My hair is bouncin' and behavin'

I dub Day/Night 1 of the Night-Shower Experiment a success.



All I had to do was brush it in the morning. !! Apparently bed head is a good look for me. I did make one mistake in letting it air dry the first night; it was a little flat on the top of my head, which a good volumizer and a quick blow would have fixed. I will work on that.

I also liked the outfit; the pants are a grey pinstripe, so it's not as all-black as the photo would indicate. You guys know me, I'm not a all-black person so it feels like when I do wear it, it packs a punch. The turquoise Blogger Necklace helps soften it up around my face, too, which I need.

The shoes are Circa Joan & David kitten heels from several years back. Shopping Friend will remember them; they're the first "heels" she convinced me to buy! When the pointy-toe look faded the last few years, I tucked them into the back of my closet, but now that it is making a comeback -- and frankly I needed the kitten heel height for the pants, and these were all I had -- I pulled them back out. They've held up well; guess spending a few extra dollars on quality shoes instead of Target/Payless cheapies pays off.

Speaking of spending, this is now following me around the internet.



The two-tone brown booties are the ones I was talking about the other day, and the wedge casual booties on the left are a fabulous find from Angie at YLF. Now that I can wear jeans a few other days besides the weekend, and I do have a good number of said jeans with long hems for heels, I think I can justify a fun bootie like that.

I may scrap the fall/winter purse idea for another year -- since none are jumping out at me as The One -- and go for some solid bootie additions instead.  And maybe a smart daytime clutch -- it's very on-trend, and the only clutches I have are summer woven ones.

Dammit, the ads win again.

Sunday Cooking: My New Living Room

Last weekend, I zipped through my weekly cooking to spend more of my time setting up my new living room. The same trend continued this week.


The main seasoning ingredients used. I start with chopped onions, minced garlic and a couple of cubes of frozen basil. Two large cans of crushed tomatoes and one of puree starts the sauce. After it's simmered for an hour, I add a small can of paste, kosher salt, a lot of Italian seasoning, and my Babchi's secret ingredient, a teaspoon of sugar. As tomatoes tend to be too acidic for me, the sugar helps cut that a lot.

 Oh, there was cooking too; I used up the last baggie in the freezer so I made another batch of my Babchi's spaghetti sauce. I also did a variation on the kale infused meatloaf, this time using ground turkey and chopping up a couple of strips of bacon into the veggie mix to give it more moisture. Verdict: a little too crumbly, but the flavors are amazing. I think I could have skipped the bacon since you really don't taste it. The chipotle is the standout, in a good way.

Hubby polished off the roasted veggies so I will be making the asparagus and the cauliflower at some point; I didn't plan well enough on the veggies this week, methinks.

Anyway, onto the main project of the weekend: continued renovation of the living room!

Last week we got the chairs and the new side table.



This Saturday, we got the rug.



Seriously. Isn't it awesome?



We are completely nuts about it. So is George!


What? I am NOT playing with the edge. I swear! How can you accuse me of such a thing?

Sunday I went to Target to look for lamps, and completely scored on the one for the side table.



I am less enamored of the tall halogen I got (forgot to make sure it matches the other one) but those are easier to replace. Mostly we are just excited to finally have some light in the room!






The last step will be the paint (I know, we did it backwards). The guy is coming in two weekends, according to Hubby and his scheduling with him. We're keeping the mustard but the blue is getting done over with this incredible dark orange called Tiger Stripe.

We are also getting the stairwell and kitchen done in a creamy pale peach called Bagel.

The three (the mustard we have, plus the two above) will be great background for all the color in our furniture and accessories. I'm so excited for the painting to be done. We've had these color almost ten years, since we moved in. We are due for a change.

Yeah, I think it is safe to say that we love color.

I especially like it because it's such a welcome contrast to my office. I like our new building, and I LOVE that my new office is so huge, but it is white white white. I have as many colorful accessories, artwork and interesting lights as I can, but it's still pretty white.









It's nice, but I much prefer coming home and seeing this.



What about you? Do you like white and neutral in your living space, or are you a color fiend like me?

