Dress me, internet!

I swear, I get all my outfit ideas from the internet lately.

Last week, Angie over at YouLookFab posted about how to wear the Sassy Sweatshirt. Obviously, wearing one at work is a no-no for me at the Nun Factory, but it did spawn an idea for Saturday casual.



I picked up the sweatshirt at Old Navy this spring, but have mostly been wearing it as loungewear. We've finally reached a cool point in the summer, though, so I suspect this will be getting a workout, especially on vacation next week. I am ready!



Next it was Ally at Wardrobe Oxygen who provided the inspiration. She wore a fantastic striped blazer from Karen Kane with a hot pink cami, and I was head over heels. Look at how amazing she looks!

I will definitely be duplicating it during the week too, with my own striped blazer, but I also did a version over the weekend with my trusty White House Black Market striped cardigan.



This was the first rendition, when I took Hubby out to breakfast for his birthday on Sunday. But it was a little too warm for long pants and a long sweater, so I went back to my boyfriend jeans. Loved them with the chunky wedge sandals.






Thanks, ladies, for the continued inspiration!

Work with What You Got

Last summer this was one of my favorite dresses. Because it was a heavier knit, I was able to wear it all year long. I always get compliments when I do; it's a flattering shape.

When Target released more versions of this dress in different colors, I snapped it up. Now I have purple...



and a fabulous, unexpected green (a color I have very little of in my closet; really it's green, not teal).



What I love about this dress is that it does exactly the opposite of most of my other clothes: it doesn't hide my shape, it celebrates it.

I am a pear. I have a big rack, a flat dupa, a high waist, small shoulders, wide hips and thighs, a short torso and long legs. This dress highlights every aspect of that in a positive, flattering way. The dolman dropped shoulders puts extra fabric and width at my small shoulder, making my silhouette more balanced. The fabric on the top and bottom gathers right at the wide belt section, making my waist even more pronounced. The skirt's tulip shape emphasizes the widest part of me, my hips and thighs, making them part of the whole look all the way down instead of an extra body bit marring the sleekness of the silhouette. And the length stops right at the top of my knee, showing off all of my curvy calves (my best body part, imo).

I feel sexy, confident and kickass in this dress.

Is it any wonder I bought three of them? (Man, it comes in yellow. YELLOW!! If only it was in my size, I might have gotten that instead of the purple. Maybe.) Best $27.99 per dress I ever spent. They're only sold online, so if you buy from Target always go through eBates. Target rarely has coupon sales like other clothing stores, but at least with eBates I will get cash back.

Sometimes I forget that even though I am overweight, I don't always have to hide and misdirect attention away from my unflattering bits. Sometimes I can just say, "Yeah, this is me, and I rock."

Do you have any clothes that make you feel that way? What about them works for you?

Summer Business Uniform

Sometimes it is worth paying full price for a brand-new item. My Lands End navy striped blazer has become my go-to item this summer for any business meetings where I need to be in "business formal" in theory but I can dress it down a bit in practice (i.e., not a full suit but nice pants and a blazer).



This was yesterday for a whirlwind set of meetings at two different hospitals. It's in the high 80s and getting warmer every day, so I needed to beat the heat and still look professional and like myself. The pants are navy Gap modern bootcuts, the top is a light purple LOFT tee semi-tucked a la Angie, the necklace is a new favorite silver circle pendant from LOFT Outlet, and the sandals are my trusty nude Clarks from last year. Between the stripes and the seme-tuck, it looks on trend, but not too trendy, I think.



I just adore the detail of the chambray on the interior of the cuff. It's on the underside of the collar too, but I am not fond of the popped collar look so no one gets to see that.

It is still full-price at Lands End ($80), but they have a coupon for $20 off any $75 purchase online, and in Sears (where I bought it) they also have other sales going on. (They're not paying me to plug it, although they should. I am a walking advertisement for this jacket this summer.)









And several other outfits that I never got photos of...

Do you have a favorite item this summer that you can't stop wearing?

Wednesday Cookout: Same foods, two very different plates

Greetings from the heat wave!



Like most of the country, we are having a terrible heat wave here in Illinois, and the 4th of July was one of the worst days. 103!! We just don't get highs that high here, and delicate snowbirds like us are not equipped for it. So we spent most of the day indoors, and didn't regret it. I took the photo above of my patio; knowing the sun was only making everything even hotter did not make sitting out there a very appealing option.

However, when it was time to grill, Hubby and I both braved the elements, at least for a short while.

Me in my patriotic outfit. So glad I found that Gap tee from a few years ago in the bottom of my drawer!



I am madly in love with my new sandals, you guys. The stripes make me grin every time I look down. I did get another pedicure with a more opaque pink nude. I know I am in the minority, but I like it for now. But next week I am going back to a hot-pink watermelon shade. :)



Hubby accidentally matched the colors on his beer bottle label (Bell's Oberon). Well, matchy-matchy is pretty trendy right now! I guess he's a hipster. 



Onto the important stuff: the food.



