Womenswear

Random question [that I'll try to ask without sounding too feminist...]: Why do we have to dress like men in order to be seen as serious? Why are women's suits just replicas of men's? Why can't something ruffley or pink be a sign of a strong, confident woman?

Anyway...

Despite the turrible photo today (I seriously tried in every one of my 'spots' and they were all too bright, blurry or bad), I felt like a fashion blogger. Was it the bun? The freshly painted pink nails? The blazer? The strabucks iced coffee? Probably all of the above and then some.

jeans, sandals from Target. blazer by Worthington from JC Penny. top by Whitney Eve via Swirl. assorted bracelets and ring.

Festival Wear, Vol. 2

Forgive the blurry indoor picture.... the 'big sun' had already come out by the time I was photo ready. Plus, I was nervous about another almost run-in with the neighbors. Also ignore the still packed suitcase, the fishing pole and mail on the floor. Those were not design choices, trust me.

This outfit is for Kayla's Copycat challenge, and this is my inspiration:

I just love how carefree she looks. Of course, a knit top (no matter how slouchy) and long hair is not an option for hot days spent in the sun at a music festival - so a floaty tank and top knot were substituted. 

Tucker for Target tank. old Gap jeans. sandals from Forever 21. (I'm also wearing a pink braided belt from Target, but you can't see it.)

Festival Wear, Vol. 1

Rompers are nice because they are comfortable, light weight and you don't have to worry about flashing anyone when getting up and down from a blanket all day.

But they are a pain in the ass to get on and off in a port-a-potty. [TMI.]

romper from Gap, white tube top underneath from Forever 21. sandals from Target. wrap bracelet by Bindy. 

Morning Musings (3rd Edition)

I wish I had Questlove's DJ set from Loufest to listen to this morning while I got ready for work.

Why did Energizer discontinue those phone chargers if they are so awesome? And why didn't I think to bring mine to work with me? (PS: If you weren't at LouFest, you probably won't understand. Sorry).

I'm heading to Baltimore in a couple of weeks for work and was trying to think of pop culture references of the city. The only ones I can think of are The Wire and Hairspray. I'm expecting a lot of violence, racism and dancing.

I used to use Starbuck's French Vanilla blend for my iced coffee, but today I ran out and had to start using my Vienna blend. Whoa. Big difference.

Is August really ending already? Summer - come back!

Why can't people just talk normal and call things what they are. [Vague, I know. I'm not going to get into it.]

I think the stray cats in my neighborhood and banding together to make a fierce alley cat gang. I never see just one anymore, they are always travelling in packs. In freaks me out.

Speaking of animals banding together, I've been thinking a lot lately of all the animals movies where the animals get smarter and kill humans (think Rise of the Apes (which I just saw and freaked me out), Jurassic Park, Deep Blue Sea). And then someone told me about this movie Idiocracy where all the dumb humans have more babies than the smart ones and eventually were a society of just dumb people.... so basically the opposite of the animal movies. That freaks me out.

LouFest 2011 (Day Two)

 I'm at LouFest all.day.long. Again. 

LouFest 2011 (Day One)

Don't bother me. I'm at LouFest all.day.long.

The Most Famous Dress in Blogging

What better option to choose for 'Wear a Dress or a Skirt' day than this Tucker for Target dress that a gazillion other bloggers have? One time I was wearing it and someone (who didn't know I was a weirdo who posted pictures of my outfits on the internetz) told me I looked like a fashion blogger. Little did they know...

Also, please excuse the trash on the ground, the fact that I haven't styled my hair in days and the horrible framing of this picture. Ack, what a morning! TGIF.

dress, sandals and belt from Target. gifted locket. 

This Weather

Perfection.

In the Cards

This might just be the perfect week - Jammin at the Zoo with coworkers last night, social media night at the Cards game tonight (hence the shirt), and Loufest in Forest Park this weekend. Now, if only I didn't have so much to do at work.... Sigh.

Speaking of work, here's a little office secret: Pair a T-shirt with a blazer and you instantly look polished, apparently. One time I was wearing a Mizzou football T-shirt, a black blazer, skinny jeans and flats and my boss asked me if I was interviewing somewhere else... Really? I'm wearing a Mizzou T-shirt.

shirt from MLB.com. jeans, blazer and sandals from Target. assorted bracelets. 


PS: In case your confused, I switched my Thursday and Friday prompt for Kayla's 21 Day Challenge so that I could wear this Cards shirt to work today. This is my 'Jazz up jeans & a tee' look, and I'll be wearing a skirt or dress tomorrow!

Giant Stuffed Chicken! In 5 Easy Steps...

