Monday, February 28, 2011

wild life

the author, in her natural habitat:
i noticed today that grocery store shelves are the perfect height for setting up my camera timer. this may become my new thang, dawg.
this is another skirt that i thrifted but i'm not 100% sure of the length. i love the color, the waistband and the buttons, but when wearing a mid calf skirt, i really prefer a heel.
sweater- target
t shirt- old navy
skirt- thrifted
sandals- meier and frank

and my two favorite oscar looks,
 cate blanchett:
different, daring, grecian, lovely, fresh. i loved it.

and hailee steinfeld:
classic, age appropriate, elegant

PLUS, she confirmed that she is in the running to play katniss everdeen in the hunger games movie. she has my vote. true grit is the best movie i have seen in forever(however, i've only stayed awake during about 4 movies in the last year. i am ridiculous) so i would love to see her in the hunger games. but, i would also like to see ben barnes in the role of gale. and he's 29. she's 14. weird and gross and wrong.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

maxi plaid

sometimes i still don't know my own style. or i don't think that i have a concrete style direction. i just like lots of everything. in my mind i gravitate toward simplicity but in reality i tend to pile things on and slowly remove things until i run out of time and need to leave the house. i didn't really want to wear this outfit today but i was running late and forgot to shave my legs and it was 75 today so i didn't want to wear tights and blah blah blah. it's a fun look though. a little wonder years, a little chiquita banana. a lot of unwashed karaoke hair.
but i do want to expand my style philosophy so i am re-banning myself from stores located less than a mile from my house. it's acutally more stores that you would think. i don't think i shop that much, i just drop by occasionally and peruse. i find myself perusing the same kind of stuff over and over so in order to not buy the same ol' same ol' over and over banned i will be.
that is all.
did my post title make you giggle? i laughed and laughed. i kill me.
blouse- kohls
belt- new york and company
skirt- thrifted
wedges- meier and frank

Saturday, February 26, 2011

girl you know it's true

i went out with women folk tonight. it was a bunch of stone-cold sober moms eating mexican food and singing karaoke. i even broke out the false eyelashes for the occasion.
jacket- target
t shirt- gap
skinny cargo pants- target
shoes- jessica simpson
clutch- steve madden


gangsta lean-
 ps- as much as i like the song dixieland delight, it's not the best karaoke song. there was about 5 minutes of just instrumental music between lyrics. i found myself resorting to clogging and doing elaine-from-seinfeld style dancing. it was as bad as it sounds.
a few karaoke thoughts:
1. it's pretty much awesome. i'd like to kiss the japanese man who invented the first machine.
2. people who take themselves too seriously and think they are displaying actual talent are really downers.
3. i really need to practice some dance moves in the off season.
4. slow songs should be reserved for the car or the shower.
5. i really like having control of a microphone.
6. there were more voices cracking than a 13 year old boy's gym class.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

a thin belt between love and hate

i was determined to wear impractical shoes today to make up from the extended wearing of comfortable shoes over the weekend. not that anyone is keeping tabs. and since you asked, my lipstick is rimmel red hot #168. i bought it as a joke and it looks like the joke was on me because i actually like it!
blouse- gap
vest- wal*mart
belt- gap
jeans- seven7 at kohl's
shoes- enzo angiolini

 i actually don't have a huge zit on my chin. i love hyper-pigmentation on my face.
my belt was being ill-fitting today so i tied knots in it. i thought knots were nice for a rope belt. very nautical. and a knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile. now you know. and knowing is half the battle.

i need some advice. i received a gift certificate for christmas for a one-year subscription to any magazine of my choice. i already have a lucky magazine subscription. lucky isn't my favorite(the new editor has made some good changes though. but that's another post for another day) but i got it for a super good deal a few years ago. i'm not sure what else to get. i'd like eliza magazine, but that's not an option. any suggestions? instyle? vogue? cosmo? horse illustrated? southern living?
in the past i have had subscriptions to martha stewart living, self, shape, women's health and fitness and runner's world. i liked them but i don't think i would get any of them again.
thoughts?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

pretty fly

we're back from california. i dressed exceedingly comfortable. i carried two carry-on duffle bags and a backpack full of kid activities for the plane. and that was it. i was not going to shell out $50 to check any bags. as a result, i think that i have mastered the art of packing light. 3 people(my husband couldn't make it), 2 outfits per person, 2 pairs of shoes per person and everything was mix and match for the other 2 days. plus two dresses for scarlett and me and a pair of khaki pants for reagan for church.

