A little argyle and a little raspberry

Even though I've blown my shopping budget for the month, I went to Target and TJ Maxx this weekend! I should've just stayed away. I ended up getting a few things, but I only spent $20!

At Target, I got:

- the plaid dress in the previous post, $8

- a half slip, $8 which I desperately needed to prevent my skirts and dresses from clinging to my tights

- raspberry colored tights, $3, which I plan to wear this week with a black jersey dress and my new slip!

And in my trip to TJ Maxx, I somehow convinced my husband to buy me something! I think the fact that it only cost him $3 helped! I found a super cute, super warm pair of argyle sweater tights. They are black and gray and super adorable! I don't know how I'm going to wear them yet, and they aren't the most flattering things I've ever worn, but I love them all the same.

They look a lot like these, minus the burgandy. They are just black, gray and white argyle:



I think I might try them with a black turtleneck, denim pencil skirt and black flats or black knee high boots.

Is it crazy that I can't wait til February so I can spend more $?! The deals are just too good, and I have far too many things on my wishlist!

Academichic

I've been a fan of academichic since the debut of their blog, and since I also work in academia, I find many of their outfits inspiring or even familiar. Well, I snagged a gray and navy checked dress from Target for $8 this weekend, and of course I had to wear it today. I knew I wanted to wear it with my cognac Kady boots, and its too cold to go bear-legged so I wore it with black tights. I then realized that I've pretty much exactly copied one of the outfits E. wore on academichic:



She looks adorable! I think my version looks ok, but she's far cuter!

My outfit is entirely from Target:

Dress, Converse One Star
Black Tights, Assets from Target
Cognac Kady Boots

I went light on the accessories with just silver studs and a wooden beaded bracelet.

Wardrobe Challenge: Black and taupe skirt

ootd 1/22/10 by lindsaymiller

I wore four of the five items from my wardrobe challenge this week! I should've remembered that I had a four day work week this week and didn't need five days of wardrobe inspiration. I'll try to wear my black jersey dress next week.

This is the outfit I chose for today.

Skirt, Old Navy, $9
Black turtleneck, Target? $10
T-shirt (worn over t-neck), NY&Co, $10
Sweater, Old Navy, $?
Tights, Target, $5
Black mary jane flats, Macys, very old!
Pearl and rhinestone earrings, I think I bought them for a wedding about 5 years ago

This is the first time wearing the skirt. The fit is kind of odd, but I'm trying to make it work! Oh, and TGIF!

Wardrobe Challenge: Tan and white Tunic top

tunic outfit by lindsaymiller

Tunic, TJ Maxx, $10
Vest, Gap, gift
Jeans, Kohls, $20
Boots, Target, $30
Scarf, gift

Wardobe Challenge: Gold flats

ootd 1/20/10 by lindsaymiller featuring Forever21

Jeans, Target, $20
Thin striped sweater, Gap, $15
Flats, Old Navy, $15 with coupon
Necklace, Dad found at flea market
Gold hoops, unknown

Wardrobe Challenge: Lace skirt

I've had this cream lace skirt forever, and I've maybe worn it twice. I wanted to challenge myself to not only wear it, but to try styling it for winter. Here is my polyvore of what I came up with!

outfit 1/19 by lindsaymiller featuring Forever21

Skirt, JcPenney a long time ago, less than $20
Long sleeve tee, Kohls, $6
Brown knit vest, TJ Maxx, $15?
Brown and gold scarf, gifted
Brown Tights, Target, ?
Cognac Boots, Target, $30 (might be the best $30 I've ever spent)
Earrings, don't remember

My Best Dressed at the Globes

My mom came to visit this weekend and we had a lot of fun knitting and watching the Golden Globes. There were some really beautiful dresses this year! Here are my favorites:

Wardrobe Challenge: 5 items to wear this week

I've bought a lot of new clothes and shoes lately and I also have quite a few things in my closet that have not gotten much wear lately. I thought I'd do a wardrobe challenge where I'd list 5 items from my closet to wear this week:

1. New gold flats
2. Black jersey dress
3. Tan and white tunic (this will force me to iron it!)
4. New black and taupe skirt
5. Off white lace skirt

I'll post polyvore sets and some photos to show what outfits I come up with!

Cute Shoes at a Bargain

I stopped in Payless last night on the way to the gym - I didn't have much time to look because hubby was waiting for me outside in the car. Anyway, I was quickly browsing the size 8s, when a worker came by and asked me what type of shoes I was looking for - I told him the truth - cheap ones! Ha!

