Thursday, December 31, 2009

Goodbye 2009

2009 was a very good year for me.

In January, I started a new job, which has been awesome. I love the type of work I'm doing, the people I work with and for, the overall atmosphere of the office, and the flexibility in my schedule. Those are the big things, but there are lots of little things too: I decorated my office in fun, bright warm colors, with a vintage desk and modern chairs. We have a coffeemaker that makes individual cups of coffee and we keep a variety of good coffees on hand. I have a laptop computer instead of a desktop. Our office is right in the Chicago loop. I no longer have to drive to work; I only use my car when I want to (or when I have court in the suburbs) and take the bus or the train the rest of the time. The dress code is much looser and I can experiment more with my clothes. This is not the first full-time job I've had, nor is it my first post-law school job, but it's by far the best job I've ever had. It's amazing how much of a difference a good job makes in my overall attitude towards life.

My boyfriend and I have been together for close to 2 years now. 2009 was our first full year together, from January 1 through December 31. I feel very lucky and blessed to have him in my life.

I've travelled more this year. A trip to Mexico. A trip to Washington, D.C. Several trips to see my family in Pennsylvania. A few weekend trips to nearby locations outside of Chicago. Hopefully, I'll keep travelling at least that much or more in the coming years.

I've been reading more this year. I used to read a lot when I was younger, but during my 20's, I got out of the habit. This year a finished at least 4 dozen books, probably more, and I joined a few book clubs.

I started this blog in July, which has been a lot of fun. The blog also signals a change in my approach to decision-making and action-taking. I used to be someone who deliberated for quite a while before taking any steps. I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision, and that I would do the absolute best that I could from day one. With this blog, I just jumped right in. Very few decisions are irreversible, so I didn't need to meditate on whether I wanted to devote the time to taking pictures and posting regularly. I just did it, and I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. If I hadn't enjoyed it, I could have stopped blogging around week 2, or month 2. My photo-taking skills were not great, but they were good enough, and they've continued to improve as I went along. I hope they will continue to improve the longer I do this. Same with my technical blogging know-how and photo-editing skills. They have improved already, and I hope to continue improving them as I go. Hands-on learning. On-the-"job" training.

The blog has been a lot of fun and a learning experience, and there's no reason that my approach to the blog can't be applied to many other areas of my life.

So, those are just a few ways in which 2009 has been very good to me. I'm optimistic heading into 2010.

Without furher ado, here are my favorite outfits from 2009:
















































New Year's Eve











No major plans tonight. My boyfriend and I were originally planning to go to the Jazz Showcase, but we decided we'd rather just stay home and have a quiet New Year's Eve. After work, we're going shopping for food for our New Year's Day Dinner, then home for a quiet New Year's Eve in.

My parents gave me this key necklace for Christmas this year. My mother had seen pictures of me on clothes, inter alia wearing my grandmother's old house key on a chain around my neck. When she saw key necklaces all over the place and realized that they have become trendy, she got this one for me and put a cute little note on the box that said "for my daughter, who was stylish before this was a style."

Where:
work, grocery shopping

What:
Jacket: vintage from my mother
Long Sleeved White T-shirt: Target
Coca-Cola Polar Bear T-shirt: Delia*s
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Nine West
Bead Necklace: Macy's
Key Necklace: 2009 Xmas gift from my parents
Peace Sign Earrings: World Market, my Xmas gift to myself 2 years ago
Blue Stone Drop Earrings: gift from my 2nd cousins several years ago

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

December 30th









This white jacket is part of a suit, but after the first 2 or 3 wears, I decided I really didn't like the pants. Plus, it has the eternal white suit problem: the jacket is fully lined and the pants are not, so when worn together, they appear to be a slightly different color.

Starting today, this jacket is going to be worn exclusively as a separate. Imagine my disappointment when I put on the jacket this morning only to discover a giant coffee stain on the cuff! Never fear, the wondrously huge contrasting cuffs on my sweater can be folded over the jacket to hide the coffee stain. All better!

Where:
work, dinner at Bistro Zinc

What:
Jacket: Carriere Studio
Grey Sweater: American Eagle Outfitters
Black T-shirt: Moda Int'l for Victoria's Secret
Pants: The Limited
Boots: Nine West
Bead Necklace: vintage from Granny S.
Diamond Earrings: high school graduation gift from my parents


Style Rookie on the Front Page



Tavi is on the front page of the Chicago Tribune today! Check it out:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/style/chi-teen-fashion-sensationdec30,0,7899258.story

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Back at Work







Back at work today. Court in the morning and appointments and meetings the rest of the day.

I broke two habits with this outfit. I've had this suit for 2-3 years, and I've always worn it with a black shirt. Today, I wore it with this baby blue sweater.

I'm also changing up my habits for this sweater. If I wear anything underneath it, it's usually a white top or turtleneck. Today, I went with a black turtleneck. Changes all around.


Where:
work

What:
Suit Jacket & Pants: BCBG Max Azria
Blue Sweater: Moda Int'l for Victoria's Secret
Black Ribbed Turtleneck: Wet Seal
Boots: M.I.A.
Bead Necklace: Macy's
Faux Pearl Earrings: mine from the early 1990's

Sunday, December 27, 2009

December 27th









On Sunday the family drifted in and out of my parents' house, visiting and picking at leftovers. Except for my pants, pretty much everything I'm wearing is a new Christmas gift.

I went to my maternal grandmother's house for a while in the afternoon. My maternal grandmother (Granny S.) was clearing some items out of her closet and offered me a Navy leather coat. Very lightly lined, it will be perfect for spring and fall.

Granny S. also invited me to look through all of the vintage jewelry that she no longer wears and take anything I wanted. Granny S. had an amazing collection of funky vintage pieces, mostly from the 1960's, but some from the 1970's. Mostly brooches, bead necklaces and clip-on earrings. I now own about a dozen more brooches and bead necklaces than I did two days ago. I only took two pairs of clip earrings, including the gold flowers that I'm wearing today.

Where:
hanging out with my family at their various homes, visiting Johnstown and having drinks at the top of the inclined plane

What:
Pink Sweater: 2009 Xmas gift from my parents
Necklace: 2009 Xmas gift from my parents
Starfish brooch on necklace: vintage from Granny S.
Black Silk Pants: Express
Grey Cardigan: Old Navy (thrifted)
Gold Hoop Earrings: from Granny R.'s 2009 Xmas goody bag
Gold Bracelet: from Granny R.'s 2009 Xmas goody bag
Gold Clip Flower Earrings: vintage from Granny S.


Saturday, December 26, 2009

Boxing Day





My boyfriend and I went to Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with my family. This year, my family had the big Christmas Dinner and gift exchange on the 26th.

My boyfriend snapped a few pictures of me for clothes, inter alia as we were completing the annual family group picture taking. You can see my brother and aunt sitting on the couch in the background.

My paternal grandmother (Granny R.) came with a whole gift bag full of goodies for me. My grandmother lives in a veterans home (she was in the Army in WWII) and some local organizations were concerned that the residents at the home might not have family around or get any gifts for Christmas, so they brought gifts to all the residents. The organizations were very generous. Granny R. received so many gifts that she didn't know what to do with them all. She kept her favorites and put the remainder in a goody bag for me. As I looked through the bag, I immediately put on this scarf and ring. There are several more scarves and fun earrings in the goody bag, which I'll be wearing soon.

Where:
Christmas celebration with my family

What:
Black Silk Blouse: Theory (thrifted)
Beads: Anne Klein
Scarf: from Granny R.'s goody bag
Red Pants: H&M
Silver Hoop Earrings: gift from my parents (not this Xmas though)
Ring: from Granny R.'s goody bag


Granny R. and me:

The necklaces that Granny is wearing are two of the gifts that she kept for herself. She's right on trend, with the multiple chain look.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve





Christmas Eve celebration with my boyfriend's family.

Where:
Christmas Eve Celebration

What:
Black Velvet Top: thrifted
Beads: Macy's
Cameo Brooch on Necklace: vintage (ribbon added by me)
Skirt: from L.S. Ayers
Black Patterned Tights: from T.J. Maxx (layered over brown tights of unknown origins)
Shoes: Etienne Aigner (thrifted)
Gold Bangle Bracelet: vintage
Opal Heart Studs and Gold Hoop Earrings: gifts from my parents


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

December 23rd





I seem to always wear this Burberry-plaid wool kilt with red, black or white. I was trying to come up with some different colors to pair with it when I saw someone on a blog (and I wish I could remember who, so I could link to her) wearing a Burberry-plaid scarf with a green top the same color as my sweater. I liked how the green looked with the tan plaid, so here I am. I still got in a health dose of black and red though!

Where:
work

What:
Blazer: vintage
Sweater: from Filene's Basement
Skirt: from a wool-goods store in London
White T-shirt: Wet Seal
Black Cable Sweater Tights: from T.J. Maxx
Boots: M.I.A.
Silver Hoop Earrings: gift from my parents
Diamond Earrings: gift from my parents
Red Scarf: handmade by my grandmother

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Santa Pants







More red for the holidays. After I put on my red pants and black boots, I looked in the mirror and realized that I looked a little bit like Santa Claus.

Where:
work

What:
Jacket: vintage
Sweater: Wet Seal
Pants: H&M
Bow Tie: hand-me-down from my boyfriend (he likes "real" bowties that actually have to be tied, this one just hooks in place, so he gave it to me)
Boots: M.I.A.
Diamond Earrings: gift from my parents


Here is my "Christmas Skittles" manicure: