Next time on the Roadshow

Ears: Target
Cardigan: Old Navy
Belt: Target
Skirt: JCPenney
Tights: Walmart
Boots: Target



It's Monday. You know what that means? Antiques Roadshow drinking game night! I've never actually tried an Antiques Roadshow drinking game but I remember an episode of Frasier where Frasier, Niles and Martin (their dad) get together and watch Antiques Roadshow and they take a drink every time the word "veneer" is uttered. In my experience you're more likely to get drunk waiting for the words "quartersawn oak" or "patina", but who's counting, really? Antiques Roadshow is great sober and I have a nagging feeling it's even better when drunk.



The best thing about Antiques Roadshow, though, is the reactions. The eyes popping out of the head, the tears, the uncontrollable laughter. Sometimes people can't speak. Once in a while they're unhappy. The feedback booth at the end of the show (people come in with their treasures and say what they loved about AR and how much fun they had) is the most hilarious because people are totally candid about the random junk they've hauled down to the Roadshow. This seems like the kind of shared experience in which I'd like to take part.

Too bad I only own reproductions*.



*EVERYBODY TAKE A SHOT

On scarves

Scarves: both from Target
Dress: Old Navy
Tights: Target
Boots: Target



One of the best things about fall is football. Directly behind that is fall accessory season. Boots, scarves, tights. And here are all three! I altered my six shopping picks so I could buy this dress from Old Navy (for $14.71 no less). Goodbye red skirt that I probably won't find in stores anyway since it's fall now.



Back to the scarves. Is anyone interested in a possible scarf tutorial? I know pretty much everyone has one but I wear my scarves pretty crazily (see above and below pictures). I like to do more than one scarf because sometimes one just isn't enough and it can inject a lot of colour/texture/pattern into an otherwise simple outfit. Also, it is sometimes freezing at work and that definitely merits more than one scarf! What do you think? Want to see how I cleverly tie my scarves?

Better than radio on mute

Cardigan: Boden
Belt: Target
Skirt: JCPenney
Flats: Target



Have you ever set your commercials on mute? My parents and I do it a lot; we'll read while the commercials run since we don't have that fancy Tivo thing. I get a lot of reading done with the commercials on mute.



But sometimes I don't feel like reading so I watch the commercials on mute instead. And some of them are absolutely hilarious. I do this with regular commercials too--I'll try to guess what the product is before it's revealed in the commercial. There have been a number of commercials I can't figure out; one was with a deck of cards and another was with an exploding glass ball. It's a better way to pass the time between episodes of a Burn Notice marathon than actually watching commercials, anyway.

In the garden

Blazer: JCPenney
Top: Anthro
Skirt: JCPenney
Wedges: Payless
Fingers: butter London Bluey



Little Facts time!



Where I was recently spotted I recently did a work video for youtube (definitely not linking to that) that involved me pretending I was on safari. It was really weird and I had a hard time filming without laughing but we made it through! I was also on Distinct.Style.Innovation. Sweet!

So fascinating to me I recently read this article in The Atlantic about women and marriage today. I'm kind of curious about marriage (in a different way--as in I don't see marriage as an end all/be all but the institution fascinates me) and this article is amazing for that.

Random mail item of the week I received a Tiffany & Co. catalogue yesterday. It was in an envelope and I was really disappointed when something sparkly and shiny didn't fall out. Even if I don't view marriage as the most important thing ever I'm kind of sad about not getting some bling.

For when you're cold but you hate sleeves

Top: JCPenney
Sweater vest: Boden
Skirt: JCPenney
Wedges: Target
Fingers: butter London Bluey



Today was my coworker H.'s birthday. Usually this isn't a big deal--this blog is not turning into a celebration of my coworkers' anniversaries of existence--but H. is a special case. He's a genial older dude with a sharp sense of style: khakis, polo shirt, and sweater vest. Every single day. And I'm not talking the boring gray vest of yore; recently he came into work with a lilac polo and a robin's egg blue sweater vest. H. claims that his wife picks the combos for him, but I have my doubts.



To celebrate H.'s birthday, his boss had the excellent idea to have everyone in the department wear a sweater vest. I'm technically in a different department but we're all on the same floor, so I pulled out the ol' swest in honour of my awesome coworker and because come on, why not wear it? H.'s boss even bought a bunch of them at the thrift store so everyone would have one to wear; at one point coworker L. was wearing a brown swest with what I'm fairly sure were reindeer on it. Happy birthday, H., I hope it was as stylish as we all were!