I don't cook often, so when I do (and the food actually turns out well!), I feel the need to share. Last night's meal had it's fair share of mishaps - giant chicken breasts! crescent rolls are not pastry sheets! why did I buy so many green beans?! - but turned out to be a rather delicious meal, if I do say so myself.

Basically, you're looking at stuffed chicken breast wrapped in a biscuit. For sides, I did fresh green beans with garlic and chunky apple sauce (from the jar, of course).

Here's all you need for the entree:

• chicken breast
• an egg
• some sort of pastry/biscuit wrapping*
• some sort of stuffing**

Step 1: Make a deep cut down the center of your chicken and stuff it with your filling. 

Step 2: Roll out your pastry sheets to use as wrappers. Since I was using crescent rolls, I just kept them stuck together instead of separating them. If you are using smaller individual squares, you'll want to smush the edges of multiple sheets together so they make one bigger sheet. (And yes, 'smush' is a technical cooking term.). Place chicken on the pastries. Add salt and pepper (or any other seasoning you like). 

Step 3: Beat an egg. Brush the edges of the pastry with it. It will work like glue. 

Step 4: Wrap the pastry around the chicken. Brush the top with more egg. It's okay if the chicken is sticking out on the ends. In fact, that will help you tell if the chicken is done or not. 

Step 5: Bake in the oven (preheated to 350 degrees) for 20-30 minutes... or until it looks like it is done. I usually just guess and hope for the best. Not the most scientific method. 

And voila!

*The recipe that inspired this dish called for puff pastry sheets but I used crescent rolls instead. 

**the stuffing I used was from a dip my cousin made (so no, I can't take any of the credit for how good it tasted). I think it had spinach, water chestnuts, tomatoes, cream cheese.... I don't really know. You could use almost anything - hummus, cheese, traditional stuffing, etc. The recipe used a cream cheese/herb/bacon mixture. 

Weathered Wear

St. Louis summers rarely leave opportunity for long sleeves with shorts (a look I love so much!), but the last couple weeks have been the exception. It's been a little chilly in the mornings and doesn't hit the 90s til the afternoon! Taking advantage of this chance to layer while I can...

Dinner & the Muny

romper, cardigan, sandals and purse from Target. assorted bracelets. 

Saturday morning errands

Hanes white V-neck. Gap jeans cut into shorts. sandals from Forever 21. jacket from Ann Taylor. Cards hat from Lids. 

Sunday night movie

pink V-neck from Gap. shorts from Target. striped cardigan from Old Navy. shoes by Sperry. assorted bracelets. 

(Almost A) Whiteout

I've been dreaming of wearing all white ever since I pinned this photo, but alas, the occasion never called for it (but really, what occasion does?). I do own a pair of white skinny jeans that I love... but by the time it is seasonally appropriate to wear them, it is too hot in St. Louis. And I'm not really a fan of white jeans at the office.

These are the dilemmas I'm faced with on a daily basis. Tough life. 

off white top, white cardigan, jeans and sandals from Target. necklace borrowed from Mom. polish is Sally Hansen's Snappy Sorbet. 

Who Needs Instagram?

Disposable cameras take cooler pictures than fancy cell phone apps ever could. If only they'd all turn out like this...

Hardware

I have mixed feelings about this necklace. I love the idea of it... but it's heavy, sometimes rubs off or snags my shirts and gets a little too much attention for my taste. I see lots of other bloggers (far more fashion-forward than me) wearing these blinged-out statement necklaces.... but are they okay for real life? Or does this look ridiculous?

black skinny jeans, striped top (remix #2) and sandals from Target. necklace borrowed from Mom. assorted bracelets. 

Swim Fan

Confession: This is not a shirt. It is a swimsuit.

The one piece-as-a-top idea came from this girl (whom I am obsessed with) and worked out perfect for an afternoon BBQ and swim party at my parents' pool. I did get some weird looks at the grocery store.... They either realized I was wearing my swimsuit or thought I was wearing a really skanky top. Or maybe they were judging me for all the beer I was buying.

Oh, and for the record - this post title has no connection to the creepy movie of the same name. I'm just a fan of swimwear....


yellow belt and black swimsuit from Target (similar). skirt by Tommy Hilfiger. sandals from Forever 21. bracelet from Vale Jewelry (by way of Swirl). gifted locket. 

St. Louis Sky

I woke up to a crazy storm this morning, but by the time I left for work it was bright, sunny, and the sky was filled with these crazy beautiful clouds. My mom is a big sunset person, but I'm beginning to think I'm more of a 'pretty cloud person.' I love it.

I've Worn This Before

... But to my credit, I told you then that it was one of my new favorite outfits.

