May Day

You can expect to see a lot of this pencil skirt throughout the spring and summer. I can't wait to wear all manner of tops with it, from dressy to casual. Such a nice fit, such a perfect length, such an ideal color. Pencil skirt win. In fact, I got her sisters in white and camel, so you can be sure you'll be seeing those soon as well. I might hold off on the white for a bit though...

Embellished tee - Ruche / Coral pencil skirt - Macy's /
Sandals - Nine West "Bigspender" (via Endless)/ Clutch - eloquii

I especially liked the idea of wearing a pretty embellished cream tee with the skirt. Very simple, but very feminine. I'm always on the look out for these types of embellished tops. They used to be a staple at Anthropologie, but I haven't come across any I've liked in a while. Thanks to Ruche for stocking this one! The floral applique detail carries over to the back, too - a nice touch. And it's so, so soft. I might live in it all summer.

I liked the idea of simple nude peep-toe with the outfit, but who can deny a little extra color? Yep, these sweet minty sandals are simply the green version of my coral lovelies. You might see a few other colors crop up sooner than later as well. They're the perfect summer sandal in so many ways, so I just couldn't resist getting another color. Besides, I'd been seaching for a great green sandal for, like, ever. When it's right, it's right.

Ring - Ruche / Earrings - Ruche / Nails - Re-fresh Mint (China Glaze)

Better Than Average

I continue to be mildly obsessed with coral. Coral shoes, coral pants, coral pencil skirt (on its way), coral nail polish... I know the color of the season has been mint, which I haven't been able to get my hands on in anything but some fabulous nail polishes, so maybe shades of the color of the year have had better luck with me.

Cardigan - LOFT / Polka dot top - H&M / Camisole - Anthropologie /
Coral ankle pants - Talbots / Handbag - DKNY (via  TJMaxx) / Wedges - LOFT

I'm still a little self-conscious in these pants, though. However, the more I wear them, the less potent that is. And I do like having some colored pants in my arsenal. Aside from them being such a huge trend, it's a great way to get some mileage out of my otherwise well-worn tops. And to think that, after my first wearing, I wasn't going to be able to find much use for them!

I also like how these - and any ankle pants, I think (my black pair is really my only other) - helps me hit all the right notes with casual dressing. There's something about ankle pants that says you've put thought into the outfit but don't wish to overdo it. Yes, it's a day at work and you want to be noticed, but there's nothing special going on. It's an average day, but you just wanted to do one better.

Ring - Banana Republic / Belt - eloquii / Necklace - Banana Republic /
Earrings - Banana  Republic

I clearly need to get more!

Spring Fling

When I first purchased this lovely teal pencil skirt for all its colorful, springtime-wearing glory, I wanted to be sure to wear navy with it at some point. I dunno, I just really liked the idea of the combination! Even better, I wanted to find a pretty navy-based print to pair with the skirt and one of my zillion cardigans. So when I found this cute and über-springy butterfly print at Old Navy (again, of all places), it was exactly what I wanted.

Cardigan - LOFT / Butterfly cami - Old Navy / Pencil skirt - eloquii /
Heels - Payless / Handbag - Steve Madden

This reminds me that I recently uncovered an oldie-but-goodie navy LOFT scoop neck sweater in my closet. (Yes, it's seemingly so messy vast that I often forget what I have in there. Yikes.) Imma have to wear that with the skirt next! I mean, if the weather continues to vacillate between tornado watches and snow flurries, I'm sure I'll have ample opportunity to don sweaters again. Hmm, I see tights again in my future, too.

But back to this outfit. I sure do like this open cardigan/cami look, don't I? (Exhibit 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.) It might not be the most creative layer, but it's pretty effortlessly classic. (And I have many.) The combination of accessories is pretty straightforward, too. I like the purple that the necklace brings into the mix; it makes for a much more cohesive look than the yellow I had chosen initially. Navy heels and a tan handbag tie everything else together. Oh, and the perfect minty green manicure.

Necklace - Le Mode Accessories / Ring - Ruche / Earrings - Anthropologie / Nails - Mint Candy Apple (Essie)

The Swing of Things

And just like that, the holidays - and vacation - are over. Such a hard realization to wake up to (especially when it requires a 3 hour adjustment in sleeping hours), but believe it or not, I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. Yesterday's extra day off sure did help, though.

Blouse - H&M / Black cami - LOFT / Ponte pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Tights - LOFT /
Black booties - Payless / Pink belt - Talbots / Clutch - ASOS

Though I didn't get much in the way of apartment projects done over the much-needed break, we had a good balance of family time, celebration and relaxation. Holiday dressing was some of my favorite this year, but ample time was spent lounging in comfies, too. There was lots of movie watching, peppermint white mochas, sleeping very late, and a general ability to keep up with life, even for a little bit. Holiday decor will come down over the weekend (I abide by the 12 days of Christmas and keep everything up until January 6th), and as always, I'll be sad to put away all that color and light. I might still have to burn my balsam and cedar candles, though. Ahhhhh...