Well, Payless does have their share of cheap shoes. And some of them definitely look cheap and feel cheap! But, I've actually had some good luck with shoes from Payless, ones that actually are comfortable and cheap enough to throw away when they wear out or go out of style.

Here are a few of my Payless picks. They are having clearance now and I saw many shoes under $10!

I'm going back tonight to grab these babies! So cute for spring and only $9! I love the coral color! I imagine wearing them with a white dress or a khaki skirt.



These loafer style pumps are super cute! They look silver to me, but the color says gold. I didn't see them last night, I'll have to see what they look like in person. The site says 24.99 on these, I would only get them if they were less than $15.



Zebra print knot flats, $16.99. I tried these on and loved them! Still too pricey for me for what they are. I'll wait on these to go down in price. They will go with everything though!


I also saw these mustard stacked heel sandals on super clearance - I think they were $5! This is the only photo i could find of them... someone was trying to sell them online. Hope they don't mind I'm using the photo (If you do, let me know and I'll take it down)!



Those are my picks at Payless. Can you tell I'm leaning towards pastels and mustard yellow for spring? So ready for it!!

Preppy Outfit of the Day

I haven't been wearing socks at work this week. Sounds weird, huh? Well, I think all of my flats were getting jealous of all the wear my boots are getting this winter, so I've been wearing my gray fake uggs into work and then changing into ballet flats. It's a nice change for me! I'm not a fan of socks in general - I'm such a summer/flip flops kind of girl, so my feet are happy!

Anyway, I decided to go uber preppy with my outfit of the day today!

preppy outfit by lindsaymiller featuring GAP

Dark denim vest, Kohls, less than $5
Yellow stripey tee, Old Navy clearance, $2.49
Wide leg khakis, Gap, more than 5 years old, don't remember price
Red flats (mine are actually a red, navy and yellow scarf print), Delia's, ~$20?
Fake Tiffany bracelet, Chinatown, $5?

I'm so glad I bought this yellow tee the other day. It's so cute and comfy. I used to shy away from yellow because I thought it clashed with my blonde hair, but I love wearing it now. I'm actually hoping to add a bit more yellow to my wardrobe this spring.

All in all, a very comfy outfit for my day of no meetings/productivity!

Outfit of the Day

Today I'm wearing...



white tank - tj maxx (~$5)
light gray ruffle cardigan - old navy ($12.99)
black skinny jeans - kohls (~$20)
black and silver cluster necklace, target ($9)
black and gray tweed flats (tj maxx, from so long ago I dont recall the price)

outerwear/accessories
black coat with peter pan collar, tj maxx ($40?)
tan black and red burberry-esque scarf, ?
charcoal gray fake-uggs (to walk from car to work), alloy ($30)
gray knit hat with brim, tj maxx ($12)

Amy Adams is the cutest preggo ever!

I love Amy Adams and I was so excited to hear she was pregnant. She is such a good actress and is obviously beautiful! I loved her in Enchanted and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. Celebrity Baby Blog just added a post about her maternity style. I love the red dress but the coat is fantastic! Can't wait to see more of her fashion choices during her pregnancy!

Great finds at Old Navy clearance

After the gym last night, I stopped by the mall with the intention of going to Michaels to get some knitting needles. Well, Old Navy is right next door, so I parked in the middle and actually never made it over to Michaels! I was a bit distracted by all the deals at Old Navy! I think they had just put out the new sale merchandise and there was a lot of good stuff in the Medium section, which is usually picked over.

Here is what I got:

Light gray ruffle front cardi, $12
I love the tiny baby ruffles. So many of my ruffled tops have giant big ruffles in your face. So I really like the tiny ones and soft color on this cardi. Can't wait to wear this with light pink!


A yellow boat-neck tee, $2.49.
Mine is a white/yellow stripe with a tiny chest pocket. It's so cute and nautical, which is one of my favorite looks. I will likely save this for spring and wear it with white and navy and possibly my red and navy scarf-print flats. Can't beat that price!

Black and taupe color block skirt, $9
I immediately loved this skirt and hunted for 10 minutes for my size. It's not perfect (it puckers a bit at the hip) but for the price I figured I'd make it work. I'll probably wear it with a cardigan over it any way. It reminded me a bit of the Horizon Line dress from Anthropologie that Kim from Anthroholic is so fond of.

