Comments (3)

By kilax, May 4, 2012 7:15 am

The winner of the Starry Pendant Giveaway is Amy! Amy, please email me your mailing address (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) and I will send it your way!

Comments (15)

By kilax, May 1, 2012 6:11 am

When my mom and sister came out here to go shopping for new work clothes, I took them to the outlet mall in Wisconsin so we would have a huge variety of stores to look at for both of them. Okay, and because we were looking for deals.

Anyway, my sister and I went in to Christopher & Banks and grabbed a ton of stuff for my mom to try on. We probably spent 20 minutes browsing then another 25 minutes with my mom trying on clothes.

We were about to check out and leave when my mom and sister noticed a rack with a bunch of cute things in Christina’s size. So she tried on clothes. Then I tried on some stuff. Then we checked out. Then we noticed more stuff. So we tried on more stuff. And checked out again.

Ha ha. I have no idea how long we were there, but thankfully, we were the only customers and the lady at the register did not mind our multiple transactions!

My sister and I were both really surprised that Christopher & Banks had clothes we liked. It was supposed to be our little secret that we got stuff there. Sorry, Christina! I ended up with jeggings and a red sweater (22 and 24 here). I could go on about how owning jeggings makes me feel very weird, but whatever.

ANYWAY!

My sister pointed out this really cute Starry Pendant to me, so I picked up one to giveaway!

Starry Pendant Giveaway Rules

1. One reader will receive a Starry Pendant necklace, seen in the photo above. 
2. Required to enter the giveaway: tell me if you were ever surprised to find things you liked in a certain store OR if there are certain stores you avoid when shopping for clothes (because they do not fit your style).
3. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Thursday May 3.  I will announce the winner on Friday May 4. 
4. This giveaway is open to all readers. 

Comments (45)

By kilax, April 30, 2012 6:12 am

When I originally got the idea in my head to do the April Fashion Challenge, I thought the challenge would be not wearing the same outfit twice. But I have a lot of clothes. So that was not a challenge.

The real challenge ended up being to try to dress nice each day and not wear the same outfits twice. So that was hard. Because I am at home A LOT. I actually find it easier to dress nicely when I go in the office.  But if you look at the photos below, only the photos taken indoors represent days I was in the office. So for the month of April, that is 11 days (there were 21 business days in April). The photos taken outside represent days that I worked from home, had the day off, or was a weekend.

So. Most of the struggle was looking decent at home, while not repeating outfits (and I tried not to repeat outfits I have already put on the blog from other months, but some bits and pieces were borrowed). Let’s take a look at the outfits, and I will share my lessons learned (you can click on the photos to see them larger)!

Outfits I loved: 2, 7, 13, 15, 17
Oufits I don’t think did me any favors: 3, 6, 8, 12, 24, 26
Outifts that made me look like a librarian: 11
Outfits that made me look like a sexy librarian: 2
Outfits inspired by the 90s: 10, 14
Outfits I immediately changed out of after seeing how awful they looked on camera: 26 
Outfits that made me want to drive a motorcycle: 27 
Outfits that are not to be confused with me giving up, but are aiding in long run recovery: 29 

For fun: nail polishes rocked out during this time (all OPI):

Lessons Learned:

