Even Better Than the Real Thing--Day 44

You guys! I made this skirt in 26 minutes! (Using Disney's 20-minute skirt pattern, found here.)

I didn't realize until I was editing the photos that I look somewhat patriotic. Not intentional. The fabric of the skirt is a bit more purple-y, but for some reason it's reading blue. 

card catalog:

                  sunnies--Target

                  tee--Gap

                  belt--Target

                  bracelets--Target

                  skirt--DIY

                  clutch--inherited from Grandma

                  shoes--Target

The Boyfriend told me that I should be ready for a date night, eating sushi at my favorite place, getting snow cones and a surprise! 

I wanted to dress up in a skirt and had some time and this fabric, so I decided to see what I could do with it. I'm pretty happy with the results. And I'm glad I dressed up, because after dinner and snow cones, we went to a U2 concert!

Well, kind of. 

I have a bad track record with U2. It's like Bono knows I don't recycle as much as I should and is avoiding me. But yeah, I'm 0 for 3 on seeing U2 live. TB knows this, and for my birthday this year, got me tickets to see them! Wooo! 

And then Bono broke his back. Boo.

So, for the surprise "concert", TB got the 360 concert Blue-Ray and charmed his bosses at the church he works at to use the space for our date. We had U2 in 360 on 5 screens and fabulous sound quality. I even raised up my phone and waved it. 

It was amazing. 

Best seats, with the best date.

(46/90 to go!)

Ch-ch-ch-changes!--Day 39

So, I'm testing out some new design here.

Hope you like it.

I've had some personal things come up this week and haven't been able to shoot photos, but I'm hoping for some this weekend.

See you soon.

Shortlisted--Day 37

I went to grab some fro-yo with a girlfriend the other night and she was kind enough to snap these pics. (Thanks, Liz!)

There wasn't much inherently "girly" about this outfit. The shirt is from the Men's section, the shorts are plain khaki, my shoes are flats, but yet, I felt feminine but comfortable in the sweltering heat.The black T and the cream flower reminded me a bit of Chanel. (You know, on a beer budget.)

(I'm going to be completely honest here, and tell you that the ONLY reason I posted this photo is because I really like the way my legs look in it. 

Vain, much? 

GUILTY.)

card catalog:
                    sunnies--Target
                    tee--American Apparel
                    flower pin--H&M
                    shorts--Gap
                    shoes--J. Crew


(53/90 to go!)

Tanks a Lot--Day 35

I stole these shoes off of a friend's feet. Not really. But I did totally see them on her at a wedding, ask where she got them and then immediately went out and bought them. 

On Academichic, E. has referred to a shoe like this as the "non-sequitur" shoe. I love it. I think I've always had a thing against being "matchy" since the 80s, which if you can remember them, were KIND OF a big era for that. So, it's pretty typical to take an outfit like this one, KNOW that a black shoe would match and then throw it off with something else in a similar color but not a neutral. It probably helps that this outfit is mostly neutral anyway. I briefly considered my orange or yellow shoes, and think those would have worked, too. 

card catalog:
                   tank--Old Navy
                   necklace--Ann Taylor
                   cuff--Miley Cyrus for Wal-Mart
                   skirt--J. Crew
                   purple peeptoes--Payless


(55/90 to go!)

Date Night--Day 34

Saturday night, The Boyfriend got back into town from work, and I took a break from my very busy schedule of keeping up with The Kardashians. 

Since his work weeks tend to be pretty long, I asked if I could plan our evening. We started out at our favorite park for a picnic, then went to the drive-in to see "The A-Team". Let me just save you $10: That movie is all about things exploding and the best supporting actor is Bradley Cooper's abs. 

I love our date nights. We are totally that couple that thinks having one night a week just to reconnect is crucial and hope that we're setting a good pattern by starting them now. We also try to not just go to dinner and rent a movie, so it's fun to try to be creative on a budget. (If you want, leave a comment with your favorite summer activity for a date!)

