So Long, Farewell (For Now!)

I’m going to take a break. A real one. I’m not sure for how long or when I’ll be back. Might be a week, might be a couple months. Blogging is supposed to be fun, but for right now, it’s not. And honestly, it’s not you, it’s me. You have been nothing but supportive and a wonderful blessing. But I need to step back for a while. I’ll miss you.

Be well.

XOXO

Don’t Fear The Reaper

This is totally off topic, but it’s my blog! So there!

We are having a door decorating contest at work (and the judging happens soonish I think) and this is my entry:



The company name is crossed out for protection of the innocent!



I made it myself, from scratch, the only pre-made item is the hand, and even that had to be cut up (it had an arm. I…removed it) to work. I made the bars from paper and I typed up all that adding machine tape and bloodied it up. Then I suspended the whole thing with fishing line.



Want to shake on it?



All the entries are really fun, so I may or may not win, but I don't care either way. I'm just really proud of how it came out!

I'm wearing purple today to support LGBT youth

What is Spirit Day?

“The idea behind Spirit Day, first created by teenager Brittany McMillan earlier this month, is a simple one, not dissimilar to the idea of "Spirit Week" held in many high schools, and can be summed up in three words: Everyone Rally Together.
Spirit Day honors the teenagers who had taken their own lives in recent weeks. But just as importantly, it's also a way to show the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth who face the same pressures and bullying, that there is a vast community of people who support them.” - GLAAD.ORG

I am not gay. But even without that hurdle, High School was what can only be described as brutal. It was awful. And no amount of money could convince me to do it again. I was bullied (although in my time we called it “made fun of” I think bullying is a much more accurate term, bullying is not just physical, it is emotional and psychological.)

But after High School? Things got a lot better. I met my husband, and I moved into a home with him. I made friends who liked the same things as I did and didn’t see those things as a negative, but a positive. People who like me for me. And I like them for them. I have had problems, and hardships. My husband is less than 2 months away from hitting the 2 year mark of unemployment. But even this has been a breeze compared to High School.

I don’t envy you your time there. I really don’t. But it ends. And life gets better. And there are people out here that support you. I support you. If you are reading this and being bullied and need someone to listen, email me. Erindyan at gmail dot com. I’ll listen. It gets better. I support you, just the way you are.



Sweater, Blouse, Jeggings and flats, all Target
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Pendant, Moon Raven Designs at Etsy

Ah ah ah, You Better Learn Your Lesson Yourself

I went to Target with $48 on a gift card. We went to a Target across town, because Nathan was shopping for 45s at the used bookstore over there (he has a DJ gig on Halloween at the Lakewood Lounge, come see him and Marjorie spin!). This was the most well stocked Target ladies department I have ever seen. I could have dressed in clothes off the racks for a solid month and loved everything. In the end I came away with this dress and sweater combo…



Oh my. I love it. It’s girly and lacy and beautiful, but it feels like pajamas. I know it lacks a wait, but sometimes I am OK with that. I know my waist is there, I don’t need to define it as long as you can see my legs.



Comfort wise, it was like wearing pajamas, but I also felt super dressed up. Dressed up and comfy? That is pretty much always my goal!



Sweater, Dress, Socks and Boots, all Target
Bag, Lucky “stash” bag

Don’t You Hear The Laughter On The Way Down?

I am not 100% sure how I feel about what I am wearing today. Part of that is due to lack of planning. How often do you plan your outfits? Do you try them on or just lay them out? I do both, but I prefer when I have time to try them on. Because sometimes it doesn’t look right when you get it all together. Like today, I planned an outfit last night and did not try it on. When I got it all on today it was TOO MUCH. And I had about 5 minutes to change, resulting in an outfit I don’t love just yet. I might when I see the pictures, you know how it is.

I go through phases, sometimes I don’t plan at all for months, but for a while now, I have been planning 2-3 outfits ahead of time for a 5 day period. That seems to be working most of the time. I like to have a couple days open, because some of my best outfits come together when I am low on time, like this…



I put this together in about five minutes and I loved it. The proportions on it are great.



I have trouble styling that nylon jacket, but I’ve managed a couple of pretty good parings lately. I got it when it was the “Deal of the Day” on Target.com, and I think I paid all of $15 for it, shipped. Nice, huh? But hard to style. I am up for the challenge though!



