Car Trouble

I had an unfortunate start to the morning when I couldn't get my car to start. We tried jumping it, but that didn't work, so we had to call a tow truck. Luckily, I still only got to work about a half hour later than usual, but I'm not looking forward to seeing how much I have to pay for whatever's wrong with my car.  Plus, it's up for its 60,000 mile maintenance and an oil change.  Fun stuff.

Anyway, onto more frivolous things. Today's Inspiration Monday picture is of Pippa Middleton.

And here's my interpretation:

Dress: E-collectique Runway Boutique; Cardigan and Tank Top: Old Navy; Tights and Boots: Target; Bracelet: self-made; Necklace: gift

Weekend Layers

Dress and Boots: Target; Shirt: Kohl's; Leggings: American Apparel; Vest: Old Navy; Scarf: scarf swap

Yesterday, we went to my parents' house to hang out. Since I had been wearing jeans all week, I went with comfy, pajama like layers. We spent the day watching Bridget be cute, and then the girls went for a walk while the guys watched Captain America. And hubs and I both agree, one of the best things about going to my parents' is tasty, real food that we don't have to make ourselves! It's been a nice, relaxing weekend.

The End of Jeans Week

Shirt: Fred Boutique; Blazer, Bracelet, and Shoes: Kohl's; Jeans and Cami: New York & Company

I'm gonna kind of miss being able to wear jeans every day to work. When I put this outfit on, I couldn't decide whether to tie the bow and button the blazer or not. I went with tied and unbuttoned for work and then happened to leave it untied after hitting the fitting room at Kohl's. While shopping, I also spotted the bracelet I'm wearing, which benefited Susan G. Komen. It's cute, cheap, and the money goes to charity, score.

Part of my errand running also included stopping at Michael's to get the rest of what I needed for my next DIY project. I've been wanting to try glitterizing shoes, so I took an old pair of boots and cut them into booties. Before I can start the glittering process, though, I have to finagle some way to keep the shoe on since the zipper fell off when I cut it. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

My Five...er...Four Favorite Books

The first two are easy:

1. Pride and Prejudice. I can’t get enough of the Elizabeth Bennett/Mr. Darcy tension.

2. The Magic Christmas. Cheesy? Yes. Written for 10-year-olds? Yes. But I will always and forever love this book. Whenever I read it, I feel inspired to write my old tween novel. And then, I get uninspired shortly after that, but that’s beside the point.

We’ll go with these for the next two:

3. The Harry Potter series. I’d have to reread them to know which book is my favorite. I know Prizoner of Azkaban is my favorite movie (3rd one) of the series, though. I used to think it was 5, but after re-watching, definitely 3. Although I love the Twilight movies, too, the books aren’t going to make the list. They’re just not the type of books I’d want to read over and over, like the Harry Potter ones.

4. Little Women. I only finished this book last year after starting to read it half a dozen times in my childhood. I just got bored by the time the little women grew up. But now, as a grown up, that’s the part I was looking forward to the most. Now that I’ve actually finished the book, I’d definitely read it again someday.

As for the last one...

...I can’t think of a fifth favorite book at the moment.

(All images are from Amazon.)

Dressing Up a Baggy Sweatshirt

Sweatshirt: Old Navy; Shirt: New York & Company; Jeans: Target; Shoes: Kohl's; Necklace: Charming Charlie

Since it's jeans week at work, I've been having fun finding different ways to dress up denim. One fashion-related thing that's intrigued me lately is the dressy sweatshirt. A couple of my favorite dressed up sweatshirt looks are from My Edit and A Pair & a Spare.

Then yesterday, I read a post on Snappy Casual about how to style an oversized sweater. Kelsey suggested layering a button up underneath with either a scarf or necklace, which is a combination I had never thought of for some reason.

Admittedly, this isn't the most flattering silhouette with the long baggy sweatshirt and bootcut jeans, but I still really like the idea of it.

Pretending to be THE Girl with Curves

Ah, if only I could be as glamorous as Tanesha from Girl with Curves!

Source: girlwithcurves.tumblr.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

In the meantime, I'll just have to pretend to be glamorous and emulate her style.

Shirt and Hat: H&M; Tank: Target; Belt: Kohl's (from a shirt); Vest: self-made; Jeans: New York & Company; Bracelets: Charming Charlie; Boots: Modcloth

I completely forgot to add the yellow circle scarf (which I have), so I'll have to copy this look again with my brown drapey cardigan and yellow scarf.  Oh darn!  Maybe I'll mix it up and wear my cognac booties instead of the black ones to match the hat.

Scholarly Equestrian

Shirt: Old Navy; Blazer and Jeans: New York & Company; Scarf and Bag: gifts; Boots: Kohl's

I alternated between feeling like a professor and a horse rider in this outfit. Without the scarf and bag during work, it was definitely equestrian. Then running errands after work with the added scarf and bag, I felt like I was ready to go teach English 101. Not that it's a bad thing. I like wearing blazers even if I don't do it that often.

In other news, I think it's high time I put down the sweets and hit Weight Watchers hard again.  I was very double-chin-y in these photos.

Some other random thoughts:

• I'm watching New Girl right now, and I love that Jess mentioned An American Tale.  I loved that movie as a kid.
• I also loved her royal blue elbow patch cardigan in the opening scene.
• I'm always amused when the basketball player roommate guy talks about playing for the team in Latvia since my dad goes there almost every year.
• Besides New Girl, I nerdily cannot wait for Breaking Dawn.
• Hey, the episode of Big Bang Theory where Sheldon meets Amy is on right now.
• I gotta get started on planning Bridget's birthday party. I'm leaning toward a rubber duck theme.
• I'm so not ready for Christmas stuff yet.