Cable Knit Sweater & Fringe Scarf: Retail Attitude Adjustment

First a disclaimer and some good news. All of the snow in these pictures? Gone. Capital G-O-N-E, gone. Granted, we’re left with a barren swampland and a small pond in the middle of the backyard, but hey, there’s no snow. And that makes me a very happy girl. Now, onto the topic at hand. I made the half hour road trip to the real mall today and stopped by Ulta to exchange an eyeliner and spend my gift card that my adopted mom got me for my birthday. The charming young lady that waited on me had all of the personality of a hexenbiest. If you’re not sure what a hexenbiest is, google it. Trust me, it is not a compliment.

Perhaps it is just my Ulta, but every time (and I mean every time) I have been in there the employees are the most obnoxiously condescending bunch of people I’ve ever encountered in one place. Is there some secret training Ulta employees go through where they learn to act like they are the end all be all of the makeup world? I mean seriously, you sell eyeshadow for a living. At minimum wage. I could maybe see the attitude if one were performing brain surgery or curing cancer on a daily basis, but um, your expertise is in the area of which foundation matches my skin tone. And no, don’t get your panties in a bunch thinking that I’m talking smack on retail employees. I worked in retail and waitressed for a good ten years of my life. I absolutely respect what they do, it can be a tough job. But for that same reason I know how a customer is to be treated. I know this makes me sound like an old lady, but what ever happened to manners and just being polite and pleasant?

As you can tell from the snow in these shots, I wore this a few weeks back on an obviously very cold day that required multiple layers of flannel and fleece to survive. I have to say though the fringe scarf really does add an extra something to an otherwise blah cable knit sweater. It’s so easy to take a plain outfit and kick it up a notch with the right accessories. This same scarf also made all the difference here when I paired it with my plaid duster. The flannel shirt peeking out was for warmth, but it also added a small hit of color to make things more interesting. And while it’s true I won’t miss the snow at all, I will miss my Bearpaw boots when I have to send them to their seasonal attic exile.

Linking up with: Sunday Funday Link Up, Creative Monday’s Blog Hop, Style To Inspire, Let It Shine, How I Fall, Personal Style Link Up, Link Up With Lisa, Share-In-Style, Confident Twosday, Celebrate Southern Link Up, Tremendous Tuesday, Style Sessions Fashion Link Up, Bloggers Who Have Inspired Me.

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Sweater: JCPenney (Old); Jeans: GAP (No longer available); Boots: Bearpaw

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I Stand Corrected: Floral Print Sweater, Boyfriend Jeans & Bearpaws

Let me start by saying my dogs are indeed thugs. And I love them regardless; maybe even more so because of their rebel ninja hearts. And yes, about a month ago, they did lift my camera remote from my desk, but I discovered the crime before any damage was done. But with that being said, they did not steal my remote this time. I was looking for it again after work. I figured it was already destroyed, but because I was afraid Bawb the bulldog would swallow it and hurt himself I wanted to find it. My husband, who after a hundred years with me, knows how my mind works, asked what I was wearing the last time I used it. I checked my Instagram and blog to see what outfit I had on the last time (see, social media has it’s uses) and after some foraging in the laundry there it was…in the pocket of my faux leather joggers. My husband is a genius, I tell ya. And since I had already ordered a new one, I’ll now have an extra to keep safe and sound in my camera bag…and obviously I won’t be keeping either of them on my computer desk. I profusely apologized to both of my wrongly accused babies and gave them lots of hugs and kisses. I’m sure they were just thinking, “Wow, mom’s strangely happy to see us after work today. Must have been a rough day. Wonder if she has some cheese…”

This is the outfit I wore during the day on New Year’s Eve when we went to Foxburg. It was crazy cold (not crazy cold like now, but cold enough) so the turtleneck layered under the floral print sweater was a necessity. The stripes brought some print mix to the party, while the boyfriend jeans and Bearpaws kept it casual and comfortable for a short road trip. Of course the evening outfit required some bling and fancier footwear which you can check out here if you’re so inclined.

Linking up with: Confident Twosday, Celebrate Southern Link Up, Tremendous Tuesday, Trend Spin Link Up, Style Sessions Fashion Link Up, Bloggers Who Have Inspired Me, Wednesday Blog Hop, Random Wednesdays At Because Shanna Said So, I Feel Pretty, Style Me Wednesday.