As for the outfit, polka dots, a comfy ponte pencil skirt and a hot pink belt for a needed pop of color (and Black Bomber Bird for a needed pop of humor) seemed like a good way to start the week, one which will be unseasonably busy. Nothing like having to dive right in.

Ring - Banana Republic / Necklace - Urban Outfitters / Earrings - Maurices

Candy Striper

Imma hard pressed to get dressed this week. I'm back at home, but it's still holiday break-tasticness in my world, so I'm lucky if I'm up before 11am and dressed in anything other than yoga pants and a long-sleeved tee. And showered. But today we decided to walk downtown for a little window shopping and cafe lounging, so not only did I get dressed (and shower, duh), but I got the chance to test drive my new iPhone that Bobby got me for Christmas! (Bobby did sooo good this year!) I went for the white version, and I am IN LOVE. (I've most definitely jumped on the Instagram bandwagon, among other things. Find me at shessica17, if you dare!) I'm oh-so-impatiently waiting for this case to arrive (I found it available elsewhere on Amazon) but, not wanting to take chances with my new baby unprotected before the case's scheduled delivery next week, I just ordered this fab cover, which should get here tomorrow! (Thank you, Amazon Prime.)

All this is to say I was kind of glad for an excuse to get dressed, particularly to don yet another (and almost identical) version of this outfit. I scored that outfit's perfect Breton striped pink twin for a mere $13 on final sale at Banana Republic last week. A no brainer, my friends. Especially when it's pink, even though (or especially because?) my mom thought I looked like a candy cane. This one will go down with red and green as necessary holiday attire, for sure.

Striped tee - Banana Republic / Olive ponte pencil skirt - Lane Bryant / Scarf - Gap / Bag - Coach (gifted)

Oh, and the boots? A generous birthday present from the family. They're a little snug, but I think the snugness will loosen over time, while making my calves look a tad leaner (saith Bob) for now...

Ring - Ruche (gifted) / Earrings - Anthropologie / Belt - Talbots / Ivory tights - We Love Colors /
Boots - Coconuts via DSW (gifted)

Sequins & Sparkles

First of all, I'm really sorry for the picture quality. Not only am I still waiting for a new camera, Bob is also out of town on business, and therefore so is his iPhone (with which we've been taking pictures in the interim). So it's back to my crappy Nikon Coolpix for today - I simply had to participate in today's EBEW "Sequins and Sparkles" challenge!

Cardi - LOFT / Sequin tank - LOFT / Pencil skirt - Lane Bryant /
Tights - Simply Vera (Kohl's) / Sandals - Banana Republic

Thought I don't own too much sparkle, when the challenge was announced I knew this sequined delight would be the top I would wear. It fits so nice and is just the prettiest winter white/cream color that makes it perfect around the holiday season. (I did, in fact, toy with wearing it with my new ASOS lurex stripe skirt for New Year's.) I love the raw edge of the always-flattering scoop neckline, too. In keeping with my near-obsession for all combinations of cream and grey, I went for a grey ponte pencil skirt and grey herringbone tights, a cream cardi in a slightly lighter color (I love the tonal variation of the two together), and {gasp} open toed camel sandals. I don't always love the look of tights + sandals on me, but I really like it here. Ties everything together.

Believe it or not (and I sure didn't), I hadn't yet worn the pencil skirt. I've worn the olive and black versions a few times now, but when I went to pull this one out of the closet, it still had the tags on. Craziness! I just love these skirts though. The wide waistband makes tucking in shirts actually possible and the material is so forgiving that I don't have to worry about much else.

Leather Ostrich Embossed Metal Bar Clutch - ASOS

Like my new clutch? I sure do! Bobby bought it for me as an early birthday present. =) I'd been looking for the perfect caramelly envelope clutch for months, and then I found this one also at ASOS, priced so right and ostrich-embossed! (You're rockin' my world, ASOS!) Of all the textures of leather, ostrich is unquestionably my favorite. Good job, Bobby. =)

Ring - Banana Republic / Earrings - Anthropolgoie

Let's Polka

There isn't an H&M near me, so I don't get to shop there very often. The few times I had been able to pop into a store, I never found much of anything than interested me - always a total bust. Well, recently one my of my employees started a lengthy stint of seemingly wearing nothing but H&M, and I coveted loved all of it. Seriously, every outfit she wore, I would ask, "Hey, where did you get that?" and "H&M!" would always be the answer. Solution: must get to H&M ASAP. Happily, there was one near Bob's parent's house when we visited over the holiday...

