Nothin’ You Can Do, Cause I’m Stuck Like Glue To My Guy

My office has a Toastmasters Club, which I recently joined. For my first speech, I needed to look put together, and a little toned down.



I went with this purple blouse with pleating detail and some slim fit pants. I felt good. I wish you could see the shoes better, they are light gold high heels with a linen wrapped heel. I pulled some old photos just so you could see them, because I thought they looked really nice…





And I kept the jewelry toned down with this beautiful pendant my Dad designed for my Grandmother and I inherited.



My mother and sister have copies as well, so I was glad to inherit this one, because I like the idea of us all having one to wear.

This bracelet was also my Grandmother’s, from her costume jewelry collection.



My speech went really well! I received very positive marks on my evaluation and I was so glad to have that first one behind me. Hopefully next time I won’t be as nervous, I was shaking like a leaf for the hour beforehand. And to make matters worse, my boss, who I joined to hang out with, had to go to a luncheon for executives off campus! But I am ready for that second speech now! The first one is always worst!

Blouse, Target
Trousers, Forever XXI
Sandals, Payless
Rings, Moon Raven Designs at Etsy
Necklace, inherited from my Grandmother, designed by my dad.
Bracelet, inherited from my Grandmothers costume jewelry collection

And You're Struck Down by a Hammer ...

Last night my house caught fire. Just a little, and we put it out, but it was still pretty dramatic. Artist in residence Nathan T (not the same as my husband, we live in a duplex, and there is a Nathan on both sides. Nathan J is the musician in residence; Nathan T is the artist in residence. I am the hot one.) is a smoker and it seems a cigarette butt made its way under the porch and into a pile of leaves and started a fire. We could smell that there was something burning. And we could tell it was in or about our house, but we had a hard time finding it, because due to the airflow, the smell was strongest in my bedroom. But Nathan T found it, and put it out. And we still have a house. So, yay!

Wendy B did a great write up on Daring Damsels in Double Denim (how GREAT is that title?) and the look I wore for her is featured along with some other really great looks. I am particularly fond of Sharon's McQ playsuit. Jealous!

I have been looking forward to this shoe and dress combination since February, when I first saw them next to each other in my wardrobe and said “Oh!~ Look at the pattern mixing there!”. No, really... look:



I love it!~



It was Nathan’s idea to have me stand by the matching tree, isn’t that pretty? I was lit from behind, so the lighting is not amazing, but the pictures came out really pretty regardless. I admit to lots of adjustments though, so you can see my face. Because faceless girls are just creepy.



I wasn’t sure what jacket to wear, and I tried a few that all worked about as well, and a couple that didn’t work at all, but I settled on this one because it gives a bit of a waist when worn and the dress is so floaty.



I’m meeting friends to celebrate a friend’s promotion (Congratulations, Jesse! We love you!) later and I’d love to wear this, but the chances I’ll make it that long in these shoes are not good. They are comfortable enough for what they are, but they are not exactly walking shoes, now are they? Plus I suspect after the sun goes down there will be a chill in the air. That’s OK, I’ve got alllllll Summer to wear this out.



You got any amazing plans tonight? Do you have to work tomorrow? I took a vacation day because my office does not close for Good Friday, but I do!~

Jacket, Forever XXI
Dress, Target (recent)
Shoes, Alice and Olivia for Payless
Bag, GAP
Necklace, self made, skull by mrd74 at Etsy

To Cast Divine Arrows Into Her Soul

Nathan and I have been living in a very small space for a lot longer than we intended to for various (and largely irritating) reasons. But we make due. Honestly, I’m pretty proud of how much personality we fit into such a small space. I’m a bit of a homebody. I’d rather you come spend Friday night round at mine, eating take away, watching DVDs or listening to records than almost anything else, to be honest. And I’m very particular about the living room.

Until now, I have forbidden exercise equipment from this space. But last weekend, I admitted defeat. I have found one exercise, ever, that I don’t hate, and that’s my Tony Little Gazelle. Yes. It is. And last weekend I shuffled things around an already tight space to make room for mine in the living room. I’m not happy about the look of it. But I am past caring. I know if it’s in there I can make myself do it while catching up on Life Unexpected or the ridiculousness that is “The Secret Life of the American Teenager*. So my battle into taking better care of myself has begun. Portion control has been enacted, and the Gazelle is being used. I’m feeling good about it.



We went to two different Targets this weekend, armed with my birthday gift cards. As soon as we passed this display of tie dyed v-neck tees, I knew $10 would be going to one of those. In fact, I might go back for a back-up. I am a sucker for anything black and white and anything tie dyed, so this tee is just perfect for me. And you can’t beat $10.



I’m giving Douglas Coupland one more try. Everyone seems to just love him. I’ve tried two of his books** before and not finished either, so I am not sure WHY I am trying him again other than I got it at Half Price Books and it was cheap. I’ll let you know. It’s off to an OK start, but the Goodreads reviews indicate it might be all downhill from here.



