White and Navy for Spring

Shirt and Sunglasses - Amazon / Coat (similar here) - Michael Kors / Jeans - Gap / Flats (similar here) - Banana Republic / Earrings - J.Crew Factory / Bag (similar here and here) - Ann Taylor 

I now own this top in two colors, and I am not mad about it. Not one bit. 

Especially because it's only $19 and comes in 11 colors!! 

I've talked about this top a couple of times, but only shared it on Instagram, so I thought it was time to give you a better view. It has functioning buttons in the front (yay nursing friendly!) and the tie can be adjusted - I actually have the bottom button undone so the tie would be a little higher. It's also longer in the back, making it perfect for leggings. 

Now, I'm usually really hesitant about buying clothes off of Amazon, and I'm sure you are too. For me, the key is to look for items that already have a ton of good reviews, and to read through some of them to get a feel for sizing or anything else you might not realize from the photos. I also will look at the sizing chart if they have one, and usually end up sizing up since many products on Amazon run really small. For reference, I'm wearing a 2XL here. And then, also look at what the return policy is just in case. Most items from Amazon can be returned to Kohl's now! If you're anything like me, you loathe paying shipping and avoid the post office like the plague, so knowing I can do an in-person return is key. 

I wore this out for our first little dinner date with Mia. Yep, that's right, we took our newborn baby out to dinner! 

Ahem: at four o'clock. 

😂😂😂

Now, Jeff and I have been known to schedule the early dinner, but this blows even our usual crazy out of the water. But, for our first time out to dinner with a baby in tow, we didn't want to get anywhere close to the dinner rush. And also we were headed to Spacca Napoli (which is the BEST Italian style pizza in the city, definitely check it out if you haven't!) and did not have a reservation, so being early was also important because we are terribly impatient and basically never wait for tables. We've noticed on the weekends the wait always starts to build starting at 5:15 so we always try to get there by 5 anyway. 

So, how it go? 

We did make one fatal error, in that we put Mia in her bassinet since we were walking to the restaurant, but didn't realize it would actually be fairly crowded at 4pm and we'd have to stow the stroller base. Had we put her in her carseat instead, we could have easily plopped it on an upside down high chair and called it a day. (Sidebar: did you know that's a thing?! Freaking amazing, they hold a carseat perfectly.) Instead we put the bassinet on a chair which didn't feel particularly safe, and ended up holding her for most of our visit.

Besides that, it was great! Mia was looking hungry as soon as we got there so I fed her a bottle, and then she fell asleep basically until we were done eating. I got to relax and have a glass of wine and daddy had a couple of beers over a really good caprese salad and salsiccia pizza - our favorite! Jeff did have to knock back his beer at the end of dinner because Mia started getting fussy, and I took her outside while he gathered everything up. But all in all, I'd call the night (afternoon?) a success! And cheers to many more!!

Shirt and Sunglasses - Amazon / Coat (similar here) - Michael Kors / Jeans - Gap / Flats (similar here) - Banana Republic / Earrings - J.Crew Factory / Bag (similar here and here) - Ann Taylor 

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Still in White

Blouse - Target / Denim - Old Navy / Bag (similar) - Sole Society / Sandals - Dolce Vita / Bracelet and Earrings - BaubleBar

I saw this top, and after about a second I decided I needed it, and then after another second decided I was going to wear it with these white jeans as many times as I possibly could. I actually haven't shopped for clothes at Target in a while, mostly because there no longer is one that I aimlessly wander through during my lunch hour every day. Instead, most of my Target trips involve sneakily sending Jeff off to search for something so I can quickly raid the home goods section, but that's neither here nor there. In my absence so many new brands have appeared. This shirt is by Knox Rose, which may be my new fav. All of their clothes have this "cool girl don't care" attitude (especially this amazing plaid fringe cardi!) that I love and try to create at home. Unfortunately I always end up looking a little more "not-cool trying to hard" instead. The struggle is real.

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Previously on KDTI - white jeans:

 

Linking up with Trend Spin Linkup, Style Me Wednesday, Style Sessions, Confident Twosday.

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The Dog Days

Tank (similar) and Jeans - Old Navy / Bag (similar) and Sandals (currently on sale!) - Sole Society / Necklace (similar) - Madewell

So it seems we've hit that point in summer where I only want to wear white with almost white (you know, like last year, and last year, and last year), and only want to lay on the couch with the fan running and Bachelor in Paradise on the TV because the dog days of summer are for real. Also there's something funky going on with our air conditioning right now where the sensor says it's 97 degrees inside and keeps kicking into overdrive, so I've been overcompensating by turning it off completely and sweating to death.

So anyway, back to the white. I think I realize every year that white bottoms season is drawing to a close (I know that I could wear white jeans into fall and winter, but I just usually don't) and try to get in as many wears as possible while the sun is still shining. Plus, you know, it's hard to say no to these particular jeans - the fit and the distressing are juuuust right.

