How well do you know me, readers?

For a set of all-day meetings, I was undecided between three variations of the same outfit. Readers, you guys have been seeing my outfits every day: which do you think I chose?




Vote now in your head. Answer at the end of the post.

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Daily Food Tracker: Thursday
Breakfast: frozen pancakes with local maple syrup
Snack: Trader Joe's fig bar
Lunch: tuna salad on wheat, Sunchips, homemade chocolate chip cookie (they were having a bake sale in the cafeteria of the hospital)
Snack: pomegranate yogurt
Dinner: spaghetti squash with tomato sauce, blue cheese crumbles and chopped up meatloaf :)

We have been doing very well using up all the foods I made on Monday. I was wondering why there was still so much left...that's right, it was a long weekend and a short week. We've only been eating it for 3 days, not 5. LOL!

Sunday will be Prep Day. I am thinking about a pot of tomato sauce, black bean and corn soup, and veggie prep. We have some great gypsy peppers I want to use in a stir fry or skillet or something...

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So what did you vote for the outfit? It was tough, but I went with this one:






Initially I wanted to wear the black blazer with the purple dress, but the weather is really odd for shoes right now; it's too cool for my sandals but not cool enough for full booties. And I have to really love them to wear flats with dresses. So the open toed bootie look is really the best, but these are the only ones I have. (FOR NOW. I will be hitting DSW this weekend for sure!)

Once I knew the shoes had to be part of the outfit, I switched out the cami and necklace from cooler silvery ones to browns and golds...but then the black blazer looked out of place. This time, it didn't "go". But this taupe-purply sweater from Gap -- which is also tough to pair with, like the steel blue can be, did go, and it brought out the purples and the browns more in everything.




It just ended up being much prettier than I thought it would be. I was pleased.


Did you guess right? :)

When does Sandal Season start?

Here is a question that has always befuddled me: when does sandal season start?

I know for those of you who live in a warmer climate, you're probably already wearing them now, but we have been veering between 30 and 50 degrees up north. But it's going to get warmer fast, and I want to know when it is appropriate to bust out my new and old sandals.

Do you base it on a date, like Easter or Memorial Day, or do you rely solely on the temperature? What temp is the one for you?

I'm putting in a poll, but I really want to read your comments too! Let me know where you live too, and why you start wearing them when you do.




Thanks!

Red Bags for Spring: Reader vote!

I need a new spring bag. I've got a fantastic collection of Coach bags from back when Shopping Friend worked there, but now I want to try some other brands. And for spring this year, I want red. A killer red bag.

This is a big change for me; I rarely even wear red at all, as you may have noticed. But I think that's what will make it work -- the red will be complementary to all the other colors I do wear (yellows, purples, teals, and lots of neutrals and blacks), plus it will go great with my new trenches. Check them out below!



This one is the earth-grey one; it's a slippery material, like a parachute. I'm wearing it casually here, but it's been a great one this week for work while it's been rainy/cloudy.

The other one I got hasn't been worn yet, but it should be this week. We've really turned the corner into warmer weather now, and both trenches should be getting a workout.



A red bag would go great with these, right?

This Cole Haan Marrow hobo was the first one at Zappos that caught my eye. I love the woven pattern of the leather.

I have coveted Kate Spade bags for a while now. Classic, elegant, fire engine red. And on sale at Zappos. What's not to love?

This Lucky Brand Joshua Tree hobo is a little more casual, but the darker red is more in my wheelhouse. And the price is more reasonable than the first two.

This one is just fun -- it's made out of seatbelts! Haha!

No? What about in a black-and-white houndstooth pattern?

Admit it, you kind of want a seatbelt bag now, don't you? :)

ANYWAY. Back to my red bag dilemma. Which would you pick -- for me? What about for you?





Let the voting begin!

Sunday: Workout, Hangout and Voter's Choice!

Today's workout was an hourlong walk along the North Shore bike path. For our monthly department meeting, we are meeting on the path to walk as a group; I am hosting the meeting with a co-worker so I wanted to do this path beforehand so I could gauge how far we could get in our alloted time. I went a bit farther than that mark -- it was such a pretty walk! Lots of lush green woods. I should try to take photos next time.



At first I did not want to post these photos because I look so lumpy in them, but you know what? I AM lumpy. I need to acknowledge that in order for The Dupa Project to be successful. Besides, if I didn't post it, then everyone would miss out on my ridiculous cat waving to his loyal internet followers!



Of course, as soon as I let him in, he's no longer interested in posing for you guys. Nice manners, George!

Details:
yellow cotton hoodie, Old Navy
yellow-orange multi tank, Old Navy
black Under Armour running pants, Dick's Sporting Goods
New Balance sneakers

Then it was time for a busy, busy day of nothing! Eventually I went out to the Rack to pick up a new bra and a dress, and I got caught in a downpour so I did some more shopping at the Trader Joe's next door, but really, it's been a lazy day of Farmville and emailing with friends. (By the way, thanks for the Rack suggestion, Rose! I didn't see any tops I liked this time, but I will try again soon. I wasn't in the mood to hunt for too long.)



I am literally yawning in this photo. That's how lazy I was today. AWESOME.



Details:
brown sleeveless sweater, BR 2009
white camisole, Target
skinny jeans, Martin + Osa 2010
bronze BOC sandals, Famous Footwear 2009

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So now it's time for a poll! I am not particularly interested in doing detailed posts about The Dupa Project; I know many of you are here for the fashion and not the dieting part of my life, and I'm still not ready to go through all of it again so publicly as I have in the past. However, do you guys want to continue seeing my workout outfits? Because I am seriously fashion-crazy enough to post those along with my regular clothes, if you are interested!