I also picked up a plaid shirt and a great basic black skirt that is neither too long (and has to be hiked up to my boobs) or too short (and can only be worn with leggings). I was really excited by that find! And two tie dyed crew neck tees from the men’s department, which had much better color options than the ladies’.



The shopping ban is over, BTW. I cheated twice, right at the very end. Once on a pair of shoes last Friday, I saw them a week ago that day when I was spending birthday money and could not stop thinking about them. So I bought them and justified it as a birthday gift to myself. And a second time on Saturday when I was feeling sorry for myself (hey, it happens!) and bought a $5 Maybelline lipgloss at the CVS. It was worth every penny and it is the best lipgloss I have had in ages. I will probably go right back on a ban very soon, out of necessity and also just because it felt good to challenge myself. But I’m going to take a breather just for a minute. I feel pretty good about how I did.

(I've noticed a lot of comments about going out to look for things, and to help you know when you might be able to do that, I'm going to start noting recent purchases in the outfit details at the bottom. If I got something within the past couple of months, I'll note it as recent.)

*simultaneously one of the best and worst shows on TV. No one can act, not even Molly Ringwald seems to remember how, but the dramatic plots twists are delicious in their levels of ridiculousness, and we just can’t seem to stop watching.
**”Girlfriend In A Coma” and “Microserfs” I can’t even remember what I didn’t like about them.

Jacket, Bona Drag, customized by me
Tee, Target (recent)
Trousers, Wal-Mart
Socks, Payless
Shoes, Target
Necklace, self made from vintage and craft store parts
Cuff, Vintage, gift from Mikal
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Book, The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland

It's A Fact That Everybody Wanna Be Loved

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

The sun came out today. In full force. And early. It made taking pictures a bit difficult, but I did get a couple. I had to! I wanted you to see me looking all office-y and demure, plus I’m wearing another of the awesome pieces Mikal gave me.



I’m not going to lie! I feel kind of like this week is an unofficial challenge. I am trying to dress conservative for the visiting executives, trying to stay myself, and trying to wear all my fun new jewelry. It’s taking a lot more effort than my normal style.



Lol. I was hoping for at least one picture with my eyes open and my face not too terrible screwed up in the sun. I managed 1 and a half, so I did better than I hoped!



This pin had three key charms on it. I left one, replaced two and added a couple extra charms. The angel and the angel sitting in the heart are from earrings my mom used to wear back when angels were all the rage in jewelry. Do you remember that? It’s more wings now, but when I was in high school and university, angels were the thing. I wore them on jewelry, clothes and I decorated my room with them. I’ve changed. But I still liked these charms, and I like to recycle things instead of tossing them out. Once I added those I decided it had a bit of a theme going and added the wing and medallion. I’m pretty pleased with how it came out. I may punk it up later though, with skulls and bullets, because well, you know me.



Jacket, H&M
Blouse, Target
Pants, Wal-Mart
Booties, Payless
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Pin, Vintage, gift from Mikal
Watch, Fossil
Bracelet, Gift from Lara

The Chase Is All You Know, And She Stopped Running Months Ago

We have executives in the office this week, which means I’m trying to dress more…office-y. I used to dress that way all the time, so I know it’s possible, but I also used to be 35-40 pounds heavier and have an entirely different wardrobe! I just don’t have a lot of slacks to choose from. In fact I have these and the black pair you’ve seen me wear before. And I don’t love the way these fit. I got these right after I lost all the weight and I was a good 10 pounds lighter (I got good and skinny there for a couple months, but it didn’t stick. I like cake.)



But over all I think it works. I didn’t really see any snow, I counted 3 flakes. But it is really cold for Dallas, 30 something. And I am still refusing to wear a coat. I mean, I leave the house, take a few pictures, get into a car with heated sets, go into a heated office and then get back into the car with heated seats. It’s not like I’m exposed to the elements all that much…and I didn’t have a coat that matched.



I had all these exciting PLANS last week, and this week I’ve got nothing. And I am super over the Olympics. I could not be more bored. I thought I was going to enjoy ice dancing but it was worse than ski jumping, or bobsled or whatever sport it was we watched where they threw themselves down a very slick runway. I am just not a sports girl. I am enjoying the time to read my “Spike” comic omnibus though, so at least there is that!



This outfit was also built around a piece of the jewelry Mikal brought over.



I have big plans to wear that with a grey v-neck tee and jeans, but I couldn’t wait, so I spent quite a bit of time trying to put together something that it would look good with that would also be appropriate for this week at work.

Jacket, Forever XXI
Blouse and pants, Target
Boots, Payless
Necklace, Vintage, gift from Mikal
Bag, Reby C at Etsy

Your Last Breaths Moving Through You

I look about as tired as I am these pictures. It’s nothing a Sugar Free Red Bull can’t handle, though.



