OOTW - Fall's A Comin'

A few recent Ross finds have sparked this little burst of OOTD blog attention.

1. Dress - Ross, Flats - Target

2. Cardi - Target, Top - JCPenney, Pants - Gap Modern Boot Trouser, Flats - Payless

3. Dress - Old Navy, Cardi - Old Navy, Flats - Target

4. Dress - Ross, Flats - Target

I know I shouldn't wish summer away, but I'm getting excited to see what retailers are offering for fall 2011. I haven't seen too much in stock yet, so I'm hoping they're waiting a few more weeks to come out with their good stuff. I need to stock up on my cardis, more cute 'career' tops, and more shoes. I'll be a little lost with my fall/winter default of dress/leggings/boots, so I'm going to need to think far ahead. 

OOTD: Summer Stripes

I posted a few months ago about my love affair with stripes. Apparently the affair is still going strong.

L: Dress - Target; Shoes - JC Penney
R: Dress: Ross; Shoes (not pictured) - Target silver flip flops

Please excuse my blindingly white limbs. It's just too darn hot here in the Northeast to worry about my flabby appendages. But maybe the stripes will distract.

In more culinary adventures, I made a diet soda cake this morning. But my impatience got the best of me, and I flipped it out of the cake pan before it was done cooling. Oh sad sad cake - you're ugly, but delicious.

Sunday evening duties call. Hope you all had lovely weekends!

OOTDs: Shades of Summer

I feel like I have so many more outfits and shopping purchases to blog, but that has taken a backseat due to a completely messy bedroom! I finally cleaned up a bit of the scattered piles of clothes that fill up around the mirror, so OOTDs are back!

I've already bragged about my favorite little summer cotton LDB from Walmart (and its teal sister). But adding my favorite chartreuse cardi and a black power pin made it seem a bit more interesting. And the maxi dress was a TJ Maxx find from yesterday. Floral print, smocked waist, ruffle neckline ... as Chloe from The Chloe Conspiracy would say "grabby hands!" My friend Kate suggested this brown braided belt to go with it - great choice! If only maxi dresses were appropriate in my workplace, I'd have so many more.

The dress even complements my new OPI nailpolish from my Elfster "elf"! (Strawberry Margarita)

This weekend we're continuing our mini front porch facelift. We replaced our VERY old and beat up storm door with a full panel one, replaced our welcome mat, and hung a basket of flowers. Next up is replacing the exterior lights and mailbox. It's improved so much with those tiny little fixes!

Happy 4th of July weekend to all my American friends!

End of My Twenties Night Out

The end is in sight. The end of my twenties that is. 

Saturday night, I got to celebrate the final weekend of my twenties with friends, including the lovely Vee. I even honored the decade by drinking like I did 9 years ago! 

I'm pretty much dreading having to face the fact that I'll be 30 tomorrow, but then I gain some perspective and reflect on all the people and events that have brought me to this age. I look at my marriage, my home, my friends, my career, and I can't help but think "If this is what my 20s have given me, how much more awesome will it get in the next decade?" 

and a pre-dinner OOTD:

Dress: TJ Maxx, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Target, Flower pin: Burlington Coat Factory

Signing off on my last post in this age bracket. See you on the other side! 

OOTD: The Bittersweet Dress

I happened to stumble upon an old dress in my sweater closet today. The dress was purchased in 2005 at Old Navy.

The Good: Old Navy had vastly different quality garments back then than today. NOTICEABLE. The dress is strapless, blue pinstripes, kind of sheathy-y, zippers up the side and came with a built in fabric belt with cream grossgrain ends. Also, I was happy with how I styled it today. I only may have worn that dress once in 2005, so it was basically like having a brand new dress for free.

The Bad: 2005-2006 were rough years for me, weight-wise. In fact, I was at my highest ever weight in those years. The damn dress from my fat days fits very well now.

Dress: vintage ON, Belt: Rue 21, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Payless

I've never felt so confused wearing a dress before.

A No Pants Week

I may have two or three wearable pants in my closet, but NO suitable summer-weather work appropriate tops, so this past week saw a lot of dresses (and one skirt). As you can see from this post's OOTDs, I wear a lot of empire-waisted dresses. Looks like that will have to come to an end;  at a professional luncheon yesterday a man was convinced I was expecting. A lesser woman would have cried on the spot. 

from left to right: Skirt: Gap, Tee: Walmart, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Payless

Dress: Target, Blazer: JC Penney, Shoes: Target

Dress: Target, Cardi: TJ Maxx, Shoes: Payless

Dress: Target, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Payless

Dress: Target, Cardi: Target, Shoes: Payless

Today is kicking off my four-day weekend! I hope to grill a lot, clean my house, buy a storm door, and pick up some new work staples. Oh! And a definite Target run is in order to scope out this dress. It has pockets, y'all! 

