A New Day

sweater: Old Navy, tank: Target, skirt: thrifted, tights: Walmart, boots: JCPenney

Inspiration Monday photo 

Today I felt a little more inspired and able to handle tights for the day, so I decided to join in on the Inspiration Monday fun! :) Of course you can't see it in the picture and I didn't think to take any close ups, but the sweater has a metallic line along the ruffle and the cuff. I thought that made the sweater a great alternative to simply pairing a black top or sweater with this skirt. Head on over to Two Birds to check out some other looks!

A New Low

blazer: thrifted, tee: Target, pants: New York & Co., shoes: Payless

First of all, let's look past today's crazy hair. Please? Yikes. I did have the perfect outfit planned for Inspiration Monday, but since it included a skirt I would've had to wear tights and I just didn't have the energy for those this morning. I have to admit, that may be a new low for me! Oh well, maybe I'll give it another go tomorrow...better late than never, right? :) 

Linking up...

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Proud

shirt: thrifted, sweater & bracelet: Old Navy, jeans: Gap, boots & watch: Target, necklace: Walmart

I'm proud of myself, and let me tell you why. I love everything in Target, which is why I need to stay the heck out of their stores. Going to Target on my way home from work on a Friday used to be my reward after a long week, but that's an expensive reward for someone like me who needs to be on a budget. So I've been trying to be better lately, and it's worked a little bit because before today it had been four and a half weeks since I had been in a Target. 

Tonight I caved though, and stopped by my favorite store on my way home from work because we needed Gatorade, cereal, and facewash (of course I didn't just stop at the Giant Eagle we can see from our front door...) I've decided it was ok though, because those clearance finds that found their way into my shopping basket? I would've normally bought them all, but decided that the pants weren't all that great, the dress bunched a little too much, and I already have a pastel purse that I really should use more often. It may seem silly, but to walk out of there and know that I had successfully kept my spending it check felt like a little bit of a victory. I think I'll celebrate with a glass of wine...happy weekend everyone! :)

Linking up...

Red Jeans + Boots

shirt: thrifted, jeans: Shopper's World, boots: Target

A friend texted me on Friday, asking if she could wear colored jeans with tall boots. My response was heck yes you can, but then I realized that I don't think I've ever tried that combination. Well now I can say that I have. My husband and I went out for a few drinks on Sunday afternoon to celebrate a co-workers birthday and I used it as an opportunity to try it out. Red jeans - the most versatile wardrobe item out there?

A little late, but linking up...

Vacation Day

slippers: JCPenney, sweatpants: Kohl's, sweatshirt: my junior high track sweatshirt from 1997 ...never letting that one go! haha

My husband and I took a random vacation today, for no other reason than just that we have enough vacation days to do that every once in awhile. On our agenda today? Go see the new Die Hard, and find these, preferably the chicken and waffles flavor. That's it...yeah, it's going to be awesome! Until then, I'm starting my day off right, curled up in my ancient but favorite hoodie, a good book, and my coffee. Since I can't promise I'll look anymore put together today than I do in the picture above, how about you go check out Elegance Personified since Ada was kind enough to  have me on her blog today. Happy Friday everyone!

Patience

sweater & watch: Target, pants: Kohl's, shoes & bracelet: thrifted

a closer look at the print, tote: Walmart

Patience really is a virtue, although I'm sure that phrase is better off being applied to other aspects of life besides just my shopping habits! I found these pants back in the fall, but had to be a responsible adult and choose between them and my mustard pencil skirt. The pencil skirt obviously won, but it really made me sad to leave the pants behind. I stopped at Kohl's a few days after Christmas to make a return (and conveniently check out their clearance!), and found these on sale for something crazy like $15. I threw responsibility out the window at that point and brought these home with me! We were meant to be. :)

This Old Thing: A Link Up

sweater: Target, tee: Old Navy, skirt: The Limited, tights: Walmart, boots: JC Penney, necklace: Charming Charlie

I couldn’t resist joining in on the fun for the Oh, This Old Thing? link up over at Kimmie’s blog. I was looking around in my closet and realized that I've done a decent job getting rid of all things ancient in all but one area...jeans! Honestly, I need to to accept that those jeans from my junior year of college will just never fit the same way again. Since an old pair of jeans weren't an option today (because of work, and the way they now fit), I decided to go with this sweater. It's several years old, dating back to the days of simply pairing a cardigan with black dress pants for work each day. I think my style has come a long way since then, but I still like this sweater! :)

Casual Weekend

shirt: thrifted, scarf: gift, jeans: Target, boots: Payless 

shirt & bracelet: thrifted, pants: Kohl's, shoes: Target

Just showing off a few casual looks from the weekend! Clearly my love of baggy tops lasted all week. Don't worry, I'm finishing the weekend strong by hanging out in sweatpants and an oversize hoodie. Perfect for an evening of movie watching. :)

A Little Extra Room

shirt & necklace: thrifted, pants: New York & Co., shoes: Target

Since we’re Browns fan in our house, I pretty much stop paying attention to professional football after December. I did however, gladly watch the Super Bowl last night, even if it was only because I wanted an excuse to make buffalo chicken dip and enjoy some drinks! That led to wearing something baggier today, because who wants to wear something fitted after gorging themselves on buffalo chicken dip the day before?

I found this shirt when I went thrifting on my afternoon off work last week, and today was the perfect excuse to wear it. At the thrift store, I’m much less likely to pay attention to sizes. This shirt is an extra-large, and although I know I don’t need an extra-large (I’m usually a size medium in tops), I sometimes like the extra bagginess. We’ll say it’s because I like the style, but maybe it’s really because I need options for those post buffalo chicken dip days… :)

Linking up...

30 for 30 Day 30: Challenge Completed!

shirt & scarf: Old Navy, vest & jeans: Target, boots: Clothes Mentor

Well that's it - the 30 for 30 is done! During the last week of the challenge we saw temperatures in the 60s, all the way down to temperatures hovering around 20 degrees so I had to pout and go for something really cozy for day 30. Now for the recap...

 

 

 

What I learned:

- I really like all of my clothes. :)

- Less can be better. Even though I really like all of my clothes, I could get along just fine with probably only about half of them. Thankfully I got in the mood to purge, and in the middle of the challenge donated a lot of things I finally made myself realize that I just don't wear enough. The goal is to make myself be more selective when shopping in the future.

- I felt like my style changes more drastically than I would've thought between work and weekend. Maybe the fact that it's winter made me want to do nothing but wear huge, warm sweaters on the weekend (of which I failed to include any of), but I found myself avoiding the cute sweaters I wear so much during the week, and inside choosing to wear the long sleeve baggier shirts over and over again on the weekend. 

What surprised me:

- I didn't feel as if I needed to "re-mix my wardrobe" anymore than I usually do, and I'm happy about that. I think I try to make each and every outfit one I've never worn before, even if the only change from the last time I wore it is the accessories, or maybe the shoes. I did however, learn a ton from the other ladies who participated in the challenge! Dresses as shirts? Dalmation print and stripes? (I'm talking about you, Nicole!) I loved seeing everyone's creativity come through during the challenge and it's definitely inspired me to try some things that will make my closet even more versatile!

Thanks so much to Sam for hosting and to everyone who participated! I had so much fun the past month "hanging out" with you gals! :)