it's a good example of what I wear on the days when I don't feel like thinking too hard about what to wear.

Scarf: Charming Charlie
Sweater: Gap
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime  

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

On Saturday, we went to get our very first real Christmas tree.  When we lived in apartments, we just had a little fake tree.  Last year, we didn't bother getting a tree since we were going to be travelling.  I am SO EXCITED to have a real tree this year.  Our house smells like magic.

We went out to dinner and then broke out the Christmas decorations!  I love (love love love) Christmastime.  It is so fun to get the ornaments out and remember where each of them came from, whether they were gifts, or souvenirs from a vacation, or we have no idea where they came from, I just love it!

Mostly finished - we need to buy a topper and a tree skirt

I also Christmas-ized the table in our living room.  Isn't that baby poinsettia the cutest!?

Outfit details:
On Me:
Chambray top: J.Crew Outlet (I finally got a Chambray shirt!)
Sweater and Jeans: Gap
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

On John:
Sweater: Gap
Corduroy pants: Old Navy
Shoes: Kenneth Cole

Trifecta Tuesday - Fuchsia Skirt

This skirt is one of my more recent purchases from Gap.  Over the weekend, I was tempted to buy the orange version, but I decided it wouldn't really play well with the rest of my closet.

I really love the color and fit of this skirt.  I just have one issue - the buttons are brown.  Now I'm just not sure if it will look right if I wear it with black.  So far, I've just avoided the issue, but I think bare leg season is quickly closing out and I am going to need to wear tights with this skirt.  What do you think?  Can I wear a brown-buttoned skirt with an otherwise black outfit?  Am I just being ridiculous?

Sweater, tank, skirt: Gap
Jacket: Younker's
Boots: Wanted


Here are a few other ways I have worn this skirt (I may have a slight addiction to stripes):

Fall Frenzy

Remember this summer, when I did my first blog swap?  Well, the completely adorable Meg is at it again this fall, and (of course) I had to join in for the fun.

I was paired with Jenny over at A Full Cup of Life, and sent me a box full of fall goodness!

• Vanilla Candles
• Plum nail polish
• Candy Corn
• Dove chocolate bar
• Halloween themed towels

Special thanks to Jenny for the fun presents and to Meg for hosting the swap!

Outfit details:
Sweater, Button-down shirt, and Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Target

Out of Africa

Today's outfit is very similar to my monochrome outfit from the winter challenge.  I just went with pink tights, a darker blue sweater, and a different necklace. 

 

It was one of the windiest days ever, so a flowy skirt wasn't the best idea.  I think I avoided any serious Marilyn Monroe moments, though.   I need to pay attention to more than just the temperature when I check the weather each morning.

 

So, background on the necklace:  In 2006, I went to Kenya with my Dad and a group from our church.  One of the days, we went to a place (I can't remember the name), but it was a kind of refuge for women with AIDS, and they made various items to sell.  This shop was full of gorgeous necklaces.  It was so hard to pick just one, but I ended up with this one.  

I tracked down the picture below from the trip.  The quality is pretty bad, but that's my Dad and me, at the farm "at the foot of the Ngong Hills" where Karen Blixen lived, and then wrote about.  I've never read the book, but the movie is BO-RING.   

Here's another picture from the trip, at no extra charge.  This is at The Giraffe Center, where we got to feed giraffes.  As you can tell from the picture below, these giraffes were not shy at all.  Some of the workers were putting the giraffe food in their mouths, to get a giraffe kiss.  They tried to convince us to do that, but I declined.  A lady has to draw the line somewhere!

Tank top and Sweater:  Gap
Skirt:  George
Tights:  Steve Madden
Boots:  Wanted via Piperlime
Necklace:  from Kenya

Hunting Season

I've always had a thing for fashiony camo.  Waaaaay back in the day(like probably middle school), there was a camo mini-skirt at 5-7-9 that I really wanted, but I think my mom vetoed it as too short or something.  She was probably right.   Does that store even exist anymore??  (Ok, I just did some google searching, and it does still exist.  The skirts are still too short).

I got this jacket over the summer with a Groupon to Old Navy.  I kind of liked it, and then when I tried it on and the sleeves were long enough, I just had to get it.  Perhaps I should have higher standards, but when you have monkey arms, sometimes you just have to work with what fits.  I sent my husband a picture text, asking if this would be an appropriate outfit for hunting.  Pretty sure he thought I was joking, but then I came home with it.  Now he asks me why it is ok for me to wear this camo jacket in public, but he can't wear his Mossy Oak gear except for hunting.  The rules of fashion aren't always easy to articulate. 

The shadow is my friend Anne.  The house belongs to my friend Brooke.  They are both awesome.

Jacket:  Old Navy
Sweater:  Gap
Tank:  Gap
Jeans:  Old Navy
Shoes:  BCBGeneration