October in review

As we wrap up October, few random tidbits from the month...

The month in food photographing (alternatively: the month in gaining 5 pounds):

around Cincinnati: Teller's | National Exemplar with Peter | Kanak India | Annabel's with blogger friends

the XOCO experience: tortas | limonata | caldos | churros

around the house: candy corn temptations | chili pot cleanout | buckeye bark | Peter's specialty pasta dish

The month in working from home:

• furnace turn on date necessitated by being home all day: October 8 (boo)
• journal submissions processed: 147
• days with no actual getting dressed: more than normal (I blame the cabinet painting and the colder weather)

The month in reading:

• books read: five
• book clubs attended: three (plus one virtual)
• tears landed on final pages of The Art of Racing in the Rain: quite a few

The month in staying up too late:

• Excuse #1: family fun in Chicago
• Excuse #2: watching presidential debates & punditry
• Excuse #3: painting, painting, painting

The month in blogging:

• blog tweaks: finally added some little social media buttons - check them out in the right-hand column!
• most popular post: fall-colored style
• shout outs: from Audrey, Sarah, and Leigh - check out their great posts and comments on something I've blogged/pinned

Bonus: a few from the second half of the month in Instagram #StyleMe prompts:

layering | leather | manis | money | patterns | signature style

boots weather

As fall approached, I was hearing a lot of talk about how excited people were to wear boots again. Now, I like my riding boots as much as the next girl, but I generally hold off as long as possible before pulling these out - since I know that soon enough they'll be my main shoe option for months and months of cold and snow. So I wear my cute flats as much as possible until my toes get too cold... and that would be this week. (It became time for big, cozy scarves too.)

boots: Indigo by Clarks; dress: Loft (similar); scarf: Banana Republic Outlet (similar)

This post prompted by Marionberry Style's trend of the month linkup, along with the Everybody, Everywhere theme for November - go check out how other ladies are wearing their boots! (And all my cozy knits fit this week's Friday's Fancies sweater season theme too.)

And while we're on the subject boot trends, I've seen lots of cute ankle boots lately, and when I found these on sale for only $15, I thought they would be worth a go. There aren't very many shoes that can be worn with socks and also look good with skinny jeans besides my riding boots, so these are a little changeup from the regulars (of which Peter accuses me of having "like three pairs", which is true but justified by the above). But... how about with a dress or skirt + tights? Maybe I need to match the tights to the boots?

weekend: from finish to start

It was a pretty productive weekend with cabinet painting and housework - with half of the kitchen contents stashed in the dining room, no doors on any of the cabinets, painting supplies everywhere, and a complete lack of vacuuming, it was getting pretty bad around here.

Of course things often get worse before they get better, so though the house is looking a little tidier now, it will be an even crazier mess when they start ripping up the rest of the kitchen on Thursday. (But I can't wait!) So while I made progress on a bunch of things over the weekend - including some fun stuff too - somehow nothing quite seems finished because there's always another thing to start:

• Finished applying four coats of primer/paint to the kitchen drawers and backs of the cabinet doors - two with Peter's help (we know how to have a good time on a Friday night! note our hot outfits) and two on Saturday while he was working. Of course that means we've only started... after a full day of drying time I need to flip them over and do it all again to the front sides today.

• Finished a whole yard's worth of raking with Peter on Sunday and now have a huge pile of leaves in the front waiting for collection. Though of course our big backyard tree has only just started dropping its leaves.

• Finished watching The Good Wife season 3, then started right in on season 4 (always nice to have the next season lined up and ready to go when the end one with a little cliff hanger!)

• Finished reading The Art of Racing in the Rain. Started crying.

• Finished what seems like will be the last of the warm days mid-last week. Started using it as an excuse to buy cozy things, like the big knit infinity scarf I found outlet shopping with the girls on Saturday. (Also might have started whining about the cold a little.)