And so concludes week one of Kayla's 21 Day Challenge (for me at least. There is another prompt for Saturday but I don't think I'll do it.... I'll be at the pool all day!). I have to say... I've done 30x30 Challenges and EBEW, but I like this a lot better. And everyone is so nice! Thank you to everyone who has stopped over here and on Flickr and left me nice comments! You really know how to make a girl's day.

top from Gap. jeans, sandals from Target. gifted locket. belt found in my closet.

Swirl Love

Whoa now. Look at me! I'm famous!

Got this tweet from Swirl today and felt like I had really hit it big in the style blogging world! I love Swirl. Have you heard of them? They do these sample sales on big name designers and new sales open up every day. It's awesome. I've bought a ton of stuff from them including this white top and this wrap bracelet. My closet thanks me.... my wallet doesn't. But whatever. 

If you like shopping, you really need to check them out and sign up! 

PS I heard about Swirl from Katie who used it to buy a pair of Frye boots! 

Positivity

I could be obsessing over my unfinished to do list, the wrong sunglasses that came in the mail last night, the crazy busy new few weeks months I have coming up, the fact that I haven't bought tickets for LouFest or Roots N' Blues,  or the single fly that is terrorizing me and my dog at my house...

But I refuse.

Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts. 


black skinny jeans, pink top, blue cardigan and sandals from Target. necklace from Mom. nail polish is Sally Hansen's Mint Sorbet. 

A Sad Story

Let's make this clear: I love aviators. Specifically, my Forever 21 aviators. For the last few years, I've stocked up each summer - usually buying three or four pairs. So imagine my delight when I saw them on sale for $3 each online! I immediately added two pairs to my shopping cart. And this is what happened a few days later...

'Yey! My sunglasses are here! I'm so excited about it, I'll document it for my blog! '

[the anticipation builds]

FAIL.

Turns out, the ones I ordered were not the ones I usually buy in the store. I buy the pretty bronze/gold pair (in the front of the picture). These are more of an olive/brown lens inside a gold frame. Alas, they were on sale and I can't return them. Looks like I'm stuck. 

List Lust

Wishing my to do list this week looked more like last week's.... 

Despite three different copies of my 'to do' list, flags and stars on emails, drawings on whiteboards and ten different highlighter colors to keep me organized, I still can't get it all done. 

Sigh. 

Close Encounters

I had a close call today... my neighbor almost saw me taking outfit photos on our back porch.

First, she was outside smoking when I let Maverick out. I tried to take some photos in my kitchen and front room, but grey and white walls don't work well with a grey and white cardigan... So I peeked out my back window and saw she had gone inside. I went out there, snapped a couple pics and was just about to take a close-up of the prints when I heard their back doorknob jiggling. I jumped inside before they could see me. Phew.

I guess it doesn't really make sense - I post pictures of my outfits on the internet for the world to see. So why do I care if my neighbors know?

skirt, cardigan and flats from Target. necklace via Mom.

Cindy

She branded herself as American, constantly. As much as Michael Jordan did. She established an iconography of white tees and blue jeans and soda, an American flag rippling somewhere in the background. She might as well have been Wonder Woman.

 - Molly Lambert for Grantland (via Christine via Cary)

All Cleaned Up

Apologies if you visited yesterday and all you saw was a bunch of blank posts. I was messing with my settings on Flickr and it made all of my photos private.... and then wouldn't change back! It took me an hour to go through and reupload pictures on every outfit post. Groan. I think we're all cleaned up now, but if you notice something funky, let me know in the comments or on Twitter @daniellesmyname!



Today is 'tuck it in' day for Kayla's 21 Day Challenge and it was a no brainer for me. This has been my go-to skirt this summer and I pretty much always pair it with a simple tee, belt and sandals.

white boatneck tee from Old Navy. skirt from Tommy Hilfiger. sandals, belt and watch from Target. bracelets from Mexico and American Eagle. 

Just Peachy

Monday morning quick hits:

• I'm having trouble getting back into the swing of things after a nice, relaxing weekend at Tablerock Lake. Just two days on the lake is never enough. 
• I told you last week that I was in a funk, wanting to wear t-shirts and jeans every day. So, I'm participating in Kayla's 21 Day Challenge. It's not another remix (although, the first 'assignment' is find something to remix), but she gives is prompts each week for outfit inspiration. Getting dressed just got easier. 
• I did not wear this shirt two days in a row, as my stream of blog posts might suggest. I wore it last Sunday (as in, eight days ago), and then again today. That's acceptable, right? Or does the back-to-back blogging make it wrong?

top, jeans, blazer, sandals from Target. necklace from VanHeusen. 

My Weekend: Tablerock Edition

Can't say it enough -  I love Tablerock Lake. I didn't get down there nearly enough this summer.