Blue and Grey!

I love showers. Not wash-your-hair showers or rain showers (although I do love those, too!) but baby showers and bridal showers! I like them for two reasons: 1. You get to celebrate a new bundle of joy or marriage with your friends, and 2. You get to dress up! An all-female event like a shower is bound to be a girly occasion, so naturally I get excited. I mean, I am the girl who named her blog “Dresses and Curls”, after all!

Today I got to celebrate my friend Niki at her bridal shower. I’m also excited for NIki’s wedding, because wedding dancing is my #1 favorite thing in the entire world (that may be a bit of an overstatement.) Her wedding is in the end of May—a little less than two months away—but I already have my outfit planned. There will be a blog post, of course—and I’ve already promised the bride she gets to be a guest star in that post!

 
Top: Old Navy. Skirt: Old Navy.

I’ve had this top for ages, and it’s one of those trusty ones that you don’t ever want to get rid of. It’s a bit big on me, but tucked into this skirt it’s kind of perfect, because it billows a little at the top!

And the skirt…I am in love with it! This baby was only $4.97 on clearance at Old Navy. I’ve had my eye on it for quite a while, and I’ve watched it drop from $20 to $10, but I kept putting it back on the rack. When I went there the other night and saw the price tag, I knew it was meant to be! Sorry I ever doubted you, you beautiful skirt!

Shoes: Thrifted.

Girls, What’s My Weakness?

I like to pretend that I’m a classy lady. I can dress up in pretty floral skirts and put flowers in my hair all I want, though. It doesn’t change the fact that when all is said and done, the chances are pretty high that I will dance around my house rapping Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop” Ellen Degeneres Style at the top of my lungs.

You might recognize this skirt from a previous post…this is my example of dressing it down! I love how versatile it is. [Also: my next-door neighbors had construction workers on their roof, hence the change of scenery!]

 
Cardigan: Old Navy. Top: Target. Skirt: Old Navy.Shoes: Target.

Necklace: Forever 21.

And there’s the aforementioned flower in my hair! I can’t remember where I got this, because I’ve had it for years…but it made my day-two, slightly greasy hair a little better :)

All the World’s a Stage

Today has been quite a lovely day so far. I slept in, drank lots of coffee, and had lunch with a good friend of mine. Now I’m at home knitting and watching a documentary mini-series about Shakespeare. Ah, yes, relaxation at its finest!

 
While we’re on the subject of Shakespeare, how about I go all Linguistics-major on you and spout some facts? I’m reading a fascinating book called The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson, which I would highly recommend to anybody interested in language. According to Bryson, “Shakespeare used 17,677 words in his writings, of which at least one tenth had never been used before…Consider the words that Shakespeare alone gave us, barefaced, critical, leapfrog, monumental, castigate, majestic, obscene, frugal, radiance, dwindle, countless, submerged, excellent, fretful, gust, hint, hurry, lonely, summit, pendant, and some 1,685 others.” [The Mother Tongue, p. 76] Yes, I’m well aware that this has absolutely nothing to do with my outfit, but my sister doesn’t like it when I spew these random facts at her, so this has to be my outlet!

 
Sweater: Target. Tank top: Target. Skirt: Old Navy. Necklace: Banana Republic.

Bracelets: Forever 21. Scarf/Pashmina: Thrifted

Shoes: Nine West.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get back to the Great Bard :)

What Goes Around Comes Around

 

Fashion trends are cyclical, which means sometimes things come around a little sooner than I’m ready for. Real life example: The other day I was at the store and saw a sign for “front-seam jeans” on sale. Let’s hope the reason they were marked down was because the store realized that the world is not ready for front-seam jeans to be in fashion again so soon. That would be like opening the proverbial bad-fashion floodgates, and we’d soon be seeing acid-washed jeans, those weird satin corset tops from Charlotte Russe, and ultra-low-rise pants with neon thongs. I think I just got over the horrors of seeing all of that in the early 2000’s, so I can’t handle it again!

With just about every new trend, I have a tendency to start out hating it. Sometimes, though, I’ll come around, like I did a few years ago with gladiator sandals and more recently with maxi dresses. There’s that trend of oversized, slightly cropped T-shirts that some girls pull off so well, and I pretty much hated it because I am not one of those summery, casual, beach-ready girls that belongs in LA. But I found a couple of these shirts on clearance the other day, so I tried them on—and I kind of loved it. Now, this shirt isn’t really very cropped, which is why it works, and I don’t really see myself buying into the trend again, but one time isn’t so bad, right?

 
Top: Old Navy. Jeans: Levi’s. Purse: Target.

I wore this to a baseball game with my mom last Friday…I wasn’t so sure about the photos, which is why I waited so long to post them. But I have been a little sick this week, which means I have been entirely unmotivated to do such difficult tasks as, say, wash my hair or put on makeup. So it’s a good thing I had these as backup :)

Sandals: Target

 
[Please excuse the lens refraction…]

The other day at Target I saw another old trend that I remember being so in love with when I was 12 or 13—those skirts that hit above the knee in the front, and mid-calf in the back. Please, please let that be a one-time bad choice by the Target designers, because I just don’t think the world is ready to revisit the skirt mullet!

One Last Wintery Fling

The majority of this week, just like last week, has been filled with baseball. I’ve been to 6 games so far, with two more planned before the weekend is over. That means I’ve been wearing jeans, t-shirts, and converse most of the time. When it comes to baseball, I’m not very girly. I clap like a man, cheer loudly, drink beer, and scoff at the girls that show up in dresses and heels (seriously—what’s the deal, ladies?) So today I wanted to dress up for no better reason than to feel like a girl again.

