Things to smile about

Sometimes I just need to sit back and think about the good things, the things to smile about.  

1.  Getting a new job on a Monday, makes it not such a bad day after all and a great start to the week/month!

2.  Spending the weekend turning your closet from this:

to this:

 plus all this to go to the Goodwill (4 bags of clothes and 1 bag of shoes!):

3.  Sitting outside on a Saturday night in 80 degrees and watching a concert where the headliner played for 2 hours

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4.  Learning that mom and dad will be coming for a visit in October for 1 week+.
5. Going to the store and buy 2 sweaters, 1 tank top and 1 scarf for your self and 1 sweater for your husband and only spend $50 for all of it.

6.  or when I order a shirt just to get my order over $50 for free shipping and absolutely loving it when it gets here.

7. taking a Friday off so I can have a 4-day weekend, just because!  Today is my 'Friday'!

Hope everyone is have a great week.  Happy September!

To be honest . . . . .

1. I haven't posted a recap of the shower because I'm disappointed with the lack of pictures I got.
2. I'm doing a half marathon training program for the one here in early November, but I'm so afraid to actually sign up for the race out of fear that I will jinx myself about being able to finish the program.
3. I'm really ready for fall to be here already, the heat is really getting to me.  I'm looking forward to cool crisp days.  Light weight sweaters and jeans vs. what's the most work appropriate coolest thing I can wear.  (Any recommendations for some new flats, I'm struggling to find some.)
   
4. Softball and Soccer are starting up soon, through October we have something every Mon, Tues, and Wed and KC has something on Thurs nights.  Holy moly we're going to be busy, and it makes time fly!
   
5. I'm really excited for football season so that it can be time for fantasy football.  I love Sundays in the fall, sitting around, watching football and checking out my team!
   
6. I'm feeling the need to do some painting and house organization, but it feels like money is flying out of the bank account and not back in as quickly so I might have to just do it with what's on hand.  No trips to the container store for me.
   
7. I've changed my blog design weekly lately.  I just need to man up and find someone to do it for me, I'm just being cheap! (Though I know they all do great work and I'm sure they're worth the $$)  I want to make sure I'm set on a blog name first though.
   
8. I bought fabric for my first quilt, but I'm terrified to start, I don't want to mess it up.  I've laid out the strips and paired them so far.  My goal is to start sewing this week.  Eek!
   
9. Tomorrow's my 100th post and just *might* feature my Pay It Forward post (hint, hint).
   
10. I bought 2 of each of these shirts this weekend in different colors and really just want to go back and get them in the remaining colors.  How many is too many of the same shirt in different colors?
    
11. All these new comments and followers have made me really excited about blogging lately!

Hope you're having a great day!

Dear (Clothing) Stores

Dear (Clothing) Stores,

Hi, I'm Lauren, and I just wanted to let you know that I do like shopping at your stores.  To tell you a little bit about me, I don't pay full price and I'm a lot little picky.  I am not really a shorts person, so I tend to gravitate towards wearing capris for the summer.  Now to put it in a nutshell, I have big legs.  I work out and try to stay as fit as possible, but my legs don't seem to understand.

As I've shopped your stores recently, my calves seemed to have become a problem with the latest styles.  I have been able to find one pair of capris all summer that would allow my calves to fit in them.  The rest?  Well they're the skinny crops and I can't even get them over my calves enough to pull them all the way up.  And I'll tell you what, anyone with calves can attest that, not only does this style not fit, but it's not particularly flattering on our body leg type.  I can understand that this is what's in fashion right now.  I know that Skinny jeans don't work for me, but that's fine, I wear flare/boot-cut instead.  I also know that if I need to go up a size, then I will, it kinda sucks, but I get it.  Well I don't need to go up a size, I just need you to make the calves of your pants a little bit bigger.  It too hot to wear pants, and I'm not the biggest fan of my legs in shorts, so I need to have capri pants.  It would be nice if you carried some capris that a 'big-calved' girl like me can purchase so I'm not sweltering in jeans all summer!

In closing, I would appreciate if in the future you considered that I would like to wear capris too!

Sincerely,
Big-calved girl that wants to wear capris

Dear (Shoe-Shopping) Stores

Dear (Shoe-Shopping) Stores,

We haven't formally met, but I'm Lauren.  To tell you a little bit about me, I don't pay full price and I'm a lot little picky.  I am a visual person and would prefer to go try things on in the store before I purchase them.  To speed up the process, I sometimes peruse your website to see what you have and if there's something that I might like.  Now, I am rather appreciative that you actually have a website that shares your merchandise, so please don't get my wrong there.

I have been perusing for a while today and came across some shoes which I love and MUST HAVE.  I was excited because my sister and I, we're going shopping tonight!  Then I see it, two ugly little words:  "Online Only".   But, but, but no, I want need them, I have to have them!!

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I already went through this once with a different chain and I visited 3 of their stores (that's right 3 of them) to find the ever elusive sandals that were the object of my affection, but they didn't have a single pair, anywhere.  I loved these babies, but they were no where to be found.  I haven't gone back there since.