Low-contrast twinsets

Angie at YLF posted on Monday about blousey twin sets, which is instead of the traditional twinset of a sleeveless sweater shell and cardigan uses a softer blouse as the under-piece of the set. Ask Shopping Friend, she had a hard time pulling me away from twinsets (remember how you got me to at least wear button-downs with the shell over them, and then that was my uniform for a year?!), so putting a new twist on the idea with this look intrigued me. As much as I like layering and colors, there is something so easy about a twinset; it's like Garanimals for grown-ups!

Then I looked at my unposted photo from last Thursday, and the outfit I put together yesterday, and realized I was already doing a variation of that but going with low-contrast combinations.





The cream Gap boyfriend cardigan from Thursday has already been worn with a color-matching top, so I wanted to see how it worked if I went with a low-contrast top instead of a high-contrast one (which had failed in the past). As I have also done with success with that sweater, I added a scarf to bring color to my face. I also added my long pearls double-looped to hold the breezy scarf down and bring up the elegance of the outfit a notch. My brown NYDJ ponte pants and Clarks olive suede booties finished off the look.



Tuesday's outfit was more of a deliberate nod to Angie's post. I wanted to go with matching purples but of my tops and cardigans none had the right tones. Instead I used a lighter hue from a LOFT summer tee, and topped it off with a black patent skinny belt and my LOFT statement necklace to make it look dressier. Gap skinny pants and my Sam Edelmann embellished flats finished the outfit (only because my longer pants for heels are all at the tailor).



I like these color combinations; I had been falling into a rut of white or grey as my under-top, and I was as bored wearing it as you must be reading this. Now I can look at my layering tops and cardigans with a fresh eye! And I will confess, I have been missing wearing button-downs and have been on the hunt for ones I would like. I think looking for softer-fabrications might be the key to my success this time.

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I hope you all had lovely Halloweens. We had only a handful of trick-or-treaters, so of course have way too much candy in the house. Sigh. But we have had home-cooked meals every night this week, and I just found this recipe for Baked Rigatoni with Brussels Sprouts, Figs and Blue Cheese that I am definitely making tonight. Doesn't it look amazing?

Mark Bittman is a genius.

A nice fall weekend

Friday:




This is what is called an optical illusion. I have lost no noticeable weight in my new foodstyle, but that's not what you might think looking at this photo. By doing with a monochromatic bottom layer -- black tee, black skinny ponte pants, black patent subtly defining my waist -- and surrounding with a long, asymmetrical lighter cascading cardigan, I look longer and leaner than I am. The chunky statement necklace and leopard shoes are just modern trendy touches that help complete the look.




Yeah, I liked that one.

It was cool enough to start wearing an outer layer, so my new trenchcoat has come out to play! With the shoes it looked a little matchy-matchy, but sometimes you need a little of that. The shoes, by the way, continue to rock.



Cardigan: Bobeau, from Nordstrom
Top: tee, Loft
Belt: patent skinny, from Nordstrom
Pants: NYDJ skinny pontes, from Nordstrom
Shoes: leopard with red bow wedges, Payless
Necklace: smoky quartz statement, from LOFT

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Saturday, I spent the day with my girlfriend J. We went out for breakfast, hit the farmer's market, chicken store, Target...and then went back to my house and caught up on our soaps and ordered pizza. LOL. It was a really nice day.



Scarf: dove grey cotton, from Target or Kohls
Layering tee: light grey ruched v neck, Old Navy
Sweater: grey striped cropped, Old Navy
Jeans: Dreamer regular length bootcut, Old Navy
Shoes: black flat clogs, from I don't remember where

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Sunday:
Somebody slept on my chair while I ran around the house. I had to work most of the day on my work computer, and I juggled that between bouts of laundry and cooking. Sadly, that meant that the roast chicken and veggies didn't get my full attention and didn't cook very well, but my husband stepped in and salvaged it for us. I always think it is 350 for an hour, but that wasn't it. 375 it is next time!


Where I worked:



Where Emily did:




We call her "Bruiser" because she's so ladylike in her stance. Hee!


What did you do this weekend?

Heat wave, yeah yeah yeah, oh-oh!

We have reached the portion of the summer where one needs to leave one's camera outside for a few minutes to allow it to get to the same temperature as outside, thus preventing the steamed up look.