• I had fun thinking of different outfits to wear, and do like wearing things that are a bit on the crazy side. 
• Some days were just a pain to think of an outfit that wasn’t just jeans and a t-shirt (see: 27, 29) though.
• Getting dressed sure does take a lot longer when you care about what you are wearing.
• I have a lot of shoes, but none that I really like. And I don’t really care for shoes. As you can see, there was not much of a shoe variety.
• Steven confirmed his awesomeness by taking these photos each day.
• I definitely have a self-imposed wardrobe – skirt or dress, jacket or cardigan, belt. 
• I have no idea how to style my hair and hardly wear makeup (this is more of a reminder than lesson learned).
• Trying to dress cute on the weekends made me feel better about myself.
• Putting on something to “nice” wear after a long run is not… natural. 
• There are tons of outfits in my closet waiting to be discovered.
• A lot of my older clothes can still be accessorized to look current (in my mind?).
• Trying to dress nice each day made me notice other people’s outfits more.
• It also made me want to shop more. A few of these things were purchased during the month of April: yellow cardigan (7, 16, 25), waist belt (7, 25), white cardigan (9), blue blazer (10, 21), pink Star Wars top (10), waist belt (11), orange pleather jacket (14, 27), blue top (15), white belt (15, 16), blue top II (17), jean skirt (15, 18), purple cardigan (20), pink belt (21), red sweater – gift (22), gray jeggings (22, 28), black jeggings (24), We Run Chicago top (29). Ugh. That is a lot. Uhh… but at least I am mixing with things I already have?
• I still have a lot of stuff in my closet I did not wear (any of these dresses…). 
• Dressing nicer got me lots of compliments.

Hmm, I think that is enough lessons learned for now.

So what do you guys think? Should I do it again? I think I would like to do it now without buying anything new. Maybe only accepting gifts. Ha ha ha. 

Which outfits are your favorites and least favorites? (keep in mind the photo quality is not perfect on some, as all pictures were taken with my iPhone and I did not do any editing to any of them).

Comments (11)

By kilax, April 25, 2012 6:12 pm

I wore a dress today that I got in high school. 

Is anyone else rockin’ clothes from back in the day?

I think the dress is a bit out of style but I paired it with a cardigan and belt and that seemed to work. 

What amazes me is that I still fit in to it. I was probably a lot lower in weight when I got it. I am heavier now, but it’s all muscle. Right…

Comments (46)

By kilax, April 23, 2012 6:38 am

• My mom, sister and her fiancé visited. My mom and sister both have new jobs (!!!) and need new work clothes – time for some shopping, y’all!

• Steven made homemade cinnamon rolls Saturday morning.

• We ate lunch at El Famous Burrito.
• My mom found a ton of cute outfits (click photos to see larger)! My sis did too, no pics though. They got major deals on everything!

    

• Cute (man-made material) boots for moi. Only $15. Holla!

• I tried this on to be funny. Am I cursed now?

• I found a major deal on this Under Armour shirt that I HAD TO HAVE for me – on the back it says “RAIN. SNOW. SLEET. WIND. BRAVE THE RUN.” (Click images below to see larger)

 

This shirt is perfect for me because I am always out running in the crazy elements. The only thing that keeps me in is lightening, dangerous ice and bad visibility (okay, and broken garage doors). Do you feel like that describes you too? If it does… you can enter a giveaway to win this shirt! Hey, if it does not describe you, and you want it to, enter as well! Or… just enter! Even if you are male – maybe you have a female friend who would like it!

Under Armour Brave the Run Women’s Tee Giveaway Rules

1. Four readers will receive an Under Armour Brave the Run Women’s Tee. There are four to giveaway – one in each size – S, M, L and XL. For reference, I am wearing a medium. This is a HeatGear® shirt and meant to be loose but I liked it more fitted. 
2. Required to enter the giveaway: you must tell me which size of shirt (S, M, L or XL) you are entering to win AND tell me if you had to run in one of these elements (rain, snow, sleet or wind) which you would choose.
3. For an extra entry, link to this giveaway on your blog and leave me an additional comment telling me you did so. 
4. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Wednesday April 25. I will probably write names on paper and draw the winner by hand. I will announce the winner on Thursday April 26. 
5. This giveaway is open to all readers. 

