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Sunday, October 31, 2010

blog cards!

Y'all might remember that I ordered a set of moo mini-cards a few weeks ago. Well, I got my blog cards in the mail this past week.


I still have no idea when I'd use these. But, after the last time I was asked for some, I figure it's better to have a few on hand. :) Luckily, this cute small size is pretty discreet.

It is a bit weird to have a box full of little cards with me all over them. lol.

The back has my blog logo and blog address...

what, you didn't know that was the address? Yup, Ev bought the domain. Currently, if you go there, it automatically redirects here. Ev is in the process of changing it to go the other way around. He assures me that it will not break anyone's bookmarks or disrupt the blog feed for various blog readers. :)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Vote!! And two OOTDs

Hey everyone! Sorry for being MIA the past few days. I've been under the weather and "under the gun" so to speak. :)

First, off, I got an email from Tara this morning at Little Girl Big Closet. She's hosting a contest for the best Fall outfit. Turns out, she had over 120 entries, so she used a random number generator to pick out 12 for people to vote for... and mine's one of them! I'm outfit 9 :) Go take a look at everyone's lovely interpretation of a Fall cozy outfit and vote on her sidebar for your favorite outfit! You can see the outfits and vote here. Voting ends on Monday!

Now for a couple delayed OOTDs. The past few days, I've been feeling less than healthy. Being sick means dressing COMFY but not FRUMPY. For me, feeling frumpy makes me feel slightly worse, slightly less awake, less able to get work done, and more likely to sleep! And I needed to be very productive this week! So I fell into an easy cozy non-frumpy feeling formula of cardi + top + skinny jeans + flat shoes of some sort.

Thursday's outfit



I don't know how well you can see them, but I love the little purple flower shaped buttons on this Marc Jacob top!

Amusing story. Thursday I was working at the office, and my office mate exclaimed "oh those flowers make me so happy!" I start glancing around the room looking for flowers. I didn't see any cut flowers. I thought, "hm, maybe it's a screen saver or something that's brightening her day." Then she laughed and explained that they were only flowers she could see... because they were on my head:

I actually don't like this last pic, but I wanted to show y'all the flower pins I had in my hair. I put these in to make me feel a little happier (and keep my hair slightly in check). And then I completely forgot I was wearing them. LOL!

OOTD Specs
Dark green/teal Caslon sweater sz S
(thrifted $5)
Marc Jacobs purple striped top sz XS ($10 Anthropologie Treasurebox)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Navy Hunter Wellington boots ($40 at Costco)
H&M teal flower hair pins ($5)

Friday's outfit


Can you find the Buddie in this picture? Man, I look exhausted.

Friday's outfit fit my cozy scheme, but it also worked as a nod to a potential Halloween costume. Robin from California Dreams asked me what I was going to be for Halloween. Truthfully, I don't usually dress up for Halloween. There are three halloween parties tonite that we've been invited to, but due to still being slightly under the weather, I think I'm going to sit this one out. But I did think about what costumes I could wear. I contemplated dressing up as:

1) Emma Pillsbury from Glee

2) Joyce Ramsay from Mad Men

3) me from High School

These were my choices, because I had clothes that fit these :) Thanks to Debbie from the Dark Horse, I have my Precious Materials Cardi! I also recently thrifted a blazer that looks an awful lot like the on Joyce Ramsay wears. It even has those front pockets so I can walk around with my hands stuck in them - keeping my elbows out like wings, lol. And finally, I dug out my letter man jacket from High School. I was on varsity tennis - so I was going to dress up as a sporty Lori from my high school years complete with varsity jacket, tennis skirt, and high school duffel bag.

meh, well, the options were certainly fun to compose in my head. An actual Emma costume would mean I would wear a cute skirt and pumps and accessories. But that didn't fit my comfy sick theme, nor my vow to dress down on Fridays. So I ended up in jeans again :/



Friday OOTD Specs
Anthropologie Precious Materials Cardigan by Moth sz S
($60 sale)
White H&M divided t-shirt sz 8 ($8)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats - Grey (NWT at Goodwill $7.50)
Blue polka dotted yellow socks (pack of three for $2)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

And the winner is.....

