4-8 February 2016: The Theater

I realized that I had an anthropologie dressing room post from DECEMBER still in drafts. Whoops! I added in some stuff from a visit on Saturday and will try to get that out in the next week or so.

Coldwater Creek dress, Old Navy sash, Mickey necklace, Doctor Who bracelet, leggings, Crown Vintage booties

I have too few dresses with long sleeves. I wish people sold dresses with long sleeves.

sweater, JCrew Jackie cardigan, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, Merona socks, Doctor Who bracelet, Black Widow necklace, Clarks

Another filming day! Not sure how many more nicely fitted tops I actually own, ha. There’s nothing like a shot of red in a grey winter day, though.

Anthropologie Noon and Night dress, Gap top, tights, vintage choker and brooch, bracelet, Clarks

I saw Beautiful, the Carole King musical, and it was amazing. The book had fantastic one liners and was so full of heart, the singing was infectious and well performed, and it was just a delightful thing. I had a huge grin on my face the whole time. And then I went to get the Official Cast Recording and it was so bad. So devoid of life and emotion. I was so disappointed.

Kohls Captain America Love top, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, JCrew Jackie cardigan, heart brooch, Bass saddle shoes

It was my day off, but I headed to one of our local retirement homes for an intergenerational craft program for seniors and preschoolers. It was amazing. And this is the only shirt I have with a Valentines theme, ha. I bonded with one of the seniors over how hard it is to break in saddle shoes!

The Beautiful stage:

Loved the great colors, and I had that piano in school all my childhood. So fun.

Also, this week was greatly important because it was Paczki Day! My department ordered a bunch and we all ate way too much, ha. I had quarter pieces of custard, strawberry, lemon and apricot. Yum.

20-22 January, 1-3 February 2016: Catching Up

I am so behind after my trip. I’m super scattered, things aren’t getting done and it’s so frustrating. Work wifi won’t let me upload photos at work, which tends to be my routine, so blurgh. But even as I’ve been feeling so out of sorts, the weather has been decent so I’ve at least been dressing well. Huzzah.

Collage lace shirt, Old Navy sweetheart skinnies, Outlander necklace, Hawkeye bracelet, Merona socks, Clarks

My mom picked this top up for me at an indie store near her, and I love the colors. It’s such a cheery print, and the lace is lovely. It’s complemented by my Hamilton pin, obvs (I picked some up for all my coworkers, as we are all obsessed).

Junk Food Captain America tee, Old Navy Flirt skirt, JCrew Jackie cardi, Hawkeye pin, tights, Clarks

This was where I decided that I’ve missed skirts. I really, really have. Jeans are comfy and can be cute, but I feel so much more me in skirts and dresses. I’m going to try and find a better balance–as long as the weather stays above 20.

Gap top, Old Navy Flirt skirt, JCrew Jackie cardigan, Old Navy tights, Hawkeye bracelet, Outlander necklace, Clarks

One of my coworkers for the past 9 years has departed for a library in sunny Cali. I’ll miss him. But I’ll never really forget how he reacted the first time I wore this cardigan, complaining about being blinded and such. For several minutes on end. It was a fitting goodbye.

French Connection heart top, Insight pencil skirt, Hawkeye bracelet, tights, Bieviel t-strap heels

I didn’t mean to go so Valentiney, but I fell in love with how it looked. And how it felt! I’ve avoided this skirt because it’s so fitted, but it actually fit very comfortably all day. That was a delightful discovery. Ahhh, retro style. I love you so.

Gap sweater, Anne Klein skirt, Captain America bracelet, Tardis necklace, Nordstrom tights, Clarks

My coworker told me I looked like the Library Lady from All of a Kind Family, hee. I do adore this skirt, and don’t wear it nearly enough. It’s awesome retro and I love the flounce. A perfect outfit for watching Agent Carter, yes? This season has been such a delight–much lighter than last year, and I do miss New York, but seeing all these kickass women with varying shades of morality is just fantastic.

