LORISPEAK

Cookbooks need a diet & advice on substitutions to make healthy recipes?

2012-02-16T06:00:00.004-08:00

I came across an interesting (frightening?) study by Brian Wansink (researcher and writer on Mindful Eating) and Collin Payne (2009, Annals of Internal Medicine).

They analyzed recipes from The Joy of Cooking from the past 70 years (the book was updated every decade). They found that the caloric content of the recipes increased about 40% since the original publication, due to increases in serving size and ingredient substitutions.

Yikes!

I mean, I guess I didn't make the healthiest recipes over the holidays. My cousin gave me a donut maker, so of course I made donuts (they're so pretty!):

I know right? I start off the post complaining about unhealthy recipes, and now we are looking at pictures of donuts. but they are pretty, right?

We been making lots of homemade pizza:

I love this pic because it looks like a screen shot from a horror movie!! Watchout doughball! The hand is gonna get you! (after I make dough, I put it in yogurt containers, hence the tubular shape)

and I even tried my hand at making crumpets (unsuccessfully... they came out more like english muffins):

But, as I mentioned, I've been trying to lose weight. So I've been taking a closer look at what I'm eating and how I'm living. Since I love to cook, I'm now trying to figure out how to make many of the recipes that I like healthier (ideally without sacrificing a ton of flavor).

For example, I've heard of substituting applesauce for oil in baked goods (like muffins and quick breads). I also just read that we can use beans as a replacement for butter and oil in recipes. For those of you who've tried either of these substitutions, can you taste the difference (does it taste 'healthier' in a bad way)?

And beyond that substitution, I'm somewhat at a loss for how I can make a recipe healthier. What other substitutions do y'all use in cooking to make your dishes healthier?

I watched with anticipation....

2012-02-14T06:20:00.000-08:00

but he made the right choice *wink*

Tag via free Valentine's Day printable from Mooo
Happy Valentine's day everyone!

Here's to the little things that we do for the people we love everday!

when the erv wakes up to unexpected coffee making

surprise cupcakes and flowers when I'm feeling down

Color me brightly

2012-02-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone on your weight loss tips and encouragement! I've now requested an invite to fitocracy (thanks for the suggestion gck!), following Lisa's advice I've re-downloaded myfitnesspal to my iphone (it has a waaaaaay more extensive food calorie counting database than the app I was using, LoseIt!), and I've been drinking lots of tea to try to curb my sweet tooth (fab suggestion Kimmie!)

I also managed to get several exercise sessions in since the last post (I think publicly telling y'all I wanted to lose weight helped with my motivation ;) ). I did several workout sessions from the Nike Training Club app I downloaded onto my iphone. It's got tons of workout sessions doing High Intensity Interval Training that I can do right in my living room! I love that it has videos showing me the exercise moves and the countdown/timer feature!

My friend Clara also sent me the NYTimes article on mindful eating. So I'm also now trying to very consciously, mindfully, thoughtfully, eat. The idea is that really focusing on the experience of eating the food will make you enjoy the food more (Hong, Lishner, Han, & Huss, 2011), and it will help you eat more slowly and pay more attention to your bodily signals that you're full. It's a tough one though because I tend to be working all the time, so eating has typically been something I multitask, but I'm going to make a concerted effort to pay more attention to my food while I'm eating it (and before and after).

Wearing: Lands End Canvas The Heritage Cardigan (Day Lily Orange sz XXS, bought on sale for $13.99!!), Banana Republic green v-neck tee (really old), Rave~Max~Turquoise Slim/Skinny low rise Jeans sz 5 (Ebay $5.24; similar here, here, here), Brown suede Zara ankle booties (thrifted $7; similar here, here, here)

Yup. I'm still wearing bright colors! I can't remember if I mentioned how much I love LE Canvas Heritage Cardigans. They're a fabulous slim fit, come in a bijillion different colors, and when you catch them on sale, they're an amazing bargain. I only wish they made the same style in wool as well as cotton for added warmth during the winter.

I wore this over the weekend to run errands and then to an early Valentine's Day dinner with Evan. It's hard for us to go out to dinner during the week, so when we heard one of our neighborhood restaurants was offering their Valentine's day prix fixe dinner Friday through V-day, we scheduled a nice weekend meal.

Enjoying an early prix fixe Valentine's Day at Luc in Seattle

Catch-up Montage Sequence

2012-02-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry y'all! I've been gone so long! Too much to catch up on so I'll just focus on some highlights from the holidays in this post. Imagine this as a fast movie montage sequence. By the end of it, you should feel like you totally know how the whole months-long experience of my life went :) j/k

I found this ridiculously awesome Paul Frank fleece adult onesie to bum around the house in around the holidays. Bonus: it has pockets! It makes me so happy that I so don't care that Ev laughs at me every time he sees me wearing it.

Ev's Holiday party was at the sci-fi museum (Cee Lo Green was the main entertainment). But I also totally geeked out at the Battlestar Gallactica exhibit they had going on. (Wearing Betsey Johnson dress I picked up when I met Ms. Betsey Johnson herself!).

Took funny family pics

I love seeing my grandma in these pics! I'm so happy she's still doing so great at 91! I really cherished the time I got to spend with her over the holidays.

Caught up with some wonderful friends

I adore this toothy grin!

I miss my bestie so much since she moved to the East coast!

ha! This guy in back did an awesome photobomb

Last week, I got my very first bowtie! and I even learned how to tie it! I bought it for $2.49 (including shipping!) on ebay. Next I want a cute plaid one!
here's an early morning shot at the bus stop. I was so cold (and pale... ok I'm still pale). And my lips were too chapped to smile!

I took this one at home when I got back. I gotta get my tripod set up again. For now, mirror pic!

I also have been crazy bogged down with writing. With the holidays and the lack of exercise, I've gained 10 lbs in the past six months! I'm still crazy busy, but I'm announcing it to y'all now that I'm gonna work those 10 lbs off (ideally by summer!).

Anyone have any weight loss tips? I've tried keeping a food journal on my phone, but I'm bad at keeping up with it. I've fallen off in running (was due to cold weather, but now it's just due to lack of time and lots of inertia).

Water, Fire and Smoke

2011-08-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

Yup. So I was gonna have outfit photos from today. I swear. But then I woke up to this:

Yeah. So our water heater decided to spontaneously combust last night and I woke up to a house full of smoke. :( Sux right? Well, at least nothing else lit on fire, and hubby has already fixed us all up with a new water heater.

Anyway there was no time for outfit pics this morning. And I dropped food on my skirt at lunch... so no after work pics. But I do have the polyvore I put together for the outfit.

I love this Marimekko skirt (it was called the Marisco Skirt when sold at Anthropologie). This piece is another one of my ebay stalking successes! The orange, brown and red stripes totally remind me of some sheets my parents had when I was growing up. Plus, those stripes on a blue background offer such visual POP.

Of course what I love about the skirt - it's awesome graphic quality - made it hard for me to figure out what to pair it with. I came across the picture to the left on the color collective and I used it for some color pairing inspiration. I think the green cardigan here really helped tie the outfit together.

I was really happy with the way this outfit turned out. I did make some changes this morning though. I ended up adding a brown braided skinny belt. I changed the tank top to a t-shirt and I wore brown booties instead of the flats because Seattle turned cold these past few days.

Anyone else have this skirt? What would you pair this skirt with?

I do have one pic for y'all. I've been meaning to post this for awhile, but I had the chance to meet up with Cindi from SimplyCindi and Cindi+Chris Photography earlier this summer. We chatted about food, Seattle, jobs, schools. It was super fun. Cindi is such a beautiful and warm individual. I'm sure I say this a lot, but I love how the internet has helped me meet such wonderful people that I probably wouldn't have met otherwise. And seriously, check out her photography with her husband. It's stellar. I wish I had such magic with my camera lens!

San Diego travel pics

2011-08-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hey lovelies! Sorry I've been absentee bloggy-face! Things are a bit time crunched right now, but I wanted to post a few pics from my San Diego travels.

We were busy travelers. Made it to the beach, the 1st California Mission, the zoo, the desert, Salton Sea (thought of as a preview to the apocalypse, check out this short documentary on the Salton Sea), and the largest US aircraft carrier museum!

ginormous succulents everywhere. SO COOL!

The rental car agency upgraded us to this car... not necessarily great for the desert, but we did get a lot of commentary from people, like: "Your car looks like a Terminator!"

Here I'm hoping I don't land on a cactus!

It got up to 111F!

fishy massacre at the Salton Sea

great signs at the zoo

best food text ever

love the huge bullet motif

so many dang dials!

phew! Next time, I'll be back to regularly scheduled programming, I swear! :)

xoxo!

Marimekko - Wearing Art for my birthday suit

2011-08-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm now in sunny San Diego with Ev for a small vacay. Right now, I'm writing from the dining room of our cute bed & breakfast on Coronado Island. I'm looking forward to some beautiful beaches, the zoo, Sea World, and neat desert hiking!

Thursday was my birthday. And, this is the outfit I chose to wear! I've been in love with Marimekko for a long time. I grew up looking at my parents' huge (wall-sized) Kaivo hanging since before I was born. And, I've fallen in love with their beautiful textile prints. So you can imagine how thrilled I am by their dresses with Anthropologie.
I stalked Anthropologie's Gulls of Gamma dress for a while on Ebay. The graphic print and bold colors were so appealing! I finally won one at a happy price point.

I've found the measurements on Marimekko clothing to run a tad small (or perhaps it's just TTS given the crazy vanity sizing I typically encounter). This dress is a sz 0 and with my wide rib-cage and broad shoulders, it is a bit too small in the bust for me. Definitely, a no-bra possibility kind of dress for me. Luckily, I'm fairly boobless so it just barely fits (ok so maybe it was hard to breathe...)

I sent a preview picture from this post to my BFF, and she told me that it "looked like I'm wearing art!" That's what I love about many of the Marimekko pieces; they feel so incredibly special. Their prints are so graphic and visually interesting, I feel like I could look at them for ages.

Here's a rather poorly done cinemagraph. I didn't have a good piece of footage for looping this time. Live and learn. Ok, I admit, part of the reason I love cinemagraphs is because they remind me of those moving pictures from Harry Potter. Somehow, cinemagraphs are partially magical when they're done right. I just gotta practice!

On a completely separate topic, I wanted to show y'all my new lunch bag. (I know, I'm totally weird). Happily, it went so well with this dress I decided to throw it in a pic. This bag is one of my birthday gifts from my dear friends, and I love love love it! I knew I needed a lunch bag, because I had been toting my lunch around in ugly plastic film grocery bags (out of convenience).

If you are looking for a lunch sack accessory, the Originals Good Lunch Sack in Blissful Blue is a BEAUTIFUL option.

First off, I love the color. It's called blue, but it definitely straddles that lovely turquoise/mint green shade that I've been enjoying all Spring and Summer. Second, the simplicity of the design makes me really happy. The lunch sack comes in a so-very-soft cotton canvas. It's got a padded handle that's a pleasure to hold. The inside is insulated and water-proof, perfect for keeping your lunch properly cool (very helpful for avoiding an overcrowded work fridge). Since the outside of the bag is padded and covered in the soft canvas, there is no annoying crunchiness/crinkling noises when it hits your sides as you walk. It's also a great size. It comfortably fits one of my 5"x7" ice packs in the bottom, my packed lunch containers, snack, and a drink. Anyway, just thought I'd throw in my two cents about this lunch sack in case any of y'all are looking for one. I also eyeballed those insulated lunch purses, but I honestly thought the design of this was prettier than those :)

OOTD Specs
Gulls of Gamma Dress by Marimekko for Anthropologie sz 0 - runs small - ($36)
Anthropologie Caulerpa necklace ($10)
Toms Shoes blue/white wedges (thrifted $6)

Rubidoux Shift-ing Photos

2011-08-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

Happy August friends! This week is my 30th birthday. Kinda crazy that I've lived that long, huh? It also means I get my 15% off from Anthro! This year the discount is for online shopping. Unfortunately, I haven't made it into my local store for a while, so I'll be relying on many of y'alls reviews (thanks so much!).

A few posts ago, Laura asked how I did the moving image in this post. That was an old school animated gif. I just took multiple photos and used an online animated gif maker like Picasian or Gickr to put the images together into one animated gif.

On the other hand, the picture above started from a movie and became a series of multi-layered masked image frames in Photoshop (see a tutorial here). It is still technically an animated gif, but lately they're being called cinemagraphs. If you haven't seen them, you should check out some of these AMAZING ones: fashion cinemagraphs, movie-related cinemagraphs. They're really fun to play around with and highly addictive to make - so you may see a few more pop up on the blog now and then.

It feels like everyone needs a good summery pair of beaded sandals. They go especially well with the whole Boho-chic vibe that's been going around. I found this Nine West pair at Marshall's for $20. I love the soft leather and the ankle straps that keep the shoes firmly in place.

The dress is Anthropologie's Rubidoux Shift. I found it at Goodwill, and I immediately fell in love with the neckline. It's like a magnified section of lace. So pretty!

I'm just not a fan of the shift shape on me. I need waist definition! So of course I belted the dress :) . To get back some of the length I wore it with a black lace slip underneath.

OOTD Specs
Rubidoux Shift sz 4 (thrifted $5)
Nine West beaded sandals ($20)
American Eagle striped belt (thrifted 99 cents)
black lace slip ($3)

Pattern Mixing Primer

2011-07-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

I'm still learning and playing with pattern mixing, but here's a few tips that seem to work for me.

1. Color match.

Two patterns in similar color schemes doesn't feel conflicted, because the eye can see the outfit as a united whole via the color scheme.

Leighton pulls out the black on black pattern mixing

A beautiful example from All Day Long I Dream About Suits

2. Style match.

You see this combination a lot with the 'ethnic' trend in clothes right now. Basically, any two/three/four/bijillion prints that feel 'ethnic' get thrown together. And, magically, it works.

I think this tip was at work in my pattern play EBEW outfit yesterday.

Both patterns have a stylistically Swedish feel about them.

Mixed ethnic prints from Suno

two different flavors of florals photo via Garance Doré

3. Use patterns in different scales.

Two big patterns compete more with the eye than a big pattern + little pattern. Think of the little pattern as an echo, or the backup chorus...

Big and little animal prints

Big print + Little print Tucker for Target dresses... I happily thrifted BOTH of these dresses from my local Goodwill

4. Feeling match.

As in, match how you're feeling! Think of pattern mixing as your fashion Jelly Belly box of recipes. Two distinct flavors (lemon + coconut) when put together give you something new (lemon meringue pie).

I also had a set of perfume once from Bath and Body works. Each one was labeled with a feeling - like "flirty" or "romantic" or "exciting". So say you wanna look romantic and professional:

I like to mix patterns like I'm mixing flavors. For example, a few floral (romantic) fashion flavor combos:

Do you have any pattern mixing tips? You can share them in the comments!

Every Body Every Wear Thrift edition; A little bit Naut(ty) and Pattern Play

2011-07-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

When EBEW posted that today would be thrift day, I had two conflicting thoughts.

First, "FABULOUS. This theme is SO ME. 3/4 of my wardrobe is thrifted. I have to remember to do this EBEW."

Then I thought, "oh. maybe it's not a special theme for me, since every outfit I wear incorporates thrifted pieces."

But of course I gotta do it! In fact, I've thought about hosting a reader feature of fashion bloggers wearing their thrifty outfits. But, I didn't know whether there would be enough interest.

On a side note, if you are interested in getting into thrifting, check out my Guide to Thrifting Shoes, and What to Wear While Thrifting posts for some tips.

Now, on to TWO EBEW themed outfits today. That's right, I gotta show some thrifting chops :)

EBEW Thrift Look#1: Professionally Nautical

I wore this earlier this week. The dress/jumper, jacket, and necklace are thrifted finds. I love the cute little anchors on this dress. And although bright colors are my usual playground, navy-colored clothes take up a large spot in my closet. In fact, I like navy more than black. Black washes me out and makes me look super goth with my pale skin and dark hair.

Not one to forgo color completely, I thought the pop of the red necklace was great compliment to the nautical feel of the outfit. The blazer made the flirty jumper more work appropriate. I also added a smidge of length by wearing a lace-fringed slip underneath.

For those of you not in Seattle, you may be confused by how I'm not getting heat stroke from the blazer and tall boots. Well, it's been rainy and chilly in Seattle this summer. So I've had to work on ways to dress summery-ish, but still stay warm :)

EBEW Look #2: Thrifty pattern play

When I thrifted this sweater, my husband was skeptical. In his mind there wasn't an outfit that could work with this pattern. So what did I do?

I paired the pattern with more pattern. duh.

Pattern + pattern = FUN. Y'all should definitely try it. Mixing patterns makes people think think you're some kind of style savvy chica... or something.

I used to be afraid of mixing patterns. I'd gaze at Anna Sui runway collections in awe, and wonder how she knew such intricate patterns could go together. How would I know what patterns would work together? Honestly, I never really thought through my tactics before jumping in, but I think I've picked up on a few tips. Tune back in over the next few days for a Pattern Primer Post (always loved me some alliteration).

In this outfit, I thrifted the dress, the sweater, the belt, the necklace, and the shoes. BAM! Yah, it's the blue plate special of outfits.

EBEW Look#1 Specs
Espada grey blazer sz 3 (thrifted $8)
Chunky red necklace (thrifted $4)
Xhilaration Juniors Swim Coverup Dress Anchor Print sz S (thrifted $4)
Anthro's Navy Garland Slip by Eloise sz S ($30)
White H&M divided t-shirt sz 8 ($8)
Brown Franco Sarto knee-high boots ($25)
Forever 21 Leatherette Bow Belt in dark brown ($3.80) sold out online, still available in stores

EBEW Look#2 Specs
Merona Collection Women's Printed Cardigan Sweater sz XS (thrifted $6)
Forever 21 patterned lace applique dress sz S (thrifted $6)
Butterfly locket necklace (thrifted $4)
blue skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
Forever 21 rosette hair clips ($1.50)
Seychelles brown pumps (thrifted $6)

Perpetual student

2011-07-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

Even after going through my hooding ceremony, I'm pretty sure I'll always be ready to learn something new! In that way, I'm totes going to live my life as a perpetual student.

This outfit was fully inspired by that idea. That, and I felt like working out a preppy, nerdy vibe. The glasses and the child's sweater definitely take this outfit a tad over the top. But that's what's fun about it. Nerdy, fun and comfortable. This was highly appropriate given that I spent the afternoon in a coffee shop working on some data analyses.

I know that the Every Body Every Wear theme is yellow today. And this outfit looks more green than yellow. But, hey! Look! That is a large swath of yellow there in the middle of the sweater. So I call it good!

Plus, now you can see how well yellow and green go together. You're welcome. :)

Other news
* I'm now a pescetarian nerd. I decided to keep eating fish because I've been making and loving ceviche every week. Fresh rockfish from the farmer's market has been AMAZING! Does anyone have any awesome seafood or vegetarian recipes they'd like to share with me? Pretty please?!
* Ev and I celebrated 4 years of marriage last week!
* I gave blood and found out I have A+ blood type. The nerd in me was excited because it sounds like an awesome grade. My dad's response? "Not sure if I have A+ too but I think I have phi beta capillaries with Distinction." LOL. Now y'all know where I get my kooky humor.
* Budz had an oncology checkup and his ultrasound and x-rays came back clean (no cancer recurrence)! Woohoo!

I scored these penny loafers off of Ebay. I've wanted penny loafers ever since middle school. One of my best friends wore some awesome leather ones to school. She had pennies in hers. Man, I just thought that was the coolest thing ever. Apparently, it was during the 1950's that people started slipping pennies into their loafers as a fashion statement. I don't know why it took so long for me to get my own pair. But, as soon as they arrived, I stuck pennies in them! So I missed the 1950's trend by like 60 years...

Yellow/Green Nerd OOTD
Gap kids cardigan (thrifted $4)
Banana Republic green button up sz XS ($10)
J.Crew jean skirt sz 0 (thrifted $5)
J.Crew red-white gingham belt (thrifted $1)
Cole Haan suede penny loafers (ebay $15)

Chicago weddings, Xoco, and art!

2011-07-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Hope y'all are having a fantastic holiday weekend (if you're in the states!) This week has been a whirl wind for me.

We went to Chicago at the end of last weekend for a VERY short trip. We did manage to go to Xoco, Rick Bayless' Mexi street food restaurant in Chicago the night we arrived. It was delish! I highly recommend if you visit Chicago. The Torta Ahogada was fantastic. Plus they make hot chocolate there by grinding the cacao beans on the spot. The hot chocolate is SUPER rich, but not sweet. Amazing!

I wore last year's Dewpoint blouse while traveling. It was a recent score off of EA trade market, and I couldn't be more thrilled! Love its bright color and beautiful neckline detail. Plus, it's made of jersey, making it the epitome of comfort! It was perfect for stylish plane travel :)

omg. I haven't had anything quite like this shortrib chile soup at Xoco. It's different, but in a good way. Very earthy and roasty delish.

The next day I spent a few hours at the Art Institute before heading to my college friend's wedding. There was much leaping...

and much art contemplation...

Then we headed to Newberry Library for a beautiful wedding, amazing dancing, and wonderful etouffee and corn muffins (YUM!). It was so great seeing my friends from college. It's neat to see where everyone is now. Three of us finishing up PhD programs, a couple people working in education and non-profits.

Me and my junior year roommate (middle) and sophomore roommate (right).

Happy Friday! This green cardi sure gets around... Lands End Canvas Cardigan Review

2011-06-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday everyone! I'm taking off for a good friend's wedding in Chicago this weekend, but I wanted to play a little catch up on some outfit posts.

