Mixing Prints

For EBEW, the challenge this month was to mix prints.  This is way outside my comfort zone, but since change seems to be the theme in my life at the moment, I decided to give it a try.  The Mr. bought the shirt at Kohl's for me and the skirt is Willi Smith.  I thought they went together, only to discover the dark parts in the shirt were actually navy, not black. That's what I get for picking my clothes in low light.  I'm not sure if this works or not, but I am open to mixing prints in the future.

Week 2 is going well.  I am already on a project, so this should be exciting.  I am looking forward to the challenge of learning something new.  My brain should be happy this month with all the new stimulation.  Tomorrow I think I'm going thrifted, short, and sleeveless.  The heat has made a return and we are back to scorching temperatures.  This weekend we went canoeing at the Delaware River Canal in New Jersey (near Princeton).  It was gorgeous and relaxing.  Unfortunately the camera died, so no pics.  Technology is great, until it stops working.

Shirt: Kohls, Belt: Kohls, Skirt: Willi Smith, Shoes: Moda

CSA Time! :)

Well its that time of year again.  That's right I'm talking about the CSA (community supported agriculture).  My pick up day is Monday this year, which actually has been working out well.  It starts the week off on a positive note.  I LOVE the CSA.  This is one of the best decisions I have made (the other was adopting my dog  Maya).  The food tastes incredible, my community is supported, since it is an organic operation it is good for the environment (not to mention the savings in transportation), and as a bonus, the Mr. is finally eating his vegetables (he is not a fan of things that are green).  I find it to be incredibly relaxing as well.  Something about seeing the food being grown brings me back to what it is all about.  I have been pretty good about cooking things regularly (another CSA benefit), but this weeks things have slipped.  Work has been exhausting.  On the career front, I have an interview at another company on Friday.  I am very excited about this opportunity.  While I like who I work with, the promotion limbo has become frustrating.  (It doesn't help that I have been working above my job description without an increase in pay, recognition, or career benefit in a year and a half.)  That being said, I wasn't looking for another job, a recruiter contacted me and this company did work that would provide me some much needed experience in a different area.  I always say: "if opportunity knocks, you should at least open the door and inquire."  Whether it works out or not, it will help me brush up on my interview skills.  In general, I enjoy job interviews.  I find a good  interview is one in which both the employer and interviewee are both being evaluated to determine a good fit.  Anyway, here's hoping  it goes well.  Below  are pics of what I wore Monday and Today (Tuesday is not noteworthy).  As a bonus I added a recent picture of Maya sitting in her lookout chair (she looks out the window from this chair).

Monday:
Top: H&M (thrifted)
Skirt: Don't  Know
Belt: Ralph Lauren (thrifted)
Shoes: Joey 

Today:
Dress: Nine West
Shoes: Jessica Simpson
Earrings & Pendant: Self-made

Maya sitting on her lookout chair

80 degrees!

I have been crazy busy and as a result my posts have suffered.  I have captured all my outfits on flickr, so if anyone wants to look at my outfits they will find them all there.  It is month seven or so I believe, and I am almost nearing the end of my experiment.  I have cheated a little bit, but I tried to keep any purchases I made of the thrift store variety.  If you read this blog, you probably know that I enjoy thrifting.  For me it is all about the thrill of the treasure hunt.  I don't do it regulalry, but when I do I like to purchase quality pieces that I can wear or enjoy for many years.  My favorite things to thrift are accessories, like purses, and clothing items made of high quality fabrics, like silk.  The problem with high quality fabric is the dry cleaning bill.  Needless to say, my dry cleaning bill would be through the roof, given all the items I have thrifted over the last couple of years.  Needing to curb this, I decided to try a little experiement.  I washed my dry clean only clothing in cold water like my other laundry.  Then instead of putting them in the dryer, I ironed them while wet.  Viola! I have clean clothes, that look great, without the dry cleaning bill.  Admittadly, this trick won't work for all dry clean clothes (suits for example).  Certain dresses with complicated stitching is probably better off at the dry cleaners as well.  That being said, I think most items are fair game.  Today's outfit is 100% thrifted. The shirt is from The Limited, the skirt is Anne Taylor Loft, and the shoes are BCBG.

Professional Followed by Whimsical

I had a lovely day today.  Yesterday I had a client meeting and got home very late.  I accidently forgot my keys in the office and that started a chain of events that resulted me getting home very late.  By contrast, today was calm and uneventful.  I welcome days like this, since so much of my time at work seems to be working in an environment filled with chaos.  I have been a little blue lately.  Perhaps it is the cold I have that is taking awhile to subside, or perhaps it is the shorter days.  I'm not quite sure.  It is a new year and a new century, so I am trying to stay optimistic.  Yesterday, I wore a suit for the client meeting I attended.  The jacket and belt are from a Calven Klein suit and the pants are from Mandee.  I did cheat here b/c the pants are a new purchase.  My weight loss has really been putting me in a bind in the pants department.  None of my pants fit anymore, they are all very big.  I obviously could not attend a client meeting in ill fitted clothing.  You may have noticed that I have been wearing dresses alot.  This is a main reason for that.  Today I wore a strapless dress made by Lapis with a whimsical shirt underneath (from Target).  After such formal attire yesterday, it is nice to wear something that is a little bit more playful.  I enjoy the fairytale look this dress has.  It makes me feel that the world still holds possibility.

