In lieu of Sunday Cooking

I am not home this weekend so no Sunday Cooking post. Instead here is a catchup on my outfits of last week. The last two days of the workweek started to see some favorite cardigans making a reappearance.



I bought the animal-stripe sleeveless top at Macys last spring while we were downtown for the weekend, and I have not worn it since. I have no idea why; it's very cute. On Wednesday, I dug it out of the bottom of my shirt drawer and paired it with the pewter BR lariat necklace and Bobeau teal drape sweater.



The outfit finished off with some Gap Real Skinnies and my Vince Camuto brogue cowboy boots. The skinnies are really too short for anything but being tucked into boots, alas.



Thursday was a return of the new Sejour drawstring purple sweater from Nordstrom. It is so perfect for this mild winter, and I just like it against white. I paired it with my navy pinstripe bootcut pants; my brown BOC clogs weren't my first choice of shoes, but the pants are too long for anything but a 4-inch heel and those were all I had. Gotta get those pants to the tailor!




Friday was all about bundling up; we had flurries all day. Luckily it only ended up being less than an inch of snow on the ground, but it was COLD.



This is an old H&M long grey sweater, so cozy on the coldest days. I paired it with a dark green LOFT layering top, black Gap bootcut pants, black Naturalizer booties, and an Old Navy necklace made of green/teal ombre beads. This one is the definition of "Dress Like a Normal Person"; I've owned most of this for two years, minimum, and have worn them all countless times.

Lastly, I also often "eat like a normal person". Here is how I packed my lunch on Friday.



See? It isn't always cute lunch boxes and Bentos. But it's still pretty much the same foods.



Squash soup (in the blue container), the last of the quiche, navel orange, crackers and cheese wedge. It was tasty!

Dressing like a Normal Person: weekend edition

Wow, you guys. Wow.

I did not expect such an outpouring of comments from my last post about the anonymous comment. To be very clear to my anonymous reader, I was not even slightly offended by your comment. I really appreciate you expressing your opinion because you inspired me to think about the content of what I have been posting, and you got me interested in what I am wearing again. I owe you a debt of gratitude. I also owe the same to everyone who chimed in; thank you for your encouragement, support, and some ideas of your own.

Anyway, I made a promise, and I am keeping it. Welcome to the Dress Like a Normal Person challenge. Not sure how long it will run, but since I haven't repeated an item yet, I suspect it will be a while longer. :)

Friday was Wear Red Day, as part of the Go Red for Women campaign, to promote awareness for women's cardiac health issues. Since I work in healthcare, of course my entire office was in red. Solidarity, sister!



This was my an INC ponte skirt from Macys, new this winter, with a much-loved LOFT short-sleeved black cardigan; it is brutally hot in my new office so I've been wearing lots of short-sleeved or light sweaters. The red came from my Gap layering long-sleeved tee, so I had to wear my leopard print infinity scarf since it goes so well with red. (I did wear my red trench too; it has been warm enough this winter to get away with it.) This is the last time you will see these grey patterned tights; I put a giant hole through the thigh about halfway through the day, so in the trash they went. But the Vince Camuto boots are an old favorite. How many other boots can you say have brogue detailing but are shaped like cowboy boots? Not many.

I fretted for quite some time trying to figure out the best way to button the sweater: just one, none at all, with a belt, no belt, etc. I rarely go all-buttons (and it bugged me that you could see all my lumps this way), but ultimately I liked the sleek look of it enough to get over the bumps. I just kept tugging it down most of the day so others couldn't see them. :)



Saturday I busted out a brand-new sweater I got on sale at Nordstrom this week. Love the sparkly thread in the purple, and I love the drape and feel of it. I wore my Gap Long and Lean jeans and my green suede Clark heeled booties. Another bonus of this mild winter: my suede shoes have gotten tons of wear!





Please excuse the wet hair; I have to confess I didn't get a picture done on Saturday so I got redressed in the same outfit on Sunday morning and recreated it. The things I do to keep my promises to you guys! LOL.

