All I Want for Christmas Is. . .

My Christmas Display

Here's to ticking one off of my Holiday Spirit Quest and to giving anyone who is looking for ideas. Plus it's sometimes fun to write out your wishes, right?

• Massages once a month for a year
• Pedicures and manicures every other week for a year
• A bluetooth headset for my iPhone so I can stop having to plug in my headphones to talk to people on my commute home
• Gift certificates to solesociety.com
• an iPad 2
• My car's brakes fixed and dents out and detailed
• A year's worth of gas
• Gift cards from any or all of the following:
• Sephora or ULTA
• Amazon.com
• GAP
• Ruth's Chris
• Trader Joe's
• Nine West
• Marshall's or TJ Maxx
• Nordstrom
• Coach
• 20 pounds whisked off my body
• a new toaster (ours broke)
• a new hairdryer (broke the day after the toaster broke)
• Christian Louboutin shoes
• knee high black leather boots
• a Hermes Birkin bag
• new jeans
• my hair cut and colored for the year
• beachfront property
• a delicious, soft calorie-free bread
• Good pizza in LA
• Clip-on hair extensions to add 6 inches to my hair
• Ridiculously long hair extension that will allow me to live out my childhood fantasy of being Crystal Gale
• a literary agent
• a month without work or distractions to get my book done
• For the Hoosiers and the Colts to be obligated to play on the West Coast at least once a year and for tickets to those games
• Either the ability to teleport myself (and my luggage) anywhere or plane tickets wherever I want to go with upgraded frequent flier perks like early boarding and free bags
• To live in a more walkable neighborhood
• a personal trainer or workout classes to something that I'd do like boot camp or crossfit
• My body clock to not urge myself to go to sleep at 9 pm every night
• A tropical honeymoon with Chef
• A Cracker Barrel in Southern California
• A second bedroom
• Girl friends in LA
• The ability and will to find girl friends in LA
• The ability to do good British, Australian and French fake accents
• A big brown leather purse
• For Ralph's Diet Black Cherry Cola to be available in something larger than a 6-pack
• To kick my Sims addiction
• Fridays off for a year :)
• A trip to Disneyland

What I Ended Up With: Fashion Update

I got a lot of good advice on my fashion dilemma last week. And considering how little I gave people to work with, it was surprising the results. From twitter to Facebook to emails, I got a lot of ideas. Enough to wear the shoes several more times.

So, I actually decided to bust them out today on casual Friday with a different look than the skirts. What I ended up with is to the left. Orange check blazer from Goodwill, white Ellen Tracy t-shirt that feels like heaven on my skin, dark skinny jeans and a colorful necklace to accompany the shoes. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

This one worked so well that I plan on throwing up another pair of shoes onto the blog for some more help. It apparently takes a village to dress me.

Help, please! Reinvent my wardrobe

Okay, I need some help out there in the blogosphere. The interwebs and all that. I had a ton of clothes and a ton of accessories and just about the world's most fabulous collection of shoes (or at least that I've seen).  And while I appreciate these items in the collective, I'm having a problem putting everything together. Frankly, I'm boring myself.

Is there anyone out there who wants to lend their stylistic talents to helping me out? Or even in pieces or trade? (I don't know what I could trade, but I could try). Maybe the collective could help me out. I could post a few pictures of clothing pieces and then you could make the outfit for the day and I'd wear it and others could rate it. Anything to break the monotony of wearing the same combinations all the time or getting so bored that I spend more money than I need to.

Anyone want to help a girl out? (Full disclosure, I don't have many cute scarves--like three. So if you're a scarf-heavy stylist, you've been warned).

First challenge: The shoes pictured are some of my funniest and funkiest, but I haven't worn them in a while because I've been too lazy to find something to wear with them. The other picture are two boring skirts that could be used (but don't have to be). The lighter khaki is a straight skirt and the dark brown is a-line.

So there's the challenge: dress me. (Yes, I'm that pathetic).

Making Use of Extra Time

My babies, all lined up for my viewing
pleasure.

I've spent a good portion of my holiday time off doing what a girl should: watching football, eating, shopping and lounging. Throw in some Chef time and a plethora of old chick flicks and BAM! You've got a nice time.

You might wonder how I'm able to watch so much football with Chef around, as he's not so much of a football fan. We've worked this out. When I'm itching to watch some pigskin, I ask him "Do you want to play Skyrim (an elaborate Xbox game)?" He shrugs as I'm sure he'd rather us hang out together, but he knows this is a cue and goodnaturedly says "Sure, I could play some."

Still stuffed, but at least organized.

And because he's nice to do this, I give him the big TV and watch in the bedroom. Because I can't just sit here and watch TV (I have to multi-task),  I've been really productive. Cleaned out my closet, organized my shoes, and in the process fell back in love with some of my clothes. I've got a lot (see the picture) and because of my weight loss this last year (I've lost about 26 pounds since moving to LA) and my adapting my style a little to the laid back LA scene, there's some things I didn't love any more. Large oxfords that I used to wear over leggings and with boots, blousey shirts that have no shape, pants that are way too big.

Cheering on the Colts while
doing my hair. For no real
reason.

So what do you do when you're in between sizes? I invested in some belts to cinch in the shirts and provide some shape. I also got some form-fitting tank tops to wear underneath jackets. I subscribe (right or wrong) to the one tight, one loose school of fashion. Meaning that if my top is tight, my pants or skirt it loose and if my pants are skinny, then my shirt is looser. Mostly because I have flabby stomach and where the top and bottom meets needs to have some ability for camouflage. What's your style philosophy? I kind of wish I could just post pictures of my clothes, shoes and accessories, and then have some someone make new outfits for me. Is there a service out there like it?

