stripes + plaid = a glorious day to be alive & dressed

 shoes: forever21. skirt: american eagle outfitters. shirt: don't recall. cardigan: gap. necklace: gift. watch: target.

 This outfit was extremely comfortable and functional. I mean, look--I could even talk on the phone in it. (Because usually I wear stuff that doesn't allow for that kind of elbow-bendage or something? Please...)

Hey guys, it's Friend Friday! Today's topic is: goals, dreams, & aspirations. Aside from being able to decide what's for dinner every night (default: quesadillas. Guess how often we eat those guys?) (You may or may not have nailed it with "at least three times a week." I'll never tell), I have fairly simple aspirations. 

1. Fess up - if you could do anything professionally what would it be? I've always had a dream of being a librarian. But lately I wish I had a natural knack for interior design. What a dream job that would be.

2. What draws you to this? Beautiful spaces are inspiring to me, and I'd love to be able to actually create those. Combining and balancing color, texture, pattern, layout...it's all so awesome when done right.

3. When did you first start dreaming about this ideal? Maybe a year or two ago. But...I think I've gone off the wrong track in answering these questions again. That's a dream of something I would love to do but don't necessarily have the talent/ability to do it. So. Wee clarification.

4. What's holding you back from going all in? Oh, let's see: my shortage of taste, vision, ability, and skill, just to name a few. And, when I'm not basking in the view of beautiful spaces, really, being a mom is my #1 thing. And, bonus, I can be "successful" in momhood even if my house looks like a pigsty or is a throwback to the 90s or is a one-room-dirt-floored shack. As long as there are fresh homemade sweet rolls available on occasion. So.

5. Sometimes the first step is the hardest... what's one step you can take now on the way to realizing your dream? I enjoy home design blogs and magazines and books. I enjoy fiddling around in the building I'm lucky enough to call home. And I can bake sweet rolls while doing it. I think I'm probably living my dream.

Happy Friday!

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More Miu Miu...

bacon by any other name...

 shoes: converse brand. skirt: american eagle. shirt & bracelets: forever21. sash: off a shirt from kohl's. watch: target. earrings: hawaii.

Today's jumping-off point was EBEW's "pattern mixing" theme. You all probably know by now that I love me a mixed print or eight. In one ensemble. Which, really, if you took that exaggerative statemet literally, would be equivalent to a hole in one, a 3/4 court buzzer shot, and three Heath blizzards from DQ, all in the same day.

So far, I've only mastered the DQ blizzard, but that's okay because those puppies are delish. Do I feel a little white-trashy proclaiming that? Sure. But it's not that different from how I feel after settling in with a gigantic bowl o' popcorned butter to watch Swamp People and finding that, after awhile, I really don't even need the subtitles. If you've seen the show, you'll know what I mean.

So. Enough about you, let's talk about me. I like the irony of the girly pink satin bow/belt and the Chucks in this outfit. Unexpected & Maybe Awesome for me here. Like bacon in our salad for dinner last night. Something is definitely right in the world when everyone at the table is happily gobbling up salad as the main course, as long as that "something" is spelled B-A-C-O-N.

Happy Tuesday.

p.s. Ad slots are available for the coming month; contact me if you're interested! brittneynesmart [at] yahoo [dot] com

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More Converse...

a plaid skirt and a long-winded bit o' nothing

 shoes: cato brand. skirt: american eagle. belt: husband's. shirt: vintage/gift. bracelet: forever21. watch: target. earrings: hawaii.

I feel like I have nothing to say lately. 'Cept late at night, when my husband's trying to sleep, and I remember everything that ever happened to me...ever...and it comes bursting out of the dam we call my mouth. THEN I have stuff to say. And, lucky for him, it's suuuuper interesting and funny and insightful. Like play-by-plays of how each kid reacted at the dentist's, or how many packs of gum our toddler threw in the grocery cart, or how I finally lost that one toenail I knew I was going to lose.

As you can imagine, he's riveted to my every word during the course of such conversational fodder and probably bemoans the fact that in just a few short hours I'll run out of stuff to say and we'll have to go to sleep.

And if you can't see the sarcasmic slime oozing out from your computer screen, I just don't know what to tell you. Until 11 p.m., that is. Then I'll give you an earful.

Happy Friday!

