#29: bright lips

After colored tights, the next other-30-for-30-blogger inspired trend I was inspired to try was colored lips. To be perfectly honest, I'm makeup stupid. I didn't even start regularly wearing mascara till after college (and it was still a while before I always remembered to apply before leaving the house). I actually put on makeup every day now, but lip color is still out there for me.
I do try out lipstick sometimes when we have a fancy date or I go to a work event, but I feel like I look so weird in it - probably because I never see myself that way, but quite possibly because I have no idea what color I should be buying (aforementioned makeup stupidity).

After seeing such fabulous everyday lip color done by ladies like Tania, Kelley, Ana, and Kendi, I decided I need to work on this a little more. Bright lips can be fun for ordinary days, and then I'll be more used to it for fancy days!

Today I liked the lip color a lot because I often gravitate to simple outfits like this, and it feels quite jaunty to add a little zing.

Here's a closeup (don't mind the coat; I may or may not have worn it around the house for several hours after returning from the dentist):

lips: CoverGirl Outlast Lip Stain in scarlet pucker; watch and coat:
fabulous Christmas gifts from my wonderful hubby; hat: won in a giveaway!

#28: snippets

The camera is still out of commission after its little nose dive and my iPhone photographer is always at work on Sundays - but yesterday I was determined to get this outfit up as (a) it was pretty decent and (b) I don't want to get another day behind (as I did last week Sunday for the aforementioned reasons). So I iPhoned it myself ... in sections.

tights: American Apparel; everything else: remixed

#27: a little bit country

Peter called me a cowgirl today ... I kind of felt like one with my gingham, belt, and boots. I have to say, 30 for 30 got me to branch out of my comfort zone a bit with this outfit - I don't typically tuck in, as I prefer to let tops cover up my hips, but I saw this stretchy belt over the hips look somewhere and wanted to try it.

necklace: Loft; everything else: remixed

So I walked around feeling slightly self-conscious in a different-to-me silhouette (and also slightly constricted as the shirt is just barely long enough for tucking and wanted to come out if I lifted my arms), but Peter thought I looked cute. And having a boy think you look cute is kinda nice.

#26: friday night

It's Friday! I'm extra excited for Friday nights to come around this month, since they're the first one all week when Peter's actually home.

belt: F21, everything else: remixed

I can't say I spent too long in this outfit... switched out the jacket for a cozy fleece after we made our first big decision for the evening: whether to actually go to Chipotle, or to send a representative (i.e. Peter) to pick up our Chipotle and eat it at the house.

(Side note: NBC has a new show starting soon called America's Next Great Restaurant. On Facebook, they're offering a buy-one-get-one-free coupon to Chipotle for watching a promo video about the show. Which I did because I like a coupon - hello Friday night dinner! - and then was kind of interested because Bobby Flay and Curtis Stone, two chefs from tv I like, are in it. Nice marketing, NBC.)

Peter should be arriving home with dinner any minute, and then we'll have the next major decision - which of our DVR'd shows to watch first. (This nights rotation has put us seriously behind on the shows we watch together....) So I'm signing off to have my boring sounding but actually quite lovely Friday night.

#25: awkward & awesome thursday, installment 4

I feel like my week has been a bit more even-keeled than the more superlative descriptors of "awkward" and "awesome" (with the exception of my occasional crankypants moments), but it's Thursday, so here we go...

everything: remixed; Trader Joe's tulips: still going strong

Awkward:

• Figuring out taxes when you lived part of the year in one state and part of the year in another. And kept your job from state A. I was feeling so good about tax progress the other night... and then I hit the state ones, and they seriously confused my brain.
• Picking up Ginger's "business" and then having to carry it for the rest of our walk. And then when people wave as they drive by, forgetting what I'm carrying and waving back with a bag of poop. I don't think I'll ever get over the awkwardness/grossness of that one.

Awesome:

• Having a random guy (actually he turned out to be an ex-Bengals football player, which is also kinda random) at the gym ask me how far I ran after I got off the treadmill - and being able to say 4 miles. Yeah, me.
  
• Heated mattress pads. Even better than heated blankets.
  