Peggy! From She Hath Done What She Could

Peggy I'm going to shoot you an email later today!



Here's Peggy's post request:


Don't worry, I'm coming back for more thrifting tips. Hopefully when some of my deadlines are met after next week!

Peggy is actually also hosting her own giveaway right now for a handmade bracelet by Two Silly Sisters. It's like giveaway KARMA!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

knitted up in layers OOTD

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Don't forget, TODAY is the last day to enter the Betsey Johnson Swag Bag & Anthropologie Gift Card giveaway here

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Today's post will be short since my workload right now is insane. Bah, and I've got a nasty head cold from too much stress, too little sleep.

Here's yesterday's OOTD. It was mighty cold out, so I decided to wrap myself in soft and warm knitted layers. Maybe I could tell I was about to get sick, and it was my way of comforting myself. I think in retrospect, I would have preferred having a brown leather belt with this look, but yesterday the soft faux suede of the obi belt just seemed like a comfy interesting option.






You can tell it was really cold cuz I put Budz in a sweatshirt for the day, lol.

OOTD Specs
Martin & Osa brown turtleneck sz L
(sale $8)
Max Rave grey fair isle sweater dress sz S ($10)
TBJ Jeans cream hoodie (thrifted $6)
H&M black leggings sz 6 ($10)
H&M fake suede obi belt ($13)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)

Buddie OOTD
Old Navy blue sweatshirt sz L
($14.50)

Monday, October 25, 2010

wow pink pants OOTD

I admit I get distracted by brands/labels when I see them out thrifting. I generally tell myself not to. I remind myself, that what matters most is if an item fits, is flattering, and works with my wardrobe/style. And, generally I'm pretty good. For example, I put back that Burberry coat I found at Goodwill because I was basically swimming in it (i.e. too large). I've come across Anthro stuff and brand new Seychelles shoes that were left behind as well. They were passed over when I decided they were not my style or they were too big for me.

But I came across these pink pants by Nanette Lepore in my size, and I didn't follow my rules. My thought process was:
1) Squeeeeee! Omg I love Nanette Lepore!
2) Nanette Lepore made these pants.
3) Therefore, I must love these pants.

lol, like a twisted fashion version of Heiders's balance theory.



ok, well I sort of followed my rules. The pants certainly fit and are a decently flattering cut. But does the pink stripey pant look fit in with my wardrobe and style? I don't know. It's not that I'm afraid of color (I was actually looking for bright red pants, lol). Maybe it's the bright color combined with the widely spaced stripes and wide-ish leg bottoms?




Either way, I decided to take it as a challenge, to see if I could figure out different ways to wear these... Of course my first inclination was to go a bit punk and pair it with black (hence the black buffalo check). But I'm interested in seeing if I can make these feel a bit more chic than punk. We'll see. At least I'm wearing pink for October :) Any suggestions? Or do y'all hate 'em?

By the way, it's been wicked storming in Seattle the past few days - but awesomely so - with crazy strong winds knocking things around. It made snapping these few shots a bit of a bugger. But, I have some wind shots to send to Lisa for her outtakes post next week. Funny how some girls look great with the wind blowing through their hair... whereas I just look like an alien, lol.

OOTD Specs
F21 buffalo check button up shirt sz M
(thrifted $4)
Nanette Lepore pink striped pants sz 4 (thrifted $4.80)
Old navy grey tweed coat sz S (thrifted $6.40)
black socks
black Fioni rosette pumps (thrifted $6)

Budz didn't make a guest appearance this morning since I'm WFH until my afternoon meetings and he's inside. But since Asha is always jealous of the attention he gets (no really, she tries to shove herself between me and Buddie when I pet him), I figured I'd give her a little blog love. Here she is on my chest in bed this weekend. Normally she sleeps on Evan's chest because I tend to toss and turn when I sleep. But, Saturday morning, there she was on my chest when I woke up!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

My weekend in brief

This weekend in brief:

1. Spent time writing

2. Had my friends Jeanny and Larry over for brunch. I made waffles with my favorite waffle recipe (I add some additional spices to mine):

I also tried a new whole wheat sunflower seed quick bread recipe from Joy the Baker. Unfortunately, I was so tired when I started baking that instead of 2 cups of wheat flour, I used 2 cups of bread flour. And it turned out the sunflower seeds I bought weren't pre-shelled! Whoops. So no wheat or sunflower seeds in my whole wheat sunflower seed bread. HA!

