White shirt week day 3

Tee: Target (gift from A)
Dress (worn as a skirt): Victoria's Secret (gift from my mom)
Sandals: Simply Vera via Kohl's
Belt: Target
Earrings: Kohl's
Ring: swapped
Bracelets: gifts
Drama face: ?

Truth: I spent most of the day wondering about this outfit. I kept switching from "Hate it" to "Love it" like a crazy person. In the end, I think I kinda like it. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone in terms of silhouette and jewelry, and it made me get a little creative with stuff.


I mean, the bodice of this dress has a huge flounce on it which I had to tuck under so that I could layer appropriately. Also, I spent most of the day holding the skirt up like that so I could, you know, walk. Because that's kind of important sometimes.


B really liked this, though, and my students told me that they loved the skirt and that I looked like an angel. Win, win, win.


Also winning? My hippie hair. I've got two baby French braids along the crown and five baby buns in the back.


That and a couple fistfuls of bobby pins. I have to say, this might be the easiest thing to do with freshly washed hair early in the morning. It totally dries the way I want it to and it stays out of the way. That and it takes me all of seven minutes; I didn't time it, I just like the number seven.

EBEW: Yellow and a return to my roots

Tank: Target
Cardigan: Target
Belt: Target
Dress (worn as skirt): Target
Flip flops: Ann Taylor
Earrings: Turkey
Bracelet: gift from our intern, A.

Another Everybody, Everywear post, y'all. It was hard to come up with this look - not because I don't have much yellow, but because I love yellow and I couldn't decide what to wear. Apparently it was Target day, though, so I reached for this dress. (P.S. Hey, Target, if you want to sponsor me, we can talk. If not, I accept gift cards....)


I got in touch with my roots today and visited a sugar processing plant. My maternal grandmother grew up in a town that was basically a sugar plantation / processing plant and my great-grandfather and great-uncle worked there in some capacity. I'm not sure of all the particulars, but it was cool to see this thing that was, for so many years, the driving force behind the Puerto Rican economy. And, yeah, we're in Costa Rica (two totally different countries), but it was really cool.


They also process coffee at this place - it's the oldest cooperative in Costa Rica - so we got a tour of that, too.


And yeah, I took pictures while we were on our tour and pretended that no one else could see me. Behind me are the machines that move the sugar cane and break it down into little pieces. And then they squeeze it so the juice comes out. Eventually that thickens to molasses and then they put it in the centrifuge and you get raw sugar. You guys! Sugar processing! It's so exciting!


Or maybe that's just me....

Snug

Tee: Ann Taylor
Jeans: J Crew
Wedges: Nine West
Bangles: gift from my uncle and aunt
Earrings: Turkey
Sunnies: Puerto Rico

This is the kind of outfit I could only wear while coming off the high of Dress Your Best Week. I think I'll be celebrating my body in a slightly less intentional way this week because I'm feeling so confident and in love with the body I have. And it's weird to think that and type that because I'm not the kind of woman who likes to draw attention to herself (even though I share a lot of stuff with the Internet).


But yeah, I put this on expecting it NOT to work, but it did, and even though I was a little afraid of all the body-hugging pieces, I went with it. And then to top it off, I let my hair do the 1960s-meets-1980s thing it was doing all by itself. Because if I'm going for it, I'm going all out. Go big or go home, baby. That's how we roll in our house.


And these shoes? I love them. They're so old, y'all. I've had them for five or six years - maybe even longer. They remind me of some shoes that my mom wore in her engagement pictures with jeans a lot like these. Honestly, I kind of felt like I was channeling my mom circa 1981 in this outfit.


I wore this to go out on a date day with B. We went to the farmer's market down in the nearest city (15 plantains for $2? Yes, please), then off to the mall for a cheap lunch and some bookstore browsing. Then we wandered through the streets of Alajuela where we did a little thrifting (we scored some amazing pieces) and enjoyed ice cream cones. I love our date days.


Oh, and Happy Fourth, to all of you in the States (and my fellow expats). I'll be celebrating on the beach.

