Monday. Day 29.

Day Twenty Nine

Ummmm. Awkward. I just realized that this is the FOURTH Monday in a row that I've worn this pink top. Exhibit A: with the mustard cardigan. Exhibit B: under the black sweater. Exhibit C: with the ruffled cardigan. And this post, obviously, is Exhibit D. 

pink top, jeans and blazer from Target. boots by Chinese Laundry. 

No Sequins. Day 26, 27 + 28.

Day Twenty Six: Friday day

I feel weird posting this outfit because I wore it to a funeral.... But hey, life happens whether you're doing a random fashion blogging challenge or not, right? And, even though it was under sad circumstances, it meant I got to see my best friend who has been away in the Peace Corps for the last twelve months. Every dark cloud has a silver lining.


black jeans, cardigan, black T-strap wedges, black socks and belt from Target. white tee from Express. necklace from mom. 

Day Twenty Seven: chicken and beer

I wore this out Friday night to a chicken dinner at Hodak's and drinks in Soulard at iTap and 1860s. Good food. Good drinks. Good friends. Good night. (Oh and white sweater dress got its 30x30 debut!)

white sweater dress from Express. cardigan and tights from Target. boots via Victoria's Secret. no clue where the belt is from.... 

Day Twenty Eight: this isn't sequins

I'm sorry. I know I have pretty much worn this before. And I know I should have worn my sequin skirt because, let's face it, now it won't get worn in the 30x30 at all. But I just wasn't feelin' it. I was feelin' this instead. Forgive me. 

gray lace/silk top from Express. jeans, t-strap heels from Target. necklace from Miley for Walmart. 

Thoughts + Pictures

This was my yummy yummy Valentine's dinner.

This is my yummy yummy Valentine's Day gift to myself from Merb's.

I shouldn't ever complain about my 8-12 minute morning commute... no matter how many highway drivers join me on Gravois and slow me down.

Life is better when you are doing random, fun things with friends. In the past week, I've had a Starbuck's coffee date, a 'working' brunch, BBQ and beer on a Saturday afternoon and a nice little happy hour followed by a giant pitcher of margaritas (that we came nowhere near finishing). Wait, maybe life is just better when I'm eating...

Metromix is doing a 'best of' list. I love 'best of' lists because then I find out about new bars and restaurants (which, as is evidenced above, I enjoy). But this one has me stumped. In the 'Best Festival' category, we have Taste of St. Louis, LouFest, Oktoberfest, and Celebrate St. Louis (Live on the Levee concerts and 4th of July fireworks). How am I supposed to choose?!

Last night, I tried to make flatbread pizza. It looked delicious, but here's a tip. Make sure your tomatoes aren't super juicy otherwise your flatbread crust will be soggy. Sad face.

This is what happens when I try to take a picture of my dog using the slowest app on the planet RetroCamera.

Sunny days are slowly coming back. And so is my blinding drive home. But I'll take it. I'm sick of winter.

I need things to do in Steamoat Springs and/or Colorado Springs. I'm going in March. Any help?

Frump. Day 25.

Day Twenty Five

I really hope this outfit doesn't look as frumpy in real life as it does in this picture. Eek. To be honest, I was going to wear my striped tee with this (instead of the black tee) but decided I needed to retire the stripes for the rest of the challenge at least a few days. This look ended up being almost identical to the Superbowl Sunday outfit.... but it's different boots, pants, and a necklace... so I think that's fair. 

black jeans and black tee from Target. denim button down from Walmart. boots by Steve Madden. necklace from mom. 

Super 8 Wedding Film

St. Louis, Missouri - Super 8 Wedding Film from Kevin Von Qualen on Vimeo.

Ummmm, seriously? Most adorable wedding video ever. Ever.

I've blogged stuff from The Landlocked Bride before and this is her wedding video. Obviously, she knows what she is talking about. (Oh and I creepily found out we are in the same sorority via our Facebook Page. I swear I'm not a stalker.)

#weddingwednesday

Changing Plans. Day 24.

Day Twenty Four

I thought I finally had this 30x30 thing down. This week, I actually planned out a whole five days of outfits so that I was ready to go. It was supposed to be warmer today (warmer as in mid 50s), so I thought this dress would be perfect. 

Fail. 

I woke up this morning to reports of icy road conditions. Wha?! So out went the short gray boots and in came the warmer boots, extra pair of socks and scarf. Wham bam thank you ma'am. Now I am warm and cozy and happy. 

dress, tights, socks, belt from Target. cardigan from H&M. boots by Chinese Laundry. no idea where I got the scarf or headband (yes, I'm wearing one. It's brown so you can barely see it). 

Classic. Day 23.

