What I Wore Wednesday

I really like doing this post. I've totally enjoyed checking out what all the other bloggers are wearing; it inspires me to change things up and try harder. For example, Lindsey of the Pleated Poppy recently wore an outfit that is so similar to an outfit I regularly wear, but she mixed it up by wearing grey sweater tights. I can totally do that - now I want grey sweater tights!

Other bloggers seem to get a lot of their clothes from thrift stores. I don't think I've ever shopped in a thrift store, but they're finding lots of great items from shops I already buy from. I can do that!

I stopped by a relatively new Goodwill to check it out and ended up spending a couple hours there. I found some really great things - for totally cheap! Yes, it takes a lot of searching through tons of shit, but I think it was well worth it. I got two sweaters, one jacket, one skirt, and three pairs of pants for less than $30.00! I'm a convert. :)

Without further delay, here's Volume 9 of what I wore:

Outfit #1

Besides Goodwill, I also did a little shopping at Old Navy this week. I seem to be the only person who can't buy all sale stuff from there. In fact, not one item was on sale. :( And practically this entire outfit is from there. I decided I needed new skinny jeans. The ones I have from J. Jill are just way too big in the waist - I need to be very particular about what top I wear with them, so that it can hide the paperbag-waist effect that happens when I belt them. I got these skinnies at Old Navy. They're the Sweetheart fit - their curviest fit. The waist is still too big on me, but it's infinitely better than my J. Jill jeans and the rise is better, too. I don't have to hike these up practically to my boobs to get them to fit my crotch correctly. These hit very nicely just below my belly button.

Top - Old Navy - $29.94 / Tank - Old Navy - $8.00 / Jeans - Old Navy - $29.50 / Boots - Duo

Outfit #2

Another day, another work outfit. This is super comfortable and I felt feminine and pretty in it. I've been wanting to wear this necklace for a while and finally found a shirt that matches it nicely.

Top - Target - $17.99 / Cardi - Target / Necklace - J. Crew Factory - $16.50 / Pants - Style & Co / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #3

Here I debut my greatest Goodwill find - a fabulous windowpane plaid boucle jacket from Lord & Taylor. I saw it as I was going into the dressing room and passed it by, very disappointed, because it was so not my size. When I came out, I looked at it again - really looked at it this time. No way was the size correct. It's totally vanity sizing in action! It says it's a size 6, but it fits me and no way in hell could I ever fit into a 6. But it fit across my shoulders and I could button it, so into my cart it went! Great find! 
{My boss did feel the need to tell me that I should wear a plainer top with this (it has a little ruffle around the neckline) and should wear some big black beads with it. Okay, I can do that. :) A gay boss who gives fashion advice sometimes is a good thing.}

Jacket - Lord & Taylor, thrifted - $3.00(!!!) / Top - Target / Jeans - Levi's / Shoes - Nine West

The shoes are pretty great. They weren't what I originally wanted to wear with this outfit - I realized the ones I really wanted are in storage. Sad. (I only have about a quarter of my shoes living with me at the moment. The rest are inaccessible right now, which is making me very sad.) These are a great matte leather with white stitching detail all around. The heel height is easy with the platform. The one annoying thing about them is they slip off my heels frequently, even with the addition of heel liners. I can't add additional heel liners because then my foot gets pushed too far forward. I think the heel is just a little too wide. I'll deal because they're cute.

Outfit #4

Headless Liz. I hadn't put makeup on yet and that's not a good thing to show. :) Here's another one of my Goodwill finds! These pants are great - a thicker quality khaki, with fun details on the pockets, and contrast lining on the cuffs (I'm not showing it here). They're actually almost an olive color, not a true khaki, which is difficult to see here.

