Random Sprinkles and an OOTD

{we heart it} 

Hey there peeps.  It’s just past midnight here, and I have no idea why, but I am exhausted as shiz.  Ok, I lie , I have an idea why I’m crazy-spent-depleted, but that’s for another day.  For now, I’m just straight tired.  And when I’m this tired, I am random and all over the place.  So I apologize in advance, but tonight’s post is completely the same, random and all over the place.  (And I know you might be thinking, “Umm Allison, if you’re so tired, why are you blogging and not sleeping?”  And my answer?  I have my priorities in line, duuuuuh.)

Ok onto my randomness…

1.  I turned on my heater tonight.  Yes, you read that right, my HEATER.  Heater as in the thing that produces hot air when you’re freezing.  Yeah, that thing.  And its September.  What in the world?!  I know fall comes early in Chicago, but a heater in early September?  Insane.  (And for my fellow Chicagoans, it was only my car heater, but still, it was cranking 85 and I was shivering.  Insane I tell you.)

2.  Today was my first day to open the store as a manager.  No other manager, just little old me and a sales associate.  In charge of the store.  A big store, with nice things, buttons I’m not really sure what they do, and forms I’m not entirely certain how to fill out.  And though I had nightmares someone would come in first thing after I opened the door demanding to speak to a manager for a return-price adjustment-online price match-damaged item-parking complaint-where is the closest restroom-do you sell scratch off lottery tickets-I have a gift card-I lost my receipt type of transaction, no one did.  Ok, well a few peeps did.  But not all those things at once.  Thankfully, I handled it without a panicked phone call to another manager.  Two hips and hooray for me!

3.  This time in three days I will be in Texas.  Hells yeah.

4.  This time next week I will have just finished my dissertation proposal presentation.  Whoa.  This probably means I should actually start putting together my presentation.  Eeesh.

5.  THIS is the best news I’ve heard all day.  No wait, all week!  And yes, if scroll down to the comments section of the post, you will see the first comment is made by yours truly.  I have a Lauren Conrad problem, its fine, I’m aware.

6.  Ok, I lied on #5.  The best news I’ve heard all day, all week, and all month is that my little brother has officially been accepted to The University of Oklahoma.  Keeping the Sooner spirit in the fam.  BOOMER!  And to all my Longhorn friends and family who attempted to convert him…GAME OVER.  You lose.  I win.  Nice try :)

7.  I think Starbucks needs to start serving sprinkle donuts.  They serve egg sandwiches, oatmeal, apple fritters, pumpkin bread and apparently now hummus and cheese trays.  But no sprinkle donuts?  Get with it Starbucks.

8.  Thanks to the craziness that is Whale Wars, I rocked Smashing Pumpkins on repeat this morning.  I can’t get that song out of my head.  Though after a few plays, I returned to my default Glee and B. Spears.  I’m certain I might be the only person to have Britney and Smashing Pumpkins on the same playlist lol.

9.  My outfit today might be one of my favorite outfits ever.  I don’t know if it was the Smashing Pumpkins, the leather jacket, or the black boots, but I felt like a total bad ass lol.  On my lunch break, I caught a glimpse of myself in a window and thought, dang, don’t mess with that girl.  Ha. 

I got this tunic on crazy sale at Macy’s when we were in Arizona (courtesy of my mother in law) and right away, knew I couldn’t wait to pair it with black leggings and black boots for a fall/winteresque day in our new city.  And considering it was 54 degrees when I left the house this morning, I jumped to make it happen today.  As I was walking out the door, I saw my new leather jacket wadded up neatly laying on the floor, and threw it on over the get up.  Insta-love.  I’m wondering if my coworkers would notice if I wore the same thing the rest of the weekend? :)

Leather jacket: Ann Taylor
Tunic: Macy’s INC
Leggings: Ann Taylor
Boots: Nordstrom
Watch: stolen from Matt :)
Necklace: from my trip to Spain
Rings: Forever 21, David Yurman
Earrings: wedding present from Matt

So, if you made it through all my random thoughts, bless you.  You are a fabulous and faithful reader.  And to make me feel like less of a rambling loser, share a little something random of your own with me.  Pretty please :)

Kohl's: Your One Stop Shop

This weekend, Matt had an interview in Oklahoma, so we headed North for the weekend.  Given my love affair with all things OU, I jumped at the chance to go.  Our travel plans changed once we got there, which allowed us to have time to stop in Dallas on our way home to see several of my longtime friends.  It also allowed me to celebrate a reeeeally special event with my best friend Jordan.  Jordan and her mom own a dance studio, and they just moved into a fabulous new space, and in true diva style, they threw a cocktail party to celebrate the occasion.  (Reason number 526 we're friends; we think just alike.)