• Meringue cookies - a light and airy, low calorie (i.e., practically guilt free) treat. I've made two batches of this recipe in the last few weeks - one with cocoa powder, one without (both yummy) - and almost singlehandedly eaten them all.

more awkward & awesomeness here:

#24: business/party

I'm describing today's outfit with a paraphrase of the classic mullet description ... business on the top, party on the bottom.

tights: TJ Maxx, everything else: remixed

After the last 30 for 30 challenge, I was inspired to try colored tights after seeing so many other bloggers do them - I like how they can snazz up your existing wardrobe for cheap.

I'm not super daring about my colored tights though - I've done these ones before only with more simple color schemes (black/white or navy/white/gray). So today I'm trying them with a more colorful bottom. I wasn't so sure about this ensemble at first, but I decided it's not really that out there... what do we think?

#23: taking care of business

Oh, dear. The blahs were on their way back today. Another gray, dreary day. And I was even bored by my own outfit...

belt: Old Navy; everything else: remixed

This makes a girl want to spend the evening on the couch, but I rallied and stayed upright - to take care of paying all the month's bills and even getting most of the way through taxes. Feeling good about that. And feeling extra good being reminded of that new home buyer tax credit. Score!

And I've still got my Trader Joe's tulips. That's a good thing.

#22: rainy days

At least it's not snow and ice, but goodness these last two days have been rainy and dreary. It was a good thing I had a couple of activities planned, or I probably would have remained on the couch...

bracelet: made it; everything else: remixed
flourescent lighted kitchen photos courtesy of the pouring rain

Yesterday I cashed in my Valentine's giftcard (already) from Peter to get my hair highlighted and cut. Ooh, it feels good to have some freshened up color this time of year. And I have soft and nice smelling salon hair leftover today.

(asking Peter if he likes my new 'do)

Today I had a friend date to Jungle Jim's - the biggest craziest grocery store ever. At first it kind of seems like a regular grocery store, until you realize they have about 10 cases full of cheese from all over the world. And something like 25 rows of wine. Then you get to the international section, which is about the size of my standard grocery store, I'd guess. Pretty much any item from any other country you'd need, they have. And it's all made complete with a bunch of (tacky) animated displays of various sorts (see below).

Teeensy portion of the cheese/giant deli

Animated Sherwood Forest display above the England aisles

Mexican food section - as they say on the website, "it's not called a mercado gigante for nothing"

{photos from Jungle Jim's website - I was too busy oohing

over all the cheese to remember to take any of my own...}

We were a little overwhelmed to buy much of anything (though it would be THE place to go if you need a specialty item for a recipe, especially an international item), but we couldn't leave the England section without a Curlywurly (my favorite Cadbury treat) for the ride home.

#20 and #21: happy weekend!

With the nights rotation schedule, Peter has off on Fridays (after he wakes up from sleeping off Thursday night's work) and all day Saturday. On Friday and Saturday we also continued to have sunshine and above-average temperatures.

I celebrated all of this with colorful shoes (and no socks!)...

everything: remixed

On Friday Peter washed the dog and even got in a little yard cleanup while I was finishing my work day. Then we had dinner out with friends for the first time in a long time.
On Saturday we slept in and lounged around for a while, which was a treat, and then ran some errands together. Peter did a bit more work outside while I cleaned indoors, and then we walked the dog together before settling down for an evening with Toy Story 3 and then some cuba libres and popcorn...

scarf: Amazon.com (for about $7.50, handy for adding to your cart
to get to free shipping on a $25 purchase!); everything else: remixed

Peter's back at the hospital now (6am Sunday to 6am Monday shift, blech) and we've currently got some sleet/hail/rain mixture going on, but oooh that faux spring weekend together was lovely while it lasted.

#19: awkward/awesome, installment 3

belt: H&M; everything else: remixed

Awkward:

• The angle of the camera lens after it did a nose-dive during one of my self-portrait sessions. OOPS. Got to figure out where I can get that fixed, and in the meantime Peter's been kindly taking my photos before he heads out for work.
• Ginger's crouch stalk-mode approach every time we see the nice lady from around the corner and her two little dogs. It makes it seem like she wants to pounce and eat them or something. Also, her jumping three feet in the air at the end of her leash in trying to greet the lady. I clearly do not have control over my dog. Ugh.

