Nineties Floral

Erin took my pictures for me today (Thanks Erin-bun!~)

I got two dresses this payday from Target, which was quite a splurge, but I had been looking for this type of homage to the nineties floral since June, so it’s all good.





I got these boots a couple of years ago at Buffalo Exchange. They are fabulous and were $15. The VP of my department (a man, and not one particularly interested in fashion) has commented that he likes these boots a couple times. It always gives me a good giggle when he notices them.



And nothing beats Lush for an affordable leather bag. I find it harder each season to find leather bags. Everything is either really high end, or pleather. And I just don’t care for pleather.

I have noticed I wear this necklace and earring combo a lot, but I don't plan on doing anything about it. I just like what I like!~

Dress, Xhilaration at Target
Jacket, Alice Temperly for Target
Boots, vintage
Bags, Lush Fashions
Gold hoop earrings, Wal-Mart
Necklace, Haute Hardware (detail shot on Sept 23 entry, "Cabo")

Mark Monday

It’s Monday. I’m tired. This dress is easy. And that’s about all there is to it!~






Dress, Mark by Avon
Boots, Delia’s
Necklace, Haute Hardware www.hautehardwarejewelry.com/
Gold hoops, Wal-Mart

Dinner and a Show

We went to dinner at Lakewood Tavern, where I had some pretty amazing Lemon Dijon Salmon, and to see Giant Sand open for Neko Case at The Granada. Giant Sand was great, engaging, really fun. We were basically there to see them, and I wasn’t really in the mood for Neko Case so we left early.

When I take my own picture, I normally end up with 2 good ones at most; when Nate takes my picture I end up with quite a few keepers. I narrowed it down to two for you:





This is actually a new outfit, just so we are being honest. I am not promising NO new things, just as few as I can manage. The leggings are SUCH a treat to find though, because I was very near to plopping down the $65 they charge over at American Apparel for similar leggings. And these were only $12.99.

This handbag however, is OLD.




Necklace, Haute Hardware (detail shot on Sept 23 entry)
Dress, Target
Belt, Target
Leggings, Target
Shoes, Target
Bag, GAP

Nathan's Birthday

Today is Nathan’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Love!~

I tried to wear something he would like. He’s a jeans and tee shirt kind of guy. He got me these really nice jeans. Nathan is a very talented Thrifter. He scores nice jeans all the time.



(guess who got a tripod?)

It appears the tripod scares me. Look at this face:




Autumn helped me choose this top when we were in Austin.
I was pretty excited about it. LOLLERSKATES.



I have these shoes in black as well as gold. I adore them. They are comfortable, cute, affordable and versatile.



Bernadette got me this necklace for my birthday, and I love it, but I can never decide. Is it better as a chocker, or long? I went with long in the end today…





I always buy basic real Gold and real Silver pieces, like hoops and my cross at Target or Wal-mart. To me, it’s a basic, and gold is gold. And I would just prefer to pick it up somewhere affordable!

Top – Xhilaration at Target
Jeans – Citizens of Humanity (thrifted)
Shoes – Merona at Target
Gold hoops – Wal-Mart
Gold cross - Target
Necklace – birthday gift from Bernadette (from etsy, not sure what shop)

Boo!~

We had dinner with friends for Nathan’s birthday, which is Friday.

I went casual, since it was a casual establishment!~


This hoodie? Is AWESOME.

BOO!~

(I picked up one for Nathan too!)



This deep v from American Apparel is a New Classic. It looks good on basically anyone and can be dressed up or down. I have two grey and one black, and I wear them any and everywhere.



I made these bracelets a few years after I made the necklace, so I’d have a set.



Probably the most fabulous thing I’ve ever made. I’ll make you one too, for about $250.00.

This is a HORRIBLE picture of these shoes, but I was in a big hurry. It was my job to go and get us a table!~ I want to post it anyway, because they are so darn cute.




