Let's Talk Shop

I had always heard about Penney's. It was the elusive store that my grandmother would rave about and older women at work would tell me about their great deals. Obviously it couldn't be anything like Anthropologie or J.Crew and therefore not worth my crush.

WRONG!

It wasn't until a former coworker introduced to the magic that is JCP that I fully grasped what I have been missing all this time. Jumping jehosaphat! <-- I don't really talk like that, but I figured I'd give it a try. I started out like any junkie would. Just a small sampling of the women's department until I chose to up my dose just a little. "I'll just check out junior's and lingerie." I uttered as I nonchalantly made my way to this new territory. I needed more!

A Petite's area? How curious...
Dresses? I should say it wouldn't hurt to try on one or two, you know, just to see.
What is that sound? ::Looks around:: Are those earrings pleading with me to take them home?!

Now I'm like a full-blown addict making my way around the store.

I swear that when I walk in birds suddenly appear, I can see the light, I hear the whisper of sirens singing to lure me closer. to. my. death. My death, of course, being the clearance racks & shoe department. It's the only store where I can wait until things go on sale and they do... in my size!

My best steals?

$2 each for sequin leggings & snakeprint leggings and $10 for a pair of leather boots.

 

Have you ever been? If you haven't, let's make a date. Come with me, I'll teach you the ropes.

Psst! In other news, my half birthday is in one month. Just saying.

beach wedding

          I'm going to a beach wedding in a few weeks & even though I have a closet full of beautiful dresses, I'm not sure what to wear. It has to be something relaxed & casual enough for a beachside gathering, classy enough for a wedding {as if that was really a concern}, preferably not the wedding colors, and fabulous enough for me to acknowledge it as a real option. I need to be able to dance and shake it like a polaroid picture and also stand out without STANDING OUT. You know what I'm saying? I'm very picky about what I wear to weddings.

          Anyway, I think I might choose a colorful little number that looks all sorts of regal in the front, but then screams, "Let's party!" in the back. Mainly because it has no back, which I'm obsessed with.

something a little bit like this, except colorful.

If it were acceptable to wear white to a wedding, you know I'd be rocking these ruffles:

But seriously, ruffles are the best.

I could bound around in this tangerine number. Orange & ruffles! Super dee duper.

What would you be wearing?


Tomorrow I have something new planned for the blog. I'm pretty excited about linking up with other bloggers, but this round will be on my own. See you then. ;)
       

the verdict is still out

My dryer is still broken & I felt TERRIBLE when I woke up this morning and this leads to me wearing a glorious dress {I hate ironing, yo}. I've had this gem in the back of my closet waiting to wear it. The problem? I thrifted it & the tags are missing- I have no idea if it's a maternity dress or a muumuu, but I was obsessed with it so I had to make it my own. I figured I would sew it so that it fits a narrow waist, but let's be real okay? So I put it on this morning and wrangled up a black ribbon to wrap around the waist. I'm pleased with it.

Where I spend the majority of my time & energy

The dress I tried on was a great color, but looked weird. What to wear to a beach wedding?!

In other news, part of our science for the end of the year is weather & clouds, so we went out to observe & identify clouds. The observations & wonderings were so amazing. This is my favorite, "Isn't it cool how the sky looks so small like it's swallowing us and we're the only ones but there countries and people thinking the same thing on the other side of the world?" I love my job.

tiny divas

It goes without saying {but I feel compelled to say it} that I am a girly girl. The other day I saw a silverfish & almost threw my cat at the thing just to have it slaughtered. I like glitter, wands, jewelry, chick lit {it's a real thing, bro}, manicures, and babies. So it's no surprise that the young girls in my life will pick up on this. Adri, my 7-year-old niece, is pretty girly but also 7 going on 72. She likes what she likes and now that she has a core group of homies to one-up she is less inclined to allow me to frost her with baubles. Zoey is still too little, but she does enjoy putting a glistening bracelet in her mouth or grabbing at a necklace in an attempt to asphyxiate me. But Kyleigh? Kyleigh is 4 and couldn't be happier to go through EVERY SINGLE piece of jewelry I own and ask me to wear it under the guise that we're "sharing." Today she wore the Crystal Brulee necklace & bracelet from J.Crew, a glittery headband, a pair of my heels, and a sequin clutch that she filled with 50% of my bracelets & brooches. She kept asking me to put things in the clutch raving that it would be, "just lovely" and wandering around saying, "shoe-la-la" with a pigeon-toed pose.

Tiny & accessorized? So stinking cute.

via

it's nearly that time

My half birthday is in a week.

What does this mean? It's simple, friends!

