Oy vey, what a day

Story time!  This will be a wordier post than some!

So yesterday afternoon I was doing a quick check in on my blog and my "frequently read" blog list on the side of the page here to see if anyone had posted anything new.  I had my email open as well as I usually keep it up all day at work because I'm naughty like that.  All of a sudden, my blog like disappeared, I went to click on a page and it came up saying "This blog has been removed by the author" - Say What??  I am the author!!  Then my email freaked out and kicked me out and when I tried clicking on my Google + page it said "this account has been disabled."  Now I'm FREAKING OUT.

I put out a desperate inquiry on Twitter asking if anyone else was experiencing this problem and learned that Megan of Megan Mae Daily also was having some problems - I had just commented on her blog too, so it seems like a coincidence.  Anyway, she told me she was able to get a verification code sent to her phone that allowed her to get back in, so after I submitted two tickets to Google help, I simply tried to log in to my account and was given the same option - a code sent to my phone.  After that, I was back in.  I have still not heard from Google at all.  

It was really horrible to imagine losing all the mail I have archived on Gmail - that is one of the reasons I use Gmail, I can save as much as I want!  And it made me sad to think of losing this blog and having to start over, after I have made some connections with many of you!  I'm thankful to have my things back, but I am going to look into some changes.  Possibly going to take the blog to Wordpress, but I'll make sure to let you all know when/if that happens.  Stay tuned! For now, I'm happy to be back here!

Whew, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about my outfit today!  Cause that's really why you come to my blog, for the clothes, not for my Google/Email/Blogger drama!

I'm wearing my favorite plaid pants today - inspiration struck me on Sunday, I saw them in my closet and also my new favorite blazer from F21 and I thought - hey, I bet I could put these together and they'd be cute!  And they are!

I love how comfy these pants are while still being dressy enough for work.  They are just one of my favorite finds ever.  And they can totally be dressed down too if I needed them to be, but I like to wear them to work when I can!

Also, while I miss the snow and wish we'd have a white Christmas, I was kind of excited to pull out my clogs today, I wouldn't be wearing them if it was slippery outside, but since it's not, I decided to wear them.  Overall, I like my outfit quite a bit today!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Old Navy

Blazer - F21

Pants - No Boundaries, thrifted 

Necklace - jerseymaids via Etsy

Clogs - Sonoma, Kohls

Inspiration Monday - Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got

This week's Inspiration Monday is Jennifer Lopez.  She's not my favorite, I'll admit to that, but I was willing to work with the outfit she's wearing here.

I don't have a sassy sparkly skirt like she has, nor do I have gorgeous long legs like that either, so I decided to go more for the color scheme than the actual look itself.

These khaki pants are fun because they have some sparkle and sequin details.  I have had these pants for a number of years though and I'm finding the fit isn't quite as nice as it once was.  These may be on their way out.

Gave me an excuse to wear this lovely statement piece of a necklace from Stella and Dot again, I haven't pulled it out for awhile now.  And I may have picked up this sweater for myself while I was out finishing Christmas shopping this weekend.  It is thrifted though, so I don't feel *too* bad about it!  And it has a little sparkle in it which will be fun for the holiday season/winter season!  Every girl needs a little sparkle in her wardrobe.

I could go back and do Neutrals Week again with this outfit!  Speaking of which, for a wrap of Neutrals Week, check out this post from Casual Chic Kiki.  I chose my cognac outfit from that week as my favorite.

I only work four days this week and then I have Friday and the whole week after Christmas off from work.  I have too much vacation time saved up - my company is quite generous in that aspect - and so I have to do something with it!  What a problem to have, huh?  The Pants Monkey doesn't get as much time as I do each year, so I tend to not use my time as much because it's not like we're traveling much anyway.

Anyway, that's my story today.  Here's to a short week!  Visit the fine gals at Two Birds for more Inspiration Monday blogger posts!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Express, Thrifted from Plato's Closet

Sweater - LOFT, thrifted from Clothes Mentor

Pants - American Eagle Outfitters (old)

Shoes - DSW (old)

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Stella and Dot

What was I waiting for?

