Purse Lust

So, I mentioned my search for a summer-y purse.  What I didn't mention was that on my roadtrip with my bestie, we stopped at an outlet mall to get out and stretch our legs.  We wandered into the Coach store where I proceeded to fall in love with a bright pink leather purse.  And when I say fall in love, I mean Fall In Love.  I wanted that bag so hard.  The color was great, the interior had lots of handy pockets & pouches and it even had dual short straps AND a long strap, something I've been looking for in a purse lately.  

But even with the outlet price and the in-store coupon, it would have been $170.  And that trumps the most I've ever paid for a bag by a good $50.  Granted, the bag I paid $120 for was also leather and lasted me 3 years.  It's actually still hanging in my closet, despite having had to have a strap reattached and having the lining start to detach.  I can't (won't?) get rid of it.

Besides, that bag seemed more practical.  It was a black pebbled-leather messenger bag.  And almost exact copy of a beloved less-versatile yellow leather bag I bought at Zara in Italy and also carried to death for about 3 years.  It was roomy, with lots of pockets and a cheery green lining.  I used it for work & for play and I loved it to pieces.  Literally.

The Coach bag, while gorgeous, seems frivolous.  Probably because, you know, it's bright pink.  And I'm not necessarily one for big names.  I don't care about having a Coach or a Kate Spade.  But I know that Coach makes a quality product.  So if I took care of it, it would last a really long time.  But $170?  For a purse?  And a bright pink one at that?  Even if I had $170 just sitting around my apartment, I don't know if I would purchase it.  I happened to find it online for $189 here and I occasionally stare longingly at it on my screen.

So basically, I'm looking for a lower-cost version of the same bag.  Not a knock-off or anything.  Just something in a bright, summer-y color with a classic shape.  But I have a feeling that nothing I find will live up to the glory that is the Coach Ashley Convertible Carryall in Watermelon.

She's Got Legs

So, a while ago, I posted a picture of a dress I saw at Target that I was on the fence about.  I liked it, but felt the price wasn't right.  I said, "Maybe if it were under $20, I'd buy it."  Well, it pays to have friends with access to other Targets, people.  April over at So Yeah...So happened to find my dress on the sale rack at her local Target and offered to mail it to me.  Wanna know what the price tag said?  $9.97.  Yep.  The price was right.  She sent it along and it's been hanging out on my closet rack ever since.  The one she found was an extra small.  Me?  I'm not exactly an extra small.  I was worried it would be too short to wear in public.  It actually fit fine everywhere else, though it's a little tight across the back of my shoulders.  I was waiting for a day that would be warm enough to have that much of my legs on display.  Today was that day.

I'm still not convinced that it is long enough, but I think that is more a matter of it being rather floaty & flippy at the hem because even though it was pretty windy today, I didn't have a big problem with fly-ups.  I had more of a problem keeping my hat on.  I think the real problem is that my legs are just too damn long.

Straw fedora - H&M; Jovovich-Hawk for Target dress - Target; Blush patent wedge sandals - Guess? via DSW

Sum-sum-summertime!

Today was glorious, weather-wise.  I only wish I would have gotten out of the house earlier to enjoy it, but I’ve had too many early mornings lately.  Me & 5:30am?  We are not friends.  But Crew Scheduling would sure like us to be.  So today, since it was my day off, I stayed in bed until 11:30, just being lazy and snuggling with the baby cat.  She needs to be snuggled sometimes.  Then I made myself some coffee & brunch and finally decided to get dressed and go for a stroll.

I did a spot of shopping, but didn’t find anything I couldn’t live without.  Not gonna lie, I may or may not have stopped into Marshall’s just to use the full-length mirror in the dressing room.  I really need to figure out a better picture-taking scenario.

This blouse is an oldie-but-a-goodie.  I actually grabbed it out of the donation bags at the very last minute and decided to keep it.  My mom & I found it on MAJOR sale at Anthropologie years and years and years ago.  I think I wore it maybe twice?  It’s a size 12, which is too big, but I like the blousey effect.  I’m super glad I saved it.  It’s 100% silk and just feels like the epitome of summer.  I think it will finally get some use this year.

