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By kilax, October 6, 2011 6:12 am

When shopping in a store for clothing, do you always try the item on before you purchase it? Or do you sometimes just throw it in the cart and think “I’ll just see if it works when I get home?”

Apparently, if it’s on the clearance rack, I just try it on when I get home. I saw this dress in my size at Target* for $10 and thought I would give it a try. I didn’t think I would be able to wear it this year, but it’s supposed to be 80°F today, so a dress it is! (Note: the dress is actually dark blue)

Would you believe there is someone in my office who gives me grief when I wear a dress to work? Just because they don’t like to wear dresses. Well, for now, I think they are comfortable and fun. Maybe my opinion will change as I get older.

I don’t have much else to say, except I could have saved this for a Friday Question and WHY THE HELL IS SOMEONE PAINTING THEIR NAILS ON THE TRAIN?!?! Yuck! The smell bothers me when it’s my own nails at home!

*You should know that when I write Target, I am saying it in my head as “Tarjay.”

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By kilax, September 27, 2011 6:22 am

I was going to wait until our new camera* came today to show you my new scarves from Erin, but I am incredibly impatient… so BlackBerry photos it is!

Awhile ago Erin was browsing The Limited website and saw this scarf (below) she thought would go perfectly with this top from Banana Republic. She was right! I love that top (if it wasn’t so expensive I would buy it in every color). And I love the scarf! 

When she sent me the link I asked if she thought any scarves would go with this other blue top from Banana Republic. I like the top, but felt like I was “all chest” in it, and I didn’t have a decent necklace to make it look better (plus, the wrap makes weird lines across my body). 

I think the blue scarf really helps the top!

Thanks again, Erin!

So, here’s a little piece of information that shows how little I know about fashion – I have only ever tied scarves one way – slip loop style**. I only have two other scarves that I wear! A cat one and another blue one (duh, I am just realizing now I could have tried that one with this blue top). And I always wear them in a slip loop. 

Well, The Limited scarves came with a handy dandy guide on “Fashionable Ways to Wear a Scarf.” So I have been trying the adjustable knot style.

click either guide (here or below) to see larger

And I remembered I saved this page of scarf ideas from the October 2008 issue of Women’s Health. It would be fun to try the “casual triangle” with a square scarf!

Can you believe I pulled this from a magazine almost three years ago and have never used it though?! Lame! Lame lame lame. 

Erin and I were discussing how scarves can be kind of expensive. We’re planning on going to Transworld’s Jewely, Fashion and Accessories show in October to check out the scarves there (and jewelry! and accessories! ha ha). 

What is your favorite place to buy scarves/accessories/jewelry? Any recommendations on places to buy inexpensive (decent) scarves?

It seems like a lot of my jewelry came from NY&Company! I used to shop there a lot. Not so much anymore. 

*Another Canon ELPH, in orange! Oh, and it has all the features I wanted too. I am really happy I can afford a new (minimalist) camera right now.
**I only know that it is called slip loop from the guide that came with the scarves!

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By kilax, September 16, 2011 1:37 pm

Today’s the day… Judgement Day… the day I have to wear jeans for the first time after being free from them all summer long. The summer was too hot (in my opinion) for jeans, so I haven’t had them on since Erin* helped me pick out a pair in the beginning of May!

I am always nervous about putting jeans on for the first time in the fall. What if they don’t fit? I mean, I have gained a few pounds overall since May. But…

they fit!!! YAY! And they feel good! I love Eddie Bauer jeans.

Okay… am I the only one who worries if their jeans will fit after not wearing them all summer? It is somewhat possible that I am being completely bizarre right now.

And can I just say – I feel so cozy today with the cool weather. YAY fall-like weather!!!

*Yes, Erin has put together most of my wardrobe, including this oufit. What can I say? The girl’s got taste… and I sure don’t!

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By kilax, August 11, 2011 12:38 pm

• The sleep support helped with my plantar fasciitis! I woke up with no pain and have felt great so far today! I did have to figure out how to adjust it so my foot didn’t go numb, but I didn’t mind sleeping in it once I figured it out. Hopefully I am on the road to recovery.
• The women’s bathroom on my floor at work is being remodeled so I have to go one floor below (or two above) mine. Apparently this means I wait until the last minute to go, then I quite often get stopped by someone to chat on my way down there. Pretty soon I am going to be doing the “I have to pee” dance in the hallways if this keeps happening.
• I’ve had a $200 Banana Republic gift card for two years and had only used $15 on it! Who does that?! Do you have any really old gift cards? We still have some from our September 2007 wedding! I decided it was a shame I hadn’t used the Banana Republic one and asked Erin to help me pick out some new clothes (Thanks a million to Erin!). Ta da:

• Does anyone else have a million and one mosquito bites? Wah, I am so itchy.
• We booked our November flight to New York City last week! We were able to get (imo) a very decent price on the flight, and because we are staying with friends, we can stay for quite some time. And my sister and her boyfriend are going to be there as well (but staying in the city). Can’t wait!
• Speaking of travel, my passport is not up to date (it has my maiden name on it) and it makes me feel so trapped. Not that I travel out of the country much, but that’s how it makes me feel! Steven and I plan to renew our passports this fall.

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By kilax, August 9, 2011 4:54 pm

Ugh, I noticed on my walk to the train that Ann Taylor already has fall clothes up in the display windows. No! I don’t want summer to end. But this top is cute. What a neat neckline. And I could use some more red shirts (and why is this top up with the fall clothes if it doesn’t have sleeves?).

I actually have a love/hate relationship with the summer (heat). I want it to be really hot when I visit my family on the Mississippi River, but running in the heat makes me miss the cold weather*. Oh well. The best part about being out of school is that I don’t have to dread going back to school at the end of summer. I am in control of my time now (kind of)!

In April, I made a “this summer, I will…” list. I haven’t done everything on my list, but it’s not too late!

What do you want to do before summer ends**?

*I do feel like I have improved my hot weather running a ton this year. Not how well I perform, but how hard it feels.
**It my mind, summer is half a state of mind/half weather. It ends when I feel like it’s over or when the weather gets freaking cold – whichever happens first.

Comments (26)

By kilax, July 21, 2011 5:24 am

Ha! Another week of random thoughts:

• Yesterday when Steven was picking me up at the train station, a man approached him (as I was walking to the car) and asked Steven to help him with directions to a nearby hospital/clinic. Steven told the man how to get there, then he said thanks, and that he would walk the 3 miles to the hospital. We got in to our car and I said, “Don’t you think we should offer than man a ride?” It seemed risky (since we had no idea who he was), but with the temps near 100° and it being so frickin’ humid, I thought we should offer. We did, and he accepted. It’s a good thing we helped him because he had the address wrong anyway! If he would have walked, he would have gone a mile or so in the wrong direction. So, this guy took Metra 20 miles north to visit his friend who was ill, and was going to walk to the hospital. My oh my. I could tell he was European by his accent. He is probably used to public transportation being more readily available (or just used to all that walking) – I know I relied on it when I lived in Italy. Anyway, would you have offered him a ride?
• Okay, me telling that story totally reminds me of the time I got me and a friend from Verona to Paris with very little planning except having plane tickets. We ended up riding from the airport (60 miles away from Paris) in to the city with a man and his wife that I met on the plane. Wow (You can read about that adventure here, Feb 3 post) would you have done that (got in the car with two strangers)?
• I got my hair cut yesterday. When I sat down and the stylist started combing my hair she asked “Do you straighten your hair?” I said I used to, but haven’t for months. Then she said “Do you dye your hair a lot?” And I said “No… why?”  “Well, your hair is incredibly dry.” Great. Thanks. I don’t even do damaging things to my hair (straighten it, blow dry it, or dye it) and it still looks like crap. Wah wah wah.
• Brian had to cancel our strength session today. I am bummed! That was going to be my only strength workout this week. I look forward to them. Wah.
• I read Dead Until Dark while I was on travel (Erin loaned in to me in the winter). Look at me, reading books – woo hoo (it takes me forever to read a book these days)! Anyway, it’s the first in the Sookie Stackhouse books that the show True Blood is based on. I thought it was a fun read, and interesting (but I am not in love with the book or anything). Anyone else read the books or like the show?
• Oops. I should have read the instructions to my antibiotics before taking them (I didn’t read them until last night). I was totally out in the sun for a long time on Tuesday and have been taking the meds with my vitamins. Antibiotic FAIL.



• Anyone else running in this heat? I went out on Tuesday night in Louisville and put in 5 fun miles. I’ll probably be out there today too.
• I saw this note (below) where I started my run on Tuesday. It was on this plaque about Lewis & Clark. I almost feel like I should submit it to passiveaggressivenotes.com (does someone want to for me?).





• This is the first post in a long time that I have had ready to publish the night before! All of my posts used to be that way. Now they all seem to be on the fly. Do you have your posts pre-written and scheduled to publish?

Comments (15)

By kilax, July 20, 2011 5:37 pm

Last year when I was shopping at Kohl’s with my mom (for a Workout in the Park outfit for her) I stumbled across these bermuda length workout shorts. I didn’t think anything of it, but I used them the next day at the workout and feel in love with them.

They’re perfect for me – they’re long enough to cover my somewhat jiggly thighs, and they also keep my thighs from chafing when I run! The only drawback is that they get really heavy when you run in them in the pouring rain, but that has only happened once.

