Elf Shoes

Shirt - Macys; Skirt - NY & Co (thrifted); Tights - Hue (Macys); Shoes - Chinese Laundry (thrifted); Belt - Dots

Hubs and I are goofy.  His nickname for me is Goose.  Because I'm a silly Goose.  We like to IM each other 'I love you' through other words that would look like you were saying 'I love you' if you whispered them.  Olive Juice.  Elephant Hues.  Elf Shoes. 

When I brought these shoes home from the consignment shop, Hubs asked me why I brought home Elf Shoes.  I love these olive green boots!!  And I love you, too, Hubs!

Strawberry Wine

Shirt - Macys; Skirt - Old Navy; Shoes - thrifted; Ring - Steinmart

I was told that I looked like Lucille Ball at work today.  And within 5 minutes, also told that I looked like a strawberry. While one is clearly more flattering than the other, I love this shirt because of its different polka dots.  It's hard to see here,  but the cherry (or strawberry) red  blouse has black polka dots all over it.  I love the combo.  I guess plaid and polka dots won out today.

This skirt has been in my closet for some time, but I was getting exceedinly bored with the boringness of it.  Joann Fabrics to the rescue.  A couple yards of decorative black lace and I've got a new much more interesting skirt.  I think I'll be doing this to more skirts....

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Cardi - NY & Co (thrifted), Belt  - Thrifted; Shoes - Mossimo (Thrifted); Capris - Gap (maternity);  Shirt - NY  & Co; Earrings and Bracelet - Steinmart

This outfit was part of my attempt to find yet another non-christmassy red/green combo.  This shirt is a pale bluish green, so I guess it could technically be classified at teal, but I thought I'd give it a shot in my ever present quest for things not black or blue that go with red.  Sadly, my beautiful tomato NY&Co cropped cardi got caught on something (not really sure what) this day and got a ginormous hole in the back. It has since been retired (to the garbage) as it was a hole that I could not repair.  I searched for months for the perfect red cardi.  Now I am again on the quest. :-(

The shoes support my theory that every good shoe eventually ends up at Platos.  I saw these shoes on Target.com for around $25 dollars.  Although adorable, and I still on my mind weeks later, the words 'I'll wait until they show up at Plato's' actrually came out of my mouth in my externalized internal monologue.  And lo and behold, around 3 months later, they showed up at Plato's in my size.  Our union was meant to be.  And they are surprisingly comfortable.  A match made in heaven.

Dirty Maritinis and Salads under the Christmas Tree

Shirt - TJ Maxx; Skirt - thrifted; Belt - Dots; Shoes - Moda (thrifted); Necklace - Premiere

I struggle with how to style red.  I'm so tired of red, white and blue, red and black, red and white, and red and emerald green is too christmassy for me.  I love tomato and olive, first obeserved on Kasmira.  But the stuffy engineers in my office, who tend to live in neutrals, spend the day telling me 'Merry Christmas' all day.  When I corrected them with the tomato and olive nuance of the color combo, I got referred to as a salad and a martini (pimento stuffed olive).  I felt like a million bucks and kept my tomato and olive head held hight.

Dye Job

Dress - Macy's; Shoes - TJ Maxx; Necklace and Earrings - Dress Barn; Owl Ring - Bakers

This post is a rarety. It's comprised of two outfite with NOTHING thrifted. This is so not me. I wore the red white and blue number for July 4th (yes, I'm a month behind in my blogging) and and the other was just a want-to-be-comfy day, so my fave flats and shirtdress. And holy wow...I knew my hair needed to be cut, but didn't realize how badly I needed a dye job!!
Dress - Target; Shoes - Old Navy; Bracelet - Premiere; Earrings - Steinmart

I like to call this outfit the Reverse Dorothy. I like it.

From Paris, with Love

Skirt - NY & Co (thrifted); Shirt - Loft (thrifted); Shoes, Bangle, Necklace and Belt - Thrifted

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While I own a crap-ton of items from Plato's Closet, this is the first time I've created an outfit entirely out of items from my hand-me-down Mecca. The skirt I totally love because of its 50's feel and the fact that it is covered in little pictures of women having coffee at outdoor cafe's in what I can only assume is Paris. ADORABLE!!! Add that it has a stretchy waist and will (hopefully) shrink with me as I lose weight, and it's quickly skyrocketing to the top of my skirt list. And this outfit is probably my favorite combo of red-white and blue yet.

