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?

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!

Lesson in Proportion, v2

I bought this dress on sale at Nordstrom a couple of weeks ago, and have tried fruitlessly to figure out how to wear it. That seems crazy, right? It looks like it would be so easy to style, especially for a dress gal like me.

Turns out, it is a deceptively complicated dress. It's sleeveless, but the pattern right at my chest needs a cardigan or jacket to break it up so I don't get uni-boob. It's got great gathered drape at the waist, but I had to get it tailored because it was too big (a smaller size might have been a better choice) so it needs just the right belt to work.

But the trickiest part of the dress is the hem. First, it's a midi, which makes finding the right shoe complicated. Second, the lighter color repeating at the hem is tough for me to wear, as it tends to drag the eye down and widen me out. (I had the same problem with a dress long ago. I never learn my lesson!)

So I struggled with this dress for a while, trying and rejecting different shoe options, attempting black tights with it (BAD idea, grey is as dark as the tights should get with this), skinny belts, jackets, etc. Nothing worked until today.



These cheap-o grey fabric pumps with mary-jane bow haven't been worn in two years, and by about halfway through the day I remembered why; they're not very stable so I ended up putting all my weight on the balls of my feet when I walked. When I finally got home and was able to take them off, I felt like an astronaut returning from the moon, getting used to gravity again and re-learning how to walk on my whole foot again. Hee! But I did like the sheer black hose with the dress; that part I will wear again.

I added a short-sleeve LOFT Outlet cardigan because my other black sweaters are too bulky, and since it was cold that meant I needed a black layering long-sleeved tee underneath that. The belt from my City Chic tunic from Tina made another appearance, and I finished the outfit with my little-worn grey triple-strand pearls.

It was so early and still so dark when I left for work this day (Wednesday, I think), that the camera actually used the flash for the first set of pictures. Ha! I much prefer natural light, even if it is still dark. At least I don't have to worry about the sun in my eye anymore!

Team Straight Leg

Follow-up on my last post:
1. Hurray for the resounding approval of my new bag! As you will soon see, it has already been put into rotation, so I guess it's a keeper. :)
2. I am still laughing at RoseAG's comment: Isn't that gunmetal jacket the one with documented color-coordination issues? Ha! Spoken like a true fellow IT project nerd. :) And yes, yes it is. I should know better by now, but I keep trying with that one!

 Monday was rather a boring day, sartorial-wise. I did some closet rearranging, and am making a concerted effort to remix my new pieces with my older ones as much as possible. I feel like this summer it was all new, new, new, probably because it was all new dresses and my awesome sandal collection. This season I'm trying for more of a balanced approach. For now.



I am officially in love with this cozy knit long sweater from Old Navy. I remixed the white sleeveless tank with the bow, also from Old Navy, but this time swapped in a black stretch belt instead of the self-belt. The grey pants are Ashley Stewart, which I bought last spring but never really cottoned to, and the shoes are my grey tweed Ann Taylor Outlet flats.

I like being able to work in rarely-worn pieces like the pants and shoes, and I love when they work together.




I think I need to re-evaluate the hem on those pants, though. I'd rather be able to wear them with heels than flats. Hmm.

The best part of the outfit, of course, was the new Coach bag!








Yeah, it's a keeper.

Tuesday was another remix, and the debut of my new True Straight Leg pants from Gap. I wish I could wear these pants every day. Oh. My. God.




This was another version of a cream top (my Lauren Conrad tee with embellished horizontal lines) with the cream Gap sweater, then adding a sweet pink and brown floral infinity scarf (a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law) to break it up at my face. The shoes are brown suede BOC heeled clogs from DSW, a favorite find from last fall and available at DSW again this year. I guess clogs aren't totally done yet!

But the real star of the outfit are these new pants. Angie asked yesterday if readers were Team Wide Leg or Team Bootcut, and my answer is that I am Team Straight Leg. It is hands-down the style that looks best on my body shape. I'm not a small woman, in any way, and my legs are my best asset; the larger I get, the more pronounced my pear shape gets at my hips, but then it quickly thins out from my knee down. So a bootcut tends to look like a mermaid-shape on me, and makes my hips even bigger. And a wide leg...well, it looks like Monday's shots. Kind of shapeless and everything is the same size as my thighs and hips. Not my best look.

Skinnies, too, pose their own problems; their streamlined shape is actually too pronounced for my legs, and I look like an ice cream cone. But straight legs have all the virtues of a skinny (highlights my lower legs) but in a less pronounced way.







Truthfully, all of my "skinnies" are really straight legs: the NYDJ ponte pants, my old Kut from the Cloth jeans, etc. But these new ones are really the best of the bunch. The fabric is a great heavy stretch, which keeps its shape but still has some nice give to it. They feel exactly like Banana Republic's Martin Fit pants did a couple of years ago. I am IN LOVE.

