Winter Brights

I feel like a crayon. 

When Kayla gave the prompt to wear Brights for the Winter Challenge, I ran with it. Strangely, even with all the color, my least favorite part of this outfit is the shamrock green cardi. I think if I'd worn my emerald goodie from Target I would have been happier. The color of this one is bold, yes, but the cut of the sweater itself is a little boxier. Which I don't love. I'll tuck it aside to wear on St. Patty's (it's Bromance's very favorite holiday, so braving the sloshy bar scene for his benefit is something I'll happily do in a boxy perfectly colored cardigan I'm not in like with).


Please please please play along with the Winter Challenge this week- it's wonderfully theraputic and is stretching my style sense in some really great ways. (And getting involved will introduce you to some really lovely and charming bloggers! Making connections is the best part about this whole blogging experience, huh?)

Skirt: thrifted...Tee: Target...Button-down: J Crew...Cardigan: Gap...Belt: Target...Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction via Piperlime...Jewelry: DIY and thrifted ring

Early Morning Excitement

We had the strangest late night last night- We snuggled in at 9:30 and started snoozing but were ruuuudely awakened at 3:00 am to the sound of car parts crunching over the curb right at our corner (our apartment is a funny old 30's gem with paper-thin windows), drunken dudes hollering, tire irons clanging, cursing, cursing, cursing. By the time 3:40 rolled around, they were still cursing and trying to change their popped tire and I got curious about who the frick it was. So, I looked out the window to see a "brah" looking dude with a flat-brimmed trucker cap and chin strap facial hair and another hipster-dude with a Beatle bowl cut, thick glasses and flannel (How did these two meet?! It seems like they should have been worlds apart!) and was sneaking a nosy peek juuust as my sweet upstairs neighbor walked out to tell them to give it a drunken rest until morning- if they couldn't change the tire within 45 minutes, it wasn't going to happen. Bless her, I'm sure my tolerance for noise is much greater than hers, but even I was annoyed. My Guy and I had a horrible time settling back down to sleep, I think I finally zoned back out at around 5. Yeeehaw!

The car was still at the corner this morning with a deflated tire when I walked the dog. Drunken goons.

Skirt: F21 (old)...Sweater: Gap...Scarf: Liberty of London, thrifted...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: Target

This skirt and modest pump combo remind me a little of the 40's with a long, slim hem. I'm happily covering my knees to be on-trend with an era to hook up with the Winter Challenge again today. This week has prompts that are going to force me to think a little harder, which is great! I was also sweetly invited to join My Greatest Hits' ABC's of Fashion Challenge and this works beautifully today for K is for Knits. Check them out!

Monkeying Around

As of today, I am officially a member of the Houston Zoo. My guy gets in for free with his student ID and the Zoo is literally a 12 minute walk from our apartment (and we're less than 2 minutes from the Museum, 7 minutes from Hermann Park... We are in a priiiiime neighborhood. So lucky are we!) so we can spend our spring weekends sitting a watching animals to our hearts content. It was such a fun fun fun way to spend the morning today!

My memory card (8Gb!) filled up juuuuuuuust as the male Tiger literally humped the female. Here is the frame I caught about .5 seconds before he went for it:

Saturday's casual outfit:

Jeans: Gap Always Skinnies...Sweater: J Crew Outlet...Boots: Target...Jewelry: thrifted and from the Guild Shop

Sunday Safari-wear:

Jeans: Gap Perfect Boot...Button-down: Target...Sweatshirt: J Crew, thrifted...Blazer: Gap...Shoes: Sperry via DSW...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Our upstairs neighbor's super-cat, Gypsy. She's a mouse-catching machine!

Wild Mixing and Matching

There's a lot going on in this outfit. I started pattern mixing this buttondown with some other sweater options, but I kept coming back to the wonderful weirdness with the floral cardigan. And then realized I had a striped shirt with the same mushroom and white tones. Eh, why not jumble them all together? Fun and just a liiiiittle over the top.

Isn't it funny how many more wild and awesome pattern mixing options you can come up with when you're given a prompt to really think about it in a new and different way? Challenges are so good for getting your creative juices flowing! I've been singing the blues about missing my neutrals all week as a result of forcing myself out of my comfort zone, but I'm pretty sure this look satiates both my need for quiet non-colors and another jump outside of my box.

Pants: Zara...Tee & Button-down: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Banana...Shoes: Naturalizer

A different Icon

Again, I'm going against the grain and am NOT channeling Audrey. Again. And again. Below is my attempt at a Zoe Saldana-style look. I always admire how long and lean she looks, how effortlessly elegant in casual wear. I started analyzing what I'm most drawn to and it's this equation:
Long, narrow pants + tee or blouse tucked in + Cardi or Blazer + Sky-high pumps and minimal accessories = Street Style Chic. Additionally, I parted my hair in the middle. Whoopdie-do. I'm really shaking it up, huh?

In other news, it rained like crazy down here yesterday. I very much enjoy the lightning and thunder. I find it calming and energizing, which is just what I need during days of preparing Boss Lady for another trip out of town. So much to do, so little time!