On top is pineapple, our new favorite grilled item. Hubby gobbles it up, so you know I have to keep buying it. When I get a winner, I milk it for all I can. We tried grilling corn this time; it came out fine, but I prefer my method of boiling for 3 minutes instead. Last but not least is the slices of white onion. We don't even need to season any of this, we just cook it as is and add the seasonings later.



The sausages were already done. We get these from a Wisconsin mushroom vendor at the farmer's market, and they are SPECTACULAR. They're portobello mushroom swiss cheese brats. They're earthy and juicy with sweet melted chunks of swiss cheese mixed in, and OMG. They're the only sausages I buy regularly that aren't chicken or turkey based, and I don't care. Sometimes it is worth getting the real thing.

Once everything was grilled, we hustled back inside to the blessed air conditioning. But it was worth braving the heat when we had this to feast on:



You'd think that with all those veggies we would both end up with healthy plates, right? Wrong.

This is what I served myself:



Grilled corn, chopped up pineapple, blue cheese coleslaw, brat on whole wheat bun with grilled onions, pineapple and BBQ sauce. (I went for Hawaiian-flavored, one of my favorite combos at fancy burger joints.)

This was Hubby's:



Two brats with grilled onions, stone-ground mustard and spicy gardiniere on whole wheat bun, one lone pineapple ring.

Let's review. Excluding condiments:
-the ratio of fruit/veggie to meat to bread on my plate is 3:1:1.
-the ratio on Hubby's is 1:2:2.

So if your husbands ever complain that they don't want to eat "rabbit food" if you are trying to eat better, you can show them that they don't have to, even if you have the same foods to choose from. LOL!

Happy grilling!

Sunday Cooking: A random assortment of photos

The corn is coming into season. Repeat: the corn is coming into season. Let the joy spread across the land!

I did not buy from this vendor at my farmer's market; there is something about the abundance of varieties they have of everything that makes them seem sketchy. I never see a sign proclaiming which farm they are from, they sell too many vegetables that are out of season in the Midwest, and their signs are always perfect and printed. I much prefer to buy from the people across the aisle with the price of their cherries hand-written on a cardboard flap who only have the 3 main seasonal items available. Thank goodness, one of those items was their first crop of corn. I didn't want to have to buy from the generic/supermarket vendor, and I really, really wanted some corn.



The farmer's market also had some lovely hanging plants, which I did not buy but I should have; we already killed the plant Hubby bought on Memorial Day. Didn't even make it 6 weeks!





It was so dead the leaves crunched into powder when I touched it. Sorry, little plant! I think I might try that big white one next.

While we were there, we stopped at the local cigar store for Hubby. He loves going there because the inside is lush and full of leather chairs and big TVs, and on Sunday they don't charge sales tax on cigars or tobacco. As taxes are now 38% for tobacco, that's quite a sale. (I know, it's not good for him. I'm working on it.) But the cigar store has an actual cigar store Indian. You don't see those around much!





I was dressed for the casual, hot weather. Even wore my new coral New Balance walking shoes!


Target bird top from 2011, Lands End white knit shorts 2011, brown crossbody bag 2011, my beloved Ralph Lauren aviator sunglasses. Those have paid for themselves over the last 3 years; the first expensive sunglasses I ever bought, and the only ones I wear.

When we got home, it was time for some quick cooking. Like Helen said she was doing a couple of weeks ago, now that it is grilling season I am really trying to limit the Sunday Cooking so I am just prepping veggies, salads and marinades, and the rest we are grilling or eating cold. But I am also finding that lunch is a struggle without prepping something else, so this week I made a "breakfast casserole", also known as a frittata, egg dish, or crustless quiche. This particular version was inspired by this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen, but you guys know I love my quiche and I love mixing up different flavors.



Even here I didn't stick completely with the recipe. I cooked off the bacon in the microwave, then put the mostly-cooked pieces in the skillet so they would crisp up and render a little bit of fat. Then I removed the bacon and tossed a large onion sliced into rings into the skillet to cook down until it was soft and browning. THEN I removed the onion, added the chopped kale and wilted that. Chopped the bacon, mixed all of those ingredients together and placed in the bottom of the Corningware dish. (Best kitchen purchase I ever made. So perfect for casseroles in the oven, for serving at the table, and because I also bought the glass and the rubber lids they store and stack in the fridge too. Hunh, except for the ramekins, I think I have this whole set.)

ANYWAY, then I mixed in the eggs and cheese (I did add all 10 eggs which is 4 more than I usually put in my quiche), and seasoned it with some Worchestershire and Northwoods seasoning from Penzeys.



When it came out of the oven, I was so enamored by the high puff. It looked like a loaf of bread! It did flatten a little but it stayed pretty puffy. I definitely had to cook it longer than 20-25 minutes recommended in the recipe. In my experience and my oven, breakfast casseroles always take 40 minutes. Otherwise they don't finish in the middle.




