You're Wearing That to Church?

Guys' reactions to outfits that are a little outside the box are funny sometimes. A guy I used to work with liked to give my outfits themes--like if I wore red and blue together, I was Super Girl. Or the one time I wore yellow tights, I was Lisa Simpson.

T-shirt: Old Navy; Cardigan: New York & Company; Skirt: self-made; Thigh-High Socks: American Apparel; Shoes: Kohl's; Necklace: E-collectique Runway Boutique

I'm glad that hubs calls me out when he thinks an outfit is crazy. Not too long ago, I had on shorts with tights, and he pointed out it maybe wasn't the most appropriate church-going getup. He asked the same question about this outfit; but in this case, I wasn't going to church. I wore this to the Baptism party I went to Sunday. However, I wouldn't have been that out of place wearing a T-shirt to church. Members of our church are often wearing Packers jerseys and jeans.

After hanging out at my friend's house, I changed into TOMs to wander around Costco with Bridget. As usual, I dropped way too much money there, but they were carrying Michael Kors outerwear! I bought two coats for myself--a down jacket for $30 and a peacoat for $50--but I haven't decided if I'm going to return the peacoat or not. They also had a really sharp looking parka for men, but hubs wasn't interested.

Today, I'm participating in Wear It Wednesday: How to wear graphic tees, hosted by Animated Cardigan.

Mayim Bialik Talks to Us about Managing Life

As you may remember, I dressed up as Mayim Bialik's TV characters twice in life now--as Blossom in 1995 or '96, and as Amy Farrah Fowler in 2011. When I saw that she tweeted "Hi Milwaukee" earlier today, I kicked into fangirl mode and learned that she was going to be speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a guest of the Jewish organization and the Women's Resource Center.

I met up with a friend from my old job, and we got situated. I of course insisted we sit right in the front. We felt a little old and out of place and figured that it was very possible a lot of the kids were there for credit.

Since I'm neither Jewish nor a hardcore feminist, I figured I was in for an interesting lecture. I noticed a giant flier when I first walked into the Union that said the topic of the talk was "Managing Career, Family, and Spirituality."

I had nothing to worry about. Mayim was not all about pushing her agenda on anyone. Instead, she started out admitting she was a nervous speaker and dove right into telling us her professional and personal background. As she spoke, she found her stride and continued on to the meat of her presentation...hmmm awkward wording for a vegan speaker.

She listed seven values she lives by that help to keep her grounded, which included things like character, routine, family values, having a sense of "other," God (which she generalized by saying "realizing that I am not God"), homeland, and one more I'm forgetting. It was really refreshing to see how normal she is--you know, for being a ridiculously smart, disciplined mom, actor, and PhD.

Mayim peppered her presentation with mentions of Blossom and Big Bang Theory, which were fun. During the Q&A session, she said that she's closest to Melissa Rauch, who plays Bernadette on BBT. She loves working with Jim Parsons (Sheldon) the most. As for her Blossom family, she's seen Joey at a couple events recently, but she was not able to attend Jenna Von Oy's (Six) wedding two years ago.

Since she had to catch a flight back home to LA, Mayim was not able to stay and take pictures with people. Of course I was bummed, but I couldn't hold it against her since she was flying home to get back to her family.

Oh I s'pose since I'm running primarily a fashion blog here, I should mention her outfit, which I wanted to steal in my size. She was wearing a dark gray dress with a fitted bodice, what looked to be maybe a drop waist, and a knee-length circle skirt; rust-colored cardigan; brown wide belt and really tall platform stilettos; a stack of skinny gold bangles; gold hoop earrings; and a silver Star of David necklace.

In summary, I had fun, and I'm really glad I was able to spontaneously make it over there. Although I could tell Mayim had strong convictions about what she believes, she seemed like a really sweet, open-minded person. And after the initial nerves wore off, she was a really great speaker, too. Maybe she will come back to Milwaukee for a photo op someday, like she joked about doing. We can only hope!

Somewhat Local Event: Schoolhouse Swap

As of right now, I'll probably head down there myself; but if anyone else wants to go, I'd love to go together or meet down there! Lemme know.

