Long-time listener, first-time caller

Do any of you ever listen to talk radio? I have Sirius satellite radio in my car, and I tend to listen to a lot of it when I'm driving, generally of the sports talk kind.

(Except for these next two months, of course. Because these next two months are Christmas music months!)

(No, I don't plan on talking about Christmas every day until it finally gets here...)

(Actually, yes. Yes, I do...sorry. I love the holiday season.)

And it never fails that, anytime you listen to the call-in portion of any talk radio show, you always, always, ALWAYS hear someone who calls in to tell the host that, although they've been listening to the program for years, it was the subject of discussion on that particular day that made them realize they just had call to share their opinion. And these callers are usually my favorite part of these shows, because it's always interesting to see just what that topic is that made them realize they didn't want to sit by and not share their thoughts. Sometimes it's surprising to see just what might get someone worked up.

Of course, this has nothing to do with anything today. But I've had this skirt forever (seriously....like, years, forever), and I've never worn it. Not once. But I've kept it around because it's too pretty to donate, and I knew I'd eventually work it into the rotation. And now seemed as good a time as any...

Long-time closet inhabitant, first-time outfit participant, I guess.

Sweater: Gap

Cardigan: NY & Company

Skirt: Kenneth Cole

Boots: White Mountain (from DSW)

Who is ready for Christmas?

I love Halloween. I swear, I do.

I love costumes and candy and I'm starting to recognize the fun in creepy decorations. I love It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and I love that Brigid is now old enough to curl up on the couch next to me so that we can watch it together. I love that we were able to take her trick-or-treating this year, and she was old enough to understand that chocolate is AWESOME!

And I definitely love that while she's old enough to appreciate the holiday, she is still young enough for me to eat all of that awesome chocolate she collected, all in the name of being a responsible parent.

Toddlers only need so much candy, after all. Helping her eat it is the least I can do, right?

But Christmas...well, it will always be number one in my heart. Christmas music starts November 1st, and runs through January 1st. Christmas decorations go up as soon as I can get the Halloween decorations down. And Christmast shopping is basically a year-round event in my life.

So, I get very, very excited when Style Lush posts the annual Holiday Gift Guide, because anything that offers a collection of amazing gifts at under $25 each is kind of perfect, in my book. If you're looking for gift ideas for anyone in your life, you can probably find something awesome on this list. Just at first glance, I see about 8 things, at least, that I want to send my husband the link for...

(And item #3 on the Style Lush list? The scarf? I can TOTALLY vouch for how amazing it is, as you can see below...

I absolutely plan to ask for it in green this year!)

T-shirt: Gap

Scarf: Land's End

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors

Shoes: Cole Haan

First Impressions

Last night, I went to dinner with a group of moms from my neighborhood that I'd never met before. Well, I'd met one of them before, obviously, because a group of moms from my neighborhood wouldn't just invite me to dinner if I didn't have some sort of 'in', I guess.

I mean, I am awesome and amazing, of course, but you can't tell that just by looking at me. It only comes out when I talk.

(And by it, I mean the insane amount of social awkwardness that actually makes up my personality. And the fact that one glass of wine with dinner is all it takes for me to start talking and NEVER SHUT UP AGAIN. So...who wants to hang out with me now?)

Anyway, it was fun. The women were ridiculously nice, they told funny stories, and all were work-outside-the-home mothers, so we could commiserate on those lovely days when you see your kid for all of fifteen minutes because of some work related disaster or another. And not one of them gave me anything remotely resembling a side-eye for the unshowered mess* that I was, thank goodness.

Not that this means they weren't judging me for it, of course. It just means they were very, very skilled at passing that judgment in secret. Which is a skill I can get behind, you know?

I just hope I made the cut for next month's outing...

Tank Top: Target

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (via Macys)

Shoes: Nine West (via ShoeWoo.com)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

*As mentioned on Twitter last night, Steve was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Unfortunately, this meant that when I turned my alarm off in my sleep on Thursday morning (which happens more than I'd care to admit these days), I didn't have his alarm going off an hour later as my back-up plan. And that, in turn, meant I didn't get up until a full two hours later, when my mother-in-law showed up to watch Brigid. So, I left the house, showerless, to get to work. I thought I could squeeze in a shower between work and dinner, but that didn't really happen either.

Do I know how to do first impressions, or what? Seriously...you totally want to hang out with me, don't you?

One Pink Belt

I own one pink belt. One.

And other than one pink bracelet, and maybe a pair of earrings, that is the extent of the pink accessories that I own. So during the month of October, as I've been trying to stay involved in the Blogging for Breast Cancer Awareness challenge, this poor belt has had quite the work-out. Remember when I started this whole thing, and I was excited because I noticed I had more pink in my closet than I thought I did?

