My superhero boots

I didn't dress up for Halloween at work (sorry, though I do work at a school, I don't own themed cardigans for every holiday like all the teachers I had growing up.) But I did wear these boots, which make me feel like a superhero whenever I wear them... but unfortunately they are so old and the suede is dried out so every time I wear them, they crack a bit more and little bits come off... it's like watching them slowly disintegrate and suffer, how sad!

Oxford - thrifted little boys Cherokee
Vest - thrifted (relativity)
Skirt - vintage via www.stephaniegeisler.etsy.com
Boots - thrifted vintage (no brand)

Since I live in a condo, I never get any trick-or-treaters but Nate and his roommates live in a neighborhood with a lot of kids! So I'm heading over there right after school to watch Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and The Nightmare Before Christmas while we answer the door and give out candy! Yay! And here's one more photo from Saturday's Halloween party... I am dating Ron Swanson. 

Sally costume! (The Nightmare Before Christmas!)

Yep, here it is... the Halloween costume...

I'm taking back The Nightmare before Christmas from all the emo kids and Hot Topic, who tried to ruin it. I LOVE this movie, have since it came out. I made the whole thing out of fabric I already owned, so this whole costume cost me $6? Had to buy several blue eyeshadows and that's it! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A girly badass

 
T-shirt - Target
Vest - thrifted Target sample  (from Fake Target)
Skirt - thrifted (no tags)
Shoes - Unlisted by Kenneth Cole (inherited from sister)

I love this skirt but it's hard to make it not so... precious? So I paired it with my most bad-ass vest and I love the combination of tough and sweet... kinda like this graffiti street art I've been passing every day this week and forgetting to take a photo of until today...

Aww, cute (and huge! It's like 15 feet tall!) I can just picture the guy (or girl!), spray painting all night then taking Erin (whoever she is) there with a can of spray paint and her writing her answer in the little box! Yay for bad-ass love!

Please, Tommy, don't hurt me

Cardigan - Old Navy

Dress - thrifted vintage (no brand)

Tights - Target

Shoes - Michael Kors

I gotta admit, I stole the color scheme of this outfit.  Stole it from a Who What Wear article about "Pajama Dressing"...

See the Tommy Hilfiger dress I will never be able to afford? Yep, lifted it's color scheme and copied it today. I'm not sorry. Though, I'm not very pajama-ed out today... another day perhaps. I do own a pretty bad-ass white piped black silk pajama top that I've worn with jeans before... I guess it's time to dig it out of the ol' closet! Time to get trendy!

Cowpoke

Cardigan - Only Hearts 

Dress - thrifted Positive Attitude (shortened a lot by me) 

Boots - vintage Justin via eBay 

Cowboy boots are something I love... in theory. In practice, I kinda find them hard to wear. I don't want to look overly country-western nor do I want them to be just a random afterthought to an outfit. They are kinda a strange height (not to the knee, but not exactly mid-calf either) and a strange shape (that V shape in the front and back just throws me off!) Anyone else have trouble figuring out how to wear cowboy boots? I even have a third pair that I thrifted and I've never worn because I can't figure out how to wear them because they are crazy:

I'm thinking I need to just wear a black dress and rock the insanity boots... any other ideas? I've seriously had them for like 3 years and I need to wear them or sell them. Soon. Closet real estate is too precious to waste on unworn boots.

Some past wearings of cowboy boots... Click on the photos to go to my flickr if you want the outfit info...

Tiny dancer

This is one of those outfits where I just want to walk backwards all day, because it's so much cooler than the front!

Jean jacket - Target/ DIY by me
T-shirt - Target
Skirt - American Apparel
Tights - TJ Maxx?
Shoes - thrifted Joan Helpern

And while I have a photo up where you can see the back of my hair for once, can we talk about this little situation?

Not cool, hair, not cool. If you are going to have a random awesome blotch of blonde hair, why not do it in the front? Or on the side? But no, you have a cool blonde skunk spot underneath my hair, where no one ever gets to see it except for when I take back shots of stuff for sale in my etsy. It has been infuriating to me my whole life. As Stephanie Tanner would say, "How rude!"

The photo booth (25) and Missoni zig-zags

 Friday night I had to work a wedding for the photo booth:

Glasses - Prada
Dress - vintage via The Junk Bonanza
Belt - inherited from a friend
Booties - Saks Fifth Ave

Today (if I look super tired and zonked, it's because I am. Nate and I went to see Frank Turner at the Triple Rock last night and didn't get home until midnight. Totally worth it though, especially when he covered The Hold Steady.)

I was not planning to buy any of the Missoni for Target stuff, then I stopped in on Wednesday to buy a men's t-shirt for a custom order and saw this sweater, sitting on clearance and couldn't resist.

Cardigan - Missoni for Target (clearance)
T-shirt - thrifted vintage Surrey
Skirt - thrifted Banana Republic
Tights - TJ Maxx?
Shoes - thrifted newstock Target

Hurry up, today!

