NYE

Ok, here's a little flashback to some New Years Eve style! I LOVE getting dressed up like this!

 My sister and I before going out to a local bar with a group of friends. We played around with silver liquid liner to enhance our eye makeup. I liked the wintery/futuristic feel!

I love Emily's hot pink heels!

How did you dress for New Years Eve? Happy 2012!

Champagne & shimmer

 A little New Years Eve inspiration:

Shopping spirit

Yay, me. I got an appropriate amount of Christmas shopping done today. The weather has been super mild here this week, but unfortunately that has been accompanied with lots of rain. Between that and the usual crowds/traffic (is it just me, or does Christmas shopping suddenly mean it's totally ok for people to just walk into you and act like they don't even notice?), it was a little hectic. But it feels great to get a good chunk of it done, and I'm having so much fun picking out gifts for everyone! Besides the Christmas spirit, here are some "go-to's" that helped me on my shopping trip today:

Raindrops on my coffee!

Shopping fuel:
Starbucks grande soy latte + one Splenda pack

Shopping soundtrack: 
Noel Gallagher's, "High Flying Birds" album, which my brother gave me for my birthday last month. Check out the strings in track one. Beautiful.

Shopping style: 
My knee high boots. Stylish, rain proof, and only a small heel.

To be honest, I got these boots at Payless for $20 or so, about three years ago. They've held up great and I still LOVE them.

Wow, it is absolutely POURING down rain now. I got home just in time!

Little Things That Make Me Smile...

Later-than-usual post today. I've been running around trying to get all my work done before leaving town tomorrow morning, plus I had to squeeze in a run to the doctor, since I am really not feeling hardly any better after 4 days of being ill! Being sick already ruined Halloween, it'd be awful to have it ruin my cousin's wedding for me, too!
My doctor seems to think my symptoms point to a virus, but thankfully I've been hooked up with antibiotics just in case. I really don't want to be miserable during my whole trip. We'll see if the medication works, and if not, at least I've ruled out that possibility the it's something bacterial. Then it probably just means I need to let the virus run it's course....but, boy oh boy, do I hope these pills work.

This seems like a good time to concentrate on the little, simple, uncomplicated things that make me happy right now:

 Black nails. I think it's a "do" for Fall/Winter. What do you think?

 A seasonal snack: honey crisp apples in caramel sauce.

 Hot tea with a "honey spoon", brought back from Monticello in Virginia.

 Rediscovering old shoes, which make some pretty awesome Mary-Jane-like platform shoes for Fall. This is why I rarely throw anything away. ;)

Leather and lace

I must say, this has felt like a good week. And I'm so ready for the weekend to begin and Halloween festivities to follow. I feel like the fact that it's Halloween-week, plus the fact that Fall weather has made an appearance again, warrants me trying out some more daring stuff, fashion-wise. I love coming up with things to force myself out of a rut.
The other night, the doorman at a bar complimented my outfit. "Thanks", I said.
"Wait, that is an outfit, right?"
"Um, yes?"
I was confused. I later realized he might have meant a costume. Granted, the outfit did look a tad 1920s inspired, but still. I didn't think it looked like a costume...at all. But at least if you're wearing something strange around Halloween, people will just chalk it up to the time of year. Ha. I quite enjoy getting weird looks and double takes from people anyway...to me, it means I've done something right.

Yesterday was basically a day off for me, so I threw on a new combination of clothing and headed out to enjoy the cloudy-cool day. I got some shopping done at Target and even ran into a couple friends while out and about. I also tried my first-ever soy latte, and was happy to find that I really enjoyed it.

Lace top and "leather" (fake) shorts, Forever 21. 

Black hooded sweater, Target. Wedges, Burlington Coat Factory. Tights, Halloween Express. 

Back view: I kinda love when it looks like the sweater is the only thing I'm wearing. Tee hee.

Sitting at the bar in the cafe after shopping. I love that my Target has a Starbucks!!  
Sunglasses, Burlington Coat Factory ($5.00!!)

I'm still totally in love with my new wedges. I can't get enough. I'll probably be horribly sick of them in a month from wearing them so much. Haha. But, we should all have at least one fashion love affair per season, don't you think?