I've found that this past year I've really focused on expanding my cardigan collection. As much as I like sweaters, cardigans are perfect for me since I feel like I'm constantly temperature regulating between warm buses, chilly outdoor weather, and warm or cold office temperatures. A cardigan gives me the flexibility of buttoning all the way up if I'm cold, opening up if I'm slightly warm, or easily slipping off the outer layer when I'm warm (and easily slipping it on when I get a sudden chill). I've been slowly whittling down my collection of non-cardi sweaters because I find them less versatile.

What I've found as I've grown my cardigan collection. 1) I really like cardigans from Anthropologie for very whimsical and different looks. 2) I love J.Crew and Lands End Canvas cardigans for basic good quality cardigans in wonderful colors. I seem to be collecting cardis in a multitude of colors.

When we moved into Spring and Summer, I really wanted a lighter green cardigan. So I tried out the Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardigan. I found the cotton wonderfully soft and the fit is wonderful. It is a semi-fine knit that seems like it will hold up well. It's slim through the body and arms keeping me from looking like a bag.

I got this cardigan in an XXS but I got other cardigans in XS to try out sizing. I found that both sizes had a great slim fit, but the XXS pulls a bit more at the buttons when I button-up. So I'd think I'd be more likely size up to an XS in their cardigans (For reference, I typically take XS in J.Crew cardigans too).

This is the Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardigan size XXS in Dew Green. You can find the cardi on sale here in various colors ranging from $21.99 (sale colors) to $39.50

OOTD 1 specs:
Anthropologie Seabound Skirt by We Love Vera sz 0 ($30)
Anthropologie Winding Road tank by Little Yellow Button sz XS ($20)
Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardigan in Dew Green sz XS ($25)
Preview white sandals ($15)

OOTD 2 specs:
Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardigan in Dew Green sz XS ($25)
Anthropologie Bright Bolts Sash sz S/M ($20)
Anthropologie Caulerpa necklace ($10)
Gap ethnic print dress sz XS (thrifted $7)

[edited to add a few close-ups of the cardigan construction. I only just remembered I took these when I first got the cardi!]

EBEW - LACE!

2011-06-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the month again... (no not that time, lol) Everybody Everywhere! This month the theme is lace. It gave me the chance to wear my lace cardigan again.

This time, I thought it'd be fun to pair it with something a bit more low-key, chambray shorts! I topped it with a blazer for work.

I think I like it better the way I wore it the first time (see below), with a high waisted skirt. But it was fun to play with it in another outfit :)

How I wore this lace cardigan before (pretty much the same, just changed bottoms and accessories!!)

EBEW Lace outfit specs
Xhilaration lace cardigan sz M ($10)
black Kirkland tank sz S ($6?)
DKNY Jeans Chambray shorts sz 2 ($7 sale)
Preview white sandals ($15)
Samlin grey blazer (thrifted $7)

"Galileo why are you so suprised?"

2011-06-13T23:41:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are pics from the weekend of me in a poofy hat (apparently called a tam - different from the typical undergraduate mortarboard because it is eight-sided and poofy).

These robes do wonders for the figure. Really.

Thank you for all the congratulations. The hooding ceremony was pretty nice. We all gave speeches. I cried. I made other people cry. There were 19827392792392 photos taken.

Here's one with my advisor and my BFF (also in poofy hat garb).

About a third of us going through this year's hooding still have to defend. That's me too. It will likely happen in end of Summer, early Fall for me.

Beneath the purple-y robes was of course Anthro!

My husband couldn't quite get over how much he thought I looked like Galileo (although we can't find a pic of Galileo in this type of hat). So whenever I made a face like this at him:

He'd say "Galileo, why are you so surprised?"

Hope y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Trippin' to the Maxi

2011-06-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Some little birds have been telling me that they need more to read here...or an update or something.

Y'all who know me know I'm not a strapless dress kinda gal. Nor am I truly a maxi dress convert. I think they look great on other people. But I'm clumsy. I trip over the hems walking up stairs. And Seattle rains often enough that I worry about tripping around with soggy hems.

But here I am. I couldn't resist these large tropical print flowers.

To keep myself from constantly tugging up the top, I added some loops to the inside and threw on some removable bra straps. I then threw a blazer on to hide the straps. A belt reigned in the 'pregnancy' look. And a bright red pop of a necklace added some extra visual pop! I even managed to keep from tripping...too much. :P

So ok birdies, how were those crumbs :)?

Ev's parents and my fam are in town for my departmental hooding ceremony (for doctoral students). I get to wear large purple robes and a funny looking puffy purple hat. Perhaps a photo of the outfit will make the blog. I'm all about embarrassing silly photos. Why not one with a puffy hat?

Till next time birdies!

Trippin' to the Maxi OOTD Specs
Xhilration chase boho ruffle strapless dress - blue floral maxi sz S (thrifted $5)
Curio Nine tan ruched-sleeved blazer sz S (thrifted $5)
H&M brown belt ($10)
chunky red necklace (thrifted $6)

Reviews: Anthropologie Magellan Dress, Dotty Shorts

2011-05-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

So I heard it was in the 90s on the East Coast of the US this past Memorial Day weekend.... Seattle on the other hand struggled to hit 60F. It was dang COLD! But I still used the weekend to do some planting and prep my yard for spending warm days out there working. I'm an optimist at heart.

I'm sure everyone has heard, but Anthro brought back free shipping until July 15th if you have an Anthro card. WOOHOO!!! Get your orders in now lovelies!

On to some belated reviews:
Magellan Dress by Maeve (Sale $80 sold out online, check in-store)

Tried on size 0
This dress hit sale last week! I grabbed it on the way to the dressing room. The size 0 was waaaaaay too small. I couldn't zip the bodice up over my huge rib cage :) My guess is that I'd need a 4 for this to fit well. I loved the beautiful print mixes in this piece (3 prints for the price of 1 LOL - or four prints if you count the pretty rope belt). The navy colors are a soothing take on the ethnic print dresses that we've been seeing. The material was surprisingly weighty in a wonderful rich kind of way.

I didn't realize until I looked this bugger up on the website that it is actually billed as a strapless dress. I love that the removable straps are not an after thought here. They're beautiful thick straps (great for hiding bra straps) in a matching patterned fabric. The straps are held on by buttons on the inside of the dress. The dress I brought into the dressing room with me was missing a button in back so I'm actually holding the strap up just for y'all. And BTW y'all, there's pockets!!!! SQUEEEEE!

Dotty Shorts by Plenty by Tracy Reese ($88)
Tried on a size 2

why do i look like I think someone is about to mug me?

ha. now that's embarrassing. I'm showing you my rear. All in the name of full disclosure, but like to know how pants fit me in back. These aren't hugely flattering in back (much cuter and shapely in front).

The size 2 fit perfectly here. While pleats in shorts aren't the first thing that come to mind for good fit (I usually think of pleated shorts as kind of ballooning out around the thigh area), these pleats (or perhaps darts is more accurate) help the front lay wonderfully flat and elegantly.

The fit is also helped by the fact that the closure isn't in front. You fasten the shorts on the side with five round metal buttons whose shape is reminiscent of the dot pattern covering the rest of the shorts.

The silk felt wonderfully light and airy on. But both the silky material and bold print make these an unlikely purchase for me. I rarely wear shorts unless I'm slumming it laying out on the deck reading for my dissertation. I wouldn't rub silk up against the rough wood of my deck. The bold color and pattern is great for a dress, but I'm not sure I would wear it as often when it's on a pair of shorts. Still, it's a beautiful pair of shorts that will look great on many folks.

xoxo,
Lori

Gearing up for summer and your local farmer's market

2011-05-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

My neighborhood farmer's market started up again last week. Hooray!! Hubby and I were happy to see our favorite butcher/farmer, our favorite pasta guy (omg his wild boar plin is TDF), bakers, fruit and veggie peeps.

With farmer's market seasons starting up again (or perhaps yours never stopped, in which case I'm totally jealous), I thought I'd put together a few outfits perfect for strolling your way past the stalls of vendors and farmers. If you don't have a farmer's market near by, no worries. These outfits would be lovely for many a summer outing - picnics at the beach, reading in the sun.

Market Outfitting #1

Ok, I couldn't resist putting the caranday up here again. (There's a red one in size 4 on ebay here right now). But a floaty cotton dress meant for summer seems so picture perfect for the farmer's market. As you pick out your fruit and veggies, don't forget your sun hat!

Market Outfitting #2

How about going casual with a lovely floaty top and shorts? Keep it relaxed with your canvas slip-ons (kept interesting by the stripes). Don't forget your reusable tote to bring your farm-raised goodies home.

Market Outfitting #3

The last outfit captures some bohemian elegance by hopping aboard the maxi dress trend with a fab hippie vibe. Finish it off with a natural rope belt and some colorful earrings and shoes. If cooking isn't your thing, you can still hit up your farmer's market for goodies like local honey, artisan made soaps and jams, plants for your garden, or a wonderful crusty baguette and cheese to bring home for a light snack :)

Finally, with the advent of farmer's market adventures, I thought I'd leave y'all with some recipes we enjoyed this past weekend after visiting the farmer's market. I find the goodies at the farmer's markets always prompt me to try out new produce or meat varieties and new recipes. Steamed clams are a perennial favorite of ours, but the standout of the meal was the asparagus, avocado, pea vine and tomato salad my hubby whipped up. Hope you enjoy!

Steamed Clams
Adapted from Allrecipes Clams Italiano Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
10 cloves garlic, minced
1 piece diced bacon
2 cups dry white wine (we use Trader Joe's Charles Shaw chardonnay)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional, vary according to taste)
salt and pepper
36 clams in shell, scrubbed (we just bought a big bag... maybe 3-4 lbs?)
1/2 lemon

Directions
1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook with diced bacon for a few minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook briefly.
3. Stir in wine, and season with oregano, parsley, and red pepper flakes.
4. Place clams in the wine mixture. Cover, and steam until all the clams have opened: discard any that do not open.
5. Serve family style in a big bowl. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the top for brightness.
6. Serve with slices of crusty baguette for dipping into the tasty broth! Or serve over linguine

Asparagus, Pea Vine, Tomato, & Avocado Salad
Recipe courtesy of my hubby - he's guessing on the amounts since he winged it

Ingredients
6 large spears of Asparagus, blanched and cut into small rounds
1 Avocado cut into cubes
3 cups Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 C parsley chopped
1 C chervil chopped
1/2 C pea vines chopped

Dressing ingredients
1 T Lemon juice
2-3 T red wine vinegar
1(ish) tsp mustard
black pepper to taste
3 T olive oil

Directions
1. Toss tomatoes with salt & some sugar to juice em out. let sit for a bit.
2. Toss in asparagus, pea vines, parsley, chervil, and dressing. Let sit for a bit.
3. Mix in avocado. Check salt, pepper to taste. Serve!

Care-free day Caranday!

2011-05-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so not so much a care-free day. I'm still (always) working in overdrive mode. But, Seattle is getting some sun, and man it makes me feel good.

This dress also made me really happy to wear. I think it was the poofy skirt, the light airy cotton, and beautiful color tones. It was wonderful skipping home in the sun in this dress. Didn't even let the drive by cat calls get to me this time :/ (normally they make me anxious and shy. Do other people get this way?)

This is that wonderful Corey Lynn Calter Caranday dress I picked up from Smashion. Shout out to FrontPageFashion as an amazing seller. She shipped quickly, provided me tracking, and even packed the most beautiful crocheted butterfly doily in with my order.

What I never realized from photos of this dress was the amazing color tone pairings. I LOVE that the belt is grey, not black. I love that the light stripes are cream, not white. It all gives a very vintage and relaxed air to the dress.

And here's my *wink*. I love adding some extra sillyness/playfulness to an outfit. I think especially when dressing up in a town where 'dressing up' means nice jeans rather than light jeans, adding a touch of whimsy keeps a dress from feeling too stuffy. Here, the surprise is the off-beat zebra glasses necklace. I'm really such a goofball.

OOTD Specs
Anthropologie Caranday dress by Corey Lynn Calter sz 4 ($45)
Forever 21 eyeglasses necklace ($3.50)
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats ($7.50)

Hope you had a lovely Tuesday!

PSA: Anthro goodies on Smashion and a Corey Lynn Calter Caranday dress

2011-05-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

So I've been meaning to tell y'all that I can now fully say that I love Smashion. After signing up for an account, I found the coveted Corey Lynn Calter Caranday dress in my size, and I picked it up for $45 on Smashion. No bidding wars. And, I love the dress!

Other Anthro goodies I spotted on Smashion:
this cute Sleeping on Snow shrug sz M ($25)

Some beautiful old school Anthro in the Calico Hills Sweater (from 2007) sz XS ($35)

But, on Ebay right now, I just spotted another Corey Lynn Calter Caranday Dress in green size 4 (currently at $29!). FYI since I know a lot of ladies are looking for this gem.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month ... got a few minutes?

2011-05-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

I mentioned previously that May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. In honor of this month, Nordstrom is helping raise awareness about Hepatitis B.

One in ten Asian Americans is infected with hepatitis B—the leading cause of liver cancer.

For every person who completes a hepatitis B awareness quiz during the month of May, Nordstrom will donate $35 (up to $75,000) towards national Hep B Free efforts to end hepatitis B and liver cancer—including public awareness, clinician education, screening, vaccination and linkage to care. If you have a few minutes, take the quiz for a good cause.

Take Nordstrom's Hepatitis B Awareness Quiz

Budz says, "Learn about Hep B for a good cause!"

no doggles were injured in the course of this public announcement. However, there may have been some excessive drooling over my breakfast (by Buddie, not me... well ok, maybe me too. Duck eggs can do that to a girl)

Anthropologie Skirt Reviews Part 1: Goldfish Bowl Skirt, Sugar Work Skirt, Hamatreya Skirt

2011-05-17T23:50:00.000-07:00

Since I hadn't been into Anthro in awhile, I grabbed skirts that are both old and new to try on (all were new to me!). Hopefully, even if you've seen a couple of these before, they can help y'all with decisions thoughts for the Tag Sale Anthro's now having.

Sugar Work Skirt (~~$118~~ now on sale for $60) by Girls from Savoy
tried size 2 (sold out online, call CS or check stores; web style #20025045; retail sku #20025052)

I love the bright yellow of this skirt, and it poofs just the right amount. I'll fess up. I used to be against elastic waistbands. I was worried it was a sign of being old - that I needed the extra room for my belly to expand. But heck who am I kidding? Now I appreciate that I'm too lazy to bother with a zipper, and I have no fear of an after lunch "food baby." I still don't love the look of elastic bands, but I've got so many belts, I got it covered (so to speak, hehe :D)

I love that this has pockets, and I could see this color pairing well with other summer brights for summer (whites, pinks, oranges, blues) or make it a bit more modern with a pretty grey tank. <3! The size 2 was too large on my 27" waist, but a size 0 would have worked well.Tried this on with the A-Bit-Unruly top ($48) by Deletta in green and the silk Annabel Lee Tank by Left of Center ($88) in the blue motif

Goldfish Bowl Skirt ($98) by We Love Vera
Size 2

Silk? check. Cute waterpainted fishies? check. Bright color perfect for summer? check. This skirt had all the makings of a skirt I'd love, but somehow... I didn't? I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps the colors didn't work super well with my skin tone or I just didn't like it paired with the A-Bit-Unruly top. I'd give it another go later on another visit. I love that it has pockets and the coral banded detail at the hem gives the watercolor print some more definition. Although, now that I look at the band, I think it's that color pink in particular that isn't working with my leg skin tone. hm...

I found that this fit a bit snug relative to other We Love Vera skirts, so if you're between sizes, I would size up.

Hamatreya Skirt ($88) by Nathalie Lete
Tried on a size 0

Another elastic band skirt! But, what I loved about this skirt was that the elastic ruching is only in the back on the band. So I could wear this skirt without a belt if I wanted :D

The size 0 fit my waist perfectly. I was slightly worried this skirt might have been a bit to poofy. But, who am I kidding? I love a good poofy skirt. The colors and bright striking pattern worked for me. Plus, it has pockets for my to stow my hands in. I'm 5'5", and this skirt hit nicely about 1-2" above the knee. I'd think it's still work appropriate because somehow its fullness detracts from the shorter length (or at least that's what I would tell myself, lol). I would totes buy this on sale.

I tried this on with last year's navy Yoana Baraschi Akira Tank (which I happened to wear to Anthro for the trip).

Stay tuned for part 2 later this week :)

...

and on a completely random note... spurred by an email I just got, um... "flatform sandals"? These are just platforms! Why do we have to invent new words like jeggings and shacketts?

loving friendship bracelet trend

2011-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Maybe you've heard, but friendship bracelets are on the rise as a trend this year. I'm totes on board.

Traditionally, friendship bracelets are given from one person to another as a sign of the bond between the two individuals. Typically, this gift is especially meaningful because the giver has spent a lot of his/her time into crafting said bracelet.

Well, now you can just buy your ~~friends~~ bracelets. And they come in all sorts of fun mixed-media flavors.

1. Woven Bracelets ($3.80) at Forever 21
2. Ariel Gordon Silk Friendship Bracelets
3. Juicy Couture Embellished Friendship Bracelet Bracelet - Blue
4. Banana Republic Leather friendship chain bracelet
5. Dannijo Friendship Bracelets
6. Honestly WTF's DIY instructions on how to make your own chain friendship bracelet

I bought my four friendship bracelets at Forever 21 for $3.80. I don't see mine on the website, but you can find them in stores.

These remind me of the ones we made each other back in 3rd grade. They don't have all the fancy mixed media elements that are currently hot right now, so I mix them into my wardrobe with other arm candy: watches, rhinestone bracelets, gold bangles, leather wrap bracelets. I love the eclectic feel of it.

Friendship bracelets feel so wonderfully low key that pairing them with über lux items is a fun game of contrasts. Plus, the bracelets themselves add a wonderful punch of color that will be perfect for summer days (or for pretending it's summer already).

Here are some other ways I've worn these:

What about you? What do you think of the friendship bracelet trend? Would you wear them? How would you style them?

xoxo,
Lori

Happy Friday - a dose of doggy cuteness

2011-05-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sleepy Budz is quite amenable to photo posing!

Hope you have a great weekend!

EBEW - Florals!!

2011-05-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last Everybody Everywear, I completely forgot about wearing a maxi dress. So this time when florals came up, I actually stuck it in my google calendar. And I set up reminders. Despite what you may think from this blog, I tend to pick out my outfits on the fly (and in a hurry) in the mornings... Well, maybe you can believe it, because here are definitely some duds. But I forgive me, lol.

That said, even though I knew I would be wearing florals, I didn't know what. When I picked up this Tracy Reese silk skirt at Goodwill, I knew it would be the 'floral' part of the ensemble. But I kinda threw together the other parts on a whim. In fact, looking back, I'm not even sure I like the Precious Materials Cardigan with the outfit. But maybe it's just that I like the green shirt underneath better.

Tungsten shows y'all his annoyed 'gimme some food' face

Not to be out done, Asha jumped on my tummy when taking shirt pics.. Whatcha sniffing Asha?

I wore my florals out for a pastry bloggy date with Sammie from Oui Sammie. She looked absolutely darling decked out in head-to-toe Anthro: Breezy Polkas Cardigan, De Chelley dress, and Spectator Espadrilles. Props to styling girlfriend! You looked so fab whereas I look... kinda like I have a mullet?! :D

See more pics from the meet up over here at Sammie's blog.

EBEW Florals OOTD
Tracy Reese silk beige floral skirt sz 6 altered to fit at the waist (thrifted $6) similar here, here
Anthro Dewpoint Blouse sz 0 ($20) similar here, here
Anthro Precious Materials Cardigan sz S ($60)
Brown Franco Sarto knee-high boots ($25) similar here
Anthro Three-beacons Belt sz S ($34) similar here

Anthropologie Reviews: Verdant Slip Dress, Summer Soufflé Dress, & Backswept Dress

2011-05-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

and my dressing room pics with socks are BACK! Sorry for the blurrier pics! I was apparently in too much of a rush :/

Verdant Slip Dress by Moulinette Soeurs ($138)
tried on size 2

This dress has been getting so much love from the community, that I was worried I wouldn't be able to find it in my size. Luckily the two dresses my store had were two size 2's! I love the vintage flowery print. And who can resist silk? The dress feels as light as air on (which also makes me think I might need to wait to wear this in Seattle's non-Springy weather).

The length is great, hitting me about an inch above the knee (I'm 5'5"). So I could see myself wearing this pretty frock to work with a cardigan, out on a stroll about town, or to a party. Versatile and pocketed! I took this lovely home with me!

Backswept Dress by Corey Lynn Calter ($268)
tried on a size 2

I had no idea I'd find another green flowery frock on my trip to Anthro. But when I saw it hanging there, I had to grab it. My store got this just this past week. The colors and print are much more vibrant than on the Verdant Slip dress. I think those factors add a modern touch to the more vintage dress shape.

I grabbed a size 2, but my guess is that a size 0 would also work since when I moved I had slightly more movement at the armpits than I wanted. There are two front pockets with cute little ties on their fronts. The back echoes this feature with a cute tie at the top of the back of the back triangle opening. The bottom of the back window is lined in elastic to help the dress fit nicely at the waist and emphasize the full skirt on this dress.

The wider boatneck opening at the shoulders doesn't do my wide shoulders any favors. It's also slightly longer than I typically like - falling below my knees (a plus for taller girls). Also, although the triangle back opening is really cute, it will likely make wearing a normal bra a bit tough.

Still, the vibrancy of the colors, shape of the dress, and cute detailing made me love this dress a little more than the Verdant slip dress. But there were about two-hundred and sixty eight reasons ($) I didn't take this home with me instead.

