On we go

Isn't it a nice feeling when you wake up thinking it's only Wednesday but in fact find out it's already Thursday?  I love short work weeks!

Still coolish outside today so I went the pants route again.  I figure at least I won't get sick of my skirts and dresses too early this summer at this rate!  Warmer weather is coming this weekend I hear.  This second picture isn't the greatest here, but I wanted to show off my pretty flower pots in the background.  I haven't planted flowers in a couple of years so I'm kind of excited to have some this year.  I chose petunias, simply because they seem to be the lowest maintenance kind of flower I know, we used to plant them at my parents house and they'd take a beating and still be alive, sometimes even after the first snowfall, I'm not kidding.  And I don't have much of a green thumb, so I figured these bad boys were a good choice!

Beyond that I have nothing terribly witty or exciting to share.  Much less tired than I was yesterday, but apparently I'm just a bit boring today!  As Willy Wonka would say, "Good, then, on we go!"

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Pants - Style and Co, Macy's

Bracelet and watch - Charming Charlie

Necklace - thrifted

Shoes - Duck Head (from mom)

Office chic

I feel very office-y in my outfit today.  I'm sure it's the "pencil" feel of this vintage skirt.  But hey, I work in an office, so I suppose it is appropriate!  I was worried this would feel like too much pink, but actually, I like the way it turned out!  Forgive the look below here, was a wee bit tired this morning.

And per usual, our Minnesota spring has taken a step backwards.  It always seems to happen, we get a taste of that hot weather that will be quite prevalent in the summer to come, but Mother Nature has to first remind us that we are still one of the cold states.  So yeah, it was chilly this morning and from what I've heard it's not getting terribly warm today!  So, a longer sleeve blouse felt like a good choice today and I've only worn this one other time so far since I've had it.  It is one of the shirts from my cousin.  And I'm wearing the shoes from her too!  I didn't set out to combine items from her, but the more she's given me the more that has been happening here and there!

And ooh what's this?  I took one of my Megan Mae Buttonflowers and turned it into a wrist corsage.  I got this ribbon necklace with a couple of charms from Stella and Dot but haven't been crazy about it as a necklace.  So, I decided maybe it would make a fun bracelet!  

I think it's pretty darn cute, even if I did have to have the Pants Monkey help me tie it on.  I need to get more bracelets, I love having an arm party in the summertime!  Added a few to my collection last summer, but could use a few more.  I know what I'm looking for on my next shopping trip I guess!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Ann Taylor (from cousin)

Skirt - two birds vintage (from b.)

Shoes - Anne Klein (from cousin)

Necklace/earrings - old from high school

Bracelet - Stella and Dot ribbon w/Megan Mae Buttonflower

The anniversary dinner

On Sunday, the Pants Monkey and I spent a wonderful day together celebrating our anniversary.  We hit the cheap movie theatre in the afternoon and watched The Five Year Engagement.  Predictable, but cute movie.  Then we went and had dinner at the same restaurant we celebrated Valentine's Day at this year.  Our one rule was we could not order any of the same items we had on Valentine's Day.  It wasn't hard to do as there were several other things on the menu to choose from!

For our dinner I chose to wear my fun new red dress that I thrifted last week.  Erin actually found this one for me, so a big thank you to her.  I've been loving reds lately and I loved that this one has polka dots too!  It was hot outside, but I added the little jacket for being inside the restaurant.  I'm glad that I did because we got seated under an air vent so it was a little chilly!

I had the Pants Monkey take my pictures and then asked if I could take one of him, because I think he looked pretty darn cute himself!

He doesn't have tan or lighter colored socks that aren't white, so he went with the green ones.  He was afraid it looked really tacky, but I didn't think it was too bad and besides that, no one was really going to see his feet when we were sitting at the table anyway!

We had a wonderful dinner, splitting salad, pasta and a meat course.  We brought home cannoli for dessert and toasted with some of our favorite scotch.  All in all a very nice day!

Outfit rundown (Beth):

Dress - Unknown brand, thrifted

Jacket - LOFT, thrifted

Sandals - Target

Purse - Coach, Ebay

Earrings - Stella and Dot

Sunnies - Target

Outfit rundown (Mr. Monkey)

Shirt and shorts - Men's dept at Kohl's

Shoes - Kenneth Cole, DSW

Sunnies - Target

Inspiration Monday - Going on a picnic, leaving right away

I'm here! I might be a little later to the party today, but I'm not missing Inspiration Monday just because it is a work holiday! The birds picked a lovely choice for me to duplicate for a day off of work actually, so I I'm excited about this one!  Here is gorgeous Halle Berry.