My real Sunday outfit was below. A re-wear of the Gap Long and Leans, this time with a Loft black layering tee and my gold Bobeau cascading cardigan and my black Pikilino heeled shoes. The necklace was a Christmas gift from my SIL and niece; it's a Betsey Johnson so it's a little gaudy, but it's grown on me. Now that I have figured out it looks best with gold and black outfits, even Hubby is starting to like it.






Hubby did laundry so I am ready for the week. As long as we don't have snow, I can keep taking photos outside. I cannot believe it is February!

Where did this week go?

Is it just me, or somewhere around late Wednesday, Thursday do we enter some kind of sci-fi time tunnel and pop out on Saturday morning, rubbing our eyes and all confused about how we got here?

Ok, just me.

I always have such good intentions about the end of the week, where I think I am going to catch up on appointments I need to make, comment on all the blogs I have saved in my Firefox tabs throughout the week, maybe even make one last recipe on my list (since we're usually tired of my Sunday foods by then). But then chaos hits, usually at work, and on Friday morning I am reading Helen's and Shelley's regular Friday posts and wondering why my plans have been laid waste and I am disheveled and disorganized.

The good news is, at least I looked good on those days!



I ran out of ideas for the clothes from my sister, but I decided it was high time to pull out some winter favorites and enjoy them. I'm not going to a lot of meeting these days, so it's hard for me to be inspired enough to go for the dressier side of business casual when I am at my desk all day. So my pretty dresses and skirts are getting forgotten. Until Thursday, when I wore this.

The dress is my lovely ponte knit from Nordstrom with the lace pattern. It's fitting a little looser these days, HURRAY. I returned to my old foolproof formula for dressing and added a long cardigan; it's not quite a boyfriend style but it covers my dupa nicely. Black Target tights and my mushroom platform stretch boots from Franco Sarto finished the outfit.

It made me happy.

Also making me happy is my new office; I have added lamps all over it instead of using the fluorescent overheads, and while it still needs one more light so it doesn't feel too dark, it's so soothing and quiet it makes the stress flying out of my inbox in my computer more manageable. I am  waiting for the maintenance person to come hang all my boards and art and then I will take photos for everyone.

What made you happy this week?

In which I go out for dinner

Went out to dinner for a girlfriend's birthday on Saturday night. I went with simple jeans and a blazer.



It's a classic look that I never seem to wear. I have a great small collection of blazers and they barely get any wear at all. This is a simple black one from Talbots, part of a long-ago suit, but it was just right with my new LOFT blue snakeskin print top that I picked up on sale a couple of weeks ago.



My Natori gold circle necklace and black sparkly quilted White House Black Market clutch finished off the look. I looked fancy and pretty on top, so no one was looking at my black LL Bean snow boots. I am sneaky!

I've been working incorporating the foodstyle when I go out more, choosing as many vegetable-based non-salads as I can from the different menus. Saturday was a French restaurant, which can be tricky. I had a glass of wine, a slice of onion tart for my appetizer, and wild mushroom ragout over mashed potatoes for my main meal. I was satisfied, but not bloated-full, so we'll call it a success!

Also a success: had a nice solid loss this week. I'm down 4 pounds total since the beginning of December. Not the fastest weight loss I've had, but there is an unmistakable downward trend. I can feel it in my pants already. The foodstyle is working!

Last time we will see the ground for a while

Our first snowstorm of the year came yesterday, so I scooted outside to get one last photo on the patio that morning just for you guys. Hello, flamingos!



I am in a sparkly top, yes. One of my co-workers is leaving, and we decided to wear sparkly tops as a group today to say farewell. We're having a few too many of these tributes lately; mergers bring on all kinds of changes, good and bad. We're moving offices too, so I've been dressing as comfortably and casually as possible while we purge through everything and pack up what's left. I think the move will be good for all of us. I just wish it was over already!

My plan for extra cooking on Sunday worked; I have made it all the way to the end of the week with some food to spare! I am already planning next week's menu.  One of the things that always bugged me about WW was their Vegetable Soup recipe. It was always full of veggies that I don't like, like zucchini and tomatoes and peas and yuck. Veggie soups in general like that always bored me, and probably contributed to the idea for years that I didn't like vegetables.