ModlyChic presents...
Schoolhouse Swap
Friday, December 2, 2011
5 to 9pm

at The Willows Academy for Girls
1012 E. Thacker St.
Des Plaines, IL 60016

Tickets: $12 with a bag to swap. (You can order tickets on the event page.)

How it works: Arrive between 5 and 7:30pm with a bag of your lightly used castaways. Then browse the vendor booths and mingle with other fashionistas. Doors to the swap will open at 8. Grab what you want from the tables and racks, then head home with new-to-you clothing. Any leftover items will be donated to a local charity. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Willows Academy.

What to swap: lightly used clothing, accessories, shoes, purses and jewelry.

The event is hosted by Katy Rose of ModlyChic.

Long Weekends Are the Best

Ya gotta love long weekends. It's going to be really hard to go back to work. Having Friday off was just what I needed to get a jumpstart on our ridiculous amount of laundry and run a few errands.

Saturday, I saw Breaking Dawn for a second time and then finished up the laundry and got caught up on How I Met Your Mother. Thanks to Netflix, I'm also very close to being caught up on The Office, except for the current season.

Sunday, I went to a Baptism after party (meaning I didn't make it to the service--just to the house afterwards) for my BFF's adorable little 2-week old baby girl.

Here's what I wore for the movie-watching part of my weekend.

Inspiration Picture for Inspiration Monday hosted by Two Birds

My Interpretation

Dress, Scarf, and Vest: Target; Long Sleeve Shirt: Gap; Leggings: American Apparel; Boots: Kohl's 

My Creative, Successful Alter Ego

For this week's FBFF topic, Lili from Relatable Style suggested we dress like our alter ego. Here's her explanation:

The plan is to create an outfit that shows one (or several!) of your alter egos. It can be anything: Who you are deep inside, who you always thought you would be, or who you would be right now if circumstances allowed. Maybe you are a total diva, but your rural living environment does not exactly call for satin gloves up to the elbows and feather boas? Or you always thought you'd be a rockstar? A mom? Maybe you feel out of place in today's world sometimes and you could imagine yourself as a poet in the Victorian era? Or travelling the world with your camera, shooting for Vogue? Whatever it is, show us! You can also write a few (or many many) lines about the background of your alter ego, if you like.

I chose to dress like a young adult novel author. Growing up, I used to write as an outlet. When I was unpopular in school and wishing I had a boyfriend, I'd write about falling in love and going on adventures with friends. Now that I'm busy with a husband, baby, friends, and full-time job, I've (unfortunately?) lost much of my angsty inspiration. Maybe when Bridget gets older, I can write about her angst.

I'm a fact finder, as a profile from my previous job indicated, so I took to Google to research what novelist extraordinaire J.K. Rowling wears. Then, I made a simple but sharp-looking outfit for working at home and a red carpet look for the premiere of the movie adaptation of my book.

Writing at Home

Red Carpet Movie Premiere

Stuffed

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm at home now after enjoying a nice, family-filled Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Now, I'm trying to distract myself on the laptop while hubs watches Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Not my cup of tea at all, but not nearly as bad as some of the sci-fi shows he's watched in the past. I can't stand the Ferengi, though.

The whole group, minus Mom, who was taking the picture

Oddly enough, I didn't eat any turkey this year.  I usually have a little bit, but I filled up before dinner on snacks, so I only had room for a little bit of ravioli, garlic bread, stuffing, and sweet potatoes.  I definitely regret all the snacking because the meal was soooo goooood.

My brother's birthday also fell on Thanksgiving this year, so for dessert, we had yummy cupcakes made by his lovely wife.  Needless to say, I was stuffed and nixed the belt on the hour drive home.

Dress and Boots: Target; Sweater: Old Navy; Belt: Walmart

Good luck to all of you braving the crowds tomorrow for Black Friday! My only shopping plan is to hit Petsmart and the vet to get food for the cat and dog because they're both out. Then, I'll be hiding out at home and catching up on obscene amounts of laundry.