Top - J. Jill / Cardi - Matty M via Costco (seriously!) / Necklace - vintage, my Grandma Ann's / Pants - Eddie Bauer, thrifted - $2.50 / Belt - Coach / Shoes - Steve Madden

Outfit #5

I look like I'm in mourning here, and I guess I was because my original outfit was rendered unwearable when I completely ripped the brand new pair of polka dot fish nets I had planned on wearing. Sad. :(

Top - Studio M via Macy's - $39.00 sale from $78.00 / Cardi - Target / Necklace - Loft / Pants - Style & Co. / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #6

Apparently I was feeling a bit sassy when I took this picture. :) It must be the leopard print skirt - that'll do it to any girl. I've had this skirt for a while, and it is seriously so comfortable. It is kind of sweater-like, but almost more like a sweatshirt. Cozy! I sometimes forget that I have this skirt, but I pinned an outfit on Pinterest the other day that reminded me of it and inspired this outift.

Shirt - Old Navy - $16.99 Sale from $24.94 / Tank - Old Navy - $8.00 / Belt - ? (it's too nice for Target, but I can't remember where I got it) / Skirt - Nic & Zoe via Nordstrom / Tights - Assets / Shoes - Coach

Hope you enjoyed my outfits - see you next week!

Golden Globes Fashion Review - Part 3

Let's get this thing wrapped up, shall we? The SAG Awards are this weekend and I want to be able to do a review of those, too.

I love this ensemble on Marion Cotilliard. It's a beautiful color, the silhouette is very flattering and the fit it great. It's one of the most successful high-low hems I've seen and I like her accessories - especially the metallic belt. Though the shoes look very matchy-matchy here, they had some funky-fun luminescence to them that changed colors depending on the light or angle you saw them from. I'm not a fan of her hair or lack of makeup though; she looks very undone on top.

Michelle Dockery's dress seemed to get a lot of bad reviews, but I really liked it. Yes, the shoulders are a bit bulbous, but I like the gold lacy-like stuff above the rest of the white dress. The line of this dress is very flattering on her. Her hair is fun and I like her accessories.

I used to hate black and navy together, but I'm beginning to like it more and more. However, while I can appreciate the two colors together on Morenna Baccarin's dress, I do not like this whatsoever. This is way too frumpy for such a hot woman. She can seriously do a lot better. Even her hair is wrong here. No. Just no.

Naomi Watts' dress got great reviews, but I'm not a total fan. I really dislike the details on the front. I don't like the high neck with the keyhole or the satin strips. I do like the color, especially on her. I also like the sexy open back and originally I liked how the satin joined the back in pleats and then flowed into a train. I thought it was a pretty detail. But then I realized the entire satin part is separate from the skirt of the dress - which I really don't like. It seems kind-of bridal and weird in this scenario.

Now we finally get to review Rachel Weicz's dress. Um, how old are you? This feels a little young. I like this dress from the bottom of the solid skirt up. I actually like the little bow belt and the sheer dots on top. But the sheer skirt is ridiculous. How much prettier would this be with a solid skirt? I'm so sick of sheer skirts. It's overdone and the trend needs to pass. Her hair and makeup are beautiful, though.

I really hate Sienna Miller's ensemble. I hate the two-piece, I hate the shape/fit of the top, I hate the fabric with the three-dimensional flowers, I hate her uber-casual hair and makeup. She has looked so much better.

I absolutely love the back of Taylor Swift's dress. Sexy! I love this color on her, it's so different - she's usually in white or pastels. I love the low, low back with the double straps. I haven't been able to determine if the contrasting fabric panels are sheer or just a different color/fabric. I actually hope they're sheer - I think that would be really sexy and successful in this application. I'm not as big a fan of the front. I don't think the bodice fits her very well - she had to stand with her shoulders and arms really far back for it to look just okay. And this satin showed wrinkles so badly. Overall, though, this was a pretty good look for her.

