Leap Day Snowstorm

This is what we woke up to here in the Twin Cities this morning.  Lovely icy, snowy mess.  I took these looking out my front door, this is my little CRV all covered up in the first picture here.

And this is looking south towards my neighbor's house.  In all due honesty, this isn't even that impressive of a storm when you think of what our winters here are usually capable of, but this is probably the biggest one we've had this winter, so I had to document it somehow!

I was prepared that this morning would require more attention to cleaning off my car and just getting myself to work and not to taking blog pictures, so instead I'm sharing Monday's work outfit because I didn't get a chance to do so yet and I think it's pretty cute.

Monday was a much nicer day outside, that's for sure!  What a difference a couple of days makes I guess!  On Monday I wore my favorite Anthro pants again, I keep saying I'm going to hem them and I still haven't done so.  I wore nice high heels so at least I wasn't tripping over them.

 I told the Pants Monkey about all the compliments I received on the dress yesterday and his response was "cool!"  Mostly he was just happy that I liked the dress and that it's working out well for me.  I told him he can buy me clothes anytime, to which he responded, "yeah but our anniversary isn't for another three months."  Who says he needs a special occasion?

Happy Leap Day!  Anyone out there actually have a birthday today?  The father of a girl I grew up with had a birthday on Leap Day.  They used to joke that he was younger than he really was since he only got a birthday every four years!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Pants - Thrifted Anthropologie via Clothes Mentor

Owl necklace - F21

Hidden shoes - Mudd, Kohls

I'm spoiled

The Pants Monkey totally spoils me.  I love him for it.  You may remember I said we really don't do gifts for Valentine's Day right?  Well he still surprised me with something.  He got me a dress.  From what he tells me it was a really good deal so I'll just have to trust him on that.  Anyway, I woke up kind of on the wrong side of the bed and really wanted to wear something that made me feel good and pretty today, so I decided to wear it.  I had promised him I'd wear it on a date night, but between our schedule lately and him getting a cold this weekend, we haven't had one of those in a little bit.  It's so cute, comfy and flirty I don't think I'll have a problem wearing it again though when we do finally go out somewhere!

This is going to be another wonderfully versatile dress, I can already tell.  It's a nice lightweight t-shirt material so it will go well into summer, but I was able to "winterize it" easily with boots and leggings.  The Pants Monkey said I looked cute this morning.  I have to agree.

So now it sounds like we aren't getting as much snow as they originally thought - which has so been the name of the game this year!  I'm prepared with my boots on just in case!  I also planned a very wintery dinner for us in anticipation of the snowstorm - chili and grilled cheese sandwiches - perfect snowstorm meal?  I think so!  We'll hunker down and be warm and toasty no matter what, even if it's a piddly inch of slush.

I just hope there is some moisture out of this storm - the air is sooooo dry, I can't keep enough lotion on!  Anyone else having that problem?  It's pretty annoying isn't it?  Oh well, it's the end of February, spring is just around the corner right?

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Mossimo, Target

Dress - VS, gift from the Pants Monkey

Leggings - Steve Madden via DSW

Boots - Target

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Inspiration Monday - Not Josie Grosie

I loved that this week's Inspiration Monday outfit was a nice casual look from Miss Drew Barrymore here.  I love Drew Barrymore - my favorite of her movies being Never Been Kissed because it's just so cute and I know I had my Josie Grosie moments back in the day, as we all probably did.  She is definitely not Josie Grosie in this look though and thankfully, neither am I!

So this was an easy one to put together, I have a ton of graphic t-shirts that don't get too much love from me anymore (I blame a past addiction to the website threadless.com) so I gave myself permission to wear one for this inspired look!  Plus it was Sunday, all I had planned was hanging out with my friend Stef and her baby, and then coming home to watch the Oscars.  So a laid back look was perfect!  

I probably should have taken a picture of the detail in this t-shirt - it's cute, it is Cookie Monster's furry hand opening a door and sneaking up on a cookie in bed.  I love Cookie Monster so I had to have this shirt.  It also reminds me of Monsters, Inc which I adore.

