Raspberry Beret

Shirt - NY & Co (thrifted); Sweater - Express (thrifted); Skirt - JC Penny;

Pumps - Nine West (thrifted); Jewelry - Me

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this sweater. I found it in a thrift shop and normally run away from pink (something about growing up in a pepto bismol room), but I couldn't resist the rich raspberry color. I felt so feminine and gorgeous all day.

And these shoes....these $8 metallic thrifted shoes have gotten more wear in the 6 months that I've owned them than most of the shoes in my closet have their entire shoe-lives. What can I wear them with? What CAN"T I wear them with :-)

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

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I hadn't shopped at NY & Co since it changed name from Lerner NY (mostly because that's around the time I became plus sized and didn't think they could fit me), but I've noticed that I have many thrifted items from there, so I recently took a look. I am in LOVE!! The colors, their belt collection.....I could have done some serious damage. Good thing I had Sophie with me to keep me honest-ish :-) Yes I bought a cardi and a few clearance belts.

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So with the new year comes a new resolution. Since I started blogging in July, this will be my first year blogging from the beginning of the year. My goal is to not duplicate any outfits for 365 days, without doing any shopping. I know, I've said I would stop shopping before, but I found that it was something I couldn't do completely cold turkey. I weaned myself down immensely this past year, but I'm heading into 2011 a bit more determined and with a little more insight into myself.

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I shop to get away from my life, to spend some time not being mommy, student or wife. I knew that. But shopping doesn't have to involve buying. I buy for another reason. I buy because with each new purchase it's another opportunity to bring something into my wardrobe which will make me feel better about myself. This shirt, that belt, that pair of shoes...yes, they make me feel great when I put them on the first time, but it fades and I'm still left with me. I need to like me more - mostly on the outside. But my dislike on the outside is internalizing and it's not healthy. Instead of making good choices and actively trying to make myself look/feel better, I just buy more clothes to cover up my body. And I need to stop.

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So, I thank all of my readers, who give me feedback positive or negative, cause I'm learning how to feel good in what I already have.

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And I thank my Husby for dealing with my crazy on a daily basis, for being my most honest critic, and being my most staunch supporter in making me feel beautiful every day.

Lauren Conrad

Tank - Lauren Conrad (thrifted); Cardi - Old Navy; Pants - TJ Maxx;

Shoes - Payless; Jewelry - Premiere

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I've never seen an episode of The Hills. I hate Heidi and Spencer, though, from other things I've seen them on and read. So I'll admit, they sucked any curiosity I had about The Hills which might lead me to check out an episode or two right out of my system. I know that Lauren Conrad was on this show, and that she's done some commercials (and is a HORRIBLE actress), but had no clue she had a clothing line. When I found this adorable tank (and another one that I'm sure will be making an appearance soon) I had to buy it. The color matches my eyes, and I love the pale purple/pink flowers throughtout which happen to match the cardi which I already owned. It's very feminine and delicate and ruffley and I love it. And it helped that they were on clearance at Plato's closet and I got both for less than $5. I'm doing my good deal dance over here.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

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And I won't be around much this next week. I'm on vacation and that involves tons of time with my littles and very little time on my computer. No offense. They are cuter.

Maternity Revisited

Purple shirt - Motherhood Maternity; Black Shirt - TJ Maxx; Pants,

Cuff and Loafers - Steinmart; Earrings and Necklace - Macy's; Belt - JC Penny

So I was a total dork today and wore these loafers with black socks, but it had just snowed and I wasn't about to break out the heels and wanted warm socks. You can't see the socks anyway.

