shopaholic

Before getting ready for my one-person LOST party, I ventured out for some heavy-duty facial sunscreen to prepare for the upcoming UV-onslaught that is lifeguarding in Florida. I had to go to the mall, so oops, I just happened to slip into F21 to see what's up. Whoops! I didn't mean to buy that cardi, jeans, and 3 pairs of hosiery. In my defense, they were very cheap and very interchangeable.

I found it...it actually exists...That's right, a long, slouchy, grandpa cardigan for under $50!!

It may not be as soft as Gap's or Urban's, but it was only $15 and nice & warm. I also picked up some dark gray skinny jeans for $20, and some tights & knee-his. They must have just gotten in a new shipment, because they usually NEVER have any tights left. I found a duplicate of these chevron tights modeled by sexy Johanna for only $6, along with basic black and sheer black patterned tights a la Blair.

Another Gossip Girl-inspired item I and almost bought, but I passed it up for now:
This is Serena from the Thanksgiving episode, and I have been obsessing over her jacket ever since. F21's version might be the only one I could ever afford, but I couldn't decide if it just looked too fake.

And will it go out of style soon? I am still tempted.

primary day

I have been SO tired lately due to my *new job* training...yay new job! I am once again a guarder-of-lives for a brand new water park here next to Sea World. It should be fairly fun, except of course for the fact that I have to wear TEVAS every day (could you think of an uglier sandal?!??) The last couple days have been spent swimming for hours and doing practice rescues on individuals who aren't, well, small. At least I'm getting muscles again!

After months of frustration, I finally had some good luck at a thrift store...Savers. I found a boy's navy blue school blazer for $2.50 and a sweater for 2.99:

I have been having fun experimenting different ways to wear it. YES, it is another item with an animal on it, but I couldn't pass it up.



I am not going to start talking politics on my blog, but being a political science major & poli-sci nerd, I went to a Mitt Romney rally (even though I'm Independent...I thought it would be interesting & I had nothing to do!) As many people say, he sure is presidential-looking.


The be-socked wonder in front of me was SO excited, she couldn't stop dancing and bopping up and down, "MITT MITT MITT MITT MITT!"

I just am dying to say...WHY ARE PEOPLE VOTING FOR OLD MAN JOHN MCCAIN?! ARGGH WHY DON'T YOU GO SAY "MY FRIENDS" A FEW MORE TIMES!

p.s.

totally unrelated, but: I am watching "Life After People" on the History Channel. It is SO interesting. Dogs really can't survive without us, wolves & coyotes are super scary, and cockroaches are so disgusting-- they can live off of anything, literally (book bindings, cardboard, leaves). Try and catch this miniseries if you can!

hey, cool hair!

I had a hair appointment today, so I spent part of yesterday browsing for a new look. When I typed the admittedly vague phrase "cool hair" into google, here are some gems that turned up:

yikes, dude. The scariest part? I've seen dudes who look pretty much like this...rednecks abound in the south.

I'm going to have to disagree wholeheartedly.

Ok, I can't even see hair here!

Again with the lack of hair!

Ummm?

Finally, we have Freddie Prinze, his "cool hair" documented on a fan site called: "He's All That....and More". LOL!

What I was hoping to find was inspiration like the Anna Sui S/S 2008 runway:

I like the side-bangs and the use of color. I have long wanted to experiment with hair color (although maybe less dramatically) but after consulting with my hairdresser, we decided to do one more dark treatment before we add anything else (ah, the trials of going from blond to brunette).

So my hair isn't necessarily cool, it's just pretty classic and a little boring. But, if the google search I did is any indication, well then I don't want my hair to be "cool" anyway!

Anna Sui photos from Style.com

i know who you are-- you're john robie the cat!!

I stayed up way too late last night writing more personal statements, but at least I had To Catch a Thief to keep me company. Ahh, TCM, you always know just what I need at 2am. I watch this movie every time it's on (along with every other Kelly-Hitchcock collabo). This is definitely one of my all-time favorites. The scenery! The costumes! Kelly & Grant! French! The sizzling chemistry! A Masquerade ball!


You can't deny that Grace Kelly wearing Edith Head is a fashion icon. There isn't much more to be said about her that hasn't been said, and I love her for all those same reasons. My Nana gave me a Princess Grace paper doll set when I was young, and I've been completely intrigued by her beauty ever since. This dress was pretty much the best paper-doll outfit ever:




Cary Grant isn't looking too bad himself. I am such a sucker for a classy man.






Although Grace is the ultimate in ladylike beauty, I don't exactly have a wardrobe to emulate her style in this movie. So to fill my craving today, I opted for a Cary-inspired look instead.

What a great movie...I think I'll finally suck it up and buy the DVD so I can watch it anytime.

kirsten dunst for miu miu

There is quite a bit of disparity among bloggers about Kirsten Dunst. I happen to think she is awesome and is often outfit-inspiring. I guess I just love her do whatever, wear whatever attitude and the confidence she exudes even when she's just walking around town. Granted, I don't condone bra-lessness, but that is so a non-issue in the new Miu Miu ads.







I so want those to be my new glasses.