Speaking of movies, who watched the Oscars?  I was a little underwhelmed by the show - but not by who received awards.  From what I knew of the nominees this year it seems the Academy got it right.  I did not find Billy Crystal funny at all.  I didn't get much of a chance to ogle the dresses as I missed the Red Carpet show, but I think the best dressed I saw on stage was probably the cast of Bridesmaids and I also thought Cameron Diaz looked very pretty.  Oh and Octavia Spencer looked very classy too.   Not much of fashionable thoughts for the evening, but my less than two cents I guess!

On we go into Monday.  Could be an interesting week here in MN, we have an actual snowstorm shaping up - we'll see how that influences my outfits this week! One day at a time. For more Inspiration Monday outfits, visit the two birds blog. 

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Threadless.com

Sweater - Lands End

Jeans - Maurices

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace and bracelet - Bead for Life

Channeling Childhood

The last time I wore this sweater, I commented that it reminds me of something I would have worn when I was a little girl.  In the spirit of that, I decided to style it in a way that is reminiscent of how I might have dressed when I was 8.  Because hey, it's fun.  And it's Friday.  If you can't have fun on Friday, when can you have fun?

I can guarantee you that 8 year old Bethie would have worn this sweater with a jean skirt.  Instead of leggings however, she'd probably be wearing those knit tights that almost look like a cable knit sweater - anyone have any idea what I'm talking about? They'd be pink. She'd finish out the outfit with buckled Mary Janes and probably a couple of plastic teddy bear barrettes in her hair.  8 year old Bethie wasn't super hip, but she could be sort of stylish!

What kinds of things was 8 year old Bethie into?  Well, let's see, her favorite movie was The Little Mermaid, she was a Brownie Scout, she sang in her church's children's choir, her favorite after school activity was playing Barbies with her friends, she loved to ride her bike around the block and her favorite TV shows were Tiny Toon Adventures, Hey Dude and Reading Rainbow.  Yep, I know I'm totally dating myself.  If you haven't figured out by now that I'm 30 and grew up in the late 80's/early 90's, well, you know now!  Some things have changed in 20 some odd years, but some apparently haven't!

Oh well, I love this sweater and I don't care if it takes me back to my youth!  Everyone needs to let out their inner child every now and then!  Happy Friday and Happy Weekend!!

Outfit rundown:

Sweater - vintage Daytons via two birds at b.(a resale shop)

Skirt - LOFT thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Leggings - Target

Shoes - SO (Kohls) thrifted 

Loving and not loving khaki

I have a love/hate relationship with khaki.  I have trouble finding pairs of khaki pants that I think look nice on me, so that's part of it.  Another reason is I tend to think of khaki more as a spring/summer thing for some reason and in the spring and summer, our church group wears khaki as part of our uniform so then I never want to wear it (we wear black in the winter).  But, regardless of those feelings, when I decided to wear this sweater that I bought pre-ban I thought of khaki right away.  Partly because I already wore my gray pants this week and that would be the other color I'd wear, but partly because the yellow makes me think of spring and that led me back to khaki.  I know, strange path to how I chose my outfit.  My brain is a fun place to be sometimes.

I do wish you could all reach through the computer and touch this sweater - it is so soft.  I love that.  My Taylor cat loves it too, I had it all folded up on the ironing board last night in preparation of wearing it today and Taylor cat thought it made a lovely bed.  Never mind the fact that we have two large cat beds (actually they are dog beds, but the cats don't have to know that), my sweater is a much better place to curl up for a nap.  Thankfully Taylor cat doesn't shed that much considering she's so fluffy.

I do have to say the colors in this outfit are really cheering me up today, not that I'm really all that down, kind of just tired and ready for the week to be over.  But this outfit is making me happier feeling!  Isn't it nice when clothes do that?

