FBFF - New Years Resolutions

This week's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is about New Years resolutions, either personal or for our blogs. I am never one to make and keep personal resolutions, so instead I thought I'd touch a little on my hopes for my little blog in 2012 and reflect a little on 2011 as well.

I'm about six months into this little adventure and it has been a thrilling ride so far.  I never dreamed I'd actually have people that read and comment and even compliment my style!  I just want all of you who are reading to know just how much I appreciate you and how much I have had fun getting to know some of you in the fashion community.

In 2011, I learned a lot about my style and the potential I have with my wardrobe.  I found a love for vintage, such as the sweater you see above, and learning how to mix vintage pieces with current ones for fun new looks (thanks especially to the influence of Nora and Megan from Two Birds).  I have found new ways to wear old pieces in my closet.  And most of all, getting dressed each day, especially for work, is fun again.  I have also improved my photography from some of those beginning posts too, which has made a world of difference in the look of the blog!

I'm still learning and I'm still new to this whole fashion blogging thing.  I do think I am finding my voice.  In 2012, I just hope to continue improving, learning more and getting to know more of you out there both locally and across the globe.  I hope to mix things up a bit too, maybe start doing some reviews and or possibly some interviews.  I have ideas, just need to get pen to paper.  I hope to participate in more Fashion Challenges, like the Neutral Week I did earlier this month from Megan Mae and Keely.  I hope to maybe even come up with my own fashion challenge or possibly host a FBFF of my own at some point!

And I hope to bring even more of "myself" to the blog, while keeping it about fashion and beauty, I want my readers to know me and to like me as well!  I think I'm a pretty fun gal and hopefully I'll be able to give you more of a look at my day to day life!

I sincerely want to thank all of you who have stopped by and left a comment or said hello - it truly has meant a lot to me and made it worth doing this each and every day!  I hope you'll stay for the ride in 2012.

It's my last day off of work which is a bummer, but starting next week I get to wear some of the new dressy clothes I received as gifts or bought at after Christmas sales, so that will be fun, I look forward to that.  Speaking of gifts, the above is a belated birthday gift from a friend, I had to post an up close picture so you could see the cute detail in the coffee cup - it's from the Vintage Pearl if you've heard of it, they have some of the nicest personalized jewelry!

Off to a movie with Mr. Monkey tonight and then we'll have a low key New Years.  That's fine by me.  I hope all of you have a very safe and Happy New Year!  Cheers!

Today's rundown:
Sweater - Two Birds vintage
Jeans - Old Navy
Clogs - Sonoma from Kohls
Necklace - Vintage Pearl, gift from friend
Earrings - Charming Charlie

To read other fashion bloggers thoughts on New Years resolutions or for more info about FBFF - visit Katy at Modly Chic.

Loving my jeggings

Loving my jeggings man! These things are so comfy. I love them so much that today I went out and bought another pair in fact!  Big sale at Old Navy if you weren't already aware.

I had lunch with my mom, aunts and a cousin today and wore these. Later I'm having dinner with a friend and will wear them for that as well.  And they're stretchy, so they accomodate my well, eating lots of food, ha.

I'm sad that my week is almost over already.  I've made the most of it I think!  And it's funny how mundane tasks like cooking and laundry are not so bad when you haven't worked all day!

The only downside is I haven't been on my computer as much, which really is probably good in a way, but it's bad in that I haven't kept up on many of your blogs!  I promise to get caught up with all of you soon!

Apparently I was feeling sassy in this last pose today!  Sometimes you just have to make it fun!

Off to relax for the rest of my afternoon before meeting my friend at Granite City later.  Yay for beer!

Edited to add - I should NOT moderate comments on my iPhone - I accidentally deleted a couple I meant to hit PUBLISH on.  Too easy to do that!  If you don't see your comment, no worries, I still like you!

Rundown:
T-shirt - St. John's Bay, JCPenney
Sweater - Maurices
Jeans - Maurices
Boots - Target
Necklace - Bead for Life

Simple or dare I say boring?

Been keeping my outfits simple and casual so far this week! Figure I might as well be comfy since I'm not at work! So far today I've only ventured out to go to the grocery store!  I am going to a movie tonight though, so I figured I'd go for more than just sweats today even though it was so tempting to do so!

