What I Wore Wednesday: Wedding edition

Confession: If I am going to be honest I will tell you that I am sitting on my living room floor in a tshirt that says "I mustache you a question but I'll shave it for later" that an awesome friend gave me in my comfy pants doing back exercises so my What I Wore Wednesday would look more like I belong in an episode of Hoarders if I posted it accurately. Well, except that my living room is sparkling clean because I finished tearing it apart and putting it back together this morning. Therefore I thought it would be more fun to post what I wore to my cousin's wedding this weekend.

I know that I say over and over that Banana Republic, JCrew and BCBG are my three favorite places to shop but Ann Taylor really should be in there too. Their clothes are great quality and so classic that it's like we were meant to be together forever. Oh, and their petites fit me like a dream (except their pants, I will warn you that the length and fit can be questionable so always try them on). Their stuff can be pretty pricey but if you find something you like stalk it until you find a great deal.

This dress is a prime example of that because I had seen it on the website for months but $148 for a sheath dress isn't an amount of money I wanted to spend. Then last Sunday, less than the week before the wedding, all of their sale items online were an extra 50% off for less than 24 hours so I managed to snag it for $40. I chose regular shipping and prayed that it would arrive in time (and fit!) and it showed up on Wednesday! It's the first time I had ordered something online from them and their shipping was amazing.

In a 12P it ended up fitting perfectly (as I've mentioned before you have to try their petites, they fit great but I usually need to go up a size because I am currently a 10) and it was so gorgeous. This is how I styled it for the wedding (I also took a black cardigan in case I got cold) but for work I would pair it with a black blazer, nude pumps and maybe even a skinny nude or black belt. I just love the brush strokes on the dress so I wanted to keep it neutral and simple to really let the print shine. I'd even wear this out but I would probably put my cream leather motorcyle jacket over it which would be too amazing for words.

Dress: Ann Taylor
Shoes: Aldo (much more comfortable than they look, they're my favorite shoes I own)

Clutch: Ann Taylor (I got it on clearance a few months ago for $15!)
Bracelet: Ann Taylor
Earrings: Banana Republic

I just noticed something interesting, it seems that I tend to pair things from one store together a lot. I'll have to start paying attention to that more because I'm not sure why that is.

Make sure you check out the What I Wore Wednesday post over at The Pleated Poppy see some other great outfits!

What I Wore Wednesday: Round 1

I would sell my soul to the devil for a bowl of Kellog's Raisin Bran right now. It's one of my favorite things to eat on the planet and I've been thinking about it for days. If I bought it I would pour a little in a bowl, cover it in sugar then fill it with milk to the top and eat it like that until the whole box was gone. And let's be honest, nothing good would come of that.

I'd hit some Cocoa Krispies pretty hard right now, too. Cereal is my favorite. I miss you, carbs.



A few months ago a bunch of ladies I know asked if I would start posting pictures of what I wear to work on Instagram. I'm not sure why because I don't think that I wear anything all that exciting. I like tailored, fitted pieces in general in a classic style. I don't like wearing loose clothes since I lost weight because I spent most of my life in baggy clothes and what's the point of losing 120lb to cover it all up? I also hate pants and between April-November you will be hard pressed to find me in them, especially if I'm not working. I do wear them to work fairly often but almost never outside of work and in the winter I just wear leggings a lot because jeans are my arch nemesis.

I have had a hard time finding blogs that feature clothes of someone who dresses the way I do: business casual but a little more dressy because "business casual" is a slippery slope to khakis and a polo shirt and I'm just not interested in that. I didn't spend 7 years of my life in scrubs to wear polo shirts that make my chest look weird, thanks. Some people I work with are surprised that I wear skirts and dresses so much but really, I'm so used to it that it's not something I think much about. Maybe I dress up too much for my job but I don't think so, unless I roll in with a gown and 5 inch Guess stilettos (I do own such a shoe and they hurt but make my legs look killer) then I think I'm safe. Anyway, I thought someone else who dresses similarly to me might like to see what I wear. Or not. I have no idea.

Despite my love of classic colors and shapes I also do like to choose some trends to work into my wardrobe such as my obsession with neons right now. As I've said before, most of my clothes come from Banana Republic (because their petites fit me really well, I have long legs but regular pants are too long and short pants are often too short...I'm looking at you, Ann Taylor) and JCrew (because I like their style and trends). I almost never pay full price for anything because I will just wait for it to go on sale so I spend about as much on clothes as my mom does who is on a pretty strict shopping diet of JCPenney and Marshalls. I like to take risks sometimes because clothes are fun and if you don't like it then you don't wear it again. Easy peasy.

