How Do You Identify Yourself

I am going to court to meet some new clients.  Because we have not met we all tried to give some description of ourselves. Attorney A described himself as having grey hair and glasses.  Attorney B described himself as having a shiny bald head.  

I didn't know what to say.  My first instinct was physical characteristics but as I am of average height and build, that seemed unhelpful and open to a lot of interpretation.  I considered hair color but I'm wasn't sure that these men would readily identify "messy dark hair, sprinkled with grey, in haphazard chignon".  I toyed some really obscure things such as - look for the woman with scars on her knees and marks on her calves from her running socks - or - imagine Celine Dion* if she gained 40 pounds and was half Indian.    In the end I resorted to clothing.  Although black suits are pretty much the uniform for many attorneys - I have a bright green coat that should make me stand out in a crowd.  

So how do you identify yourself to others?  

Dress and Blazer:  Banana Republic
Shoes: Jessica Simpson.  



* A long time ago a strange woman in accosted me in a bathroom and told me I looked exactly like Celine Dion.  When I told the story to my staff, expecting them to confirm that there was no resemblance, they all started to agree with the strange woman.  Needless to say, I did not give them bonuses that year.  

On the Go

I will be spending tomorrow and Friday in court, so I decided to make today casual day at work.    Plus after putting in 30 hours of work already this week - I think I deserve a treat.

Shirt: Old Navy
Sweater: Lord and Taylor Cashmere!
Jeans: Levis
Shoes: Target
Necklace: Flea Market in Georgetown circa 1990

Unexpected Fashion Guru

Every year we end up having at least four Christmases.  The first is celebrated at Thanksgiving with my in-laws (who we do not get to see in December).  This year, we implemented a secret santa gift exchange and my Father in Law got me this amazing sweater.   I have been obsessed with open, cozy, cardigans and this one fits the bill perfectly.  He also got me an amazing scarf that I'll show off at a later date.  I have known this man for 20 years and never knew he had such taste.  

Shirt: Gap
Sweater: Gift from FiL
Skirt: Talbots
Boots: Miz Mooz

I Miss My Sweatpants Already

Nothing like  few days off to make you forget how to get dressed properly.  I spent the weekend in my the only pants I can fit into right now sweatpants and it was lovely.  Finding something else to wear this morning was way harder than it should be.  Maybe I should start working from home.  Or petition the Courts to allow a more flexible dress code.  

Dress: Banana Republic
Blazer: H&M
Shoes: Rockport 

Happy Day Before Thanksgiving

My husband took this photo for me and I cannot figure out if the photo is crooked or if I am.  Perhaps both.  Also - how awesome is this jacket?  Its only flaw as far as I can tell, is the fact that the zippers are not functional (well they are but there is no pocket to use).  

Jacket: "Hannah" by Rhyme and Echo via Piperlime.
Dress: Target
Top: Gap
Boots: Palladium 

My Right Foot

I recently started to increase my running mileage and my right foot has paid the price.  I will not gross you out by explaining further but the upshot is that there are a limited number of shoes I can wear until the pain goes away.  Which is a long way of explaining why I'm always in these boots.  

Jacket and Dress: Forever 21
Boots: Miz Mooz

Wrinkled Jeans Friday

I have been battling insomnia all week and developed a routine whereby I wake up at 1am, watch Murder She Wrote, do some on-line holiday shopping, play on-line Scramble, and fall back asleep at 3 a.m. and then wake up at 5:30 am to go running.  The result is that I'm half way done with my holiday shopping and I've logged at lot of miles, but other domestic chores (such as ironing) have fallen by the wayside to my sleep deprived brain.  

Tank: Hanes
Shirt, Blazer, Boots: Target
Jeans: Old Navy
Necklace: Banana Republic

Splash of Color

Added a wee bit of color today (it is washed out in the photo but the the yellow on the skirt is BRIGHT in person).