Glasses - Prada
Scarf - street vendor in NYC, years ago
Shirt - thrifted little boys Cherokee
Skirt - thrifted
Tights - Cynthia Rowley
Shoes - Miss Me via Modcloth gift certificate

I can't wait to get done with work today to get to the hospital and visit my first nephew, Henrik! I only got to see him for a few minutes yesterday and I'm dying for a longer visit! He was exactly 7lbs and 20 inches long. And perfect! He kinda looks like my sister, he kinda looks like her husband, but mostly he looks like all the Whos down in Whoville. Yay!

I've got tomorrow and Friday off work for MEA weekend (all public school teachers have to go to the Education Minnesota Professional Conference, but I do not since I'm not a teacher!) Woo-hoo for days off with perfect timing!

Tante

Today is the day. The day I become Tante Christine (that's the Norwegian word for aunt, and what I call all my aunts on my dad's side of the family.) It's been a long, and at times heartbreaking journey, but in 40 minutes, my nephew will be born! He is apparently already showing his personality by being a stubborn little monkey and refusing to stop being breach and turn so it's c-section time. I'm off to go hang at the hospital all day with the fam, so comfort is the name of the game:

Cardigan - thrifted vintage (no tags, other than the name of the man who owned the sweater, ironed on from a retirement home)

Polka dot blouse - thrifted Kenneth Cole

Jeans - thrifted Armani Exchange

Shoes - thrifted Minnetonka Moccasin

Hooray! I'm SOOOOO excited to meet him and find out his name! My sister and her husband have kept it a secret from everyone! What brats! Just kidding, love you Kim and Luke!

Photo booth (24) and preppy painter

Saturday I worked the photo booth for a wedding (surprise, surprise) but it was neat because it was in the Semple Mansion, which I've always wanted to go in! It is insanely gorgeous and ornate and had amazing chandeliers. 

Dress - thrifted (handmade)
Brooch - thrifted
Shoes - BCBG 

Sunday I had my first day off since September 25th, so I spent the day with Nate, watching football and The Walking Dead, drinking malts and eating ramen. Perfect.

I've had this shirt for years, it was my mom's painting shirt and I love wearing it. It's so comfy and soft and I like the paint splatters. As long as I wear it with real pants and not sweatpants, I think I can pull it off as a sort of artsy top:

 Shirt - my mom's old painting shirt (John Henry brand)
Pants - Target
Shoes - Madeline

Green and jeans (not green jeans)

Necklaces - Target
Sweater - thrifted vintage (no brand, just a big tag bragging about how it's made of 100% acrylic fiber - oooooh!)
Belt - thrifted
Jeans - GAP
Wedges - Dezario

Well, it's official. Bare leg season is over. I went for a walk yesterday on my lunch break and froze my poor little calves off, so they will be relegated to tights and pants for the next six months. :( Which isn't THAT big of a deal, except I hate socks (and tights which are like the biggest socks on Earth)... so I will delay wearing socks as long as possible (until it snows?) I am SO excited it is the weekend. This week SUCKED. Every possible thing that could have gone wrong at work, did. It's been a long while since I've had a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad week. So I'm excited to start fresh next week. Ugh. Now to just get through the day... wish me luck!

South... south to Motherboy.

This sweater is very southwest, and whenever I see the word south I immediately think of Arrested Development - "Little did George Michael know that he wasn't going north to the promise land. He was going south. South to Motherboy." And now I've written the word south so many times it no longer even looks like a word. I hate when that happens.

Sweater - thrifted JG Hook ($2!!)
T-shirt - Target
Skirt - thrifted Banana Republic
Shoes - thrifted newstock Target

I've been looking for one of these sweaters for a long time. On Monday, some of the thrift stores were having a 50% off sale for Columbus day, so Nate and I went to one (then we went to dinner and I got the best Cuban sandwich in all of Minneapolis. Trust. I've tried them all. It's a quest I've been on over the past year and a half and the one from Mac's Industrial is the clear winner.) It's weird. I loathe mustard. Pickles are gross. I'm not a fan of pork. Swiss cheese is the worst cheese of all. Yet, combine them all together and it makes the best sandwich in the world, IMO. Strange, I know.

The T-Rex

I thrifted this poncho like a month ago and I've been waiting for it to stop being in the 80s so I could finally wear it.

Poncho - thrifted (no tags)
Shorts - Target
Sandals - thrifted Candies

 

I feel the need to point out that my shorts are a light sage green, not khaki... I don't rock the red top and khaki bottoms look because I work about two blocks from Target headquarters, so that color scheme is off limits. 

I always THINK I like ponchos and capes, and then I wear them and I'm annoyed and feel like a Tyrannosaurus Rex all day and wind up selling them on my etsy... we'll see how today goes! So far this one seems pretty good because it's cut pretty high on the sides so it doesn't restrict your arm movements too much! So does anyone else have a love/hate with ponchos and capes? Is it because you feel like a T-Rex? You probably will now after reading this.