August 2014 Purchases

I picked up a few things from the Talbots Red Hanger Sale that piqued my interest. I added the shirt from eBay, but it was technically free as I used paypal credit from selling things to buy it.

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Today seemed like a good day to go with polka dots. This polka dot linen shirt is such a divine shade of blue. I added a bubble necklace in white and some sandals I refashioned from brown to blue.
Charter Club Denim Skirt in White, Macy's; Perfect Shirt in Linen Dot, J.Crew via eBay; Bow Belt in White, Talbots; Jewelry, Ily Couture.

Friday, August 29, 2014

I love the Friday before a long weekend. Today I went pretty casual with this Talbots shirt and white pants. I figure this is sort of a vertical line, right?  Ha.
Fern Print Cotton Shirt in Green Grass/White, Talbots; Signature Curvy Jeans in White, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

I have a serious love affair with blue. I like blue with green, red, pink, yellow, purple, and especially orange. I know paisley is not type 4, but I'm going with what I like and wearing it today.
Paisley Pencil Skirt in Blue/Orange, J. Crew; V-Neck Cotton Sweater in Orange Crush, Chicos; Jewelry, J.Crew and J.Crew Factory.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

I've been posting pictures of things I've dyed and shoes and belts I've painted all summer, but this was the first purse that I refashioned. This large pink Talbots bag was a not-so-amazing kind of coral-ly pink. I got it a long time ago for a song, and I wasn't sure why I kept it -- I never used it much. Now it is a bright fire engine red, and I can see myself getting a lot more use out of it.
I thought it went well with some denim jeans that I dyed navy and a floral cardigan. The red popped with all that blue.
Everything I'm wearing in this picture except the cardigan has either been hand made or recolored!!
Christopher & Banks Stretch Denim Bootcut Jeans; Floral Cardigan in Indigo and White, Talbots; Navy Tank; Chicos; Jewelry; Designed by Denée.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Genuine McCoy - Quilted Fabric

The Knockoff - Printed

eBay is a funny place. A while back I bought the J.Crew Factory raj paisley skirt remake from the factory store. I wasn't too happy with it not being lined (unlined skirts tend to have saggy bottoms after a while), but I liked the pattern. I was satisfied until I actually saw the texture of the real raj paisley skirt -- so cute!! and lined!! I started stalking eBay and picked one up and then turned around and sold my factory one for $5 dollars more. Someone paid more for my factory version than they could have got the real version for... hmmm.....
Anyway, I love the real version!!!! The blue is slightly different, but the colors actually pop more -- it's just more vivid. The fit is much, much, MUCH better with a thicker fabric and lining. LOVE!!
Raj Paisley Pencil Skirt, J.Crew via eBay; Roll Neck Sweater in White, Talbots; Jewelry, Designed by Denée; and my deal of the month -- the Talbots Striped Fold-over Clutch (that converts into a shoulder bag) in Indigo/Retro Red.

Monday, August 25, 2014

Today I went with some houndstooth pants and a simple purple sweater. It turned out to be picture day (I had completely forgotten) so I was glad I had a solid color on.
Dogtooth Cigarette Trousers, Topshop; Purple Sweater, Chicos; Jewelry, Talbots.
(Thanks to The Classy Cubicle for giving me the link to the pants. Hmm...I must be way shorter than she is...)

Sunday, August 24, 2014

I recently picked this sweater up at the Talbots clearance sale. It went quite well with a navy skirt and my stylish cobalt shoes that I painted myself. I added this bold bangle as my bling.
Breton Stripes Back Keyhole Sweater in Cobalt/Indigo, Talbots; Jewelry, Macy's and J. Crew; Navy Seasonless Wool Pencil Skirt; J. Crew via eBay.

Friday, August 22, 2014

So I went to bed last night knowing that it was Thursday night. Apparently at some time in the night (probably in one of the vivid dreams I have) my brain switched to thinking it was Friday night. So, when my alarm went off, I turned it off and went back to bed. Luckily, when the BHW's alarm went off a half an hour later, he noticed me there snoozing away and woke me up in time to rush to work. Let's just say that's why I cropped off my head. Ha! Anyway, I went with a pretty casual outfit of my neon pink sweater and jeans. I added this pink bubble necklace and matching earrings for one last blast before I list them on eBay. Aren't those zebra sandals cute? Luckily, they are also very comfortable, too.
Denim Stretch Jeans, Coldwater Creek; Textured Charley Sweater in Neon Azalea; J.Crew Factory; Jewelry, Ily Couture.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Apparently I forgot how to take a selfie while I was gone to South America. (It doesn't help that my mirror is dirty.) Anyway, I got SO many compliments on this pairing. You know your outfit is a winner when the dental hygienist stops right in the middle of descaling to compliment you (yes that really happened). I do love this skirt, and the cardigan from Banana Republic was a match made in heaven.
Tracy Reese Montagne Pencil Skirt, Anthropologie; White Ribbed Tank, Chicos; Cardigan in Blood Orange, Banana Republic; Jewelry, Gift from the BHW.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

