Yesterday's Look: Timeless

sources: dress, fabric selection, belt, shoes, pearls

It was running super late yesterday, which meant I had no time for the daily fashion crisis I deal with in the mornings.  I call it a crisis, but I actually have a lot of fun getting dressed in the morning... most of the time.  If I'm feeling chunky, I'll go through the customary revolving wardrobe whirlwind before until it gets so late that I have no more time to moan and groan about this and that.  Luckily, I have a closet full of work-appropriate dresses to fall back on when I can't be bothered to run around like a crazy person trying to find things that match, or I've already exhausted and vetoed all prior possibilities.  Why not just start with the selection of tried and true dresses?  Well, where's the fun in that?

I try not to buy trendy things because A: I look awkward trying to pull off trendy, and B: I can't afford to buy things that are going to go out of style in a year.  A good rule of thumb for me is, if I put it on and time-traveled back to 1962, I should be able to blend relatively seamlessly.

What's your go-to fail-safe outfit when you're late and need to pull off something professional in a hurry?

DBC Quilts Announcement

The ladies of DBC Quilts are looking to add a member to the collective who loves to do the quilting part of making a quilt (and is fast and good at it!).  I offer up my sweet binding skills if you will do the quilting.  You don't have to live in Seattle or San Francisco; FedEx is a beautiful thing.  Other benefits are the friendship of three fabulous ladies, a once-a-year reunion, cool business cards, and constant inspiration.

If you are interested, contact me!

Dressing for the Drizzle

sources: shirt, cami, capris, shoes, necklace

It was absolutely pouring this morning in Seattle, and I knew I'd be walking to lunch with a friend, so I had to be calculated about choosing my attire this morning given my two biggest rain peeves: wet toes and pants that are soaked at the bottom.  It was too chilly for a skirt today, which means it's time to bust out the biz-capris.

These capris look frumpy dumpy if I wear flats, so I had to choose a sexy pair of closed toed heels to keep it looking put together.  Had I realized I was choosing a black tee, and not the navy one I thought I was grabbing, I probably would have opted for black pumps instead of brown snakeskin, but I'm rolling with it.

Todays playlist:

Selections of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, and Dinah Washington, inspired by a story I heard on NPR, Morning Edition this morning on my way to work about Ella Fitzgerald and how fabulous she is.  She really is.

In other news, I quilted in my sweats all day yesterday.  It was fantastic.  I'm excited to go home tonight and do more of the same.

New Header

For those of you who read this blog in google reader, you don't get to see when I change my header.  Here's the latest:

I wanted it to look crisp and bright for spring.

What do you think?

Think Pink

sources: shirt, pants, blazer, shoes, jewelry

Today I woke up not feeling so hot - sore throat, queasy, tired as all getout.  I knew this was coming.  My normal rise time is 6 or 6:16am, but it was impossible to get up before 6:45 every day this week.  Yesterday my throat was feeling scratchy, and I did nearly everything I could to to keep it at bay.

To be honest, I probably could have had less wine last night, but there was a virtual merlot tasting going on so a friend and I spent some quality drinking time at a local wine warehouse yesterday to do our part.  We got through 11 of the 20 merlots offered, and I found one I couldn't live without.  Twenty-two ounces of wine later, I was probably not in the best position to fight off a bug.  My mistake.

I was woken in the middle of the night by my sore throat, and all that other stuff that goes along with having that extra glass or two of wine.  Bad Monica.

When I finally was able to pull it together to make myself coffee, I still wasn't up for breakfast.  Or a shower.  Or dressing up.  I decided to skip breakfast in hopes that my stomach will eventually settle enough for me to enjoy it, and begrudgingly shuffled to she shower.  

My first choice for attire today was sweats and slippers, but I had to get to the office regardless of my condition.  Jeans and a sweater would have been an ideal consolation prize, but because I interface with clients every day, that's not an option either.  The solution?  A comfortable bright shirt and my most casual pair of slacks.  The blazer and the heels make me look like an adult rather than a high school student.  Overall, I think it's a winner.  I'm still very comfortable, but not sloppy-looking.

