Army Greens

It is definitely July in Maryland... bleh. Not happy about the scorching sun and nasty humidity. I'm sure when it is February and freezing I will look back on this weather longingly, but right now I am sick of it. Too hot to wear real clothes, I say. That's why this cotton maxi dress caught my eye. It is super lightweight, and feels like a tshirt. And it hides my really icky mosquito bites I have all over my legs.

What I'm wearing:
olive Target dress
raspberry M+O tank top underneath
Moss Mills leather belt (from anthropologie)
Matt Bernson Barracuda studded sandals

Shoes!

PS. You are probably wondering about the change in scenery. This was taken in my new apartment, where my bedroom is in the attic! I also have zero (yes, zero) closet space which is why there is a rack in full view. Not really quite done redecorating, and my box spring wouldn't fit up the stairs (UGH) so right now my poor little room looks a bit sad. But the location can't be beat and there is a great little cafe downstairs!

Dark and Stormy

Dark and stormy's are definitely in the running for my favorite drink ever. They are absolutely delicious, I only discovered them after moving to Annapolis. They are made with dark rum (Gosling's) and ginger beer (Barritt's) with a slice of lime. YUM. I make all my friends try it when they come visit me.


The reason that the post is titled "Dark and Stormy" is because of two reasons. 1. I am wearing dark colors right now, crazy for July! and 2. I have a major grumpy-face going on. The reason I'm wearing this outfit is because our store was hosting a breakfast event in honor of our new fall line, so I felt that wearing our new fall stuff would probably be a good idea. I am grumpy because it is way too hot to wear a sweater in July. I do love this outfit, I tend to gravitate towards brighter shades but lately I've been appreciating the forgiving nature of black.


What I'm wearing:
grey Martin + Osa cowlneck sweater
black sateen Martin + Osa skirt (has pockets AND an exposed zipper, I knew I had to have it)
Modern Vintage shoes
black studded Rebecca Minkoff Devote tote

ETA: a photo of me smiling in this outfit!

Back to Reality...

The overnight race to Solomon's was kind of intense for me, especially because I'm not used to super long races, but it was worth it just to see a beautiful sunrise. I haven't been up this early in AGES. We finished just as the sun was coming up....


I'm such a newbie and have a lot to learn, but the boat that I was on was so amazing and understanding. I learned a lot! Most of my duties consisted of staying out of the way to be honest.



Being on the water is absolutely one of my favorite things ever. Now that I've spend a few days closer to nature, I'm a lot more motivated to take advantage of the outdoors and also keep myself in better shape.


I had such a great time, it was truly a long weekend to remember, and I feel so lucky. Even when I was cranky and tired in the middle of the night, I would say to myself, not everyone gets to do this. Nothing of importance fashion-wise came out of this weekend. On the boat my uniform consisted of tank top, shorts, boat shoes, gloves (I have a pretty sweet [not] glove tan line), and sunglasses. I do need some sportier ones, my old Chanel sunnies gave me the worst raccoon eyes imaginable. I did wear some cute dresses to the parties, but paired them with flipflops. Sailing is pretty casual, and I like it that way!


I wish I had more action shots but it's hard to take photos while racing! And my camera zoom is definitely not good enough. The boat I sailed on, "Molto Bene" came in 4th in our class. Not too shabby I think, out of 10 boats.

Sail Away with Me....

Racing down to Solomons, MD tonight! It's an overnight race, will be sailing all night and arrive there early in the morning. Then its parties on Saturday, then a regatta called Screwpile starts on Sunday. So the schedule will be: race, then party. Repeat until Tuesday. This is what I'm bringing for the "party" portion of it, my racing gear isn't anything special. Really excited! Last year I did the race down but didn't do the regatta, this year I took time off so I could do both.


What I wore last night to drop the car off at Solomons so T could drive back on Sunday (he isn't doing the regatta). Almost an hour and a half away. He had a friend who had a boat around there, so we just hung out at the marina and drank some beers. Beautiful night out.

What I'm wearing:
Martin + Osa jersey dress
Aerosoles shoes
Martin + Osa chain mesh bracelet

Closeup of bracelet.

Flower Power

Wore this Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress out for drinks last night. One of my favorite restaurants/bars in town has half off appetizers and drink specials all night on Wednesday nights. Last night they had a guy playing some music in there too, it was pretty fun. I had thai bbq wings and some tuna sashimi. YUM.

Closeup so you can see how vibrant this dress is.

My kitties love this dress too

Closeup of Hobo studded clutch I got on sale recently.

I can't believe I bought a....