So I've been on a mission to find other vegetable soup recipes, without being Cream Of soups, that I like. The butternut squash and carrot soups of the last few weeks have been perfect solutions in my quest, but I want to try more than just squash soups. I got a great local cookbook called Soup & Bread for Christmas, and I've decided to work my way through it this winter and use all the recipes that interest me.

First one up: pickle soup.

Yes, that is a real thing. It is apparently a Polish tradition, but I've never had it. We first heard of it a couple of weeks ago on a Food Channel show about Polish foods served in restaurants in Hamtramck, Michigan. We've been to Hamtramck many times on our Detroit trip, but have somehow missed this fascinating concoction. Then I saw it in my new cookbook, and I knew I had to try it. This recipe looks good, although the one in my recipe is a little different. I will take plenty of pictures this weekend, and report back!

The veggie soups have been perfect for lunches, so then it's just a matter of adding a sandwich or leftovers from dinner, and I'm set. Pickle soup needs a strong counterpart, so this week is probably sloppy joes, burgers for Hubby, and maybe some roast beef for sandwiches. I'm a little tired of chicken after a week of my amazing chicken salad. :)

P. S. I removed the capcha requirement for commenting. Sheila, I was having the same trouble with posting using Firefox on my Mac, so I understand your frustration. I actually forgot I had that set up, so I removed it. I never want to make it hard for anyone to comment!

Merry Merry and all that jazz

Lunch/Snacks on Tuesday:



The Great Gift Basket onslaught has begun. We got a couple of them from vendors this week, one of which was a Trader Joe's basket. Candy Cane Jo-Jo's, I cannot resist you. So I am doubling-down on bringing in lunch as much as possible this week, and making sure on the few nights we are home we are eating from the fridge, not from the delivery boy. So far, so good -- we had a potluck lunch yesterday, and I brought baked (whole wheat) ziti, and everyone else brought salad, veggies, fruit salad...and chocolate cake. But the ratio of healthy to junky was much higher than usual potlucks, so maybe I'm starting to rub off on them!

I only got a quick shot in the mirror in the morning of my outfit. Not sure if it really worked; there is something funky about the proportions of that black chunky knit Kohls sweater on top. I think it's too short for my body, because it tends to remind me of a superhero cape when I wear it. Hmm, it might be time to retire it. It's starting to pill, anyway...



This was the baked pasta I brought. I felt so bad; I mixed together spinach and homemade tomato sauce together with some chopped chicken sausage for the pasta, but as soon as I mixed in the low-fat ricotta cheese the whole thing went from an appealing red and green to a brown goop. Sigh. But it came out pretty well; everyone had some at work, and Hubby polished off the last of it when I brought it home.



Wednesday was a good outfit day.



Nordstrom Babeau teal cardigan, LOFT beaded necklace, Gap polka-dot blouse, Nordstrom patent skinny belt, INC ponte skirt from Macys, Assets tights from Target, and my beloved Vince Camuto boots from Nordstrom. The outfit was completely based on the boots; they are my "flat" boots, so are ideal for this period while my back is healing.





Self-portrait!

Don't know if I'll be able to post any other entries before we leave for Christmas, so I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a lovely weekend, and peace to all.

Optical Illusion

I don't have much to say about this one, I just really liked this outfit from Wednesday.



On the days that I've been skipping (see: Tuesday), my outfits have pretty much been like the one above: straight-leg pant, long cardigan, heeled bootie, layering top and either a long pendant necklace or a scarf. It's a look that covers all the parts I want covered, and gives the optical illusion of making me look leaner than I am right now.

In contrast, we have the outfit I wore on Thursday.



I finally managed to wear the button-down under a dress! (Hrm, the collar appears be tucked under more than it should have been.) I've worn this dress before, but most of the pattern was covered up under a cardigan. I am really in love with the pattern -- up close, the top part makes my shoulder line look stronger than it is -- but looking at the whole thing like gives me pause. Maybe that wasn't the right belt?



On the plus side, it had some really nice flow, and I loved the grey tights and black Vince Camuto boots with it. On the minus side, it is not nearly as slimming as Wednesday's grey pants and gold cardigan combo.