Got a little crazy eyed in this next picture.  Or we can just say I'm just really excited to not be working right now!

I leave the goofy pictures in to show I'm human.  And I am most definitely NOT a model.  Ha.

Above are the new shoes I got at DSW yesterday.  They were way on sale, and they were plaid, so you knew they were going home with me to live in my closet.  Love them.

That's about it from here.  Boring is good right?

Rundown:
T-shirt - Old Navy
Sweater - SO from Kohls, thrifted
Jeans - Old Navy
Shoes - Rampage via DSW
Necklace - Stella and Dot
Purse in background - Coach vintage from Rewind NE Mpls

The Stay at home wife

You'll see some pretty casual outfits from me this week since I'm not working.  But hey, still gotta get dressed right?  Sadly the Pants Monkey had to return to work today, so I'm on my own playing the role of "stay at home wife".  It's not a bad gig, I could get used to it!

I got this top as a Christmas gift from my parents.  I love thermals, they are warm and easy to layer.  I love them even better when they are stylish like this one!  It's a nice alternative to a sweater. 

Did a little after Christmas sale shopping today.  Didn't find a ton of things but got a couple of new items at good prices. 

I am loving the Christmas gift I bought myself - a vintage Coach purse.  It has more pockets than I know what to do with.  This was made back when Coach was a wee bit less flashy and I kind of like that! 

All righty, back to living the dream, going to eat bon bons and watch sappy movies all day...Ok, maybe I'm kidding about the bon bons! 

Rundown:
Shirt - Decree, JCPenney (gift from my parents)
Jeans - Levi's thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Purse - Coach vintage via Rewind NE Mpls
Shoes - Madden Girl thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Necklace - gift from my in-laws
Earrings - Stella and Dot

Inspiration Monday - Twas the day after Christmas

So it's the day after Christmas and I will say one thing, I'm not wearing my Inspiration Monday outfit today.  I did however wear something close though for my Christmas outfit yesterday, so that is what I'm posting with today.

Our inspiration is Ashley Tisdale, who I think is one of the Disney Channel stars?  Man I feel so out of the loop!!  We don't have cable anymore so I have a hard time keeping track!  Anyway, here is her picture.  I love her red shoes, I don't have anything quite like that in my closet!

And here is my take on the outfit.  Worn to church and dinner at my aunt's house yesterday.  We had a really nice Christmas - how about all of you?

I might not have fun shoes, but I do have cute new tights!  Got these on a last minute shopping run to get a present for the Pants Monkey's grandmother.  Aren't they cute?  Who doesn't love argyle?

There's Taylor the photo bombing kitty again.  She makes me laugh. 

All righty, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my day since today is the only day this week the Pants Monkey is home with me! For more Inspiration Monday outfits, check out the lovely ladies at Two Birds.

Rundown:
Shirt - F21
Skirt - Thrifted via Unique Thrift Store
Tights - Apt 21, Kohls
Shoes - Payless

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas one and all! It is Christmas Eve and I am posting very quickly to wish you all a Merry Christmas and to share my Christmas Eve outfit because while it is a little nerdy, I also thought it was kind of cute.

I found this t-shirt at Old Navy last weekend and I couldn't help myself.  I don't normally buy holiday themed clothing, but this was a special exception!  Kermit in a Santa hat, just can't beat it if you're a big Muppet fan like me!

 

The Pants Monkey and I are going to spend the afternoon just us and then off to his parent's house for dinner.  Tomorrow we will be singing at church with our music group and then spending the day with my family.

I wish you and yours the best Christmas ever!  Be safe in your travels and have lots of fun!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Sweater - New York and Company thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Skirt - LOFT thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Leggings - Target

Socks - unknown

Shoes - Mudd thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Necklace - Two Birds Vintage

My wrapping outfit

Heh, I think of "rapping" when I say my "wrapping" outfit. I'm such a nerd.  Anyhow, I took time out to do a quick outfit post here.  I'm wrapping gifts all afternoon until they are DONE.  There are NO excuses!  I did get to have breakfast with a couple of girlfriends this morning who were also off from work.  It was nice to see them, but now it's time to get real on this Christmas wrap stuff.