And here is laid back comfy Bethie!  I love that I'm getting a little more use out of this peasant blouse, I thought maybe I wouldn't use it much once winter was over, but it's such thin, lightweight material it seemed a perfect choice for today.  We're heading to a picnic at the Pants Monkey's grandmother's house, so if I sit in the sun, I won't worry as much about burning my pale little shoulders!

You know what else is the best about work holidays?  Not drying or doing much to my hair.  Oh how I love that!  And the other best thing?  The Pants Monkey is home to take my pictures, so I can use my iPhone again.  LOVE that.  Love it. 

Speaking of the Pants Monkey, thanks to all for the anniversary well wishes yesterday!  You are all so sweet and kind!  I will have an outfit post from our dinner out yesterday for you all tomorrow!  In the meantime, I'm heading off to enjoy the rest of my holiday, likely with a beer in hand at the picnic!  Don't forget to check out two birds right here for more Inspiration Monday outfits!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Decree, JCPenny

Tank - Mossimo, Target

Shorts - Old Navy

Sandals - Mootsie Tootsie

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Six

 Six years ago on this day I got up early, met some girlfriends, got my hair done and then put on this.
  

 

 Then I happily wed this handsome guy.

It was hot and miserable outside, but it didn't matter.  It was the best day of our entire lives and nothing will ever top it.

Happy anniversary to my beloved Pants Monkey.  Here's to many, many more years together!

Orange you glad it's Friday?

Woo hoo, we have made it to another Friday!!  And it'll be a three day weekend here in the US for Memorial Day on Monday.  Plus, Mr. Monkey and I are celebrating our six year wedding anniversary on Sunday!  Yay!  The sun is back out today too so I am smiling!

I decided to go back to a skirt today, but went the maxi route because I still didn't want to shave it's cooler outside today.  I have decided that I want to hem this guy just a little, because you can't see my super cute Target sandals real well unless I'm sitting down.  Plus, while I like having a skirt that is longer, this one almost kisses the floor unless I'm in heels and I don't want to wear heels with a skirt like this.  So after today, it's getting a little work.  I love it though, it's so comfy, reminds me of something either a hippie would wear or a girl living out in the country would wear.

Did anyone watch the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance last night?  I have watched off and on over the years and wasn't necessarily setting out to get hooked this year, but the Pants Monkey had to work late last night, so I ended up watching the entire two hours.  And now I'm hooked.  Again.  These kind of shows suck me in, I can't help it.  I may have to find things for Mr. Monkey to do on the nights that it airs so I can watch more cause it is definitely not his cup of tea.

There, see, if I'm sitting down you can see my fun new sandals.  I love these, they go with everything.  You'll see a lot more of them!

I hope you all have wonderful weekends, even if they aren't three days long like mine!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Maurices

Sweater - Handed down from cousin

Skirt - Old Navy

Sandals - Xhiliaration, Target

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Where's the ark?

Man, we are making up for a long drought here in MN!  It is pouring rain today and has been since last night.  Lovely.  I think I might need to build an ark in fact.  I'm praying we don't get water in our basement - it's been known to happen.  Eek.  Needless to say, I was forced indoors for pictures today.  

Chose pants again, when it's this wet outside I just don't feel like wearing a skirt or a dress!  I'm regretting that I still wore sandals just a wee bit, my feet definitely got wet!!  And as always with my indoor pictures, I wish you could see the details a bit better, like the shimmer that is in the fabric of my shirt.  It is slightly sparkly.  I tried to get a close up but it didn't work all that well.

Yes that is a Roomba by my feet.  Yes we own a Roomba.  We got it off of Woot awhile back and it does work out well with having cats as long as we're on top of running it every other day or so.  Lately it hasn't been working real nice though, so I've been avoiding using it and just been running the good old fashioned vacuum.  When we are good about using it though the floors really do stay nice and clean and there's much less cat fur around!  I told you guys that the Pants Monkey and I were giant nerds right?  All right, back to work I go, here's hoping I don't end up like this guy by the time this rain is done!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Express, thrifted

Necklace - b. (a resale shop)

Pants - Alfani, Macy's

Sandals - Mootsie Tootsie

Only you...

