Send Some Love...

Hello all!  Today, I'm guest posting for my dear blogging friend, Kristina from Kristina in Retroworter!  She just got married and is enjoying a Caribbean cruise honeymoon with her new husband.  Come check the post out here and see how I've worn my lace dresses!

Tidbits

Sweater: Target Jeans: NY&C Scarf: Target Sandals: Target

• I've been so tired lately (training is exhausting for an introvert like me!!) that I hopped into the shower this morning with my tank top on, and didn't realize I was still wearing it until after I had washed my hair.
• I believe that guacamole and chips create the perfect "main course" of a lunch.
• I realize that it's a little strange that I'm wearing a sweater and scarf with sandals.  I'm over it.
• I accidentally bought a frozen sausage pizza instead of cheese at the grocery store last night, and since Kevin's a vegetarian, I made it for myself to eat for dinner (and leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow...).
• I checked the timer for said pizza when there was one second left...I am a genius.
• Pippin ate half a bar of soap and threw up the frothiest, bubbliest, cleanest-smelling wad of dog food I've ever seen.  Gross AND impressive.
• I can't watch the Moore, Oklahoma tornado footage without feeling sick or terrified, so I am trying to distract myself by snuggling with dogs and watching Boy Meets World.

The Best Floral Skirt EVER.

Tee: Old Navy Skirt: Target Necklace: F21 Sandals: Target

So I was really stressed out the other day and instead of choosing to stress-eat, I decided to go to Target and look at the clearance racks.  This floral skirt was on the 30% off rack and only set me back $15, and I totally love it.  The colors are perfect and summery, it has an elastic waistband (comfy!!), and it has POCKETS.  I love it.  Today I wanted to keep it simple with just a plain white tee and a necklace.  I'm looking forward to wearing it with colorful shirts, my chambray shirt, my new coral blazer (that should be coming soon!!), etc.  I definitely think you'll be seeing a lot of this skirt over the next several months.

We just began training our summer staff yesterday, and I'm already super tired.  I'm an introvert, and while I enjoy being around other people, it is exhausting.  I have to be to campus early in the morning and stay later than I'm used to, so by the time I come home, I just want to lay quietly on the couch snuggling with Kevin and the dogs.  I anticipate that I'll be watching a lot of Netflix (my favorite way to relax and decompress) in the coming days...

Milestones + Outfit Organization

Dress: Target Cardigan: Target Belt: Old Navy Shoes: Thrifted Target stock

Yes, this yellow dress brings my lace dress count up to four...NO SHAME.  I love lace, and I love dresses - what can I say? :)

You guys! I was so side-tracked by the Blog Every Day in May challenge that I failed to realize I've achieved two milestones this week.  First, I have exceeded 100 blog posts!  Wooo!  I feel super excited and proud about that.  I've been known to start and stop projects and not maintain interest in things/hobbies before...so making it to 100 posts feels awesome!  Thanks to all of you who have been following along - reading your comments completely makes my day.

My other milestone is that I've been tracking my outfits in an Excel document for over a year now.  I wanted to keep track of what was in my closet, what clothes I actually wore, plan outfits, etc.  I created an Excel document that stores it all.  When I've worn an item, I color code it...a different color for every time I wear something (up to 8 times...since some of my item like shoes and jeans get worn much more frequently than other items).  I keep track of things that I did certain days too, so I know not to wear the same thing when I see a friend from home twice in a row, or on class days.

I've planned and completed 30x30 remixes and other capsule wardrobes on my Excel document (pre-blog, of course), packed for vacations, planned outfits in advance for linkups and other blog challenges, and dreamed up outfits to wear in the future.  I can search for certain items and see other ways I've worn them and when, which is so helpful.  I highlight outfits that I particularly liked so I can recreate them on non-blogging days.  It's been a really nice way for me to feel very in touch with what's in my closet, and as a person who likes order and control, I really love it.

Here are a couple of screenshots of what it the document looks like.

 

This shows the outfits that I've already worn.

This tracks the items I own, and how often I've worn them.  For example, the items in red have only been worn once, and the items in teal have been worn 8 or more times.

Do any of you have ways to track and/or plan your outfits, or am I completely nerdy?  I'd love to hear how you've kept track of your outfits!

