Chardonnay

While in California last week, we spent a good part of the time drinking wine. Shocking, no? On Saturday we took part in the 2nd Annual Chardonnay Symposium. It was a fun day, but starting with wine at 9:30am and knowing we had to get from Santa Maria up to Paso Robles that evening for the Train/Maroon5 concert made things a bit more sobering. We started the event at a discussion around "To Oak or Not to Oak". We tried 12(!) wines, each from a wine maker that either uses oak or doesn't. Typically, I like oaky/buttery chardonnay, but I did find a few that I liked that weren't oaked. The fun part was listening to each of the winemakers share their story about why they make wine the way they do-they have such passion. We then made our way another vineyard to have lunch, which was delicious. Once we had some food in our bellies, it was off to a third vineyard for the full wine tasting event. I think there were at least 30 wineries present, a silent auction and some fantastic food samples. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Fortunately, we had time to squeeze in a quick cat nap before heading to the concert.

Tank-F21, Cardi-Target, Shorts-Banana Republic, Shoes-Vince Camuto,
Bag-Elliot Luca, Sunnies-Target, Necklaces-EmersonMade

Flower Power

Dress-3.1Phillip Lim, Tshirt-H&M, Shoes-DV by Dolce Vita, Belt, Sunnies and Necklace-Target,
Earrings-Macy's, Watch-Coach, Bracelet-F21

My answer to a sweltering day-the perfect day dress. Remember when I wore it like this when it was freezing out? It's really a summer dress, made of lightweight linen. Perfect for the temps we had today. Fortunately, I leave for CA tomorrow. My girlfriend assures me that I will not have any humidity. YES! Speaking of which, I found a way to make my hair stay put-tease the crap out of it and then shellac it with enough hairspray to be considered a fire hazzard. What do you think? This is after a full day of 90+ degrees with humidity that makes it feel like 112! I'll be back on Monday with pics from the trip. Stay cool!

Sleeveless

Dress-NY&Co, Tank-Len Druskin, Shoes-Target, Necklace and Earrings-Macy's,
Bracelets-Gift, Watch-Coach

Back to reality and work clothes this week. These last two weeks were heaven with the dress code casual and being able to wear anything I felt like to work. I wish we would do that all summer long. I swear my mood and attitude are better when we get these small perks. Oh well. To start this week off right, I eased back into workwear with this cute little number I found at NY&Co. I paired it with a black cardi, as we're not supposed to wear sleeveless to work(?!?), but it was too hot after work to leave it on. It's a versatile dress that will get lots of rotation through the rest of summer and into fall.

Coal just can't stay away from where the camera is... I'm always shooing him away.

Dizzy

Cardi/Tank combo-Bailley 44, Jeans-CofH, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Flower pin-H&M,
Necklaces-Tiffany&Co, Target, Bracelets-Tiffany&Co, Nomination, Gift, Watch-Michele, Ring-NY&Co

I have a slight addiction to things navy (as seen here and here) but when I found this striped cardi/tank combo, I couldn't pass it up. It looks very similar to another one I have, but yet not as this is a soft tshirt material and the tank is attached. Genius! Very nautical and summery. Add a pop of color with the flower and I'm ready to go.

I Heart MPLS

Blouse-Equipment, Jeans-JCrew, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Hat-Macy's, Bag-EmersonMade, Flower Pin-H&M,
Necklaces-Target, EmersonMade, Bracelets-Target, Maui,Gift, Watch-Coach, Earrings-F21, Sunnies-Chloe

On Friday last week, I took pictures of my friend Jessica. She wanted to have some classic skyline shots done of her in Minneapolis before she moves to NYC. One last goodbye if you will. Since I had the day off and the weather decided to cooperate, we ventured to the Stone Arch bridge to snap some pictures. I'm no professional by any means, but I still think they turned out cool. Imagine what I'll be capable of once I actually take some classes to learn how to use my camera.

Backyard Shenanigans

Blouse-JCrew, Sweater-Limited, Vest-JCrew, Jeans-JCrew, Shoes-Born, Scarf-Target, Necklace-EmersonMade, Earrings-F21, Bracelets-Gifts, Local, Watch-Coach

Yesterday I shared with you that we spent the weekend in the backyard and how much I loved it at night, so I thought I'd share a few photos from the evening. Ramesh cooked coconut curry shrimp (his specialty) and chicken and we had a few friends over. The champagne was flowing and the conversation was hilarious -note the promotion of organic tomatoes...don't ask. I love summer in MN. It's the best time of the year. It could have been a tad warmer, but I'm not complaining...after all it was too hot to handle earlier in the week.

Did you miss me?

Blouse-Equipment, Pants-JCrew, Tie-JCrew, Trench-Banana Republic, Shoes, Earrings,and Necklaces-Target

Hello my lovelies! I'm back...did you miss me? It's been two weeks. I didn't intend to be away for so long. I had some hiccups when I got back. First, my camera went missing. I searched high and low, basically tore the house apart (my husband thought I'd lost my mind), but couldn't find it. I was sure I had packed it when I left Maui. But, apparently I didn't. It was still in my girlfriend's beach bag. So pictures from Maui will have to wait. The camera is in snail mail on it's way to me from California. Then, blogger went on the fritz. I was all set to post and couldn't get in. But here I am! I missed you all :)
Since I don't have any exciting Maui pictures (yet!), you'll have to do with what I wore to work yesterday. 

I'm so happy it's the weekend. Do you have anything exciting on the agenda? I'm going out for sushi with the girls, attempting a sewing project (more on that next week pending results from the weekend!),  and picking up my recent purchase from a friend - an Eames Chair and ottoman! I'm so excited. I have been coveting this chair for YEARS, and now I am the proud owner of one. Now I just need to find a spot for it.

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you have a fab one!

Sunny

Tshirt-Target, Cardigan-JCrew, Jeans-7for all mankind, Trench-Banana Republic, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Scarf-Gap, Belt-Target, Necklace-The Limited, Earrings-F21,Watch-Coach, Bag-Target 

Well friends, I leave for Maui today! The blog will be quiet for the next 8 days (unless I can get my ipad app to work the way I want with pictures!). I'm sure I packed WAY to much- all I really need is a few swim suits and a maxi dress or two.  I hope you all have a great weekend and I'll be back before you know it. Aloha.

30 for 30 {Day 15- Halfway there!}

Shirt-Target, Jacket-Anthropologie, Trousers-Banana Republic, Boots-Aldo, Necklace-Forever21,Short Necklace-Macy's, Earrings-Macy's 

I've made it to the half way point and I have some thoughts on my experience so far. As I said at the beginning of this adventure, I have more clothes than I need (look up clothes horse in the dictionary- you'll see me). In an effort to remedy that, I did a first pass through my closet and cleaned out items I wasn't "in love with" enough to keep and donated them. *NOTE: I tend to go through my closet every 6-8 months and weed out items I don't wear on a regular basis anyways, so this wasn't so new to me* My new approach was to assess how much I like to wear each item. No more holding on to a certain top or dress because I "might" have a place to wear it again. I'm over buying clothes for specific events. I must be able to remix them. I actually think I'll get more wear out of my items. 

Which brings me to my next thought: How long I can go without wearing the same outfit twice. There. I said it. I put it out there. I can't take it back. At the end of this 30 for 30 challenge, I'm personally challenging myself to see how long I can go with out wearing the same outfit twice. The scary thing is, I think I can go well into fall. Is that good or bad? Am I just good at remixing my clothes or do I simply have more clothes than one should have. Well, you'll have to be the judge. I'm going to give it a whirl.

One of the best lessons I've learned is what I really like to wear. Looking at my clothes that aren't currently in rotation, I see a few I miss. A LOT. But I see a lot more I could take or leave. Which leads me to my third thought - I should only buy things I really, really, really want to wear. In other words- can't live without (now I don't mean I'll die if I don't have the item, although I may feel that way if I can't get it). Do you ever go shopping, see something you want, but for some reason don't purchase that day? Then, the next week or so you find yourself thinking about the item? Pairing it with items in your closet? No? Really? Hmmm, maybe I do have a problem. Anywho, the items I thought about or waited a while to buy, are the items I'm missing most right now (BTW- is it odd that I'm missing clothes? I'm starting to think I have an unhealthy relationship with my clothes!). For example, I have a fantastic 3.1 Phillip Lim dress I ADORE! I thought about it forever and then finally broke down and bought it (on sale no less, so even better). It gets more wear than most items in my closet and I remix the crap out of it. To me, that's an item that was worth it and has a fantastic cost per wear. Cost per wear is my justification system when buying expensive items. You divide the cost of the item by how often you think you'll wear it and you get cost per wear - which to me is the true cost. So, if you buy $500 shoes, but wear them 3 days a week for 4 months, the true cost was $10! How's that for justification. But, it works the same way when you buy something inexpensive (but I never applied the logic until just now!). Say you bought a $20 top from Forever 21 that you HAD to have, but you only wear it twice. Your cost per wear is $10. Now, which would you rather have? The shoes you loved and wore a ton or the shirt you only wore twice and weren't that thrilled with after that. Get my point?

Maybe this challenge was just what I needed. A detox from clothes, if you will. It seems to working. At least let's hope it's working. This could just be the delirium from not being able to wear everything hanging in my closet right now. It could be the honeymoon phase of the challenge. Stay tuned...

How about you? Are you inspired to rethink your wardrobe? Have you learned anything in these last 15 days? Do you use cost per wear when making purchases?