Gnoman…Gnoe-man…Gnoah, man!…

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I have to thank Melinda for spotting this gnome sweater at Modcloth and alerting me to its existence. And on the last day of one of their sales, too. Thank you!

I kind of love this Gnome Is Where The Heart Is Sweater more than any item in my closet right now. Don’t tell Humboldt!

How could I be a gnome lover and not own this?

I couldn’t.

I do not want to be the crazy lady wearing this sweater every single day, but I would if I could. It is so comfy and I like the length and the fit.

The jeans are Mother Cruiser Denim that I got on sale at Anthropologie for $40. Regular retail price is $220. I am often confused when people state that Anthropologie is too expensive. They have fantastic sales. I snatched up two pairs. They are my favorite jeans I own. I had to get them shortened, but that was no problem. If you can find these, I cannot recommend them enough. They are magic. I sized down one size.

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My husband (the pictures above are not him. They are the model at Modcloth). Oh, I desperately want to post photographs of him. He is the whole reason behind me even liking gnomes, being the Angry Gnome (this is his nickname, which is hilarious, because he is the least angry person I know). He, however, would rather stay a mystery. I keep telling him, “Honey. I need pictures of other people on my blog. People are going to get sick of pictures of just me. I’m getting sick of pictures of just me.”

Nope.

So, for now, he wins.

I did want to show the two gnome sweaters I purchased for him (on a discount, of course) from Modcloth. The sweater sporting the gnome with the skis is called, “Assert Your Elf Sweater.” Yes, elf. But it is obviously a gnome. I cringed at the name and purchased it anyway. The UFO gnome invasion is called, “Gnome away from home.”

How cool are they?

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And yes, we wear our gnome sweaters out together. And, yes, we are so cool dorks. And, no, we do not care.

We like to coordinate.

Oh my gosh, sidetracking into a funny story:

Years and years ago, my family found ourselves at the Fashion Island Mall in Newport after a trip to Disneyland. I wanted to go to the Anthropologie there and we were going to eat dinner at P.F. Chang’s.

So, there we are. In our matching Mickey Mouse t-shirts surrounded by chic women (this is often the mall shown in “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” I once smelled one of the cast members there. Yes, you read that right…I am a freak. She smelled divine).

Two women walked by us as we were waiting outside for a table.

One of them turned to the other one and said:

“Oh…My…God.

“They match.

They are all matching.”

The word “matching” was said loudly and as a derogatory word.

They turned around and stared at this new breed of species they had never encountered before.

I waved.

They snickered and left.

I would love to go shopping there with my husband in our matching sweaters sometime. I find instances like that encounter amusing. They are just lucky I didn’t try to smell them. ; )

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Would you laugh at us? Or do you think it is okay to “match”? And do you ever match your partner (besides Halloween)?

P.S. Please do not forget to enter for a chance to win a $25 e-gift card to Anthropologie. It ends Tuesday night!

Dog Crazy

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There is nothing special about this outfit. In fact, I am not quite sure I even like it. It was a rainy day and like any rainy day, I was most excited about one thing. Busting out my rain boots.

I do, however, love my embroidered rain cloud necklace I purchased from Sew Happy Girls earlier in the year.

Something happened in this outfit that shall always make it a tad bit special. It was the day I turned into a shapeshifter, crazy dog lady Winner Of Most Embarrassing Mother Of The Year.

Here is the story about how I can shame my children no matter where we go. It is my very special talent:

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I was late. Nothing shocking there. Well, actually, that is not true. As ditzy unorganized as I am, I am pretty much always on time or early. OCD and all of that. Can’t be late!

So, I dropped my daughter off at Ms. Lisa’s house (our wonderful, amazing art teacher). I did not even run into socialize, as I usually do. I just drove away.

But I had to turn my car around to get to the main street. As I did so, I noticed her little dog had gotten out. He usually just runs to her planter and back inside, but on this day he had made it all the way to the curb. Having no doubt it was because my daughter had kept the door open, I parked my car in the middle of the street to help.

I jumped out like the maniac that I am. And I tried to chase the dog into the house.

Only, it wouldn’t work.

He liked being outside.

There was a whole new world to explore.

Lisa was calling him.

He ignored her.

He made like he was going to run further up the street.

I panicked. I did not want him to get ran over. Or lost. Or hurt.

Something primal took over.

Without thinking, I began to bark at the little dog.

I ran at him barking. He finally acknowledged me. He began barking back.

I did not back down. I, after all, was the much larger, much older dog. Just call me “Alpha” from now on. I barked and growled as I marched that little dog back into Lisa’s house.

He ran away from the crazy dog woman through the open door into safety.

“Safety” being away from the insane woman in his front yard.

Lisa looked surprised and said, “Well, I guess that’s one way to get the dog in the house.”

It was not until she said that that I realized maybe what I had done wasn’t exactly normal.

I turned from a dog into a laughing hyena in my car.

Later my daughter relayed the embarrassing moment to my son.

His response to his sister, “Oh my gosh! Poor you!”

I was aghast. What did they mean?

I looked at my daughter indignantly. “But you have to admit I sounded just like a dog.”

