Take your column to work day

Cardigan: Target
Button down: JCPenney
Pants: Target
Tights (unseen): Target
Socks: Walmart
Flats: Banana Republic



This is me telling my vignette to knock it off. It didn't. Oh well, that's why we crop things, right?

I took my pictures at work, post-clock out and pre-changing into riding clothes. No tripod, no straightness and no sexy background, but your only other option is another Sporthorse-esque post plus a baggy sweatshirt so this is it, gang.



It was cold and misty again today, so this morning I put on some tights to insulate my legs while I was riding. Totally worked too! Now I'm watching a horrible American show called Wipeout because I am a terrible person who likes watching people being flung into the air by foam cushioned spring-loaded obstacles.

Yeah you'd laugh too. Tomorrow, y'all!

Whining

Sweater: Anthro
Pants: JCPenney
Socks: Target
Flats: Target
Nails: Zoya Caitlin



Here are some bad pictures of me in a parking garage in the cold and rain! Amazing. I'm pretty sick of this cold weather by now, and I drove through two parking garages to get the right spot for pictures. No way was I going to put my camera outside, though obviously it got a little wet anyway. I kind of like the effect, though I was careful to clean the lens off afterward because I'm a good person and all that.



Yep, that's me with the department Nook. I've semidecorated it and maybe downloaded another three Agatha Christie mysteries. I'm not out of control but I may have a slight problem. Coworker F. suggests doing a 30 books in 30 days challenge, much like Kendi's 30 for 30, but I read 30 Poirot books instead.

Maybe not.

But I am almost done book one and loving it so who knows?

Short on patience

Cardigan: Target
Top: Target
Shorts: Target
Wellies: wait for it...Target



After yesterday's major success reading And Then There Were None, I obsessively downloaded The Mysterious Affair at Styles to read on the department Nook. I have a foolish impatient habit of reading the last pages of a book before reading the rest of it, and part of the reason why I chose to download And Then There Were None is because it's a lot harder (or more annoying, anyway) to flip to the end of the book and read the ending. So the Nook has been an asset in my battle against cheating the endings of books.



Check me out in my SHORT PANTS. I feel so stylish. And comfortable! After curling over the weekend both my knees are a bit bruised and banged up; wearing tight fitting pants is generally unwise for a few days after I curl because when I kneel or squat the fabric pulls against my knees. Ow. But instead of whining about it (that's a lie, I totally whined all weekend about it) I pulled out the shorts. Stylish, right? I love the colour, and because everything I wore today came from Target it all matches. How wonderful!

The facts were these

Necklace: JCPenney
Sweater: JCPenney
Belt: Target
Pants: Target
Socks: Walmart
Shoes: Payless



I had a cute outfit planned for today! I really did. It involved the colour orange, and I was excited. Then I woke up this morning and it was 47 degrees and I said eff that and put on a sweater. It isn't all that attractive and honestly it's kind of ill filling but it's comfortable and maybe if I wash it it will shrink? But the important part is that it is warm. From 85 to 45 in one week is so not working for me.



Usually I will peek in on blogville throughout the day but today I was utterly engrossed in a book that I downloaded to the department Nook yesterday. We're supposed to read six books a year outside our comfort zone to say "fresh" so I decided to try a mystery; more specifically Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. It was amazing and brilliant and SO clever and I can see why it's sold over 100 million copies (no seriously it has). I think I want to read a Poirot! Another tv show my grandmother loved when I was little, though it was usually on too late for me to watch.

So I'm caught up on my IRL reading but so behind on blog reading. OOPS

Where in the world is Cardigan Sandiego

Cardigan: Target
Tank: Walmart
Cords: LL Bean
Sneaks: Vans



Yeah, you looked twice at that first picture, didn't you? Not really my standard fare and I thought it would look different but it is also mildly comical so I couldn't not include it!

I kind of love this outfit. It's pretty basic but I'm a big fan of how the colours really compliment each other. I really love this top (and for $5 you can't really beat the cost) but it's been hard to build an outfit around. I think I have another idea for it though, so we'll see what happens.



My sensible shoes do not match (maybe a little?) but they are sensible and since I was putting away chairs and tables today, sensible shoes are a must. Fortunately it does not get more sensible than a pair of skate shoes. Tons of arch support. You heard it here first!

Also I know I totally complained about the pollen earlier so I'm glad it rained and all but did it have to get COLD too? It went from 85 last weekend to 45 this weekend! I'm writing a letter to mother nature and giving her what for. And then I'll run and hide among the rose bushes again.

