Introducing...Quinn!

WOW.  So, um...2015.

It's like it never happened.  (At least if this place is any indication).

Couldn't really be farther from the truth.  Namely, because this happened:

And naturally, everything was very, very full, even if full of nothing very impressive, ever since that day.

So, now I want to introduce you to Quinn!

Actually, you've met before.  Remember this...?

(And remember how some of my dresses end up with names?)

So no, Quinn isn't my kiddo.  (That's Lumpen.)  However, Quinn kept showing up throughout Lumpen's time in utero and after...

...from our baby shower...

...to our first trip home together(!)...

...to my first Mother's Day(!).  Not to mention many ordinary days in between, and since.

So, Quinn!  A sweet and simple cotton jersey wrap dress, now imbued with so many sweet memories of mama-hood.  

It's good to be back.  Let's do this more often, shall we?

Grey Sweater Club

This picture didn't happen, in real life.  However, I wish it did (or that it existed on the computer before I had to order Christmas cards)!

On the Mister:

Sweater: Gap, a gift | Jeans: thrifted | Ergo baby carrier: a gift | Ada: so very confused

On Ada:

Reflective collar with engraved buckle: Mimi Green 

On me: 

Glasses (they're purple!): Goggles4U | Dress: Lands End | Watch: Fossil

One of the many, many reasons that I love sweater dresses is that they are so incredibly stretchy.  This exact dress made it into last year's Fall Fashion Week.  It was cute and cozy and cowl-y and curve-fitting then, and it is all of those same things now...and there are certainly more curves to fit!  This is definitely one of those relatively rare times where major body changes lead to fun new stylings within the same wardrobe.

Have you ever had a time where a body changes led to you loving a garment even more than with its original fit?  

Sweater Weather

After a month away in a vastly different climate (seriously, October is *not* supposed to be 85 degrees!), I am super excited to be back home.  My school/professional obligations let me dig into some of my favorite dresses, and the weather is telling me it's time for boots and sweaters.

Dress: People Tree, via Modcloth | Sweater: thrifted | Boots: Merrell 

Tall leather boots and cozy wool sweaters, nubbly leggings and unstructured dresses...this is my favorite time of the year, clothes-wise!  (And a couple other ways, too.)

This was likely the last wear for quite some time of a favorite dress of mine -- the jersey material has surprisingly little give, which keeps its shape but means that I'm maxing out the skirt already and the neckline won't be nursing-compatible.  It's been fun to get some "one last time" wear out of things before I pack them away...and has definitely led to multiple episodes of dancing around the house singing my take on the Black Eyed Peas ("My bump, my bump my bump my bump, my bump my bump my bump, my lovely baby bump!")

...and I'll just leave you with that mental image.  =)  Anyone else loving sweater weather these days?

The Unintentional Capsule Wardrobe

This is my closet in its entirety right now:

It consists of: an entirely unnecessary lab coat, three pairs of pants (plus workout capris), one skirt, one formal dress (for a family wedding next weekend), three dressy-casual dresses, a long-sleeved sweater, two short-sleeved sweaters, two cardigans, a track jacket, two button-up blouses, a tunic blouse, three short-sleeved blouses, four or five casual tees, and four pairs of shoes (one not pictured), as well as necessary underbits.

While I have been continuing a slow closet purge, this capsule collection is still only a fraction of what I own and came about rather unintentionally -- I'm living and working in Texas for a month, and thus only have access to an abridged wardrobe.  Putting it together (the night before traveling, of course) was a bit stressful, trying to accommodate the necessary business casual dress code with Central Texas climate in garments I possessed...but I'm quite pleased with the end result: mostly neutrals (black, khaki, denim, chambray, cream), paired with light warms (mustard yellow, coral, rusty orange) and deep blues (cobalt, navy).

Dress: Old Navy

I've got to admit, the limited selection is actually quite refreshing.  I'm definitely the type to be overwhelmed with too many options; selecting the garments when packing initially felt constricting, but now paring it down so that I can literally see everything at once is very freeing in the morning.  

Getting comfortable with a substantially-limited clothes selection is important for more than just this month, too, because...well...

Yup, that's a baby bump!  I'm currently 16 weeks along and loving it.  About a week ago, I went from "Sure, I can probably get another couple weeks out of my pants" to "Haha, NOPE!" literally overnight.

I'm hoping to be more present these next 5+ months than I've been in the previous -- I think balancing a constantly-changing body with a limited closet will be a fun challenge, and of course there are belly photos to take!

Charlotte colored her hair, and I'm growing another person -- any big changes for you?  Do share!