Black blazer - Lane Bryant / Polka dot top - H&M / Jeans - Lane Bryant /
Shoes - Nine West /Belt - Talbots

This polka dot top might have been the exact same polka dot top she had sported so amazingly one day. I might have found the lone one (in my size!) in the fitting room returns and it might have been on sale. And I might have bought it. Or definitely. Obvi.

I thought I'd venture out of my usual pencil skirt routine and wear it layered under a blazer with jeans. Peachy pops of color (wearing the same new and totally fabulous necklace I wore yesterday) gave it a little something extra. Not that it needed it - I mean, they're polka dots, for goodness sake! I like to think of them as stripes' spunky little sister.

Handbag - Coach (gifted) / Ring - Ruche / Earrings - The Limited / Necklace - Anthropologie

Laced Down

Well, I got through an extremely rough week, capped off by a truly challenging day on Saturday. I'm still kind of reeling from it all, to be honest... This week, Bob is away on business, and while I'll miss him terribly, it does mean I have the apartment to myself! I have big plans: mega-cleaning, rearranging the living room (with the purpose of having a functional indoor photo location), eating too many Totino's pizzas (a guilty pleasure that lingers from my single days), hem and hang my bedroom curtains (finally), and - if at all possible - start decorating for the holidays! We leave for Boston on Saturday to spend Thanksgiving with Bob's family, so if I'm going to decorate, it'll have to be sooner rather than later. I just can't believe the holidays are almost here again!

"Fiona" Dress - LucieLu / Denim jacket - Theory (eBayed) / Grey tights - LOFT (?) / Flats - LOFT

I thought I'd try dressing down this lace dress today, so I started with a denim jacket. Tights were a must, but they made my shoe choices more difficult. I didn't want to wear boots, and I toyed with wearing sandals, but I was totally self-conscious about the tights-sandals combo, regardless of how popular it currently seems to be. So I opted for my trusty flats. Between the jacket and sandals, I think I succeeded in putting together a pretty casual look.

Ring - Banana Republic / Ginko and Gunmetal necklace - chrdesigns on Etsy / Earrings - Lane Bryant

And yes, you sure have seen a few versions of this dress before: the "Amelia" in grey and white and the "Piper" in black and pink with cream embellishments. I love the lace overlay, the straight skirt that hits perfectly below my knee, and the pretty embellishments that make each dress unique. I continue to experiment with more ways to wear them!

Handbag - Gustto

Cafe au Lait

I sure have been wearing a lot of this cream and grey (and animal print) business lately. What can I say? I'm a fan! But what really inspired this look was the complete outfit image from Banana Republic's (now almost completely sold out) The Mad Men® Collection. Cafe au lait leopard print, cigarette pant, bow-tie blouse. Yes. I tend to think that the look is more for the body of Betty than Joan, but I still love it. I don't have a black tie blouse, so I just wore a blank tank, but I think imma need one. And in lieu of the ever tricky ankle pant, I opted for my ever faithful pencil skirt. Might still try to get my hands on some grey ankle pants, though.

Leopard print cardigan - Banana Republic / Black tank - NY&Co. / Grey pencil skirt - NY&Co. /
Handbag - Furla (via Filene's Basement)

I guess I don't have much more to say than that! Cardigan and pencil skirt - a tried and true combination for this curvy girl; leopard print - a lovely "neutral" print that I'm not likely to get tired of soon; Mad Men - will season 5 ever get here??

Ring - Ruche / Necklace - Banana Republic (eBayed) / Heels - Nine West /
Nails - "Frankly, I Don't Give A-Dam" (Sephora by O.P.I.)

On Purpose

Icky, rainy, cold, windy nastiness. Such was today. When I was planning my outfit, I wanted to keep it simple (and covered) by wearing pants, closed-toe heels, and a basic silhouette. No fuss. The weather was fussy enough.

Cream cardigan - LOFT / Lace Applique Tee - LOFT / Black wide-leg pants - NY&Co. / Earrings - The Limited

My color choices started off rather bland - stemming from the black pants, I think. I know black pants are supposed to be a closet staple, but they seem to be my closet black hole. (No pun intended.) I just can't seem to style them in any way that excites me. So I decided to add a gold belt and light caramel (rather than black) shoes and just embrace the cream and black thing I had going on. I guess I could have added more pops of color with a (fuchsia?) handbag or other accessories, but I opted only for my big ol' coral ring (which is getting a rather lot of wear lately) and let it ride. I also just HAD to sport my latest BBOS rental, my gorgeous ostrich Furla (the Amazzone Large Bauletto Shopper Handbag), and I thought its gold, brown and black hues rounded out the palette nicely.

