T Minus, T Plus

I see this again in my future

2012-07-17T13:54:00.003-05:00

As I was assembling this outfit and tucking in my shirt, I realized that this outfit was going to have a lot of future potential to help me transition into maternity wear. The blouse is a nice full tunic that should still go over my belly when it's bigger and the skirt is a nice soft stretchy fabric that will be very forgiving.

I probably shouldn't have tucked the shirt in since I see that I've got a bump in this photo, but since I already had plans to wear it again untucked when I am really big preggo, I wanted to go ahead and tuck it in today.

What I Wore That Has Maternity Potential:

army green skirt (Lane Bryant)
blue tank (Old Navy)
patterned tunic (Kmart)
necklace (Macy's)
headband (Gap)
wedges (BCBGirls)
purse (Ann Taylor via Goodwill)

Are Pants Taking Over?

2012-07-13T07:14:00.000-05:00

I almost never wear pants, but for the 3rd time this week, I've got pants on. Crazy. Are pants taking over my wardrobe? I don't think so. I think maybe I'm just trying to wear them as much as possible since it's pretty clear that they won't fit my preggo belly much longer and that they won't fit at all after the baby is born. So I am getting as much use out of them as possible while I still can.

What I Wore That Was...More Pants:

grey slacks (Jones New York via plus size consignment store)
striped satin blouse (thrifted)
necklace (?)
earrings (?)
bracelet (Payless Shoes)
grey patent pumps (Steve Madden via Ross)

Why Do All My Pants Suck??

2012-07-12T07:08:00.000-05:00

Much like yesterday, today I am wearing another pair of pants that I think I am going to have to get rid of. They look great when I stand still and settle everything into place, and they fit like a dream. BUT. They look so ridiculous when I am walking or moving. They are super-wide leg slacks and creep up between my legs and swish around my calves too much. I love them so much when I look in the mirror, but whenever I wear them to work, I am self-conscious about them. Hoping it was just me being sill, I asked around. Yep, they look weird. DARN!

What I Wore That Only Looks Good on a Statue:

black wide-leg slacks (Lane Bryant)
lilac tank (Lane Bryant)
spotted cardigan (Lane Bryant)
necklace (bridesmaid jewelry from my sister's wedding)
purse (c/o Simply Be)
earrings (made by my aunt)

Saggy Baggy Sadness

2012-07-11T09:36:00.001-05:00

I really love this color combination of brown and teal. I wear it a lot. And I love that these slacks aren't a true brown, but are more of a mushroom brown color, so it makes me really sad to see just how baggy they've gotten. I have a feeling that after this pregnancy, they are going to have to be given away. Boo!

What I Wore That Was Baggy in the Legs:

brown slacks (Lane Bryant)
cream tank (Old Navy)
teal tank (Lane Bryant via thrift)
tweed jacket (Target)
brown necklace (?? Ross or some place like that)
wedges (MIA via 6pm)

Preggo Purchases: Work Clothes

2012-06-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

I have a lot of non-maternity clothes that still fit, but the choices in my closet are getting more and more limited. After some horrible experiences trying to find plus size maternity options in the stores at JC Penney, Sears, and Motherhood Maternity (all of which I had heard had great plus size options and all claimed to have them available in stores), I came home with one pair of cheap feeling, and, in retrospect, too-short black slacks from Motherhood Maternity. They were the only piece of maternity clothing in all the stores that even fit me. It was utterly depressing.

So I decided to shop online. I do a lot of online shopping for plus size clothes in general, so it's not a big deal. But since I don't really know how to shop for my pregnant shape, I had wanted to go with some in-store options so I could try things on. Maternity clothing is sold according to your pre-pregnancy size. But I don't actually know what size I would be since I've lost so much weight. I can only guess. I had been a very solid and consistent size 20 before I got pregnant, but I might be all the way down to a 16 now? I'm not sure.

