Aida ~

My sister had told me she wanted to get me a handbag for my birthday, but I wasn't sure if she really was going to or if she was trying to throw me off. When I opened her gift I was surprised to see a pretty little gold Coach handbag! Considering she's still in University and isn't working, I'm super touched that she got me such a fancy gift.

My mother-in law bought me 3 cool crackle effect nail polishes I'd been wanting in black, silver, and turquoise.

I just had to wear both gifts today, of course! Decided to sport a simple outfit with some mixed metallics to show off the bag, and for my nails I went with mint underneath black crackle polish (which crackles pretty magically). Starting my new decade off in style :D

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Weekend and early part of the week outfits.

1. Saturday. We got a boat!! My husband has wanted a boat as long as I've known him. Now we just need some warm weather...
2. Sunday, worn to my folks' for birthday lunch then over to a friend's to catch up on some TV. My husband actually came up with this denim-on-denimish outfit (minus the necklace), how fashion forward of him :) He also took the photos, hence the silliness. New necklace, doubled up for Maximum Beaded Impact.
3. Monday, worn to work then out for tacos. Still loving this white blazer, and am happy to have it because now I can make my darker items that I haven't been wearing more springy looking!
4. Tuesday (today), day off and birthday! Feeling sassy, so enjoy the sassy poses ;) Having friends over to eat seafood and watch hockey in the evening (not-so-secretly wearing Vancouver's colors!). This necklace is a small collection of my mom's charms that she gifted me for my birthday, including a pair of zodiac charms with hers and my dad's signs from when they were my age (so cute!).
5. Because I'm in a good mood, a bonus shot of me being myself.... *erhm* goofy when my husband suggested offhand that I pose crane-kick style while he was taking my photos on Saturday ^^

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Picture Perfect Challenge! Most of these were quite out of my comfort zone/new styles to me, but I was pleased with the whole lot and feel like these are all looks that are a step further than what I'd put together normally; would love to hear what you all think about what it is that makes this so.

1. Monday, worn to work then out for tacos (discussed here).
2. Inspiration for #1: Picasso's "Boy with a Pipe"
3. Tuesday, worn to work (discussed here).
4. Inspiration for #3: Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I"
5. Wednesday, worn to work (discussed here). This is how I plan to alter these cropped cargo pants, what do you all think? For original length, see photos #9/10 here.
6. Inspiration for #5: Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust"
7. Thursday, worn to work then out for dinner (discussed here). Team Short Shorts, I humbly join your ranks :)
8. Inspiration for #7: Picasso's "Dora Maar with Cat"
9. Friday, unexpected day off but ended up doing yardwork so not worn out (discussed here). New blazer. Swapped the shorts for olive skinnies in the evening for date night.
10. Inspiration for #9: Van Gogh's "Irises"

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

I was delighted to come home after a long day at work and find a package from the one and only MaryK! Inside was an awesome bright red-orange button-up shirt and 2 pairs of fancy nude microfishnets. I was so excited I took photos right away without styling or collaging :D One step closer to acquiring Mary's fab wardrobe, mwahahahah! *erhm*

Thank you so much, Mary!!

End of last week's outfits, plus the weekend.

1. Wed, worn to work. Had heels on initially but swapped them for flats to tone it down a bit; the knit dress over knit leggings was a bit too "rear highlighting".
2. Thu, worn to work then to an out-of-town friend's to play with his ferrets. This look feels more fall than spring, but I'm not sure how to change that short of not wearing tights or swapping to a different top; sadly it's still not warm enough for just shorts. Not 100% sure about the sheer hose, or maybe it's the shoes, or maybe it needs some scrunched socks? Not sure. I do like the (new) skinny yellow belt with this.
3. Fri, worn to work, out to dinner with my husband, then we went to ferret sit again; they're so cute! Trying a warmer neutral look.
4. Sat, worn to the YLF meetup in Seattle. Decided to go uber 70s casual :) I need to get one of those little vest clips to make this one more fitted looking.

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Mother's day and early part of the week outfits. Quite pleased with all three of these :D

1. Sunday: worn for mother's day. Had my in-laws over for brunch and XBox Kinect funnery then went over to my folks' for tea, snacks, and cake (also my mom's birthday). Not sure these heels are quite tall enough for these long shorts.
2. Monday: worn to work then out for tacos. Tried my vintage midi skirt with a tucked top (at Angie's request) and rockabilly styling (including the new buckly belt) to toughen up some of the sweetness. Better tucked? I rarely wear this silhouette, though I know I probably should *ducks*
3. Tuesday: worn to work then to the monthly gathering of Seattle type folk. Inspired by Chouette's look #5 as seen here. New necklace. ETA: This was my runner-up Seattle meet-up outfit but I decided I'll wear something more casual (even though I'm sure most of you lovelies will be dressy) :)

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Last week's outfits. I'm finding it harder and harder to dress satisfactorily without seriously gutting my closet and shopping for clothes that, 1) fit my current desired style (in desperate need of blouses and other slightly dressier items) and, 2) fit me physically (much of my clothing, especially pants, has gotten too large). Hopefully I can get that going in the next couple of weeks because I really feel I'm straining currently.