One did not do that this morning.



I suspect this week will be more of the same flop-proof summer uniform: dress, coordinating cami, sandals, and accessories. Maybe I will shake it up and wear a couple of dresses that have been lingering in the back of my closet, just to keep it fresh.

Today's was simple, with my color scheme in the richer tones: black Target dress, maroon cami, nude Clarks wedge sandals, new Lill Studio crossbody. I was hoping to hit the new casino after work and use my new purse on its inaugural gambling trip, but alas Chicago has been so starved for a casino close to the border they all went rushing in. Last I heard, there were hundreds of people waiting in line to go into the casino, just standing there in 100-degree temperatures. What?! Insanity. I will go later in the week when things have calmed down.

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Daily Food Tracker: Monday
Breakfast: whole wheat waffle with peanut butter, bowl of strawberries, glass of skim milk
Lunch: Portillos chopped salad, mini lemon-poppyseed muffin
Snack: nothing until I got home and had a rice krispie treat. I was starving!
Dinner: grilled chicken thighs wrapped in bacon. One of our favorite grilled items. My husband had the genius idea to cut it up and put it a leftover whole-wheat hotdog bun. I added muffaletta topping to finish it off, plus watermelon. WOW was that good. Muffaletta topping is amazing, just a little bit of it gives everything so much flavor.




Snack: I had the munchies, so another rice crispy treat and a couple of WW chocolate-covered ice cream bars. Glad I managed to stop before I went too overboard.

I know a bunch of other bloggers are suffering through the same heat wave I am. Make sure you drink lots of water!

30 Days of Creativity: Day 3

Friday's creative endeavor: TWO all-neutral outfits.

For work:


(Not complaining about the bad shots, not complaining about the bad shots...)

I got this jacket back from my sister a couple of weeks ago, and boy have I missed having a little black jacket. For quick work outfits, it cannot be beat. Because the rest of the outfit was a black tee from LOFT, olive/brown cotton LOFT pants, and black wedge sandals from DSW -- which on their own is pretty casual. Adding the jacket upgraded it to business casual and suddenly I was appropriately dressed for my meetings on Friday. I did debate wearing a colored top underneath, but sometimes I really like black on black. The long silver necklace from Lia Sophia broke it up enough, and I added my turquoise glasses to give the whole outfit its one bit of color.


For play:


First I have to give props to this awesome new top from Old Navy. LOVE the cinnamon color, and I love how airy and cute it is for summer. The reviews complained that it was too big, but honestly when it's 8 million degrees out, I like a breezy top that doesn't touch me anywhere. They have it in olive and in white, and I am debating getting a duplicate in the white.



Second, let's talk about the shorts. I don't know about you guys, but I really hate shorts. I'm a pear, and most of my weight is on my dupa and hips; shorts have all the annoying parts of pants (the buttons, belt loops, pockets) right in my widest part, and then they end, stumpfying my legs and making me look even bulkier in the middle. And when it's hot and in a casual setting (which is why I am wearing shorts in the first place), I tend to sweat and the waistband curls up and pops out and looks even worse. And then I am uncomfortable AND unfashionable. Boo.

About two years ago (when I was skinny!) I stumbled across these shorts from Lands End. Hallelujah! They are a super-soft knit with side pockets and an elastic waistband, so there is no tugging, sweating, popping out, etc. They are called sport shorts, and honestly since I don't wear shorts in any kind of dressy outfit or situation, the style is perfect for me. I wear them to go walking, exercise, run errands, hang out on the patio, weekend stuff.

My first pairs (smaller sizes) were navy and black since that was what they had at the store. But online there are a ton more colors; for the Memorial Day sale I picked up these in light stone, chocolate brown, and blue twilight, for $11 each. I love them so much they make me want to take more days off so I have an excuse to wear them. Oh wait, I do have an excuse; I can wear them everyday when I get home from work!

But there you have it. All neutrals. I think I might be getting the hang of this -- and it's awfully fun to do.

30 Days of Creativity

Real Simple issued a great challenge for June: 30 Days of Creativity. Every day this month, I vow to do one creative thing: take a photo (or many), put together an unexpected outfit, paint a wall, redecorate, cook, do something that stretches that side of my brain. I've been so focused on numbers and reports and problems at work I've let that side of me wither, and it's time to bring that back.