I ended up adding sesame seeds and cardamom (my favorite spice). The bread came out ok (albeit bit dry), and its cardamom fragrance made me want to eat it with tea! But I still want to try the recipe the correct way sometime.

3. This weekend I also thrifted several vintage items:

a vintage Pyrex Juice carafe ($3),

vintage Pyrex mixing bowl in the cool art deco-like Horizon Blue pattern ($2).

I also found this beautiful vintage casserole, but I asked Jeanny to buy it since my house is overflowing with vintage Pyrex casseroles.

But the big news is that I actually thrifted some vintage clothes - and I rarely find vintage clothes I like where I thrift.

Meagan from Spunky Chateau asked about tips for dating vintage finds. I'm not sure if she was referring to clothes specifically. I have very little experience dating clothes, but I found a few good references (here, here, and here). There seems to be a lot about looking at zippers and seams. That's all very complicated. I just took a look at the tag. The tag says it's made by Mr. Bob of California, lol.

A quick glance around the internets looking at other pieces by Mr. Bob suggests this dress may have been made sometime in the 50s and 60s. (Mr Bob of California didn't turn up as a registered trademark on TESS, so I wasn't able to get a date range that way). Not entirely surprising given the style. EXCEPT, that it feels current today too. Anjali of Goldenmeans just posted some of her favorite looks from Kate Spade's new 2011 collection. She pointed out this Melody Dress from the upcoming line:

It is quite beautiful! But it also reminds me A LOT of my dress by Mr. Bob (lol, I kinda love that's the brand). There are some obvious differences such as K.S.' more sophisticated dot pattern and colorway, but the style is certainly similar. Of course the Melody dress costs $445, whereas my vintage find put me back $4.80!

I found other fun vintage clothes but I guess I'll just surprise y'all with them when I wear them!

okay, gotta go back and work on #1 - more writing!!

How was y'alls weekends?

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Fashionably musing

1. Is ignorance fashionable?
"At least, unlike Paris Hilton and her ilk, the Dumb Blonde of ’50s cinema had a firm grasp on one thing: It was cool to be smart. She aspired to read good books and be friends with intellectuals, even going so far as to marry one. But now another famous beauty with glowing skin and a powerful current, Sarah Palin, has made ignorance fashionable".
(Maureen Dowd, NY Times)

If this were true, it'd be so sad. But do we really think ignorance is sexy? What about the whole trend toward looking smart - geek chic? People are geeky and proud! I've always found intelligence really attractive, but I have a tendency to be totally old school like that.
image by Nina Westervelt

2. The continued discussion of what women wear on the way to power...
"They are for the most part “still walking a tightrope,” said Ms. Jahnke, who advises female candidates to adopt a high-quality, low-key wardrobe befitting a corporate chief executive. “You have to look approachable and, at the same time, look like you can handle the job,” she said. "
(Ruth La Ferla, NYTimes)
*sigh* I'm still bothered that we discuss fashion of women seeking leadership roles. Is it too feminine, too masculine? ugh. Maybe we need to change what's valued in the leadership role to make it more available to women

3. H&M released pictures of a few dresses from its collaboration with Lanvin


I'm interested to see what these look like IRL. What do y'all think of these dresses? Those big poofy one-shouldered dresses remind me of the Leifsdottir Blooming Brilliance blouse.

