Be nice to your parents, wear sunscreen, and don't do drugs - Remix #10

The weather was unbelievably gorgeous yesterday. Normally calling nice summertime weather "unbelievable" would be a rash exaggeration, but not here in Portland. It was the nicest day we've had all year. Apparently Oregon decided to finally bring the heat on the first day of summer. How fitting.

I wore this outfit up to the Rose Garden in the afternoon to take some photos. Now, I don't wear sunscreen. I'm not opposed to it for any weird health reasons, I just don't like the way it feels, so unless I'm going to be in the sun for the whole day, I don't wear it. But I burn like crazy, so I try to always cover my shoulders when I'm in the sun. This dress is sleeveless, so I threw on the white button-up over it for some extra sun protection, stuck a hat on my head, and called it good. The shirt was light enough that I didn't sweat (too much) on my photo stroll. Feel free to judge me for not wearing sunscreen, but remember that I'm nice to my parents and I don't do drugs, and two out of three isn't bad.

Dress: from my mom (she got it for one dollar at Sears)

Button-up: free from my dad

Sandals: Target

Hat: vintage from an antique show

Belt: Gap

Earrings: Simply Jo Designs

Bracelet: Kanelstrand

My 30 for 30

The jeans dilemma - Remix #9

You know what's great about losing 20 pounds in the past year? Being thinner. You know what sucks about it? Half my clothes don't fit properly anymore. This, of course, is a wonderful excuse to go buy some new clothes, but when it comes to jeans, I'm extra picky. These are Gap boot-cut jeans, and they're the only pair of jeans that have ever looked remotely good on me. That's why I'm having trouble letting them go, even though they're clearly too big and bunchy on me now. And I suppose I could just go to Gap and buy a few more pairs of their boot-cuts, but lately I've been lusting after another, much pricier pair. To be particular, this pair. And while my taste in clothes has slowly gotten more expensive over the years, and while I know they would be jeans that would look killer and I'd wear for years, I just hate the idea of paying $200 for a pair of jeans. But then again, if I'm going to pay a sizable amount of money for jeans no matter where I get them (they're $60-70 at Gap), then shouldn't I get one pair that I really love over two or three pairs of jeans that I just kind of like?

Do any of you have Emersonmade jeans? Are they really worth the cost? Or do you have another brand of jeans that you swear by?

Tee: Gap

Jeans: Gap

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Lulu's

Head scarf: thrifted

Shades: Forever 21

Belt: free from aunt

My 30 for 30

At the races - Remix #8

For Father's Day yesterday my brothers and I and Josh took my dad to Portland International Raceway to watch the Rose Cup car races. It was pretty awesome. We saw a crash about 20 feet away (where thankfully no one got hurt), and got to gasp over how close the cars were driving to each other at 120 miles an hour. And between races we strolled around and looked at all the wonderful old cars people brought. I didn't see my dream car (a baby blue 1957 Chevy), but there were some find old Fords, and some sporty little Porsches. And it was fun to hang out with my brothers again - they both just moved back from California after years of living away. We're a fine looking bunch of siblings, aren't we? This is about as good as pictures ever get with us:

 I loved this outfit. I felt straight out of the 1940's, with my mid-length skirt, fitted waist, and casual blouse with the sleeves rolled up. I'm pretty sure this is something my grandma would have worn during the War. And these shoes - I can't say enough good things about them. They are so comfortable. I walked for miles yesterday, and stood on my feet quite a bit looking at old cars, but my feet felt great afterwards. I have other shoes that are flashier and more interesting, but these are by far the most walkable, and absolutely worth the $48 that they cost.

Silk blouse: free from aunt

Skirt: thrifted from Rerun

Shoes: Lulu's

Shades: Forever 21

Belt: gift from my parents (from Uruguay)

My 30 for 30

PS - You may have missed my posts over the weekend here and here. I don't normally post on weekends, but I'll be doing it for the duration of the 30 for 30 challenge so you can see all 30 of my outfits.

Thanks Dad - Remix #7

Dad:

Thanks for being the dad who coached all our sports teams growing up. Thanks for buying me really cool vintage clothes. Thanks for making corny jokes even though everyone says they're awful. (I still like them.) Thanks for being the only family member who didn't freak out when I got engaged after a month of dating Josh. Thanks for keeping a positive spirit whenever bad things happen. Thanks for sending me to college. And thanks for this white shirt. (I hope you didn't need it anymore.)

