Outfits Of The Yesterdays (Catching Up + Easter + Four Outfits)

 ♫: The Recipe - Kendrick Lamar (ft. Dr. Dre)

Ah, so, where were we? I hope ya'll had a great Easter! It has been a busy past few days around here--between more travel, celebrating a job well done with Husband and some good news for him (hooray, so proud!), listening to my dad give a hilarious live analysis of Mad Men, stuffing myself full of my mom's delicious sugar cookies, and celebrating Easter with my fam...it was fun, but I am happy to be home again. I've always been a little bit of a homebody at heart, shh. Don't tell.

So time for some picture vomit. I've finally downloaded Instagram (uh huh), and I have also been trying to take more snapshots of my everything (riiiight), so the snapshots below are a hodge podge of iPhone, point & shoot, and new camera shots from whenever I remembered to pull out them all out.

It is a fine line, after all--it's like those people you see at concerts, nodding their heads to the beat of the music but tweeting/texting while doing so. In fact, they're doing it the entire time. Are they actually enjoying the experience, or are they enjoying the fact that they should be enjoying the experience, but they're so busy telling someone else how much they're enjoying it that they're not really enjoying what they should be enjoying at all? Right?

And to think, there's a reason why my extravagantly ambitious and industrious leap towards being a fortune cookie fortune writer never panned out. I know I sometimes use too many descriptors, can never stay focused, and worry too much about what others are doing...but can't they just make the fortune cookie bigger? In bed! Ha ha ha ha ha.

 Ooo-kay.

 My lucky numbers are always shut up, sad-face:

{clockwise from top left: dinner at the edge restaurant in the four seasons denver, outfit for that night, neon maxi skirt + blazer, flatness of Wyoming, funny-easter-bunny}

{a sparkly, colorful line-up}

{kitty!}

{the back of my favorite hoodie & what I wear whenever I'm not feeling well, hitting the gym, and/or going to the grocery store late at night: a comically badass, tatted, gun-toting marilyn.}

{he plays angry birds alllllll the time and it still took him forever to get the swim trunks out of the tree}

{twin sister + her husband + their dog}

{Husband + me + not our dog}

{our one and only attempt at a proper family photo}

{diane von furstenberg alba two mini dress in daffodil (available on sale in more colors here!) (and a cheaper option at ASOS), rivka friedman mina bracelet, forever 21 mint bangles}

Jacket: Nordstrom, old (similar at ASOS, on sale) (similar at F21) (& another option at F21)
Top: Ann Taylor, old (similar at Shopbop) (similar here) (similar at Banana Republic)
Shorts: Topshop, old (similar by winter kate) (similar by Tibi) (similar at Zara)
Necklace: Forever 21, old (similar here) (similar here)
Pumps: J Crew Valentina Pumps (similar here, coral no longer available) (similar here) (similar here) (similar under $75)
Bag: Lanvin Sweet Dora Crossbody (similar here) (similar under $200) (similar here)

Top: Sanctuary, old (similar here, on sale) (similar at ASOS)
Shorts: Topshop, old (similar here) (similar under $100) (similar under $30)
Shoes: J Crew Valentina Pumps in Weathered Rose (buy them here) (similar here for $100)
Bag: Marc Jacobs iPad Case in Coral (buy it here) (similar by Kate Spade) (similar at Mango for under $50)

Blazer: ASOS, old (similar by Alexander Wang) (a cardigan option here) (love this lace blazer at The Limited)
Cardigan: J Crew Perfect Mix Tape Cardigan in Henna (buy it here) (similar at Forever21)
Top: J Crew, old (buy it here) (similar here)
Belt: J Crew, old (similar at Express) (similar at ASOS for $11)
Necklace: J Crew, old (similar here)
Skirt: Forever 21 (buy it here) (longer, a-line option at Anthro)
Bag: Chloe Metallic Marcie in Gunmetal (similar here) (similar here) (similar under $200)
Shoes: J Crew Perfect Patent Pumps, old (similar here by Nine West) (similar here) (similar here)

Jacket: Alexander McQ for Target (similar at Zara) (similar here)
Cardigan: J Crew, old (similar here) (similar at F21)
Top: Modcloth, old (similar here) (similar here) (similar here under $50)
Belt: J Crew, old (similar at Banana Republic)
Skirt: J Crew, old (similar here) (similar here)
Shoes: J Crew Mona Pumps in Wild Berry (buy them here) (similar by Nine West in "pink suede") (similar at ALDO)
Bag: Lanvin Happy Mini Pop in gold python (similar by Lanvin here) (similar under $100) (similar under $100)

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 (Las Vegas + Hello Winter)

Well, heavens to Betsy!  Or Etsy.  Or whatever.  This has been a crazy past two weeks!  Just crazy, I tell ya.