Awesome:

• Spring weather in February. 65 and sunny is the best - it makes me unbelievably cheerful to leave the house without a coat this time of year. And now I will stop talking about the weather all the time, I promise.
• Trader Joe's flowers. Yellow tulips and daffodils also make me very cheerful, especially when I can have bouquets of both for a grand total of $6.68.
• It's Friday tomorrow. Which means Peter doesn't have to go to work after he gets up! And we get to sleep in our bed at the same time for the first time in 2 weeks! And we get to go out!

#18: seasonal swap

I was wearing this dress when I tried on/bought these boots on super clearance last summer. The sales girl thought they made such a cute outfit with the dress, but at the time I thought she was a little insane as it was about 90 degrees outside and just the thought of exiting the air conditioned store in them made me sweat.

dress: Target; tights: no idea, probably TJ Maxx; everything else: remixed

But when I was picking out my 30 items I remembered this... and thought I'd give it a try now as it's much easier to make a sleeveless dress warm enough for winter than it is to make knee-high boots cool enough for summer (e.g., there's a long-sleeved shirt hidden under there).

Winterizing summer clothes is quite handy for expanding my wardrobe come February when I'm sick of all the actual winter stuff I own...

Ginger insisted on coming outside and sitting next to me
but wasn't really into cooperating with the photographer

p.s. I actually went outside after writing this. And realized that I hardly even needed all of my clever layers as it was 64 degrees. SIXTY-FOUR. Ginger got extra walking today because I was so excited to be outside, and I felt about ready to ditch the tights. Definitely the socks over the tights. (and how is it that 64 outside feels way better than 66 inside? I guess maybe because I was actually moving...).

this is kind of an outtake - neither of us look great, but Ginger totally cracked me up

hotel scenes

One of the perks of my job is definitely travel ... and one of the perks of work travel is getting to stay in much nicer hotels than I would pay for. I stayed at the Biltmore in Miami last weekend and really enjoyed it. And since I have nothing else to do with these, here are a few photos I snapped around the hotel. The last one's just for fun - I was amused that the turn-down service involved turning all the pillows sideways.

#16: valentine's day

all remixed

I was thinking there was going to be no Valentine's Day around here, for several reasons:

• No baking: Work travel took up my weekend (not that I'm complaining about being in Miami).
• No cards: SAD has been stifling my creativity (though I did make a pillow!).
• No candy: By the force of my incredible self control, I didn't buy any conversation hearts this year.
• No dinner: We don't usually do much of anything for Valentine's day anyway (especially now that our anniversary is on the 4th - beat the crowds out to that romantic date!), but with Peter leaving for work at 5:15 pm, there really wasn't occasion for a nice dinner together.
  

But. I saw everybody's Valentine's posts and the pink & red outfits and thought I at least had to get in some pink. Might as well do pink sequins while I was at it.

PLUS. Peter surprised me with a gift certificate to a salon/spa. And we got to see each other for three whole waking hours and walk the dog together in well above freezing temperatures. A good day for sure.
Also, I have to add that the first year we were dating, Peter decorated a little flower pot filled with mini daffodils as a Valentine's Day gift for me. I planted them outside my bedroom window, and as of a few years ago (which was 6 years after I received them), they were looking like this:Our first Valentine's Day lives on!

#15: bare legs

Friday I had meetings all day and took the warm meeting location as an opportunity to go tights-less for a change.

shoes: Kenneth Cole via DSW; necklace: Loft; everything else: remixed

Keeping this one short as mysteriously the center swath of letters on my laptop keyboard has stopped working. I managed to find an on-screen keyboard option so I can click on the letters that don't work, but it's a bit of a pain/slows me down. Turns out those keys are really necessary, especially the R and the T (which ae in a lo of wods...)

#13 and #14: variations

Remixing is an excellent help for packing light. Thursday night I had an informal dinner with the bosses. It was still warm enough to go sleeveless, but I added the jacket in case of air conditioning.

top: Loft; everything else: remixed

Then Friday night, after our day of meetings, we had dinner with the whole board, so I dressed up the same top a bit with black pants and heels.

all remixedThough my nice outfit ended up getting covered up with this:

One of my favorite parts of this dinner was looking across the table and seeing the distinguished, late 50s French board member wearing a giant bib. It was kind of hilarious.

#12: travel day

Now that I have a little free time (waiting for the sun to come out - I've got the whole day free in Miami and it decided to rain all morning, boo), here are my 30 for 30 posts from the last few days. I was able to prop the camera on the balcony of my room to record my outfits; it's quite lovely (we're staying at the Biltmore, so actually the whole place is rather lovely).

