Clash of the Titans

Red and pink are generally two colors that I refrain from combining in the same outfit. However, when I pulled the dress out, I realized that the print included both red and pink. I decided to accent the red with my accessories.

As we were driving to work, my husband looked at me and exclaimed that, "I looked like Valentine's Day" and that is what I should title this post. How does one look like a day?

The outfit:

Dress - Newport News

Tank - United Colors of Benetton

Belt - Charlotte Russe

Heels - Naughty Monkey

Necklace - gifted

Happy 100th!

Today marks my 100th post! Maintaining this blog has been fun. I enjoy reading the comments left and looking back on the wardrobe decisions I have made this year. It has also confirmed that I wear alot of black (it's safe), but I am starting to incorporate more color into my daily clothing selections.

To mark the occasion, I am posting two pictures: the first is the usual "pose", the second is a random picture the hubby snapped this morning. He thought it was funny to keep pressing the shutter. Seriously? Sometimes he acts like a 5 year old.

The outfit:

Top, skirt and bracelet - New York & Company, Necklace - Ann Taylor Loft, Heels - Shoedazzle (May 2009 selection)

I'd rather be reading...

...instead I have to go to work. I love to read in my spare time. Since I read A LOT of academic publications and research protocols at work, I indulge in mindless fiction at home. One of my research coordinators and friends recommended the novel Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster. She also suggested that I provide a brief review of the book on my blog, so here goes.

Bright Lights, Big Ass is a laugh out loud, wet your pants funny, memoir. Her description of daily events and encounters with friends, family and total strangers is like watching an all day Seinfeld marathon. Her experiences of navigating (and surving) public transportation in Chicago, letters to the phone company and calls to Homeland Security had me gasping for breath.

I finished this book a couple of weeks ago and immediately wanted to read another one of her works. Sadly, I had to wait for another title from my library, but it finally arrived last week. I started reading Such a Pretty Fat and am having a hard time putting it down. Stay tuned for a brief review in future posts.

The outfit:

White tank and navy pants - Ann Taylor Loft, Pink sweater vest - New York & Co., Eyeglasses - Oakley, Necklace - Target (I think?), Navy peep toe heels - Steve Madden

Same Skirt, Different Day

I had originally planned to wear cropped pants with the top half of the outfit, but that look wasn't streamlined enough for me. Since I was running late, I grabbed my tried and true pencil skirt and am happy with the overall look. I feel very authoritative today.

The outfit:
Vest - Mossimo, Cami and pencil skirt - Apt. 9 (Kohl's), Heels - Shoedazzle (June 2009 selection), Necklace - Etsy

Circus

I love the look of this skirt in person, but photographed it reminds me of a circus tent. Normally I pair it with only cream and/or pink, but today I tried a different color combination (blue and purple). I wore these two tops together (paired with jeans) on Saturday to my son's karate tournament. I liked the combination so much, that I wore it to work today. After washing, of course.

The outfit:
Purple cami - Old Navy
Blue tank - Ann Taylor Loft
Skirt - New York & Company
Purple mosaic heels - Madden Girl
Necklace and floral pendant - gifted
Big blue ring - Glitter (tween/teen store in the mall)

P.S. Damn, my posture is horrible today!

Sin City

Instead of running yesterday, my running partner and friend, Beth, and I stopped into Sin City Antique Gallery in Newport, Kentucky. We had every intention of running, but fell in love with all of the great stuff at the store. I picked up this scarf for $3.oo. Beth picked up a pair of AWESOME metallic, royal blue booties. I am envious that they did not come in my size. We have every intention of returning to the store, but next time we will finish our run before shopping.

The Outfit:

Blouse, navy blue cami, trousers and silver cuff - New York & Co.; Necklace - gifted; scarf - Sin City; bandana heels - Oh Deer!

Metallic

Today it is rainy and gloomy in "Porkopolis". I had originally planned to wear black today, but I didn't want to appear gloomy as well. Instead, I choose metallics and shiny fabrics to offset what is happening outside.

The outfit:
Silky metallic top - New York & Co.
Brown trousers - The Limited
Bangles and bronze cutout heels - Target

Oakley Snob

Some women covet purses or shoes from one particular designer/brand. I covet Oakley eyewear. My obsession started almost 15 years ago with my first pair of Oakley sunglasses (gold E-wire frames, seriously badass). Some may think that $140+ for a pair of sunglasses is over the top, but those sunglasses lasted 10 years. I currently own two pairs of Oakley sunglasses (1 pair custom designed by me). When I had to purchase new eyewear, I headed straight for the Oakley frames. What do you think of my new facial accessory?The outfit: Silver jacket - Ann Taylor Loft; pencil skirt - Apt. 9, shoes - Naughty Monkey, eyewear - Oakley; watch New York & Co.

p.s. Pardon the crooked picture, my 6 year old snapped it today. Hey, at least he got my entire body in the frame.

Don't Judge

If you were judging the day of the week by my smile, then you might think it is Thursday or Friday. You would be wrong. It is only Monday and the start of a new work week. Therfore, I can't explain the genuine smile. Especially since I will be a hostage in my office today writing an academic publication (aka, journal article).

The outfit:

Cardigan - Ann Taylor Loft

Lace tank - Merona

Carpis - GAP

Sandals - Anne Klein

Pearls - gifted

Watch - NY & Co.

Happy Birthday, David Hasselhoff!

We are celebrating David Hasselhoff's birthday at work today. I don't have some weird infatuation with "The Hoff", really we just wanted an excuse to eat baked goods at work and his birthday seemed like the perfect opportunity to celebrate. Although, I will admit to watching both "Knight Rider" (the original) and "Baywatch" growing up. I wanted a car just like KITT and still do. Who wouldn't? You could sleep in your car while it was driving you to work.

