wishlist friday: rainbow connection

a couple weeks ago i did a modcloth contest where you constructed a rainbow-colored wishlist and a winner was picked at random for a gift card.  unfortunately, i didn't win (and i had a darn good wishlist), but i can still publicly pine over these rainbow goodies.

as a matter of refract dress 

beach club dress

red-y for tea dress

instant wishes dress

boardwalk with me dress

you say tomato dress

coral-y invited dress

bosc in the glory dress

blossom day soon dress

you look migrate dress

lakeside brunch dress

coach tour dress in azur

from what i gather dress

i thought my roygbiv inspired wishlist was perfect- and this was only a fraction of it!  i love all the colors for spring & summer- no blacks & greys here.  i think i'm loving corals & greens this spring- definitely coral (of course, i always love coral).  and yourself?

(gentle) opinions needed

the jason wu for target collab came out about a month or so ago, and i once again dragged myself out of bed and woke the baby early for crying out loud to check it out.  i had my eye on the pink/yellow striped dress, blue floral dress & the blue poplin dress (google them b\c i'm too lazy to link)- neither of which i could find in the store when i arrived about 15-20 min after it opened.  when the missoni collection was at target last year i went to the tiny target by dave's office and was able to snag the one thing i wanted before anyone in the illinois suburbs found out what a missoni was.  jason wu was a little different, and i live near a different target- so the collection was picked through in just that short amount of time.  they didn't even have either of the dresses i wanted, so i grabbed a few things to try on that i thought might work.  in the end i went home with a black pleated skirt, a blush-colored tie top, a pale blue cardigan and a red striped dress.  

initial thoughts-  skirt- could barely squeeze into a size 8 (?!), but wanted a basic black skirt.  tie top- cute, but not bowled over.  cardigan- size small seemed to swallow me, but loved the color and snaps.  dress- my favorite, but shapeless. 

i wasn't 100% crazy about them, but i felt i wanted something from the collection.  i ended up letting them sit in the tgt bag on my floor for almost a month.  i got everything out about a week ago and tried it on again.  i ended up swapping the blush top for a modcloth dress, i put the dress in the laundry to be washed and was still undecided on the other items (now leaning toward returns). 

so like i said, i washed the dress.  to the instructions- machine wash cold, tumble dry low.  i even did delicate cycle with the wash.  i should've listened to my gut and not dried the dress, but our low dry does really well with things... big mistake. 

my dress is now pretty short, but since i'm short it's too long to be a tunic...  this is where i need you dear reader...  is this a keeper, or should i try to sell/swap it?

dress: jason wu for target

belt: target

sandals: sperry topsider

see- it's short.  i feel like it has to have the belt though or else it has no definition to it.  now without belt:

just kind of hangs like i'm wearing a sack.

b-t dubs.  i have my hair in a milkmaid braid- totes cute

 man, my back part is awful... and my hair is not the greasy hot mess that it looks- i promise.  just dark & shiny.

your thoughts on the dress though... belted, unbelted or see ya later?

happy birthday bb

steppin' out saturday- st. patty's day

one of the things i dreaded most when we were planning to move up here was the weather.  i don't really like anything under 60- and it gets cold here fast and stays cold.  this past week has been a pleasant surprise- highs of 80 all week- shorts, dresses, sandals & tank tops.  ah.  my favorite- and it's march?!  it's been one of the warmest spd weekends in years.  we spent the entire day out & about- we started the morning at our favorite pub for kegs n eggs: beer (mimosas for me), corned beef hash, eggs, potatoes & sausage.  we left breakfast and headed for the parade- we were early, so we had to wait a while, and ian wasn't pleased with that.  he would've preferred running in the streets to sitting in his stroller- but we're good parents, so we made him sit in the stroller.  the parade was small- there were plenty of girl scouts, politicians, cheap candy, horses & bagpipe bands.  i'm not sure if i get all the scottish-ness of st. patrick's day, but everyone in chicago is apparently irish anyway (unless they're polish).  they were having an adult big wheel race afterwards, but we decided to take ian back home for a nap since we had a birthday.  after the nap we headed to a 1st birthday party and then back home for corned beef & guinness cake with bailey's frosting.  yummy.  now... what we wore... green of course!

 on ian:  romper- carter's- bought at consignment sale

 earrings- american eagle

tank top- old navy

shorts- modcloth

sandals- seychelles

nail color- essie- ole caliente

cardigan (shown later)- shop ruche 

i found a new hair tutorial on pinterest (hold your surprise) & tried that out.  since i work out every day of the week- i have to wash my hair daily, sadly, the weekend has become my  hair's "rest period."  i love the way my reverse braided bun turned out!  woo hoo!

did you party it up in green this weekend?

linking up here...