Here is Day 1.



I made breakfast! In my bento! My sister K will appreciate it. :)
Yogurt, strawberries, a couple of slices of swiss cheese, almonds, and a Target chocolate snack. (Truthfully, it took me most of the day to nibble through everything.)

Since I wimped out and didn't make a more complicated lunch, I had a little time to goof around with poses on the patio. Hee.



Being on the ledge in front of the door seemed like a good idea at first...



...but it quickly fell apart.



But check out my shoes! (And Emily through the blinds.)



Truly, the shoes were the impetus behind this whole outfit. They're Clarks Long Ponds in orange; Angie at YLF had recommended them earlier this spring, and I fell in love. But they look best with pants rather than dresses, so I hadn't quite found the right outfit for them. Until today.

You'll notice the rest of the outfit is all neutrals: brown NYDJ ponte skinnies, white Nordstrom tunic top, gold metallic Bobeau cascading sweater, gold and grey stone triple strand necklace. See, not boring at all! :)

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Back to the 30 Days of Creativity. Anyone else want to give it a try with me? I'm excited!

When Photo Sessions Go Awry

It was cold and rainy on Friday so I bundled up in a boring outfit. I wouldn't even both showing it, but I still have some issues setting up my custom timer. I thought you guys would appreciate seeing me work out the kinks in my new system.















The end.

What I Bought and What I Returned: Nordstrom

Thanks to everyone leaving such sweet comments on my entries this whole week; your thoughtfulness was very much appreciated during a difficult week. The service was lovely, and very sad. But I was so glad we went and was there with everyone. We were able to get through it all together. Then my husband and I got home late Tuesday night, and dove right back into crazy work the next day. Hard to believe it's been a week already!

But retail therapy has been helping, weirdly enough. I had placed several orders before I left from Old Navy, Gap, and Nordstroms. The boxes arrived throughout the week, and on Saturday I returned anything that didn't work out, and ended up picking up a couple of extra items. My wardrobe hole of warm layering tops has been filled. I've been finding some great tops in general lately; I thought it was funny that bootcut pants made a resurgence to the forefront of fashion trends in the early fall, but appropriate length and draped tops did not. For a long while it has still been all skinny-pants tops: boyfriend and cascading cardigans, tunics, etc. Nothing that really worked with bootcuts. They're here now, thank goodness!

Nordstrom

First, I got some layering tops. Laura65 pointed me toward the rib-knit long-sleeve Caslon ones from Nordstrom that Angie had put into her YLF store. They're on sale at the actual stores now, for $19, in all sorts of colors. LOVE 'EM. I got ones in peat, burnt orange, and sunset. The peat one is a great muddy olive green, so useful as a neutral under brighter cardigans, and the colored ones are perfect under all my black, navy and grey sweaters. This is the burnt orange. Wait until you see with black and chestnut, so rich and warm.

I couldn't resist this Caslon bow applique cardigan, marked down from $68 to $29. I debated getting the bright eucalyptus color just because I have nothing like it in my closet, but I have nothing like it in my closet because that green is horrible against my complexion. Instead I got the yummy vintage jade. I love the fabric, it's so unexpectedly cozy!

I wanted to like this Nick and Mo French Terry Jacket in navy -- the floral trim and the crisp navy color would be so great for various meetings as my jacket -- but it didn't fit right at all.

The last Nordstrom purchase were these Franco Sarto Sono "pumps"; personally, I would call them a shootie. I got them in the brandy gloss, which look FABULOUS with my black Gap bootcuts. Word of warning: i am usually a perfect size 9 in Franco Sartos, but something about these are running small and I had to exchange them for a 9 1/2.

I did well here. The layering tees just extended the life of a number of cardigans that I am sick of wearing with black or white layering tops, and the shooties allow for me to switch out my black Naturalizer booties or Franco Sarto Deer oxford and add more depth and visual interest to my outfits.

I'll cover the ON and Gap stuff in a later post. It's time to get ready to spend the day with some girlfriends. I doubt we'll be watching football, heehee.