cranberry

OUTFIT

Top: Tommy Hilfiger - $18
Tank: The Limited - $4
Pants: LOFT - $28
Shoes: BCBGirls from DSW - $24
Necklace: vintage gold chain & pendants - gift
Ring: garnet, vintage - gift
Dog: Ernie

WORN

to work

ON

November 24, 2010

I tend to dress a little more casually at work around a holiday.  I wore this to work the day before Thanksgiving, and I knew I wouldn't really be seeing anyone other than a coworker or two.  So, I figured I'd dress for comfort (and for fall with tan & cranberry colors).  These pants are some of my favorites for winter.  They're lightweight wool and they're lined inside, so they're probably my warmest ones.  I like that they're wide leg, but still look tailored, not slouchy.  I debated tucking my shirt in, but I think I like the breezier look of having it untucked in this case.

Hope everyone's having a good week!

cozy textures

OUTFIT

Jacket: GAP - $48
Top: Banana Republic Factory Store - $7
Skirt: LOFT - $35
Hose: Hanes Silky Sheer - $6
Shoes: Tahari from DSW - $30
Scarf: GAP Outlet - $4
Earrings: Ann Taylor - $20
Ring: flea market - gift
Bag: GAP - $20

WORN

to work, to lunch with a friend

ON

November 23, 2010

I meant for this post to go up yesterday, but I was a victim of the widespread East Coast Comcast outage yesterday, so that didn't happen.  Did anyone else have Comcast issues?

This has become one of my favorite work outfits.  I love how it's pulled together, but not really stuffy.  It feels a bit relaxed due to the cozy textures--wool jacket, woven wool skirt, tissue tee, light scarf.  Plus, all that wool means it's really warm which is pretty essential since it's definitely getting colder out.  I added my go-to olive leather bag and my wedding earrings to complete the outfit.  I'll be wearing this one again.

{thankful}

OUTFIT
Cardigan: GAP - $20
Top: CAbi - yard sale swap
Cami: LOFT - $15
Leggings: Norma Kamali for Walmart - $10
Shoes: Nine West - $20
Earrings: White House | Black Market - $8
Bracelet: The Limited - $6
WORN
to Thanksgiving dinner
ON
November 25, 2010
Today, it was important that my outfit be all about comfort and stretchability.  So, I threw on my only pair of leggings, a flowy tunic (to hide the inevitable turkey dinner bulge, of course), and a light cardigan for warmth before going to eat dinner with family.  We had an amazing meal--hope you did too!  I have so much to be thankful for--family, friends, good health, a job, you guys...the list goes on and on.  What are you thankful for this year?

a different decade

OUTFIT

Dress: Tucker for Target - $25
Belt: GAP (I think) - $5ish
Tights: Hue - $3
Boots: Bakers - $40
Earrings: Liz Claiborne from Macy's - $12
Ring: gold - gift
Bag: GAP - $20

WORN

to church, to lunch with family, to shop for Christmas decorations

ON

November 21, 2010

Is there a style blogger out there who didn't pick up one of the lovely Tucker for Target pieces?  It seems like everybody has at least one item from the capsule collection.  Honestly, it was hard for me to leave the store with only this dress.  I'm still kind of wishing I had also purchased the orange polka dot top, especially since I could actually wear that to work or style it more casually, but oh well.  Though I can think of several ways to make this dress more business-y, the length precludes me from wearing it to work.  Now that I'm looking at these photos, I'm wondering if I should have worn it to church!  People wear jeans at church, so I'm sure it wasn't a big deal.  I think next time I wear this, I'll layer a sweater over the dress.  In fact, I'll probably have to if I plan to wear this dress again before April!  It'll be too cold to wear it by itself soon.  I'm also pleased to see that this dress doesn't actually look as blousy as I felt like it did. 

This was a fun outfit to wear after a stressful couple of days.  I really liked the relaxed 70s-ish vibe of the whole outfit.  I'm kind of excited to wear it again.  :)

P.S. Thanks for the Target giftcard birthday present, sissy!  This is what I bought.  :)

these boots are made for workin'

OUTFIT

Top: Madison Studio from Belk - $4ish
Dress: Banana Republic Factory Store - $11
Tights: J.Crew - gift
Boots: Steven by Steve Madden from DSW - $60
Earrings: Apt. 9 from Kohl's - $3ish
Rings: flea market - gift

WORN

to work

ON

November 16, 2010

I'm just going to start off by apologizing for the cheesy title of this post.

Now that that's done...

Here's a favorite winter work outfit of mine.  Everything, including the dress, is knitwear so it doesn't really get more comfortable than this.  Whenever I wear all of these pieces together, I stay toasty warm in my office all day even though no one item is very thick.  I think that's what makes the whole ensemble work--body skimming pieces.