Well, it turns out, I was right the first time.

Thank goodness for my little pink belt, I guess.

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(Oh, and one side note on the pants from yesterday...based on the pictures that I posted, I don't think the pants look completely terrible, which is one of the reasons that I chose to keep wearing them, instead of frantically trying to change clothes at the last minute after the photos have revealed what a complete disaster my chosen outfit really is. Not that that has ever happened, of course.

The problem came later in the day, when every time I looked in the mirror in the bathroom at work, they started looking worse and worse. I don't know if it was the fading of my morning optimism (which doesn't actually exist, unfortunately), a general loss of shape in the fabric, or just a really, really bad mirror/lighting combination in the office bathroom, but everything started looking...droopy, I guess. The pants seemed too long, the thighs seemed to baggy, the butt seemed too shapeless. It was just off, somehow.

And that right there would be reason #892 that I don't like pants...not only is it overtly painful to make them work on me, they are sneaky little saboteurs, too, waiting to take down my whole day when I least expect it and can do nothing to change it. I'm burning them all...)

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(Ok, not really. I'll just try to wear them again when all of the hard feelings have worn off, of course. The definition of insanity, and all of that...)

T-shirt: Forever 21

Sweater: New York & Co

Skirt: J Crew (outlet)

Belt: Target

Boots: DSW

Wishful Thinking

Oh, pants.

I just can't get them to look right on me, and yet, I keep trying. Jeans, I love. I don't have a problem finding jeans that I like. But dress pants?

Oh, they hate me.

One of these days, I will find the perfect pair of pants for work, and then I will buy 18 pairs of them just so I never have to shop for pants again.

It's always nice to have dreams, I guess.
 

Tank Top: Target

Sweater: Lands End Canvas

Pants: The Limited

Shoes: Nine West

(Full Disclosure: I have a cold. Steve had it last week, Brigid had it this past weekend, and now it has made it's way to me. So I'm a little hopped up on cold medicine today. And I am apparently fixated on pants, as a result. I'm sorry...)

eShakti Skirts: A Product Review

When the lovely people at eShakti contacted me a couple of weeks ago to see if I had any interest in doing a product review for them, I jumped at the chance. I'd first heard of the company through Heather and Kayla, and after seeing those fabulous ladies model their dresses from the eShakti line, I'd started a bit of a wishlist of my own involving items from the online store.

If you haven't visited the site before, eShakti offers a wide range of clothing in both standard and custom sizes, and for those of us who don't have a standard body type, having the option of customizing any clothing order for a pretty reasonable upcharge isn't a bad thing at all.

I finally decided on the embellished florals flared skirt for review purposes because, although the idea of a custom dress does intrigue me, I am just a skirt kind of girl. Which is probably pretty obvious if you've followed me at all, for any length of time. I don't seem to wear much else, these days...

I ordered the skirt in my usual size 6, and after receiving it within a week of placing the order, I couldn't wait to try it on. It fit exactly at my natural waist, which is maybe a little higher than I'd normally wear a skirt since my short stature predictably includes a short torso (and a lower waistband seems to lengthen that shortness just a bit), but I kind of loved how it looked with this silhouette. It lends itself to a more classic feel with the high-waisted look, I think, which is what I was hoping for when I saw the flare online. Or, as one lady in the office put it when she saw me, 'I just love that skirt. It reminds me of the skirts I wore when I was younger...'.

Since she seemed to mean it as a compliment, and that's the look I actually wanted anyway, I'm going to go ahead and assume that this is a good thing in this case.

Anyway, while I was mostly pleased with this order, I was a little annoyed with the zipper. It seems a little flimsy to me, in that I feel like I need to be extra cautious when taking the skirt on and off. As someone who changes clothes at least seven times before settling on what I want to wear for the day, this could prove to be a problem in the middle of the morning rush, but it's something I can work with when I love the other aspects of the item. I also generally prefer a hook closure at the top of my zippers, which this skirt doesn't have, but I can always add one of my own with a few stitches if it turns into too much of a problem (and it wasn't at all the one time I've worn the skirt so far).

There are several other skirts from the line that I'd like to add to my wardrobe at some point, including the lace and tulle skirt and the floral embellished patch pocket skirt in red, and I definitely think I'll have to give the custom size option a try the next time I order from the site.

When the options for change include where on your waist you'd like to wear the item, as well as where on the leg you'd like it to hit, it's almost like they're speaking directly to the vertically challenged people like myself, and that's just too good to pass by...

Blouse: H&M

Skirt: c/o eShakti

Belt: Target

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelet: Kohls

Disclaimer: eShakti provided the skirt for review, but the opinions are all my own. I wouldn't have it any other way...