Anyway, I ordered some options from the maternity sections at JC Penney and Old Navy. I'm hoping I guessed my sizes correctly. We'll see. Even with shopping online, I found almost no work appropriate bottoms. I ended up with one pair of grey slacks. They came in a couple of colors, but this was the only one in my size. And there are no work skirts to be found anywhere. As someone who prefers skirts to slacks, that was really annoying.

What I Purchased For Work:

Duo™ Maternity Tie Waist Top, pink multi (JC Penney - $20)
Duo™ Maternity Split Neck Top, multi (JC Penney - $20)
Maternity Cowl-Neck Tops, multi-floral (Old Navy - $18 on sale)
Duo™ Maternity Top, Ruffle Sleeve Chiffon, shocking blue (JC Penney - $6 on sale)
Duo™ Maternity Shirt Smocked Front, white (JC Penney - $20)
Maternity Ruched V-Neck Sleeveless Tops, serpenteal (Old Navy - $27)
Duo™ Maternity Wide Leg Career Pant, heather grey (JC Penney - $30)

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Cross-posted on T Plus a Baby

Preggo Purchases: Flats

2012-06-14T05:58:00.000-05:00

I've completely given up on heels. I had been slowly wearing them fewer and fewer days in the office each week. And I've decided I will not be wearing them at all anymore. I own quite a few flats, but most of them are starting to look worn and aren't the best for my office anymore. So I knew I wanted to get some new flats, but I also knew I didn't really want to run all around town trying to find flats that are comfortable and cute. So I looked at what I already had in my closet and noticed these bright red, patent flats.

I love these flats. They are completely comfortable and since they're so simple, they go with everything.

So I headed over to Target.com to see what other colors they had. And then I bought 5 pairs. Yep. I bought 5 pairs of the exact same shoe: taupe patent, gold snakeskin, purple patent, black patent, and black snakeskin. And I am so happy with the decision! I think my feet are set for the rest of my pregnancy - at least for work!

Do you every buy multiples of the same item?

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This post has been cross-posted to T Plus a Baby.

Casual Sparkle

2012-06-13T11:10:00.002-05:00

Another archived outfit that I pulled out of my camera's memory card. Since we can't wear jeans to work, I'm gonna say that this was a weekend outfit. And judging by the clumps of grass in the street, I'm going to say that our neighbors had just had their yard mowed. These details are very important, I'm sure. ;)

What I Wore That Was Sparkly and Ombre:

blue sequin T (Lane Bryant)
ombre cardigan (via Ross)
jeans (DKNY via Lane Bryant)
grey suede "flats" (Target)
turquoise earrings (gift)

Where'd She Go....?

2012-06-12T11:48:00.002-05:00

I didn't mean to disappear for two months, but life has gotten away from me. I had been diligently taking photos of my outfits every morning, but then I didn't have the energy to edit them and write a post at night. Eventually I even stopped taking the photos.

But over the weekend, I was feeling pretty good, so I started going through my old photos. So I thought I would go ahead and post the outfits, even though they're more than a month old. I was about 5 months pregnant here and I was still wearing my regular clothes. (In fact, I am still wearing my regular clothes - just no jeans and some of my tops no longer fit.)

I remember wearing this outfit, b/c I had a doctor's appointment that morning. My OB (who is about my size and age, I think) kept commenting on everything I was wearing. "I love that shirt! Where did you get it?" " Ohhh! Cute skirt! You have to take me shopping." I almost told her about my blog but since it's linked to my baby blog, I decided not to - because I didn't want to limit anything I might want to say about my experience with her on T Plus a Baby just in case she was reading it.

What I Wore That My OB Went Gaga Over:

grey skirt w/ back ruffle (Lane Bryant)
purple floral satin blouse (Apt 9 via Goodwill)
purple cardigan (Target)
black flats (Target)
opal earrings (antique, anniversary gift from Rand)

To Tuck or Not To Tuck?

2012-04-24T13:59:00.001-05:00

That is the question....