Capsule Wardrobe Challenge RECAP

Here are the outfits for the week all together:

What Day worked the best?
	Monday
	Tuesday
	Wednesday
	Thursday
	Friday
pollcode.com free polls

10 Items worn:

1. brown Kohls corduroy blazer (worn Monday only)
2. black ATL knit pocket dress (worn Monday, Thursday)
3. black reversible neck Talbots top, both low and high neck style (worn Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)
4. aubergine AT sheath (worn Tuesday, Friday)
5. purple-brown-black patterned Connections dress (worn Wednesday)
6. purple silk-cotton AT boyfriend cardigan (worn Tuesday, Wednesday)
7. mustard yoked Halogen cardigan (worn Thursday, Friday)
8. brown Kenneth Cole leather jacket (worn Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
9. brown Franco Sarto back-zip riding boots (worn Monday, Tuesday)
10. black Vince Camuto cowboy/wingtip boots (worn Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

The 5 Accessories:
1. red-ivory cabbage rose J Crew scarf (worn Monday)
2. 3-in-1 multi-stone necklace, worn long and choker style (worn Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday)
3. muddy black-purple reversible skinny belt, only worn muddy black (worn Tuesday, Thursday)
4. maroon-mustard cotton paisley scarf (worn Thursday)
5. plum-brown Coach bag (worn every day)

Here is the jacket and bag, which were worn daily.


What Did I Learn:

-I need to prepare better for weather changes. I swapped out flats, a camisole, the cotton dress, and a grey sweater to fit in a jacket, more boots, the longer-sleeved knit dress and a long-sleeved top once the temperature dropped 20 degrees.

-Trying on accessories with pre-planned outfits is a must. I swapped out the light scarf and the mustard belt I thought I was going with when I realized they didn't work with the rest of the outfit.

-Multi-use or reversible items saved me. I loved the flexibility of them; knowing I could change the look of the outfit with a flip of the belt helped me feel less trapped by my choices.

-And I did feel *trapped* by the limitations! Every morning, I would look longingly at the rest of my closet, and I felt stifled creatively by only being able to wear from the challenge set. I did not expect that strong a reaction.

-I needed to better pre-plan the schedule of the tops and the bottoms. I scheduled the dress wearings so they worked out evenly through the week, but I ended up wearing two sweaters two days in a row. If I had worn Friday (aubergine sheath and mustard sweater) on Tuesday instead, it would have been more even.

-Doing an all-dress week was easier than I thought it would be. Because I had to lose one sweater for the leather jacket, I lost some of the versatility of the tops, but I think I managed to make the dresses look different with each wearing. Certainly no one at work noticed I was wearing the same ones twice in a week!

-I kind of feel like I cheated a bit by using so many different tights and hose each day, because they definitely changed the feel of the outfit. On the other hand, I deliberately stuck with the same glasses all week, instead of using the 4 pairs I have as accessories like I usually do.

All in all, I liked this challenge; it forced me to get creative with what I had in front of me, which got easier as the week progressed. I don't think I could do it every week, but I probably will participate again next season, just to keep myself challenged. I might even try some pants or skirts then!

Thank you so much to Jane at The Small Fabric of My Life for coming up with this challenge, and a great job to all the participants I was following, (many of whom I have now added to my blog roll, thanks to meeting them through the challenge): Fashion Junkie, Sheila, Bella, Shiny, Make Do Style, Dawn, Chewy Spaghetti, Lorena, Kasmira, Kari, Audi, B/C Changeover

Now I have to go check out the other links Jane had on her blog, to see who else I missed! :)

Dress DEATHMATCH: Grey Sheath

Welcome to the Dress DEATHMATCH! In this event, two dresses enter the ring, and only one remains. (Unless the consensus is that both are worth keeping. Hee.)

The DEATHMATCH has come into being because I have a horrible habit of buying clothes that are too similar to each other, and I can never decide which to keep. Which is where you come in -- you get to vote which to keep! I will post photos of the dress, and list their pros and cons, then I'll put it to a vote.

Let's begin!

Dress #1: Classiques Entier grey sleeveless sheath, Nordstrom Anniversary Sale



I have blogged about this dress before, but I haven't yet worked up the nerve to wear it. So even though I bought it at NAS in July, it still has its tags and can be returned.

Pros:
-It's gorgeous, and fits me great.
-Heavy enough material will make it wearable through the winter.
-Looks very professional and still sexy.

Cons:
-To wear through the winter, I need to wear a sweater over, or a blouse underneath. I don't think the dress looks as good when I do that.
-It was expensive. I can get 4 other dresses at Marshalls or Target for the price of this one.
-The fit is not as good as it could be while I am up these 10 pounds.

Dress #2: Grey short-sleeved faux-wool jumper dress, Target


Pros:
-Looks great with sweaters over or button-downs underneath, making it perfect for fall/winter
-I much prefer the versatility of this versus the statement style of the NAS dress
-Cost me less than $20

Cons:
-Bought it on clearance at the end of last winter, too late to return it
-The front has a weird pleat right at my belly, which is good because it distracts from the size of my belly, but bad because it poofs out whether I'm bloated or not
-A little too short, and a little too tight (which is okay since I won't wear it until it is tights weather, and it should be looser by then)
-Not as pretty as the NAS dress

Vote early and vote often!



(I have two other DEATHMATCH sets of dresses I will be posting shortly. And probably a couple more once my Target order gets here. Told you I had a bad habit of doing this, LOL!)