An Eclair! Eat It!

Remember yesterday when I said Nathan was going to look for a denim jacket for me to make into a vest? Not only did he find one that was the perfect fit, the perfect wash and in great condition, he cut off the sleeves and washed and dried it so that it was ready for me to style when I got home.



Perfection, no? I guess I am officially riding the double denim train now. Where did I see this look? I know I saw it somewhere and immediately clocked it as something I wanted to do and something super thriftable, but I can’t remember if it was in a blog, a magazine, online elsewhere or in real life. If it was you, shout it out.



My main plan for this baby is to wear it with my floral dresses, ones I wear in the winter with my leather jacket. Don’t be surprised if I get bored halfway through the summer and trick it out with studs and chains.



I also plan to walk around acting like a Street Tuff. Popped collar and all. I will so kick over your trash can, Grandma. (But then I will totally pick it up, and put all the trash back in it, I am so sorry ma’am, I do not know what came over me.)

Why did no one tell me the answer to “OMG, what do I wear under this tunic?” Was “a sports bra”? It seems so obvious now, but I have to be honest and tell you…this is the first one I have ever bought, because I got tired of you k now, being all over the place when doing Pilates.



I am so looking forward to tonight. It’s my boy Shannon’s birthday and I get out of work at 6 and have to be up at his (30 minutes away or so) at 7:30, so it will be a mad dash to switch to flats*, eat, try and love on my dog and get going, but it looks like a good time. And I love me some Shannon. He’s a cool guy.

*I planned to wear my flat snakeskin sandals to work today but Nathan expressed and opinion that this outfit really called for heels, and I do like a man with an opinion on ladies fashion, so I wore the heels.

Vest, altered denim jacket, Thrifted by Nathan
Tunic, Urban Outfitters
Sports bra, Target
Denim Leggings, ANA at JCP Penny
Heels, Isaac Mizrahi for Target

Oh, The Young And The Old They Get Everything

(So…OK. This dress is really short. Let’s just get that out of the way. I am not sure how I have managed to not notice that, but you know how I am. So. I will probably not wear it to WORK again.)



Look at all the pretty things Nathan thrifted! I know we have talked about it before, but my man has The Gift. I…not so much. Yesterday he had this amazing vintage Coach, a cream and brown vintage Dooney and Burke and this top for me. All in amazing shape and all right on trend. He’s on the lookout for a denim jacket for me now, so I can cut the sleeves off and make a vest, and I’ve no doubt he will find one. He found one for him and we made his vest last night and he looks SO FINE in it. I love it. I also think I overheard him tell the dog it made him look like a “street thug” and I agree, it does, in a good way.



So a couple weeks ago Hillary and Kasmira both posted pics of pettipants. I was like “what? How have I never heard of these before?” They are amazing and perfect.



I got a pair (in black) and I seriously cannot imagine how I ever lived without them. And the best part? They were all of 8 bucks. I got the 4 inch inseam. They are useful for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is transitioning shorter dresses from tights to summer weather. With these I still feel my modesty is being protected from, say, a big gust of wind, or a book on a high shelf. Anyway, I think you can see them peeking out of my too short dress in some of my pictures today. The Amazon seller I got mine from was also really prompt about shipping. I think I had them 3 days after ordering.



That shirt fits like a dream and I, being the Trendy McTrenderson that I am, am so pleased to have it and from a thrift store, no less. It was handmade, there are no tags and a few telling "flaws", but it's perfect. I washed it last night and hung it to dry so I could wear it today. Because I am that impatient.



*Swoon* Am I right? I used conditioning wipes on it last night and the leather is just in perfect condition now. And I love that the strap comes off so I can also use it as a clutch. I had to really work at getting it to work as a day bag. I had to leave a lot of stuff behind, but again..impatient. I like to use/wear new things NOW. Do you do that? How long do you wait to wear something new? (That nail polish is “My Network” by Milani and it has been holding up REALLY well. It's two coats, no base coat, no top coat. A nice 14K gold color. I packed and unpacked boxes yesterday at work and it stayed almost perfect. I’m really impressed.)



I rarely wear these earrings, but aren’t they fun? And I thought with such a simple outfit they were perfect…



They are not Twilight related. I’m just sayin’.

