Florals for the New Year

Once upon a time, before shoulder surgery and an English teaching job, I used to be massively into gardening. I found some gardening pictures from forever ago and thought I would share them as a beacon of hope for the new year (because we are currently under snow AND inversion). These are all lovelies from my own gardens:

December Purchases

Okay, this was more like it. I still spent more than I wanted to, so the J Crew boatneck and Bateau Cashmere (update: the J Crew cashmere went back -- just not enough love for the money) may go back -- or they may be my Christmas gift to myself. I'm also on the fence on the red skirt -- I may try to alter the one I already have.
My goal for January is to spend less than $100. I'd prefer to spend zero, but I may see something on eBay that I want that is too good to pass up.

2013 Color of the Year: Emerald

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Today I wore this frayed tweed skirt with a purple cashmere sweater and purple tights. I jazzed up the simple look with my pambil jewelry. Later today I will be jazzing up the world with my new Christmas gift--an electric guitar. Such fun!!!
Hue Tights in Purple, Macy's; Fringe Tweed Skirt, J. Crew Factory; Audrey Cashmere Sweater in Purple, Talbots; Jewelry, Chicos and Utah Shakespearian Festival Gift Shop.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

We had my little brother and his wife and kids over to eat dinner and play some games, and this is what I wore. I haven't worn this cute purple jacket in quite a while, and I'd forgotten what nice fit it has. This wasn't as warm as a sweater, but it was better than just the shirt.
NYDJ Alisha Skinny Jeans in Cobalt Blue, Nordstroms; Liberty Print Perfect Shirt in D'anjou, J. Crew; Purple Brocade Jacket, Coldwater Creek; Earrings, Harry Mason, Gift from the BHW.

Friday, December 28, 2012

This evening we went to see the movie production of Les Miserables. It gets mixed reviews from me -- it wasn't my favorite production, but there were parts of it that I really liked.
Once again I am layering here. I decided to go bright and wore this indian red liberty print shirt from J. Crew to bridge the mustard jeans and the red sweater. This is a very old sweater, and I find that I like to layer those -- I don't mind if they get all stretched out or not.
Liberty Print Perfect Shirt in Indian Red, J. Crew; Toothpick Jeans in Garment Dyed Twill in Golden Sunflower; J. Crew; Vintage Red Sweater, Coldwater Creek; Jewelry, eBay.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

We are a lazy family at Christmas, so dressing up isn't really an option. That said, I grew up in a house without central heating. We had a big fireplace with blowers in the living room that (supposedly) heated our whole house. The actual result of this is that I am used to freezing in the winter, and I keep my house pretty cold. So, I've been experimenting with layers this break.
This is a sweater that I never tried layering before, and it actually looked pretty good this way.
Doubled Breasted Cardigan in Light Brown; Talbots; Paisley Button-Up Shirt, Talbots; Stretch Jeans, Coldwater Creek; New Harry Mason Swirl Earrings, Christmas Gift from the BHW.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

This is what I wore all day on Christmas. I got these pajamas for all the girls and flannel ones for all the boys. These are cute as could be on!
Talbots Red Scroll Pajama Set.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

I decided to wear this eBay find to the last Sunday sacrament meeting before Christmas. I got a million compliments on it. I did notice while wearing it that even the skirt shows a little sign of wear, but it is still awfully cute.
Talbots Jacquard Jacket and Skirt, eBay.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

I recently saw J. at J's Everyday Fashion wearing cobalt jeans, sequins, and navy, so this is my take on it. This was a casual Saturday spent getting my house in order, and I needed something comfy and quick--so I'm not rocking heels here, but the basic look is the same.
NYDJ Jeans in Cobalt, Nordstroms; Sequin Tank in Silver, Talbots; Baby Cable Cardigan in Indigo; Talbots; Jewelry, Francesca's.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Today I wore this embel- lished tee and jeans. I spent most of the day cleaning, so this was a good fit for that.
Tee, Coldwater Creek, Stretch Denim Jeans, Coldwater Creek.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

I wore this rather colorful sweater and a t-shirt today. I'm not working, so I'm keeping it casual.
Lee Jeans, Shopko; Pink Tee, Macy's; Floral Cardigan, Talbots.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I wore this sort of Christmas-looking sweater to celebrate the last day of the semester.
Foral Cardigan, Talbots; Travelers Tank in Black, Chicos; Platinum Denim Jeans in Sand, Chicos; Jewelry, Talbots.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

This is the last week of school, so I 'm not dressing up too much. I have too much going on already.
Embellished Sweater, Macy's; Tweed Pants, Shopko.

Monday, December 17, 2012

This wasn't an incredibly inspired outfit, but I was in a hurry (hence the wet hair), and it worked.
Cashmere Audrey Sweater in Doe Heather, Talbots; Merona Skirt in Flame; Target; Hue Tights in Sand, Macy's; Square Scarf, Talbots.

Sunday, December 16, 2012

After staying up rather late due to the dance, I pulled this on rather quickly for church. It's the same crochet skirt as yesterday with a diamante buttoned sweater. This looked very cute with my faux fur coat on top.
Crochet Maxi Skirt, Chicos; Merino Wool Diamante Sweater in Red, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots.