 

Part of the problem is, I'm not very good at wrapping, so I tend to save it until the last minute for that simple reason.  I also don't want my cats getting into it too much, so it's another good reason to just wait a little bit.

 

Super casual and comfy outfit today.  I don't wear a ton of sweatshirts and hoodies anymore, but I love this one from Old Navy.  I actually got it during their After Christmas sale last year.  It's super soft and warm and it's cold in my house today!

 

This shirt has always been a tough one to style, the top of it kind of hangs weird, but I usually make it work somehow.  

And finally, Big Pippin here was begging to be a part of the blog today.  She was following me around the whole time I was setting up my pictures and then didn't end up in any of them, but I snapped this one of her real quick since she was sitting nice.  You've seen Miss Taylor a few times now, well, this is Big Pippin.  She's our monkey cat, but we love her.

Back to the task at hand!  I would so pay someone to do this for me!

Rundown:
Thermal - DKNY thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Sweatshirt - Old Navy
Jeans - LOFT thrifted via Clothes Mentor
Shoes - thrifted from Clothes Mentor
Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Dreaming of a white(brown) Christmas

It snowed yesterday!  For about five minutes.  And it's pretty much already gone.  Brown Christmas for us!  I actually don't mind that much because I hate shoveling and cleaning off my car.  But I do like the pretty light fluffy sparkly snow we get sometimes and wish we had just a little coating of that.  Oh well.  They say only 7 out of every 10 Christmases we have a true White Christmas here in MN, so this is just one of those weird years!

Searching for snow

Yesterday was one of *those* days.  You know those kind of days where every time you turn around something else is going wrong or there is more bad news or something?  But when I looked out my window yesterday afternoon and saw that snow, all of the unpleasantness didn't matter.  And today?  Today is a new day and it's a good day!  It's also my Friday as I've been talking about all week.  I can't help it, I'm pretty excited.

Quite a gray toned outfit today, but I love it.  The Pants Monkey said I looked pretty too. I figure it's good when the hubby gives his stamp of approval!  I made this outfit super comfy today by wearing leggings under my skirt instead of tights.  Best. Idea. Ever.  And I'm loving my new boots from Target, second time wearing them so far and they are already the best purchase I've made in quite some time!

Gave it a little glam with my favorite chains from Stella and Dot!  Again, I love how jewelry can really make an outfit pop!

I may be on a long break from work for the next week and few days, but I will still be blogging periodically as I'm not going anywhere or doing anything super special!  I'll be sharing my Christmas outfits and discussing my hopes for 2012 as I have some fun ideas to bring to the blog!  

Rundown:

Sweater - Decree, JCPenney (old)

Skirt - LOFT, thrifted from Clothes Mentor

Leggings - Target

Boots - Target

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Charming Charlie

Hectic

Man, it's getting crazy in these last days before Christmas - especially at work when I am off as of Friday!  Anyone else feeling the crunch?  Uffda.  Anyway, due to that, these pictures are a little more rushed and not as nice as usual, but here we go.

I am looking forward to the holidays and an extended time away from work!  It's nice to get a break!

I wish the Pants Monkey had time off too, I think he could use it, but unfortunately he only has the Monday after Christmas.  He and I will at least spend that day together though!

In other news, I have decided to keep this blog here at Blogger for the time being instead of going to WordPress. Thanks once again to the lovely Megan Mae, I have learned that there have been some widespread Blogger account issues, so it's not just a select few.  And she brought up the good point that this kind of thing happens with other major sites too.  I am still upgrading myself to a different email, namely because the Pants Monkey and I have our own website and he set me up an email there long ago that I had never tried using.  I've decided it's time to do that much.  But as for the blog, just going to stay right here for now!

I have a bit of a hippie vibe going with today's outfit - peasant blouse and long skirt - doesn't get much more hippie feeling than that.  Too cold to be barefoot though, he he.