Summer Soufflé Dress by Moulinette Soeurs ($198) & the Bright Bolts Sash by the Andrean Collection ($48)
Tried on:
Dress size 2 & 4
Belt size S/M

This was another dress that simply JUMPED out at me from the racks. I'm always on the look out for a lovely white summer dress (although I have yet to actually own one...). That paired with my current hunger for florals and my love of full skirts...well.. :)

The bodice has a flattering sweetheart neckline and is boned - which would probably help if you are planning to wear this dress strapless (I'm not a strapless kinda gal). The boning in the size 2 was digging into me, so I sized up to a four in this dress to be comfortable (photos are of me in the size 2). The dress was made of very light fabric, yet because of the full skirt, lined and with a layer of crinoline, the dress still feels weighty to move around in.

I had a lot of trouble getting this dress on. Because of my hips, even unzipped I had to pull the dress on over my head. There's a zipper cover for the back zipper, but the zipper kept getting caught on it (it also got caught on the way down so I had to call a SA to help me unzip O_o). There's elastic paneling at the back to provide some give in the bodice. The waistline actually hits at my real waistline, but I kinda wish it hit lower. Since the dress goes into a full skirt below the waistline, it visually raises my hips quite a bit. The length of the skirt is also quite long - midi(?) length? Not super flattering for me, but it's still inline with current trends.

Luckily, I brought a belt into the dressing room with me. A belt helped with my waistline on this dress. It toned down the 'poof' a bit and gave my waist visual (both in shape and color) definition.

Even with all the problems, I still somewhat liked this dress. It is bright and summery, has pockets, and has a lovely photographic flower print. But the dress' problems would keep me from buying this until maybe a second cut.

The belt is a lovely vibrant color that would go well with a bunch of the more 'ethnic' prints we're seeing all over. It also just brightens up any summer dress (as you can see here). My store had pink ones and these green ones, but there were only smalls left in the green ones. At the time I wasn't sure which way was supposed to be the front, but I thought with this dress, the ties in the front might be distracting. That said, there are two large bead things that hold the ribbon tie in place that might be uncomfortable if you had to lean back in a chair for a long while (although I didn't test this).

Happy Monday everyone!

An Interview with Lorispeak

2011-05-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Happy Saturday! I hope y'all have wonderful weekend plans ahead of you!

Just dropping a note to say that my interview with Smashion is now live on their site.

How neat is that? My first interview!

Click on over to get my 2 cents on:

'What every woman should own'
'My greatest fashion inspiration'

Plus, you can hit the archives to see other fun blogger interviews, or browse through their market. It's an online marketplace and community focused on fashion (without the stress of bidding/bid wars like on ebay!). I've never purchased anything on there, but I do plan to check it out. If you've ever bought something on Smashion, how did your transaction go? What are your experiences with Smashion?

love,
Lori

Happy Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Cinco de Mayo holds a special place in my heart. It's the day my hubby proposed to me! Five years ago, he managed to surprise me at our favorite Italian restaurant (over this amazing chocolate cookie/cake roll thing that they called a 'chocolate salami' (I know! It sounds totally wrong, but it was amazing. I've never been able to find a place that makes it since then. Anyone have a good recipe? )

You may be wondering why I'm holding a bowl in the pic above. I'm actually hugely multitasking. It's not easy getting out the door to work AND having a chance to snap some pics. So I'm finishing off my bowl of cereal. See? Here's my lighting test shot :)

I wore this outfit to be festive for Cinco de Mayo... except that I actually wore this yesterday on Quatro de Mayo. Yesterday was muy awesome because my boss sent out an email that said, "May the 4th be with you!" I cracked up in my chair and then tried to hide my geekiness. But I can tell y'all cuz y'all already know I'm a big ol' nerd.

I wish I could say that I was so fashion savvy that I saw this blanket on my couch and decided I should turn it into a skirt. But, I actually found it in skirt form. I still think it's awesome - even if I'm less awesome for not DIY-ing it up.

If you'd like your own blanket skirt, you could get this pricey one from Ralph Lauren (did you know Lauren Bush is marrying Ralph Lauren's son and her name might be "Lauren Bush-Lauren" Better than "Lauren Lauren" though I guess, lol)

Or you could get this blanket skirt at Urban Outfitters

But why not just make your own from a blanket? Urban Outfitters also sells these Urban Renewal Vintage Mexican Blankets for $130 less than the skirt linked above. Just don't ask how it's vintage or 'Mexican' (shhhh! they say it's made in Philadelphia).

Have a great day! And in other ethnic-related news (I'm the queen of segues), Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage month!

Cinco de Mayo OOTD
Hype blanket skirt (thrifted $5)
BCBGMaxazaria tan cardigan sz S (thrifted $6)
Martin & Osa Ebony Black pleated silk blouse sz 10 ($15)
black leggings
strappy sandals (can't remember info on this)
Indian bracelets (gifted)
Blue flowery bracelet (thrifted $2)

Have you seen this sweater?

2011-05-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

One of my friends at work is searching for the 'Time to Gather' sweater. She's called CS, and they think they have some in stores and they're trying to locate it. If you've seen this sweater in your local Anthro, I'd love if you'd send me a note so I can let her know (lorispeak [at] live [dot] com)

I know this is a long shot since this sweater was a Fall (or Winter) release, but any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

2, 4, 6, 8? I certainly don't appreciate...

2011-04-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

the variation in women's clothing sizes!

Everyone in the fashion blogging community knows how impossible it is to know one's size across brands (and within brands the consistency and qc just isn't always there!). That's part of why I appreciate style bloggers and the reviews they do for the community. It can make it so much easier to take the guesswork out of which size to try on it what brand... questions like, does it run large or TTS are always tough to interpret since there is no standardized sizing.

You may have seen the New York Times article "One Size Fits Nobody: Seeking a Steady 4 or a 10" detailing this lack of standard sizing. (thanks for the link Clara!)

What I thought was especially neat in the article was the graph they made of various fashion labels/designers and their bust/waist/hip ratios for a size 8. Well, I think of myself as a size 4. But look at the variation there are among Anthropologie, J.Crew, Ann Taylor Loft, Anna Sui, etc for a Size 4

[click on the image to download a copy of the graphical size 4 chart of the brands listed at the end of this post. Graphical size charts for sizes 0-14 are available for download at the bottom of this post]

The NY Times article mentioned there is a company that is putting full body scanners in malls, taking your body measurements, and giving you a print out of what your size will likely be for different stores/brands within the mall. Certainly, this is a useful tool to help with the variability across brands! (although not so much for variability within a brand).

Since there aren't a lot of these size scanners out there, I thought I'd compile a few size charts for y'all of some of the brands Anthropologie carries and a few other brands I like. Unfortunately, Anthro doesn't give different size guides for its in-house labels (although we all know they seem to have very different sizing standards). If you know of any size charts for brands that could be added here, let me know (send me a note: lorispeak [at] live [dot] com). Hopefully this could be helpful to some of you out there.

To use the size charts, you need to know your bust, waist, and hip measurements. Knowing these things is also super helpful if you buy clothing on ebay or from fellow JCAs or the EA Trade Market. Most sellers are quite accommodating when asked to provide these measurements.

If you don't have a tape measure, use a string to get your measurements and then use a ruler to measure the length of the string. See instructions on how and where to take your bust, waist, and hip measurements here.

You can download a copy of a compilation of these various brands' size charts here:
Click here to download the full size chart

Since I already had the data compiled, I thought it might be nice for some people to look up their size according to their size of one of their body parts. For instance, I know that I have large hips, and they're often the limiting factor for skirts. So I could use just my hip measurement to see what size I am across the brands. Analogously, my cousin often has to buy dresses that can accommodate her larger chest size, so using the size chart by bust size may be more helpful for her.

note: for the only following three size charts, half inch measurements were rounded down. so if a brand's size 0 fits up to a 35.5" hip, I put size 0 under 35"
Click here to download size chart by bust measurement
Click here to download size chart by waist measurement
Click here to download size chart by hip measurement

Graphical Size Charts
Click here to download Size 0 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 2 graphical size chart

Click here to download Size 4 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 6 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 8 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 10 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 12 graphical size chart
Click here to download Size 14 graphical size chart

Brands listed: Anthropologie (general), Leifsdottir, Anna Sui, Eva Franco, Tracy Reese, Corey Lynn Calter, Ella Moss, Nanette Lepore, Twinkle by Wenlan, J.Crew, Ann Taylor Loft

What I love right now...

2011-04-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

1. New Patisseries in my hood

BTW, if you're in Seattle, the goat cheese and tomato tart at Ines Patisserie is delish.

2. Hubby learning to multitask

3. Walking/running with the Budzor

4. Surprise notes

5. Non-tight-wearing weather

6. The photography and tips at iheartfaces. (I learned how to create a watermark-specific brush in Photoshop! See below for results)

7. Grace Harbor Farms Guernsey Honey Yogurt. SO amazing. Apparently milk from Guernsey cows is sweeter and has more beta-carotene than other milk. All I know is that I had a bowl for dessert... Ev asked for a bite, and then proceeded to serve himself 3 bowls full.

(You can buy this in the Seattle area at these locations or through your Full Circle farms grocery box).

8. Mint green

I've found a new love of mint green (which I'll admit I always thought was turquoise-ish). This love played out in two of my outfits last week! Pardon the pic positioning as I didn't actually look at the pics before running out the door!

Tuesday

Wednesday

Yeah, so you're like 'where's the mint green?' And I'm all like, 'I got your mint green right huuuuuuurr....'

A BIG shout out to Kim at Anthroholic for posting about this Lauren Conrad trench at Kohl's, and for advising me on the fit!

I had never been to a Kohl's before. We didn't have any near me when I was growing up, and I never seem to come across them. It's also not like me to seek out a celebrity fashion line.

By the time I decided I wanted to try this coat, the coat had already sold out in smaller sizes online. I didn't even realize the smallest size in the line was a size 2! Calling around to the nearest Kohl's, I found the smallest size they had was a 4, which I thought might be too big on me. Also, since it's a celebrity line, I worried about the quality. So I gave up on buying it.

But this coat haunted me with it's beautiful unusual shade (for a trench coat) and feminine detail that didn't consist of ruffles at the hips (whih makes me look waaay wide). Finally, I asked Kim how she liked hers. When I heard the size 2 fit her well, I knew the 4 would fit ok since Kim seems to run smaller than me in Anthro clothes.

I was decently impressed with Lauren Conrad's line. I liked the styles of the items I saw at the store. I didn't try on anything else, since I was only there for the coat, but I really like this coat! The pretty flowery lining is a nice touch. And the fact that this detail carried over to line the pockets was a wonderful surprise. It's also the perfect weight for a Spring coat! I may keep an eye on her line in the future.

See the coat on Kim here.

Tuesday OOTD specs
Anna and Frank silk green shirt sz S (thrifted $4) similar here
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20) similar here
Banana Republic cream wool mini skirt sz 2 (thrifted $) similar here
Banana Republic calf hair belt (thrifted $4) similar on sale here
grey tights
Brown Franco Sarto knee-high boots ($25) similar here

Wednesday OOTD specs
Lauren Conrad Trench Coat size 4 ($55) on ebay here, or similar here, here
Xhilaration lace cardigan sz M ($10) still available here for $10 and other colors for $7!
H&M big pocketed skirt sz XS ($15)
Anthropologie Tellicherry Belt ($15)
black Kirkland tank sz S ($6?)
black tights
black talbots t-strap pumps (thrifted $8?) similar here, here

Happy Earth Day

2011-04-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Here's to reusing and recycling!

Early on my parents instilled the value of recycling and reusing items. In fact, one of the children’s books my mom used to read to my brother and I was about recycling. It was called Lots and Lots of Pippindots
(pippindots were supposedly the recycled plastic beads that come out of the recycling process and could be used to create various things like plastic wood, etc. If you’re wondering, my mom got this book because she was working for a chemical company that was developing a recycling process.)

There are lots of ways to reduce your carbon footprint, but seeing as this is a style blog, I thought I'd focus on one way that's close to my heart. This may be obvi to many of you, but I love thrifting or upcycling. Thrifting is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint! Think about all the resources that go into a clothing item. How is the fiber made, dyed, constructed? How far does it travel before reaching a retail store?

Did you know:

The average American throws away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles per year.

It takes almost 1/3 of a pound of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just ONE T-shirt
[source]

If you are someone who likes to follow fashion trends - be it the 'color of the moment,' wide leg jeans, and maxi skirts for that 70's trend we are seeing - consider visiting your local thrift stores. Many trends are fashion revivals of a certain time period. So you can satisfy your fashion itch using less energy and natural resources. As an added benefit, thrifting is often cheaper than buying new clothes, and often supports a charity. Check out my guides on shoe shopping at thrift stores and what to wear while thrifting.

Patagonia has this online tool where you can look at the carbon footprint of some of their products. For example, a pair of their shorts travels 10,105 miles and generates 3.2 lbs of CO2. I'm curious about the carbon footprint of a pair of Chloe or Forever21 shorts.

I'm not saying you need to thrift all your clothes or that clothes thrifting is for everyone. If thrifting ain't yo thang, you can still reduce your clothing carbon footprint by renewing the life of the clothing you do own. Did a shirt lose a button? Rather than toss it, sew on a new one.

Take a quiz on your clothing's carbon footprint

[stepping down from soapbox...]

And here's my Earth Day outfit. If I'd thought about it more, I would have worn my thrifted "Save the Earth" belt from this post. This was also attempt #2 at dressing down a pencil skirt with a t-shirt. See attempt #1 here.

It was also the first day I went TIGHTLESS in like, forever. It's supposed to get up to 60F tomorrow! That's practically steamy!

Earth Day OOTD Specs
Threadless giraffe t-shirt ($20)
Ann Taylor Loft wedge sandals (thrifted $8)
Chunky wood and woven necklace (thrifted $3)
BCBGMaxazaria tan cardigan sz S (thrifted $6)
BCBGMaxazaria grey skirt sz S ($5)

omg craigslist happy dance!

2011-04-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

Look what I just bought off craigslist:

It's Anthro's Who's the Fairest Mirror. I had seen this in-store, but the $$ kept me at a distance. Then I saw someone post theirs on CL for $30. And, they were only a few streets down from me. WIN!

Now when hubby and I are vying for the bathroom in the morning, I don't need to use my make up compact as a mirror :D. It also goes well with our Michael Aram Enchanted Forest candlesticks. It's like I live in a big metal faux bois world.

The Who's the Fairest Mirror is still available here online for $148.

Interested in other neat branchy/tree mirrors for your home? (click on pics for more info)

Mad Men dressing and my Salwar Kameez

2011-04-18T06:40:00.000-07:00

My double life as a grad student and as a person working ~~in the real world~~ outside academia started last week, and it was awesome... but also exhausting. I was so excited when I woke up this weekend knowing that I slept in... until I looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:40a. Well, I guess that was kinda sleeping in...

I picked up this beautiful brocade dress at the Goodwill Glitter sale with my friend Jeanny. It has such a neat Mad Men vibe, and the color just jumps out at you. I only had to take it in at the bust a bit to make it fit. I almost left it at the sale, because I didn't know where I would ever wear it. But I found the occasion at this winter wedding in Portland, OR.

I love the built-in bow belt and the large scoop neck. I finished the look with some polka-dotted ankle socks and Target's leather Pearce Pumps.

[start vent session]
I thought I was completing my Mad Men look with a socks + shoes combo, or perhaps I was being slightly fashion-y. But a woman in the elevator who saw me decided that 'it must be an Japanese thing.' HUH? The funny thing is that I had already conversed with her, so it was obvious I had no accent whatsoever. So even if I were ethnically Japanese (I'm Chinese), it was obvious that I was American. So it being a 'Japanese thing' is just so not right. Somehow I'm always surprised when I'm mistaken for a foreigner (like when I went into a Seattle antique shop and the owner expressed surprise at how good my English was since he thought I was a tourist...). FYI, it's actually fairly common for Asian Americans to be seen as perpetual foreigners-for people to deny their American identities. Those of you who remember the 1998 Olympics may remember the headlines that read "American beats out Michelle Kwan."
[end vent session]

Winter Wedding OOTD
vintage Blue Brocade dress (thrifted Goodwill Glitter Sale $40) see similar style here or here, or here
H&M faux pearl strand necklace ($5) similar here
Target black leather Pearce Pumps ($30) buy here
Nicole Miller white beaded cardigan (thrifted $7) similar here
embroidered blue purse (gifted) similar here or here or here
polka dot socks
J.Crew head band

Below, my bestie + I tried our best to pretend like we were in some cheesy advertising campaign... perhaps for prom dresses?

I was hoping to have a vid of the dance we did at the sangeet, but I haven't been able to track down the youtube vid yet. Don't worry, I'll post it if I ever see it. But as promised, here's a pic in my first ever Salwar Kameez. I picked it up at Goodwill and embroidered the neckline and sleeves. It has since been washed and re-donated to Goodwill :D

Here's an up-close of some of the embroidery before I finished it. It was surprisingly fun and easy to learn (not that I did it super well or anything complicated, I was just amazed it came out looking like anything at all remotely resembling embroidery). There are some GREAT tutorials out there, but I really liked the tutorials at Sublime Stitchery, and I found out that my favorite stitch is the "French Knot."

The grass is greener...

2011-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

on my counter!

I love when I can find functional products that somehow make my life cheerier! Ev and I had been using dish towels on the counter to let things dry a bit after coming out of the dish washer. I looked into getting an actual dish rack, but most of them took up too much counterspace and were an eyesore.

This little patch o' grass is actually marketed as a drying rack for baby supplies. It takes up a scant 10"x 10" plot, but it's perfect for the few tupperware lids and kitchen tools that need some extra drying time before being packed away in their respective cabinets and drawers.

This rack wouldn't be good for you if you need to dry all your dishes on here (I'm not actually certain that it would hold a dish plate up... I certainly wouldn't recommend trying that). But, if you have the odd cup or utensil that needs drying this would work well for you too.

The 'grass' portion is a plastic spoked insert. The spokes are actually quite stiff and hold up cups, bottles. You can also squeeze handles of things between the spokes to dry various utensils vertically.

Boon Inc. Grass Countertop Drying Rack ($18 at Amazon)

She's got lips!

2011-04-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I promised myself I wouldn't take OOTD pics until I caught up with the backlog, but I give up. In my defense, I wanted to document the fact that I actually have lips! I wore RED lipstick today! Snap! Bam! POW!

Some individuals call red lipstick a man-repeller. Ev wasn't so much repelled as... well shocked. I mean, he knew I had a mouth, but I guess he never expected to see it quite so well.

The lipstick is NYX in Snow White. I read somewhere that its blue undertones make this red quite wearable on Asian skintones. For reference, I'm NW20 in MAC.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE NYX lipsticks because 1) they are super cheap. Especially if you buy them in multi-packs from makeup ebay sellers. I bought mine from Joy's Cosmetics on Ebay, and 2) the lipsticks have great color and are super smooth to apply!

Here it is in some other lighting at brunch! This certainly isn't an everyday color (for me). But, it was fun to wear out with friends on the weekend, or I could see using it if I ever got all glam and went out at night (wishful thinking, lol).

excuse the dark circles... and no I'm not naked, lol.
OOTD Specs
Gap jean shirt sz XS (thrifted $4)
Vintage blue pleated skirt (thrifted $4)
grey sweater tights
Xhilaration raspberry pumps (thrifted NWT $7)
Charlotte Russe feather headband ($5)

Spring brings new things

2011-04-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for your sweet welcome home wishes to Budddie! We are so happy to have him back! Budz hasn't quite "turned the corner" on his recovery. He's being a trooper though, and he's still on pain meds and antibiotics. I'm hoping his pain and side effects miraculously evaporate this week. Cross your fingers with me!

Along with all the new growth popping up in the yard, Spring has brought some additional new happenings around here... err... around hair... lol. yes. omg I just went there.

So you know how I've been trying new things with my hair? Well I noticed my hair was starting to dry out!!

So I tried out hair pickling (that's what husband calls it) or hair salad-making (that's what my bestie calls it). LOL. They're referring to the fact that I've been putting the components of a good salad dressing on top of my head.

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse: Supposedly, this helps strip the hair of any product residue and smooths the hair follicles. Cool! I filled an empty contact solution bottle with half water and half apple cider vinegar. In the shower, I squirted a bunch on my scalp and massaged it into my hair roots for a minute before rinsing, and then shampooing my hair as normal.

Results: Wow. My hair got really smooth and shiny after it dried. Also, my hair did NOT smell like vinegar (much to hubby's sadness, since he was so excited I was 'pickling my hair'). I have naturally straight hair, but this made my hair lay super straight on my head. In fact, I thought it was too straight and flat. So, I immediately wanted to curl it again. But, the darnedest thing is that even though I've washed my hair since then, my hair has not yet been able to hold a curl like it did before the vinegar rinse... Has anyone else ever had this happen?

I think this would be great option for people who use a lot of product and want to add shininess to their hair. Maybe just don't use it if you want to curl your hair?

Olive Oil treatment: So I read that this type of treatment would be especially helpful to replenish dry hair. I was a bit skeptical about adding oil to my hair which naturally gets really oily if I don't wash it... but I thought I'd give it a try. Ok. So the actual recipe I looked up called for 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey... acckk! I wasn't ready to take the leap of faith needed to put sticky honey in my hair.

What I did: I took 2 TB of olive oil and put it in a plastic baggy in a cup of warm water (to heat the oil). I then used my hands to massage the oil into the ends of my dry hair and up my head. I stuck all my hair into a shower cap, and I hopped into a hot bath for 15 minutes to let the hot air from the bath heat the oiled, cap-covered hair. After 15 minutes I showered, and washed my hair a couple times to get the oil out.