I also made another batch of blue-cheese coleslaw. With fatfree sour cream, a bag of shredded coleslaw, and a container of blue cheese, it is super-easy and pretty healthy to make. Way better than anything you would buy at the deli counter! I season it with a couple of shakes of apple cider vinegar, kosher salt and pepper, celery seed and some Wall of Flavor, but the blue cheese really does all the work to give it such a deep, cool taste. Make it the day before you serve so the cabbage has time to soften and soak up the dressing.



And that was all I needed to feed myself lunch for a few days!



Bonus: a couple of outfit photos from Monday and Tuesday!

Phillip took Monday's photo in my office.



The new Gap white pants (which are completely gone from the website, alas. They stretch out a lot, I should have gotten a size smaller), my turquoise Clarks sandals from last year, a new hot-pink cami from Lane Bryant and a cute pink-and-turquoise print Target top. Which you may never see again since I ripped a hole in the front, DAMMIT.

On Tuesday, Hubby was home so he took the photo while I was rushing out the door.



Purple Old Navy blouse worn open, new white Target sleeveless tee, silver circle pendant necklace from Loft Outlet, black Gap pants and olive Clark sandals.

Lesson learned from both of these photos: never ask a man to take your outfit photos. Both lowered the camera to unflattering angles, Hubby chopped off the top of my head, and neither told me to unwrinkle myself so I and my clothes looked their best. Men!!

Next up: grilling on the 4th of July!

Summertime Outfits

It's funny, I'm still wearing the same dang black and/or dark pants that I wear during the rest of the year, but I am doing my best to make them summer-ified.

For example, going with an all-white look on top.



Black Gap straight leg pants, brown peeptoe Clark shooties, white Loft tee and white Loft Outlet cascading cardigan.



What really made this work for me was the chunky smoky necklace. Can't believe it has lasted this long; I bought it at Loft a few years ago, and removed almost all of the extra crap on it so it is just the stones and gold.



I also have been scooping up as many summer blouses as I can find. My friend J and I bought this same pink-and-orange sheer blouse from Loft Outlet last month. I debated keeping it, but I just love the colors too much to give it up!



That is my Rebecca Minkoff bag that has been getting a tremendous workout since I got it in April. I've switched out to clutches or a casual crossbody on weekends, but the Minkoff is definitely my everyday bag this year. Love it.



(Mental note: watch that it doesn't buckle funny around my waist and make me look larger than I am.)

I am also in love with my Donald J Pliner bronze sandals (as seen in above shot). I got them last year at Nordstrom Rack; Hubby and I had gone downtown to celebrate our anniversary, and it was so abnormally hot (it was October, for cryin' out loud) I frantically picked them up on Michigan Avenue off-season. Now that the braid has softened and broken in, they are crazy comfortable, and I just adore their chunky chunkiness.





Another summer look I have been embracing is the striped blazer. I love the one I got from Lands End (on sale now in stores!) and have been wearing it at least once a week. It's great in a business casual office; we're supposed to be in business attire when we go to meetings but no one else in our new company does the same. So I often throw this on over a dressy top and pants and look more professionally dressed than anyone else in the room.

This outfit is more business casual.



(Yes, that is me taking a photo in my mirror. Horrors! But I really like this outfit and wasn't sure if I could get outside in time to get a shot.) I like that this is also kind of monochromatic: grey Gap straight pants, pale blue Loft tee, and navy striped blazer. The silver-gold pendant necklace added to the casual vibe, and the orange Clarks sandals gave it a contrasting pop of color.

Oh, hahahaha, right I did get outside but it was kind of a disaster. Very windy!





I perservered and got one good shot.



This outfit is remarkable only because I got busted by the neighbor just as the timer started going off. As evidenced by my panicked expression and fast approach to the camera. LOL!





Target top and aqua cardigan. I think I will try this one again with my new WHITE PANTS.



Gap finally made my beloved modern bootcuts in white. I snapped those babies up the moment I saw them. Wooohoooo! I haven't owned white pants in years; it's so hard to find the right ones, that aren't too sheer or too tight or too cheap. I definitely like these!



The top is also Loft from last year (boy, I did not realize how many of those I have!!) and I've never quite been able to find the right bottom to bring out the lovely snakeskin print of it. Now I realize it just needed some white pants. :)



You may have noticed in several of the above shots that I have a lot of bracelets on. I tend to wear them more in the summer, which is kind of counter-intuitive. They get warm on the arm in hot weather -- but in cold weather, I'm more bundled up and the metal gets too cold!

This was just this Friday. A hot pink Old Navy top, new navy Gap modern bootcuts, olive wedge Clark sandals, an arm of bracelets, and a new long silver pendant necklace I picked up at Loft Outlet on my shopping trip with J. (See what I mean about needing the pendant to be longer than the boob shelf, J? This way it doesn't bounce when I walk.)

I also tried Angie's suggestion of half-tucking the top, and I think I liked it. 



Heh, and here is a perfect example of the striped blazer raising the level of the outfit. It was too hot to put on outside, but I sure wore it for my meeting that day!




So that is what I have been wearing so far this summer. Does it spark any ideas for you? Any suggestions you have for me?

Heh, now that I am looking at this, I also realize it is time to look at my calendar. Methinks I am due for a haircut!