This dress was maybe the best sale score of my life. I bought it during one of Gap's 40% off all merchandise sales three years ago. It was marked $9.99, but with the discount, it was only $5.99! After a few wears, slipping it over my head ripped the front about 3 inches, but I was able to repair it Friday on my sewing machine by disguising it as a pleat. I'm very glad to have it back in the rotation for the summer. 

card catalog:
                   hat--Eugenia Kim for Target
                   dress--Gap (off the sale rack for $5.99!)
                   necklace--Target
                   shoes--Nine West

(56/90 to go!)

Military--Day 33

I've been loving the trends this spring. Floral, romantic, girly on one end. Safari, military chic on the other. And all of it sticking mostly to neutral colors. Finding a place where the three meet suits me just fine!

These pants were almost given away, but as I was going through my "donate" pile, I pulled them back out to try on and realized 1) they were very "on" right now, even though I bought them several years ago and 2) they fit again. You gotta love the cyclical ways of fashion (and weight gain). 

I had so much fun shooting with these flowers that I asked TB to take a Senior photo. 

card catalog:

                    rosette cami--Charlotte Russe

                    tank--Old Navy

                    ring--Fossil

                    cargo pants--The Limited

                    flat sandals--Gap 

(57/90 to go!)

Gray Gardens--Day 32

I just love that it's summer. Winter is the worst. It's that roommate that always drinks that last of the milk and never replaces it, leaves drink rings on your new coffee table and always has iffy friends over who might be stealing your stuff. 

But summer? Helllooooo, love.

I was ready for summer this year. I needed ice cream and BBQ's and staying outside to watch fireflies. And I did all of those in this outfit. It was amazing. 

I'm so glad I have months of summer left to look forward to. 

card catalog:

                  maxi dress--Old Navy

                  tank--Old Navy

                  sandals--Nine West

(58/90 to go!)

Liberated--Day 31

I look like a giant in this picture, no? 

This would be an example of an easy outfit--maybe not technically fashion--but something I would wear to run errands or throughout the day. I used to hate wearing skirts, and can't really remember why. I think it might be because I have a love/hate relationship with my legs/thighs. (Mostly hate.) 

I'm not really a shorts person either. (They hit and highlight the widest part of the body.) So I would wear jeans every day, all summer long. And it gets up over 100 degrees here in the summer, so that's commitment. 

I'm not really sure when it was that I turned the corner. Last summer, I spent two months in Pasadena in a tiny dorm room with no A/C. I only took 14 outfits, most of which were skirts. This Spring, I wore a skirt to work almost every day. And, most days, I liked the way I looked. 

card catalog:

                   ruffled tee--Gap

                   scarf--Liberty of London for Target

                   denim skirt--Old Navy

                   sandals--Cynthia Vincent for Target

(59/90 to go!)

Bouquet Toss--Day 30

I'm just going to out myself as a wedding grinch. 

I really don't like bouquet tosses.

Maybe it's because I've never caught one before. Maybe it's because I think they're humiliating, in general. The garter toss, too. (And really, if you think about it, those guys are all clamoring to catch a piece of the bride's underwear...in front of her entire family.)

Usually, I avoid going out to try and catch the bouquet, but if I'm say, a bridesmaid, I feel obligated. So I stand in the back and nervously eye the other girls to see if they're going to go for it.

This time, though, it was announced and TB asked if I was going to go line up. 

"Nope," I said.

"Just go," he said.

So, for some reason, I did. But I still really didn't want the thing.

All the other girls had their hands up, so I raised mine, too.

The bride turned, covered her eyes and threw the flowers DIRECTLY INTO MY LEFT HAND.

I'm not really sure what protocol is regarding these things, but I'm pretty sure catching it and immediately dropping would be bad form. 

So I kept it. And....I kinda like that I caught it. 

card catalog:

                  earrings--Target

                  dress--The Limited

                  sandals--Nine West

If you haven't gone over to Already Pretty and seen all the ladies who are participating, do it! Everyone looks great and like they're having so much fun!

Since not wearing black is fairly easy for me, I decided to go ahead and not have any black in accessories or clothing (even patterns). We'll see how it goes!

(60/90 to go!)

Purple Haze--Day 29

This past weekend, The Boyfriend and I went to a wedding in Arkansas. We stayed at the camp he used to work at with some friends and their four kids, who woke TB up every morning by jumping onto the couch with him and playing. One morning, the couch became a lifeboat in hot lava carrying us to safety. And then they all pushed me overboard. 