Rundown:

Purple shirt - Mossimo, Target

Peasant shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Skirt - Charter Club, Macy's

Necklace - Maurices

Shoes - I think Payless from a VERY long time ago

Oy vey, what a day

Story time!  This will be a wordier post than some!

So yesterday afternoon I was doing a quick check in on my blog and my "frequently read" blog list on the side of the page here to see if anyone had posted anything new.  I had my email open as well as I usually keep it up all day at work because I'm naughty like that.  All of a sudden, my blog like disappeared, I went to click on a page and it came up saying "This blog has been removed by the author" - Say What??  I am the author!!  Then my email freaked out and kicked me out and when I tried clicking on my Google + page it said "this account has been disabled."  Now I'm FREAKING OUT.

I put out a desperate inquiry on Twitter asking if anyone else was experiencing this problem and learned that Megan of Megan Mae Daily also was having some problems - I had just commented on her blog too, so it seems like a coincidence.  Anyway, she told me she was able to get a verification code sent to her phone that allowed her to get back in, so after I submitted two tickets to Google help, I simply tried to log in to my account and was given the same option - a code sent to my phone.  After that, I was back in.  I have still not heard from Google at all.  

It was really horrible to imagine losing all the mail I have archived on Gmail - that is one of the reasons I use Gmail, I can save as much as I want!  And it made me sad to think of losing this blog and having to start over, after I have made some connections with many of you!  I'm thankful to have my things back, but I am going to look into some changes.  Possibly going to take the blog to Wordpress, but I'll make sure to let you all know when/if that happens.  Stay tuned! For now, I'm happy to be back here!

Whew, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about my outfit today!  Cause that's really why you come to my blog, for the clothes, not for my Google/Email/Blogger drama!

I'm wearing my favorite plaid pants today - inspiration struck me on Sunday, I saw them in my closet and also my new favorite blazer from F21 and I thought - hey, I bet I could put these together and they'd be cute!  And they are!

I love how comfy these pants are while still being dressy enough for work.  They are just one of my favorite finds ever.  And they can totally be dressed down too if I needed them to be, but I like to wear them to work when I can!

Also, while I miss the snow and wish we'd have a white Christmas, I was kind of excited to pull out my clogs today, I wouldn't be wearing them if it was slippery outside, but since it's not, I decided to wear them.  Overall, I like my outfit quite a bit today!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Blazer - F21

Pants - No Boundaries, thrifted 

Necklace - jerseymaids via Etsy

Clogs - Sonoma, Kohls

Inspiration Monday - Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got

This week's Inspiration Monday is Jennifer Lopez.  She's not my favorite, I'll admit to that, but I was willing to work with the outfit she's wearing here.

I don't have a sassy sparkly skirt like she has, nor do I have gorgeous long legs like that either, so I decided to go more for the color scheme than the actual look itself.

These khaki pants are fun because they have some sparkle and sequin details.  I have had these pants for a number of years though and I'm finding the fit isn't quite as nice as it once was.  These may be on their way out.

Gave me an excuse to wear this lovely statement piece of a necklace from Stella and Dot again, I haven't pulled it out for awhile now.  And I may have picked up this sweater for myself while I was out finishing Christmas shopping this weekend.  It is thrifted though, so I don't feel *too* bad about it!  And it has a little sparkle in it which will be fun for the holiday season/winter season!  Every girl needs a little sparkle in her wardrobe.

I could go back and do Neutrals Week again with this outfit!  Speaking of which, for a wrap of Neutrals Week, check out this post from Casual Chic Kiki.  I chose my cognac outfit from that week as my favorite.

I only work four days this week and then I have Friday and the whole week after Christmas off from work.  I have too much vacation time saved up - my company is quite generous in that aspect - and so I have to do something with it!  What a problem to have, huh?  The Pants Monkey doesn't get as much time as I do each year, so I tend to not use my time as much because it's not like we're traveling much anyway.

Anyway, that's my story today.  Here's to a short week!  Visit the fine gals at Two Birds for more Inspiration Monday blogger posts!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Express, Thrifted from Plato's Closet

Sweater - LOFT, thrifted from Clothes Mentor

Pants - American Eagle Outfitters (old)

Shoes - DSW (old)

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Stella and Dot

What was I waiting for?

