Outfit Of The Yesterday (Leather Weather & Arizona)

♫: America - The Shoes

If you follow along on Twitter & Facebook, you probably already know that Husband and I had the pleasure of taking a little mini-vacay to Arizona last week to visit his mom and her husband.They are snow birdies in the Phoenix region, and who the heck is going to say no to a trip to some place where it's 80 degrees with endless sunshine? In March! And to see family! Sign me up anytime, please and thank you.

So we packed our bags and off we went. It was a quick trip, as most of our trips usually unfortunately are, but fun nonetheless. And educational too!  Such as: 

1. Wearing a tweed jacket + jeans on a plane to Arizona...is...kinda not smart. Get down girl, go 'head get down etc etc etc.

2. Did you know cuff bracelets used to serve a more functional purpose aside from gettin' friendly with gravity and sliding off my arms every second they get? They do. We visited the Heard Museum, which is a bit of a regional mecca for exploring the ancient art & culture of native people. They had an excellent collection of primeval jewelry and according to our cute old lady tour guide, certain tribes would wear them to protect their arms from the stinging snap of the bow as they hunted. Clever?

3. Frank Lloyd Wright had his own versions of crazy-pants 'lawn decor'. I have long been in love with architecture (I really feel that it is what I want to be when I grow up, you know, if I don't first make it being an Official Haagen-Dazs Taste-Tester and/or back-up dancer for Lana Del Rey) ('cuz I believe quite strongly that this Fiona Apple Knock Off needs back-up dancers, a fancy pyrotechnics display, nonsensical snippets of Kanye West's Twitter feed, something), and while I had before seen plenty of pictures of Taliesin West I had no idea that amidst the clean lines and "deconstructed boxes" are odd Japanese sculptures he had purchased for cheap from Gumps.

 {bad i-phone picture of the sculptures--what a dumb time to be without my camera! you can see a better pic, not mine, here.}

According to the tour guide, Mr. Wright purchased the scenes after building the Imperial Hotel, and when they arrived broken in pieces he had his students glue them back together--not always correctly, either. They are sprinkled throughout Taliesin West, most often at the entrance of the various buildings to greet visitors; count my grandma's voracious pig garden statue collection as being out-shined and officially bacon errr, baking with jealousy.

4. The Duck fat ice cream at Cowboy Ciao does not taste like you'd think that it would taste. You are likely asking--what did you think it'd taste like, homie? Chicken? Fettuccine Alfredo? That Awful Taste You Get When You Accidentally Lick Your Fingers After Using Hand Sanitizer? The Bitter, Agonizing Tinge Of Regret From Being A Horribly Bad Person For Even Trying? Nope, none of the above. You can read more about this odd little concoction here.

5.  Coincidentally listening to Andrew Bird's super chill and lulling "Near Death Experience Experience" while in bad turbulence is super-creepy-surreal. And...kind of nightmare inducing? Well played, iPod, well played.

I don't discuss it much on this blog, but having studied both piano & harp extensively music is a pretty big part of my life--perhaps nearly as big as fashion. I love making mixes to listen to when on the road or in a plane, and you can see my latest "roadtrip" playlist right here.

 6. Arizona has a lot of In & Outs. Pretty sure we ate at every single one; pretty sure I didn't regret it at all.

{bug eyes & goofy faces at taliesin west during a quick break in the tour}

7. Last but not least: we do dumb things when we think no one is paying attention.  It is the solid foundation of a good marriage and all fashion blogs, kids, it really is. Trust.

It was a great trip and much love to my mother-in-law & her husband for having us! Since I know that you guys read this--thank you so much. It was brief, but we had a lot of fun. ♥

Now for an outfit. Highs in the 60's/70's here during the day (but still-chilly nights) has left the collective population of Colorado a little schizophrenic when it comes to clothing choices, ergo my jacket with shorts.

I will speak honestly when I say that I am not always a fan of the retailer Modcloth. Their aesthetic can be a bit off the mark in regards to my own personal style, and there have been lots of rumblings around the internet about their items being ovepriced and of sketchy quality.

I will say that while I agree with some of those sentiments, but I couldn't resist giving this faux leather jacket a try anyway, especially when a $10 off code from Birchbox popped up in my mail. I know, I know--a faux leather jacket.  I have nothing against faux leather (one of my favorite bags is even made with it) but in a jacket? 

Banish your little thoughts of the waxy, squeaky, sweaty, steamy faux-leather jackets of yore; this one is surprisingly well made and doesn't look at all like faux leather. It is also really soft (weathered, some might say), nicely lined, and has fabulous little details. It's fitted and slim fitting (I am wearing the small), and the slightly-puffed shoulders help it to stand out without being too over-the-top. I really like it, so you get an A+ on this one Modcloth, BUT THAT'S IT! For now.