April wish list

Well you guys I did next to nothing of worth today so instead of showing you my awesome outfit of jeans/curling pants and a sweatshirt, here are a few things I'm currently lusting after. Maybe I'll do this monthly. Maybe I won't. WHO KNOWS?! Keep reading to find out! ;)



I can't lie to y'all, my April clothing budget is going directly to these curling shoes by Olson. For the last however many years curling shoes have been around, they have been made in many colours, all of which are called black. I've been holding off on purchasing curling shoes a) because I'm poor, boo hoo; b) because I wasn't sure if I could make this a Thing like horseback riding is; and c) because curling shoes are u-g-l-y you ain't got no alibi. Then Olson came along with these amazing shoes! My feet are burning to have the shoes on them. Basically, my feet want to go to there.



When Rebecca with an R posted herself wearing an adorable dress from eShakti, I was on that site like white on rice. I'm a little crushed that her dress isn't available anymore, but then I found this puppy. The colour is perfect, the chest detail is perfect, and I have heard nothing but good about eShakti's customer service and tailoring. Yeah, they do custom sizing. I need some of that in my life.



I follow a blog called It's Nice That, and a long time ago they did a post on Coralie Bickford-Smith's cover designs for new Penguin Classics. The one word to describe these books is beauty and everything the definition embodies; every cover is simplistic in design but intricately detailed and perfectly coloured. I especially love this cover of The Odyssey, and I also covet this edition of my favourite book, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. I would love Smith & Penguin to collab on The Aeneid too!

What do you covet for April?

Beneath the crown

Cardigan: Target
Shirt: Target
Jeans: American Eagle
Sandals: Pink Studio/Anthro
Fingers: Zoya Dove
Toes: Zoya Caitlin



Today's hairdo (hairdon't?) is courtesy of Rebecca with an R, who looks super adorable with this crown braid in her hair.

And then there was me. I think I practically look like I am wearing a skull cap/am Justin Bieber, and I received comments throughout the day ranging from the ever-appropriate "cute braid!" to the slightly less appropriate "what is up with that". Kind patron swears he meant it in a good way.



On the bright side, I got some valuable practice in braiding my hair. That's a lie, I'm pretty skilled but never do it. I think this may be the first and last time for the skullcap but I bet it would look awesome on some of you all!

Ps. Love my sandals? Yeah, me too :)

Pollen people

Necklace: Anthro
T-shirt: Target
Tank: Target
Belt: Target
Skirt: Walmart
Wedges: Target
Nail polish: Zoya Dove



Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spring, but I was blessed in that un-blessed way to have year round allergies. And thanks to Cardiganland's early spring, everything is coated in a fine layer of spring green pollen. (I guess that's where the crayon name comes from!) Even my car, usually clean looking because it's silver, looks gross. On the bright side I am heavily armed with Claritin and a gas mask so I should be fine.



The silver lining of all this pollen is that it means there is dogwood. I missed out on my favourite tree in the town in bloom--a windy day wiped it out, but this is what it looked like last year--and now that the dogwoods are blooming, I'm not going to miss out! I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. Also, wisteria. Am I right? Well, if you live in the great white north I'm wrong, but Cardiganland loves its things that bloom, even with the pollen it brings.

One more silver lining: my skirt is always in bloom and never discards pollen! Yay.

Belt it anyway

Cardigan: Target
Top: Target
Scarf as belt: TJMaxx?
Pants: JCPenney
Flats: Target



I'll admit it. We all know I love to belt the daylight out of everything, but I have a hard time using scarves and the like as belts. I like the look from the front, and then there's a giant knot in my back when I sit down.



I do like how this looks though. This scarf is perfect for belting because it's kind of thick and has some shape to it, so it makes a bow really well! Yay.

This post is like a bikini: long enough to cover everything but short enough to keep your attention. That's what my 7th grade social studies teacher always said when I asked how long my papers should be.

Into thin air

Necklace: gift from parents
Top: JCPenney
Skirt: JCPenney
Heels: Ross
Nail polish: Zoya Jules



Coworker T. and I hung out late tonight eating greasy food and buying nail polish (I have a problem, I know) so I'll keep this short! Just like my skirt. Zing!

These photos are very obviously not edited (I would have cropped out the vignette at least!) but I do like how they turned out. Nothing like a brick wall to make you look comparatively like a sharp dressed woman*.



Do I look like Super E-Reader Woman here? Because I don't feel like it. I was totally stumped by an e-reader error message today--something fussy about a time zone problem?--and it felt like someone dumped a bucket of rainwater on me. Sometimes I'm totally on and I can fix 32 Nooks, find 27 DVDs in a row AND figure out That Book You Wanted when you only know what the cover looks like. And then other days I can't find a CD if it punches me in the face! Find some, lose some, right? Hopefully I find more than I lose.