Plus, I got a ton of double takes because of them yesterday. Score.

Collage

My boyfriend had to work all weekend, and I missed him a lot. Here are some photos from my boyfriend-less adventures.

Freshly opened Creme Brulee coffee to start the day.

70s-like jumpsuit. I was also wearing a tiara. Yup.

Finally discovered the entire room of shoes at the very back of Lucy in Disguise. It was like Spice Girl heaven. I resolved to buy all my shoes there from now on (wishful thinking).

Trying on vintage clothes with two of my girlfriends. So much fun. Plenty of laughs...and a smelly dressing room.
1. Fabulous 60s cocktail dress (notice the back view in the mirror). Didn't fit right (everyone knows women in the 60s had small boobs) and  its re-wearability factor is probably slim. I was very sad.
2. Horribly awesome, sequined, elaborately shoulder-padded 80s dress. I 80s-danced around the store in it. The guy working there was laughing at me, and people were staring. It was pretty awesome. I didn't consider buying it.
3. Beautiful vintage-inspired dress at another shop. Wanted it for my cousin's wedding next month. Didn't fit right. It's my damn boobs again. Still pouting....it was a pretty dress.

Adorable popcorn bowl, which I promptly bought. (Burlington Coat Factory, $1.99)

This is what my hair looked like after being braided all day on Saturday (you can tell how sleepy I was)...always better than when I try to use a curling iron to make it look styled. It's naturally wavy anyway, so usually I just straighten the top few inches...whenever I want instant Rachel Zoe hair.

Said braid, plus my outfit from Saturday (this whole post is out of order. Oh well), which was fun enough to keep on from coffee with my girlfriend in the afternoon, to a little champagne get-together downtown that night.

Platform wedges (by Soda, Burlington Coat Factory, $14.99. Yes, you read that correctly). Words can not express the love. And get this: they feel like flats.

Pretty snazzy weekend. Some highlights not pictured:
- Lunch at Homeslice Pizza (white pizza with spinach and pools of ricotta + lemonade + big chocolate chip cookie).
- Live music by my friend's new jazz duo, The Jazz Destroyers (I demand you go "like" their Facebook page).
- Champagne with my friend Greg to celebrate his vampire novel, Thicker Than Water and its release at the Amazon Kindle Store (If you're interested, click for info on the book and how to get it for 99 cents). Sorry for all the shameless plugs. I like to support my talented friends when I can.

Have a great week! xx!!

Giving Summer the Boot

Cognac and Coffee

 Ah, so many good shows on my DVR this morning, yet so much to get done today. Don't you hate those dilemmas? It's another much-cooler day in Austin, and it feels like a perfect morning for some hot English tea. Maybe I'll squeeze one TV show in while I sip a cup (Rachel Zoe's birth episode is kind of taunting me), and then get to work. I'm going to attempt to save my errands for when the sun has warmed things up a bit more. It should be a beautiful day. And the fact that I think I can officially pull my knee high black boots out of retirement here in Texas, is a wonderful thing. I ran into a girl yesterday, while we were walking our dogs, wearing the cutest fur lined boots. We talked about how nice it is to be able to wear that kind of thing again...at least without getting strange looks. The season has begun!

Now Texas, don't make me a fool and go back to 85 degrees in the next few days. Fingers crossed.

Hope you have a lovely day! xx

The blahs

Look! She has my mirror. :)

It's definitely been a busy few days. I'm trying to get back on a normal sleep schedule (messed up again from this past weekend), which sooo did not happen this morning, as I just could not bring myself to get out of bed at a decent hour. I've been doing my best to push through the daytime groggy-ness to get my extra long to-do list checked off this week. I'm also toying with the idea of actually getting back on my work out routine again. Ha. My horrible eating needs to stop, too. It's gotten a bit out of control lately. Time to get back on track! I know I'll feel better and more energized when I do.
On top of everything else, Facebook has decided to go crazy with it's new layout, and I'm finding it almost unusable right now. It's disorienting...and things are disorienting enough in my life at the moment, thanks! Grr.

Hope you're getting through this week relatively unscathed! ;)

Prada me?

