Different stripes (very different stripes)

Outfit Info

Tank - Target (kinda sorta similar here), Cardigan - Target, Skirt - Madewell

Belt - J Crew, Flip flops - Old Navy, Watch - Target 

Let's pretend that this outfit is wholly original and not at all similar to the one I posted yesterday.  We're all good with that, right?

I mean, really, they are different.  Yesterday's top was short sleeve, today's is a tank.  Yesterday's skirt was cotton, today's is chiffon.  Yesterday was all about the blue, today is all about the neutrals.  

See, HUGE differences. 

Blue stripe streak

Outfit Info

Shirt - Old Navy (maternity), Cardigan - Gap, Skirt - Thrifted, 

Shoes - Target, Belt - J Crew, Necklace - Tiffany 

Highlights from this weekend

• Movies at the Hill Country Film Festival (Local and Searching for Sonny were my favs)
• Shopping at Red and getting a couple fun things for the house and lusting after much more
• Breaking in some of my new comfy maternity clothes (sorry, no pics; but I know I'll be wearing them all a ton so you'll see them soon)
• Finally getting two new pairs of shoes that I desperately needed from Root (they'll also be making appearances soon)
• A much-needed return to brunch at Congo

Lowlights from this weekend: 

• Sadly, my pregnancy cravings don't currently include German food and that's the prime offering in Fredericksburg
• Sitting in the same row as a couple teenagers who were clearly doing things that shouldn't be done in the movie theater, especially if there are other people in your row (especially if one of those people is giving you looks that say "stop that right now")
• The cats didn't clean the house while we were out of town (but Magnum P.I. did put in a solid 4+ hours of snuggle with me yesterday when we got home)

Back to brunette

Outfit Info

Skirt - Thrifted from hunt.gather.style, Shirt - J Crew, Heels - J Crew,
Bracelet - J Crew (sadly, the pink is gone)

Ta da!  Jenna at Salon Sovay did an amazing job on Saturday taking my blonde hair and turning it into this gorgeous golden brunette color.  I love that girl.  While I had fun with the blonde for awhile, for most of the past 7-8 years my hair's been some version of brunette so I'm so happy to be back to this color.

This pink skirt is another piece I picked up at hunt.gather.style for a ridiculously good price.  It's so darn cheerful and comfy (love that elastic waist in the back!).   HGS is having a pop-up shop this Saturday at Madewell (seriously, what a dream combo) but I'll be in Fredericksburg supporting Christian as one of his films, Local, plays at the Hill Country Film Festival.  Sad to miss what I'm sure will be an awesome event but excited for the Festival and for the shopping I'll do at Red. 

Last look

Outfit Info

Dress - Thrifted from hunt.gather.style, Blazer - H&M, Shoes, Belt & Bracelet - J Crew

I finally got rid of those ridiculous roots this weekend but before I reveal the new do, let's take one final look at my not-so-stylish ombre.

I got this dress at the Hunt Gather Style event back in March and I'm excited that it has room to grow (as I grow!) over the next few weeks.  

Over the weekend, in addition to getting my hair fixed, I also started my second trimester.  So far, it's meant I'm feeling a ton better than I have been for the past couple months so I'm excited to get back into my regular blogging schedule rather than the lying in bed moaning about how miserable I am schedule that I've been on.  

Some News!

So you know how my posting has been totally erratic lately?  

Well, I have a good explanation for that:

I heart you

Outfit Info

Shirt - Gift from Lulu's, Skirt- Banana Republic, Shoes - Stella Says Go

I got this adorable top at the Clothing Swap presented by Swap.com and Lulu's during Texas Style Council.  I'd never gotten anything from Lulu's before and when I saw the racks of complimentary clothes they were bright and shiny and I wanted to have them.  Sadly, once I dug into the racks I realized that most of the bright and shiny weren't really the right size for a 5'11'' lady who said goodbye to size 4s dozens of cheese plates ago.  Thankfully, a super sweet blogger (who I unfortunately forgot to ask her name) had this top in her hand and graciously gave it over to me.  It fit (hooray!) and makes for the perfect, fun yet work appropriate (with a tank underneath and a high-waisted skirt) outfit for a Thursday that's really my Friday.

And I'm rocking an Easter-esque manicure since that's how I roll.  

Pants

Outfit Info

Shirt - J Crew, Pants - Gap, Heels that are sinking into the ground - J Crew

Bracelets - J Crew and J Crew Outlet, Earrings - Target

It's so infrequent that I wear pants that one of my coworkers totally called me out on it today.  And while she said I looked great in pants, my response was "Yeah but if I gain/lose a few pounds, pants = not so forgiving".  Which is one of the many reasons I prefer skirts and dresses.  Gain a few pounds, pull that formally hip hugger skirt up into a high-waisted number.  Gain a few pounds in pants and there's just nowhere to go. 