But any progress and productivity is good - here's hoping we all have some of that this week too...

pin to present: fall-colored style

This blazer + red pants outfit has been one of my favorites on my "things to wear" board for a long time, though I haven't done an inspired by outfit until now when I realized duh, I can make it work for right now with fall-appropriate hues. So even though it feels strange to post these photos from last week while we are currently having a little summer resurgence here (sunshine! upper 70s! happiness!), here's the latest styling of my rust-colored jeans in a muted palette for the season:

inspiration photo: Gap | jeans, tee, and shoes: Target; blazer: Gap

[sharing on CopyCats Friday at Frills for Thrills - go check out other inspired by outfits!]

workout Wednesday: current favorites

While we're on the subject of getting dressed: while I do make it into the shower and some real clothes most days, I tend to stay in my workout clothes rather longer into the day than I should perhaps admit... It's easy to go straight from exercising or dog walking to getting wrapped up in dealing with my inbox. And of course it is all rather comfortable for sitting at my desk. Some of my current favorites for working out and working from home:

I used to get almost all of my exercise gear at TJ Maxx (being partial to good deals on Nike stuff), but TJ Maxx finds can of course be hit or miss - so lately I've also been finding things from other places that are pretty nice gear and cute to boot.

1. Old Navy capris - they feel almost as soft as my favorite New Balance pair but can be had on sale for a quarter of the price!

2. Old Navy sports bra - not that I ever spent big bucks on these, but they're about the same as the Target versions I always wear and are often on sale for even cheaper.

3. Champion no show socks from Target - nicely cushioned and actually no show (I've had plenty of others that claim to be and then end up looking silly sticking out of my shoes).

4. GapFit breathe tank - breathable fabric and super soft (as you can tell, I'm a sucker for soft).

5. REI fleece jacket - my souvenir of our Denver REI store fun, which has been excellent for dog walking. (And the rest of the day.) I love that it's full zip and has thumb holes.

6. Nike Pegasus shoes - alas, not an inexpensive item, so I'm always watching for them to go on sale since I'm ready for replacements about twice a year. Hoping for as good of luck with that on black Friday sales this year...

reason #7 I love working from home:

Those I don't feel like actually getting dressed days - totally allowed.

(At least on occasion.)

weekend: my (family's) kind of town

This summer my sister Clayre & her husband Joe moved to Chicago, so we've been looking forward to a chance to visit - since we enjoy the city almost as much as we like seeing them... This weekend the rest of my family was making the trip from Michigan, and since Peter had the whole weekend off, we got to join them. For part of the weekend, we actually had all 8 of us all in the same place for the first time in almost 3 years (we've had 7 at holidays a couple of times - Peter's usually the one missing because he's working). There was lots of eating, art viewing, family photo taking, and iPhone messing around (a common sight); all in all a fabulous weekend.

Touristy family (and the ones who actually live here).

Clayre & Joe's super cool city living.

Wandered through the Chicago Cultural Center; loved this gorgeous mosaic decorated room and glass dome.

Lunch at XOCO (we love Rick Bayless!) capped by these amazing churros.

Saw this show* - SO FUN, especially because we went to high school with one of the cast members (I feel almost famous, since I played piano for the high school musicals he starred in). We all had a drink with him after and got the whole inside scoop on being on Broadway.

Family on a bench in the modern wing of the Art Institute.

Not very tall people posing in front of tall stuff inside the Art Institute & out.

Family photo opps all over the place - girls on a walk by the lakeshore...

 

... and the original 6 in the modern wing (plus of course a Christmas card photo taken in the park with all 8).

*the name makes it sound like it might be raunchy or something, but it's not. The storyline is a of a shoe factory in working-class England that's going under when Charlie inherits it from his father, and it turns around when he meets drag queen Lola and starts manufacturing stiletto boots for Lola & her gang. The main message is about accepting people for who they are, and the music is SO fun - I just smiled the whole time. It opens on Broadway in the spring, and seriously go see it if you get the chance.

five things Friday: to read edition

I've read a few great books in the past couple of weeks, but even so, my to read list only ever seems to grow longer. We're off to Chicago for the weekend to meet up with my parents and siblings; The Art of Racing in the Rain is in my suitcase, but I'm not sure I'll find the time to even start in on it amidst all our family fun. But when I do have the time, here are five other books from my to read list I'm looking forward to getting my hands on:

1. Broken Harbor by Tana French - I really liked all three of Tana French's other psychological mysteries, especially The Likeness. The books all share some overlapping characters, with a different one central in each, and I'm excited for this newest one that came out over the summer. (When is it prudent to ask my dad for the copy that I bought him for his birthday?!)

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - I've been seeing this fantasy recommended all over the place - luckily one of my book clubs picked it for next month so I officially have an excuse to move it to the top of the list.

3. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan - a mystery adventure story that is mostly set in a bookstore?! Two things I like, so this one is definitely sounding good.

4. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie - the main character in Rules of Civility read a lot of Miss Marple mysteries, so I was inspired to add this one to my list for fun.