Results: Not as startling as the vinegar treatments. But, my hair tips no longer look dry! I think my hair is back to looking healthy :D woohoo! Now if only I could get it to hold a curl again.

Now, my non-hair related new Spring thing...I've accepted a part-time job at a start-up! I'll get to use my research skills in an industry I happen to also be quite interested in. Sounds fab right?

I had initially been looking for an industry position to try out this summer (for a comparison to academia), but this opportunity came up and I couldn't pass it up! I start next week!!

Ok and now an admission: I've stopped taking ootd pics until I make my way through some of my backlog. This outfit was from over a month ago. It was the first time I'd worn my hair in braids in a long time. Everyone told me I looked like Pocahontas.... for realz. O_o

Outfit specs
Deletta unknown name tee sz S ($20)
J.Crew Tivoli boiled wool cardigan
Eze Sur Mer top sz S ($30)
Lucky Brand jeans size 4 (thrifted $8)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100)
necklace (gifted)

Buddie is back in da hizzy!

2011-03-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Budz is back! We picked him up from the veterinary hospital. The oncologist was so sweet. We were all teary and hugging by the end. He was obviously well-loved there. It makes me happy to know how much he was cared for while he was so far from me.

It was a shorter drive this time around since it's too warm for snow (thank goodness!) But Budz was more restless on the way back due to the pain from the moist desquamation (side effect of radiation). I think the wound from the surgery looked visually more painful than now, but the radiation side effects seem much more painful to Budz. My poor boy! His pain may get worse this next week but, it should hopefully start getting better after that. Our poor guy could use a return to normal!

Target Shoe Review

2011-03-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for the wonderful comments on my hair from the last post. It's such an easy style, that it'll be nice to have that in my repertoire for some variety. :)

So, if you haven't heard, Target has a buy one pair of shoes, and get the second pair shoes 50% off promotion going on. So, I thought I'd check out a few new pumps including a couple nude/blush colored heels for Spring.

Women's Mossimo® Pearce Leather Pumps- -Black

I love these pumps. Of the Pearce pumps line, these were the only ones that were real leather, so I saw them as the best value. I was tempted by the patent camel version as well, but I thought I should try a couple of the other pumps to see how they compared with one another.

The heel on this pump is pretty high for me at 3.25" and no platform. But somehow, IT'S COMFY! I mean like wear-all-day-and-dance-around-in-'em comfy. I actually did wear these all day to my friends' wedding and reception. I even danced around in them a little, and my feet didn't hurt at all afterward. WIN! I have decently wide feet (especially in the toe area), but the toe of the pump didn't squish or pinch or flatten my tootsies. I apologize for not taking a picture of the tread. The bottoms of the shoe are rubber with some tread on the heel and sole. The rubber makes these very stable, so I have no worries about slipping! Sweet.

I took these in my normal Target pump size of 7.5. I highly recommend these pumps. They also come in Camel, Navy, Dove (gray), and Taupe.

Women's Mossimo® Black Versie Pumps - Natural Patent

The Versie Pumps are a pretty light pinky blush color. The shape of these pumps reminded me of the Pearce, so I had high hopes for them. They have a taller heel than the Pearce (3.75"), but they have a slight platform which should help make the heel feel shorter. But somehow the platform or the shape of the shoe made standing in them a bit awkward and squished my toes. The top of the shoe dug a bit into the top of my toes (it may be that the toe box was just trying to reel my wide feet in). I also felt more precarious in the taller height. These would NOT be comfortable for me or a wider footed gal for a long period of time. The fit of the 7.5 was TTS, but it was too uncomfortable for me. Pass.

Women's Mossimo® Peony Pumps - Blush Patent

The shape of these feels much more retro than the standard pumps like the Versie or Pearce. I thought the thicker heel would make these more comfortable. I was SO wrong. These hurt my feet. They were stiff, and squished the top of my foot a bunch. (It appears I'm not the only one who thought this... see them on Stuff Jewish Girls Like).

I also was not a fan of the blush color of these pumps. The Peony Pumps were a darker, muddier pink than the Versie Pumps. I much preferred the color of the Versie pumps (see below for color comparison). These run TTS but are not comfy. Pass!

The tread on the Peony Pumps:

Color comparison between the Versie (Left) and Peony Pumps (right)

In other news, I won one of Tara's (Little Girl Big Closet) Anthro gift cards from her Portrait of a Woman drawing! I'm super excited, this one plus the Anthro gc from my MIL will go toward a new summer dress as yet to be determined :) See some of the beautiful portraits other ladies submitted.

And the lovely Aki! of 7% Solution awarded me a Stylish Blogger award. I'm supposed to share 7 things about myself, and pass the award to other bloggers. But I know so many lovely bloggers out there, it's just too tough to choose. So I'll just tell you 7 things about myself:

1. I love finding gifts that I think are perfect for a particular person.
2. I try to call my Nai Nai (grandma) every week
3. I love to clean and organize
4. Drinking coffee doesn't keep me awake or wake me up (sadly)
5. I'm fairly shy in large groups of people
6. I prefer savory to sweet things, but it's best to have salty and sweet at the same time!
7. Cardamom is my favorite spice

We're off to drive to pick up Buddie soon. Well, we actually pick him up tomorrow, but we need to drive out there tonight. I'm looking forward to seeing him, but not to the long stretch of time in the car!

Here's my outfit from today (it was a wet hair morning :) )

With this look, I was trying to dress this pencil skirt down by pairing it with a t-shirt and leatherette jacket.

OOTD specs
Bebe Mini Studded Shrunken Moto Jacket sz XS ($20)
Green pencil skirt (thrifted $5)
J.Crew flamingo tissue t-shirt (thrifted $3)
F21 necklace
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats - grey ($7.50)
grey tights

Have a great weekend everyone!

Birdie Belt reviews

2011-03-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

I loved the look of Anthropologie's feather-clasped belt (pictured above), but I didn't want to spend $58 on a belt. So when I saw a $24 Ecote Skinny Metal feather belt on Urban Outfitter's site, I thought I'd give it a try. I have a lot of brown belts, so I opted for the black leather and silver feather version.

reads: 100% Leather RN#66170 CA# 32054 Made in China

The belt part is actually leather, which is nice. Not super supple leather, but I prefer skinny belts to be a little stiffer than wider belts. The black was actually black. Unfortunately, the metal feather looked fairly cheap. The silver tone was too bright. It didn't have the nice antiquing that the Anthro version had. The metal of the feather was a turn-off, but I would have been tempted to make it work had the belt fit.

I ordered the the belt in a size small (the smallest size), but it was about 4 inches too large for me on the smallest hole. I have a belt punch, but because this is a skinny belt, I worried about making a mistake and ruining the integrity of the belt itself (perhaps leading to a tear at a newly made hole). I returned this belt.

If it had fit, it would be super cute...see: (I'm holding the belt taut behind me)

Overall, if you missed the Anthro version, this version could be a cute cheap replacement, but smaller-waisted ladies might be sized out.

The other birdie belt I tried was the Ecote Stretch Sparrow Belt from Urban Outfitters (also $24).

This is a wider elastic belt. I ordered the S/M and I didn't have any size issues. The metal sparrows clasp at the beaks via a small hook and eye type of closure:

Because the belt fits snugly with the elastic, I wouldn't worry about the belt snapping open.

Like with the feather belt, the metal on the sparrow belt looked fairly cheap in person. I was less bothered with the gold-toned sparrows than I was with the silver feather though. I thought the belt was fairly cute.

Side note: I can't help self-mocking and thinking of the Portlandia "Put a bird on it" skit while wearing it.

I ended up returning this belt as well. The elastic was already unraveling/coming undone where it was sewn/attached to itself behind the sparrows. That was a little disconcerting. I suspect poor quality control. Hopefully if you order one, the elastic will be intact. But I returned this one. Overall, this was another cute belt, albeit a little cheaply constructed. When worn, the cheap construction may not be as noticeable. :/

OOTD

How appropriate that I tried on birdie belts with my bird and deer dress (aka Anthropologie Southward Stop Shirtdress)! I wore this out to Costco on Saturday where I ran into some faculty from my department. Y'all know I try to dress down when I go to school, so I felt oddly over dressed (not for Costco mind you, but for seeing faculty, lol. I'm a weird cookie).

I've also been trying something new with my hair. Jean of Extra Petite posted how she gets some loose waves in her hair. I figured since I also have Asian hair, I might give it a try. I only had a 1" barrel curling iron (she recommends 2"), so my curls are tighter than hers. I can't decide how I like it on me.

It really reminds me of when I was little. I was always trying to curl my hair. I'm not exactly sure why I had a fascination with it. I know my mom always wanted me to do it for special occasions, so I think I thought it was a way to get super dolled up - a way for me to be "pretty." I used warm curlers or curling irons. I even had that special wash and curl shampoo that made my hair more likely to hold a curl. There was a time in middle school where I rolled my wet hair up in rags every night so I could have "curls" in the morning. It never looked great. This looks better, but we'll see if I like it over time.

OOTD Specs
Emmelee orange cardigan sz S (it's more like burnt sienna, but came out brighter in the pics)(thrifted $7)
Anthropologie Southward Stop Shirtdress sz 2 ($75)
Hue bordeaux sueded tights ($6.50)
Target black leather Pearce Pumps ($30)

Spring growth

2011-03-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring everyone (in the Northern hemisphere)! Yesterday, I popped into my backyard and I noticed that things have started to grow. When the heck did that happen?

These are some mini daffodils I bought a few years ago to brighten up my office at school. When the flowers died back, I dug them out of their pot and stuck them in a corner of my yard. This is the second year they've popped up since relocation!

I planted three clematis last year, and one of them is already going crazy with regrowth and flowers!

I never noticed Euphorbia much until I moved to Seattle. But I love the plants architectural shape and the flowers look like a bijillion little alien space ships. So cool!

Hellebores make me so happy because they start "blooming" so early! They do really well on our back hill, so I've planted quite a few of them out there now. Ev doesn't like them that much tho, so I kept myself from buying more when I saw some gorgeous large ones at Costco yesterday.

It's funny, because I was out in the yard just two weeks ago, and I didn't see much going on back then. But now my peonies have pushed through the soil, and there's a ton of new growth everywhere. (of course, my allergies are starting to go haywire now too!)

Btw, it was definitely weird to pop out to the yard a couple weeks ago for a quick pic and not have Buddie running around me. But we pick him up next weekend! I can't wait to hug him!!!

If you're wondering 'what the heck is she staring at in this pic?' Well, so am I. I know there are lots of weeds back there. Think of that look as a look of dread... dreading having to go out there and dig up all those dandelion roots!

Weed staring OOTD Specs
J.Crew wool windowpane blazer Fall 2005 sz 4 (thrifted $5)
Loft striped 3/4 sleeve shirt ($4 thrifted)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Dr. Scholl's boots ($20)

In other news, I met up with fellow style-blogger and Seattle-ite, Oui Sammie, on St. Patrick's day. Sammie is such a sweetie, and she is just as gorgeous and stylish in person as she is on her blog. But we were both bad bloggers and forgot to take pics (we got really caught up chatting about Seattle, California, and life) :D

I hadn't planned on wearing green, but last minute I threw on this green dress. I hadn't ever winterized this dress before, and I'm not sure I was so successful this time.

St. Paddy's Day OOTD
BCBGMaxazaria green dress sz XSP (thrifted $7)
Martin & Osa Birch Rose silk tie-front top sz L ($15)
Ann Taylor Loft Cocoon Sweater sz XS ($25)
grey tights
Brown Franco Sarto knee-high boots

Wearing green and looking yellow...

2011-03-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! And no, I'm not being racist against myself. But I looked through these pics, and my face is SO yellow. Not sure how the lighting worked that out. Although, my parents did always warn me that AZNs don't look good in green... but still, this looks extra wonky.

These pics also remind me how much make up could help me. My lips kinda just blend into my face here. I know lipstick helps, but it's hard for me to put something on that I know I'm going to have to think about reapplying, etc. I prefer to be low maintenance, but the lip-face blending here is pretty unacceptable. But I've never really found an all day lasting lipstick that doesn't rub off onto clothes or dry out my lips like crazy. Any tips?

In full disclosure, this was actually yesterday's outfit (although my friend Jeanny convinced me to wear green again today).

Have a great day everyone!

OOTD Specs
Grey dress (thrifted $8)
Banana Republic green button-up shirt sz XS ($10)
H&M black leggings sz 6 ($10)
Lands End Duck Boots ($19)
Buffalo check belt used as neck tie

Loving a good book

2011-03-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

I was never one of those people addicted to candy or fatty foods. But my impulse control fails when it comes to a good story. Once I engage in a story, I want to know more. As a child, I walked around with my nose in books (literally, I actually walked around with a book in front of my face, somehow I was able to avoid oncoming obstacles...).

My parents used to scold me for reading all the time. And I had to be forcibly extricated from the pages of whatever tale I was reading to do normal things like eat, sleep, go outside. Of course, even after my parents told me to go to sleep, I'd creep under the covers with a flash light so I could finish my book. (I guess that's how I got used to surviving on very little sleep...and how I developed really dark circles at 9 years of age).

It didn't matter the kind of book - fantasy, biographies, trashy teen novels, or great works of literary fiction - I consumed them all relentlessly.

I'm the same way with stories on television. I can't stand to have stories meted out, episode by episode, spaced weeks apart. That's why I love it when series hit DVD - or better yet, online distribution through Netflix or Hulu. Then I can watch a whole season unhindered while doing data analysis or created graphs.

And when a season has aired on TV, but hasn't made it to DVD or online, I search out synopses of the episodes (much to Ev's chagrin). I still get excited to watch the story unfold when the shows go online. I just get caught up in the story all over again.

Sadly, nowadays, I haven't found time to read many books. I read scientific articles (which on their own can be quite interesting stories). But someday, I do hope to bury myself back into some hardbound pages.

I actually picked up these two books for photo shoot props based on a photog tip from Little Girl Big Closet. Unlike Tara, who always looks gorgeous, warm, and contemplative with her photo props, I seem to mostly get goofy with mine. I'm apparently incapable of not being silly :/

This vintage book isn't even a story book. It's Esquire's Handbook for Hosts. It tells how one should throw a party, shin dig, hootenanny... what to have on hand, salads to make...

Stories OOTD Specs
Vintage black accordian pleated Woolworth's skirt ($4.80 thrifted) (now hemmed! woohoo!)
brown v-neck tee sz M
reddish braided belt (thrifted 99 cents)
tan BCBG cardigan sz S (thrifted)
H&M black leggings sz 6 ($10)
black lace necklace DIY
Franco Sarto boots ($15)
F21 polka dot flower pin ($1.50) (placed on a plastic headband)

I've told y'all about my drug of choice. How about you? What are you addicted to?

As an aside, I've been using Polyvore more as a tool to create outfits. I'm hoping to get my whole wardrobe loaded into Polyvore. And for those items I can't find online, I find a look-a-like to add to my sets. Here's the one for this outfit:

Black and Tan w/o the alcohol by Lorispeak featuring vintage belts

A cat, some ducks, no pup!

2011-03-14T23:47:00.000-07:00

I'm half-way there! Half way through my time without Buddie! The vet emailed today and told us his treatment will be finished by next Friday (the 25th!). The vet also mentioned that Buddie is starting to experience some of the side effects of the radiation treatment :( It will be worse by the time we pick him up, and should last for a couple weeks afterward.

I have a whole slew of OOTD photos for the blog. Hopefully, I'll get to posting them. Such a backlog!! And taking pics w/o chance of Buddie photo-bomb is a very sad state of affairs. So I nabbed Tungsten for a few pics yesterday.

This little/big fella has been a good night time snuggler lately. Maybe he senses I'm extra needy of furry friend companionship these days.

I'm extra silly in these pics because the hubby was actually around to take them...
wait, what's that? you say I'm silly all the time? naaaaaah....

Did I mention my husband knows parts of the dance from Katy Perry's 'California Gurls'? Yah, I have no idea how the dance goes. The pic above is me pretending I know how to dance to the song (the song was playing when Ev was taking the pics!)

Now meet my new ducks:

Saturday, I spotted these when was making some Lands End Canvas returns (I love that they have no time limit on returns. It makes it so much less stressful knowing I can do the returns when I get the chance!).

I was way jealous of my hubby's expensive Sorel's earlier this winter, but I didn't want to shell out more money for rain boots when I have my Hunters which I love. I had eyed the ones on LE Canvas, but even though they were cheaper than Sorels, I didn't want to shell out $70. But in store, these had been slightly discounted, and they were now on 50% off clearance. Plus, they had a 25% off all Lands End purchases promotion going on. That made these ducks ring up at less than $20 including tax! (online they're still full price! I guess that's the benefit of shopping in store, which I almost never do! They have them available in a green, chocolate, and navy rubber version)

I like them a lot! It's been super rainy in Seattle, so it's perfect to test these out. My feet have stayed dry! I expect Seattle weather will allow me plenty more wears out of these ducks this season.

These are warmer than my Hunter boots. The upper is leather and supposedly lined inside somewhat (I can't actually tell whether they actually are lined or if that's just the back of the leather. Either way, they are not as thickly lined as hubby's Sorels). The soles are super padded and extra comfy! They don't have half sizes, so I'm wearing a size 8 (I usually run an 8-8.5 in boots). The opening is a bit snug unless you loosen the laces a bunch. I definitely have to use the pull loop on the back to get them on, but they fit perfectly once my feet are in there.

Overall, for the price I paid, I'm really happy with them. We'll see how they hold up. These are a bit comfier to wear with skirts than my Hunter boots, as they don't bend while I'm sitting at my desk, etc.

Duck Boot Intro OOTD specs
Ralph by Ralph Lauren striped sweater sz P (thrifted $5)
Gap Shirred Blouse sz XS ($8)
Gap wool camel skirt sz 4 (thrifted $6)
grey sweater tights
Charlotte Russe feather headband ($5)
Lands End Duck boots ($19.80)

Journey through worlds

2011-03-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

It's now been almost two weeks since we brought Budz out to WSU to begin his radiation treatment. The drive was crazy. It was supposed to take six hours, but with all the snow in the pass, the way out there took 7 hours and the way back took 8.5 hours!

The trip also felt incredibly surreal. The crazy weather patterns made the trip feel like we were passing through entirely different worlds.

The pass was snowy, and cars w/o chains were slipping and sliding out. But Budz had a great time running through the snow when we stopped at a rest stop.

When we came out of the pass, it was like we had entered some sort of warm, peaceful paradise. Or at least some sort of old western... The wind really brought out the tumbleweeds and dust storms!

Of course when we started getting closer to Pullman, WA (where WSU is), the snow was really coming down again.

Buddie was a trooper. He did well on the trip out there, and only got a bit anxious in the last half an hour. But, who knew he was so portable?! He was so good in the hotel room - he slept next to the bed in his little doggy bed!

We met with the vet who would be handling his radiation treatments, and the vet student in charge of taking care of Budz during his stay. The good news is that the CT scan showed no metastases in his chest or hind quarters. So he was cleared for radiation treatment. He's basically getting radiation treatment every weekday now.

I really REALLY miss him! I keep looking around for him, expecting to see him. And, I was getting really sad thinking about him out there, wondering where we were.

BUT, the vet student and vet have been amazing. They email me everyday with updates on Buddie. They even send me pictures! This morning, Emily (his vet student caretaker), sent me these pics. Apparently, Budz has been hanging out with all the students while not getting radiation. This picture of him sitting on a chair next to Emily cracked me up! Plus, he looks happy, so that makes me feel a little better.

I'm Serious Business!

2011-02-26T22:53:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we leave with Budz to bring him out to the radiation center. It's going to be a six hour drive, and we'll be going through some snow and ice. I'm hoping everything goes smoothly, and Budz won't feel too cooped up in the car. It's really been hitting home that he's going to be gone for awhile. Evan and I keep pouncing on him with big hugs (and then our kitty Asha comes over and whines because she gets jealous when any other animal gets attention). :(

Friday I had the chance to talk about some of my new data. I wanted to look a bit more professional, but still have some character. So I put together this polyvore the night before as a destresser.

I think it ended up working! I am actually wearing my boots, which may seem silly because you can't see them, but because the weather has been so chilly in Seattle, I wanted to wear boots as an extra layer of warmth.

I got the Southern Season Blouse off ebay, knowing it might be too big for me... it is. But I still love it quite a lot. The embroidery on the sleeves and bottom is really interesting and lovely. And I really like the light woven texture of the fabric itself. I haven't decided whether to take it in, or whether I should see if anyone on EA would be interested in a trade for a smaller size. However, with a cardigan over the top, I can reign the extra shirty-ness in. But, I still get pretty embroidery peeking out the bottom.

I added a lace tank underneath the blouse for another extra layer of warmth. I'm all about layering for warmth. But I still FROZE at the bus stop while I got snowed on...

The blazer included also adds warmth, but professionalism for my talk. I kinda love it with the cardigan, because I almost feel like I'm wearing a three piece suit. The glasses just scream....
"I'm totez serrrriiooooouuuss biznessssss!"

j/k you guys. I didn't wear the glasses during my talk!

In other news, I bought my first punjabi suit! My friends are getting married next weekend in Portland, and their having a dance-off at their Sangeet the night before. They asked my bestie and me to be in one of the dances. FUN, right?

ok, but now I need to learn some choreography in this next week! It's a bhangra dance. I hope I'm not going to be the weak link in the dance group. Choreography (and dancing) are not my strengths.

And, Thursday the choreographer asked all the dancers to wear Indian clothing for the dance. But I didn't actually own any Indian clothing!!! And, the idea of trying to find an Indian outfit in short notice, especially one that I would likely have no other occasion to wear it to, was a bit worrisome.

