Everything’s a little off today, including the painting in this pic.

Hanging out on my kitchen table.  Dress – H&M; Sweater – somewhere in Poland; Shirt – Smart Set.

So things are on the upswing at our house.  Baby’s feeling better and therefore sleeps better, and I’m a little less stuffy today.  We’re not healthy, but we’re over the worst of it and I think things are only going to get better.

Husband’s at work today – all day.  So, I had a lovely visit from Mom and Babcia.  They brought me food and a sweater and a toque.  So yeah, that made the day go by easier.  Oh, and Babcia and I had our butts handed to us by Mom in a game of cards.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Moving on to the dress…can you believe that this was a dress I bought for my pregnancy?  It seems so long ago.  Now, it’s not a maternity dress, but it has an empire waist and it gave me a lot of room to grow.  I wore it right up until delivery.  I just happen to be naturally small (genetic lottery and healthy living) so I was lucky enough to be able to buy “maternity” clothes at H&M and Forever XXI.  Although to be honest, since pregnancy is over I’m not sure it’s really me.  I figure I’ll keep it around and give it another chance in the spring/summer.  Maybe it’s just one of those dresses that you only like seasonally.  I don’t know.  I’m indecisive about these things. What do you think?  Trash, stash, or save?

Dress – Forever XXI; Cardigan – H&M; Leggings – American Apparel; Legwarmers – Legs Beautiful.

Yes, today is another sick day at Chez Joanna.  We’re all really tired and cranky.  Baby is especially not happy and kept us up most of the night.  By the way, I wanted to thank all of you for your email and comment help and well-wishes.  They really helped cheer me up and motivate me to get better – not to mention get dressed this morning!  Unfortunately no, I’m not looking good.  And yes, I am Oscar the Grouch today. Rawr! But I couldn’t spend another day in pajamas, as tempting as that was, and not bring you the next dress installment.  I know you’re just dying to know what’s in my closet *sarcasm fully intended*. So here it is, dress eight.

I originally bought this dress for hot summer days, but quickly learned that it’s better for warm spring days.  Why, you ask?  Well, it’s make from a silky material that does not breathe.  So, in the heat it just sticks to your skin and makes you feel gross all over.  But otherwise I love the casual, vintage feel of it.  I think of puttering around the garden, and drinking iced tea in the backyard when I wear this. Wearing it today has given me much needed comfort, because I’m still feeling poo-ey and sucky today.  But I had to be warm, hence I paired it with leggings, a cardigan and leg warmers.   Before we move on: trash, stash or save?  I’m thinking save…how about you?

Now I know they may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love leg warmers!  They’re so cozy and I love the cheese factor! *singing Olivia Newton John* Let’s get physical, physical!

Close-up of the legwarmers.

What piece of clothing makes you nostalgic?  Is it a pair of jeans, top or sweater?  What does it make you think of?

The raw image of the dress

Dress – Thrifted; Cardigan – Gap; Belt – borrowed from Mom; Leggings – Forever XXI

Okay, so I’m really sick everyone.  Bad cold, and I wish I could just curl up on the couch and watch tv all day.  But that’s another one of those little “luxuries” that dissappear once you have kids.  So, I’ve been dragging my butt around the house doing stuff all day and I feel Poo-ey.  And to add insult to injury, Baby has my cold of course.  Good times!  So today I’m in trashy jeans and, yes I know, my Lulu hoodie.  But have no fear.  I have prepared for just such situations!  I wore this dress earlier, and didn’t post it because there was already so much to blog about.  So I thought I’d save it just in case (and yes I have a couple more up my sleeve).  So here it is…something to keep you busy while I try to kick this cold’s bum!

This picture was taken upstairs in my Mom’s house – it’s just too darn cold outside.  This dress was a bargain find, and no I don’t remember where exactly.  But it’s a cashmere blend which means that yes, it’s incredibly soft.  Though I like fashion, I’m not a total slave to it – comfort is essential to me.  And this dress is all that.  I’m not too crazy about the retro pattern on it lately, but it’s just enough interest when covered with a nice cardigan.  My hair’s a mess in this pic, I just hadn’t had time to do it.  The most I managed is to wash it – sorry but that’s what it’s like to be a Mama.

I’ll always be on time and in the right place!

This is the pendant that I wore with it – for all of 5 minutes.  I quickly realized that with Baby there is no possibility to wear a long necklace, unless I mean it to be a toy for her.  So off it went, back into the jewelry case, for now.  But I thought you’d at least like to see it.  The nerd in me does a little cartwheel when I see this necklace.  It’s a compass, a watch, and a robot!!!  Every geek’s dream. I’m waiting for it’s eyes to glow red and say, “By your comand.” (That’s a Battlestar Galactica reference by the way).  Speaking of BSG – can I please be reborn as Tricia Helfer in another life?

So what do you think?  Trash, stash, or save?  I’m leaning towards trash, but I need your help to decide.

Black dress, red lipstick = priceless

Husband pretending to be Mr. Photographer ruins my “all-cool” composure.  Dress – H&M; Leggings – Forever XXI; Boots – Browns Couture; Lipstick – Joe Fresh “apple”

Okay, so first off I know I said I don’t like turtlenecks, and that is still the general rule.  But as we all know, every rule has an exception.  And this dress is the exception to that rule.  I love the simplicity and retro feel of this dress.

On a side note, you must, must get yourself at least one pair of these tights. They’re nylon leggings from Forever XXI but I consider them tights because they’re a little too sheer to not have your butt covered. They feel great – not too tight and not too loose, and they make your legs look good – which is always a plus!  They’re about $5.50 a pair and they come in several necessary colors! I got them not too long ago in a few of the colors and already am in love.  If you like to wear dresses and skirts year round I recommend investing a few pairs of these.

The red lipstick is the main fashion accessory here.

I was thinking earlier that this dress makes me feel like a Bond Girl.  But then I got to thinking about it, and no, I don’t want to be a Bond Girl.  I’d want to be Moneypenny.  Think about it.  Yeah, she’s just the secretary, but she’s witty and resourceful and much smarter than the Bond Girls because she never sleeps with Bond.  All the other women sleep with him and are either dead in the next act, or if they survive to the end, they’re gone by the next movie.  Moneypenny gets all the flirtation and fun without dying or dissappearing.  So yeah, I’ll be Miss Moneypenny – Bond is fun to look at but he’s far too fickle for me anyway.

Sell, stash, or save?

The sun in its meager glory

The view from my back patio

Good day all.  This is the morning that I woke up to: snowy, dreary and cold.  I have to say that I love the look of snow and watching it fall, but I hate (emphasize hate) the cold that has to accompany it.  I’ll tell you who gets a kick out of it though, Drake the Dog!  He loves to run around and hop around in the snow.  We call him our black, snow dolphin.

Drake the Dog gallavanting around in the snow in our backyard

Today’s a lazy day in that we don’t have any work and we feel lazy.  But so far we’ve cleaned the floors, cooked Baby food, done two loads of laundry, brought donations to Value Village, had a run, and put away the Christmas decorations.  Further, there is currently another load in the laundry and Husband is making Chicken soup.  So yeah, no lazing around here!

Humming “Age of Aquarius, the Age of Aquarius. A-quar-i-us.” Dress – Forever XXI; Jeans – somewhere in Europe; Scarf – Jacob; Sweater – Smart Set.

Dress five in the dress challenge brings me back to the first couple of months that we had Baby.  Boy, I don’t miss those days!  I wore this dress a lot during that time.  It’s cotton so it was perfect in the blistering heat, and the empire waist is forgiving to a post-partum figure.  Today, I felt like being all relaxed so I paired the dress with my wide leg jeans, threw on a blue cardi, and topped it all off with a skinny scarf.  I feel very hippie-ish today (yes, I know that’s not a real word).  Did you notice I cut my bangs?  Probably not, it’s not that big a difference, but I did.  And yes, that’s me standing on my futon.  How else is a girl going to get the whole outfit in the shot?

Sell, stash, or save?  Sorry, this time I’m not asking you guys. I’m making the final verdict on the dress here: save!  It’s just too comfortable!