I'm back! With a What I Wore Wednesday!

I'm back! Where have I been? Mostly on my living room floor counting strings in my area rug but that's another post for another day.

Last week was my first official week back to work and it was pretty exhausting. Aside from that I was ridiculously excited to wear something other than running pants, tshirts and Biofreeze (when the menthol smell starts to not even register in your olfactory senses then you know there's a problem) and last Wednesday was almost 80 degrees so I took advantage of it and wore a new dress that I am currently obsessed with. As in the first three days I owned it I had it hanging on the outside of my closet so I could stare at it. Should I not be admitting those kinds of things to the general public?

I first saw this dress at JCrew months ago but at 100% silk with a $200 price tag it was nowhere in a price range that I was willing to consider. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I happened upon it on massive clearance (it's been marked down for a while but it was marked down again) and that combined with an additional 30% off sale means I got it for $40. Heck. Yes. The necklace was a similar situation, I found it last week at a JCrew over an hour from me on massive clearance for $41. Tis the season for me to shop JCrew, it seems. Oh, and denim shirts? They are my official fall and winter jam and I wear them with almost every single outfit I put together. Good thing I own many.

Dress: JCrew
Denim shirt: Madewell
Necklace: JCrew
Shoes that you can't see: Black flats from Lord and Taylor

Today was Halloween so of course I needed to wear orange and black. I try to every year because not only is it festive, it prepares me for Syracuse basketball season when we eat, sleep and breathe orange. Yesterday I slammed two of my toes into my foot board of my bed and it was so bad that I hurled my phone across the room and almost hurled my breakfast. I think I just sprained them because today they are movable but painful and 5 colors but I can't fit them into dress shoes so sneakers it was. And how perfect are these sneakers for Halloween anyway? I get that it's not that exciting of an outfit but I ended up on my knees for hours cursing at a Netgear router so it worked out.

Sweater: JCrew
Shirt: JCrew
Pants: Express (the Columnist pants which are the greatest pants to ever happen to me)
Shoes: Vans
Earrings: Marc by Marc Jacobs

And just to spice things up I went out for a friend's birthday the other night and got to wear clothes that were neither for work nor running (a very exciting event in my life!). I also was able to challenge some unsuspecting guys to a pinball match because my favorite bar has a pinball machine and they thought they could own me. SO. WRONG. If you think you're good at pinball I officially challenge you. I might not beat you but I will definitely have fun trying :)

Dress: A small boutique in Syracuse
Jacket: Guess
Watch: Target
Shoes that you can't see: Nine West nude pumps

So how have you all been? I promise I will be back to blogging soon and will update you with all of the weekends I spent running half marathons and then lathering in Biofreeze. Oh, and I finally found my holy grail running shoes! I know you can hardly stand your excitement for hearing about them :)

Also, as always I am linking up with the Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday.

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: Ode to a Skirt

Dear skirt:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

You're beautiful.
You're soft.
You have just the right amount of color.
You don't wrinkle easily.
You're the perfect length.
You make my butt look ridiculous.
You're an All Around Gold Medalist in Skirt Awesomeness.

Skirt and Shirt: Ann Taylor. Bracelet: JCrew.

I actually didn't wear this today but it WAS up for consideration for wearing (as in I had it on and changed my mind) because those days happen. Why didn't I wear it? Because it was just too perfect and I wouldn't be seeing enough people who could admire it today.

Don't try to understand my reasoning.

The story of this skirt started a year ago. I saw it at Ann Taylor and promptly died on the spot because I had to have it and it was $118. How do I know that? I just took the tag off of it today. That's right, I've never worn it but we will get to that. So anyway, I saw it and fell in love with it and then promptly forgot about it because there was no way I was going to spend anywhere near that for a skirt that I would surely ruin.

Fast forward a few months and I was perusing the Ann Taylor clearance racks on a whim one day and there it was: my skirt in a size 12 petite on sale for....$12. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING YOU RIGHT NOW!!! Here was the problem: As you may well know, I was in the throes of being happy, fat and in love so I was a 14 and didn't come anywhere near to fitting in a 12P (which is more like an 8/10 in Ann Taylor language) but I bought it anyway. How could I not?

It's been in my closet since then since I had no idea when I would fit into it. I take it out from time to time to admire it and then last month it finally fit but not comfortably well. However today....today, magic happened. I tried it on just for the heck of it and angels sang the Hallelujah chorus. I paired it with my new silk Ann Taylor shirt that I am obsessed with (also a clearance rack find) and it was perfection. I've waites so long to wear it that today wasn't special enough of a day to debut it so it's waiting another day or 10. It will be glorious when it happens though.

Just look at the close up:

It's layers of silk pleated in the middle for texture because the edges are free. I saw a replica at the Ann Taylor outlet store a few months ago but it was nowhere near the same (someday I will explain how outlet and factory stores work but for now I will just tell you things may look similar but that's it, it's not the same piece). This is definitely an item that I will have tailored down when I hit my goal weight, thank God I have a good tailor.

When I finally wear it I will pair it with my Cole Haan shoes so the skirt can steal the show.

Let us not discuss that my pale, near death skin makes nude shoes look tan. The lady at the Elizabeth Arden counter later week called it "alabaster" but clearly she works on commission. I'll still take it, though.

Also, I linked up again for What I Wore Wednesday over at The Pleated Poppy.

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!