The One Where I Catch a Cold and Fall Off the Face of the Planet

top: target | similar
shorts: AE | cute option
boots: overstock | similar
watch: exact
bracelets: groopdealz & DIY | similar & diy


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Please pardon my utter lack of posts this last little while. An especially nasty cold took me out of commission for over a week. Basically all I could do for days was lie on the couch and watch TV, and even that was pushing it. I still have it, but I'm finally beyond the stage where forming coherent thoughts isn't a chore. And even though I've lost my voice, I am happy to report that I can still speak as much as I like as long as I type it onto a screen (or whisper to people, which isn't awkward at all).

This little number was my outfit of choice for a date with a friend at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC two weeks ago. I knew we'd be doing a lot of walking, so I tested these shoes out to ensure they'd be nice and comfy while strolling for miles around the museum and city. They passed the comfort test at home, only to completely and thoroughly disappoint me once out in the field. Luckily my friend was patient each and every time I made a pit stop to add a band aid to a sore spot, or to complain about the woes of being a woman who cares about trivial things like cute shoes, all while looking longingly at his size twelves and wishing - just for a fleeting moment - that my feet were big enough to borrow his sneakers.


Linking up with my homies today.

Put A Bird On It

top: c/o dxmall (20% off w/ code DXMALLFAN)
shorts: exact
necklace: c/o dxmall
shoes: similar | cute option
hat: ON | crazy similar

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I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Life is just better when you put a bird on it.  And this blouse is no exception.  For a good, long while the extent of my obsession with birds was limited to swallows, sparrows, and other songbirds.  I'm only partially ashamed to admit that not too long ago, I constantly put birds on things, but limited it to sparrows, swallows, and similarly small, adorable ones (if only you could see my bird-adorned hoodie, the plush birds nestled in my house plants, the Christmas ornaments I sewed, various necklaces featuring our feathered friends, and oh yeah, the handmade mobile hanging by my bed).  But then I received this flamingo print top* from my lovely sponsor, dxmall, and I am now proud to say I welcome birds of all types to adorn my attire.  I mean, what a waste of time thinking flamingos (used for decorative purposes of course) were simply neon pink, plastic kitsch accompanied almost exclusively by astroturf.  Thanks to the truly beautiful print on this top, I now see that they can be pretty, understated, sophisticated even.  I can only imagine what will come next.  Seabirds?  Arctic birds?  Tropical birds?  The possibilities are wide open!


*a note about the top: contrary to the blazer I received from dxmall, this top seems to run large.  I'm wearing a size medium, but probably could have done with a small.


Linking here today.

Short Dreams

{Just one day left to enter the Chicnova giveaway}

So far this winter season it has snowed in NJ more times than I can remember.  Since December I have yet to check the 10 day forecast and not see snow predicted at least once or twice that week.  This winter has been so bad that I've even complained to my boyfriend that I feel like we're being punished for living in this state.  Winter has made me question my love for New Jersey.  Not cool, winter.  Not cool.

So I say, enough is enough.  I am officially in dreaming of spring mode.  I've been keeping a mental list of all the nice, outdoor places I'll go visit once the ground is no longer covered in two and a half feet of icy "winter wonderland".  I've taken to opening my closet every so often, just to stare longingly at the pretty, lightweight dresses, tops, skirts, and shorts I'll be able to wear once it warms up again.  My patience for winter has become so nonexistent that I even caught myself having a mental wager (with myself) to predict the date that all the snow will be really, truly, completely gone for the year (so far I'm placing all my bets on March 28th...anyone else care to get in on the action?).

And to kick start my countdown to spring, I'm shopping for one of the only pieces that I can't successfully wear in the dead of winter - shorts.  (I realize shorts + tights = winterized shorts, but that only works when it's 35° & up.  When it's about 17° & windy, not so much).  Here are some of my favorite picks from my sponsor, TBDress.  (To check out the rest of their selection, click here: http://www.tbdress.com/Cheap-Shorts-100532/)

I feel like I could spend at least half of the entire summer wearing these.  They're just a cute, comfy, basic denim short.

These are more polished than the denim shorts, but look just as comfortable. I'd wear these to transition into spring with a striped sweater, some sheer black pantyhose underneath, and black booties.

These bright blue cuties are just the perfect pair to add a fun pop of color!  I pretty much adore every single thing about this outfit.  I'd rip it off in a heartbeat!

Who says shorts can't be fancy?  I would so wear this sparkly little number to a party or a club.  The chance to be my own walking disco ball?  Yes, please.

What kinds of shorts are you dreaming of for spring/summer?

Compensation was provided in exchange for this post.  As always, all opinions are 100% mine.  Because, f#ck winter.