ALIVE...sort of

You know how people say that law school is tough, especially the first year?

wow.

Does anyone know of a remedial law program? Anyone?

Luckily it has been a little more comfortable thanks to Danielle at solestruck. These shoes are great on my 1-mile, uphill walk to class (and of course my 1-mile, downhill walk home too!)

Found here.

It also snowed like crazy today. I'm talking blizzard. (I'm told it was not even close to a true blizzard, but coming from Florida...yeah...blizzard). I walked to class and the snow was falling so fast...I couldn't help but think of this:

...the snow barrel blast level from Donkey Kong Country. I love that game.

I am trying to keep up with the weather, but it is hard. Last week it was 75, this week 25. How will I ever survive the long snowy winter?

Alice Temperley for Target sweater...AA skirt, same Target boots

Target sweater, Rogan for Target tunic, Levis, Report booties, Great-Grandma's brooch

Anthropologie top, Target sweater, old brown cords, F21 velvet flats.

today, I..

Today I went...

...to the street fair and signed up to help the economy's effects on family pets.

...to the dog park so my little girl could socialize


Today I watched...

...The Messengers (Two thumbs down!)

...The Queen (Two thumbs up!)

...The Biggest Loser boot camp with Bob on Exercise TV (soberingly harder than expected)


Today I coveted...

...a perfect winter coat


...some oh-so-cozy-looking sweaters from J.Crew and Anthropologie






And now I'm fighting off yawns...sweet dreams

pre-christmas bits

I'm getting very excited for Christmas Eve --in my family, it is our "big night" with a king crab-leg feast, lots of homemade drinks & treats, and opening presents (except Santa's, of course).

I started getting in the real holiday spirit during my final mall trip, where I picked up these little pre-christmas goodies:


I got 2 of the little French penguin mug/plate sets from Anthropologie, where they were 1/2 off. While there I also picked up this little papier-mache box, which is perfect for keeping my stray jewelry from being strewn all over my dresser (also 1/2 off).



These silver brocade shoes are from Forever 21 -- I know! -- for only $20. I just had to have them, though. My Nana had shoes exactly like these from the 50s. The only problem with hers is their AAA narrow width. My slightly-wider-than-average feet can't handle that, so I'm glad I found these shoes that give me fond memories of dressing up in Nana's fabulous vintage party clothes.

I wore them out last night to see Sweeney Todd. It was incredibly enjoyable. I loved the songs, they had a lot of very subtle humor. There was a couple sitting in front of us who obviously weren't expecting a full-blown musical, and walked out after about the first 10 minutes of solid singing. I think it's the kind of movie that you really have to see in the theater- the dark, convincing atmosphere is best experienced when larger-than-life. If you go see it, be sure to watch for Mrs. Lovett's "By the Sea" montage. Hilarious.

I of course have to work tomorrow (dreading it), but hopefully you don't. Have a great Christmas Eve, everyone.

perfect shopper

There are 3 very good reasons I should not have gone shopping on Wednesday:
I had just gotten paid, and therefore felt over-confident in my spending power;
It is Christmastime, and the newly-decorated mall filled me with glee and the urge to buy! buy! buy!;
I worked an overnight shift the night before until 6:30 am, and even after a long nap I was exhausted and didn't have any will to resist salespeople.

I went to the mall specifically to return something for my mom, but my weak will set in. When I was returning my item to Anthropologie, I had to check out the sale room. It was packed to the brim! Did I need anything? Of course not, but I tried on a bunch of cute stuff.


this dress was just waiting for me. I love it because of the bodice detailing:


I had to talk myself out of 2 other dresses and a bunch of jackets (err, except one. it is adorable). Have you been into Anthropologie lately? Talk about festive store decorations-- I want to live in there!

Next, I went to the Body Shop because I am almost out of my Seaweed facial scrub. In my drowsy state, the somewhat-pushy saleslady was my best buddy. She was being so helpful, I thought! I ate up her entire spiel and walked out with the scrub, a moisturizer, foot scrub, and a membership card ("yes, it's $10, but think of everything you'll save!" it made soooo much sense to me).

Finally, I was off to M.A.C to check out the Alexander McQueen limited-edition line. As I walked in, I was struck by the image of (who I thought was) Lily Cole:

Different picture, but same girl. Is that even her? Well, whoever she is, she is gorgeous. Her beauty convinced me to buy the eyeshadow she's wearing, plus the McQueen lipglass, plus their newest mascara.

Well, I almost made it out of the mall afterward, but I had to pass by the pink, enticing lair that is Bestsey Johnson. I let out a little shriek when I saw new purses sitting out, and in my weakness almost, almost bought this little number:

Yes, it is pink faux-fur with diamonds and horseshoes. And lips and hearts. But at the moment it was the most beautiful thing my eyes had ever seen. The only reason I put it back was my distaste for anything even remotely resembling a Dooney & Bourke bag.

Lesson? Don't shop without an iron will and a good night's sleep behind you. I didn't go crazy, but I did spend about $200 more than anticipated. Goodnight all, my Barron's guide to the LSAT is calling!

shopping + 12 x 12

Today was my first real day off working retail in over 2 weeks, so what do I do?

Go to the mall.