Well we made it to Friday!  I have been so excited to wear this outfit!  I finally gave into the jegging/skinny jeans fad and now I'm like, what was I waiting for??  I love these jeans!! They are soooooo comfy!

Everything I'm wearing is new/new to me.  Thanks to some awesome gift cards and birthday money!  I am just in love with this whole outfit.  Maybe a hair too casual for casual Friday at work, but I'm alone in the office today and hey, I'm warm and I'm comfy.  And I think I'm cute too.  

I got my hair cut yesterday and it's all cleaned up for Christmas.  Not a dramatic change, just a little sprucing up.

I'm really feeling over the hump on this darn cold too, I think the cough will linger for a bit yet, but I more or less feel like a human again!  The Pants Monkey is doing ok as long as he is taking cold medicine.  I think he and I are going to have a busy weekend of finishing up Christmas shopping.  We don't have much, but we do have a little.  Then next week begins the wrapping portion - not my favorite part.  

Hope you all have great weekends!

Rundown:

Sweater - Vintage, Two Birds Boutique

Jeans - Maurices

Boots - Target

Necklace - American Eagle Outfitters (old)

Earrings - Stella and Dot

FBFF - All About Christmas!

So I am one of those nerds who loved the "about me" email/Facebook survey memes.  I kind of miss those days, ha!  Today's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a holiday all about me survey!  So here we go, you'll learn a little something new about me, at least I hope so!


No holiday party is complete without: Hot apple cider
My favorite Christmas song/album: Favorite song - Feels Like Christmas by Cyndi Lauper, favorite album - The Hotel Cafe presents: Winter Songs
My favorite seasonal recipe: Thumbprint cookies - chocolate cookie rolled in pecans, yum!
The perfect New Year's Eve outfit includes: a little something sparkly
At the parties, I'll be drinking: some kind of wine - like Chokecherry Wine, it's amazing if you've never had it
Eggnog, good or bad? Um, never had it *hides in shame*
Did you ever take pictures on Santa's lap at the mall? Oh yes!  MN gals will appreciate this - always went to the Downtown Minneapolis Macy's (that used to be Daytons) to see the 8th floor display and take pictures with that Santa because he was the "real" Santa, ha ha!!  I went with some girlfriends a few years back, we dressed up, it was hilarious.
Gingerbread Latte or Peppermint Mocha: I'm usually a Latte girl, but for a seasonal treat, I like a peppermint mocha
Worst gift I ever got: Coasters and plastic ice cubes from an ex-boyfriend
Best gift I ever received: hmm, The Pants Monkey gives pretty awesome gifts.  I think my favorite right now is the stuffed Rowlf the Dog he found for me on Ebay last year.  Rowlf is my favorite Muppet and it meant the world to me that he found a collectible for me so I could have a Rowlf of my own!
My family has this weird tradition: The Pants Monkey's family has a pre-dinner margarita, you walk in the door and you are handed a margarita.  At EVERY holiday.
My best bargain find for a gift this year: Something I bought the Pants Monkey back in mid-November that I can't share because I know he reads this sometimes. :)  I can say I was practically being paid to take it away!
If I could only buy all my gifts from one place, I'd shop at: Tough choice!!  I am going way off the wall here, again, local readers might appreciate this - The Electric Fetus record shop in Minneapolis.  They have a huge gift section that has the most hilarious, unique things ever and I could spend hours and tons of money there!
Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman: Rudolph all the way.
My favorite holiday memory: So many wonderful ones.  Going and looking at lights with my parents when I was little, singing at midnight Mass at church, sitting with the Pants Monkey's family on Christmas Eve and watching a fire in the fireplace with the Yule Log also playing on TV right next to it (could've put that by weird tradition too I suppose), too many to count!
My favorite Christmas movie: Home Alone, yeah it's silly, but it has some heartwarming moments.  And hilarious ones: "When I grow up and I get married, I'm living alone!" - Kevin McCallister
The best part about holiday decorations is: LIGHTS!  I love pretty lights.
Rip off the wrapping paper or neatly pull off the tape: Rip it!  I'm diving right into that bad boy.
Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life: Not a big fan of either actually....I do like classic Christmas movies like White Christmas or Holiday Inn though.
It doesn't feel like the holiday season until: I've watched a A Charlie Brown Christmas
All I want for Christmas is: Honestly, I love gifts and all of that, but I just want both the Pants Monkey and myself to be feeling better from these colds and to be able to enjoy celebrating with our families.  I couldn't ask for more than that!  Sappy. :)


So there you go!  For a chance to learn about other bloggers holiday traditions, or for more information on FBFF, visit Katy at Modly Chic.


