3.29.2013

Friday Find: DIY



Hangers & Shower Curtain Rings (Target)

After about a year and a half together, Tom is moving in with me... Which is awesome!  I can't wait to see him every day, and Rex is in desperate need of a stable father figure ;)  This means I need to clear out my spare bedroom closet for his stuff, and use my current closet space as efficiently as possible. My scarves were taking up entirely too much space, and I needed better system. Turns out I own 31 scarves (a fact I was unaware of until last week)... which  unofficially makes me the the Baskin Robbins of scarves.   After googling "scarf organization", I bought wooden hangers and plastic shower curtain rings (under $8 total) and was able to hang 10-12 scarves per hanger... and suddenly my closet got a lot bigger.  And, if anyone needs to borrow a scarf, just let me know - I've got 31 flavors! ;)

3.27.2013

Modern Mad Men





Sweater (Loft); Skirt (Limited); Nylons (Nordstrom Rack); Necklace (Macy's)
Heels (Nine West); Sunglasses (Charming Charlie)
Nicole Lai Photography

Between the nylons, pearls, and sweater tucked into my pencil skirt - I'm feeling very modern day Mad Men.  After getting sucked into that show, I am so inspired by the style... fitted skirts and dresses, cinched in middles, and high waists.  In fact I pretty much want to be Joan Harris... and while I will never have her fabulous hair or curves, I can still put on a pencil skirt and sweater and pretend :)

3.26.2013

Sunday Fun Day




Shirt (Ann Taylor); Layering Tank (H&M); Scarf (Old Navy); 
Shoes & Jeans (Target): Watch (Michael Kors); Earrings (Nordstrom)

Tom and I had a little date night on Sunday... which was a nice way of making the day something to look forward to, instead of the usual depressing end to a weekend.  We saw Oz: The Great and Powerful - and it was  pretty good!  It was better than I expected, but not as good as it could have been... but a great movie to see (especially in 3D) to be transported to a beautiful world of impressive visuals and adventure. And in honor of the movie, I wore my version of Dorothy's ruby slippers... and left a trail of gold wherever we went :)

3.25.2013

Volume




Sweater & Skirt (Limited); Jacket (Sandro find at Marshalls); Tights (Target);
Boots (Nine West); Sunglasses (Charming Charlie)
Belkis-Cruz Photography

Except for hairstyles of the 90's, no one complains about too much volume.  Which is why I love this skirt. The short and full silhouette is fun and playful, and the more casual military inspired jacket is a nice balance to the girly vibe.  Now if only my hair could achieve the same type of volume as Rex's - besides being generally jealous of his days filled with naps, treats and cuddles... I have major hair envy :)



3.22.2013

Friday Find

Mossimo Ballet Flats & Burt's Bees lip gloss (Target)

I had to make a Target run while traveling this week in Ohio...  And the best thing about Target is that no matter what city I'm in, I can walk into any store and know exactly where everything is.  And like usual, I made detours... first to the make up aisle where I found Burt's Bees lip gloss.  I'm a huge fan of their lotion and chapstick - and I'm adding lip gloss to that list.  I got the color "Spring Splendor" and it's a great gloss that gives you enough color for everyday wear without a heavy or sticky feel and the perfect amount of shine.  My next detour was to the shoe aisle where I fell in love with these navy and white printed flats - and for only $14.99 I really should have fallen in love with more... and without the restriction of my carry on luggage I'll likely be making a trip back for more :)

3.19.2013

#BloggerProblems




Dress (Limited); Vest (Eastside find at Marshalls); Tights & Necklace (Target);
Sunglasses (Charming Charlie); Shoes (Naturalizer)
Nicole Lai Photography

Most people have an outfit in mind for an occasion... a wedding date night, party, reunion, etc.  I wore this gray and brown combo specifically for the brightly colored wall, which makes zero sense since I didn't walk around with the graffiti wall as my backdrop all day. But when I saw all of the loud colors I thought it was so fun, and wanted a neutral outfit to compliment it.  Which again, sounds odd but it's the truth - and maybe admitting I have a problem is the first step to recovery? If you ever want to feel more normal about the random issues that bloggers have - go to twitter and search #bloggerproblems... I'm pretty sure dressing for a wall is one of them :)

3.18.2013

No Luck of the Irish





Sweater (Banana Republic Outlet); Skirt (Stolen from Mom's closet); Shoes (Naturalizer);
Necklace (H&M); Sunglasses & Tights (Target); Earrings (Nordstrom);
Watch (Michael Kors)
Belkis Cruz Photography

Here was my St.Patrick's Day... Tom and I were driving back from another weekend in Wisconsin, and 2 hours into the trip my Dad sends me a picture message of my keys.  Yup, left my keys at my parent's place. I figured, no big deal - just mail them to me this week and I'll be fine as I have a spare car key and Tom has keys to my condo.  Well, we get to my place and I can't get my garage door open.  The code on the door isn't working and since the garage is detached, there is no way of getting inside without the door opener (which of course is attached to my keys).  Oh and by the way mailing the keys to me won't work since my mail key is inside my car, which is inside the garage I can't get into.  Not to mention I have a flight to Ohio on Tuesday afternoon for a work trip - so sorta need my car before then. Thank you to my parents who went Kinkos to overnight the keys - which I will get on Tuesday morning.

