Great hair day

Sweater: Banana Republic
Tank: Target
Jeans: J Crew
Shoes: Sperry
Bracelet: gift from friend
Headband: Forever 21
Earrings: Target

This outfit is neither interesting nor original, but my hair and I were having a great day, so I thought I'd post them anyway.


See?! Look at this hair! I woke up with it, put on a headband and told facebook my hair was amazing. Because the internet needed to know. It was that amazing.


So, boring outfit. I mean, I love it, but it's not spectacular. I probably wear it once every couple weeks, especially on the days that I have to walk to work. Again.

Dreams

Jacket: Land's End Canvas (gift from my mom)
Tee: American Eagle (gift from my aunt)
Jeans: 7 for all Mankind - thrifted
Sandals: Simply Vera via Kohl's (gift from my mom)
Scarf: Target
Earrings: Target

So I totally built this look around this hair tutorial and my newly thrifted 7 for all Mankind jeans. It's a pretty simple look, but I kind of love it. Mostly because I found these jeans at the Americana for less than $4.


Let me repeat that: I got these jeans for less than $4. I did a little happy dance in the dressing room and told B that one of my dreams had come true: To find designer jeans in my size for some ridiculous price at the thrift store. I dream big, y'all.


I wore this outfit with the jacket for most of the day because it was so cold and rainy after eight in the morning. The sun was all, "I quit", and I shivered and cursed my bare toes and wished that our car would miraculously get fixed and come back to me because I miss him so.


Melodramatic? Perhaps. I just miss my shoes is all. My booties and I are longing to be reunited and that won't happen until we get the car back because that hill? Y'all, that hill is no. Joke.


On the plus side, I love this hair.

FFB: Dating and Relationships

Y'all, I'm going to start by telling you this is going to be a long post. Both B and I wrote for it, which is why it's going to be long. On the plus side, there are pictures (that you can click on to enlarge)!
Now that that's out of the way, for this month's Feminist Fashion Bloggers post, we're tackling dating and relationships. I was trying and trying to think of something to blog about regarding this topic. I briefly thought of having B pick out my outfit, except remember how I hired him to be my stylist and he did an amazing job? He knows what I like to wear. That got me thinking about the things I like that he doesn't (skinny jeans, for example) and that led to this post: a his and hers top five looks.
So here's B's take on the whole idea:

So, Frances asked me to pick five of my favorite outfits from her blog and write a little about why I like them. This is difficult because I like a lot of them and I don't know much about fashion, so my reasons generally consist of "she looks hot in it." But I will give it a try and see how it goes.

And now, the outfits in no particular order:

His & Hers (originally seen here)

His Take: I like this one because it's a good mix of things that make it interesting. The booties and the purple corduroy skirt (yes it's corduroy) are businesslike with a little sexy. After that it gets crazy with the big belt buckle and the leopard print shirt. I like the combination.
Her Take: I like this look because of the mixed neutrals, my favorite booties, a pop of animal print, a crazy belt, and my amazing hair. It was comfortable, functional, and pretty. Win, win, win. (And yeah, we totally picked the same look...)

                
His (originally seen here)             Hers (originally seen here)
His take: I like this one because I love the yellow dress/skirt, I like it when my wife wears bright colors. The colors are simple and the tank top shows off her, um, endowment. And the bracelet is just fun.
Her take: I love the fifties bombshell vibe this look has going on. The color combination isn't too crazy, but it is a little unexpected, especially with the navy shoes. It is a dreamy look that I miss now that we're living in the mountains.

                                   
His (originally seen here)                                Hers: (originally seen here)
His take: This outfit is definitely my favorite! I'm a big fan of the booties and I really like the leopard print skirt, it fits well and shows off her legs. Also one of my favorite blouses, it's a little classy and also very sexy. Once again, I love bright colors on my wife and the blue sweater is a great color for her while not covering up the rest of the outfit too much. And the earrings we bought in Turkey - good memories.
Her take: How could I go wrong with a jersey wrap dress, black and brown, and my favorite booties? I felt so comfortable, beautiful, and powerful in this look. Also, can I just take a minute to say that I also love the look that B picked? That's a great outfit and definitely high on my list of favorite posts.

                        
His (originally seen here)                      Hers (originally seen here)
His take: What can I say, this is crazy and fun. No one around here wears anything like this and it shows how far my wife has come in her confidence in herself and what she wears.
Her take: This outfit was pretty revolutionary for me. It was quite fitted on top and on bottom, there were jeans involved, and my hair was huge. There was no hiding in this outfit and I felt so amazingly confident and - dare I say it? - sexy in it. Plus, it reminded me of something my mom had worn about thirty years ago so there was that whole family connection going on.

                           
His (originally seen here)                        Hers (originally seen here)
His take: This is in the running for my most favoritest as well. The grey heels are possibly my favorite shoes and I don't get to see them too often up here in the mountains. I also love this blouse, it's work-safe and smokin' hot at the same time. I like the elephant earrings because I know they're some of Frances's favorites. And I always like her hair up better than down (apologies to her mom...). The whole outfit is classic-looking but she also looks hot in it :)
Her take: Yeah, this might feel like cheating because it looks a whole lot like the third outfit on this post, but y'all, I like dresses, I like black and brown, and I like these booties. When something works, it just works. Also, my first fishtail braid looks pretty good and I really like that post.