Anyway, here are some pictures of my toiling. Clean(ish) closet, organized shoes and check out orange check jacket and blue sweater I got yesterday at Goodwill. (Another way to expand the wardrobe between sizes!). What's the best consignment store/Goodwill find you've ever had?

Work Inappropriate Shoes (Is there such a thing?)

My booties--left side.

It's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving which means that it's basically a dead day at work. We are all joyous to have an extra long weekend and I'm ready myself to get my relaxin' on. One of the great things about Thanksgiving is the casual Wednesday. Nothing says "I'm mentally already gone" like jeans and an early release on Hump Day. And in honor of that kind of thinking, I also added in some killer shoes.

Top view

Now, I don't like playing favorites with my shoes, because it's kind of a Sophie's Choice moment, but the ones I wore today hold a special place in my heart. And even though the 4 inch spike heel is a little work inappropriate, I still decided to rock these bad boys like there was no tomorrow. And there isn't. At least no tomorrow in my office which is welcome break from the commute.

Here's my weekly goal update:

Right side

• Pages of fiction read: 26% of a 432 page book (World War Z) and 22% of a 320 page book (Confessions of a Prairie Bitch). That's 182 pages.
• Fiction read: World War Z by Max Brooks and Confessions of a Prairie Bitch (which is AWESOME!! Thanks, Anne)
• Fiction listened to via audiobook: Finished The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larrson yesterday. It was unsatisfying. 
• Five pages written: yes.
• Calorie tracking: Check. 
• Exercise: 150 minutes of exercise in the last week. 
• Current 5K best (on elliptical): 23 minutes, 44 seconds (from previous week-- came close but couldn't break that this week)
• Friends and family: Yup. Two calls and one more email.
• Weight Loss: 0 lb.I still suck and with little Thanksgiving hope.
• One revised section of novel per week:  Taking a new approach and actually reading what I've written thus far to fill in the gaps. So, no.

Things You Don't Think About Until You Lose a Toenail

Yes it's gross. It hurt like hell when it happened. I pulled a door onto my toe and the pain was much like that of a stubbed toe but much worse (delayed as if it took my brain a couple seconds to reconcile what my eyes had seen). And I limped for a few days, could only wear flip flops for a few more and then it was over. So, I thought.

The nail popped off and it was relatively painless, but I was so determined that I wasn't going to lose it that it was a surprise when it came off and now I'm finding it's actually more of a nuisance than I thought. Here are some things that I didn't think about until that freshly exposed skin popped through:

• It's totally messing with my wardrobe. I start my outfit choice with my shoes and now my shoes are limited so I'm finding that I'm having a hard time figuring out what to wear.
• Speaking of shoes, I'm ashamed of the bruised skin and nubby little area for my toe, so no more open toe shoes. That has effectively taken my shoe choice to about 6 of my 30+ pairs.
• The skin is bruised and new so it starts to hurt at weird moments: when it happens to bump against a shoe, when the sheets hit it, in the shower when the stream strikes it, as I'm pulling on my pants.
• I haven't had a pedicure in months. Okay, so this is a really girly thing to complain about and a year ago it wouldn't have even crossed my mind, but it's nice to have your feet massaged and pampered.

Maybe LA is rubbing off on me....or maybe it's just a product of comfort

The last couple of weeks as I've been strolling around the city in my kicks, I've noticed a few things. I tend to wear my normal shoes out in public. By normal, I mean my usual heels and boots. Three inch heels in the supermarket--no big deal to me.

Normally, I would wear them because I have plantar fasciitis and the stretched position of the foot feels better than flats.v Plus there's the fact that I'm 5'2" in reality and 5'5" in my head.

But in the true sense of LA, I've come to realize that my heels are good for the workplace, but a little out of place for my daily errands. So in an effort of comfort, I decided to get a pair of casual flats. Shocking, I know. Flip-flops made me feel like too much of a tourist, so I branched out to a pair of Tom's shoes. I'm a sucker for cause marketing and the shoes looked comfortable. They very much are. But while waiting for the first pair to come in the mail, I got impatient and bought a different pair. Also wonderfully comfortable. It made me wonder--if you take back a pair of Tom's shoes, do they strip the pair they gave to a child with your purchase off the kid's feet?

And today after my interview, I stopped by Off Broadway to checkout their clearance shoes. These cute Chucks were less than $20. I couldn't resist. Now I think I'm stocked up on cute casual flats. The last thing I would like is a dressy pair of red flats.

But all in all, I think I'm good for shoes. Bet you never thought those words would be uttered by me.

To Know Me is to Know I Love Shoes

You know I have a shoe problem when I spend 10 minutes regaling Chef with my latest shoe finds and then trot them out on numerous occasions just to wear them around the house for a few moments. He's pretty good natured about it, but in the end, I can't really expect other people to get as excited about my shoes as I do.

It's hard to believe that just a few years ago, I wore brown and black shoes (primarily stacked heel loafers) almost exclusively. I would never have dreamed of owning a pair of red shoes, let alone blue floral patterned ones. It wasn't practical and I was too concerned with matching precisely. However, I'm now very discerning about my shoe choices. If I bust out a new pair and don't get a "Where'd you get those?" or "Nice shoes" when I wear them, I know they weren't the best investment. And it's also a reason that I've limited my shoe purchases dramatically in the last few months.

However, I did make a purchase for the Ball and I am now counting the days until I get to wear them again. They're definitely more formal, but I bet I can get away with them with some jeans and some "going out" clothes. Check them out. They're like the photo above, but they have silver sparkles (not multi-colored).

The next question is. . .what will the next shoes look like?