I'm very glad to be back safely. 

This outfit is what I wore to the rehearsal and dinner.

card catalog:

                   linen dress--Gap

                   belt--Target

                   shoes--Target

I feel like this is kind of an easy challenge, since I already hardly wear black. But I'm going to try anyway. Sal at Already Pretty has posted the rules here.

(61/90 to go!)

Day 28--Twice as Nice

A few weeks ago, I was bemoaning to The Boyfriend about how I can't shop, which is like, the worst thing ever, blah, blah, blah, and was browsing Anthropologie's website when I saw the Double Torsade necklace. It beckoned, me sparkling. It was beautiful. It was $28.

"Look!" I shouted to TB. "Isn't it wonderful?"

And then Glee came back from commercial and nothing more was said, until a few days later, when I confessed to TB that I had purchased the necklace. (Jewelry isn't included in the ban.)

His eyes expanded in that rapid way that lets me know something's up.

"You DID? I just ordered that today for you for our anniversary!"

Whoops. 

I sent the one I ordered back. 

So, basically, my boyfriend listens to hints. Which why I totally would like to state here, why, yes, I sure would like an iPhone 4.  And perhaps a snow cone. 

The other cool thing about this outfit is that I made the skirt! I found the tutorial online from Susan of Freshly Picked here. I invited a friend over for a little sewing party, and FOUR hours later, a skirt!

After looking at all the tutorials, I went ahead and added contrasting pockets.

Let's just all agree not to notice my cuticles, okay?

I love the versatility of this skirt. And how, when paired with the tube top, it totally looks like a high-end dress. I'm sure I'll be making more of these!

card catalog:

                  necklace--Anthropologie

                  tube top--Old Navy

                  skirt--DIY! 

                  shoes--Forever 21

(62/90 to go!)

Day 25--Return of the Blog

I could totally understand if you thought I fell off the blog wagon.

I didn't. I just had some issues with co-ordinating a photographer. It's hard when he's out of town every other week. But I think we (he) fixed the problem and will be sending me photos via a shared file online.

I have some plans as far as showcasing what we missed over the last 10 days. And don't worry, I didn't shop! 

In other big news in my life, I had my last day at school yesterday. It was a sad, but fairly anticlimactic moment. I handed in my badge and walked out the door for the last time towards a new opportunity that I'm alternately excited and scared about, but because I think blogging and working should maintain a certain separation, I won't be blogging about it. Let's just say I absolutely believe in what I'm doing now and its purpose.

This white lacy shirt and I are meant to be together, I guess. I have tried to give this top away twice now, and it has come back both times.

I bought it at Gap about 3 years ago after lusting after it for months. It finally went on sale, but the only size left was a 6. Which is about 3 sizes bigger than I wear. I bought it anyway, hoping it would work. Because it's big in the shoulders, I've thought about taking it in, but it would ruin the beautiful eyelet detailing on the shoulders and neckline. So I just plan on hitching the sleeves back up and wearing a cami underneath. 

Also, I am loving the denim "trend" right now. That's all over all the stores and magazines, how denim and chambray are a trend! And maybe that's just showing my lack of knowledge about fashion, because I'm all, excuse me, when has denim NOT been a trend, ever?

(Hi. I live in Oklahoma.) 

The shorts were, until yesterday, a pair of Gap jeans that I had picked up at Plato's. The bottoms were frayed and they were just a tiny bit too short, so I decided to "DIY"* them into a boyfriend style. I found a pair of shorts I liked the length of, lined the seams up with the jeans and chopped, then folded the bottoms up so I could see the red selvage seams. (I have a thing for red seams on jeans...) 

Aren't you impressed with my super crafting capabilites? I'm practically Martha, I know. 

card catalogue:

                      earrings--Target

                      sunglasses--Ann Taylor Loft

                      top--Gap (summer '06!)

                      cami--Gap

                      bracelets--Target

                      shorts--Gap via Plato's/DIY*

                      shoes--Old Navy

(65/90 left to go!)

  


*I just think it's kinda silly to say "DIY" for using a pair of scissors to make ONE cut...much more impressive are the DIY ladies that repurpose a garment into something totally new by actually sewing. Chastize me thoroughly in the comments if you disagree.