Shirt, Thrifted by Nathan
Dress, Victoria’s Secret
Boots, Target
Bag, Vintage Coach, Thrifted by Nathan
Earring, Ebay

A Million Ancient Bees Began To Sting Our Knees

I don’t know why I feel the need to mention it every time, but I do! This is my Blogs First Dress. I remember buying this at Urban Outfitters YEARS ago. It was on sale, it had originally been like 60 bucks, you know how they do over there, and it was reduced to like 30 bucks. That was still a lot for a dress, but I bought it. And I have never regretted it. At this point it is full of picks and runs, but the pattern of the fabric makes them pretty much unnoticeable. I can’t believe how well it is holding up to be honest!



Every time I wear it, I try on several different jackets and cardigans, and I almost always end up with this one. The floaty-ness of the cardigan and the floaty-ness of the dress just go really well together.



I am in love with those clogs. I admit, it is possible I have made a bit of a fashion misstep with them. Sometimes I look at them and think they are the height of style and so cute and sometimes I think they are just this side of the geriatric wing of the hospital. But the truth is, either way, I love them.



They are much more comfortable than I could have hoped for and if I could afford to I would turn around and order the tan color right now. I actually had a hard time deciding between the two in the beginning and went back and forth over which pair would go with more things, but in the end I felt it was six of one, half a dozen of another and ordered the black.



What do you think? Are you on board with the return of clogs? Are you only on board with some styles (like the gorgeous Jeffery Campbell Charli-C high heeled ones), or all of them? Did you wear them in the past? (When was the last time they were popular, the nineties?) I know I have had some before, and I know that a lot of people will say that if you wore it the first time around then you are too old for it the second time around and to those people I say “Please go see Ms Wendy B, so she can set you straight.”

Cardigan, Alternative
Dress, Urban Outfitters
Bag, LUSH
Watch Necklace, Fink Gifts art Etsy
Clogs, White Mountain via Amazon

I Just Love You More Than Anything

I’m back. My four day trip to Austin was relaxing and super fun. We stayed with our friends Cody and Ashlee out at their vacation-home-style-but-it's-a-real-home-house in Hill Country. They have the whole house set up to feel like a resort in Cabo with dual wooden balconies, a fire pit, and fabulous furniture. They are putting in a pool and hot tub and it’s going to be fabulous. They also have some special windows and they didn't need to use the AC the entire time we were there which was really nice, because the house was just OPEN to the outdoors all the time. We spent lots of time on the balcony drinking beer or coffee and chatting and it was perfect.

The music festival was amazing too. I love music, but festivals are often not my thing. They go on too long and I get over-saturated. This one was great and I liked 85% of the bands we saw, which is really good for me.

Here is the thing about Austin, or at least the people in the music scene there…they take style seriously. So many people have such distinct styles that it is almost overwhelming. It was a lot to take in and it actually played on my self esteem a bit. I didn’t feel as cool or hip as I normally do. I’m not saying that I am the coolest hippest girl ever to grace the planet, but I’m not boring. I felt boring in Austin at times. But it was a good experience. So much of what is happening in terms of style in Dallas feels like herd mentality and I am sure if I stayed in Austin long enough I’d see the patterns there too. But it was a nice change of scenery once I adjusted.

In fact, Austin inspired me to try something a little out of bounds today.


(Just one pic today. I had an issue with sleep deprived crazy eyes in all the others)

I like the top and the skirt together, I think that was a win. I’ve been dying to try something like this out for months, but didn’t have the pieces. I found this top at Target for 12 bucks and knew it was what I needed. It’s even cream and black instead of black and white, which is perfect for the skirt, since it is cream based as well. I don’t love the boots. Normally I can get away with these boots with skirts and shorts, but this combo is making my legs look a bit…big? And I do not have big legs. My legs are my constant. Always tall, always skinny. I think next time I’ll try a clog, I think that will work much better.

I'm Tired of The Cold Creepin', but I'm Not Tired of You

Happy Earth Day! My top is made from recycled materials. How weird is that? It’s from the H&M Garden collection which I know is old news to a lot of you, but we don’t have an H&M down here in Dallas and I was really excited about this top.



Kelly went on vacation and brought it back for me. She said she selected this particular top for me because “I know how much you like lizard like details on your clothing". That cracked me up. And also, it’s true.



I was reading Bazaar last night and right there in the “Out” column they listed babydoll tops like this one. OH WELL. That column always seems very random to me, and I don’t think I’ve ever given it a second thought other than to say out loud to the column that I will be ignoring it. Because this top is awesome.