Shannon (over at shannanigans, check her out because she's a funny mama lady) mentioned a few months ago that I should join in with What I Wore Wednesday over at The Pleated Poppy so I figured, why not? I like to look at what other people are wearing because I'm nosy and that's how I decide I must own 99% of items anyway so maybe someone wants to stalk my closet from time to time. True to my procrastination form, here we are months later and I'm finally doing it. Better late than never is clearly my life motto.

So without further ado, here is what I wore today!

My shirt is a Haberdashery shirt from JCrew, I have an unholy love for button down shirts that will become pretty clear as these Wednesdays roll forward. The skirt I got this weekend on mega clearance at The Loft for $21! And it's subtle, right? ;) The necklace I got last year from Ann Taylor, also on ridiculous clearance for something crazy like $10-15. The shoes on the left are what I did wear, flats from Banana Republic but I would have worn my Cole Haans on the right if my foot wasn't so swollen from falling at my uncle's wedding (the bruise is now visible and is softball sized).

I also painted my nails last night in a color that is totally unlike me but I love it because it reminds me of clay. It's Yogaga by Essie from their new Yogaga collection and I got it on a whim last week. Having my nails painted makes me feel much more put together for some reason.

I am a chronic nail biter (the uncle from the aforementioned wedding taught me how when I was 3 or 4) and I usually leave them alone if they are painted but if they aren't for two or three days I will annihilate them which is what I did a few weeks ago. Therefore, forgive their sad state. They're generally very small anyway, I have obnoxious little carnie hands that can't even scale an octave on the piano.

Also, as a bonus to my first WIWW here is what I wore to my nail biting uncle's wedding (for the record, as I have somehow forgotten to mention this, he is the one who came up with the nickname that many of my family call me and of which this blog is named for. Although they usually just call me Dotes now).

Ignore that Gisele-wanna-be face, I was trying to show off the fact that I used bronzer for the first time ever and I was pretty proud of it. Dress and shoes are from Banana Republic as are my earrings. My bracelet that you can kind of see is from Kate Spade and my toenail are painted Slapper from butterLondon.

So there it is, my first What I Wore Wednesday. I hope you liked it!

Bullet Wednesday: Running, Rabbits, and everything in between

The Bun

She is doing much better and I really appreciate all the people who have asked about her. My pets are my kids and it was horrible to see her in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it. After all the research I've done I am 100% sure that it was "just" a bout of GI stasis and not hairballs (that doesn't make it any better, it just means that there was nothing else in combination with it). She has been eating like a champ though and is beyond excited that she gets a large bunch of organic Spring Mix twice a day to keep her GI tract moving at warp speed, so much so that she has started throwing her salad bowl again in protest when it's empty, something she hasn't done since she was young. This picture cracks me up, here she is about an hour ago with her Einstein toy that has three compartments to put treats in and she has to remove the pieces to find the treat (which she always does quickly).

What's up, doc?

My back

It got much better out of nowhere last week but then it went back to ground zero yesterday after I had a pretty physical day at work. I am going to the doctor tomorrow for a recheck but it's safe to say that I will not be making the 12 hour round trip drive to Maine this weekend to run Beach to Beacon which marks the second year I got in (registration closes in 5 minutes on the day it opens) but won't be running it. Maybe next year? *sob*

My July weight loss

July was a tough month because the first week was the week of the Boilermaker and I'm allowed to eat whatever I want the week before a big race (this is my own rule and I'm not changing it) and the week after I went to Philly for a sales meeting which means a lot of hotel food (there is usually cake, all I'm gonna say) and Pat's for an authentic Philly cheesesteak (Whiz wit out!). Therefore I only lost 3lb but the good news is I weigh in on the 28th of every month and even though it was three days ago I am back on track to where I need to be. I have a lofty goal of losing 10lb this month, think I can do it?