I'm loving the short poufy skirt silhouette, and I do love the palette. Even though it's for Spring, these colors are neutral enough to work in any season's wardrobe and are giving me lots of great outfit ideas. Anyway, Kirsten looks great & I'm glad Miuccia decided to dump Lohan for this campaign.

photos from fabsugar

reliance.

Most of us have an item (or items) that we rely on when we can't be bothered to come up with a cute outfit. We reach for this "uniform" if we're running late, if we're tired, if we're going out to grab a bite after a long day. For me, this backup item is a very common one- jeans. Denim can be great, obviously, and I never want to banish it from my closet. But, if I'm not careful I could wear jeans every single day--and that gets boring. What are your old reliables?

Now is a great time for me to branch out; I donated a bunch of old jeans, and I have had really bad luck finding any new ones. I haven't been much of a skirt girl for everyday wear, usually I have saved them for going out or doing something special. This is probably due to laziness, but I can give change a go! Here are my first efforts:

For running errands, including getting keyless entry for my car! yay.black/white layered dress, gift. denim shirt, gap. purple tights, target


Trip to church & out to lunch.black turtleneck, express. dress, proenza schouler for target. tights, target. shoes, kenneth cole

Hmm. I also need to work on my picture taking skills. I need to go look at more inspiration. I'm sure all of you have seen this site, but my favorite lately is wardrobe remix on flickr. It's all real girls, most are super-creative and envy-worthy. Watch out, it's addictive!

100.

I am excited to say that I've hit 100 posts! I never really knew if anything would come of this blog, and although I haven't done anything groundbreaking or made any kind of impact, I am having a lot of fun! I was so excited and surprised to get even one comment, and I love having "friends" and giving/getting feedback from all these awesome people. I honestly don't remember the very first fashion blog that I read, but I was instantly hooked and overwhelmed with how many cool girls were blogging. The first blog I found where I thought, "oh, I might actually be able to do this!" was Daddy Likey. It is such a funny blog, and it showed me you don't have to be a rich magazine editor to have an opinion on fashion. Winona also has such a great list of blogs, that it led me to many of the blogs that I currently adore.

To celebrate, I made a list of some beautiful "gifts" from another site I find equally inspiring, overwhelming, and totally addicting (dare I say even more than ebay?): Etsy.


here.



here.


here.


here.


here.


here.



here.


here.


here.


here.

phew. I'm done, I promise. I get so carried away on that site. I added 11 pages of favorite sellers last night alone.

Really, though, thanks so much to everyone who reads this lame little blog. I hope my next 100 posts get even better, and that it stays as fun as it has been!

bag tag

Thank you to the lovely Wendy B for tagging me and giving me a purpose in life (showing you my boring bag is much more fulfilling than working...maybe). I was starting to feel like the last kid chosen for kickball on the playground.**

So here is my beloved bag:

My sister gave me this Urban bag for my birthday last year, and I've hardly used another bag since. It holds a ton, is holding up pretty well, and looks ok with most of my wardrobe.



Papers, papers. Lists, receipts, and coupons make up a lot of bulk. I am usually very organized and hate clutter, so I guess my purse hides my secret shame.

My Betseyville case is an attempt at some order...cosmetic-ish things go inside. Notice the Purell. This is absolutely vital to my survival.



I always carry a moisturizer. This Fresh Rice body cream is the biggest splurge ever (I had a gift card), but the texture is heavenly.

Applesauce. What can I say? It rules.



I am always making lists/writing myself notes, and I have a bunch of little notepads.

Finally, my fashion cred (joke!). A couple headbands, January Nylon, and the beautifully-photographed Urban catalog.

Phew! Wasn't that exhilarating? I also have the usual stuff like wallet, gum, phone-slash-mp3 player. I think most people have been tagged...if you read this blog (hello? hello?) then I'd love to see what you're carrying around.

**I was actually the biggest tomboy when I was young. Therefore, I didn't get chosen last. But I never had a boyfriend or developed boobs, so I guess it's kinda like that

smokin'

2008 had definitely not been my year so far, but doesn't January kinda always suck? Hopefully. My bad luck continued today. When my Bluefly order arrived this morning, I was of course excited. I ripped into my package, so excited to see the cashmere & Joe's Jeans. Cashmere? Great. Joe's?

Wrong size. Wrong style.

grrrrr.

So, they're going back and of course the ones I actually ordered are now sold out. Parfait! I guess my 3 pairs of pants will just have to last forever, now that I'm unemployed/broke!

Today really is smokin', however. I first noticed it during my run. The air vaguely smelled like a campfire and by the end of my run, it was a little harder to breathe. But the time I took Lola out for her last walk of the night, there was thick, stifling smoke hanging in the air. Further south, there are 2 brushfires that apparently decided to spread their joy all the way up to Orlando. Although unpleasant, I thought of the color smoke and how much I love it. You can't go wrong with gray. There is a gray tone out there for everyone, and it is wonderful to mix & match everything from gunmetal to charcoal.

(warning: pretty much nothing in this picture is affordable).

Listening to: Smoke, by Tristan Prettyman!