Just Call Me Marilyn

shirt and shoes: Target, scarf: H&M, skirt and belt: thrifted, tights: hmm...can't remember

via Pinterest

It’s time for Copycats again! I love the Pinterest app on my iPhone so much that I’ve been pinning a lot lately, so of course that’s where I found the inspiration for this look. I love this skirt, but finding it at a local thrift store for only $.99 might have something to do with that! While walking to get lunch, some wind almost put me in a Marilyn Monroe inspired situation. If you’re worried about the effect that may have had on my ego, have no fear, not even 10 minutes later I tripped going up the stairs of the building I work in. Nothing like nearly flashing the general public twice in one day!

Bring on the Weekend

sweater: Forever 21, shirt/pants/shoes: Target, necklace: Charming Charlie

The only thing I can think to say about my outfit is that I really liked the sea foam colored necklace against the burgundy colors of my shirt and sweater. That's it, that's all I've got. That must mean that I'm really ready for the weekend to start, right?! 

Back At It

tee and cardigan: Old Navy, scarf and boots: Target, pants: New York & Co.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend! We were lucky enough to see both families for the holiday, which meant we consumed far too much food. Totally worth it! I'm not big on black Friday shopping because of the crowds and just not being ready to focus on Christmas shopping yet, but we did venture out later in the morning to get a good deal on a chest freezer. Exciting stuff, right? Hopefully you shopped for things that were a little more fun than that!

Linking up...

Tweed

tee, necklace, and jeans: Target, blazer: thrifted, shoes: Payless

I've been wanting to find a tweed blazer for awhile, so I almost started cheering when I found this one at my favorite local Goodwill. I'm taking full advantage of being able to wear jeans to work this week, but I love that this blazer made me feel a little more pulled together! 

Linking up...

Inspiration Monday

top: Family Dollar, cardigan/boots/jeans: Target, necklace: Flea Market

Inspiration photo - Jenna Dewan-Tatum

Although I could really use it, I’m skipping 5 for Five this week (sorry Jenn!). :( What I realized is that it’s a fantastic way to encourage myself to put some serious thought into some manageable goals, but I have been miserable at sticking to them! I’m thinking that maybe finding a place to display them on my desk at work would help serve as a reminder throughout the week of what I’d like to accomplish. Does anyone else have any great ideas to share that will help prevent me from setting goals, then pushing them to the side? 

Onto a far less serious topic, let’s talk about my outfit. A United Way fundraiser allowed me to pay $5 to wear jeans to work this week, so I’m happy that I was able to use my version of Jenna Dewan-Tatum’s outfit today. (Go to Two Birds to check out everyone else’s look.) I actually found this tunic at Family Dollar when I went shopping for cleaning supplies. I’ll tell you what, I’ll look anywhere I see clothing to see if I can find a good deal! I initially picked it up because of the length – I figured it would be perfect for lazy weekends spent in leggings, but I think it actually worked for work today. It’s certainly not one of my most professional looks, but I added the beaded necklace to make it just a little bit dressier.  

EBEW: Boots

dress and tights: Target, boots: Clothes Mentor, necklace: flea market

When I saw that the Everybody, Everywear theme this month is boots, I thought this outfit from my guest post over at Callie's blog deserved it's own post. I have a weakness for sweater dresses. They're cozy and a great alternative to plain black dress pants. I couldn't resist this one because I felt the strategic contrast between the black and gray made me feel about 10 pounds lighter, and who doesn't love that?!  

Late Again

shirt: thrifted, jeans: Shoppers World, shoes: Target
I just had to include the outfit I wore to the OSU basketball game mentioned in this post.  Showing my school spirit without wearing my favorite hoodie!

I'm late to Jenn's link up party again, oops! I felt awful over the weekend, then I spent last night trying to learn how to order half a hog. Yes, that's right, a hog. My brother raised them, now my parents and I are splitting one. Something tells me this will be a strange adventure!

1. Create a new work out plan. That whole running a marathon thing only excuses inactivity for so long, and I'm about at that mark! Work is crazy this week, so I won't be too hard on myself, something needs to happen this weekend. Yeah, and then Thursday night's dinner was queso dip and a chicken caesar salad, which made me so sick that I didn't even feel hungry until Monday morning...ugh. 

2. Organize my closet, which will first require that I actually put clothes away. I actually did this! First I finally switched out my spring/summer shoes for fall/winter shoes. Since that made me able to actually step into my closet, organizing it was that much easier. :)

3. Get out of the office during lunch at least 3 times this week. I still want to pack my lunch, but I think walking away from my desk for my lunch hour is incredibly refreshing. You guys, I don't think I even took a lunch break last week. I ate lunch, but it was at my desk and probably in about 15 minutes while working on something work related. Totally unacceptable.

4. Take my turn making dinner at least 3 times this week. I'm kind of cheating because I already made dinner tonight before writing this post, but I'm still going with it! I think I managed this one, even if I had to rely on the crockpot!

5. This one will never go away...stick to my weekly budget. This one will take some effort because yesterday was the first day of this week's budget, and I spent it taking my husband's cousin shopping.  I still did it - woohoo! :)

Clearly I need to step up my game and take these a little more seriously! Here's what I plan to tackle this week:

1. Pay it forward. My husband and I wanted to go to the Ohio State basketball game on Sunday, so we decided to head down to campus and see how good of a deal we could get on some tickets. After talking to a few people and deciding not to buy what they had (my husband is a serious negotiator with ticket scalpers!), we were talking about just going in to buy from the ticket office, when we saw a guy walking towards the entrance with a teenager, holding up 2 tickets. We caught his attention, and when we asked how much he wanted for them, he handed them to us, said they're free, only cost is that you have to sit next to my nephew and I. We were a little dumbfounded and he took off into the arena before we got much more than a "are you sure?" in. Once we were in the game, I thanked him again, he told us that he has tickets with his family, and that he had the extra tickets because his cousin passed away. He didn't want money for them, just wanted someone to be able to use the tickets. So I decided I'm going to pay it forward. I'm not sure how yet, but I'm going to do it for someone not because I think they need it, but because it's a nice thing to do.

2. Apparently just taking a lunch break 3 times a week needs to be on the list. Even if stepping away from my desk doesn't happen, I need to log out of my email and clear my mind while I eat!

3. No more than an hour and a half on my computer each night after work. I'm back to this one so I make sure I'm spending quality time with my husband, not just time.

4. Create a workout plan. No more excuses.

5. Stick to the budget. Blah. This may get a little easier to stay motivated for since I just got an invite to my best friends' wedding in Jamaica next year!!

Inspiration

the inspiration photo

tee: thrifted, sweater: Old Navy, leggings and boots: Target, scarf: gift

I'm combining 5 for Five and Inspiration Monday today because I love them both. :) My version of LC's outfit was perfect for heading to our favorite bar last week to celebrate the release of my husbands' favorite beer, Great Lakes Christmas Ale. I'm not going to lie, I would normally wear yoga pants, a cute hoodie, and running shoes to that type of evening out. This outfit was much cuter, and still left plenty of breathing room for my beer and pizza!

Now for the goals. I was bad and didn't participate last week, so I'll evaluate my goals from the week before, then add mine for this week!

1. Be a responsible home owner and do some dang landscaping. Oops. This didn't happen, but last week I did manage to frantically pull a few weeds out of the bushes for fear of judgement of the parents of our trick-or-treaters! :)

2. Do my hair the rest of the work week. That was a success the week that I set that goal! 

3. Maintain my weekly budget. I had to transfer some amounts between categories, but I did it! (for example, when I didn't use all my money marked for "fun", I switched it over to "shopping" to make up for my overspending in that category) I've decided I'm happy as long as I don't spend over my overall dollar amount budgeted.

4. Find and try at least one new recipe. Nope. Didn't happen. :(

5. Drink at least 60 ounces of water at work each day. I did  a really bad job of keeping track of this one, but still think I managed to come close. I at least still kept my soda limited!

And now for this week's goals...
1. Create a new work out plan. That whole running a marathon thing only excuses inactivity for so long, and I'm about at that mark! Work is crazy this week, so I won't be too hard on myself, something needs to happen this weekend.

2. Organize my closet, which will first require that I actually put clothes away. 

3. Get out of the office during lunch at least 3 times this week. I still want to pack my lunch, but I think walking away from my desk for my lunch hour is incredibly refreshing. 

4. Take my turn making dinner at least 3 times this week. I'm kind of cheating because I already made dinner tonight before writing this post, but I'm still going with it!

5. This one will never go away...stick to my weekly budget. This one will take some effort because yesterday was the first day of this week's budget, and I spent it taking my husband's cousin shopping. 

And that's it! For inspiration of all kinds, check out the hosts of these lovely link-ups...

Over Here!

I'm guest posting today over at one of my favorite blogs, Coffee and Cardigans...check it out!

Sunday Social

That's what you get when you ask my husband to take a picture. The funny faces are just our response to him being such a pain. :) Linking up again for Sunday Social!

What is currently on your wish list?

A sewing machine! I've wanted one for awhile now, but have officially decided that I'll be asking for one for Christmas

Share a new iPhone, droid, iPad app you have recently discovered that we all need.

Easy Envelope Budget Aid. Not really a fun app, but it's helped keep me accountable lately.

What is a new Fall TV show you have added to your DVR?

Revolution - the one where the whole world loses power. It's kind of strange, but it's kept us entertained enough that we keep watching every week.

Share your Social Media links:

Pinterest, instagram is rupie514. I think instagram is my favorite for no reason other than that I like to share pictures. I have to admit that my Facebook account is in no way connected to my blog...my friends don't even know this little blog of mine exists. :)

What is a TV series or movie or song you could listen to or watch over and over and over and never get tired of?

I don't really repeatedly watch movies unless it's Cars or something princesses, and then that's because my niece or nephew has gotten their way. :) I could watch How I Met Your Mother on repeat though. There's been so many episodes that I feel like we can relate to! Has anybody seen the episode about Punchy's wedding? My husband would've loved to decorate with a Cleveland Browns like they did and that episode is from the year we got married...I'm so glad he never got his way!

Inspired

shirt, belt, and boots: Target, sweater: Old Navy

I finally took pictures of this outfit that I'm happy with! Thankfully I'm not wearing it today, I changed right back into my jeans and favorite Ohio State hoodie from college and plan to go to campus and meet up with friends. It's kind of a shame that I did my hair just to put on a hat to stay warm, but it'll be worth it!

So I have to admit, when I saw Marion's Boots and Booties outfit for her Trend of the Month Link-Up, I was inspired. Clearly it's not the first time. :) I stuck to the idea of a skirt paired with an almost over-sized sweater and booties. The outfit left me feeling professional, stylish, and even cozy (that must've been the sweater). It's definitely a look I'll be trying again!


Linking up with Marion!  Visit her blog to see how everyone styled their boots or booties!

Monochromatic

jeans and shirt: thrifted, boots: Target, scarf: World Market

My scarf and shirt were close enough to the same color today that I decided to give a monochromatic look a try today.  I've liked that it's been cool enough to opt for boots everyday this week, but it reminds me that I need to finally transition my closet into fall mode. I'm far too lazy to be walking to the closet in the next room over every morning just to complete my outfit...