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Sweater: Nordstrom (No longer available); Turtleneck: Old Navy; Jeans: GAP (similar); Boots: Bearpaw

 

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Baseball Tee, Distressed Skinny Jeans & Bearpaws: You Might Be A Teacher If…

…you are equally as excited to receive a giant box from Kurtz Bros. as you are a box from Nordstrom. Yep. That’s a pretty good indicator in my book. For those of you not familiar with Kurtz Bros. it’s a giant school/office supply company that we order most all of our classroom supplies from. And yes, when a box from them arrived at my room today I did a happy dance. Literally. A happy dance in circles like a puppy getting a new bone. I tore into that thing like it had ten pairs of new shoes inside. It was like the party pinata of school supplies…dry erase markers, colored pencils, construction paper, calculators…the list goes on and on. My new program starts tomorrow (Wednesday) and I had nothing, seriously, nothing for my classroom. Several boxes of my stash of supplies was somehow lost when I moved back to the middle school, and I had also left a lot of my stuff for the teacher who replaced me at the elementary so I had nada. And now I’ve got lots of cool new stuff. Yes, it was a good day at the middle school my friends.

I realize that distressed skinny jeans, a baseball tee and Bearpaw boots don’t make for a super exciting outfit, but I gotta say, I thought it was pretty cute for a casual goin’ to the backwoods Walmart outfit. When I went outside to take the shots my husband told our daughter I was going out to take pictures of my redneck hick outfit. True perhaps, but a pretty cool redneck hick if I do say so myself.

Linking up with: Confident Twosday, Celebrate Southern Link Up, Tremendous Tuesday, Trend Spin Link Up, Style Sessions Fashion Link Up, Random Wednesdays At Because Shanna Said So, Style Me Wednesday, I Feel Pretty, Wednesday Blog Hop.

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Jeans: JCPenney (Old); Tee: Target (In-store purchase); Boots: Bearpaw

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Plaid Blanket Scarf, Striped Turtleneck & Boyfriend Jeans: I’m Breaking Up With You Cap’n Crunch

I was so proud of myself after the holidays. I had only gained about two pounds which in the grand scheme of things isn’t all that much. But during the first two weeks or so of January I was in a full-on hormonally induced feeding frenzy. I was like a mindless zombie, oh yes I was. And every evening, like clockwork, I’d bust out the Cap’n Crunch and pound down a bowl. Why Cap’n Crunch and not fancy Godiva chocolates you might be wondering?While I was growing up I pretty much raised myself and like any kid who was left to fend for themselves I existed on junk food. My primary food groups were Cheetos, Pepsi, Ho Ho’s and Cap’n Crunch. I threw in the Cap’n Crunch because a girl needs her fruit, and it does have crunch berries after all.

Now that I’m all grown, I for the most part eat fairly well, but I do like my indulgences. And one of those happens to be the Crunch. It’s one of the few foods that still tastes exactly like I remember it from childhood….sweet, crunchy, delightful and entirely bad for my ass. Which leads me to the break up. My body is super sensitive to extra crapola and calories, so in just a few short weeks I packed on several pounds. My clothes have all threatened to go on strike if I don’t knock it off, and since I don’t really feel like going into contract negotiations with my pants it’s time to kick the Crunch habit. I’m not going all kamikaze and giving it up completely. Just no more nine o’clock at night gallon buckets of it. Please forgive me Cap’n. It’s not you, it’s my ass.

I had initially thought about cutting my plaid blanket scarf in half. I mean, admit it ladies, if you own one you know it’s a whole lotta scarf to be wrestling with. I’m actually glad that I didn’t though because it does double duty as a shawl. I posted shots with it as a scarf and a shawl because the day I wore it, I had it both ways throughout the day depending on how cold I was. I couldn’t resist mixing the plaid with stripes so I threw it over one of the holy grails of turtlenecks from Old Navy. And the boots? Those are my Christmas Bearpaws, but this time I unfolded them and tied them the whole way up. In this post I sported them folded down with the fluffy insides visible to the world. Pretty versatile for a pair of snow boots, hence the reason I obsessed over them for months.

Linking up with: Sunday Funday Link Up, Creative Mondays Blog Hop, Style To Inspire Link Up, Let It Shine Link Up, How I Fall Link Up, Share-In-Style.

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Scarf: Ebay; Turtleneck: Old Navy; Jeans: GAP; Boots: Bearpaw

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