stockings are hung by the fire with care

details:

dress~the limited(four years old?)

sweater/tights~f21

necklace/belt~anthropologie

it's monday....again! i was happy to see monday come this week because it means the kids are back in school for a few weeks. yesterday we got our tree(yay!!) and i put up some of the decorations. i'm hoping that by tonight the house will be completely decked out in it's christmas finery. this is the earliest i've ever decorated. the holiday season is hard and stressful for me. i think it's that perfectionist streak. i want everything to be so perfect that i inevitably set myself up for failure. this year i'm trying to be more zen about it. but, i figured the having the tree and the decorations up will help my stress level because it's one less thing i'm trying to cram into the next 25 days. since this is our last christmas at home together before the kids start scattering for college i want to really be "present" (no pun intended) and enjoy everything.

i've been in jeans(mostly) since last week so i wanted to dress up a bit. this dress is from the limited from a few years ago. i think i bought originally it to wear to a wedding. i love this rich purple color. there was another sort of silvery taupe color that i also really liked. if i'd known how much wear this dress was going to get i would have bought it in the other color too. the blues and purples in this cardigan pick up the color of the dress perfectly and of course it's keeping me warm on this freezing cold monday morning. i love this necklace from anthropologie and couldn't resist the urge to wear it today. i can't tell you how much i love these crochet tights. they add so much personality to an otherwise safe outfit. after work i have a few errands to run after then it's home to get the rest of my christmas on!

toy soldier

details:

military inspired coat~f21

skinnies~f21

boots~aldo

beret~h&m

i've finally come out of my turkey/sweet potato pie induced coma and managed to roll myself off the sofa. seriously, i can't imagine feeling a pang of hunger for at least a few days. d sent me a text asking me if i wanted to him for dinner tonight after he gets off work. can you imagine? my stomach is still full from yesterday and he's already thinking about dinner! today i got to sleep in and it was divine. no getting up at the crack of dawn black friday madness for me. i've been alternating between episodes of law and order and a say yes to the dress marathon. in the last hour or so i decided to run up to target(i hope it's not super busy). it's finally cool enough to wear my new coat. it does not disappoint! can you be in love with a coat? i threw on these skinnies from f21 and some brown boots and it's out the door. did anyone get up early to hit the sales? how did you do? happy friday!!

*i'm still trying to figure out the settings on this stupid camera! sorry for the blurry images*

happy thanksgiving!

details:

dress: rachel roy

cropped cardigan: bebe

tights: target

shoes: charles david

hello!! i can't believe how long it's been since i posted! my camera finally died...totally and completely. this little camera that i have does not take the best pictures(even with a little editing) but it will have to do for now. did everyone have a lovely thanksgiving? we had my family over for dinner. i spent wednesday and thursday running around like a chicken, or should i say turkey, with it's head cut off! i cooked up a storm and everything turned out wonderfully despite all of my doom and gloom predictions, which i make every year. we ate, we laughed, we drank a little and then of course we ate some more. i plan to spend most of tomorrow lounging on the sofa watching the law and order marathon and napping. i should probably throw a workout in there somewhere but i think that's being a little ambitious.

the day was incredibly busy. i planned on trying to get some proper shots of this great rachel roy dress(i got on sale plus the friends and family discount last week!!) it's the first time i've ever purchased anything from her collection and i am really pleased with both of the dresses i picked. one of kids managed to get this shot of me at some point during the day. the colors, the print and all the little details make this a really great dress. i'm hoping to get some better shots of it soon. have a wonderful day!

i am so thankful for finding love, the health of my family, a wonderful home filled with laughter and good food.

wishing for... and a few recent buys

i should have an outfit post for you later(yay!!). i thought i'd show you some of the lovelies i've been stalking on line. the air is beginning to chill so i've become obsessed with coats. i noticed this lovely on the forever 21 website a few days ago and it was love at first sight. maybe santa will put this under the tree for me.

of course he may think i've been naughty and that i don't deserve it because i bit the bullet and bought this adorable coat(in the navy color) already. it is seriously cute. i can't wait to wear it. and it was only $45(ish) so how could i refuse. because f21 aren't made for heavy duty cold and because i'm always freezing and tend to do lots of layers, i bought it in a medium so that i can fit my thicker sweaters underneath when it gets really cold here.

if you have seen anything on the rachel roy site now is the time to buy. from now until nov. 23 if you use the code "rrfriend" you get 30% off your entire purchase. i nabbed these two adorable dresses to wear for the holiday par-tay season. i can't wait to get them! as of now i'm officially on a "no more personal shopping" ban until after the holidays. what's on your christmas list?

technical difficulties

my camera finally went kaput!
this writing thing is insane. why, oh why, did i sign up for this?
not feeling very inspired but i hope to back before the end of the week.

the old(ish) lady and her shoes

details:

top/necklace~anthropologie

sweater~wal-mart

jeans/skinny belt~f21

shoes~steve madden

happy friday!!! this morning i woke up to beautiful and sunny day. it was one of those mornings where you feel like anything is possible. the office will be quiet today so i'm doing casual again.this morning it was all about the shoes. i love, love, love these nude patent leather pumps from steve madden.. i decided to wear these super skinny jeans from f21 to show off my shoes. i really like the zipper detail at the ankle. this top with a bubble hem is from anthropologie. i love all the bright and vibrant colors in this top and it gives a little bit of coverage to some of my "problem" areas. the shirt is sleeveless so a sweater was a must. this cute teal cardigan is a wal-mart find and was a whopping $9 so of course i bought it in three colors. i added the skinny belt to give my waist some definition and at the very last minute decided to wear my anthro necklace.

tomorrow night i'm having dinner with a group of girlfriends at a great restaurant and sunday i may try to squeeze in a pedicure but other than that we don't have anything big planned for the weekend. have a great weekend!

rhinestone cowboy

details:

wide leg jeans~target

plaid shirt~f21

shoes~jessica simpson

necklace~f21

sometimes after i get the kids off to school i crawl back under covers to catch a quick nap. umm...this morning's quick nap lasted forty-five freakin' minutes! needless to say i was running super late. i had nothing planned to wear so i pulled on these jeans. i bought this shirt a few weeks ago and i must say it is so comfy and cozy. i'm sure i'll wear it a lot this winter. the wide leg, plaid shirt and clog like shoe combination felt a little too....70s or maybe cowboy? i threw on all of this jewelry in effort to make it more modern and less of whatever it was before:) today is really a short work day for me then it's off to run errands. have a lovely day.

dressing up

details:

tights/belt~ f21

dress~h&m

cardigan~target

shoes~baker's

ranunculus necklace~anthropologie

i finally made it to the brand new h&m. seriously, i was like a frat boy at mardi gras for the first time, oohing and ahhing and trying to grab everything i could get my hands on! i lost my damn mind for a minute.(i also developed an instant crush on the guy that rang up my purchase. he was so cute and super sweet!) i'd seen this dress on weardrobe and was determined to make it mine. i love the colors and the watercolor effect of the print. i paired it with the crochet tights i bought at f21 over the weekend. the dress has sweet little flutter sleeves but it is november, so it's pretty much all cardigans all the time from now until next spring. i bought this boyfriend cardigan at target a year or two ago and i'm still annoyed that i didn't get it in the other colors they had. yesterday was sort of a blah day so i'm glad i took the time to get a little dressed up today. i really loved today's outfit but i didn't have time to get pictures until the end of an extremely long day. i hope that explains their quality, my lack of lipgloss and the expression on my face:) i'm off to watch a new episode of glee!!! have a wonderful evening.

take a look, it's in a book

there is a huge age difference between me and my my brothers and sister. the brother closest to me in age is sixteen years older. as a result, i grew up like an only child. we lived in a neighborhood were there weren't a lot of other kids and i had no siblings to play with so i spent a lot of time reading. i still love to read and try to read a book a week(on a night where my insomnia kicks in i've read two or three in one night). these are the books on my nightstand waiting for me to get some free time to enjoy them.

the nine: inside the secret world of the supreme court by jeffrey toobin
my life in france by julia child
family affair by caprice crane
garden spells by sarah addison
prospect park west by amy sohn

i used to be a strictly fiction kind of girl but i really enjoy reading non-fiction these days. last summer everything i read was non-fiction. what do you enjoy reading? the weather will be cold soon and there's nothing better than being snowed in with a cup of hot chocolate, a fire in the fireplace and a stack of good books. do you have any favorites to recommend?

suddenly wanting...

these glasses...

and this hair....

or this hair...decisions, decisions!