i didn't pose for any outfit pictures so i pulled these out of my family photos for my other blog and cropped them. my sister jokingly said that i looked like a mom. but she knows that isn't an insult, because i am a mom(the two kids and the snot stains on my sleeves are dead giveaways). i'm not embarassed of my maternal status. and that doesn't mean that i have to wallow around in elastic-waist pants and no makeup. (though i do enjoy wallowing. but elastic-waist pants are for special occasions. like toilet scrubbing.)
t shirt- gap
scarf- tjmaxx
cardigan- target
jeans- forever skinny gap
sneaks- asics

and i wore a very similar version of this outfit here, i just swapped out the more meticulous accessories for a more laid back look.
dress- thrifted
cardigan- loft
belt- gap
gladiator sandals- bakers(i wish i could find another pair of these. they are some of my most favorite shoes EVAH!)

and an action shot:
purposefully walking with very wide steps with a CARS backpack on my back, obviously going to somewhere awesome!
*every one of my 3 brothers commented on these bright yellow pants. i think they wanted to borrow them. they love me.
striped t shirt- old navy
cardigan- loft
bright yellow pants- gap real straight cords

and my fave part of disneyland were the asian tourists and their cutting edge trendy styles. it was so fun to see what they wore for a day at disney. most of them were so creative and put together. i felt like a big slob standing next to them in line. i wish i had felt brave enough to take pictures. one man was even wearing dress shoes and a three piece suit and the collar popped on his shirt.  his wife wore a big fur hat, a fur vest(a la rachel zoe), dressy shorts, thick tights and knee-high boots. i wanted to join their family. i always wanted to be asian when i grew up.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

pants to eat in

remember that friend's episode when joey wears rachel's maternity pants for thanksgiving so that he can fit more food in his gut? that's how i feel about these pants. ample breathing room. i could steal extra dinner rolls and silverware if i needed to.
and speaking of new year's resolutions(nice segue), i am doing well on my-don't-yell-at-strangers-in-public bit. twice in the past week i have been in situations where i could have easily made my point by yelling at the top of my lungs and breaking 2x4s across my knee, but i held back. it hurt and i think i am going to have a hernia as a result, but i am sticking to the plan. but the plan does need a back up plan. a phrase i can nicely say when someone is taking advantage of the situation or standing in front of me when you are 6 feet tall and holding a large manpurse and filming your kid at the kindergarten program therefore blocking my view of my kid. in that instance i just bit my tongue until i tasted blood in my mouth. not much of a plan because i left angry and my thoughts were filled with the notion that i could look into a career in professional wrestling. with a name like heidi the sequined avenger.
longsleeve t- gap
ruffle blouse- wal*mart
belt- gap
boyfriend khakis- gap
shoes- jessica simpson

the end.

Monday, February 14, 2011

liberry and strawbrary

i'm going to disneyland this weekend. any suggestions on what to wear? i don't need to be fashionable. just comfortable. mini-backpack? fanny pack? jet pack? a bright pink velour sweatsuit with "juicy" written across the bum in rhinestones(insert sarcasm)??? is a skirt completely out of the question? what about my running sneaks? other keds style sneaks? what is disneyland like in february? anybody? i've only been to disneyworld. and it's hot and humid there all the time. 

this is my dumbo impression:
sweater- gift
button up- jcpenney
skirt- jcrew
socks- target
boots- kohls


and a special treat:
legally blonde night circa 2001. i'm the unnatural blonde. and 6 items of clothing in this picture were mine, plus pink sunglasses and pink cuff. pepto!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

keep it simple stupid

i took a lot a really bad pictures today. my husband does an outstanding job as my weekend photographer and i couldn't hold up my end of the bargain by being an outstanding weekend poser.

this one looks like i have one really hairy armpit.

here i am posing for my blind opera singer album cover:

this is me making fun of people who smile unnaturally big and flail too many body parts in all their pictures:

i have obviously done something very embarassing and i have been caught in the act:

domo arigato mr. roboto:

i tried to be valentiney today. red and pink remind me of one thing: 5th grade, making valentines and a girl named carrie saying that red and pink were her favorite colors together. and i thought, "yuck, red and pink together?" no gracias. and that girl later went on to date my high school boyfriend after i broke his heart. but, to her credit i do recall thinking when i saw them together, they really work, just like red and pink sometimes work! i did her a favor my breaking up with him. so she owes me. 
t-shirt- forever 21
belt- target
skirt- thrifted
shoes- jessica simpson

Thursday, February 10, 2011

go dye in a hole

i have this cream sweater that i made my sister buy for herself a few years ago. she never liked it(but listens to everything i say and i've had some REALLY bad ideas, mwahahaha) and gave it to me a couple of years ago. i've always liked everything about it except for the color. blah with a side of meh. it's so nothing that it looks like a grungy old white shirt that needs to be put down.
exhibit a-
SOOOOOO, i dyed it. i figured, i've got nothing to lose but a grungy looking sweater. RIT dye in royal blue for $2 and i have a new shirt that i actually want to wear. and it took almost no effort. which is my factory setting for personal effort output, almost none. i did it while i was cooking dinner. stir the dinner, stir the dye pot. try not get the two confused.

exhibit dos-
BLUE! sweater- banana republic
cardigan- target
belt- target
skirt- thrifted
socks- target
shoes- tjmaxx

hurray royal blue sweater! i love you! perfectly casual!

AND
exhibit trois:
hurray royal blue sweater! i love you! perfectly semi-dressy!
blouse- loft
belt- dillards
maxi pants- a little shop in jackson hole, wyoming summer of 2000
shoes- jessica simpson

doesn't "maxi pants" sound gross, yet very accurately descriptive?

Monday, February 07, 2011

tell'em large marge sent ya


i'm pretty keen on this whole everybody, everywear participation.
 i really struggle with dressing appropriately casual. i much prefer dressy and over the top. i'm not sure what to do with khakis or jeans, unless it's to add heels, dangling earrings, scarves and bigbig hair. i have a hard time with t-shirts standing alone in an outfit. i feel like i need to at least add some sort of ooomph to an outfit. however, i really love stream-lined outfits. i hope to be able to master simplicity this summer. since i obviously can't in the winter.
AND IN BIG NEWS, MY DEAR FRIEND NATALIE STEPPED IN TO HELP ME MAKE MY PICTURES BIGGER. (HENCE THE POST TITLE, CAN YOU NAME THE MOVIE?) IT'S SO GREAT THAT NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO SQUINT TO SEE MY RIDICULOUS FACES.  NATALIE IS A REAL GEM.
blazer- target
skirt- express
belt- preston and york
tights- target
shoes- charlotte russe
brooch- grandma maxine

Friday, February 04, 2011

purple rain

it's rainy. i love prince. later, i plan on purifying myself in lake minnetonka. there you go. (i don't recommend that movie.)
cardigan- loft
tiered tank- target
skirt- banana republic
tights- target
shoes- kristin davis via target

brittany of a day in the life too gave me a stylish blogger award. GRACIAS! brittany is a blogger who i think i would be friends with in real life. she would sit at the cool table and i would lurk creepily by each day at lunch and stare. then i would try and eat her crumbs off the table after she was done. we would be those kind of friends. 
ADayInTheLifeToo…
so, i have to:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you.

2. Share seven things about yourself.

3. Award seven recently discovered (by me, anyway) great bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

me and my brother circa 1994. we look like we are holding hands. we are close like that.

1. in the 6th grade i spent most of my time reading books. i read so much during school that i wasn't passing any of my classes. i hid all my bad papers in the crawl space above my closet. (hi mom!) i pulled it together eventually and made it to the 7th grade.

2. i used to always have a perm. one time my mom only permed my bangs. i hated perms. my solution to make my hair straighter was to brush my hair as much as possible. and that made it WAAAY better(sarcasm). see here for photo evidence. i even got a perm once when i was in college. in the year 2000. that was an off year for me.

3. my worst date ever was chronicled in the BYU newspaper. it's worth the read. it involves garbage cans, poopy diapers and broken bones. i wish now that it named my date in the article. what an oaf. i guess that dumbest part is that wasn't our last date. another time he wanted to go climb a water tower. and we did! it was the one in front of the provo temple. i remember one of my friends telling me that she wished that she was dating him. i guess i was the better friend and took the bullet for her.

4. in high school, i asked a guy that i was sort of dating to my senior prom(he went to a different school). and then about a week later i realized that i didn't want to go with him(because he was SO boring) and i broke the date. by making up a lie. because i am insensitive. i asked someone else(such a liberated woman!) and then the night of the prom i saw my original date's sister. i am a horrible person. my original date still snubs my mom at the grocery store. i wish he would get over me. but apparently i am that hard to get over.

5. in the first grade i told everyone on the playground that my name was sorsha. one girl didn't believe me and called me out on it. i think i ran away from her. then, in the 4th grade my friend mimi and i made up an alter ego for me. we told this girl, tedi(her real unfortunate name), that i had a twin sister named lucy who only visited when i was out of town. so sometimes i would pretend to be lucy. for lucy i used a southern accent, naturally. i probaby just sounded like a drunk cowboy. ha! i was a big liar growing up. i like to think i was just imaginative.