Still Trying to Make Scarf Sweaters Happen

Tunic: Target?; Cords: New York & Company; Scarf: gift; Boots: Target

Well, I tried the scarf wrap sweater/Moby wrap (totally does look like one, you're right, Mrs. T) again this morning.  I was going to wear a black sweater vest, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I gave this scarf a chance and pinned it in the back.  It looks a little better than the circle scarf did yesterday.  Either way, since it's the day before a holiday, I figured I could go a little kookier with my work attire.

As it turns out, halfway through the day I got sick of adjusting my wrap all the time, so I moved the scarf back to its standard location around my neck.

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

Well Maybe If I Don't Turn Around

My sis-in-law made me an awesome circle scarf a couple years ago for Christmas.  It's the coziest thing ever, but it's huuuuuuuuge.  I keep telling myself I'm going to wash and dry it and see what happens, but I still haven't tried that yet.

When I saw this on Pinterest, I thought I could turn my giant circle scarf into a cute wrap sweater.

Source: etsy.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

I stood in front of the hall mirror for probably 10 minutes, draping it over and over again. But alas, there's always going to be a twist in it, making it bulky and awkward.

Pretty sure I'm still going to wear it this way around the house because it's too comfy not to.

Breaking Dawn Outfit

Vampire Top: Maurices; Long Sleeve Shirt: Target; Vest: Old Navy; Jeans: New York & Company; Shoes: Vince Camuto (via giveaway); Bracelet: Charming Charlie

This is my official Twilight movie shirt. It’s not official Twilight merchandise, but I bought it at Maurices before New Moon came out, when you could find vampire themed apparel everywhere, it seemed. I’ve worn this shirt three times so far--to the midnight showing of New Moon, while pregnant and going to see Eclipse, and to Breaking Dawn this past weekend. It just has to last one more year for Breaking Dawn: Part 2, and then I can retire it.

I paired the T-shirt with this military-esque vest that a bunch of bloggers have, my new tough girl boots, and cuffed jeans for Bloggers Do It Better: Military Chic.

What’d you think of Breaking Dawn, for those of you who’ve seen it? There was some discussion with my friends after we saw the movie and on Facebook, and we all came to the conclusion that some parts were definitely cheesy. But that didn’t stop me from loudly laughing at some parts and cowering with my hands over my mouth during the suspenseful/gruesome parts (birth scene anyone?). The last shot of the movie before the credits was INTENSE.

I do have some complaints about the Cullens throughout the Twilight series. The Cullens in general have gotten less good looking with each movie, I think. Rosalie was gorgeous in the first one, and now you can tell she’s just wearing a really bad wig. Alice’s hair has gotten progressively worse, too. And all of a sudden, Emmett is just a dumb jock (also with bad hair) instead of a fun-loving older brother type. Esme is the only one who has looked the same and consistently good throughout. And Edward. I did enjoy Jasper in his tux, though. Rawr! Speaking of Jasper, why does he only have a Southern access in Eclipse?

One of the trailers was for The Hunger Games, and I may finally be convinced to read it. Good thing I have a handful of months to do so before the movie comes out.

The Story of My New Boots

Months ago, I vaguely remember entering a giveaway on Marie Claire’s Facebook page for a pair of boots. One second after that, I forgot all about it as I tend to do with everything. Then about one month ago, I got an email from someone at Marie Claire saying I had won said boots. No way! I actually didn’t believe it and was a little skeptical about the whole thing, but I sent back my address anyway, paranoid in the back of my mind that it was a scheme of sorts.

For weeks after I sent my address over, I checked my front door every day, waiting for a big boots box to arrive. I had all but given up hope when I checked the front door yesterday for a different package I was expecting. Imagine my surprise when I saw a box from Vince Camuto sitting there instead. Nowaydude!!!

I hastily opened the box and realized that these were not the style of boots I was expecting. But who cares? They were free boots! I went to try them on, but my foot would not fit through the boot shaft. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn’t imagine a foot that would fit through it, unless all the bones were removed first. The flap on the front was only sewn on by a dozen stitches, so after a brief moment of hesitation about destroying a $200 pair of boots, I grabbed my seam ripper and went to work. This time, with a little more effort, my foot pushed its way into the boot.