So yeah, I'm wearing my dad's shirt. (I promise, I didn't really steal it.) It's the first time I've worn it, and only the second time I've worn this striped skirt, and yet for some reason I felt compelled to include them in my 30 items. There are actually a couple other items in my collection of 30 that I've never worn before, but they were new right before the challenge started, and I knew I didn't want to go a whole month without wearing them.

Black tee: Forever 21

White button-up shirt: free from my dad

Skirt: Forever 21

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Lulu's

Belt: free from aunt

Earrings: free from aunt

Necklace: Simply Jo Designs

Necklace (worn as bracelet): owned since 2nd grade

It rained all day yesterday, and it was so cold that I had to wear tights, so Josh and I walked down to a local coffee shop, Coffeehouse Northwest, to get a cappuccino to warm up a bit. We'd only been there once years before, and that was to see some of our neighbor's artwork hanging on the walls. We're really bad about always going to the same places over and over again and never trying anything new, so we decided to branch out and try something fairly new this time! It had a wonderful, cozy ambiance along with really fun art on the walls, great table lamps, and an adorable heart-in-the-foam on our cappuccino...

Happy days - Remix #6

This is the third time I've tried to write something for this post, and I complained both of those times. And both of those times I realized I complain too much in general, so here are some things that make me happy instead:

1. This hot pink skirt. There's no way anyone could possibly feel down when wearing such a happy piece of clothing.

2. The hot, sunny day yesterday. We haven't had many of those, and it was blissful.

3. When my dog woofs and twitches his paws in his sleep. Also, when he sleeps on my lap when I'm watching TV.

4. Free Oreo cookies in the lobby the other day. I love free, and I love cookies.

5. A husband who gets extra fries right before he leaves his lunch at Red Robin, then brings them home to me because he knows how much I love them.

So far the 30 for 30 challenge is going great. All you seasoned 30 for 30 veterans out there - I'm going to eat my words, aren't I? I'm going to get to day 20 and just start tearing up my clothes, right? It can't possibly be this easy, can it? I feel like I picked some really versatile pieces, though, and hopefully I'll be able to get through the next 24 outfits without too much stress or boredom.

Tee: Forever 21

Cardigan: Forever 21

Skirt: Zara

Shoes: Lulu's

Belt: free with a thrifted dress

Earrings: Simply Jo Designs

Brooch (worn as necklace): from my mom

My 30 for 30

It took a while - Remix #5

It took a while, but the flowers finally bloomed up at the Rose Garden, and I couldn't be more delighted about it. We only live a ten minute walk from the Rose Garden, and during the summer I love to stroll up there with my camera and take pictures of roses. And even though I have a collection of thousands of rose pictures now, it somehow never gets old. There's something so entrancing (and wonderfully British) about beds of roses laid out neatly, in every variety you can think of. My favorite time of day to visit the garden is in the evening, which is what we did yesterday. The air is fragrant and warm, the people stroll calmly, and the late evening light is stunning.

Orange is one of those colors that I never thought I could wear until I actually tried this shirt on a few months ago. And I never thought I could wear yellow, either, until I found the perfect rich gold dress at Anthropologie last year. I think everyone can wear every color, as long as it's the right shade. A lighter orange would not look good on me, but bright colors are almost always a safe bet.

Shirt: Target

Dress (worn as skirt): Forever 21

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Lulu's

Necklace: Forever 21

Bracelet 1: B. Lee Designs

Bracelet 2: made by my sister-in-law

My 30 for 30

Days gone by - Remix #4

I'm calling this look "1920's gangster meets fussy Victorian lady meets Jackie O. meets modern urban sophisticate." (Or "gangstertorian" if you like.) There's a lot going on with this outfit. Normally my outfits are simpler than this, and I felt a bit weird wearing all of these items together, but I think it works. (I could be wrong, though.) I definitely got a lot of stares when I went to the post office in this getup, which in Portland means I must be doing something unique.

My (fake) pearl necklace broke, so I just tied the ends together. Sometimes being cheap and lazy (read: not wanting to drive to Forever 21 to buy another $3 strand of beads) turns into resourcefulness, and I kind of like the knotted look.

The only thing I paid for myself in this outfit are the shoes. Gotta love family members who give me all kinds of clothes for free!

Dress: vintage, from my mom

Lace blouse: free, from my aunt's friend

Shoes: Lulu's

Hat: gift from aunt

Earrings: gift from aunt (B. Lee Designs)

Pin: free from aunt

Necklace: free from my mom

Belt: came with another dress

My 30 for 30