I usually live in skirts and dresses in the summer and this summer will be no exception.  But some days you wake up and say, I don't want to shave my legs today!  So, I give myself a break with some pants every now and then!  Plus, these are my favorite, if you've been reading my blog awhile you know how much I love these pants.  I just really felt like I needed them today.  We've been hit by the allergy fairy at our house which means the Pants Monkey and I are groggy and cranky most mornings lately, so today I needed the pick me up I get from wearing these!  Plus, I haven't worn them with this red shirt yet!

Funny story, I get into work and go to punch in, and the downstairs receptionist looks at me and says "that is a cute outfit, I really like it."  I say thank you and get ready to go on my way and then she says "only YOU can pull off pants like that."  And she really did mean it as a compliment, but the way she said it was kind of like "only YOU can prevent forest fires."  I laughed and thanked her again.

I get a lot of compliments every time I wear this red shirt.  It is not something I would have likely picked out for myself, so I have to thank Megan and Nora Bird - if they hadn't pulled it out for me at their styling event in January I wouldn't have it now and wouldn't have so many people tell me they like it!  I love it!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - two birds vintage, b. (a resale shop)

Pants - No Boundaries, thrifted

Necklace - Stella and Dot (La Coco collection)

Bracelet - Charming Charlie

Sandals - Merona, Target

Floral Fun

Today I am wearing one of my finds from the Band of Thrifters sale this past weekend. This dress is my new favorite thing EVER.  It's the perfect spring colors, it's nice and lightweight, I am in love.  It is going to be a frequent flyer this summer, you just watch!

I didn't even add a necklace today, which is rare for me, but I feel like this outfit has enough going on that it doesn't need it.  Flirty and fun, you can't beat it!

I went on a thrift date with Erin last night and found a few more fun summer things for just over $20.  We found vintage there and I found a vintage shirt and skirt that I am super excited about.  You'll see those items soon.  I had no idea that this particular thrift store had vintage until Erin told me about it, so now that I know, I'll be checking in there a little more often.  

I am sharing a kitty picture today for Megan Mae - she likes my kitty pictures and I thought she could use some cheering up, so here are my lazy girls from this morning.  Pippin's out for the count, Taylor's not so sure quite yet.  Neither of them really cared all that much that I was leaving.  "Bye mom, we're sleeping."

I had two questions yesterday that I thought I'd answer real quick.  For those who are curious about how I did my blog header, I found a really helpful guide on another blog - link is here.  I used Picasa to create it as this guide suggested and it worked pretty well.  I did find that I had to chose "shrink to fit" when I uploaded to Blogger, but then it worked just fine.

Then as far as the Target shoes go, I was clued into the fact that there are often apparel and accessories coupons on Target.com by fellow MN blogger Heidi - she always is on top of the good deals and had posted last week that there was a buy one, get one 50% off coupon on shoes on Target.com, so I printed that bad boy off right away!  I was lucky too in that both pairs of sandals I chose were already on sale and the coupon made them even cheaper.  So, moral of the story, check out Target.com from time to time for deals like that!

Outfit rundown:

Dress - vintage, Band of Thrifters

Sweater - Decree, JCPenney

Sandals - Marshalls

Bracelet - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Charming Charlie

Inspiration Monday - Relaxed

And just like that my little three day weekend is over.  I really want to go back and do it all again, cause it was a good one.  My "Me Party" on Friday was delightful and the rest of the weekend was good too.  But first things first, it's Inspiration Monday.  Today's pick is Gwyneth Paltrow.  Her favorite role of mine to date may actually be Holly Holiday on Glee.  I know, lame right?

This isn't my favorite Inspiration Monday outfit but I did my best.  And I chose a horrible spot for pictures this morning so the sun kind of washed out the look in this first one.  I also skipped boots in favor of the new sandals I picked up on my day off!

So speaking of my day off, it really was nice.  I got an hour massage in the morning, then hit up Target and used a buy one get one half off coupon for shoes - two new pairs of sandals, heck yeah!  Headed home and did a self mani/pedi, listened to some favorite tunes and totally vegged.  So wonderful.  I also designed the new blog header you now see above.  Thank you Picasa.  What do you think?

Saturday we had our golf lesson, then I headed over to the Band of Thrifters sale, picked up a few new goodies and met the lovely Amanda.  Then I visited a friend stationed at a glass studio for this art festival that was going on in Northeast Minneapolis this weekend.  After that the Pants Monkey and I grilled fantastic burgers for dinner and watched movies.  Sunday it rained, so I was pretty much just lazy all day and that was nice too!  I think all weekends should be three days long.  I look forward to another one next weekend since it will be Memorial Day on Monday here in the US.

Here is a little more detailed shot of one of my new sandals.  They are a great color, kind of a pewter tone that is going to go with everything.  I like that they are a wedge shape too, I have so many flats and flip flops, but every now and then this short girl needs a little height boost!  The other pair I got is super colorful.  I can't wait to share them and the items I bought at the Band of Thrifters sale too!  

Mr. Monkey gets his own Me Party on Friday, so he'll have an extra long weekend.  I am a little jealous, but he deserves a day like that too.  We have our anniversary next weekend too, so it will be another good one I think!

As always, please visit the two birds blog over here for more Inspiration Monday outfits or to play along with us, it is always a ton of fun!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Skirt - DKNY, thrifted

Sandals - Merona, Target

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Me party

Happy Friday Friends!  No outfit post or much of anything else from me today - I'm off from work and I'm enjoying an entire day for me.  I'm having a "Me Party" much like Mary and Miss Piggy do in The Muppets clip below here - though I'm having my Me Party by choice, not because I'm disgruntled with my significant other like they are.  I'd love it if the Pants Monkey was off from work too, but since he is not, I'm totally going to soak up my "me" day.

Have a great weekend - back to regular posting on Monday!

Don't rain on my parade

Man alive, it was one of those mornings.  I was SO excited about this outfit and I still am, but getting a photo proved a challenge today.  It was cloudy and on the verge of rain, so I chose to do pictures inside.  I took several as I always do - but this was the only one in which my eyes are open.  Sigh.  I just love the colors of this outfit, several new additions here to perk up my wardrobe.  I will wear it again sometime when I can photograph it outside I guess!

I am happy because today is my Friday! I don't have to work tomorrow! I just needed a "Me day" so I decided a Friday off would be just the ticket.  I'm really looking forward to it, I scheduled an appointment for a massage (thank you gift card from Christmas) and otherwise plan to just chill at home.  Well maybe not "chill" - going to be 90 tomorrow. I'm not a fan of the heat, but I'll roll with it, maybe work on my tan - ha!  I'm looking forward to the rest of the weekend too - for the locals, the Band of Thrifters are having a sale during NE Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl.  I'm definitely checking this one out and cannot wait.  We also have our third golf lesson and I'm meeting a couple of college friends for breakfast on Sunday.  It should be a good weekend and I'm just really looking forward to it!

Since I'm lacking in pictures of myself, I'm sharing another cat picture.  I don't care if no one else thinks they are cute and funny, I love them and they make me smile.  So here we have Taylor - laying on my blazer.  My fault for not hanging it up, but seriously, what is with my cats and laying on my clothes?  Any other cat owners have that problem?  Oh well, that is what lint rollers were invented for!

And of course, now the sun is coming out.  Darn it.  Just my luck!  Oh well!  On we go!

Outfit rundown:

Layered camis - Old Navy

Skirt - Old Navy

Sweater - LEI (thrifted)

Sandals - Marshalls

Necklace - Charming Charlie

For better for worse, in sickness and locked keys in trunks

The Pants Monkey and I have our wedding anniversary at the end of the month.  And I love him so very much and could not ask for a better husband.  But that's not what I'm going to share about today.  Oh no, not at all.  Instead, I will share the story of the time the Pants Monkey learned an expensive lesson.  It's fresh in my head cause it just happened last night.

So we went to the driving range to practice a couple of things we've learned at our lessons. We actually met there after work, so we each were in our own cars.  We did our thing and were getting ready to leave when I see him patting himself down and starting to get "That" look.  You know that look, the one that says "oh crap."  I asked what was wrong and he said "I think I locked my keys in my trunk."  He has one of those cars that has a separate door key and ignition key and I only have an extra ignition key, he kept meaning to get me a door key made and well, yeah.  We had no way of getting into the car.  We carry Triple A on my car, but not on his.  So now he had a dilemma.  I offered to call Triple A and see if they'd come anyway, but he ended up calling a locksmith instead.  And of course, it was going to be a half hour to 45 minutes.  Did I mention we also hadn't had dinner yet?  So dutiful wife that I am, I sat and waited with him.  Fortunately the locksmith came at the half hour mark and got into the car pretty quickly.  And the Pants Monkey handed over a nice chunk of change.  So, moral of the story, guess where he is going after work tonight?  To get a second key made for me.  Possibly a third to keep at home somewhere.  I tell you, never a dull moment in marriage sometimes!