Lastly, in case you were worried I have been going way too neutral lately:



I am still me!

Saturday Switcheroo

I love that you guys are not total enablers. When you don't like something, you say so, and without sugar-coating it. I appreciate that! I confess, I did stop over at Nordstrom to check the fur coats in person anyway, and they were, as my sister noted, fugly. The obsession is over, alas. (Mostly. I am still going to see if I can work some fur some way into my winter coat.)

But I did find some great purchases this weekend:

These Clark Artisan Vermont Vistas, in a fabulous olive suede. I've liked the look of the Clarks Indigo Water Row bootie for the last couple of seasons, but the arch was too high, and the look just a little too desert-boot. This one works much better for me. Hubby is waterproofing them as we speak! Eeee!

I also got this Coach purse (without Shopping Friend's recommendation or discount, yikes!). I'm on the fence about it; I really want a structured medium-sized bag, and I am in love with the color. The shoulder strap does fit really well under my arm, even with my trench coat on, and I think it will look amazing with suits and dressier outfits. My only worry: is it too boring?

What's your verdict, internet?

I ended up not getting that Cole Haan blue bag, for two reasons.
1. When I cleaned out my bags last month, I discovered that every bag I had bought for a "pop of color" was blue. I had turquoise, sky blue, and cobalt...and the cobalt was the only one that got any use at all, and only in the summer. The rest of my bags are black, brown and grey, which makes sense for me; I use a lot of color in my outfits, so the bag actually tones it down in many cases.
2. I then looked through my fall/winter coat closet, and realized that the most-used "pop of color" there is red or purple.
Given what I already had, the blue bag made no sense at all, and the lovely grey one above makes more sense.


The last purchase can't be found online so you'll have to wait a bit. Ooooh, suspense!

+++++

After a week of no photos, I did make myself take one on Friday.





I liked all the pieces of this, but I'm not sure it gelled together as a cohesive outfit.





The shirt is a yellow gingham Old Navy one; I bought it three colors on impulse (and on mega-sale) but I rarely wear any of them. I had the grey gingham on first, and that might have worked better in the end. The jacket is a Loft gunmetal gray, the pants are black NYDJ ponte skinnies, and the shoes are my BOC suede clogs from last year. Maybe the problem was going with brown, black, and grey. Hmm.


Saturday was more inspired. This particular inspiration that I saw in Lucky Magazine on Friday.

Source: luckymag.com via LowFatDressing on Pinterest

I was completely enamored.

First I started with a base: dark jeans and a white button down shirt. This is a tuxedo-front one from Old Navy that still has some life to it.




Boring, but it's a good base. Then I added the killer elements.







I loved it. I will definitely be wearing variations on it again. It served me well most of the day, but after my haircut the weather started to warm up, and it was just too heavy. I came home and changed into my new jacket, so Hubby could take me and my new sleek haircut out to dinner. (I love when my stylist flat-irons it the first day.)




LOVE this new jacket. This was the mysterious third purchase of the day, on the sale rack at Nordstrom. It's a Tahari Woman, with a great ruffled neck, with a fitted ruching at the waist. It's animal print, but not gaudily so. Close up, it looks even better.






I paired it with an Old Navy layering tee, and the same dark wash Old Navy jeans and brown patent croc print Me Too flats. I will be bereft when these shoes bite the dust!




Sunday has been a lazy day. Forgot to take a photo, but I did some food prep for the week. Made a great smoky black bean soup recipe (an old one from Weight Watchers), roasted butternut squash, and a fabulous (nonhealthy) item called, as my friend J calls it, "Tater Tot and Blue Cheese Hot Dish". Holy smokes, was it good!

And that's what I have been up to. How was your weekend?

Snow in April

Sunday I spent a fair amount of time doing a photo shoot of all my new sandals for an upcoming post.

Monday I woke up to this.



I had to scrape off my car on April 18. Just need to record that for posterity. UGH.



Our poor patio furniture!

Needless to say, I bundled up for the day. Spring transition, my patootie; no skin showing on a snow day!



I've really come to regret buying that Gap top with the Peter Pan collar, so I am determined to not let it become a "closet orphan". It works as a neutral base pretty well here; the purple of the LOFT cardigan complements the purple undertones of the "wassal" brown/taupe.



Ohh, going with the volume look! (Aka how to hid my belly without hiding my belly.) Continuing on with my brown-and-pink/purple love from last week, I added my brown NYDJ ponte skinnies from Nordstroms and my gifted brown-and-pink infinity scarf on top. As a final concession to the cold, my shoes were my Franco Sarto patent booties in burghundy. And socks. Socks!

Now I just need to figure out why my face is always red in my photos. What is the deal?



Anyway, onto happier thoughts. Like sandals. Here is a sneak peek at my upcoming post.



Much more pleasant than freaking SNOW in APRIL.