You could say I'm easily impressed...

Angela over at Love at First Shoe has been talking about the store Charming Charlie for months now, and the amazing accessories she always picks up from the place made me a little sad, because I thought it was a local store, for some reason.

So, imagine my (probably inappropriately excessive, since we're just talking about jewelry here, but that's who I am, I guess...) joy when my mother-in-law told me about this great shop relatively near her house that I just had to visit, because the amount of accessories housed in one place was something I'd enjoy.

She knows me so well.

I only spent about twenty minutes in the store, while we were waiting for a table to open up at a nearby restaurant, and I still managed to walk out with three necklaces, a bracelet, and a pair of earrings. Not bad for an abbreviated day's work. Imagine the damage I could do if I spent some real time in the place?

I am literally (said in your best Rob-Lowe-on-Parks-and-Rec voice, naturally) giddy with anticipation...

Sweater: Gap

Cardigan: Target

Skirt: Kohl's

Shoes: Steve Madden

Necklace: Charming Charlie

Hey, Google Search? We need to talk...

Every so often, I like to check my blog stats to see what various search topics might have pulled in one of my posts over the last month. Usually, the search topics involve various brands, specific designs, or miscellaneous color combinations. But there's usually one or two searches that provide a good laugh.

This month? Peed jeans. PEED JEANS!!!

Now, first of all, I am sorry for whoever did whatever they did that led them to feel it was necessary to google peed jeans. That had to be something not so pleasant, you know? But what did I ever write about that would lead that kind of search to my blog? Peed jeans? Really?

I may need to rethink my content after that one.

(Also, I definitely don't recommend you run that google search on your own. There are some...odd people out there, to say the least.)

Sweater: Gap

Cardigan: J Crew

Skirt: Target

Belt: Land's End

Boots: DSW

All in...

While Steve and I were flying to Omaha this past weekend, we saw an older lady boarding the plane in Atlanta who had dyed the tips of her gray hair pink, for, I assume, breast cancer awareness.

And that, my friends, is commitment to the cause.

I wanted to high-five her and ask to take a picture, but I'm a complete chicken when it comes to approaching strangers, so I stuck with a mental fist bump and called it a day. I still wish I had a picture, though...

Sweater: Banana Republic

Skirt:J Crew

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelet: Kohls

Travel Day!

Greetings from Omaha, NE!

We flew out at the crack of dawn this morning,* and, since we weren't planning to check any bags (an my carry-on was already remarkably full), the big camera didn't get to make the trip with us. So...trusty iPhone pictures it is!

Also, I've spent my whole vacation day WORKING, so...haggard iPhone pictures it is!

Happy Friday :)

*Ok, not crack of dawn, exactly...but 8am is early enough for me.

T-shirt: Gap

Cardigan: Target

Jeans: Gap

Boots: DSW

Scarf: Land's End Canvas

Bracelets: Mango Tree

The one where the Internet proves to be smarter than I am...again.

Um, guys? I have a confession to make...

I'd never even THOUGHT about hemming that darn skirt from yesterday. And yet, it kind of makes perfect sense. Y'all are geniuses, obviously.

(Also, I need to start making sure that the cat is OUTSIDE of the bathroom before I take any pictures. He looks like he's plotting my eventual demise, doesn't he?)

Sweater: Gap

Pants: The Limited

Shoes: Nine West

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Midi

I feel like a broken record these days, but once again, I'm up against a crazy week.

Today involves spending the morning at one office, meeting my mother-in-law at the pediatrician for B's two-year check-up, then spending the afternoon at the office on the other side of town. Wednesday is full of meetings. Thursday is another split office day, with an eye doctor appointment thrown in for good measure. And Friday, I'm flying to Omaha for a friend's wedding.

Am I exhausted just thinking about it? A little. But then again, I guess I'd rather be busy than bored, so there's that...

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Question: How do we feel about the mid-calf skirt length on someone who is all of 5'2? I really do love this skirt, which I've had for awhile now, and I know the length is supposedly very much on trend for this year, but I'm still torn. 

So, what do you think? Yes or no for me?

 

Sweater: Banana Republic (outlet)

Skirt: Banana Republic

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: Old Navy

Lazy Days

This weekend was exhausting, and today we have rain for the first time in weeks, so Brigid and I have decided to do nothing but sit around the house all day in our scrubby clothes (Little Mermaid shorts for B, by request, of course...), watching movies and eating kettle corn that we picked up at the county fair on Saturday.

Sometimes, that's just what you have to do...

Obviously,  not being worn today...this was from work one day last week.
Dress: Banana Republic (outlet)

Cardigan: Express

Skirt: H&M

Shoes: Nine West