Fall Palette

I feel like it's finally Fall. While PSL has been in our faces since September 1 the weather (hello 80° days) has not been in alignment with that autumn reality and all the other fall paraphernalia until more recently. While summer is my favorite thing, I appreciate the changing of the seasons and get excited about the opportunity to be super basic and wear a flannel/plaid/puffy vest combination to do some sort of autumnal activity. How serious am I being? You will never know... but, in all seriousness I do get excited about the changing of the seasons because that means fun things are on the horizon like, holidays, seeing family, layering, and wearing amazing fall colors like mustard. When I put this ensemble together it really struck me as being a great combination of less traditional fall colors (read: not red orange, yellow) but, still in line with cooler weather. Thoughts? On another note, I have to share a secret with you... these were Hubby's pants. Could you tell? I didn't think so. When Hubby was getting rid of them because they were too tight on him I thought, "Why get rid of a perfectly good pair of (fancy) pants? I could incorporate them into my wardrobe instead of picking up a trendy 'boyfriend chino'." That's a win!

• Top: lace trim shell, Merona; black cardigan, 14th & Union
• Bottom: Sharp Grey Emerson straight chino, Banana Republic
• Shoes & Accessories: black pumps, Sam Edelman; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co; paisley infinity scarf , gift from Mom

I'm linking up with What I Wore, Watcha Wearing Wednesday, Style Me Wednesday

Don't forget to enter the Nordstrom gift card giveaway! 

Weekend Wear: (Surprise) Wedding Guest

I am alive! I know it's been a while and I will get into that but, right now I have a much more important question: Have you ever had someone close to you call you and announce that they are getting married? Yeah ok, totes normal. How about with the ceremony occurring within 48 hours of that conversation?! Me neither, that is until my cousin (bestie/partner in crime) called me on Thursday afternoon, before the most recent long weekend, to inform me that her and her boyfriend of a decade were going to tie the knot on Saturday. After the initial shock/excitement/panic/happiness I went into honorary bridesmaid mode trying to determine what the plans were, what (if anything) she needed me to bring, and how I could assist with things leading up to the ceremony.

It wasn't until much later that day that I started thinking about what my plans would be for the wedding? More specifically, what would I wear for the festivities? With the limited amount of time I had (understatement,) I needed to find something in my closet that would be appropriate. Thankfully, over the past few months, since the purge, I have been intermittently shopping and picking up items, with no rhyme or reason but, that fill gaps in my wardrobe. This amazing maxi dress seemed like a no brainer for a summer soiree but, not really for a wedding ensemble. My apprehension stemmed from the fact that "they" say you shouldn't wear black to weddings. In the end my cousin was ok with it so, what do "they" really know anyway?

• Top: black, red, and white polka dot maxi dress, Banana Republic via Clementine
• Shoes & Accessories: tortoise shell Wayfarers, Ray Ban via Lenscrafters; black Olivia sandals, Dolce Vita; pearl earrings, Macys

July 11/July 12, 2011: Monday and Tuesday

If I can get todays outfit up later and keep the momentum going for the rest of the week I will be officially caught up! I am so excited about the propect because that means I can venture into some of the extra things that I have been thinking about. Wish me luck!

July 12, 2011

• Top: cream embellished tissue tee, Banana Republic;  brown and black zebra print cardigan, New York & Company
• Bottom: gray pants, New York & Company
• Shoes & Accessories: turquoise peep toe flats, Xhiliration via Target; mixed metal earrings, gift from Natalia/ModCloth; purple shoulder bag, Coach (not pictured)

July 13, 2011

• Top: blue floral dress with metallic bead embellishment, LOFT borrowed from Mom; white linen blazer, Bitten via Steve & Barry's
• Shoes & Accessories: silver Genero Sandal, SE Boutique via DSW; silver and gold teardrop earrings, V'ta Jewelry; purple shoulder bag, Coach (not pictured)

January 4, 2011: From Mom

My mother and I are very similar in alot of ways. It's one of those things that I didn't fully realize but, still tried to fight when I was a teenager. Now, I'm cool with it! For one we look like each other... don't you see the resemblance? But, other things like our penchant for word games, hardwood floors, altruistic natures, and love of unique handcrafted jewelry (to name a few) grow day by day. This Christmas (thanks to Mom and the latter) I found this great necklace sitting under the tree. A small group of native Johannesburg, South Africa, artisans, called Inkwenkwezi, began making safety-pin jewelry in 1992 and this is one of those items. I would not have instantly gravitated towards this piece for more than it's novel appearance but, mother knows best (don't tell her I said that) and I am really loving the way it fills in the space around the collar of this sweater. How else would you style this piece? Mom says with a black turtleneck but, I am skeptical...

• Top: orange v-neck sweater, Banana Republic outlet with a tank top underneath for the modesty
• Bottom: gray pants, New York and Company
• Shoes & Accessories: black ruffle embellished flats, Audrey Brooke via DSW; Inkwenkwezi Safety Pin necklace, Smithsonian Christmas gift from Mom; silver bead earrings, Tiffany & Co.; purple tote bag, Coach

Items from this outfit are previously seen here, here, and here:

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December 8, 2010: Life Is Short, Be Nice

As the temperatures continue to hover in the 30's and below I will be bringing out lots of new things to keep me warm but, still stylish. No, puffy snow gear for me... yet ever! One of the things that I love to wear when the weather is cold (and even when it isn't) is tweed. I have been saving this skirt for an appropriate occasion and I'm not really sure what I thought that was. I figured it would be some time in November but, that came and went and the skirt sat untouched in my closet. Today seemed like as good a time as any to bust it out, life's too short. Do you hold on the special pieces of clothing for the "right" occasion even though you may not have a specific one in mind? If so, does it generally pan out?

So, there's a funny story behind this beautiful statement necklace...I had gone to church with my mom a few weeks ago and there were some holiday shops set up after the service. We wandered down to take a peek and I was pleasantly surprised! They has lots of great handcrafted or thrify items and we met some really nice people. One of the tables that we perused had this fantastic A. V. Max necklace lying amidst other sparkly baubles and I was instantly drawn to the details in each of the little medallions. While discussing the piece the salesperson handed me her card and I immediately recognized her name from work even though I had never met her before! Being a recruiter and reading hundreds of resumes a week will do that to you but, I digress... I let her know that her name seemed familiar and after a brief exchange we determined that I was not going crazy and that she worked at one of my company's other facilities. Then she gave us a discount on the necklace... it's a small world so, be nice!

• Top: orange v-neck sweater, Banana Republic outlet with a tank top underneath for the modesty
• Bottom: brown and orange tweed pencil skirt, LOFT
• Shoes & Accessories: brown pumps, Candies via Kohl's; brown tights, Merona for Target; gold necklace, A.V. Max via holiday bazaar at church; pearl earrings, birthday gift from Mom via Macy's; blue Foley + Corrina City Clutch, gifted via Plaza Too