Lastly, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. They both have gorgeous faces and hair. I'm a big fan of the length of Tina's dress, and I like the white satin collar detail on the top. And you all know how I like a black and white floral. Well done Tina! I'm not 100% sure of Amy's outfit. I don't think the cropped pants are the most flattering on her, and though I'm not usually a fan of a blazer without anything underneath, it's pretty sexy here. I think her shoes and necklace are kind-of fun, if a bit stripper-ish, for some reason. But I absolutely adore her hair. Someday, for some big event, I want my hair like this.

You can view my Golden Globes Fashion Review - Part 1 here.
You can view my Golden Globes Fashion Review - Part 2 here.

That's it, that's all! I'll be back to cover some more of the award shows coming up.

Golden Globes Fashion Review - Part 2

And it continues...

I love this dress and the styling on/of Jessica Alba. The dress silhouette itself isn't anything new and spectacular, but the color is phenomenal, the fit is spot-on, the accessories are unique, her hair and makeup are beautiful - all around terrific. I think the color looks really great with her skin tone and I like the extra large ruffles on the back of the skirt. And I think this is the prettiest and most subtle ombre hair I've seen.

Oh Jessica Chastain. What are you doing to yourself?!? You are a beautiful girl with a great body and this is a horrendous insult of a dress. You are much too young to have boobs that look as droopy as this dress is making them look. The skirt isn't doing her any favors either and it's much too long. In addition, I don't think this super light minty color is the best for her. Can you imagine her in emerald green? Amazing!

Two of my favorite people (only partially because I've actually met them and they're wonderful!) - Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt. Of course he looks good - when does he not? And though initially I didn't love this dress, it's grown on me. I originally didn't like the shape of the beading where it joins with the plain fabric of the skirt, and it still isn't my favorite detail, but I don't hate it. I really like the color, probably only because it's different. Usually I don't like royal purple. I do think it looks a little uncomfortable, though. Can you imagine sitting in this - it looks like it would totally dig into you.

Not a fan of Julia Louis Dreyfus this night. I know this is tulle over a large floral print, but it just looks like mold to me. Honestly I think it would have been better without the tulle. I could get behind a black and white floral gown. Also, this makes her hips look much wider than they are. And stupid center part again. Obviously she's not listening to me because I've complained about this before. She could also use a more colorful lippy.

I'm not a huge fan of Julianna Marguiles dress either. The front looks messy to me and the back, while the plunge/almost backless aspect is extremely sexy, I absolutely hate seeing the skirt of the short lining. It's tacky. Though it's not obvious, she had a horrible pony tail extension - it looked so fake. Yuck.

Katherine McPhee has gotten a range of reviews for her ensemble, but I actually like it a lot on her. Yes, the front could be crazy revealing, but it's not because she doesn't have huge boobs. I think she's safely restrained there. I love the overlapping skirt - it allows just enough leg to show without being Angeline Jolie gratuitous. Her hair and makeup are good, accessories are good, and though I'd prefer the toe strap on her shoes to be black like the others instead of clear, those are good, too. I think the edgy look is a fun departure for her, though I admit I don't follow her and don't watch her show, so I don't really know.

Kerry Washington is another one of my favorite people - I LOVE her show Scandal. There are aspects of this dress that I like and aspects that I hate. I dislike the sheer over-skirt look - I'm so sick of seeing it. Also, another nude color dress - usually boring. But I think this is slightly more successful that other iterations because the color of her skin offers a nice contrast. I really like her hair this straight - I'm so sick of seeing it in 70s Farrah Fawcet waves on her show.

Lena Dunham did good! Flattering silhouette, great dark plum color (or maybe it's a plummy brown?), great hair and makeup. Lovely. I feel like a traitor saying this because I have tattoos, but I hate her tattoos. I just don't like seeing such large artistic tattoos on women's arms. I don't know why. I like arm tattoos on guys...

I know that Lucy Liu is on many people's Best Dressed lists, but I hate this with a passion. It reminds me of 80s Laura Ashley wallpaper. I just can't... And the colors seem weird together to and it feels much too spring time to be out in January. I do like the pockets, of course, and the style is very pretty. But, no. Just no.


Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon!

What I Wore Wednesday

Here's Volume 8! Click on the Pleated Poppy's link on the right to check out all the other blogger's outfits!

Outfit #1

Wore this outfit to work and then to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants with my bestie, her hubby, and their kiddos. I've had the top for a couple months and am just now getting around to wearing it. I think the little lace bow is really cute and so did Mira (one of Michelle's daughters). The pants I've had forever and they are my absolute favorite dress slacks.

Top - Elle via Kohl's / Pearl Necklace - gift from my uncle / Pearl Drop Earrings - Stella & Dot / Pants - CAbi / Shoes - Coach

I think these were the first Coach heels I bought - many, many years ago. I've gotten the heels retipped too many times to count and recently got them resoled, too. The leather, the stitching, and the metal buckles are all still in amazing condition. That's why I have so many pairs of Coach shoes - they really are amazing quality and last forever.

Outfit #2

Wore this to an interview last week. I'll update you about that later. :) This is my other favorite blazer. I love the contrasting edge, the striped fabric on the turn-back cuffs, and (though you can't see it) the contrasting bright pink on the underside of the collar. There is also pink stitching on the inside. So cutie!

Blazer - Target / Shell - Soprano via Nordstrom Rack / Pants - CAbi / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #3

Wore this to work and then out for cocktails with a bunch of girls from the Design Center. We went to a FUN new place - Punch Bowl Social Club. I had a seriously yummy cocktail that included gin and lavender honey. I'll definitely be trying it again! I originally bought this necklace for one of my besties, but it was too similar to one she already had. Instead of returning it, I kept it! And I really like it! For some reason I was lacking a long silver necklace in my repertoire. 

Top - J. Crew - $49.50 / Necklace - Loft - $11.90 Sale / Jeans - J. Jill / Shoes - Charles David

Outfit #4

Errands and shopping day! It was nice enough to go without an overcoat this weekend, but I still needed something with a little weight. This lightweight jacket fits the bill. (I wore a simple tank under it.) It has a matching fabric tie belt, but I wanted a bit of contrast, so I used a different belt.

Jacket - Apt. 9 via Kohl's / Belt - Target / Jeans - Levi's / Boots - Enzo Angiolini

The boots are pretty brown suede. The heel height is at my limit though - my feet were killing me after wearing these all afternoon. You'd think the little platform in the front would help, but it doesn't.

Outfit #5

Just another work outfit for another beautiful day - about 60 degrees today! Tomorrow is supposed to be almost 70! Crazy for Denver in January! Finally got to wear these green pants again. I saw an outfit on Pinterest and I wanted to replicate it. She wore a tan belt, but otherwise this is the exact outfit. 

Blazer - Talbots / Tank - Target / Pants - Target / Shoes - Coach

I love these shoes with a passion. (Though the picture makes me realize I need to polish the leather a bit!) I love the combo of the animal print, the leather, the tortoise shell links, and the metal. 

I'll be back again next week with more outfits!

Golden Globes Fashion Review - Part 1

I am so inexcusably late with this post that it's ridiculous. I apologize (especially to Jeannine!) for making you wait. I took notes on who I wanted to cover and my initial thoughts and I downloaded the pics the day after the show. But since then, I've read other blog's reviews and heard various things on tv - I hope that hasn't changed my thoughts too much!

I'm going to go in first name alphabetical order since that's how the pics are saved on my computer.

I loved this dress on Alyssa Milano. I think the color is really great and I love the pairing of the turquoise earrings. I believe she's preggers, so I think this is quite flattering. The wrinkles are a bit sad, but tis life. Fun clutch, too. And she's one of the few people who look pretty good with a center hair part.

