A Black Vest and a 50 Cent Ring

I am sitting on campus quickly typing this up, trying to ignore the nagging headache, lack of sleep, and reading I have to do. Oh, and I don't have internet at home yet. I was supposed to have internet on the laptop issued to me by my school, but NMU, you fail again. Weird. Umm...Brief explanation, as I know most schools don't issue computers: NMU gives all of its students a laptop which has wimax, or 4G where I should be able to get on to the internet pretty much anywhere in the city of Marquette. Did I mention that I literally live right behind campus? That my backyard is campus? Yep, internet still doesn't work. Sorry, I'm ranting. It's been frustrating. Bear with me. Please.


This outfit is actually from a few days ago. I have no pictures of the outfits I have worn to the first couple days of school as I found that my brain doesn't work so well in the morning, and I've thrown on something pretty easy. I stare into my closet and see a jumble of nothing. However, in my 8:00 class this morning I had to be the best dressed in jeans, t shirt and cardigan. Everyone else (the girls, anyway) was in some variation of sweats.


No worries, I will get into the swing of things soon and be back to my happy blogging self. It doesn't help that we just moved into our apartment Sunday and stuff is just everywhere. But it's our own place! No more living with the in-laws! Lets add more !!!!! just to show how happy I am about that!!!

Shirt: thrifted

Vest: Maurices

Shorts: American Eagle

Bracelets: Forever 21

Ring: gas station

The ring on my forefinger was given to me by my husband who purchased it at a gas station. You know those machines that dispense gum balls, well, it was like that. He does this occasionally and the trinkets usually end up hanging from my rearview mirror. But I liked this ring. I thought it was pretty sweet, in fact. I have no idea what the pattern is, but I like it on my finger. Thanks, honey.

Okay, miss you all! And if I haven't gotten back to anyone's comments I will try to by next week (I get internet on Thursday).

The Changing Weather and a cardigan

Outfit Post. That's all I have to say. Weird. I usually ramble.

Cardigan: Target

Tank: Burlington Coat Factory

Jeans: Levi's

Belt: Forever 21

Watch: American Eagle

Necklace: Not sure, I've had it so long, you can even see where it broke and was tied together. Twice.

Can you tell my husband took this picture? He wouldn't even get my feet in it. It was pretty late (as evidenced by the wearing of the glasses) and it had been a long day. (Love you, honey and thanks always for taking pictures of me!)


Throughout the day, when it had been a little warmer, I wore jean shorts and simple brown flats. Hmmm...a little closer to fall when I can wear a sweater in the middle of the day. But that also means my allergies are acting up, so mixed feelings...Any thoughts on the coming cooler weather? Love it, hate it? Excited about the different outfits you get to wear?

Fingerprinting and Curious Cargo

Soooo...I said the other day I got a job at the bank and it is protocol to fingerprint incoming employees to reveal any past criminal behavior. That's all I was told, really. So technically I haven't been officially hired, but I still wanted to make a good impression via clothing for the all important fingerprinting. I was told I didn't have to dress up, but I wasn't going to show up in a pair of cutoffs and a paint stained tank. (Seriously, side note here, I have seen people show up to hand in resumes, even interviews in jeans and a t-shirt. Don't do it! First impressions are a big deal, and I believe, clothing is a big part of it).

Tank: Target

Cardigan: American Eagle, ages ago

Skirt: Maurices

Belt: Forever 21

Boots: Born

Socks: Hue

Earrings: Burlington Coat Factory

With this outfit I wanted to look nicer, but not like I was trying too hard so I paired the pencil skirt with boots and those earrings. I hope I impressed them...until I actually went to give my fingerprints and I had that manicure of red nails with one purple nail on each hand. Yeah, real professional looking. Not. 

In other news, I discovered another store in Marquette, Curious Cargo, located on 3rd street. Sorry, there isn't a  website to share. They sell pretty much vintage everything, with every corner stuffed full with little treasures from old doorknobs to books to clothing. I mostly went there for the clothing and was pleasantly surprised at the pretty reasonable prices. Some of the older clothing wasn't in the best condition, but there were many very nice pieces, particularly this pink dress that looked like something out of Mad Men (minus all the flounces those women wear. Crinolines? Is that what they are called? Whatever it is that makes the skirt flare and pouf out). Once I start working I will definitely be heading back for something. And then share it with you all!