What are your plans for the Memorial Day weekend? 

Tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday Comes Afterwards

Oh, look -- a weeknight post! This would have been posted last night, but the blog gods said otherwise. I've been trying to be better about taking daily OOTD shots, though the morning light that comes into my bedroom window is a bit iffy (hence awful colors in these).

from left: Dress - old Target; Cardi - Target (check last post); Shoes - Target (check two posts ago)

right: Dress - Walmart; Cardi - Target; Shoes - Payless; Belt - F21

It's been another long, stressful week, and I'm so happy it's the weekend. And thanks to Glee's prom episode, I've had their version of Rebecca Black's "Friday" in my head ALL DAY! I'm hoping to get a lot done around the house in preparation for the cookout next week. I'll probably drag the hubs to see "Bridesmaids" as well. Otherwise, you can bet your butt when I'm not doing those things, I'll be rocking this hot little number: 

Hoodie - Gap outlet; Pants - Target (These are seriously the best lounge pants EVER!)

Happy weekend, all!

OOTW and My 150th Post!

If you would have told me in August '09 that I would have kept up with this blog I would have laughed at you. I can't say it's evolved that much, but that's okay. Unlike a lot my peers, I'm not doing this because I'm a whore for followers or ads or popularity. There was a time when that's what I wanted. But now I know that my readers are here because they want to be and not because I hosted a giveaway. Don't get me wrong - I still wish I had more time to devote to Aprons & A-Lines, and I give huge kudos to those who have interesting, fresh content daily. That's just not me at this point. So thank you, dear readers, for sticking with me for the last 150 posts!

Your reward? A mini collage of three outfits I wore last week. :)

1. (left) Dress - LOFT outlet; Cardi - Target; Flats - super old Kmart

2. Tank - Target; Cardi - Target; Pants - JC Penney; Flats - Kmart

3. Dress - Target; Cardi - Target (similar); Flats - Kmart (what can I say -- they're comfy!)

And impromptu shopping trip last night ended up with me buying three pairs of shoes, two sweaters, a tee-shirt, a pair of pants. 

Mia Suede Slouch Boot - Sam's Club - $9.

Bonnie Big Bow Flat - Payless

And my first printed cardi!

Merona Essential Pink Floral Cardigan

OOTW and a Confession

Just a short blog drive-by to depict some outfits of the past two weeks. I'm trying to remember to whip out the camera and take (blurry) images of my outfits before I walk out the door. 

from left to right: 

- Cardi - AE; Tank - Old Navy; Pants - Ross; Flats - Payless

- Shirt - Old Navy; Tank - Sears; Pants - Target; Flats - Payless

- Dress - TJ Maxx; Cardi - Old Navy; Tights - JC Penney; Flats - Payless

- Dress - Target; Belt - F21; Cardi - Old Navy; Flats - Target

- Dress - Target; Cardi - Target; Shoes - Target (however I didn't wear those out -- I changed into the black flats of outfits 1 and 2.) 

And that leads me to confession time. 

::whispers:: I think I like pants now. 

I know. It's shocking. No, I'm not pitching my 100 dresses out my window. And I still think jeans are the devil incarnate in terms of fit and comfort. But yes, I will be acquiring more pants into my work (and maybe non-work) life. I'm evolving!

OOTD + TJ Maxx Finds

Today marks my last day of my four-month laycation. I could probably write paragraphs and paragraphs about what a crazy, weird time it's been. So much has happened -- both good and bad. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I'm going to miss a lot of things about my SAHW time, but I'm anxious to put on my working girl hat and move forward with the next chapter of my life.

It's been a decently busy (for me) week. Outfit on the left was worn to my clients' tasting appointment. Outfit on the right worn to lunch with my new boss.

Left - Dress: TJ Maxx, Cardi: F21, Leggings: NY & Co., Boots: 2010 Target

Right: Dress: Target (Merona Artist), Cardi: F21, Leggings: JC Penney, Boots: 2010 Target

After yesterday's appointment I made an impromptu trip to TJ Maxx. Of course these spontaneous trips are the ones in which I find tons of stuff to take home! I cannot wait for warmer weather to wear this embellished gray maxi and black tiered dress. Chances are the black tiered dress will debut soon on A&A though. :) 

Color more true to life on right

Hope you all have lovely weekends! The mister and I are getting away for a little overnight stay to the Finger Lakes. A final hurrah before my 9 to 5 life starts on Monday. 

OOTDs: Playing with Color Again

It's been an interesting (and slow-going) transition period from sweats to street clothes. Not only am I adjusting to real clothes again, but the weather here in PA is almost  feeling spring-like, so I've had to be introduced to my bare legs again (needless to say, sorry for the blinding white limbs). Plus, this week also commemorates the first time I've gone without my fallback black/grey combo!