Well we made it to Friday!  I have been so excited to wear this outfit!  I finally gave into the jegging/skinny jeans fad and now I'm like, what was I waiting for??  I love these jeans!! They are soooooo comfy!

Everything I'm wearing is new/new to me.  Thanks to some awesome gift cards and birthday money!  I am just in love with this whole outfit.  Maybe a hair too casual for casual Friday at work, but I'm alone in the office today and hey, I'm warm and I'm comfy.  And I think I'm cute too.  

I got my hair cut yesterday and it's all cleaned up for Christmas.  Not a dramatic change, just a little sprucing up.

I'm really feeling over the hump on this darn cold too, I think the cough will linger for a bit yet, but I more or less feel like a human again!  The Pants Monkey is doing ok as long as he is taking cold medicine.  I think he and I are going to have a busy weekend of finishing up Christmas shopping.  We don't have much, but we do have a little.  Then next week begins the wrapping portion - not my favorite part.  

Hope you all have great weekends!

Rundown:

Sweater - Vintage, Two Birds Boutique

Jeans - Maurices

Boots - Target

Necklace - American Eagle Outfitters (old)

Earrings - Stella and Dot

FBFF - All About Christmas!

So I am one of those nerds who loved the "about me" email/Facebook survey memes.  I kind of miss those days, ha!  Today's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a holiday all about me survey!  So here we go, you'll learn a little something new about me, at least I hope so!


No holiday party is complete without: Hot apple cider
My favorite Christmas song/album: Favorite song - Feels Like Christmas by Cyndi Lauper, favorite album - The Hotel Cafe presents: Winter Songs
My favorite seasonal recipe: Thumbprint cookies - chocolate cookie rolled in pecans, yum!
The perfect New Year's Eve outfit includes: a little something sparkly
At the parties, I'll be drinking: some kind of wine - like Chokecherry Wine, it's amazing if you've never had it
Eggnog, good or bad? Um, never had it *hides in shame*
Did you ever take pictures on Santa's lap at the mall? Oh yes!  MN gals will appreciate this - always went to the Downtown Minneapolis Macy's (that used to be Daytons) to see the 8th floor display and take pictures with that Santa because he was the "real" Santa, ha ha!!  I went with some girlfriends a few years back, we dressed up, it was hilarious.
Gingerbread Latte or Peppermint Mocha: I'm usually a Latte girl, but for a seasonal treat, I like a peppermint mocha
Worst gift I ever got: Coasters and plastic ice cubes from an ex-boyfriend
Best gift I ever received: hmm, The Pants Monkey gives pretty awesome gifts.  I think my favorite right now is the stuffed Rowlf the Dog he found for me on Ebay last year.  Rowlf is my favorite Muppet and it meant the world to me that he found a collectible for me so I could have a Rowlf of my own!
My family has this weird tradition: The Pants Monkey's family has a pre-dinner margarita, you walk in the door and you are handed a margarita.  At EVERY holiday.
My best bargain find for a gift this year: Something I bought the Pants Monkey back in mid-November that I can't share because I know he reads this sometimes. :)  I can say I was practically being paid to take it away!
If I could only buy all my gifts from one place, I'd shop at: Tough choice!!  I am going way off the wall here, again, local readers might appreciate this - The Electric Fetus record shop in Minneapolis.  They have a huge gift section that has the most hilarious, unique things ever and I could spend hours and tons of money there!
Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer or Frosty the Snowman: Rudolph all the way.
My favorite holiday memory: So many wonderful ones.  Going and looking at lights with my parents when I was little, singing at midnight Mass at church, sitting with the Pants Monkey's family on Christmas Eve and watching a fire in the fireplace with the Yule Log also playing on TV right next to it (could've put that by weird tradition too I suppose), too many to count!
My favorite Christmas movie: Home Alone, yeah it's silly, but it has some heartwarming moments.  And hilarious ones: "When I grow up and I get married, I'm living alone!" - Kevin McCallister
The best part about holiday decorations is: LIGHTS!  I love pretty lights.
Rip off the wrapping paper or neatly pull off the tape: Rip it!  I'm diving right into that bad boy.
Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life: Not a big fan of either actually....I do like classic Christmas movies like White Christmas or Holiday Inn though.
It doesn't feel like the holiday season until: I've watched a A Charlie Brown Christmas
All I want for Christmas is: Honestly, I love gifts and all of that, but I just want both the Pants Monkey and myself to be feeling better from these colds and to be able to enjoy celebrating with our families.  I couldn't ask for more than that!  Sappy. :)


So there you go!  For a chance to learn about other bloggers holiday traditions, or for more information on FBFF, visit Katy at Modly Chic.