So while I didn't have any green beer yesterday, I did have a stiff rum and Coke after all of this!

3.15.2013

Friday Find: DIY





I mentioned earlier this week that last weekend was my Mom's birthday - and it was a big one :)  She didn't want a party-  just a quiet celebration with immediate family.  So my brother flew in from Atlanta and I drove over from Minnesota (destination = Pewaukee, Wisconsin).  And even through she didn't want a fuss, I still wanted to do something special.  After looking for inspiration on Pinterest, I found the perfect way to celebrate her big day...  I contacted friends and family and had them send me a favorite memory of my Mom - and I put together 60 memories to represent her 60 years.  It was a great way of bringing loved ones to her... and we all had fun reminiscing on memories that made her shake her head,  laugh, and cry.  Personally I think the memory from Rex was her favorite :)


3.13.2013

Tough Girl





Dress (Target); Jacket & Tights (Kohls); Necklace (H&M); Heels (Nine West);
Earrings (Nordstrom); Sunglasses (Charming Charlie);
Belkis Cruz Photography

Even in the girliest of dresses, this motorcycle jacket makes me tough... And there are times (like this week) - when laundry is piling up, the bed hasn't been made since last week, there is no food in the fridge, the dog is out of dental sticks, birthday and baby gifts need to be purchased, and at some point taxes need to be dealt with...  And you feel like only a super hero can get it all done. And while I am no super hero, somehow my tough jacket made going to the grocery store a bit easier... as for the rest of the list - tomorrow is another day :)

3.12.2013

Typecast




Dress (Taylor find at Marshalls); Shirt (NY&Co); Nylons (Kohls);
Heels (Franco Sarto find at Marshalls); Earrings (Nordstrom);
Dave Haas Photography

You know those dresses you buy for a specific occasion, and then you can't think of wearing it anywhere else?  Well this is my Reese Witherspoon of dresses - it's best worn at a wedding (which is what I bought it for) - the same way Reese is best used for for romantic comedies.  And with the cap sleeves and neckline detail this dress is hard to wear to the office - not to mention I'd be freezing.  But with the right shirt underneath - this dress was able to break free from it's wedding typecast and play the role it's always wanted to - marketing gal and puppy mom by day who secretly dreams of ruling the world ;)

3.11.2013

Weekend Wear




Sweater (Limited); Top (Kiss - NY); Jeans (Nordstrom); Shoes (Payless);
Necklace (H&M); Watch (Michael Kors); Sunglasses (Charming Charlie)

I like my weekend wear to be easy and comfortable - which also happens to be how I prefer my weekends.  As nice as it is that my boyfriend and I are from basically the same hometown, it makes the time there jam packed with family activities on both sides. Last weekend we went back to Wisconsin (about a 5 hour drive) to celebrate my mom's birthday and his nephew's baptism - and we finally picked up Rex who had been staying with my parents for the past month.  Doesn't he look happy to see me???


3.08.2013

Friday Find

Michael Antonio Love Me Floral Pump (DSW)


How cute are these floral printed pumps by Michael Antonio? These colorful heels are the perfect way to liven up a pair of jeans, black trousers, or a little black dress.  And they are as affordable as they are adorable at only $39.95! The toughest part will be choosing which color to get, and I'm pretty sure I can make a business case for why I need each one.  And with so much snow still on the ground, the best weapon is flower power!

3.06.2013

Meow




Sweater (Ann Taylor); Tank (Loft); Jeans (Express); Necklace (H&M);
Shoes (Naturalizer); Sunglasses (Charming Charlie);
Belkis-Cruz Photography

Anything with a leopard print lends itself to a bit of sass and attitude.... which is exactly how I felt. Well, except for the 45 minutes I was laying in a dentist chair, getting a cavity filled (in fact nothing makes you feel less sassy than having a drool suction device shoved in your mouth every 5 minutes).  As I listened to the grind of the drill against my tooth (probably the worst sound ever) I thought about all the pieces of candy corn, Swedish fish, and Twizzlers I probably shouldn't have eaten.  You would think that would have stopped me from going home and immediately eating girl scout cookies... but it didn't ;)
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