Aida ~

In an effort to expand my boot collection as well as purchase some footwear that I love regardless of hubby's opinion (sorry David!), I've purchased 4 pairs, photos below. The first two should, in theory, be below/to the knee. The last two are high ankle boots.

I'm not sure they'll all fit or look as good as I think, but I'm excited just the same! Curious about your thoughts, everyone. (Sorry Angie, I couldn't wait for your boot basics/expansion post! :) )

This past week I tried a new hair suggestion from you lovelies each day. (Clothing thread here.)

1. Pinned back parts of my bangs underneath the sides. Nice way to have my hair out of my face but not behind my ears (which I dislike).
2. Used my curling iron all around, though it doesn't quite get hot enough for all-day hold.
3. French twist, semi-successful; harder to do than expected, and apparently I'm bad at bobby pinning but at least it stayed in all day ;)
4. Blowing it out straight; I should've used my flat iron on top because the outdoor humidity made it curl at the ends, and would've helped with frizz.
5. Poofy bang attempt #2, more successful than last but still needs practice.

It was a lot of fun, though it was definitely out of my comfort zone. I still have lots of ideas from you all to try: mod headband (actually did this yesterday), learn to french braid, 40s style waves with a larger curling iron, spunky curly bun/pony, and of course getting the cut updated.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I plan to keep trying new things, though maybe every other day or two so it's less stressful :)

This past week I had Marley's post about new and unworn items in mind as I put my outfits together. I also tried something new with my hair each day (tried to match to outfits), which I split into this post.

1. Rarely worn: boots; Never worn: belt.
2. Rarely worn: sweater and heels; Never worn: color palette.
3. Rarely worn: orange and green tops.
4. Unworn: brown vest; Rarely worn: brown blazer; New: heels.
5. Unworn: navy turtleneck; Rarely worn: heels.

I ended up disliking both the orange and green tops, and will probably toss both; I HAD to add the scarf because the colors just didn't look good on me and needed a more complimentary color next to my face.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Where does this measurement start? At the ankle? At the heel?

Hope you all won't be too disappointed after my last set of more urban outfits ;) This is a set of 3 from last weekend when we went down to Portland with a bunch of friends for the Holiday Ale Fest (yum!) so I needed comfortable ALL day inside/outside outfits. My husband and I left a day earlier than everyone so we could have an extra night to ourselves.

1. Worn for the drive down (5 hours instead of 3, traffic was awful, ugh), then to dinner at Little Big Burger which was deLICious, and then to Deschutes for some late munchies (and a yummy hefeweizen).
2. Worn for breakfast at Kelly's Olympian, then all day at the Holiday Ale Fest (my favorite was Laurelwood Brewing Company's Black Pepper Belgian Pale Ale, if anyone is into beer :) ). Then back to Kelly's, then off to Deschutes for a late, late dinner. A very long but fun day!
3. Worn for breakfast at The Original with everyone, then headed home (normal time this round, 3 hours). Listened to the Seahawks game on the radio, and made it home in time for most of the 4th quarter.
4. Bonus photo my hubby took at the fest. I'm on the front left, mostly cut off ;)

As you can see, I didn't pack much; we took just a backpack for the two of us and I had only my boots as footwear. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

How do you all determine which shades/colors to buy shoes in? I'd very much like to expand my boot collection but I'm hesitant to make any purchases because I don't know which colors to pick. I'm curious to hear some of the strategies you all use in deciding this.

Almost caught up! Here's a few more, I'm very fond of this group. I feel like they're very "me" and representative of where I'd like my style to go. All three were just worn to work though I wish I'd had occasion to wear them out!

1. I only have a couple blazers, don't wear them often. This one is a vintage 80s blazer, thicker not-even-remotely-drapey material, complete with shoulder pads :) It's leftover from my old stage wardrobe (back when I was in a band) but I do love it, even if it's a bit tricky for me to wear/style.
2. The look that prompted the hair styling leap. I was inspired by this outfit but it just didn't look like me so I decided to try (semi-successfully) to give myself a bit of a rockabilly do and voila, the look is now very me! I was amazed how a little hair change (plain pony to um.. puffed bang pony?) can overhaul an outfit's vibe, hence the sudden desire to learn to use this accessory of mine.
3. Got these LOFT shorts on clearance (good for trying new things!) a while back and finally worked up the nerve to wear them out. I think the top is too loose, but I think I like how it looks and more surprisingly my husband actually did like how this looks (!!) so I'll have to at least give it another go or two. What do you all think?

I also wanted to specially thank everyone who commented in my last WIW thread. I'm officially resolving to stop trying to always please both mine and my husband's style aesthetics and really just focus on what I love (will be hard!).

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Playing catch up with my WIW. Apparently I was feeling belted tops for a few days :)

#1 was worn to a hockey game; newish belt, first wear.
#2 was worn to a friend's to watch some TV.
#3 was just for work; another newish belt, first wear. Also I think this top needs to be longer?

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I finally got those sweet Madden Girl turquoise patent pumps, and wore an outfit in brown and red inspired by your WIW yesterday. Just thought I'd share real quick :)

Finally got all my Maui vacation photos collaged; each photo below is one day's worth of outfits. I included some swimwear photos in #7 since I never did a "what's my shape" post (I know it's hourglass; don't know secondary, possibly IT?). I struggled a bit with creating summery outfits, but I think they turned out alright. Also since my husband took all the photos you can all see me smiling (I usually look like the right pic in photo 1, "Eeeeeee, look! Flamingos!!" ;) ).

Steph I wanted to thank you for your recommendation to Merriman's; we had our anniversary dinner there and it was awesome. Thanks so much!

My final packing list: 2 swimsuits, 1 coverup, 1 skirt, 1 shorts, 2 tops, 2 tanks, 1 camisole, 2 dresses, 2 sandals, 1 flip flops, and 1 jeans/jacket/flats for Seattle weather (also had 2 cardigans that I never wore).

Accessories: 2 pairs hoops, 1 pearl necklace, 1 pendant (fishy!), 1 bangle. I was also gifted for our anniversary a lovely pair of Akoya pearl earrings.

* Day 1: 6 hour flight and dinner.
* Day 2: Brunch followed by shopping (left), then hung out at the hotel's awesome pool all day (bottom). In the evening, dinner and a walk on the beach (right).
* Day 3: Anniversary day! Went to brunch (left), then snorkeling which is possibly the best thing ever in the world (bottom, top left), then out to a fancy dinner at Merriman's (top right); I unfortunately forgot to pack my fancy maxi dress for this dinner.
* Day 4: Had brunch then spent the day in the ocean and sunbathing (top right), followed by dinner, sunset watching, and a walk on the beach (all the others).
* Day 5: Woke up early and had brunch, then watched the football games (go Seahawks, a win!) with some other Seattleites. The bar had 5 TVs so they had all the games on which was pretty great. In the evening we had dinner at the Maui Brewing Company.
* Day 6: Went to brunch (top left) then for a really cool, though harrowing, drive around the northwestern part of the island (bottom left, right). The road was wide enough for only 1 car for most of the way, with VERY steep cliff drops; got to see a totally different side of the island and some spectacular views.
* Day 7: Beach and pool day (left), then out for a little shopping, dinner, and a long walk in the evening (right). I also got my anniversary gift, a beautiful pair of pearl studs!
* Day 8: Our last day of vacation. I wore this to drive around and look for a place to develop our underwater cameras, then changed into what I wore on Day 1 for the airport and plane ride home.

It was a lovely vacation! And just for fun I added some underwater photos of us :)