Layering was really important on Thursday when I wore the following ensemble. When I left the house it was 5 degrees - so even though I didn't want them along on my trip, I wore my winter boots and warmest coat on the drive to the airport.

When I had to ditch the coat/boots and get on the shuttle from the parking lot over to the terminal, I was left with these layers.

jacket: Gap, from a consignment shop for about $8 (!); everything
else remixed; no accessories for ease of airport security

By the time I got off the plane I was down to this:

And then for a lovely lunch outdoors in 85 degree Miami, I was down to the final layer (and I was hot. It was awesome).

scarf, tee (not in my 30 items but a long-sleeved one is so I'm calling this an
even substitution and not an extra item): Old Navy; sunglasses: TJ Maxx

Did you catch that by the way? An 80 degree temperature difference. It is kind of mind boggling to me that is possible to experience in the span of a couple hours. And in the same country.

awkward & awesome, work and weather edition

Awkward:

• Dressing for travel from a cold place to a warm place. Layers are of course good, but I didn't want to be carting my coat and boots all the way to Florida yet needed to not get frostbite between the parking lot and the airport. It was 5 degrees when I left home.
• Peter's backwards schedule. I think he's working the same number of hours as normal, but somehow when he works them at night and then sleeps during the day, we seem to end up with much less time that he's actually awake at home (to be honest, a better A-word for this might be awful).

Awesome:

• My work from home schedule. Despite my issues and the fact that Peter's schedule is awkward/awful, it's really nice that I'm actually home for the few minutes he's awake around here. If I had to leave the house to work, I basically wouldn't see him this entire month.
• Getting upgraded to first class. I got enough frequent flier miles from work travel last year to become a silver medallion member, which qualifies me for free upgrades. They give you meals and all the refills you can drink in first class (plus, the bathroom reserved for first class means no waiting in line!).
• Work travel to warm destinations.
• 80 degree temperatures, eating lunch outside, and going for a long walk sans coat.

No outfit photos ready yet, but today's involved short sleeves! And no socks!

see more awkward & awesome stuff here...

#11: respite in sight

I have a confession to make: I was so cold today I didn't even shower after the gym. Normally showers are a nice way to warm up, but I couldn't bear the thought of having a wet (and then cold) head after getting out. The only way I was even able to get dressed was to pile my clothes on top of the blowing vent for 5 minutes (while I stood on top of a different one).

scarf: hotel shop in San Diego; everything else: remixed

Happily, I'm getting a break from all this nonsense! I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a board meeting, which is taking place in Miami this year. Thank you, association, for electing a new board president whose university is in Miami and allowing me a chance to put together less bundled outfits.
It's supposed to be 80 degrees in Miami tomorrow. It's also supposed to be raining, but I'll deal with that disappointment when I get there. For now, I'm focusing on that 80.

#10: dressing from home

Today is blogger blazer day. Though I don't have a blazer in my challenge items, I thought up a nice outfit with my blazer-like sweater ... but then decided that I'd rather save the "good" outfits for days I'm actually going to leave the house and piled on some warm stuff (that I wouldn't really ever wear out in this combination) instead.

scarf, belt: Target; everything else: remixed

That's a clothing struggle I haven't entirely figured out in my 7 months of working from home. Clothes are now much more utilitarian - I need them to function to keep me warm (or in the summer, keep me cool - I think my house has insulation issues) - rather than put forward a message of how competent and professional of a worker I am, as they did in the office working days. I still like to feel good and snazzy and put together, and clothes definitely can make or break that feeling, so I try to come up with cute warm outfits. But bottom line, on days I'm just home working and don't have any errands or outings planned, I'm just dressing for me.

Some days I need to remind myself of this, that there's a reason I don't/can't/won't "keep up" with all the fabulous outfits many blogger ladies I admire put together. I would freeze in all their great skirts and heels and the like. I used to dress more like that, but there's really no need for it in my home office. But I like it.

I need to find a balance of how to dress to handle all of the above while feeling good about myself and not fretting so much about this all in general...

And that's why I'm doing this challenge in the first place: so that I can figure out the best way to dress out of my current wardrobe that makes me feel good and that fits my current lifestyle (and have a little fun). Not to worry about how cool my outfits are in comparison to others'.

Okay, I feel better. I'm convinced (for today).