What have you been up to this week? Besides being a part of #bachelornation, I also managed to snag a reservation to Monteverde from a coworker for a little mid-week date night! I've basically been stalking Monteverde on OpenTable trying to find a reservation so I was super excited to scoop it up - all of the pasta for the win!

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Previously on KDTI - white jeans:

 

Linking up with Mix It Monday, Friday Fab Favorites, Flashback Friday, Summer Style.

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Going for Gold

Shirt (similar) - H&M / Jeans - Old Navy / Bag - Sole Society / Sandals - Dolce Vita / Necklace (similar) - Madewell

What's up with these fall colors, you say? Well earlier this week I participated in my company's Office Olympics, and because I can never do anything normal my team and I decided to rep the tiny city-state of Monaco. What do I know about Monaco? Grace Kelly was their princess, they're super wealthy, and they're home of the real Monte Carlo. Oh, and since doing some research, I discovered their flag is a deep red on the top and white on the bottom, so I made our team wear red and white so that when we all lined up we could be the flag (#nerdalert). We also bought some monocles off of Amazon because A) monocle sounds like Monaco and B) rich people love monocles, right? 

If you saw any of our performance on Snapchat (follow along @kristinadoes!) you may have seen that we were NOT performers hahaha. Luckily none of my athletic ability made its way to the internet because it was embarrassing - I played a game where I had to shoot a rubber band at some cans on a table and I think I only managed to hit 3 of 9. A surprising number of them came back at my face haha ;) Somehow we managed to scrape out a 5th place finish - I think our team spirit outfits helped us out! 

The Office Olympics were a fun reason to pull out a fall color from my closet after months of pastels and brights. I've had this shirt for years now (I found a picture of me wearing it on a trip back in 2012!) and it was definitely a good purchase - I think it was something like $12.95 at H&M which puts the cost-per-wear in pennies. In the fall I love wearing it with darker colors, but it feels just right in August with some bright white jeans. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to watching the actual Olympics - go USA!

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Previously on KDTI - this dark red tee in a mirror selfie plus a spikey bracelet, courtesy of 2013!

 

Linking up with Flashback Friday, Friday Fab Favorites, Summer Style.

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A Grown Up Work Bag

Sweater (similar) - LOFT / Denim - Old Navy / Bag - Rebecca Minkoff / Flats - Ivanka Trump / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Bracelet - Michael Kors

You guys, I finally caved and bought a new work bag! I've had the MAB tote on my wishlist for years at this point but didn't want to invest such a huge chunk of my clothing budget into a bag. Then I realized that I had a lot of gift card money on Amazon thanks to presents from my brother who lives in Asia and rewards from using Dealspotr, so I could get my dream bag for free! I had been toting my laptop to and from work in a separate laptop bag and keeping my essentials in my favorite pink crossbody, so I was glad to be able to drop down to one bag for my commute. FYI, I carry around a 13 inch MacBook Air and it fits just fine in here. I don't know if it would quite squeeze into the version of this bag without the size zips because I have been unzipping them to take the laptop in and out. I'm loving the color so far, it feels perfect for spring & summer, and I think it will work well into the fall too. The only thing I'm worried about is color transfer from dark denim - any tips to avoid that?

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Previously on KDTI - white denim:

 

Linking up with Style Me Wednesday, Confident Twosday, Style Sessions.

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Black & White

Shirt - LOFT / Denim - Old Navy / Necklace - Madewell / Bag and Heels (similar) - Sole Society

I was searching my closet for a pastel top to wear with my white denim for a date with Jeff, and then I thought, why does it have to be pastel? Just because it's spring doesn't mean I can't work a little black into my wardrobe. All black with my white denim felt perfectly fresh, and gave me the hint of edge I like to have when I go out. Of course, I also need a hint of whimsy, hence the "Hello" tote ;)

Oh and P.S., this top is back in stock! I bought three different colors last fall and they have been my go-to for nights out and also whenever I have to dress up for work - the cut is so flattering and they somehow manage to look dressed up and casual at the same time. It's currently available in black and a couple of summery colors. Get it now - all of the colors sold out super fast last fall!

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Previously on KDTI - Drapy Tee:

 

Linking up with Style Sessions.

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Spring Stripes

Shirt - J. Crew Factory / Denim - Old Navy / Bag and Booties (similar) - Sole Society / Necklace - Stella & Dot / Bracelet - Michael Kors / Watch - Wristology

I procrastinated a little too long to take these photos until it was, in fact, raining, but I'm still way into this outfit. Stripes, white, distressed, and tassels? These are a few of my favorite things. I saw this shirt online while I was looking for items to link in a blog post last week, and now it's in my closet. I love a good popover and have been looking for one in light blue and white stripes ever since I rented this fun ruffled number in February. Paired with white denim and I'm ready for spring. You hear me Chicago? I said spring. Now, please.

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Previously on KDTI - white denim:

 

Linking up with Style Me Wednesday, Style Sessions, Mix It Monday, Confident Twosday.

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