Little boxes

Whew! I am exhausted! I spent all of Friday night and allllllll day Saturday helping Nate and his two roommates move. In the rain. I have lived in my condo for 7? 8? years, so I forgot how much it sucks to move. And clean the old place. Regardless, it is done! Here's Nate and I having a celebratory beer on the roof of the new house, when we finally finished Saturday night:

Sunday we went to a Twins game, which was amazing! Being able to sit down for a few hours, unable to unpack and worry about house stuff was awesome. And they won, so it was extra amazing! 

Today:

Necklace - thrifted

Sweater - J.Crew

Pants - thrifted Isaac Mizrahi for Target

Shoes - Chinese Laundry

Aloha and aloha

On Thursdays, I have an hour between getting home from work and when I need to go pick up my special needs buddy. Yesterday I high-tailed it over to Guild for their "Greed Gone Wild" sale (it's going on today and tomorrow too if anyone local is interested). Basically some local stylists clean out their closets and decor items and sell whatever they want to get rid of twice a year. Which was where I found this amazing dress! It's an Alfred Shaheen (the KING of 1950s Hawaiian print clothing), in brand-new condition, fits perfectly, and was only $28!

Dress - vintage Alfred Shaheen

Wedges - Nicole

Oops, I should have taken a photo of the back, but it's printed exactly the same as the front, so use your imagination! 

I know, I know, I was just talking about how it's hard to remix bold dresses in different ways, but I don't care. It was love at first sight and I think I can still throw some different cardigans/blazers/tights on without detracting from the dress or overwhelming the over-sized print! Have a fabu weekend internet, I'm gonna spend it all steam-cleaning carpets and painting walls with Nate and his roommates in their new house! Then we're going to a Twins game on Sunday! Toodles!

Drag queens and sequins

One year ago today, I was very nervous about going on a first date with this character...

Now, I'm pretty sure that date will go down in history as my "last first date." Yep, it's been a year (a leap year at that!) since Nate and I first met. So we went to Lyle's (a crappy local bar) last night, where we met for our first date. We were supposed to watch a Twins game last year but it was rained out and so we just wound up hanging out and talking. Last night, we did get to watch a Twins game but unfortunately they lost. But fortunately, and to our surprise, there was a free game of "Lyngo" going on at the bar! So we got to play bingo too and Nate won a "bucket-o-bar"...

and then so did I! It's just an ice bucket full of stuff like a koozie, pint glass, t-shirt, church key, etc.

Sooo, that was our one day early, but not really because it was a leap year, anniversary celebration. Nate is moving tonight and I've got my special needs buddy so we couldn't really celebrate tonight. Anywho, here is what I'm wearing today:

Sequin top - Gryphon

Oxford - Target

Jeans - Old Navy

Sandals - Nine West

I wanted to find a way to wear my New Year's Eve sequin top to work today but even the highest of my high-waisted skirts wasn't cutting it. So I threw on an oxford, some holey jeans, and patent leather sandals and called it good. I like it!

Everything is my fave

Another day, another favorite dress! Ok, ok, they can't all be my favorites, but I love dresses because they are sooooo easy. I think I wear a good mix of dresses, skirts, pants, and shorts (well, in the summer I wear shorts. I'm not really allowed to wear shorts to work during the school year unless they're more along the lines of capris or clamdiggers than actual shorts.) But dresses are the easiest (though I guess the hardest to wear in a different way each time.)

Cardigan - Target

Dress - vintage via church garage sale

Shoes - thrifted vintage Candie's

I've had this dress for like a year and a half and only worn it twice before... I guess because it's so insanely bold that wearing it very often would be pretty noticeable! And maybe one day I'll get up the courage to wear it without a cardigan or vest, it's just a "whole lotta look" without something to break up the insanity!

Photo booth (32) and always ankle socks

I had to work a wedding for the photo booth on Saturday until 12:30am!

Blazer - thrifted little boys, brass safety pins added by me

Dress - thrifted handmade

Sandals - Steven by Steve Madden

Today... I threw on my favorite, easy dress that's perfect for days that are warm, but not hot.

Glasses - Prada

Dress - thrifted vintage (no tags)

Socks - Target

Shoes - Plenty by Tracy Reese

While looking for past times I've worn this dress, I realized I've ALWAYS worn it with little ankle socks... Hmm, I guess because I usually wear it when it's warm not hot, but it's about time to try it with some sandals! 

Purple waves

I found this Missoni scarf on uber-clearance at DSW at the end of last winter. I was super excited and it was only $24, which is even cheaper than the Missoni for Target scarves but a much better quality and I don't have to worry about everyone and their mom having the same one! Whoop!

Scarf - Missoni

Oxford - Polo Ralph Lauren (inherited from aunt)

Jeans - Gap

Sandals - Frye

Last night was the return of Parks and Rec (our favorite show!) So Nate and I sat down to watch it with a glass of whiskey, in honor of Ron Swanson. Pendleton whiskey (yes, that Pendleton, maker of wool blankets, hipster jackets, and rodeo whiskey, apparently.)

Aaaand in case you forgot, here's Nate dressed as Ron Swanson from Halloween this past year (and me as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, an odd couple indeed.)

OK! That was a random post, and I'm not really sure how to end it so I'm just gonna end it... HERE!

Maximum glitter

I was hoping to be able to start biking to and from work this week, but so far it has rained every single day this week. And I'm a wimp about the rain (well, on my bike anyway. There was definately a running through the rain and hail incident with Nate on Sunday when we failed to watch the weather, went to the dollar theater to see The Artist, and came out of the movie totally unprepared for the huge storm. So we just high-tailed it to the car which was parked super far away and we were positively soaked, but it was fun!) Soooo, maybe tomorrow it won't rain? And in the mean time, I'll wear a maxi skirt that is impossible to bike in. And impossible not to notice. Oh hey, floor-length silver glitter accordion pleated skirt, you sure do stick out in a crowd of businessmen on my way to work!

Jean jacket - thrifted Target, DIY on back by me

Tank - little boys Fruit of the Loom

Skirt - thrifted vintage (no tags)

Sandals - Sketchers

Seriously my favorite jacket.  And I found another one of these round quilting samplers at the thrift store, but this one is in shades of brown... I might add it to the back of a camel colored blazer? I'm not sure yet! Any bright ideas on what else I could do with it?

And not that you can see the shoes at all under the skirt, but they're there!

Up, Up, Up and Away

This skirt is super pretty but I used to be too scared to wear it. It's made of the lightest material on Earth. It's like a more airy version of tissue paper. The slightest breeze, and this skirt takes off and lifts up over my head. Luckily I am resourceful and wearing this similarly colored American Apparel pencil skirt under it, so fly away little skirt! I won't be flashing the homeless on my lunchtime walk today! 

Blazer - thrifted little boys
Tank - Old Navy
Necklace - Disney Couture
Belt - Target?
Skirt - thrifted Banana Republic
Sandals - Nine West

Like Jackson Pollock

I'm pretty sure it makes my mom nuts every time I wear this old painting shirt of hers out in public. I love it though! I just really like the idea of wearing a very casual, painting the house sort of shirt in a different way. 

Necklace - J.Crew
Shirt - my mom's old painting shirt (John Henry brand)
Cuff - thrifted
Skirt - American Apparel
Shoes - Dollhouse

Yes, there is practically a whole chandelier around my neck. I'm into it! Plus, because it's clear, it goes with EVERYTHING.

A honeybee and a lion

Now that it's spring, it's time to start giving up my Saturday nights again, working the photo booth for weddings:

Dress - thrifted vintage (no tags)
Belt - thrifted
Sandals - Charles David

Today it's freezing here (it was snowing a tiny bit this morning) and I'm pretending that I live somewhere warmer... A little boy at my school already told me "You look like you belong in the jungle." I'm hoping he was referring more to the hat than to my wild mane, but who knows?

Hat - thrifted new stock Target
Shirt - thrifted little boys Cherokee
Bangles - thrifted
Pants - Target
Shoes - Colin Stuart

Unlucky

It is dreary and rainy and Friday the 13th. I'm not a superstitious person but today has started off insane, so I'm gonna blame it on the fact that it's Friday the 13th. And the fact that most of my days at work are filled with little things like papercuts and stomach aches, and eventually there are just bound to be days that involve epi-pens and ambulance rides. Luckily they are few and far between, but today was one of them and it's only 10am.

Glasses - thrifted vintage, lenses replaced

Sweater - J.Crew outlet

Necklace - J.Crew outlet

Jeans - Gap

Shoes - vintage Mason Shoe Co.

Can you tell that I went to the J.Crew outlet (with extra 15% educator discount - whoopie!) over spring break? On the way back to Minneapolis from visiting our brother, my sister wanted to stop at an outlet mall in WI  to go to the Carter's store and buy some clothes for Henrik, so I quick ran over to J.Crew. Three sweaters, two necklaces, a blouse and a bangle later, I emerged. So it's a bit of a J.Crew kinda week over here, because I'm always excited to wear new stuff right away!

I need a wind machine

Today is one of those days when it would be nice to be one of those bloggers without a real job (let alone me, who has 3 jobs and an etsy), one who can run off to some cool location and snap a million photos. Because ladies and gents, this skirt is ah-mah-zing when it moves and when it's windy. It's basically always windy downtown where I work, and then I catch a reflection of it in a skyscraper and wish I had brought a camera on my lunch walk... BUT! I can either blog from the stairs or not blog at all because mama doesn't have time for photo field trips (has referring to yourself as "mama" when you aren't a mom died enough for me to resurrect it? It was totally my jam in high school.) Regardless, here's the beautifully moving skirt, standing very, very still. Boo.

Blazer - thrifted JH Collectables

T-shirt - beck.com

Skirt - thrifted vintage (no tags)

Booties - Modern Vintage

Still. Standing. Still. :(

Time to buy a wind machine and make this blog look like an '80s hair band's ballad video.