5. The Round House by Louise Erdrich - I've loved everything I've read from Louise Erdrich. She weaves such interesting stories about life on modern-day Indian reservations, and this new one looks great too.

pin to present: reader feature

Now that I've been following through on my Pinterest inspirations for a few months, I thought it would be fun to see what others have been up to with theirs. As Dotty commented on my last pin project, it's like multiple degrees of pinspiring - getting inspired by what Pinterest inspired other people to do! And I love the ones these ladies sent in - the Nutella krispie treats Shea made look delicious, the red and camel colored outfit Leigh recreated is super cute, and the glittery shoes Andi made are pretty snazzy.

Pinspiration photo from Pioneer Woman | Shea's version on Bon Chic Bon Gastronomique

Pinspiration photo from Elements of Style | Leigh's interpretation on Switched on Style

Pinspiration photo from A Pair & a Spare | Andi's interpretation on Just Another Smith

Thanks to these ladies for participating! Go check out their posts for more information, and if you have any great projects or outfits or recipes Pinterest has prompted you to try out, do share... we can do another of these next month. And next week I'm back with my casual fall take on this outfit pin.

#StyleMe October challenge & book club

Quick note: last call for the pin to present reader feature - if you have a Pinterest-inspired project or outfit or meal or anything to share, send it over today with:(1) a photo of your version, (2) a link to the inspiration pin/source, and (3) if you've shared it on your blog, a link to your post (or just a link to your blog). Looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up to!

This month's #StyleMe Instagram challenge from Dean Street Society includes a stylish book club selection: The Meaning of Sunglasses: A Guide to (Almost) All Things Fashionable by Hadley Freeman. And since I'm continuing on my quest to define my personal style, I thought I would read along...

book available from Amazon | #StyleMe challenge from Dean Street Society

The book is organized in a kind of dictionary format, with entries and descriptions for everything from animal print and ankle boots to signature style and trench coats. I enjoy A-Z style books, so I thought it would be a fun, light read and have some helpful tips or advice. I'm about halfway at this point, and I think the book's just so so (though the discussion on the book club's Facebook group is quite interesting). The author pokes fun at a lot of the silly things about the fashion industry, and it's pretty amusing. I guess though I was hoping for more of a book of style do's, and it seems much more like a list of don'ts from the perspective of an industry insider - and I'm not all that interested in the industry, but more interested in personal style. And while the sarcasm is funny and there are some good points, it can all start to feel a little negative.

What I really like though is the list of photo prompts based on the entries in the book - it was fun to come up with my own interpretations of these (even if the author did pooh-pooh a bunch of these things, like the animal print I love). A recap of the first half of the month:

accessories | animal print | ballet

boots | classics with a twist | dresses

exercise | hair accessories | jeans 

eating lately: roast chicken three-fer

I got kind of used to not making dinner while Peter was working nights in September, so it was a bit of an adjustment to go back to cooking - and especially to coming up with dinner ideas (generally my least favorite part of the process). So I started in easy with a favorite set of recipes I found in Everyday Food a couple of years ago. We pull these out every couple of months, and it makes for a very easy and quick three days of dinner, all from one roast chicken.

[photos via Everyday Food website]

For meal #1 I just pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and we eat part of it with a salad or whatever other vegetables I drum up. Super easy, of course, and Peter loves it. Then we pull the rest of the meat off the bones and put it in the fridge for...

Dinner #2, couscous with shredded chicken and asparagus, which aside from taking only about 15 minutes to make, is a one-pot meal - so it takes even less time to clean up. It's nice and light with only a couple of ingredients but still tasty.

And then #3, our favorite: chicken tostada salad. This recipe takes more like 25 minutes because of the prep work, but it's delicious. You start with a crunchy shell made from baked corn tortillas along with shredded chicken cooked with chili powder, onions, and garlic, and then add any other toppings you like - lettuce, tomatoes, cheese. I always make guacamole to put on them too (yum).

After all that there's even some more chicken left over for Peter to have some quesadillas if he's home over the weekend. Rather economical!

one lucky pup

We regularly tell Ginger what a lucky pup she is to be living with us, often when she is enjoying one of the finer things in life like an extra walk or licking the peanut butter off a knife after we've made some toast. But really, we're pretty darn lucky too. If we had gone to the humane society just a day later, someone else definitely would have taken her home before we got there - she's a great dog.