My half marathon training

On Tuesday morning my procrastinator self finally ponied up the $150 to Fleet Feet to join their half marathon training program that runs for 12 weeks and started that night at 5:45pm. After being late because I couldn't figure out where everyone was meeting I got put in my group of 10-12 minute milers and we did a 0.6 mile warm up and then did three one mile runs where we tried to improve our time by 10 seconds on each mile. I had to sit out the last mile because I got extremely light headed and thought I was going to pass out which was embarrassing. I didn't eat anything but a Kind bar for breakfast all day though and I haven't been sleeping well because I've been waking up to check on Archie every night so it makes sense. We run on Tuesdays and Sundays and I think Tuesdays will be speedwork and Sundays will be for distance. I'm not sure how I am going to fare on the Tuesday night runs because I historically suck at running in the afternoon or evening but I'm hoping I get used to it. I'm excited though, there are lots of awesome people to talk to so I hope I meet some new running friends. I already saw a girl that I need to be friends with because she had the best shoes ever and her shirt matched them so naturally we should be BFF's (whether she agrees or not). I need to step up my game though, all the girls looked cute in their running clothes and I was in my normal mis-matched business. What can I say, I wear what I like to run in and not what looks good (<-----Who is this person SPEAKING??!). I'm also SUPER excited about being coached and having a set schedule of running, I love structure.

Clothes, glorious clooooothes!

I bought a pair of pants at Banana Republic on mega clearance last weekend in a size smaller than I've been wearing and they fit like a dream so I've been wearing them for the last two days. Score one for fitting in smaller pants and score one for wearing pants many times before washing them. Then today I got my new bathing suit in the mail and despite being scared to try it on it looks so good (did I just say that outloud?) that I am going to order another one in white! (I told you, my love of white clothes knows no bounds). I also finally went to the new BCBG store on Saturday that is now in the mall that's a quarter mile from my house and died on the spot. You may recall that BCBG is part of my shopping trifecta (if only I had a JCrew purchase to go in this love story) so the fact that there is one so close to me is heaven on earth. I couldn't leave without commemorating this momentous occasion so this dress happened despite the fact that I usually loathe ruffles:

I can't wait until fall, swoon!

Waxing poetic

My eyeliner started out a little crazy this morning so I went with it and it ended up amazing which is my metaphor for life. When things look like they're going all wrong just keep working on it and it will all turn out all right.

I could have smile though. And put on some lipgloss. Live and learn.

How to stalk a sale.

I have an unholy love for Banana Republic. Actually, if you were to go through my closet you would find a pretty solid trifecta of BR, JCrew and BCBG.

BR I love because their clothes are good quality and fit me really well. They sell petites but they're not super tiny petites made to fit first graders which is how a lot are. I'm a small person but I'm not skinny. Just the facts.

JCrew I love because it is absolute preppy perfection and I'm pretty darn preppy. I've been obsessed with bracelets for well over a year now but I like them small and stackable which JCrew seems to understand. As for their clothes their pants and I don't get along but their shirts and dresses are amazing.

BCBG is one stop shopping for evening wear. I believe pretty strongly in buying dresses before you need them because as soon as you have an event to attend you will never find the right dress for it if looking last minute. However, if you find the perfect dress before you need it, buy it and eventually you will. I promise. And BCBG dresses are AMAZING and fit so well (at least, when I'm a size 6. I'm not allowed to buy any in a size 10 so I wouldn't know about double digit fit. It's just a personal rule.)

The issues with my love of these three stores are that none of them are cheap and I'm not exactly rolling in extra cash. I mean, how could I be when the bun eats her weight in pellets daily? (She's supposed to have her food measured out but I travel for work and it's not happening so in another year or so she will probably be the perfect size for a new ottoman which is actually pretty great, I'm really into multitasking).

The great thing about these three stores is they ALL have great sales if you stalk them properly. Take for instance this dress from Banana Republic:

I tried this on two or three months ago and fell in love immediately. I've had an obsession with all things white, especially clothes, since the womb and make it lace-like and I'm ugly-crying in the corner of a dressing room like a five year old because it's $100 and I can't take it home RIGHT THEN. Usually when this happens I try to rationalize and decide if I really can't live without it or if I can wait. Of course, I can never live without it but I force myself to wait anyway because my willpower and masochism are legendary. After I make the decision to wait I begin the stalking process. I will go back to the store every few weeks to see if it's on sale yet and will visit the website of whatever it is that I want and when it finally goes on sale I rejoice! Or I sob when I miss out on it. I missed out on the perfect pair of Anne Klein nude heels three years ago because I waited too long and I'm still in therapy about it. (Also, if you want to know how I have so much time to stalk clothing the truth is when you travel for work you have a lot of free time in random cities where you don't know anyone. Some days. Other days you roll into your hotel at midnight and have to leave it at 6am the next day with a keyboard imprinted in your face from when you passed out on your laptop at 2am trying to write your trip reports. It's a glamorous life, I tell ya.)