I am trying to make my peace with that -- do all outfits need to be optical illusions, or can I live with the fact that sometimes I just look heavy? I don't know the answer. I see other bloggers wearing their curves and shapes with pride, and I am torn between envying them their freedom, and silently re-dressing them so they look slimmer in the camera. ("Oh, that would be perfect if you lost the belt!") It's a vicious circle; as confident as I am about who I am, I feel more comfortable in my clothes when I think I am fooling the world in an optical illusion outfit. Then I feel bad for copping out like that, that I should be proud of myself no matter what size I am. But I'm not, and I don't want to be this size. So I change back into an optical illusion outfit, and I stop beating myself up.

See what I mean by a vicious circle? Oh, the terrible things we do to ourselves with negative self-talk sometimes!

Anyway, I worked another optical illusion to my advantage yesterday. This was dinner:




We ordered salads and pizza, our weekly too-tired-to-cook meal.  (How do I know it's weekly? The delivery guy complimented the way we redecorated the living room. He has been to our house enough times that he noticed the change. Yep!) So I dumped the salad out of the container and put in a nice big bowl, and I put the pizza on a smaller plate. And it worked; I ate the half the amount of pizza I normally would!

It also occurred that I probably need to stop fighting the weekly pizza ritual so much, and find ways to work it into the Foodstyle so it is a regular indulgence instead. Repeating the trick above will be a good start, and replacing the salad with a healthier one will be a second. I don't like their salad anyway. I bet if I mix up a bag of chopped lettuce and veggies the day before, when I have cooking energy, I could dump it into a bowl just like I would if I bought the bag at the store. Hmmm, that would work!

What tricks do you have for including unbreakable habits into your meals? Any optical illusion outfits you like to wear?

In the Zone

I took this dress to Nordstrom to be altered after my last wearing. It's a fabulous dress, but it was a little too loose around the waist and chest. The tailor kept pulling it in, and I kept telling her I wanted to be able to fit a blouse under it. In the end, she won; when I picked it up a couple of weeks ago, it felt a little too tight, and zipping up under my arm when I was in a blouse was a struggle. I was disappointed, but I didn't want to take it back and have her fix it. I was embarrassed to admit I was too fat for how much she had taken it in.

So it hung in my closet for a bit while I stewed. I finally gave up on the idea of a button-down blouse under it. and wore it again with a layering tee instead. For NOW -- we shall see what the Foodstyle brings in the coming weeks; I may get a button-down under there yet!



I really do love the dress. Next time perhaps I will be brave enough to style it with some color; both times so far have been black-and-white variations. Not that there is anything wrong with that!



The bigger news is, as I have mentioned, the Foodstyle. I am In the Zone, in that moment when dieting/eating right is effortless, your motivation is high, and you're not frantically missing all the "good food" (i.e. junk food) you could be eating. It took me a long while to get here, so I am doing my best to keep myself here. I am eating very well, I'm tracking my foods nightly, I'm getting tons and tons of water in naturally -- my body is craving water so I'm refilling my water bottle at work all day long.

People, I am voluntarily and willingly taking my daily multivitamin. Alert the media!

I'm also not depriving myself; if I want a chocolate covered pretzel, I have one. But I only have one, and I don't let it derail the rest of my day. This change in attitude is the one that most represents being in the zone; when I'm not, that chocolate-covered pretzel is my gateway drug to a whole day of candy-snacking and usually culminates in Taco Bell for dinner. When I am in the zone, the pretzel is a savory treat that I enjoy to its fullest, and then I move on. Yesterday for example, our boss bought us pizza for lunch after our annual gift-wrapping party; I ate two squares of cheese pizza instead of the lunch I had brought, but my afternoon snack of two clementines came from my lunch box, and then I polished off the rest of the lunch (squash soup and a turkey sandwich) when I got home for dinner. It's amazing to realize that; to see in vivid clarity how much power my attitude has over what I eat and therefore what I weigh.

My goal during this month is to keep it going during the holidays, to not use the excuse of traveling or stress or parties to change my attitude. There are plenty of ways to still enjoy myself and yet get 5 fruits and veggies in every day.

Speaking of which:
1. I spotted this recipe for mixing grains with pomegranate seeds over on This Mama Cooks. Doesn't it look and sound amazing? I think I need to make that for next week, right alongside the holiday blossom cookies I will be making for the family Christmas party. Gotta keep that balance going!