The outfit:

Dress - Target

Footless tights - Kohl's

Peep-toe booties - Steve Madden

Scrabble tile necklace - Etsy

Snakeskin bracelet - SJP for Steve & Barry's

Annual Meeting

Today is my division's Annual Meeting. There are approximately 100 people in the division and once a year, we travel off-site for our annual meeting. We spent the morning learning about what we have accomplished in the last year and our goals and challenges for the current year. During the afternoon, we did some communication improvement exercises. The dress code was casual and I knew it would be cold at the facility, so jeans and layers were in order. The outfit: Cardigan and trouser jeans - New York and Company, Watercolor tank - Ann Taylor Loft, wedges - Chinese Laundry (DSW), scabble tile "Love" necklace - Etsy

Primaries

I have been looking for a pencil skirt in a non-neutral color for some time now. I spotted this skirt on the web, but they were out of my size. While I was at the mall on Saturday picking out my new glasses I spotted the skirt in my size. Even better, it was 50% off! I love the buttons in the front. They are not decoration, but functional.

I have the red and blue of the primary colors covered. Had I taken the picture with my big yellow purse, the primary pallet would have been complete.

BTW, I should have my new glasses by next week. I will dedicate a post to my new facial accessory in the future.

The outfit:

Blouse and skirt - New York & Company

Silver studded heels - Nicole Miller

Silver flower necklace - gifted

$1 Big blue ring - Glitter (teen store in mall)

Your slip is showing...

It never fails, whenever I wear this skirt someone stops me to tell me that my slip is showing. As I was pumping gas this morning, the woman at the pump next to me felt the need to tell me that I was exposing my undergarments. I (try to) politely tell the well-intentioned that it is actually the hem of the skirt. Hello? Ever heard of a feminine detail? Wow! I am critical today. Most likely because it is Monday.

The outfit:

Slip, I mean skirt - Ann Taylor

Patterned T - Ann Taylor Loft

Necklace and slide - gifted

Turquiose heels - Carlos Santana

Big Ass Bag

This is one big bag. I generally don't photograph with my purse/bag, but I loved the yellow in contrast with the pink of this dress and the navy in the shoes. My new shoes arrived from Shoedazzle yesterday, so naturally I had to wear them today.

My outfit:

Faux wrap dress - Merona

Nude slip (peeking out at top) - Kohl's

Necklace - Lia Sophia

Silver and navy heels - Shoedazzle (July '09)
Big ass bag - Target

Patriotic Casual

After snapping the pic this morning, my husband said "you should title today's post 'Patriotic Casual'". Hence today's title. Kimberly's Inspiration Calendar called for wide leg pants and a cropped jacket. These are the widest leg pants that I own and my favorite because I can actually wear heel with them, they are that long. I snapped another picture of the shoes since they are mostly hidden by the pant leg.

This seems like a lot of layers for July in the MidWest, but I don't get to spend much time outside during the day and the temperature in my office is generally the same as a meat locker.

The Outfit:
Jacket and Wide-leg jean: Ann Taylor Loft

White blouse - New York & Company

Red sweater vest - Cherokee for Target

Shoes - Shoedazzle (June 2009 shoe of the month)

Repeat

The July Inspiration Calendar called for paintbrush today. While not abstract, this jacket reminds me of an Asian inspired watercolor. When I considered wearing this jacket last night, I thought this dress would go perfectly. Apparently, I had the same thought when I wore the same combination 04/22/2009. Today I added a beaded necklace and different shoes.

The Outfit:
Dress - The Limited
Jacket - Patricia Fields for HSN
Beaded necklace - New York and Company
Purple and gray heels - Shoedazzle (May '09 Shoe of the Month)

Simple

This morning I searched my closets for a jacket, light sweater or a vest to wear over this dress. Everything that I put over the dress seemed to shorten my legs, so I decided to keep it simple by wearing only the dress and some fun shoes and jewelry. Sometimes less is more.

The outfit:

Dress with tie belt - Merona

Pink floral shoes - Naughty Monkey

Necklace - Lia Sophia

Polka-dot Princess

I actually think that I am too old to be a "princess", but I liked the alliteration. The fabulous Kimberly created another inspiration calendar for the month of July. Honestly, I do not know how she has the time. I can barely keep up with this blog.

Anyway, today's outfit was patterned top with a black skirt. Prior to seeing her calendar, I had today's outfit planned when these shoes arrived in the mail last Saturday. I couldn't resist pairing two polka-dot patterns. I love polka-dots. I need to post a detailed picture of the shoes. They have little blue polka-dots and bow across the top of the foot. They are too cute!

The outfit:

Polka-dot top - Newport News

Black cami (underneath) - The Limited

Black pencil skirt and belt - Apt. 9

Polka-dot heels - Zinc via DSW

New Month, New Shoes

For the last 3 months, I have been a member of ShoeDazzle. If you have not heard of it, it is a "Shoe of the Month" club. You pay a flat monthly fee and every month, their "stylists" choose 5 shoes based on your style preferences. You choose 1 show out of the 5 and your new shoes are shipped within a week. It is so easy (and fun!). I now look forward to the start of a new month and my new shoes. I made my selection for July this morning. I will post my new selection in the coming weeks.

Today's outfit:

Blouse - The Limited

Trousers and cuff bracelet - New York & Company

Silver sequined belt - Old Navy

Red patent leather peep-toe heels - Candies

Red flower ring - Charlotte Russe