This dress on Amy Adams got some good and some bad reviews, and though I really like the tulle bottom and the combo of the lace with the tulle, this color is totally boring and way too close to her skin color. It's like Carrie Bradshaw's naked dress. Also, it needs another inch on the bust - it looks like a nip slip waiting to happen.

Anne Hathaway's dress got really good reviews, but I didn't like it at all. I don't think the top was flattering in the slightest - it flattened her boobs and then stuck away from her belly in an odd way. I think I'd prefer it if it was a one piece column dress. I do like her in white though. Also, her hair has definitely looked better. I like the pixie cut on her, but styled this way seems boyish.

This pic of Bradley Cooper isn't from the Globes. I tried and tried to find a picture of him from when he exited the car and waved to everybody because he looked so amazingly hot, but alas, I couldn't. I think these are the same shades. So just imagine that this is from the red carpet. :)

Speaking of another hot man in shades, here's Daniel Craig with his wife Rachel Weicz. I'll get to her later.

Giulianna Rancic's dress was undoubtedly one of the worst of the night. Just ick. She looks like Morticia Addams or a Victorian widow or something.

Jennifer Garner is one of my favorite people and I think she looked fabulous. The red was fun for her and I think the dress was appropriate for a presenter and the wife of a big winner (Ben Affleck). The dress highlights the greatest parts of her post-baby body, too. (Um, hello boobs!)

Jennifer Lawrence's dress had high and low points for me. I love the color on her - bright coral, and I love the metal belt. But I didn't love the weird structure of the bodice or how the fit of the hips made her look a little out of proportion.

Here's a slightly better picture of the weird structure on the bodice. I'm sure it caught crumbs at dinner. I do love her hair without bangs - she has such a pretty face, it's a shame that she often hides it with bangs.


That's it for this post! I'll do two more to get all those in that I want to mention. Hope you enjoyed it!

What I Wore Wednesday

Welcome to Volume 7 of What I Wore Wednesday! I'm linking up with the Pleated Poppy again, so click on her link over on the right side to check out some of the other bloggers's outfits.

Outfit #1

It's a work day. I bought this dress at the after-Christmas sales and I really like it, though I do think it's a bit short for me. I had hoped that I could wear it through the seasons, but I don't think it's appropriate work attire without tights. Also, thought it's a multi-layer concoction, I needed to add a jacket for warmth. This blazer is the most comfortable blazer I've ever owned. It's a thick knit, almost a ponte knit, but a little softer. I love it! I've decided that I need some new thicker tights. I always thought these were great, but the photos show me they could be better. I want something really, really opaque and matte. Any suggestions?

Dress - Bar III via Macy's - $41.40 Sale from $69.00 / Blazer - Talbots / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Belt - from a Target Skirt / Tights - Assets via Target / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #2

Casual work day and dinner with my parents. Denver had a long stretch of seriously cold weather (highs in the teens! BRRRR!), so I needed to wear a cozy warm sweater and this one fit the bill! I've had it for a few years, but I think they still have it in their catalog.

Sweater - Soft Surroundings / Tank - Target / Jeans - J. Jill / Boots - David Tate via widewidths.com

Outfit #3

Working, again. (Which is really a good thing!) But I also had a line showing at the Design Center, so I went a little beyond my usual. I love the belt that came with this skirt. It's a really narrow leopard print belt that I know I'll be able to pair with other outfits as well. The skirt is another item from my after-Christmas shopping spree at Macy's. Seriously, there were some really great deals! I've had this top for probably almost 10 years. I can't seem to let it go even though I go through periods when I dislike it and don't wear it for a long span. It's a really thin knit, silk sweater, without any real detail, so I'm sure it will never go out of style. And pairing it all with my favorite leopard print heels - tada! A fun outfit.

Sweater - The Limited / Necklace - Kohl's (?) / Skirt & Belt - Tommy Hilfiger via Macy's - $34.75 Sale from $69.50 / Tights - Assets via Target / Shoes - Charles David


I'll be getting to my Golden Globes fashion review later this week, maybe even tomorrow. So be sure to come back!