Outfit 1:  Dress and Cardi - F21 (links a few posts down) - I don't know how to style this one yet. The stripes are red and navy, but the waistband is black. I still freak out at a black/navy combo, so in the future I may just try belting it to camouflage the black.
Outfit 2: Dress: Ross, Cardi: Lands' End Canvas, Shoes: Payless
Outfit 3: Dress (worn as a shirt): F21 and purchased from a blog sale, Pants: Old Navy, Cardi: Target (Merona), Shoes: Payless

As you can see, I'm still working on acquiring a tripod for better OOTDs.  At least the images are better than iPhone pics...right? ; )

F21, You Continue to Surprise Me

Every time I'm in a brick and mortar Forever 21, my heart palpitates and my blood pressure skyrockets. I can't tell if I'm just visually overwhelmed by the mass chaos, but finding anything in that store is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. It's stressful! But I can't help myself. I love me some cheap, trendy clothes, and their costume jewelery and belt prices just can't be beat.  So, every so often I find myself making an online order -- the ultimate risk. Any F21 girl knows how inconsistent their sizing ranges and how suspect the quality of the material is from item to item.

For some crazy reason I keep lucking out in my online orders. I keep loving everything that arrives on my door. I thought for sure buying a top especially would be a disaster. But I don't think I've purchased a top in the past five years I like as much as the Striped Button Shoulder Top. I love the fit (just the length I like), and best of all, the quality is something I would NOT think I'd ever find at F21. 

Let's ignore the fact I have no business wearing skinny jeans/jeggings and my hair...well, there are no words for that. 

Top: F21
Jeggings: ANA/JC Penney
Flats: Target

Is there an F21 staple you couldn't live without? 

Oh, and I'm trying out a new logo/header for Aprons & A-Lines.(Click through, dear Google Readers!) Better or worse than the last one? 

OOTD: Breton Stripes

Um, have I mentioned how much I adore stripes right now? All colors, all widths, whether dress, tank, cardi, scarf, gloves ... love it all! Up until a few years ago I believed in the fashion rule that horizontal stripes make even the skinniest of people look fat. Well, rules are for breaking.

While I'm not a participant in blogger group Everybody Every Wear, I am amazed at how many different ways you can style this pattern. I want to run right out and load up several shopping bags with stripes!

And to prove my love of stripes, I threw together a mini collage of how I took my little Old Navy mock two-piece dress from spring to summer to winter.

I wouldn't turn my nose up at any of these items either: 

dELiAs > Nautical Stripe Knit Dress > dresses > casual
$40 - delias.com
Stripe dresses »

Volunteer Club Cardigan
$40 - modcloth.com
Striped tops »

Old Navy Womens Striped Boat Neck Tees
$3.97 - oldnavy.gap.com
Long sleeve tops »

Old Navy Womens Oxford-Stripe Skirts
$25 - oldnavy.gap.com
Striped skirts »

Stripe Scarf
$20 - delias.com
Striped shawl »

Clothing at Tesco | F&F Stripe cuff gloves > winter accessories >...
4 GBP - clothingattesco.com
Gloves »

Navy Stripe Snood - New In - Topshop USA

$32 - topshop.com

Who else can't get enough of stripes?

OOTD: 1-1-11

Ahh, finally a new year. Even though this year is the one in which I'll turn *gulp* 30... I'm anxious for a fresh beginning.

The hubs and I needed to get away from our lives for a little bit, so we took an impromptu trip to Pittsburgh for New Year's weekend. It felt good just to laugh with friends, play board games, participate in a hilarious game of power hour, eat calorie-laden foods, and go shopping.

On Saturday I picked up a 3/4-sleeve floral dress and cognac belt from F21 and some taupy gray leggings from NY & Co. I'm obsessed with mixing florals and other patterns into my winter "uniform" of long cardis, boots, leggings, and belts.

Dress: F21

Cardi: F21

Belt: F21

Leggings: NY & Co.

Boots: Target

Bag: Old Navy

Wishing you all the best of everything in 2011

OOTDR (Outfit of the Dressing Room)

I tweeted about my latest dress purchase over the weekend and thought I'd share it over here too. While living in middle of nowhere Pennsylvania has its flaws, one of the greatest things about it is being able to find plenty of capsule collections at my local Target. I know some bloggers have said their Targets were cleaned out of the Tucker for Target line fairly quickly. And after seeing so many bloggers show their own finds, I was continually drawn to this one:

I totally wore this dress to work today and FORGOT to snap a pic of how I styled it. To be honest, it wasn't an outstanding styling. I wore gray sweater tights, a skinny brown belt, and my beloved cognac boots. But here's me in the dressing room:

I normally would have never purchased anything like this or in this silky thin fabric, but I couldn't deny the fabulous drape and lines. If you see this dress (in any of its patterns) in your Target, try it on. You may be surprised.