Jacket: Modcloth (buy it here + take $10 off w/ code "MODPROM") (similar here) (similar for $58)

Top: Ann Taylor Keyhole Crossover Top in Toffee Cake (buy it here, on sale) (& another option here)

Leather Shorts: Urban Outfitters, old (similar at Mango) (similar here) (& a faux leather option at ASOS)

Belt: H&M (similar at F21)

Watch: Michael Kors Parker Watch (buy it here) (similar by Fossil) (similar here)

Bag: DVF Harper Evening Clutch, old (similar by DVF) (similar here)

Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Uliepe Pumps, old (similar at Yoox) (similar by Kate Spade) (similar under $20)

(Outfit Of The Day) A Beautiful September Wedding

So! I am still here, I promise.  

Life has been nothing short of crazy over the past two months, hence the lack of regular posting.  I am finally back at home, however, and most importantly back home without the looming threat of spending more time standing in the long lines of security at the airport (and then wondering, if the wobbly underground train that speeds back and forth between the three concourses derailed and ran into a wall and I survived, would I forever get free frozen yogurt from the World's Last TCBY That Is Randomly Located In DIA? Is that the rule?), or more driving on a long roadtrip (listening to Dr. Laura Schlessinger on Stars XM along the way for some bizarre form of masochistic torture to stay awake), or more living out of a suitcase and bathing my clothes and/or a random chihuahua in The Magical Downy Wrinkle Release on a daily basis.  You know--all the usual stuff that happens when traveling.

I've been everywhere, man, I have been everywhere.  My most recent trip was to Minneapolis to take part in a good friend's wedding and while It was a quick trip up there, it was jammed full of good fun.  So let's take a look at it, yes?

The bride herself is extremely artsy and crafty (and has cute freckles too, darn her!) and therefore wanted a DIY wedding.

So we folded lots and lots (and lots!) of pom-poms:

And we fulfilled our bridesmaid-y duties by bravely volunteering our husbands to test-try the Wilton's icing colors for juuust the right shade of pink:

{i'm hiding!}

Oh yeah. That's pink.

(and it didn't come off until several days later, cha cha cha)

After the Freaky Icing Color Debacle of 2011, we had to make a quick trip to the wedding decor aisle in WalMart, too:

{I'll just go ahead and say it--the wedding decor aisle in WalMart is kind of weird.}

I am wearing my moving-heavy-picnic-tables-early-on-a-Saturday-morning-while-Husband-watches-me outfit:

{it didn't even budge}

Pretty, pretty pom-poms:

Pretty, pretty bouquets arranged by the bride's mom!

My twin seester and me:

Outside shot of the Riehl farmstead:

The pretty, pretty bride & groom:

In love with her peacock hair clip, no?

Being silly:

{my mom used to tell stories about how, when we were itty-bitty-toddlers, she'd turn my sister and I loose in a gigaaaantic park and it'd never fail, we'd take off running and then run smack straight into each other.} {I sometimes feel like this explains a lot.}

More being silly:

Getting ready to head down the aisle:

{I was preparing to Souljaboy-Suparman-Dat-Oh down the aisle}

Husband!

After the wedding!

{the girls}

Cupcakes & cheesecake made by the bride--sooooo good!

Up to no-good with the pom poms:

{ripples mcgee}

Husband pretending to be me:

{hardy-har}

The wedding party:

Down by the Mississippi River, the end:

{and if our house ever catches on fire, I'm totally making sure to grab these and shove them into my Chanel flap as I flee.}

So!  That is that.  Now on to an outfit--our house is still in shambles, which means it is super exciting trying to find things to wear! And I'm talking about anything, really. I have no idea where anything is right now, and while I am not entirely sure if I liked my Dior Lolita booties with the outfit below...it was between those and a pair of  fuzzy bunny slippers.  It's all I can find.

(And the bunny slippers probably lost only because they were covered in sawdust and were a clashing shade of pink, soooo.)

I wore this outfit on Wednesday night while meeting up with one of Husband's old college roommates at The Atomic Cowboy for drinks, pizza, trivia, and fun. Simple, bold gold collars and chokers have been popping up all over the place, and I really love how they look with a silky blouse.  It adds a little bit of somethin' without detracting away from the prettiness of the blouse, I think, and are a welcome change from the beaded, blingy-and-heavy statement necklaces of seasons past.