Ugh. Tucking in shirts. I really don't do it very often, especially with pants. My figure just doesn't work well with that style generally. However, when I was getting dressed yesterday morning, it looked sloppy untucked, so I tucked my shirt in. Standing there in front of my mirror, I decided tucked was an improvement. So I trucked outside and took my morning picture and headed to work. After being at work for several hours, I saw myself in the bathroom mirror. Uh... NOT GOOD! So I untucked the shirt again. Then as I was editing these photos I saw that it never really was the best option for me.

Oh well. You win some and you lose some.

What I Wore While Both Tucked and Untucked:

brown slacks (Lane Bryant)
teal striped blouse (Lane Bryant)
tweed jacket (Target)
brooch (Goodwill)
wedges (MIA)
bracelet (Charming Charlie)
earrings (Target)

New Work Dress

2012-04-20T08:03:00.000-05:00

Now that I'm back to having a permanent job, I need to add back in some more professional clothes. But I've been hesitant to buy anything new right now because I don't know what my pregnant body is going to look like from week to week. But when Land's End contacted me about trying out their plus size line, I knew I had to take a chance. Quite a few of their dresses suited my professional needs and this heather brown one seemed really versatile for both styling and my changing figure. With the full skirt, it will be more forgiving of my expanding baby bump.

When the dress arrived, I really liked it. Amazingly, I don't have any brown dresses in my wardrobe, so this filled a missing niche. The fabric is soft and stretchy, but still held it's shape well. And the quality is nice. I do have one gripe, and it actually applies to all Land's End clothing. It's a problem that everyone seems to have. The sizing on everything is way off - like, you always need to go down at least one size, if not two. It's not an insurmountable problem, but it is annoying.

What I Wore From Land's End:

brown ponte knit drapefront dress (c/o Land's End)
burgundy/orange/brown blouse (Just My Size via Goodwill)
stone earrings (hand-me-down)
bracelet (so old I can't remember)
wooden belt (souvenir from my honeymoon in Costa Rica)
suede and fur pumps (J. Renee via Goodwill)

Despite the sizing issues, I will be adding Land's End to my online shopping options. In fact, I've got my eye on a few dresses that they just added. I think that these will all work with the baby bump.

It's Not a Suit

2012-04-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

At my new job, I'm a lawyer but not a lawyer. I am a member of staff. See, they wanted a lawyer to fill the position but I'm not practicing law for the firm. So it's been interesting to try to strike the right balance with my clothes. especially because the firm is fairly conservative and business formal. I need to look dressier than most of the staff but not as formal as the lawyers. This means that most of my clothes are too casual, but I don't need to wear my suits every day. So this is my first attempt at a modified suit of a sort.

What I Wore That Wasn't Really a Suit:

blue pinstripe skirt (thrifted, CATO)
blue/grey patterned shell (via JC Penney)
grey jacket (Lane Bryant, thrifted)
rosette pin (Lane Bryant)
grey pumps (Steve Madden)
earrings (??)
sunglasses (c/o Charming Charlie)

No Maternity Jeans Yet!

2012-03-30T08:04:00.000-05:00

I've been worried about having to buy maternity clothes, but so far all my regular clothes fit. In fact, some of them are too big right now. I've lost some weight since getting pregnant and my body has definitely shifted where I am carrying my weight. Most of my pants are really baggy in the butt but fit great in the waist (since my butt has shrunk and my waist is expanding). These jeans had actually been a little tight not too long ago, so they are one of the few pairs that don't just hang off my butt. I don't think I'll be buying maternity jeans since summer is on it's way, but you never know...