I'm so ready for this weekend, our last few have been very hectic.  While we do have a mass with our music group, that is it for things I HAVE to do this weekend.  I am hoping to go see my friend who had her baby in January, since baby A is already six weeks old and growing like a weed.  I also want to make cupcakes too.  We'll have to see where the weekend takes me, but either way I don't think I'll be bored, which means, I won't miss shopping that much!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Herbergers (old)

Sweater - Thrifted Target stock

Khakis - Old Navy

Shoes - Thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Questionable

So first things first today - I am excited to announce my first ever guest post!  I'm over on LoriLynn's blog, A  Little Slice of Special, for her "Why I Blog Wednesday" feature.  I love Lori's blog, she's a fellow MN girl and she is a ton of fun - so go check it out here to show both her and myself some love!

Secondly, today is Ash Wednesday and that means it is the start of Lent.  And while I wasn't always super big on the "giving something up" thing when I was growing up, I have found myself doing it more as an adult. After getting the bill for my car yesterday I've decided it's time to get serious about the shopping ban I've been talking about more or less since the beginning of January.  I have good intentions but then some sale lures me back and yeah.  I need to take a break for awhile.  So I'm giving up shopping for Lent.  Plain and simple.  We'll see how it goes anyway!  It's only ten days longer than the last ban I went on this Fall, so I think I can do it.  Besides, Easter means Spring which means I'll be ready for some fun new spring clothes!

This outfit is not my favorite.  I tried.  I wanted to love this shirt, but I don't think I do.  It's one of my Target Stock Goodwill finds and it's a lot more "blousey" than I wanted it to be.  For example, the pooch in the above photo? It's just extra fabric, trust me, not a baby bump.  I had also meant to wear it without the sweater, but then I was cold.  Yeah. Not so sure on this one.  Going to try shrinking it a bit to see if it helps and if not, I didn't spend that much on it so I'll send it on down the line.  It's ok to have some hits and misses honestly!  It keeps us on our toes!

This last picture is to show off that we finally have snow again here in MN.  It's almost strange to see it at this point!  I hear more is coming too, which shouldn't be weird, but it feels a little weird!  At least we're closer to spring, so getting snow now isn't the worst thing ever!

Outfit rundown:

Ruffled shirt - Thrifted Target Stock

Sweater - Evie (handed down from mom)

Shorts - Old Navy

Tights - Target

Shoes - DSW

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Bag - thrifted Coach

Karma

It's been a very dry snow free winter - and I will not lie, I have been enjoying that because it makes driving so much easier, even though I do have an SUV that will get through just about anything.  I just don't love driving that much.  I do it because it's a necessity.  I'm not as bad as my mom who won't even drive on the freeway if she can help it.  She just hasn't had to do it much in her life, so it's understandable that she'd be apprehensive about it.  But anyway, this is about me, not her.  I mentioned awhile back that my car is in need of some repairs.  I set up to take it in this morning before work.

It's an auto mechanic that was recommended by a good friend as my former auto mechanic (my father-in-law) retired and I was looking for a good place with people I could trust.  The only problem is the mechanic was the opposite direction of my work, but I figured, I'll leave a little early, drive my car over, get my loaner vehicle and head to work, because the roads have been so wonderful so it should be no big deal right?

Wrong, because guess what?  It's not dry and unsnowy anymore.  It snowed something like four inches overnight of lovely wet heavy snow.   I knew when I went to bed that it was going to snow a little bit.  I wasn't expecting THIS much though! Karma you are a little brat sometimes aren't you?

Fortunately I got myself moving pretty fast at home and taking some nice back roads got myself to the mechanic in pretty good time AND somehow got to work at a reasonable time as well!  I did have to kind of make do with attempting my pictures for today at work - but considering my tripod is at home, I think these actually turned out pretty good!

I do love this shirt and I haven't worn it enough.  I still have so many ideas of ways I could style it too, especially because of all the colors that are in it!  At least it should go into the spring!

Let's hope ole Karma is a bit more kind to me when I find out the estimated cost to fix the problems with my car.  Cross your fingers.  In the meantime I'll have fun driving a cute little car around town, even if it isn't as snow friendly as my little SUV!

Outfit rundown:

Blue t-shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Peasant blouse - Decree, JCPenney

Pants - Tangent, Maurices (old)

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Earrings - American Eagle Outfitters (old)

Inspiration Monday - If you give a mouse a cookie

You know the story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie?"  Well I'm here to say "if you give a girl a reason to shop, even when it's not for herself, chances are she'll come home with something new anyway."  I had to go shopping for a baby shower gift this weekend and decided not to go to Target like everyone else, but instead to Old Navy, especially because they had a baby sale going on.  And my Old Navy just happens to put women's clearance right next to the baby and kid stuff.  One thing led to another and I found an outfit I loved to copy Sarah Jessica Parker's here and suddenly I was leaving with much more than I came in for!

Honestly though I really did put this together on the cheap.  I really try hard not to purposely shop for something new in order to do Inspiration Monday, but when it's a good deal like this, I think it's ok!  I put this together for about $20, so hey can't complain about that!  I am so excited about this dress too, I think it'll transition awesomely to spring and summer and become my new favorite - especially when it's as comfy as it it is (hurray t-shirt material)

In case you are wondering, yes I did get my baby shower gift too.  My husband's cousin and his wife are expecting a baby girl next month and it's the first girl in my husband's family in nine years, so everyone is pretty excited.  It was really fun to shop for her, bought one outfit she can use right away and another one she can use in the 6-12 month stage.

Back to my outfit, I was excited to have something else to wear my bright blue Target tights with!  Also chose my boots instead of heels because there actually is a threat of rain/snow later.  I'll be shocked if it actually happens, but hey, I'm prepared just in case!  I also could have used my red bag just like Sarah Jessica Parker is, but I have been wanting to go back to my purple one for awhile now, and I thought it would be cute with this outfit.  Cause apparently I like to be super matchy matchy or something.

Am I the only one at work today?  I feel like I might be, so many people I know were getting today off for President's Day.  Healthcare stops for nothing though!  So I'm working!  I don't mind too much, I'd be wasting this fun outfit at home otherwise!

Have a great day whether you are at work or not!  For more Inspiration Monday fun visit the two birds blog!

Outfit rundown:

Dress - Old Navy

Sweater - Old Navy

Tights - Target

Boots - Target

Necklace - Premier Jewelry

Bag - Lillian's Shoppes

Pinspiration

I've made it no secret that I'm super addicted to Pinterest.  Many of the things I pin I don't know that I'll ever even try or do, but I still love it!  This picture made me laugh - found on Pinterest of course.

It's kind of true!  But, I came across an outfit idea the other day on Pinterest that I realized I had almost all the pieces for.  So, I'm FINALLY actually doing something I found on Pinterest!  Below is the outfit I saw, looks like it was put together on Polyvore.

I had everything minus the bag and I love any excuse to wear my red shoes that have become my latest obsession, so I decided to wear it for casual Friday today!  Forgive the photo here that I sort of cut my head off on.  At least you can see my clothes!

I also don't have a pure white scarf, but I thought this polka dot one would be a little more fun anyway.  Not pictured is my watch - I do have a nice gold watch like the inspired picture shows - I have had it since I turned 18, a gift from my parents.  I love that it still works after all these years!

So how did I do?   I like the overall look.  I would not have put this combination together on my own, I know that much!  I'm really hoping to start trying out more of the things I'm finding on Pinterest now that I've finally tested the waters on something!

Speaking of testing the waters, I tried to time a jumping picture because it's Friday and I was in a silly mood.  It did not go so well.

 Oh well!  Can't blame a girl for trying!  Happy Friday one and all!  Hope you all have fantastic weekends!

Outfit rundown:

Sweater - LOFT thrifted via Clothes Mentor

White shell - handed down from cousin

Scarf - Target

Jeans - Old Navy

Shoes - MIA thrifted via Clothes Mentor

The multi-tasker

I am a multi-tasker.  I can play Words with Friends on my phone while poaching chicken breast for dinner on my stove.  I can talk on the phone with someone while also chatting with someone online.  I can fold laundry while catching up on the latest episode of Glee and I don't miss a thing.  It's a skill that serves me well, especially working as an administrative assistant!

