Bunnies + Blazer

Rabbit Redux All Over Again--Thursday, 1/21/16

I liked the idea of wearing a black blazer with a "sweet" dress (one with a cute pattern and a fuller skirt).  And do I ever have a sweet dress...

From bridgetteraes.com

BUNNIES!  But bunnies partly obscured by a sweater vest and a knit blazer.  That makes it totally professional, right?  Eh, who cares, I'm wearing it anyway!  One of the advantages of my current job/employer is that we do not have to wear anything like a strictly "professional" wardrobe.  A rabbit shirt dress is completely acceptable.  One of my co-workers complimented me on this dress today.  No one can resist the adorable bunnies.

Black/beige rabbit dress (eShakti), $11.67/wear
Black ponte knit blazer (Target), $2.08/wear
*White sweater vest (thrifted, Casual Corner), $4.50/wear+
Black tights
Black heeled Oxfords (thrifted), $0.71/wear
Seed pearl necklace by RB+

Outfit total: $18.96

It may surprise you that I don't wear this dress more often (I mean, even adjusting for the strictures of the Work the Wardrobe Challenge), but it's as much artwork as it is clothing for me.  It hangs on the door outside my bathroom so I see it all the time.  It's like a piece of fabric wall art in my household that I sometimes wear.  It's one of the things that makes The Warren The Warren.

In other news...I have never read the Rabbit series by John Updike, including the second book in the series I referred to in my sub-title.  But the last two books in this series (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won the Pulitzer Prize, making him "one of only three writers to have won two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction, the other two being..."--do you know?  I didn't.

The first one makes sense (I have read two of his novels--neither of which were the winners, by the way--more than once and easily consider him one of America's essential writers) but the second one?  I feel like I've barely heard of him, though I do remember this book (which I have not read, nor seen the rather famous film adaptation of) from my days of studying American lit.  In the Wikipedia description of his second Pulitzer-winning novel, I love this line:  'The next day, Alice goes on an errand for her father into town, passing Frincke's Business College on the way with a shudder (as she sees it as a place that drags promising young ladies down to "hideous obscurity").'  I guess I'm a sucker for anything that depicts business school in a negative light!

Did you know that John Updike wrote The Witches of Eastwick (on which the 1987 movie was based)?  Huh.  I think I'm going to have to read that.  As for the Rabbit series...I don't know.  It seems a bit odd to me that I haven't read them (not because of the "rabbit" aspect but because I have read plenty of other white male American writers of the period.  The only book of his I have read is Gertrude and Claudius (based on Hamlet, as you might expect), which I did appreciate a lot...I probably appreciated it more than I enjoyed it, if that makes sense. 

Kicking It

Horse Theme--Wednesday, 1/20/16

I liked the contrast between the red tights and the brown skirt in this outfit, though it is a pretty intense fashion statement.

From work-it-blog.blogspot.com

I went a lot more subdued for my version, which uses dark maroon leggings in place of red tights and tall brown boots that further tone down the effect.  (And I discovered that in my not-well-lit bedroom, it is very hard in the afternoon to distinguish these maroon leggings from brown leggings.  Note to self: bring them into the light!)

*Brown corduroy skirt (thrifted, Walmart), $2.99/wear+
*White textured pullover sweater (thrifted, Liz Claiborne), $4.99/wear+
Maroon leggings
Tall brown boots by Fitzwell, $8.08/wear
Brown horse scarf (Target), $3.00/wear

Outfit total: $19.06/wear

I like this oversized dolman-sleeve sweater that I bought thrift shopping with my mom last month.  Both the texture and the shape are unusual.  It is not the most conventionally flattering silhouette in the world, but it's just flattering enough.

In other news...I am equal parts impressed and terrified that this woman goes 10-14 days between hair washings!  I wash my hair about twice a week these days (using dry shampoo in between) and that's working pretty well for me.  I washed my hair Monday morning and let it air dry--and it was so soft I wanted to pet it like it was a soft bunny.  OK, that's kind of fucked up.  But my point is that if my hair is like a horse's mane, on Monday, it was a show horse that just won the really, really big trophy.

And I just noticed that without realizing it, I've invoked horses twice in this post.  Each part was written at a different point in time, and I only now am looking back at the first part and seeing my horse scarf in the photo.

My approach to writing these posts is that I generally write the first part in advance, when I'm done with my outfit planning, etc., and then add something at the end on/near the day I post.  (I confess, I am writing this part on Tuesday night, right after I saw that crazy hair washing post and wanted to share it for the next day, which is...um...today.  All this time travel is confusing!)  I get a lot of the early stuff written on the weekend when I have a brain...or late on a weekend night when my brain has turned to mush and trickled out my ears and you get a bunch of posts about the Fire Swamp or whatever--it's a mixed bag, but I do a lot of the writing when I have more energy than I typically do when I get home from work.

So if it's a bit disjointed, well, that's why.

And if it all ties together with a bow like a ribbon in a pony's tail...

Stay back, I kick.

Defuzzed

Plaid Bad Ass--Tuesday, 1/19/16

Another plaid skirt clothing manufacturer advertisement, though this woman's activity (standing) appears pretty plausible to me (though she does look to be in a breeze).  Granted, this is a kind of boring styling choice, but wearing all black does let the red and black patterned skirt stand out.

From llbean.com

I followed their lead and wore my thrifted new-with-tags houndstooth tweed skirt (another unseasonable June purchase) with all black...

*Black and red houndstooth tweed skirt (thrifted, Casual Corner), $2.50/wear+
Black wool pullover sweater (thrifted, Calvin Klein), $2.50/wear+
Black moto vest (JCP), $4.25/wear
Black leggings
Tall black boots by Fitzwell, $3.39/wear
Red scarf (Target), $1.50/wear+

Outfit total: $14.14/wear

...and a red scarf because that much black is just too much for me.

I used my new "battery operated fabric defuzzer" ($14 at Amazon, 4.5 star average with over 1450 reviews) on this pilling wool sweater from Goodwill and it worked like a champ.  I can't say that the sweater is now fully as good as new, but it's at least 90% as good as new (and all the slight wear/pilling that remains is under the arms where the wool rubs), and that's enough for me, given that I paid $5 instead of $70+ for it.  Too bad for the previous owner that she didn't know the Secret of the Sweater Shaver.

This moto vest from my birthday JCP order is making its blog debut, though I wore it twice during my Christmas vacation and once as a last minute extra layer to work.  It's a great layering piece.  I love my (also JCP) black moto jacket, so getting a vest version for increased temperature flexibility seemed like a good idea.

And anything with the term "moto" automatically toughens up any outfit.  I mean, that LL Bean model looks just fine, but she doesn't exactly look ready for serious action, you know?  In my moto vest, though, when faced with Rodents of Unusual Size, I will be hopping onto my motorcycle climbing into my luxury automobile and getting the hell outta the Fire Swamp!

Blah

Staying Home Monday--Monday, 1/18/16

I was really attracted to this combination of patterned dress, button up shirt, denim jacket, and boots.

From bridgetteraes.com

But when I tried wearing a white button up shirt underneath my sleeveless dress, it felt too stiff and awkward for me to be happy wearing it on the weekend.  So I swapped a thin layering T for the button up shirt and all was well.  This outfit would be more conventionally flattering with a more fitted denim jacket but I was all about the slouchy comfort.

Teal/black striped fit and flare dress (Target) $9.33/wear+
*Cream layering T (JNY), $3.42/wear+
Black denim jacket (JNY), $5.31/wear
Black leggings
Fuzzy black boots (Walmart), $5.00/wear
Black/silver pendant (JCP), $7.29/wear

Outfit total: $30.35/wear

In other news...I needed the slouchy comfort because I've been sick all week.  I did get my cooking done, around the time Robert, got home from work, but after that, I was wiped out.  I didn't even get back to my computer to post this last night!  I'm hoping this week will go better.

Avoiding Frozen Foot Syndrome

Black and Blue--Sunday, 1/17/16

You can count on Katie to go big with Colts blue--aka cobalt blue to the rest of us--and it's very cute with a flippy skirt and a button up shirt underneath the sweater.

From styleontarget.com

I had been planning on a more faithful interpretation of this outfit, but then (1) winter finally arrived with a vengeance (today's temperature? Low of -17 F and high of -2 F!) and (2) I got a new 88 cent blouse I wanted to wear for the Work the Wardrobe Challenge.

Black cargo skirt with peplum hem (Royal Robbins/REI), $3.57/wear
*Teal/purple/black floral blouse (thrifted, JNY), $0.88/wear+
Cobalt blue pullover sweater (Macy's), $8.00/wear+
Chunky aqua double strand necklace (Kohls), $2.50/wear
Black leggings
Fuzzy black boots (Walmart), $6.67/wear+

Outfit total: $21.62/wear

It is hard for me to express how much I love this blouse.  It fits like a dream, layers beautifully (unlike most stiff cotton button up shirts), and has such a nice set of colors.  I cannot believe I got it at the 88 cent sale!  It's not even one of those situations where the item was tagged with the wrong size or somebody dried their clothes on too high a setting so it shrank down two sizes.  I guess it was just meant to be.  (I realize this is not actually a great photo of the blouse but consider it a sneak peek.)

I can't remember if I've ever shown these boots with the fuzzy (faux furry) tops on the blog before.  I had put them away at the end of last winter and only unearthed them very recently.  But expect to be seeing more of them as the cold weather grasps us in its frozen fist.

In other news...Tomorrow Robert has to go to work but I have the day off for MLK Day, so I'm staying home and cooking--a beef stew for Robert (is that perfect for the weather or what?) that takes a long time to cook on the stove and a beef/sweet potato hash for me.  The hash will be the second "recipe" I am making from the Whole30 book. 