Jacket: Old Navy
Sweater: Gap
Skirt: Bar III /Macys
Boots: Miz Mooz

Happy Birthday Mom

Today would have been my mom's 81st birthday.  Although she is not here to read this (does anyone know if there is internet access in heaven) I decided to write a post about what a cool lady she was.  My mom was a free spirit who was far ahead of her time.  She worked in advertising in NYC but here passion was travel.  She had adventures - she was evacuated from Cuba after Castro took power, honeymooned in Afghanistan, and met Elvis Presley in Hollywood.  In the early 1960s she quit her job and traveled around the world by herself.  While she was traveling in India she met my father and ended up moving to Pakistan where he was working.  They got married and eventually returned to the United States and had me!  Although her life was a little less adventurous after she had children - she never lost her passion for travel and adventure and always encouraged us to be unique.  

Happy Birthday Mom.  I miss you.

Photos:  Clockwise from top left:  Mom and a baby me (you may recognize her necklace as one of my good luck charms); Mom on a boat looking glamorous; Mom at work -goofing off with her boss; Mom in the hospital in Pakistan enjoying a martini; Mom in India.

Must Be the Season of the Witch

I did not intend to wear black yet again this week, but the colorful skirt I planned to wear was a bit too tight this morning.  So instead I grabbed this adorable skirt that I got for $19 at Forever 21 a few weeks ago.  I have no idea what is wrong with my posture/torso in this photo but I was too lazy to take another picture.


Sweater: J. Crew
Skirt: F21
Shoes: Rockport 

Eclectic

I tend to shy away from pattern mixing because it can quickly go from cute to silly.  So I played it safe by keeping a simple color palette (and having a black blazer at work just in case).   I like the effect although next time I will choose a more fitted sweater.

Sweater and Jacket: Old Navy
Dress: Target
Boots: Palladium
Bag: Hayden Harnett "Corcovado"

Dotty

I am so glad I kept this sweater, even though it is a little bit large.  It is the perfect solution for brightening up an otherwise simple outfit.

Dress: Boden
Sweater: Target
Boots: Miz Mooz 

3.73999999999944 Miles Away And Other Meaningless Information

Meaningless information to start your Friday:

• As of this morning I am 3.73999999999944 miles away from having run 1000 miles since January 1.  
• This will be my 565th blog post.
• I tried on three other pairs of pants before resorting to these (my "fat" jeans)
• A fully ripened cranberry can dribbled like a basketball
• During the pre-election stress I purchased four pairs of shoes all but one will be returned.

Top: H&M

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Ugg

Post Election Comfort

First, I am happy to report that I found the dress I had misplaced yesterday.  Second, if you spend your election night eating cupcakes and drinking wine - I highly recommend wearing an over-sized tunic and pants with an elastic waist the next day.  

Tunic: ? via TJ Maxx
Pants: JC Penny
Shoes: Franco Sarto 
Belly:  Crumbs Pumpkin and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Stubborn

I wanted to wear these boots today and planned to pair them with this dress.  I couldn't find that dress, however, but stubbornly refused to give up the plan to wear these boots.  After trying on everything in my closet I finally gave up on my intention to look coordinated - but not the boots.  

Blouse: Forever 21
Sweater: Target
Skirt: J. Crew
Boots: Gap 

P.S.  If you live in the US - don't forget to vote today!   I did it this morning although my polling place didn't give me a sticker to prove it :(  

Perspective

This post was going to be a complaint about how I cannot manage to style these boots without feeling too country girl.  Then I read some Facebook posts from my friends in Long Island and others affected by the recent storm and felt a rare bit of shame in my shallowness.  

So I am taking the day off from complaining. I am going to donate some more money to the Red Cross  and spend some time appreciating what I have.  Tomorrow we can talk about the boots :)

Blouse: Tucker
Sweater: J. Crew
Skirt: ? (found it under my bed)
Boots: Frye

Growing On Me

This outfit felt so random when I threw it together but it is starting to grow on me.  Although I will be spending my lunch hour looking for a better (more matte, more black) tights.  Recommendations are welcomed!

Dress: Zara
Sweater: ? via TJ Maxx
Boots: Urban Outfitters

Undancing the Blues

For almost 20 years I have thought that David Bowie was instructing me to put on my red shoes and undance the blues.  Last week it occurred to me that perhaps he was instructing me to dance the blues.  Which makes sense.  A lot more sense than this post.

Dress:  Poleci
Sweater: J. Crew
Boots: White Mountain