What I Wore That Still Fits:

black jeans (Divine by Avenue)
paisley blouse (via Goodwill)
grey pearl necklace (Forever 21)
tribal half hoop earrings (c/o Poshlocket*
grey suede shoes (Target)
Bespoke Tote Handbag (c/o Simply Be)

A Job Interview

2012-03-15T14:40:00.001-05:00

If you are also following my pregnancy blog, T Plus a Baby, then you know that I was recently contacted by a headhunter and had a job interview scheduled. I was trying to decide if I was going to reveal my pregnancy in my interview or not. I decided not to and the interview went really well. If they offer me the job, I'll discuss my pregnancy with them before I decide to accept the offer. Hopefully, I'll know something soon. As for now, I'm just glad my suits still fit and I didn't have to go buy a maternity one just for this interview.

What I Wore While Interviewing For a New Job:

black pinstripe suite (Lane Bryant)
grey shell (so very, very old that the tag is completely faded)
earrings (Ross?)
necklace (gift)
orange pumps (Jones New York via DSW)

Maxi PJs

2012-03-09T17:27:00.000-06:00

You know those nights when you really don't sleep well, so when you wake up you just want to stay in your PJs all day long? Or maybe that's just me. But somehow staying comfy-cozy makes my sleepiness more tolerable. This maxi-dress feels like a really soft nightgown, so it was perfect.

What I Wore To Substitute for My PJs:

animal print maxi (via Ross)
cardigan (Target)
flats (Target)
earrings (gift from a reader Samantha*)

* Thanks again, Samantha! I'm so happy to finally be able to wear them during the work week so they made it onto the blog.

I Heart Zombies

2012-03-05T20:02:00.000-06:00

I love all things zombie and that includes The Walking Dead. I wish it was a little more survivalist and a little less soap opera-y, but it still rocks. Rand doesn't really like TV and it's one of the few shows that we watch together.

What I Wore While Watching The Walking Dead:

jeans (Genius Fit by Lane Bryant*)
blue peasant blouse (Lane Bryant via thrift)
green cardigan (NY&Co.)
green shoes (Two Lips)
earrings (Dana Buchman via Kohl's)
ring (Target)
green glitter polish (unknown brand via CVS)

* review coming soon

The Godfather

2012-03-02T07:36:00.001-06:00

Back in the day, I worked in the film industry. When I was in film school, it came out that I had never seen the Godfather trilogy, everyone was flabbergasted and I never heard the end of it. So I sat down one day and watched all three of them back-to-back, and then I never watched them again. Here it is, almost 20 years later and Rand mentioned wanting to watch them. Now he is flabbergasted that I've only ever seen them once. I can't win! So we recorded them all and we started watched them last night.

Maybe in 20 years, I'll watch them again. LOL

What I Wore While Watching The Godfather:

blue ruffle dress (Avenue)
grey patterned cardigan (Lane Bryant)
grey striped tank (Sonoma)
grey suede boots (Lane Bryant Outlet)
necklace (Old Navy)

Go Away, Germs

2012-02-29T07:06:00.001-06:00

In my experience, there is always one person in an office that comes to work no matter how sick they are. Then everyone else gets sick. I hate that guy. When I had an office that I could hole up in, it wasn't as bad, but now I work in a room with a bunch of other people. Everyone is right next to each other. And that guy is about 3 feet away from me. And he coughs in my face constantly. Maybe my hostility will be a good enough defense against the germs. LOL

What I Wore While Getting Coughed On:

jeggings (c/o Simply Be)
tank (Kmart)
blue cardigan (Goodwill)
necklace (via swap)
grey flats (Target)

1/3 of the way there

2012-02-27T15:00:00.001-06:00

Well I thought I was going to be back full time, but as you can see, I've still had a hard time blogging. And it's time to share what has been going on with me, especially since it's something I am so excited about. If you've been reading T Minus, T Plus for a while, you've seen a few posts here and there where I have mentioned that Rand and I were trying to conceive and that it hadn't been going well.

I am very happy to announce that I am pregnant!

I just started my second trimester last week and we're both finally starting to breath a little easier. Plus, I no longer seem to have much morning sickness and I finally don't want to go to bed at 8pm every night. My once-daily migraines are less frequent too! Hopefully that means more blog posts heading your way!

