and tried for a grape day.

Oh my bad day.

I had to be to work early today, so I thought wearing my bright purple tights and pleated skirt would ease the pain. And they tried their very best, my faithful servants, they really did- it just wasn't my day today! You ever have one of those want to scream kind of days??

I'll just tell you about the end, because it includes the most painful parts. First, my Black Friday Shopbop order arrived...and it was ALL WRONG! Not one thing was what I ordered. Next, I find out that all of the items I did order are now SOLD OUT. Horror. Absolute disaster. As I was moping around, woe-as-me-ing and generally being very pathetic, my husband's eyes drifted down to my legs. Oh, I thought, at least he finds my purple tights adorable. I glance down to check out my goods and what do I see? A RUN. A flipping run in my brand-new, great grape tights. This is when I started crying. Yes, actual tears. And no, I'm still not over it.

Here are some pictures of me fake smiling in my outfit of the day:

       

jacket: J.Crew (last year). sweater: Gap. skirt: J.Crew Factory. 

tights: don't even. shoes: Kate Spade Outlet.

to give thanks.

If there's one thing my husband and I love, it's theme dressing....enter Rick's corduroy turkey critter pants.

Hope everyone had a very happy and delicious thanksgiving, and enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

shirt, skirt, tights & shoes: J.Crew. Too much of the Crew, I know, shush. 

necklaces: Kate Spade & F21.

Rick's watch: J.Crew.

P.S. these Swiss dot tights are from my most recent project!

for more tights than she can handle.

When I set my budget at $100 for a whole season's worth of new tights, I thought I might not be able to get all of the styles and colors I desired. Thankfully and joyfully, I was wrong! I got a whopping NINE pairs of tights for $100. I'm really happy with how this project turned out- the shopping provided me hours of entertainment and I didn't break the bank. Plus, I know these nine pairs of tights will help me create an endless amount of outfits and keep my legs toasty warm this winter. Here's what I got:

• Four basic pairs by Hue, from Bloomingdale's. They were 2 for $22, plus an additional 25% off! Total $40.
• Three pairs from J.Crew- one bright purple pair on sale for $6, one nude Swiss dot and one black/brown herringbone (buy 2, get 25% off on those last two). Spent about $35 here.
• One very cool pair of split seam tights from Topshop for $15- can't wait to wear these ones! I might have to double up with a nude sheer pair underneath, so I don't freeze my butt off.
• And of course I couldn't resist some stripes- picked up this awesome pair from American Apparel for $20.

Apparently this doesn't add up to $100. I suppose I didn't count the American Apparel tights, because I used my Groupon ($50 for $100 of apparel). I'm thinking since I already paid for that it doesn't count...right?

Get ready for about 4 solid months of rotating these new purchases. Hope everyone is having a great short week!

to tighten it up.

Winter is officially setting in in Chicago (so I hear, I'm down in FL for work, tee hee hee), which means it's time for some new tights. I've been wearing my very sad, worn and holey black tights from last year, and my toes have started picketing to be covered up again. Ok, little toes, I shall go shopping. Twist my arm...

I need the basics- black, navy and brown- but I also want some fun patterns and textures to keep things exciting on those cold winter days. I also saw this InStyle article about layering tights to stay warm, so I'm going to pick up a couple of pairs of nude tights as well. My budget is $100 and I'm hoping to come home with 7 or 8 new pairs to keep these chicken legs warm and cozy.

from L to R: American Apparel , Madewell , J.Crew , Lands' End Canvas , American Apparel

to say "may the horse be with you".

I'm feeling very equestrian-chic today in my new boots with my hair in a pony, so I wanted to come up with a post title that had something to do with horses. I don't know much anything about horses or horse back riding, but I do know my very first and best friend at college had a t-shirt that said "may the horse be with you". And she wore it. In public. Needless to say, she is a wonderful animal lover and is now a veterinarian, so I can't think of any animals without thinking of my lovely bestie :) This one's for you, Casey!

sweater: Lands' End Canvas (similar) shirt: J.Crew jeans: J.Brand. 

boots: MICHAEL Michael Kors necklace: J.Crew

to rock it out.

I brought my DIY clutch on her very first outing today- to see Rock of Ages at the Oriental. She's a big fan of 80's music, just like her momma.

Hope you all had lovely weekends!

jacket: BR (old) shirt: F21 pants: J.Crew shoes: J.Crew (similar) 

necklace: BR (old) purse: American Apparel

and gets the rainy day blues.