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More Roberta Chiarella...

a whole lotta nothing

skirt: american eagle. shirt: j.crew. necklace: gift. bracelets: forever21 & burntsiena designs.

You know that song that goes, "Today I feel like not doing anything, I just want to stay here in bed" or whatever? He goes on to sing about how he's too lazy to get dressed or answer his phone...and then some inappropriate stuff that I had to change the channel on. 

Still, the idea of doing nothing remains. And, not to brag, but my day today makes THAT guy's day look like an 18-hour shift of intense ER-esque overtime. Me? All I have to show for today is the fact that I'm barefoot. Because our car is in the shop and is costing virtually $millions$ to get it repaired. So I'm shoeless and under house arrest. Both of which kind of make me a non-consumer and, thereby, a financial contributor to our household today.

My husband will be so proud.

Know how else I'm super helpful and frugal? I'm off to whip up some flour and water into dinner. Which may not sound delicious until I tell you this: it'll also have expired baking cocoa sprinkled on top. So. I just hope you're taking notes, people.

Happy Thursday.

Want this look? Shop below. You can disregard the shoes, but I'll be wearing similar footwear on my death march to the auto repair place...

More J.Crew...

stripes & plaid & a bit o' turquoise

  Once upon a time, I was pretty good at rhyming. I wrote insightful, lengthy, and often cleverly humorous poems. Today is not that day, as I finished my breakfast bagel mid-photo shoot and came up with this:

shoes & necklace: forever21. skirt: american eagle. shirt: gap. bracelet & earrings: hawaii.

I'm tired today, you guys. We've had lots and lots of face-time with Mr. Golden Sun lately. Which is 75% glorious, 10% "I really should be cleaning my house", and whatever-percentage-is-left-over split among the following:

(1) a peeling nose and hairline.

(2) makes me sweat and thereby smell like...what's the word...oh, right, sweat.

(addendum to 2) don't some people maintain that girls don't sweat, they "glow"? Liars.  

(3) tired. Srsly, I think my body needs 4 hours of nap per 1 hour of direct sunshine. Which means...welp, g'night.

I wish I could say the sun makes me hungry, too, and that would explain my recent tripling of appetite. But, unforch, I think the golden orb has nothing to do with that. Maybe I'll try blaming it on the moon and lunar tides and stuff instead. The ocean's only about 1000 miles away from where I live, y'know. Which is, like, an inch in the grand scheme of things.

Then it's settled. Just like the large bowl of ice cream in my belly.

Happy Wednesday.

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More Aqua...

keep a pastel skirt from floating away...

 shoes: ebay (cato brand). skirt: american eagle. jacket: kohl's. watch: target. bracelet: burntsiena designs. belt & necklace: forever21. undershirt & flower pin: downeast basics.

Happy Mothers Day! For today's photo shoot, and as part of her celebratory contribution, my 5-year-old wanted to decide on the poses and have me copy them for each shot. She tried to trick me and would switch it up at the last second. A delightful and entertaining time, even if the photos themselves didn't turn out the best (it's super dark and grey outside, so the lighting is...how shall I say...crappy in my house).

This week I'm grateful for:

- lindor chocolate truffles.

- and, on a related note, Mothers Day. Specifically for the kidlets that make the celebration personal for me. And for my own mama.

- rocking chairs.

- weeks when kids aren't sick.

- the magic of a pinata and the joy in the eyes of every kid reaping its pummel-induced bounty.

- the public library.

- my husband. He is a fabulous component of humankind.

- wearing a tank top on my jog!!! (translation: it was warm enough this week. finally!)

- references to King of Queens. That show = hilar.

- talking girl-talk over delicious cake with 2 of my closest girlfriends for "20 minutes." An hour (and a half?) later...

- non-nasty toothpaste.

- books. A glorious stack of endless books that bespeaks giddiness when I get a chance to read them.

Happy Sunday!

how much sleep would a big sheep reap if a big sheep could reap sleep?

Going on about 5 hours of sleep over the last 72 hours, here, guys. So. Be kind.

 shoes: head over heels. skirt: banana republic. shirt: american eagle. necklaces: gift. bracelet: burntsiena design (more on this lovely thing later). belt: thrifted. cardigan: rue21. undershirt: downeast basics.

Rare outdoor shots. They're not great. I recognize this. But it's so blissfully springified that I don't care. Rather, I send you my heartfelt apologies...and a shoulder shrug.

Annnnd...I think it worked. Mental note to next year, I guess?

It's Friend Friday. So, without further ado (or any ado, for that matter...should I be adding some more ado?), here are the questions and my answers...feel free to check out others' responses here.

April 1: Rules of Engagement -- blogging etiquett, unwritten "rules" to help new bloggers, etc.

1. Guest posts are a good way to gain new exposure. What do you think is the appropriate way to go about securing a guest spot? Good question. I don't know; I've never solicited myself as a guest poster. I'm happy to do it (and have obliged others when they've asked me), but I just never really thought about trying to secure one. If this question is referring to asking someone to guest-post on my blog, well, I've never done that, either. I'm helpful, I know.

2. Leaving comments is essential to growing your blog. But how can you leave a comment without coming across as ‘Follow Me. Follow Me!’? Those types of comments don't get published on my blog because they're...how do I put it diplomatically...annoying. When visiting others' blogs, I will say something genuine in every comment I leave--a response to their text, their outfit, their photos. If I can say something funny, all the better. Then I'll leave my URL and sometimes a brief invite to stop by my blog. I don't even bring up the "following" bit in my comments, though. Seems a little tacky.

3. We’ve all gotten a mass email at one time or another asking for blog exposure, a link exchange, etc… But the mass emails don’t work. How do you make your email stand out from the crowd? Heh...I actually haven't gotten one of these... I'm popular like that.

4. In interacting with other bloggers where do you draw the line between seeking support and begging for exposure? Don't get me wrong, I love leaving comments and supporting other bloggers (and I love it when others do the same for me--it's a community, after all), but I simply ignore the fake stuff that comes my way. And I myself am not fake ('cept for two teeth), so I'm safe that way.

5. What’s one rule of engagement error you made and how have you remedied that? I wrote an entire post in response to an unkind Anonymous comment, which now I can't even remember what it was. That was an over-the-top reaction (even though the post was, in my opinion, funny), and I've learned to scale back my knee-jerk response of taking things personally. Don't know if that answers the question, but there you have it. A lesson.

Happy happy Friday!

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More New York & Co....

To market to market...

Raise your hand if you have a bajillion things to do today. Or touch your nose if you're too lazy to raise your hand but still have lots to do. Or, fine, will you at least mentally acknowledge that today's to-do list is long but you're drawn to your laptop (and, consequently, this post) like a moth to the bug-zapper light? [Editor's note: No, but seriously, have you ever watched a bug-zapper in action? It's, like, 15% disturbing, 60% awesome, and whatever-percentage-is-left mesmerizing. You should try it sometime.]

ANYway. Now that we've established that we're all busy people today (or, for those of you who've fallen asleep during this exercise, established that we have other more important things to do today than read this), let's get to it.

Today's jumping-off point is a little surprising. Because nothing in this outfit looks like it goes together. Which is why I think the whole thing is Unexpected & Maybe Awesome. But I started with this striped sweater. I don't wear it too much because it's long and horizontally striped and, therefore, makes my naturally square torso look suspiciously like a refrigerator box.

But the colors are warm, casual, comfortable, and quite inducive to doing a lot of errandy-type things. Which, as we've established, today's schedule is chock-full of. Plus, I was feeling a little rebellious today. Maybe it's the fact that this is the last day I'll ever live as a 30-year-old. Or the fact that Santa has obviously assembled his nice/naughty lists already, so what the heck, let's break some rules. But either way, I wanted to mix some patterns and colors.

[Editor's note: That's not the extent of my rebelliousness, you die-hards. Stop rolling your eyes at me. I may or MAY NOT have rinsed off my crusty breakfast dishes before putting them in the dishwasher this morning, either. And the day is still young, too, sooooo... don't judge too hastily. This girl can get cuh-raaazyeeee...]

So. Patterns: stripes, plaid, flowery/butterfly-y. There really is no reason or method for putting them together. But I think they're tied together nicely with some purple tights, brown leather belt, and some brown boots. I actually like the end result. I feel like, "hey, kids, go ahead and wipe your pnut-butter-encrusted-fingers on me today...it'll form a pattern on my clothes and fit right in." And, frankly, I like that kind of carefree.

Now, you'll have to excuse me. I'm off to do more rebellious things. Like, maybe NOT dusting a bookshelf that desperately needs it. Mwhwhahahahahaaaa...

Happy Thursday.