Day 23

Not exactly the most inventive outfit ever, but it works. I was going to wear my plaid button down under this sweater, but we're down to the wire here and I'm trying to make sure I wear everything at least twice. Oh, and I have a confession to make. This white shirt was not in my 30. There was actually a different white shirt that I only chose because I couldn't find this one at the time. The original was Liz Clarborne (seen here) and this one is from Old Navy. So sue me, I swapped it out. 

jeans from Target. white button down from Old Navy. black sweater from Gap. boots by Chinese Laundry. necklace from my sister. 

Ruffle. Day 22.

Day Twenty Two

This is a lot of ruffle. But I like it. 

black jeans, pink top and belt from Target. cardigan from New York and Company. boots by Chinese Laundry. 

Out and About. Day 20 + 21.

Day Twenty: out on the town

Good news: Two of these items are making their 30x30 debut- the black jacket and black t-strap heels!
Bad news: I still have to mix in my white sweater dress and my black sequin skirt. Also, please excuse my Barbie hands.... Hmmm.

jeans, jacket and heels from Target. top from Gap. belt from who knows where. silver necklace is a gift from my parents from Mexico. 

Day Twenty One: brunch and errands

Is there anything better than brunch on a sunny day? No, there is not. Bonus is when said brunch is at Benton Park Cafe with their delicious cucumber water, yummy food and an iced coffee. Oh, and also when said brunch is with a good friend talking about social media. #dreamdate.


jeans from Target. striped shirt and cardigan from H&M. boots by Chinese Laundry. gold necklace from my mom. 

Wishful Thinking

Most of the time, I like being a postgrad twenty something. I like day drinking. I like wine with dinner. I like my evenings being dedicated to TV and not homework. I don't mind talking about paying the bills or deals I got at the grocery store or what happened at work that week. 

But sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I was in college. 

Sometimes like when people talk about getting Trops. Sometimes like when I wish I had a big book of notes to highlight. Sometimes like when I want milk on tap. 

And sometimes like today when I find out all the Mizzou DGs are at Pinafore. 

Beer:Thirty

Happy Friday. 

via beautiful and useful

Jewelry. Day 19.

Day Nineteen

So apparently I own no jewelry. This necklace, along with every other one I've worn, is 'borrowed' from my mom. And you probably notice the only jewelry I really wear is a long necklace. I'm boring. 

I go through phases. I used to love wearing a big, chunky bracelets, but then I started wearing watches everyday and I don't like doubling up. And I used to always wear pearl earrings (during the day... in college) or pretty dangley ones (when I went out... in college), but now I pretty much stick with my diamond studs everyday. 

Oh, I guess I should have told you all that in my descriptions of 'what I'm wearing.' Oops. The earrings are a graduation gift from my parents. Just simple, small diamond studs. And I vary between a gold/silver Seiko watch my sister got me as a graduation/maid of honor present and a silver one I got from Target a few years ago. So, now you know.

jeans and blazer from Target. shirt from H&M. boots by Chinese Laundry. necklace from mom. 

Pajamas. Day 18.

Day Eighteen

Just when you thought my photos couldn't get any worse....

Apologies for the big black hairball ruining this picture. Maverick was especially needy this morning and wanted to be in every shot. I think he wanted to go back to sleep. I know I sure did. Good thing I'm wearing the equivalent of pajamas today - oversized flannel shirt + worn in jeans = heaven. 

jeans and cardigan from Target. flannel shirt from American Apparel. boots (I swear I'm wearing them) by Steve Madden. 

EDITED:

Whoa. I just saw that last year, almost to the day, I posted about how much I loved the U.S. Olympic snowboarders' gear. Hmm look familiar? Twinsies!

Recap. Days 1-15.

Whoa. That's a lot of me.

I think I've done just okay so far this challenge. I feel like I haven't done much remixing yet.... just worn my basic items in basic ways. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, I do a little more layering and mixing and matching that is more outside the my box.

I'm actually sort of sad it is halfway over... I've still got a bunch of ideas for some items (striped shirt, denim button down, I'm lookin' at you), but only have thirteen days left now. Boo. And I actually have a few items I haven't worn at all yet! My sequin skirt, black heels, white sweater dress and black velvet jacket haven't even seen the light of day. How sad. To my defense, they are all 'night' pieces, and I have been spending a lot of Saturday nights in front of the TV. Not very glamorous.

What have I learned?

• Visiting Forever 21 and Target and not buying anything is almost impossible for me. It's like a habit. 
• I actually really like my clothes. 
• When I start wearing a necklace I like.... I ignore everything else. I've worn that silver heart necklace more in the past two weeks than I have in months. 
• Heels are overrated. 
• I need a haircut. 
• I need to go tanning. 
• I need a tripod and/or a nicer camera. 
• I need to decorate my house. 
• Laundry sucks. 

Tripod for Sale? Day 17.

Day Seventeen

Apologies for the awkward pose (today, and all other days). I swear, before this challenge is over I'm going to find a tripod so I can stop balancing my camera on top of my microwave... And maybe even get outside to get some pretty backgrounds! Today it is supposed to be like 65 degrees in St. Louis! Not bad considering a couple weeks ago, we had a snow day. As much as I am ready for spring, I need to to stay a little chilly.... I've got a sweater dress and flannel in my thirty! 

cardigan from H&M. denim button down by Miley from Walmart. black jeans from Target. boots by Chinese Laundry. necklace from, you guessed it, mom. 

