His and Hers Missoni for Target in Action

I swear, this is the birthday that never ends.  I have one more post where I'll mention the word "birthday" (my fiance gifted me with tickets to Wicked for this Friday, and I can't wait to show you all the dress I found to wear), but then I'm done.  At least for this year.  Promise.

This past weekend, I went out for sushi with the fiance and some friends for my birthday, and I decided to give my new sweater dress a whirl. 

Dress: Missoni for Target

Cardigan: H&M

Wristlet: Ollin

Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Sunnies: Gap

Wearing the dress with no tights was as crazy as it gets for this girl on a Saturday night; I generally wear my hemlines longer.  However, I was pretty comfortable all night.  I only had a few minor wardrobe malfunctions at our spontaneous dance party we held later on at a friend's house.  And no, I'm not even kidding. 

Seriously though, if you have this dress, watch that the lining doesn't creep up on you.  There were only a few times throughout the night that I found myself tugging, but it was enough to be a little annoying.  I think tights would probably rectify that problem.

I also wasn't sure about wearing the dress with no belt - I love to define my waistline and feel like the outfit is unfinished if I don't.  However, once I saw the look together, I realized that breaking up the vertical stripes would actually make me look shorter and stouter.  All I'd need is a handle and spout, and I'd be a Missoni teapot. 

When we were on our way out of the restaurant, I had an "Oh, no she DIDN'T" moment when a girl was coming in wearing the same dress.  That type of thing never bothers me, though.  I congratulated her on scoring an item and told her I loved how she styled the dress.  She wore hers with tall riding boots, and it was really cute!  I actually really like seeing how others style items that I have.  As my stylist-hero Rachel Zoe would say, you can never have too many options! 

I had gone shopping earlier that day at a consignment store that I hadn't yet visited.  I scored a Nanette Lepore dress, a Milly skirt, and those Stuart Weitzman shoes - which had NEVER BEEN WORN - for a song.  I was on a fashion high.

Since I promised a his and hers post, here's another Missoni for Target piece in action on a dude:

This is the tie I bought for my fiance.  I forced him into a picture at 7:05AM one day last week, and he is NOT a morning person.  The only words he said were, "No face on the blog today."  Hehe.  I obliged. 

When I first bought him this shirt a few years ago, he told me he felt like a bottle of Pepto Bismol, but he said he trusted my taste.  Now it's one of his favorites - he gets so many compliments on it, from coworkers and students alike.  The Missoni tie matches it perfectly, and even though he didn't act like it, I just knew he was just super pumped to wear it. ;)  If only you could see the excitement on his face.  Maybe next time. 

Fantasy football widow turned cupcake creator

It's that time of year again, everyone. The air is becoming crisp, the colors in store windows are growing deeper, and I'm beginning to forget what my fiance looks like. I kid, I kid. But tonight alone, my future hubby has not one, but TWO fantasy football drafts.

 

The fiance belongs to somewhere between seven and ten fantasy football leagues - I lose count after the first few leagues. Some of the drafts can be done in his "man cave" on the computer, but there are several that he attends in person. There's even one draft where everyone brings their laptops to someone's garage, and the guys sit around a giant table together with their eyes glued to the computer screen while they draft online. Male bonding at its finest, I suppose.

Yesterday morning as we were grocery shopping, the fiance mentioned that he needed to take some food to both of his drafts tonight. Jumping at the chance to perform my first wifely duty and simultaneously show off my culinary skills, I volunteered to make cupcakes. I love to bake and decorate cookies and cakes when I have the time, so I was excited to help. I googled "football cupcakes" and found this site with this picture, which I decided to use for inspiration:

Three hours later, I ended up with two dozen of these:

I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out, especially because it was my first attempt at making my own buttercream icing. For anyone who's interested, I used this insanely simple recipe.  It only has four ingredients!

I hope that those of you that had a long weekend enjoyed it, and I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!