Holiday Dance Chaperoning

This evening I was the chaperone at the Winter Formal Dance at the high school where I teach. I decided to wear this crochet skirt that I've had for some time but hadn't worn with a leopard sweater, leopard shoes, and...a fun faux fur collar I recently got on Etsy that came to me all the way from the Ukraine. The BHW dropped by for a few dances, and gave me the compliment of saying that this outfit, was quite frankly, pretty sexy. (Which was not really what I was going for, except for him.) Ha!
Crochet Maxi Skirt in Black, Chicos; Leopard Sweater, Chicos; Faux Fur Collar, Etsy; Jewelry, Macy's; Hue Tights in Black, Macy's.

Friday, December 14, 2012

For this casual Friday, I went with jeans and this ikat cardigan. This was a pretty comfy look overall.
Lee Denim Jeans, Shopko; White Microfiber Tank, Chicos; Ikat Cardigan in Blue, Chicos; Jewelry, Chicos.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Today I went with a monochromatic gray look. I wore a rhinestone embellished gray sweater with my alpaca buffalo skirt and ribbed tights. I wore this blingy jacket as a topper to and from work.
Alpaca Blend Buffalo Plaid Skirt in Gray, Talbots; Rhinestone Trim Sweater, Talbots; Ribbed Tights in Charcoal Gray, Macy's; Jewelry, Talbots; Sparkle Tweed Jewel Jacket, Chicos.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Today I wore this medallion cardigan with a different bottom. What a difference! I wore this a while ago and didn't really care for it, but I loved this combination. The mustard jeans really make all of the jewel tones in the sweater pop. And of course, this was a chance to wear my ever beloved pointy toed yellow shoes.
Medallion Cardigan, Talbots; Toothpick Jean in Garment-Dyed Twill in Golden Sunflower, J. Crew; Origami Ruffle Top in Ivory, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots.

Tuesday, December 10, 2012

I hadn't worn this glitzy little jacket for quite a while, so I wore it today with a camel skirt. I thought the ivory shoes and tights looked okay IRL, but they look a little ghosty here. Ah, well.
Embellished Jacket in Moss, Chicos; Silk Ribbon Tank, Talbots; Wool Flannel Skirt in Camel, Talbots, Belt in Moss, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots; Ribbed Hue Tights in Ivory, Macy's.

Monday, December 10, 2012

I'm wearing a cashmere cardigan over a cute little top with a fun collar here. I just folded down the very top of the cardigan so it would fit under the collar. A little bling and I'm good to go. (The darker color in the sweater is the same brown as the skirt, not the black it appears to be.
Floral Cashmere Cardigan in Light Aqua, Talbots; Collared Satin Blouse in Light Aqua, Talbots; Wool Flannel Skirt in Dark Brown, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Today I went to school, but I wasn't really feeling much better. We had a huge deadline to meet for yearbook, so we had planned to meet as a class, and that kind of necessitated getting to school no matter what. I wore this warm and snugly sweater to help me get through what turned out to be a very long day -- but, YEAH!! We submitted our first deadline on time at around 11 PM.
Black Platinum Denim Jeans, Chicos; Cotton Tank, Chicos; Red Swing Cardigan, Talbots.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

I actually spent the day at home today, as I was feeling decidedly under the weather. Here is what I threw on to keep me cozy.
Animal Silk and Cashmere Sweater, Chicos; Platinum Denim Black Jeans, Chicos.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Today I decided to copy a blogging acquaintance's outfit of the day. This Talbots jacket looks amazing with the cobalt blue. Sorry, Maha, I had to go with the very comfy shoes because I have to wear my orthotic inserts once in a while.
NYDJ Alisha Skinny Jeans in Cobalt; Nordstroms; Black Tee, Talbots; Snow Tiger Jacket, Talbots; Jewelry, Francesca's and Talbots.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Today I wore all green in honor of the faculty party. The hit of the day was really this blingy little necklace I made at the last minutes out of a lizard pin and an old string of pearls. I must have had at least twenty people comment on it.
Ankle Jeans in Windsor Green, Talbots; Floral Cardigan, Talbots; White Embellished V-neck Tee, Talbots; Jewelry, Designed by Denee.

Red Brocade for Christmas

Today I got this suit in the mail. I love the skirt to death. The jacket is also very cute (and is a great fit for me too, although it looks a little big here because of the swing style), but it shows it's "vintage" condition quite a bit more. It doesn't smell, but there's a lot of deodorant buildup on the lining under the arms and a tear by the pocket that I think I can fix with my trusty crochet hook. For $8.50 for each piece, this was still a pretty good deal.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Today I wore my new j crew factory pencil skirt in frayed tweed. I only paid $34 for it, and I really like it. It went great with this vintage blood orange cashmere audrey sweater and a blingy Talbots necklace. I tried to put a sample of the tweed up here, but this is not quite it's true color. In real life it has more of a pinkish/salmon tone to it.
I wore the Faille Double Breasted Jacket in Creme Brulee as a topper for my trip to and from work, but it stayed off while I was there.
Factory Pencil Skirt in Frayed Tweed in Coral Camel, J. Crew; Cashmere Audrey Sweater, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots; Hue Tights in Sand, Macy's.