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And no, I am not pregnant. The purple frilly blouse is one of those too pretty to retire materntiy blouses. It has an empire waist which makes me look prego and short sleeves, so I was looking to cover it up. My long sleeved faux wrap shirt fit the bill. This is the second outfit of late involving pants which I didn't hate. YAY.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Photo Inspiration

Cardi - Old Navy; Pants - Steinmart; Shirt - Kohls;

Necklaces, Earrings and Bracelets- Premiere; Shoes - Payless

This outfit was inspired by J Crew. I was surfing their site, checking out their new looks and there were peach gloves and a teal scarf together and I loved it. This was the closest I could come to the colors - different saturations, but the idea is the same. I felt simultaneously springy and weather appropriate. I wouldn't say that this is even in my top 10 outfits, but I was proud of myself for attempting this color combo after seeing it online.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Ugly Pretty

Cardi - Macy's; Pants - Target; Shirt, Tank and Loafers- Steinmart;

Necklace and Earrings - Premiere; Belt - NY & Co (thrifted)

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One of my favorite movies, Kissing Jessica Stein, has a scene where they discuss sexy ugly. You know, guys like Nicholas Cage and James Woods who are not empirically attractive, but something about them makes them sexy. This sweater is the apparel version of sexy ugly. The sweater is so ugly that it's actually really pretty. When I first saw it, I thought it looked like vomit. Teal, orange, purple, mustard, olive in a floral pattern....but I was so drawn to it. And I love how it pairs with this orange shirt. The teal belt was just icing on the cardi cake. So many options.....

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What I love most, though, is that I found a way to style pants that I thought was flattering on me. See, I'm a pencil skirt kinda gal. My body type and curves leave me feeling frumpy in most full-length slacks. Not today, my friends. YAY!!

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Redemption

Cardi, Skirt and Tights - Old Navy; Tank - Macy's;

Shoes - Coach (TJ Maxx); Earrings and Necklaces - Premiere;

Ring - Macys; Pin - Craft Show

Redemption comes in shades of purple. I love how this outfit turned out and especially love that I could work in both tights and my favorite pair of frivolous shoes. I didn't need purple suede wedge loafers. Who does? But a pair of $300 shoes that I found on a clearance rack for under $30 was too good to pass up. I figured that I'd find a way to work them in. And I have, repeatedly. Rating - Two Thumbs Up.
Goosie's got her groove back.

Another One Bites the Dust

Dress and Scarf- TJ Maxx; Tights and Bracelet- Old Navy;

Boots - Payless; Vest - Steinmart; Belt - Thrifted

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Two outfit failures in a row. While I was happy with this outfit when I left the house, despite Husby's discouragement, I became successively less happy throughout the day. Firstly, the dress was really thick and all the layers and scarf around my neck made me really hot. Yes, it's cold outside. No, I don't work outside. By the end of the day most of my layers were gone. Also, each time I walked past a window or went to the bathroom I checked out the reflection, hoping I'd like it as much as I did at home. Never happened. Don't know exaclty, but it just didn't work. Just goes to show that just because you like individual items, they don't always make a good (or flattering) outfit.

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Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Down

Mixing Plaids

Cardi and Tank - Steinmart; Belt and Skirt - JC Penny;

Shoes - thrifted; Ring - Steinmart

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This red snakeskin-patterned cardigan with satin trim looked like a fab buy, but it's one of my closet regrets. The sleeves are a bit too short and it gets easily misshapen during wear. However, I can't part with it until I get a red cardi replacement, and since I'm trying not to shop, I'm trying to make this work. I was relatively pleased with how this outfit turned out, despite my dislike for the sweater. I guess my love for the plaid shoes outweighed. Not sure how I feel about them with the plaid skirt...might not be pairing those two again.
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Rating - Two thumbs sideways (husby wasn't thrilled either)

Silver and Shiny

Cardi and Shirt - Style & Co. (Macy's); Skirt - JC Penny; Shoes - Thrifted;
Necklace - Express; Ring - Premiere

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Although ensconced in varying shades of gray, black and white, I felt awesome and spunky in this ensemble. I love the cardigan with the ruffles and the shiny silver stripes through the cardigan made me feel equally shiny. The 14 hour workday that followed this picture was easy when I looked and felt this good.
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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Vacation Binge

Sweater - Kohls; Skirt - Macy's; Boots - Marshalls;

Necklace & Cuff - Premiere; Pin - Amazon

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This skirt is the purple twin of the green one seen last week. Yeah, I got it in two of the three colors available. How can you pass up colorful, cute, well fitting skirts?? Plus it was also a free skirt. The boots are burgundy. Yes, I bought boots, but I was on vacation and in Memphis so I thought I could do a little Christmas shopping for me. You know, when on vacation you often break your food diet rules....how about shopping diet rules? I didn't go crazy or anything. They were $20.

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And since Stinky got some face time yesterday, I thought I'd pick up my other stretch mark creator. Here is Smeliot.

Yep, I'm in love.

Color My World

Dress - Style & Co (Macy's); Shoes - thrifted; Cardi - Old Navy;

Pin - Steinmart; Cuff - Premiere; Belt - came with the dress

While Husby wasn't fond of this outfit (mostly for my hair), I loved this outfit. The material of the dress was very comfy and stretchy while still being very professional and modest. I liked the colors most of all. I wouldn't have thought to put purple and blue together like this, but was glad to go with it.

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Rating - One Thumb Up, One Thumb Sideways

Add a third thumb, in the up direction if you count the vote of my mini fashionista, Stinkerbell (shown in her Christmas best). She said I looked 'Bootiful'....I'll credit that to the speech challenges of a 2 1/2 year old and not my booty.

Ruffles have Ridges

Shirt - Steinmart; Skirt and Belt - JC Penny;

Shoes - Madden (thrifed); Pin - Amazon

Oh, how I love my ruffly sweaters. This is one of those items that I forgot I owned. It was like Christmas when I opened my winter storage tote and found this baby. The pin was an antique 20's style piece that I added to a christmas present for Husby to get the free super saver shipping at Amazon. For a dollar less, I got a pin and a movie than the cost of the movie and its shipping. I love these hidden deals!

A Rose by Any Other Name

Shirt and Skirt - Macy's; Cardi & Shoes - Steinmart; Belt - Baby Phat (thrifted); Leather Cuff - Premiere
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Two Thumbs Up. WAY UP. I was so happy with how this outfit turned out. The skirt, complete with partially elasticized waistband was part of a suit in the old lady section at Macy's which I had to go through to get to the dressing room. I caught the color out of the corner of my eye and couldn't resist (it helped that it had been marked down to $6). I already had the rose striped shirt in my hand to try on and something told me that these would be great together. I was right.

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And before I'm chastized for shopping again, I had rewards bucks, so both items were free :-)

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Husby even told me he loved my outfit. He said I looked like a flower. YAY!

Can I Quote You on That?

Jacket - Old Navy (thrifted); Shirt - Steinmart; Skirt - JC Penny;

Shoes - Madden (thrifted); Bracelet and Necklace - Premiere;

Belt - Steinmart

Husby said that I looked like a reporter...so I gave him a reporter :-)

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Husby thought this outfit was okay. I thought it was faboo. I felt great in this outfit all day, and got quite a few compliments. The shoes, however, only made it to lunch, since the bathroom is on the other side of the building and they hurt.
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Rating - One thumb sideways, One thumb up

Frumpy Skirt

Shirt - Macy's; Skirt - Steinmart; Shoes - Payless;

Necklace and Bracelet - Premiere

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This skirt hasn't been worn in 3 years because a) I couldn't zip it up and b) I thought it was too frumpy. While it's still not my favorite skirt, I found that if I added a funky hip top and fun shoes and accessorized it right, the frump could be minimized. It is a bit long, which I think makes me look a bit old, but overall a nice, clean, conservative with a bit of sass work outfit.

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And I did do my happy dance a bit when I zipped it up :-)

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Husby instituted a new rating system this morning. When I expressed my frustrations with statements like 'You look very Teal today' or 'You look like a teacher', we agreed that a better system would be a Thumb Rating. Thumbs up for good, down for bad, and sideways for indifference.

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Rating - One Thumb Sideways

Black on Black

Shirt - Jones New York (Macy's); Vest and Tights - Steinmart; Skirt - Old Navy; Scarf - Thirfted; Earrings - Premiere; Bracelet - Sears

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So days after confessing my bad-day tell to Style Underdog, I had one of the worst nights of this year. An incredibly stressul day at work was followed by an extremely frustrating night at school which culminated in me crying myself home from school. I went to sleep feeling defeated - by my job, my school, myself.

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I woke up this morning down in the dumps and feeling kinda numb. You know the feeling when you've cried too much. So I resisted the urge to ensconce myself in black and blend into the woodwork today. I put together the most colorful combo of navy week. My clothes alone are making me feel quite a bit better. That and the thought of actually being able to go home tonight at dinner time to see my Husband and kids. Man, I miss you guys!

Ladies and Gentlemen....

Shirt - Alfani (Macy's); Skirt - JC Penny; Vest - Motherhood Maternity;

Shoes - Old Navy; Necklaces - Premiere and JC Penny;

Floral Pin and Earrings - Steinmart

It wasn't until I got this photo from Husby that I realized I looked like the Ringmaster of an Evil Circus with the vest/skirt/stripey shirt/flower combo I had going on. Quickly removed the vest and hid it in my laptop bag :-)

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While this isn't a very colorful navy outfit, the interesting details of the items and accessories lend to a desirable alternative to the uber conservative navy of Monday. These shoes, especially, with what my daughter thinks are blueberries on the tops. I felt very feminine and a little edgy with my plaid pencil skirt and stripey shirt. Look at me mixing patterns!

Crystal Blue Persuasion

Pants and Tank - Steinmart; Cardi - TJ maxx; Necklace - Macy's; Bracelets and Earrings - Premiere; Floral Magnetic Pin - Steinmart; Shoes - Moda (Thrifted)
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Using the pumps from yesterday and a navy cardigan, day two of the Navy challenge turned out even better than expected. Despite Husby saying he didn't like my outfit. I loved it. Every part of it. And was so sad when I had to leave work after only 6 hours to go to school, cause this was the kind of outfit which could keep me going all day. Thanks Jessica of SS for the yellow-blue idea.

Navy Blue Suede Shoes

Sweater - NY & Co (thrifted); Shirt - Style & Co (Macy's);

Skirt - Liz Claiborne (thrifted); Tights - We Love Colors;

Shoes - Moda; Necklaces - Steinmart, Macy's, Express;

Bangles and Earrings - Macy's

I need you, my followers, to vote in the Great Pose Debate. Husby likes Pose #1, I prefer #2. I think it highlights my gams. What do you think?

This outfit was inspired by Style Underdog. I had forgotten all about my own pair of blue suede shoes until I saw this post.

However, I do have to admit that I like hers better :-) I am a little annoyed with myself that when I wear Navy, I have a tendency to get all blued out. I need to break out and add some more colors to my Navy outfits. Remember this Gem from a few months back?
Boring. Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue. My challenge this week is to break out of my Navy Shell.

Plum Love

Cardi - Max Edition (Steinmart); Shirt - Steinmart; Skirt - JC Penny;

Belt - TJ Maxx; Shoes - Madden (TJ Maxx);

Necklace and Bangle - Premiere; Earrings - Chicos

Ah the shoes are once again the story. These are, by far, my prettiest shoes. I love the ruffle. I love the plummy color. And I kinda love the fact that they can't decide whether they are a pump or a bootie or a peep toe. They are all in one. And surprisingly comfy, to boot.
Now, the cardi. Every other time that I have worn this shirt, I have paired it with purples and plums, since that is what you see from afar. Today I decided to be a bit different and pull out the forest green that is hidden in the paisley print. You have to look pretty close, but it's there.

I'm pretty happy with how this outfit turned out. I was freezing, though, since I was a bit under the weather on the inside and the weather had taken a bitter twist on the outside. Lucky for me, the green tights I ordered from We Love Colors arrived at lunch, so I put them on. They tied things together even more. YAY!!