wishlist friday: green with envy

all week i've been thinking about what to wear to celebrate st. patrick's day- there are a lot of irish people in the area- so there are always parades and all kinds of fun.  i think tomorrow we're going to go down to our favorite neighborhood irish pub for a kegs n eggs breakfast, then watch the local parade & an adult big wheel race.  i discovered that i really don't have a lot green in my wardrobe- no idea why- green is a perfectly nice color.  i had a roommate in college who once had nothing but green clothes- she finally branched out (not sure if you read this, but you know who you are).  ;)

here are a few green pieces that i'd love to give a permanent home to!

collared green top - modcloth

blossom day soon dress - modcloth

ain't over until it's clover dress - modcloth

the swan i love dress - modcloth

you look migrate dress - modcloth

how are you going green for st. patty's day?  or would you rather be pinched?!

5 things i'm loving right now (march)

how in the world is it march already?!  cray.  i get my hopes all up because in georgia- march means spring is coming (and from the sound of it- it's already been spring all winter back home).  here in illinois, that's just not the case- today it was 60 degrees- how delightful, right?  by that evening it was 35 and sleeting.  boo.  all i know is that warmer weather is definitely around some corner & spring begins in march + daylight savings time begins!

here's what i'm loving this month...

modcloth!  i love modcloth every month, but there's extra love for them right now.  i'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my stylish surprise.  omg- what am i getting?!?  i guess we'll find out this weekend.  i can't wait to see.  i love that modcloth does surprising little treats + they have top notch customer service.  i'm so excited to be apart of their modsquad again this year!!

this book!  i've just started reading it and i'm really excited to see what's in store.  i'm sure i'm in for a rude awakening.  we're always making small changes to make our diet better.  for lent i've decided to give up coke.  so far i'm 1 week in and i really haven't had any cravings for it yet.  we'll see how the next 5 weeks go!

the hunger games movie!!!  i just finished reading the trilogy earlier this week.  i loved it.  i'm really excited to see the movie.  dave wants to read the series too, so i'm hoping i can at least get him to finish the first book in time to see the movie opening weekend.  anyone else a fan?

hair tutorials (not my own- but from other people).  they are the source of my greatest joy and my greatest frustration.  there are a few that i've mastered quite easily and some that i just can't get no matter how long i try.  seriously, i need someone to teach me the secret to back combing (just can't seem to get it right) and how to pull the top part of my hair up (just can't ever get that right either).  and i hated my long hair so much- but  now it's too short...  

i am obsessed with iced coffee (and coffee in general right now).  i go through stages with coffee- i drink it for weeks and then i quit drinking it for months.   right now i'm drinking hot coffee and iced coffee.  i have to say how much i love mcdonald's iced coffee.  we don't go there very often- rarely, but lately i've been making a stop there for some delish iced coffee.  i usually get a small with cream only & vanilla sugar-free syrup.  only 60 calories in that.  yesssss.  

what are you loving this month?  

linking up.

oh, and for crying out loud, have you entered my totally awesome giveaway?  i guess at least 2 people read my blog!!

steppin' out saturday - he shoots, he scores

blazer- loft, tee- loft, jeans- old navy, shoes- toms.

on ian: top- old navy, jeans- old navy, shoes- nike

we were supposed to have a big family get-together this weekend, but my poor nieces got sick, so we had a little mini get-together.  we took ian to my in-law's house to hang out with his cousins.  the boys had so much fun playing with cars and super heroes.  we got home late, but  ian still wanted to play hockey since he's been away from his net and sticks all day long.  

ian's favorite thing to say when he plays hockey is "he shoots, he scores!"  he runs around shooting little balls into the net shouting his little catchphrase.  it's a pretty cute sight to see!  i wanted to upload a video of him playing and shouting it... but... guess what?  blogger won't let me.  what. a. surprise.

i'm linking up with mandy from the haps for sos.

steppin' out saturday- valentine's date

dave & i decided to have our valentine's date on saturday- grammy and grampy were available to watch the little beans boy, so we made a date of it.  we started out our evening by going to see dave ramsey speak.  it wasn't the cut up your credit cards now fest that i was expecting, but i still really enjoyed it.  we followed that up with dinner in the cute little downtown area by where we live.  we started off with a wonderful appetizer and then i had a delicious heart-shaped pizza topped with artichokes, prosciutto, tomatoes, arugula, mozzerella, lemon- delightful.  dave had a fabulous pasta dish with italian sausage & goat cheese.... nom.  our plan was to go across the street afterward for dessert & drinks- but we stuffed ourselves silly, so we took a trip to target to walk dinner off a bit.  after we had settled down- we headed back for an appetizer, dessert & drinks at what's becoming my favorite restaurant in the area (and i've only had apps and dessert from there).

dress: modcloth, tights: target, shoes: swapped

big valentine's day plans?  i'm pretty excited about tomorrow- it is my favorite holiday! 

wishlist friday: valentine's day date duds

like i need an excuse for getting dressed up, but valentine's day (my favorite holiday) is just around the corner.  i also don't need an excuse to wear red or pink, or red and pink together for that matter...  i already have a cute little outfit planned for valentine's day... but i could always go for something sweet...

