I Hate Wasps.

I gave my new boots a try today! They are so super comfortable.



My cheap socks, however, are not. I have really got to try and buy some nicer socks this year. I buy cheap socks every years and it never works out.



This pant and blouse combo is pretty much a “fall back” kind of outfit at this point. I know I will feel good in it no matter how many sandwiches I eat. I like an outfit that leaves room for a sandwich.



I can’t wait to be able to throw my shrunken biker jacket over it though!~
For now I have to settle for just jewelry to change it up…







Don’t you just love the near instant gratification factor of ordering from Zappos? I pretty much always get them before 10 AM the next day, and they have free shipping BOTH ways, so there is no risk if you don’t like the items, or they don’t fit.



They are by Blowfish, and they are perfect!~ Comfortable, a bit funky, and the heel is just right.

Some days I take my detail shots first, and some days I take them last. Today, I was lucky that I shot them first because... I saw a wasp. I am terrified of wasps. For serious, terrified. I panic. And this is what the first stage of that looks like:



I saw a wasp, and that was it. If you click through to the bigger version you can see the combination of uncertainty, fear and hatred in my eyes. I was lucky that I had already gotten all the shots I needed for the day! Because I tell you what, that shoot was over regardless!~

Blouse, Target
Pants, Target
Ankle boots, Blowfish via Zappos
Shield necklace, Haute Hardware
Disc necklace, Forever XXI
Watch, Fossil
Gold and silver bracelet, Lara
Beaded bracelet, self made

Hot Stuff

(Alannah likes the large lead photo. So I did it again for her today. What do you think)

Both me and the weather. I mean…ugh. I wore a jacket today, but I wore it for all of five minutes.

Summer 1, Erin 0.



But at least I looked smokin’! Can I get an Amen?*



OK, another thing that’s awesome about the $13 dollar-maybe-they-are-leggings-maybe-they-are-pants-pants from Forever XXI? I’ve never felt like I could wear this top without a cami underneath to smooth the elastic waist bump from the other denim leggings, but with these, the side zip creates a smooth line. It was much cooler this way.



It’s weird though. Sometimes they are black, and sometimes they are blue. I’m not sure how they did that, but it’s a cool effect and makes them legal for everyday office wear for me, because if they were straight up blue, they would be Friday’s only.



I topped it off with some surprisingly versatile Love Erin Designs earrings, and a Haute Hardware necklace…





A MESS of bracelets…



That is a limited edition, Buffy the Vampire Slayer watch, kids. Yeah it is. I’m kind of a nerd. My favorite books and shows are almost all sci-fi or teen drama. In fact my husband and I spent the last couple nights watching “Wizards of Waverly Place” because they had a 4 part series with a final episode called “Wizards vs. Vampires vs. Zombies”. How can I resist a title like that? (FYI, it was a cute show. We plan on watching more, like the original movie airing this Friday, which we have already set the DVR for. That Selena Gomez is a mouthy little firecracker and we loved her**.)

And some booties brought out of the back of the Fall wardrobe…



* I think there are probably some people who think it is vain to say stuff like this. These people should try it.
** Hahaha. Look at me, pretending like I didn’t already love her. I totally own “Another Cinderella Story” on DVD (and CD). “Tell me, Tell me, Tell me somthin’ I don’t know, tell me somethin’ I don’t know!”

Blouse, Target
Denim, Forever XXI
Booties, Payless
Earrings, Love Erin Designs
Necklace, Haute Hardware
Snake Bracelet, Urban Outfitters
Beaded Bracelet, Self made
Silver and gold bracelet, by Lara
Watch, Fossil

Banner

Please check out my awesome new banner, made by the lovely Linda from Struggles of a Creative Mind and the website Misketch. I also have one for Fall. Her drawings are AMAZING, they are uber affordable, and she will make you look like a straight up fashion idol. Thank you, Lin!~

Summer Wardrobe Blues

I am so sick of Summer. I am sick of the heat. And the humidity. But most of all I am sick of my wardrobe!~ I know my Fall clothes are basically the same as my summer clothes, just with a jacket and tights, but the jackets and tights feels like a world of opportunity to me right now. Every morning I look at my closet’s offerings and I just feel…bored.