Total control

Scarf: Target
Cardigan: parts unknown
Top: Target
Cords: LL Bean, skinnied by me
Wedges: Shoe Carnival



I tweeted earlier today about how much I really liked my hairstyle today. I mean, I didn't do much, just clipped back the bangs (my stylist calls them that even though they're down to my chin but I'm not denying her that) and put it in a bun, but I love the way the bangs are falling across my forehead a little bit. I look like I have it all under control. If only everyone knew I recently received a speeding ticket, I'm freaking out about grad school, and still have fines on my library card that I really do have it all under control.



Speaking of control, can we talk about these PANTS? Audrey wore her red pants today and I mentally got the memo because I felt the need to wear some hot pink. I skinnied these cords myself because the bootleg on them was kind of womp womp, and I love how they look now. I used this tutorial, which was crazy easy; I just used upholstery thread instead of all-purpose thread because corduroy is so thick. And voila, I finally got on board with the coloured pants/skinnies trend, even though I still can't find that credit card bill I'm perfect otherwise.

An ode to my favourite jeans

Top: from work
Jeans: American Eagle
Flats: Toms

Do you know how some days, all you want to wear is a pair of jeans? And generally, on those days, all your jeans happen to be in the wash. But you don't want to give up hope, don't want to have to pull out those khakis you've worn once in the last year or the skirt that it's really not warm enough for. You want jeans, dammit, so you refuse to accept the fact that there are no options left. You dig deep into your pants drawer, upending countless pairs of shorts and yoga pants, and suddenly you see it. A peek of denim. What is that? you think, and you frantically plunge into the sea of fabric and you miraculously unveil a pair of jeans that you didn't know you even owned. You skeptically unfold them and start to pull them on, thinking there's a reason they're at the bottom of the drawer; they're your thin jeans, they have holes, they're stained beyond repair and you just can't let them go. But as they slide over your hips and you zip the fly, you realize none of these things are true. And they fit perfectly over your curves, they're the right length for your 32.5 inch inseam, the rise covers enough for you to sit but not too much for you to stand. You breathe a joyful sound of relief. You've unearthed your favourite pair of jeans, and you're never letting them fall to the bottom of the pile again.

Battle of the brawn

Hat: mom's
Cardigan: Target
Dress: Anthropologie
Belt: Target
Boots: Target
Fingers: butter London All Hail the Queen



Let me get real with you guys for a minute. I totally stole this outfit from Anjali. Like, pulled it up on my iPhone this morning and all. The only differences are a lack of accessories and boots instead of heels. I seem to be incapable of wearing this dress without a cardigan and a belt, so maybe I need to work on that. But maybe not, because I like how it looks.



On Monday I received a phone call from a number I didn't know. I answered the phone, and I was finally able to check something off my bucket list--I was called to be part of a political survey! FINALLY. And today I read an article that claimed the GOP debate last night was a Boston-Austin brawl. I thought that, thus far, has been the funniest part of this entire presidential race. Oh, and what Michele Bachmann wore last night. Love Boat, here we come.

Are you the sweeper or the thrower?

Here's my recap from my trip to Washington!



Nothing like the Metro. This is the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro. I've never seen an entry tunnel decorated like the Chinatown one!



Every time I got to Washington, I try to peep some different museums. I end up at the National Gallery of Art a lot--I always want to see the exhibits--but this time around I swore to do something different, so I went to the National Portrait Gallery, which is absolutely amazing. I can't believe I've never been there! This is a portrait of George S. Patton, the Cardigan family's patron general.



There's a permanent collection of portraits of every single president, including some sculptures, like this one of George H. W. Bush playing horseshoes. I thought it was really cool looking.



Here's the Mall. When I left the hotel on Friday it was drizzly, but by the time I came out of the National Portrait Gallery it was beautiful and sunny and warm with a nice breeze. A perfect fall day. I also went to the Library of Congress, but I didn't take any pictures. Too busy fussing at the classification system.