One of the things I WAS looking for at Marshall’s was a new summer-time purse.  I love my black purse, but it tends to feel too heavy for outfits like today’s.  I opted for this cute little vintage clutch I bought on Etsy, but I’d love to find a purse with straps for everyday use.  So my search continues.  I was also hoping to find a pair of cute flat gladiator sandals in a neutral color, but came up unsuccessful on that one too.  Good thing my wedges are so comfortable!

Straw fedora – H&M; Silk sleeveless blouse – Anthropologie; Blue cotton skirt – Old Navy; Blush patent wedge sandals – Guess? via DSW

The Doctor

So, sometimes I can be a big old Nerdy McGeekpants and I’m okay with that.  I’m also often late to the party when it comes to Awesome, so it’s not surprising to me that I only discovered Doctor Who about a year and a half ago.  But man oh man am I glad I did.  I don’t know how many of you are fans of the Doctor, but if you haven’t watched the latest episodes of the latest season with Matt Smith, then you should.  Because you are in for a treat.  I just finished the last episode until after the summer and they left it on SUCH a cliffhanger.  I’m dying, people.  Dying.

The above picture is from a layover in London last week.  Another flight attendant and I wandered over to Trafalgar Square to catch a musical theater festival that was going on.  And from across the street, I spotted the blue box and I made a beeline for it.  I waited, somewhat impatiently, for a father to take a picture of his wife & child in front of the TARDIS and then I hopped right in there and made my pal take my picture.  It pretty much made my whole year, not even gonna lie.  Especially because I got to send this to the Mister and he was super jealous.

When I’m not hanging around police phone boxes hoping for a handsome alien to take me away on adventures, I’m in Minneapolis and I go shopping.  Because my life is really that exciting.  The top is another Super Sale find from the Gap.  It’s probably a bit large, but I love the color and the fabric, so I might make some adjustments to it myself, especially in the straps.

 

Gray Worthington sweater – JC Penney; Peach chiffon-y tank top – The Gap; Joe’s Jeans – Nordstrom Rack; Black Nine West flats – DSW.com

Sparkly!

Yes, I am a magpie.  If something shimmers or sparkles, I’m immediately drawn to it and if the price is right, I’ll buy it.  And the price was definitely right on this little jacket thing.  The Gap was having some sort of humungo sale and this jacket (originally $118!) was down to $18.  How could I walk away?  I’ll tell you, I couldn’t.  I’m not fond of it being dry-clean-only and I feel it should really only be worn when I’m NOT going to have a purse (this is a clutch only jacket!), but I love it!  It’s so cute!

Unfortunately, yesterday was in fact cold enough that I needed to wear tights if I wanted to wear a skirt.  It was windy, drizzly & overcast.  The temperature hovered somewhere around 56 degrees.  It also gave me a reason to bring back our FAVORITE boots.  You know, the ones that were in every outfit photo for the first few months of this blog.

 

Nude sequin jacket – the Gap; YES concert tee – eBay; Blue cotton skirt – Old Navy; Black tights – Target; Gray Madden Girl Boots – Peebles

While I was out & about yesterday, I stopped in at Target, of course.  I took a walk through the ladies activewear department and happened to spot this purple running skirt hanging on a low rack.  I love that it is two-tone, with the pink running shorts underneath!  So far this summer, it hasn’t been to unbearable to wear my capri tights for my runs, but eventually it’s going to get hot hot hot and I’ll be thankful for my cute new running skirt! 

Road Trip!

Well, it looks like I’ve once again managed to fall off the face of the earth.  I have been getting dressed AND leaving the house quite a bit lately, I just haven’t been documenting it.  I’ve also been flying a lot for work, which I like to use an excuse not to blog.

But about a week or so ago, I flew into Nashville, TN to help my best friend N. drive the last two days of her mega road trip to move in with her husband.  They got married last September (it was where I met the mister!) but they’ve been living apart because her husband is also in the Navy and they weren’t sure if he would be stationed somewhere else.  But he’s staying in Norfolk, so she finally gets to live with her hubby! 

I really liked the outfit I wore on the flight down to Nashville.  I picked up the skirt on major sale at Old Navy for $6.  It’s so cute & breezy and I love the color.  The blazer is also a new purchase.  It’s a little more fitted & cropped than my Perry Ellis and it was a pretty good deal, down to $20 from $140 at Nordstrom Rack.  I wore my Guess platform sandals & my straw fedora with this outfit.  Basically, I wore both the entire trip.  I even wore the shoes out dancing and didn’t break my ankles!  I’m pretty sure it’s true love with those shoes.