H&M polka dotted dress, H&M cardigan, Outlander necklace, tights, Clarks

Okay, this one might have been a misstep, with the tight/shoe combo. But I love this dress and it makes me smile.

Closeup on the new Outlander necklace–I subscribe to FanMail, the monthly subscription box for lady nerds, and this was in the February box. They’re replicas of Claire’s two wedding rings, from Frank and Jamie. The box isn’t always filled with things I like, but there’s usually at least one I gravitate towards, and this month had a few cool things. Next month has XFiles, Jessica Jones and more, so I am quite excited to see what we get!

24-28 August 2015: New Shoes!

For an extra week of summer, it was certainly chilly. Funny how that works out, eh?

Limited striped tee, Old Navy Flirt skirt, Gap boyfriend cardigan, BombDotCom arrow necklace and bracelet, Dansko sandals

Love this top so much. There are other colorways, but this one is just the best.

Gap top, anthropologie skirt, Disney necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, Clarks shoes

I haven’t worn this skirt all summer, I don’t think, but I do love it. And these shoes go with it perfectly. Scrounged the outfit last minute when I remembered I was hosting a training and should look professional, ha.

Studio sweater, Sag Harbor skirt, BombDotCom arrow necklace, Agent Carter necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, Clarks shoes

I had to go into my sweater closet to get dressed, it was so awesome. And I am madly in love with how this outfit turned out, so fun and retro. I think this sweater will also look great with my red pencil skirt if I ever get brave enough to wear it again.

anthropologie top, Old Navy Flirt capris, Gap boyfriend cardigan, Biviel t-strap heels

Casual but I love wearing heels again. Switched to Keds to walk to the consignment shop on my dinner break, but didn’t find anything…and ended up in Keds the rest of the night, ha. Not my most comfortable pair of shoes, however cute.

Charlotte Russe bow-back top, Old Navy Flirt capris, Gap boyfriend cardigan, Mickey necklace, Avengers charm bracelet, PURPLE CONVERSE

New shoes! New shoes! I love these so much! They are Hollyhock colored, which apparently is not a current color, so I got them off eBay. (Though I was originally sent the wrong size, exchanged them, and eBay returned my money. But I still got my proper size! Need to figure out how to repay them.) Purple and grey is my basic winter wardrobe, and purple is such a neutral for me, and I’m excited to wear them with cute dresses and jeans alike. Also, you know, Hawkeye. ❤

 

 

 

I used this opportunity to say goodbye to my previous pairs of Chucks, all deeply loved, but unwearable. Bye, Chucks. You served me well. I hope I can replace you some day.

This was actually a great mail week. I got the shoes, I got a nerdy subscription box that I will talk about soon, and I got my very first 5k medal, whoo!!!

 

 

❤ ❤ ❤ I’m still plugging away at the Rogers Running Club – I’m on W8D2 of couch to 5k and it’s going well. Last week, I actually managed 23 straight minutes of jogging, which blew my mind, and while I haven’t been able to replicate it this week, I did shave 2 minutes off my mile. Exciting. This is my race week for the Cinderella Run Like It’s Midnight challenge, and I’m hoping to complete it on Friday. After that, dunno. There’s a Veterans one in November I’d like to do, though I’m worried it might be too cold for my lungs. I could walk it, though. I could also just do a 5K and buy myself a medal. Options.

9, 10, 11 June 2015: Become a Hero

Busy busy week! Weird week, too, where I’m only working three days and coming in late in all of them, because of extra weekend work. I need a nice, regular weekend off to recalibrate me – and I’m not getting one any time soon. LOL Ah, well. Three weeks until my friend comes in to visit and I get 3.5 days off.

Redbubble Heroine tee, Old Navy Flirt capris, Keds

I love this shirt so much. So so so much. It brings me great joy to wear it. And only one kid noticed it, boo. 😦 Oh, well. I’ll wear it again soon and see if anyone else sees it.

A woman came in the day after I wore this, noticed our Ms Marvel poster and said she was friends with the author. !!!!! I may have gone fangirl giddy. I wish she’d come in Tuesday so I could show her I was wearing Kamala on my shirt!

Also, red Keds! They just seem so damn bright/focus pulling. I mean, I bought them to replace worn out red Converse, I have red sandals and red wedges, so it’s not like I’m unused to red shoes. And yet, I am biased against them for some reason. I can’t figure it out.

Modcloth dress, Agent Carter necklace, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Aerosole wedges

It was 90! Which felt very hot. It was our first 90 since last July, so it felt worse than it may have otherwise. I did my jog in the morning when it was—not cool, but not overly warm? It was on an edge, and it was a challenge, but doable. But I would not have been able to do it after work with these temps and humidity!! So, nice cool summer dress, wheeee. I walked half a mile down and back to Trader Joe’s and it was maybe not my finest decision. But I showed off the cute dress, so.

Abercrombie and Fitch sweater, Old Navy Flirt capris, Captain America and Agent Carter necklaces, Optimysticals Avengers charm bracelet, Kenneth Cole Reaction heels

I was aiming kind of retro sweater girly, and I had an extra hour before work, so I tried to curl my hair  (I love Lisa Fremont’s videos) and, um, it did not go well. I realized later I had curl defining mousse I maybe should have put on my hair as I rolled it in the hot rollers. It did at least get some volume, and a coworker called it “epic,” so I guess it could have gone worse.

Also, the sheepies on my jogging path got decorated, omg:

Yikes.

I haven’t really mentioned anything here since February, but if you’ve seen my sidebar, you’ll see I’ve definitely been plugging along in my 2015 Reading Challenges.  I’ve finished 9/11-13 in my Nonfiction Challenge, 5/12 in my To Be Read Challenge and 7/12 in my Eclectic Reader Challenge. So about midway, midway through the year, bang on target. It’s proving shockingly hard to find a book set in a country starting with S or a contemporary romance – I mean, oh my God, I read a million billion romances and half of them are usually set in Scotland!!! And yet, I’ve struggled this year. So weird. I have leads on where to read more on my TBR list, but less motivation now that I’m so into graphic novels; it’ll be interesting if I can manage to use this year to tell myself that I don’t need to read them after all, it’s okay to let them go and move on. The Nonfiction books aren’t set in stone the way TBR is, and I’ve read other nonfiction titles, so I may revise that list to reflect what I’ve read, we’ll see.

All in all, I think it’s been going well and it’s definitely fun. Never would have guessed when I started that I’d be so focused on a brand new genre, though! It’s definitely pulled time away from these lists, but that’s cool, too. I’m glad I have my new area.

Kate Spade Dressing Room

I decided to run over to the new Kate Spade store and try on options. It was 60 degrees, or so all the thermometers said – it felt chillier, and there weren’t nearly as many people at the mall as you would have thought!

I was so impressed with the KS staff – they were so lovely! Super friendly, offered me heels to try things on with, and helped me make a decision when I was stuck. Also, the dressing room was bigger than my bathroom. Just saying.

Lyric Dress, size 6

So, the reason I went over there in the first place. I did love it, very very much. It’s still wishlisted. But it does add volume over my hips, and I’m not sure I have a bra that will lift my chest so it doesn’t end right at the waistband. Maybe a less padded bra? If there’s another sale, or if I get a birthday discount, I’ll consider it again.

Leora dress, medium

But, you see, I tried this one on first. And fell madly, madly in love. I just felt like this was My Dress from the moment I saw myself in it. I love the neckline, I love the cap sleeves, I love the length, I love the pink. It dresses up or down very easily (one stylist was wearing it with a denim jacket and it was SO CUTE), and I could wear this to work all summer long without feeling overdressed. I could also wear it to my friend’s wedding in May. (Especially if I find dupes for these shoes.) (PS, this is the one I bought.)

Zuma dress, size 6

The stylist put a few other spring dresses in there for me, too. I was blown away when I tried this one on. I never would have pulled it for myself in a million years, but my God, it’s gorgeous. The pattern is placed perfectly and I love the shape it defines on me. My one reservation is that it is definitely snug/form fitting. I can sit in it just fine, and move around, but it does fit snugly enough that I was always aware of it. I could size up, but then I think I’d lose the definition it gives. I think it fits perfectly, I just prefer things a little looser.

