In My Stylish Yet Affordable Boots

What I'm Wearing Wednesday: 30th March 2011

This week, in addition to telling you all what I'm wearing, I'm going to add in a bit about why. I'm calling this part "Why This Works". I may not include it every time I do a WIW post, but I thought it might be helpful - when trying to plan an outfit - to understand how I pick the pieces I wear. Sometimes, the answer to this is nothing more than "I wanted to wear this today", but sometimes a bit more goes into it. So, without further ado, here's what I'm wearing today:

Yellow cardigan: OldNavy.com
Brown top: Apt. 9, via Kohl's
Denim skirt: OldNavy.com
Brown footless tights: Fashion Bug
Boots: UllaPopken.com
Scarf: OldNavy.com
Ring: Amrita Singh, via HauteLook.com
Wooden bangles: NoMoreRack.com
Earrings: Fashion Bug

Why This Works: While technically Spring Has Sprung, no one seems to have informed Mother Nature about its arrival in SE WI. Today's high is supposed to be around 39F, and it was 34F when I left the house this morning. Obviously, I can't leave all of my winter clothes behind quite yet. At the same time, I'm ready to wear spring clothes; brighter colors, lighter fabrics. So I've paired lighter, more spring-appropriate pieces such as a flutter-sleeve top & 3/4-sleeve cardigan, with cold weather pieces like tights and boots. You can use this approach to make your wardrobe more seasonless, and get more mileage out of the pieces you own.

Hope that was helpful - please let me know in the comments if it was, or if you'd like to see something else! - and happy shopping!

What I'm Wearing Wednesday: 23 March 2011

One day, I will blog about something other than my clothes , but this is entertaining me for the moment, so it's what I'm writing about. Especially when it's depressingly cold, rainy, wintry-mix-y, grey, and just not at all like Spring outside, I like to start incorporating some springtime into my attire, as I did with this bright rosette tee.

Anyway, today's outfit:

Cardigan & grey skinny jeans: Oldnavy.com
Purple rosette tee: Daisy Fuentes, via Kohls.com
Boots: LaneBryant.com
Earrings: Catherines
Bracelet: gift from The Husband, Trifari, via Kohls.com

Also, if you're not following her already, go see what my friend Stinky is wearing today!

What I WAS Wearing Wednesday: 2-for-1 edition

So, I'm a little behind, but thought I'd share anyway. This week, you get a bonus outfit from last week! It's actually last week Thursday's outfit, but I make the rules here, and I wanted to share it.

Thursday, 10th March 2011:

 (click images to embiggen)

This is one fairly homogenously-sourced outfit. Cardigan, ruffle tank, khakis: Oldnavy.com. Shoes: Lifestride. Necklace: Janna Conner, via HauteLook.com. Wooden bangles: Nomorerack.com.

And here's my outfit from yesterday, Wednesday, 16th March 2011. Kind of bland, and as you can see by the glasses, I was feeling tired and a bit uninspired:

 

This one has a bit more diversity in sources. Jersey blazer: Oldnavy.com. Tank: Avenue.com. Trouser jeans: Lane Bryant. Shoes: Ros Hommerson, via Endless.com. Bracelet: Fossil, gift from The Husband. Other bracelet: purchased at the jewelry shop at the Mexico pavilion at EPCOT. Necklace & earrings: Fashion Bug.

As always, happy shopping!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

No, not Christmas. Fat Tuesday. The time just before Lent. Why, you may ask? Paczki Day, of course!

Making paczki is a long-standing family tradition, passed down from my grandmother, to my mom & her sisters, and now to the next generation. It's probably my favorite of any of our Polish heritage traditions (oplatki at Christmas being the other top contender). It's an all-day adventure to make the paczki, which is why my mom always made them the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and I've now undertaken that adventure myself - beginning at 8 AM, finishing aroung 2 PM.

Mixing up the dough:

Rising dough:

Rising cut paczki:

Frying paczki:

Time for a taste:

Many paczki, big mess:

(full disclosure - these are last year's photos; I didn't take any this year, aside from one at the very end, to document the 107 paczki we made.)

I've shared the family recipe with some friends, and my friend Trina gave it a go this year. I love that she made them, and enjoyed them - it warms my heart to pass this on to some of my fellow women. Having no children of my own, and only a nephew in the next generation, it's a little disappointing to miss out on the opportunity to pass down of one of my favorite traditions. Not that Nephew can't make these (and he's currently at an age where he still wants to help out!), but there's something special, something enduring, about the matriarchal lineage of very traditional family recipes.