 

Blazer –Nordstrom Rack; YES concert tee – Ebay; Blue cotton skirt – Old Navy

We stayed with our friend T. in Nashville and she took us to her monthly Successful Young Business-y Ladies dinner, which is called Taco Tuesdays.  Alas, there were no tacos, but there were a lot of really interesting ladies there.  I met a woman who owned her own alternative event planning company and a girl who helps manage Kings of Leon & Ke$ha and another girl who is the art director for the local Nashville free weekly.  After lots of socializing over dinner & a super yummy special punch, T., N., & I went out dancing, but the music wasn’t really all that great, so we headed home early.  It was just as well, seeing as how T. needed to get up to go to work and N. & I needed to hit the road!

The next day was spent in the car, so I was going for comfort, comfort, comfort in the old stand-by of jeans & a tshirt.  I tried to dress it up a bit with the hat & sandals.  We drove from Nashville to Knoxville to have lunch with N.’s college roommate and then from Knoxville to Black Mountain, North Carolina where we stayed at the sweetest bed & breakfast!  If you ever find yourself in the Black Mountain area, you HAVE to stay at Bella Luna.  The rooms are lovely and the breakfast in the morning is to die for.  I’m talking fresh croissants, filled with cream cheese & strawberries, people.  To Die For.

 

On our last day in the car, N. & I got all matchy matchy and both wore maxi dresses.  If you want to stay nice & cool on a hot day, there is really nothing like having a long swishy skirt!  This was the second opportunity I’ve had to wear my new maxi dress and I really love it.  I’m not a fan of the kind that has a stretched gathered top, so I love that this one has little straps.  I still have to wear a strapless bra with it, but at least it doesn’t squish the chub by my armpit!  Before we hit the road, we wandered around the main walking street in Black Mountain.  We happened to find Milton the Moose who was ever so happy to pose for pictures with us, all the while warning us of what to do in case of a Moose Attack, crazy!

In all, tt was a great roadtrip and I was super happy to get to spend so much one-on-one time with N.!  We didn’t even listen to music for the whole trip, we just talked and talked and talked.  Although on the second day, I did introduce N. to Mad Libs, which she wasn’t familiar with.  I found an app on her iPhone and we had a blast with that, to the point where we were laughing so hard N. was afraid she’d have to pull over to the side of the road to compose herself!  That’s another recommendation from me to you.  If you’re going to be in a long car ride, get you some Mad Libs.

Getting schweaty

Just last week I was complaining that it was NEVER going to get warm enough for me to wear all the awesome hot weather outfits I was planning in my head.  And then whoops, all of a sudden today got up to almost 90 and the humidity made the air feel like soup.  Of course, being the bright, intelligent lady I am, I decided that 4pm was the perfect time to go for a 4 mile run today.  More like swim.  Or really, more like slog.  Because I was dragging my tuckus, but the important thing is that I said I was going to run 4 miles and I did it.  Another thing I've declared rather publicly (okay, on Facebook) is that I am going to run a half-marathon for my 28th birthday in October this year!  I ran 8 miles the day before yesterday and realized, Hey, that's only like 4 miles less than a half-marathon!  I should do that!  And so I will!  See, now I've told Facebook AND I've told y'all.  Now I HAVE to do it.

So, are you getting tired of the side braid + straw fedora combo I've been rocking?  Too bad, because I am still enamored.  Besides that, it was too damn hot to try to do anything else with my hair after I got out of the shower.  I wore my black pointy-toed flats on a 6 mile trek to the thrift store yesterday and the right one gave me a blister!  Those shoes have never given me a blister!  But it happened and I'm trying to let it heal, so I was going for a comfy casual vibe to match my Converse kicks.  The skirt is made out of a thick sweatpant-like material that could be sloppy if it weren't for the paper-bag waistband w/ the little brass buttons.  In that past I worried about it being too short, but in looking over the pictures, I think it's okay!

Straw fedora - H&M; Green BDG v-neck tee - Urban Outfitters; Black skirt - Tulle; Black Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers - ?