Jobs, Babies, and Monopods

red knot shirt: Express, black lacey vest: Old Navy, black and white circle skirt: George (Walmart), maryjanes: Payless

Lots of highlights to hit on today! 

1.  I'm LOVING the Outfit Inspiration Calendar the longer I do it!  I thought I'd get bored with it by now, but it is actually the opposite of boring--it really forces me to take a good hard look in my closet and come up with new ways to wear pieces, or at least rework pieces in my closet to make new outfit!  Thanks again, Kimberly, for all your efforts with the calendar!

2.  Congratulations to Leila for her wonderful news last week!  She is going to be the newest (and possibly best) speech pathologist at MD Anderson in Houston.  I'm sure a few of you have heard of MD Anderson.  Its a wonderful hospital, and will be even better once Leila is on board.  Leila = Smarty Pants!

3.  Welcome to my newest family member (we'll just call her a cousin), Taylor Clarice!  Congratulations, Joyce, Nathan and Dylan for that bright new little girl in your lives!  We can't wait to meet her! :)

4.  So, I've known I needed to order a tripod for a while.  I want to take quality pictures like most of you do without having to ask people to take them for me.  I want to be able to go to the park to take pictures like Andie or outdoorsy pictures like Danielle, and of course, the ultimate dream is gorgeous pics like The Pioneer Woman (ha), but I think my first step is acquiring a tripod.  That being said, I can't really go out and blow $100 on the kind I want (you know, the kind that is 6 feet tall and will capture my equally tall body), and I just don't know if I should spend like $30 on a shorter one without knowing if it will work.  So I have been debating this for a while, but the main problem is just that I won't GO BUY ONE.  So, last Friday, I'm searching for them online to check them out again (for the eleventy-thousandth time) and see a...monopod.

I tell myself that there is no way this will work...I am a smart girl, I graduated from college, I realize that something with one tiny leg can not stand on its own.  Then I read the reviews, and I SWEAR, they tell me how some centrivical force of balance and nature and sci-fi lets this monopod balance a camera (as long as its under 5 pounds).  Best part?  Its only $16.

So, against my better judgement, I order it.  It amazingly came in today.  One-half of me is thrilled to open it, but the other half knows that I have misunderstood the reviews and that this one...stick...cannot possibly stand on its own to take a picture.

And it doesn't.  Turns out, its used to help improve your camera and video shots from shaking and swaying due to our natural inability to stand perfectly still.  I'm forced to supply the other two legs...namely, my own, in order for this to balance the camera.  So, needless to say (unless, you know, you're thinking of ordering one), its not made for self-portraits.

So, the lesson is, Dear Readers, I really did try to improve my pictures for you and for me.  But even I can't compete with gravity.

So, the way I see it now, I have two options:  Suck it up and buy the tripod, or invest in a part time photographer.  Hmm.

Go Red for Women!

Brown t-shirt: Cato, red knotted shirt: Express, denim skinny jeans: Express, brown boots: Old Navy

Today’s outfit asked for us to Go Red For Women in Skinnies and a Vest. Well, I only have one vest, and I wore it on Tuesday. I just never jumped on the cotton vest bandwagon—I never really thought they looked flattering on me, unless I was going for the grandpa vibe, which I only go for about once a month anyway 

So, I wore my skinny jeans, and I wore a red undershirt, and I figured that layering a shirt over my red one still stayed in the spirit of the vest game.

And look, the old ribbon as a headband trick:

It’s Friday!! We are having some people over for the Super Bowl, and Leila is coming too…I’m going to force her to help me cook, of course!!

Working Through Lunch

Black cardigan: Sweaterworks/TJ Maxx, red knotted shirt: Express, gray and silver striped pants: New York & Co.

I'm working through lunch today because I have a doctor's appointment I have to leave a little early for this afternoon. I'm taking the time to eat a sandwich really quickly here though (yum!) and thought I would update this while doing so.

I had to wear some form of pants today because I've been up and down on the floor marking federal land sales, but I didn't want to look like I was slumming at my doctor's appointment so I broke out these pants. They are probably more of a winter fabric than a summer fabric, but I tend to wear them all year long because they are loose and comfy. I never feel particularly stylish in them, but they just feel like lovely lounge pants for work! Plus, they come out of the dryer wrinkle-free, so I rarely have to iron them!

And who could resist throwing on some color-coordinated ladybugs when given the opportunity?!

In knots this morning

Red sleeveless shirt--Express; Khaki skinny-leg pants--Victoria's Secret; Black w/ Silver Flats--Walmart; Earrings--Gift from Mom & Dad

I have had a crazy day today. I've been incredibly busy and migrainey and in a bad mood, so I'm lucky to get this up today. Last night I hand-washed an entire bathtub full of bras, so this outfit was based on one of my new bras (and hence, one that didn't need to be washed)--a racerback--so I wore a shirt that fits well with that type of bra. My bra straps aren't constantly slipping! (My eyes are closed in this picture because I'm embarrassed by myself for writing about my unmentionables!)

And, I may be terrible at tying bows, but I'm great at tying knots!!

Remember the day I said I was going to wear my straight-leg khaki pants with my black flats, but they had a mysterious oil streak on them? This is them! And they are sparkly and clean :)