A New Denim Shirt Dress

 I wanted to try a bit of a different look than fits into my usual comfort zone and so ended up wearing things I normally wouldn't.  For instance...

I don't usually like to wear belts, but this dress didn't have a lot of shape to it so I belted. 

I don't normally wear dresses, but I decided to give this one a try.  But I would only wear it with tights and never bare legs, even though the sleeves snap up to two shorter lengths and would be nice for summer.  I would never wear it without tights because it's too short for my body.

I was going to wear my brown, more to the knee, boots with low heel, but opted for the more rugged ones.

Will I repeat this oufit?  Probably not.  I may try it with the other boots, but I will most likely save these little boots for jeans or other casual pants.

denim dress $10 (new w/tags $134) Ryan Michael
leopard scarf $2.50
belt $2.40
purse $6.99 Style & Co.
brown ankle boots $6.99 Predictions
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earrings (came with necklace as a set) $12.44 via ebay 

Old Navy Sweater With Forever 21 Jeans

jeans $3.49 Forever 21
sweater $2.50 Old Navy
scarf $2.09
purse $5.94 Alfred Dunner
booties $6.99 Mossimo Supply Co. 

A Mini Break While Moving...And Our New Healthy Eating Plan

Well, that was quite a job.  We moved a week or so ago and are still getting settled into our new place.  I've just now been able to upload some photos.  More still to come from our old place that I'll upload at a later date, but I wanted to get a post up in our new place first.  Kind of the same set up, except now I get to take my photos in the second bedroom which I use as my dressing area so it's a bit more convenient.

We've still got some new furniture items to put together...2 big storage cupboards and a dresser...and pictures and jewelry racks to hang, etc., but we hope to get those projects completed in the upcoming week.

We sure do love it here.  We have a workout room in the apartment complex which will be nice and we plan on beginning to use it soon as part of our healthier lifestyle.  Since July 1 John has lost 42 lbs and I've lost 21 lbs.  He reached (and actually surpassed) his goal.  I reached my original goal and will be working to see if I can get to the next.  We basically have pretty closely followed the South Beach diet.  I happened on the book in the library in June.  It was for sale for $2.  It has really changed our lives.  It has been a plan that has been fairly easy for us to live with and stick to and we plan on continuing with it long term.

We have also made other changes after watching a news segment on the dangers of nitrates, red meat, pork, lunch meats, etc.  We are attempting to cut out most of those items, except on rare occasions when we might go out and enjoy a steak for example.  We have switched to mainly ground turkey, whole turkey, chicken, fish, and shrimp for our meat sources.

Getting more exercise will be our next goal.

 Hope you all are doing well! :)

pants $3.49 Old Navy
cardigan $12.16
scarf .69 cents
gold earrings $2.09
bracelet $2.58
purse $6.99 Style & Co.
shoes $12.46 Etienne Aigner

Amethyst Cardigan

gray jeans $3.49 Forever 21
tee $1.49 gnu
silk cardigan $4 August Silk
necklace $5.99
purse $5.94 Alfred Dunner
gray suede flats w/chains $7.99 Bamboo

Tie Up that Shirtail, Girl

 Well, my first photos of this outfit I'd planned on being more casual and just leaving the button down blouse hang loose.  I was able to quickly view the pictures before I left and realized I was not satisfied with the way this looked, even though I often times where my shirts like this.

 I made the quick adjustment of tying up the bottom and was much happier with the result.  I had tried tucking it in the jeans, but didn't like that either.  Tying left me with just a bit of hip coverage which I was more comfortable with.

 The new blue suede loafers were exceptionally comfortable, although I would have liked the look of my low heeled red mules better.  With the alterations of tied up top and a shoe change this would be one of my favorite outfits to repeat.

jeans $5.59 Calvin Klein Ultimate Skinny
chambray button down top $7 Banana Republic
navy cardigan $11.14 (new w/tags $40) Croft & Barrow
loafers $2.99 Geox Respira
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necklace $3.59 via Fred Meyer
bracelet $1.92 via ebay

Giraffe Print Scarf + A Day In Red

olive pants $3.49 Caslon, tee $3 Jones New York, vest $2.79 Christopher Banks, scarf $1.99, bangle .99 cents, ankle boots $6.99 Mossimo Supply Co.

red pants $4.47 JM Collection, sweater $6.70 Chaus, bangle $1.52, necklace (w/matching earrings) $6.99 via ebay, loafers $4 Naturalizer

New Fall Boots and Ruana

jeans $7.99 Charter Club
top $4
ruana $4 Croft & Barrow
ankle boots $6.99 Mossimo Supply Co.

Chunky Sweater and Camouflage

 Here are two casual outfits from last week. The gray sweater is newly thrifted as are the camo sneakers.

gray sweater $3.49 Daisy Fuentes, gray pants $3.49 Forever 21, scarf $1.99, gray purse $5.94 Alfred Dunner, gray suede flats w/chains $7.99 Bamboo...blue gray pendant necklace $1.30 via ebay, blue gray/gold bracelet $1.92 via ebay

olive green pants $3.49 Caslon, camo sneakers $5.59 Keds, brown sweater $4 (new w/tags $30) St. John's Bay, scarf $5.99

How Do You Feel About Neutrals?

I love neutrals.  I look back at some of my outfit choices and I resembled an easter egg. ha  I may still backslide on occasion, but my heart really lies with neutrals these days.  I find neutrals easier to mix and match and I feel a bit more put together when wearing them.

This sleeveless cardigan is one of my very favorite pieces.  Because of it's neutral caramel color it goes with just about anything.  And it cost me only $1.95.

I did add in a bit of blue, green, and red with the scarf, but it also had the golden yellow neutral to tie in with the other pieces.

cardigan $1.95 J.J. Basics
striped tee $3.50 Merona
off white jeans $3.99 Style & Co.
scarf $2.10
necklace $3 Chico's
bracelet $2.09
shoes $6.99 Nine West