The meal is over when I hate myself

When did I turn my back on the cardigan and become a blazer girl? Okay, maybe it's not that drastic, but I do wear this blazer a LOT. I've spent years seeking out the perfect black jacket, but the one I've had for the past few years was sort of a compromise and never fit the way I wanted it to. Enter this piece from Goodwill. It's a size six from the little boy's section, and the magic of it is that the shoulders fit. Anyone out there with narrow shoulders, I'm here to tell you, the kid's section is the place to be. Joe objects to the (very slight) shoulder pads, but they're sewn in too well it would take a tailor to remove them, so I just ignore his befuddlement every time I put it on. 

I think I've discussed the blazer before, and recently, but I just can't stop raving about it. And if you're petite like me, you should really consider the children's section if you don't shop it already. There's a bit of a learning curve when it comes to figuring out what will work and what won't on your body type, but that's true of any kind of clothing. 

The skirt is from Urban Outfitters, which means my mom bought it for me on a birthday shopping trip. I can't afford that place people! But this is a great classic piece, and there's a shot somewhere in the archives of The Sartorialist of a young woman wearing it, so it's gotta be stylish, right?

Unrelatedly, do you guys like my bed? I know I've shown it before, but I've never said much about it. I actually designed the frame in high school, and my dad built it for me. He's crazy talented, always building and fixing and remolding and repairing. He likes to take beaten up antique furniture and refurbish it for his and my mom's house. The dresser and nightstand were purchased to match around the same time he built the bed. I'm more into dark wood these days, but this bed still holds up pretty decently when it comes to my design taste, and it's been with me everywhere I've moved since he made it. I think that encompasses around seven or eight moves, most within the past five years. My mom always gives me a hard time because he's never built her a piece of furniture from scratch. I guess that's the advantage of being an only daughter. I get a little bit spoiled (though I don't take it for granted, I promise).

Remember when I said I wasn't doing headless photos anymore? Yeah, this one is a few weeks old, taken  before I made that decision. Then why did I post it, you ask. Dunno. I just like it.

Choppin Broccoli

I'm on a blog roll here (hahaahahahha sorry), so here's a new post immediately after finishing the last one.

So, normally when I think of feminine, classic silhouettes, American Eagle isn't the first place that comes to mind. But on a shopping trip with my mom early in the year, we came across this pretty little thing in the clearance section, and in my size! I'd been going through a bit of a strapless dress phase, though not on purpose, and I couldn't resist the pretty flower pattern and bit of lace peeking out under the hem. 

I feel a little bit like someone made this out out one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's dresses. I can picture the fabric sitting on the shelf of an old general store, waiting to be made into some prairie-dweller's Sunday best. It's a semi-thick cotton, hearty enough to withstand a bit of wear. Normally, I might reach for gray or cornflower blue as a complement to the colors of the dress, but something made me try this pale yellow cardigan that think I've only worn one other time this year, and they ended up looking lovely together.

The final piece was green maryjanes. They're like little green flower stems supporting the burst of spring colors. All in an October outfit. I think this is the most prim and ladylike you will see me in a long time. I would have felt right at home at a ladies' tea that day. It was like being in character, but as a version of myself.

This is a woman, Goodbye!

I think I'm majorly confusing myself by having to backtrack and play catch-up with old outfit photos. Today I found two more days worth that I'd skipped over from a month ago because I forgot to name the files with the date like I normally do. Here's one set:

Not that it's a ground-breaking outfit or anything, and the shots were snapped quickly. I don't think I was in much of a photo mood that night. But I do love that dress, which I tend to stick a t-shirt under to dress it down a bit for every day. And this was the first time I'd ever tried wearing tights with open-toed shoes. Pretty subtle, but I liked how it turned out. 

And then there's this outfit:

I didn't think too much about this outfit, aside from the fact that it's more business-y than I normally go for, until I uploaded it to my flickr. It was an instant hit, and a lot of people seemed to really like it. The blouse is Miley Cyrus for Walmart, and the skirt is actually a dress from Buffalo Exchange (originally Urban Outfitters) that I folded the top down to make a skirt from. It comes off like leather in the pictures, but really it's just a normal black stretchy synthetic of some kind. I could tell you specifically, but I'm too lazy to get up and check the tag. The dress has pockets, normally a big selling point for me, but they hit in a funny spot that makes like tiny me look a bit hippy. Not too big of a deal, but I'm considering sewing them shut and cutting out the extra material. Also, yay tights.

I love you Pumpkinhead

First things first: I've joined Bloglovin, you can now follow me! Follow my blog with bloglovin

Second, but more importantly....

Here is a photo shoot I did with my sidekick Paige. I started babysitting her when she was about a year and a half old, and now she's in high school! It's fun that we have stayed friends, and we definitely have a sister-type undertone to our relationship. She also just got her braces off the other day, so she deserves a blog post of her very own. We took the pictures awhile ago, so the braces remain, but my guess is that we will do a new shoot soon, minus the metal-mouth. She just as cute either way, though!

Our original intention was to take a few photos by this lake and head back home, but we ended up going around the entire thing! Paige started out in these flats, but brought along her trusty Converse as well. Which meant, of course, I had to carry her dirty old shoes around in my purse, since she didn't bring hers.

