Comfort and Fun

Here's the Style Imitating Art piece for this week.

Top: J.Crew Factory; Tank Top: Old Navy; Jeans: New York & Company; Shoes: Kohl's; Necklace: old; Bracelet: Kate Spade; Bag: Michael Kors via TJ Maxx

I was all about comfort on Friday, when I wore this, having stayed out late to see Fun at Summerfest the night before. Great show, by the way. From recalling Heidi's review of the show she went to last year, I was mostly excited to experience the charisma of Nate, the lead singer. He did not disappoint. He was energetic and happy and just in awe of the crowd. This was the first date of their summer tour, and Nate mentioned how it was their biggest show yet. I was wondering whether they'd be jaded at this point with all the fame, but from where I sat wayyyy in the back (thank goodness for those big screens), he seemed just as gracious as what I had read about. Definitely read Heidi's review from last year - she explains it better than I do.

One funny part was when Jack talked about how much he loved the cheese curds and Nate referred to Milwaukee as "the good land." Haha. I kept thinking back to how I met Jack briefly when Steel Train opened up for Hanson in '09 and how far he's come since then - now headlining huge shows and dating Lena Dunham. Pretty amazing!

October 2009 - with Daniel and Jack from Steel Train

Even the opening acts, Family of the Year and Walk the Moon were pretty good. I ended up downloading both their albums after the show. Actually, I meant to only download Walk the Moon's, but I got the two bands mixed up, so now I have both. Since then, I've been listening to Walk the Moon's album on repeat, and I learned that they'll be back in Milwaukee in the fall. I probably won't be able to go, but it's good to know just in case.

What I Wore This Week

Sometimes if I'm super ambitious or super bored, I like to plan my outfits for the week ahead of time so that I don't have to think about it in the mornings. This was one of those weeks.

Also, sorry if this is annoying, but I wanted to remind everyone that Google Reader is going away in just a couple days. If you'd like to continue following along with my blog (which I hope you do! I'd love to have you!), I encourage you to add me on Bloglovin or your reader of choice. Thank you!

OK, back to the outfits.

Monday

Pants: Gap; Shirt: Uniqlo; Necklace: garage sale; Shoes: New York & Company; Watch: Fossil; Bracelet: H&M

Tuesday

Pants: New York & Company; Sweater and Tank Top: Kohl's; Sandals and Headband: Target

Wednesday

Dress: Anthropologie; Lace Top: H&M; Shoes: Kohl's; Bracelet and Watch: Michael Kors

By the way, the reviews on this dress were right. The bust is oddly large, and I wished all that day that I had put the detachable spaghetti straps on.

Thursday



Shirt: Kohl's; Skirt: Target; Shoes: L.L.Bean; Bracelets: Kate Spade and H&M

Casual Hamptons-ish Style

This outfit ended up being kind of a tribute to my most popular post, the one from two years ago about Divya's style from Royal Pains. I guess I should've started a blog series following along with her fashion choices, but now I'm behind three episodes for this season because I've been waiting to watch them with my husband. Also, our friend said there was a Royal Pains movie on TV around Christmas? I don't know.

Top: RACHEL Rachel Roy; Shorts, Bracelet, and Sandals: Target; Watch: Zing Accessories;
Necklace: Etsy; Sunglasses: Hanson.net

Yeah, laundry room selfie. I thought this outfit looked better with my hair down.

Maybe once I catch up, I'll do a follow-up post on more Divya Katdare style, but for now, here's a preview featuring Divya looking chic as usual and wearing a necklace I MUST HAVE FOR MYSELF!

Coming Along

Here's the Inspiration Monday picture for today:

And here's what I wore to go to Home Depot a couple times to look at carpet on Saturday.

Shorts: Nine West; Sweater: Narciso Rodriguez for Kohl's; Shoes: MICHAEL Michael Kors

Our basement is looking pretty ridiculously awesome! Thanks to all the help from hubs' parents this week, we're so close to being done! The next step is carpet, which I attempted to pick out, but wow, I suck at making decisions. I know hubs has a favorite among the samples we brought home, so I'll probably just go with that and hope for the best.

What I Ended Up Wearing

So here's what I ended up wearing to the Miggs/Candlebox show. My favorite among the options I presented the other day was actually option 2, but you guys made some good points - I'd be too hot in the boots and the obi belt, and I wouldn't be able to move my arms comfortably because of how the dress is designed. Option 3 was leading by a couple votes, but I was a little concerned about being overdressed. So I left it up to my girls, which tipped the scales even further in option 3's favor. Option 3 it is!

Unfortunately, I was running late that day, and I didn't get any real outfit pictures. I do have this picture from my meet & greet, though. Don complimented my yellow Converse shoes, and a drunk lady (who was actually wearing a shirt almost identical to my option 1 top) walked by me later in the night and yelled, "Aren't you so cute!" So thank you for your input on my outfit choices!

John, Don, me, Walker, and Michael - Love those guys!

For the first part of the day, I went with a more work-appropriate version, which I thought was pretty cute and wanted to recreate to show you.

Dress (as a top) and Shoes: Prabal Gurung for Target; Skirt and Cardigan: New York & Company;
Bracelets: Target, H&M, Kate Spade, and a street festival

With and Without a Two-Year-Old

Today I'm linking up with Marionberry Style's Trend of the Month: Maxis. I wore this outfit to my friends' son's second birthday party over the weekend.

Dress: Gap; Vest and Tank Top: Old Navy; Belt: New York & Company; Bracelet: Charming Charlie; Sandals: Target

As much as I would've liked to bring my own two-year-old to the party, I have to say, it's so much easier getting around when someone else is taking care of her. Like I've mentioned, my in-laws are over this week, and Bridget is off of daycare, so all I have to do in the mornings is get myself ready. Yesterday morning, I stayed in bed a half hour later than usual and was still ready to go well before the time I normally get out the door.

Since I got to work so early, I ended up taking an hour for lunch (which I usually don't do because I don't give myself enough time to) and hitting up the mall for some accessories shopping. I'm not supposed to be spending any money with our basement renovations underway, but I rationalized that a $10 bracelet to wear tomorrow wouldn't hurt. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, nor was I really sure exactly what I was looking for, but I ended up getting a couple things at H&M - the gold bracelet below and a lace T-shirt, which I'm sure you'll see in an outfit post relatively soon.

By the way, I still haven't decided if I'm going to wear outfit 1 or outfit 3 tomorrow. It's safe to say outfit 2 is out. The votes were almost split, so I'm planning on asking the girls I'm going with what they think.

Fake Smile

Most of these pictures turned out so incredibly awkward as they tend to when I pick a public place and then quickly dart out of my car, take a dozen or so pictures, and dart back in. I was set on using this red wall for the Style Imitating Art piece for today:

So here are the least awkward of the bunch:

Dress: Anne Klein; Cardigan: Rodarte for Target; Belt and Shoes: Target; Bracelet: Marc by Marc Jacobs

I'm also linking up with Still Blonde After All These Years and Modly Chic for the Fashionista Style Hop.

Grocery Shopping Outfit

Here's the Inspiration Monday picture for today:

And my interpretation:

T-shirt: Maurices; Jeans, Shoes, and Necklace: New York & Company; Bracelet and Watch: Michael Kors;
Sunglasses: Target; Scarf: gift from a shopping event

And that's about it. The in-laws are over visiting, so I'm going to keep it short and sweet today.

Mom's Day Off

My husband and daughter decided to take an impromptu trip to Michigan to visit some family yesterday, and I stayed home to watch the dog, clean the house for my in-laws' arrival today, and just chill. And chill I did. Here's how my day off went down:

1. Slept in until 9:15 after dropping hubs and kiddo off at the ferry at 5:30 AM.
2. Went to our friends' son's second birthday party.
3. Visited E-Collectique Runway Boutique to use up a Groupon and only spent $6 (purchases below).
4. Caught up on a couple DVRed episodes of Resale Royalty.
5. Watched Ghost World (a favorite of mine) and then was drawn into Death at a Funeral (British comedy with an ensemble cast) after it.
6. Blogged.
7. Ate too much junk food but drank only one glass of wine surprisingly.
8. Stayed up late and watched Freaks and Geeks on Netflix.

I haven't tried the Grenache yet, but the Riesling was good.
The cheese was eh, and the puppy chow was amazing of course.

Calvin Klein - I plan to wear this to my husband's cousin's wedding in August.
It's 100% cotton, so it'll be perfect in case it ends up being super hot that day.

DKNY - They're a little bit short, so I may have to get them tailored shorter or slimmer,
but I couldn't pass them up. They made my butt look redonkulous. Do people still say that?

I was actually looking for a wide tan belt, so this one worked!

And now I have to get serious and start cleaning. Then, I hope to have time before hubs gets home to make him some rhubarb blackberry (or strawberry, haven't decided) crumble for Father's Day!

What Should I Wear?

I can't decide what to wear to the Miggs/Candlebox show next week. Candlebox is a 90s rock band that I'm actually not familiar with at all, and Miggs I've mentioned a few times before on the blog. Since I don't know what the crowd will be like, I was hesitant about going with sandals - hence the closed-toe shoe choices.

The one on the left is basically the same thing I wore to the American Idol show last year but with shorts. (Long gone are the days when I needed to buy something new for every single event.) The other two are a bit of a departure from my normal concert attire, but I thought they might be funky enough to work?

So...thoughts? Left? Center? Right? Accessories suggestions? I have my favorite, but I'm curious what other people think. Thanks in advance!

Tonight is the First Night

Although I didn't take many pictures, I have to say something about the Hanson show I went to in St. Louis last weekend and then steal all my friends' pictures to show you.

It was my first time in Missouri, so I was pretty excited to see the arch. Side note: my husband had no idea what the arch was. The boy needs to get out more.

Us at the arch at about 1 in the morning after the show (stolen from Facebook)

The show was at a wine festival, and we arrived at our hotel a couple hours before Hanson's set began, giving us plenty of time to get ready and socialize with some fan friends staying in the same hotel. A little after 9, we walked over to the festival, bought some drink tickets, and sampled some adult beverages.

Us four (stolen from Facebook/Instagram)

The whole group (stolen from Facebook/Instagram)

We each only had a couple samples and weren't able to use up our tickets before we migrated over to the stage to claim some spots. We had about first and second row on the far left side, which was pretty great for showing up so close to show time. Thank goodness for wine and beer distracting people, haha. Unfortunately, that also made for a somewhat annoying crowd. The problem with Hanson fans (and maybe other fandoms as well?) is that some of us feel entitled. A girl behind my friend was trying to get in front of us "to take a picture" and said that the men standing in front didn't deserve to be there because they weren't fans. Well, it doesn't really matter if they are or not - they were there first, as my friend pointed out. And then the girl called her a B. Whatever. That's just what you get to look forward to if you get a good spot at a Hanson show. Stand in the back to avoid drama.

K was the only one with a real camera, so she got the best pictures.

This one's mine.

Also mine - I just like this one because Isaac and Zac are both smiling.

Besides the crowd, the show was great! Isaac seemed a little over it, but Zac and Taylor looked like they were having fun. My three friends and I tried to guess the set list, like we did for the Iowa show last year, and I tied for first again! They played the singles, of course, four new songs, a couple surprises, and a cover ("Oh! Darling" by the Beatles - video below).

By the way, Hanson's new album Anthem comes out this coming Tuesday, June 18! Go pick it up! I love what I've heard from it already, especially "Tonight," which I took a lyric from for the post title. And there's an Isaac song on this album!! Woohoo! OK, I'm done. /teenybopper

Popping In

It seems to me that every summer (or late spring) I get bad at blogging because I'm so busy doing other things and my focus is more on concerts and vacations. Mostly concerts. If I remember correctly, I felt about the same way last year, too, although my number of posts don't reflect that. Maybe it's not a summer thing; maybe it's an "I'm busy with life" thing. That makes sense.

Also, lately I've been realizing once again how over-saturated the style blogger market is. Which is fine and cool because there's something for everyone - it's just causing me to question my worth and belonging in it. I'm sure I'll stick with it for a little while longer, though. I'm just having a lull.

I did want to pop in because I wore an outfit today inspired by another blogger (Classy Girls Wear Pearls) and also did a no-heat beach waves hair tutorial from Pinterest, originally from Song of Style.

Top: Old Navy; Skirt and Shoes: L.L.Bean; Belt: Michael Kors; Bracelets: Pandora and Mexicali Blues

This belt over skirt thing drives me crazy by the way. I always have to double-sided tape the heck out of my belt whenever I attempt this look, and then it bugs me all day.

Potty Training Update

School picture

Hahahahha, yeah. About that. Bridget tends to be really good at something at first and then kind of regresses for awhile. She gets the skills back eventually, but that seems to be the pattern. Like counting. I swear she's been able to count to 12 before, but now she consistently gets stuck on 4. "One, two, three, nine, ah-yedden, sissty-nine." OK, I don't mind the counting thing because it's adorable that she goes from three to nine to eleven to sixty-nine randomly. And when she used to be able to get past five, she would say "chicken" for six and seven. Cute. Anyway. She'll get the counting thing back - we're working on it, as I'm sure they are in school - I'm not worried.

Potty training went about the same. She was all about it at first, and we'd reward her with lots of praise and then later with M&Ms and then later with Pez, trying to find new incentives. At first, she was all excited about her big girl underwear, but now she has no interest in any of it. She did go potty yesterday before her bath, but that was the first time in at least a week. I guess she does it at school sometimes, too, when the other kids are going potty.

The reason this came up again is that Bridget is moving to the 2-1/2-year room on Monday. The teacher came and talked to me yesterday and said that she's pretty hardcore with potty training right off the bat (my words, not hers). She goes with them to the bathroom for the first couple weeks, but then they have to go themselves. So now instead of sending Bridget to school in regular diapers, I have to make sure she has either Pull-ups or plastic training pants. She has one pair of those plastic diaper thingies, but she's never worn it. I think that's the route we're going to go, though. It seems like she would learn faster that way.

Now is definitely the time. Time to get Bridget potty trained. I have to admit, having professionals at daycare helping with the potty training thing does take some of the pressure off. We just have to be sure to reinforce it once she gets home. I'll have to ask her new teacher for tips if things don't go smoothly in the next couple weeks.

From my cousin's graduation party

Sort of New Shoes

I loved this outfit. It felt very me. The bun/shamepuff, maybe not so much, but from the neck down, definitely.

Dress: L.L.Bean; Cardigan: New York & Company; Sandals: Prabal Gurung for Target; Necklace: gift; Bracelet: Kate Spade

I finally took the opportunity to wear my Prabal Gurung for Target sandals that I bought way back in February. They're not the most comfortable things ever probably because my feet are too wide for them, but they're not torture devices either. Plus, they're super cute.

This outfit was my take on the Style Imitating Art piece for this week:

I didn't even think to wear a pearl necklace. Missed opportunity. That would've been even better for the inspiration artwork, but maybe a little too sweet with the bun and pink cardigan and girly dress.

I'm also linking up with Still Blonde After All These Years for the Fashionista Style Hop.