OOTDs: Say Hello to My Office Bathroom

Eeep. No, readers, I have not fallen off the blogosphere. Well, not completely anyway. Remember that whole new job thing? I still haven't figured out the whole balancing my new routine. I now have to do my blogging at home instead of at work! How heinous.

Speaking of work, I've attempted at some office bathroom OOTDs. The lighting is just a tad better than my bedroom window light. You don't get a view of the shoes, but let's be honest - my shoe collection is rather sparse and boring, so you're not missing much. Picture either black patent or bronze flats. There. Mental picture complete.

Dress: Can't remember!
Cami: Sears
Cardi: Target

Dress: Fashion Bug
Cardi: Target
Shoes: Payless?
Name Badge: my company

Dress: Boscov's (same here: Bon-Ton)
Cardi: Fashion Bug
Shoes: Payless? 

Speaking of work, I'm in desperate need of some more work clothes! I never thought I'd be lacking for clothes, yet here I am. I'm also having a hard time finding non flip-flop shoes. I find myself mentally coaxing Fall to hurry up and get here, so I can just fall back on the ol' reliable: sweaterdress, tall boots, and leggings. 

OOTDs: Back in Business [Casual]

I started my new job on Monday. While emotionally I'm still trying to adjust to the life change and the overthrow of my "normal," I'm still taking those iPhone pics and bloggin' em. Gotta keep *some* normalcy, right?

I'm still trying to build up a work-appropriate wardrobe. You see, my last job was so casual that jeans were considered dressing up. I wore anything (mostly dresses, obvs), but I didn't really care if something was too short or too low or too grungy. Now I have to keep myself covered up and pay heed to the company's dress codes. Eeep.

Monday's OOTD: my ubiqutous white Merona dress, striped draped cardigan from TJ Maxx, belted with a belt from Old Navy, and old KMart flats:

Tuesday's OOTD:  Old Navy flared khakis, Sears cami (these camis are awesome, btw!), and a Target cardi in Mint. 

Wednesday's OOTD: (Disclaimer: picture not from today, as you could tell from the different bedroom. Remove flops and insert bronze flats again)

OOTD: Skirting the Issue

I swore to my friend that I'd stop with the cell phone pics, but it's just so easy to snap the pic before I leave for work instead of messing up around with camera cords and slow upload times. Sorry, readers!

Here's another of my Lands' End Canvas goodies: the Gray Lawn Skirt. In real life, the gray is more greige, but I love how high-waisted and flouncy it is. I just paired it with an old ruched scoop-neck tee from Wal-Mart and a wide coganc woven belt from Rue 21.

In other fashion news, a poster on The Nest's Fashion & Beauty board alerted me to some new boots at Target.  I'd love to see these in person, but as of now, I'm kind of in love with their latest Frye knock-off (real leather upper!). I had great success with last year's Mossimo Kady boot in Cognac. I may as well just sign over my paychecks directly to Target.  Pretty much a win every time.

Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Kachiri Leather Americana Boots - Taupe

OOTD: Maximista

This OOTD is actually from a few weeks ago. For those who actually tune in to my blog to see the clothes, I hereby apologize. In all honesty, I've been feeling like my standard dress + flops are so simple and boring that I often forget to snap a pic and are so not blog-worthy.

I've been completely lusting after black maxi dresses this summer. But since most maxis have such itty bitty low-cut tops, I have to pass on most of them. Fortunately I found this one at Fashion Bug.

Granted, I still have a good bit of cleave going on, but at least I can slide by without a cami underneath. 

And I'm reaaaaaally hoping that this dress looks, uh, less maternity, on me in person. No, I'm not pregnant. Just weighted down (ha, pun!) with almost fifteen pounds of newlywed weight. Yesterday I finally took the plunge and stepped back on the scale for the first time since last May. Eeep. And there's the downfall of THE DRESS, my friends. When worn right, they're usually excellent at camoflauging gains because you don't have that pesky muffin top problem like you'd have with pants. 

Lesson learned. :-/

OOTD: 4th of July

You're probably thinking, "that dress AGAIN?" There's just something about this old white Merona dress that I keep gravitating toward. Plus I'm lacking decent blue dresses and have NO red dresses, so white it was. I added navy flops and the fabric belt from my Converse plaid shirtdress which has gray and navy tones.

We headed out to our city's downtown fireworks display (holy Jerry Springer convention) and dined on yummy hot sausage sandwiches and fries. The mister and I have a little thing for the Fourth since we met on that date back in 2003. Aww.

Dress: old Merona for Target

Shoes: Old Navy

Belt: repurposed from Target dress