Easy Like Sunday Morning

This is not what I'm wearing today.  It's what I was wearing yesterday.  The day started with a 10am beginning knitting class at a neighborhood yarn shop.  I've never knitted in my life, but had been looking for another creative hobby (because blogging, photography, playing the piano and cooking/baking just weren't enough) so I decided to take a class to learn something new.  In part, it was to help combat my usual winter blues, but I couldn't get the class into my schedule until now.  It's a 4 week class, and I'm hoping that by the end I'll be able to knit plenty of scarves and hats, and baby blankets for all of my friends who are expecting right now.



Speaking of babies, my cousin just had a baby boy on Thursday, so I stopped at Old Navy on my way home from work on Friday to pick up a few gifts to send.  I feel bad being far away from my family when important things are happening, but at least I can let them know I'm thinking of them. And while picking up adorable baby clothes, I found this adorable polka dot tank top and pretty much had to get it.



Another stop on my way home was at Target.  Just as E-Jo suggested in the comments on Friday's post, I did pick up some sale boxed wine.  Not necessarily to help my back, but it didn't hurt. Which reminds me, thank you all so much for the nice comments on Friday!  My back seems to have mostly healed this weekend, and I was even able to do some strength training on it on Saturday.

But enough about me.  How was your weekend?



Cardigan and Wine: Target
Tank: Old Navy
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Puma
Necklace: Embellish
Watch: Anne Klein, gifted (c. 2006)

Pay it Forward

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I saw this post over at Chic on the Cheap last weekend, and lucky me, I was one of the first 5 to comment!  So the first 5 people to comment on this post will receive something handmade from me by the end of the year.  Then in turn, the first 5 commenters also need to post this and do the same.  I don' t know exactly what I have in mind yet, but I can be pretty crafty when I have the time (Fella could attest to all of the "arts & crafts" style cards and gifts he's received from me over the years). 


Edited: Rad has also offered to share her creative talents on this project, so you'll be receiving something handmade from both of us!

More Purple & Orange

Happy Friday!  I'm far more excited about this scarf than I am the outfit as a whole.  How could I not be?  It's full of rich colors, and it's kind of shiny.  And the rest of the outfit, totally built around the scarf, still fits in my Friday formula of jeans, tee/tank and cardigan.



I need to apologize for being so absent in Style Nation this week.  Not only is all of my crazy busy work stuff wrapping up, but yesterday I suffered a totally stupid injury to my back, so after sitting at a computer all day, I just don't have it in me to spend much time on the computer after work.  I was getting ready to go to the gym before work, and I sneezed while putting on my tennis shoes.  And, I'm not kidding, the sneeze threw my back out.  I didn't even know such a thing was possible, but it was seriously painful.  Like, I could barely move for a good hour afterward.  From a sneeze.  I've been hanging out on the couch with a heating pad for the most part, and am hoping this will get better by the weekend.  When I e-mailed my boss about it, he joked that between throwing my back out and getting ready to buy a home, these are clear signs that I'm getting older.  Oh well, at least I still look good.

Sweater: Loft
Tank: Gap Outlet
Jeans: Gap
Scarf: Jule
Boots: Kohl's

In Lieu of Polka Dots

So here's the thing.  I was going through my closet looking at the various polka-dotted things I own so that I can join in the fun over at Everybody, Everywhere (including this sweater, this top and this scarf), when I came upon this dress.  There are some dots amongst the stripes, but they're not really polka dotty.  I decided to wear this dress today anyway.  It's been hiding in the back of my closet since last year.  I bought it and really liked the print, but felt like it was way too short for me.  It still feels a little shorter than things I normally wear, but it's okay with tights, and since I've been doing a lot of cardio over the past 9 months or so, I don't completely hate my legs in shorter skirts and dresses.



Also, I don't know if you can tell, but there's some orange in this dress!  (So you were right, Gracey, there is an Orange for Everybody!)  The coloring is a lot warmer than what I normally wear, which is a nice change.

Dress, Cardigan, Tights & Necklace: Target (Wow!)
Bracelet: Macy's
Earrings: The Limited
Shoes: Naturalizer, via Piperlime

I've Got the Blues For You

Happy Monday, Stylenation!  Today starts the last full week of my busy season at work, and I couldn't be more excited for it to end.



Earlier this year, when we were in the real thick of winter, I was wearing a lot of blues and greys, and really feeling it.  I have a lot going on right now between crazy work stuff and the ongoing condo-buying drama, but despite all of the stress that's bringing to my life, I'm far from blue.  Spring is in sight, and good things are happening.  So now I'm just wearing blue because it's my favorite color.





Sweater: The Limited
Dress & Tights: Target
Brooch: Etsy
Bracelet: New York & Company
Shoes: Tsubo

Same Old, Same Old

Happy Friday!  There's nothing too exciting about today's outfit.  I mean, I like it, but the combination of jeans, a tee and a cardigan has pretty much been my uniform as of late (even more so on days I'm not blogging).  It's just so easy.



Cardigan: Target
Tee, Necklace & Shoes: Loft
Jeans: Gap

To make up for the average, formulaic outfit, here's some pictures of Jude being stylish after a visit to the vet's office.  We don't know how, but he broke one of his nails, so I had to take him to get it removed this week.  The vet gave him a pretty sassy bandage, but to keep it clean, they also wrapped his paw for the trip home in a make-shift bootie - made out of an IV bag and some gauze.  I'm sure it's wrong to laugh at it, but it was pretty funny.



As you can see, he's in excruciating pain here.  When he refused to stop trying to eat said bandage, we had to resort to socks.  He's a fan of argyle.  And the treat that I was holding while taking his picture.

Business Casual Casual

Don't adjust your monitors, Style Nation!  All of the brightness on your screen is not a mistake.  The sun actually came out here!

Things are starting to really get busy at work, as we brace for the last 2 weeks before our big March 15th deadline (my entire career has always been dictated by some sort of government deadline, and I still can never fully get used to being totally slammed for a month prior).  I would have loved to have worn jeans today, but we have a company wide Town Hall meeting with our CEO.  I think it's only the second such meeting since they announced our merger, and the first since we've actually been one united company, so I don't want to miss it.  But working in our corporate headquarters, I'm expected to attend in person.  So although we have a casual dress code that allows for jeans everyday, I just couldn't do it.


That said, immediately after work tonight I'm meeting Fella and a friend of ours at a bar for dinner and beverages, so I didn't want to look too corporate.  I always feel weird going to bars in dressy work clothes.  It's just not my thing.  So my compromise?  A denim pencil skirt.  I feel like I'm still dressed a little better than jeans for my meeting, but not nearly as fancy as a full-on business casual outfit for the night out.  Paired with a soft sweater and flats, it's all comfort.

How do you dress for two totally different situations?

Sweater & Skirt: Loft
Necklace: New York & Company
Tights: Target
Shoes: Eddie Bauer