*man

Classy & brassy

Cardigan: TJMaxx
Shirt: Target
Skirt: JCPenney
Tights: Target
Wedges: Target



I'm not going to lie, I picked half of these pictures (the two below) simply because I liked how my hair looked. I have mentioned my hair in passing but it's time to give credit where credit is due: most days I don't feel right if my hair is pulled back. I generally do it because I don't wash my hair everyday--if I do it dries out, but if I don't it's oily on day two. So back it goes. And I dislike it quite a lot, because I consider my hair The Accessory when it comes to my outfits.

I don't want to brag about it, but my hair is my absolute best feature, far and away. I've had people ask to buy my hair, play with it, or touch it on various occasions. I almost never put product in it--it's all natural--and I don't style it because it gets aggressive when I try to tell it what to do.



When I was in high school and college, my hair stretched down to the bottom of my back and it was so easy for me to just split my hair in half & pull both sides of the shrub around my face, especially since my acne was so, so bad. It took a long time for me to grow out from behind my hair (cutting off a foot my senior year and donating it helped with that), but now that I know the difference between letting my hair do the work for me and working against it, I feel like I've reached a happy medium. Basically, I just ignore it. That's all it takes.

How is your relationship with your hair?

Past/present

Cardigan: Old Navy
Top: Gap
Skirt: Boden
Tights: Target
Flats: Shoe Carnival



Today's outfit was a total gimme, especially since all I wanted was to lie in bed. I'm so sore! I spent Saturday riding and curling and then today I hauled around chairs and tables so pictures did not happen. So here's an outfit from last week that I didn't post instead!



I'm trying to break out of the box with this skirt. I like it a lot but it's hard to pair with other things. I think I did okay here because the top and shoes match while the tights complement the cardigan. Or I failed miserably but who cares! I was dressed.

Hopefully tomorrow a live post will go up. If I can walk. We'll see about that!

Sporthorse!

On me:
Helmet: Troxel
Tank: Target
Shirt: Target
Jeans: parts unknown
Half chaps: Dublin
Paddock boots: Ariat

On Indy:
Saddle: Bates
Bridle: older than the hills
Medicine boots: Professional's Choice



So you've met my valentine, and the next logical step is to meet my project! This is Indy, and he's probably the sweetest horse ever. He's not the smartest horse ever but he's probably the most willing to do anything. He is eight years old and he is half Thoroughbred and half Percheron. He has the mellow attitude and clunky moves of a Percheron but when he wants to he has the skill of a Thoroughbred. He's a really sweet guy and I quite enjoy riding him, even considering how lazy he is!



Style on a horse is usually the last thing I think of, but it can't hurt to wear proper clothing. Some of the riding style "rules" I've picked up over the years include:

Cover your shoulders. This sounds like a stupid rule, but I had a riding instructor who refused to let her students ride in sleeveless shirts because she saw a young woman tear open her shoulder once during a fall on gravelly footing. I've fallen on my shoulder and just on sand my arm's skin got scraped pretty badly, so I make it a habit to wear short sleeves, even in summer.

Don't underestimate stretch denim. I'm not talking jeggings because I doubt the fabric holds up well to riding, but a good pair of stretch denim jeans in a midrise are a godsend when I don't feel like prying on a peeling off my riding pants.

Don't wear loose clothing. This sounds counterproductive because during the winter I wear a ton of clothing to ride. But heavy doesn't equal loose, and here's why. Before I took up riding seriously (I was about 9 at the time), I was on a trail ride with my parents and the horse I was on ran off with me. I went flying, but my shirt got caught on the horn of the saddle. I was lucky and my shirt tore, though I'm sure I didn't see it that way at the time. If my shirt HADN'T torn, or if something else had gotten caught, I could have been dragged quite a way. Which is always worse than just falling. I also had an instructor who hated loose shirts in lessons because she couldn't see if my back was straight. Ha!

Do NOT wear anything that isn't wash and wear. This shouldn't be rocket science.

Belts are unnecessary. I hate belts when I'm riding and in Pony Club, I was required to wear a belt whenever my riding pants had beltloops. As far as I've always known, this is totally an aesthetic thing. Lame. Same for gloves, earrings and pearls.

Avoid fleece at shedding season. And dark clothing, for that matter. Fleece is a MAGNET for loose hair and the last thing you want when you're brushing your shedding gray horse is to be coated in the fuzz yourself. Black shirt? Same deal.

Put on your sunblock. Again, this doesn't take a genius. Another reason to wear sleeves is because they cover your shoulders.

Glasses are a touchy subject. Especially now, when it's cool to wear sunglasses all the time. George Morris (HUGE name in English riding) hates riders who wear glasses unless they're for health purposes, but how is a judge to know if a rider is wearing prescription glasses? Oh well. I need them to see, so I'll wear them whether George likes them or not!

That was probably uninteresting to most of you, but maybe you enjoyed it! Either way I hope you at least liked the pictures of Indy. I mean look at that face! How could you not? :)