So hey! If you are in Dallas tonight, and you want to do something cool, my husband’s band h…n is playing a show. Come down and check it out. It's free. I hear it will be cool. I know the poster, designed by Justin Childress is…



That is hands down the best poster for any show Nathan has ever played in. Amazingcakes.

Top, H&M via Kelly
Denim Leggings, ANA at JC Penny
Sandal, BC via Shoes.com
Bag, Target
Earrings, Haute Hardware at Etsy

I Was Your Silver Lining, But Now I’m Gold

I bought this dress ages ago, right after Sally Jane moved from ebay to etsy. I love it, but I wanted to have it altered, it feels like an awkward length on me. And I don’t have a slip that is long enough. I’d like it better just above the knee, I think. But like I said, I’ve had it for ages and never taken it in, so I thought I’d give it a whirl as is and it’s not so bad, really.



I don’t think the slip is as much an issue as I thought it would be. The fabric is very sheer, but still somehow not tremendously see-through.



What do you think? It is unflattering at this length? I don’t hate it. But I’m not sure I love it. I’ll probably keep it this length regardless for a while, since not having it tailored is free, and having it tailored is…not.



So today I wanted to encourage you to talk to strangers. I do. If I see someone I don’t know and they look good, I tell them. Maybe I love their hair, or maybe they have on a great outfit. The most recent examples are last week at a happy hour, on the way out I told a woman that she was rocking an all white outfit (she looked totally banging, and I think that is so hard to do in all white!) and Saturday at the record store I told a young lady she was gorgeous. Because she was. Her skin! It was like carved marble. And her hair was like silk. She was so stunning I found myself staring a little.

Wouldn’t you love it if someone told you how good you look today? No one dislikes hearing this. People always smile. It might just be that you make their day. I know you might be shy, I am shy. Because I’m shy, I like to time my compliments with an exit if at all possible so I can say what I have to say and get out as quickly as possible. Think of how happy you can make that person, and why NOT tell them? If you keep it to yourself, they will never know you thought that. Spread a little joy, I dare you.

Dress, Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy
Belt, swap
Shoes, MIA via Urban Outfitters
Holy Santos Bracelet, Mexico, gift from Pilar
Watch necklace, Fink Gifts at Etsy
Bag, Thrifted by Nathan

I Spend My Time There By The Shore

That’s a really solid outfit. I feel good in it. And that’s about all I have to say about it. Do you ever run out of things to say about your clothes? I mean we, as a community, talk about our clothes every day. And normally I have plenty to say. But some days not so much.



But let’s talk about something else. Do you like Rock and Roll? If I could recommend just one Rock and Roll band to you, and the world, forever, it would be The Black Angels. They do Rock and Roll the way I imagined it when I was a kid. Gritty, angry and loud. They have an energy I have never felt from any other band, and I love seeing them live. I cannot stand still. I close my eyes and sway and am totally enveloped by the music. They used to play a lot more around here, but I get the impression they are doing pretty well, because they had a track featured on Vampire Diaries of all things a couple weeks ago. That was…strange, but I’m glad for the exposure.



Go listen to these tracks on the on-site player:
Better off Alone
The First Vietnamese War - my personal favorite.

The order a copy of "Passover".

You will not be disappointed. And if you have a few extra bucks and want to show me your gratitude for introducing you to the most awesome Rock and Roll Band ever, you can order me that Headdress Logo Tee, because I do not have that one and it is AWESOMESAUCE.

ETA: We are going to go see them THIS WEEKEND in Austin at Austin Psych Fest 3! They are playing TWICE.

Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Blouse, Wal-Mart
Pants, Forever XXI
Heels, Target (recent)
Bag, Thrifted, Antonio Melani
Earrings, self made
Watch necklace, Fink Gifts at Etsy

Melt Me Slowly Down

I almost appear to be glowing in these pictures, but I promise I’m not.



I woke up a 4:30 AM this morning. No reason. Just happens sometimes. I tried to get back to sleep but didn’t manage until sometime between 7:40 and 7:50. I know this because I looked at the clock at 7:40, but was awakened by the alarm at 7:50. It was a brutal.