Edith dress, size 6

Again, I never ever would have picked this, but holy crap, I adore it. It’s amazing and I felt amazing in it. Same definition as the Zuma, but not as snug. I will say, it doesn’t look anything like the model on me, though! It looked way more shift-y on the website. I told my mom I was keeping the Zuma in my mind for the next sale, but I rather feel like this one might be a better pick. I wish the pic wasn’t blurry, sigh.

I wish I could find the shoes online – I remember the name started with a p. Unless the color was pewter, hmm. I wonder if they were last season’s Lilia? They were very comfortable, and even though I side eye the extreme triangle toe normally, I adored these. But alas, they were $246 and that was more than I was spending on the dress! I won’t lie, I did consider it. But when I started telling myself that it was totally reasonable to spend just under $500, because it was after all under $500, I knew I had gone too far. LOL

I also tried on the Sawyer dress in a size 6, but it was too tight over my rib cage and the darts were far to prominent to try another size. I did like the length, though.

I definitely have ideas in mind for the next sale, though!

 

 

1 and 2 April 2014: Let there be Flowers

Back to work, after an inadvertent 5 day weekend, 4 if which I spent ill. I’m so glad for normalcy!

Loft sunwashed tee, Old Navy Flirt skirt, Free People beaded flower cardigan, Merona otk socks, BoC Canty Booties

I thought it was going to be in the 50s. It wasn’t. I was cold.

anthropologie Noon and Night dress, Loft cardigan, flower bib necklace, White Cliff flats

Still cold. Very cold. But!!! Look what I spotted yesterday and today:

Spring might yet be on its way. Things are alive!!!!

I’m a little nervous, because we’ve just barely begun allergy season (low mold and tree pollen, day three), and already I’m having worse reactions than I have in a long, long time. Maybe it’s because my immune defenses were down, but I actually had to visit the doctor this weekend because my eyes were leaking slime and swollen nearly shut. We thought it was pink eye at first, or maybe my virus had become a cold that settled into my eyes, but nope! Allergies, pure and simple. I’ve never been this aware of my eyeballs before. They ache! This sucks. Even now, days later, the mucous blurs my vision and I can’t see.

Um, when’s summer again?

21 and 22 June 2013: Chorus

I had a little too much fun with yesterday’s outfit. The pinup place has another special going, and my friend Liss and I are going to do a joint shoot. I think this 1930s chorus girl offering would be super fun.

Eddie Bauer ditsy floral blouse, Loft wide legged shorts, Forever 21 Love necklace, Forever 21 hair flower, Aerosole heels

All season I’ve been on the hunt for a ditsy floral sleeveless top and I realized that basically, I want this shirt, sleeveless. Maybe a yellow background instead of blue.

Charlotte Russe top, Gap cut off shorts, Angel Wear Designs headband

My friend and her three year old are in for a long weekend – the ones I went to Disney with in December. We see each other every six months, and her daughter, A, has come to terms with the fact that I am the  camera lady. On our last day at Disney, she started posing and asking me to take her picture. She continued that today, so I taught her how to use my digital camera. She’s really quite good at framing. So yes, today’s picture comes to you taken by A. 🙂

19 and 20 June 2013: More Dresses

It’s a theme this week, I guess!

JCrew Factory Striped dress, Loft cardigan, JCrew bubble necklace, VLD hat, Me Too ballerina wedges

These shoes, man. They fit perfectly in the morning, roomy even. By the end of the day, I’m stumbling home, my feet jammed inside. I know feet swell through the day, but these are the only shoes that have this problem! I even stretched them for a week, and same deal.

Jones New York shirtdress, Limited bow necklace, AngelWear Designs headband, Bass Glenbrook heeled saddle shoes

A bit of retro fun. Summer is apparently starting tomorrow, for good, so we’ll see how this goes. I got my window A/C unit in, so I am ready whenever it hits!