repeated cecila & currently...

merona cecila skirt & bella flats

old navy eyelet button down

payless necklace

{ similar skirt / exact skirt via thredup / similar button-down / similar flats / similar necklace }  

today i'm joining anne at in residence and jenna at dearest love to answer this month's "currently..." questions:

wearing > nothing too exciting, just another outfit with this closet staple of a skirt as i had no other grand ideas of what to wear today.  i've worn it with a white top before but only with bare legs so the contrast of the light top and darker skirt and tights seemed a little off.  does that make sense?  not too much does when i'm getting dressed at 6 o'clock in the mornings but that's where my mind went here.  

sipping > i am a coffee drinker through and through every morning but on the weekends i also like to have a cup of tea mid-afternoon.  my favorite is bigelow constant comment and celestial seasonings's sweet coconut thai chai - which is interesting as i do not like coconut.  my sister is a big tea drinker; you should see the plastic tub filled entirely with boxes of tea in our pantry!

wishlisting > i have more water bottles than truly necessary, but very few keep my aforementioned coffee quite warm.  i've heard great things about hydro flasks and have one of those in my amazon.com shopping cart, and i think i also need to add a spiralizer!  thankfully our pantry is big enough to not only hold dozens of varieties of tea but every appliance imaginable!

writing > in my five year diary.  i'm on year three and it's so fun to look back and read the previous year's sentences about what i was up to.  i have this version but there are so many cool ones out there.  i almost can't wait to fill it up so i can choose a new one and keep going!

exploring >  new spots to visit in tulsa, oklahoma next month.  i'm going there to see hanson, in case you're new around here - i mention it just about every other day, haha!  we always stay in the hotel right in downtown that is within walking distance to all of the events and there are a few default eating options, but i'd like to explore a bit more and find some cute, quaint shops or cafes just so i feel like i am experiencing something different this year.  how do you usually find out about such places to visit when you are traveling?

cecila strikes again.

merona button down & belt thrifted

merona cecilia skirt

payless american eagle justify heels

my humility is making it hard for me to state this, but this outfit was a hit today. yay!  it must have been a combination of the skirt and heels.  one of the girls in the beauty shop at my nursing home commented on my shoes at one point this morning, and when we passed one another again in the hall later she asked where they were from.  when i said payless she was so surprised, stating that they look like they could have come from anthropologie!  i definitely took that as a compliment.  what i liked most about that interaction is that it affirmed my belief that one can get great looks for less.  and i have yet another look with this skirt to add to this post!

get the look: similar button-down / similar belt / similar heels

thankful for: merona cecila skirt

 

old navy v-neck sweater

merona cecila skirt & bella flats

target three flower cluster necklace

today i'm expressing thanks for the merona "cecila" skirt i found on clearance at my local target for $15.10 in august of 2011.  august of 2011!  honestly, i'm pretty surprised that something has hung around in my closet for almost 3 1/2 years and i am still wearing it just as frequently now as i did when i first purchased it.  i've proclaimed my love for merona's skirts time and time again and this one is clearly no exception.  it is the primary skirt i reach for whenever i just don't know what to wear and it ends up pulling through for me time and time again.  

i was kind of surprised after looking at these pictures that i've never worn it with the same top twice except for today with this green sweater!  i'm also surprised that i've never paired it with a navy blazer.  good to know i can still think up a few more unique combinations.  but i think it goes without saying that i've definitely gotten my $15 out of this skirt.  here are all of the ways i've worn it so far (oh, so many different hair lengths).  click to enlarge!

grown up issues.

mossimo sweater & merona wedges {both thrifted target stock}

charter club skirt   ·  inpink necklace

merona skirt   ·   old navy sweater

talbots button down {thrifted}   ·   merona bella flats

please excuse the radio silence as of late. i  have been away dealing with a lot of pesky grown up things lately like touring places to live, trying to legally break my apartment lease so i can move, and trying to get my retirement account from my old job transferred over to my new retirement plan. how do people figure this stuff out if they don't have a lawyer in the family!?  its real hard for a single lady like me to understand that's for sure. it's so stressful and has completely zapped my energy or interest in blogging or putting together interesting outfits. so i've been reaching for easy combinations like printed skirts and coordinating sweaters like these two outfits from tuesday and today. hopefully by the end of the week all of these issues will be resolved and i can look forward to new things.  i hope you all have been having a good week!

get the 1st look:  similar button-down / exact sweater / similar skirt / similar wedges / similar necklace

get the 2nd look:  similar button-down / exact sweater / similar skirt / exact flats

the mvp.