2. Is it just me, or are clementines especially tasty right now? I prefer big, thick navel oranges, but they're too tough this early in the season. The clementines are right at their peak -- their more delicate skin tears away easily, and they're so flavorful and soft. Winter citrus is just one of my most favorite things to eat in the world; I still resent the winter I was on Medifast and couldn't have any oranges. Oranges never hurt anyone!

What's your favorite fruit to eat right now?

Snow Bunny

Not that we have anything more than a dusting of snow. I just think I bundled up like a (business casual, kinda dressy) snow bunny.



Cream heathered turtleneck sweater, Old Navy
Black ponte skirt, Macys
Cognac open-weave belt, Walmart
Black Assets tights, Target
mushroom Franco Sarto fitted boots, Zappos
mess of double-strand pearls, brown string necklace and tiger's-eye necklace from Shopping Friend

I don't know what is going on with my red face. I have had a terrible rash for days. I am switching face washes, from Aveeno Calming to Cetaphil, too see if that helps. Aveeno has done me well for years, but maybe it's not enough anymore. Dunno,

Another hibernating bear look. I swear, it is much cuter in person!



Cinnamon chunky knit sweater, Old Navy
White layering tee, Old Navy
Brown studded belt, Walmart
Lucite statement necklace, LOFT
Brown NYDJ ponte skinnies, Nordstrom
Brown suede BOC clogs, DSW

Then it was the weekend, and I cooked. Two soups were on the agenda, and both I made from scratch.

The first was a smoky black bean soup that I have been making for years from an old WW Core recipe. It's Hubby's favorite and was a personal request. But it's so easy I decided to challenge myself and made the beans from scratch too, instead of from a can. !! Really, it's very easy to do.

Start with a bag of beans.



Pour them onto a jelly-roll pan and pick through any discolored or wrinkled ones, and check for any pebbles. (I was going to not even mention the pebbles because it's so rare when I find one, then I DID find one in this bag. So there you go -- check for pebbles!)

Rinse the beans and put them in a pot with a lot of water. Like, a couple of inches above the beans at least. Bring to a boil, then skim off any foam from the top. Turn down to a simmer and add a tsp of kosher salt for every cup of beans. (I added that and some smoky flavoring to it. Dunno if it did any good.) Let actively simmer for 60-90 minutes, checking at the 30-minute mark and every 15 minutes after that. Add more water if necessary.

You will end up with almost twice as much cooked beans than raw, and they freeze easily. So make the whole bag, and then freeze it in 2-cup portions -- which is a can from the store. Easy as pie, and much less sodium! :) I think I did 4 cups raw and ended up with 8 cups cooked.



Once they had cooled (and it was late enough in the day that it was time for supper), I made them into soup, starting with sauteed onions, garlic and 2 chopped red peppers in a pot. Add the beans, some chopped bacon or Canadian bacon, add 1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp of chipotle and stir 30 seconds until fragrant, add 4 cups chicken stock and bring to boil. Season with salt and more smoky seasoning if desired, then let actively simmer for about 30 minutes. Use the immersion blender to chop it up.

For me, I loved that butternut squash soup so much last week I made it again. But this time I did some hardcore roasting; I cut up into chunks 2 small butternut squash, 2 small onions, 2-3 carrots, a Yukon Gold potato, and tossed it all with olive oil, kosher salt and Northwoods seasoning. Then I cut off the top of a garlic clove and nestled it in the middle of the pan.





I baked it at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, just until everything was super-soft and just starting to brown. It took a lot of willpower not to inhale it all right then! But I squeezed the garlic out of the papery skin, and let it all cool for the afternoon.



For the soup, I followed the same recipe as last week; I even though there was onion and carrot in the roasted veggies, I still diced up a small onion, couple of celery stalks and some carrots as the base of the soup, and sauteed them in a pot with olive oil. I also pulled out as much of the onion as I could from the veggies and chopped those into smaller pieces. Once everything was softened, I added all the veggies and about 4-6 cups of chicken stock (low-sodium, I like to control the salt I use with just pinches of kosher salt). Bring to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes, then use the immersion blender to mix it all up.