Taupe tiered/ruffle mini skirt, $7
I saw this on the rack right when I was leaving and bought it without trying it on. It's a bit snug - but by the time its warm enough to wear it it should fit just fine. It's adorable! I love the ruffles on the butt! Too cute! I thought it looked familiar but couldnt place where I'd seen it. Then I realized that it was from Rosa at Love at First Shop who wore it with a vest and cognac boots! I have so many ideas in my head for outfits with this skirt. Here is one I just put in polyvore. I just need these shoes (Aldo Equia, $59) to wear with it!

mustard and gold by lindsaymiller featuring J Crew

So, what are you waiting for? Get thyself to Old Navy! Also, stay tuned for IRL pics and some polyvore sets with the new items! Excited!

I love TJ MAXX!

So I got a total of $50 in TJ Maxx/Marshalls gifts cards for Christmas thanks to my mom and Lisa my boss!

I got 4 great items, and I'm so excited! I've already worn three of the pieces this week and I'll probably make it four by Friday.

I was on the look out for a plaid top with ruffles. Here is what I found for $10. I love the blue color! I wore it with a gray cardigan, brown comfy boots and jeans:



Today I'm wearing a tiered lace top that I'm very excited about for wearing now with layers and then later for spring with skirts and even shorts. It was 12 bucks. I'm wearing this with skinny jeans and my cognac Kady boots I got from Target. The necklace is a locket my dad found at a flea market, and the scarf was a Christmas gift from my dear brother.



The other two items I got are great too! I found a long gray/black marled cardigan for $13. I love it! It's so comfy and warm, but it's short sleeved which keeps me from getting too hot and lets me layer with turtlenecks or other long sleeved shirts. It's super cute and I'm regretting not buying the other two colors I saw there. (I went back and checked - they're gone!) The sweater looks a bit like this one currently sold out a JCrew, but mine has elbow length sleeves:



Finally, I wanted to find a casual 2fer dress. You know the dresses that look like a skirt and top combined? I wanted one that looked cute and young but not trashy. I found an adorable one with a gray and white herringbone top and a tiered gray skirt for $15. I'm planning to wear it now with a black turtleneck underneath and black tights and boots and cardigans. But I can't wait to wear it on its own for spring! I think a light pink cardigan would look great with it... must add that to the list!

It looks a lot like this one from Francesca's, but was about $40 cheaper:



I love TJ Maxx! I got 4 items for $55. Great deals! I cannot wait for spring fashion and shopping, but for now these good deals are making me happy. Fashion is sometimes the only thing that gets me through winter!

Goals not Resolutions

My Reasons to Change and Things that Need to Change

Reasons I want to get back in shape:

1. I want to have more energy and feel stronger and more fit
2. I want get in great shape for summer so I can feel comfortable in shorts and swimsuits
3. I want to get to my goal weight in preparation of maybe getting pregnant sometime in 2010 or 2011.

Patterns of action I must transform to successfully achieve my goals:

Old Pattern: Eating out or eating treats at work
New Pattern: Packing everyday and planning meals ahead

Old Pattern: Skipping workouts or not giving 100%
New Pattern: Working out hard each workout and constantly increasing weight/intensity

Old Pattern: Staying up too late
New Pattern: Go to bed at 11, get up earlier

How I'm going to do it...

* I will plan meals ahead and log my meals daily in LoseIt app on iPod touch and post to the accountability blog with my 2 coworkers; stay under my calories each day

* I will drink 2 liters of water each day

* I will take my multivitamin and fish oil daily

* I will do cardio and abs 3 days a week for 20-30 minutes at a high intensity (burn at least 300 calories)

* I will do weight training 3 days a week (upper, lower and plyometrics)

* I can take one free day or two free meals each week, other than that I will follow Body For Life meals (6 small meals a day)

* I will weigh myself each week and take measurements every other week.

* Walk at lunch at least 3 times per week for 15-20 mins

By March 5, I will...

*Have lost at least 10 lbs, aiming for 15
*Feel comfortable in a swim suit for hot tub on spring break in Gatlinburg
*Look and feel better in clothes and be able to wear some more of my pants that don't fit!

By April 1, I will...

* have lost between 15-20 lbs.
* be able to wear size 6 pants/skirts
* be ready to run another 5K with a better time than '09
* feel lighter and more athletic