A little bit country

Blouse-Equipment, Skirt-Anthropologie, Belt-Linea Pelle, Shoes-BCBG,
Necklaces-Juicy, EmersonMade, Bracelets-Maui, gift, Target, Watch-Coach, Earrings-Limited

This is a skirt I've fallen in love with over the years. I found it on clearance at Anthropologie for mere pennies! When I first brought it home, I had no idea what to wear with it. I spent many weeks trying to find a top that would match. I was trying to find the exact same orange! Can you imagine? That would have been so matchy-matchy. I cringe just thinking about it now. Then, it finally dawned on me to try a complimentary color.  I've worn something similar before, but there is something about this dotted blouse that makes this combo one of my all time faves. It feels a bit country...maybe I should have paired my cowboy boots with it! HA.  I think that would have been a bit to costumey-even for me!

Working Animal

Blouse-Equipment, Blazer-Zara, Skirt-H&M, Shoes & Belt- Target,
Necklaces-EmersonMade, Bracelets-Gift, Target, Maui, Watch-Coach, Earrings-Limited

I scored this blazer on clearance at Zara while I was in CA a few weeks back. I had to beg my husband to let us stop and shop on our way up the coast. The closest Zara to me is in Chicago and they don't have online shopping. Yet.  Starting in September, Zara will be available online for the US. Can you see me jumping up and down with joy? It took years for us to get H&M and we still don't get the same stuff big cities get. At least with online shopping, I'll be able to have more to choose from-at least that's what I'm hoping. My pocketbook on the other hand may not be so happy.

Favorite Pants

Tank, Cardi-Target, Pants-Pure Joy(Nordstrom YEARS ago), Shoes-Seychelles, Bag-Coach,
Necklaces-EmersonMade, F21, Earrings-Limited, Bracelets-Target, Gift, local, Watch-Coach

You've seen these pants before (here). They have been favorites of mine for going on 12 years now. I have to stagger when I wear them as they aren't easy to forget. I'm loving this cardi paired with them that I picked up at Target. It's so soft and comfy. This piece will be coming with me when I travel to CA next week.  I'm counting down the days to spending some quality time with my girls. But first, a few days of work in Orange County. Then, I'm heading up the coast to San Luis Obispo. My favorite place to visit (not to mention we got married in Pismo Beach).  We plan to hit up the farmer's market, county fair to see Maroon 5 and Train, and some wine tasting in Paso Robles. 

Smoking Jacket

Tanks-Target, Robe-Vintage, Jeans-JCrew, Shoes-Payless, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Juicy,
Bracelets-Juicy, Maui, gifts,  Watch-Coach, Earrings-F21, Ring-BCBG

Guess what? It's casual week at work for the next two weeks! Loves it. Anytime I get to wear whatever I want to work, life is good. I found this men's robe at a vintage store earlier this fall. Every time I wear it, I feel like I belong in a 1950's movie. It reminds me of men's smoking jackets from that era. Back when I was in high school I used to scour the vintage stores for men's silk pajama bottoms. I had them in every print imaginable. I wore them to school as pants all the time. Imagine them tightly pinned and rolled at the bottom. Yep. That was how I rolled and I thought it was HOT. Who doesn't love a comfy pair of pj's that double as pants? This girl does. Might have to bring that style back-minus the pins and rolling.

June gloom

Blouse-Banana Republic, Sweater-Banana Republic, Pants-JCrew, Shoes-Seychelles, Scarf-Target, Necklaces-Target, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Local, Gifts, Earrings-Limited

Who knew MN could experience June Gloom-I'm only used to it in CA. It's been overcast and rainy most of the week, which is putting a damper on enjoying time outside. I hope this blows over by tomorrow. We're having a going away party for our friend Jessica and plan to do some grilling. She's moving to NYC in July and this is her big sendoff. I'm super excited for this new adventure in her life. Then we have Father's Day on Sunday and plan to do some grilling with my dad. Do you have big plans for the weekend? What are you doing for Father's Day?

Going the distance

Blouse-Gap, Sweater-Limited, Skirt-I made, Belt-Target, Shoes-Seychelles, Necklaces-Emersonmade, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-gifts, earrings-F21

This skirt is going the distance in my closet and I love it. For a few dollars, I stitched this skirt up a few weeks ago and have now posted 4 different ways to wear it (see them here). I continue to find new things in my closet to pair it with. Remember my cost per wear justification for purchasing items (refresh your memory here)? The cost per wear on this skirt is going to be negative soon-does that mean I can buy something expensive that I've been coveting for a long time to make up for it? Ramesh or mom if you're reading this I'm just kidding (or am I?) Do you an item in your closet that goes the distance?