My conclusion? B picked some really good looks - outfits that I felt beautiful and confident and even creative in.  Also, he apparently thinks I'm pretty good looking (which is fine; I think he's pretty smokin', too). Do I think there are some huge differences between our choices? I noticed that he picked a lot of recent looks, but there's not so much of a difference in style.  I think that's because B knows me and my style really well and he likes it (except for my penchant for skinny jeans).

How about y'all? Any favorite looks? Would your partner have chosen super different looks than you?

Heidi

Cardigan: Target
Tee: Gap
Skirt: swapped
Belt: thrifted
Shoes: Crocs
Earrings: Kohl's

I built this whole outfit around my Heidi braids. If you follow me on pinterest, you'll know that my Hair inspiration board is dominated by braids and buns, and it's just a matter of time before I try all these looks out.


Anyway, for these braids, I figured I might as well go ahead and go as all-out Heidi as I could. Enter full skirt and snug tee. And because it gets chilly quickly up here, I threw on a cardigan. Oh, and flat shoes because the car was still in the mechanic; I mean, it's still there, but it was there when I wore this outfit last week, too.


I'm pretty certain we've paid more in repairs over the course of this year than we (ADE) paid for the car in the first place. I try not to think too hard about that because that's just depressing.


So, how about I show you my pretty hair instead?


Pretty, right?


So much better than thinking about our money sucking car....

Untucked

Blouse: thrifted
Jeans: J Crew
Sandals: Simply Vera (gift from my mom)
Earrings: Turkey

This outfit was going to be more interesting. It was going to involve a leopard print belt and some heels, but our brakes are shot and the car's in the shop and I have to walk to work, so the heels were a no go. And then I started fighting with the top slipping out of my waistband when I tucked it in and the jeans bunching when I belted them.


So I said, "Bump proportions. I'm just doing this." And I put on some sandals and left my shirt untucked. Untucked shirts and I aren't too well acquainted and I often feel like a different person when I do this.


I do love this top, though. It was $.40 at the thrift store last weekend (direct from their 2 for 1 floor - yes, they have an entire FLOOR dedicated to 2 for 1 deals) and I couldn't resist the pattern or the yellow. I've got big plans for this top, many of which involve pattern mixing, because doesn't this look ripe for the mixing?


I'm also welcoming any outfit suggestions you might have for this top.

Welcome to Americana

B and I had our first date day in six weeks this past weekend. Six. Weeks. Yeah.... Let's not let that happen again, mmkay? I mean, it's not even like we have kids to keep us from having couple time. There is just no excuse for that kind of foolishness.
Except for, you know, work....


We went to Alajuela to hit up some Americanas. We stumbled into one that's probably my new favorite - the prices and the selections were AMAZING. B was sold because, Michigan boy that he is, he stumbled across a Pistons' jersey.
We don't talk much about the Pistons because I spent nearly nine years in the Chicago area and that's a sore spot for him. (We can agree on the Celtics though, and that's important.)


He also found this ridiculous Speed Racer jacket. I mean, really....


I was lucky enough to find this pink polyester jumpsuit which I would have gotten if it hadn't (a) been meant for someone six inches taller and (b) had a huge stain on the back of one leg. Even though it was a whopping $.80, I couldn't take the chance when it needed so much work.


We also went to the mall for crepes (mine was Nutella filled because I have an addiction that needs to be fed, okay?) and a movie.


B's crepe was fruit and whipped cream filled and came with ice cream. He thinks he made the better choice, but I beg to differ....

Friend Friday: Dreamin'

Friend Friday!!

This week we're talking dreams.

In Katy's words:

This month I have been overwhelming inspired by two
separate blog posts I read in which the blogger quit their day job and
has started on the path to self-employment doing what she loves to do.
If you haven't read Sally from Already Pretty's post on this rush over
and do it now. And then to top it all off my younger sister has
decided to quit her job and start her own business. So that got me
thinking... we all have dreams, goals, aspirations. Putting them down
on paper is often the first step to realizing those dreams.

1. Fess up - if you could do anything professionally what would it be?
I'd write novels while living in a beach house in Puerto Rico or somewhere just as warm. Or at least write novels wherever.

2. What draws you to this?
I love writing (and reading). I love the process of creating a story and working it out the way I can see it in my head. That and I would like to read more books featuring women like me.

3. When did you first start dreaming about this ideal?
No joke, I think I was in Kindergarten. It was the year I started reading novels (I skipped the picture books) and it was the year I started writing down the stories that I wanted my Barbies to live out. And yes, I firmly believe that playing with Barbies sparked my storytelling creativity. Judge her all you want, but I think Barbie did me a world of good.