Jacket, Target.com
Blouse, Liberty of London for Target
Denin Leggings, ANA at JCPenny
Boots, Matisse via Zappos

Cause I Can't Get Enough Of You, And Every Little Thing You Do

When I first saw this dress, it was too expensive for me. I was broke. But I wanted it. I loved it. I thought about it later. I did that thing where I looked it up online, just to see it again. I once even said to Nathan “Oh Nathan, this dress would be so pretty on me”, which sounds pretty vain, but was more a testament to the dress than me. But I moved on…



Haha, no I didn’t. But I did get it on clearance which was thrilling, because I wanted it so badly and because, well, clearance is always exciting!



The clearance rack had black, grey and this nude in my size. And of course my instinct was to get them all, but I talked myself down to one. I already have a grey dress in a similar, ethereal style. And black is not a challenge. So I went with the nude. I was really proud of myself for getting just the one, because one dress on clearance is a bargain. 3 dresses on clearance would have been over spending. (For me, I’m not here to say what is overspending for you! Xoxo)



I wore this to Toastmasters and got some compliments from the older-than-me crowd, which always makes me feel pleased as punch, because my style, I feel skews a bit young. (So does a lot of yours, even those of you much older than me! I like us that way!)



I think this dress has LOTS of styling possibilities and I can’t wait to explore!

Jacket, Forever XXI
Dress, Target clearance rack
Boots, Target (last year but they brought them back this year)
Bag, Grandmama Bea, Liz Claiborne
Earrings, Haute Hardware at Etsy

I’ll Be Gone, In A Day Or Two

This outfit was really just an excuse to wear these vintage pumps Jessica G gave me. I knew I wanted to keep it simple so that the focus could be on the fabulous patchwork detail of the shoe.





They are tremendous and I love them. However, I broke a heel tip straight in two before I got through the day. That makes a total of 4 pairs I know of off the top of my head that need to have tips replaced, and I know it’s not expensive, but I’m not looking forward to the combined cost. The alternative is not being able to wear them anymore, and nothing is more frustrating than something you can’t wear because you have been too lazy or cheap (or legitimately broke!) to have it repaired, so I am planning a trip to the cobbler this week!



I kept everything else really simple. I don’t think it translates as nice as it was in pictures, but the green of this jacket was just beautiful against the purple of this top. So much so that I didn’t even care about the difference in styles. I just went with it!




Jacket, Blouse, and Denim leggings, Target
Earrings, self made
Bag, Grandmama Bea, Liz Claiborne
Shoes, vintage, Jessica G’s Grandmother

Brand New Clothes And A Big Fat Place On Your Rock And Roll TV

I. Love. This. Outfit.



I know that the Some People are all worked up and upset over the return of 90s fashions, but not me. I’m totally down with floral, flannel and clogs. I wore this on a Saturday with knee high black socks and clogs, but for work I felt tights more appropriate.



I got this dress at a thrift store a while back and it was floor length. I was like “Look, Nathan, we can hem it.” He said “I don’t think that is going to be as easy as you think it is.” But you know I had to try. The thing is…I can’t sew.

I mean, at all. I no longer remember how many times I broke a machine in college. It was eventually suggested that maybe I costume shows using rented pieces, or thrifted. Maybe not so much with the sewing when I was costuming…



But still. I wasn’t GOING to sew, see I was going to use Stitch Witch. And I did. And well, I sort of miscalculated, and now it’s more of a long top, or a tunic than a dress, but I did do it. So not AS easy as I thought, true. But it is shorter, and the hem is straight, and it did hold. So there’s that. So I threw on a lace skirt, a little number I refer to as my “Kyla” skirt, and if you take a look at her blog I think you might be able to figure out why…



Overall I’m happy with the outcome. I prefer the additional layer of the lace aesthetically anyway. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Flannel, thrifted by Nathan
Dress, thrifted and shortened by me
Skirt, Target
Tights, Target
Clogs, White Mountain via Amazon.com
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Necklace, Wendy Brandes Jewelry

Now I’m Stronger Than Yesterday

I was super crazy excited to wear this outfit. I thought of it on a Thursday night, so I had to save it, because as you know, Fridays are casual. It’s some sort of rule. But I wore it first chance I got! And I loved it.