Last night it was raining - yes on February 15th it was raining.  And that meant one thing, overnight it froze.  So, my car was coated in a lovely layer of ice.  I realized that I would be running way behind schedule if I did my blog pictures and then cleaned the car to go to work.  So Multi-Tasker Me had a brainstorm - start the car and put the heat on full blast and while that's going on, take blog pictures!   It worked out perfect!  By the time I got in the car, very little scraping was needed.  I'm pretty proud of myself and I wasn't late at all.

Speaking of multiples - I just wanted to remind everyone that there are multiple ways to follow my blog.  This is not me begging for more followers - I just want to stay in touch and as of March 1st, if you are a non-Blogger user, Google Friend Connect is going away.  I think it's really a silly thing that Google is doing, they're trying to force us all to use Google+.  I'm not super impressed with Google+ so far.  But anyway, if you are a Blogger user and want to follow via GFC - awesome, the link will still be at the right.  However, I'm on Bloglovin as well, with a link to that in the right side column below GFC.  You'll also find the link to my Facebook page as well.  Or, go to the top tabs and follow me on Twitter if you wish as well, I usually tweet when my post goes up.  And maybe you don't need any of these resources to follow or remember my blog - honestly it makes no difference to me, though typing in the whole long name of my blog is a lot of work too, so these tools do make it easier!    

Anyway I so appreciate all of you who have followed via any of those options or who come here day in and day out even without the use of those tools.  Your support and encouragement keeps me going!

Now back to blogging while listening to my favorite morning show and also reading work email and responding to various needs at the office.  Just another average day!

Outfit rundown:

Black shirt - Gap

Jacket and skirt - unknown brands thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Leggings - Xhiliration, Target

Boots - Target

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Earrings - Charming Charlie

Valentine's Day date outfit

Hello lovelies!  As promised, here is my Valentine's Day outfit!  It was quite well received by the Pants Monkey (thanks again Megan and Nora!).  These pictures just don't do it justice.  I've been using a different photo editor too lately and I don't like it as much, so I think that I'll be going back to what I know works.  I think you get the general idea here anyway!

We had the most amazing dinner.  It's a place in NE Minneapolis called The Butcher Block.  They are authentically Italian and so fantastic.  I was mildly nervous before we went because I read some unfavorable reviews online, though I take that kind of thing with a grain of salt, but I had no reason to be nervous, the food was amazing, our service was great, we had a wonderful experience.  It was rather spendy, but we knew that going in.  Like I said yesterday, it's one of our few treats during the year.

 No outfit pictures today.  My boss and I are doing some major cleaning in our 2nd floor area of our office in preparation for a big construction project.  While I didn't totally dress down today, my outfit is nothing special!  I'm glad I had my date night outfit to share with you all!

Speaking of outfits, I found one on Pinterest that I think I can totally do, and just might try it out on Friday because it's a little more casual.  I'm excited to give it a try anyway.  I swear Pinterest is just more and more addictive every day I go on it.  I try to only allow myself about 20 minute a day!

Outfit rundown:

Blouse and skirt - two birds via b (a resale shop)

Belt - unknown

Shoes and necklace - Maurices

Nylons - Target

Bag - Fun Sisters

EBEW - Pink and Red

I feel a little like a walking Valentine today for Everybody Everywear, but I'm just going to go with it!  Besides, it is giving me a chance to try color blocking, which I haven't done much of so far.  I am not super happy with how these pictures turned out, even though it was cloudy I thought, oh let's go outside, it'll be cute in the fresh snow.  Maybe not so much.  I apologize if these pictures blind anyone!