Luckily I knew that I'd seen Indian clothing at Goodwill fairly often. I picked up three options including a 3-piece punjabi suit. It's a fairly simple one, but it actually fits me pretty well. I just might take up the tunic length to fall to my knees rather than past them.

it's all about the shoes!

2011-02-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

okay not really, but when I got dressed for brunch on Saturday, I based my outfit around the bright colors in my shoes. It was actually sunny this weekend in Seattle... like REALLY SUNNY!!! And wearing bright colors like this felt like a celebration! Like Spring! ALMOST!

I was also happy, because although I was drawn to these shoes, I had absolutely NO idea what I would pair them with. But I thought this worked out rather nicely! (the main color of the shoes is actually navy, although it looks black in these photographs).

I've been wanting to wear this vintage bright orange wool skirt for awhile. My husband thinks it fits better than pencil skirts nowadays, because maybe way back when (whenever this skirt was made) skirts might have been made for women with smaller waists and larger hips. I love how the light turquoise of the sweater just pops off of the orange of this skirt. And, because this is a heavy (like REALLY thick) wool skirt and it's lined, it keeps me warm!! Huzzah!

I can't decide if I love or hate the fact that this skirt has belt loops. I love the look of pencil skirts with a skinny belt, and the belt loops keep the belt in place. But that said, it also forces me to wear a skinny belt with this skirt every time I wear it. hmm....

Shoe-based OOTD
vintage Gantos orange skirt sz 4 (thrifted $5)
talbots blue sweater sz P (thrifted $4)
grey chevron-knit tights
madeline flower pumps (thrifted $6)
Banana Republic cowl tank sz XS (thrifted $4)
vintage blue necklace (thrifted $5)
Banana Republic cow belt (thrifted $4)

What to wear while thrifting

2011-02-21T17:54:00.000-08:00

Since I've had great luck finding nice clothes while thrifting, I thought I'd share some tips on how to dress while thrifting.

We are all super busy, and I am super conscientious of how I spend my time. These tips can help streamline the clothes buying process to make for a more successful trip. These same tips apply to shopping anywhere really. How you dress can make it more convenient to change quickly or to avoid long dressing room lines.

1. Wear slip on shoes. If you are someone who makes a lot of trips to the dressing room, this tip will save you a lot of time. Avoiding retying laces after each dressing room episode will shave a few minutes of each dressing room visit. This tip not only saves you time, but it also minimizes the time spent by a bored spouse who may be waiting for you.

Also, remember it can be a pain to remove tall boots in a confined space. So unless you are looking for items to wear with boots, try to avoid clothes shopping with boots on.

2. On a similar note, wear easily removable outer layers! For example, wear sweater that can be quickly pulled off (a cardigan would work as long as you don't feel you need to button and unbutton it each time it goes on and off).

And leave your jacket in the car if you can! Having to wrestle with multiple outer layers will add time to your dressing room visits. Plus, after throwing items on and off in a dressing room, you'll be super warm anyway. So you won't want to wear more layers.

3. Wear a body skimming shirt or tank. This is really important if you are looking for sweaters or blazers. A long sleeve shirt takes extra care to keep from bunching in a sweater or coat. With a slim-fitting top, you can try on sweaters and jackets without having to go the dressing room to remove awkward bulky layers. This tip alone can save you tons of time since dressing room lines can be long (if there even is a good dressing room option at your thrift store). There do tend to be lots of mirrors around thrift stores. So grab all the sweaters you want to try on, and park yourself in front of a mirror and try on the various pieces over your shirt.

4. Wear colors you are into at the moment. If you are looking to incorporate more mustard colors into your wardrobe, wear a mustard top so that you can buy things that coordinate well with it. Or wear a color top that you think would complement mustard so that you can try on mustard cardigans over said top and decide how well you like them. A lot of items look very different depending on what we pair them with.

5. Bring your own accessories. Do you like to belt tops? Well, a lot of thrift items may look huge on the hanger, but belted they'll look great on you. Wear a belt, or bring a belt in your purse (since if you wear a belt, you'll have to spend minutes undoing and redoing it every trip to the dressing room) to try on for these moments.

6. Wear clothes that are washable. Thrift stores aren't known for being the cleanest places. Some of the clothes are musty from storage. Whatever items you buy will be washed or dry cleaned. But, after going to a thrift store and sifting through musty clothes, you will probably want to wash the clothes you were wearing too! I realize this may be specific to me since I have a very sensitive sense of smell

7. Wear socks and bring foot pantyhose. When you're trying on shoes, you do not want to try them on barefoot. You don't know who has tried them on before, etc. This is why many shoe places have boxes of those disposable feet pantyhose. You might keep a couple next time so you can try on pumps when you're thrifting. Any shoes you buy, you'll want to disinfect, anyway - even if they're NWT. You don't know who has been trying on the shoes at the store and how clean those peoples' feet were.

That's it for now. I know quite a few of you thrift as well. Do y'all have any tips for what to wear while thrifting that would be helpful to add to this list?

That 70's show

2011-02-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Hubby said when snapping my pics this morning "you look very 70's, but in a good way!"

With the return of flared pants, saturated colors, recent runway shows, the 70's have staged their comeback.

I think that for me to feel appropriately 70s in these photos, I needed to stand in some heated orange-yellow sunlight with aviators on my face and wind tousling my hair. Where's my staged wind?! Pffft!

From Marc Jacobs' Spring 2011 show and Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall 2011 show, images from Style.com

I actually think anytime I wear this cardigan it's a 70s throwback. Or perhaps it's my brown and tan color scheme here? The ruffles and pants themselves don't feel inherently 70s and the pin feels much more 50s-60s to me. My friend Jeanny didn't get the 70s vibe from this outfit tho, so maybe Ev is just trippin'.

Actually, looking at this outfit, I think there might be too much going on with the ruffle AND the bow on the pants. What do y'all think?

By the way, I do love how my polka-dotted sleeves extended beyond my cardigan sleeves. I don't always mind when cardigan sleeves aren't full length because, I really like having my cuffs peek out. I think this is especially nice if there's a nice contrast between the shirt and the cardi.

70s show OOTD
Gap navy polka-dot blouse sz S (thrifted $5)
Anthropologie Elevenses brown bow pants sz 2 (thrifted $6)
Petite Sophisticate beige cardigan sz S (thrifted $5)
Gold vintage leaf pin ($3)
Franco Sarto boots ($15 at Ross)

I hope y'all have a lovely President's Day Weekend. Buddie's radiation appt was rescheduled for next weekend, so I'll be staying home doing some data analyses for a presentation next week!

Don't call me 'baby' ....bok choy

2011-02-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Like Cindi, I get a box of farm fresh organic produce box delivered to my door. Sometimes I'm amazed at the size of the produce. This week was especially surprising. We got two bunches of baby bok choy. Um, I don't think these are 'baby,' or at least, the baby bok choy we've gotten from them in the past hasn't been quite so colossal.
Please pretend you don't see the amazon boxes in the back or the open linen closet... I store my tripod in there, and didn't think about closing the door while taking these pics, lol.

Um, that's two times my head size, let's just say fitting two of these in our fridge along with several bunches of chard and heads of lettuce wasn't the easiest of tasks

Still, I see this 'baby' and I see tasty - tasty braises and stirfries in my future!

Today I'm wearing another outfit whose colors seem to blind my camera! These jeans are ridiculously bright red, which makes them pretty awesome.

If this outfit looks familiar, it's because I wore a very similar version here. But this is a totally different striped top (the other one had blue stripes, :) ), and different outer layer and shoes! That makes it totes a different outfit (sorta).

I picked up this cropped tuxedo jacket at Goodwill this past weekend. I'd been eying this $300 beauty at J.Crew. The one I'm wearing is $2.50. In fact, if you want a cropped tuxedo jacket, the Seattle downtown GW had 129389312749127 brand new ones of these. This was one of the items Target apparently offloaded to GW. Happy times for me!

Photo bomb!

I can't decide if I love or hate this necklace I picked up from F21. The little balls at the bottom of the large pendant are actually tiny bells... um, so I 'jingle' as I walk around. It's not a bad jingle per se, but I'm not really used to jingling.

I do know that I'm pretty much adoring these flower pins I picked up at F21 for $1.50. I've been clipping them to everything: jackets, sweaters, headbands. They're just fun!

OOTD specs
Bright red Judy Blue Couture Jeans sz 3 (thrifted $8)
Striped ruched H&M long sleeve tee by Divided sz 6 ($13)
Mossimo cropped tuxedo jacket sz S (thrifted $2.50)
Katherine Leather Engineer Boots ($50)
Forever 21 Gothic Large Shield Necklace (buy in other colors here) ($8.80)
Forever 21 polka dot rosette clip (buy here) ($1.50)

Languishing dress Reviews!

2011-02-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been holding onto these for awhile, waiting to have some time to post them, but I realize if I wait any longer many of these will be supremely no longer relevant. As it is, some of these have headed to sale already! So my reviews will be quick!

Sewing Circle Dress (Sale $79.95) sz 0

I'm not big into strapless, but I saw this Floreat dress on the sale rack, and I loved the grey with a more playful silhouette. The embroidery was quite lovely.
Unlike with other strapless numbers, I wasn't worried about the dress falling down due to the large panel of elastic at back (which actually made it hard to zip up). The dress had pockets and a lovely lining/petticoat. Unfortunately, the shape of the dress was just so blah on me. The waist of the dress was just way too high on me. The skirt was quite big and heavy and made me feel like a lump or garbage bag.

Let me demonstrate by showing you my ~~sack~~ er I mean rear:

A definite pass for me, but I know several other bloggers have looked cute in this. Maybe if it hit another cut I'd contemplate using this with a cardigan, but right now I can't see it taking up my closet space. See this dress on other bloggers here, here, here, here

Crossing the Stripes Dress
Eva Franco sz 0 ($120)
This dress went on sale this week! Y'all know about my love/hate relationship with Eva Franco clothes. The reviews of the material of this dress are pretty poor. People seem to think of it as 'dingy.' To me, it was as expected. The product photos made me think of dusty cotton hammocks and beach blankets. I actually like the off-white color with that skinny blue belt, it feels very vintage-y to me. I'm not the hugest fan of the assymmetrical hem though. And there's no pockets. :(

But, as many reviewers have noted, the main problem with this dress was in the top. It supremely emphasized my small bust, and from the side, there was definite bra peekage (uh-oh!). Maybe for the right price I'd get this, but I'd definitely have to tack it closed in front to prevent impromptu flashing of innocent passerbys.

See this dress on others here, here, here

Pom Flower Shift Dress sz 2 ($158) by Tabitha
I love the graphic power of this shift dress. The fabric is a bit stiffer to keep that gorgeous print from getting distorted on your body. It's 100% cotton and fully lined. However, I am biased against this dress, because I have a thing about wearing dresses that are too wide at the waist for me. The hips fit perfectly, but the waist had about two inches of room (for me to grow in - NOT). Despite the large waist, I look at these pictures, and I'm highly pleased with the graphic quality of the dress. For myself, I would probably wait till sale if the dress stuck around that long. I could see this with a chunky necklace and fitted cardi.

This dress has been reviewed by everyone. See others in this dress here, here, here, here, here, here

Take Action Dress sz 0 by Girls from Savoy ($168)
LOVE! I liked this dresses sister the Twinkle Twinkle dress, but the colors on this dress are much better suited to my skin tone. Plus, I automatically want to pair this with my cherry red pumps for instant vintage love. It feels soft and light. The elastic waist is comfy and adorned with two adorable yellow buttons. I think this dress would also look cute with a skinny belt. Very tempted to buy this now with the gc I got from my MIL for xmas...

This is another dress that everyone and their mothers (and sisters, and maybe even brothers) have tried on. See here, here, here, here, here, here, here

Sun Shade Dress sz 0 by Moulinette Souers ($158)
I've loved this dress ever since I saw it on the website. And now after trying it on, I still like it, but I'm less enthused. The description tells you the yellow stripes are raw-edged grosgrain ribbon, but it didn't really hit till I saw it in person. I wanted the stripes to be crisp and clean-lined. So the raw edges of grosgrain that folded and went in every which way when you look up close drive my OCD tendencies a bit too much up the wall. But from afar, this dress still does what I want. I love the big poofy skirt, the pockets, and the fitted bodice. I actually think a size 2 might fit me better in the bodice of this dress as it was a bit too snug around the top of my rib cage. I would buy this on sale, and then go find a beach to stroll along (ideally with some sun)!

See this dress on lovely ladies here, here, here, here, here, here

Throw some mustard on it!

2011-02-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Evan made some Mortadella Smear (off of Saveur's top 100) this weekend. Honestly, it was only so-so. We kept trying to figure out "what it needed..." Finally, I came up with mustard! And okra pickles. :) Delish!

It turns out mustard was the magic topper for my two most recent outfits too (ha! yet another brilliant segue. I'm out doing myself, really.)

Saturday, when I hung out with the prospective graduate students - imparting my sage wisdom and whatnot - I wore this:

I was so ready to be a tour guide. I had my crossbody purse (open because I was in the process of trying to stuff it with throat lozenges and my water bottle).

I figured my boots would keep me warm and would be totes appropriate for hiking across campus. But the skirt and ridiculous amounts of tiered lace ruffles would kept me feeling pretty and girly.

But it was the the boiled wool JCrew sweater (scored off of a JCA) that was the clincher. It kept me so warm throughout the day. LOVE.

Tour Guide OOTD
Doki Geki tiered lace blouse sz S (thrifted $5)
JCrew Amber Grey Tivoli Boiled Wool Cardigan sz XS ($30)
Anthropologie Idra Whiz Bang skirt sz 0 (thrifted $6)
Katherine Leather Engineer Boots ($50)
Black tights
Metal heart locket necklace (50 cent vending machine, LOL)

Today's outfit

I bought this Antique Blooms Shell from Ann Taylor Loft a few weeks ago for 50% off + an extra 15% off teacher's discount (total $12.75! Sweeeet!). They only had this in a XSP (I would have prefered an XS) at my store. The color on the website is waaaay off. They call it antique, but this shell is pretty vibrant... It totally threw my camera colors out of whack. For another styling with this blouse check out Jean of Extra Petite who just wore it last week :)

I love how the large ruffle can just hang out over the top of a cardigan. I ended up wearing boots instead of pumps because I had to walk to lunch and I knew the day would be rainy...

Ruffle close-up!

Antique Shell OOTD
Ann Taylor Loft Antique Blooms Shell sz XSP ($12.75)
brown button-up wool skirt (thrifted $5)
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20)
Grey sweater tights
Brown Franco Sarto knee-high boots ($25)
Braided orangey-tan leather belt (thrifted 99 cents)

I heart you!

2011-02-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's day readers! It's a soggy V-day here in Seattle, and I'll be happy to cuddle up with my sweetie... as soon as we're both done doing a bunch more work this evening, lol :)

In truth, Evan and I aren't big Valentine's day people. We fall in with the camp of people that want to show each other we love one another any time! Like a few weeks ago, I went to bed to find an adorably sweet card and box of my favorite chocolate covered salted caramels on my pillow. I did get Ev a book about zombie love.

I think of today, as another day. Another one of many (365 days in a year!) in which I remind myself to fully appreciate all the things in life that I love. I love making people smile, I love feeding people, I love finding the perfect gift for a friend, I love breathing deeply while sitting on a windy hill with the grass rustling all around me, I love sitting in a warm car, I love the sun, I love a good book, I love a good idea, I love sharing ideas and knowledge, I love coming up with solutions to problems, I love cleaning, I love sappy movies, I love salty food, I love sweet food, I love how I feel after I run. Above all, I love my family (including my furry children) and friends, and how we all support and care for one another.

I also love color (YSWIDT? nice segue, right? Gotta get a bit of style back up in here somehow) - all the color that life has to offer (as evidenced here, here, here).

I'm especially loving the saturated rainbow colored stripes that have been appearing (think Marc Jacobs and Prada, FTW!). So I pulled together a few colorful rainbow-filled clothing and accessories that I currently heart.

More Anthropologie...

sick days = writing + puppy love

2011-02-11T09:59:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that I've been sick.

Well, the fever-sleep-all-day part of the cold has been over for a week now, but what I'm left with is this horrendous cough! Talking seems to make it worse. Tuesday and Wednesday I was pretty much in a constant state of coughing fits during my meetings. I'll end up coughing so much that I cry/gag/vomit (TMI, sorry!!). Tea, cough medicine, and cough drops don't seem to help. And I keep waking myself up coughing!

Does this happen to anyone else? What do you do to try to keep from coughing?

I've decided to battle the cough by staying home and not talking. On the plus side, I have a lot of good solid time to write a paper revision and my dissertation. It also means more puppy LOVE! Poor Budz was trying to sleep and I attacked him with kisses (to which he responded by stretching and yawning in my face! LOL).

Hubby is on extra conversation duty because I'm just being a good listener right now. My friends have been told to text, not call. I'm supposed to lead a campus tour for a bunch of prospective new graduate students tomorrow. I'm going to practice my mime skills. Just kidding! I'm gonna talk and be friendly and probably hack up a lung. :D

I also bought this humidifier. Have any of you used one before? I have no idea if it's gonna help or if it will break (it was the only one available with my grocery delivery). I like that it has a spot for using essential oils. My room currently smells like the eucalyptus oil blend I got from Pharmaca (which I read is supposed to help my cough?). I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm just trying anything and everything to make this cough go away (I used to get them for months at a time in college, and I just don't have time for that now)!

black on black, rust on rust

2011-02-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

This morning when I was waking up, I decided I wanted to wear the Echoing Canyon Necklace I picked up from Anthropologie. The simplicity of the wood beads is charming, but the large scale style really adds pizazz to an outfit.

And I'm all about pizazz.

Except I'm not.

In fact, today I realized I'm pretty boring. This morning I thought, what color shirt would go well with a rust-colored necklace... so many choices! ...and I came up with... a rust colored shirt.

Then I decided to pair my black skirt and black boots with black tights.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that vanilla is my favorite flavor of ice cream? Boo-yah! Living on the edge over he-yah!

Ok. I'll throw myself some adventure cred. I threw on a cocoon sweater. Boring people don't wear cocoon sweaters, right? I got this sweater at Loft's 50% off sale (+15% off for being a student/teacher). A couple days later, they went to 60% off sale prices, and I was sad. But I still love it. I love that it adds interesting volume, but doesn't make me look like a block o' fiber or a big square of sweater.

OOTD Specs
Eze Sur Mer Top sz S ($30)
Ann Taylor Loft Cocoon Sweater sz XS ($25)
Theory black pencil skirt sz 0 ($2.50 thrifted)
Black Sweater tights
Katherine Leather Engineer Boots ($50)
Anthopologie Echoing Canyon necklace ($10)

Work it like a scientist

2011-02-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I headed out to San Antonio for my discipline's national conference. I knew the trip was off to a great start when I sat behind this fellow on the plane. Seriously, this is the best tattoo ever. And, it made me smile every time I looked up. Yes, I'm easily amused and I don't habituate easily. Lawn mower head man, if you ever read this, thank you for bringing more smiles and levity into the world. You seriously rock, dude.

As usual, I loved going out to the conference. It's some serious nerd candy, but learning about new research, and walking down the conference halls talking and hearing about new paradigms and theories is pretty dang hot. Plus, the conference provides a great chance to catch up with friends from other schools. I even got to meet my friends', Hilary and Steven's, little (big) guy. He was quite the charmer, and I seriously love his dinosaur jammies. I also got to live it up with my bestie and brother-in-law (who coincidentally decided to go into the same discipline as me). We all partied as only social scientists know how to do (no seriously, the conference parties are pretty fun, complete with DJ-ing and dancing faculty).

There were Texas-shaped waffles and fun times to be had. If you're ever in the San Antonio area, check out a restaurant/gas station/music bar called The Cove that serves inexpensive local and organic food. It was awesome (and way better eats than what we ate on the Riverwalk)! As you can see, Anthro made an appearance. I finally scored a nwt Caballo Falls dress in my size, and in the turquoise color, off eBay for $55. :D

This blurry journalist-celebrity even made it to our conference:

You probably can't tell who it is from my super far away and grainy photo. It's Malcolm Gladwell!

Of course no conference is complete without me getting sick at the end, and I've been hacking up a lung for the past week or so. So here is my sickly OOTD!

I've been hunting for this shirt ever since I saw it on Jean of Extra Petite so when someone offered a NWT on the JA boards, I jumped at the chance. I'm totes amused that my hubby knows my sizes. Evan emailed me when he got the Paypal invoice to say that he thought that a size 4 would be way too big on me, lol. Don't worry love, I easily took in the sides!

And I'm throwing in this last picture, because I find my befuddled why-isn't-my-remote-working expression so completely humorous.

Much love and hugs to all my readers! Thank you all for your support and kind words about Buddie's medical situation

OOTD Specs
Gap olive blazer sz 0 (thrifted $8)
J.Crew pleated silk tuxedo shell sz 4 (taken in at the sides to fit, $21)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)
Hand-tatted lace necklace (gifted)

We're back! Budz is doing better!

2011-02-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

We're baaaaaaaaacccccck!!!

Budz went in for a check-up on Monday and the surgeon said, his surgical sites are healing nicely! He was finally able to take off his cone!! Even better news? We did a follow-up ultrasound of his lymph nodes and it appears their swelling has reduced - suggesting the cancer really didn't spread there! I was soooo happy!!!! And although there's some residual healing issues going on with Buddie, it's almost like we have our old pup back!

He will be undergoing follow-up radiation treatment. This will ensure that any cancerous cells left behind in the region (the cancer cells were fairly close to the margins of the excised tumors so they likely spread beyond the removed material). The unfortunate thing is that there are only two animal radiation treatment centers in Washington state!

What does this mean? Well, in about three weeks, we will be bringing him out to Washington State University (a six hour trek). We will have to leave him there for a MONTH while he gets around 20 small radiation treatment doses! It seems absolutely crazy to leave him out there, and we'll miss him terribly, but they have the best equipment to treat him, and tons of veterinary students to dote on him (or so my oncologist assures me).

So in the meantime, I'm enjoying having my doggy back. And he's enjoying life without a cone (he seems to sleep sooooo much better without it!).

Here he is trying on his new shirt my dad got him for Christmas (he couldn't try it on before with the cone). Qliance is the primary care medical group my dad and uncle founded

Rolling with Buddie OOTD
TBJ Jeans cream hoodie (thrifted $6)
Ann Taylor Loft Sketch striped boatneck top ($4 thrifted)
Target Xhilaration Salema Zipper Trim Flat Shoes - navy (nwt thrifted $5)
Forever21 Soar The Air Necklace ($5.80)
Forever21 Polka Dot Rosette Hairclip worn as a pin ($1.50)
Bright red Judy Blue Couture Jeans sz 3 (thrifted $8)

By the way, this is the first time I tried putting animated gif in a post. I used http://gickr.com but I'm not liking how low quality the images come out with it. Those of you who use animated gifs in your posts, what do you use?

And miles to go before I sleep

2011-01-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the silence! To keep everyone updated, Budz is doing well. He's now had two surgeries to get the cancerous tumors removed, and the 2nd surgery was less invasive than the first. He's up to regular energy level which is positive, but tough because he's still not allowed to go on full walks :(

We have had some bad news, in that the biopsy of the first tumor showed vascular invasion of the cancer (i.e., the cancer was in the blood vessels of the gland, so it's possible the cancer could spread anywhere in his body). At this point, it is unclear whether he'll need another surgery to remove his lymph nodes (with this disease there's a 50-75% chance that it spread to the lymph nodes, but his biopsy showed no lymphatic invasion of the cancer cells). We also need to decide whether to give him radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or both.

As a student of science, with the good fortune to have access to lots of journal databases, I've been doing literature searches on and reading about studies of dogs with this disease (officially called apocrine gland carcinoma). I wanted to weigh the scientific evidence before making decisions on his treatment. Unfortunately, I've been disappointed. There are fairly few studies (makes sense given that this disease comprises only 2% of doggy skin diseases and it is probably deemed of less import than human study), and many studies have horribly small sample sizes (like 5 or 14 dogs). And results do not take into account doggy breed (which already creates a highly variable life-span)! So it's frustratingly difficult to take seriously the projected outcomes of radiation vs chemo vs surgery alone.

While my research on this topic has mostly been disappointing, a positive outcome has emerged. I contacted the lead researcher on a paper about this disease to get a copy of the paper. It turns out her oncology department can do a free consult for Buddie if my vet provides my pup's records. It would be really great to get advice from people really on top of the current literature and research on this topic!

In case anyone ever has the misfortune to have to a furry child with cancer, the The Oncology Service at North Carolina State University can provide consultation at no charge (either a written or phone consult can be done). Their consult request form can be found here (fax the completed form with your pet's records).

Budz and a rollercoaster emotion week

2011-01-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

After what a crazy crazy week, look who's back home?! BUDDIE! Thanks for all the good luck and healing thoughts y'all have been sending him. Poor guy could really use them!

This week has been filled with emotional ups and downs. Wednesday night I got a call from the surgeon with the results of Buddie's tumor biopsies. The tumors are in fact cancerous. Needless to say, I've been crazy anxious and crying a bunch this week (once even in front of my next door neighbor. Turns out now we're on hugging terms).

I didn't sleep much Wednesday nite since Budz' surgery was Thursday. This also meant I was extra emotionally volatile when I drove Buddie to the surgeon's office Thursday morning. I had a mini-breakdown when traffic made me an hour late to get there (it took three hours to get him to the surgeon's office and then drive back home!!!). I was also anxious because I knew the surgeons were going to do chest xrays and ultrasounds of Buddie's lymph nodes before the surgery to see whether the cancer spread. Thankfully, the cancer hasn't spread!!!

So the surgeon went through with the operation as planned yesterday evening. However, he was only able to remove one tumor due to worries about excessive nerve damage. Buddie will be going back for a check-up next Tuesday, and if he seems to be healing well, he'll get the second tumor removed next week. I'll also be meeting with an oncologist next week to discuss treatment after Budz has healed from all the surgery. (2-3 weeks?)

I really am elated to have him home with me, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't extremely hard for me to see him like this. His backside looks like frankenstein's monster, and I can tell how painful it is for him. He'll also be confined to the kitchen for the rest of his healing period, and he's not allowed to go out for walks. We aren't even allowed to take him around the block! We can take him to the backyard to do his biz, but that's it. Poor fella.

Plus, being in a cone is so sad! Besides getting caught on the stairs when he goes outside, it's epically sad when he wants to scratch his ear. I can totally relate to not being able to scratch an itch. I try to do my best to scratch his itch, but I'm apparently not as successful as his foot would be.

*edited to add an actual outfit shot. My head has been all out of sorts lately!*

Picking up Buddie OOTD
West & Vine sweater sz XS (thrifted NWT $5)
American Apparel red long sleeve sz XS (thrifted $4)
Gap wool camel skirt sz 4 (thrifted $6)
Grey herringbone tights
Three Beacons Belt sz S- Anthropologie ($34)
Colorful Brazilian wood beaded necklace (gifted)

Budz update and returns OOTD

2011-01-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

I'm currently sitting with a very zombie-like Buddie on my kitchen floor. Today, I brought Budz in to meet the surgeon and have a surgical consult. I left him at the surgical center for a biopsy (full surgery is scheduled for Thursday), and I just picked him up. Poor guy is still very drugged out. They had to put him under general anesthesia to take the biopsy. He had trouble walking straight on the short walk across the sidewalk from the car to my house!

He also sorta reminds me of students in class that are trying really hard to stay awake. His head keeps dropping down, down, down, and then he'll yank it up, because he wants to be awake and alert. Poor pup! Evan keeps sneaking him little pieces of bacon because he feels so sorry for him.

iphone pic of me 'n Budz recovering on the kitchen floor

I actually have OOTD pics from today, but they're on my camera, which is across the room. And Budz kinda wigs out whenever I get up, so I'll post them another time.

I do have some belated pics from last week. I wore this when I went to go return a gift that didn't fit my mother-in-law at Chico's (a favorite store of my mother and mother-in-law).

Apparently, I don't look like the typical Chico's demographic. The first time I went in there to buy a birthday gift for my mom, none of the SAs came by to assist me. At that point it would have been nice, because I was waaaay confused about their sizing (they use 0, 1, 2, 3 instead of small, med, large, XL. This led to much confusion when I held up a size 2 and thought I would swim in it!)

This time, when I went in to make the return the SA actually told me I didn't look like the Chico's demographic. She said she assumed I was making a return because the clothes at Chico's don't look like my style. I admit I'm somewhat ambivalent about this. I don't see myself as a Chico's shopper, but at the same time, when I go into a store (even if it's not for myself), I don't like people to assume that I don't belong there. Like going into a high-end boutique and not getting service might make one feel a bit stigmatized. Chico's is not a high-end boutique, but I still don't appreciate feeling like such an outsider (I feel this way even about a group I'm not that interested in belonging to... I think I'm just weird).

Chico's Return OOTD
grey plaid puffed-sleeve blazer sz (thrifted $6)
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20)
Anthropologie Deletta tank (name? 2009 sale, can't remember price)
H&M black 3/4 sleeve shirt sz 8 ($8)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)
Orangey-purple scarf (gifted)

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-01T23:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year dear readers! I'm hoping all of you had a fabulous end to 2010 and I'm wishing you all happiness, love, good health, and prosperity (and fabulous fashion of course) in 2011.

Me and Ev trying to make "2011" with our hands

Brother-in-law and his gf do it better

This holiday break, I was fortunate to see several fantastic films with family. I just wanted to give a shout out to some of them, in case you're looking for some visual fodder.

In the theaters we saw True Grit by the Coen brothers.

It was hilarious - the writing and acting were done amazingly well. Hailee Steinfeld was phenomenal.

We also streamed the September Issue on Netflix.

I had never heard of it, but Evan flagged it as something that might interest me (although even he and his brother were quite fascinated by the documentary). It followed Anna Wintour and the Vogue staff through the production of Vogue's September Issue. By the way, I think it's so interesting that the Vogue offices look like normal cubicle office space, but just happen to be filled with fabulously dressed people. It was crazy interesting to get a peek at what Anna is like - or really not like. It was amazing how stoic she was. It was really hard to read what she was thinking. Only at the end when she was answering questions about her family did it feel like you were getting to know a bit more about the lady behind the glasses.

I channeled Anna a bit in my outfit yesterday (Okay, it was just me wearing sunglasses in the sunny, but cold, Seattle weather):

NYE OOTD Specs:
Gap Shirred Blouse (color "New Eclipse") sz XS (in-store sale $8)
Three Beacons Belt sz S - Anthropologie ($34)
Target Rhinestone chain necklace (sale $3.50)
Lucky Brand jeans size 4 (thrifted $8)
Forever 21 Rose Bracelet set in mint colorway($5.80)
Forever 21 F9635 Sunglasses ($5.80)

We also streamed this National Geographic documentary on Inside North Korea.

The documentarian had to lie about who she was and what she was doing to get in. Very interesting view of the country people we know so little about.

Other notable vidz included It's Complicated (was surprisingly LOL funny) and Joan Rivers a Piece of Work. I admit I knew nothing of Joan Rivers beyond her plastic surgery escapades, but this documentary helped me appreciate what she did/does to open doors for women comedians and I wholly admire her work ethic.

Happy 2011 peoples!!

Holiday outfits, family, food mash-up (plus Budz update)

2010-12-28T23:56:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law hugging the Budz

So Budz and I went back to the vet today, and it turns out that the antibiotics didn't help. In fact, the vet said that if anything, his condition seems worse. So we'll be taking him to some specialist pet surgeons. I'm at least grateful that we now have a plan, and it sounds like this type of surgery has a fairly good success rate. I can't wait to have Budz back at full health again.

This break Budz got a lotta love. Heck, we all had good times here with my husband's family in town.

We said goodbye to the old dishwasher that came with the house, and welcomed a new one from Evan's parents (which Evan then spent a day installing by himself, lol)

Dishwasher outfit
Anthropologie Pink (looks wine colored to me) Finessed Turtleneck sz XS (sale $30)
Club Monaco gold & beige striped skirt sz 0 (thrifted $4)
Grey belt
grey ribbed tights ($6)
Dollhouse slippers

There was much food preparation and consumption

followed by much merriment... some might say too much merriment ;)

Gift giving/opening was extra full of merriment

...and led the way to more food consumption... hmm... :) ooh personal pies!

Ah, good times!

Christmas Eve outfit:

Kensie Pretty silk shift dress sz XS (thrifted $4)
Adidas black skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
Hue bordeaux sueded tights (Ebay $6.50)
H&M multi-chain necklace ($12?)
Anne Klein Bangles (gifted)
Pink INC strappy heels (thrifted $6)

Christmas Day outfit:

Anthropologie Floreat Faceted skirt sz 0 (sale $22.50)
Banana Republic baby blue long-sleeved tee sz XS (thrifted $6)
black tights
Dollhouse Slippers
pearl and jade necklace (gifted)

Recovery Outfit:

Starling embellished hoodie sz XS (Nordy Rack sale $6.50)
Striped ruched H&M long sleeve tee by Divided sz 6 ($13)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Multi-strand red beaded necklace (thrifted $7)

Guess what? Evan surprised me for Christmas with a new camera body! He's been upgrading my camera piece by piece. Christmas came with a Rebel T1i (aka Canon 500D). He also surprised me with a Star Wars Garden Jawa (his contribution to our yard art), but I'm waaaaay more excited about the new camera... sorry hun! :)

backlogged OOTDs

2010-12-23T00:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Thank you all so much for your encouraging and sympathetic words about Budz. It definitely caught me off guard when the vet told me Budz probably has tumors, but I'm still holding out hope that it's just an infection. I'll let y'all know next week whether the antibiotics helped or not when I take Buddie back to the vet.

Sorry I fell behind on OOTD picture taking last week. All I felt like doing was hugging all of my animals. So that's what I did. I seriously became Elmira from Animaniacs, and I couldn't stop hugging and kissing both my kitties (much to their dismay) and Budz. So for most of last week I forwent photo taking and blogging.

I do have two older outfits I wanted to share.

2nd time breakin' the rules

I wore this outfit almost two weeks ago! It was a second time trying to break my rule of wearing a skirt that falls past my knees. I don't think this was as successful as my first try at wearing too long of a skirt.

This skirt is a pleated vintage Woolworth's skirt that I haven't gotten around to hemming. I love the pleats, but I still think I'd like to hem it a few inches shorter, because the free swingy shape in combination with awkward length really stubbified me.

I thought it would look really neat to pair it with some brightly colored tights, so I chose these bright yellow-orange ones... but in the pics, I really just look super jaundiced! yikes! Perhaps I won't wear these ones again!

And here with a sweater for added warmth.

2nd time rule breakin' OOTD
Martin & Osa silk tie-neck cream button-up blouse sz 12 ($15 sale)
J Crew grey v-neck sweater sz XS (thrifted $6)
Vintage black accordian pleated Woolworth's skirt ($4.80 thrifted)
Adidas black skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
Yellow-orange Hue tights ($7)
Kelsi Dagger black beaded flats ($30)

Buddie in blue
This is from the day after I found out about Buddie's potential tumors. So it was a little tougher to smile, but in the hopes of enjoying a little embodied cognition, I put on a smile.

My intention was to dress comfy, but I ended up throwing on these Nicole Miller pumps I'd picked up. They just almost give me enough height to wear these long pant legs uncuffed.

Well, ouch! Apparently, a whole day of wearing these was not fun. My feet hurt by the end. I still really like these pumps, but I'll probably save them for evenings out to dinner rather than a full work day.

Last Wednesday's OOTD
Anthropologie Finessed Turtleneck sz XS ($30 sale)
Anthropologie grey short-sleeved blazer by Elevenses sz 4 (thrifted $6)
Vintage pins (one came as a set with some wedding jewelry I bought for around $100, the other pin came off of a sweater I had)
Guess Jeans sz 27 (thrifted $10)
Nicole Miller New York t-strap pumps (thrifted $8)
Calvin Klein black belt

At least Budz seems pretty happy right now. He's been getting a lot of extra attention with my husband's family visiting us from out of town. Plus, Ev took the week off, and I'm wfh all week, so there's always someone there to rub his belly.

I'm going to try to keep posting a few times throughout the holidays, but besides having a nice time with Ev's parents and brother, and cuddling all my animals, I've also been working like crazy on a grant, papers, and data analysis. But, I've missed you all too! So I'll definitely pop in and say hi to y'all again soon!

poor Budz

2010-12-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

I just came back from the vet. He thinks Budz has large tumors in his anal sacs that will require some difficult surgery. Budz is on antibiotics for two weeks just in case the lumps are just infections, but the vet said they seemed more like tumors.

The vet also thinks that because of his age (nearly 13yrs...that's apparently like 82 human yrs), he's developed anxiety/fear responses to loud noises (even noises as simple as me chopping vegetables on the cutting board or the beeping noise played when someone swears on TV). On top of all that, Buddie's nerves have lost a lot of their myelin sheaths (the vet thinks), and this is why he has started trembling uncontrollably when he's scared of these noises.

Very disheartening. Poor Buddie. It's so tough to see him get older and have all these troubles. :( I'm bringing him back to the vet in two weeks to check to see if his swelling has gone down after the antibiotics. I know the vet isn't hopeful that it's an infection, but I'm still praying that it is (and not tumors).

breaking the rules for Elaine OOTD

2010-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

First off, two announcements:

1) OMG RACHEL WORE THE SOUTHWARD STOP SHIRTDRESS ON GLEE LAST NIGHT!!! I got to shout "Look! It's my dress - AGAIN!!!" Yay!

2) Today HauteLook has Eva Franco pieces that were carried at Anthropologie. I saw the Lincolnshire skirt for $50 and the
Higgledy-Piggledy Skirt in a maroon color for $56, A Fine Line Skirt for $56, and the Fluttering Pencil Skirt.

Ok, on to the OOTD. Today I'm breaking the rules for Elaine. She asked people what clothing rules they have and if they've ever broken them. I don't really have explicit clothing rules for the most part. Well, maybe I have one: I try not to wear skirts that fall between my knee and my ankles - despite the current trend to do so. I have short legs, and skirts that length just make them look shorter.

But I figured I might as well try it out anyway. I have a few skirts in my closet that I haven't decided to shorten yet, and one dress that I wouldn't shorten. They've been sitting around, twiddling their thumbs because I can't decide what to do with them.

Take today's MaxMara skirt. I thrifted this from Goodwill back in June for $6. It was too long on me, especially if I let it sit at my hips. This is actually my most winter appropriate skirt as it's made of very thick wool and lined (and it has thick warm pockets!).

Actually, when I first bought this skirt, I didn't like it - or I couldn't tell if I liked it. In part because of the length, in part because of the bulk of the thick wool. I think I was anti-bulky wool because I picked it up in the summer. I quite liked the bulky wool today. I just pinned it slightly smaller to fit at my waist so that it didn't go too far below my knees. Ok. so that's kinda cheating at breaking the rules. I'm cheating on what I'm supposed to be cheating.

But it definitely hits below the knee, forcing me to wear heels to make my legs look longer. I also kept to dark tights and dark heels so not to break up my legs into more visual pieces.

Maybe tomorrow I'll go for broke and really break the rules.

OOTD Specs
Forever 21 red plaid tunic dress worn as a shirt sz L ($12?)
H&M black divided tee sz 8 ($8)
MaxMara wool skirt no size tag but fits like a small ($6 thrifted)
TBJ Jeans cream hoodie (thrifted $6)
Black tights ($8)
black Fioni rosette pumps (thrifted $6)

Decorating and baking with Lorispeak for the holidays!

2010-12-08T03:01:00.000-08:00

loridecorates: more holiday decoratin' with vintage finds

One of my favorite things to pick up at estate sales this summer was Christmas decor. I already mentioned the Shiny Brites I have on my Christmas tree. Why are Shiny Brites so neat?

"In 1937, Max Eckardt established "Shiny-Brite" ornaments, working with the Corning Glass Company to mass produce glass Christmas ornaments. Eckardt had been importing hand-blown glass balls from Germany since around 1907, but had the foresight to anticipate a disruption in his supply from the upcoming war. Corning adapted their process for making light bulbs to making clear glass ornaments, which were then shipped to Eckardt's factories to be decorated by hand. The fact that Shiny-Brite ornaments were an American-made product was stressed as a selling point during World War II."

(Wikipedia of course :) There's also a great section on dating your vintage Shiny Brites)

I love the various neat vintage glass ornaments like this box (not Shiny Brites) originally from Woolworth's:

Each box generally runs about $2 at an estate sale around here. You can also find boxes on ebay and etsy. And, I dunno, but I really like the idea of reusing something that has already had a history of celebration with another family.

Some of these are now hanging in my window (with some other vintage ornaments from my friend Jeanny)

I also picked up this little set of musical angels at a nearby estate sale. These little darlings are currently whippin' up a tune on my mantel.

Continuing with the theme of decorating with things of the past, I also pulled out all the old family photos that I could find from past Christmases. I want to sprinkle them throughout the house.

Like this one of my mom's family with that fabulous aluminum tree (my mom is on the right in blue, and I love my grandma's green dress with the leopard collar):

And my grandparents (I'm so amused at my grandpa's all-red outfit. I guess he wasn't afraid of color either):

Here's me and my cousins when I was 3 years old. Can you spot me? I'm almost sportin' my favorite pose/expression.

And here we are three years after that:

If you're looking for other fun/funny vintage Christmas decor ideas, check out Curly-Wurly's vintage magazine scans. These are just so neat to look at. Because, you know you've always wanted a troupe of marshmallow Santas to celebrate with:

lorieats: Buttermilk Pie with Cranberry Sauce

I didn't get enough of Thanksgiving food apparently (even though my waistline tells me that I did indeed get enough Thanksgiving food!). So when I came back last week, I decided to make a pie and some cranberry sauce to top it. It was so delicious that I thought I'd post the recipes here.

I'm not sure how many of you follow Joy the Baker, but her food photos and baking encourage me to be a better baker and inspire me to eat more baked goods (like I really needed more inspiration to eat such tastiness). Well, way back in August, she posted a recipe for Buttermilk Pie. What the heck is Buttermilk Pie? I had no idea. So of course I wanted to find out. And, I finally did.

Oh man. It. was. goodness.

You can find the original recipe here. Due to my own time constraints, I used a organic store-bought frozen pie crust. I also added cinnamon, because that's the kind of crazy baking chick I am. ha!

And, because I had a huge Costco-sized bag of cranberries in the fridge, and I didn't get enough Thanksgiving, I made a cranberry sauce to top it. The pairing was lovely. The cranberry sauce was sweet and tart and balanced the buttermilk pie wonderfully (IMO).

Buttermilk Pie

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled.

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs slightly. Mix sugar and flour well and add to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter, mixing well. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract and cinnamon. I convection baked mine at 325 degrees F for 1 hr 15 minutes until the custard set. (Joy's Tip: the custard will still jiggle a bit in the oven even when it’s set). Just make sure that the middle does not jiggle a lot more than the sides. That means it needs more time.

Honey-and-Spice Cranberry sauce recipe

I used this Honey-and-spice cranberry sauce recipe from Epicurious with the addition of longer cooking time and a cheesecloth bag to keep my spices from hiding out in the sauce later...

1 12-ounce bag cranberries
1 3/4 cups apple juice
3/4 cup honey (I used mesquite honey)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half (my cinnamon came in bark form and I just dumped a handful in :D )
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
6 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch of salt
cheesecloth and cotton string

Combine cranberries, juice, orange peel, salt, and honey in heavy large saucepan. Create a cheesecloth bag using by wrapping the cheese cloth around the bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon and tying at the top with the cotton string. Place bag in saucepan. Bring contents to a boil over medium heat. Simmer until berries burst and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. Remove cheesecloth bag. Refrigerate sauce until cold. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Skirts and patterned tights oh my! OOTDs

2010-12-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

My bestie Clara would like me to be more on top of my outfit blogging, lol. She was so impatient for a pic of my outfit yesterday that she tried taking pics of me while I was in a meeting. So, Clara, I'm posting these, see! Only a day late this time.

Monday

It's 10 degrees warmer in Seattle this week than it was last week. That makes all the difference for me to feel comfy wearing skirts and tights! Hurray!

During Fall/Winter, and when it gets grey, Seattle peeps seem to like to disappear into the grey mist. Not so for me! I think people were a bit visually shocked by my bout of color yesterday.

I admit, it's a lot of color. But, I love color. Color and facial expressions - I'm never content with trying on just one...At least this way, cars can see me as I cross the street.

Monday OOTD
H&M graphic sweater dress sz XS ($20?)
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20)
United Colors of Benetton long-sleeve black shirt sz S (had for about ten years!)
Adidas black skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
Trina Turk for Hue purple tights ($6)
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats - purple (NWT at Goodwill $7.50)

Tuesday

Only one pic today. I only had a chance to take a few pics this morning, and in most of the pics, my camera decided that my coffee table was the more exciting object to focus on.

Wow this outfit looks horrible against this backdrop. My tights and my chair are fighting it out visually.

And, I swear to y'all that I steamed all the wrinkles out of this skirt before putting it on this morning! These very obvious wrinkles are from me sitting down to eat breakfast. sigh. Sometimes you can't win.

Tuesday OOTD
Anthropologie Blooming Lattice Cardigan by Field and Flower (ebay $40)
Anthropologie Lale Skirt sz 4 (pinned smaller; $20 on sale)
Vintage silk tuxedo-like shirt tags cut out (thrifted $6)
Anna Sui tights ($7)
Brown Kenneth Cole Reaction Mary Jane shoes ($20)

A series of OOTDs but not enough skirts

2010-12-06T08:57:00.000-08:00

Things are still running full tilt over here, but I managed to snap a few OOTD pics throughout last week. Looking back at this past week, I can see I really worked the open-mouth jaw-drop again. hm.. I might need to mix it up this week :)

I've been really really wanting to wear skirts and tights these days. The temperatures in my office are perfect for it, and I picked up a few neat tights over Thanksgiving. But, my plans to wear skirts+tights goes completely out the window when I walk Buddie in the morning. I realize that if I'm freezing in jeans and a sweatshirt, then I'll probably be shivering out at the bus stop. I swear the bus stop is like 3 degrees cooler than anywhere else due to the extra wind chill from the cars running by.

MONDAY

The only day I succeeded in wearing tights and a skirt was Monday. And I insulated myself by wearing rain boots, a sweater under my dress, and a cape (and as I ran out the door I also grabbed a scarf and long gloves).

This dress has pockets built in! I had planned to wear this in early fall, sans tights and layered sweater, but I never got a chance. It worked ok, I think, as a jumper though.

We also had a chance to decorate a tad for the holidays. Instead of going with a large live tree as usual, I ended up picking up this small artificial tree for free this summer. It's worked quite well, no needles all over the house, no worries about mold or about the cats climbing up the tree and batting ornaments. And I still got to pull out my vintage ornaments (vintage shiny brites and other neat vintage glass ornaments).

I picked up this wool cape at Seattle Goodwill's annual Glitter Sale. It's a big sale where they corral all the higher end fashion items together and people go nuts. My friend Jeanny won pre-sale tickets (I think only 7 people got them), and she brought me as her plus one. There were amazing things there. I meant to blog it, but I ran out of time. I saw new Kate Spade shoes, Betsey Johnson, Nanette Lepore, BCBG, lots of vintage beauties, and furs.

There's also a lot of sequins (hence the 'glitter' sale. My friend Calvin sent me this funny news clip of the Glitter sale this year. Apparently someone went a bit swear-crazy for glitter).

I went crazy for vintage. This was one of the two vintage capes I brought home with me :)

Monday OOTD
Vintage grey wool hooded cape ($15 thrifted)
Navy Max Studio shift dress sz XS ($40)
Sarah Borghi Red Plaid Tights ($7.99)
Topshop red sweater sz 4 ($6 thrifted)
Navy Hunter Wellington boots ($40 at Costco 2009)
Forever 21 sparrow necklace ($6.50)

Wednesday

Here's a few more of our decorations: a vintage sled by the fireplace, more vintage ornaments in an apothecary, and little xmas knick knacks like this santa:

This fireplace has been keeping us extra cozy this Fall. Yes we have heat, but it's so nice to sit in front of the fire and do work.

Wednesday OOTD
F21 red/white striped turtleneck sz M($10)
Old Navy tweed jacket sz S ($4 thrifted)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Navy Hunter Wellington boots ($40 at Costco 2009)

Thursday

See here's another day where I really wanted to wear a skirt. But I chickened out and went with jeans and flats. I appeased myself with two other items from the Glitter sale: this vintage wool coat and vintage feathered cloche. These items feel right out of Boardwalk Empire. I thought it would be appropriate to stand in front of Evan's liquor cabinet given that Boardwalk Empire is set during prohibition.

Showin' off some midcentury tumblers Evan thrifted. Oh no! I'm mixing my decades! It's like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire collided!

Thursday OOTD
Vintage maroon wool coat ($30 thrifted)
Vintage feathered cloche ($8 thrifted)
Anthropologie Precious Materials Cardigan by Moth sz S ($60 sale)
Express X2 jeans sz 4 ($6 thrifted)
Loft striped 3/4 sleeve shirt ($4 thrifted)
Etienne Aigner shoes ($30)

Friday

Friday was another exercise in layering. I also threw on a large wool coat that you don't see here for bus stop weather :)

Friday OOTD
Field Game Cardi look-a-like from TJ Maxx sz M ($20)
Express X2 jeans sz 4 ($6 thrifted)
Banana Republic green/blue v-neck tee sz M ($10?)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)
Jade butterfly necklace ($6 thrifted)
Turquoise scarf ($10)
Black Banana Republic blazer sz 6 (?)

phew! that's it! Hopefully this week I'll stay on top of everything - writing, analyzing, blogging :)!

Snippets from Cali!

2010-11-30T00:00:00.000-08:00

There. Did you catch them all? All the food, all the fun with friends and family? It was epic. And yes, we also have Chinese food at our Thanksgiving. It's delicious and a tradition!

I've been writing like a mad scientist (a mad scientist who needs grant money and needs to publish papers, lol), so my pics from last week in California got somewhat backlogged.

In between bouts of writing (luckily my family goes to sleep earlier and wakes up later than I do), I had a jolly good time with people near and dear to me.

On Monday last week, my family headed up to Geyserville (where Ev and I got married). We specifically made a trip to Meeker winery. It's one of our favorite wineries and we had a lot of their wine at our wedding. Here I am with my mom and her mom (my grandma).

Their tasting room is in an old bank, and they actually keep all the wine in the big vault!

What the heck am I pointing at? I think I was just pointing for the sake of pointing :/

Wine tasting OOTD Specs
Calvin Klein red zip-up dress ($50)
Martin & Osa black seamless core turtleneck sz L/XL ($8 sale)
Xhilaration raspberry pumps (thrifted NWT $7)
Black tights ($8)

Later in the week, my fam exchanged some early Christmas gifts since Ev and I will be spending xmas with his family this year. My bro got this African mask from my Auntie and cousin. I proceeded to act normally with the mask. *ahem*

Ooh and look, I had heard there was a field game cardi look-a-like at TJ Maxx on various blogs, but I hadn't had a chance to visit one. There is one near my parent's house, and I found this one on sale for $20. My mom said I looked like a candy cane.

Ev also finally opened up his Kinect that work gave him. The whole family had fun playing with it. My favorite moment of Thanksgiving weekend was seeing my 90-year-old grandmother elated to play virtual ping pong on the Kinect. Priceless. I want to be like her when I'm 90.

And finally, my favorite pic of the week. You might be able to tell which side of the family I got my silliness from...

This blue and beige dress was my Thanksgiving outfit. It's a BCBG Paris dress I got at the outlets near my cousin's UC Davis wedding (I think it was about $50). It's got a great poofy skirt, a vintage vibe, and pockets!

Sweet time with the family

2010-11-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

That's a pic of some of the sticky buns I made for my family this morning as a surprise. They're absolutely RIDICULOUSLY easy to make. No one ever believes me though. Try them and impress your family and friends (recipe posted at the bottom of the post). They'll think you're a baking god/goddess and you can bask in their sugar-induced glow!

I've been having fun with my family (while working electronically with my collaborators on a grant application! Sweet multitasking!). Sunday when Ev and I got in we went grocery shopping with my dad and Nai Nai (grandma on my dad's side).

dang, look at those bags under my eyes. I was tired from travel and from going to the five different grocery stores my Nai Nai and dad wanted to go to. Seriously. Five. Because there were specific brands and prices that were better at each. At least my Nai looks cute here!

One of the grocery stores was this Mexi grocery that I LOVE. They carry my favorite tortillas (La Finca - made in Oakland!) and they make the most delicious fresh pan dulce. Seattle Mexi bakeries I've been to don't seem to have enough foot traffic to bake fresh everyday. So a lot of the Mexi breads I've tried up there have been disappointing. Not the case here in the Bay Area. So I got my fill. Check out that platter of goodies!

droooooool. There were too many tasty looking things. I couldn't take them all home. I woulda made myself sick.

You see my dilemma, right? ;)

okay, no Mexi baked goodies for you, but you can make the sticky buns from the top of the post. :)

Easy Sticky Chocolate Pecan Buns
adapted from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipe

Ingredients

•8 Tb (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1/3 C light brown sugar, lightly packed
•1/2 C pecans, chopped in very large pieces
•1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted

For the filling:
•2 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled
•2/3 C light brown sugar, lightly packed
•3 tsp ground cinnamon
•1 C chocolate chips or raisins or something tasty

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a silpat-lined sheet pan.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 8 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

3. Lightly flour a wooden board or stone surface. Unfold 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1/2-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup of the brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down.

4. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes ONLY (or less! seriously, once these suckers cool you will not be able to pry them from the tins without breaking the buns. The sugar will act like a glue!), invert the buns onto the silicone-lined sheet pan (ease the filling and pecans out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

btw, check out this pic of our house in Seattle!

My parents have been complaining that it's been in the 30s-50s here in the Bay Area, but it was 14F in Seattle this morning! It snowed while we were gone!

Other photos to post, but I gotta go do some fam stuff and then get back to grant writing! :D

The time of the year to flash

2010-11-22T01:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd pass along photo tips as I learn them. I hope this post might help someone out there.

The days have gotten quite short up here in the Northwest. I tend not to have much light while taking OOTDs. So I've had to change my camera settings and make better use of my Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash.

Recently, I found that bouncing my flash up off the ceiling and slightly backwards (i.e., pointing away from me) creates the best ambient lighting for my indoor photos. Pointing it towards me creates harsh shadows behind me (even when using a diffuser).

See this photo was taken with the flash pointing straight forward AT me:

But this next photo, I tilted the flash backward so that it pointed away from me and bounced light off the ceiling (which then gets reflected back at me).

Even though the first pic had the light pointed at me, it actually looks DARKER than the second pic where the flash is pointed away from me. Counter-intuitive, yes, but also pretty cool.

Using my big flash also means I can't take rapid-fire shots. I need to wait a few seconds for the flash to 'recharge.' Actually, my camera will still take the photo when the flash is recharging. The camera just uses a longer exposure time (which means any movement will be really blurry), and the natural light amplifies.

Here are a couple examples from this week. The photo on the left of each set was taken without flash (using a longer exposure time). The photo on the right uses flash (bounced off the ceiling).

lol, Asha looks so unhappy to be in this pic!

Anyway, I'm now out in the Bay Area hanging with the fam and prepping for the big turkey day. I'll try to take some pics while I'm out here, but I'm not sure they'll be the typical OOTD variety. We'll just have to see!

End of the week hurrah OOTDs

2010-11-20T22:10:00.002-08:00

Hooray for end of the week! My silly poses continued, and I realized that the poses made me really cheerful. It's incredibly hard to smile and act silly and NOT get happy (at least for me).

Cindi once asked me how I look so relaxed in pics. 1) lol, I don't think I always look so relaxed, but I'm glad it appears that way. And, 2) I suspect my laid back demeanor is due to my goofiness. I honestly laugh at myself A LOT during photo-taking, and it probably helps me relax.

It's embodied cognition in action. Researchers have shown that smiling or even doing tasks that make you smile (like holding a pencil between your teeth) make you rate see things more positively. So my OOTD pic taking is very functional for me - smiling and acting silly gives me a more positive perspective on life!

Wednesday OOTD

And you can see I really took advantage of embodied cognition at the end of the week.

The On-a-wing blouse is the first top I ever bought from Anthro. I saw it in the catalog, but couldn't afford to pay full price. And one day, I went into Anthro and they had a size 6 on the sales rack! It was missing some buttons (probably due to all the frustrated shoppers having to button and unbutton all its buttons), so I also got a damage discount.

But the employees were also able to find buttons that had fallen on the floors of the dressing rooms, so I just sewed those on when I got home. Voilá! I actually love the buttons down the side, and I don't have difficulty with them. I also love the delicate stitched navy feathers and airy pink voluminous fabric. Of course a feminine pink top such as this paired nicely with a more masculine olive green blazer! They balance each other out.

And this is how I stayed warm. Seattle is getting cold!!! Next week we'll dip into the 20s. Except, I'll be in the Bay Area hanging with my fam. :)

Wednesday OOTD
On-A-Wing Blouse Anthropologie sz 6 ($63 - sale and damaged discount from loose buttons + $50 gc from my MIL!!)
Gap olive blazer sz 0 (thrifted $8)
Lisa Skinny Jeans by Fire Jeans sz 5 (thrifted $7)
Navy Hunter Wellington boots ($40 at Costco 2009)
Grey scarf ($10)
2009 Club Monaco pink elbow-length cashmere gloves (gifted - Thanks Oliver!!)

Thursday OOTD

Thursday I stayed at home to finish up extra analyses and slide progression on my presentation. I only popped on some sneaks when I went out to pick up the dry cleaning and buy Budz more food. Otherwise, these were kickin' it at home clothes :)

Thursday OOTD Specs
Madknits red & white striped tee sz S (thrifted $5)
Anthropologie embroidered cardigan by Snak sz S ($0 after ebay snafu)
Guess Jeans sz 27 (thrifted $10)
Merrell sneakers ($20)

Friday OOTD

And here I am, at the end of the week, after finishing my presentation. It really was quite gratifying sharing my research with the broader area. Look at the elation!

I realize looking at the pics, that this looks A LOT like my Wed outfit. But the only thing consistent between the two is the blazer! I think it's because the skinny jeans on Wednesday photograph so dark they look black rather than deep indigo.

I really don't have enough black shoes. There weren't many options to wear with these black slacks. I didn't want to wear heels while presenting. And the huge black boots I just bought aren't professional enough to present in. These bow shoes have only the smallest of wedges. I tried to pretend they weren't peep-toe by wearing black socks. um. yah. I'm totes sneaky like that.

Tungsten photo bombed my pic this time. I had just gotten home, and he was pretty insistent on knowing why I wasn't feeding him, like right then!

Here's a close-up of the button-up. I love it because it's got a different neckline than typical button-ups and the pleating gives it visual interest. But, the color scheme still keeps it looking fairly mainstream and professional. Plus, it is SO soft and smooth.

Friday OOTD Specs

Gap olive blazer sz 0 (thrifted $8)
BCBGMAXAZARIA pleated blue striped button-up sz S (thrifted $10)
The Limited Drew Fit black slacks sz 6 (thrifted $5)
Calvin Klein black belt
Black bow CL by Chinese Laundry flat/low wedges (thrifted $5.99)

perhaps the air in here is too thin OOTDs

2010-11-16T23:07:00.000-08:00

Nope I'm not at a high altitude, lol. I think I'm just a bit batty from some stress. I've been working on a couple presentations. I did one yesterday and got some really great/helpful feedback. And I'm speaking on Friday too! I'm really excited to share some of the work I've been doing, but I'm also stressin' trying to get my slides together. The stress apparently made me make really wacky poses in my ootd shots. Kinda hilarious. Kinda silly. Kinda weird. Wait, I think that's me in a nutshell.

So quick catch-up post for today. I also want to post some things from last weekend, but that will have to wait for another time :)

Friday OOTD

I was running out of purple things to wear on Friday, and I was trying to dress down and stay warm. So this is what I ended up with. I'm not sure I like the belt here, but the cardigan needed it. Otherwise I look like a very big box - with legs.

These were my only pair of clean jeans! I haven't yet hemmed them (I usually just roll them and walk the dog in them). I have stubby legs. 30" inseam is good if I don't wear heels. With heels, 32-33" is nice.

Friday OOTD Specs
Banana Republic green cardigan sz M ($20?)
H&M purple Divided tee sz 6 ($8)
Striped ruched H&M long sleeve tee by Divided sz 6 ($13)
Guess Jeans sz 27 (thrifted $10)
Adidas black skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
Xhilaration raspberry pumps (thrifted NWT $7)
Navy and red printed socks (gifted)

Monday's OOTD

I told you I was wacky! And, btw Monday was frickin' cold! And windy! We had crazy wind storms that knocked out a lot of peeps' power. Not me though. Luckily we didn't lose power. That would have sucked since I can't live without my laptop. Especially when I need powerpoint :)

I pulled out my Precious Materials Cardi because 1) I was sad I was so sickly the last time I wore it, and 2) I thought it would be warmer than some of my other cardis? I dunno. I wasn't thinking very straight. Something about how cashmere would keep me warm.

This is what I wore under the cardigan! Hooray for polka dots! I admit, I was really tempted to wear my zebra cardigan to go with my zebra tights. But that cardi definitely wouldn't have added any warmth. No way, no how.

Monday OOTD Specs
The Limited Pink Polkadot pin-tucked blouse sz XS (thrifted $4)
Anthropologie Precious Materials Cardigan by Moth sz S ($60 sale)
BCBGMAXAZARIA grey pencil skirt sz S (thrifted $4)
Zebra tights (Ebay $5)
Merona Madalena Suede Ballet Flats - Magenta/Purple (NWT at Goodwill $7.50)

Tuesday OOTD

Oh today. Yes, the poses got even sillier. Here I am showing you the Baccarat pig that my husband's middle school English teacher gave us as a wedding gift (they have a pig gifty thing going).

And what's a round of silly pics without my trademark open-mouth jaw-drop pose?

I'd been wanting to try out the cold weather long skirt trend, but it's really hard in Seattle if it rains. Wet hemlines. Ew. Luckily, no rain today. I did try to layer like crazy in case I got cold. What you can't see here is the tank top, the leggings and thick boot socks I've got on under my dress. Then on top of it all I put on a wool sweater and jacket? Yeah I was too warm today and ended up stripping down to the tank dress in the office at times. Then it looked like a totally different outfit. Not what I planned, but still better than being too cold.

The rope belt is actually the belt that came with my mom's dress from a few posts ago. For some reason I didn't want a more structured belt today. Or maybe that piece in Lucky mag about bow-knotted belts affected my subconscious.

Tuesday OOTD Specs
Xhilaration long tank tee dress sz S (thrifted $5)
Bebe Mini Studded Shrunken Moto Jacket sz XS (NWT Ebay $20)
Banana Republic Merino Wool baby blue sweater sz S (thrifted $6)
Target Mossimo Supply Co. Katherine Leather Engineer Boots ($50)

Also, I realize I'm behind in responding to y'alls comments, but I will get to them after this week. I promise!

Fashionably Musing

2010-11-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

These posts are an eclectic collection of topics or products that have caught my eye or made me go "hmm." I'm sharing them here with you for your perusal or dismissal :)

1. Jennifer and Sherry give advice on how to get involved working at a fashion magazine. For all those aspiring fashion mag editors out there.

2. NYTimes article "When 'best' isn't good enough." A discussion of the valediction used at the end of an email.

I admit I tend to use 'best' as my fall back or xoxo, besos/beijos (i.e., kisses) with certain friend/family. In my youth I tried out various droll, dull, and atrocious closes such as: "peace," "peace out," "hit me back" (shudder), "sincerely," and the antiquated "yours truly." I didn't realize people felt such ownership of their closings until reading this article. What do y'all close your emails with?

3. When I was sick, Lanvin H&M put out a trippy video displaying the collaborative collection (due in stores Nov 20!!).

I really like the yellow one-shoulder dress (and I love that they show it on an older woman as well as younger woman. (As an aside, I also appreciated that they showed one model who wasn't a waif - although most of them were). Watching the video, I kept thinking, "That is one stylin' grandma!").

I also really like the ruffle-y skirt (which is actually in my price range-ish). So I played around with a couple polyvore sets to show how I might style it.

A feminine vibe

For the uptown chic woman

Also, I found this video from the NY Times with Alber Elbaz interesting. I like seeing images of Jeanne Lanvin herself and hearing a little about the history of the brand.