We are in such a weird place right now. It’s normally much warmer by now in Dallas, at least I think it is. And I feel like it’s too late in the year to be wearing leggings, and too cold to go bare legged. I lucked out with this maxi dress today as a happy medium. I have one pair of pants that are comfortable and I can’t really afford more. It’s getting tough to figure out what to wear, and it doesn’t look to be warming up this week. I am going to hit up the Wal-Mart, I think, and see if I can’t find a pair of cheap pants to make it through until I lose a bit of this weight. What I DON’T want to do is crash diet or try and lose it quickly. That doesn’t work for me.



Did you have a good weekend? I spent Friday night at home, we had pizza and watched Mad Men. Saturday we went to Good Records for Record Store Day and then my friend Kelly took me on a date for the best hibachi I’ve had in a while. Yesterday was a quiet day at home with more Mad Men and several hours of cleaning. I hate cleaning, but I love a clean house!~




Cardigan and Dress, Target
Necklace, chain chain chained at Etsy
Sandals, Victoria’s Secret

Struggle To Fit Into My Skinny Pants, Week 2

All text. Boring. I know.

So I think we have something pretty interesting dynamics going between Linda and I here. Linda has managed to throw herself into the deep end and swim like she means it. She works out two times a day. She has already lost an inch in her waist AND her hips.

I’m sort of slowly easing into the shallow end. And we are both going about it the “right” way, in that we are doing what we can.

Things I am doing well:

Breakfast, lunch and snacks. I am sticking to the plan. Cereal or a low point (Weight Watchers measurement. I understand it better than calories.) frozen meal. Snacking on fruit (apples this week, much more filling than bananas) and almonds and a Fiber One bar around 4 PM. I ate lunch out with a friend on Wednesday, so I had cereal for dinner. And I cheated this AM and had four Dunkin Donut munchkins that my boss bought us as a reward for...well, life. But I planned that. And I feel OK about it.

Working out. I have done Pilates or taken a walk every day but Tuesday.

Things I am doing OK:

Stairs. I managed all three trips (Two times all the way up and all the way down, basically 8 flights. I do one around 11 AM, One around 2 PM and one around 5 PM) Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday I managed two trips each day.

Working out. I’m not trying to confuse. I am doing well with doing it every day, but I need to do more. I need to make sure I am doing at least 30 minutes. Right now I am doing 10 some days. A single 10 minute abs work out. And that is better than nothing. Right now my main goal is to make myself do something once a day 4 days a week. My larger goal is 30 minutes a day 4 days a week. I know that’s not much, but it’s more than I’ve been doing. Once I get there I will make a new goal. Maybe 45 minutes.

Things I am not doing so well:

Dinner. I am not doing so smashing at portion control OR what I am selecting for myself. Working on that is my number one goal next week.


I decided not to take my measurements this week since I don’t expect there is any real improvement there. I don’t want to bog myself down too much with numbers, because what I am more focused on is changing my lifestyle. If I can get that under control, fitting into the pants will be natural.

How did you do this week?
Would you like me to link to your entry? Let me know!

Linda
Rebecca
LaShaune
Lisa

Slam It To The Left If You're Having a Good Time

(A quick outfit post now and then I’ll get my Struggle to Fit Into Your Skinny Pants Challenge update up!~)



I love this tee shirt and wish I had a closet full of tee shirts that fit like this one does. It’s boxy but not too boxy, it’s made out of a thick enough material I don’t worry about my lumps and bumps showing, and It’s just the right length.





It’s half past Mel B.

I got this watch back when, you know, you could buy things like an official Spice Girls watch. I never bought a knock off Spice Girls product, even though they were plentiful. I will never know why they choose this shot, but all of the shots from this shoot are terrible and they made all kinds of things from it. (My mouse pad, which is on its last legs, sadly, is from this shoot.) I used to have a couple more Spice watches, but one was digital and died early, and the other died and needed expensive and extensive repair and…well…I love them, but not that much. So now I just have this one. I hope it lasts forever.



Jacket, H&M (secondhand)
Tee, Urban Outfitters
Denim Leggings, ANA at JC Penny
Sandals, Report via Zappos
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Orb necklace, Tower of London Gift shop
Isabella Wolf Fang Necklace, Wendy B
Earrings, Mexico, gift
Watch, ebay

Show Me Your Tiger Dance

So if you will indulge just a few more photos by Colleen. These all have a more behind the scenes feel to them. If real life has a behind the scenes…

Eating the world’s largest Swiss Almond Meringue. I did not finish it. But it was amazing, and I did wear crumbs on my face for half the day off and on.