1.  linger a little longer dress - modcloth

2.  wheel be there soon dress - modcloth

3.  polite & day dress - modcloth

4.  baked with love dress - modcloth

5.  how amore-able shorts - modcloth

6.  radiant ruby dress - modcloth

7.  cherry tomato salad dress - modcloth

8.  beauty counter browsing romper - modcloth

9.  red-y for fun top - modcloth

10.  the red queen dress - shabby apple

11.  open your heart sweater - modcloth

12.  tea party dress - francesca's collections

13.  hearts and crafts dress- modcloth

14.  strawberry pavlova top - modcloth

15.  dessert date dress - modcloth

happy valentine's day loves.  what are you wearing?

dressember week 4: (december 25-31)

i slacked a little the last couple weeks of dressember because of our traveling, but nevertheless, here's the last week of dressember.  lots of fun- but not good for midwest winters!  sorry it's up so late too...  we have family coming next week for ian's birthday and it's time we finish unpacking....

week 4:

day 16- december 25

sorry, we all slept in one room- messy!

cardigan- forever 21

dress- modcloth

tights- target

shoes- old navy

day 17: december 29

cardigan- forever 21
dress- modcloth
tights- target
flats- old navy

day 18: december 31

yep, i'm  in the bathroom... only place to escape in a house w\ 17 other people....
cardigan- target
dress- hale bob vintage via rue la la
tights- target
flats- loft

well, that was fun.  18 days out of 31 isn't bad when you're chasing a toddler around...  i'd prefer warmer weather for this though- my legs nearly froze!!

so, here's the wrap up...

dressember week 3: (december 18-24)

week 3..

day 12- december 18

dress: forever 21

cardigan: loft

tights & belt- target

flats- old navy

day 13-  december 20

 blazer and flats: loft

dress:  rodarte for target

belt, tights and tee: target

day 14-  december 22

dress: tucker for target

belt and tights: target

oxfords: swapped

day 15- december 24

dress & shoes: old navy

tights: target

one week to go...

dressember: week 1 (dec. 1-10)

as promised, here is week 1 of dressember- the 1st 10 days.  i don't have 10 days of dresses because i don't get dressed every day, you know since i'm a mom that's how i roll...

day 1: december 1

decided to start out easy here..

dress: old navy

leggings: old navy

flats: old navy

day 2: december 3

look how tall i am...  

dress: old navy

tights: target

heels: target

day 3: december 6

top: modcloth

dress: loft

tights: target

shoes: loft

day 4:  december 8

top: victoria's secret

dress: target

tights: target

shoes: swapped

day 5: december 10

cardigan: loft

dress: charlotte russe

belt: bitten sjp

tights: target

boots: target

wish list friday: modcloth duds

1.  look on the bright cider tunic - i have a weakness for bright red, holiday themed sweaters, and this one does it without being ugly sweater party material.  looks warm too, and i need it- it's 26 today!

2.  lieutenant lovely cardigan - love the colors and button detail.  would be cute alone or over anything.

3.  new hire and higher dress - this dress looks slimming and classy.  can't go wrong with that.

4.  what's the peter plan top - adorable top.  i know i'd feel just like madeline!

5.  strawberry waffles dress - adorable dress that could be styled so many ways

6.  freedom of the dress - lovely dress- and it has sleeves!

7.  streetcar tour dress - a classy dress that comes in a variety of colors that's appropriate year-round!  yes!

8.  london collar-ing dress - love this sweet dress.  the color is a winner

9.  loving care dress - another sweet dress.  i think it could be hit or miss on me though!

10.  three square teals dress - knit retro-looking dress.  very cute
11. double your output top - stripes and lace.  i think so
12.  presidio pose dress - cute, but way out of my price range
13.  snow news is good news dress - perfect sweater dress for illinois weather
14.  radiant ruby dress - i'm in love with everything about this gorgeous red dress
15.  evergreen and gorgeous dress - love the color of this pretty maxi dress
16.  brunch date top - i really love this top, can't figure out why it was only available for about a month!

like anything you see?

smashion

i'm the featured seller on smashion this week- please, go buy my stuff so i can get rid of it.  i want it out of my house.  i beg you.  beg.

ps.  we're in atlanta right now.  lots of family stuff going on.  that's the reason for the absence! 

steppin' out last saturday

last week i took photos for my very first sos, but... they didn't make it to my blog.  not to fear- i didn't forget this week.  however, after we went out and ran errands (and got berated in the kohl's parking lot in a case of mistaken car-dentity), i came home, worked out, and slipped back into my pj's for the remainder of the day... no steppin' out.  so let's pretend that i went out last night...