I wore this jacket yesterday for the first time this summer and I had forgotten just how much I love it (I’m wearing it again today!)



Also, as Sal pointed out on Facebook yesterday, come Fall I can wear dresses 99% of the time again, because I don’t have to shave my legs every time I want to wear a dress!~ I miss my dresses.



I realize I am not actually saying much about this outfit, but it’s all stuff you’ve seen before.





I am about to unpack my leggings, tights and sweaters, and defiantly move towards Fall. Because here in Texas it’s still a good 3 months away, and I just can’t take the summer wardrobe that much longer!



Blazer, Go International (Alice Temperly) at Target
Blouse, Target
Tank, Target
Denim Leggings, Target
Shoes, Report
Bracelet, Urban Outfitters
Earrings, Self made

Ten Dollars!~

Hey kids. I am taking a break from photos for a couple days!~

I should be back to my regularly scheduled posting tomorrow, but in the meantime, here is what made me happy today…

My Fall wish list consists of (And most of these things I can find, I just can’t afford right now!)

New grey booties
New red booties
More denim leggings
A couple dresses
A sweatshirt material grey moto jacket (or somthing like that).
And black booties.

Earlier today I was sorting through my gmail, looking for something when I came across a store credit for Zappos I had forgotten I had. Free money!~ And I immediately thought “black ankle boots” and went and did a search. And with my credit, I got these…for ten bucks!~



I am so excited!~ I wanted booties that were low heeled, but not flat, and would work with both casual and dressier outfits. I wanted them to work at shows, both art and music, where I stand for long periods of time. I also wanted them to be leather, I learned my lesson with my gorgeous grey booties. I love them, but not a year later and they are wearing out and because they are plastic, not repairable.

It’s early yet, but I’m pretty sure this is the highlight of my day today. Ten dollar black leather ankle boots.

ETA: To clarify, the boots were 80-some odd bucks. But since I had a store credit, I only spent 10 out of pocket. They didn’t cost 10 bucks. I spent 10 bucks on them. Sorry. The end. :D

More Like A Pant Than A Legging

*Plus size readers, reader (and mega-hotness) JRo left a comment yesterday about Forever XXI’s denim leggings from their plus size line called Faith, and she loves them!*

After wearing these yesterday, I think they are more of a pant. Now the OTHER pair, the $20 pair, those were skin tight and very much a “jegging” as the kids are calling it. But these are more of a pant. They are made of a very stretchy, but stiffer fabric and they have a slim fit, but lots of room. In fact, they are almost TOO forgiving for my tastes. (I like it a bit tarty, what can I say?)



See? Very flattering, yes? They hit right about the ankle and on me are maybe even a bit short when I sit down.



What’s interesting to me is that these were the cheaper pair, and yet they are also the more sophisticated pair. Much more of a grown up version of skinny jeans. They have a hidden side zip. That’s way more grown up to me than my standard jegging with the elastic waist.





No pockets, just a clean back.



OK, so you guys know me. You know I am all about handmade and I love jewelry and bags by artists, not giant corporations…but man, do I love these…



These pictures do not even do them justice. They look like I happened upon them at an estate sale, they are jut stunning. I have a mirror set up in my cube (so I can see you walk up behind me when I am wearing headphones and not get the bejeezus scared out of me, not because I am The World’s Most Vain Girl) and I won’t lie. I stared at them all day yesterday. And I am wearing the gold version today. I planned my outfit around them. Both days.



I’m going to have to replace these soonish. I am not looking forward to it.



I adore these and even though they are just cheap old Payless shoes they have been some of my favorites. And I am going to have a hard time replacing them with anything but another pair. I mean, the color, the buttons, the shape…it’s all perfect. At least I wore them out instead of being afraid to. Do you ever do that? Have something and love it and know you can’t replace it, so you just never use it? Keeping it like new forever? I hate when I do that. I am trying really hard to break that habit.

