Hanging In

Skirt: thrifted & refashioned...Tank: Old Navy...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

That's twice in one week for that little olive belt.

Not much to say, I'm working long, long days, I'm tired, I'm managing to keep my spirits up, and my husband made a really tasty pot of chili. Life is good. Days are long. It's okay. This is what your late 20's are for, right? Overcommitment, a flurry of trying to fit everything in, and eating something delicious.

Pups

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Blouse: thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Pssht, wrapping up animal print week, you knew this skirt would show back up.

This morning begins day one of several during which we get to doggy sit out neighbor's two lady lugs. They're both so tall, so big and I can't wait to spend some time loving on big dogs. Miles is nice and solid, but, let's face it, the beagle's a shorty.

Aaaand, there's more doggy stuff going on 'round the hood. Our other neighbors lost their basset hound several weeks ago. Boston was a wonderfully old-man dog, loved to howl and bay, reveled in butt-scratches, lived to give kisses, but had so many of the old-man dog health stuff to go with it. He is so tremendously missed. Our neighbors pondered a puppy. And then they found one. Guys, there is a lumpy, noodle-y, waddling, droopy, floppy basset puppy here. They named him Homer. He's so unbearably cute. The best part? When Miles mills around the courtyard and starts to sneak into the bushes, Homer chomps down onto his leash and tugs him away, as if to say "Hey! I wanna hang out, come back!" Oh, that and the uncontrolled puppy tail bobble. You know what I'm talking about- when they waddle their way around a yard and their tail looks like a wheat stalk bobbing in the wind.

Boston                                                 Homer

Good lookin' dogs, huh? Our neighbors are so lucky! Mmm, puppy breath.

TGIM

Dress: Target...Belt: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Bracelet: Target...Earrings: Banana Rebublic

Bluuuugh.

Friday: Study/ Quiz session from 6:00 - 11:00. Happy Friday.
Saturday: 9:30 - 12:00 Help out at Boss Lady's house for a special tour. Rush to meet up with a girlfriend at the tail end of a conference. Study and quiz more until we had to leave for the John Cage-based Musicircus at the Menil (my guy's electronic piece was played). 6:30 dinner got waaaay stretched out- we didn't go to eat until 8:00, arrived home at 9:30 to a sick dog. 10:00 pm - 7:00 am spent cleaning dog barf and poking him to make sure he hadn't dehydrated completely and dropped dead.
Sunday: Feed sips of water to the dog every 10 minutes to rehydrate him, white rice, white rice, soggy dog food. Ice cubes. All. Day. Long.
Monday... DOOMSDAY. 8:30 this morning marks the beginning of my Guy's comprehensive exams. Eeeek and thank goodness.

I can't even describe how many manic highs and lows this weekend held. I have never been more happy to see Monday come.

And today just has to be good. It's my sister's birthday! Happy Birthday, Bif. You're so very loved!

A Bright Spot in my Day

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Tank: Target...Belt: Target...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Steve Madden...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Every time I wear this skirt, I cycle through the same train of thought- "Holy poop, this skirt is awesome. Dang, I wish it was just two inches longer. Psht, it's a Diane von Furstenberg that some ding dong gave to the thrift store in just my size. In zebra print. It's not meant to be super conservative, so I just  need to shut my face and wear it proudly because it's zebra print. In just my size. And it's DVF. For only $5. Kate, you win."

I always get so excited for Wednesdays, most of the link ups I take part in are on Wednesdays, so I feel like my grab-n-go outfit mojo really gets cooking because I'm so excited about the sense of community swirling around. Between getting fun new pop-ins to my blog and the joy of finding new-to-me blogs through the link ups, it's a good-vibes kind of sunshine and rainbows happy day. So, to all of you, Happy Wednesday and thanks for being such a kick butt group of bloggers. You're all so fun!

Check out Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday!

Thrifted Skirt Refashion

Skirt: thrifted and refashioned...Tank: Old Navy...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: who knows?

Thrifted and refashioned skirt?! Ohmygosh, I can't believe I sewed a straight line. Not only that, but I sewed TWO straight lines. You can't see it, but I folded the top down about 1 1/2" and then folded that in half again, sewing along the bottom edge to create the space where the elastic is slipped in. After the elastic was threaded through and sewn to the correct waist circumference, I stretched the elastic and fabric out and sewed another seam along the top edge of the elastic to keep it from flipping and bunching (it's about 1/4" seam around the top, seen above the belt) and to keep the top edge upright. I'm still a little shocked that I didn't need to enlist help or seam-rip out too many poor attempts. Am I getting better at machine sewing? 

Not likely.

By the way, here's how long, flowy, fluttery and 80/90's-tastic it started:

I'm spreading the magic and joy of my handiwork around the internets today: Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday and Rolled Up Pretty's Whatever Whenever Wednesday!

A Good Use of Time

Skirt: Target...Tank: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Belt: thrifted...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange

Oh, Target, you've dunnit again. This skirt is awesome. I even ordered two fall color online-only options (online shopping is my nemesis since so much fits so strangely, but ordering a duplicate... can do.) Who's pumped for stretchy skirt autumn dressing? (But, for now, let's enjoy the fact that I've worn a skirt for the first time in ages and managed to hide my hideous knee from view. Win-Win)

Also, guess who has a new (old) TV series to keep her company while her husband is studying like a madman? That would be me and it is a Bewitched Marathon over at the McClure house. It. Is. Awesome. I whet my appetite for 60's SitComs a few weeks ago, I found season two of Bewitched on Hulu and a link to some Gilligan's Island episodes (both of which, by the way, my Grandpa would record on VHS tapes for me and my sisters... even though he and Grandma lived out it the middle of the country in Southern Ohio and we lived in big-town Toledo, their satellite dish reception provided far more awesome television reruns than our bunny ears and basic TV). YouTube hooked me up with season after season of goodies, which mostly means I don't care nearly as much that my Guy has gone MIA.

Hope your Wednesday is lovely (and you had better be linking up with Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday, too!)

Who, Me?

Jeans: Gap...Blouse: Banana Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Calvin Klein via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: via TJ Maxx...Bracelet: thrifted

I feel like an LSU, Vikings or Lakers fan... It really is too bad some clothing combinations reek of fan-dom. I like purple and marigold together and it always winds up biting me on the butt- I once had a big burly LSU football fan yell a woohoo style greeting at me and make back-and-forth index finger points at his shirt and my yellow tee and purple cardigan combo one weekend a few falls ago... and I didn't know what the heck he was talking about. I gave him a squirrelly thumbs-up went on my merry way. I figured I'm less likely to receive fan recognition if I wear these colors in non-football season from here on out. And keep the cardigan in my bag for most of the day.

Have an awesome Tuesday! I'm spending mine running one of Boss Lady's grandkid around from early Orientation dismissal to volleyball to Driver's Ed. He's a cool little dude, I'm looking forward to talking boy movies with him since he's kind of my go-to guy for a trustworthy opinion on what to see and what to skip.

Shorts

Shorts: Target...Tank: Gap...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West Outlet...Bag: D&B thrifted...Shades: Gap via TJ Maxx

I have a tough time with shorts. My legs are thin, pasty white and I have knobby knees. Notta once have you seen them on the blog... And there's a reason- I don't love them. Here are my other problems, usually shorts are too short, give me wedgies, crinkle up when I sit on them and I get so nervous about flashing the underside of my cheeks. I don't feel like I'm too picky, I just think it's inherently a problem with an article of clothing that makes contact with only your tush and chair with no extra fabric to tug down as you sit. 


So, I count these as a relative win- the inseam is longer than most, the leg is both straight down from the hip and straight across, none of this angled upward cut-off nonsense. I very rarely felt the urge to graze my rear with a hand to find out if I was exposed- the longer style (without being bermuda length) kept me covered. And I couldn't be more grateful... the Houston season of "95˚ high with 80% humidity" continues to swelter into October. And a good pair of shorts will benefit my weekends immensely. 

Back in Town and Linking Up

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Tank: J Crew...Cardigan: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Shoes: Nine West Outlet...Earrings: Banana Republic

Three points of business today:
1. Marion is hosting another Trend of the Month Link Up: Pattern Mixing. Participate? Yes, please. (In stripes, floral and leopard. I'm clearly an overachiever.) And you can join, too! Links can get added for several more days.
2. Elaine put out a call on Twitter a while ago for guest posts... and I can't believe she let me have a go at it! What an honor to be in the Clothed Much guest line-up! Take a peek at my tips and tricks for dressing in high heat and humidity.
3. Pleated Poppy What I Wore Wednesday... of course I'm on board!