4. What's holding you back from going all in?
True story: fear. Although I've been working on a novel and as soon as it's finished (soon, soon, soon....) I'm going to take a deep breath and give it out so we can start editing. My problem is that I am so convinced people will (a) hate it or (b) think I'm crazy even though people do keep coming back to read what I write. Or maybe it's just the pictures?
(I am a contributing author in a real book, though, and that's pretty much my claim to fame at this point. Not a novel, but it is my name in print in a book that I pretty much love.)
That and I kind of like having a different day job - it gives me more material to work with and forces me to take advantage of my writing time.

5. Sometimes the first step is the hardest... what's one step you can take now on the way to realizing your dream?
I'm writing. I try to write every day, but I don't push it. Sometimes I don't and that's okay. But yeah, I've been working on a piece since November (NaNoWriMo was the push I needed to get it started - try it if you're into it.) and I hope to finish the first draft in the next two months. So, there's that. After that, who knows? I'll take any and all advice you can offer.

The case of the mysterious sliding belt

Dress: Kohl's
Belt: Target
Booties: Aldo
Cami: Petite Sophisticate
Earrings: Sarchí, Costa Rica

So, I've had this dress for a long time. Like, six or seven years kind of long time. I like to call it my travel dress because it dresses up and down easily and it's jersey. Jersey! That's a "roll it up and throw it in your backpack" kind of fabric if ever there was one.


It's been with me to Vietnam, to Turkey, to Guatemala. It's also what I wore when we flew down here to Costa Rica. It was appropriate for the early January cold of DC and the warmth of Costa Rica. All I did was swap a pair of boots for a pair of flip flops when we landed. Easy peasy.


But I haven't worn it again since we've been here until this past Sunday when I pulled it out and put it on. The nice thing about a wrap dress is that it fits through 10-15 pound weight fluctuations, and I'd say I'm at the lower end of my normal fluctuations at this point. The bad thing about being at this point is that I need a little more definition in my outfits because I'm losing my curves.


Well, I know how to add definition! Just belt it! So I add this very adjustable belt at the waist. The problem? Between the slippery fabric, the bunching of the self-belt, and the slipperiness of the belt itself, it was sliding down as the day went on and that is just annoying.

Seasonal

Tee: New York & Co.
Skirt: J Crew
Booties: Aldo
Earrings: Target
Belt: thrifted
Big hair: good atmospheric conditions

I'm kind of amazed I haven't worn this outfit before because it seems like a natural fit. I mean the deep plum of the skirt and the leopard of the top play well together, and Lord knows I need a 12 step program to quit these booties.


It's also Kiku approved, which is always a bonus. Although now that I think about it, she's approving ME and not my clothes.


Oh, and if it looks like I'm wearing fall clothes it's because the seasons never really change up here. Down in the city it's always spring/summer and here in the mountains it's always fall. Funny how I feel like I can't wear brights on cloudy days and how I feel like I can't wear earth tones when it's bright and sunny.


Clearly I have some seasonal clothing issues to work through while I'm here....

Gifts and questionable outfits

Tank: H&M - gift from my sister
Dress (worn as a skirt): Papaya - gift from my sister
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Earrings: Target
Beach: Cahuita

I wore shoes this day, I just don't remember which ones and they're not in the pictures, so I figure it's okay to skip that little detail. This feels like so long ago, and that's because it was and I have a backlog of outfit pictures that I'm slowly going through. I'm fine with that. I'm taking it slowly because I'm enjoying the let up in the amount of work in my daily life.


I don't know if I love this outfit. I mean, it was appropriate for what we were doing (driving out to the East Coast to drop off our sweet intern, A, at her family's place in Limón) and it's comfortable... But somewhere between the blue on blue, the dress pulled down as a skirt, and the knotted top, I feel like it just wasn't working.


On the plus side, my sister gave me both the dress and the tank when I saw her in July. She tried to give me piles of stuff, but I have little use for anything summery up here in the land of the eternal fall (that's my affectionate name for this region of Costa Rica) so I selected these two pieces because I thought I could do a lot with them. And I will. Just maybe not together again.

White shirt week day 4

Tee: Target (gift from A)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor
Tank: Banana Republic
Belt: Etsy (don't remember which vendor and it was ages ago)
Leggings: Target (gift from my sister)
Earrings: Turkey
Boots: Noble Town Vintage via Etsy

It's the last installment of my white shirt challenge, y'all. I still have mixed feelings about this outfit, though I did feel like a dancer while I wore it (especially when I lost the cardigan when I hung around the house). Feeling like a dancer makes me happy because (a) I love dancing and (b) am OB.SESSED. with So You Think You Can Dance.


Of course, I'm a perfectly mediocre dancer so this about as close as I get to feeling like a real dancer - you know, piles of thin layers with some flowy pieces.


Y'all, my husband and I have the house to ourselves for the first time, in, oh, forever. We had seven people living in our house for most of the summer, which was sometimes nice but often overwhelming. Not that we didn't love our interns (we did), just that sometimes I'd like to live with just my husband and our pets.


We're on our own for the next two weeks and I'm. So. Excited.