I wasn't totally sure about today's outfit, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  I love this shirt, but it looks funny unless you wear the belt it came with, which is brown and I really wanted to wear this gray skirt and wasn't sure if they'd look ok together, but it seems to work just fine!

And this next picture is my entry into the Secret Society of Bloggers Under Desks - kind of a running joke, Megan from the Fashionable Bureaucrat was having a bad day one day and took a picture under her desk.  Soon Shelia did it and then Megan Mae did it and I said I would too - so here it is.  Who said fashion bloggers don't know how to have a little fun with themselves every now and then?

Quite frankly, in the midst of the key crisis last night I kind of wanted to hide!  Thank goodness it didn't sour our entire evening!

Outfit rundown:

Shirt - JCPenney

Skirt - INC Concepts (thrifted)

Necklace - Maurices

Sandals - Mootsie Tootsie

Bracelet - Bead for Life

Turn around bright eyes

Whenever I wear this skirt, I worry that those around me will need sunglasses - it's quite a bright shade of yellow!  Hopefully these pictures are not blinding anyone!  I still love this skirt even if it is super crazy yellow.  It fits like a glove and I love the pleated style.  And hey, this just works well with my whole "infusing more color into my life" scheme!

I had a fun evening last night.  Through a friend's blog, I had an opportunity to go to an advance screening of the movie What to Expect When You're Expecting.  And even though I'm not anywhere near the "becoming a parent" point in my life, it was a fun movie to watch and had a lot of my favorite actors and actresses.  It's definitely a chick flick and it's one of those multi story movies that follows several different people.  I'm not sure I would pay to see it in the theater if I hadn't had the chance to see it for free, but it was entertaining and it was nice to not have to pay!  I'm guessing those of you who are moms would probably get even more enjoyment out of it just because you've been there.

I got home later than I like though and had a hard time unwinding last night and then it was crazy warm in our house.  It got up to 86 degrees yesterday!  So it took awhile to get the house to cool down.  So I'm a bit tired today, but at least I have real coffee again, which as we know, makes all the difference!  Tonight I can crash, so I look forward to that!

Outfit rundown:

Cami and sweater - Arizona Jeans, JCPenney

Skirt - Shabby Apple

Bracelet and earrings - Stella and Dot

Necklace - Charming Charlie

Sandals - Italian Shoe Co, via DSW

Inspiration Monday - Recaps and Repeats

Happy Monday friends!  Hope you all had good weekends.  We did, full as it was!  It's Monday - although for me it's actually already Tuesday because I took this coming Friday off - and it's Inspiration Monday as usual!  This week's pick is one of my favorite actresses - the lovely Reese Witherspoon.  I adore her and she's too cute rocking her little baby bump here.  I can guarantee there ain't no baby bump on me, but I still found a fun outfit to duplicate her look a bit!

So, the outfit I chose today is a duplicate of one I wore the very first week of my blog.  I'm not going to pull up the post for you though - it was so early on in my blog, my picture taking and formatting skills were abysmal, so if you really want to see it, you'll just have to dig through the archives yourself.  I think it looks far better today than it did back then!

This dress is comfy.  So comfy it's almost hard to believe it's not like a nightgown or something, I'm not kidding.  I thrifted it last year because the color blocking thing was just kind of getting popular and I'm glad it's still really popular this year.  I know I'll be wearing this dress a ton this summer.

So I may not be a mom to any humans, but as you all know I have two fur babies and they were both so sweet yesterday.  It's like they could sense it was Mother's Day or something.  They were in such a cuddly mood.  I love it when they want to cuddle!  We had a nice day overall, we took my mom out for coffee and hit up a bakery in Uptown Minneapolis that is known for it's cinnamon rolls (they are as big as your head).  We were worried when we pulled up and the line was out the door and down the block, but we got through the line fairly quickly.  My mom and I actually chose strawberry rhubarb scones, even though the place has yummy cinnamon rolls, they only have these scones in the spring and early summer and they are TO DIE FOR.  Yes I put that in caps, they are THAT YUMMY.  We took our goodies down by Lake of the Isles and it was really lovely.  In the afternoon we hung out at a barbecue with the Pants Monkey's family.  The men - which ended up just being Mr. Monkey in the end - cooked for the women.  So we didn't lift a finger, just drank margaritas and beer and then ate burgers and brats.  It was a really nice day!

Now this week is much calmer again, after a busy weekend like we had it will definitely be nice.  And oh yes, I have regular coffee again today.  I talked to my boss and politely let her know that it was really not ok with me to drink decaf and that I'm happy to make my own at home again if she needs to drink decaf - she was really cool with it and said she'd be happy to get regular coffee again.  She apologized too.  So all is well on that front!  

Whew, lots of babbling from me today!  You know the drill - check out the lovely two birds blog here for more Inspiration Monday outfits!  

Outfit rundown:

Dress - Gap, thrifted

Sweater - Lands End

Sandals - Merona, Target

Necklace - DIY by me

Earrings - Charming Charlie

Bag - thrifted

Sunnies - Old Navy

Black Friday

Happy Friday!  I assure you no one died and I didn't flash forward to the day after Thanksgiving or anything.    Sometimes I struggle with what to wear on Fridays.  I love that I can wear jeans, but I struggle with coming up with outfits that aren't boring and still are nice enough for work.  So even though I'm on a color kick right now, I decided to go with this basic black shirt I bought last summer.  I thought I'd end up not being terribly excited by the results, but looking at these pictures, I actually really do like this.  I'm sure the accessories help a ton.  I also think that it's ok to go basic black every now and again too.  

 

Man I was tireddddd this morning when I was taking my pictures.  My boss thought it would be funny yesterday to switch our regular coffee to decaf without informing me of such first.  And I didn't realize it would be that huge of a deal until about halfway through the day, I could barely keep my eyes open.  I have this delicate balance when it comes to caffeine too - I pretty much want one cup of coffee in the morning.  I will occasionally freshen up that one cup so it ends up being more like 1 1/2 but really that is all I need.  And I have to pretty much stop drinking caffeine after noon if I have any hope of falling asleep at a decent time.  So, when I was falling asleep yesterday afternoon, I powered through without the caffeine.  By the time I woke up this morning I was super groggy and had that lovely withdrawal headache.  I stopped at my favorite coffee shop this morning and it was instant relief.  I'm a human again!

Gearing up for a somewhat busy weekend.  I have a happy hour after work today, then rehearsal with my music group.  Tomorrow we have another golf lesson and a church gig with our music group and then hopefully Mr. Monkey and I can grab some dinner out somewhere.  Sunday we are attempting to spend time with both of our mom's - doing breakfast with mine and a afternoon barbecue with his family.  So it'll be a little packed, but family is important and celebrating our mommas are important too!

Do you all have exciting weekend plans?  Happy Friday and Happy weekend everyone!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt and jeans - Maurices

Shoes - DSW

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Butterfly Boutique

Bracelet - Charming Charlie

Blue velvet

Keeping it simple today and apparently very blue.  Not there is anything wrong with blue, but this is a very blue outfit.  And unlike yesterday's all thrifted outfit, today's is totally not thrifted.  Although the sandals were my mom's, but that doesn't really count.

I'm nerdly proud of myself guys.  I made a blog button/badge/whatever you call it.  It's on the right hand side over there with a box underneath with a code you can grab and post on your blog if you wish - I know not everyone posts buttons on their sites, in fact I'm one to talk because I haven't yet, though I plan to add some soon of some of your wonderful blogs when I get some time to do some rearranging.  Mostly I'm just crazy proud of myself for figuring out how to do it.  Cause I'm a giant nerd!

Man this is the most exciting blog post EVAR.  I just don't have much witty type stuff to share today.  So, what do I do when I can't ramble on?  I share cat pictures!

This young lady was my shadow as I was getting ready to go to work today.  She even was trying to get in my bag.  Oh Pippin, I'd take you to work with me if I could!