mama:  top & skirt- loft.  sandals: old navy.

baby: top & shorts- osh kosh, belt- ralph lauren chaps, sandals- old navy

i haven't worn this outfit in a while.  it hasn't... fit.  look at me now...  also, ian has little to no interest in steppin' out on saturday, or holding an adult's hand while walking outside of the house... 

almost!

top: loft

skirt: loft

shoes: urban outfitters

polish:  mint candy apple by essie

i don't know why i didn't think of this pairing sooner because it's so obvious.  i love this silk skirt.  i probably mentioned in the last post that i got this skirt on final sale last summer for $4.88 or $9.88 or something absolutely wonderfully ridiculous like that.  while most of loft's final sale rack is full of things i don't care for or clothes sized 00P that i probably could've worn many moons ago- i do get a pretty sweet deal every once in a while.  one more day to go in this 30 for 30 journey.  i'm pretty excited.  so are the rest of the clothes in my closet.  you know who else is excited?

this guy.

oops

necklace: loft

tshirt: loft

shorts: loft

sandals: urban outfitters

remember how this is called a 30 for 30.  well, i discovered this weekend that i was having a 29 for 30.  hence the aforementioned oops.  i immediately added these shoes b\c my feet have cried over the fact that they haven't been on my feet for over a month.  i got these shoes 5 years ago in my only uo purchase ever, and i can't imagine life w\o them.  sadly, they are falling apart.  i had them fixed once, but i think soon they will either need to be totally resoled or tossed.  so welcome to the party white sandals!  better late than never! 

double duty

scarf- shop in curacao

dress- old navy maternity

belt- target

shoes- toms

i wore this outfit on friday & saturday and for some reason thought it would be best to take the picture on friday.  friday after riding my bike and not washing my hair, grocery shopping and making dinner @ 10 pm.  instead of saturday w\ washed hair, make up and a delightful day of lounging around.  i look slightly crazed here, and i was.  in fact, the best photo in this series was one of me giving my husband the bird, but that is not very nice or classy.  although i know some of you are fans of my "tiny middle finger."  if you ask nicely, i will send you that picture, and it will be just like college all over again.  yes, i'm talking to you peg sutter.*  also, i totally ripped this look off....  i bet you thought i was going to say that i'm totally ripped...  that too.

*names have been changed to protect the "innocent"

self-portrait

top: loft

shorts: old navy

shoes: toms

this is how you take a self portrait.  which is easy if you live in a house of mirrors like dave & i do.  in our bedroom alone there are 8 mirrors.  it's not what you think.  7 of them actually were in the room when we moved in.  it's just weird.  there are mirrors everywhere in this house.  so it helps to have a closet made of 4 giant mirrored doors.  that's really all you need for the perfect self portrait.  today's outfit was wrinkly, the bed is only halfway made and i had to take my own picture.  i'm starting to run out of ideas for what to wear.  4 ensembles to go!  i actually have 2 outfits to go, and i plan on finishing on saturday!  woo hoo!

blurry

cropped jacket: forever 21

dress: modcloth

sandals: havaianas

wow, it doesn't get much sadder that this was the best of all the photos dave took.  our camera stinks!  i dropped my camera when i was pregnant about a month before ian was born.  we bought a cheap camera on a whim- it's a decent camera except that it takes a million tries to get a picture that's not blurry.  dave was holding ian when taking these pictures, which could explain why it's so blurry and why my head is chopped off... wanna buy me a new camera?  

5 days to go... i'm running out of fresh ideas...  yikes

i have a problem

earrings: forever 21

jacket: loft

top: loft

pants: loft

shoes: havaianas

seriously, i get that i have a major problem w\ this 30x30.  everything i own is from the freaking loft.  this used to not be a problem.  but there are several major contributing factors:  1.  they have a petites section.  2.  they always have a sale going on, or i always have a coupon.  3.  they are convenient to my home.  4.  their clothes consistently fit me.  there are plenty of other places that i like or would like to shop at but... target- not a great size selection for/don't like a lot of what they have/can't find what i want.  forever 21- closed the one closest to our house, the next one is at woodfield, and i hate going there.  h&m- same- also @ woodfield.  so i will accept any & all ideas to get me out of my "rut."  i seriously am thinking about just shopping @ goodwill b\c i can probably afford it + more variety... but i'll accept any ideas (or donations)...  

today i did this with my hair and it was super easy & pretty... only problem, it was hard to keep pins in w\ nothing to really pin it to, but i will try this again.  you get to see how this hair style looked after 6 hours and 2 pina coladas...  mmm.  by the time we snapped the photo, it was looking a little mullet-esque