The outfit was styled around her black tulle and lace dress, a birthday present I bought her. We went on a shopping trip together, including her first trip to Buffalo Exchange. I found the dress and encouraged her to try it on, and it fit her (and me, actually) really well. I was surprised she actually decided to buy it. But I think she got the Buffalo Exchange concept--if you're gonna buy something there, it better be kinda crazy and awesome. 

We had a blast running around and taking pictures. As time wore on, we got a bit more creative and tried all sorts of poses. Above, I directed her into one of my go-to stances: stand slightly sideways, point one toe, look down at foot while smiling slightly. I promise you there are tons of examples of me doing this exact thing, and there will continue to be in the future.

One of the coolest parts of the day was when we came across this owl just hanging out in the middle of the day. He was fast asleep and adorable. I've never actually seen an owl in real life before, except maybe at a zoo or something, so we took a bunch of pictures of him. So cute! I wanted to squeeze him and hug him and love him forever.

So what do you say, Paige? Let's do it again soon!

Benelux next time, ladies

I guess I should make a small announcement to preface my post today: I am no longer working at the job I got two months ago. I took it because I was moving, and my rent was doubling, and I needed to work. But as the weeks wore on, it became clear that the position I took just wasn't right for me. I didn't like the job much, it wasn't a good fit, and the commute was adding an hour to a schedule that already meant I saw Joe less some days than I did when we lived in different cities. So a mutual decision was reached between my boss and me, and Monday was my last day. I don't know what I'm going to do now, exactly, but I am happy and relieved to have the chance to focus on my blog a bit more while I figure everything out. And since my internet is still spotty and annoying at my apartment, I've taken it to the library today and am determined to get some good work done. Already I'm a happier blogger. The past week or so, each photo I upload takes at least ten minutes for some reason. Not here! I just got three done in less than a minute. Yay for the library! I just hope my typing isn't annoying the person sitting right across from me reading The Pregnancy Bible. I normally wouldn't be sitting so close to someone, but this was the only spot I could find with a free outlet.

So, now. Clothes and such. I loved this outfit. I always wanted to take dance when I was a little girl, but for one reason or another it never quite worked out. The floatiness of this coral skirt from the children's section at Target has a ballerina quality to it which I hadn't yet tapped into fully. And the sweater paired with it felt like something a dancer would throw on after a rehearsal. So I got to play dancer, even though I've never had a lesson in my life (unless you count dance aerobics in college for PE credit. Which I don't). Even my hair, thrown up messily with a rubber band, had a just-danced quality to it.

The shoes always get a lot of attention as well. I got them several years ago. I was shopping at Target with a friend, and we wandered into the shoe section, eventually making our way towards clearance. We spotted the  bold black and white patterned  pair simultaneously, and both made a grab for them...the only pair of their kind on the shelf. I got to them first, turned them in my hands, and exclaimed "My size!" victoriously when I confirmed they were, indeed, sixes. And we all lived happily ever after. Except my friend, who was sad they weren't her size.

I always end up taking these headless shots in an attempt to get  and interesting variety of perspectives in my photo posts, but then when I see them in the context of the blog I feel like they look sort of creepy. Yeah, actually, I am convinced they are creepy. I don't think I'm going to do any more of these.

See, I am a good dancer who does stretches and such. Pretty sure I missed my calling.

Your Snow Angel Has No Legs!

I bought this fun little dress at Goodwill in September and promptly forgot about it. When I came across it in the racks, I decided to try it on more out of nostalgia than anything, as it was fantastically retro-nineties, but I never imagined I would like it. Then I put it on, and lo and behold, it was adorable! Kind of short, but not vulgarly so, and fun and swingy.

Maybe the whimsy of the dress was what inspired me to try out a laundry room photo session. Though I don't actually have a laundry room, just a tucked away washer and dryer next to my bed. I think it turned out really cute, and I love the picture above even though I was moving my hand when the shot went off, so it looks kind of freaky and deformed,

The necklace I'm wearing I've had for a couple of years. I got it at Express, but have hardly ever worn it because it had a bunch of little pieces of chain hanging from a large circular link on the left hand side, which always got impossibly tangled and caused me much frustration throughout the day. Then I had the brilliant idea a few weeks ago to pull out my pliers and yank the bits of chain (each just a couple of inches long) off the thing entirely. The end result is a necklace I can actually wear instead of passing by every day. 

Once again, I pulled out the Charlotte Russe tights. They get so many compliments! I can't encourage you all enough to pick up some colorful textured tights for the fall. People go nuts for them, and admire your pluck for wearing them. What they don't realize is that they're super easy to wear and style. So you can gain fashion cred and admiration with minimal cost and effort. You're welcome!

For outfit details, check out my flickr here.

The Night Before You Said Hello

Hi everyone, just a quick note to let you know I'm the subject of my first "featured blogger" post. Thanks to Fashion my Legs for liking me and all my sometimes crazy tights! You can see the outfits they chose to highlight and read a bit about my style here.

Maybe I'll post again later tonight, but for now I've got a baked potato in the oven with my name on it! Hmmm, just remembered I had potato soup for lunch. Don't care! I love potatoes yay.