Blouse, Target
Denim, Forever XXI
Ankle Boots, Payless
Earrings, Forever XXI

Denim Leggings at Forever XXI :D

(There are no pics today because I went to the movies last night. I saw the Time Travelers Wife and I LOVED it. I have read the book more times than I care to say, and while the movie was different, I felt like they did a great job giving me small snapshots of the book in film format. Haters to the left, mkay?)

I know some of you are looking so I am happy to report Forever XXI has denim leggings. The sales girl said they JUST got them in. I tried on two styles last night. The first is a pair of stretchy, denim side zip cigarette pants. More pant than legging, but still a very slim fit. They were about $13.00. They fit true to size (I wear a 30*, and that was the largest size they seemed to carry, but they did fit very true to size) and looked very nice on. Very flattering, not TOO tight. The ankle is not AS tight as the ankle on my target jeans and while a slim fit, still had room to go over a pair of ankle boots. I couldn’t find them on the site (I can’t even figure out if they class them as pants, jeans or leggings to be honest!) I purchased a pair of these., because come ON, $13 bucks!

The second was VERY similar to my Target denim leggings. I found them on the site here. I’m not posting a picture because the picture is kind of a bad picture, you can’t see what they look like at all, just dark tight pants. They are calling them an elastic waist skinny jean. Again, very good fit. Size 30 fit me really well. Not too tight, no muffin top, no pulling, (no camel toe!). Not AS tight at the ankle as the Target leggings, but slim enough to fit into boots without effort. These were about $20 bucks. I did not purchase them as I already have a couple pair of denim leggings but I will probably go back. They were not AS sturdy or nice as the ones I have from Target, but at $20, they were nice enough that I plan to purchase a pair.

Now can we just talk accessories for a minute? In the past I have not been super temtped by Forever XXI’s accessories section. I’ve found sunglasses and the occasional bangle, but on average…meh. Last night however I felt like a junkie in a heroin shop, y’all. I had to have a conversation with myself about not buying everything. In the end I got 3 pairs of earrings, 2 bracelets and a necklace. For under $20. That’s right you guys, and I am not even rounding down!~ It was bananas in there. The earrings I fell in love with are, of course, not on the site, but I am wearing them today and they look like something you’d find at an estate sale. Just gorgeous.

And that’s all I have to say about that! Pics of the new earrings and cigarette pant/leggings tomorrow.



*I’m 5’7” and I can tell you that I weigh between 135 and 145 and that’s all I know. I find that weighing myself causes obsessive behavior and as such I gauge my weight mostly on how my clothes fit. If they are tight, I’m heading to 145, if they are lose, I’m heading to 135. Right now they fit just right.

I Totally Lied, You Guys

I said I got 3 blouses for $10 each. But the truth is…this one was $12. I apologize. I'm such a fibber.

Whenever I buy or price something I have a tendency to round down to make it sound better. For instance, a conversation with Nathan might go like this:

Me: It’s like $50

Nathan: It’s LIKE $50, or it IS $50. How much?

Me: Well…it’s$ 67.99, but I mean I rounded down because rounding up would be $75 and that sounds too expensive.

Nathan: $67.99 is nothing like $50.

Me: Yeah…I know. But $50 sounds so much better.

It’s just a thing I do. I'm trying to quit, honest! Anyway…
Blouse #2 from Wal-Mart!



It’s from the “George” line, which I don’t remember being interesting, but I remember wrong!





At some point I noticed that the ruffles sort of look like one of those lizards that puffs up his collar when he gets mad…like this…



Then I went around doing that a lot. Because I thought it was super funny.

I finished off the outfit with red booties, some turquoise and black bone feather earrings and a religious necklace from Mexico.







I liked it!~ I want to wear my big black leather obi and pencil skirt with it next time I think, for a sexier take.

Blouse, Wal-Mart
Leggings, Target
Boots, Payless
Earrings, Love Erin Designs
Necklace, Mexico

Dallas Area Swap?

Tina and I are thinking of setting up a Dallas clothing, accessories and shoe swap for the ladies. We are aiming for FREE because we think charging goes against the principal of a swap.

