Farewell, Old Friend

Pants - Jones New York (steinmart); Shirt - JC Penny; Belt - Steinmart; Sweater - TJ Maxx;

Shoes - Nine West (thirfted); Necklace - Thrifted; Earrings - Premiere

This outfit was thrown together totally last minute as I saw this shirt that I bought last summer when I was rearranging my closet and wanted to wear it. I love everything about how this outfit looked and felt. This shirt was such a pleasant surprise. I would never have paired red, magenta and brown before purchasing this, and was drawn to the ugliness of the pattern. It's really quite beautiful.

The old friend, however, is the pants. These pants are brown with gold sparkles are highwaisted, wide legged and all sorts of amazing. But they are also wool and very itchy, so after this picture was taken, I retired them into my winter clothes bin to be resurrected next October. I'll miss you, sweet pants.

. Rating - Two Thumbs Up Always love it when I follow up a crappy outfit with a faboo one!

Valentine's Day Blues

Shirt - Jones New York (Macy's); Vest - Tommy Hilfiger (Macy's FREE);

Skirt - Old Navy; Tights - We Love Colors; Boots and Bangles - Macy's;

Scarf - Steinmart; Belt - Baby Phat (thrifted)

Wow, the way I'm standing in the first pic makes me look really wide! Note to self...never stand that way again!

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Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies! I'm about a week behind in my posting, but thought I'd skip ahead to show what I actually wore on Valentine's Day. I centered the outfit around the vest I got for FREE with Macy's rewards dollars this weekend, which just happened to have red in it, so fortunately for me I did dress for the occasion. I've generally shied away from Tommy stuff because it's just so darn expensive - too expensive to be worth it. I also shy away from red-white-blue clothing cause it's a little too 4th of July-y for me, but I was drawn to this vest because it was a cardigan vest (something totally new to my closet) and I liked how the gray was worked in. I had no trouble building the outfit.

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I'm also excited to showcase my new hair. I have really limp flat hair on the left side of my head and thick bouncy hair on the right. Why shouldn't my hair be as lopsided as my boobs? I finally went to a real hairdresser to get it trimmed up. It was my friend Jenna's sister Lizzie, and it was the first time in my life that I told a hair dresser my struggles and they gave me exaclty what I needed to fix them! I am so happy with this cut. It's technically kind of an emo cut -lots of short layers on top- but it gives me the lift and body and dimension that I need all around. SO HAPPY!! Now, if only my bangs would grow a little faster!

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Rating - Two V-Day Thumbs Up!

Recycled Ties

Shirt - Steinmart; Sweater - Jones New York (Macy's); Skirt - Kohls; Belt - ME (husby's old ties);

Tights - NY & Co, Shoes - Moda (thrifted); Bracelets - Macy's; Necklace - Premiere

I felt like just standing in the skirt didn't nearly do it justice, so I twirled. The skirt and sweater are both OHW's today. The sweater I bought years ago, before open-front asymetrical sweaters were as widely available or worn, and I've never quite felt that I was stylish enough to do it justice. After re-finding it deep in the bowels of my winter-wear, I am in love. The skirt, however is just awkward. The shape is okay, if it was shorter...the length is okay, if more form fitting. The material is very silky, so wearing it in the summer seems impractical (sweaty + silk = YUCK), but it's so lightweight that it's not really warm in the winter. Overall, awkward. I'll give it another try, maybe in the spring without tights and with some sandals.....

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The belt, I crafted myself, out of my husband's old ties. I saw something like this on an etsy site and thought it was a novel idea. I love obi-style belts because they are both flattering and add a bit of interest with their three dimensionality. I was having trouble finding one in my price range. So, I went through husby's old ties, and took the two ugliest and sewed them together to give it a try. I learned that navy and olive actually make a good looking belt, and that stiff polyester ties are much more useful in this capacity, since silk ties bend too easily. I spent most of the day smoothing the tie back to its original shape cause it was a mushy mess after sitting down. I went to my Mom to see if she had any of Dad's old ties laying around, and she'd already given them to GoodWill. I asked around work and got some of the same responses. So, if anyone has any old polyseter - or equally stiff material - men's neckties lying around that they'd be interesting in sending my way (the louder the print, the better) let me know. I'd love to try this again!

Rating - Two Thumbs Sideways

Sunshine Yellow

Shirt - Inc (Macy's FREE); Pants - Style & Co (Macy's FREE); Scarf as belt - Jones NY (TJ Maxx);

Ballet Flats - Jessica Simpson (thrifted); Bracelet - Premeire; Necklace - Street Vendor

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The necklace is the OHW here. Normally I wouldn't let myself get off so easily on a challenge, if it weren't for the fact that I've had this necklace for years and have been actively trying to find ways to wear it. So far, it's only been worn with my emerald green maxi dress in the summer. I'm pretty proud of myself for finally figuring out that this scarf has the yellow in it. Duh!! The necklace and scarf gave me the added bit of color I needed to brighten up this navy and gray ensemble. Plus, the whole thing was pretty comfy and casual, which is sometimes nice when you have a 10 hour work day followed by a 3 hour class.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

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!

Shirt - Jones New York (Macys); Scarf - Jones New York (TJ Maxx);

Pants - Steinmart; Shoes - Moda (thrifted); Bracelets and Earrings - Me

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My husband got the movie The Box from the library this week. In it, Cameron Diaz plays a school teacher in the 70's, and I totally loved her style. She inspired this outfit today....especially the scarf. 70's style is great for the fall because of the colors. Plus, I have tons of scarves that I can wear again cause I can't stand the way sweaty material feels on my skin in the summer.