30 x 30: Nine

Old Navy chambray shirt; House of Harlow starburst necklace
Pants, AG (via Kijiji); shirt & shoes, Old Navy; belt, J. Crew Factory; necklace, House of Harlow; bag, Rebecca Minkoff (via Kijiji)

Words I’d never thought I would utter here or anywhere: I think I might be turning into a minimalist.

Gasp!

Guys, I know! The wonders, they never cease. To be fair, I am talking about (possibly) being a minimalist in style not, um, lifestyle. I still like things. All of the things. But when it comes to dressing, maybe less is more? I know they’ve been saying that for years, but I always assumed they were jealous, lying bitches who couldn’t afford the finest bedazzling to come out of China. Could it be that I was … wrong? I freaking loved wearing this outfit, even after I realized it’s basically the same as this one.

Old Navy chambray shirt; House of Harlow starburst necklace
Good Hair

And it didn’t hurt that I was having a Good Hair Day. This might even be close to my Perfect Hair – I just need another 4 inches or so. I know, my Perfect Hair is wildly inappropriate for my fairly conservative office but … we will cross that bridge when we get there. Or just wear a lot of chignons. Chignons are classic and professional, yes? Bah, who am I kidding – I will never do a chignon, because that would require me to learn how to, and not have two left hands and 4 thumbs.

I know, it’s a terrible affliction.

30 x 30: Eight

J. Crew striped floral top
Jeans, RACHEL Rachel Roy; top, J. Crew; necklace, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Mel; bag, MbMJ (via eBay); squinty derp face (self-made)

Yes, I’ve worn this exact same outfit last year. Which, whatever. More importantly, I’ve shown this exact same outfit (or close enough) on the blog before. It’s, like, blog-official. Oops?

How about a walk down memory lane? The last time I wore this top, I was about a week or so post-partum. You can see it in my eyes:

"Save me"
“Save me”

That’s the face of new motherhood no one wants to see until they’ve already had kids and it’s too late to turn back. Hah! But seriously, babies are awesome. (Most of the time.) They change your life. (Mostly for the better.) They do get through that soul-crushing terrifying challenging newborn stage, and so will you. And it is much less of a shock to the system the second time around, no matter what my expression in that photo might suggest.

Anyway, comparing the two versions of this outfit, let’s look at some positives, because otherwise I’ll fixate again on how I have lost exactly zero pounds in 9 months and y’all are going to have to talk me off some drastic diet ledge. Ahem. My hair is finally growing out! I found a nicer pair of jeans! I no longer have to wear a nursing tank under every damn thing! My iPhone takes slightly less blurry pictures! Hurrah!

Speaking of things that have changed in the last 9 months, this one is pretty major.

Left, old Soviet dictator phase; right, cute baby phase
Left, (napping) Soviet dictator phase; right, cute baby phase

Oh right, this is a personal style blog! Let’s take another look at mah (non-baby) accessories:

Mel jelly flats; Old Navy ring
Hey, look at me, all mixing and matching my nail polish

30 x 30: Seven

diamond print tee
Pants, NYDJ (via eBay); top, Vero Moda; trench, Gap; shoes, Old Navy; bag, Marc Jacobs (via consignment)

I was thinking the other day about just how much I end up squinting in my photos. I swear, you guys, I do have eyes! But they’re very sensitive to light (wah wah) and when it’s sunny here, it’s capital-S sunny, which all adds up to the very finest Squinty Blue Steel. (Also, I would like to point out that I’m not purposefully trying to give Jon Hamm a run for his money in these pants. I have no idea what’s happening here, but I don’t approve. It may be time to retire these pants to strictly playground duty.)

I still hate my trench, and I still can’t stop wearing it. Mary, Mary, quite contrary – hey, look at that!

diamond print tee
oooh, what’s over here?

Pretties!

spring flowers

I love spring summer our indeterminate-warm-weather-season. It’s probably going to snow tomorrow.