Americana

Blouse-Equipment, Sweater-H&M, Blazer-Target, Jeans-Paige, Shoes-Born, Clutch-Tori Richards, Watch-Coach,
Bracelets-Gifts, Local, Ring-BCBG, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Earrings-Limited

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! I spent quality time with some of my favorite people, finished sewing another skirt (more on that later this week) and enjoyed another splurge day with my husband that included our first stop at a Sonic! Classy, I know. But hey- sometimes you need a bit of that. What did you do? Hope you had better/consistent weather than we did.

DIY Skirt

This past weekend I finished my first sewing project. I found an old skirt pattern my mom had bought to make some skirts for me YEARS ago. Seriously, the pattern is from around 1996! I also found a few other patterns to try as I was searching for the perfect fabric to start with. It's safe to say the sewing bug has officially bitten me and I will be making more pieces in the next few weeks. I tend to go a bit overboard when I find new things I like to do! Stay tuned for more sewing adventures with these patterns:

I did end up wearing my new skirt out Saturday night. We had a friend's engagement party to go and it was a BBQ. I wanted something casual yet fun and this fit the bill perfectly. 

Tank-Target, Shirt-JCrew, Skirt-Self made, Shoes-Seychelles, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Watch-Coach, Earrings-Limited, Bracelets-gift, target,local designer

When I was looking at fabric, I intentionally picked a bold print that I could remix with all the basics in my closet. Below are a few other pieces I can wear with the skirt this summer - the possibilities are endless and I can't wait to start remixing. 

Upper Left: Tanks-Target, Shoes-Vince Camuto
Lower Left: Tank-Target, Sweater-Target, Shoes-BCBG
Right: Blouse-Gap, Belt-Linea Pelle, Shoes-BCBG
Skirt-Self Made, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Earrings-Limite, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Target, Gifts, Local

Sneak Peek and High Waisted

I'm still working on my skirt project and thought I'd give you a sneak peak. I'm almost done, but it's taken a back seat until the weekend. This week has been crazy busy. Thursday we're throwing a BBQ/Scotch night for our friend Hadley- check out his blog on his 365 challenge here. He's moving to San Francisco the end of the month and we wanted to wish him well. On top of that, our friend's birthday is the same day, so we're combining the events. I don't know how, but I seem to have run out of time this week. Between finding a recipe and making a red velvet cheesecake (more on that tomorrow), getting my butt handed to me by my trainer (would have been less brutal had I been working out that past two weeks!), making two birthday cards and an engagement card and helping get the house in order for the party, I haven't been able to get quality blog time. If I can make it to the weekend, I'll be back on track.

Blouse-F21, Pants-Limited, Jacket-JCrew, Shoes-Nine West, Bag-Coach, Necklaces-Target, Bracelets-Maui, Watch-Coach

In Bloom

Sweater-Limited, Skirt-Anthropologie, Belt-Target, Shoes-BCBG, Necklaces-Limited and Macy's,
Watch-Coach, Bracelets-all from Maui

The weather has finally started to get nice here... about time, it's MID MAY! I dug this lovely skirt out of the archives of my closet and embraced the fine weather. Rooftop HH's and patio lunches have been part of my activities the last few days. I started my sewing project this past weekend. I've been inspired by Jessica of What I Wore. If you haven't checked out her blog, do so, it's fab. Her style is great and I love all the clothes she's been making lately. I haven't sewn since I was 10 and that was for my Barbies. So, I'm starting with something simple- a skirt. I've got the waistband and hem to do and then I'll debut it here on the blog, so stay tuned. 

Bright

Tank-Target, Blouse-Target, Vest-JCrew, Skirt-JCrew, Shoes-Seychelles, Belt-The Limited,
Necklace-Juicy Couture, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Gifted and local, Earrings-The Limited

With Spring in the air, temps warming up, and daylight lasting longer, it was high time I broke out some color and spiced things up at work. This is my toned down version of color blocking. I originally wanted to wear a bright orange sweater on top, but thought it might a bit bold for my co-workers. Thus, I opted for a light orange gingham blouse. This is by far my favorite spring outfit to date. I can't wait to break out more color. Long live spring!

Tucker

Dress-Tucker for Target, Sweater-JCrew, Tights-Gap, Boots-Target, Belt-Target, Earrings-Limited, Necklace-Juicy Couture, Watch-Coach, Bracelet-Local, Bangle-Forever21, Bangles-Gift from my sister-in-law

I'm loving my Tucker for Target (say that 10 times fast!) dress that I recently purchased and talked about here. The only drawback is I see it on EVERYONE at work. That's what happens when you work for a company that collaborates with cute designers. I haven't seen it mixed the way I've got it on today though, so that makes me feel better. I'm going to get a ton of wear out of this little number. Outfits are whizzing through my brain even as I type this. Would it be wrong if I just wore it everyday but remixed differently? No?  Well, maybe not such a great idea. My co-workers might think I'd gone off the deep end. But, here's an even better idea-what if Target took part in the 30 for 30 and gave me 30 items to remix for 30 days? Talk about marketing campaign for their clothes! How fun would that be? I might have to get on that!