I don’t think I realize he is there behind me yet. Colleen gave it away at some point with her giggling.



Climbing further into the tree and not a little bit scared I might add. I am not an agile creature and not a very graceful girl. I don’t often climb trees. Or anything really, other than stairs.



I love this shot of Nathan photographing me with both of us in the tree.



And finally…

Give me Tiger, more Tiger!~…



Less Tiger. Less. More lemur.

You're All I Need, Your Loves a Drug, Your Loves a Drug

(Colleen sent me some more pictures last night so I hope you don’t mind if I post just a couple more later!)

My friend Catie gave me some free passes to a movie and we went to see Date Night last night. Go now. It was gustbustingly funny. I laughed out loud and hard for the first time in ages and it felt really good. Tine Fey, Steve Carell, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco and Mila Kunas all gave really standout performances.



I might have maybe just worn these same pants yesterday. Let’s just say I didn’t, how’s that? “Pics or it didn’t happen”, right?



I still have that sleeveless shirt/ short skirt combo hanging in my closet, lol. But the mornings continue to be pretty chilly, so I have not been brave enough to wear it yet. It’s OK, really. Soon enough it will be blisteringly hot for months on end, and I am not trying to rush that.



I briefly considered whether it was actually OK to wear two different shades of blue suede in one outfit. But only briefly. In the end my only real crime is that I am all but begging it to rain, am I right? And I think it just might.

I remember one of my sweet readers saying that she had this shirt and she removed the bow. If you are still reading, I’d love to hear from you again! I’d remove it, but it looks like it will leave an empty fabric loop just hanging there. How did that work?



I am ashamed to say I have needed to replace that watch battery for months and months now. I finally did on Monday. I have missed it so much. And with all the Alice buzz* right now, I thought it would be cute to wear it with my bunny. And I love the bunny with florals anyway because it make it look like he is spending his day happily hopping through a field of flowers. Cheesy, I know. But it's the little things, right?

* We still haven’t seen it, we have made plans a couple times but stopped short of actually spending that much money. 3D is expensive, and I’m cheap.

Cardigan and Blouse, Target
Pants, Forever XXI
Shpes, Old Navy
Bag, GAP, hand me down from Erin
Bunny necklace, gift from Mikal
Watch necklace, finkgifts.etsy.com

Just Pose, Pose Pose...Only for My Photos

So Saturday I spent the day with my friend Colleen. She takes amazing pictures, you can see some of them here. My favorite is that one where she has all the books in the air. You know I love books! Also google her, seriously. It is worth it, there are tons of great pics that she took that came up for me. I could spend hours looking at them.

We went around Dallas, to a couple different parks and the mall and just took pictures. Nathan came too and took pictures of both me, and Colleen taking pictures of me.

A couple years ago I hated having my picture taken. It was the height of the digital picture taking age in my life and people used to take pictures everywhere, all the time, and without warning. Look, I need some warning OK? I have chin issues. And then people would just dump their camera onto Flickr or wherever, no editing, no deleting the horrible unflattering images of people, nothing. I never understood. Either people have gotten better about that or I have yelled at them about it enough times they are scared. I don’t know.

This is a really picture heavy post, which I know some people hate. But I had such fun, and I love the pictures they took and want to share.

From Colleen…





I have wanted my picture taken in that tree for years. I see it all the time on my way out and home and it is just so cool. It was smooth along the branches because so many people take pictures in it. It may not seem like a big deal, but it was a dream come true for me!

My favorite pictures are these that we took on the swings. I just look so happy, so full of joy and carefree. And I felt that way too. Those swings were good and rooted to the ground and I was swinging really high with no worries of dumping over the set. It was free.





Nathan took these really great pictures of Colleen taking pictures of me on the swings…



And of Colleen wearing his geriatric sunglasses (he loves these things. So. Much)


And of me in the tree…





I was pretty scared I was going to slip slide right down in that lake, but he really wanted a picture here…





It was a great day and I didn’t even mind that we spent most of it outside, even though I kind of hate outside. I had a blast and I hope we can do it again before Colleen moves to the West Coast in May!

Dress, Target
Leggings, Target
Cardigan, American Apparel
Boots, Target