Whelp, time is winding down to that first day of school and already I am thinking of what I will wear. Any ideas, suggestions, favorites of what any of you like to wear on the first day of school? 

Raiding Sister's Closet

Last night, as the sun was setting and the light was growing dim, there was a distinct scent coloring the breeze: autumn. Autumn has a distinct smell of falling, drying leaves, of cool air, of change. Well, much is going to change. I start a new job soon, school starts next week, and I am moving into a new apartment in two weeks. Oh, and I am taking swim classes soon to perfect the stokes I don't have. Yet.


I am nervous for all this change. I want to still have time for this. Blogging is just so much fun. I will try my hardest to get posts up, they just won't be at the frequency that I used to post. We will see, maybe my classes will be super easy and I won't have to spend any time on homework. Right, like that will ever happen. I will just have to get my organized butt in gear.


Sooo...I was visiting home the other day and decided to raid my sister's closet. She always has the cutest clothes. and I pulled together this outfit:

Boom, there's that attitude.

You like that bracelet? It looks like a kid's, my sister has no idea where it came from.

At this point in the day, a navy cardigan would have been appreciated.

Shirt: Avon

Dress: Avon

Belt: Avon

Shoes: Target

Bracelet: ?

I had no idea Avon had such cute clothes. The shirt made a previous appearance in a post, and I love this shirt. I want it. The ruffles are so cute and usually not my style, but sometimes you just have to make exceptions for ruffles.

Oh, you know what else will change? I won't be able to visit my sister as much with the approaching start of school. Which means, no more cute pictures of me. She always takes the nice looking ones, like the pictures above. The kinda boring ones where I am just standing in front of a sided house are quickly taken by my husband on his lunch break. Sorry, honey. I will just have to get him to practice his camera skills or invest in a tripod.

Back to the outfit, all you girls out there in the Yoop, would you wear a similar outfit just on an everyday excursion in life? Or is this something more dressier? 

Denim and pink slip...again

Last week I had a post where I was wearing a hot pink slip, worn as a dress with a denim shirt belted over it. My sister gave me a denim dress she didn't wear anymore....so basically, similar outfit, only I like this one better.

There's my puppy. Sometimes he's hard to get out of the pictures. He sticks to me like glue.

I originally wore this outfit with the denim dress worn open, but I like it buttoned up with the slip peeking out.

Shirt dress: From sister

Slip: thrifted

Belt: Forever 21

Necklace: made and given to me by a friend

Bracelets: From here and there

Boots: Maurices

Like the nail polish? I just got the red and the purple nail polish yesterday, and I wanted to wear both, so I painted one finger each purple. Plus the purple and red together is interesting. My husband asked if it meant anything. Yes, it's a political statement, dear husband. No, not really. Too bad, that could be fun.

Yep.

Soooo...I got the job! It's just a bank teller job for while I go back to school. I'm still excited. I wonder if this means I get to go shopping for some new work clothes...In fact I already have some in mind. Oh what fun!

Nail Polished

Today, I thought I would share my favorite shades of nail polish with you all...


Nail polish is an easy way to try a color. Especially a color you are not sure about, like the mustard color in the last picture. Sometimes I shy away from color and nail polish is like a non-risk way of trying color. If I end up liking it, I branch out and buy clothes in those colors, like the mustard yellow. Or avoid if the color looks terrible, like neon yellow does not look good against my skin tone (someone darker complected can easily pull it off) but the neon orange looks great.


Here are the highlighters. I always get a lot of compliments when I wear these colors (even the yellow, though it makes my hands look sick, why did I take a picture of this anyway?):

Sinful Colors (From Walgreens) - Cream Pink

Sinful Colors - Neon Melon

Forever 21- Neon Green

Sinful Colors - Summer Peach

Sinful Colors - Dream On

Gettin' the blues...and greens. These are my favorite colors particularly the turquoise and mint green colors.

Sinful Colors - Rise and Shine

Sally Hansen - Blue it

Forever 21 - Sage

Sally Hansen - Blue Me Away

These are the ones that I couldn't fit into a nice group and didn't want to individually take pictures. The yellow is my favorite. The white if I want to rock a sweeter, cleaner look. The sandy color for a more low key look. Purple because it is my absolute fav! And throw some black in there to round out the colors. 


Actually I only have black because my father-in-law always notices when I am wearing a darker nail polish and asks if it is black and if I am going goth. So, I finally got black nail polish to meet his expectations. Besides, black is badass. And not necessarily goth.

Sally Hansen - Quick Sand

Sinful Colors - White

Sinful Colors - Pull Over

Sally Hansen - Gray Area

Sally Hansen - Black Out

Sally Hansen - Deeply Violet

So try some colors, girls. Hopefully you don't have a job that restricts bright colors. Wouldn't that suck? I know such jobs are out there. I hope I don't end up with one. If I do, I might break the rules...Sometimes rules need to be broken, am I right?

The White Button Down

Today, I had an interview for a job and that is all I am saying about it. I just don't want to jinx it, you know. Sounds stupid, but today is going so well I don't want to wreck it.

Here is what I wore:

White button down: From my grandma

Skirt: Charlotte Russe

Belt: Forever 21

Shoes: Target

Watch: American Eagle

Bag: Fossil

I had been looking for a nice  basic white button down for a while now and my Grandma finally found one at Kmart (I think) just in time for this interview. Perfect timing, otherwise I don't know what I would have wore. A white button down is a closet staple. Dressed up like this the shirt looks so professional and perfect for an interview. I even had my mother-in-law's approval.

Always add a little personality. I tried to with the pop of color on my wrist, but looking at it now, I could have added something more like a necklace. And heels, but I only had black heels worthy of a night out on the town, not something more "sensible." I have a pair of brown heels, but not black! I always end up with brown accessories, never black. Ahhh!

I hope everything works out! Very excited!

Is there anything you out there wear special for an interview? Is the white button down a staple in your closet?

What to wear in the dirt and the dust

I mentioned the races in a previous post. And the weekend was awesome. Excellent racing. But as the trucks and dune buggys are racin' around in the dirt and dust, by the end of the day you are literally covered in a layer of dust. Your hair is so stiff an entire bottle of hairspray had to have been bumped on it, but, wait, it's dirt. This does not sound appetizing, does it? Who would want to do it? Well, its in my blood and its awesome to watch racing. Way more interesting than nascar.


Let's face it, in the U.P. there just are events where you are going to get dirty.


Oh, and have I mentioned the weather up here? It changes. Quickly. Often, even in the summer, it is imperative to bring long sleeves if you are spending the day outside. This is the outfit I put together for spending a day in the heat/cold and in the dirt.

Flannel: Forever 21

Tank: Forever 21

Jeans: American Eagle

Materials that are easily cleaned, a must. A long sleeve that is easily pulled on and off was perfect and that is just what I did. I also like the pairing of the stripes with the checks. I did wear shoes, too. At this point I was about to jump in the shower when I remembered I had to get a picture taken. Flats were what I wore, but sandals would have been way better. Like a cute gladiator.

I say, look cute even when gettin' dirty. 

The Bridal Shower

So, I had this cute outfit picked out similar to an outfit I had blogged about the other day: the satin slip. Only a dress over it, a jean button down.

But I felt it wasn't girly enough, plus it was hot as hell. First, I realized I really don't dress that girly. Girly I consider to be frills and bows and floaty material. Just because I wear skirts alot does not make me girly. End of story there. Back to what I'm trying to say, the clothing. 

The outfit I had planned was just too hot. So I wore a chiffon flower (think Monet) print dress from Old Navy. It was light, it was airy and perfectly girly for a bridal shower. A bridal shower is one place that I think it is appropriate for something seriously girly. Wear floaty material, wear bows and ribbons, wear flower prints, wear flowers in your hair. That is just how I feel about bridal showers. Men usually aren't there, the women are a mix of older and younger women. It's time to let your inner non-feminist, flower wearing chick flag fly.

True story.

Back to what I was wearing. Old Navy dress I got for a couple bucks on sale back in the spring. Belted, add necklace, bracelets, hair straightened. Flats for easy movement between old friends and old relatives.

Bridal showers you can also dress down. Jeans can be perfectly acceptable as well. Just add a cute top. No t-shirts with camo on it. It happens, believe me. 

