whomp!

old navy blouse & cardigan

j crew skirt {via thredup*}

toms desert wedge booties

{ similar blouse / exact cardigan / similar skirt / exact wedges }

at least once a week i feel like i have one of those "whomp whomp" outfits where the idea in my brain wasn't fully conceptualized the same way in reality.  this is definitely one of those outfits!  i don't always like the way these wedge booties look with skirts but i keep trying for some reason.  i think the skirt needs to me a smidgen above my knees so my legs don't look so stumpy and there are three different shades of taupes going on that don't completely match.

instead of focusing on this whomp outfit, i wanted to congratulate my good friend marissa from the modern austen on her new blogging adventure called ampersand creative.  marissa is one of the most articulate, passionate, and driven gals i've met through blogging and i'm really excited about her new venture that focuses on helping bloggers like you and me and other young professionals identify and creative a fulfilling lifestyle.  the mission statement behind her new blog resonates with me so much and i know i will be learning so much from her!  congratulations, marissa!

*join thredup through my referral link and you'll get $10 to spend; i receive $10 once you've made your first purchase!

four things friday (four things i'm looking forward to)

converse white blouse {thrifted target stock}
merona cardigan {thrifted target stock}
gap 1969 straight jeans
toms desert wedges

get the look:  similar white blouse / similar cardigan / exact jeans / exact wedges / similar necklace

 

you guys, i am still having so fun to answering these questions and showing you what i wear to work on fridays.  i hope you have enjoyed reading my answers and learning more about me in the process.  i think i have one more week to go after today - but today's is kind of a fun one:  four things i am looking forward to this year:

* george ezra concert:  i have been looking forward to this concert since december!  i am out of this world excited to finally see this guy live at his sold out show here next week!  earlier this year he opened up for sam smith and he's currently opening up for hozier but i feel a bit lucky because his tour stop in minneapolis is his own headlining show.  i'm sure i'll gush all about it to you guys later next week!

* baseball!  i love baseball - i love our outdoor stadium, i love picking different seats every game, i love helmet nachos, i love choosing what games i go to based on the giveaways, i love the emotional raising of the american flag by older veterans, i love it all!  the picture above are the giveaways we're getting from the games we ordered tickets to so far.  i have been dreaming about that bomber hat on the far right ever since i missed out on it last season, haha, so i bought tickets to that game right away when i saw they brought it back.  my sister and three of our friends are taking the day off work and hitting up opening day in mid-april, too, which is bound to be a fun time.

* hanson trip in may: i've mentioned many times before that my favorite band, hanson, hosts a weekend of events in their hometown of tulsa, oklahoma for their fanclub members.  i'm really looking forward to attending again this may.  it's really the one "trip" i plan a year and i always have a pretty good time.  plus, i need to stock up on my mmmhops (hanson's beer) that is only distributed around that area of the midwest. :)
 

*day trips to duluth:  i mentioned in one of these other "four things friday" posts that i love going up to northern minnesota, specifically to duluth which is a city that lies on lake superior.  at just over two hours away, it's far enough from what we call "the cities" (shortened for the "twin cities" = minneapolis & st paul/the metro area) that it feels like a refreshing break and mini-vacation whenever i go up there.  i'd like to make it a point to take more day trips through the spring/summer, especially since i have a few friends who live up there and are always up for weekend adventures!

thanks, as always, for visting!  do you have anything extra fun coming up this year that you're looking forward to?

four things friday (places i've visited)

old navy tee & scarf & jeans

toms suede desert wedges

nothing too exciting about this outfit for a friday - just a combination that always seems to work - a tee and scarf.  and you can probably start to tell how often i kneel on the floor to be at eye-level with my residents in wheelchairs because the knees of my jeans are wearing out!  i'm probably going to be taking up a TCU bed pretty soon after i have a knee replacement, haha.  

moving on:  for today's four things friday question i will be telling you about four places i have been.  i'm afraid i'm not someone who takes many vacations; the time off i accrue throughout the year is pretty much always used up to go home to georgia for thanksgiving and christmas.  most of the traveling i've done in the past has been a result of following my favorite bands around on tour - but as i've become a working adult and tours have gotten more sparse, opportunities to do that don't come around as often.  but i thought it would be fun to twist this question around to highlight four places i have been during my concert traveling days:

{me at the bean in 2008}

* chicago:  chicago is less than 8 hours from where i currently live, but the only times i have made it there was to see a concert - which is unfortunate as i thoroughly dislike the main concert venue in chicago, the house of blues.  however, other parts of chicago make up for my crappy concert experiences; i love visiting the bean and walking around downtown by the lake.  i know there's so much more to the city than what's centered around that small portion of downtown, so hopefully one of these days i can take a proper trip there!