You bring gently used items and you trade with other girls. It's not set in stone yet, but we would probably use a "ticket and take turns" system for the first few rounds (You get a ticket for each item you donate to the swap, we take turns selecting items). After that, the leftover items will be sort of free for the taking (but be fair! No grabbing everything to sell to Buffalo Exchange!). Items left after that will be given to Goodwill.

If you are interested, please comment, (or email) and let me know your dress, pant, blouse and shoe size (I know it varies, but for instance, I tend to be a 4/6 or a small/medium in MOST things) so we can get a feel for the numbers!~ Also, if you have feedback somewhere (ebay, etsy, make-up alley), let me know so we can add that to your info. We don't want anyone to get left out, but we do want to try and screen just a bit.

The Wal-Mart House of Fashion

I had to get new tires this weekend. At Wal-Mart. It was pretty lame. I mean, who wants to spend almost $500 on TIRES? Not me. Or an hour hanging out at Wal-Mart? Again, not me. Then the guy changing them broke my hubcap. He seemed to think this was going to enrage me, but it didn’t. I didn't really care to be honest. And then he gave me not 1 new hubcap, but 4. And they are SO SHINY that they made my husband laugh. Because my car, you guys? Not shiny. Not a glamorous car at all. I have always been a hand-me-down car kind of girl, due to my horrible driving skills. Nathan gets the new cars. I get the old. There is less drama that way when I inevitably scratch, dent and then wreck said cars.

(Oh hey tangent!~) My point is that while I was there, I had a look at the clothes. And I was impressed. I ended up getting 3 tops for 10 bucks each. Not on sale. Just 10 bucks. Retail. And they are cute. I also had a look at the new Miley and Max line and while I didn’t feel it was suited to my body shape, they did have a lot of cute stuff if you are more of a straight up and down shape.

Anywhoodle, this blouse was on of the 3 I picked up (for $10 bucks each!)



It’s a bib front tunic hippy blouse number, and I got a ton of compliments on it at work. And in true bargain lover form, I told every single one of the people who complimented me where I got it, that they had other colors, and how much it was.



In other news, over a year and a half after cutting them, my bangs are finally long enough to braid and tuck to the side again. I am so glad to get a break from the Baby Morrissey hair-do, you have no idea. I like it, and I still think it’s cute, but I have felt married to it for far too long. They are still not long enough to blend into the rest of my hair, but at least this is something different.



The blouse has so many colors!~ I loved that it had the little bits of grey, which meant I could wear grey shoes with it. I have a soft spot for grey shoes.



This photo serves no purpose. I just liked it.



Shoes…



A gold cuff…


And owl earrings. I made these myself. The owls are available at Michael’s (and I think I even saw them in silver last time I was there), and all you need are two owls and a couple of ear wires. Easy peasy. I got lots of compliments on these as well. Less than 10 bucks, and too easy not to make!



Blouse, Wal-Mart
Denim Leggings, Target
Shoes, Target
Cuff, Wal-Mart
Earrings, self made

These are my skinny jeans.

I bought them at my very thinnest. Some days, they won’t go over my thighs. Some days they do. I feel so thin and wonderful when they do. I used to feel REALLY bad about myself on days when they didn’t fit, in fact I avoided trying them on for a few months out of fear of a bad self-esteem day. But I’ve started to let it go. It’s just a pair of jeans. I still weight the same as I did before I tried them on.





But I am not going to lie. As much as I’ve decided not to feel bad when they DON’T fit…I still enjoy when they do.





I have a hard time getting shots of my various rings, but this one came out really well! I love the contrast of the classic almost vintage style of the sapphire ring next to the playfulness of the skull ring. The sapphire was a Valentine’s day gift from Nathan one year, and the skull was from my best girl Alannah.



Tee, American Apparel
Jeans, Dear at Steve and Barry’s
Sandals, Victoria’s Secret
Bag, GAP
Necklaces, Haute Hardware at Etsy
Sapphire and diamond ring, Target fine jewelry
Skull ring, Road Kill at Etsy