I'm not doing the Whole30 but it has an eating style that is a subset of my own (they don't eat sugar, for example), and I recently re-discovered (having read the book some time ago but not really looking at the meal plans) that they have some great suggestions for meals that are variants of my own go-to lunches.  I typically cook up a bunch of ground beef with onion, top it after heating it up with either guacamole or cheese, and eat that with some kind of veg (lately roasted bell peppers or Dad's carrots).

They have a section of the book that gives little "recipes" for how to combine your meat of choice (cooked like I do my beef) with veg and spicing.  Last week at work I ate (a slight variant on) their cashew beef recipe--my usual ground beef/onion with some spices and soy sauce, topped with cashews, eaten with bell peppers.  (Their recipes call for mixing it all together but I prefer to keep the meat and veg separate despite my historical preference for the one-dish meal.)

I have not been able to get into any kind of serious cooking of complicated recipes while on this paleo-esque diet.  But new ideas for variants on my meat/onion topped with something tasty and eaten with some veg are very welcome.  I've been doing the beef/onion thing for a while, but I like the looks of some of their other meat options so perhaps I'll do something crazy and branch out to, I don't know, chicken some time!

As for not doing the Whole30....one reason I picked the book up again is that I've been thinking about doing it as the elimination stage of an elimination diet.  I haven't done an elimination diet since I was in college (ahem, over half my life ago) and I've been wondering whether my mental model of my food sensitivities is up to date or whether there have been changes I'm unaware of.  For example, I've been tolerating (reasonably limited amounts of) wheat lately better than I did in the past.  I'm definitely still in the contemplation stage where this is concerned, but it's at least on my radar.

Gull-less and Cold

Winter Titmice--Saturday, 1/16/16

I have a grey cashmere hoodie that I bought at Goodwill in 2013 but have a bit of difficulty styling for some reason.  It seems like it should be so easy and yet I have only worn it a couple of times.  (I know, my wardrobe is so full that I have a lot of things I've only worn a couple of times for no good reason other than I don't want to change clothes 3 times per day.)  So I am glad that the Work the Wardrobe Challenge is getting me off my duff and getting this hoodie cardigan back on my back.

I decided to adapt this casual Friday appropriate outfit for the weekend, including my titmouse blouse that I really adore and wanted to wear again.

From bridgetteraes.com

For a bit of hyper-print-matching, I added my new silver feather pendant (another birthday purchase) to complement the grey titmice on the blouse.

Grey cashmere hoodie (thrifted, Macy's), $1.66/wear+
Peach titmouse blouse (Kohls), $5.33/wear
Bootcut jeans (thrifted, Kohls), $2.33/wear
*Silver feather pendant (JCP), $10.25/wear+
*Grey/rust/tan tribal print flats (Payless), $8.00/wear+

Outfit total: $27.57/wear

I had initially planned to do maroon flats as in the inspiration photo, which looked surprisingly nice with the peach blouse, but the arrival of these tribal print flats from my birthday Payless order changed things for me.  (Yep, more socks + ballet flats.  What's a Coldville resident to do?)

After wearing this cardigan all day and being constantly irritated by how short it is, I'm purging it from my wardrobe.  It's soft and lovely and would be great on someone with a torso about 4" shorter than mine.

In other news...The ivory gull we saw last Saturday hasn't been seen since last weekend.  Then some time during the week, all the other gulls at the canal wall also disappeared.  Robert says that local birders speculate that colder temperatures meant more ice pack out in the lake (which is a Great Lake, so birds easily can get lost to view from shore), which the gulls could use as their base of operations.  So it turns out that I was right to insist we get out there as soon as possible.  One more day and we would have missed it!

Here's another look at the ivory gull among his friends.

Kicking off a 3 Day Weekend

Brown Study--1/15/16

Another day, another Bridgette Raes outfit inspiration.  I have a denim skirt, olive pullover sweater, and cream scarf to wear for the Work the Wardrobe Challenge, so this outfit looked just the ticket.

From bridgetteraes.com

I even considered wearing it with my brown quilted jacket but it was too bulky/restricting and the jacket/scarf combination made it impossible to see my nice olive sweater.  This denim skirt was another lucky Christmas Goodwill purchase with my mom.  I really like the faint fading on the denim--it adds some visual interest without making it too casual for casual Fridays at my office.  Now that I have this denim skirt, I have purged the one with the zipper that was starting to stick.

*Denim skirt (thrifted, Levi's), $4.99/wear+
Olive pullover sweater (Kohls), $4.25/wear+
Brown leggings
Tall brown boots by Fitzwell, $8.75/wear
Cream scarf (thrifted), $0.43/wear+

Outfit total: $18.42/wear

In other news....It has been a long day of a long week.  I am really ready to start feeling less sick this weekend!

I've been so grumpy the last few days, what I really need is this:

Some bunny loaf time.