Casual Friday

Due to the negativity in my last post, I promise to be happy today! Thanks for letting me complain, though. What's the point of blogging if you can't occasionally whine without a ton of internet friends to justify you? Right? 

So today, there are two looks:

Denim jacket: Forever 21, $30

White blazer: H&M, $30

Top: Marshalls, $15

Skirt: Old Navy,$20

Shoes: Fergalicious via Famous Footwear, $10

Basically the same, but the first one (with the denim jacket) is what I wanted to wear to work, and the second look (white blazer) is what I ended up wearing to work. Why? Because, unlike the title of this post suggests, I did not wear this to work on a Casual Friday. I wore it on a You-Better-Not-Wear-Jeans-Tuesday. And I couldn't decide if a denim jacket was too casual for Casual Friday. I say I should be allowed to wear it. Don't you? I am, after all, probably the only person in the office ridiculous enough to wear heels to work every day. That merits some sort of reward, I would think.

Happy Friday, from me and my manly-musclar calves. 

Emotional eating and other whines.

 

Top: Love Culture, $11

Jeans: Rue 21, $9

Boots: Old Navy, $30

Necklace: Forever 21, $8

Do any of you have that pair of pants that fits so perfectly (and by perfectly I mean they fit exactly at that weight you're at, and not one pound higher) that you can tell if you've gained weight just by putting them on? That's these pants.

I said it recently, but ever since my trip to Atlanta a few weeks ago, my diet has been all out of whack. Kristine describes it perfectly here, but it's like as soon as something in my life becomes stressful or out of place, it seriously affects my diet. And once I start eating poorly, it's just like I keep doing it. I don't just mess up for one day, I'll mess up for the whole week. It's really bad, it's compulsive, and just reflective of my afore mentioned addictive behavior to food. So this week, when I put these pants on, they were very obviously snug. Which, since these jeans literally have never had a lot of give in them for me, is not too big of a deal. But it just sucks putting on your normal clothes and realizing "Welp. The nachos I had three times last week certainly counted." And looking at the scale and seeing that inflated number due to added water weight (and nachos) is not fun either.

So this week, ever since Monday, I've been doing the first four days of this diet. You can read about it if you want, so I won't go into the details of it other than to say I've been living off of fruits and veggies for the last two days, and will be doing the same today. So yeah, I'm kind of grumpy. These photos were taken in the morning on day one of the diet, so I was still a happy girl.

I don't even know where I'm going with this post. My brain is a little frazzled. Must be the effects of eating all fruits and veggies. I have to say, this is really less about weight loss (I know how to lose weight. I don't need to starve myself to do it!) and more about getting in control of my eating again. I don't know how I let myself get so out of hand sometimes. It usually starts with sugar. I like healthy eating, as long as I can treat myself with something sweet once in a while. Which, under stressful situations, will start becoming more often than "once in a while". And then it's not even a treat anymore, it's something I compulsively grab when I'm stressed or want to be in control or something. I don't know. I did not mean for all of this to come pouring out of me when I started this post, so I'll stop now. Enjoy my face and the clothes I wore on Monday.

Waiting for sunshine.

Denim Jacket: Forever 21, $30

Dress: Wal-mart, $15

Belt: Love Culture

Bracelet: Charlotte Russe

Necklace: Windsor, $9

Shoes: Target, $15

Okay, so I have a couple of confessions to make.

For starters, I've not actually worn this outfit yet. Unless waking up every morning and putting it on and twirling around in it counts as wearing it. I just feel like a weirdo stepping outside in a bright, sunny maxi dress and my new denim jacket when we still have snow everywhere. I can't do that kind of injustice to this outfit. But we're having some warm weather next week (a balmy 45 degrees, guys!), so hopefully I will be able to wear this dress in public.

Secondly, I got this dress at Wal-Mart. Weird? Maybe. I got it toward the end of summer last year, after I'd spent all summer in fear of buying a maxi dress. I'd wanted one for about two years but many of my friends were vehemently opposed against them. I finally bucked up the courage last August when I saw this sunshiney little dress hanging on a clearance rack at Wal-mart. I'm pretty glad I did. It's not my favorite print in the world, but it makes me glad I bought this denim jacket, so...

Speaking of this jacket. I've also been afraid of owning a denim jacket for forever. I remember seeing a girl wear one in 2010 with a printed dress and thought she was a genius. But every time I saw a denim jacket in stores, my creative genius silenced it's voice and when I thought about what to pair a denim jacket with, all that I could come up with was, "More... denim?". Wrong. Maxi dress from Wal-mart!

But I still need a little help with this denim jacket thing. How do you wear yours?

Cornflower Blue.

Dress: c/o eShakti

Shoes: Ross, $15

I first came across eShakti while blog hopping several months ago. Once I started navigating their website, I loved the fact that they customize all of their dresses for free. I'm not an exceptionally tall girl at nearly 5'6", but for some reason, most dresses I find fall just a little too short to be church or office appropriate. And I'm at the church or the office 5 days a week, so appropriateness is key in my life!

eShakti has many lovely pieces, but from the first time I saw their website, this dress caught my eye immediately:

I love this shade of blue. Like, absolutely adore it. And though vintage dresses aren't usually my thing, I love a sweetheart neckline and I love stripes! So when eShakti offered to send me an item, I knew this was my chance to see this lovely dress for myself.

