Road Trip

by Crystal

This past weekend, E and I took a little road trip to meet his family in Atlanta (they drove up from FL). It was our first time meeting our new nephew! He's about six weeks old and completely adorable. There were definitely some moments that made me want one of my own, but mostly, I was just happy to give him back to his mama when he started crying. :)

Anyway, it was about a five hour drive - which for me, means dress comfortably. Sitting for extended periods of time coupled with too tight of jeans, or a shirt that keeps riding up makes for a very looooong car ride. My solution? A t-shirt, cardigan, boots, and jeggings. Yes, I said it. I hate that word, but love these pants.

Outfit details:
Cardigan: Gap
T-shirt: Old Navy
Scarf: Target
Jeggings: Rich & Skinny via Rue La La
Boots: Target

Where's Fall?

by Crystal

This morning's conversation went something like this:
Me: I just want it to get cooler so I can start wearing all my sweaters and boots!
E: Are you complaining that it's not cold? I thought you hated winter.
Me: I don't want winter, I want fall. The way it's been, it's going to transition from summer to winter, and I'm going to miss my favorite season!

Unacceptable.

I hear elsewhere in the US, the temperatures are starting to get cooler. But for us down in SoVA (my loving nickname for Southern Virginia), it's pretty consistently in the 70's and even 80's. I'm here to say, I don't care. It's October, and I'm going to wear boots, gosh darnit.

I shopped my closet for an appropriate warm autumn outfit, and here's what I came up with:

You get an iPhone photo today. My photographer has been busy with his real job lately, which hasn't allowed much time to carve out for outfit photos. The good news: the iPhone photos will be getting better soon - after passing up the 4 and 4s upgrades (yes, I still have the 3GS...), I'm getting the iPhone 5! Given that my current phone is hardly functioning anymore, I.Can't.Wait.

Outfit details:
Sweater: H&M
Skirt: Francesca's
Boots: Target ($35!)

Hey Ma - look what I made!

by Crystal

Does anyone else take advantage of Groupon as much as I do? The emails I get every day give me great ideas for date nights and fun activities on the cheap(er than they would usually be). Last night, E and I had a little date night to break up the week with a BYOW (bring your own wine) painting class. Nothing like getting my left-brained engineer husband a little exercise for his right brain!

I completely recommend this kind of date. Our instructor provided us a bit of structure, so we weren't completely starting with a blank canvas, but we were encouraged to still make the painting our own - which still allowed us to embrace our creativity!

At the beginning:

At the end!

And is it wrong to think about what I should wear to something like this? I'm going to go ahead and say no, it's not. I wanted to be comfortable, and not wear anything too fancy, in case any paint found its way onto my clothing. Luckily, it did not.

I shared with my friend Jenni that was feeling pretty uninspired by my closet lately (it seems like that happens to me with the changing of the seasons...). She picked out this outfit from across the country - literally remembering each article of clothing I had. She's impressive, that one.

Outfit details:
Cardigan: Forever 21
Shirt: Target
Necklace: Local vendor (handmade!)
Jeans: Gap (Sexy Boyfriend Jeans)
Flats: Target

Octoberfest!

by Crystal

This past Saturday, our little town celebrated Octoberfest. This entailed local vendors setting up shop uptown and selling Fall-inspired items, German music, fried food, craft beer (which means Sam Adams around these parts).

It was the perfect weather to walk around and day drink, perusing the different kinds of jewelry and crafts. These pictures were taken when we got home, if you can't already tell from my drink bracelet and shiny skin.

PS - the red sunnies were favors from our wedding. We stole a few extra pairs to take home! Yes, we're rebels like that. Stealing from ourselves.

Outfit details:
Scarf: Taret
Shirt: Old Navy
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Local shoe store

Sunday fundays.

by Crystal

Today was a somewhat lazy day filled with football, jalapeno popper dip, and writing wedding thank you cards. I don't care that it has been over one month since the wedding. Our guests WILL be thanked! And they will be thanked a lot!

But I went shopping yesterday. What else is new? I stopped by Old Navy and got drawn into the $19 Rockstar cords. Nineteen dollars, people. I think they're normally like $30...so that's like three for the price of one, right? Well, that's what I told myself so when I walked out with three pairs anyway. I'm already loving them.

I also bought a few pairs of boots that I'm second guessing the next day. Does that ever happen to you? Where they're a great idea in the store, but when you get home you're just not sure? No? Just me? Maybe I'm too impulsive. But I look at it as an opportunity to return them and buy new ones!

Outfit details:
Scarf: Local boutique in Hermosa Beach, CA
Shirt: GAP (Gap Pure)
Corduroy pants: Old Navy
Flats: Steve Madden

A Venn Diagram I can actually understand.

by Crystal

I tend to have anywhere from 5-67 projects going on at once. While not all of them actually come to fruition (some are never even started...), these projects help me keep my creative mind active, which I believe helps keep me sane. Well, that and wine, but we've gone over that, haven't we?

I saw this pin on Pinterest and immediately knew I wanted it. The productive mood struck me on Saturday, so I decided to make it!

Supplies:

• Sharpie marker
• Floating picture frame (you know, one of those with the glass on both sides)
• Piece of paper (I used a patterned piece from JoAnn Fabrics)
• A bowl to trace circles
• Good music (I listened to Zach Brown Band's album "Uncaged." Love.

Before.

I used paper with a wood pattern on it.

The finished product hanging on the wall.

 

Finished product hanging on the wall with other photos in frames. What can I say? When the productive mood strikes, I do as much as I can. It doesn't strike very often.

The finished product hanging on the wall with other frames over our (half-made) bed!

My husband was pretty impressed. Not that I put this all together, but that I knew what a Venn Diagram was. Come on hubby, I know my calculus.

wine is life.

by Crystal

Ok friends, it's about time I come clean. I'm a little bit obsessed with wine. If I could only drink one thing for the rest of my life, that's what I would choose. It's got water in it, right?

A friend asked me to go to a wine tasting at the Eagles Club on Wednesday (don't know what the Eagles Club is? I didn't either until I moved here). Everyone brought a bottle of wine, and we all got to try what everyone brought. Turned out 21 other people thought it would be fun too. So we drank 21 bottles of wine. Oh, you don't do that on a school night? I'm not ashamed, judge me if you will.

I brought one of my favorite bottles of wine, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel. Much to my dismay, much of it was dumped out in the dump buckets. Next time, I'll remember that the people of southern VA tend to like their wine to taste like juice. 

Outfit:
Shirt: Gadzooks (from high school - remember that store?)
Skirt: Old Navy (2011)
Wedges: Target
Necklace: Gap Outlet