So here's how it went down with this dress: I tried it on when it was full price a few months ago and when I happened to have a 30% off coupon for a regular priced item that day but I felt like $70 was still too much (I did convince a long distance friend to buy it though after I posted a pic on Twitter which meant I have spent two months seething in jealousy). Instead of buying it right then I checked when I went into the mall periodically and after two months I finally found it in the clearance section online for $79.99 last weekend with an extra 20% off sale prices and free shipping, bringing it to $63.99. That still wasn't that low but as I had really wanted it for two months I decided to just buy it and not wear it and see if it would go lower. Well lo and behold last night all the sale items were an extra 40% in store so I went to the mall and guess what?? They had one! In my size! (And by "my size" I mean a size smaller than I actually am because I like to torture myself). So I snatched it up for a whopping $47.99 which is less than 50% off. I don't usually like to spend that much on dresses that are for daily wear but I really wanted it and I'm in love with it. Funny thing is the one I ordered online still isn't at my house yet but I am returning it as soon as it arrives to get my $16.00 back and that's how it's done.

This may be my first post about my shopping "kills" (as my mom calls them since I learned how to be frugal from her and my grandma which makes this a time honored family tradition) but I promise it will not be my last. One of these days I will post about the $118 Ann Taylor watercolor skirt that I wanted more than life itself and ended up scoring for $12. No joke. Extreme couponing has no place in my life because I'd rather focus on clothes than food.

(Also, this dress is still online (although only in size L) with an extra 40% so if you need one too you should get it while you can! It's available in navy and white here.)

Rose gold watch love.

I spent the majority of today with a kitty attached to my shoulder. The best part of my job is all of the hospital kitties I get to meet because they ALL act like no one loves them and gives them attention when in actuality they have an entire veterinary hospital full of staff and clients spoiling them at all time so I know better. But this lady wanted to perch on my shoulder and watch everything I did which was ok except that someone has been giving her far too many snacks as she was a bit portly. She also kept slapping me in the face with her tail when I had the audacity to move. The nerve of me.

My hair isn't really that orange anymore, it's the filter I used in Instagram. It was a birth though.

I've been obsessed with rose gold for the last year. It's just a color that looks really great with my (super pale red haired chick) skintone and I love how it's a little different. I've been wanting a rose gold watch for a while but given that I have ridiculous tastes every watch I wanted was $200+. In the grand scheme of things that isn't a huge amount for a piece of jewelry that I would wear every single day for years but it IS given three things:
-I would most likely be beating the snot out of it at work (my Kate Spade resolution bracelet looks like it's been through a war).
-I have some sort of weirdly acidic skin that eats through metal when I wear it too much and every single watch I have ever had has ended up with huge pit marks in the band from my skin. It's awesome being a mutant.
-I hypervenhilate over spending that much money on anything...except Kate Spade which is why I almost caved on a rose gold Kate watch this week. Almost.

None of these didn't stop me from dreaming though and here are some examples of what I've spent the last 6 months drooling over (I just had to pick baked potato out of the keys of my laptop to keep typing this, don't judge):

Found here.

Found here.

Found here.

But today I went to Target (for unrelated things that I promptly forgot as soon as I walked through the doors) and remembered I had seen some other bloggers with a rose "gold" watch that looked like a pretty decent comparison. I figured I would check them out but I didn't want to spend more than $30 (and I really just wanted to see what it looked like in person). Imagine my surprise when I was able to find the exact watch (there was only one left) and it was only $14.99 AND it didn't look like something I would find at the dollar store. SOLD!

It's a lot more pink in person but I use my iphone for all picture so that's as good as it gets.

And I love it. For $14.99 I can beat the snot out of it and my mutant body can eat away at whatever metal it's made out of and I won't feel guilty. It will also give me time to decide if I really want to fork over the money for a better quality watch (aka beg for it as a combined Christmas/birthday present). PLUS I now have more money to spend at Banana Republic and on strawberries for the bun! It's a win-win-win situation.

And the bun is happy about the extra strawberries.