So in honor of the second anniversary of her adoption last week, let's start Monday off with some photos of Ginger and many of her favorite things:

her momma

going for walks (in any and all weather)

being in the bosom of her family

her toys

sleeping

and more sleeping

And if that's not enough Ginger, the photos in honor of the first anniversary of her adoption are awfully cute, if I may say so myself.

five things Friday: Ikea finds edition

I'm planning a quick trip to Ikea next week to get the butcher block counter tops for our kitchen update, so I went to their website to check on the stock levels... and got hopelessly distracted by a bunch of other great stuff. Five things that caught my eye (whether I have any need of them or not!):

1. this dotted lampshade is so fun and bold | 2. this colorful bin is almost too cute for trash | 3. I'm a sucker for any organizers; I have these boxes in white already, but I love them in natural too | 4. I love the trim on this blanket | 5. fun color and a cool organizer all in one? I need to find a place for this cart in my life!

Getting sidetracked by inexpensive colorful things is one thing online - now to see if I can make it through the store with just the counter tops and a couple of picture frames (always a must-buy when I'm there).

Have a good weekend, all!

currently...

wearing: this vest I bought at Old Navy over the was weekend totally worth the $20 - great for chilly morning dog walking already (plus a cute outfit, if I may say so myself) | reading: just got my copy for the #StyleMe October bookclub and looking forward to these style thoughts and tips | listening: the Mumford and Sons new album Babel has been my soundtrack for everything from exercising to working to cleaning lately | eating: the cherry tomato plant is still going strong! | planning: Peter's next vacation is in November, and we're thinking a cozy condo in South Carolina...

What are you up to?

[previously on currently]

fall in a nutshell

Oooh the crisp air, warming sun, and colorful leaves. Some of these fall days are just the very best for being outside - I went for a long run on Saturday morning and felt like I could have gone for about forever. Chilly to start, but with that sun and blue sky it's just kind of invigorating. And my afternoon walk with Ginger in a light sweater and scarf with leaves underfoot was just pleasant.

But then that's what our thermostat ended up at before we turned on the furnace yesterday morning. Gah! That just will not do. And though my run was lovely, I would rather not have needed to be wearing gloves for it... The being cold all the time is starting, and it makes me a little cranky.

Also, I bought some candy corn. And need I say more? Sooo tempting.

weekend project: Pinterest cleanup

Saturday night while Peter worked, I spent some time wrapped in a blanket with my Good Wife DVDs and my weekend project: cleaning up my Pinterest boards. My pin to present resolution has gotten me to actually follow through on some of these images I've saved for inspiration, but I've realized I also need a resolution to pin only things that actually inspire me in the first place.

So I went through all my boards and removed a whole bunch of extraneous pictures that I didn't love as much as others. It's hard to be inspired when there are 200 images to wade through, and taking the time to pare down means I can actually see the things I really like. (Also, it was kind of fun to do. I like organizing.)

Plus, considering each pin and whether I wanted to keep or delete it helped me understand what I really like about each and how it could contribute to my sense of personal style (which I have been honing lately) or the feeling I want our home to have. Honestly, some of those oldest ones I wasn't sure why I ever pinned in the first place! I guess that says something about evolving style, but also something about needing to be a little discerning and actually know myself.

These were the questions I found helpful to consider in editing and for going forward:

1. Is it me? The starting premise: if your Pinterest boards are going to be something that inspire you to make or cook or decorate things, the images have to reflect you and your style. I mean, seriously, as delicious as the Sprinkle Bakes mint-white chocolate mousse cake looks and sounds, I know I won't make things that require that many steps or spring form pans. That's not me. So why is was it on my board? And so on with a bunch of outfits and home decor, etc.

2. Is it who/what I want to be? It's also good to try new things and stretch and change, so inspirations that draw that out are great - but they of course need to fit into who you are and the direction you want to be headed. (And not overwhelm you by being one of 200 images.) With clothing inspirations especially, I've narrowed down the boards to things I would actually wear, but that perhaps combine pieces or colors I already have in new, interesting ways.

3. What themes emerge? Once you've got all images that are you, you can also define and consolidate your style/tastes by analyzing themes and similarities across them. With planning our new kitchen, it was so helpful to put a bunch of images I really liked onto one board and then look back through to see which elements and materials the kitchens that I was most drawn to had in common.

Now I want to see what you all have been inspired to do from your Pinterest boards... So on October 18 I'm going to do a reader feature - if you have a Pinterest-inspired project or outfit or meal or anything to share, email me with: (1) a photo of your version, (2) a link to the inspiration pin/source, and (3) if you've shared it on your blog, a link to your post (or just a link to your blog).