Color Rotation - Orange

Dress: H&M
Sandals: Target
Cami: Petite Sophisticate
Sunnies: Puerto Rico
Earrings: Turkey
Ring: swap
Bracelets: gifts
Purse: Nine West

So much color! I find red terrifying, so I skipped it and instead went with orange. Red-orange. For some reason, this color doesn't scare me at all. And yes, I realize that's weird.


Anyway, this was last Saturday, when we left the cold mountains behind and went to the city to get stuff we needed for the house (electric showers!) and to take some time off. B and I watched I am Number Four which we'd heard pretty much nothing about before buying our tickets.


Also, this dress is super old. I found that I brought a lot of really old clothes with me. I guess they're well loved; I also guess that I don't shop nearly as much as I used to think I did.


And on a completely unrelated note, we went to the fancy supermarket to see if I could find contact solution. Contact solution was unavailable, but I did find this product. Can I just say that I hate the first word of that product? It's so icky.


But check out the UPC! Ha!

Hit or Miss

All remixed
Top: Gap
Skirt: Ann Taylor
Belt: vintage - thrifted
Shoes: Steve Madden via DSW
Earrings: gift from SIL
Bangle: H&M

I am not loving my outfit. I am, however, liking my Posh Spice pose, in which you put one leg in front of the other, put your hands on your hips, and throw your shoulders back to look longer and leaner. That's not the official name of the pose, I'm sure, but it's what I call it because I've got a soft spot for Posh (don't judge), and isn't she always standing like that?


Here's a better look at my earrings. These are among my favorites, I think. My sister-in-law A. did a great job picking these out for me. They're walking the line between delicate and statementy and I like that.


I had a great hair day today. I washed it last night, wrapped it up in a towel with a bit of mousse, went to sleep on it while it was still damp, and woke up with these gorgeous curls. I tell you one thing about curls, you never know what they're going to do. When you wake up with them looking this good, though, you have to wear your hair loose. That's just how it works.

And because I have no other decent pictures of this outfit to show you, it's time for Turkey pics:

Turkish musicians near the Grand Bazaar after sundown during Ramadan - everyone was out on the streets at night.


Me and some really big candlesticks at the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. Also, Lorena of Lorena's Every Day Wear asked me the other day about what color purse I was using with this outfit. The answer is seen above. I bought that purse for the trip and I hate switching bags, so I've been using it since.


Finally, B. and some really big Turkish rugs at the museum. For the record, he's 6'3".

Easy as 1-2-3

I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance for being photo heavy today. I didn't feel like doing anything extra over the weekend, so I left the blogging for today....

Saturday:

Belt, bracelet, and flip flops remixed
Dress: some random shop in Istanbul's New District for a whopping 10 Turkish Lira
Belt: Target
Flip flops: Rainbow
Bracelet: gift from my uncle
Earrings: Spice Bazaar in Istanbul

I wore this on Saturday for a grocery run. I got this dress on our last night in Istanbul and paid 10 Lira for it, which is about $7 US. The store was all kinds of random and appeared to be selling factory seconds, which I'm totally okay with buying.


I decided to edge it out a little by doing some pattern mixing. Stripes and zebra? Sounds good to me....


Also, look at these lovely turquoise earrings. B. gave them to me as a gift while we were in Turkey because I told him I wanted some turquoise earrings in my life; he's a good man.

Sunday:

Sandals and tank remixed
Dress: Hecho a Mano, gift from my aunt
Tank: Target
Sandals: Chinese Laundry
Earrings: Turkey

This was me on Sunday, trying to wear one of my most summery dresses before it's officially fall and something clicks in my brain and makes me feel ridiculous about wearing "summery" things. I know, I should just wear it, but my brain says no. I'm weird that way....


B. wanted me to point out that it's completely different from the back. Anyway, I like this dress a lot, even though it's super loud. I got it from Hecho a Mano, a store that my aunt absolutely loves and that I love in theory. It sells all kinds of breezy, beachy, bohemian lovelies - the kinds of things I'd wear all the time...if I lived in a tropical paradise, which I don't. At least, not until January.


Their dresses are made in Puerto Rico, so I can feel good about helping the local economy when I shop there. And besides, look at the little beads on the ties of this dress. It's details like that that make me fall for a piece.

