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

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.

Weekend Wrap-Up

For some reason, I don't get a day off for Presidents' Day!  I mean, government offices are all closed, so why do other companies stay open?  OUTRAGE!  Mostly kidding, although I wouldn't complain if my company added some more paid holidays to the calendar.  We are in that stretch after the holidays where we have to go to work every day for like 5 months straight.  Ridiculous.  Memorial Day needs to hurry up!

Anyway, at least we have weekends!  This weekend was pretty great (and low key).  Friday night, we just grilled steaks and had a nice dinner at home.  Saturday, we went to see The Monuments Men (Hint - it's not very good!).  Sunday was church, relaxing, and then a very fun hangout in the evening with church friends.  Pretty much any blank spaces in the weekend were spent sleeping, reading, blogging, or doing laundry.  Weekend of champions, I tell ya!

Oh, and this outfit is from mid-December.  It's another good example of wearing summer clothes in the winter!  Step 1 - add a cozy wool cardigan.  Step 2 - tights and boots.

Dress: Target
Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Tights: Old Navy
Boots: Wanted

#19 - Who Am I?

Back in the olden days, teenager magazines would have quizzes to tell you all sorts of useless (and unreliable) things about yourself - like what perfume to wear to prom, or which Backstreet Boy is your perfect boyfriend.  I wasn't really allowed to have those magazines (17, YM, etc), but my friends had them, so we did the quizzes when I was at their houses.  The results were always stupid.    

Then the magical internet showed up in everyone's home, and we could take silly quizzes all day long (and don't even have to calculate our own scores)!  Well, silly quizzes are making a comeback this week, and my Facebook newsfeed is blowing up with them.  I roll my eyes and think "that's so stupid!", but then I click on the quiz to find out which Disney Princess/Tolkien creature/Harry Potter/Star Wars/Downton Abbey/Hunger Games character I am most like.  Since you are dying to know, I am Jasmine/Hobbit/Luna/Leia/Branson/Effie.  Which is weird, because I don't really sense a theme other than 2-syllable names.

Also, apparently I should live in London.  Or Rivendell.  And be in Gryffindor (which makes zero sense, because I am not very brave!)  

So, uh, which Disney Princess are you?

Sweater: Limited
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Wanted

#15 - Halfway there (whoa-oh, livin' on a prayer)

Happy Monday!  And happy halfway through the 30X30!  I really love this outfit.  It's simple, but still interesting.  Black, gray, and pink just look sharp together!

So, weekend update!  John's grandparent's were visiting, so we had a fun-filled weekend with them.  We went out to dinner on Friday for my MIL's birthday and then over to their house for dessert and games.  We taught them all Dutch Blitz, which is a super fun and addicting game!  I slept in on Saturday (because sleeping in is magical!) and then we went back over to their house for dinner and more games.  On Sunday afternoon, the guys stayed home to watch football while the girls went shopping.  I may have bought my 3rd pair of leopard print shoes. (so, the answer to my question of which ones to get back in September is BOTH) That's a reasonable number, right?  No?  Hmm...we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Anyway, after a very fun and busy weekend, I'm not really ready for a normal work week, but I suppose it has to happen.  Just 5 more days until next weekend!

Shirt: J.Crew factory
Cardigan & Jeans: Gap
Boots: Wanted

Clueless

Honestly, I felt a little bit like a 2013 Cher Horowitz in this outfit, but in a good way (except she probably wouldn't shop at Old Navy).  I also just realized that movie came out 18 years ago, and now I feel very old.
Also, I didn't purposely disappear last week.  I just didn't do my normal weekend blog prep over the Thanksgiving weekend, and then I was busy most evenings last week.  I started to feel bad about it, but then I realized that I am my own boss when it comes to blogging, so I probably won't fire myself for taking a few days off.  Probably.

Sweater & Tights: Old Navy
Skirt & Tee: Loft
Boots: Wanted

Literary Link-Up Day

Where my nerds at?  Oh, probably judging me for the atrocious grammar of that sentence!  Anyway, it's Literary Junkies time yet again.  Here are the questions and my answers for November:

What are you currently reading? Tell us about it!


I'm almost finished with Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore.  It's a difficult book to describe, but so far, I love it.  It's just bizarre and fun and it glows in the dark - which really confused me the first night that it was on my bedside table.  

How many books have you read this year? Do you set reading goals for yourself?


I've read 43 books this year.  I try to read 50 each year, so I'm right on track.  I love to read, but I tend to forget if I don't make it a priority.  I found that setting a goal helps me make time for reading.  