My 30th birthday has (er, had) been looming in the distance for awhile now; and as a futile attempt to distract me from spending the entire day in tears while speed-dialing every dermatologist/plastic surgeon/therapist/any other doctor that can somehow fix things in the phonebook, Husband surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas!

And it was fun times.  We invited my twin sister and her husband with too, since you know--we share a birthday. It's a novel concept, this twin thing. Hold on to yer hats.

Here are just a few pics from some of our shenanigans:

This is my so-excited-to-be-at-In-and-Out face, which is very similar to my just-got-off-the-plane-and-I'm-burning-alive face.  I try to keep things easy.

Wandering, wandering, looking for The National Flat Butt Association convention.

Mecca Lecca High Mecca Hiney Ho. World's Largest H&M at Caesar's Palace.

Tween seester wombmate.

The magnetic force field was sucking me in; Husband is a good, good man.

Waiting at Serendipity 3 for lunch!

Sitting under the pink & orange tents outside.

Frozen hot chocolate!  So good.

Not sure who or how or where or why; but ewww girlfrien'.

Jason insisted on a random picture infront of a random bush...

...so we insisted on this random picture next to a random air conditioning unit. Am I throwing gang signs or gimpy arthritic hands from Lupus IT'S HARD TO TELL VEGAAASBABYYAH.

My gramma keeps complaining that she doesn't have any nice photos of the two of us, no idea why.

The lucky bracelet forgot to work, but only 'cuz he wasn't high rollin' on Kitty Glitter.

Prettiness in The Cosmopolitan.

Wicked Spoon Buffet.  SO GOOD.

Bad iphone pic of a pretty birthday gift from Husband. The Michael Kors Blair watch in espresso--love!

Weiners.

Nothing gets between me and a corndog, dogs.

...and late night desserts at D Bar.  I'm focused hard on the drinks menu. Later that evening, I would attempt to run down a dangerously dark alleyway to catch a cat so I could name him Bradford Monkey McCheeks and give him to husband as a sign of my undying love I got druuunk.

Okay, enough of that--on to some outfits!  Time for me to get back in the fashion bloggy game, hm?

The weather here has turned frosty which means it's officially jacket season. One of the things that I love about Colorado is that we do make darn good use of our coats and jackets here; we have ample opportunities to wear them, which helps rationalize any OCD-type behavior I have towards collecting them. Fist-bump, pow-pow!  Aaand it's the only thing I can do to keep myself from throwing a proverbial punch to winter's face by hibernating in my bedroom and underneath the covers for the next 7 months straight.

So first we have the Rachel Zoe "Lauren" Military Jacket. I grabbed this coat nearly two months ago when the collection first launched and Neiman Marcus was running some sort of promotion; I had been on the prowl for a pretty camel-colored jacket and this one is perfection. It is definitely a jacket and not a coat, however--so don't expect it to keep you warm in below freezing temps.  I am wearing it in a size 0, which I think fits perfectly although it should be noted that I like my coats to be fitted with very little room for bulky layers. The fabric is a stretchy ribbed wool that's a bit on the thinner side, but the coat is nicely lined and can be buttoned up, buttoned down, an buckled for lots of versatility.  Love it.

Also--my nails match the dark burgundy/red/black color of my snood!  So fancy, I am:

Coat: Rachel Zoe Lauren Military Jacket (buy it here) (similar style here for under $100) (and at ASOS for under $100) (and here in 13 colors!)

Top: Banana Republic Long-Sleeve Pleat Front Blouse (buy it here + take 20% off with code "BRSAVE20") (similar style here at F21) (and here in magenta)

Belt: J Crew (similar style here) (and here for $11)

Skirt: Forever 21 (buy it here)

Ring: H&M (similar style here)

Snood: ASOS (buy it here) (comes in blond/tan, too!)

Pumps: Old J Crew (similar style here) (and here for under $100)

Bag: Lanvin Sweet Dora (buy it here) (similar style here, on sale!) (and here for under $100)

Nails: OPI for Sephora I'm With Brad (buy it here!) with Butter London's Chancer on top (buy it here)

(Currently listening...)

Coming up tomorrow - a review on J Crew's Townhouse Trench! Sit tight! <3