So the Pants Monkey and I have been married almost six years, but we've been together nearly 14.  That adds up to a lot of Valentine's Days celebrated.  And I don't think we've ever gone overboard.  Even when we were younger we didn't go overboard because our dating anniversary was in March, so we tended to wait to do something bigger at that time.  Most years we would get dinner together somewhere and he'd usually give me flowers or something. Some years we even just went out for dessert instead of dinner.  After we got married, we decided we wouldn't really do any kind of gifts for Valentine's Day.  In fact, some years we haven't even gone out, we've opted to make a nice dinner at home or something along those lines.  Then two years ago we stumbled onto a tradition I really like.  We go out for a nice dinner and we buy a nice bottle of scotch to enjoy with the dessert that we usually bring home from said dinner.

I always say I don't need a special day for saying that I love my husband because I love him every day.  But I do like the little tradition we've been enjoying on Valentine's Day and it's an excuse to treat ourselves during the year.  The only other time we go out for any kind of nice dinner on this scale is for our anniversary in May.  So it's nice to have a treat like this!

My outfit here is not what I'm wearing for dinner tonight.  I have something else cooked up for my Valentine that I know he's going to love.  You'll see that outfit tomorrow.  I can't wait to share it.  For now, I'm just going to walk around looking like I should be pasted on the front of a card or something.  The Amazing Walking Human Valentine!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Sweater - Mossimo, Target (old)

Pants - Squeeze (from the lovely Megan Bird)

Shoes - MIA thrifted via Clothes Mentor 

Bag - Nine West (birthday gift)

Necklace - Maurices

Earrings - F21

Inspiration Monday - Like a Diva

 Picture heavy post today!  One, it's Inspiration Monday and two, I like my outfit for today and it's not part of the inspiration, but I'm sharing it anyway because I can!  Because I want to be a diva like Beyonce!  Divas can do whatever they want!  Ha.  Anyway, yes, our inspiration this week is Miss Sasha Fierce, the one and only Beyonce, seen below here.

I don't have a flashy red blazer like she does or a leopard print scarf, but I did my best to throw something together to wear to a friend's birthday on Saturday night.

I'm only mildly pleased with how it turned out actually, but I was short on time, we were going right from a church gig with our music group to the birthday party more or less so I had just a few minutes to change clothes.  In hindsight I wish I had worn boots instead of flats with the skinnies, but oh well!  Also you can't see in the picture, but there are lovely flecks of color in this blazer (picked out for me again by the lovely Nora and Megan Bird) and one of the colors is gold, so I chose the yellow top.

Outfit rundown:

Blazer - b. (a resale shop)

Shirt - Old Navy

Jeans - Maurices

Scarf - Target

Shoes - DSW

Bag - Nine West (birthday gift)

So that was all on Saturday.  Sunday was also full, if you see my last post I touched on that briefly.  We cleaned up our garage a bit so that some nice delivery men can get through with a new upright freezer that we have coming today.  Our old one bit the dust last winter actually and we've been rather lazy about replacing it.  But now the Pants Monkey has decided he is going to make sausage and other fun meat products with our new Kitchen Aid and therefore, we need more storage!

So I am in love with this skirt, my mom was sweet and bought it for me when we went to Clothes Mentor a couple of weeks ago.  I adore that it's patchwork, plaid, and is a size smaller than I usually buy!  It is like the world's greatest skirt!  I can see so much potential for styling this bad boy too, this will likely be a new frequent flyer, you will see it again soon, guaranteed!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Sweater - Old Navy

Skirt - American Living from JCP, thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Boots - Target

Earrings - thrifted via Clothes Mentor

Phew, I think that is enough for today!  For more Inspiration Monday fun, visit two birds here.  Also, for a wrap up of Layer Up week, check out Keely's post here, my "short over long" look is the one I chose to feature!

Have a great Monday!!