What do you think are the best and worst book-to-movie/TV show adaptations?

Hmm, there are so many bad ones!  I'd have to say Silver Linings Playbook was the worst.  They just changed so many of the critical elements of the book.  I don't know what the best is, but I thought the Harry Potter movies were a pretty good adaptation of the books.  There were some things that I would have done differently, but I felt the movies stayed true to the intention of the books.  

What is the first line of your favorite book?

I have no idea.  First, I would have to pick a favorite book, and that's pretty tricky.  I have 29 books on my "favorites" shelf on Goodreads, so I couldn't narrow it down to one favorite.   

What's your favorite quote from a book?

Again, I don't know.  So many books.  So many great quotes.  It's impossible to choose!

The Literary Junkies are chatting tonight about The Storyteller.  Next month, we are reading Safe Haven.  I have it checked out from the library, but haven't picked it up to read yet.  This will be my first Nicholas Sparks and I'm just not sure about it.  Romance is weird!  Give me books that glow in the dark instead!

I'm still passing things along.  Today it's my grandpa cardigan.

AND finally, since I don't have much flexibility to join in on Thursday, I'll be linking this navy leopard print dress up for Third Thursday Threads!    

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters
Dress: Gap
Belt: Chinese Laundry
Necklace: Limited
Boots: Wanted

Smile

This sweater was one of the super cheap impulse buys in my July shopping.  But I really like it, so it's all good!  And I really like these jeans, because they have polka dots on them, and that's a good reason to smile!  See what I did there?

In completely unrelated news - I'm doing another theme week and link up next week.  It's going to get a little crazy with TOPIO and theme week, but I think I've got it all figured out.  The theme is leopard print, so get your outfits ready to link up on Friday the 15th!

I feel like my Take One, Pass It On collage is going to get kind of ridiculous as the month progresses.

1/2/3

Will tomorrow's post feature non-boot footwear?  Maybe.

Jacket: Relativity
Sweater: Gap
Jeans: Limited
Boots: Wanted

Turbulence

Another day, another ridiculously named color.  Turbulence = gray.  But we can't just say gray, because FASHION!   

I'm linking up with Marissa and Heidi again today.  Go check out the other gray, I mean turbulence outfits. 

Sweater: Urban Outfitters
Dress: Old Navy
Belt: Limited
Boots: Wanted

Vivacious

It's an exciting week for 2 reasons (well, maybe more, but 2 that I know of):

1. My birthday is on Thursday.  I'm kind of obnoxiously enthusiastic about birthdays (particularly my own), but I'll try to keep it to a minimum.  
2. Marissa and Heidi are hosting another Pantone-Inspired challenge this week.  I participated in the spring, and met some of my very favorite bloggers, so I'm excited to see who I find this time!  

So, today's color is vivacious, which is basically just a bright purplish pink, so I figure this skirt qualifies.  I want to know who gets paid to come up with these color names, and then I want that job!  

Also, this sweater and boots combo will be back tomorrow, because they are TURBULENCE-colored.  

Tee&Skirt: Gap

Sweater: Urban Outfitters

Boots: Wanted

Necklace: Phoenix gift shop

Flowers and More Showers

  

Even though it hasn't really felt like spring very much, I'm excited to jump on the floral bandwagon and link up with Bri for Third Thursday Threads!  Plus I found my fancy flower umbrella just in time for more rain (and the flower-themed link up).

Whitney's recent post reminded me that I love how stripes look with floral.  If you are new to the idea of mixing prints, I'd recommend starting out by selecting prints in the same color family.  The navy and white of these prints "go together" and make it a little less crazy than some other print mixing options.

You may or may not notice that I chopped about 4 inches off my hair.  It feels really short to me, but I doubt anyone else will notice, since it is still pretty long, but it used to reach almost to my elbows!  It's sort of dangerously close to being triangle hair, but that is always a risk when I get a haircut.  My curls feel much lighter and springier, unlike the weather.

And finally, I had another wardrobe malfunction.  Around noon, I noticed a snagged thread on my tights and thought I could just snip it off.  Mistake.  A small hole appeared immediately, and as the day progressed, it turned into a giant run.  So, I will be looking for a new pair of gray tights, but hopefully not until next fall!

Shirt: Gap
Belt: Chinese Laundry via TJ Maxx
Skirt: Bass Outlet
Tights: Target
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime
Umbrella:  Birthday gift from my parents (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Bloglovin'

By now, you've probably heard that Google Reader (and maybe Google Friend Connect) is going away.  When I heard the news, I switched to Bloglovin for my daily blog reading.  It was really easy to make the switch, and I was able to import my Google Reader blogs into Bloglovin.