Yesterday                                                  Today

 

A Black and White Day

I can't believe the end of the year is almost upon us.  Where did the year go?  Well it is absolutely freezing outside.  I suppose that's better than the piles of snow we had last year.  I forgot to mention where I went on Saturday.  The hubs, and friends of ours went to see a play called "Around the World in 80 Days."  Yes, this is an adaptation of the Jules Verne classic.  It was hilarious, we essentially laughed the entire time.  We also got to meet the cast, since one of them is the cousin of two of our friends.  I highly recommend folks to go see this play if it is being performed in your area, you will not be disappointed.  I have to say, I was reminded of how much I love theatre on Saturday.  It is something I will try to attend more of in 2011.  Well with that here is my outfit for today:  The jacket is thrifted, the shirt is Old Navy, the pants are The Limited, and the shoes are from Target.

Back from Vacay

Technically I came back on the 26th of November, but I haven't gotten around to posting anything until.  I will post pictures of last week's photo's sometime this week as well.  Vacation was awesome.  I have to say that the relationship between parent and child changes once one is an adult, as I discovered with my mother.  We were able to have frank and candid conversations that really brought us together.  For the most part everything went pretty smoothly.  It did rain half the time, which was not to much fun.  However, we were unfased by mother nature and soldiered on.  All together we visted 6 cities: Rome, Vatican City, Venice, Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid.  It was a power vacation of sorts.  Each city was unique and beautiful in it's own way.  As this was my mother's first time to Europe, she had a lovely time.  I would recommend every adult child travel with a parent at some point in their life.  It is a terrific to really discover your parent in new and suprising ways.  I will post pictures of my vacation in another post.  Here is my outfit for today: the skirt is Ann Klien (thrifted), the cardigan is Eddie Baur, the top is from Target, and the shoes are Michael Kors.

Finally Friday - Day 32

It is finally Friday, I am so glad.  The hubs has planned a weekend away to see the fall color.  So I am thrilled about that.  The temperatures are now starting to really drop and it is almost sweater season.  It is grand to live in a place where the seasons change.  Not only is it a feast for the eyes, but the variety of things you get to wear is also much broader.  The one thing I dislike about the arrival of fall and winter are shorter days.  I spent half an hour picking cherry tomatoes in the dark.  In that light everything looks green.  Anyway here is my outfit for today: the shirt is anatolia femme, the skirt is express, the leggings are Anne Klein, and the belt is thrifted.

Black and White - Day 28 (Week 4)

Today was a very long day (walked in the house door at 11 pm).  I had some deadlines to meet, and thus stayed at work longer than anyone should.  What was really bad is that it started thundering and lightening at around 10, so it sounded like armageddon outside.  Fortunately, by the time I was on the road the rain had stopped.  However, I was treated with dinner made by the hubs, so that was a pleasant suprise.  With that, here is my outfit: the skirt is Willi Smith, the shirt is from Target, the belt is thrifted, and the shoes are MRKT.

T-Shirt and Jeans Day- Day 19

The hubs did the sweetest thing yesterday and I forgot to mention it.  I am a lover of dark chocolate (the more than 75% cacao kind).  Armed with this knowledge, the hubs went and bought several different kinds of dark chocolate (all more than 80% cacao) from different brands and displayed them prominently for my viewing pleasure.  It was the sweetest thing (both figuratevly and literally).  Today was one of those days that started off gloomy, but ended with a grand finale.  It pretty much rained all day, but as soon as I was ready to go home, the sun was out in all it's glory.  As I have mentioned before, I love to dress up and I do so in my clothing choices for work.  Today though I decided to wear jeans for a change.  This is a pretty rare occasion, but why not? right?  Someone once said to me that the only constant in life is change, he was absolutely right.  So with that here is my outfit.  The blazer is from H&M.  The T-shirt is a gift from the hubs (before he became the hubs).  The Jeans are Levis.  The shoes are thrifted and the necklace is a gift from my best friend.

Off to the Office - Day 17

I've decided to dress more business like today.  I work in a wonderful, relaxed office where the dress code is pretty casual.  While that is a perk, I love to dress up, so it doesn't much apply to me most days.  Fall has definitely arrived.  The temperatures are now cooler in the morning and the evenings.  My eyes are also being treated to the changing fall color.  While I am no fan of winter, living here in the northeast, it is nice to see the seasons change.  The wonder of our planet seems to come through in full drama around the times the seasons change here.  For me fall is especially magical.  The days grow shorter, the leaves turn the prettiest hues of red, orange, yellow, and umber, and the temperature always seems just right.  The coolness in the air makes drinking coffee and tea a divine experience.  If I were to have a wedding, it would definitely be in the fall.  Just imagine all the color scheme options that would be available.  So here is my outfit for today.  The pants are from Kohls (the belt came with it).  The top is from target (I bought it several years ago).  The shoes are from Nine West.