more mustard please

For Thanksgiving Dinner #2 I continued the mustard trend and mixed it with a 60's vibe. This blouse + skirt combo was super comfy- perfect for fitting lots of mashed potatoes and honey ham in my belly!

Banana Republic (outlet) mustard blouse
Banana Republic (outlet) plaid skirt (with Pockets!)
Tory Burch Reva flats
Michael Kors Gold Watch

The dogs waited patiently in the kitchen for any signs of dropped food crumbs!

The whole family with our new addition of baby Parker this year! 

Can't wait to welcome the TWINS! into the group this time next year!

Baby Parker was such a good boy! I loved snuggling him, and smelling his yummy new-born-ness!

The oldest family member + the youngest! I love our growing family!

our little "family"!

xx

Jessica

mellow yellow

Going home to Arkansas was a wonderful chance to recharge my batteries, and do a few of my favorite things - all of which I got to check off my list.

We had 2 Thanksgiving dinners... and pretty much ate the entire time I was home (no complaints there!)

For the first dinner I wore some preppy fall basics. Last year I told my Mom that I needed these mustard pants because they were neutral and would go with everything... neutral they are not, but they have been going with everything these days, and this color sure does make me happy

navy Gap blazer
mustard Gap corduroys
brown Tory Burch Reva flats
ivory J.Crew blouse

Sarah is hiding her baby belly, but it is so cute!

Tyler, Me, Mom, older sister Sarah, brother-in-law Jon

xx
Jessica

cyber shopping

Happy Cyber Monday… I am transitioning back into the work-week by lusting after fabulous online deals. The internets are trés, trés tempting today! Come on… a $3,000 Chloé dress that is marked down to $1,800… serious deals people! (see also here & here other lust-worthy things I want but am practicing self-restraint against purchasing)

Who are we kidding (?!), the only cyber Monday that I am considering purchasing is a pair of these Charlotte Russe Booties. They are a steal, and they are also fueling my recent obsession with booties.  Which Geneva from A Pair & A Spare has kicked up a notch with her DIY Glitter Booties… Glitter + Booties… my head is exploding!

Happy Shopping!! Let me know if you found any serious deals today

xx

Jessica

family traditions

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone had a wonderful day full of good eats and family time yesterday. Our family is not celebrating until Saturday since that is when we could all be together- it isn't about the actual day in our house, just the sentiment. But we have not been going hungry or missing any family traditions in the mean time. 

Our longest lasting tradition is bowling on Thanksgiving Day. The line-up changes year to year, but somethings never change... Dad always "almost" falls on every bowl, Cheyanne gets 5+ strikes, and I barely break 100.

 This year the head-to-head challenge was Tyler, Jon, Dad, Cheyanne, and Me. The first round we finished in age ascending order, and the second round Jon and Dad had a battle-royale down to the last frame with Dad pulling into the lead at the last second. But all 5 of us had 100+ scores both rounds!

 Family Domination!!

Tyler, Jon, Dad, Cheyanne, and myself- we each have our own bowling "form"

Sarah and Sissy were our sideline cheerleaders. Rubbing Sarah's baby-belly apparently brought Jon good luck going into the final round! 

--Gobble, Gobble

xx

Jessica

gobble gobble all the way to Arkansas

On the road again, this time home to Arkansas to visit the family (AKA eat, relax, and get loved on!)

Top 5 things I am looking forward to:

1. Seeing my older sister (first time since she found out she is preggers... with TWINS!)

2. Sitting in front of the fireplace with my Dad 

(looks like it is going to be a little hot for a fire, but he never can resist)

3. Catching up with my girlfriends from high school 

(one of my besties just happens to be my next door neighbor now!)

4. Eating, Eating, and more Eating... 

My Sissy is the bestest cook!!

pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, sausage stuffing, and lots of leftover turkey sandwiches (with ranch)

5. Being surrounded by those that I love 

(and enjoying turkey induced food comas with them!)

Again, I am trying my less-is-more mentality when it comes to what I am putting in my suitcase 

(see my first packing guide for my trip to Chicago last month here)

This time around I am focusing on warm fall colors (mustard, chocolate brown, deep red), and tan neutrals to make my mixing-and-matching go farther

Pants: 

Gap mustard corduroys, Madewell jeggings, Genetic Denim skinnies, J.Crew cargos, BR plaid skirt

Tops: 

J.Crew ivory blouse, Free People ivory blouse, BR mustard blouse, StyleMint Red Abott Kinney shirt, J.Crew brown wrap sweater

Coats:

Navy blazer, Old Navy fur vest

Shoes: 

Tory Burch Reva flats, Vince Camuto derby heels, Charlotte Russe wedge booties

I always throw in a couple extra tops last minute... I seriously can't help myself!!

domestic goddess (in training)

I have always admired women who have homes that smell like freshly baked cookies, tastefully decorate for every holiday, send out handwritten thank you notes, have well behaved children, can remove any stain from clothing, sew, knit, crochet, cross-stitch, and the like. I too aspire to have these "domestic goddess" like traits (one day!)... but Here&Now, I am still in training.

These past few weeks I have been doing less than awesome at using my "homemaker" skills. I did laundry then left it in the basket for a week, ate out way more than I should have, noticed the dust on my shelves and ignored it, tried my hand at this holiday craft, and failed, and left my bed unmade every.single.day.

But in my defense, I did make chicken and dumplings last night, and it kind of rocked!

Maybe not all hope is lost after all!

getting in control

Since discovering Matchbook Magazine's list of 50 classic go-to basics that every girl needs, I have been thinking more about how to shop with a purpose, and fill my closet with clothes that I love and that will take me from where I am in my life now, to where I will be in the next 5-10 years (click here for my original post) 

To get this process started, I took stock of what I had in my closet. {Parents... STOP reading now} And I was quite shocked. While I do think that I shop more than many of my friends, I didn't think I was in the category of "clothes horse"... but maybe I am!? 