The finished products.





I have to tell you, roasting all the vegetables together with seasoning was a brilliant addition to the squash recipe. I can't describe it well, but the soup tastes like "roasted", especially the sweet garlic depth. I am so glad I made practically a double-batch; I will be eating it like crazy this week. Hubby also loved the black bean soup, whew! He likes things with more heat than I do, and this had a lot of heat and smokiness.

I also have plans for a quiche with sun-dried tomatoes, leeks, and goat cheese, but I wasn't in the mood to make it yesterday so I will save it for later in the week. Hubby is off today, so he is making the long-awaited BBQ portabello mushroom quesadillas we have been dying to try for dinner tonight for us.

Hunh, we sure do eat well on the Foodstyle! Probably better than when we are wimping out and ordering pizza. :)

Hey, this posting thing still works!

Boots, meet the internet.

Internet, meet my boots.



Laura and Angie recommended these a couple of weeks ago on YLF, and I snapped up a pair in mushroom. Like I said at the time, a stretch boot is the best look for me, and I was interested in getting a new pair this year.

But once I got them, I hesitated.

They were really snug at the calf, almost too snug. And I didn't have time to email Laura to ask if they stretched. :) I knew from experience they probably did, but still...I dithered. I had ordered a second different style at the same time, and those immediately went back: too high in the arch. These felt almost too high too, which added to the uncertainty.

So I utilized my 3-outfit method for determining if I am keeping an item; I tried on 3 different outfits to judge. This was the second, and it was a winner. Once I put this on together, any doubts I had about the boots vanished.




My trusty H&M long chunky-knit cardigan provides the base -- everything else is new. The Old Navy blouse, a long-needed ponte black skirt from Macys, new Assets patterned grey tights from Target, and my new favorite long silver-and-gold mesh necklace from LOFT. I felt very sleek and chic in this; lot of neutrals but not all-black.

The platform is amazing; it keeps them in the 3-inch range for my arch even though they're actually taller. All my worry was for nothing; turns out I love this best of all! I love wearing platforms in the summer in the form of wedges; I didn't realize how fun a heel could be as a platform too!

The hair will remain overgrown for the next couple of posts while I catch up on last week's outfits; I finally got it cut and colored on Saturday. Whew!

My Deep Thoughts on Boots

A lively discussion occurred over on the YouLookFab forums last week, about the uniformity right now of a certain look: skinny pants/jeans tucked into tall boots with a long tunic on top. I see that look at the mall and everywhere too -- although not at work, of course. There was a lot of back-and-forth about embracing the look, and how people make it individual for them, and some excellent points were made all around. In the end, the forum members took it on as a challenge, self-deprecatingly calling themselves "lemmings" and finding new ways to wear the look without looking like part of a herd.

I steered clear of it, for the simple reason that I really, really do not like that silhouette.

I've tried; it's been a staple for smart casual looks for a couple of years. But it never, ever looked right on me, and I just felt foolish in it. Plus, I can't wrap my brain around the concept of tall boots over jeans unless you are actually ON the polo team, or if you are Rachel Zoe swanning around stores in Beverly Hills. Since I am neither of those things, I felt like a fake every time I tried it in my mirror at home.

That said, I do have a lemming look of my own that I love in fall and winter: boots with dresses.



To me, this is the whole reason for owning tall boots. On a practical level, tall boots make wearing dresses in winter possible because your legs stay warm. On a stylish level, look at how good they look! ;-D

You will notice I am in colored tights, too. This can be a tricky style for women of a certain age like myself, but I think this particular outfit worked for three reasons:
1. The maroon color matches perfectly with the colors of the dress, so it helps the eye flow down gracefully
2. Most of the tight is covered up by the boot
3. It's a dark color, not a bright. I love bright, but as tights? That's for the more youthful crowd, alas!