6. when i was 6, i took dance classes at this studio called ronda's total technique in dance. my teacher was in high school and i remember her skin being particularly orange and her hair being especially white and her eyeliner be very unnaturally blue. i'm sure i thought she was beautiful. she had us dance to michael jackson's bad and at the part where michael sings, "your butt is mine" we had to turn around and put our hands on our fanny and shake it for the audience. i don't think i was at the dance school much longer after that. also, when i was 4, i took dance from a lady in her basement. one day my mom said we couldn't go anymore because my teacher's husband had gone crazy and decided that he was a messiah or a prophet and that everyone should come live on his compound. i never got to wear my duck dance costume. this is probably why i am such a terrible dancer.

7. i can't dive. it's quite unfortunate.  i don't understand how my feet are supposed to leave the ground and propel my head and arms to go down. simple physics really.

and the 7 i tag are:

and
carie of announcing carie (because i don't think you will accept the challenge) muwhahahaha

Thursday, February 03, 2011

2 girls eating bananas

i've been experiencing a little bit blogger burnout. my first indicator was when i didn't even feel like taking outfit pictures. my second(and more important indicia) was when i found myself thinking about my blog during church. shame on me! so i made a little course correction right then and there. i resolved to remember why i blog. this is for fun and relaxation! not compliment gratification, not for impressing everyone with my extensive target wardrobe, not for anything else. and then i made a quick list of things i want to do more than blogging sometimes. i found myself putting off small projects until i had updated my blog or perused other blogs. no mas! so, this week i did bike riding til you puke, math with m&ms, home decorating(which i am still so bad at), pillow making, book reading(a lame prequel but it was still reading), organizing my jewelry, and bathroom cleaning(delight!) turns out i am a well-rounded individual!
sweater- kohl's
button up- thrifted
skinny cargo pants- target
boots- gianni bini
pillows- i made them! with fabric from IKEA that i have been hoarding for about 2 years

i really don't like the boots with this outfit. at all. i may be done with these boots. i don't need them tempting me anymore when i am never happy with their results. they are like a twinkie. just not that good.

and then i also moved my followers list. i don't want to seem like having followers is the theme of my blog. i have never liked the term "follower". i wish it could be called "likers". it's so much less sheep-like. so if you want to be a "liker", feel free. i will still appreciate you very much.

a final thought on pillows(since this is the most random post ever):
sometimes i laugh and cringe at the same time when i read that a pillow is "only $60!" because to me, something is "only $60" when it used to be $300. and if it is $60, then i want it to be a pillow that you do more than sit on. it needs to be able to vacuum and take phone messages. can i get an amen?

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

30 day shred


today marks the end of my 30 day shred resolution. i took my "after" pictures this morning. everyone should take before and after pictures. "before" pictures can be a little traumatic, but it also helped me to see the things that i already like about myself. i've got strong legs! my arms are so weak that i resemble a tyrannosaurus. my head is in proportion to the size of my neck! my gray hair is less visible when you see my glaringly white stomach!
i met my goal of completing the routine at least 20 times in the month. i actually did it around 25. i loved it. LOVED it. it's never fun to get up at 545 to exercise, but the routine was quick, challenging and doable. i had a day about 2 weeks into it that i just felt great. my muscles felt strong, my clothes were fitting better and i reconfirmed to myself that i can do hard things!

THOUGHTS:
1. i started the program already being a regular exerciser. but jillian gives you options for everything. i could hardly lift the weights on day 1, but the lunges and cardio weren't that difficult for me. i just kept working my way towards doing the routine as close to perfect as possible.
2. i ran a half-marathon on day 8 of the workout. i cut down my running after that from about 20 miles a week to 10 miles a week. the jillian michael's 30 day shred only enhanced what i was already doing. while i was strong in lower body, i really needed the most results in my upper body and abs.
3. in conjuncition with the 30 day shred, i didn't eat any junk food in january. i lost about 3 pounds. that wasn't my goal(i wanted to build muscle), but a nice incentive. and i have more energy and desire to eat healthy.
4. i plan on doing this workout every morning. it's great and quick and it doesn't take long before the results become obvious. especially in my abs. i am really proud of my abs. i started working out in a sports bra like jillian does and that was great motivation too. but only in the privacy of my own home. while the rest of the world was asleep.
5. the routine only requires a couple of hand weights. that's it. and the dvd was only $7.
6. for further motivation, google 30 day shred images. very inspiring. i'll never post my pictures, but please enjoy ones others have posted.

the end.