Review of "The Taker" by Alma Katsu

True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . . On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption. (From Goodreads)



Wow. This book. I was completely intrigued with it and couldn't put it down. I've had it in my Kindle for a really long time and just got around to reading it. I don't recall how I came to purchase it, who recommended it. But I wish I hadn't waited so long to read it because it was incredible. Amazing. Heart breaking. I seriously don't have the words to do it justice. 

It's the first in a trilogy, which makes me happy because I don't like to say goodbye to characters that have so thoroughly penetrated into my brain and heart. There are also two short stories (novellas) that go along with it as well. (I've read one but still have to read the second.)

seriously, that's how I felt with this book

The supernatural part of this book is not like most of the supernatural/paranormal/urban fantasy books I read. It's almost part of the behind-the-scenes or the background, not the foreground. Though it is undeniably instrumental to a love story that spans hundreds of years, it is most definitely secondary to the love story that feels like the main story line to me. This is really more of a historical novel that spans hundreds of years but follows only one person.  

Lanore (Lanny) is our main narrator and over the course of the novel, she revisits her epic love story with Jonathan St. Andrew, spanning from the early 1800s to today. The tragic part of their story is common even to women today - they may love each other, but she loves him more than he loves her. For regular people, even if you were to love that one person for the rest of your life, you know that upon your (or his) death, you will eventually find peace. But for immortal Lanny, it means a life bound to be plagued by disappointment. It made me so sad for her.

"Have you ever been in love with someone so badly that you'd do anything for them? That no matter what you want, you want their happiness more?"

Throughout the book, we are brought to the present day with brief chapters seen from Luke's point of view. While these chapters are obviously important to let us know what is going on with Lanny and Jonathan today, I found they took me away from Lanny's stories of the past at inopportune times, right when I was completely immersed. We also take a brief sojourn to the 1200s to visit Adair's history. Adair is a very complicated character, who I expect we will learn a lot more about in the second book. 

There's a lot of history here and bits and pieces of alchemy and magic. If you've read my review of "Shadow of Night" you know I have issues with alchemy, but thankfully this seems to be more magical than alchemical, which seems oddly easier to understand.

Even though Jonathan is the love of Lanny's life, I found myself really disliking him. I think he reminded me too much of some of the men I've been involved with. Not because of his exquisite beauty or his ability to make any and all women fall in love with him, but because of how he dragged Lanny along. It's obvious to me that he knows he will never love Lanny the way she wants him to - the way she loves him, but he never explicitly tells her this. She is always hopeful for more from him and never gets it. I've been through that. It sucks. I would honestly go crazy if I had to endure that type of pain for hundreds of years, as Lanny does. I feel like if he had just told her in the beginning, when they were teenagers, it would have spared them both a lot of heartache in the end. (But of course we wouldn't have this story if that were the case!)

Their relationship also reminded me of how I fail to see the most negative aspects of the men I date and how I frequently want more from them than they can give me. It's sometimes difficult when you're in the middle of the relationship, and so hopeful that this will be the one, to see the flaws.

Lanny is incredibly self deprecating and has terrible self esteem. She doesn't believe that she is ever good enough, beautiful enough. She believes that if she can secure a man's interest sexually, then she has more worth. Again it's something that, disturbingly, I've seen in myself in the past. I hope to see her correct this, grow out of this, do something about this aspect of herself, in the next book, because it's a really awful trait. 

"There is not only one measure of beauty, Lanore. Everyone adores the red rose, and yet it is a common sort of beauty. You are like a golden rose, a rare bloom but no less lovely."

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. (Though if you're not into historical fiction and are really only looking for a supernatural novel, this isn't the book for you.) I think anybody who likes Deborah Harkness' writing style will really like this book, too. I can't wait to read the second book (it's waiting for me right now!) but the third book doesn't come out until sometime in 2014.

book two