*image credit top photo- the sartorialist

it's a mad, mad world

details:

dress~anthropologie

cardigan~bebe

leopard peep toes~aldo

moto jacket~f21(not pictured)

happy monday! last week and weekend were crazy busy for us. two of my daughters participated in a local fashion show and they had fittings and rehearsals last week. the show was saturday afternoon. i was beyond proud. not just because they looked beautiful, but because they have the confidence to get out there and work the runway. the group they are members of focuses not just on fashion and beauty but in building self esteem in girls. the members of the group are all races and ethnicities, all shapes and sizes. all of the girls did an amazing job. my oldest daughter also performed in her school play this weekend. the school performed shakespeare's a midsummer night's dream. she was fairy and she did a great job, especially since this was her first production. the kids also got their report cards this weekend. three of my four children made the high honor roll and the fourth one missed the honor roll by hair. enough of the proud mom gushing!

this is one of my favorite dresses! it feels so betty draper. i paired it with my favorite leopard print peep toes. even though the temperature is supposed to be about 70 degrees today(which is crazy warm for cincinnati in november) it was a little cool when i left the house. i grabbed my moto jacket keep the chill away. d and i are going to the contemporary art center this afternoon when i get off work. i know this dress is one of his favorites so i wore it for him. it's funny but whenever i wear this dress i always get compliments from older gentlemen. it must be something about the combination of the full skirt and the peep toe pumps that makes them nostalgic. this morning while making my coffee run a man about 70 not only complimented me but insisted on paying for "the pretty little lady in the pretty dress". it totally goes against every feminist bone in my body to be called the pretty little lady but i'm not gonna lie, it felt kinda sweet. have a great day!

a little bit of lovliness

i made this centerpiece for daughter's birthday dinner a few weeks ago but i'm just now getting a chance to post it. did anyone watch flowers uncut last night on tlc? ah-maz-ing!! those and arrangements and creativity make my little arrangement seem a little sad. despite their lack of over the top-ness(i'm pretty sure i just made that word up), they make me smile. happy almost friday people!!!

i could never get the hang of thursdays

details:

top~twelve by twelve~f21

cardigan~heritage~f21

wide leg jeans~target

this was not the outfit i planned on wearing today. i put together a really cute look last night that includes one of my favorite dresses. however, when i woke up this morning i was bloated and crampy and the idea of having to wear spanx to keep everything looking the way it's supposed to in the dress was not appealing (good grief..that was a little tmi). today comfort wins! i love the color of this top. i would usually wear it with skinny jeans but i wanted to play with volume a little-and the idea of skinny jeans today was unbearable-so i puled out my favorite wide leg jeans from target. i swear every time i wear them someone will ask me where i got them. they are fantastic but super long so i have to wear my tallest platforms. i paired the cardi with the top to make it not so puffy and because the top has no sleeves just cute little ruffled straps and its cold here.

i lost the piece that holds the camera on to my tripod and i was running a little late so this was the only picture i could manage this morning. it's going to be a really busy day. i have a few hours of work, an eye doctor's appointment and then it's off to shuttle the kids around. i hope i have time tonight to check out the new h&m. maybe the crowd will have died down by the time i get there this evening.

i've also hit a bit of a block in the writing. i'm hoping to power through this weekend and get my word count back on track. have a lovely day!

featured on weardrobe

head on over to weardrobe for tons of inspiration. i'm featured on the front page(yay..doing a shocked little happy dance!!!)

gilded lily

details:

black turtleneck~the gap

satin floral skirt~f21

gold brocade coat~f21

leopard print peep toes~aldo

tights~old navy

it's been a few days since i last checked in and i have to confess i missed it. it seems like the kids, the girls in particular, have had a pretty busy schedule. if you're a reader of a cat of impossible color blog, than you know that november is national novel writing month, or NaNoWriMo. the goal is to write a 50,000 page novel in thirty days. in a moment of either sheer optimism or utter delusion i signed up for this crazy project. so if my posting has been lax it's because i've been busy writing "the great american novel" or the "good grief i hope it's not all complete crap" novel.

my job as family chauffeur and new novelist(used in the loosest possible sense of the word) has left me little time and little inspiration for creating outfits. i think since sunday i've alternated between yoga pants and one of d's sweatshirts and jeans/turtleneck/boots. today, i needed to break out of that rut. yes the turtleneck is still there and will be a staple during the cold but i jazzed things up with this cute little skirt from f21. until i started documenting my outfits i never really realized how much stuff i bought from there, but fear not, our fair city is getting its very own h&m(opening tomorrow!) so at least i'll be able to stop typing f21. in my pr campaign to get people to really acknowledge that leopard print is in fact a neutral, i've paired the aldo peeptoes with this floral pattern. i like it. it's kinda funky, no? to top it all off i'm wearing one of my all time favorite f21 purchases. there was one coat left and i noticed a girl trying it on. her friend didn't like it(what the heck was wrong with her?) and she was undecided about the purchase. i literally stalked this poor girl around f21 waiting for her to make up her mind. i saw her put it down and swooped in like a vulture, all is fair in love and fashion, and ran to the register to buy this gem of a coat.

i hope that everyone is having a lovely week!