upgrading: long navy cardigan

   

     I picked up this rayon cardigan at Forever 21 a few years back, thinking it would pair perfectly with the chain and chiffon trim tank featured in this outfit. (Funny thing is, I don't think I've ever worn the two pieces together!) However, as you can see from the collage, I've managed to pair this cardigan with just about everything else in my closet, from various shades of blue to brights like orange.
   For about $15, the cardigan has served its purpose. However, it's starting to pill and show its age, so I picked up this Bobeau cardigan during my personal triple points day at Nordstrom Rack. I was planning to upgrade to a cotton vs. rayon cardigan, but the cotton cardigan they had seemed poorer quality. All I have is an iPhone photo, but I did like the mix of colors in my new cardigan's inaugural outfit:

 dress, Old Navy

Bobeau cardigan, Nordstrom Rack

belt, from a different dress

enamel necklace, eBay

 

       One thing I did realize is that while my old cardigan had very fitted sleeves, this one's sleeves are a lot looser. I tend to wear my sleeves scrunched up most of the time, and throughout the day I found myself absentmindedly pushing my sleeves up my arms ... only to have them slide right back down. I also miss the pockets on my old cardi - it's not that I used them to hold things, they were just cute. Otherwise, my upgrade cardigan is very comfortable, and I'm looking forward to wearing it often before it turns blazing hot again.

      What's the last item in your wardrobe that you've upgraded? And how did you decide it was worthy of upgrading?

green and leopard and a Thanksgiving recap

                                                                                    dress, Old Navy
                                                                                     belt, thrifted
                                                                              earrings, gift from M

     I usually wear this dress with blue or green accessories, so it was fun to mix it up with leopard print. In truth, I wouldn't have thought up this pairing on my own, but I hadn't put the leopard-print belt away and it caught my eye while I was planning my outfit. Disorganizia has (one or two measly) benefits, it appears ...

     These earrings are exquisite -- I received them last year, but this was their first outing. Not sure why I waited so long to wear them!

    After a trip through the wash, the dress was reprised as Thanksgiving lunch wear, with my thrifted Countess Mara tie as a belt (soft, stylish and stretchy belts FTW). ;)

   
       It was a quiet weekend with lots of time to sleep in and nap. I graded some papers, snacked on loaded baked potato dip left over from Thanksgiving lunch, enjoyed the company of various family members, and finished Walls' "The Glass Castle." I thoroughly enjoyed my Saturday morning meditation class, as I was much more rested than usual and didn't have to battle exhaustion while trying to keep my focus.
     I stayed away from the mall, although I did some damage online. I scored a great BOGO deal on my organic sunscreen from Mychelle and also picked up some Christmas gifts (and a few pretty things for me) from  The Haitian Bead Project.
     I also popped into my favorite Goodwill on Saturday and found some lovely tops -- all women's clothing was 50% off! One of the silk shirts has a few small stains and a dingy collar, but I'm thinking it might be a good candidate for experimenting with stain removal using vinegar and hydrogen pyroxide. If all else fails, I've got plans to chop it up and make myself a tee like this one, or even small zip pouches. I usually try to steer clear of things in not-so-great condition at the thrift store, but I couldn't pass up the whimsical umbrella print. ...
    If you celebrated Thanksgiving, or even if you didn't, what were some highlights of your weekend? 

versatile brights & what to do with your hands?

 

dress, Old Navy

scarf, Ross clearance

belt, from dress

earrings, New Zealand

jewelry - gifted jade beetles, InPink turquoise and wood bracelet

       Breaking out this scarf to accessorize my green striped tee recently inspired me to pair it with something else green - this dress. Unfortunately, the material snags easily and is starting to show its age, but I've had fun experimenting with a green dress and plan to eventually get a better-quality replacement.

 
         Breaking out two of my default poses here - (1) the elbow on the dresser and (2) looking down.
Every time I'm standing in front of a camera and trying to figure out what to do with my hands, I'm reminded of "Talladega Nights," when Ricky Bobby is being interviewed and his hands keep floating up. Like him, "I'm not sure what to do with my hands." And I didn't notice before, but one of the other characters makes a crack about him having two first names, which I do as well!



What's your favorite photo pose?

2 blues and a green

dress, Old Navy

cardigan, Gap Outlet

sash, from dress

     One recent morning the guy and I headed off to the Department of Health to get our marriage license, and this is what I wore.