Now, I'm always up for a good cocktail party, but the problem was, I had NOTHING to wear.  Sure, I had packed cute stuff for Oklahoma, but nothing cocktail appropriate.  Matt tried to persuade me to wear jeans saying "no one ever dresses up these days, they'll be people there in mom jeans and sweaters, etc" but I wouldn't have it.  I REFUSE to wear jeans to cocktail party.  I don't care if their lined in diamonds, I.will.not.do.it.   If other people choose to, fine, but I simply refuse.  (Judge me if you want.)  I begged Matt to run to the mall, but even as a begged, I knew we didn't have time.  So with an hour until the party and nothing but jeans, tops, and sweaters, I headed to the one place I knew I'd be able to find everything I needed for an affordable price and where I could be in and out in under a half an hour.  What is this place I speak of?  Kohls.

Now some of you might already love Kohls, but I'm going to guess the majority of you turn up your nose at the standalone not-quite-department-store store or simply forget it's even there.  But I'm blogging today to convince/remind you of its awesomeness.  Now I'm not going to lie and say it's my first choice of shopping spots or the place I'd run if I won the lottery, but I am saying that it deserves a solid second look from people.  I tend to follow the same pattern when I shop there and stick to certain items and brands.  It's a big store, so I don't look at everything, just what I know I like.  For clothes I browse Simply Vera by Vera Wang, LC Lauren Conrad (remember how much I heart her), Elle, and sometimes Daisy Fuentes.  I always browse their accessories, home decor, dishes/glassware, and candles (they have super steals in this department.)  Once in a while I also check in on their sleepwear section.  So check out some of the things I spotted and grabbed in my fifteen minute shopping spree (yes, literally, fifteen minutes.  I grabbed what I could, and vowed to return the things I didn't end up wearing.  I'm hoping Matt forgets about that return vow.)  I've also included some of the things I just love there right now in general.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that the best part about Kohl's is everything is always on SALE!

LC Lauren Conrad Asymmetrical Dress (on sale for $39.99)

You all already know about my obsession for both Lauren Conrad and for bows, so put them together and I just can't say no.  I think this dress would be fabulous for holiday parties with gigantic blinged out earrings.  (Yes, I said blinged out.  Sue me.)

Elle Boyfriend Jacket (on sale for $41.99)

I have been hunting for a cute black little blazer for what seems like 2 years, and this one is super cute.  Unfortunately, it didn't fit me the way I wanted, but since we're all built differently, I'm hoping it will work better for one of you.  It would look fab with skinny jeans and a great pair of boots or booties.

 Simply Vera Sequin Organza Top (on sale for $31.99)

Shine is oh so in this season and I think the combination of shine and feminine detailing in this top is divine.  I'd rock it with black skinny jeans and heels for going out or with a black pencil skirt and cardigan for the office.  The Kohl's in Dallas didn't have this, and you better believe I'm going to the one in my little town tonight for this top.

LC Lauren Conrad Shaker Cardigan (on sale for $41.99)

I don't think they should call this a cardigan, because it looks so much thicker than a traditional cardigan.  I love wearing creams and winter whites for some odd reason, and I'm getting warm and cozy just looking at this sweater.  I'd pair it with skinny jeans and brown riding boots.  Delightful.

LC Lauren Conrad Strapless Dress (on sale for $28.99)

Though the name of the dress is a serious snooze (really Lauren that's the best you could do?), this dress is a perfect basic in every way.  Every girl needs one, two, or seven black dresses in her closet, and this is a good one to add.  The fabric says casual and the cut is fairly neutral, so you have lots of room to play with the dress to make your look what you want.  I ended up wearing this to the cocktail party with black tights and a gray cocoon sweater that I'd packed for the weekend, along with black patent round toe heels, a cute black bow headband that I got at Kohl's, and gigantic bling earrings.  Super cute and versatile (and for less than $30), what's not to love?

Simply Vera Chiffon Top (on sale for $29.99)

I am always (and I mean always) looking for black tops to go under cardigans.  My staple work wardrobe consists of pencil skirts and cardigans, but I try to avoid just wearing a plain cami underneath, instead favoring a top with some pizazz or detail.  This top is perfect for that task! The light fabric and the detailing around the neckline make me melt with glee.  I love love love this and will be adding it to my "under cardigan collection."

I had intended to add more lovelies to this post, but after six pieces, I can see I'm getting carried away (and we didn't even get to housewares or accessories!)  I guess that means you'll just have to head over to Kohl's and see all the goodness for yourself :)  Seriously people-who-I-know-are-still-doubting-me, consider Kohl's!  You can't possibly leave that store without finding something you just have to have.  Happy shopping and let me know what you find!