“Um. No, you didn’t. You sounded crazy.”

There was only one response to that.

“Grrrrrr. Ruff!”

More Outfits

I am finding myself buried in a backlog of outfit photos. This is making me a little stressed out. How did this happen? I asked myself.

It seems pretty simple, actually. I wear clothes everyday. I almost always take a picture of what I am wearing (except today. I am wearing my nightie. I will even cook dinner in it. And eat dinner in it. ‘Cause I’m fancy like that. And a day without leaving my children without scarring delightful memories is not a day I want to be a part of). I post up to three outfits per week. Well, the math speaks for itself.

I thought I would share some more outfit photos I have. Two were taken two months ago. One was taken a few days ago.

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I do not know why it took me so long to share this outfit. It is one of my very favorites. The dress was a sale find from Free People called Got You Hooked Maxi. I also have it in blue, shown here. I was not going to own two, but then this dress went on clearance. Really happy with this purchase. Of course, it is sold out now, because I am so slow with my outfit posts. : (

I can layer this dress over every long slip in my closet. I will post a picture (as soon as I take it. I have worn this combo all ready, but my photographer/husband/not-a-real-photographer was out of town) soon of how it looks with a peachy slip. That is my favorite combo.

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I bought this black Michael Korr’s tuxedo shirt from Nordstrom Rack many months ago on the clearance rack. I really like the length. I simply paired it with jeans and a necklace gifted to me from Simply Livly on Etsy. Similar style, but different color here.

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I paired the Free People Long Sleeve Swing Dress (last winter I fooled myself into thinking I could wear this as a dress. Um, no. I cannot imagine the view people got from behind last season, even with tights. Now, this “dress” gets worn with skinny pants only) with my J Brand Moto Pants in olive that I got from Anthropologie for $20.

My shoes! Oh! I am so excited about these! They are the Born Topanga boots I found at Nordstrom Rack two weeks ago. The pattern is a textured wool. I believe the fabric is taken from a Mexican blanket. The cheapest I see them online is from 6PM. They also come in a dark brown color.

I wore my Corallina necklace from Anthropologie with this. It was only the second time I wore this piece. This is my last reminder of my unflawed necklace. As I was walking, one of the strands broke and beads scattered everywhere. I am so sad. But I am now just wearing it sans one row of beads. It is actually more comfortable, because it is lighter. Silver lining and all that.

What has been your favorite outfit you have worn lately? And are you spending at least one day this weekend in your pajamas like me?

* I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Two Vests and A Jacket

I never, ever thought I would have a fashion blog. It seems weird to me to show pictures of myself and talk about what I am wearing. I am still finding my style as I play around with my new body type.

But my mother LOVES this part of my blog. It is her very favorite.

And I want her to be happy.

And I LOVE clothes.

In fact, I have so many outfits backlogged, I might do three outfit posts in the next two weeks.

Merry Christmas, Mom! ; )…

Oh! And this is kind of funny and awful at the same time. You are going to notice in the next few weeks, that the pictures of me standing in front of my fireplace will be full of Christmas cheer. Also, I have a garland strung across that says, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Well, when I pose in front of it, sometimes only two letters show.

Great!

In the future, if I can remember, I will take the garland down before photos. But if I forget, sorry in advance!

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This vest is so old, I cannot even find the name for it. I bought it from Anthropologie years and years ago. I love the polka dots and cheerful color. The jeans are my favorite brand, Mother Brand Jeans. The super cute necklace was c/o Simply Livly on Etsy.

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Please. Please. If I am ever too lazy to go out to my car and get my regular lipstick from it… Show me this picture! Holy garishness!

This is almost my exact outfit from my Thanksgiving post with a different necklace and shirt. The plaid was from Nordstrom Rack (also seen here). The vest is my favorite new staple. It is the Ruffled Sweater Vest from Anthropologie.

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“Why are you wearing your pajamas, Mom?” My son asked me this question as we were getting ready to leave on our hunt for a Christmas tree.

I looked down. I had to explain that I was not wearing pajamas. That these were pants. But it did make me slightly self conscious.

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I threw on a bright scarf to draw some attention away from my bright legs, and we were off.

I first spotted these Tartan Charlie Trousers on Sayaka on her blog, Happily Ever Anthro. She looked so adorable in them. I checked the price. $29.95 down from $118. They had my size. Sold.

(The pants are now $19.99, and sold out. But last week, I saw three sizes back in stock. If you like them, you might be able to call the stores and find them.)

Since then, I have paired the pants with my bunny shirt like Sayaka is wearing. But I am not comfortable with my butt (I started to type bottom, but felt like a fake, and the other word seemed too blunt for my blog) being exposed, so I like them better for myself with this super long tee from last year.

The jacket is the Auden Denim Jacket. I waited and waited for a great sale on this denim jacket. I am including a link, even though it is sold out, because it keeps popping back in stock. I took a size 8 in this jacket.

My only other denim jacket is ten years old. It is a size 12, and really too big. I love this jacket! So happy to have snagged it on such a great sale price!

What is your favorite cold weather staple?

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!