 

merona skirt   ·   mossimo sweater

fioni flats   ·   target necklace

this skirt has served me well for so many years that i think it deserves the title of closet MVP!  i bought it in august 2011 from the clearance rack at target and paid around $15 for it -- i think i can safely say that was $15 well spent for the number of times i've worn it and how it remains in such good condition.  i play it pretty safe by always pairing it with a top in the same color as one of those featured in the print, but i always feel so put-together whenever i wear it.  after the struggles in expressed on monday (thank you for your comments--i'll be replying shortly!) about putting together outfits and not feeling comfortable wearing some of my favorite clothing items to my new workplace, it felt great to put together an outfit that i felt truly confident in all day.  thanks, skirt!

get the look:  exact sweater / similar skirt / exact flats / similar necklace

april 1st {navy floral}

merona button-down {thrifted}  ·   merona skirt

dexter kylie wedges {available in black}

i didn't feel much like posting this outfit after i wore it yesterday because i wear this skirt all the time and my story is always the same {i love it} so what more is there to say about it, but i did like the effect of my subtle pattern mixing with the navy button-down that has subtle white dots and the floral-ish skirt.  i had to laugh when i saw whitney's post from yesterday and saw she'd worn the same skirt and a shirt with the same intention as the one i wore.  her pattern mixing is a little more apparent and a lot more awesome than mine, but hey, i am a newbie at it.  now, if only she'd worn her matching cognac wedges!  :)

thanks for visiting!

january 11th {merona}

merona button-down {thrifted}   ·   merona cecila skirt

merona erin mary janes   ·   merona skinny belt

today i clearly wore merona everything, even down to the tights - and the belt for the second day in a row.  oops.  you'll see when i post my week in review post this weekend.  i also have to say, i get more compliments on these shoes than possibly any other pair i own and people are pretty astonished to hear they are from target!  they are turning into major faves and i have a goal to add more colored heels to my closet this year... i think other people find that they're really fun too, i mean how often do you see people wearing green shoes?  but i have to agree.  have a great weekend!

friday {adventurous}

adventurous / if there is ever a day to be a tad more adventurous with your outfit, let it be on a friday!  for me, the atmosphere is a little more relaxed and i steer clear from home visits or meetings where clients/colleagues may look at me and think, "are you sure you're a professional working lady?!"  okay, that's a big extreme but i would never wear this to a home visit with a client.  i have also never worn tall boots {these ones are available here!} with bare legs before so this was definitely a new look for me (and only manageable as the mercury didn't inch past 70 and i was chained to my desk inside all day), but hey... like i said on tuesday, it's good to tweak at least one routine aspect of your outfit once in a while to keep feeling creative about putting outfits together - you may come away with a look that you really do like!

have a great weekend!

wednesday.

j crew chiffon silk blouse {thrifted}   merona cecila skirt   dexter kylie wedges

this is a pretty safe outfit for me.  printed but professional skirt and coordinating, neutral top.  it works every time and leaves me feeling confident when i am meeting with colleagues or just working in my office.  i've come to realize in my working environment that what i feel comfortable in is dictacted by what i see others around me wearing even though we all have different jobs.  i wonder if it's like that in most businesses?  i always feel great in outfits like this though.  yesterday the administrator of the building was wearing a great midi length skirt and 5" peep toe pumps.  then there are other people i see who are dressed way more casually than i am.  so... i think it's okay if i break out the yellow heels or continue to wear fun, printed skirts and not worry so much about looks that i may get!

also, i think that's dirt on my knee from kneeling on the garage floor to look at my bike tire when i got home... is anyone out there a biker?  the air tube is bent and my tire doesn't stay inflated, so i'm not sure what the solution is - one of these days i need to figure that out though before my bike riding days are over.

wednesday.

 

 merona cecila skirt   isaac mizrahi scalloped blouse {thrifted}

old navy cardigan {thrifted}   mossimo valonia pumps {thrifted target stock}

i was really happy when i realized that i had another cardigan in my closet that matches one of the colors in this skirt perfectly.  for me, having skirts like this in my wardrobe that i can easily pull a coordinating cardigan on with makes obvious sense, but i still get to have some creativity with it by focusing on different colors.  this outfit couldn't have been easier to throw on & i felt great in it all day.  have a nice evening!

tuesday (coordinated)

merona cecila skirt    merona artist light cardigan {thrifted target stock}

loeffler randall for target flats    forever21 belt {thrifted target stock}

i found this gem of a skirt in the clearance racks at target yesterday and couldn't wait to wear it right away today. the colors are so appealing!  wearing it with this cardigan might have been a too obvious choice to make, but i do like to coordinate.

i love merona skirts form target. i really think they rival some of the more expensive stores out there.  the patterns are always fun but work appropriate, the cut is classic, and they're lined. i have a handful already and snatch ones up like this whenever the price is right (or i find them new at the goodwill!). this is another one that i'm keeping my eye on!