Okay, 4. Just thought I should share that I cried like a faucet on five separate occasions yesterday while I said goodbye to my family. And I'm not even ashamed. My nose was still puffy and red even after I made my way through security after holding my dad's hand for a while in the ticketing area. And then I cried again in the bathroom. My family is awesome, I miss them all like mad and 5 days wasn't enough real time together. It was amazingly well-used time together, but it wasn't enough.

So, a here's a mish-mash of photos from the family weekend.

Drumroll Please...

Well, my socks have been rocked. I mean, I'm not wearing socks, but the darling Loren over at The Inclined Plane (who I know you all know and love) has overhauled this blog. Big Time. And not just overhauled, but designed almost everything based on my vague requests and pseudo instructions. I knew a general vibe I was hoping for, but this is so much more lovely than I can express. She's so wonderfully intuitive, extraordinarily talented, and walked that line of taking over and taking criticism like a pro. I am so thrilled to have her handiwork in place and so grateful to have this fantastic new layout in place to represent my blog.

Loren, you're an absolute peach! (Please pop over to her blog and scroll through her archives- I've called her Queen of Color more than once. Her blog is a perfect pick-me-up and dose of real-girl-adorable all at once!)

Pants: Zara...Blouse: Target...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Shades: via TJ Maxx

Dog Party

It was a busy early morning... Boss Lady is going out of town again and we had work to do! Crummy pants, flats and an easy top, it is.

Last night we took part in one of the cutest most awesome things. Our neighbor's Rhodesian Ridgeback turned one, so the neighbors were all invited down to the courtyard for an IronMan themed dog party. Our neighbor built a gate to make the courtyard a dog-friendly enclosure, grilled massive amounts of perfectly marinated meat, we all brought beer to share and spent hours and hours enjoying one another's company outside. Dogs were literally smiling all evening. I love a good dog party.

Pants: Gap...Button-down: Odille, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Le SportSac via DSW...Shades: Gap via TJ Maxx

Landscape

I know that neither these colors nor the boxy silhouette are the most flattering on me, but it sure is fun to wear a nice loud color combination.

Boss Lady is working on a new landscape plan for her home and I am beyond excited about the bits and pieces of conversation I've heard. She had her third meeting with her architect, who is very sweet and cares very much about getting the right "feel" and addressing all of her safety, function and aesthetic concerns. Personally, I'm mostly excited about trimming back and/or removing the scale-diseased blueberry trees just outside of my office window. My morning light is stunted by them and nothing can grow under them since they sprinkle a disgusting black crumble of yuck over the area (gross, I know), so restoring some visual balance and health back to the garden will be a welcome change. I don't know anything about anything for the rest of the plans, but my boss is super creative, so it will become something really special by the end of the process. I look forward to more construction around here (is that weird?)- the commotion is good fun and makes my workdays pass a little quicker for some reason.

Pants: Zara...Blouse: Mossimo, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Scarf: via TJ Maxx..Shoes: Naturalizer...Jewelry: thrifted

Beer Golf

A quick happy birthday to my daddio!

Oh, jeans. I don't wear jeans nearly enough and I love 'em. I also love crappy tank tops and lightweight jackets. I am a jeans and tee girl at heart and these wardrobe goodies have been relegated to weekend wear only. Which is a dang shame.

BEER GOLF IS PLANNED FOR TODAY. I can't stress enough how excited I am about the time with friends. I also took Miles with us and didn't play last time, still deciding if puppy play time or whacking a tennis ball with a golf club myself is a higher priority. Either way, sunshine and a crappy beer are in my future. And that's a dang good Saturday.

Happiest Saturday to you and yours!

Mystery Prints

Is this dress the most flattering silhouette on me? Definitely not, but I don't care. Just look at it- what is this print? Not really floral, geometric, snakeskin, batik, ikat... It's just weird and the perfect shade of dark cornflower blue. With a high neckline, ruffled cap sleeves, lightweight lined fabric and longer hem. It's a big springtime win.

I am so happy we spent the weekend out of town- it's just nice to non-vacation and just be out of your own house for a while. Good quality time stuffing your face and giggling with friends for several days never hurts either.

Dress: Gap...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Shades: Gap via TJ Maxx...Watch & bracelets: Timex and thrifted