Sometimes you think of an outfit and when you go to make it work, you find you have to tweak a thing or two here and there. Maybe the shoes didn’t work, or the cardigan you choose is the wrong length for the dress, but this translated perfectly from inspiration to wear.



I do love to add a bit of edge here and there to my dresses, I know, but it was really fun to push the envelope of my personal style and just go all out lady like with this one. I loved the proportions of the cropped jacket and short dress, and I loved the way the nude pumps worked with the darker navy blue tights. The pumps are one of three pairs a co-worker recently passed down to me from her Grandmother’s collection, and the bag is from my Grandmama’s stuff.



I had so, so much fun wearing this! BUT, what’s even better is it was just the beginning of a week that went really well for me outfit wise. I am on a streak of getting it just right and just really loving the combinations I am putting together and you know WHY? FALL. That’s why. TIGHTS! JACKETS! CLOGS! YAY!~

Jacket, Target
Dress, Tucker for Target
Tights, Target
Shoes, vintage, gift from a Jessica G.
Bag, Grandmama Bea
Belt, Grandmama Bea
Pendant, Moon Raven Designs at Etsy

Happy Birthday Dear, Hillary, Happy Birthday To You

It’s Hillary’s birthday you guys! And her birthday wish this year was a “what’s in your bag” post or picture from her readers. And I’m a reader!



That’s a vintage Liz Claiborne, from my Grandmother’s collection.



I got that little bag as a gift for my birthday. Aren’t the little pandas adorable?

(I already tweeted her a picture of my bag yesterday, but today I’m carrying a different bag, plus I took a picture of the contents of the smaller (lipgloss) bag today.)

You Can’t Carry It With You If You Want To Survive

So I have this striped top from Target, and so do approximately 4,897 other style bloggers. Am I right? And every time they wear this top I think “oh la la” and I adore how they (you!) have styled it. And then I wear it and…eh.

But I think this look was a winner!



I was especially proud of the pale pink beads with the pale pink shoes.



Plus is was crazy comfortable!. Denim leggings + Tee shirt + flats? Yes, please. It sounds like a boring look but it wasn’t!



Tee, Target
Denim Leggings, Target
Oxfords, Ralph Lauren via Buffalo Exchange
Bag, SMAK, second hand
Beads, Grandmama Bea

So Everybody Put Your Best Suit Or Dress On

Bloggers, do you blog an outfit the same day you wear it? I go through cycles. Times where I am all caught up and blogging same day and times where I have a couple outfits in reserve and I am posting a few days behind. I think I prefer being behind. It lets me wear the outfit for an entire day, thus letting me really experience it, and get to know all its perks and pitfalls. Plus, I feel like I have a more natural reaction to an outfit a few days out, when I am a little removed from the immediacy of how the outfit felt, and can assess the pictures from a step back.

That all seems a little deep and over the top for pictures of outfits, but that’s how I live my life, yo.

My reaction today to discovering this outfit was next in line to blog about? “Yay! I love that outfit!”



It was comfy, and just the right level of dressy-casual for a day at the office with no meetings. If I have a meeting with a higher up, I like to keep it a bit dressier, and would have chosen different shoes. But these were perfect for this day. I loved how the denim leggings scrunched into them.



I also loved this picture of my dog, being a creeper, photo-bombing me and PEEING IN MY PICTURE.



Jacket, Forever XXI
Blouse, Wal-Mart
Denim leggings, Target
Boots, Target

And Later On I’ll Cry My Stupid Eyes Out

Eh. I was not happy with how this turned out. I was excited because it was finally cool enough to wear this jacket that Nathan bought for me, but I had already planned the rest of the outfit. I should have taken a minute and reconsidered my options, and chosen something more suited to the jackets style, OR waited to wear the jacket until I had time to plan around it. But…I didn’t. And this was the result.



It’s not horrid. It’s just not my best effort, which is a shame, because I love the jacket. The jacket is ill-suited to the dress, and the dress and boot combo would have looked better with taller socks.



It’s OK. They can’t all be winners!

Jacket, Target
Dress, Target
Tights, Old Navy
Socks, Target
Boots, Target
Bag, LUSH fashions