Black Tuesday

Outfit Info

Blouse - Old Navy, Pants - Gap (similar here), Shoes - Calvin Klein, Watch - Target

Nail polish - Zoya Megan (from Birchbox)

I'm not usually one for an all black ensemble so this is a little out of the box for me.  

You know what's more exciting than wearing all black, though?  That tiny little baby bun that I was able to coerce my hair into this morning.  With fewer than a dozen bobby pins.  

That's the Zoya polish I promised this morning to get a photo of.  On one thumb and ring finger I also layered on a coat of glitter polish from Sally Hansen.  

I know - all black, a bun and a little glitter - I better pace myself with all this excitement. 

January Birchbox

Somehow the last day of January snuck up on me and I realized I hadn't posted about my January Birchbox yet.  I'll admit, I wasn't blown over excited when I got this month's Birchbox.  It had concealer (which I never use), eye serum (which I never use), and another perfume (which, as I've mentioned, I'm wary of trying new perfumes generally).  But then I remembered that part of the reason I really wanted a Birchbox subscription was so that I would try new things.  So yay for new things! 

Zoya nail polish in Megan: This was the item I was most excited about.  I have a huge nail polish obsession (not as severe as my Target obsession, but it's up there) and I had never tried Zoya.  The color came out great on my nails.  I'll try to get a shot of them before I switch colors; I tried with my iPhone but they weren't coming out well. 

Juicy Couture perfume: I've sprayed this on a tissue and I think I like it but I haven't taken the plunge and worn it for a full day yet.  It has a sweet smell, which I like in small bursts, but I worry it'll trigger a headache if I have it on all day.  I'll keep you updated.  As a side note, this is my first Juicy Couture product ever.

Miracle Skin Transformer concealer: Despite having acne prone skin for basically 15 years I've never been a big concealer person.  Just one more thing to buy and put on in the morning and it didn't seem worth the money and effort.  I'm not sure that this concealer will cause me a 180 from my 15 years of habits but when I need it and remember to use it, it's awesome.  

VMV Hypoallergenics Re-Everything: eye serum: I'm turning 30 this year.  I need to get on the intense eye cream/serum wagon and this is getting me started.  

'wichcraft granola: Tasty!  Made me miss New York, though. 

Seeing red

Outfit Info

Jeans - Old Navy, Shirt - Tucker for Target, Sweater - Old Navy

Earrings - Anthropologie 

What's that?  My title's a little cliche and boring?  You're right.  But it's a Monday.  

Moving onto talking about Target.  This shirt is one of those pieces that you've probably seen several (million) times if you like reading fashion blogs.  The shirt or it's sister dress with this print was evidently a popular purchase.  And a popular purchase that's still going strong several seasons (years?) after it was first released.   

I'm excited for Jason Wu for Target not only because I met Jason at my former job and he was super cool but also because the pieces look like things I'll want to wear for years.  If the dresses are long enough for me, which is often an obstacle I run into with these lines and my 5'11" self.  Sunday morning I'll be in West Texas visiting my mom.  I'm on the fence as to whether this will be an advantage because fewer people will be at her Target (I went there a couple weeks after Missoni launched and there were still prime items in stock) or if it won't get the cool dresses/skirts I want because it's a smaller town.  To be sure all my bases are covered, I've convinced Christian to get up early Sunday morning to stand in light and fight with women at our local Target for clothes as well.  He's a good, good man.       

Thank you for joining me for this session of Julie's Way Too Obsessed With Target, Especially When They Launch a Capsule Collection With a Designer She Loves.  I'll try to hold my obsession in the rest of the week but no promises.  

Who else is excited for Jason Wu?  Any strategies?  If you're in Austin, do you want a picture of my husband so you'll know who the one guy is in there with all the ladies and that he's there for a good cause?

Friday lust

We're moving into our first rental house in February so I'm in total furniture and home decor obsession mode.  If you know somebody/somewhere with a mid-century credenza for sale, let me know; it's #1 on my priority list!

I LOVE this credenza from Uptown Modern here in Austin but it's a little (OK, a lot) more than I'd like to pay right now. 

Potential dining chairs (we currently have four that are bright green and metal but we'd like at least two more)

Would love two of these from CB2 but they're a little pricey.  Also, not totally sure how this shade of green would work with our other chairs.

Also from CB2 and a better price point.

This rug from Three Potato Four would be awesome in our bedroom (that has french doors leading out to the backyard, btw!) but, like the credenza I'm lusting after, it's a little out of the price range for now.

If it turns out this house has a secret money tree in the back, we'll also need to get these gorgeous nightstands from West Elm along with the credenza, green chairs and rug.

I think this bookcase from Urban Outfitters is a definite yes for storage in the living or dining room.  Money tree or no money tree.

Texas girl

Outfit Info

Dress - Anthropologie, Boots - Aldo, Belt - Target

Watch - Michael Kors, Bracelet - J Crew

Whenever I wear this outfit, one of my co-workers tells me I'm looking very Texan.

We took these photos across the street from one of our favorite restaurants: Contigo Austin.  Since I was all Texan-ed up, we probably should have gone two stepping or something afterwards, but instead we went across the street for Manhattans, tempura fried green beans, fried pork skin, and delicious white bean dip.  

I just love this little park.  It's such a cool backdrop.  I think we'll need to go there for photos more often.  Especially given its proximity to the Manhattans and the green beans.    

Seeing dots

Outfit Info

Cardigan - Banana Republic, Skirt - Thrifted from hunt.gather.style, Tights - Who knows

Shoes - J Crew, Earrings - Stolen from my mom

My mom wasn't happy when I stole those earrings.  But comeon, giant, black, oval earrings with a flower motif imprint?  Those babies needed to come home with me.  If they weren't living with me now there would be far too many days with no earrings in my ears.  And dad didn't get my ears pierced when I was 4 and you were out of town so I could go earring-less now did he, mom?  I think not.

Thankfully, the earrings are living happily with me and they were thrilled to be paired with this lovely polka dotted skirt today.  

What's black and white and looking for some outfit advice?

Outfit Info

Sweater - Gap, Skirt - J Crew (similar here), Pumps - Calvin Klein (similar here)

Bracelets (L to R) - Old Navy, Tiffany (wedding present from Christian), J Crew, 

Watch - Target, Earrings - Stolen from my mom

I adore this sweater from Gap, especially because I got it on sale and it's surprisingly warm.  But I feel like I still don't quite know the perfect way to wear it.  I was going to have to closed all day, I even made a makeshift broach out of one of my earrings but it didn't look right.  Honestly, as much as I like it, I feel like it makes me look heavier than I am.  Anybody have any ideas of a better way to wear it?  I'd love to hear them!  I thought a bright colored belt holding it closed might look good.  Haven't tried that yet, though... 

In the meantime, today I'm pairing it with this bright, super fun pencil skirt from J Crew and some fun bracelets.  

Leather and stripes (again)

Outfit Info

Shirt - Old Navy, Skirt - Thrifted from hunt.gather.style, Boots - Aldo

Giraffe Necklace - J Crew, Sunglasses - Ray Ban 

Yesterday, it was almost 80 degrees here.  I was this close to turning on the A/C while Christian cooked dinner.  Dressing for spring temps in January is throwing me off my game a little bit so I'm sticking with some basics, which is my excuse for once again wearing stripes with my leather skirts.  Oh, and I just love stripes.  

Also, since Mondays are always difficult, I decided to bust out my trusty giraffe necklace to help brighten my morning.