Here's the ice at the club that hosted our bonspiel. Awesome, isn't it? I had my first taste of curling at this club waaaaaaay back in 2006, just after the winter Olympics; my friends and I drove up for an open house at the club and the line was out the door and around the building! I didn't get to play but that trip planted the seed. And then I got to come back and play three games, which was amazing! We lost them all by sizable margins--unsurprising since we were playing people with 40 years of experience each while our team's total experience was about 4 years--but we scored in all our games, and I had a fantastic time playing. Even if I was exhausted.



This guy's name is Jimmy Fallon. No, really. His team's name was Late Entry with Jimmy Fallon, and they had matching shirts that looked like the Late Night logo. It was hilarious! This is the second Jimmy Fallon I've met. And I am enamoured with his pants. I even found them online, and the same people who made Jimmy Fallon's pants made the Norwegian men's curling team pants that went viral in 2010! I need these pants. Or some similar variety of insane curling pants. Technically they're golf pants, but who cares?



PRETZELS. I met some college friends for dinner and we drank beer (well, two of us did) and ate pretzels (well, three of us did) and partied hard (no, none of us did). So much laughing.



Meet Barney. He's the pony I rode all the time in college, and every time I'm in Virginia I have to stop and see him. I plan to adopt him after he ages out of the college program. It might never happen since Barney's a great therapeutic riding horse, but if he ever needs a home, it'll be with me :)



I stayed with my college pal E. Sunday night. We watched football and braided each other's hair and ate cookies. Well, two of those things are true. She made these amazeballs pumpkin spice cookies and LIGHTBULB, why not make a batch and give some to the people who wrote me letters of recommendation for grad school? (I submitted my app on Wednesday.) So I made some today and they were a huge hit. I may have had to swat my dad away more than once to protect the stash.

All in all, a really good trip. Not long enough, of course, and not enough pictures to demonstrate how many times I was at Wawa (at least 7), but still a great time! Back tomorrow with outfit photos.

I just came to say

Scarf: Gap
Top: Anthro
Jeans: Walmart
Boots: Target



I'm back! I was not planning on doing an outfit post today, but I was traveling through the eastern outskirts of Cardiganland and couldn't resist the temptation of sunset + orchard. Come on.



This was my driving-for-eight-hours-can't-stop-won't-stop outfit. The most essential parts of this kind of outfit are comfortable pants (duh) and a ridiculous topknot, because wearing my hair down for long periods in the car makes me hot and pulling it back makes it impossible to use the headrest. So into the bun it went, and then every time I came out of the car I hit it on the edge of the roof. I'm not used to an additional two inches of height! Coincidentally this is how I wear my hair when I curl, and my teammates started say that when I put up my hair I was putting on my game face. It wasn't too intimidating since we were handily beaten in all our games, but who cares! It was awesome. I'll have a recap/photo post tomorrow!

Spelunking rules

Necklace: Anthropologie, lengthened by me
Top: Target
Skirt: handmade
Wedges: Shoe Carnival



You guys, I'm leaving for Washington in like 9 hours and here I am updating my blog! Ridiculous is what I am. I haven't even packed yet! I'm going for a bonspiel and while I'm there I'll be seeing some swell places (Library of Congress!) and hanging out with some college pals. I probably won't update while I'm gone, but I'll try to take outfit pictures and as with all my trips I'll have an Instagram/regular picture recap.



Regarding this outfit, all I have to say is that I counted to be sure and I was stopped by three totally random people today so they could fawn over my necklace. Sweet! Also, while taking these pictures someone pulled into the parking lot of this place, parked in the very corner and watched me. Creepy, but whatever, I'm doing nothing wrong! There were no "no trespassing" signs. Take nothing but pictures & leave nothing but footprints. Done and done. Seacrest out.

All I heard were shells

Necklace: wapa on Etsy
Cardigan: Target
Top: Banana Republic
Skirt: Walmart
Tights: Target
Wedges: Payless



No, those aren't bullet wounds on my arm. (Phew.) It's raining here in Cardiganland and I can't say I'm too sad about it--although I had to cancel a riding lesson with my trainer, I got some sewing done (my Halloween costume is going to be off the chain, y'all) and I got to sleep in! Can I get a what what?



How many times have I sounded like Vanilla Ice in this post? Only twice so far. That's kind of disappointing. How much do I look like Vanilla Ice? Only a little, which is also disappointing. I don't remember What his hair looked like but it was kind of tall, wasn't it? I'll work on that, but no, that's not my Halloween costume...so maybe I shouldn't work on that.