I am channeling my inner snow tiger here with this jacket. I added a little longer black tank to hide that the jacket is not quite white. It was pretty noticeable against the white pants without it. My hair is SUPER short. And I'm not too pleased with how the bangs came out this time. Ah, well. It will grow out.
Signature Curvy Jeans in White; Talbots; Black Silk Tank; Chicos; Snow Tiger Jacket; Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots via eBay.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Today was the first official day back at school. I went with this Talbots striped ponte skirt that I have worn like crazy all summer. I added a red sweater, pearls and flats. Quick and easy.
Stripe Ponte A-Line Skirt in Indigo and White, Talbots; Charley Sweater in Maraschino Cherry, J.Crew Factory via eBay; Jewelry, Talbots.

Monday, August 18, 2014

This is what I wore for 7th grade day. I went pretty casual here with some crop jeans, a cute bulky knit sweater with an Audrey Hepburn collar, and bright orange crocodile flats. I am still being pretty faithful to Dressing Your Truth, but I still sneak in a few type 1 goodies every now and then, like this adorable fan fringe necklace. (These pants were originally a super white washed blue, the sweater was camel, and the shoes were gray, but I painted/dyed all of these this summer. It's been so much fun having all these bright clothes to wear!)
Denim Crop Jeans, Talbots; Chunky Cable Sweater in Orange Crush, Talbots; Jewelry, J. Crew.

Sunday, August 17, 2014

This was the combination I went with for the last Sunday of what I consider to be summer. I really love the jewelry set which is vintage Talbots I've found in bits and pieces on eBay, and this skirt (which is so NOT type 4) just begged to be worn. How can I refuse such a cheerful skirt?
Paisley-Swirl Pencil Skirt, Talbots; Long Sleeve Tee in Green, Talbots; Jewelry, Talbots via eBay, and don't you just love the green shoes that I painted myself? Ha!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

She's back. Wow. What a summer. First we went to the amazing Machu Picchu with the DD and our son-in-law.

While we were there we hiked our petunias off but did get to eat amazing gourmet food cooked out in the wilderness by a real chef. (Yes, those are AVOCADOS almost as big as bananas.)

While we were there we stayed in the beautiful five star JW Marriott El Convento Cusco. Built atop ancient Incan ruins and situated around a 16th-century convent, the hotel is a veritable museum in the historic city of Cusco. It was gorgeous!! I even had a massage there at the spa.

People were literally dancing in the streets in Peru.

Of course, we couldn't leave Peru without trying cuy, or guinea pig, according to our Machu Picchu tour guides. Umm...I think we could have.

Next we were off to Ecuador. We did a ton of things there, but here are a few highlights--visiting the world famous Otavalo outdoor market:

In Otavalo we met up with some of the son-in-law's siblings and even managed to buy a few things with some help from Javier who is in the brown shirt and showing off his brand new leather belt for $5:

From there we went to Puerto Largo and stayed in a lovely hotel right on the lake.

Then we went to Quito which is huge. And crowded. This is a lovely view from the tram we rode up to the top of a nearly mountain.

There we met more of the son-in-law's family and friends, including his adorable nieces and nephews who are swarming the DD:

We also visited a lot of churches in Quito, including this one, the Basilica:

And of course, we had to go stand in the middle of the world (latitude wise, anyway).

Our last side trip before the long trip back home was to Baños. We stayed at the Samari Inn and Spa. Gorgeous!!

Baños is right on the edge of the jungle, and it is lush beyond belief. We took a tour of some of the many waterfalls. How do you like that trail down into the Devil's Cauldron?

At long last it was time to go. I loved every minute of the trip except for the three hours that I spent violently carsick after our trip to lovely Lake Quilotoa. Let's just say that for a few hours, I really wanted to just die and get out of my misery. Anyway, I'm back, and regular outfit posting will resume tomorrow because Monday is the first day of school!

And what did I take for the trip? We had to bring stuff for hiking, and then I capsule wardrobed the rest. In retrospection, I wouldn't take white pants next trip -- dirt magnets. Everything else worked great.