dotty, weddings, and shoes

[three things]
1. these are my wedding shoes!  i tried on a bajillion pairs of white "wedding" shoes and was settled on a wedge that was comfortable, but made my toes look a little funny and had a ruffle that looked like it was standing up too straight.  and then one day i had some time to kill and was wandering the non-prom/wedding aisles of DSW and came across these beauties.  they fit like a dream and the cashier did some sort of return/exchange/coupons/points magic that knocked my socks off when i saw the total.  
2. if i desaturate, crank up the contrast, and mess with the blackness slider can i make any photo look like it's ready for a wedding album?  
3. we are totes getting married this weekend!  eeep!  i am finally getting really, really excited to marry my most favorite person ever, go to an awesome party with all our friends and family in one spot, and then go on an epic vacation.  i have seen so much incredible kindess and generousity from my friends, family, future family, colleagues, and clients in the last few weeks that i am so surprised and overwhelmed by it.  i expect to start crying sometime on friday and probably not stop until we get on a plane!  anyway, i'll see y'all back here in june, so have a great month!

dotty, lost cardigans, and walking shoes

[wearing]
cardigan: old navy 
t tee: forever21
pants: zara (similar)
loafers: dolce vita (similar)

[three things]
1. more pattern mixing.  yup, i'm still doing that.  
2. i wore this for a long day of meetings and the layers, neutral palette, and flats were perfect for all the different meetings.  and my boss's car had some sort of massive electrical failure, so there was way more walking than anticipated.  
3. this cardigan totes got lost in my closet for months.  it's super soft and nicely spotty, so hopefully it won't go into hiding again.  

friday five: ikea favorites

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four years ago, the boy and i found new homes for all of our furniture and moved across the country to go to grad school.  for our fresh start on decorating, i envisioned a whole lot of white with maybe some gray for accents.  while all of our heavy furniture is white and wood, the cleanliness and simplicity is nice, but it turns out i like color too.  i've mentioned before that we are big fans of ikea since it's really about how you combine pieces, not how much you spend on them.  we made a trip last week to the bigger chicagoland ikea (yup, there are two and we are somehow equidistant from both.)  and i thought i would share some of my favorite things to buy there.  

p.s.
instructions for making the light fixture pictured above can be found over here.

dotty, sweaters, and fall colors

[wearing]
sweater: vince (exactly)
dress underneath: cynthia steffe (similar)
scarf: forever21 (similar)
boots: forever21
clutch: neiman marcus+target collaboration



[previously on] rust vince sweater

dotty, stripes, and patterned pants

[wearing]
jacket: theory (exactly)
big shirt: thrifted
pants: gap (exactly)
wedges: elie tahari (similar)
green bag: souvenir from rome

[three things]
1. i'm beginning to think that stripes, especially thin blue stripes, are a neutral pattern.  they seem to get along quite nicely with other patterns.  
2. a big shirt + cropped pants has become one of my favorite outfit combinations.  it works for weekends and with some shiny wedges and a jacket it's perfect for worky too.
3. i've been working on a remixing board on pinterest lately and keep forgetting to mention it on the blogerson.  how am i still so in heart with pinterest?  it has totally replaced facebook as my favorite internet time-waster.  i now have no idea what all the people i haven't talked to in ten years are doing, but have a very strong urge to bake and put washi tape on things.  

recap: april

[wearing]
i finally realized that i feel more put-together when i'm wearing at least one pattern and a jacket, so that's been the name of the game this month.  

[buying]
gap luxlight cardigan: $34 via gap.com. this silk-blend cardigan is a replacement/upgrade of an old gray cardigan that has seen better days.  (seen in this post)
calvin klein striped dress: $50 via t.j.maxx.  this was a last-minute purchase for an event and i'm hoping that it will make itself useful as a summer work dress.
collective concepts sheer print top: $10 via nordstrom rack.  i adore this brand's prints, but it seems to be all synthetic materials, so this dress had been the only collective concepts piece i owned.  this shirt is sheer and an oversized dolman cut, so i think that helps the polyester-ness.(seen in this post)
old navy pointed toe flats in "high voltage": $20 via oldnavy.com.  i already own these flats in nude and dalmatian print, so i thought bright yellow would be a fun pair to add to my collection.  they're a wee bit too highlighter-ish, so if i can't muster up the courage to wear them soon they'll be headed back.  
old navy black pointed toe flats: $20 via oldnavy.com.  before i bought these i had no black flats in my closet and there were a few times this winter when i wanted a pair to go with black tights.  nothing fancy here, just filling a closet hole.
gap dot legging skimmer jeans: $38 via gap.com.  i can't wear jeans to work, but i am still super excited about these fun jeans.  my colored denim doesn't seem to be getting much attention lately, but this pair adds some oompf to jeans+tee weekend outfits. (seen in this post)
merona leopard-print pencil skirt (not pictured below): $22 via target.  (seen in this post)

april total: $184 
and i sold $52 of old clothes, so really it's $132 out of pocket this month.



[reading]
hemingway's the garden of eden.  this book seemed kinda racy for 1946, so maybe that's why he never published it while he was alive.  i've been reading a hemingway every few months and it occasionally reminds me of high school english class....like i should be writing a five paragraph essay on symbolism.  in conclusion, this was not my favorite hemingway and i definitely hated catherine, but it was still a good read.  
david rakoff's don't get too comfortable.  during one particularly boring time at work several years ago i listened to all the this american life archives and since david rakoff is a regular contributor, i've had this book on my "maybe i should read that" list for awhile.  the stories are funny and i listened to this in the car so it was like a this american life marathon without ira glass there to ruin things.  
david sedaris's holidays on ice.  it's not december, but i hadn't read this sedaris book yet and the stories are funny even in april.  

dotty, double boots, and snuggies

[wearing]
dress: joie (similar)
cardigan: forever21 (similar)
tights: apt. 9
suede ankle boots: target

[three things]
1. yup, right after i posted last week about impulse purchases at target i bought these ankle boots on clearance when i stopped in to stock up on greek yogurt.  as you can see below, they look a whole lot like the pair i bought clearance at the end of last winter...just a little more cowboy-ish.  
2. this outfit was crazy comfortable.  this cardigan is like wearing a blanket and since snuggies aren't socially acceptable, this is the next best thing.
3. i'm pretty excited about some warm weather this week.  my office is always extra cold, so i'll still be wearing sweaters inside.  #lamesauce