Denim shirt! OMG such an impulse buy. I think reading too many J.Crew catalogs has done something to my better judgement. I sorta also feel like I am channeling the 90s, Party of Five style. But anywho I love this shirt, it is soft, feels perfectly worn in, and I love it. Crazy I know.

What I'm wearing:
Madewell denim shirt
ochre J.Crew v-neck tee
Forever 21 leaf necklace
Martin + Osa pleated shorts
Aerosoles lace up wedges

I'm walking on sunshine

Happy Monday! I had the day off so I spent most of the morning lugging around some stuff and doing lots of cleaning. Not so fun, so afterwards I wanted to put on something that made me feel cute. When I buy something new, I tend to wear it as soon as possible. This dress is no exception. I never thought I'd buy a denim dress but I apparently did. Since it's so short, I thought I'd stick to my trusty gold flats. The dress is so simple that I wanted to have some fun with accessories. This yellow necklace was an impulse buy a couple months ago, and I had only worn it once. Thought it worked well with the sweetheart neckline of the dress. Yellow makes me happy and this necklace definitely made me smile today. =)

ETA: sorry for the strange glow.... not sure why that happened

What I'm wearing:
American Eagle denim strapless dress
BCBG gold sandals
anthropologie yellow collar necklace
nude patent Lorelei clutch

Closeup of necklace:

It's summertime....

I love dresses in the summer! They are my lazy outfits, all you need to do it pick out a pair of shoes and layer on the accessories. I am super excited for these dresses, they will be perfect for both dinner on summer nights or shopping excursions. No need to worry about coordinating tops & bottoms. These are some quick snaps to give you a preview of what should be coming up!

Niagara Falls

Click for bigger photos....



@ Cave of the Winds


I got drenched pretty much 20 seconds after this photo was taken

OOTD 07.09.09

I love this dress, it is a teensy bit big on me but that's why I love it, it is super comfortable for summer. I also love the faded floral print on this. I had to fight the strong urge to belt this dress. I'm a belting addict. This dress also makes me look a bit preggers but OH WELL.

What I'm wearing:
Ella Moss printed dress
Banana Republic tank layered underneath
J.Crew waterfall necklace
Aldo Maune wedges

Fantastic Forever 21 Find

How is that for alliteration?

Dragged the boys to Forever 21 while waiting for Up to start. Forever 21 is on the complete opposite end of the mall from where I work, so I don't make it over there that often. Didn't find much, but I spotted this tank and knew I had to have it. I love ruffles, and tiered layering of any kind. This racerback version seems a bit tougher than the J.Crew rolling ruffles tanks that I own and love. Paired here with a pair of Madewell white denim shorts and my new Aldo Maune wedges.

I'd been hemming and hawing over these darn wedges, and finally just ordered them. Luckily they fit and I love them! I've admitted before that I am *not* a shoe gal, but lately I love the way a fun shoe can make an outfit.

This top can't be beat for being under $20!

The shoes are suede, which made me a bit nervous, but I don't think I will have any issues with them. I can see myself wearing these with black tights in the early fall too.

Raspberry Beret

ok, I'm not really wearing a raspberry beret.... but I have the song stuck in my head, and I'm wearing a raspberry colored tee, so it is justified.


I originally had the tee un-tucked, but felt that it was too frumpy. I love the skirt, but knew it had the possibility of looking dowdy.

What I'm wearing:
raspberry Madewell tee
Moss Mills leather belt
J.Crew outlet brushstroke floral skirt
Juicy Couture shoes (with the glitter heel)
forest green Botkier purse

I had to repost these, aren't they adorable?

I am sitting around right now waiting for the insurance adjuster to come because some douche keyed my car. WHO DOES THAT??????? I am really, really annoyed right now.

On the bright side I have a few packages "out for delivery" today. YAY! I love this feeling, it's like Christmas. Which probably explains my shopping problem.

I am a really terrible babysitter, am horrible at entertaining kids. May just go take them to see "Up" today.

A Day at the Museum

Took a day trip to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum with the boys. Even though I lived in DC for almost 2 years, I hadn't been since high school! It was pretty cool, I love museums of all kinds. Since the second Night at the Museum took place at the Smithsonian (of course I watched this), it was interesting to see random props and items that were featured in the movie! i.e. Amelia Earhart's plane, the little space monkey, and a few others.

It was hot as heck today, so I wore this breezy and comfortable tank dress. And still wearing these granny shoes, they were comfy all throughout walking around the musum. The scarf was perfect for the cooler air conditioned indoors.

What I'm wearing:
navy J.Crew tank dress
yellow plaid Madewell scarf
tan Aerosoles lace up wedges

I love studs!