Hoodie – Wal-Mart boys section
Vneck – American Apparel
Jeans – Dear at Steve and Barry’s
Necklace - self made
Bracelets – self made
Booties - Payless

Too Much Grey

I just did not get a photo I liked today. I’m learning, and trying all the different settings (oddly “Landscape” gets the clearest picture, but it is also the setting that makes it look like everything was taken at Sunset). I don’t have the nicest camera, but I am going to keep tweaking until I decide what works BEST. (eta: I know I'm taking pictures in front of a window. I've ordered a tripod, but until I get it this is basically the only place in the house I can set the camera at an OK level and get far enough away to take a pic. I'll experiment more with locations once the tripod gets here)





So this skirt is actually one I think I’ve never worn. I got it months ago, seduced by it’s pockets (oh, how I adore a pocket) and it’s size (XS, so flattering) but then when I got it home to my wardrobe. Eh. I didn’t love it as much. It’s flattering. And cute. I’m pretty sure it would look better with a bright top, but I seem to have loads of black and not much else.





The shoes. The shoes I LOVE. An impulse buy (bad!) but the rare good impulse buy. Real suede. The most pretty soft grey. And the tiniest kitten heel, JUST this side of a flat.





The necklace I made because I had a charm bracelet with all these great charms, but of course I never wore it. Because charm bracelets catch on everything. So annoying. But this is great. I can’t really wear it with a higher neckline (still catches) but I do fine I wear it much, much more often than I wore the bracelet (a couple times a month versus, oh…never)

The ring was a birthday gift from Erin and Rod.





Kind of a boring day, I admit.

Scoop neck tee – Merona at Target
Skirt – Mossimo at Target
Shoes- Mossimo at Target
Necklace – self made
Bracelets – James Avery (plain) and New York MOMA (DADA)
Earrings – Wal-Mart
Ring – small things design http://www.smallthingsdesigns.com/

I overslept

There are two things in my outfit/appearance today that are a dead giveaway that I overslept.


My hair is in a bun.
I’m wearing pants.

I have a co-worker who always comments how very professional I look with my hair in a bun, and I always tell, yes, L, but you know it just means I overslept when I should have washed it.

I inherited this blouse from my sister-in-law, Miranda, when she passed away. For a long time I wasn’t sure how to wear it. It’s a lovely blouse but I never felt it was quite my style. Then, when I got this vest, they seemed such a natural pairing and I’ve loved it ever since.

(P. Bitty had zero interest in this blog until last night, and now he wants to be in every picture.)



That little baby gate to the left is how we keep him in the bathroom (it’s a big bathroom, I swear!) all day while we are at work.




Blouse, Jones New York, inherited
Vest, Temperly London for Target
Pants, Merona at Target
Pumps, Nine West, secondhand
Earrings, Target
Bag, Lush

My Favorite Tee

This is basically my very favorite casual outfit.
Nathan came home from his NYC trip tonight and as is our custom when he has been out of town, we went out for Mexican food.

This tee is a vintage Iron Maiden tee that Nathan found in the kids section of one of the local thrift stores for a couple of bucks. It is hands down one of my favorite gifts ever, and since I received it, I’ve looked up similar styles on ebay a few times, and it’s actually pretty valuable. But I would never sell it. I wear it at least once every two weeks, sometimes more. I love it with these loafers as well, because I find the opposing styles humorous.



And a second picture, because the dog was just so freaking cute in it.



Tee, vintage and thrifted by Nathan
Cardigan, She-Bible at Bona Drag ( www.bonadrag.com )
Jeans, Dear at Steve and Barry’s
Loafers, Isaac Mizrahi at Target
Dog, P. Bitty Johnson

Cabo

I got this dress for all of $14.99 at Wal-Mart for our trip to Cabo San Lucas this summer. ( and I don’t think I ended up wearing it in a single picture! http://www.flickr.com/photos/69704373@N00/sets/72157605700625926/ )



I gave little thought to the use of the dress beyond wearing it in Mexico and to the occasional pool party through the summer, but it has actually served me well at the office. It is also going to transition to Fall beautifully which has come as a really nice surprise.

The necklace and earrings are by a brand you’ll see me wearing even more often than I wear self made things. Haute Hardware, by Erin Hanrahan. Erin is one of my very best friends and her designs speak to me so loudly I actually have to edit my purchases down to about 20% of what I really want! The earrings are silver and the necklace is gold and brass, but I don’t think it’s super noticeable, and I like that they look nice together without being too matchy matchy (I do have the matching necklace for the earrings, in gold, but I bought it in gold specifically to avoid the temptation to wear it as a “set” since I think that would be too much!)





The bag was bought in Cabo as well, and I love it. We spent several shopping trips looking for a bag like this, only to end up buying the bag I saw the very first day we were there.



Dress, No Boundaries at Wal-Mart
Wrap sweater, Stevie by Alternative Apparel
Boots, Delias
Handbag, street vendor, Cabo San Lucas Mexico
Earrings and Necklace, Haute Hardeware
http://www.hautehardwarejewelry.com/

$12 dress

I spent the weekend on the couch, sick, and watching far too much Torchwood on DVD. Or perhaps not enough Torchwood, as my plan is to watch a couple more episodes tonight!

It felt good to have a reason to get up and get dressed today.

This dress is a dress I got at Ross for $12 over two years and 35 pounds ago. I have no idea why it still looks as good as it does on me, but I'm glad. This is one of the only pieces I was able to keep in my wardrobe after my weight loss.

The handbag is a bag I earned helping my friend Erin clean out her closet last Spring. It was to go in the "sell" pile, but she let me keep it instead.


These boots are vintage YSL. I got them for 5 bucks. My friend Bill actually first spotted them, as well as a wine colored pair at the thrift store. I was deliberating between the two colors when Bill pointed out that for 5 dollars, I might as well get both.


The earrings are based on a pair I saw in magazine this summer. I love big earrings.


Dress, Soprano at Ross
Boots, Vintage YSL, thrifted
Bag, GAP, gifted by Erin H
Earrings, self made

50's Day

My office LOVES a theme day. We love to dress up. Today is 50's day. I admit, I did buy the Poodle skirt just for the occasion, but I only spent $15 on it at ebay.



Having a jewelry making kit comes in handy on costume days!



Pearl necklace, Self made
Black short sleeved sweater, Merona at Target
Poodle Skirt, 3 Big Notes at Ebay ( myworld.ebay.com/vietcowboy )
Petticoat, Electric Boutique
Flats, Merona at Target

Target Wrap Dresses, I have a few

I don’t really love this dress with these boots. I prefer to wear it with red shoes or red sandals. But I woke up too late to shave my legs. That’s the way life goes!~



My office is freezing, so you always have to have a sweater on hand. I didn’t think I liked the way this one looked with this dress, but I’ve changed my mind after seeing the pictures. I think it looks pretty good. The whole outfit looks more wintery than September, but I promise it’s still not enough to keep me from being cold in this office!







Dress, Merona at Target
Sweater, Bona Drag ( http://www.bonadrag.com/ )
Boots, Steve Madden
Earrings, Self made
Necklace, Self Made

Hello!~

Hello!~
My name is Erin. I love clothes, handbags and jewelry. I make a little jewelry, and hope to open an etsy shop soon. I paint a little. I love TV (Gossip Girl, Dr Who, Spaced and Torchwood to name a few shows I love) and music (I love POP, and rock. Some of my faves are Annie, Girls Aloud, The Smiths and The Cure)

I'm a recovering Shopaholic. This blog will be my quest to look good, using what I've already got, with very few purchases in between.

Hopefully I'll get better at posing and at taking pictures as I go along.

Today (forgive my beginners background, I haven't found a better place than the storage closet at work yet, but I'm sure I will)

Wrap sweater, Alternative Apparel
Dress, Urban Outfitters
Leggings, Merona at Target
Boots, Steve Madden
Earrings, Haute Hardware ( http://www.hautehardwarejewelry.com/ )

Blog roll

If by chance you find yourself listed in my blog roll and you wish to be removed, do let me know. I am not 100% sure on the etiquette of blog rolls. Mine is simply a list of fashion blogs I personally enjoy and read for inspiration.