Seven Things

The lovely Elisabeth of Multiple Factors (who looks just like the girl from Pushing Daisies, no?) tagged me for a couple of awards:

The requirement of these awards is for me to share seven things about myself and then to tag seven others to do the same. So first, me:
1. I work in social media (and blogs and PPC and that sort of stuff) for an amazing marketing and design firm.
2. I rarely wear lipstick or lip gloss, which is weird because I have an insanely large collection of it. I guess I just like chapstick, which probably stems from...
3. When I was a kid, I would lick my lips so bad it would chap the skin around my lips and make me look like I had big fat clown lips. Embarrassing. My dad told me that if I stopped he would take me to Glamour Shots and I've been clown lips-free ever since.
4. I love St. Louis... but if you read my blog, you can probably tell that already.
5. I've been going to Tablerock Lake (near Branson, Mo.) every summer for my entire life. A couple years ago, we finally bought a house down there. I love it. Being out on the boat, speeding around the lake, surrounded by rolling hills of southern Missouri.... it's the best.
6. I love TV (I have a TV blog, so you don't see very many tube-related posts here).
7. Twitter has changed my life. I'm pretty sure it got me my job. It got me on MTV. And it has introduced me to so many great people. I love it (follow me, @daniellesmyname).

And here are my seven other blogger picks. This little award has been making the rounds, so hopefully you girls haven't been tagged already! I skimmed through some recent posts... but didn't put my investigative journalism skills to very good use. Any who, all of these are girls I started following recently with EBEW or 30x30....
1. Ramsey of Love, Ramsey - because her dark hair makes me want to dye mine.
2 and 3. Katie and Logan from Sparkle - because it is double the blogging fun with two authors!
4. Stephanie of Maybe Someday We'll Be Smarter - because she posts music with her outfit posts and gives me something to listen to.
5. Bex from A Style Diary - because I freakin love her style. And her long blond hair.
6. Kelley from The Eclectic Owl - because I'm jealous of her perfect buns (I'm talking about hair here people!)
7. Liz from 26 and Counting - because she has the best work outfits ever, even when rocking the all black and white ensembles once a week.

Sweet (Day) 16.

Day Sixteen

I just realized that I'm over halfway through this challenge. I guess that means I owe you a 1-15 recap or something, huh? Yeah, okay. I'll get on it. 

This white shirt is making it's debut, which is weird because I thought it was one of the 'staples' on my list and would get worn the most. But here I am, sixteen outfits in and it's only been worn once (and a couple other items haven't been worn at all! More on that in the recap). 

And in case you're wondering what I did for Valentine's Day, the boy and I made a delicious steak, mashed potatoes and grilled broccoli dinner, followed by yummy cranberry oatmeal cookies. Oh, who am I kidding.... he did most the cooking. I watched. 

black jeans from Target. white button down is Liz Clairborne. green top from Gap. boots by Steve Madden. necklace, yet again, borrowed from my mom. 

Aziz. Kanye. Cudi.

At Fashion Week. 

My gift to Chelsea on Valentine's Day. 

Valentine's Wishes. Part Deux.

I realized that my Valentine's Wishes post had barely any pink/red. Isn't that strange? Well here's a second edition featuring the color of the day.

A room full of pink balloons in a NYC apartment. Or, this poster from 20x200 would be nice.

More pink flowers than I know what to do with. (image from Kate)

A pair of sweet cupcakes. (these are by Paula Deen)

And last, but certainly not least, someone special to share the day with. (image from We Heart It)

Over the Weekend. Day 13, 14 + 15

Day Thirteen: out for drinks

jeans from Target. gray and lace top from Express. black boots by Chinese Laundry. silver necklace from my mom. 

Day Fourteen: most beautiful February Sunday ever

 Seriously, this past Sunday it was like 60 degrees out. That meant going out with no coat, sunglasses on and driving with the windows down. It made running errands so much better.

gray boots by Steve Madden. jeans, shirt and cardigan from Target. 

Day Fifteen: Happy Valentine's Day!

 I tried not to go overboard with the pink today, so I thought layering this top underneath would work.... I'm not sure it does. Ah well. Also love how the only clear shot I was able to get had Maverick blocking my leg. Good thing he's my Valentine and I love him.

gray boots by Steve Madden. jeans and pink top from Target. black sweater from Gap. silver heart necklace from my mom. 

Oh, and this is me trying to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day! Have a good one!

Pretty Sunday

 Merb's on Grand. I am so happy this is right around the corner from my house. 

 Local Harvest. My favorite lunch spot. And they have a new chalkboard wall. 

 Root beer. Hmmm. 

Holly Hills at Morganford