Pros:

• It was a good time to trim down my list of blogs.  The list had grown so much that I was missing out on the ones I really wanted to read.
• Bloglovin seems easier to make groups of blogs, and mark certain ones as read.  

Con:

• I have to open each blog to read the full post.  Google Reader had the full post most of the time (depending on the blogger settings).  I don't think it actually takes longer, but it seems annoying to have to open each blog in a new tab.

One thing I have heard/read from other bloggers is that it will be nice for GFC to go away, because then we won't all be so focused on the number of followers.  I don't really get this, because Bloglovin' still tells you a number of followers.

Anyway, if you are currently using Google Reader, I would recommend Bloglovin as an alternative.  You can import your GR subscriptions, or just start fresh.  You can find and follow me here!

PS - I'm being an outfit copycat again.  I don't think I would have thought of combining yellow, pink, and purple, but this picture inspired me!  I was going to wait until it was warm, but I got impatient, and I really like how the denim jacket and gray boots tone down the crazy bright colors. 


Shirt: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Skirt: Sunny Leigh via Macy's
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime

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

Literary Junkies Link-Up

It is Literary Junkies Link-Up time again!  YAY for book nerds!

What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

Currently reading Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  She is an Omaha native, and it is interesting to read a story set in my city.  I went to a book signing a couple weeks ago, and Rainbow Rowell was great, so I liked the book before I even started reading, just because I liked her so much!  I'm not very far into the book yet, but it is about 2 teenagers in Omaha in the mid-80s.  I think they are going to fall in love. Plus the main character, Eleanor, has hair like mine, but bright red.  I'm pretty much imagining an awkward teenager version of Merida.

What book do you recommend the most to people?

It really depends on the person, and what I have been reading lately.    A few books that come to mind are The Pillars of the Earth, East of Eden, A Tale of Two Cities.  I just read The Fault in Our Stars, and have been telling everyone to read it.   

What are the top 3 books on your "to-read" list?

• The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright

• A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

What do you "do" while reading? (i.e. listen to music, eat) Any weird reading habits?

I really don't do anything else while I am reading.  I'm usually just curled up on the couch or in my bed.  Sometimes John is watching TV, and if it is a boring enough show, I can read, but usually any other noise is too distracting to me.  I almost always read when I am flying somewhere, but I can't read in a car.    

Blazer, Sweater, Shirt: Gap

Necklace: Bass Outlet

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Wanted

February Check-In

Take One, Pass It On Item:  striped tee from Tuesday's post
*this is my last TOPIO outfit!  I will be posting a summary about the challenge next week!


Is it just me, or is February shorter than the other months!?  (if you don't understand jokes:  Yes, February is shorter).  I feel like I just did my January update and here we are again.  For all my new readers (welcome!), I am doing monthly posts on my annual goals, in the hopes that accountability will help me stay motivated! 

1. Do a project, mostly sewing -  it's a small project, but it counts.  I have a dress that I bought on clearance at Ann Taylor about a year ago.  I love it, but it had a halter top, which is not ideal for my  body type.  When I bought it, I thought I could modify it pretty easily, but I just never did it.  I've worn it a few times, but just as a skirt, with a sweater on top.  I finally got around to sewing the ties into normal straps.  YAY!  It's still not an "every day" dress, but I am excited that I can now wear it for some fancier occasions.   
2. Work out - this will sound familiar.  I met my goal of 3x a week for the first 2 weeks, and then I got sick.  Several people have told me it sounds like the other strain of flu, but I am in denial and saying it was just a cold.  I have gotten back on track this week, so here's hoping I can stay healthy in March. 
3. Tackle a project around the house - John and I got the hallway bathroom all painted, and I set it up with the yellow and gray decor!  I am pretty excited with the finished product.  I will try to take pictures and post about it soon. 
4. Cook a "real" meal at least 3 days each week.  I think I did this.  I wasn't keeping track as well.  I did try some new recipes, so that is good! 
5. Stick to a clothing budget - success! 
6. Read 50 books in the year - I read 3 books in February.  If I keep this up, I will only get 36 in the year.  I guess I need to start reading more! 

Overall, I feel pretty good about February.  If I can just stay healthy, I think I will be on track!   

How are you doing on your goals for the year?  

Tee: Gap
Cardigan: Marisa Kristina via Marshall's
Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Wanted via Piperlime