And for the most part, I'm pleased. Though they offered customization (like exact waist/bust/hip measurements, sleeve type, dress length, etc.), I ordered a standard size 4 because it seemed to be within a 1/2 inch of all of my measurements. Except, apparently, the bust. Which I don't think I've ever measured mine before (because it would just be a sad, sad little number), so i just ignored that part of the measurements, figuring, how big could a size 4 bust be?

Apparently, very big. 

As you can see in some of these photos, the bust in this dress just hangs off of me. And actually, the waist isn't super tight either and I probably would've been safer in a 2. But who's fault is all of this? Mine.

The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was the fact that this dress looked like it had a less full skirt in the photo on the website (which I don't even see this dress offered anymore, but this is a similar one). Part of me feels like I ought'a be holding a pie and tying my hair up in a bandanna. Though I can hardly say that feeling is a bad one... ;)

Either way, I can't get away from how much I love the color, the stripes & the neckline of this dress. I definitely recommend eShakti to anyone who struggles finding a good fit in dresses sold in stores. Can't beat free customization! 

And by the way, when you use the code LYNETTEMRE by 3/10/13, you get 20% off your order!

Once Upon A Date Night Link Up: My husband chooses my outfits!

I'm linking up today with Jenna @ Demure in Diamonds and Emily @ A Devine Life for Once Upon A Date Night! Today, I am posting two date night outfits... that my husband chose! I don't have to tell you that men don't always have the best fashion sense (sorry, husband), and that their preferences in our clothing is often super different than ours. Below are two outfits that my husband, Matt, chose completely on his own based on what he likes to see me in (don't worry, I'm not naked ;)

Outfit #1:

Top: Gap, $8

Jeans: Kohls, $30

Purse: Coach, gift from Matt

Shoes: Love Culture, $10

Earrings: F21

Necklace: Windsor, $9

Why he chose the outfit: 

Matt has pretty much four favorite elements to an outfit I could wear: 

He wants to see stripes, 

he wants to see some blue, 

he wants it to be simple, 

and he wants it to be form-fitting. 

He really does love most of the outfits I post here, but if my outfit is any of those three afore mentioned things, he's drooling. I bought this shirt while shopping during our honeymoon because he just LOVED IT, but I've only worn it a few times since. I guess I just don't like it with plain jeans and the stripes are so thick, a lot of accessories don't look right with this. It also looks weird tucked into skirts, to me, so I just don't wear it much.

But Matt loves this outfit. He likes it because it meets all four of his favorite things about my clothes. He says my body looks good in this outfit, and he likes the wedges because they make me taller (and since there is a 14 inch height difference between us, HEELS MATTER) . Also, he bought that purse for the first birthday of mine we were ever able to celebrate together (we were in a long distance relationship for a while!), so he's always proud and happy to see me wear it!

When asked where he sees me wearing this, he said "Maybe a date walking along the beach," (in heels?! Boys!) "Or maybe a lunch date and some shopping" (that's better). When it's all said and done, I actually really like this outfit! I try not to ever wear a tight top and a tight bottom, I just feel a little too "exposed", but this covers almost all of me, so that makes me feel better!

Outfit #2:

Blazer: H&M, $35

Top: Banana Republic, $18

Skirt: Charlotte Russe, $16

Heels: F21, $20

Purse: Kenneth Cole, gift from Matt

Necklace: Charlotte Russe, old

Why he chose the outfit:

Why else? Blue & simplicity, two of his favorite things! He loves the blue paired with the bright top, and my white blazer is one of his favorite pieces as well. I definitely feel like I'm about to go into the office when I'm wearing a button-up, pencil skirt and blazer, but the bright jewel tones make it a little more outside-of-work-friendly, I suppose. Ha, I kept asking Matt, "This is what you want to see me on a date night?", and he kept nodding and smiling. Boys. I'm not sure I'll ever understand them. Even mine. Like I said, I love the colors of this outfit, but  just can't imagine wearing it on a date! Matt said he could see me wearing this out for dinner with him. Eh. Maybe. I mean, now that I know it's what he wants to see! :)

Also, that black Kenneth Cole purse is another gift from Matt. The first time I visited Matt in Texas while he was living there and I was still in Michigan, I saw this purse at Ross and was drooling. But as a college student who'd just shelled out a bunch of money to visit her boyfriend 1400 miles away, I didn't have the money to splurge on a new purse. I sadly left the purse behind, but a week after I got back home to Michigan, a package arrived in the mail. Matt had gone back to the store after I left and bought the purse to me and mailed it to me. Swoon! This is why I married him. Purses, I mean. Purses is why I married him.

Once Upon a Date Night Link Up is posted every 1st of the month.
Just follow the rules and help our Link Up grow!
From outfits, to shoes, to hairstyles, to Groupons, movie nights, dinners, traveling and day-dates...you name it. We construct our own how-to's for a great date night.

Want to jump in? Grab a button and Link up!!

The Rules

1. Follow me, Emily & Jenna on GFC, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook

2. Post your "Once Upon a Date Night Idea" and add your Link 

3. Find other bloggers who jumped into the Link Up and make friends :-)

4. Post the "Once Upon a Date Night Idea" button on your blog: with a link to mine, Jenna's & Emily's blog on your post.

By the way, I have to say this post was definitely inspired by my friend Chelsea's blog She Said He Said. Go check her out, because she posts her boyfriend's opinions of her gorgeous outfits every day, and it's hilarious!