Dress, Socks, and Tights: Target; Shirt: Old Navy; Cardigan: Banana Republic (gift); Belt: H&M; Necklace: can’t remember; Boots: Vince Camuto via Marie Claire giveaway

These are definitely not the type of boots I would normally buy because they’re more masculine and edgy than my taste, but that’s why I like them. A new challenge! To style these boots to suit my aesthetic. So that’s what I came up with, using Elena’s outfit from wear*it Wednesday as inspiration.

Besides the boots, I have to comment briefly on these tights, too. They’re the only thing I bought from the Missoni for Target collection. I love the zigzag texture, and they’re really comfortable, but there’s one problem...they run like crazy. I must’ve gotten three runs from putting them on this morning, another one from my ring grazing them as I was driving, one from adjusting my dress, one from looking at them wrong, and so on. Unfortunately, these might be a one-time wear unless I can figure out a way to douse them completely in clear nail polish.

Completely off topic, but I feel it's worth mentioning...happy 31st birthday to Isaac Hanson!

wear*it Wednesday: The Vest of Times

I kept trying to think of puns replacing "best" with "vest." The one that popped into my head first was the Styx song, "The Best of Times." Related, I could've also gone with the first sentence in A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the vest of times, it was the worst of times..." Considering I hate puns, I probably shouldn't have gone with either, heh.

ANYWAY, wear*it Wednesday! Let's get to it. I'll get mine out of the way first.


Sweater: H&M; Vest: Target; Tank: Old Navy; Cords: New York & Company (refashioned from bootcut to skinny); Boots: Steve Madden; Scarf: Boston Store



Next up, we have Elena from Caffeinerd. I just realized she's wearing short sleeves, and there's snow in the background. That's dedication to the cause! I love the long belted vest with the dress, and I'm always a fan of black tights with black shoes. Note to self: recreate in the future.

Dani from The Daily Dani sent over four awesome outfit posts of her wearing a military vest and a denim vest. It's always fun to see how other people style their surplus vests, and I love how one of her outfits was inspired by her 3-year-old student. Can you guess which one?

Here is Pheobe from Paper Balloon Journal. I love this outfit because I have a lace top similar to this one, and I never know how to style it. Now I know I can try layering it under a vest!

Kari from The Chronicles of Lady K submitted a warm weather look inspired by Sienna Miller (more pictures over at her blog). It makes me want summer to come already!

Last but not least is our hostess with the mostest, Rachel from Distinct.Style.Innovation. Pretty sure I want to steal her red pants and those booties.

Thanks all so much for participating! Sorry I got the post up so late!

wear*it Wednesday: How to Wear a Vest Jacket Reminder

Remember to email me (mixedupbek@gmail.com) a photo of you incorporating a vest jacket into your outfit for wear*it Wednesday tomorrow!

I'll work on the post when I get home from work tomorrow, so you can submit photos until around 5 PM Wednesday.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

More Babies!

I have a different location in these pictures because my husband had a friend over at the time, so I didn't want to take picture in the kitchen. Although I could've--they were both engrossed in Gears of War. As far as I'm concerned, loudest video game ever.

Here's the inspiration photo for today for Inspiration Monday:

And here's my interpretation:

Top and Scarf: Target; Blazer: Kohl's; Jeans: Old Navy; Shoes: Famous Footwear

Besides the annoyingly loud video games once I got home Friday, I had a very nice weekend. After work, I picked up Bridget, and we went to visit one of my BFFs and her new baby at the hospital! That's the second friend's newborn baby I got to hold this month, and the baby girls' names both start with El- I just realized! Yay for babies.

Saturday in the morning, I took the dog to the dog park, and then my mom came over to make the ravioli for Thanksgiving. We do usually have turkey for Thanksgiving, but that's more of a side dish. The main event is homemade ravioli. Guaranteed the best ravioli I've ever had. It's a family recipe from the Italian side, and I look forward to it every Thanksgiving. Along with my mom's super yummy sweet potatoes.

Sunday was mom's night, and we checked out Honeypie in Bayview for dessert. Two of us got cupcakes, and the other two got pie. All four of us were very happy with our decisions. The desserts were excellent--I'd be curious to know how their other food is.