Today's playlist pulls songs from the following artists:

Toad the Wet Sproket

Collective Soul

Hootie and the Blowfish

Gray Doesn't Have to be Boring

sources: top, skirt, pearls, pin, shoes

It's back to the solemn grays and pearls for me today, not because I am feeling particularly sobered by the rain, but because I've been wanting to take this top out for a stroll for a while now and today's my chance.  Sure it's gray, but the flirty little gauzy rose pin takes it up a notch from basic to fabulous.  And, I'm office appropriate.  Score.

I arrived at my office this morning to find a bottle of pinot noir on my desk with a thank-you note for the extensive help I provided as consultant and food stylist for a design event we hosted Tuesday night.  Looks like my years of hostessing many wine events have begun to come back around to benefit me!

Hostessing is one of my favorite ways to socialize.  I love feeding my friends.  I love laughing together until way too late in the night, and drinking far too much wine in the process.  I also love that it forces me to clean my apartment all at once.

If I can manage to prepare everything I need to before my guests arrive, I love dressing up for the event.  However, in typical Monica fashion, I usually opt for jeans last minute because I'm still cooking or moving something.  Seattle's a casual city, right?

The Urban Cowgirl

sources: shirt, "skirt", jewelry, boots

Are you sick of these yet?  Good.  Me neither.  I'm really excited about today's fashion update because I actually own the exact boots pictured in my board!  That's right, folks; they're mine, all mine!  You may have noticed I wear the same jewelry from day to day.  It's because I'm lazy as hell about changing it and I like to wear classic things I never have to take off.  I do have some very cool pieces I'll showcase down the road, but for now it's all about a "wash and go" jewelry selection.

Today I felt a little bit country, a little bit sassy, and extremely late for work.  Bright turquoise always goes great with tan leather and I had these boots sitting out and the skirt that had been vetoed from my outfit yesterday still flung over the chair in the bedroom.  A crisp white button-up keeps it all office-appropriate.  And we're out the door!

Quilt Inspiration

So my inspiration for the quilt I've been scheming is in the Kona Cotton solid color line.  I definitely want to include (clockwise from top left) Pacific, Medium Grey, Cyan, and Coal.  I'm trying to decide if I want to include Natural or White, or either.  What do you think?

Peacock and Neutrals

sources: shirt, skirt, jewelry, shoes

I know I've been gangbusters with the fashion boards these days, but it's really fun.  It's also giving me some really great ideas for future quits.  I've been wanting to do something quilty with my current favorite color: peacock.  It's so beautiful that I really wouldn't want to put another color in competition with it, so I'm thinking neutrals... maybe some warm grays.  Problem is, I have so many half-completed quilts that I'm going to let this one swim around in my noggin for a while.

Today's soundtrack:

Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol

Brand New Colony - Postal Service

Hello - Poe

Heartbreak Warfare - John Mayer

First Train Home - Imogen Heap

Io - Hellen Stellar

Loro - Pinback

A Girl and Her Shoes

sources: shirt, skirt, belt, shoes, jewelry

Over the weekend Abby and I had a DBC Quilts booth at the Fremont Sunday Market.  Because it was our first time participating in an outdoor market of any kind, it took all of Saturday to prepare, including a late-afternoon trip up to Sports Authority to secure a set of walls for our pop-up canopy.  Our booth looked great, even if our sales on Sunday weren't.  More on that later.  

What I want to talk about is the side trip that led to a fashion find that brought joy to my wardrobe.  Sports Authority is in the same complex as Ross and Target, so our intention was to take a little side excursion to these other fine establishments as well to check out any possibilities for display gadgets.  I ended up with no sales gadgets but two pairs of fabulous shoes.

Now there are some people who buy something, hang it in their closet, and then pull the tags off a month later when they decide to wear it.  Not me.  If I purchase something, I have to wear it as soon as possible.  Part of it is due to my chronic (and sometimes debilitating) case of impatience.  Another reason is I decided about a year or two ago to only buy things I truly love.  This makes the morning after a purchase like Christmas to me; I can't wait to get dressed for work.