To make this boots-and-dresses look to work in a professional setting, you need a fitted boot instead of the more fun and casual over-the-knee or scrunched boot. As my fellow wide-calf friends know, finding the right fitted boot is a nightmare. Especially since the 'lemming' uniform these days is the skinny jeans tucked into boots, most boots available in the stores are usually the same width all the way down so your pants fit it into them. Finding a boot that gets slim and fitted at the ankle is so tough. Last year, I didn't even bother buying new boots; I had two from the year before, including the Vince Camuto brogan/cowboy boots above, that I continued to wear. Because I have put on weight since I bought these, they are more fitted now than they were, so they can be pressed into service with dresses.

My boots from two (three?) years ago, however, were a couple of spectacular stretch-leather boots from Franco Sarto. They were perfection; the stretch meant they fit great all the time and were super easy to put on, and they were dressy-looking with two-inch thin heels so with dresses they were knockouts. Unfortunately, they had a distinctive squared-off pointy toe and look very dated now.

So imagine my elation when Angie posted about my buddy Laura's recommendation of the new Franco Sarto Yonkers stretch boot! It's funny, until I saw Angie's post, I wasn't able to put my finger on why the skinny pants-and-boots look doesn't work for me, and why I loved my older FS boots so much: it's the stretch. As as I've said before, my legs are my best asset, and whenever I cover them up either with a wide-leg pant or chunky boot, suddenly everything about me looks ten times bigger. Stretch boots add no girth to my legs, and in fact highlight them nicely.

They are on sale to $99 at Nordstrom. I ordered them in the mushroom; I should be able to wear that with the widest range of colors: colored outfits, blacks or browns, and probably some greys. Can't wait to try them on!

What style of boots is most flattering on you? Have you thought about why some work and some don't?

I leave you with a outtake. Action shot! Emily doesn't even care.

P.S. I had a good hair day too!

This month's InStyle had a spread on trendy ways to layer this fall. Some of it I had a good chortle at -- a vest over a jacket, really? To the office? -- but there were also some good ideas, like a long sleeve under a short sleeve. This is a common layering technique for me in the fall and winter; it extends the life of my dresses without making me dependent all season long on cardigans.

Best of all, layering under the dress allows a great pattern like this red peacock feather print to stay front and center. I added my plum-with-brown trim Coach slouch bag, purple LOFT long-sleeved tee (no one beats their long-sleeved tees, not even Caslon), Oriblu fishnet tights, Aquatalia Jack perforated boots. For jewelry I wanted to lighten up the darker colors, so I went with my pretty shiny Nasri circle necklace and the white/ivory enamel bangle from Kohls.






++++++++

Thanks for all your enthusiasm over my food prep. Unfortunately the carmelized onions remained much much too soggy, but that was the only failed dish out of everything. Hubby liked to carmelize them in the pan as part of dinner prep anyway, so he wasn't too unhappy they didn't work out. But I like that idea about slicing them and putting them in the oven, Annalise!

So last night, after a very long and tedious day, I was mulling over what to make for dinner. I started thinking about doing the skillet of veggies and new potatoes, and I was instantly dismayed at the idea of cooking and started plotting how I could convince Hubby to order something. Then it struck me like a gong, and I texted Hubby with this:

OMG I just remembered: MEATLOAF!!!
MEATLOAF MEATLOAF MEATLOAF
I am on my way to store to pick up bread and strawberries right now. 

Mental note, kids: try to remember to EAT the foods you prep during the weekend. That's the whole point of it!

Daily Food Tracker: Tuesday
Breakfast: whole wheat waffle with peanut butter
Lunch: tuna sandwich, Sunchips (trapped in meetings all day and had to eat in the awful hospital cafeteria)
Dinner: meatloaf sandwich on whole wheat bread, leftover broccoli slaw
Snack: toffee crunch ice cream bar


Today I am packing up my Bento for the first time in a long while. No worries, Kate, I will take pictures! :)

Large Closet Pride

Okay, I am starting to appreciate this cooler yet still summery weather. It's not fall and it's not face-melting summer, but it's somewhere in between. It requires a little creativity, layering and mixing in pieces that haven't been worn in months. After a summer of dress/sandals/jewelry, I was out of practice in the Art of Layering, but it's starting to come back to me now!
 


This is my navy Target dress, tan Aquatalia perforated boots, Oriblu microfishnet stockings (I always wear those with these boots), burnished gold Hive and Honey bracelets, and this lovely gifted animal print infinity scarf. I guess it was dressy for a Friday, but the whole thing was a little edgy so it felt appropriate for that day than mid-week.