Although I was pretty in love with the color and print of that blouse, these H&M Lanvin dresses might be easier for more people to wear because the black color and solid pattern tones down the one-shoulder-poof look :)

4. Glee "fashion shoot" in GQ see GQ images here. [thanks for the link Oliver!]
Wow, I did not want to see the Glee characters spread like this. Did they really need this to boost ratings? I guess, at least it wasn't Emma Pillsbury in the photos. I know I shouldn't be surprised that GQ has images completely objectifying women (and of course Finn is fully clothed). Rachel's pics are the raunchiest of the bunch, and it reminds me of another Rachel with an uncomfortable photo shoot. Remember, the over-the-topness of FHM's Rachel Ray shoot? It is forever buuuuurnnnneed in my mind for being a bit too disturbing :(. And in writing this blurb, I found that I wasn't the first to associate the Glee and Rachel Ray photo spreads. See poll for which photo shoot is worse here.

5. More on the lack of plus-size women's fashion
"By the numbers it just doesn't seem right. Nearly 65% of American women are overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and of those, more than 35% are obese. Yet most designer collections end at size 10. And on hundreds of high-fashion runways at international fashion weeks this month and last, ultra-slim models were wearing trendsetting designs that will never be manufactured in sizes to fit most American women."
(Valli Herman, LA Times)

The Cut finds that most design schools don't even teach pattern-making for plus-sizes.

WHY NOT?? I'm sorry but women large or small can be chic and sexy.


[images from google of plus-size model Crystal Renn on the runway]

Well, for those who think that fashion is only for the skinny and models, I tell them to take a look at these beautiful and stylish bloggers (e.g., Young Fat and Fabulous, Fatshionable, Corpulent). Designers should count themselves lucky to design clothes for these lovely ladies!

6. In preparation for the colder and wetter days of Fall and Winter, I've been stocking up on more new tights on ebay And I thought I'd share a couple ebay sellers I came across :)

secret-seller (DKNY and HUE stockings, like this crochet-flowered tights or this black plaid pair)
yenancy (some fun patterned stockings like these heart ones or these heart ones, ok. I guess I like hearts :))


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Don't forget to enter the Betsey Johnson Swag Bag & Anthropologie Gift Card giveaway here

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Friday, October 22, 2010

Hot Diggity Dog & OOTD

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Don't forget to enter the Betsey Johnson Swag Bag & Anthropologie Gift Card giveaway here

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Continuing with reader questions (and in an effort to get my eye pics further down my blog, lol, they kind of wig me out...), Tara from Mix And Match Fashion asked what kind of dog I have, and what his name is. btw, if you don't wanna see pup pics, OOTD pics are at the bottom of the post!

This is Buddie!


This is Buddie 12 years ago!

His first night home. For some reason, we thought he needed a blanket when he slept, lol.


I can still hold him like this, see below!!

We got Buddie when I was a senior in high school. We don't actually know what kind of dog he is, so we just say he's a mix. Buddie and his sister were found as puppies in a creek. Someone took them in, cleaned them up, and brought them to the neighborhood pet store to see if someone could give them a good home. Then my family came along for brunch at the restaurant next door, and we ended up leaving with a puppy!


Buddie and his sister

My mom says she got him for me, because she wanted me to have a dog before I left home. But, I didn't even get to name him! My brother (8 yrs my junior) wanted to call him Buddie, and my mom went along with it. I thought it was too boring and generic!



Anyway, since Buddie came to live with me and ev almost three years ago, I've come up with my own nicknames for him. He now also goes by Buddaroonie, Budz, Budz0r (pronouced budzoare), and butt-sore (because someone thought that I was saying that when I called him Budz0r).


See told you I could still hold him like that!


This was me this morning trying to get a pic of my OOTD while taking Buddie on a walk through our neighborhood. We walk Budz with a Gentle Leader or Halti head collar to help keep him from pulling without causing too much strain on his neck.



Today was supposed to start raining, although the big storm will hit tomorrow. Still, I wore my Hunters in celebration of the rain.



And when it starts getting cold and wet, Buddie starts wearing more of his clothes. Since his first 10 years were spent in California, he found Seattle winters a bit cold for him (he'll actually start shivering!). Plus, his clothes help keep him cleaner since he likes lying under our backyard deck when we are gone during the day.