5. Why Women apologize more than men. These researchers find that women do indeed apologize more than their male counterparts. Their data suggest that this gender difference may stem from differences in construal of one's behavior. Men may not perceive their actions as offensive as often as women do. The scientists elaborate on their findings and offer some relationship advice. OMG, It's like a data driven Cosmo article or Dear Abby column.

If you don't want to watch the vid, here's a news article on the research or see the journal article abstract here.

6. Love as my painkiller. Scientists find that intense love activates the same brain areas as those areas affected by pain relief medication. See the full journal article here or the press release/synopsis of the findings here.

7. How much $ are people planning on spending on holiday gifts this year?

The survey results reported here were obtained from searches of the iPOLL Databank and other resources provided by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut.

Wow, for some reason I thought the mean would be lower than this given the current recession. $715 feels a bit high, but after thinking about the gifts I'm planning to buy for various people, I guess I could see that.

This reminds me: In doing your holiday shopping this year, you might think more about what you're spending the money on. Research suggests that experiences may make people happier than consumer goods. Help your loved ones create memories, not clutter :) Or, at least I need to try to remember that.

Frye boots look-alike reviews

2010-11-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

Kristin from BonBon Rose Girls asked if I could find an alternative to the Frye Campus boot. While I didn't find an alternative to the campus boot, I did happen to try three other Frye look-alikes recently.

More Frye...

So after FINALLY finding a pair of brown leather boots that I loved, I have been on the hunt for black boots. I tend to gravitate toward brown boots, so this was actually hard for me! I apologize ahead of time for the dark pics and frump clothes. I wanted to take these pics tonite, even though I'd already changed.

1. The first boots I bought were the Michael Antonio Women's Nicholas Knee High Boot on Endless. I saw these and immediately thought of the Frye Paige boots I'd been coveting. These weren't real leather, but I thought I'd be willing to look past that if they looked really good.

But as soon as I took them outta the box I was disappointed. These were waaaay too shiny, making them look super cheap. They also felt like insulated plastic...ew! The zipper also didn't extend all the way up the shaft of the boot. So it is incredibly hard to get these on and off (I had to ask Evan to help me pull them off).

I ordered these in a size 8 (I typically am an 8-8.5. sometimes 7.5 in sandals/heels). But these run very small and very narrow in the foot. My foot felt really wedged in there, and there was no room to wear thick socks or skinny jeans inside these boots (which is why I'm not wearing them in these pics).

It was a definite no-go.

2. After Kim and several other bloggers have talked up the quality of Target's leather boots this season, I decided to take a look. This led to me finding the next two boots. First up, the Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Katherine Leather Engineer Boots. These ones I ordered just to see what they were like. Harness boots are everywhere now. I loved them last year, and looked for a good quality inexpensive pair to no avail. But now with their ubiquity, I'm kinda over the harness boot style. So I didn't expect to like these boots. These boots changed my mind.

The leather is thick, matte, and wonderful quality (I can't believe these are only $50!). It's smooth and stiff enough to hold its shape (even at the ankles). The heel has stacked look which is nice. And its 1.75" heel gives me enough height to keep my legs from looking too stumpy, while not being too high that I couldn't handle the slick Seattle streets.

I picked up a sz 8.5. The width was great! There's no zipper. You just pull them on using the tabs at the top. But, I found it easy to slide them off and on, and I could wear jeans and thick socks with them. The calves were neither too loose nor too small. I'm pretty sure these would be SUPER comfy for long periods of time.

3. The Women's Merona® Kasia Tall Leather Boots look an awful lot like Frye's Melissa boots. These are also made of real leather, but the leather is more of a pebbled texture, and it's thinner and more flexible than the Katherine boots above. It's a little shinier than the Katherine boots, but not in a cheap looking way.

These are taller than the Katherine boots, hitting just under the knee. Like the Katherine boots, there is no zipper. You pull them on and off using the tabs. This is slightly more difficult since they are taller than the Katherines, but the flexible leather makes it fairly easy to do. Unfortunately, the more flexible leather makes them more likely to buckle a bit at the ankle. So if this bothers you, you might not pick these up.

These are more of a western style boot in that they dip in the front and back rather than being cut straight across the top. I got these in a size 8.5 and they fit very comfortably. I actually don't like the little embossed metal button on these that much. I think I would have liked it if it were not embossed?

The heel is also faux-stacked but it's shorter than the Katherine boots, measuring at .75". Overall, this is a very comfortable boot that fits my calves with jeans and thick socks. (I should say that my bestie, Clara, also picked up these boots and LOVES them. She says they are the most comfortable boots she's ever worn!!)
These leather boots are a decent option - especially for the price, but I'm partial to the smooth thicker leather of the Katherine boots. So I'm going to stick with those, and the Kasia are going back!

playing with my forest friends OOTD

2010-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

I'm currently nomming on some kimchee fried rice with duck egg. Thanks to VintageGlammz for inspiring me with her fried rice recipe (which reminded me I had chinese sausage AND bacon in the fridge). :)

Continuing with my week of wearing purple in recognition of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to pull out another fine-wale corduroy outfit - the Southward Stop Shirtdress!

Adding to the dress' woodland creatures theme (and to keep me warm), I layered a long-sleeved shirt with owls on it underneath the dress. So now I'm wearing deer, finches, AND owls. The addition of the faux fur collar wasn't an intentional nod to the woodland creatures - that's a little too dark and ironically sad for me. I just thought it would keep me warm and go well with the jacket.

Instead of boots to keep my legs warm, I went with these pretty bordeaux coloured sueded tights by Hue and some soft brown leg warmers. This is my first time wearing leg warmers in forever. I hoped they wouldn't give my outfit too much of an 80's feel.

I think I escaped okay since I don't feel like doing jazzercise or anything :) You know that's how I worked it in the 80's. See:

Dang for some reason I thought I recalled wearing legwarmers in this pic. Oh well, you can tell I was serious about my exercise habits.

OOTD Specs
Maeve's Southward Stop Shirtdress Anthropologie sz 2 (ebay $75)
Grey long-sleeved shirt with owls by Realitee sz L (thrifted $4)
Bebe Mini Studded Shrunken Moto Jacket sz XS (NWT Ebay $20)
Hue bordeaux sueded tights (Ebay $6.50)
brown leg warmers ($3)
Brown Kenneth Cole Reaction Mary Jane shoes ($20)
H&M faux fur collar ($15 plus 20% off = $12)

Whizbang OOTD and advice

2010-11-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

It's sunny in Seattle! The weather man says that the days will flip flop between sunny and rainy for the next week. That's 50% SUN! Fabulous. I'm a glass half full kinda gal :)

Plus, today is my last day of antibiotics!!! Woohoo, it's a good day indeed!!! Now to start replenishing the good bacteria in my gut. Gimme some yogurt, STAT!

I'm wearing purple this week in recognition of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

The first time I wore this skirt, I had no idea what it was called. Since then, I've seen auctions for it on Ebay. This skirt was from Anthro Fall 2009 and is called the Whizbang Mini Skirt. The original description said:

"A subtle print, this is not. Idra pairs it unexpectedly with fine-wale corduroy and a cummerbund waistband, making a true statement of a skirt."

I know you're thinking, what the heck is "wale"? Ok, maybe you already know what it is so you weren't thinking that. Hmph. Know-it-all :) Well, I looked it up for myself and the rest of y'all who didn't know (knowledge is power! Although, I'm not exactly sure what you can do knowing what 'wale' is, but I'm sure you'll come up with something grand).

"The width of the cord is commonly referred to as the size of the "wale" (i.e. the number of ridges per inch). The lower the "wale" number, the thicker the width of the wale (i.e., 4-wale is much thicker than 11-wale). Wide wale is more commonly found on trousers; medium, narrow, and fine wale fabrics are usually found in garments used above the waist."

Thank you Wikipedia.

Well, this is some fine wale indeed, and that's what keeps this skirt feeling a little more elegant and not too too chunky. And the corduroy and dark colors make this perfect for Fall.

And have I mentioned how much I love this dark chambray shirt? I swear it goes with everything. Don't tell me it doesn't. I won't believe you. Just kidding of course. You should tell me if I'm going fashion crazy. Keep me in line folks.

OOTD Specs
Anthropologie corduroy paisley skirt by Idra sz 0 (thrifted $6)
Gap dark chambray? button-up sz XS (thrifted $2.40)
H&M mustard yellow cardigan sz 6 ($20)
grey sweater tights ($8)
Black bow CL by Chinese Laundry flat/really low kitten heels (thrifted $5.99)
H&M faux pearl strand necklace ($5)

Ok, now I wanted to ask y'alls advice on this faux leather aviator jacket from H&M. I've already bought and returned this jacket once much earlier this fall. It's $30. And earlier I was super itching to have something in the aviator style (cuz like everyone else, I fell head over heels with the look in Burberry Prorsum's collection). I also hadn't yet replaced my leather jacket that I grew too small for, so I didn't have something I could wear to give an edge to girlier looks (and I love pairing girly with tough). Now I have the Bebe faux leather jacket and, I'm not as itchin' to have an aviator. But I'm also trying not to buy things for me right now, so maybe that's it.

I returned this the first time around because I thought it looked too cheap, and made me look kinda chunky. And, I was going to try to hold out to find a real leather one.

Well, since then, I've seen this jacket on other bloggers, and I thought it was kinda cute. I saw this at H&M again, and decided to give it another try. But I'm still iffy about whether to keep it. And, not surprisingly, I saw that a bijillion other bloggers actually have this jacket which makes me kinda wanna seek out a different one if I go for an aviator. That's where y'all come in. Do y'all think I should keep it or return it?

Channeling Joyce Ramsay OOTD

2010-11-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, only one part of this outfit channels Joyce Ramsay (character in Mad Men), and it's not this part.

I'm wearing purple this week in recognition of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

I am decently surprised by how many purple things I have in my closet. It's by no means a large color player up in my wardrobe, but there are still more items than I expected. The funny thing is that you'd think I'd notice since I organize my closet and drawers (including socks!) by color.

Sorting by color and stacking my tees/tanks back-to-front in the drawers rather than bottom-to-top has seriously made getting dressed a lot easier. It's SO easy to find things, and choose a color palette in the mornings. Have y'all come up with any clothes/accessories organization tips that have made your life easier?

Evan doesn't like this blazer because he says it's too boxy. I bought it anyway, and I immediately thought of Joyce Ramsay because of the two front pockets. If you know the character, you'll know she has this affected way of sticking her arms out like a bird when her hands are stuffed down the front pockets of her blazer.

OOTD Specs
Martin & Osa silk tie-neck cream button-up blouse sz 12($15)
Ralph Lauren Sport purple cable sweater sz M ($15)
Marc Jacobs Khaki pants sz 4 (thrifted $8)
Vintage John Weitz wool houndstooth blazer (thrifted $6.50)
Tommy Hilfiger Penny Loafers ($10 sale)
Yellow argyle socks (3 for $2)

Man, there's a shower curtain on sale at Urban Outfitters that I really want for my downstairs bathroom, but I don't want to pay the $10 shipping. I tried to see if I could put together $130 of xmas gifts to get to the $150 minimum for free shipping, but I just wasn't having it.

I've been too disappointed with the quality of some of the clothes I've gotten there in the past. AND, for some reason the website kept 'forgetting' what I had in my cart. That drove me bonkers. Does that happen with anyone else on UO's site? I finally gave up. I don't need that shower curtain that badly.

Where do y'all do most of your xmas shopping? I'm trying to keep my eyes peeled, and I just added the camelizer back to my Firefox so I can track Amazon price histories so I can grab some good deals. If you haven't used it before, it's this great add-on that lets you see how the price of the item you're looking at on Amazon.com or BestBuy.com has fluctuated over the past few months.

brrrr it's gettin cold in here! OOTD

2010-11-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

It was chilly in Seattle today! Luckily, I WFH all day, so I only had to bundle like this to run to the Post Office.

Today's outfit is pretty boring. Sorry! I went super comfy casual today with jeans, and soft layers like this cardigan and this silk Eci shirt. I figured if I was going to curl up with data all day, I needed to make sure to wear something comfy that I could literally 'curl' in. I tend to sit and shift into really odd body positions when I'm working on data all day - horrible for carpal tunnel :).

there's purple in this shirt! Wearing purple in recognition of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

The steamer didn't take out all the wrinkles in the shirt this morning, but since I was busy literally curling up with data, it got wrinklier anyway!

This is my favorite pic of Buddie yet!

OOTD Specs
Silk Eci shirt sz 4 (thrifted $2.50)
United Colors of Benetton long-sleeve nude shirt sz S (had for about ten years!)
One Step Up brown cropped and hooded cardigan (thrifted $5)
Lucky Brand jeans size 4 (thrifted $8)
DonnyBrook wool coat sz 2 (thrifted $8)

Our big tree is ALMOST bare! Look what Evan did this weekend:

The Before

The After

of course, I said 'almost bare.' There's still a decent amount of leaves up in those branches. Now a ton of leaves have fallen again, so it looks like he didn't do anything! He was kinda sad about that. :)

Inherited Purple OOTD

2010-11-07T20:05:00.000-08:00

I've decided to try to wear purple as much as I can this week to show support for Cindi's effort to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer in honor of her father-in-law.

This dress is one of the two dresses I own that belonged to my mother when she was young. It has a white rope belt, but today I thought I'd try the dress with a wider brown belt.

oops, apparently I splashed something on the dress before taking pics - prob when I was washing dishes this morning.

It also paired well with this zebra cardigan I bought off Ebay. It was only $8 + $8 shipping from Hong Kong. The pattern is adorable, and it struck me as something I could easily see at Anthropologie. Perhaps called something cute like "Running Stripes Cardigan." Except this is no Anthro sweater. This sweater feels so cheap I think it will fall apart. Until it does, I'll wear it, because I still think it's so fun. I just want the fun to last longer!

I'm also LOVING these new HUE plaid tights I bought off ebay from that seller I mentioned a few posts back. I had no idea how much I'd like them until I put them on :) Now I've got all these big outfit plans for them!

Look! I chanced wearing some tiny heels today! Luckily, no ruptured tendons.

This faux pearl necklace ended up making a really nice bracelet today too!

This was the poopy part of my Sunday. I spent three hours at the Sears Auto Center getting new tires. This was after the third time they tried to fix the flat tire we bought from them a few years ago. Today we were told the tire was irreparable. We were also told putting on my new tires would only take an hour. NOPE!

OOTD specs
My mom's old purple dress
Ebay zebra cardigan sz XS ($15)
Seychelles brown pumps (thrifted $6)
H&M wide brown belt ($10?)
Hue tartan plaid tights (ebay $6.50)
H&M faux pearl strand necklace worn as a bracelet ($5)

Lo-fi photos Purpley OOTD :)

2010-11-06T23:41:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to set your clocks back (if you're in the U.S. - if not, just ignore that)

Man, Evan just watched the first episode of AMC's Walking Dead. I have been doing data analysis. I kept hoping that my data would distract me from the suspense and anxiety of the show. It was some of the most stressful data analysis ever, lol. I am a complete wimp with horror flicks and anything suspenseful/scary/dark/creepy/slasher. I get completely caught up in being scared, and my mind starts elaborating on the horrifying things - making them MORE HORRIFYING...and then I can't sleep.

Saturday OOTD

Guess where this pic was taken? It's Anthropologie in the UVillage! They've got it all decked out for the holidays already (see the fake icicles hanging off the roof of the quaint shack in the middle of Anthro?) How did I end up at Anthro on a Saturday night?

In addition to the antibiotics, the doctor had me taking 12-hour Sudafed to help reduce my sinus pressure. But, I'd been feeling SO much better (Thurs, Fri), that I thought maybe I didn't need to take Sudafed anymore. So last night I didn't. And this morning I paid for it and spent most of the day home sick. Because I took the last dose of Sudafed I had today, we had to go out to find a pharmacy to buy more. But by the time we went out all the pharmacists had left the various drugstores in our area (we went to Walgreens, Pharmaca, and Safeway). Evan called and found out Bartell's in UVillage has a pharmacy open till 8pm. HOORAY!

Since I wanted to take a purple outfit pic for Cindi to increase awareness of pancreatic cancer, I asked Evan to take a couple pics of me at Anthro after grabbing my meds (and a jacket I eyeballed at H&M). I actually did no shopping or browsing at Anthro. I just stood in the hut and sat on their beautiful couch while Evan snapped a couple pics and an SA looked at us like we were a bit crazy :)

Nothing to see here, just a style blogger getting her OOTD on!

Saturday OOTD Specs
Kensie Pretty cowl sweater dress sz S (thrifted $5)
H&M black 3/4 sleeve shirt sz 8 ($8)
H&M black leggings sz 6 ($10)
Kelsi Dagger black beaded flats ($30)
Adidas black skinny belt (thrifted 99 cents)
H&M faux pearl strand necklace ($5)

Friday OOTD

I actually didn't have time to take outfit pics on Friday. With the shortened daylight hours and my early morning meetings, there was no time. I DID however snap a pic on my point and shoot to see if I looked ok, before running out the door. I feel like Cher from Clueless, but after style blogging, "I don't trust mirrors." I snap a pic to see if my outfit is ok.

I wasn't going to post this, since I have no feet and the lighting blows. But because I never got to take pics on Friday, and in the effort of full disclosure, here's my Friday outfit:

Please ignore the laundry basket in the background. Things kinda piled up when I was sick, and y'all weren't supposed to see this photo!

I'm ambivalent about this jacket. It was NWT on ebay, and listed as being made out of leather. But when I got it, it was clear from the tag that this was not leather. Evan handled all the ebay discussion with the seller (because I was sick), but she ended up sending me a $25 iTunes gc for the misunderstanding. So technically, I got a jacket that was NWT and originally cost $130, for $20. I'm sure y'all will see more shots of the jacket in future posts.

Here's the product shot:

Bebe Mini Studded Shrunken Moto Jacket
Dang. The model is totally showing me up. :) lol, btw this is the first Bebe thing I've owned. I haven't even been into one of their stores since I was in high school. I had to look up what size I'd be! I feel like such a teenager!

Btw, I wore converse because I was still scared about rupturing a tendon - I still am. I'm contemplating not exercising or wearing heels for 6 mos. We'll see how that goes. HA!

Friday OOTD
Express Design Studio white button up shirt sz XS (thrifted $6)
Rubbish lime green sweater sz S (thrifted $4)
Bebe Mini Studded Shrunken Moto Jacket sz XS (NWT Ebay $20)
Lucky Brand jeans size 4 (thrifted $8)
Converse (sale $15)

And I'm back! nerdy military me OOTD

2010-11-04T19:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, sorry for lack of OOTD and style-related posts. Remember, how I was feeling sick last week? Yeah, so Saturday it got worse, and Sunday it got even worse, and then Monday, ugh.

Turns out what started off as a sniffly sneezy energy-draining head cold turned into a full blown sinus infection...which meant what I can describe as full body migraines. Sinus pressure usually gives me migraines, but this was the most sinus pressure I've felt in ages, and it never dissipated! So unfortunately, I couldn't really blog or move my neck or body in anyway without pain. Basically I couldn't do anything since I couldn't keep my eyes open for very long without hurting more. Luckily, I had a few posts set up to run so the blog wasn't completely empty!

This is my 3rd day on antibiotics (woulda been my 4th except the antibiotics they gave me - Levaquin - are pretty hard core and messed something awful with my stomach... so the first dose didn't um, "stick"). Apparently, this antibiotic also has some weird side effect where my tendons are more likely to spontaneously rupture even 6 months after taking the meds! CRAZY. Also makes me scared to go running for like 6 months. My favorite quote from their side effect page:

"Get medical help right away if you hear or feel a snap or pop"

Even though it was pretty warm today (yesterday when I was still dying it was even warmer! Weatherman said it was a high of 74!), being sickly made me want to wear jeans and shoes that I wasn't worried about tripping and rupturing a tendon in.

Also, with all the sinus pressure I've been having, I've been wearing my glasses instead of contacts. Yeah, these are my ACTUAL glasses. This is the true nerdy me - usually relegated to the bedroom.

And that is the big wooden mask that my cousin (who's working for a non-profit in Uganda) brought me back from Uganda. This one apparently symbolizes protection or power. We had it outside for much of the summer because the artisans smoke the wood for a loooooooong time to kill any bugs. This means the mask made my house smell heavily of bbq. So it went outside until it no longer smelled like Buddie's basted dog treats. And it doesn't smell anymore!! :)

Ha, even Buddie gets a chance to wear the mask! Did anyone else watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, btw? This mask totally reminds me of the masks Buffy's mom had that raised the dead and turned people into zombies.

Btw, I was sick and absent for a week and so many of the leaves have fallen off our big-leaf maple! I drove through the arboretum on the way to a meeting today, and I noticed a TON of leaves had fallen. The arboretum looks completely different from a week ago. It's like I woke up from my illness in a completely different season. I blinked and Mother Nature changed the channel.

OOTD Specs
Ralph by Ralph Lauren military-esque shirt sz XS(thrifted $5)
Vintage silk tuxedo-like shirt tags cut out (thrifted $6)
Lucky Brand jeans size 4 (thrifted $8)
Nicole Winchester Leather Riding Boots ($100 at DSW)
Reddish brown leather belt (thrifted $2)
Army green cap/hat - Target ($8)
Lori's real glasses - prodesian

Happy 21st Birthday bro!

2010-11-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

love you bro!

Happy 21!

blog cards!

2010-10-31T07:50:00.000-07:00

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. :)

Vote!! And two OOTDs

2010-10-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

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)

And the winner is.....

2010-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:00

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!

knitted up in layers OOTD

2010-10-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

************************************

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

************************************

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)

wow pink pants OOTD

2010-10-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

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!

My weekend in brief

2010-10-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

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?

Fashionably musing

2010-10-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

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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