A Leopard Among Birds

This is what I wore for my first full day in Oregon.  It was a low-key day, and I think we were all just happy to be spending time together.  My sister, brother-in-law, mom, and I did some shopping and then headed back to the apartment for taco salad for dinner.

 

Dress, thrifted; belt, gifted (thanks Mom!); tights, Target; boots, Rack Room Shoes; earrings, Claire's and SilverJewelryClub.com.

This is one of my favorite dresses because it is comfortable, versatile, and packs very well.  I added my red trench coat and a leopard scarf to keep me warm outdoors.  The boots added warmth and comfort for hours of walking around.

I didn't see much animal print in Oregon.  It might have just been the people I saw those few days, but I think the Portland area might be leopard deficient.

Time Warped

I feel time warped.  (Not in the Tim Curry cross-dressing way.)  My mind and body are at odds as to when to sleep and when to be awake.  Switching from Eastern time to Pacific time and back twice in the past 10 days has left me a little under the weather. That being said, I love to travel and I'm sure I'll be ready to do the time warp again sometime soon.

 

Sweater, gifted (thank you Mary Ann!); turtle neck, Target; jeans, Target; belt, Claire's(?); boots, Younkers; earrings and bracelet, gifted (thank you Mary Ann!); necklace, purchased in Cozumel.

 

My sweet mother-in-law sent me this sweater for my birthday, and a flowy, comfy sweater seemed like just what the doctor ordered today.  I added a necklace and bracelet set she gave me for Christmas last year.

I had a great time in Portland.  It was so good to see my sister and her husband, and, as an extra special bonus, I got to meet Gracey from Fashion for Giants.  I'll share photos and stories from the trip over the next few days, but for today it is just good to be home.

Pack Rat: Put a Bird on It

Sorry, citizens of Portland, but when I think of Portland I think of the Portlandia sketch "Put a Bird On It."


I know.  I'm sorry.  All the people I know in the real world who are in and from Portland are pretty terrific, but my mind is a little poisoned by television.  Who would have thought that could happen.

Because of my mind poisoning, I've developed a little theme for my visit to Portland.  I'm putting a bird on it, and by "it" I mean me.  I am bringing bird jewelry and accessories to accent my Portland wardrobe.  Make sure to check back to spot them all.

• Bird jewelry and accessories
• Three dresses: two leopard print, two shirt dresses (It's a riddle.)
• One pair of boots
• One pair of flats
• Skinny jeans
• Four sweaters
• A turtleneck
• Tights
• eShakti trench coat
• A scarf

I ended up tossing my idea of leopard and polka dots.  Too much work.  I kept the leopard and lost the dots.  Once again I feel like I'm over packed, but I am planning on layering layering layering against the cold in Portland.

This is what I'm wearing for the trip there (along with my first birds).

 

This wasn't what I was planning on wearing on the plane, but I found this sweater on clearance at Target yesterday and it look so much like Gadget.  It even has a pouty face like Gadget.  I threw the sweater over one of my two shirt dresses for the trip, added some boots, birds, and tights, and I am ready to go.

 

Sweater, Target; shirt dress, thrifted; tights, Target; boots, Rack Room Shoes; earrings, purchased on the Las Vegas trip; bracelet, ebay.

Gadget pouting (for comparison with the sweater).

Ok, those birds weren't hard to find.  Check back next week for some that might be a little harder to spot.  

Dam!

I am proud to say that I was the sparkliest person at Hoover Dam on Monday.  Stephen and I toured the dam and power plant and walked over the Memorial Bridge.  It was very cool.

I didn't feel especially sparkly for me, but I was wearing a sparkly, studded sweater over a sequined, animal print tank.  I guess in retrospect I was a little sparkly.

I highly recommend a trip to Hoover Dam if you're in the vicinity.  It was a great time to let our geek flags fly and explore an engineering marvel.

 Can you see the little air vent holes in the side of the dam?

We were in one.

I also got to stand in two states at once.

Once we got back to Vegas we explored Downtown and the Freemont Street area for a while and then headed back to the Strip for the evening.

We spent a few more hours walking around, including a stroll through the Miracle Mile Shops, before we once again headed back to the Orleans to pack and get a few hours of sleep before we headed home.

This is the one photo of me from my birthday.  What can I say, we left the hotel at 5am.  I didn't make time for outfit photos.

I'm so glad we took this trip.  It was cool for me to see Las Vegas for the first time, and Trans Siberian Orchestra always puts on a great show.  It has been an almost-yearly Christmas tradition for us to see TSO from the time were were dating.

Stay tuned for the highlights of my Portland trip, coming early next week!