Outfit post coming up next, quite excited about it today, but this post is already long enough!

Yikes, stripes!

Fruit Stripe Gum!  Anyone else remember that commercial from the 90's?  No?  Just nerds like me, huh?  Oh well.

Pretty simple outfit today!  Sometimes simple is good.  I was going to wear this sweater for black day during the Neutrals color challenge, but then I ended up getting that dress that I wore instead.  I really love this sweater though, it is possibly the softest one I own.

So of course, now the Pants Monkey has come down with his own version of this lovely head cold. I feel for him, it's not fun dealing with colds at this time of the year.  I *think* I am more or less on the path to good health now at least.  And hey, there are 10 days until Christmas as of today, plenty of time for him to be feeling better by then too.

Speaking of there only being 10 more days until Christmas - everyone done with their shopping?  I'm not, but I will be after this weekend I think, which gives me an entire week to wrap and fun things like that!

Crazy eyes in this last picture!  I was going for my "I'm super awake and hopped on caffeine" look.  Or something like that!  Just over a week until I have a nice long extended break from work for the holidays.  I can't wait!  I think it's time for a haircut too.  Might do that after work today and then I'll have super short hair again!  We'll see where the day takes me!

Rundown:

Sweater - St. John's Bay, JCPenney (old)

Pants - Style and Co, Macy's (old)

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace - Butterfly Boutique

A little help from mom

Well we're halfway through the week.  I'm still in such a fog from this darn cold that just hangs on.  I'm like 95% well, but there's just that little 5% that's making life difficult!  Hopefully the entire thing will be cleared out by Christmas!

So this sweater is another one of the things I bought with my Maurices gift card.  I love it!  I also bought skinny jeans that I will wear it with sometime - yes you heard it hear first, I FINALLY gave and bought some skinny jeans!  I hope to wear them on Friday in fact.  Anyway, my mom suggested this look to me for another way to wear this sweater and I think it works!

I think I'd prefer leggings if I were to do this again, but I don't have brown ones right now.  Just another thing to add to my list of wants, lol.

Overall though, I really like this look!  I have gotten a lot of extra life out of these boots that I never thought I would!  I'm glad they're still holding up well!

Rundown:

T-shirt - Mossimo, Target

Sweater - Maurices

Pants - Hollister, thrifted from Plato's Closet

Boots - DSW (not current)

Necklace - Stella and Dot

Earrings - Thrifted

Teacher, teacher

I feel very "teacher like" in my outfit today!  I think that is because there was a teacher in my elementary school who wore skirts every single day.  She also had "skirt suits" with a skirt and blazer and would often wear them with bow-ties.  I never had her as a teacher, but my mom worked in her classroom for years.  She was quite notorious in our school until she retired. Funny story, my mom met her for lunch after she had retired and was shocked to see her wearing jeans!

So I think my outfit is at least a little more hip that what that teacher used to wear, but it's still giving the teacher vibe just a bit, don't you think?

In all due honesty, I have a great deal of respect for teachers.  I have some friends who are teachers and I give them major kudos.  I could never do it, I am just not patient enough!

It's unseasonably warm here right now and all the snow has melted which makes me sad.  Time to starting singing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!"  Oh well, it's still damp, so the warm sweater and warm wool skirt is still nice.

Also, I still am learning how this will be useful to my blog, but I have linked my blog up with Google + today.  I understand that the "Friend Connect" feature is going away in March, so I am using any and all venues I can think of to help stay connected with all of you.  So, this is a learning experience for me, but I'll give it a try!  If you are a blogger and are on Google +, let's hook up!

Rundown:

Sweater - Charter Club, Macy's

T-Shirt - Decree, JCPenney

Skirt - Charter Club, Macy's

Shoes - SO, Kohls

Necklace - Charming Charlie