    I'm kicking off my Spring Break by getting my eyebrows done and going for a contact-lens fitting. I used to wear contacts in college, but I found that they dried out my eyes so much that I'd end up with massive headaches (by that, I mean no-appetite-just-want-to-sleep kinds of headaches). I'm hoping they've made some improvements in contact-lens technology over the last decade!
    Other things on the agenda: start wiring the brooches for the bouquet because I want to make an inexpensive test bouquet ASAP (fingers crossed that the wiring goes smoothly and doesn't take forever); figure out my final project idea for my online class; do a little reading for fun; and sew the sash for my bouquet (hoping the fabric arrives tomorrow!). One more thing I'd like to do is bake something scrumptious ... what better way to celebrate my last week of singledom, right? ; )

second day

      For my second day at my practicum site, I had a great outfit planned. However, late-night snacking on salty things derailed this plan ... it seems that this bad habit results in a not-so-skinny-feeling day after. I decided to pair my elastic-waist dress with a non-constricting belt.

 dress, Old Navy

belt, thrifted

opal earrings, gift from EKM

      I have to admit I was snacking on Chicken in a Biskit. It's an odd snack all around: who decided that chicken makes a good cracker flavoring? How do they squeeze the chicken into the cracker? And why couldn't they spell "biscuit" properly?
      As strange as they are, Chicken in a Biskits hold a special place in my heart (er, stomach?) due to my childhood. It seems my childhood was largely comprised of ... reading and snacking. And these were not healthy snacks, but the glory of the processed-food industry: Oreos, cheese balls that came in a can, Icees, Combos, Otter Pops, Chips Ahoy, these strangely mushy microwaveable cakes, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs. (At this point you are either smiling nostalgically ... or feeling nauseated.) I'll stop here.

      I try to eat healthfully most of the time, but on occasion I give in to the temptation to revisit these childhood favorites. I'm not the only one, either ... my cousin shared recently how excited she was to find Biskits on the snack table at a meeting. While one of the attendees declared the Biskits weird, my cousin went back for three servings. Those childhood tastes are hard to shake!

blue and green should not be seen?

      Just popping in for a quick post! I'm skipping Try-it-out Tuesday this week, but I have two parties to attend this weekend, so I'll be posting those outfits next week. :)

  

 dress, Old Navy

belt, from dress

• I haven't worn my snake print dress much, but the belt has proven quite versatile (see it adding some zest to a red buttondown here and livening up a chambray tunic here). This has me thinking about going through my enormous fabric stash and turning some of it into fabric belts. I bet it would be easy to whip up several in an afternoon.
• Jeans-free June has been surprisingly pain-free (but then again, it's pretty early to be making any judgments!) I have figured out that a non-stretch pencil skirt is not the best thing to wear when your summer school classroom is on the second floor and you need to walk your classes up and down the stairs several times a day. I have also figured out how comfortable and easy a dress can be. Throw it on, add some accessories, and I'm ready to go. 
• It amazes me just how much kindergartners moving up to first grade and first-graders going up to second vary, in everything from attention span, to book tastes, to work habits. For instance, yesterday I read Keiko Kasza's "A Mother for Choco" to both groups. The kinder lesson involved making story bracelets using pipe cleaners and pony beads (and guess who spent the night beforehand using a brown Sharpie to scribble giraffe spots on yellow beads, putting a loop on the end of 30 pipe cleaners, and sorting beads by color?) With the first-graders, however, I did a lesson about comparing two people (themselves and mom or dad) that involved filling out a graphic organizer and turning those notes into writing. It's sobering to realize how quickly children change and grow in just a year. 

Happy Wednesday! :)

Try-it-out Tuesday: style redemption

     Sunday marked four years since the Mr. and I went on our first date. We decided on a whim to go out for dinner. The Mr. is not particularly sentimental, so I was surprised that he wanted to go back to the same spot where we ate dinner four years ago. However, they were closed (which shows how often we venture out on Sunday nights).
     We ended up at a open-air bar in Waikiki, eating overpriced tacos, beans, rice, and chips out of styrofoam containers and drinking overpriced wine and beer. We watched the tourists strolling by below toting their shopping bags and snapping photos of each other. Then we went home but were too tired to open the bottle of pink sparkling wine I had got for the occasion, so we went to bed. Not quite the romantic night most folks dream of, but you know what? It was just right. :)
     I remember what I wore on that first date: a black V-neck top with a white camisole under it, jeans, wedge sandals, and not even a bit of makeup.
      I figured Sunday was time to redeem myself sartorially from that rather simple start. I knew this look was a hit with the Mr. when he grabbed my camera and started taking photos.

     

dress, Old Navy

D&Y scarf worn as belt, Ross

sandals, Target

22K gold ring, worn as necklace, India (gift)

green bangles, India

silver bangles, Amrita Singh on HauteLook

    P.S.: the scarf as obi belt is what qualifies this as a Try-it-out Tuesday post. Oh, and the fact that I straightened my hair, put on foundation and eye makeup, and tinted lip balm -- which all together made me feel pretty glamorous. :)
   Happy Tuesday!