What I Wore While Starting My Second Trimester:

tweed skirt (Lane Bryant)
black heart blouse (City Chic)
green cardigan (Goodwill)
black boots (Avenue)
frog socks (too old to have any clue)
green earrings (hand-me-down)
black necklace (Goodwill)

I know quite a few of you expressed an interest in me making my trying to conceive blog public, and right as I was starting to convert it over, I found out I was pregnant. So if you are still interested, I invite you to read T Plus a Baby, which follows Rand and I through all our infertility issues including IVF, and has now moved into the ups and downs of pregnancy.

Blue Day

2012-02-08T21:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was one of those days when it seems like everyone wore the same color to work. It amused us all, so we decided to all wear blue today. I love this sweater but I didn't want to just throw it on with jeans, so I decided to try it out with this grey pencil skirt. I really like the juxtoposition of the casual sweater with the professional skirt. I forgot to take a close-up pic of my tights, but they are not solid - they're a nice cable-knit pattern.

What I Wore That Was Blue:

blue striped sweater (Lane Bryant)
grey pencil skirt (Lane Bryant)
grey tights (Avenue)
black booties (Kmart)
earrings ($4 jewelry store in NYC)
ring (c/o Charming Charlie)

MIA

2012-02-06T14:57:00.000-06:00

In the three years that T Minus, T Plus has been around (3rd year anniversary coming soon!) I don't think I've ever gone more than a week without posting. But all of a sudden I find that it's been more than 3 weeks since my last post. Thanks to everyone who emailed me asking if I was okay or maybe on vacation. I wish I could say that I have been galavanting across Europe for three weeks, but sadly that was not the case. I've been in Dallas, going to work and not doing very much else. Longer than normal hours at work combined with a significantly longer commute has really cut down on my available free time. And once you add in a lingering fatigue and illness that I just couldn't shake, all I have done is eat dinner and then go to bed once I get home from work. Most nights I didn't even really feel like eating dinner, so I've accidentally lost 5 pounds.

I did manage to take a few outfit photos during that time, but not very many. And you aren't missing much with the unphotographed outfits, because it got the point that all I cared about was if I was wearing clean and comfortable clothes. Thankfully, casual clothes are 100% acceptable at my current job. But now that I am starting to feel better, I am looking forward to putting together cute looks again.

What I Wore While Going MIA:

studded jeggings (c/o Simply Be)
black tank (NY&Co.)
animal print tunic (c/o Sealed With a Kiss)
grey suede boots (Lane Bryant Outlet)
earrings (Rainbow)
necklace (Target)

BTW, I am loooooving my new jacket. I've been wearing every cold day and I get compliments on it every time I wear it. Everyone seems to like the unique shape. Me too!! And it keeps me nice and warm.

Makeup Fiascos

2012-01-12T21:46:00.001-06:00

I swear I wear makeup. Honest. Although you can never tell from my photos.

See, I was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding years and years ago. It was my 4th time being a bridesmaid that year. And after the photos from the first two wedding came back, we realized that all of the girls in the wedding parties looked drained even though everyone had looked lovely in person. At the 3rd wedding we talked to the photographer and the makeup artist (yep, the bride hired a makeup artist for us at that wedding). They informed us that we really needed to amp up our makeup if we wanted it to look good in the photos. So the makeup artist really slathered it on. I remember thinking that I looked like I had waaaay to much makeup on. But the photos were all amazing.

So, at this 4th wedding, where I didn't know any of the other bridesmaids (I was a friend of the groom), I shared my "wedding makeup wisdom" and convinced all these girls to pile it on. um...When the photos came back we all looked like little girls that had gotten into their moms' makeup drawers. Not good. I remember that I, in particular, looked like I should be working in a brothel. Although I must not have looked completely horrible, since I started dating one of the groomsmen that I met that night. Or maybe it was my charm. Or the copious amounts of bourbon we were drinking that made me seem charming. Ha!