And can I also say how much I love this blouse? I seriously, seriously love this blouse. It is gorgeous in person, feels great on, is machine washable (although I have not washed mine yet, so I cannot attest to the durability there) AND it's on sale right now at GAP. I'm wearing an XS and I think it fits well (it's supposed to be a teensy bit loose), so keep that in mind in case you want to grab it for yourself, too:

Blouse: GAP (buy it here, on sale) (similar style here by DVF) (and here) (and here for $13.50)

Skirt: Old J Crew (similar style here) (and here at ASOS) (and here for $19.80)

Necklace: Forever 21 (similar style here) (and here for $10) (and here for $15) (and here at Ann Taylor)

Bracelet: Forever21 (buy it here)

Shoes: Dior Lolita Booties (similar style here at Bluefly) (and here, on sale) (and here)

Bag: Lanvin Metallic Python Bag (buy it here) (similar style here at Macy's) (and here at GAP) (love this, too!)

(Currently bumping to...)

Outfit Of The Day (I Know I Am, But What Are You?)

I hope you guys had a nice Memorial Day weekend!  I had a busy one--Husband and I took a quick trip down to Oklahoma to spend time on the 800+ acre  family ranch that he co-owns with his dad and brother in the Red River area.  It was a fun and different sort of trip, albeit (as always) much too brief.

It is quite pretty down in that area nestled between the Oklahoma and Texas border; full of vibrant green fields and dense, thick trees creating endless shadowy paths to explore with tiny pockets of fiery sunlight twinkling and sparkling in, just like nature's version of a diamond.  Except diamonds are  already from nature and so I think that probably makes a diamond nature's version of a diamond, huh. So if that's the case, this was nature's version of...a..cubic zirconia?  You know, a really good cubic zirconia! One that doesn't look quite so fake.  Ya'll know what I mean--it was pretty.  


It actually reminds me a lot of where I am from in eastern South Dakota, and I never realize how much I miss the greenery until I am back home again in brown, desert-y Colorado, begrudgingly making plans to plant pots of dirt as it's too dry for anything else to grow. I mean, sometimes I get creative and even jam a  dead twig or two into the top of my dirt pots just for a  bit of artsy flavor (so whimsical! so fun! yay colorado!), but there is a lot to be said about the subtle pockets of prettiness in the Midwest. Even if it does come with humidity, frizzy hair, mosquitoes, and a bunch of other crazy things that I don't really miss, tweedle-tee-dee.


I see those endlessly flat fields and I always have to quell the tenaciously delicious urge to take off running, running, running. And never look back.

I did snap a few pictures this time now that I have a handy dandy little camera that fits into my purse.  We relaxed, did some riding around on four wheelers, ate dinner at the Choctaw casino, played a few mean rounds of Uno, and had windy buckets of cold lake water dumped on us during a 4-hour boat excursion on Lake Texoma. Here we go:

Speedy Gonzales (aka my father-in-law) zooming away from us in a field on the ranch on his four wheeler.

Another shot of a field on the ranch (and Husband's brother in the distance)

Moo-ve, cows, moooo-ve.  Hahaha sorry, can't help it.

 Chitty-chatter in front of us with Husband's brother and dad.

My hair + lots of humidity = not awesome.  I had to look my best for those effin' cows, you know.

I caught Husband talking to a squirrel and attempting to get rabies feed it. I think he missed Petunia.

On the boat! So excited!

And we're off!  So excited!

...and we're all completely drenched roughly 5 minutes later; you can't see because my camera was covered in lake-water-slime-goo.  (from left: father-in-law's wife, my father-in-law, Husband, and Husband's brother's foot.)

Going off to explore with the sun beginning to set!

This is Bull, the best puppy ever.  He was our trusty and fearless tour guide for a four wheeling expedition Husband and I took by ourselves.

Sunset.

Heading back home with Bull in the lead, kicking a cloud of dirt up the entire way.

I also took some vacation video of us doing normal vacation-y things, like me making honking noises at some cows because the horn on the four-wheeler was broken and also of me honing my skills as a professional bug puncher, but I think I'll just leave that off the ol' blog for now because I don't want to bore ya'll. Maybe later, but only if you guys are nice.

Outfit time!  You can't see it very well in these pictures, but my nails match my heels and it's making me happier than you will ever, ever know:

Top: Sanctuary (similar style here) (and here for $14.99) (and here) (and here for $19.99)

Shorts: Silence & Noise Leather Short (buy them here - on sale + take $20 off on your order of $100+ with code "HELLOSUMMER") (and similar style here)

Belt: J Crew Patent Tab Skinny belt in Cinnamon Spice (buy it here)

Bracelet: J Crew (similar style here)

Watch: Michael Kors Oversized Runway watch in Rose Gold (buy it here) (similar style here for $115)

Shoes: J Crew (similar style here) (and here)

Bag: Lanvin Sweet Dora Crossbody (buy it here) (similar style here for $125) (and here) (and here + take 10% off with code "372502096")

Nail Polish: Sally Hansen Insta Dry Fast Color in Raspberry Race (similar color here in 'lively lilac')