It means that I pine away for things that I won't buy myself and imagine that I will wake up to a room full of balloons that will never ever deflate or pop. The day will be approximately 85 degrees and I can walk around in a pouffy skirt that resembles a tutu. I can do this without fear that I will blind anyone because my legs will have a delightful bronze tone and I will have gotten it without having to expose myself to any dangerous rays. Glitter will make the ground shimmer and shine. Magazines that I love, yet never subscribed to, will magically appear in my mailbox.

Oh what a lovely day!

What will really happen on my half birthday is I will go to work, hear some hilarious kids saying amusing things, sit for an hour watching them take the Science NECAP {yikes} test and I will peruse ebay, etsy, and J.Crew's website to ooh and aah over cute things. What kind of cute things? Let me regale you with my wants & yearnings right now.

Peter Pan collar

Michael Kors Buckle Bangle

Tory Burch ballet flats

Ann Taylor's Ombre Pleated Skirt

Anthropologie Viscid watch

birdcage umbrella

Mini Storage Rack

the skirt collector

As a kid, my grandmother made me dresses that I loved. Then I grew up a little and started to be your typical bratty prepubescent who didn't want a bunch of homemade clothes from outdated patterns. If I had only known then what I know now, I would have been picking out patterns left & right. Anyway, suffice it to say that I wore a lot of skirts & dresses against my will. Combine that with these thin ankle socks that always fell down to my heel and it was a child's nightmare. Then I discovered jeans & slacks and in high school, I rarely wore a skirt. So rarely, in fact, that my boyfriend senior year even commented on the fact that my wardrobe consisted mostly of jeans. Luckily I decided to get rid of that garb {and that boyfriend} and my love for skirts was refreshed. It has been an adventure in skirtsville ever since.

Yesterday when I was sifting through the grainy underbelly of my closet, I decided that I shouldn't stop there. What compelled me to go through my skirts, I will never know. I took each of them out and looked at it with a renewed sense of admiration. Then I realized the mountain that was forming on my bed and wondered, "How many skirts do I have?!?!" So I started counting. 84 skirts later it dawned on me- 84 is a ridiculous number and if I purchase 16 more skirts, I'll have 100. My friends, I think this is how hoarders get their start.

Without any more chattering on my part, here is my collection:

Black & Gray

Denim

White, Khaki, Yellow, & Shades of Brown

Red, Pink, Orange, Purple

Blue & Green

Over time I hope that you're going to see each of these, but I'm torn. Do I pare down my skirt collection or do I get 16 more for an even 100?!

Now I want you to spill: what do you collect?

P.S. You should take at trip over to Sorren's blog to enter her giveaway!

the day I stayed in pajamas

It's not that I didn't get dressed today, but I spent a large portion of it trying on clothes from my closet. Every now and again I get crazy and bite off more than I can chew, which is why I decided that my closet is in desperate need of some repair.

My bed is covered in clothes

I need to rotate my shirts so I have some winter garb.

For someone who rarely wears tees, I sure do own a lot of them.

But then I got distracted by shimmery nailpolishes.

What did you do today?

color me silly

Look at me rewarding you with 2 posts in one day! I almost forgot about the Everybody Everywhere challenge today. Colored pants! What a silly, silly girl I can be.

This UCLA ball was in the backyard & definitely wanted to be in on this photoshoot.

Top: Forever 21/Pants: Delia's/Shoes: Target /Belt: Goodwill/Accessories: eBay, Forever 21, Log Cabin Consignment, Lia Sophia/ Lipstick: Revlon Orange Flip

I love mustard yellow. If I could pair it with every color, I would. Seriously. Usually I pair these pants with a gauzy, billowy top but since the weather is getting cooler, I decided to go with richer colors for this outfit. Oh and that belt just makes me smile. HUGE smiles.

here comes the sun- do do do do do do

Remember when I said that fall doesn't scare me? That was some legit bravado on my part.  I said it under the beautiful wall of 80 degree weather. The truth is, as soon as the temperature hit below 70 {this week}, I can be found wearing wool socks up as high as I can get them and a sweatshirt with the hood covering my ears. This doesn't include the blanket wrapped around my lap and the one draped over my shoulders. This year might be different though- I'm armed with some iron supplements and after 20+ years of living in New England, I think I may have started to develop a thicker skin.

Either way, I have all of these great tights to keep me slightly warmer AND help keep my wardrobe alive. I can't take wearing long pants & sweaters all winter.

In case you're interested, here are some of the looks & items I'm loving for the fall and plan to make a ridiculously MAJOR part of my wardrobe.

Blazers & Cardigans, brown boots, mixed patterns, scarves scarves scarves scarves scarves, long socks/leg warmers that peek out, pops of color, and pencil skirts- Oh my!

and, of course, glorious red hair!

What are your favorites for fall?