OOTD Specs
J Crew grey v-neck sweater sz XS
(thrifted $6)
H&M big pocketed skirt sz XS ($15)
Navy men's vest (thrifted $5)
Three Beacons Belt sz S - Anthropologie ($34)
Navy Hunter Wellington boots ($40 at Costco)
grey ribbed tights ($6)
Forever 21 eyeglasses necklace ($3.50)
Turquoise scarf ($10)

Buddie's OOTD
Old Navy yellow polo shirt sz M
($10)
(in first pic) Old Navy red/white striped sweater sz M ($10)

I leave you with a video of Buddie's one good trick:

Thursday, October 21, 2010

a snazzual OOTD and my peepers

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Don't forget to enter the Betsey Johnson Swag Bag & Anthropologie Gift Card giveaway here

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I thought I'd start answering some of the reader questions from the giveaway post :) Kristina J and The Dalai Mama asked about my eyes and whether I wear colored contacts. The answer is, that although I do wear prescription lenses, they are clear, not colored contacts. My eyes are a light brown with some light greenish-gold thrown in for good measure. It's one of those cues that encourage people to ask if I'm Hapa (I'm not). My grandma on my mother's side has fairly light colored eyes, so I think I got my peepers from that side of the family?

I admit, I was really surprised that y'all can even see my eye color! I have gotten that question in real life, but usually I have to have the sun in my eyes and be really close to people for them to notice. I went back through my pics, and I could only find a couple that I thought maybe tipped y'all off that my eyes weren't only brown.

like maybe this first photo on my way to see BJ?


I had a hard time trying to get pics of my eyes for the rest o' you. The first time, my pics weren't in focus, and I was too wigged out by the pics of just my eyes (I was making some weird expressions with the rest of my face).


I tried again last night, but my pupils were too large (the feather was cuz I was anxious about having my face so close to the camera. It's my attempt to distract you, lol).



Then I tried again this morning, but it was just too dark, so I had to change the exposure for the eyes in photoshop for you to see them. But it just looks a little off. I think I upped the exposure too much.



which brings me to today's OOTD - only because I was so focused on trying to figure out how to take pics of my eyes, I forgot to zoom the lens back out (so you don't get to see the bottom of my legs or feet). *sigh* And from what I can tell, this is what my eyes look like in most of the pics on here. From afar and with most of my lighting conditions, my eyes look dark brown. Crazy!



I was going to go see Obama speak today at school, but I had too much work to do. So I stuck close to home, and avoided all Obama-related traffic. This 'snazzual' outfit combines two wardrobe items I had identified as things I wanted to integrate into my wardrobe - polka dots and mustard orange/yellow!

Thursday OOTD Specs
The Limited Pink Polkadot pin-tucked blouse sz XS
(thrifted $4)
INC blue velvet pants sz 4 (thrifted $6)
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20)
H&M faux pearl strand necklace ($5)
Braided orangey-tan leather belt (thrifted 99 cents)

A mended free sweater OOTD

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Don't forget to enter the Betsey Johnson Swag Bag & Anthropologie Gift Card giveaway here

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A day late, but here's yesterday's OOTD!

This week, an ebay purchase arrived only for me to find out that the condition was not as stated in the listing :( I bought an Anthropologie sweater by Snak



I loved the embroidery and the random striped panels in the arms, and the BIG yellow buttons down the front. It's quirky! But when I put it on, I found that there were moth holes in the arm - something the seller wouldn't have noticed unless they had actually put the sweater on and stretched out the knit.



I was super disappointed. The sweater had been listed as excellent condition. So I contacted the seller to let her know about the problem. She was amazing and without question refunded my payment ($26). She told me I could keep or toss the sweater since she couldn't sell it in that condition anyway. So I thought I'd see if I could do something to cover the holes. I ended up sewing little felt patches over the holes. I'm not sure how I like them though (you can see them on my right arm in Wednesday's OOTD pic below)



lol, and Budz made his guest appearance again. Or at least his booty did.

Wednesday OOTD Specs
Anthropologie embroidered cardigan by Snak sz S
($26 $0)
Yellow H&M t-shirt sz M ($8)
Crystal Candy brown pencil skirt sz S(thrifted $4)
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats - Mustard (NWT at Goodwill $7.50)
Black tights ($8)
brown plastic headband (50 cents)