Anyway, once I found out how much I liked them, I went back to Kohl’s to get another pair. They didn’t have any. We drove by another Kohl’s later on in the month and I looked – they had one pair in my size, in gray. I got them even though I knew they would have sweat stains when I wear them (they totally do -I’ll spare you that picture).  Another month later I was very far from my home and stopped at another Kohl’s and scored another black pair – now I was up to three. But I couldn’t find anymore. Even online. Why do I need so many pairs of workout shorts? Well, I get really sweaty in the summer, so I can’t wear them more than once. And sometimes I workout more than once a day!

I looked for something similar and never found anything even close, so I stuck with the three pairs. That is, until I wandered in to Kohl’s this past Saturday to get my new luggage, and found a pair! In the wrong size. I had hope they would have my size online, and they did (but in a different style pattern – weird)! And only $16.80 a pair (plus you know I had a coupon). So, I did what any sane person would do, and ordered four pairs. Good thing I did – now they don’t have my size online anymore (but if you are an XS, S or M, here is the link)!

They came today, and they are perfect. YAY!

I know I am dorky to share this, but what can I say?! I was excited! And if anyone else is looking for this style of short… now you know where to (maybe) get them.

What type of workout shorts do you prefer to wear?

I can’t wear the bun warmer type ones. Maybe someday (ha)!

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By kilax, July 14, 2011 7:10 am

I’ve had a lot of random thoughts that aren’t amounting to full blog posts lately so here are the snippets:

• If your neighbors were outside being loud past 10:00 pm and you couldn’t sleep, would you do something about it? Would you try to talk to them or just call the police? I cannot tell you how many times we have had to call the police to tell our idiot neighbors to STFU. We tried to talk to them once and Steven was verbally assaulted so the cops have just told us to call them and not communicate with our neighbors. Will do. Had to last night. Sigh.
• Do any of your family members blogs? My sister started a blog this week. I will let her share it in the comments if she wants.
• I’ve noticed a lot of my tops and dresses are wrap tops or have belts/ribbons to tie around the waist. What’s up with that?



• I am on work travel next week, then on vacation for a whole week then in training the next week… meaning I don’t have to do downtown all that much for awhile. WOO HOO! I am so sick of the train commute.
• We are going on a short vacation to New York City!
• I was able (schedule-wise) to run track last night – my first time meeting with the club. We did 3×800. I am not sure if I should be happy I was able to run the paces I did, being so fat, or if I should be disappointed in myself for being so inconsistent, and fat. I run so much faster  (and it’s easier!) when I am slimmer. But I have known that for a long time and done nothing about it, so, yeah.
• Holy crap this book makes me cry (picture below). Why do animal stories always do that to me? Damn you, Dewey!

Comments (12)

By kilax, July 7, 2011 5:42 pm

Last week, Kandi commented on my Skirts for the summer post that most of her skirts are black and white. Me too, Kandi. Me too. I counted – out of my 13 skirts, 7 of them are black and white, 1 is all black, and 1 is black and red. And most of my dresses are black too. I hope that doesn’t say anything about my personality!

What color do you have the most of hanging up in your closet? Now, which color do you wear the most?

I noticed most of my work tops are black, gray or white (and green seemed to be the most represented color):

but I think I wear purple the most, and yes black.

In my workout clothes, I have mostly blue and pink:

and I definitely wear pink the most! That is for sure.

For street clothes, it seems I have a lot of reds, pinks and oranges:

but really, I usually pick one shirt and wear it all weekend, unless I am going to be with the same people all weekend, or get sweaty. I usually wear the same two teal shirts over and over that I love.

Orange is my favorite color, but I don’t have a lot of orange clothes!

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By kilax, June 27, 2011 9:20 pm

I feel like I need to say something on my blog:

I am here!

I am just too busy lately doing stuff (it’s SUMMER!!!). I haven’t been around my computer at all to write blogposts or to read blogs. I’ll get to it. But first…

I am in Louisville again this week for work. And gone for the Fourth of July. Then Steven’s family is in town for five days. So, we’ll see. Be patient with me (please)!

Anyway, it’s so frickin’ hot (sometimes?) this summer, that I decided skirts are the only option (air flow) for work clothing. I went to JCPenney last week and picked up a few new ones for my trip.

Belted Pleated Skirt

Pleated Sateen Skirt

Poplin Print Skirt

Diamond Border Skirt

I spent $100 and got four skirts and two tops. Gotta love JCPenney. Where do you love to shop for cheap deals?

Here is the skirt I didn’t get. It was more of a pencil cut and a size too small for me. But I thought it was super cute.

If they would have had it in my sister’s size I totally would have purchased it. Sorry Christina, no luck.