No, I'm not talking about this kind of stud....
Even though he is pretty studly....

I've been loving stud embellishments on everything! This top caught my eye because of the studs and the fluttery sleeves, which cover up a body part I am super self-conscious of (my arms).


What I'm wearing:
Madewell studded top
Martin + Osa slim jeans (cuffed)
Aerosoles tan lace up wedges (these are amazingly comfortable, I want to wear them everyday!)
Rebecca Minkoff Nikki in Leaf

Wore this to watch Transformers 2 today on IMAX.... I thought it was a pretty fun movie. A decent summer movie blockbuster to watch. Josh Duhamel is in it too which made it much, much, better for me.

Shia who?

Happy Monday!

What a great surprise to wake up on Monday, log onto weardrobe and see that I won last week's contest! I signed up a few weeks ago, it's a really great community where people upload their outfits, and you can tag each item in your virtual "closet". There are tons and tons of fashionable people on the site, and I get so much inspiration from seeing other people's outfits! Last week's contest was described as:

Hats off to you, red, white and blue!! With the Fourth of July coming up this weekend, we're giving you a guilt free excuse to get patriotic in your stars and stripes. How will you dress this holiday weekend? Not in the US of A? Just play American girl for a day.

I decided to submit my outfit from July 3rd (which I also wore for a bit on the 4th as well). I thought that the polka dot dress felt festive. =)

OOTD 07.05.09

I am wearing one of my favorite dresses from Martin + Osa. I have a crabby face in this photo because I was not excited to go to work today, especially after working yesterday during the holiday. To make it work appropriate, I threw a navy cardigan on over this.

What I'm wearing:
M+O floral maxi dress
thrifted turtle belt (this belt originally was on a terrible 70s rainbow belt, I replaced that with a red leather belt that had another buckle)
tan Aerosoles lace up wedges

Close-up of shoes

Close up of turtle belt

Fourth of July OOTD!

I kind of hate this outfit but it was Fourth of July and I had to work. We were allowed to wear shorts this weekend, so I took advantage of it. I feel like I am dressed to lead games on the ledo deck on a cruise. Oh well. I was festive enough!

What I'm wearing:
navy M+O long & lean cardigan
red striped M+O scoop tee
white Madewell denim shorts
tan Aerosoles lace up wedges

The shoes were an impulse buy. I felt like they had a "should have bought these in a thrift store for $3" vibe. But I am a poser and bought them in a mall store. Ha.

OOTD 07.03.09

Wore this out to a sushi dinner & movie date tonight! It was absolutely gorgeous out today (which was good because I spent a few hours outdoors working on fixing up T's boat today) so I pulled this sundress out from my closet. I haven't worn this since college! I probably only wore it once, too. I felt that it was festive for the holiday weekend. =)

What I'm wearing:
Forever 21 sundress
BCBG gold sandals
Linea Pelle double-wrap studded cuff

I love the full skirt of this dress, so fun and feminine!

Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!

Okay, I will be the first person to admit that I am NOT a shoe gal at all. I have my requisite ballet flats, sandals, and pumps, but I don't usually spend a ton of money on shoes. I'm really hard on my shoes, and if they end up uncomfortable they will go to the shoe graveyard that consist of bins under my bed, never to be seen again. But my last shoe purchase (Modern Vintage heels) have proved to me that heels CAN be comfortable! So when I came upon these absolutely outrageous, I have no idea what to wear with them heels I knew it was meant to be.

These are butter yellow patent peep toe t-strap sandals with a *glitter* heel!!! This shoe probably combines all of my favorite shoe attributes in one shoe, which is a bit overwhelming but I love them. They were super comfortable too when I tried them on, and they were on clearance, which made me love them even more.


I am also probably the last person in the world to wear sneakers in my everyday life. The only exception would be the rare occasions I exercise at the gym. (I did recently lose my sneakers somehow and had to make do with doing yoga until I got the energy to go buy new running shoes, which I did yesterday. Who loses their sneakers??? Apparently I do.)

Butttttt.... these Bensimon slip ons won me over. Not only are they super comfortable (I don't know why I am all about the comfortable. I know beauty is pain, but I don't like it) but I could see myself wearing these as a ballet flat alternative with some outfits. Or maybe it's the 9 year-old inside of me that wants me to wear these. These definitely remind me of the Keds that I wore in elementary school (the white ones of course!).


They are actually on promotion at Martin + Osa right now, so with my extra discount they came out to a great price! I also couldn't choose between the grey and the navy.... so in true Rosa fashion, I got both! Now all I need are some seersucker shorts to complete my uber-preppy look.... I have a feeling I will wear the navy ones tomorrow for the 4th!