I MAY have forgotten I had these pants. They were all of $13.00, I think, at Forever XXI, and I actually really like them. But I have a hard time remembering pants in general. I just don’t like them. I mean I like THESE, but in general, when I’m getting dressed, I don’t think “pants”. They just aren’t as versatile or flattering to me as dresses. I know some of you feel the same!



We are doing Secret Santa at the office and I choose to participate because everyone else was and I’ve never been great with peer pressure. Normally these things do not go well for me, but this year I’m actually getting really thoughtful gifts and my Santa has yet to forget a day! Chocolates, lip balm, candles, a jar of the uber fatty and caloric deliciousness that is La Madeline’s Tomato Basil Soup. And the person I am gifting seems to be really pleased as well. It’s been really nice.


Jacket, Forever XXI
Blouse, Target
Tank, Target
Pants, Forever XXI
Boots, Payless
Bag, Kenneth Cole Reaction

I Can't Help Drink You Up Cause You're My Happy Hour.

I know it’s slightly off topic, but my copy of Cheryl Cole’s (Girls Aloud) solos CD “3 Words” finally came last week, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I love it. I had read mixed reviews and the glowing reviews were mostly from hard core Aloud fans. But I really love it.



It’s a really solid album. Not quite R&B, not quite pop. It’s Pop & B. ha!~

Anywhoodle. I got dressed. Again.



I like this outfit a LOT, but I would (will) like it better if (when) I had my grey jacket. I ordered this same jacket in grey from Target.com about 2 weeks ago, but it’s on backordered. I cannot wait to get it. I had Pilalex get the same jacket and my hope is that we will show up in them on the same day soon. Because that always amuses me.



I still fold the waist band of this skirt over pretty much every time I wear it to shorten it several inches, but it works so well, and is so easy I am not going to bother having it tailored for now. I’ve been saying “for now” for about a year, by the way, so I’m pretty sure “by now” means “ever”.



The wearing the belt backwards for more impact was a trick that a couple of the girls at the swap showed me. I was trying to make a too-sweet for me dress work (it just really didn’t) and they had me try this. It may not have worked for that dress, but I did tuck the trick away for later use. And it looked great in pictures, and would have worked for a club, but I have to admit that I changed belts before I left. These looked good but felt restrictive when I sat down, and I sit pretty much all day, so I changed into something with elastic.



I put my little bat skull on a longer chain last night, so it is almost the same length as the bird skull. I love having a jewelry kit and the skills to make changes, because I get bored pretty fast. And because change is fun! And I can always change it back.



Jacket, One Star by Converse
Blouse, Forever XXI
Skirt, Target
Tights, Target
Belts, swap and Target
Ankle boots, Payless
Handbag, Reby C at Etsy
Necklaces, mrd74 at Etsy

Gimme to the beat, all night dont roll

I had a traumatic Dr’s visit today. I’m not sick. But I had to do something I didn’t want to do. And I hate my insurance company.

Anyway, I wanted to look pretty, because looking pretty makes me feel better. So I went full-on girly.



I’m pretty stunning right? Loved this. As did my husband and co-workers.

As is typical, I was standing outside, taking pictures of myself minding my own business.



When Nathan walked out. I turned to him, mid-shot, as I almost always do.



“Come take a picture with me, baby”, I said. “No, I don’t look good”, he claimed. We went back a forth for a while, but he refused as he always does, and offered instead to operate the camera. By which he meant “take pictures of the faces you make between shots without telling you".



Thanks, babe. No, really. Thanks. Punk.





After my Dr’s visit I stopped and got some more DRY* soda.


It’s addictive. I got Lavender, Rhubarb and Lemongrass this time. If you can find it, you should try it. It’s not overly sweet and it's low in calories for a soda. I actually found a bottle of vodka in the freezer** and added a splash to the Rhubarb and it was perfection.

*Oh my gosh, last time I wrote about them they e-mailed me!~ Isn’t that awesome? So, if you are reading again, DRY PR department, Hello!~ And I love your soda!

**I had forgotten we had it, as we don’t normally keep liquor. Nathan picked it up once a few months ago for a party, as it is the polite thing to do to bring something to a party, but I was like “Dude, we are too poor to be giving people that bottle of vodka right now” and stuck it in the back of the freezer. I am not as good of a party guest when I am poor, I guess.

Dress, Old Navy
Sweater, Victoria’s Secret
Belt, Target
Tights, Target
Shoes, Payless
Necklace, Love Erin Designs

I Lied, Again.