Ever since then, I don't worry about my makeup in photos.

What I Wore That Included Makeup:

black jeans (Avenue)
green shirt (via Goodwill)
dotted cardigan (Lane Bryant)
belt (? off some random dress, I think)
green loafers ($4 Shoe Store)
necklace (Target new stock via Goodwill)

A New Dress???

2012-01-11T22:13:00.002-06:00

Rand's Daily Outfit Assessment: "You look really nice. Is that dress new?" No, I've had it since summer. "Oh, I guess I've never seen you wear it." Uh...I probably wore it at least 10 times since I got it. "Hmmm."

I really did live in this dress on the weekends. It even made it onto the blog a couple of times. It's so sheer and lightweight, I wasn't sure if I could wear it during the winter, but I wanted to try. Tights, boots, and a jacket seemed the easiest way to do it, and I think it worked out pretty well.

What I Wore That Rand Forgot:

dress (c/o Torrid)
black tights (Avenue)
black boots (Avenue)
black jacket (Newport News)
brooch (Goodwill)
bracelet (Charming Charlie)
earrings (?)

Red, Black, & Grey

2012-01-10T21:32:00.000-06:00

We had a nice fire tonight and lounged around on the couches, soaking up the heat. Unfortunately, in the building stages of the fires, I tried to make a rather tricky log-swap manuever. And, uh, the log, which was on fire rolled right out of the grill and onto the rug. All the little coals singed tons of dark spots into the rug. It's a hand-me-down rug and not particularly in my style, but it's a very nice quality oriental rug and I hadn't really planned on replacing it yet. Guess that's the risk you run when playing with fire. LOL

What I Wore While Setting The Rug on Fire:

black slacks (Lane Bryant)
grey wrap sweater (Target)
red flats (Target)
scarf (Goodwill)
bracelet (Goodwill)
earrings (Target new stock via Goodwill)

Safari in the Office

2012-01-09T23:19:00.000-06:00

I absolutely loved this outfit all day long. You know how some days, you think you look really cute when you leave the house and then you catch a glimpse of yourself in a window and realize that you look horrible? Or sometimes you start out looking cute but everything goes limp and gets wrinkled five minutes after you walk out the door? I hate days like those. I always feel like I need say to people "I promise, I didn't look this schlumpy when I left the house. Trust me, when I'm being schlumpy, it's much worse than this." Or something along those lines. Well, today, I felt great all day long. Nothing got super wrinkled or drooped. I didn't spend all day readjusting anything to keep it in place. And, I was supremely comfortable to boot. In fact, I left work early because I felt so sick, and went straight home and laid down on the couch without even changing into comfy clothes. Bonus!

No outfit assessment from Rand on this one since I was covered up in a blanket by the time he got home. But I think I look like I'm going on a safari - in an office.

What I Wore While Taking an Office Safari:

I'm hunting...paperclips!

army green pencil skirt (Lane Bryant)
chambray blouse (Target via Goodwill)
earrings (?)
black boots (Avenue)
animal print belt (c/o Lane Bryant)

Preppy in Pink

2012-01-05T22:59:00.000-06:00

Let me just say, I hate it when this happens. I swear that this shirt did not pull when I put it on. But by the time I added the sweater and then sat around at work, the shirt settled into a decidedly puckered position. Not flattering and not appropriate! Oh well, you can't win them all. On the bright side, I don't normally dress quite this preppy. It took me back to my highschool and college days when Gap ruled and everything I owned was definitely preppy. Well, except for my birkenstocks. But I went to college in Austin and you were pretty much required to own birks in Austin in the early 90s.

What I Wore That Was Preppy But Pulled:

trouser jeans (Lane Bryant via Goodwill)
blue check blouse (George via Goodwill)
pink sweater (Lane Bryant via Goodwill)
necklace (Dana Buchman via Kohls)
grey suede flats (Target)
pink earrings (Old Navy)