Outfit rundown:

T-shirt and sweater - Old Navy

Skirt - Cliche Minneapolis

Sandals - Duck Head (from mom)

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

Thrifty

Hello peeps!  First things first, I'm featured over at the fabulous Erin's blog, Babes in Thriftland today as one of her "Other Babes in Thriftland" - check it out here.  Erin's another MN girl who loves thrifting as much as I do.  She's fabulous and I'm super excited to be part of her blog today!  In the spirit of thrifting - I chose an outfit made up almost entirely of thrifted items today!

My jacket, pants, shoes and bag are all thrifted items today!  I said this in my guest post on Erin's blog too - I think at least 50% of my wardrobe is thrifted, it might even be more than that.  If you look down my list of popular post labels on the right hand side of my blog, you'll notice the word "Thrifted" is one of the biggest - so yeah, I like my good deals!

Today is one of those so beautiful you just don't want to come into work kind of days.  I really want to play hooky, you have no idea how much.  I've been dreaming of vacations lately.  I have friends and family who have recently had opportunities to travel to beautiful places and I really want to go somewhere!  Remember yesterday I said if I won the lottery I'd buy a boat and a cabin and such?  Well, I'll also do a ton of traveling. Now I just need to win the lottery.  I suppose it would help if I actually started playing the lottery.  My mom always says "you can't win if you don't play".

I finally got this bag smelling a bit nicer.  I have no problem thrifting bags, this isn't even the first one I've bought second hand - but it's the first time I've really had a hard time with the smell of it once I got it home.  I've aired it out quite a bit and cleaned it some more and now it feels almost like new!

Now all this thrift talking has made me want to go thrift shopping!  I actually haven't done all that much shopping of any kind since I went off my shopping ban.  I suppose the laptop purchase had a little to do with that. I'll have to remedy that situation soon!  Anyway, please do go visit Erin's blog and if you are thrifty like me (and I know many of you are) you should sign up to do one of her Other Babes in Thriftland features too!

Outfit rundown:

Jacket - Mossimo, Target (thrifted)

Pants - Ann Taylor (thrifted)

Bag - Thrifted

Necklace - Charming Charlie (cheap enough to nearly be thrifted)

Shoes - Merona, Target (thrifted)

Sunglasses - Old Navy 

EBEW - I'm on a boat

Look at your blog post, now look at mine, now look at yours and back to mine.  Sadly your post isn't mine but if you participate in Everybody Everywear's Nautical Day your post could be like mine. Look down, where are you?  You're on a boat with the blog post your post could be like.  What's in your hand?  Back to me.  It's a computer with two tickets to that thing you love.  Look again, the tickets are now diamonds.  Anything is possible when you participate in Everybody Everywear.  I'm on a horse. *Old Spice whistle*

Anyone else remember the Old Spice commercial I just mocked up there?  It's not that old, like two years ago now?  It was hilarious and a running joke between us and some friends for awhile, especially the "I'm on a boat" line.  And as soon as I started writing my post for this month's Nautical Everybody Everywear I could not help myself, I knew I'd be referencing that somehow!  I can't take full credit, I found the script online and modified it to fit - so all credit to the Old Spice people and they are not paying me anything for my parody!  They do make the Pants Monkey smell nice though, I will say that!

So in all seriousness, my outfit is a bit of a stretch for the Nautical theme, but I think it still would work well for an afternoon of boating.  Breezy striped dress, super fun shoes.  I'm all set, just point me to my yacht! 

I love the water.  I would love nothing more than to go be on a boat all day long.  We have relatives and friends that have cabins on lakes and they own pontoon boats and the highlight of visiting them in the summer is getting a chance to go out on the pontoon.  When I when the lottery you better believe that I will own a pontoon boat.  And yes a cabin on a lake where I can bring said boat.  But most importantly I will own a boat.

I am so excited about these new sandals.  I've never done the "wrap" style sandal before and I need to play with that a bit more, couldn't get them to stay up to save my life.  But in spite of that I love the color.  I have been wanting more colorful things in my closet and especially been wanting more colorful shoes, so these fit the bill pretty well.  And they were on sale!  I just realized my dress came from Old Navy too.  And today's theme is Nautical.  Old Navy = Nautical!  Yeah I know I'm really reaching now!

I took these pictures yesterday too - the weather today is definitely not boating weather.  Rain and clouds AGAIN.  But at least it's a workday this time and not a weekend!  I'll just dream about being on a boat, it'll have to do for now!

Outfit rundown:

Dress - Old Navy

Shrug - Ragstock

Sandals - Old Navy

Necklace - Maurices