I was very, very excited when I woke up on Wednesday because it was PINK PANTS DAY! I finally jumped on the colored denim bandwagon over the weekend and had been planning my outfit for days. I decided Wednesday would be the day because the rain was supposed to be over and I had a happy hour (what's happier than PINK PANTS?), hence my excitement level at 7:30 am. But, of course, the pesky rain lingered and ruined my pink pants day- I should explain that my planned outfit involved suede shoes, which is why pink pants day was a no-go in the rain.

Fast-forward to me standing like a crabby 3-year old in front of my closet, lamenting that I have nothing to wear. A morning meltdown, if you will. In these situations, I've learned to turn to my staples- basic pieces that are comfortable and fit perfectly. On this particular day, I pulled on my favorite J.Brand jeggings and a white long-sleeve tee from J.Crew. I finished the look off with my new sparkly tweed blazer from Zara (because basic doesn't have to be simple) and my favorite Tory Burch booties (patent leather, perfect for the rain).

I tend to have a meltdown morning at least once a week- I'll start posting these "go-to" outfits as they come!

jeans: J.Brand t-shirt: J.Crew blazer: Zara (similar) shoes: Tory Burch (old) 

bag: Topshop (old) bracelets: DY

and does it herself.

I'll start by saying that I am not artistic in any way, shape or form. I've always wanted to be, and I so admire people with an innate ability to create something beautiful, but that quality bypassed me in the birth canal. As did any cooking skills. That shopping gene, however, that one seemed to stick.

Anyway, there was a little blurb in the November issue of InStyle about how to paint your own American Apparel leather pouch. It didn't look too hard to mess up, even for me, so I decided to give it a shot. I bought a neutral, camel-colored clutch from American Apparel ($50), three different colors of acrylic paint from an art store that I didn't belong in ($9), three of those foam brush things ($1) and three different kinds of tape ($9), because I don't know what masking tape is, apparently. None of the three kinds of tape I bought ended up being masking tape, by the way, but the clear kind worked just fine and didn't leave residue on the bag. So for $70 and hours of entertainment/fun, I got myself a new accessory that I can carry with pride.

Before:

Halfway there...

After:

Last note- when I was shopping for the bag I told the salesgirl what I was planning to do, and she showed me some pictures they had at the counter of similar projects- including one of the fabulous and adorable Blair of Atlantic-Pacific and her patriotic clutch!

among the leaves.

I.love.sweater.dresses. I buy a handful every Fall and pretty much wear them to death by April. I saw this one online at J.Crew and knew it would be a good investment- the color is gorgeous and it's heavy enough to keep warm in the winter months. I wore it for the first time layered over my chambray button-down bought for this post. Can't wait to wear this one again and again!

sweater dress: J.Crew shirt: J.Crew (similar here) shoes: Coach (old) purse: Coach (old) 

sunglasses: Ray Ban jewelry: J.Crew and DY

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to make a return.

Remember my new boots project? I was in such a frenzy of excitement to add a new pair of boots to my collection, I think I rushed it. I bought the wedge boots from Banana Republic, and while they're very cute, a good price, and everything I thought I wanted, they sat ignored in my bedroom for over a week. When I don't wear a new purchase right away, that's a red flag that it's not quite right. So back to Banana Republic they went, poor things.

It was then that I became obsessed with boot shopping. I am so sick of my boots from last winter and needed something different to spice up my fall wardrobe. I kept coming back to these MICHAEL Michael Kors boots on Piperlime, and luckily they also had them at Macy's when I popped in on Tuesday. I wasn't sure about the elasticized back, but I actually really liked the way they fit snug to my calves (I inherited a pair of chicken legs from my momma). They're also very tall and come up a little bit past my knee; my other boots are shorter. They are flat, but the shinier finish dresses them up so I think they'll look great with jeans and dresses alike. And I got 15% off at Piperlime (I trickily signed up for their emails again with my married name email address, tee hee hee) so I got them for $180- $20 under budget!

I am super excited to introduce these babies to the rest of my wardrobe- I'm sure they'll be making their fair share of appearances in future blog posts. Happy weekend, everyone!

in her pearls.

Pearls, even if they are from F21, instantly make me feel like a lady. Thanks again to Charlene for taking these photos!
 

dress (worn as top): Kate Spade skirt: H&M (recent, same one I bought my sister for this post).  

necklace: F21 (similar here) shoes: Calvin Klein bracelets: DY. watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs.