Every day is not a Christmas Day

Even though I've lived in my new place for a month and a half, I've somehow only had about two Saturdays without busyness and plans that, while fun, take a way a lot of the relaxing aspects of the weekend. These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago on one of those lovely unplanned days. The weather cooperated as well, and so Joe and I took the chance of a sunny fall day to visit a part of town we love but hardly ever get to, and explore the trails nearby. Bonus tidbit: at lunch, we tried a place we'd never been before. It was great, but kind of pricey. Then, for some reason the couple next to us, who we never spoke to (but are apparently regulars) paid our bill! So we got dessert, and ended up having a whole meal for about five bucks.

There were tons of picturesque locations to choose from, but I finally stopped under this road overpass and begged Joe to helm the camera. He doesn't much like taking my blog photos, so he pretty much snapped a quick succession of shots while I attempted to pose. I made him do some jacket on and jacket off versions, as well as crossing from one side of the trail to the other.
I wore my Target children's section red pea coat for the first time in awhile. Whenever I wear it, I feel that the sleeves are too short. In reality, they are the ideal length, but being petite I'm used to all my coat sleeves reaching past my knuckles.

I'm wearing my signature rolled-up skinnies. Despite the fact that I've heard over and over that petite women shouldn't wear pants at this length because it cuts the leg line and makes me look shorter, I do it anyway. It's no secret I'm five two, no reason to try and cheat it. And I get so many compliments on the style when I wear it. So there's the moral of the story today, kids. Sometimes the rules don't apply. To me, that is.

For outfit details, check out my flickr page here.

I found the pants you were looking for

I'm not much for black on black, but sometimes it just works. The texture in the skirt helps, and I was wearing enough color elsewhere in my outfit that I didn't even notice I had doubled up on black until after I got dressed and was about to leave for work.

The picture above is an example of what happens when Joe is around while I'm taking my outfit shots. He doesn't like to take the pictures or be in the pictures, but he does like to stand out of frame and make me feel awkward about the process. Here he is staring right at me, and I can't help looking at him instead of the camera. 

One of the details I liked about this look was the giraffe print on the shoes contrasted against the bold colors of the tights and shirt. Come to think of it, I doubled up on animal print too because the skirt has a snakeskin texture.

Well, I'm slowly closing in on being caught up on my backlog of outfit shots...I will be caught up soon! Stay tuned for a post about the BCBG and Frye boots I almost bought this weekend. They're all I've been able to think about for two days. Ah, missed opportunity. How you haunt me.

With Arms Wide Open?

I found a couple of days worth of phots I almost skipped over this morning, and I'm glad I did. This outfit in particular I loved, and am tempted to wear again exactly the same. This was my second styling of the houndstooth skirt, and I put a lot more thought into in this time. I am SUPER into my pattern mixing hear, love love love it. The blouse did tend to come untucked a lot, but it was a small price to pay.

As much as I like to think I'm starting to amass a credible collection of thrifted and unique items, time and time again recently I've found myself decked out primarily in Target items. The sweater I got a couple of years ago in the midst of the great mustard yellow renaissance, and have continued to wear and love it since. I always have to talk myself into it in the mornings when I put it on, but it ends up looking great. And I got it on sale! I almost got the black instead, but this color has filled a void in my cardigan collection nicely. The blouse is an Isaac Mizrahi for Target piece, and it was on clearance for around five bucks. It doesn't translate to pictures, but the white has a very slight sheen only noticeable in certain light, and adds great interest to a very basic piece. Also, the sleeves have some very cute button detailing, but usually that gets covered up by sweaters and jackets. 

The skirt was a killer find, and is a little girl's size large I think. I worried about it being a little short for work, but somehow I got away with it when I wore it. I love the slight high waist, and the pleating, and there is and exposed zipper in the back as well. 

The tights....I can't tell you how much I love these tights. I get so many compliments on them, and they are perfect for dressing up a simple outfit or contrasting with a neutral pattern. I feel so bold and modern when I wear them, but not overly trendy. Also, they are super comfortable and seem to be holding up well considering I wear them once or twice a week.

How do you like the bathroom as a new photo shoot location? It turned out pretty well, but I had to take a LOT of shots to get a couple good ones. The search for good lighting continues!

What can happen?

When I put this outfit together last Friday, I felt that it was pretty boring, but it grew on me as the day went by. I liked the mix of gray and brown, and the striped shirt with the subtle orange stripe in the trousers.

Question....do you usually say gray or grey? I find that I alternate. I think gray is the more typical American spelling.

And just to prove that I will buy pretty much anything houndstooth...

Best part is, I got it for three bucks. 

I like the jumble

I got this skirt at Goodwill last month, but I've only worn it one other time. And my shirt was pink then, too. I bought it because I wanted a good, basic black skirt that looks professional and a bit conservative. However, I found while wearing this that I have to be careful when I'm sitting. It's a true wrap skirt, and tends to come open up to mid-thigh if I don't constantly yank it shut.

As for the shirt, I hardly ever wear it because it doesn't fit perfectly, but I try to work it in sometimes because it's Joe's absolute favorite. I found I liked it better tucked in, I'll have to keep that in mind for future outfits.

Walnut Sadness

A couple of weeks ago we had a pajama day at work, and you bet I participated. We also had a breakfast buffet. Not a bad way to end my first week working there full-time.

I wore a Gap nightgown, Value Village cardigan, leggings, and Gap slippers. Strangely, I felt dressed almost exactly the same as I normally would, since dress/sweater/tights is a common uniform in my wardrobe.

The slippers and nightgown were a Christmas gift from Joe last year, normally my pajamas consist of old t-shirts and Old Navy bottoms. The Gap stuff is definitely a bit of an indulgence, and both items are comfy and well-made. 

I just punched a hurricane

Joe and I went to see The Social Network a couple of days ago, and I am writing a review that's shaping up to be epic. Coming soon.

Meanwhile, as I try to catch up on posting, here's an outfit I wore to work a couple of weeks ago.

I've been wanting to try the socks over tights look, and it seemed to go over pretty well. Here's a better shot of the socks. It was also my first time wearing socks with open-toed shoes.

Sorry about the truly horrendous lighting, I barely got the shots in before getting into my pajamas, and had to rely on the dim bulbs in my aparment for lighting, since it was dark outside.

Explain the Rules.

Well, hello there. How are you?

Needless to say, I've been AWOL from my blog for a few weeks. Before I moved, I believed firmly that I would be able to transition smoothly into blogging at my new place, especially since I have a Clear internet modem that I can take with me wherever I go, and ostensibly just plug it in and get online. As it turns out, not so much. I've had incredibly spotty and unreliable access, despite the fact that I visited a Clear store and was told I'm in the service area, and calling technical support to have the modem remotely rebooted. Since then, I've been trying to decide what route to take. I think I'll end up trying out one of those USB internet cards, since it would be nice to have portable internet, but it's a bit more expensive.

I suppose, despite my issues, I still could have been posting, but for some reason it's just been difficult. I work full time now, and on top of that I commute half an hour each way, and have to go to bed around ten thirty to get a decent amount of sleep. That means I have limited time to see Joe, especially on the days he goes to school until seven thirty. So I've kinda pushed blogging aside a bit. The thing is, I've really missed it. I've never stopped coming up with posts in my head, or grabbing a few minutes to upload some shots to my flickr, or imagining a future where blogging can at least partially support me financially. My little break has only strengthened my resolve and passion as a blogger, and I hope to come back full force. I will write posts in Word and upload them when my internet is cooperative if I have to.

And now on to clothing.

This outfit was a recent favorite of mine, and the first of what will likely be a series of outfits featuring this button-up tunic. I am hoping to wear it with every possible skirt at some point. This was taken last week (I think), and just yesterday I wore the top again with my turquoise Kirra skirt from Pacsun. There's something so neutral and yet fresh about the pretty blue of the tunic, the rolled sleeves, the tiny striped print. Paired with my schoolgirl skirt, I felt season-appropriate and stylish without being trendy. I also love that I got three patterns in....the striped tunic, plaid skirt, and polka-dot shoes. Maybe I should have thrown in some textured tights for good measure.

These pictures were taken on the deck of my new apartment, which I am loving by the way. Many more photos to come of the inside. The lighting is kind of tricky, which is why I ventured outside on this day, but being out on my deck I risk people seeing me and thinking I'm weird or vain as I pose for my own camera. Oh, well, I guess I should get over it. I love how the shots came out, so I was glad I braved the guy across the parking lot watching me while on a cigarette break.

That's all for now, but I'll be back soon! I promise.