Coral and Navy

Tee: Target Skirt: Target Flats: Payless Necklace: F21

I've been off work since last Friday, and while I enjoyed having the time to bond with Delia and dink around at home, I was ready to get back to work today.  I work in orientation at the university I attend, and we're about to start training all of our new staff members before a summer full of orientation.  I really hate training other people and am not feeling prepared at all, so I was ready to get back into the office today to plug away on some work before our staff arrives on Sunday!  I often feel more productive when I'm dressed nicely, so I wanted to be sure to wear something cute.  I wanted to wear this skirt, and instead of pairing it with something easy/obvious (navy or white), I decided to wear my bright, fun coral tee!  I tied in the navy with a navy and gray necklace.  I really like how this outfit turned out.  I felt comfortable and cute and summery all day.

I tend to place really high expectations on myself.  When I first started the Blog Every Day in May challenge,  I felt determined to complete it and write every. single. day.  I felt pretty good about the challenge the first few days, but after a while, it didn't feel fun anymore.  I wasn't jazzed about every prompt, and I found it to feel like another thing I had to check off of my to do list each day.  It just lost its appeal.  I still think some of the prompts are fantastic, and I may jump in on those days (or borrow the prompts for future posts).  However, I want to keep the focus on my outfits and my own little nuggets for now.  I hate that I'm not completing the project (even though I've missed a day or two) and feel like I'm giving up, but ultimately, I just want to have fun with blogging and not feel such a sense of obligation.  Sound good?

Linking up with Work Clothes I Suppose and Mix and Match Fashion today.

Day Fifteen: Today

Dress: Old Navy Flats: Payless

Today's topic for Blog Every Day in May is to give a play-by-play of your day.  I'm a really boring person...Here was my day:

5:00 am: Wake up to a puppy who needs to go potty.  Kevin lets out the dogs, and then they all come snuggle in our bed until it's time to get ready for the day.  I check my email and figure out how to help Delia get used to her crate (she's been crying all night long...we decided to put her in Pippin's kennel with her last night and it went so much better).

8:00 am: Wake up, feed the dogs, and get ready for the day before Kevin leaves for work at 9:00.

9:30 am: Take outfit pictures, feel like something is missing, throw on a gold necklace.  Play with dogs and let them outside again before going into work to conduct interviews...on my day off...ugh.  Feel super sad that Delia cries and panics in her crate.

10:00 am-12:30 pm: Work.  Conduct interviews for summer student staff, chat with boss about who to hire, send emails, catch up on work after having been off since last Friday.  Talk to one of the head directors of the animal rescue group about Delia's aversion to the crate and how we can help her feel safer and more secure.

12:30 pm: Leave work, get soaking wet from the rain (didn't know that was going to happen today...).  Head to the pet store to get a new toy for Delia for only playing with in her crate...fingers crossed that it works!

1:30 pm:  Come home to two very nervous dogs - Delia is still crying...4 hours later.  Feel super guilty about it and take the dogs on a nice walk to get their nervous energy out.

2:00 pm: Take more outfit pictures with the gold necklace, but realize none of them are good enough for the blog because my hair had gotten all frizzy and gross from the earlier rain.  Settle for a shot from this morning and start to answer emails, begin this post, read blogs, etc. while eating toast and yogurt for lunch.

3:00 pm: Kevin comes home from work!  We chat about the day together, decide how we're going to contain Delia tomorrow when I go back to work.  Attempt to take pictures of Delia to put on her Petfinder profile and fail miserably.  Get one cute shot (below!)

4:00 pm: One of Kevin's coworkers stops by to meet Delia and we chat for 45 minutes.

4:45 pm: Kevin falls asleep with the dogs, I continue catching up on blogs, planning outfits, doing laundry, relaxing, etc.

6:30 pm: Kevin takes the dogs outside and I do a little cleaning around the apartment.

7:00 pm: Kevin and I went out to the tennis courts by our apartment and played tennis for a while.  It felt great to get out and do something active.  My knee has been really bothering me lately so I've been hesitant to go running.  It's been a week since I've worked out and I am really feeling it - gross.

9:00 pm: We finally watched Silver Linings Playbook!  It was soooo good.  It's been built up by so many friends so I was worried I wouldn't like it, but it was so great!  Plus, Jennifer Lawrence is in it, and I LOVE HER.

11:30 pm: Put the puppies outside one last time and go to bed!

I love her little tongue poking out!

**I wrote this post yesterday but didn't publish it until this morning!  Oops!

Day Fourteen: 10 Things I Love about Life

Tee: Target Shorts: Old Navy Shoes: Born Necklace: F21

It's going to be 95 degrees here today...WHAT.  I've already shared my disdain for shorts, and while I really don't want to be wearing them today, it's too hot not to.  And I'm pretty sure a flowy dress or skirt is just a play toy for a puppy, so I decided to just suck it up and wear one of my new pairs of shorts.  I still don't love the way they look on me - slightly snug in the waist and the leg holes are huge, but whatever...they're as good as it will get, I fear.  I love these dressy tees from Target, too.  The material is soft, and I love this bright teal color.

Today, I'm sharing with you a list of 10 things that make me happy.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Kevin!  He is my perfect partner.  We are so, so different from each other in many ways, but we just work together.  He is super funny and makes me laugh all the time.
2. Painting.  It is so fun to have a hobby like this, where I can just sit quietly or with a podcast or playlist of favorite tunes and create something.
3. Singing.  I love, love, love to sing, especially with other people.  Singing in a small group or a duet is my absolute favorite.  When you sing with someone whose voice blends beautifully with yours, there's almost nothing better.
4. Dogs!  I especially love our little Pippin.  She is quirky and sweet and snuggly and sassy, and she is the best companion ever.  Also, I'm loving little Delia, our foster pup, right now.  She's a great little puppy, and I am excited to help her find her forever home!
5. Frozen yogurt.  It's just delicious and refreshing!
6. Minnesota!  I really don't want to get too political on my blog, but I can't NOT talk about this today.  Minnesota became the 12th state in the country to legalize gay marriage yesterday.  I could not be happier - so many of my family and friends will finally have the privileges I do and will be able to marry their loves as well!
7. Warm, sunny, breezy days.  I'm not much of an outside girl, but on perfect days like that, I just want to sit outside and soak it all in.
8. My family and friends.  It's so great to know there are people out there who support me and care about me.  And man, do they make me laugh!!
9. Harry Potter.  I know the series is over, but I absolutely LOVE Harry Potter.  The books are smart and interesting, and pose some fascinating questions.  I have so much respect for JK Rowling.
10. Telling other people about the positive impact they have had on me.  I know how wonderful it feels to know that I've made a difference in someone else's life, and it means so much to me to pass that along to those who have impacted me as well.

Day Thirteen: I'm sorry.

Shirt: Thrifted American Eagle Jeans: JCPenney Shoes: TOMS

I'm sorry for the boring outfit today.  I'm off of work today through Wednesday, and taking care of our new foster puppy, so I'm not looking glamorous by any means.

I'm sorry I didn't blog on Saturday for the Blog Every Day in May challenge.  I didn't like the prompt and wasn't sure I wanted to blog just for the sake of the challenge.  In fact, I went into this fully expecting to blog every day, but I'm unsure if that's what I want to do right now.  I don't want to be tied to my computer or feel obligated in any way.  I do like some of the prompts, though, so I'll probably blog on those days.

I'm sorry for talking about animal rescue all the time [I'm actually not that sorry about this one...].  It's just something I'm incredibly passionate about.  We spent our day yesterday bathing little puppies, snuggling them, helping them get checked out by the vet, matching them with their new foster homes, and giving them the love they haven't received before but so badly need and deserve.  We took home our first foster puppy, Delia, and couldn't be more smitten with her.  It will be difficult to say goodbye to her when she is placed her with her forever family, but fostering her and having to say goodbye is so much better than the alternative (euthanasia).

This is the sweet little girl who has stolen our hearts and is making herself comfortable in our home (and my lap, right now) for the time being.  She is 12 weeks old and cute as can be.  Her mother was shot in front of her three brothers and her, so they became mother-less very early.  Thankfully, all four of them are placed in loving foster homes right now to give them the love and security they need.  I keep telling her (and myself) that the worst part of her life is over - she is safe now.