Comments (25)

By kilax, April 19, 2012 6:29 am

• Something about the photos Steven has been taking for my end of April fashion post give me the impression he is getting a bit tired of taking them. I just can’t pinpoint what it is…

• April fashion post wise, yesterday was the first time I changed out of what I was wearing from the photo. I had a jean skirt on, but it was quite cold in our house so I put on sweat pants and a fleece jacket. Today was the first time I wore an outfit I have worn before (in March) – the outfit I had in mind for today just didn’t quite work out. I am still having fun trying to be creative with my wardrobe, but sometimes the things I imagine look good in my head really don’t when I try them on.
• I thought you guys would like to know that I found some shorts. Erin took me shopping on Saturday. I tried shorts on a Gap, Eddie Bauer and Old Navy (in that order). I have to admit, I was disappointed when the very first ones we tried on at the Gap were not winners. But! I like the Eddie Bauer ones. And they were only $16.99 each, holla! Ignore the fact that my shirt is too tight (also ignore that I have this shirt on in the photo above, and while you are at it, ignore how tired I look in those pics – I did just wake up from a nap when Steven took them on Sunday):

• We had wine to celebrate our shopping success. I am still a lightweight. But! My 20-miler the next day was a success.

• I worked from home yesterday and decided to take a nap during my lunch break. Even thought it was during my allotted lunch break, it felt wrong. And it didn’t really make me feel any better. But damn, I am so tired lately! The only thing that seems to give me energy is moving (working out, standing up, etc.). Maybe next time during lunch I will take Data on a walk. In the meantime, I can always count on him to be my nap buddy.

• A few weeks ago, when Steven was working from home (and I was downtown) he heard some derphole drive through our neighborhood and crash in to something. This tree. Wth. That tree is right before the curved part of the street, as in, you should be slowing down to follow the curve. What the heck was this guy doing? I was impressed that he stayed there and called the cops, but I am still sad that we have one less tree in our already cookie cutter young (tree) suburban neighborhood.

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (32)

By kilax, April 12, 2012 4:17 am

• I am getting in to the waist belt craze, you know, a couple years late, like normal. I keep picking up size large belts and thinking “Wow! This belt is too big! I must be getting smaller!” Uhh… no, Kim. It is because you are wearing it at your waist and not your hips. Ha ha ha!
• Speaking of belts, I need some ideas for how to store mine. Where do you put yours?

• This is my awesome leg tan as of last Sunday. Oh yeah… As Steven said to me “Calling them ‘sexy tan lines’ does not make them sexy.” Ha!

• I decided I must have these shoes. They are in style, right?
• I have an unhealthy obsession with banana chips. When we were in Iowa for my dad’s retirement party, I bought a huge bag of them in bulk. The bag lasted 6 days. Then I saw banana chips at ALDI on Monday and bought four bags. I wish I would have bought more.

• Also on Monday, I happened upon the clearance Easter candy section at Target and found these bad boys (Brach’s Jelly Chicks & Rabbits). I bought two bags in case they turned out to be awesome. They did. I wish I would have bought more.

• What is the point of these hanger strap things in t-shirts? You are not tricking me in to thinking your clothes are high quality, H&M!

• I wasted 30 minutes last night (when I should have been sleeping) ironing a (impossible to iron) shirt (that I don’t even like) so I could wear it today and use it in my April fashion challenge. Here is the kicker – I am working from home today. Only Steven and my therapist will see me. Steven saw me ironing and said “Ooo, are you dressing up for me tomorrow?” I am not sure if fashion is worth the frustration of ironing a cotton top that is made of a zillion pieces. 

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.

Comments (20)

By kilax, April 11, 2012 5:45 am

My nail polish does not match my outfit today.

But that’s okay, because my outfit doesn’t really match my outfit today:

I seem to be getting very adventurous (for me) with my April fashion challenge… thing. I’ve been wearing some funky stuff, and today, shocker, even trying pattern mixing!

Pattern mixing scares me. When I think about it, all I can picture is models in fashion magazines mixing florals with stripes and oriental prints and that just looks so blah to me. But I can deal with mixing two patterns of black & white. And as for the nail polish thing… well, it used to really bother me when my nail polish did not exactly match my outfit. But now, I am just painting those babies to keep them out of my mouth, so whatever color is on there is perfect for me!

Have you tried pattern mixing? Do you care if your nail polish perfectly matches your outfit?

The other thing about nail polish is that if it’s done right, it should last a few days, so it would be annoying to plan a few days of outfits around them matching your polish! Ha ha. 

Comments (43)

By kilax, April 9, 2012 4:48 am

Yesterday I decided to depress myself by digging my shorts out of my closet and trying them on. 

They still don’t fit. 

The ones I bought, oh, three summers ago?!

You know… never worn? Are these even still in style?

I haven’t worn (non-running) shorts for a few summers. I just wear these stupid capris (photo from 7/8/11). Because they fit. But they look stupid. 

I am going to wear normal shorts this summer, dammit! But now the question is… do I try to lose 15 pounds to fit in to these (not a bad idea, I need to lose weight…) or go through the pain and suffering of shopping for shorts?

What would you do – buy new shorts or try to fit in to the ones you have? Does anyone else have a shorts dilemma?

Seriously, I need to lose weight, so this is not a bad idea for motivation. It probably won’t work as motivation, but it’s a good idea. 

Also, other things that made me feel a bit sad this weekend – old photos from college. I was trying to clear some space on my external hard drive for new photos and I deleted some photos from Europe taken by my classmates (mostly random shots I am not in). I was in a few photos, looking awkward…

That’s me all the way on the left, in Barcelona, having the time of my life. Not. Seriously, I am not anti-social or shy, but I did not really connect with anyone in college. Not in that “best girlfriend” sort of way. You can tell by how I am sitting with these people that I felt like I didn’t belong. Awkward…

This whiny posts makes me sound like I had a sad weekend. I didn’t. It was quite nice! I just wanted to share these two thoughts. 

Comments (19)

By kilax, April 5, 2012 6:20 am

Mostly running related… er… oops. 

• The new winner for the 13.1 Chicago [Half] Marathon is Cary! Cary, please send me an email (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) and I will send you the info on signing up.
• Also! If you have not already registered for the 13.1 Chicago [Half] Marathon or accompanying Karhu 5K, here is a $5 off registration code – 131BLG5. Register here! The code expires 4/22.
• I really liked Erin’s post on Tuesday about making running FUN. This post came at the perfect time, as that is my goal with running right now. And I plan on accomplishing it by being more of a social runner, and actually using my running club membership. So far I am off to a good start. I ran with Maggie Tuesday night (had a blast!) and some club members Wednesday am. I’ll run with Katie on Saturday. What makes running fun for you?

Photo from Maggie – don’t we look like Runner’s World cover models?

• Of course, my other goal with being more of a social runner is to forget about pace (which I generally don’t worry about too much anyway) and just run the pace of the group. But! I do plan on signing up to run with some fasties too. So we’ll see what that does. 
• Guys, I need your input. I am not sure what to do with my Sunday Training posts. I’ve been keeping them for a few years, as I like to use them as a log of what I am doing, and also for reference (What should I wear when it’s 19°F? How much water will I need when it’s 85°F?). BUT – they are getting so damn boring. I enjoy writing them as the week goes by, but I don’t even feel like proof-reading them. They’re too long! I have a few ideas on how to shorten the training posts. What information would you want me to keep in them? Photos, pace, weather, how the run felt…? Something else? Nothing? 
• Last April I tried doing the monthly fashion challenge but lost interest in it after we had a death in the family and I got kind of depressed. Er… anyway, I am trying it again! I have been taking pictures of my outfits each day to post one large “30 Days of April Outfits” post at the end of the month. I wasn’t going to mention it because I though that would make it not happen (see goals post). Hmm, but I guess I just did. So, the goal with this is to wear something different every day. And my personal goal is not to look like a slob on the days I don’t have to go in to the office. 

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.