This morning was no exception.  I found some purple platform pumps (say that five times fast!) at Ross on Saturday that I simply couldn't live with out, so this morning I coordinated some basics around my footwear to really showcase how fantastic they are.  I wish I had a picture of the real thing, but as usual, I'm just able to give you the fashion equivalent of my ensemble.  The actual pair of shoes is closed-toed and has a more conservative embellishment, but they are purple snakeskin platform stilettos.  How could I say no??  I'm having a wonderful time prancing around today.  It also doesn't hurt that these shoes make me about almost six feet tall.  Yep.

Fashion Today: Office to Evening

I'm going straight home after work today, but if I were going on a hot date, today's outfit is the perfect simple transition from workday to cocktail hour: leave the blazer in your car.  I should also admit that I don't own this fabulous clutch - I'm just drooling.  Doesn't it go perfectly with my outfit, though?  A mere $88 at J. Crew. (yikes!)

sources: camisole, top, blazer, skirt, shoes, jewelry, clutch

Sabina's Quilt, Block Five

It's been a while, but I've made a little more progress on blocking out Sabina's quilt.  Here's the latest:

Another Fashion Board

I had so much fun creating yesterday's fashion board that I thought I'd do another one with today's outfit.  This one goes out to you, Kate!  Here's what I've got going on today.

sources: shirt, sweater, pants, belt, shoes, jewelry, sailboat

Celebrating the Day: Office Attire

 My girlfriends and I are divided between Washington and California (and currently Costa Rica too!) and don't get to see each other every day, so in our emails to one another we'll often give the fashion update.  Mostly we want to know how the ladies have incorporated personal style into a workable solution that's also appropriate for her conservative office environment.  Today, as a special treat, I'm giving you a pictorial fashion update.  As you can see I've dressed festively today, but kept it classic and very office appropriate.  May the luck o' the Irish be with you! (I can say that because I'm 1/16 Irish myself)

sources: pearls, shirt, skirt, belt, shoes, shamrock

Head Case

No, not me.  I mean the show: Head Case. 

It's about neurotic, slightly abrasive therapist to the stars, Dr. Elizabeth Goode (Alexandra Wentworth), and her  two co-workers, Lola the receptionist (Michelle Arthur) and Freudian psychoanalyst Dr. Finkelstein (Steve Landesberg) who is constantly trying to poach clients.  I know this rave will not do it justice because I'm still trying to get used to the daylight savings adjustment and I'm only halfway through my second cup of coffee this morning, but I needed to tell you all ASAP about this gem.  Alexis and I stayed up far too late for a school night watching 9 straight episodes last night.  It's like a well-choreographed improv show.  I'm addicted.  It's currently available on Netflix instant view.  Go check it out immediately. 

my little project

 

Isn't he cute?

 

...and her too?

 

This is what my past couple weekends have been devoted to.  Andrew didn't like the velvet throw pillows that came with me when we moved in together.  I still love them, but I love him more and decided it was time to recover them with something he liked.  We have two identical gray (reclining!) wing back chairs in our living room, one of which has become"his."  So I decided little his/hers throw pillows were just the ticket.  I love them in a major way.  I think, were I to do it again (and I will!), I'd invert the color scheme so it didn't blend into the chairs too much.

 

Andrew came home, loved them and said, "Hey!  You could sell these!"  Light-bulb!  That was the birth of Home Snugg, my newly-established online etsy store.  We're keeping these ones for ourselves because they're his favorite, but let me show you what else I've been working on....

 

Pink/Navy

  

  

  

  

Swooning from cuteness, aren'tcha?

  

I just put baby in a corner

  

 ...and here comes Johnny to tell me what's what.

  

 Shocking yellow hasn't been this much fun since the windbreakers of the 90s!

  

  

  

  

 

I'm going to be posting these shortly on my little shop window.  Yay!