I had knitting group, so I may have been a little overdressed, but it felt nice! I got these tights for $1.50 on sale at Target (steal!) and I wanted to wear them once this season, even if it’s already a bit too warm for tights. Now I guess I’ll pack them up with the rest of my winter clothes and replace them my tank tops and short-sleeved shirts!

Cardigan: Gap. Tank top: Target. Skirt: DownEast Basics. Tights: Target.

 
Necklace: Forever 21. Belt: Target.

Ring: Thrifted.

Shoes: Target.

I bought these shoes on Clearance at Target about a year ago…they’re actually a size too big, but they were so cute, and only $3, so I got them anyway. Well, I wore them once or twice and then lost them…only to find them under the driver’s seat of my car (Seriously, how do I lose things in such weird places?!) They’re still slightly too big, so I’ve been known to step out of them once or twice in public—but look at them! So dang cute!

Long Time, No See

Okay, so I have slacked big time over the last week. I have a long list of excuses to throw at you for not blogging since last Saturday, too! 1. It was the last week of school before spring break (!!) which meant that I spent most of my time studying and doing homework. 2. It was the first week of Spring Training, so if I wasn’t studying/in class, I was at a baseball game!! I went to 4 games this week…so much fun. 3. My camera battery died and I lost the charger. I finally found it today. Spoiler alert: It was in the bathroom closet. Naturally.

Well, I charged up my battery and took some pictures, and now to make up for my absence, I have not one, but two outfits to show!

Day 1: Friday

 
I’m not going to lie: I was really lacking the cute factor this week for the most part. I went quite a few days without washing my hair (My Mariners baseball cap was my best friend) and I spent most of my time in hoodies and jeans. I don’t think I even knew how to pronounce the word “makeup.” So when I finally made an attempt to look cute, I figured, how better to do it than with a girly floral dress?

Dress: Target. Cardigan: Old Navy. Leggings: Target. Belt: Target. Necklace: Forever 21.

 
Shoes: Nine West.

Day 2: Saturday.

Remember how I said I went to 4 games this week? Well, the fourth one was tonight! The Mariners were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a true baseball fan, I believe it’s an abomination to wear a dress or skirt to a baseball game, so it was all casual for me…

Top: Target. Jeans: Old Navy. Shoes: Target. Cardigan: Gap.

 
Bad news, guys…I can’t remember where I got this necklace! I’ve had it for a few years, and the one main flaw in jewelry is that it doesn’t have a tag to remind you where you bought it, like clothes do.

 
My best friend is a Diamondbacks fan (I am, too, except when they’re playing the Mariners!) so I had to represent my Mariners with this cute hair bow. It was made by one of my sister’s coworkers! I am not sure if she has an Etsy shop or if she sells online, but as soon as I find out, I will put the info up in case anybody is interested.

In case you were wondering, the Mariners won 7-1, so the bow was clearly a good luck charm!

I promise I won’t go another week without posting! I’m on spring break, which means I will have more time to dress up and take pictures. Check back soon :)

Bowties are Cool

I went to a friend’s baby shower this morning, and we played the clothespin game—but with a twist! My super crafty friend Kelley of Threads and Buttons made a bunch of fabric bowtie pins, and if we said “baby” or “Isaiah" we had to give them up. There’s so much more incentive to not say those words when you’re trying to hold on to an adorable bowtie than a clothespin!

I got to take mine home—and Kelley let me snag another, a cute grey one—so they’ll soon be converted into hair bows!

Top: Old Navy. Skirt: Old Navy.
I love this skirt because i can wear it pretty much every season. It’s floral and light enough for spring and summer, but the colors work in fall, too. I didn’t wear it in the winter, though, because I was cold all the time and the only time I wore skirts or dresses was when I could pair them with thick, warm tights and boots!

Belt: Ralph Lauren. Ring: DIY.

Shoes: MIA via DSW

Casual Friday

It was another weirdly windy day today, and I spent most of the early afternoon out and about, which meant I wore some warm, comfy clothes! I went with a friend to Ikea, which is a trek in and of itself as the nearest one is about a 30 minute drive away. I’m not sure why, but I am in love with Ikea. I refer to it as “The Disneyland of Home Furnishing” and I’ll never pass up an opportunity to go there!

 
(Like I said, it was windy…hence the funky hair.)

While we were browsing the showroom at Ikea, we found a display that was set up like an entire tiny apartment. It had the perfect decor and as I was admiring the cute little kitchen, a girl came up to me and said I looked right at home…and I felt right at home there! I think I could live in that showroom display in Ikea and be perfectly happy with it. Not sure where I’d have my mail sent, though…

Funny note: As I was taking the above picture, Lucky attempted to jump up on a windowsill and ended up rebounding off of it and landing on an overturned bucket. Oh, poor guy is clumsy, just like me!

Shirt: Old Navy. Blazer: American Eagle. Jeans: Old Navy. Shoes: Target.

I have a long-term relationship with this blazer. I’ve had it since I was a freshman in high school, having bought it at American Eagle thinking it was the coolest thing ever. I kid you not—I’m wearing this jacket in my 9th grade yearbook picture. But then I got bored of it and eventually grew out of it and didn’t wear it for years, though I kept it just in case. I was going through the coat closet the other day looking for a different jacket when I found this, and to my delight it fits again! It’s soft corduroy and it’s light enough that it will be perfect in the springtime, and I think I have just the dress to wear it with, too!

Scarf: Old Navy. Earrings: Charlotte Russe. Ring: Target.