Long weekends

Dress: Target (thrifted)

Belt: Target

Cardigan: Target

Boots: Frye Melissa Button

Did you guys have a good Memorial day weekend? I wrote up a whole list of things I wanted to do, and I barely made a dent in it. I don't even know where all my time went... between watching episodes of Party Down and getting lost in a new blog (um, have you seen Young House Love? It's like watching one of those HGTV shows where they fix up old houses but with real people. They are amazing!) and getting a little bit of work done with my backlog of blog designs.. I didn't really do much.

The highlight of my weekend was going out dancing with my awesome girlfriends on Saturday night and having a sleepover afterwards (while P spent the night at my in-laws). My mom thinks I'm too old for sleepovers, now that I'm married and have a kid. But I love sleepovers! I hope I never outgrow them.

Sunny day sweeping the clouds away

Top: The Limited

Blazer: H&M

Jeans: J Brand Lovestory

Shoes that you can't see: Target

I usually check the weather every morning when I'm getting dressed. Yesterday's forecast said it would be lows in the 50s, and a high of 68. So, I put on a skirt and my new springy wedges, but then as I looked outside, it looked so miserable and cold that I turned around and put on pants instead.

As I drove into town, the clouds parted and the sun came out, and then I totally regretted not wearing that skirt. I guess it didn't really matter though, since I spent the entire day sitting in front of a computer screen, and a skirt or pants made no difference.

Also? The sun happened to be playing peek-a-boo with the clouds while I was taking my pictures, which is why my shirt is in various shades of purple and my shadow appears and disappears. I'd try to color correct the photos but I don't really feel like it (and I don't know how either, so it's not like I could even if I wanted to). I am, however, proud of my skillz in Photoshopping out my crooked shirt. The wrinkles were seriously bugging me.

No effort

Dress: gift from friend

Flats: Target

Bracelet: swap with Frances Joy

Necklace: gift from Amber Lena

This outfit was from Friday. When it was still warm and sunny (it's not anymore, of course).

I "forgot" my lunch that day so I bought a gyro at my favorite Greek place and walked down to the waterfront and ate lunch in the sun. It was glorious, until I got home later and realized I got sunburnt from being out there for only half an hour. Now it's all itchy and red.. so annoying. The joys of being light-skinned, right?

Sometimes I love these looks-like-a-skirt-and-a-shirt-but-is-actually-a-dress-in-disguise dresses, but in this case, I wish the shirt part was a little bit longer. I kept tugging at the skirt part hoping that the waist would magically shift down, but no such luck. Then again, I didn't have to worry about my shirt becoming untucked or my skirt getting crooked all day. And, I felt put together without any effort, so that's a win in my book.

A day at the farm

Tunic: Target

Jeggings: Target

Flats: Target

Belt: Charlotte Russe

I didn't have to work today, so I took P to the Kelsey Creek Farm Park this morning, which I had never known had a farm until Andrea posted about it last week. The park is a million times better than the zoo because P was able to look at all the animals up close, it's only 15 minutes away from our house, AND it was free! It also helps that he knows the names to all the farm animals.

I felt kind of weird bringing a tripod to the the park, but P loves the self-timer so I decided to give it a try. His latest "thing" is pushing the camera shutter button then running to be in the frame. It's really cute! The picture-taking actually worked out a lot better than I had anticipated, so don't be surprised if P is in a lot more outfit pictures from now on.

In other news, I got my first Shellac gel manicure, and I think I'm hooked. I've never liked getting manicures or doing my nails that much because they chip less than two days later, and it's just not worth the time or money. I'm on day three of the Shellac now, and they still look perfect. I'll just have to see if they really do last the "three to four weeks" as advertised.

Bracelet: H&M, Ring: F21... and my belt looks super frayed. Time to look for a new one!

Blueberries

Top: Banana Republic

Skirt: Karen Kane (giveaway prize)

Shoes: Target

Last month, I came across a giveaway for $200 for an outfit and a styling session hosted by Karen Kane, and I entered, of course, because I love entering giveaways. I was so surprised when I was emailed a few weeks later letting me know I had won! So exciting!!! I mean, what's better than free clothes?

I met up with Angie, a Karen Kane rep, last week for our shopping day at Macy's, and it was really nice to be able to learn more about the company and brand. We picked out a bunch of outfits to try on and I ended up with a few different things, all of which I absolutely adore.

Seeing that $200 is one third of my annual budget allotted to clothes, it was really difficult for me to stomach spending that much money on only three items. And two of the things were FULL PRICE and NO COUPON (!!!!! it should be a crime to pay full price and have no coupon at Macy's). As I left the store, I was thinking that maybe I could return one of them and use the money towards other clothes (because $90 goes a long ways, and using it on only one item seemed wasteful), but I was unable to pick one item I liked least, and couldn't bear the thought of returning any of them. I like them all too much.

Plus, it's nice to wear something other than Target and Forever 21 once in awhile :)

PS. My dear friend Linley over at Dwelling and Telling is hosting her own giveaway for a $200 Karen Kane styling day! Go enter NOW!

PPS. There are no blueberries in this picture. I had no idea what to name this post, and Sorren suggested 'blueberries' - because everyone likes blueberries. TRUE DAT.

Trying to be comfortable in my own skin

Top: Target

Skirt: Sanctuary (thrifted)

Flats: Target

Bracelets: H&M

Ring: Forever 21

When I woke up yesterday morning, the sun was shining bright, and I thought it would be a good day to go bare-legged. Nevermind that it was still a little chilly, but it was such a beautiful day and I'm so glad spring is finally here!

I do have a cupboard full of self-tanning lotions, as well as a bunch of ultra-high tanning sessions left on my account at the salon (that I purchased before I got married THREE YEARS AGO)... but I just can't stand the smell of self-tanners, and I'm too worried about intentionally damaging my skin now.

Sometimes I wish I lived in Asia where fair skin is highly desired (because being tan means you're laboring out in the sun). But too bad I live where fair skin is thought of as pasty and sick, and tan signifies that you're healthy and active. Now that I'm older, I'm trying really hard to embrace my natural skin color and trying to be happy with what I was born with. It's really difficult though, especially when I see pictures of perfectly sun-kissed and tan girls, but I know that's never going to be me, and I just have to come to accept that.

So from now on, I vow to not complain about how pale my skin is, or how much I wish I was tanner. It might slip out once in awhile, but I think this is a good start.

Impatience

Top: Target

Jeans: Hudson

Belt: Husband's

Wedges: Target

Bracelets: H&M

I put up my Everybody Everywear post yesterday morning, saying that I was looking for some non-noisy bracelets. Cee immediately responded telling me I should go check out H&M. I was too impatient to wait until the end of the day, so I took the bus downtown in the middle of my workday (hey, it's just my late lunch break!) and picked these up from H&M.

I originally was kind of hesitant to spend $10 on a bunch of bracelets I could have easily made with some stretchy string and beads from the craft store, but I'm just too lazy. It would have taken a few weeks for me to get around to buying the materials, and then they'd sit in my room for about 6 months before I would actually make something, and by then I would have lost interest in wearing them. I'm all about instant gratification.

I was so excited about these though, that I put them on as soon as I got back to the office, and I love how they complimented my (pretty boring) outfit. I'm still working on getting a bigger stack of bracelets on my arm, but these will do for now. And they'd better, because I'm probably going to be wearing them everyday from now on out.

Floral day

Tee: Forever 21
Cardigan: Nordstrom Rack
Skirt: Old Navy
Boots: Steve Madden

I'm so excited to be able to participate in the Everybody Everywear floral day! I had to miss the last two because 1) I did not want to buy a maxi dress just for the challenge, knowing I'd never wear it again, and 2) I broke my camera trying to take a picture for polka-dot day.

I've been seeing floral print everywhere lately, and I've been really REALLY wanting a new floral top (I only own one), but when I go shopping, I either don't like the print or the color, or don't like the cut of the top (why do half of them have to be strapless and/or have a cinched waist?!). I was almost tempted to wear this skirt out as a top today under a blazer, but my husband laughed at me, and I'll admit, it did look silly. Even when it was belted, the skirt is too poofy as a shirt.

What's on your spring shopping list? Mine is surprisingly short. All I want right now is a floral top, and some bracelets... because I don't feel like a real style blogger without a stack of bracelets on my wrist. It's hard to find bracelets that don't clang (I'm talking to you, metal bangles). I'm thinking maybe leather or braided bracelets? But I'm not sure where to look. Something like these, but in my price range, obviously. Any suggestions?