dotty, wool blankets, and shiny pants

[wearing]
cardigan: vince
top: loft
leggings: ross
flats: cos

[three things]
1. I bought this cardigan a size up when I was preggers and this winter I am very happy that this giant blanket exists in my closet.

2. Is it too much if I'm wearing a blanket cardigan and flats that look like slippers?  I told a co-worker the other day that I only buy clothes that feel like pajamas.  I was kinda kidding, but really not so much.

3. Big stripes and tiny spots would definitely make the pattern mixing all-star team.

dotty, skirts, and sneakers

[wearing]
tee: old navy
skirt: t by alexander wang
sneaks: new balance
tote: banana republic

[three things]
1. This is totally the skirt version of my most repeatable outfit.

2. But with sneakers.

3. Because I take my walks to the grocery store very seriously, folks.

dotty, a quick hello, and gratuitous vacation photos

[oh hi!]
*tap, tap* Is this still on?  It is?  Okay, great.
It's been awhile, eh?  The job monster swallowed me alive for the last few months and while we managed to throw an unprecedented amount of parties, I've been mostly focused on un-photogenic career-ish things.  (And finding the perfect ice bucket.)  As a result, I have been wearing a lot of simple, blacked out outfits.
But then, all of sudden, things got much, much sunnier and much, much warmer.  Because we finally took one of those vacation things.  Eeep!  And just like that, Bruce (our camera) re-appeared and I took a break from wearing the same three black pairs of pants on repeat.
So, if you're in a winter snowderland right now, then I apologize for the inundation of palm trees to follow.  I feel you though, we're headed to the mitten state for Thanksgiving this week...where we are guaranteed all-you-can-eat gloomy weather.  (And pie.  Lots of pie.)

[wearing]
cardigan: twelfth street by cynthia vincent
dress: madewell
flops: lc lauren conrad
sunnies: amazon

dotty, a not so fancy dress, and sneaky cuffs

[wearing]
dress: suzi chin
necklace: h&m
heels: vince camuto
clutch: marc jacobs target collab
cuff: h&m

[three things] 
1. I was going through my fancy dresses to find something to wear to a fancy-ish work event and came across this amazing sack dress (with pockets!) from a few years ago.  (There's a blog post where it's hanging out with a vest back here.)  The advantage to being at my job for just a year is that I haven't used up my stash of fancy dresses for events yet!

2. I opted for buying a new necklace rather than trying to find the perfect dress in the week before the event.  Somehow that never works for me because I always have something very particular in mind.

3. And I even counted all my mingling and dancing steps by hiding my Fitbit under a giant bronze cuff.

dotty, triangles, and comfy pants

[wearing]
pants: old navy
top: vince
scarf: marc jacobs target collab
flats: justfab
clutch: marc jacobs target collab

[three things]
1. Weekend brunches are pretty amazing.  And brunches with our friends and their babies are just the bestest. #babieswhobrunch

2. I bought these as light lounge pants for the summer, but um...yeah, they've started leaving the house with me too.

3. If I wear a silk top with comfy pants do the two even each other out?

dotty, gray, and more gray

[wearing]
cardigan: victoria's secret
scarf: target
tee: banana republic
jeans: vince
sneaks: new balance
sunnies: see

[three things]
1. Gray.

2. Gray.

3. And some more gray.  At least I'm not wearing all black like I have been on most weekdays to work.

dotty, footie jammies, and the number seven

[wearing]
jacket: banana republic
tee: banana republic
coat: j.crew factory
jodphur pants: j.crew factory
boots: gap
scarf: link collective via etsy

[three things]
1. I refer to this pants and boots combination as my British boy band setup because it looks very One Direction-ish.  Proof here. In real life there's enough texture difference between my boots and stretchy pants so they don't look like footy jammies.  I promise.