Monday:

All remixed except top and earrings
Jacket: Apt. 9 for Kohl's
Top: Another random store in Istanbul
Jeans: Elle for Kohl's
Flower flats: Target
Earrings: gift from a friend's trip to India
Bangles: Banana Republic

I went in to my part time job this morning to finish some mandatory testing before I actually start doing my job and then I had a meeting for ADE (my future employer in Costa Rica) so I wanted something that would work for both occassions.


Also, to be quite honest, I've been waiting a looooong time to wear an outfit like this. It's finally cool enough to dig out some jeans and a jacket. I felt like this was a great transitional look that was professional and still laid-back.


Also, look at the back of this top! From the front, it's a basic black tee with lacy sleeves, but from the back?! Look at that lace! I'm kind of in love with it, so in love that I may have purchased this shirt even though it's two sizes too big. It's a little loose, but I figure I can work with the flowiness (that IS a word, right?) just so I can have a lacy shirt. Oh, and it, too, was 10 Lira ($7).

I can't resist knock knock jokes....

Dress and sandals remixed
Dress: Banana Republic
Cami: Petite Sophisticate
Cardigan: New York & Co.
Sandals: Chinese Laundry
Earrings: American Eagle

I wore this on the 29th of August for church. Does anyone else's church turn the AC on full blast? Mine does, so I have to come equipped with a cozy cardigan. I've been waiting for some cooler weather/conditions to dig this one out of the closet, and I figured church would be the perfect occasion.


I feel like this cardi a little tricky to style because it gets caught on my booty, but I just went with it today. I'm not totally in love with it from this angle, but the color combination was just too good to pass up, so I went with it.


I feel like I'm trying to get in as much color as possible in these last few summery days since I don't often feel like rocking the brights when it gets colder. Also, I don't usually wear anything too bright when I'm traveling in Europe because I like to pretend to blend in. If there's one thing I learned living in Germany all those years ago, it's how to NOT be mistaken for a tourist everywhere you go.


I remember the second family trip to Italy (which is like going to Florida when you live in Germany) I packed only skirts and dresses in neutral colors because the Italian women were always really well put together and wore lots of neutrals. I was an impressionable fifteen year old, I guess. That "blending in" travel style philosophy has never quite left me. I swear that's one of the reasons I never wear sneakers when I'm traveling.


PS Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Better late than never

All remixed except skirt
Skirt (worn as dress): Indian Festival at Penn's Landing (2009)
Belt: Target
Earrings: Target
Bracelet: gift from uncle
Sandals: Target

So last year all the bloggers were turning their maxi skirts into strapless dresses. And I didn't own any maxi skirts, so I didn't follow suit. I got this skirt last fall at an Indian Festival, and I have never worn it, partly because it's so stinkin' long and partly because it's more hippie chic than my usual style.


But as I was cleaning out my closet on Saturday, I rediscovered this crazy skirt. I tried it on and remembered that it's about three inches too long to be conducive to graceful walking. I'm not quite 5'3" (159 cm) and I try to avoid anything too long because I feel like I just look shorter than I am. So then I tried yanking the skirt up.


Add a belt and the skirt becomes a dress. And it's still long! This is usually an awkward length for me, but I like the way the whole thing turned out. I'm not sure that the skirt has suddenly become a keeper, but I did manage to wear something I've never worn before.


Even Kiku approves.

Boho

All new, except sandals and earrings
Dress: Target
Bracelet: won in a giveaway from No Guilt Fashion (Yay! Thanks!)
Earrings: Something Like Laughter via Etsy
Sandals: Chinese Laundry

My hair was insanely cooperative yesterday. It was big and glorious (and freshly washed) so I just let it fly, which just added to the boho look I had going on with this dress.


This is the dress I got for $5 at Target. Five bucks! B. was impressed. He's also a big fan of the dress, which surprised me since he usually thinks that anything floral is "old lady". I felt so easy, breezy and beautiful in it and did I just pretty much use the Cover Girl slogan in a sentence? Oh, advertising....


This bracelet is sooo stinkin' pretty, too! When I got it in the mail, I knew I wanted to wear it with this dress on Saturday for the block party and shopping for travel related gear (glasses case, contact solution, converter, TSA approved everything...). It looks great with this dress, I think and was just right for the breezy boho look I was going for.