1. Monday: worn to work then out for tacos. In Angie's post about white out looks she included light gray so I went with a light gray base with white accents. Does this count as a white out look? :)
2. Tuesday: worn to work. This button-up is from the YLF swap, I finally fit into it (yay!). I don't wear a lot of brown without black, but I rather like the softness it gives this look.
3. Wednesday: worn to work. First time tucking into high-waisted pants, I think it looks OK but wouldn't tuck into anything higher than this. I like the volume-on-volume here but I do plan to try a fitted top with these next time; I've got that noted from the last time I posted these :) Also, warm enough to wear sandals without socks (not really but I did it anyway ^^).
4. Thursday: worn to work then out to dinner (and Tequila!) with a friend. Started with a cream top but then felt like color-blocking so I swapped to the teal; I would dearly have loved a teal blouse instead of a ribbed tank -_- My mom wore this color combo a lot when I was younger, I like the white added into the mix.
5. Friday: worn to Target for dresses (where I met Sheila!), to work, and then out for date night with my husband. First time wearing the nude microfishnets, I love them (and to my surprise, so does hubby)! Also these chunkier heels are growing on me, perfect to add a little edge to a sweet dress like this.
6. Bonus: my jeans' week as a member of Team Riveting Rearsider :)

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Here are my (many) Target purchases from this past Friday (when Sheila and I bumped into each other). Not pictured is the blue dotty twist front dress, because I already cut the tags and have worn it. Pardon that this post is so large ><

I'm usually quite confident in my purchases, but nearly all of these are quite a branch out for me so I'm a bit less sure of them. Some I know I'm keeping, some returning, and some I'm unsure of; listed in each item's notes. My main interest is in whether these are items that work with my new style direction; these are my first purchases since then. I would appreciate any input you all have, and I can keep any/all/none of these items as long as they're Awesome :) None of these are styled.

1. Blue printed wrap dress. The seaweed one Angie blogged about didn't fit but for some reason this one did. Am a bit unsure of the top; if it droops much it will be gapingly large. This would be one of my few (first?) woven dresses.
2. Multi-band black belt, definitely keeping and in fact I wore it yesterday; thanks Lyn* for the inspiration! Also, black leather pumps; dislike the rounded toe (which is weird because I have these same shoes in gray and don't mind it there) so these will be going back.
3. Aqua/mustard front-tie dress. Well. I like the colors and print (though soft) but there are odd fit issues that don't show well in the photos (you can kind of see it in the side/back view, and again in the belt shot in #4). This will be going back.
4. Detail of belt of dress #3, left is how it sits and right is how I would rather it sit (to hide the seam). Also, how should bust darts fit? I feel like these ones aren't sitting correctly.
5. Bright orange dress. Love the color, love the fit from the front, don't really love the exposed zipper (I don't really like them in general). Plus since it's super long it sits a bit weird above my backside (you can sort of see it in the side view).
6. Detail of the orange and green dresses from the front. These dresses are made of rayon.
7. Bright green dress, same as #5 but different color (more green than photo shows). The zipper bothers me less here since the color is darker but same fit issues. Love both colors, not sure if I want to have two of this dress or not.
8. Red wedges. Need to walk around at home to test comfort, and if comfy will keep. Also the skirt is newer (from LOFT) but purchased before style direction change; I like it but am not sure if it works for my new style?
9. Navy top, white cropped pants. I like the idea of the navy top, but in reality the material is so stiff that it fits awkwardly (you can see it a bit in the side views) so it will be going back and I will look for another with more drapy fabric. Pants discussed in #10.
10. Striped top, same white cropped pants. Top is a size too large, need to exchange. I got these pants with the thought of putting elastic into the hems so they're not flared out (would fit a lot like the side view), but now I don't mind the flare too much. They will be worn only with heels, and I have no other white pants. Thoughts?
11. Mustard necklace, mustard belt (first mustard items), coral multi-strand necklace, turquoise tie-dye scarf. Will be keeping all three :)

Whew! If you made it this far thank you and I would LOVE to hear your honest thoughts (I've a tough hide)!

Will post last week's outfits soon hopefully, but in the meantime I wanted to share my Kentucky Derby outfit! Worn to watch the Derby, and the Vancouver-Nashville hockey game (go Canuks!!), and of course sip on juleps. It was WAY too cold to wear this outside so we cranked up the heat, ate BBQ chicken sandwiches, and pretended that it was much warmer out :)

This is the twist front dress from Target that Angie blogged about which several other forum ladies also have. One of my finds from this past Friday; will post the others for a game of keep-or-return soon. I didn't have a lot of time to work on my hat but I think it turned out pretty well. I got this great floppy hat in Florida a couple years ago, and used silk flowers and feather bunches to decorate. Did anyone else dress up? Would love to see some Derby outfit posts!

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!

Still catching up :) Later part of last week and weekend outfits.

1. Wed, worn to work. Gave my vintage 70s midi skirt a go since it's still cold. I kind of dislike the dark tights with this, wish I had the nude microfishnets instead (got them a couple days later).
2. Thu, worn to work. I rarely wear these heels because they're too large and are cheaply made, but I do love the styling. Did a few things I don't often do: stacked bangles, bright shoes, silk scarf tied like a men's tie, socks+skinnies+heels.
3. Fri, worn to work and dinner with my folks. Enjoyed pairing the red with the orange nails, did the same pairing in the next outfit too! This is my favorite nail color of all time, "Cantelope" by Essie; it's a peachy-orangey-coral :D
4. Sat, worn out for sushi. Spent the (gloriously sunny) weekend gardening. Had to get dressed to get sushi, and was still feeling the garden influence :)

Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome!