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

A Little Bit About Me...

Questions and answers to get to know me better... maybe...

1. What time did you get up this morning? 
Wake up and get up are two different things.... 
Woke up initially at 5:45 to let the dog out. Finally got out of bed at about 7:30. 

2. How do you like your steak? 
Well done - yep, brown all the way through. It can even be a little burned and I'll eat it.  

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? 
Silver Linings Playbook. Totally crazy shit, but really good. I think Bradley Cooper was nominated for an Academy Award for his acting in it.

4. What is your favorite TV show? 
Scandal all the way. Can't get enough of it.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? 
Italy.

6. What did you have for breakfast? 
Coffee and cereal.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? 
Mexican.

8. What foods do you dislike? 
Too many things to list! But just to start - seafood (any and all), peas, cooked carrots (raw are just great), tofu, ketchup, and though it's not a food, I don't like soda either.  

9. Favorite Place to Eat? 
Taco Mex is definitely high on the list. I also really like DBar though I haven't been there in a while.

10. Favorite dressing? 
Bleu Cheese or Light Champagne 

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? 
Nissan Murano 

12. What are your favorite clothes?
I love my new Levi's, my tan knee-high boots from Duo, my green silk blouse from J. Crew, and my grey blazer from Target that has really fun details on it like black piping, contrasting turn-back cuffs, and bright pink on the underside of the collar. 

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
There are LOTS of places - Isle of Skye in Scotland, Greece, New Orleans (how ridiculous that I've never been there!), Australia... I could go on and on!

The Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye

  

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 
Usually 1/2 empty, I guess I'm not the most optimistic or positive person. 

15. Where would you want to retire?
That is really too far off to even think about, plus with the way the economy and my career are going, I will probably have to work until I die! 

16. Favorite time of day? 
Sunset.

Susnet pic from my parent's house

17. Where were you born? 
Denver, CO.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? 
Football - but really only the Broncos! 

19. Bird watcher? 
Um, no - boring. 

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? 
I'm more of a mid-day person. Not great first thing in the morning or late at night. 

21. Do you have any pets? 
Lulu my precious puppy. 

22. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? 
Nothing new and exciting right now. Things are pretty dead boring around here. :( 

23. What did you want to be when you were little? 
A veterinarian.

24. What is your best childhood memory? 
Getting up early on weekends to go play with Bridget. But she had to do chores first, so I would help her with them. 

25. Are you a cat or dog person? 
Definitely a dog person. 

26. Are you married? 
Nope. Still looking for him.

27. Always wear your seat belt? 
ALWAYS! 

28. Been in a car accident? 
Yes, a few. Thankfully never my fault and I never had any serious injuries - because I was always wearing my seatbelt.

29. Any pet peeves? 
My biggest pet peeve is bad (and slow!) drivers. 

30. Favorite Pizza Toppings? 
Pepperoni and black olives, 

31. Favorite Flower? 
Peony or Star-gazer lily. 

32. Favorite ice cream? 
Coffee or Peppermint.

33. Favorite fast food restaurant? 
For true fast food I guess McDonalds, but I also like Qdoba for their queso.

34. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 
Never! 

35. From whom did you get your last email? 
Last one in general was from Nordstrom. :) Last one from a real person - my accountant asking for my company's books. 

36. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? 
Nordstrom - all sorts of brands and clothes and shoes and purses all in one place!

37. Do anything spontaneous lately? 
Nope, I'm not that spontaneous. 

38. Like your job? 
Not really. That's why I'm trying to change careers. 

39. Broccoli? 
Yummy. 

40. What was your favorite vacation? 
Italy for Jeannine's wedding.

The view from our villa outside of Florence

41. Last person you went out to dinner with? 
My parents. 

42. What are you listening to right now? 
Nothing. It's weirdly completely quiet. But in general, I'm listening to a mix I made of some recent favorite songs which includes a couple of songs from Taylor Swift's Red, Imagine Dragons, Dawes, The Civil Wars, and Ben Howard.  

43. What is your favorite color? 
Pink. Any and all shades. Has always been and always will be.  

44. How many tattoos do you have? 
Two and I'm contemplating a third.

What I Wore Wednesday

Welcome to Volume 6 of What I Wore Wednesday! I'm linking up with the Pleated Poppy, so click on her link over on the right to check out all the other blogger's outfits!

I don't have many fun outfits to share this week, as I just haven't been dressing nicely lately. I haven't been going into the office much and have felt the need to be a homebody after all the busyness of the holidays.

Outfit #1

Wore this preppy outfit to work, dinner with my parents, and then shopping and cocktails with Michelle. I used to wear stuff like this all the time, but then I started feeling suffocated with the button down layered with a sweater. For some reason, that feeling didn't reappear and I felt totally comfortable and warm all day.

Sweater - Target / Button Down - Land's End / Jeans - Levi's / Shoes - Cole Haan via DSW

These shoes were such an amazing deal! They're Cole Haan Nike Air, originally $278.00. But I got them on serious sale at DSW for $50.98! I love the stitching detail and the two-tone tan/butterscotch leather. The heel is chunkier than I usually like, but it fits well with the overall style of the shoes.

Outfit #2

Wore this to run errands and then to a Junior League meeting. I looked for a really long time for the right color green cardigan and finally found this one after Christmas. The color is called Vintage Kelly Green and this is their Tippi Cardigan. I love it. And since it's wool, not cotton, it won't fade. :)

Cardi - J. Crew - $37.49 Sale / Tank - Target / Jeans - Levi's / Belt - Coach / Boots - Matisse

Outfit #3

Though this is a little fancy for the office, that's where I wore it. I was dying to dress nicely after a week of not exactly dressing down, but not dressing up either. I love the sheer and lace combo of this top - so feminine. I don't know what's happening with my hair here - one side is totally normal and one side is weirdly big. Whatevs.

Top - Daisy Fuentes via Kohl's - $11.25 Sale from $50.00 / Pants - Style & Co via Macy's - $27.98 (that's full price!) / Shoes - Coach 

That's it! That's all! Hopefully I'll have some more next week. :)

What I Wore Wednesday

Here's Volume 5 of What I Wore Wednesday! I'm linking up with the Pleated Poppy again, so click on her link to the right to see more blogger's outfits! 

I was too busy with family and holiday stuff last week to prepare a post, so I've got a few more outfits than usual to share today.

Outfit #1

I wore this outfit on a seriously cold day before Christmas. Even just staying in the house, I was freezing and wanted to be bundled up in a cozy sweater. This sweater fits the bill - it's over-sized, incredibly soft, and a really good color. I didn't want to put on boots or thick socks though, so I just wore some of my favorite leopard flats.

Sweater - Loft - $29.99 Sale / Jeans - J. Jill / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #2

I wore this out for my sister's and Grandma's birthday dinner. I originally saw this dress on Pinterest when I first started wasting spending time on the site. I fell in love with it and bought it immediately. Then I realized the dangerousness that is Pinterest - fabulous clothes that immediately link to the sites where you can buy them. Bad news for a shopaholic. I paid full price for the dress which I think was close to $150, but I really do love it and get compliments on it all the time. Sometimes I wear a wide black belt with it, which seems to make it a bit more casual.

Dress - Donna Morgan via Nordstrom / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Tights - Assets via Target / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #3

Seriously casual me, going last-minute Christmas shopping with my sister and Stacy. The sweater is a fun baseball-tee shirt inspired knit that is unlike any sweater I've ever had. I livened up my look with some fun, bright red lipstick and leopard flats though.

Sweater - The Limited - $27.45 Sale / Jeans - J. Jill / Shoes - Coach

Outfit #4

My Christmas Eve outfit. We spend Christmas Eve with my mother's side of the family and most of us tend to get a little more dressed up for this family celebration. I love this top - it's got little spots of sequins scattered over the front and has an almost halter-top design, with buttons at the back of the neck. And seriously not until I blew this photo up did I realize that this top was a little sheer (you can see the waist of my pants through it!). Oh, well. We're family.

Top - Apt. 9 via Kohl's - $14.40 Sale / Necklace - Target / Pants - Daisy Fuentes via Kohl's / Shoes - Coach

Because this is Colorado after all, and Christmas Eve was particularly cold, I added a cardi over this for part of the night.

Cardigan - Target $19.99

Outfit #5

This is what I wore on Christmas night, when we celebrate Christmas and my dad's birthday with his side of the family. You're really not missing anything by not seeing the rest of the photo - just a black cardi, white tank, and jeans. We're usually a bit more casual for this night. My necklace was the really cute part of the outfit. I bought it from a vendor at Junior League's Holiday Mart and I believe it was under $40. I love the red and orange stones together and paired it with fun red lips again.

Outfit #6

I wore this out for drinks with girlfriends the other night. It's super comfortable but slightly dressy, too. The top is a great silky tank, light pink with brown polka dots and has a row of vertical pleats down the center. It fastens with a zipper on the back that is covered with grosgrain ribbon. The boots are from the first generally good wide calf boot site I found a couple years ago. They're not as customizable as duoboots.com, and they don't have as many fashionable options, but they still have better options for women who need something bigger than normal.

Top - Jones New York via Macy's - $26.70 (originally $89!) / Cardi - Kohl's? (I've had it forever) / Jeans - J. Jill / Boots - David Tate via widewidths.com

Outfit #7

This is what I wore for our pretty casual New Year's Eve celebration. I went to a dinner party with friends, where I was the only single person. Sigh... Story of my life. These are my new, one-size-down Levi's. I'm in love with them. I think I love them even more than their predecessors. :) The fit of these jeans is fabulous! They're the 529 Curvy Bootcut - they curve in enough at the waist that there's no gap, they don't ride too high, and they're not too tight on my thighs. Perfect! I've been loving these kinds of necklaces for a while. There was no way in hell I'd pay what J.Crew is selling them for, but one of the blogs I follow links to a store that sells them for a much more reasonable price, and in a bunch of fun colors!

Necklace - ILY Couture - $29 / Cardi - Target / Shirt - Elle via Kohl's / Belt - from a Target skirt / Jeans - Levi's via Macy's - $39.99 / Boots - Matisse

Hope you enjoyed my outfits from the last two weeks! See you again soon!