Professional Hairbraider Wanted

Trends usually fade in and out, but one of trends that I've been happy to see linger around is braids.  While I give Nicole Richie, Lauren Conrad and J.Simp (I love Jessica Simpson so much I refer to her as J.Simp.  We're BFFs; its fine) the credit for introducing this trend to Hollywood, lots of celebs and actresses have certainly followed suit and given this trend real staying power.  Of course, the braid trend has morphed a little bit going from side braid in a pony tail, to small braid up front with hair down, to full updos with braids, but if a trend is going to stay, I think a little morphing is to be expected.  I have loved the braid in each of it's stages.  The problem is, I have no idea how to braid, much less french braid.

My love/lust relationship with braids has an early history.  In elementary school, french braids were the cool things to wear.  Until third grade, I wore a uniform to school, and there wasn't really any way jazz up the forest green plaid.  (Sick, I know.  I had to wear it.)  So lots of girls would sport french braids or if they were really stylish, they'd wear "double french braids."  I longed to jazz up my forest green plaid, and being the fabulous mom that she was, my mom wanted to support this wish.  So my mom and I enrolled in a french braiding class at the local rec center.  Haha, rereading that last sentence I realize it sounds like I grew up in teeny tiny town America with a Piggly Wiggly, but I actually grew up in suburban Dallas, where apparently rec centers and french braiding are hip.  So my mom signed us up and away we went, full of enthusiasm and french braid dreams.  That lasted about ten minutes into the first lesson when my mom and I both realized french braiding was NOT her thing.  She tugged, pulled, and squeezed harder than I ever thought possible, and oblivious to her frustration and intense effort to make me happy, I whined the whole time (I hope my children aren't as whiny as I am was.)  We went to braid school another week or two, with little improvement and diminishing dreams of braids.  A few weeks into the class, my mom had to go on bed rest as she was pregnant and at risk with my little brother.  She said that my dad and I would continue the class, because she knew how much I wanted to have my hair braided.  I appreciated her thoughtful offer, but remembering the time my dad was in charge and sent to me dance pictures with no tights, I declined.  So we tucked away our braid book and the torture comb comb my mom used to separate my hair and called it a day.  (Please note though that my mom never lost sight of my braid dreams.  She took me to our hair stylist often so I could have my hair braided for a special day at school or the father daughter dance.  Seriously, what kind of mom drops money to have her daughter's braided for no major reason?  Only my awesomely thoughtful mom!)

Fast forward a few years to high school when I met my BFF Jordan.  She was silly, loving, fun to be with and...she could french braid.  Woo hoo, my prayers were answered!  I rocked the double french braids to drill team camps and school spirit days on and off for the next couple of years.  Then in college, the braid trend went away, as braids were still thought of as little girl or teeny bopper styles.  But then around 2007ish, the braids came back in style thanks to my girls mentioned above, and both me and Hollywood took notice.  Luckily, my sweet, awesome friend Tarah had quite polished braiding skills and indluged me often when I'd ask for a quick braid.  Sadly, Tarah graduated with her master's last year, and left me in this little town, with one less friend and no braids.  Tear.

Recently, I've been reminded about my braid lust as the braid has gotten a recent revamp in the updo form.  Not like "cheesey prom updo" but like chic, slightly flower child, and oh so office appropriate up do.  All the cool kids in Hollywood are rocking them and, to me, they give just the right amount of polish and individuality to any look.  So, with that said, I refuse to be left out of this adorably perfect trend and am looking for any french braiders/twisters/gurus in the area who wouldn't mind stopping by house every morning to help me polish off my office look.  Until I find someone, I will continue to look longingly at pics of J. Simp, Lauren Conrad, and Whitney Port, sigh...I heart you braids.

Oh so stylish Whitney Port lunching with friends and rocking the twisted braid.

Nicole Richie who consistently reinvents the wheel when it comes to effortless chic.

Lauren Conrad can do no wrong in my book.  LOVE her.

Tarah (my sweet friend who loves me enough to indulge my braid dreams) and I at brunch at Blue Mesa.  And yes, that little braid is courtesy of her :)

An Open Letter to Black Nail Polish

Dear Black Nail Polish,

It's time we have a conversation about our us. I've tried for over a year to make our relationship work, and after several ups and downs, I am left completely confused about where we stand. You look so good on Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port, Jessica Simpson, and many of my celebrity style friends, yet when I try to rock you, it just doesn't work out. So yesterday, I made my last attempt to reconcile our relationship, and to my surprise, we clicked. I left the nail place rocking my look and loving my black nails. But I've been here before, thinking we were clicking and that I could incorporate you into my look, only to be disappointed by my next encounter with you. So, if you could let me in the secret to capturing your heart for good I would appreciate it. But for this week at least, I'll enjoy being one of girls who rock the black nail polish.

Loving you for now,

Allison