Happy Holidays!

I am finishing up some deadline types of things these next few days at work, then we're heading out of town for Christmas, where I will be with very little internet connection and no real motivation to wear anything other than yoga pants, then I'm back to Atlanta to finalize the very last deadline types of things at work before year-end hits, so I think I'm going to go ahead and take these next two weeks off from this little corner of the Internet to get everything done, and enjoy the upcoming quality time with my family.

I do plan to post sporadically over at my family blog these next couple of weeks, however, if you're noticing a serious lack of cute toddler pictures in your life and want to remedy that...

If not, have a very happy holiday week, and I'll be back after the start of the new year, with my well-intentioned and exceptionally realistic resolutions for 2012.

(And I fully intend to stick to them this year! Maybe! If they don't get too hard! And I don't get too busy!)

(And...who am I kidding? I am totally going to need someone to volunteer for the 2012 resolution cheerleader position this year, if I really want to make any changes...any takers?)

Crunch Time

You guys! Christmas is, like, a week away! Seriously!

How did this happen?!?!

Any chance we can all get together and agree to push it back for a couple of weeks? I know that would really help me out, right about now...

Thanks.

PS: Can't you feel the tension in these pictures? Rudy Cat (as Brigid calls him, anyway...he used to be plain old Rudy, but he's been renamed by the two-year old...and it's kind of ridiculously adorable) really, really, REALLY wanted to get his hands (paws) on that darn necklace I was wearing. I'm lucky there are no holes in my sweater after this attempt.

Sweater: Loft (outlet)

Skirt: Loft (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Tights: Hue (from DSW)

Bracelet: Kohls

Necklace: Old Navy 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Plaid

I don't know why plaid is making such a comeback right now, but I kind of think I like it. I gave my husband a hard time when he started loading up on plaid shirts once fall hit (in fact, I think my exact words were 'when did it become 1996 again?'), but then I fell in love with this little skirt at the thrift store, and I decided maybe Steve was on the right track.

AND THEN! And then, when I was doing my post-Thanksgiving, pre-detox spending spree at the outlet mall, I came across this skirt at the Loft outlet, and...well...gray and purple plaid?

There was just no saying no to this one.

(And that's why I put myself on the shopping ban...

The clothes were winning, my friends. The clothes were winning.)

 Cardigan: Gap (outlet)

Skirt:Loft (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West (outlet)

Tights: Hue (from DSW)

Necklace: Charming Charlie 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Sequins!

I haven't participated in an Everybody, Everywear challenge in a few months, but when I saw that the December prompt was sequins and sparkle, I definitely wanted to play along. Might not be a bad one to check out, if you're looking to add a little shine to the holiday wardrobe...

 

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Speaking of holidays, I started wrapping my Christmas presents last night, and if that's not the most time consuming activity right now, I don't know what is. Luckily, I sugared myself up on some eggnog for the evening, so I was able to power through a good portion of the gift pile.

That said, though, I think everyone is just getting gift cards next year. So much easier, you know?

(Oh, who am I kidding? Gifts for EVERYONE! I love shopping for Christmas presents for my family...there's just something about thinking you've found that one perfect gift, I guess.)

Tank Top: J Crew

Cardigan: Gap (outlet)

Skirt: J Crew (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West (outlet)

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Monday Blahs

It's cloudy and cold and Monday, and while that seems like it should be an absolute bummer, it's also full-on Christmas season, and Brigid and I have spent the day listening to festive music and watching DVR'd holiday specials and eating some of the various holiday treats lying around the house, so it's actually been a pretty pleasant day.

It's also Inspiration Monday at Two Birds, so that always helps, too, because if it wasn't for those ladies, I'm pretty sure I'd be sitting around in my sweats all day, and the fact that I'm wearing pants with an actual waistband is the only thing that's kept me from eating ALL of the holiday treats in the house.

And that's never a good feeling...

Anyway, the inspiration:

And, the outfit:

 T-shirt: Gap

Sweater: DKNY Jeans (from Macy's)

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (from Macy's)

Shoes: Steve Madden (from Macy's)

Old Navy

Hey, look...today's neutral is navy! This might just be my favorite look of the week. I LOVE this dress! For other navy ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily or Keely to see the other participants!

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I am so happy that this week is finally over. Except for the fact that I have a crazy deadline on Monday, which is supposed to be my day off, but I can't really expect my team to have everything into me a day early, since we're already operating on a shorter calendar than we need, so I will be trying to juggle work and Brigid on Monday.