There are some who would think that high-heeled pointy-toed boots would be inappropriate for work.  With many outfits, I'd agree.  I think the key is making sure that all other parts of your outfit are modest enough to tone down the boots a bit.  (This is actually a pretty good method to use for work in general to keep things professional.)

By the way, I'm working on moving this little blog over to Blogger since I've had so many problems with Tumblr randomly being down, etc.  (It really is ridiculous.  End of rant.)  It's taking me some time since another fabulous feature of Tumblr is that there is no way to export.  But stay tuned...when I finally make it over to Blogger, you'll be the first to know!

apple butter

OUTFIT

Top: GAP - $6
Cami: GAP - $5
Jeans: GAP - $40
Shoes: Nine West - $20
Bag: GAP - $20

WORN

to study at home, to jar apple butter

ON

November 14, 2010

I'm back, you guys.  For serious. 

And now I'll tell you the reason I've been so scattered and my posts have been, um, sporadic at best.  I just took a huge board exam this weekend which seriously stressed me out, and I've basically been holed up in my house studying up until this point.  I had to temporarily stop having any sort of life in order to prepare for the test.  Now it's behind me, I'm hoping I passed, and I feel like I've got my life back.  (I'm nothing if not dramatic.)  Sooo...look for me to return to a more regular posting schedule!

Last Sunday, my husband's extended family all came together to make apple butter, as is their annual tradition.  We cook the apple butter outdoors in a HUGE copper kettle that's been in his family for like 4 generations.  This is seriously an all day event (they started cooking around 6am this year!), so I wasn't able to fully participate this time since I was chained to my study material.  However, I knew I'd get tired of studying at some point, and there's so much work involved that I wanted to help at least a little bit so I did ask my husband to call me when they were ready to jar the apple butter.  Around 36 quarts of apple butter later, we should all be set for the year.

Anyway, this is what I wore to do all that.  You will notice that my accessories were minimal...no sense in getting anything sticky and covered in apple butter!  This outfit was all about comfort and utility.  Until I started to write, I didn't realize I was wearing pretty much all Gap stuff, but if it works, it works, and there's really not a better place for basics, is there?

Do you guys have any annual family traditions like this?

carmex skin care giveaway WINNER!

I'm excited to announce that the winner of the Carmex Skin Care Giveaway is...

*drumroll please*...

COMMENT #7...

JENBOLAYA!!!

Congratulations!  I'll email you this evening for details.  Please respond to my email by 10 p.m. EST tomorrow (11/16) to claim your prize.

Thank you to everyone who entered.  Be sure to look for another giveaway coming in December!

carmex skin care giveaway ends tonight!

Hey guys!  Just wanted to post a quick reminder that the Carmex Skin Care Giveaway ends at 10 p.m. EST TONIGHT!  Don't forget to enter!  Remember, there are several ways to get extra entries to increase your chances of winning.

I will announce the winner tomorrow.  Good luck!

location, location, location

OUTFIT

Cardigan: Madison Studio from Belk - $5
Top: H&M - maybe $4? so old I can't remember
Belt: Ann Taylor - $18
Pants: The Limited - $27
Shoes: Simply Vera Vera Wang from Kohl's - $27
Earrings: LOFT - gift
Ring: sapphire - gift

WORN

to work

ON

November 11, 2010

For some reason, I feel like a little girl when I wear this shirt.  Maybe it's because I've had it for at least 10 years, maybe it's because of the primary-colored polka dots.  Don't get me wrong, I still like this top.  I really can't complain; in fact, I feel pretty fortunate that I can still wear the same clothes I wore when I was 16.  I really can't explain why this shirt makes me feel like I look young.  All I know is that I wanted to wear it, and I thought it would look a little more grown up and add a little bit of fun when paired with trousers and a basic cardigan.  I ended up looking dressier than was probably needed for a quiet day at the office on Veteran's Day, but I was decently happy with this outfit.  Aannd, I just realized I have unintentionally worn a variation of red, white & blue on a patriotic holiday yet again.  :)

On a side note, I think I may have found the best location in my house for indoor photos at 6pm in the fall & winter.  The corner of my kitchen.  Unless I can motivate myself to wake up early to take morning photos, you guys will probably come to know this corner well!

P.S. Don't forget to enter the Carmex giveaway!  You have until 10 p.m. EST on Sunday!

carmex skin care review (& giveaway!)

Did you guys know that Carmex has a new skin care line?  I didn't.  When I thought of the Carmex brand, I thought about the pots of lip balm that save my life during the winter.  I had no idea Carmex produced hand creams until these two products arrived at my doorstep a few weeks ago, just as the weather started to turn cooler here in Maryland (aka just in time).  I rely heavily on hand cream throughout the colder months because my hands can quickly become unnaturally dry without it.  I knew that if the hand creams worked half as well as the lip balm, they would be definite winners.

I decided to try the Healing Lotion first since my hands had not become terribly dry yet, and I wasn't sure I needed the full effect of the Healing Cream.  The lotion has a nice, smooth texture and was surprisingly non-greasy.  Both the Healing Lotion and the Healing Cream have the same scent as the classic lip balm (you know, slightly medicinal, slightly...vanilla?), and to be honest, I didn't think I was going to like it as a hand cream scent.  As it turns out, I think I'm addicted to it!  

The Healing Cream is kind of a more concentrated version of the Healing Lotion.  Similar, just a thicker formula.  So here's the routine that's currently working for me:  Healing Lotion during the day, Healing Cream at night.  (I like to use a thicker formula overnight since I'm not awake to reapply.)  Also--the plastic used in the packaging for both is somewhat flexible.  While I don't know that this would matter to a lot of people, I really have an issue with lotion packaging that's not squeezable--I don't like having to work to get the product out.

My husband has a much worse dry hand situation in the winter than I do.  As in, without proper care, his hands will crack and bleed.  I KNOW.  It's got to be painful.  As I was writing this, I gave him the Healing Cream to try out.  Ten minutes later, and he's still mumbling about how great it is.  Aside from the great texture of the cream, I'm sure the scent is what won him over since it's not too feminine.  All in all, I've been pretty impressed with these products, and at $5.99 each, I'd say they're definitely worth the money.

Here's the best part--Carmex wants to give one lucky reader a full size Healing Lotion, a full size Healing Cream and a Carmex travel bag chock full of additional Carmex products, as pictured below, valued at $52.32!

TO ENTER:

• Leave a comment below. Please include your email address and/or blog URL so that I can contact you if you are the winner!

FOR EXTRA ENTRIES:

• Follow Third Floor Closet on Bloglovin' or Google Reader, and leave a separate comment telling me you follow.
• Follow Third Floor Closet on Facebook and leave a separate comment below telling me you follow.
• Follow Third Floor Closet on Twitter, tweet about the giveaway with a link to the blog, and leave another comment below with your Twitter handle.

GIVEAWAY RULES:

• Open to US residents with a US mailing address only (My apologies to all my international readers, these products are only distributed in the US!)
• Giveaway ends at 10:00 pm EST on Sunday, November 14.
• The winner will be announced and contacted on Monday, November 15.  Once a winner is announced, the winner will have 24 hours to provide me with a mailing address.  Otherwise, I will be forced to choose another winner.

Good luck!

*FTC Disclaimer: Carmex provided products free of charge for editorial review.  All opinions stated within are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

supertights

OUTFIT

Jacket: White House | Black Market - $20?
Top: Banana Republic - gift
Skirt: Banana Republic - gift
Tights: Sears - gift
Shoes: Tahari from DSW - $30
Earrings: Jenni K - gift
Ring: flea market - gift

WORN

to work

ON

November 4, 2010

Let me tell you about these tights.  I've probably had these tights for 5 years (which, as you may know, is more like 40 years in tights years).  Unheard of!  They really are pretty amazing.  I received them as a gift from my mom, and they're a size bigger than I normally wear.  Actually, I think she bought them for herself, realized how small they ran, and then gave them to me which clearly worked out well for me.  I never saw the box, so I have no idea what to look for in the store.  The tag inside simply says "Sears."  Since I don't think any of Sears' store brands actually go by the Sears name, I've never been able to find them.  SO--if you ever find a pair of these mysterious tights, you must let me know immediately.  Mmkay?

as festive as it gets

OUTFIT

Top: Express - $15
Belt: Old Navy - $3
Skirt: Banana Republic - yard sale swap
Shoes: Tahari from DSW - $30
Earrings: ??? (SO old)
Bracelet: Simply Vera Vera Wang from Kohl's - $3

WORN

to work

ON

October 25, 2010

Well, this was an outfit I wore to work during the week leading up to Halloween.  When you work at an office as conservative as mine, this is truly as festive as it gets...an orange and black outfit.  No costumes, nothing frivolous.  Just a simple nod to the upcoming holiday.  Overall, I was ok with this outfit--it's nice to keep it simple sometimes.  The only somewhat aggravating aspect of the outfit was that the end of the belt started sticking out as the day wore on.  I'll have to remember to wear this belt only with something that actually has belt loops from now on.

Did you wear a Halloween costume to work or is that frowned upon in your office as well?