Outfit post coming up next, quite excited about it today, but this post is already long enough!

Yikes, stripes!

Fruit Stripe Gum!  Anyone else remember that commercial from the 90's?  No?  Just nerds like me, huh?  Oh well.

Pretty simple outfit today!  Sometimes simple is good.  I was going to wear this sweater for black day during the Neutrals color challenge, but then I ended up getting that dress that I wore instead.  I really love this sweater though, it is possibly the softest one I own.

So of course, now the Pants Monkey has come down with his own version of this lovely head cold. I feel for him, it's not fun dealing with colds at this time of the year.  I *think* I am more or less on the path to good health now at least.  And hey, there are 10 days until Christmas as of today, plenty of time for him to be feeling better by then too.

Speaking of there only being 10 more days until Christmas - everyone done with their shopping?  I'm not, but I will be after this weekend I think, which gives me an entire week to wrap and fun things like that!

Crazy eyes in this last picture!  I was going for my "I'm super awake and hopped on caffeine" look.  Or something like that!  Just over a week until I have a nice long extended break from work for the holidays.  I can't wait!  I think it's time for a haircut too.  Might do that after work today and then I'll have super short hair again!  We'll see where the day takes me!

Rundown:

Sweater - St. John's Bay, JCPenney (old)

Pants - Style and Co, Macy's (old)

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

A little help from mom

Well we're halfway through the week.  I'm still in such a fog from this darn cold that just hangs on.  I'm like 95% well, but there's just that little 5% that's making life difficult!  Hopefully the entire thing will be cleared out by Christmas!

So this sweater is another one of the things I bought with my Maurices gift card.  I love it!  I also bought skinny jeans that I will wear it with sometime - yes you heard it hear first, I FINALLY gave and bought some skinny jeans!  I hope to wear them on Friday in fact.  Anyway, my mom suggested this look to me for another way to wear this sweater and I think it works!

I think I'd prefer leggings if I were to do this again, but I don't have brown ones right now.  Just another thing to add to my list of wants, lol.

Overall though, I really like this look!  I have gotten a lot of extra life out of these boots that I never thought I would!  I'm glad they're still holding up well!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Mossimo, Target

Sweater - Maurices

Pants - Hollister, thrifted from Plato's Closet

Boots - DSW (not current)

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Thrifted

Teacher, teacher

I feel very "teacher like" in my outfit today!  I think that is because there was a teacher in my elementary school who wore skirts every single day.  She also had "skirt suits" with a skirt and blazer and would often wear them with bow-ties.  I never had her as a teacher, but my mom worked in her classroom for years.  She was quite notorious in our school until she retired. Funny story, my mom met her for lunch after she had retired and was shocked to see her wearing jeans!

So I think my outfit is at least a little more hip that what that teacher used to wear, but it's still giving the teacher vibe just a bit, don't you think?

In all due honesty, I have a great deal of respect for teachers.  I have some friends who are teachers and I give them major kudos.  I could never do it, I am just not patient enough!

It's unseasonably warm here right now and all the snow has melted which makes me sad.  Time to starting singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!"  Oh well, it's still damp, so the warm sweater and warm wool skirt is still nice.

Also, I still am learning how this will be useful to my blog, but I have linked my blog up with Google + today.  I understand that the "Friend Connect" feature is going away in March, so I am using any and all venues I can think of to help stay connected with all of you.  So, this is a learning experience for me, but I'll give it a try!  If you are a blogger and are on Google +, let's hook up!

Rundown:

Sweater - Charter Club, Macy's

T-Shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Skirt - Charter Club, Macy's

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace - Charming Charlie