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I'm not sure you understand what it's like for a flip-flop only kinda girl like me to finally find a pair of sandals that I want.  I know I'm picky, but I can't help it.  Can you please just help a girl out just one time.  I mean really, what did I ever do to you.

Please don't stop posting items to your site, but I would appreciate if you could have like an "Online Only" section so that I don't have to get my hopes up for my shopping trip (like Old Navy does).

Sincerely,
shoe/online shopper at your store

Ruffles!

Lots of emails have been coming in for Spring fashions and I have been checking them out whenever possible.  I'm usually a pretty plain dresser (as mentioned here) but all these ruffles seem to have caught my attention lately.

Shoes:

Target - $12.99

Cardigans/Tops

 

Old Navy (online only) - $29.50

Gap - $34.50

 

J.Crew - $29.95

Bathing Suits

 

Old Navy (online only) - $19.50

 

J. Crew - $44.00

And these are just a few of them, I could post pages of them.  Now if only I'd seen the Gap/Old Navy stuff last weekend when I had a 30% off Friends/Family coupon!

This is definitely one of the more popular trends this summer.  Now, to keep myself away from the mall/internet!

I've been bit . . .

by the Liberty of London bug.

Yesterday we were heading to the hardware store and I decided I wanted to stop by Target on the way and see the new Liberty of London line I'd been hearing about.  If you remember from this post, patterns are not my thing at all!  I steer clear so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to find anything that I liked in the clothing or home section.  If I liked them, there was no way I was buying them because they just don't fit my normal style.

Well, boy was I wrong.  First thing when we walk in the store, is the Women's clothing line.  The first shirts I see, I love!  I just kept looking at them saying, I can't believe I like these!  I bought them both and I can't wait to wear them.  I do plan to wear a cardigan with each of them to "pare-down" the boldness of one of the patterns.  I have two different cardigans that will go great with each of these tops.

Here's what I got:

I will say that the key-hole is a little low, but I normally wear something underneath, anyways so that should be fine.  My fashion adviser (my sister) wasn't home when I returned, so I'm anxious to hear what she has to say about them when I get home from work tonight, I'm hoping she doesn't say "take them back, they look terrible!" :-)

I didn't get to see everything they have as this is one of the smaller Targets around town.  Looking at the Target website, there is everything from shirts, dresses, swimsuits, scarves, flip-flops, hats and more in the women's clothing line.  There's a men's and children's line as well.  Bedding, bicycles, Dining, Furniture, Home Decor and so on.

There are so many patterns, these are just a few that I like:

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Have you gone to Target and checked it out yet?  Did you like the new line or not?

Wardrobe Woes

I'll admit it, I have a fairly 'plain' wardrobe.  I don't usually get into the latest and greatest things out there.  Most pieces I own are neutral and solid colors, and not the 'it' style for the season.  Now that my sister is living with us, she likes to put in her 2 cents about my outfit for the day.  She wants me to start wearing more 'stylish' clothes (you mean that sweater from 2005 isn't the 'it' style right now?).  I think I've been doing better.  I tend to by something in multiple colors when I find something I like (the Gap outlet is too close for my bank account's comfort!).  Lately I've been gravitating towards wearing more cardigans.  I wish I could show you the pictures of the sweaters I just bought (3 of one style in different colors and 2 of a different style in different colors).  Work is cold in the summer, so cardigans are a great option, but I need something other than a white tank to go underneath.

There are a few things I'm trying to get over:  patterns, and shoes with a heel.

• I think I have a fear of patterns/appliques, I am afraid they're too bright or bold or loud or something, I don't know.  I'd really like to find some patterns that I like to go underneath these cardigans.  I also tend to like tops that go down mid-hip, thanks to watching What Not to Wear I think that is the style that looks best on me, so sometimes this limits my options.


• Let me start this by saying, I love shoes!  But, I have a fear of wearing any type of shoe with a heel (so basically I just wear flats and flip flops).  Part of it is that I usually only wear shoes with heels to work because hubs and I are the same height and I prefer not to tower over him (I know some ppl don't mind this, I'm just not a fan).  The other part, I think I look a little silly sometimes.

I've been searching the internet and found a few things I'd like to add to my wardrobe this summer (or have already).  Here's what's in my shopping bag (hopefully) for when that tax refund arrives!

Tops:

Land's End Canvas

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Old Navy

I tend to shy away from the embellishments like on the top of this one.

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Nordstrom

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Express

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The Limited

I actually bought this a few weeks ago but wanted to share.  There are flowers on one side, it's one of those shirts I wish came in multiple colors so I could have them all!
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Shoes:

J. Crew

I know they're only kitten heels, but I think they still fit the bill and they're not flats.
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I also really want to find summer sandals that are strappy but not around the ankle.  If someone could find me a pair like these ones that Jillian wore on the Bachelorette, I'd be forever grateful.  I wear flip flops 90% of the time in the summer and would love a pair of sandals (that don't slide on).

I have some other 'wardrobe woes' that I'll share in the future.  Any suggestions for tops, shoes or sandals?