Asian Persuasian

Dress - Alfani (Macy's); Tights - Old Navy; Boots - Steinmart;

Earrings - Chicos; Necklace - Premiere; Bangle - Old Navy

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This is the first time wearing this dress and these tights. I bought them separately cause I loved their colors, but was too timid to wear the Asian inspired obi-wrap dress until now. I'm glad I overcame it. I love how the tights add a pop of color and funk. Now I need to figure out how to style this and add layers so that I can wear this dress again this season :-)

Agism Fashion

Dress - Christina V (Steinmart); Tights - JC Penny; Jacket - Gap;

Boots - Macy's; Necklace and Earrings - Premiere;

Leopard Print Bangles - Steinmart

I used to think that patterned sweater tights were only for little girls. I used to think that animal prints were reserved for Cougars. Sometimes I have to laugh at how small minded I used to be when it came to fashion.

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I absolutely LOVE this outfit and how it came together. Especially this dress, which I was a little concerned about because of it's dark and heavy patterns, but sheer bottom and short sleeved, open weave sweater top. Perfect for fall with tights and jacket added. I felt like a million bucks and can't wait to wear this dress again!

Yipes Stripes

Sweater - American Eagle (thrifted); Skirt - Old Navy;

Tee - Style & Co (Macy's); Tights - Old Navy; Boots - Macy's;

Belt - Dots; Necklace - JC Penny

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I am not an every day blogger. I usually only blog what I wear to work, and only then if my husband is awake and aware enough to take the pictures. You will nearly never see an outfit worn to school, since a Tee, a UC fleece jacket and jeans are not nearly exciting enough (and generally only vary in the color of Tee). Unless, I have to stop in to the office before heading to my all-day classes, like on this particular day. I needed something comfy and easy to move in, since I'd not only be performing a lab experiment in the afternoon, but I'd be heading to campus hours before the near lot opens up to non-pass holders, so I'd be walking about a 1/2 mile from where I park to my class once I got there. But it also had to be appropriate enough for my business casual work atmosphere. This is what I settled on. I really liked how it turned out and I was extremely comfy all day. Plus, I feel great any time I wear olive green since my eyes are olivey and it really makes them pop.

Good Girl Gone Bad

Jacket and Skirt - Steinmart; Shirt - TJ Maxx; Boots - Payless; Belt and Scarf - Thrifted; Earrings - Bakers
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This was another Jessica inspired outfit from Surely Sonsy. However, as with most imitations, mine didn't nearly measure up to hers. I really liked the leather jacket with the super feminine skirt, so I paired my black leather with my heather gray pleated beauty. But with all of my outfit being black and gray, I needed to add the champagne pink scarf to lighten things up. Outfit would have been better if: my jacket was cropped; or my skirt was more fitted. I felt a little overpowered and like I was hiding my body, which I don't like to really do anymore. That being said, overall I liked the outfit once I ditched the jacket and would definitely like to try this look again. I definitely have to give a shout out to Jessica again for giving me another way to style my many scarves. The double loop knotted in back will definitely appear again.

Oh, the Places You Will Go

Sweater - Chicos (thrifted); Pants and Tee - Steinmart; Shoes - Thrifted;

Ring and E - Premiere; Scarf - Nordstrom (thrifted)

This is a much more conservative look than I'm used to, and to be honest I felt a little 'old' this day. But the sweater was just too pretty to pass up. The color and texture was just fabulous. Maybe I just need to rework it with a skirt or some skinny jeans to modernize the style a bit.

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But the real story is the shoes. These shoes aren't the most comfortable in my closet, nor the prettiest, nor the best deal, but I think they are my favorites. They are dyeables and I like to imagine the life that they have led; the things that they have seen. Someone wore these shoes on their feet as they stood by friends saying their vows. Someone felt absolutely beautiful in these shoes as they danced the wedding party dance and got pictures taken under a gazeebo. Someone gave up these shoes because they didn't believe they had anything more to offer. I adopted these shoes and every time I put them on, I feel beautiful and I smile thinking of the life that these shoes have had.

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I know, I'm a dork :-)