Sparkly Sunday

Not sure if you can see it super well in the picture, but this shirt has some sparkle.  I got it for a steal.  I mentioned that our weekend was pretty full.  As much as I wanted to check out some of the local vintage sales this weekend and such I knew I just wasn't going to have the time for those as much as I wanted.  Yet, I wanted just a little me time and had heard of a juicy secret from fellow MN Blogger Heidi, that the Goodwills were having 50% off Target stock yesterday. Since there is one not far from my house, in my travels I decided I had enough time to at least do that - this shirt is one of my finds.  I found four things for $10!  Not bad!

Besides that little time out, yesterday was super full of stuff and today has been too, but today we've also been super productive - we are doing some rearranging and cleaning at home and it feels so good!  I had best get back to it, but wanted to share my outfit, it's comfy and cute!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt - Maurices

Sweatshirt - Thrifted Target stock

Jeans - thrifted Gap

Shoes - Kohls

It's still winter

The last time I wore this sweater was also on a Friday.  And it was also because it was super cold that day! Guess I'm just not much for creativity today.  But yeah, high of barely 13 above zero?  Requires a fuzzy warm sweater.  At least I'm wearing different jeans with it this time!

These are one of my favorite pairs of jeans, they just hug my body in all the right spots!  Thank you Old Navy!  I have to say I've tried many different brands of jeans over the years, but Old Navy is one brand that has fit me pretty well since my teen years.

As soon as I heard there were wind chill advisories this morning I decided there was no way I was taking outdoor pictures today.  It's just as well, the sun wasn't really out either.  It's so cold, that even with the heat on full blast in my car, the latte I stopped at Dunn Brothers to get on my way to work today was already down to a lukewarm temperature in the five minutes from the coffee shop to my office.  Yep, it's cold.  It's still winter.  We get it Mother Nature, thanks for the reminder.

Busy weekend on tap for me, we have had a couple of weeks off from our music group but we're back at that this weekend plus we have a birthday party for a good friend and I think we're going to have a meatball making session with my mother-in-law.  There are fun sales going on around town this weekend too (Mighty Swell and the debut of Band of Thrifters - check them out local folks!) but sadly I don't know if I'm going to get to any of them even though I'd love to!  It's just as well, I need to take a shopping break honestly.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Outfit rundown:
Sweater - b. (a resale shop)
Jeans - Old Navy
Shoes - SO, Kohls
Necklace - jerseymaids via Etsy

Comfort Clothes

 Do you ever wear clothes just simply because they make you feel good?  I consider these pants my "comfort pants" - if I'm having a bad day, or am not feeling so good in the "lady department" if you catch my drift, or just need a pick me up, these pants are my first choice.  And after an emotionally draining day yesterday, today I was seeking something comfortable.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that these pants are also cute and they are my favorite pattern in the world!  I adore these pants.  I can't say enough about them.  If I wasn't already married to the Pants Monkey I'd marry these pants...ok, maybe that's going a bit too far.

At any rate, it is nice to be back to a normal routine again.  And I have to say, it's also nice to come to work today knowing I only have to work today and tomorrow and then it's the weekend already!  You know what else is nice?  Outdoor pictures!  It was definitely light enough today and I just went for it.  Chilly out there though!  Tomorrow morning I hear it will be only in the single digits so we'll have to see how daring I feel!

Yes those are leaves still on the ground from this fall - if you didn't know any better you'd probably think it actually was fall by looking at these pictures!  We kind of figured the snow would have killed off all the leaves and such by now but that didn't happen this year!  I think we'll have a lot more clean up this spring than we usually do in our yard!

I'm looking forward to catching up on other blogs today!  Also - I just noticed I hit 25 followers in GFC - thank you all who have followed me there or via Bloglovin, I appreciate it so much and have had so much fun getting to know all of you!  If I'm lucky enough to reach 50 sometime I just might do a giveaway, we'll have to see how things go!  Honestly I just have so much fun doing this, it's icing on the cake that others enjoy it as well.

Outfit rundown:
T-shirt - Mossimo, Target
Sweater - St. John's Bay, JCPenney
Pants - No Boundaries thrifted via Unique Thrift Store
Shoes - Steve Madden thrifted via Savers
Necklace - Charming Charlie
Earrings - Stella and Dot