OK. I did not wear the Sparkle Butt pants. I was a victim of my own procrastination. Don’t act like it’s never happened to you!~ I spent the AM having donut holes and watching TV with my husband. Nice and lazy. Then I went over to Tina's to use her washing machine to RIT dye some things. And while we did, we went thrifting. By the time I got home, my husband informed me our dinner dates would be arriving at 6:30. And it was 5:30. So I didn’t have much time to get dressed*

Anyway, long story shot(er)…NONE of the tunics or shirts I wanted to wear with the leggings were clean or pressed. So I had to come up with a new plan. I’m sorry. I still adore them and am going to launder everything I own and clean up the closet this week, so I have clothes again. I tend to let it get pretty desperate before I do, because I’m lazy. But we’ve been over that before.

ANYWAY. I ended up wearing this:



That jacket? I thrifted it and a sequined top with Tina. It was half price day, so they were only 5 bucks each. And I die for this jacket. I sang a tiny song in Salvation Army about how I “like it shiny” and Tina did not even react. This tells me she and Rand must be JUST as weird as Nate and I.



It is dry clean only, so I just Febreeze-ed it, wiped the inside down with a wet towel and called it a day. I totally understand if that grosses you out, but if I have to pay another $5.00 to get it cleaned, it sort of ruins the fun for me. I’m sure I’ll have it cleaned at some point but by then it will just be another item of clothing I own that needs dry cleaning. Do you have newly thrifted dry clean only purchases like jackets cleaned before you wear them?



Anyway, I loved this look. After I got dressed I pretended I was leaving and told Nathan “OK, so I’ll be back in a bit, I’m off to my Dynasty audition” because that jacket is so over the top.



I even wore fancy shoes. I don’t normally. I don’t know what my deal is, but I almost never wear satin or suede shoes. I own them, I just don’t wear them. But I thought “Oh come ON, you have to wear them at some point!”



Of course then it rained all night, and I also scuffed the toe. Classic Erin. It was OK though, the rain didn’t do any damage and the scuff? I totally Sharpie-d it away.


I failed to get a close up of the Talonalia necklace on the new chain, but I am wearing it. I can’t seem to take it off, I just love it!~

*Dude. On a weekday morning, I can get dressed in 20 minutes with no prior outfit planning or anything. Hair , make-up and all, but on a weekend? I swear it takes me 2 hours to get ready to go out. And I don’t look that different than I do weekdays. IDK what the deal is. It’s a random fact of life.

Jacket, Thrifted
Tank, Merona at Target
Denim Leggings, Forever XXI
Shoes, Payless
Bag, Thrifted
Talon Necklace, Talonalia
Medallion necklace, Forever XXI

Birthday Bummer

Saturday was Nathan’s birthday, and we had plans to meet a friend for dinner and drinks and then meet a few more friends downtown to see a couple bands play. Now, normally when I go see shows with Nathan, I am going to be with him or as a favor. But I’m not going because I want to see the band. There are exceptions of course, and the band playing Saturday was one I actually enjoy, so I was pretty disappointed when I ended up not feeling well and having to go home after dinner while Nathan and everyone else went out.

But I looked really pretty at dinner…



I wore a jacket and I thought it looked great, but the AC in the restaurant was not working so well and I ended up not needed it at all.





I got this dress so I could dress up a bit for Nathan’s birthday, because I like to dress up, and I like to be pretty for both myself AND Nathan. I am also extremely budget challenged right now, so I had to scope out a really good deal. And I did. This dress is a satiny number, it has its own slip and the slip has a wee bit of tulle to give it some volume. And I got it at Target. For $24.99. That’s right, $24.99. Unbelievable.



I plan on wearing it just like this to at least two more parties or events over the holiday season because the combo of the jacket, necklace and dress is just perfect! I love the way that pendant pops against the colors of the dress.





That big, dramatic necklace is actually a chain I got at a thrift store for about 50 cents and a focal piece for Michael’s craft store. I about died when I saw it. I love the result as well, it looks so classic and expensive.



Dress, Target
Jacket, Forever XXI
Necklace, self made
Bag, Vintage and thrifted
Tights, Merona, Target
Shoes, Payless

Here We Go, We’re Gonna Rock and Roll Till We Stop

I didn’t actually make it out of the house in this. I had a very uncharacteristic flash of self style doubt and changed before I had time to upload and review the pictures. I was wrong, ya’ll. This is a great outfit.



I’m not even sure what it was that made me doubt it. I’m really glad I went ahead and photographed it, because I don’t know of anything or anyone with a more honest opinion than the camera.



I am adding this to my “going out” rotation for Fall, even I admit that tunic is too short for work.



I love all the glittery thread and the crazy leopard print mixed with the tiger and jungle print. It’s just really fun. And it will look great with my cropped biker jacket.



I paired it with the amazing art deco-ish earrings from Forever XXI



I’m wearing my dance pants, are you?

Tunic, Vintage via the last hurrah at Etsy
Leggings, Target
Boots, Payless
Clutch, Bitten
Earrings, Forever XXI