So...that's something to look forward to, I guess.

Next week. If I can just get through next week, we'll have hit most of our year-end deadlines, and things can start slowing down a bit. 

And then I can concentrate on packing lots and lots of layers for Christmas in Indiana...

Dress: Banana Republic (outlet)

Cardigan: Macy's (from somewhere in the Juniors section)

Tights: Loft (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

A little cognac for a rainy day...

For other neutral ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily to see other participants!

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So, last night, I found out that my hair lady (stylist? hair cutter? woman responsible for reintroducing me to bangs, but also keeping me from doing anything too drastic when I was pregnant and couldn't find any hairstyle that looked good on me?) is moving to Minnesota. She and I had moved to Atlanta around the same time, and I was matched up with her blindly while booking an appointment at a salon down the street from the house Steve and I were renting at the time.

Five years later, and she's the only person who has touched my hair in the state of Georgia. I realize this is a complete non-problem in the grand scheme of things, but still...

I'm going to miss her.

And I don't know if I have it in me to break in a new hair lady after all of this time.

PS: Sorry for the terrible, terrible post titles this week. I promise, I'll try harder in the future.

Dress (as top): Calvin Klein

Skirt: H&M

Tights: Hue (from DSW)

Shoes: Nine West 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Lowdown Brown

For other neutral ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily to see other participants!

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So, obviously, this isn't really a typical workday outfit for me...but that's because I wore this to work/shopping with my sister-in-law last weekend.

See how I tricked you there? Ha!

Happy Wednesday!

Top: The Limited

Sweater: Gap

Jeans: Gap

Boots: DSW

Necklace: Charming Charlie 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Gray Day

For other neutral ideas, you can always visit Megan Mae Daily to see other participants!

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Tuesday's Neutral Week challenge prompt is gray. Should be easy, right? I have a TON of gray clothing in my closet!

And yet, I absolutely missed the boat on this one, because throwing a gray sweater on does not a gray based neutral outfit make. But I'm going with it, anyway. I couldn't really find any gray bottoms that looked ok with the sweater, and I really wanted to wear the sweater. So, there you have it. My dressing logic...

Kind of frightening, getting a glimpse inside my head, huh?

 

Button-up: Land's End Canvas

Sweater: Gap

Skirt: Calvin Klein (from Macy's)

Shoes: Nine West

Tights: Hue (from DSW) 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Neutrals Week!

Since I'm all involved in this self-imposed shopping ban in December, I'm looking for ways to inspire myself to wear what I already have in different ways, instead of looking for that inspiration in new clothes.

(And honestly, if you saw my closet, you'd wonder why I'd have such a hard time being inspired by what I own. Because, let's face it, I own much more than I really need to own...)

(Hence, the shopping ban, I guess...)

So I decided to participate in the Neutrals Week challenge, which you can read all about over at Megan Mae Daily, if you're interested... 

 

The neutral for Monday is black, which makes up most of my closet, anyway, so it wasn't really a bad place to start for the week. Hope your week is off to a lovely start, as well!

Dress: Ella Moss

Sweater: Gap

Boots: DSW

Tights: Hue (from DSW)

Bracelets: Mango Tree 

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.

Human Again

Do any of you have the extended edition of the Beauty and the Beast DVD that includes the extra song Human Again? And do any of you have a toddler who is obsessed enough with the movie that you know the words to this song by heart?

If you answered yest to both of those questions, you are welcome for getting this song stuck in your head for the rest of the day. If not...then just feel really, really bad for me because I don't think I will be able to stop singing it any time soon.

This, of course, is just my long, drawn-out way of telling you that I woke up this morning, and I didn't feel like I would keel over from the plague the minute I got out of bed! Yay, me!

Of course, the end of the plague also means I woke up starving, because I haven't really eaten a solid meal in two days, but whatever. If you need me, I'll be in the corner all day, eating all of the food.

All of it.

Dress: Banana Republic

Blazer: The Limited

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: Banana Republic (outlet)

Don't forget, eShakti is offering $20 off of any order through the end of the year, when you use the promotional code NOTAHOBBY0811.

The discount code is not case sensitive. Only one gift certificate can be used per order. The code can be used any number of times until the validity period. This discount code is not applicable on our Overstock category. This cannot be combined with any other offer / discount that may be active during this period.

Also, you can find my post about the skirt the company sent me to review here.