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Tee: Gap...Blazer: thrifted...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Gap...Necklace: Favorite Beijing vendor

And here's my inspiration:

The Maxi Trend

I have worn more color this week during the Winter Fashion Challenge than I have in many many weeks past. I kind of don't like it. I don't feel like myself. It all looks put-together, true enough, but I feel kind of "young" and loud. And like I ought to be in the midst of springtime. Upside: I'm nearly wearing pajamas on my lower half today.

Challenge yourself, force yourself out of a comfort zone. Hate it a little, but do it anyway.

I waaaaant my neutrals back!

Maxi: via Ross...Blouse: Target...Cardigan: Target...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: Nine West Outlet

Somethin' Different

The Winter Challenge today is Monochrome. Which I do all the time. In blacks and neutrals and blacks. And blacks. So, I'm branching out (and making use of the only three red-based articles of clothing I own). And I figured this would be better than transforming into a big blob of blues- my collection of slate blue, cobalt blue, dusty blue, ocean blue and crayon blue is pretty extensive, but similar enough to have no visual interest from piece to piece. Which leads us to this incredibly loud red color scheme.

Skirt: thrifted...Shirt: Target via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Target

Layered Blouses

For the first time in a good long while, my guy said "Hey, you look really nice today." I'll take it. More often than not, we compliment the dog on being cute before we compliment each other. Oops.

I can't tell you all how excited I am to be taking part in the Winter Edition Challenge hosted by Kayla at Freckles in April. She's such a positive, cheerful, encouraging blogger and the massive undertaking that was the 21 Day Challenge back in the fall was my intro to the blogging community. I'm so grateful that so many new friends were in those links and she allowed it to be so easy to find them! Check it out, think about joining us and have some fun!

Skirt: Banana Republic, thrifted...Blouses: J Crew and Odille, thrifted...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross...Necklace: DIY

...And my dog is indeed cute.

Sunday Brights

I don't have much to talk about today- I'm working my way through a closet purge of sorts, but its kind of loosey-goosey. I maybe should have spent a little more time thinking through what actually needs to be purged, but maybe just ousting a handful of for-sure-no's will kick start thinking about my closet as a whole. I have a lot of things I like, but I haven't started thinking through what fits into my "intended overall look" and so I don't want to donate what might still be in the running. Aaaanyway, it's good to get into it.

I hope your Sunday is shaping up nicely- I'll see you all in the morning!

Pants: Gap...Shirt: thrifted...Cardigans: Target...Shoes: Nine West Outlet

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BTW- Get excited for Kayla's 10 Day Challenge! I'm so happy and grateful to have found the original 21 Day Challenge juuust as I was beginning to blog, having a little direction and making some friends along the way was such a gift!

Check it out, link up, and have some fun with us!

Rebel without a Cause

There really was no need to keep piling on more dark neutrals. But I did it. I'm baaaad. A fashion rulebreaker. With totally safe, unassuming, borderline dull articles of clothing. Too bad I like it. Maybe I am a little boring if neutrals-mixing is as "naughty" as I get. Brown, navy and black can all be buddies, I think.

Pants: Gap Really Skinny...Tee: H&M...Cardigan: Target...Blazer: Tinley Road via Piperlime...Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction via Piperlime

Happiest Friday- I hope I'll have some good stories to tell you all this weekend. And I hope I get dressed. Yoga pants are always so tempting when your grand plans are to walk the dog around the neighborhood.

Stuck on You

I glued my hand to a mug yesterday. It was, indeed, every bit as idiotic as it sounds. I repaired an old ceramic beauty that was cracked all to hell to be used as a pencil cup and the seams were a little tricky. So I used some of that creepy craft-store super powered stinky glue, applied only a little bit too much (with the knowledge that I could actone the extra off the surface) and clamped it between my index finger and thumb. It held beautifully. The tricky part was when I lifted my hand away to discover that a bead of glue dropped onto the final chunk of mug that still needed to be done (and I braced my hand on the desk/chunk to glue the initial two together). The chunk was firmly stuck to the heel of my palm. Oops.

Pants: Zara...Buttondown: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West Outlet

Absurd Vintage Goodies

What has two thumbs, stinky photos and camera settings that still aren't right? THIS GUY! Oh, well. I'll figure it out over the weekend, I'm sure.

A few notes from this week: the weather here is glorious. I used foaming tanner and showed my bruise off to avoid another day in tights. Boss lady's grandkids are so funny and sweet, I could hurl (I gifted them a few pastel bottles of nail polish a few weeks ago and they giggly show off their mani's with the colors I gave them. So adorable!). I'm not a very good fried rice maker- I made tons of it, but had low sodium soy sauce and a reeeeeally hard time cooking the egg in. This absurd green faux-snake belt with shiiiiiiiny gold hardware made me chuckle every time I looked down.

I'm also very glad to be in a mostly thrifted outfit again- the last few days with Gap-heavy lineups were a little depressing. I guess that's bound to happen when one works there for 1 1/2 years. A collection of sorts tends to accumulate.

I should do a post on the collections I have going. There's some weird stuff in my house.

Skirt: Banana Republic, thrifted...Blouse: Gap, thrifted...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: MaxStudio via DSW...Bracelets: Beijing Cart Vendor

And speeeeeaking of weird stuff, check out this groovy new floor lamp boss lady let me take from the cast-off corner of her storage unit. I'm in love. (Pardon the dog clutter, he's a toy hoarder)