Skirtember #4

Busy, busy weekend at our household!  On Saturday, we were lucky enough to attend TWO weddings.  Friends from church got married in the Chicago suburbs; they had a late morning/early reception wedding, so we were able to leave their reception early, drive back to Milwaukee, and catch our other friends' reception.  It was just perfect the way it worked out!  Our friends from the first wedding are Indian (groom) and Chinese-American (bride), so there were lots of cultural traditions and traditional dress.  (So many gorgeous saris.)  And our friends from the second wedding had a 14 piece band for the reception!  A lovely time was had by all.

Here is my double duty wedding attire...

Shirt:  Clothing swap

Skirt/shoes:  Goodwill

Hair clip (can't see it):  Kohls

How could I pass up on these $5 red pumps from Goodwill?!  I'm not used to wearing high heels though, so these were a challenge to wear throughout the day.  I brought flats to change into for dancing at the second reception!

My Sunday outfit was for church, grocery shopping and a low key lunch at Jordan's parents house.

Everything's a hand-me-down!  I found the boots (which are brown... I didn't realize the camera setting was still in black and white) in the costume bucket at my parent's house.  They could have been my mom's... or maybe my grandma's,  I really don't know.  But they don't seem quite that old.  

Skirtember is done?!  Whaaaaat?

... Or is it???

Skirtember #3

Better late than never!  I had a very late night on Sunday, which made for a sleepy Monday (and... uh... Tuesday, I guess).  I'm still playing catch-up from the weekend!

And what a weekend it was.  First, the weather couldn't make up its mind.  Sometimes, it was cloudy and rainy.  Sometimes, summer-like humidity.  The evenings got very chilly.  My Saturday outfit ended up being too warm, though my Sunday one worked out nicely.  Second, Jordan and I had adventures on Saturday - apple picking, then rushing up to the top of the US Bank building for the last 30 minutes of Doors Open Milwaukee - and I had adventures with a long-time friend on Sunday.  Hurrah for adventuring in dresses!

Dress:  Thrifted

Leggings:  Kohls

Socks:  a gift

Boots:  Merrell from REI

When I occasionally wore this dress to work (with jeans underneath it), one of my students called it my "little kid" dress, so these swings at the apple farm made for an ideal photo location!

Detail of the socks - my secret nerdy socks.

They're a Dalek!

Dress, scarf and tights:  hand-me-downs

Shirt:  Old Navy

Boots:  Target

On Sunday, my oldest friend and I went to the American Players Theater to see "The Importance of Being Earnest".  It's an outdoor theater, so I knew I wanted something cozy to wear.  Also, I wanted to chance to break out this sweater dress!  I like the top more than the bottom, but overall, I think it's pretty good.

Also, dun dun dunnnnn, I'm happy to debut my new hair color!  I'm loving it even more than I thought.

Skirtember #2

I'm back, with two more skirt/dress posts for everyone!  (And there was much rejoicing.)  This week in Wisconsin, temperatures plummeted for a few days.  High 40's, windy, cloudy, bleeecchh.  Luckily, it popped back up into the 60's over the weekend.  Not only did it make playing outside enjoyable, it made it much easier to consider wearing skirts!

On Saturday, I went geocaching with a friend.  It was tempting to wear jeans, considering the amount of outdoor exploring we'd be doing, but it stuck to my guns and tried to pick functional dress wear.

Dress & tights:  hand-me-downs

Jacket:  Forever 21

Boots:  Merrell from REI

Even though the dress and tights look fancy-ish, I didn't mind if they got mucked up, since they're hand-me-downs.

There were parts of this outfit I ended up liking more than I thought - the jacket with the dress, for instance.  It also looked cool if the jacket was buttoned up, which I've never tried before.  I didn't really like the boots and tights with the dress though.  I don't know if it's because I'm not a huge fan of black tights - they often look dowdy or formal - or if the dress hit my legs in a spot where it would look better with flats.  Anyway, this outfit got the job done - we found four geocaches!  Whee!

On Sunday, I went to a Packers party.  Jordan and I don't like watching football, but I thought I could dress in one of the team's colors as support anyway.

Sweater & scarf:  hand-me-downs

Dress:  Goodwill

Leggings:  Forever 21

Shoes:  Target

Does anyone else prefer leggings over tights?  I don't know why I find them much more comfortable.  Maybe it's the thicker fabric?  Anyway, I love these long leggings from Forever 21.  My other pairs are mid-calf and thin, which isn't ideal for most outfits.

Two down, two to go!