Me and the bride!

She looked amazing. I loved that she paired the pearls with the black and pink. It was very chic looking. I did not (when I say I did not, I mean my sister) get a good picture of her whole outfit. In fact, right now I want to do a whole reenactment of the bridal shower to go back and get some better pictures. But I cropped this picture of her badass shoes. It's like she was all business on top and a party on her feet:

Shoes: Nine West

I wish I had more pictures, but it was just hectic and busy running around making sure everyone got talked too, that the food was ready... Here's proof of that:

Here is another cute outfit from the bridal shower:

That top is from Avon too. It's so cute. I want it. See what I mean about the girliness?

Here are some badass shots of the table decorations. Again, courtesy of my sister.

Pictures to come on the bachelorette party later!

Shades of Gray

I like gray. It's a good complement color, something to wear with anything. But I decided to just go all gray with this dress, even my accessories and it was a surprisingly dressy look. Usually I have to have a shot of color somewhere, whether its a bracelet or a tank peeking out from underneath. There is some green in one of my bracelets, (if you can see it) but other than that I kept it more monochrome.

See! I'm actually wearing shoes. I packed a whole bag of them this time.

This yellow vehicle thing...no idea what it is. It was just sitting in my parent's yard. My dad must have to fix it or something. But I thought "The Big Banana" would be something bright to pose against with my gray outfit.

There's my puppy!

Dress: given to me by my sister

Belt: Forever 21

Black Flats: Target

Sunglasses: Target

Necklace: Maurices

This is a pretty simple outfit that I quickly pulled together in the business of pulling together my sister's bridal shower (it's tomorrow! As well as the bachelorette party!). Can I use anymore explanation points to show how excited I am!!! Three more apparently. Pictures definitely to come on that; remember the ugly dress post I had a couple weeks back? There will be a whole slew of us dressed just so.

An outfit like this is easy to put together and easy for something that you need to be a little dressy for, like church or, if you are like me, making punch and jello shots! 

Hopefully I can get something posted tomorrow. See you later!

Business Attire?

My favorite outfit to wear, mostly because it looks hot, is a pencil skirt and a shirt tucked in, whether its a nice button-up or just a plain t-shirt. I wish I had an office job, or a job at all, so I could wear these outfits. I showed up to my husband's baseball game in a similar outfit. I got a few odd looks and questions as to why I was dressed up. Helloooo boys (and girls), pencil skirts are hot. No one should complain when a girl puts on a skirt like this. Sad thing is, it's more common place to see steel toe boots than cute pencils skirts on Yooper residents.

The boots are a joke. I wouldn't actually wear these are they are my dad's steel toes. See, when I do these little photo shoots with my sister, I always forget shoes. Plus steel toe boots are just badass. Have I mentioned how much I love boots? In reality, though, I would wear a cute flat or heel. Unless you want to badass-up your outfit with boots. However I would steer away from steel toe unless you are felling trees and in that case, avoid pencil skirts.

Am I starting to frolic again? Maybe. It's bound to happen from time to time. Oh, and there is a shot of my puppy, minus his head in the background! He is very photogenic and hard to get out of pictures.

Blouse: Vintage

Skirt: Charlotte Russe

Purse: Vintage Coach

Boots: Dad's old work boots

The only thing I would add to this outfit, besides appropriate footwear, would be a waist-cinching belt. At the time this photo was taken, the belt on my buckle was broken and a new one was floating around in U.S. Postal Service purgatory, eagerly awaiting to arrive in my mailbox.


Seriously, though, even if I am just walking around in my parent's yard, this is a good outfit to wear to an interview. I know suits usually rein supreme in this area of business, especially the easy black pant, but a black skirt is just as easy and, in my opinion, prettier. 
Yooper girls, can you hear me calling you? Step it up. I'm tired of odd looks when I'm dressed up even a little.


Oh, and sorry, again, that there are no front pictures of me. Maybe I am camera shy and am unable to directly face a camera. Will work on the that. 

Apparently a plaid skirt from my mother-in-law is sexy

Ahh, don't I look picturesque sittin' on some logs.

Watch me walk away...

This was the picture my mom looked at and thought it was "alluring" or "sexy" or something like that. I laugh. I'm in a tree! Is that sexy? The boots are though, they are always sexy.

First, let me pay my respects to my dear, dear sister who took these lovely photographs (along with the ones from the last two posts, sorry I didn't acknowledge you sooner, dearie). 

Tank: stolen from my other sister

Sweater: Forever 21

Skirt: vintage, circa 1969

Socks: Hue

Boots: Born

Vintage seems like a foreign word in the U.P. and if I am mistaken, please, someone let me know. Shopping at a Salvation Army seemed abhorrent when growing up. Wearing something old, or hand-me-down just wasn't cool. What was cool was American Eagle, Abercrombie, anything one could get at a mall.

Then I lived downstate and that view changed at bit. A lot. Completely a 180 really. I have always liked old stuff though, so maybe it was a 90 degree turn, I even once considered briefly to major in history. Gasp, what would I have done if I had chosen that road? Probably the same thing I am doing now...not much.

Older clothing does often look dated, but they can easily be updated just by pairing it with more modern stuff, like jewelry or something with a more modern cut, my favorite being a boyfriend blazer. Clothing can also be altered. I am considering removing that front panel on the skirt so it doesn't look so Scottish-like. It would be something easy to remove, for my grandma, but I could try and she could fix the damage. 

Take some 80's dress where you like the skirt on it but not the top. Cut the bottom off and make it a true skirt. See the things you can do with clothing!

One other point that I want to make before I end it, why do I always seem to ramble? Anyway, I wore this skirt again later, and I wish now that I had taken a picture of it, but alas...I did not. I wore this skirt with an olive green tank and it was way cuter than the plain red tank. Play with your clothes to see what looks good together. I always find surprising combinations that look amazing together by, literally, playing with my clothes. It's like dress up all over again, only I'm trying on my own clothes instead of my aunt's old prom dresses.

What to do with a pink satin slip and a jean shirt...

Wear it together, of course.


I saw this pink satin slip at the Salvation Army and I immediately loved it. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, at the worst I could just use it for the original intention, you know, as a slip.


I was at the Salvation Army because I was looking for a jean shirt. I keep seeing them everywhere in the magazines. And normally, I only wear jeans on my ass, no where else. I thought I would try it out first via a thrifted version because I wasn't sure I would wear it. Whelp, that's my story. I ended up with a jean shirt and a pink slip and tada! I put them together to kind of tone down the pink satin-ness of the slip. Not only did I wear them together, but I wore the slip as a dress, yeah, it was that long. And that awesome.

Is that me working on a truck? Maybe... And barefoot. Weird. I need to start wearing shoes so you all don't think I am a savage. Or am I?

I couldn't tell you why I have that look on my face.

That's the real me!

Shirt: thrifted

Slip: thrifted

Belt: Forever 21

P.S. Sorry I don't have a full on picture. I don't know why I didn't get a picture from the front because then you can see more of the slip. Sorry, I fail.

See how I wore the slip as a dress! I think it's really cool when I see people wear something that it's usually not intended for. It's just so creative. Plus it can give you more versatility with your wardrobe, especially if you are dressing on a budget or happen to be two-three hours from a good mall like all of us Yooper girls. In the near future I will probably post another picture of a similar outfit with the slip dressed up a bit more and I think it's even cuter than above photographs.

As a brief side note, I can work on cars, I am not just posing. I can change oil and do all the basic stuff. And yeah, sometimes I do it in a skirt. I love the look on guy's faces when they see me do that. It's hilarious.

Before I end my rambling, there is one more thing to mention. I hear this question asked often: when (or where) would I be able to wear this? I recall a time not that long ago a friend posing the question to me about a pretty chiffon skirt. Unless it's something prom worthy, it can be worn any time. The U.P. is a very jeans and shirt kind of place. But it's okay to wear a skirt everyday if you want. Something that seems very dressy can be dressed down, like the slip. It is bright and shiny, but something comfy and a staple in many people's wardrobe's, like the jean shirt, takes it down to the level of wear everyday ability.

Whoop-whoop! Switch up your clothing, wear it differently, I encourage you to test the boundaries of the Yoop. People need to be shocked, even a little. Tell me how you've done that today...or yesterday...or tomorrow...