Yeah, gonna try that weight loss thing again. Wish me luck. If I don't lose some lbs, my back pain will never get any better and it's starting to really interfere with my everyday life. Cross your fingers for me ladies!

Summer Brights

Skirt - Spiegel; Boots - Macy's; Shirt - Steinmart; Sweater Vest - August Silk (Macy's); Cardi - Loft (thrifted)

Although I felt way too bright for my engineering office, I'm pretty happy with how this uber bright outfit turned out.

Dress - Chaps (from sister); Shoes - Unlisted (from co-worker); Cardi - TJ Maxx

This dress was so basic, it was almost boring. Almost because the red was so vibrant, the basicness actually did it justice. I think this dress will be fun to play around with in the winter with sweaters and tights and boots... Thanks to my little sister who lost a ton of weight (jealous) and my co-worker who refuses to wear skirts after her third child (and gave me all of her sandals), my outfit was almost entirely free. Love that!!

33

Shirt - Style & Co (Free); Skirt - Talbots (thrifted); Boots - Thrifted; Belt - JC Penny; Necklace and Earrings - Premiere
Dress - Gap (thrifted); Jacket - Gap (circa 1999); Shoes - Payless; Jewelry - Mostly Premiere, with a little thrifted

I got a little bit of money from mileage expense reports which was totally bonus, so I took $40 to my local payless for their BOGO sale to buy myself some birthday presents. Too bad the shoes above broke on the second wearing. I'll be trying to recoup the cost of those if I can ever get around to taking them back.

Skirt - Talbots (thrifted); Shirt - JC Penny; Cardi - Old Navy; Shoes - Payless; Jewelry - Premiere

This was my birthday outfit. And the shoes are my new faves, and the ones from Payless that didn't fall apart. Thanks to Kendi for showing them to me for the first time. Olive and tomato and the kids coming to have lunch with me at the office... 33 is starting off AOK.

Black & White

Dress - Old Navy (thrifted); Cardi - Steinmart; Shoes - Old Navy; Belt and Ring - Steinmart

Shirt and Cardi - Steinmart; Pants - NY & Co; Belt - Baby Phat (thrifted)

Cardi and Dress - TJ Maxx; Tights - We Love Colors; Shoes - Anne Klein (Stienmart); Earrings, and Bracelet - Steinmart

This last look is for my daughter, who is currently in love with Dorothy Gale. There's no place like home, sweetie.

Let the Sunshine In

Dress - Lands End (gift from MIL); Belt - Thrifted; Shoes - Jessica Simpson (thrifted); Necklace - ME; Earrings - Steinmart

This dress was so comfy, it was like wearing jammies to work. I see myself wearing this dress a lot. For my first attempt, went with the red and blue, but I'm excited about adding some yellow, or lime to it for this spring. Thought I'd try safe and toned down for the first wearing. I'm finding that my favorite gifts lately are gift cards. Used to hate them, cause I thought they were the cop out gift for those that lack imagination. Now I love them, cause they let me shop guilt free. Hint, hint Hubs.

Skirt - Spiegel; Sweater - Style & Co (Macy's); Shirt, Necklace and Belt - JC Penny; Shoes - Rampage (Macy's); Earrings - Chicos

This was the first wearing of my long-searched for yellow pencil skirt, but the last wearing of one of my favorite memory pieces. These pumps were purchased when I got engaged to wear to my bridal showers. I was in a very classic black & white phase at the time (with a lot of polka dots) and I wore these shoes to nearly every event for the wedding outside from the actual ceremony. Problem is, they kill my feet. They are a bit too big, not being available in half sizes, and the cut of the shoes is a bit to wide for my average width feet. I spend so much time fighting with them to stay on that they hurt my arches. By lunch time at the office, I was barefoot under my desk, only walking when absolutely necessary, cause the thought of putting them back on made me cringe. Not the kind of shoes to wear when you're trying to get your step count up. I recently gave these shoes to the Lovely LaraTelena. Hopefully she can make them fulfill their shoe destiny. I'll post any pics she sends me. Hint, hint, Lara.