By the end of the excursion I was kicking myself for the idea, but I did find some good, uh, finds. I am really trying to stay away from Forever 21, but I stopped in to see if they have any of the stretcy $4.80 plain t-shirts that I love (they did!) I noticed that they converted a huge part of the store into Twelve by Twelve, their new "line". It is trying to be more design-forward and the prices are much higher than traditional F21 stuff. From far away,it looks very similar to Zara. But up close, you definitely know you're at F21. The fabrics aren't improved; the endless jersey dresses are just as chintzy and clingy as the other dresses that I always pass up. I think they just added some extra embellishment to their regular clothes then doubled the prices. Some of the outerwear was ok, but nothing you can't find at every other clothing store right now. The one item that stood out to me was this trench:

I saw a cute girl trying it on and it fit nicely, but for $80, I'd rather buy something, um, not from F21.

Then came literally hours of birthday-gift searching for mom (finally ended up withthis and this from Banana Republic). Then, of course I had to stop in to Anthropologie to see some of the sweaters in my previous post. First off, that beautiful dress I wanted is no longer drool-worthy.

The top half is cute; the bottom cheap-looking (lace over flimsy polyester). And it isn't exactly flattering, ick (is my arm really that huge? yikes).

The sweaters, however, were super adorable.


If there was ANY way to justify spending $98 on a sweater when it is still 90 degrees outside, that first baby would be mine right now. The second had such cute detailing (close up here), but the neckline is just a little wrong: the square shape shows the corners of my bra, but an undershirt would ruin the look.

Lastly, their clearance section wasn't the usual disappointment. There were some cute vesty things that I would wear over a t-shirt to make it interesting.


At $20, I had to have one. Which one do you like better? I went with the neutral one. I will wear it to my painfully less fashionable place of employment tomorrow and probably get some raised eyebrows from the polo wearing crowd.

Must go watch Gossip Girl...even my man is SO addicted (but would never admit it)! To be fair, he is flipping to the world series during commercials :)

*EDIT* holy crap, Vanessa is SO not supposed to be a homegirl! or so creepy/annoying!

delicious knits

I have always loved beautiful, well-made sweaters (bonus points for applique/hand-sewn details). Growing up, I always chose my special "Christmas present from Grandma" as a sweater from the J.Crew catalog, since their soft pretty sweaters were out of our family's everyday price range. I still have them all and would wear them if it weren't for living in this year-round humidity inferno known as Florida. So, imagine the torture when I get Stitch, a new catalog from Anthropologie, in the mail. I don't really know why it has its own name or what its purpose is, but I ate it right up. On the website, they call Stitch a catalog "devoted to keeping you cozy". Well, being cozy is nice but not exactly my biggest priority right now (that would be staying as un-sweaty as possible). Anyway, here are some of the gorgeous knits that are totally unwearable right now, but incredibly tempting nonetheless (forgive the poorly, hastily scanned pictures):






*sigh* well, there was ONE item in the catalog that I might actually be able to wear, and it happens to have me drooling:



Maybe that is what I'll ask for for Christmas this year.

shoe of the day

anthro-lily
Originally uploaded by c_noel.

I am going to keep the Anthropologie love flowing, since I spent all my free time at work today on their site. They actually had a pleasant surprise...a new collection of heels for $78, which is low for an Anthropologie non-sale shoe. These gray Lili Peep-Toes are an adorable example. Also look for yellow slingbacks and purple bow-topped sandals.

summer dressin'

I have been pretty, well, preoccupied as of late, trying to find a new job and coordinate a cross-country move with myself, that man I live with, and a little brown dog. This is a good preoccupation, and I am very excited, it just hasn't left me the time to transform this fledgling blog into the witty, glamorous, popular blog it otherwise would have been. Right.
I know there are a lot of bad things to be said about living in Florida, the constant throng of tourists being one of them. But you can pretend you're always on vacation (at least on weekends), hop over to the beach for a day, or sneak into a fancy hotel's swimming pool. And you don't ever have to worry about bundling up (except for those couple weeks in January when it dips into the dangerously low 50's). As I am planning my move back to the Sunshine State, I can't help but think of what I'm going to wear. Anthropologie has answered my question with a few new dresses (under $200) that I can't help but love.


Oh, how I love Tory Burch. Oh, how I hate high prices. This dress (they call it the Billie Tunic) echoes Tory but is more affordable. Whether you wear it over jeans or with bare legs and strappy sandals, this print is chic enough that your accessories can be simple.


The Topographic Dress just oozes summer comfort. After a day sunning by the pool (that you may or may not have snuck into), throw this dress on with some flats & a headwrap and look like a relaxed vacationer out for drinks.


The Berry Bowl dress by Anna Sui has such a beautiful color of red. You could literally do anything or go anywhere in this dress with the right accessorizing.


This perfect LWD is is on sale for only $60. Again, I love a dress that is so versatile. I'd get a lot of use out of this one.

Now if only I can convince myself to wait til next week, when I am actually inside an Anthropologie store.

oh no!

A girl's worst shopping nightmare, and it happens to me all the time. You plan, and save money, and arrange your current wardrobe to make a special purchase, only to find that your coveted item has been sold out! I went to buy the yellow boots at anthropologie, and yep, all gone. Can I stress again that This Happens To Me all. the. time. Maybe I am too reasonable; this is sign that I need more impulse buys, no?

Here is one purchase, however, that I have (sadly) talked myself out of.


the alice + olivia sequin dress. I have wanted it so badly, but I have to think- for $440, will it even be in style and wearable next year? Since I don't live near an H&M (to get a Madonna sequin dress) and they don't sell online, I haven't found a cheaper version yet. Forever21, I'm waiting!

shoe of the day

yellow boots
Originally uploaded by c_noel.

I am seriously considering buying these now that they are on sale at anthropologie. I can imagine them scrunched over my dark wash cigarette jeans , or with leggings and a skirt. I don't look the greatest in yellow, so I have to add this season's best color any other way I can!