Clarissa Coral Pendant Ring - Ruche / Gold skinny belt - Talbots 

Moral of the story? If you're going to do a colorless netural palette, embrace it fully. Make it purposeful. But I must admit that I'm not sure how else to make this outfit otherwise more colorful. What do you think? How would you style this pleated lace top in a more colorfully diverse ensemble? And how do you wear YOUR black pants?

Heels - RSVP (via Zappos)

Grey Area

I adore the combination of browns and greys together. It's definitely a pairing I advocate whenever I can. There's just something so sophisticated about these two neutrals together! Once upon a time (before I fully grasped the concept of neutrals, I think), I had it stuck in my head that they clashed, but then one day I thought better of it. I think my first such outfit (pre-blog) was a brown cowl-neck sweater and grey wide-leg pants. I might have belted it, too. Nothing earth shattering, I know, but something about it felt avant-garde at the time. (Of course, many things feel "avant-garde" in my corner of the world.) Now the combination has come of age, I guess, and I see the combination out and about more often than not. Not gonna lie - a small part of me wishes I could take credit for it, but I can't imagine I have that much style clout. =7

Dress - Dress Barn / Instant Sleeves in Dove - LucieLu / Wide belt - Banana Republic /
Handbag -  Furla (via Filene's Basement / Heels - RSVP (via Zappos)

The last time I wore this dark grey dress, I did something similar with tan and gold accessories. It helps when there's an embellishment of bronze, grey and gold that lends itself to such combinations, of course. It's such a great fitting dress, too. It fit a little loose when I first bought it, but at a few pounds heavier I'm grateful for the extra room. Though the dress does have cap sleeves, I wore the LucieLu Instant Sleeves (yep, again) more for the tonal color variation than for the coverage. Although, I do love the look of elbow-length sleeves on me. I guess that explains why I've been wearing these babies a lot lately, eh?

Ring - Ruche / Earrings - The Limited

Be sure to enter my two blogiversary giveaways for a fantastic necklace and a unique earrings/bangle combo! It ends Sunday night!!

Live Love Life (A Blogiversary Giveaway!)

I had such a lovely afternoon yesterday. I spent the morning reading blogs and online shopping in my pajamas, then I managed to get dressed and took a leisurely bike ride downtown to grab a latte and some lunch. It's been unseasonally warm these days, so I had to revert to summer dressing tactics. Cuffed skinnies were going to be the anchor of the outfit, as would be one of my new screen tees. Given what a great day I was having, I thought the message of "Life Love Life" was appropriate, too. =) I didn't want to just wear the tee on its own, however (zzzzzz), so I layered it with this thin short-sleeved open cardigan.

"Live Love Life" tee - Old Navy / Open cardigan - Maurices / Dark skinnies - Gap /
Necklace - Gifted / Sandals - Nine West

Turquoise jewerly looks so great against brown that was an easy choice for a little more color, and my comfy new sandals were the final touch. It was a little odd biking in these high wedges, but I managed. =)

Ring - Banana Republic / Earrings - Maurices

While downtown, I decided to pop into our local Ten Thousand Villages, a shop I love to visit for beautiful, unique and - best of all - fair trade jewelry. (They have loads of other items too, but I'm sucker for their jewelry.) I've found some really great pieces over the years, and I decided I would shop specifically for - get ready for it - a giveaway for you lovely readers! Let's call it a belated blogiversary giveaway, shall we? (I started blogging a year ago September 14th!) Even better, I picked up not one, but two unique pieces, so they'll be a second giveaway tomorrow!

The first prize is this gorgeous "Treasure Trove Necklace" made from golden "coins" and handcrafted in India.

I love the multiple stamped metal discs, the way it fills the neckline, and the mellow musical sound it makes when you move. In a brassy gold hue, it's a great neutral necklace that can punch up any outfit, whether casual or dressy.

Here we go! The mandatory entry requirement is as follows:

1. Be a follower of Surely Sonsy and leave a comment indicating how you follow (GFC username/email address, Bloglovin', Google Reader,  etc.).
2. Tell me how you would style the necklace in your comment!

For extra entries, please leave a separate comment for each of the following (1 extra entry each):

1. Like Surely Sonsy on Facebook and leave a comment with your FB address. (You can email it to me if you don't want to leave it here.)
2. Follow @shessica17 on twitter and TWEET about the giveaway. Be sure to include your twitter name in your comment!
3. Blog about the giveaway OR post about it on Facebook with a link back to this post! Be sure to include the link to your post in your comment!

Four chances to win! This giveaway is open to US readers only (sorry, dear international readers), and will be open until 11:59pm (Central time) on Saturday, October 15. Good luck!