Cloth Memory

Shirt - Style & Co (Macy's); Skirt - TJ Maxx; Shoes - Payless; Belt - JC Penney; Necklace - Premiere; Earrings and Ring - Steinmart.

Do you ever haer a song or smell a scent that instantly takes you somewhere or time? The smell of Drakar instantly takes me back to my first date with my Husband; the smell of coconut takes me to my sister's pool; and this outfit takes me to the day that I met with the dean of my college and he agreed to waive the equivalent of $10,000 and 1 year's worth of classes for me. I will graduate in the summer of 2013. YAY!!

Shirt - JC Penny; Skirt - thrifted; Earrings and Ring - Premiere; Shoes - Gift; Belt - Thrifted

This outfit, on the other hand, takes me back to one of the most embarrassing days of my adult life. I was walking through my office production room, and my heal caught the linoleum floor just the wrong way and I wiped out. With all of my bags and books on my shoulders, so I made an even bigger crash. In front of all my coworkers. I was mortified. And I don't embarrass easily. I didn't cry in front of them though. I waited until I was limped back to my desk and my incredibly, instantaneously swollen knees were propped and iced by my ever-so-sweet cubie neighbor to start crying. And I had the bruise for 3 WEEKS. A large horrible purple bruise, which meant I had to wear pants or longer skirts and was reminded daily of my shame. It's gone now, but I may just have to get rid of the shoes so I can forget about it a bit. On the other hand, this was another red-white-black attempt that I succeeded in doing my own way, so YAY to ME!

Ode to a Grecian Urn

Dress and Boots - Thrifted; Sweater and Leggings - Steinmart; Belt - TJ Maxx; Necklace - ME; Ring - Steinmart; Cuff - Premiere

There are two color combinations that I try to stay away from; red, white and blue, and red, white and black. One evokes images of fireworks and the other newspapers. Regardless how trendy my red, white and blue attire, I still feel like the schoolteacher with american flag vest or redneck with flag bandana on. Red, white and black, however makes me feel EVERYONE else. It makes me feel like the old me. The me whose idea of being wacky was adding a bit of red to my black and white outfit. The me whose wardrobe consisted of 95% white and black. But I was losing track of what white and black was - Classic. I can wear the color combinations of the general public and still feel like me. I don't have to sacrifice my style. I loved this outfit and what it stood for. Plus, it was super comfy.

Shirt and Pants - Steinmart; Shoes - TJ Maxx; Belt - NY & Co; Ring - Steinmart; Belt - NY & Co; Earrings - Chico's; Necklace and Bracelet - Premiere

I have a serious problem. I went to a jewelry party last night and knew the name of nearly every item that the girls had on or the rep showed us. Without looking at the catalog. I apparently have an obsession with premiere jewelry. It was easy to restrain myself last night as I realized that everything I wanted, I already own.

I love this shirt for its conservative, yet sexy look. Everything of importance is covered, but the sheer sleeves and peek-a-boo shoulders are spicy. I love the flowy sleeves which give it a bit of a Grecian feel. Husby said that my outfit was plum-tastic.

Dirty Martini, Extra Olive

Cardi and Tank - Gap; Skirt - JC Penny; Shoes - Madden (thrifted); Belt - Thrifted; Bracelet - Steinmart; Earrings - Chico's; Necklace - Premiere

I found this tank and cardi on the clearance rack at the Gap when I took my bestie there for her birthday. I love the dark green background and the earth-toned floral print of the tank, and I've been wanting a sweater this color FOREVER, so it was like I struck gold.

The second gold was the olive green heels. I love all things olive, since my eyes are that color, but it's been surprisingly hard to find. Military green - Easy. Lime - all over the place. But a good olive has been elusive. These pumps were sitting, ever so elegantly, on a shelf in my fave thrift store for $10, almost like they were waiting for me. I won't say that they are super comfy, but they have made it through a few full days at the office without me resorting to my emergency flats, so they rate pretty high on the comfort scale.

This outfit was a winner all around. I felt feminine, fashionable, and in my autumn element.

Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Striking

Shirt - Liz Claiborne (thrifted); Scarf used as belt- thrifted; Skirt- JC Penny;

Necklace and Bangles - Steinmart; Shoes - Madden (thrifted)

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My boss sprung on me the desire for me to attend a community meeting as the face of my company and our client at about 3:00 at work. What I loved most about this outfit was that I felt no need to change between work and the meeting. I felt confident, classy, and just the right amount of sexy. I shone at the event, being one of the more outgoing 'working' the event and ended up making positive contact with many of the concerned members of the community. I guess the bartender in me will always make me approachable. I was told by a random stranger that I was striking. This is my new power suit. And with all of the clearance and thrifted items that it incorporates, I was clothed head to toe for under $30. YAY!!

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up.

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!

Even the Stylish have Bad Days

Dress - Motherhood Maternity; Boots - Macy's; Vest - Tommy Hilfiger (vis Macy's); Belt - Baby Phat (thrifted); Sock Tops
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This outfit is a product of my compulsive need to make maternity clothes work in a non-maternity way. This dress failed. I loved the color blocking, and it was one of my faves when I was prego with both babies, but this dress will have to be retired to await my little sister getting pregnant.
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It probably didn't help that I woke up too late to wash my hair, which needed it badly, but I felt frumpy all day.
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Rating - One Thumb Sideways (husby), One Thumb Down

Skirt Love

Skirt, Shirt, Sweater, Belt and Shoes - Thrifted; Tights - Old Navy;

Earrings - Steinmart; Necklace - Premeire

This outfit is almost entirely the fruit of my Valentine's thrifting excursion to find a colorful pencil skirt. As you can see I was successful. It was 25% off day and my outfit cost a total of $8.50. That's some thrifting I can get behind (and Husby was okay with, too). The skirt was $1.50, so it has already earned its worth :-) The shoes are a bit odd in that they won't zip up (even when off), but I actually kind of liked them unzipped anyway, so here they are. I love the orangey leather, which is so on trend know. I love the red skirt and it will be making MANY return appearances, as well as the cream lace shirt, which is such a fun neutral piece. Rating - Two Thumbs Up

Primary Resolution

Shirt and Tank - Old Navy; Skirt - Macy's (FREE); Tights - We Love Colors and Old Navy;

Shoes - Liz Claiborne (Steinmart); Belt - Thrifted; Ring - Steinmart

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Ignore everything from the shoulders up. I had a client workshop this day, followed by a class and Husby wasn't up when I left for work in the morning, so this picture was taken after 14 hours of being worn, as was my makeup and hair. I felt like I might have been a bit over the top when I left the house this morning, but the slew of compliments, coming from total strangers, ensured me that I was right on the mark. I loved how colorful this all was and look forward to wearing this fabulous yellow, red, green and blue floral buttondown in other primarily wonderful ways. Plus, this outfit was really comfy, so the 14 hours were pretty bearable (for my body at least...my mind was a different story.)

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I'm going shopping this afternoon with my best friend and her mother for her birthday. She's the type of girl who, although absolutely gorgeous with a fabulous figure, is so critical of herself, she never buys clothes because she never feels anything looks good on her. I am going to do my best to help her see in the mirror what I see every day. But I have to be strong and not shop for me.

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The prayer of the shopaholic - 'Lord, grant me the restraint to enter one of my favorite stores and refrain from buying things that I really want but do not need, and the wisdom to tell the difference. Amen'

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

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!

Tried and True

Shirt - thrifted; Sweater - BCBG (TJ Maxx);

Skirt - Old Navy; Belt and Ring - Steinmart;

Shoes and Pin - Thrifted; Necklace - Premeire

Whenever I have a bad outfit day, I tend to go to a tried and true combo for the next outfit. Since I'm in OHW month, I didn't have a 'Go To' outfit that I hadn't used all of the items a bunch. So....I settled for a tried and true color combo. You can't go wrong with the classic red, white and black.

The OHW of this outfit is the sweater. I bought it for my family Christmas picture of 2008 and hated how I felt in it. The neck was so widely opened that it kept falling off my shoulders and exposing my bra strap. But it was sparkly and red and I couldn't bear to part with it, even though it hadn't seen the light of day. It's very thin, so it didn't occur to me to wear it as a sweater over another shirt. This challenge forced me to think outside of the box, and I'm happy with how this outfit turned out. The striped shirt is an item that I don't think has ever been worn, simply because it was forgotten.

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Rating - Two Thumbs Up

And the best part of my day was when a random stranger in the bathroom complimented my shoes, saying that they were 'Like a suit for your feet.' Couldn't have said it better myself.