{the golden driller}

* tulsa, oklahoma:  tulsa is actually the city i have visited most in the united states, which may seem odd to many unless you know me as then you would know that's where my favorite band hanson hails from.  for many years they have organized a weekend of events for their fans in tulsa and i have made it a priority to go the past few years.  it's always a great time to engage in different activities with the band and get away for a few days with some of my hanson buddies.  plus, there are some pretty fun giant roadside attractions there like the golden driller above and the praying hands at oral roberts university.

{singing on stage with the rocket summer}

* dallas/fort worth, texas:  a few friends and i took an epic road trip from atlanta to texas one year, which is where another one of our favorite bands, the rocket summer, is from.  he planned a small show and invited us and some other fans on stage to sing, dance, and clap along with him.  then we just hung out in texas for a week over new years!  it was such an awesome trip - there were so many parts of texas that i absolutely loved and have so many fun memories of this trip (dry ice bombing for one!).
 

{heidi & hanson}

* in 2008, i followed my favorite band, hanson, around to four of their tour stops in a row in illinois and wisconsin.  there wasn't anything exceptional about the cities they gigged in, but the whole trip brings back so many awesome memories of road tripping with my girlfriends, manning a video camera as my friend interviewed them (and was lucky enough to get the picture you see above), and getting front row a couple times.  nothing beats front row!  plus, the opening bands on this tour (kate voegele & steven kellogg and the sixers) were so incredibly fun to watch and whenever i listen to their music i'm catapulted right back to that time!

thanks so much for reading & visiting :)

four things friday (movies)

j crew factory embroidered front top

old navy sweetheart boot-cut jeans

toms suede desert wedges

finally, friday!  fridays are notoriously my busiest days at work and today was no exception.  i feel like i could collapse in bed and be dead to the world for hours, but not until i answer my "four things friday" question:  four movies i’ve watched more than once:

well, this question is a little tricky as i feel like most movies i like or choose to watch i end up seeing more than once... so maybe i'll list four movies that i will always stop and watch if they come on tv?

* 27 dresses: this is one of my all-time favorite movies and i seriously can watch it over & over.  i love katherine heigl's character in this movie compared to many of the movies/tv shows she's been featured in since then, and i love the love story that develops between her and malcom! 

* 13 going on 30: i love when this movie comes on tv - much like 27 dresses, i love jennifer garner's character and i think it's one of the better freaky friday-ish/girl goes back in time and must figure out how to get back to her real self type of movies.

* you've got mail:  even though this movie is getting up there in years and it's funny to chuckle when you hear the dial-tone connecting to AOL, i just love not only the fact that meg ryan's character works in a bookstore but that she develops a friendship with someone online as that is how so many of my friendships have developed in my life.

* definitely, maybe:  this is another movie that you'll see on tv every so often that i always have to stop and watch.  i think ryan renyolds is a great romantic-comedy actor and i love how he tells the story about meeting his daughter's mom to her throughout the movie with the various flashbacks and the audience is right there with her, trying to figure out who the mom is!

is it obvious that my favorite movies are romantic comedies?!  have a great weekend and thanks for visiting!

winter florals.

talbots ruffle blouse {thrifted}

j crew skirt & cardigan {thrifted}

toms desert wedges

i wore this outfit recently to a continuing education presentations on ethics, self-determination, and risk.  these are my favorite types of presentations to go to because they always prompt my thinking in a different way about the rights older adults have, even if they live in a nursing home.  

i also love that i am still wearing these toms desert wedges quite often - they really are the perfect winter shoe in my opinion!  but i am actually hardcore searching for some proper winter boots.  it is kind of sad that i have lived in minnesota for about seven years and i don't own proper winter boots or any winter sports equipment.  there's a small pond in my neighborhood that is faithfully plowed out to create an ice skating rink after each time it snows, and i couldn't even join my friends ice skating last weekend!  not that i would have known how to ice skate (and someone needed to be the photographer), but i'm realizing more and more how much i want to take advantage of outdoor winter activities.  what winter activities are you into?

get the look:  similar blouse / similar cardigan / similar skirt / exact wedges

desert wedges.

 

old navy plaid flannel shirt

j crew factory wool skirt

toms desert wedges

there aren't many clothing or accessory items i pine after or long to have in my closet.  i rarely see something on someone else and say, "i have to have that!"  BUT i have always had in the back of my mind that i wanted a pair of toms desert wedge boots.  i've tried a pair from old navy (since donated) and a pair from merona, but neither have been exactly what i had in mind.  so when toms offered 25% off the weekend of thanksgiving it was time to buy as i've never seen a discount that big.  i knew as soon as i tried them on right out of the box (they were still cold from being on a UPS truck all day!) that i made a good choice. even though i may not long for the trendy items you see pop up multiple times on your blog feed a day (does everyone have a blanket scarf yet??), i do hope to continue to have that feeling with future clothing items i buy because i love these shoes!!

get the look: exact plaid / this season's wool skirt / exact wedges