So go forth and pin more carefully and follow through!

five things Friday: A plus edition

Naturally, I think the letter A is the best one (except for the time during my childhood I was quite fond of W - which I heard as "double you" and thus recited the alphabet back as "double Annie, X, Y, Z"). Here are five initials that have caught my eye lately - all available in your favorite letter too, I'm sure:

1. I seriously want to order one of everything in the A category from Alphabet Bags. (I think I will have to DIY some with my new found freezer paper stencil love!)

2. These alphabet stud earrings from Gorjana are so sweet and would be perfect for everyday wear.

3. I picked my new phone case from this lineup, but I also came across this tempting monogram option. Isn't it fun?

4. Effortless Style featured these snazzy monogrammed loafers from Chatelles this week - probably not something I'd spend that much money on, but fun to admire the A pair all the same.

5. And this all reminded me that I think the pinwale alphabet letters from Anthropologie are so darn cute - probably another DIY is in order, based on this tutorial and a chipboard A I recently found in the dollar bins at Target...

Have a great weekend!

wearing lately: more fall ideas

This week Respect the Shoes had a reader feature with a bunch of ideas for dressing in early fall, including my summer dress + fall jacket outfit. I used to get really confused with dressing for these in-between days, but now I'm better at using my closet (with my new solution #1 - combine a summer wardrobe item with a fall one - and solution #2 - recreate a summer outfit with fall weather appropriate pieces) and at appreciating what I've got (no need to wish winter here any sooner!). A couple of other recent ensembles I felt were a win in figuring out what to wear for fall transition weather:

skirt: Loft; sweater: Gap; flats: Target; necklace: BaubleBar

First, a I got a little more use of a summer skirt by adding a fall-appropriate cozy sweater, for heading to my coffee shop "office."

And then this one actually blends the two solutions: summer piece (yellow jeans) paired with cooler weather elements (elbow patches, scarf) + recreating this warm weather outfit =

pants: TJMaxx; shirt: Gap; flats and scarf: Old Navy

currently: watching

Fall shows are all new, and some of these evenings the DVR is positively on overload with all my current favorites. (It's a good thing I also read 5 books last month... because otherwise I might need a talking to about all this television I'm watching.)

tv show posters via

Currently watching:

• Glee - I'm a little meh on the storylines these days, but I still love watching to see which songs they're doing
• Project Runway - always my favorite of the competition reality shows, especially because Tim Gunn is involved; this season I like Christopher and Sanjia
• Modern Family - sooo funny and one of our favorites; this one I have to save on DVR until Peter can watch with me
• 30 Rock - ditto
• Major Crimes - really liking this spinoff of The Closer; stlil has most of the characters I love but the storylines feel fresh again and it's pretty clever
• The Good Wife - really good political and lawyer drama all in one and Julianna Margulies is great in it
• Plus we always DVR The Daily Show and The Colbert Report to watch over dinner; sometimes that dose of comedy that comes with the news is a must for handling the stories...

Also contemplating:

• The Office - I kind of dropped off for a while last season, but now that it's the last season I think I may have to watch again
• Elementary - new modern-day Sherlock Holmes show on CBS; I'm a sucker for these so we'll see how it is - I could find myself getting into this...

What are you watching lately?

September in review

I think I say this every month... but where do the months go? We had a lovely wrap up to September with sunny fall weather perfect for running, yard work, playing tennis, reading on the porch, and even rooftop dinner date dining. Here's a wrap up of these from the rest of the month:

The month in Instagramming:

The month in doing:

• Miles logged on my run tracker: 68.5
• Races run: Hudepohl 14k Brewery Run
• Items from 30 before 30 list: none (better pick one for October! Though good progress on #26, replace kitchen floor, as I just ordered the materials)

The month in sitting:

• Pages read: 1,833 (that's about 5.2 books)
• Favorite book: Rules of Civility
• Evenings on the couch watching tv & blogging while Peter worked nights: many, many

The month in eating:

• Best recipe: balsamic quinoa with grilled veggies (still making this one a lot and we still love it every time)
• Friday night trips to pick up ice cream: 3 
• Visits to the National Exemplar for brunch: 2

The month in blogging:

• Most popular post: wearing lately: a sense of style
• Funniest Google search that led a visitor to my blog: "tiniest bathroom ever"
• Favorite new-to-me read: Pugly Pixel (so many great design and blog tips/ideas!)