And thus concludes Part 1 in my 234 part series of why skirts and dresses are far superior to pants. Stay tuned for the thrilling follow ups.  



Flower checks

Outfit Info

Shirt - Gap Outlet (I actually have this in multiple colors and I have have two of the gray one.  I blame Christian), Skirt - Ralph Lauren Outlet, Shoes - Stella Says Go, 

Bracelet - Banana Republic, Watch - Target

I love all of the beautiful greenness in our backyard.  We have french doors in our master bedroom so I can just lie in bed (one of my favorite activities) (let's be honest, my favorite activity) and take in nature (in between naps, of course).  

You know who else loves our backyard?  This neighborhood stray cat who loves coming up to our french doors and trying to start a fight with our cats.  That little bugger tried to come up and make friends with me while we were taking pics today.  No, sir/ma'am, you torment my cats and you've me up in the middle of the night far too many times for us to be buddies.  Plus, you probably have fleas.  

If we could even get a curtain rod and some curtains hung in the bedroom, that would help dissuade these kitty battles, but that will involve me picking curtains and that's not my favorite decor activity.  So I'll probably just continue to blame the cat who doesn't know any better rather than take any culpability for myself.  Yup, that's how I roll.  

Simple kick

Outfit Info

Sweater - Gap, Skirt - Madewell, Shoes - Michael Kors, Necklace - Anthropologie

As the weather gets warmer here in Texas, I tend to gravitate toward simpler outfits.  While I was trying to figure out last night what on earth I was going to wear today, I went to Sydney of Basic Cravings for inspiration.  She excels at keeping things simple but always looking perfectly stylist and put together.  So that's what I went for today.

I couldn't resist putting on that huge Anthropologie necklace, though, because it doesn't make it out of my closet enough even though it goes with a ton of things.

The other thing I love about this outfit is that I used that Gap sweater.  That baby has been around for years.  (And it still fits - yay!)  It doesn't seem like something I would hold onto for so long but the color is fun and it's such a good weight that I've never purged it.  Which I'm very happy for today since it found a new friend in my Madewell skirt.  Bringing the old and the new together on a Monday morning.  So sweet.

Comfort blocking

Outfit info

Dress - Anthropologie, Cardigan - Old Navy

Try not to be too impressed with my styling abilities today.  Instead, be impressed with my catchy post title.  

I had a ton of running around to do today between meetings at the office and appointments around town so I decided to wear the work equivalent of PJs - a beyond comfy jersey dress, cardigan and some flats.  If it was ever so slightly warmer and my leopard flip flops weren't missing (seriously, is anybody checking into this?), I would've stepped it up even more and gone flip flops.

Under protest

Outfit Info

Skirt - Thrifted from hunt.gather.style, Shirt - Express (similar here), Heels - J Crew (similar here)

Watch - Target, Earrings - stolen from my mom

First, you should know that Christian took these photos under protest.  He's not a fan of leopard print.  He puts up with my leopard iPhone case and my leopard flip flops (which are actually missing right now hmm...), but when I came home on Saturday afternoon with this full-on leopard skirt he wasn't impressed.  Of course, when he saw how darn adorable it looked with a button up and heels, he was convinced that he should still take my picture. But I think there was a glint of leopard hating protest still in his eye.

Now that we've got that covered, let's move on.

Spending last weekend at Texas Style Council was a total blast and a great learning experience.

Plus, we got to go shopping and this skirt was one of the awesome finds I picked up at the hunt.gather.style pop up shop.  Those ladies really do find the best stuff.  If you need to see more evidence of that fact, well keep checking in here :)  And, check out my lovely buddy Alta over at Valliant Style who is ROCKING one of her finds - an amazing librarian-style dress today. 

More on Texas Style Council later this week when I'm more recovered from the weekend of activities. 

PATCHES!

Outfit Info

Sweater - Old Navy, Blazer - H&M, Cords, Heels, Bracelet (now on sale), Necklace - J Crew (similar heels here)

In case you couldn't tell, I'm more than a little proud that we remembered to take pics of the lovely elbow patches on this comfy H&M blazer.  

Unfortunately those patches seem to have an ill effect on me because I've been feeling a little under the weather since I wore them on Wednesday (thus the reason this post is delayed).

But, Texas Style Council starts tonight (woohoo!) so I'm hoping that a day of rest today will get me energized for an activity and fun-filled weekend with other bloggers like the awesome Alta from Vallaint Style who I got to meet up with on Sunday. 

Ok, judging by that last overly long sentence, I need a little more rest before interacting with other people.  In between resting today, I'll also be picking out my second item for the Swap.com and LuLu's clothing swap tonight (the first item is an amazing Anthro dress that I'm finally admitting I'll never fit into again), polishing my nails a bright color to combat the rainy weather, and probably buying an umbrella.  Oh yeah, and I should probably figure out what I'm wearing...