"Excuse me? Is it the weekend yet?"
I posted this photo of Rumi, because I'm pretty much in love with her shoes. They are Prada, so I wont be buying them anytime soon (p.s. how corny is my subject line? Which of course means I'm still chuckling at it.) But I can live vicarously through a photo, right?
The next couple days will probably be busy, but maybe that will make them go by that much quicker. Hope you have a great Thursday.

Look book

I like to take photos of different outfits I come up with not only to share with you all on my blog, but also so I can remember stuff I really like. I have a bad habit (or maybe a really good habit) of rarely wearing the exact same ensemble twice, but every now and then when I feel like I have absolutely nothing to wear, it's nice to refer back to some of my favorite past ideas.

I'm all about interesting fashion combinations and unique style for not a lot of money. I believe you truly can and should use whatever you think looks good, whether it's $2 or $200. And recycle, recycle, recycle within your own closet. Bring back old stuff once in a while (you can imagine what a clothing pack rat I am), pair it with different things, new things, different hair/makeup, or different jewelry, and it will feel brand new. Enjoy creating looks from scratch, even with a bare bones budget. I find that challenge exhilarating. And I genuinely pride myself on being sort of a fashion vagabond.

I think one of the best "fashion moments" I've ever had was when a stranger complimented my sunglasses, which I bought somewhere for $5, and asked if they were Chanel. Total score.

Here's some recent stuff I've come up with, which I found to be pretty fun:

All you need is love.
Which can sometimes be as simple as a fur (faux) vest with an extra long Beatles tank that hangs off you just right. I paired it with my best pair of beat-up, holey jeans and added a casual ponytail, teased at the crown for a retro touch, and liquid "cat eye" liner.

In the Navy.
I love the casual sophistication of this dark blue dress (Express), which I bought second hand recently for $12. I've been hooked lately on finding items, especially dresses, that are perfect to just throw on and immediately have a put-together look. This one fit the bill perfectly. Of course, I had to pair it with something unexpected, like my suede combat boots (Forever 21) and lace stockings. I've also worn it with the lighter blue heels in the background of photo #2 for a less casual look.

Hello, Kitty!
Wore this recently to meet a friend for coffee. The t-shirt (Target) makes me feel like a kid again, except now I can get away with wearing a short skirt, pearls, and aviators. I love wearing my pearl necklace with really casual stuff to mix things up.

She bangs!
Sorry couldn't resist. I cut some long, side swept bangs the other day, twisted my my pony tail into a ballet dancer-like bun (and tucked the ends into the elastic band) to accentuate the new look. This tank top is from a recent clearance sale at Sears. I got it for....wait for it....$1.99.

Pale in pink.
I wore this out last weekend for a night out with friends. I was so eager to wear a few of the items I picked up during a retail therapy session at Plato's Closet (a second hand store) last week! I had to include close ups of the heels, because they didn't really show up well the in the full body shot, and they are just too adorable. Plus, they're like nothing else I own, which makes them even more special. They are by Hale Bob, and I picked them up at Plato's for $14. I am obsessed with this white blazer, with its slightly puffy sleeves ($12). I'm not a huge jewelry person, and I rarely buy any for myself, but this necklace caught my eye immediately, in a rack of a million others, so I knew it was meant to be. Well, that and the fact that it was $4. The leather-like shorts and the baggy "New York" shirt (with a sheer, lace back - see here) are from Forever 21.

Stripes so cute, it's almost criminal!
I consider this dress a recent "splurge" (Target, $25), but it was so worth it. It's another easy, comfortable dress to just throw on. For an afternoon of shopping with one of my best girlfriends, I added a fedora and pulled an extremely old leopard print purse from the depths of my closet. I've been using it ever since, on days when I don't want to carry my usual, huge bag around. This is why I don't throw things away. Ha.

Ok, so I really want to hear your thoughts, ideas, critiques, yawns, whatever! I'm pretty convinced I can take almost all these items into the cold seasons as well. I can't wait to experiment with layering them. Honestly, I am going to have to do a "Look Book Part 2" really soon, because I have way more outfit photos I want to show you that have no outlet without my little blog.

Be well, and be stylish! xx