2. All this snow is gone now.  How awesome is that?

3. I told you last month when I wrote about buying this jacket and tee that they are besties, so here they are hanging out on the weekend.  #bff

dotty, a fair-weather coat, and cool pants

[wearing]
coat: j.crew factory
sweater: rebecca taylor
pants: j.crew factory
boots: gap
tote: madewell
sunnies: see eyewear
hat: uniqlo

[three things]
1. I get so excited when it's a legitimate sunny day AND it's not freezing cold.  This doesn't happen all that often in Chicago in January, so this is big deal.

2. These stretchy pants with pleather jodphur insets are way cooler than I am.

3. That boy is still wearing my birthday hat.  (Or rather, "our hat" that appeared around my birthday.)
   

More J.Crew Factory...

dotty, holiday jeans, and a brand new year

[wearing]
sweater: rebecca taylor
coated jeans: paige premium denim
wedges: elie tahari
necklace: forever21

[three things]
1. Oh hey, twenty-fifteen!  Last year was a big year of changes for me professionally and I am in such a better spot now than I was a year ago.  It was definitely hard to sneakily find a new job and deal with the transition whilst finishing up my licensure requirements.  I'm pretty excited about being settled and ready to kill it (design-wise) this year.

2. I've waffled a lot in the last few months about where this little blog is going.  Sometimes I feel like I should decide to either put a whole lot more effort in or just throw in the towel.  But really it's doing exactly what I wanted to do when I started it a few years ago: pushing me to dress better and buy more intentionally.  My posting might be a bit sporadic, but I never hold that against other bloggers, so let's just roll with it, okay?

3. And these jeans!  Coated jeans have some serious cool-ifying power.  I've pretty much worn them to everything over the holidays.  I've confirmed that shiny purple pants are indeed a wardrobe staple for me.

dotty, weekends, and museums

[wearing]
moto jacket: loft
top underneath: loft
pants: wayf
sneaks: new balance
bag: marc by marc jacobs
sunnies: see eyewear
scarf: marc jacobs target collab

[three things]
1. I heart museums.  And I especially like old school natural history museums.  The exhibits with touchscreen games have got nothing on an intricate diorama.  (Yup, I'm old.)

2. Wearing sneakers is such a great decision for a day of extensive walking.

3. The boy stole my hat.  But it's really easy to find Indiana Jones in a crowd, so I'm fine with it.

   

dotty, brown coats, and red cups

[wearing] 
coat: vince (this year's version)
hat: uniqlo
tights: free press
boots: old navy
bag: marc by marc jacobs

[three things]
1. I'm taking a little break tonight from holiday festivities to actually post on my bloggity-blog.  Also, my toes are frozen from our market segment ice rink holiday party.

2. These fleece-lined tights are the best ever.  And they're $7.97 at Nordstrom Rack.  You are welcome.

3. I went dress shopping last week for a work-holiday-cocktail-party dress and ended up buying purple coated jeans.  This is a bit of a logistical problem for what I'm going to wear tomorrow night, but a major upgrade for my jeans collection.



[previously on] vince felt+leather coat

dotty, boden, and yoga-ing

[wearing]
top: c/o boden
pants: c9
flops: old navy

hoodie below: c/o boden

and further below...pants: c/o boden
tank: marika
moto jacket: forever21
sneaks: nike

[three things]
1. Boden sent over some pieces from their new activewear line and I've been mixing and matching them with my collection of stretchy gray yogawear over the last few weeks.

2. The best thing about this line is that the sizing is numbered instead of just S M L XL, so the fit is dead on.  There's none of that between sizes nonsense.

3. And we should probably also talk about the inside of that hoodie.  Hidden pattern for the win right there.











p.s.
You (yes, you!) can save 15% on Boden's whole activewear lineup through November 9th by using the promo code YOGA.

dotty, a new hat, and looking incognito

[wearing]
coat: vince
jeans: joe's jeans
flats: old navy
bag: marc by marc jacobs
hat: lola hats

[three things]
1. Hat!  I've been looking for a felty gray hat and have come really close to buying a brown one at Target and a green one at Zara, but they weren't quite right.  And then the boy surprised my with this wonderfully oversized one for my birthday.

2. It's getting to that point where I don't want to take off my coat outside for more than about ten seconds.  #weakling

3. Spotted flats.