This is what I currently have hanging in my closet and organized in my dresser drawers (Not counting my large box of "costume" clothing, or extensive collection of totes/luggage!)::

Tops:

Blouses 30, tank tops 14, button-downs 9, sweaters 34, vests 3

Bottoms:

dresses 36, rompers 3, skirts 14, jeans 10, pants 7, shorts 13

Outerwear:

jackets/blazers 12, coats 7

Accessories:

belts 17, shoes 34, scarves 11, purses 18
That is 272 articles of clothing + accessories!

Surprisingly, of the 50 classics "every girl should have"... I only had 22! Not even a white button down among the bunch (shameful!) So what is all that other stuff I am keeping? Clothes that I wear once-in-a-while, clothes that don't mix-and-match with many other things in my closet, impulse buys from Forever21...?

Next on my Project: Closet Rejuvenation to-do list is to:

{1.} Clean out what is old, un-worn, wrong size to give away to GoodWill or sell on eBay

{2.} Make a shopping list of what is something I should buy sooner, versus on a longer timeline (from the remaining pieces of clothing on the 50 Classics list)

{3.} Work on "re-mixing" what I have in my closet now

How many articles of clothing do you have in your closet? (Is 272 alot!?) How many of them are from the "50 classics" list? What is on your shopping list for the next few months? Any one piece you think will make your current clothes more re-mixable?

with an edge

Jacket - Plato's Closet
Shirt - StyleMint
Pants - J.Crew
Shoes - Charlotte Russe

It has been a while since my last bowling outing (maybe since last year's annual family Thanksgiving bowling showdown), but let's be honest, I was never great in the first place. A good day of bowling for me is breaking 100... but I got lucky this time around, and broke 100 and got 3 strikes in a row (Turkey!) Maybe I will actually make a run for this year's family championship over Thanksgiving. Ha!

(P.S how sad is it that I was sore for 2 days after bowling... who knew it was such a workout!?)

 Ready for action; Strike!; Spare!

day to night

Recently, this is what I have to tell myself while I stand in front of my closet each morning, my feet freezing on the wood floors...
"I will not dress in blue jeans & a T-shirt to work, even though I am a Graduate Student, and can"

"I will not dress in sweats, even thought it is COLD and I want to"

But I will make my closet work me, and wear something that is comfortable, warm, and able to transition with me during all the things I have to do in a day

Case in point- this skirt has an elastic waistband (pretty darn close to a skirt version of sweat pants), these tights+over-the-knee boots keep me toasty warm, and my new StyleMint T is wear-every day soft and comfy! Done and Done

Top - StyleMint
Skirt - Splendid (old) - it has POCKETS!
Boots - Steve Madden (last year)
Moto-Jacket - Plato's Closet
Collar Necklace - Lefler's Boutique

Friday was "date night" with my man. We devoured some yummy rolls at Samari Sushi (our favorite in town!), before grabbing some seasonal beers at the Flying Saucer (btw- a little pumkin beer goes a LONG way!), and then went to Demetri Martin's stand-up comedy show at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Demetri earned points with me by making fun of ice cubes... seriously, what is your deal ice-cube-in-the-bottom-of-my-glass-that-smacks-me-in-the-face? (skip to 1:25 if you just want to see that one joke)

trends that make you go hmm... fur vests

Images found here & here

Seeing images of celebrities and stylish girls on the street decked out in (faux) fur this season has left me with mixed emotions. I will run you through my series of reactions to this style... At first I was a little appalled that such high fashion ladies were wearing...gasp... FAUX fur! Then I thought it was pretty cool how this often inexpensive item can be paired with denim, skirts, and formal dresses alike. Next, I set out to secure a fur vest (gilet) of my own... only to find one that I LOVED.... that unfortunately made me look like a Sasquatch! boo

As a petite individual, it is often a fine line between resembling a classy lady and a woodland creature when wearing fur. And upon donning the LOVELY fur vest I found at Urban Outfitters, my boyfriend petted it/me (not good). This style has been so popular this season, it seems every fur vest I find and fall in love with, is sold out in XS/S... and me attempting to pull off a medium has only so far resulted in being mistaken for an escaped monkey...

So below are the fur vests I am going to continue to stalk online in hopes of one in my size becoming available. How funny is it that I was on the fence about this trend until I realized that my owning it was not going to happen! Maybe it is a sign... only stalking time will tell 

xx

1/2/3/4

a dab will do ya

Sweater - Lefler's Boutique
Necklace - ModCloth
Jeggings- Madewell
Rain Ballet Flat Wellies - J.Crew

Yesterday drizzle, today torrential downpour... not sure which one I like less! ha. But today's pictures had to be taken inside... cold and rainy outside... not so much my jam. At least my beloved J.Crew ballet flat rain wellies are getting some good use lately :)

I found this silver belt in my closet recently... didn't even know I had it! I guess I need to get on that purging/cleaning/assessing my closet bullet point on my to-do list soon...

I did tie said never-knew-I-had-it-belt in my new favorite way. And topped off my rain depressed black outfit with this pop of torquoise. This necklace is such a le duh for making an outfit (see D.O.N. for "le duh" reference).

Second time out for my new jeggings... This time trying them out with flats. I think I preferred them with boots... the jeggings into flats transition... eeep... still super comfy!

christmas card crazies

This past weekend the boys obliged to be in my Christmas card. Here are some out-takes from our photoshoot... it was harder than I would have imagined to get a wiggly pug and a photo-phobic boyfriend to simultaneous look Christmas Card cute! haha