To get myself mentally ready for Layering Season, I spent some time this weekend thinning the herd in my closet. My sister had given back to me a lot of the size-18 clothes I had given her, but I'm not quite fitting into those yet (which galls me more than I can say), so I put them away in a bin for now. (Along with the bins of 16s, 14s, 12s...you get the drill. The part I am looking most forward to is my weight continues to go down is all the shopping in my own basement that I will be doing. There are so many pieces that I really miss!) I re-organized things so the cardigans were back together, the blazers and jackets were ready to go, only the jeans that fit are in the drawer, and even the casual shirts got re-sorted and re-sized so they aren't a jumbled mess anymore.

I know that for many in the fashion blogosphere having a small closet is a point of pride, but I like having a big one. It's not really a debate over quality versus quantity; I have both in my closet, from high-end Coach bags to cheapo LOFT sweaters that barely make it through a wash. And it's not about brand loyalty: Target, Old Navy, and Kohls are my main stores right now, but I cycle through others depending on my size and what their designers are doing. Nordstrom's, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Marshall's, etc: I have plenty of all of these brands in smaller sizes. Gap runs hot and cold because their designers are so inconsistent; they had a good run last year but they are starting to get crappy again. Same with LOFT (their best year was three years ago).

I've even shopped at consignment and thrift stores, but they're not my first choice; all that chaos tends to ping my clutter phobia, and I get overwhelmed and a little grossed out. Consignment stores are usually better, but their prices aren't that much better than buying first-hand on sale, so I rarely see the point.

Let's face it, I just like shopping. :)

But right now, as a larger-sized woman, there aren't a lot of options for me in brick and mortar stores. The stores carry my size online only, or in the case of Target and Old Navy, often have better selection overall online of the good stuff like dresses. So I order from everywhere, and since I have no idea how it will fit or what it feels like, I end up returning a lot. On the plus side, since I am trying these things on in my own bedroom, I get to see immediately if I have things to go with it. If it fits and looks nice, I mix and match on the spot, and if I can't find anything, back it goes.

Large closets are great during Layering Season; having a good variety of scarves, cardigans, jackets, shoes, jewelry, etc means that I almost never repeat outfits even if I have the same basics (dress, pants) underneath. I really get to let my creativity soar, and for me, that's the fun of fashion. It's not about being trendy and having all the newest styles; it's the putting together of an outfit so all pieces work together harmoniously and bring out my assets that gets me excited. That's why I shop, that's why I have a blog. That is fun, to me. :)

I am proud of the closet I have built. I used to feel guilty about it, like buying duplicates of cardigans in different colors was somehow wrong or shameful. Or that I should only buy expensive clothes that last for years, or I would look tacky. But I am not listening to those voices anymore; small closets may work for some people, but not for me. And I am okay with that.

30 DoC: Day 14 (skipping ahead)

This was the most creative thing I did all day. I should feel worse about that than I do, right? I don't. Have you seen how awesome these boots are?!





I like this chambray Target dress, but the ruched belted section is awfully high on it, alas. I had hoped using a navy belt there would take away the emphasis, but it didn't work. I didn't want to wear a cardigan over it, preferring to wear an ON long-sleeved tee in mushroom under it, but next time I will probably go back to a cardigan to tone down the shape. My boobage looks too much like missiles otherwise. (LOL!)

Back to my boots. They make me so happy. I worry sometimes about their limited seasonal span; perforated suede tan boots can only be worn a short time through the year, but I've had them for a couple of years now and I just love when I find the right moment to wear them.



Plus, they are the BEST combo to wear with Oroblue nude micro-fishnet hose. Love the way the fishnet and perforations echo each other.



Other times I have worn these boots: April 2011, October 2010, June 2010, June 2010, June 2010 again!, May 2010, May 2010, May 2010 (their debut, still one of my best outfits ever).

OMG I FORGOT THEY WERE WATERPROOF. (They're suede so it's easy to forget.) And it is raining cats and dogs today. Hmmm, maybe I should wear them again today...