Baby I'm Howlin' For You

So just a casual weekend look for you today.

I had on a jacket.


But I took it off.




And added a dog. Who was giving the camera some serious side eye.



So I tried to give him some love, but he only managed to look even more pathetic.


So I tried ignoring him.


But it didn’t last long. Who can ignore a QT like that? Not me. That’s who.

Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Tee, Smoke and Feathers
Jeans, ANA at JCPenny
Shoes, Aldo
Dog, P. Bitty Johnson

It's Time To Step It Up A Notch

I have a lot to talk about today, so if you are just here for the pics…skip to the end.

I want to start by mentioning a great project by some of the ladies in our community.

Basse Mode is a project to create a magazine focusing on what the creators are calling “low fashion”. I’m very excited about the concept. I cannot tell you how many times I have asked Nathan why there are no magazines that focuses on shopping and fashion for the middle class. I can’t afford 99% of the things in fashion magazines. Lucky, when they started, used to be much better about incorporating some affordable fashion, but I actually opted not to renew my subscription this year as more and more it was only focusing on high end pieces. Look, high end pieces are great. And they have their place. I enjoy reading about them and I aspire to be able to own some one day. But that’s not the reality for me now. Nor is it the reality for most of you. Here is a snippet from Basse Mode’s site:

“Basse Mode is a magazine built for normal everyday women. We know that the feeling of flicking through a glossy magazine can’t be beaten. However, all the magazines feature the same thing – unwearable looks, unaffordable clothes, and an emphasis on being and looking the same as one another. We want to condense all the brilliance that the fashion blogging world has to offer into something that we can put on the coffee table. That we can show off on the coffee table. A beautiful documentation of what real women wear, what real people think, and things that actually affect our lives. Nothing like this has ever been done before, but we think it could be brilliant.”

Pop over and take a look. Seriously consider signing up to contribute. I already have. I’ve got a link over in the side bar below my followers, and you can get that badge over at Basse Mode. If you believe in the project, I encourage you to get involved, and post the badge on your site.

I also want to talk a little bit about “Stay Fabulous or Get Slapped Friday”. There are not a lot of rules, OK? But there are a couple.

1. No slapping someone who has made an effort. Not everyone can be as naturally stylish as you.

2. I’m going to go ahead and state that slapping people at work or school is probably a bad idea. If you get into trouble, do not blame me.

3. Remember that the whole thing is just for fun. No hurting people. Faces or feelings. (Unless they have those sweatpants on that have something written across the bum, and then look, I totally understand. You can’t be expected not to over react to something like that. Especially if they are also wearing Uggs *shudder*.)

Guess what? It’s only Thursday and I’m already fabulous.



This is a Wal-Mart $14 dolla dress, just like the Chambray dress that you all loved so much last week, but different. I am feelin' just a little bit of pressure today in fact, because you guys loved that look so much.



This time, I just embraced the inherent country look of the dress and ran with it. I added the moto jacket to keep it true to my own style. I honestly don’t think I have much I can’t add a moto jacket of some sort to.



Even without the jacket though, the style of the boots keeps it from being too costume-y. I just love the cut on these dresses and feel it’s so flattering. It also came in a red plaid, and maybe blue plaid, but I find I do best with solids and black and white. I love a black and white print or pattern.



The belt was actually Nathan’s tweak. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with a vintage western belt of a plain brown belt. I had the dress laid out with a plain belt, and Nathan said “Why not wear a western belt?” and that clenched it for me. Then we had a look through his collection of buckles for the perfect one. I knew which one I wanted all along of course!~ Texas!



And to stay with the theme, a bat skull and a bullet on a chain.



I know I’ve preached this before, but if you don’t have a set of needle nose pliers, a bag of cheapie jump rings and some cheap chain…get some. It opens up a world of possibilities. On longer lengths of chain when I don’t even bother to add a clasp, since I know I’m only customizing the piece for one or two wears and then I will change it again.

Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Dress, Wal-Mart (P.S. it's only $10 right now!)
Tights, Old Navy
Boots, Target
Belt, vintage
Buckle, vintage
Bag, Lucky “Stash” bag

Yesterday I Got So Scared, I Shivered Like A Child

Thank you so much for all your kind words yesterday. I am definitely going to keep blogging for now. I don’t ever want to be a downer, but life is pretty hard right now if I’m being honest, and I think you know I do tend to be honest. And blogging brings me a sense of purpose and joy. It’s fun. If it ever stopped being fun, or caused more stress than happiness, I’d reevaluate, but for now, it’s one of my favorite things about life.

Also, for those of you who specifically said you love seeing thing re-mixed, over at Weardrobe, you can click on any item listed in an outfit (down under the photograph), and it will take you to a page that shows you every time that particular item has been worn and how. I think that's pretty cool! For instance, here are the three ways I've photographed this dress.

As is this outfit. Unlike yesterday’s semi-tragic effort, I love this outfit top to bottom.



That is the right jacket, the right cardigan and the right belt. For today anyway. This only the third appearance for this dress on the blog, but I’ve worn it at least five times since I got it, and never the same way twice. It was a great buy. It’s so versatile and the fact that it is reversible just doubles the versatility!



I bought this belt at my birthday, specifically to wear with this dress, but once I got it home, I didn’t feel like it was working. Then I saw a couple of you guys wear it this way, with the buckle turned to the back, and viola! It’s perfect!



Nathan commented on how much all the color in this cardigan (technically, this color is listed as amethyst heather on the tag and up close it has purples, blues and pinks) adds to the dress. It really feels Springy when paired with this.



Sorry for the huge accessories pic, but I wanted you to see some things. The pattern on the dress, both of the new necklaces I’ve just made and MY GOOSEBUMPS. It was cold. So cold. The bullet? It’s a “Winchester” and don’t think I didn’t giggle at length when I saw that. If you are a “Supernatural” fan, you’ll get it. But no spoilers please for the current season! I watch it on DVD and am perpetually a season behind. I know I should catch up, but I miss it every year. It’s a bummer. Because I love me some Winchesters.


Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Cardigan, American Apparel
Dress, Target (recent)
Tights, Old Navy
Boots, Vintage
Bag, Nordstrom Rack
Necklaces, self made

This Is the Part Where We Fall In Love

(Did you guys notice the improvement in the quality of my pictures? We started using the Rebel. Nathan said I don’t need a lens; I need to be not lazy and learn to use it. Nathan is taking the pics for now, until I have time to learn to use the remote and take them myself, and close ups are really hard to do, but the pictures are much better. Big thanks to my Brother-In-Law Bobby who gave it to us.)

My Isabella Necklace arrived. Thank you to everyone who bought something, and thank you to Alannah for the Christmas money, and thank you to The Fabulous Wendy Brandes for the amazing craftsmanship.

The experience is amazing right from the start. The box the necklace comes in is gorgeous.







(yes. My mug has a picture of a cat. In glasses. In a basket. It’s from Awesometown.)

And it’s hard to really convey how nice the piece is. The thing I am most struck by other than the amazing detailing is the weight. It is so heavy, in a good way. It’s delicious.



The details on the snout and the fur are not really something I could capture on film properly, in my opinion. They are amazing. This is such a gorgeous creature. It’s stamped on one the underside of the claw with a “925” and the inside with “Wendy Brandes”. It rolls freely on the bar in its mouth. I can’t really say enough how nice the piece is. It’s just gorgeous. If you have a chance to get something by Wendy, it is worth every penny.

Anyway. I got dressed. This is one of my favorite outfits in a while actually!



I’m actually maybe rushing to get this post done so I can get to reading that book for the rest of my lunch break.



The best part of the layering in this outfit is the little butt flap on the tunic.



I love it!~



I did a little bit of High/Low mixing with my necklaces today. The Buddha disc* is a charm Nathan found on the ground outside on the patio at Club Dada. It was free and appears to have been walked on or maybe even driven over. But he picked it up and dusted it off and gave it to me and I put it on a chain. And then of course the Isabella Wolf Fang is by Wendy.

*ETA Suz says it's called a "dharma wheel", thanks, Suz!

Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Hoodie, Old Navy
Tunic, Silence and Noise at Urban Outfitters
Denim Leggings, Target
Ankle boots, Blowfish via Zappos
Bag, Thrifted
Book, Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Earrings, Silver Jewelry Club (back in the day when they showed one piece at a time!)
Buddha necklace, found
Isabella Wolf Fang Necklace,The Fabulous Wendy Brandes

Look Whose Coming Round The Bend, It’s Santa And His Reindeer Friends

I’ve been keeping it casual and not that exciting. But since I know sometimes I used to really miss when my fashion bloggers skipped a day or two (and still do!) I took pictures today.

Very casual, very relaxed. Not much to do at the office today but file and listen to my iPod.





I have something else to talk about to make up for it. I have a lot of people ask me how I manage to switch bags every day or so. I’m pretty sure I wrote about this early in the blog, but it’s been a while and I still get asked, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to show you again.

How do I switch bags every day or two? I have a lot of bags in my bag. Really. That's it. Now I know they sell those bag organizer things that slip in and out of bags, but they are one size, and they can’t be adjusted. This system can be. This is a typical sized bag for me. I’d say it a larger medium.



Now. When you open my bag, here is what you’ll see:



A book, an iPod case, a wallet, and lots of little cosmetic bags.



If you were to take out the bags and book, you’d see this:



One of the reasons this is such a great system is that everyone (or most everyone) had tons of these little bags, and if you don’t, you can hit the dollar store or the dollar bin at Target and see what they have. They are very inexpensive (And yes, I know several of mine are Tokidoki and therefore very expensive, but I used to have much more money, lol)

I have my smaller bags, my camera bag, my iPod case and my wallet:



And then my larger bags. I have bags that suit my needs, yours might be different. Maybe you need a whole bag just for all your pens, I don’t know. I need a large cosmetic bag…



A bag for medications…



And a bag for the rest.



Gum, hand cream, my scrunchie* (that appears to have a fuzzy on it), pens, and things that do not fit into the other categories.

The system can be adjusted with smaller or fewer bags for smaller handbags, and I abandon it altogether for evening bags, by just selecting the few items I need from the bags (gum, CC, license, gloss, camera) and replacing them after I get in.

I love this system and have been using it for years. Changing bags takes 30 seconds tops. It also makes it super easy to find things in my bag. It works for me, it might work for you.

*I totally use this to put my hair up at bars and restaurants. I don’t even care how uncool that is. It doesn’t crease my hair and I can take it back out after I’ve eaten and still look polished.

Jacket, Alexander McQueen
Tee, Silence and Noise at Urban Outfitters.
Jeggings, Target
Boots, Steve Madden
Multi chain necklace, self made from recycled parts
Bat skull necklace, mrd74 at Etsy
Bag, SMAK
Bag charm, self made

Hello, Alexander

(I decided I can’t really afford the sequined leggings right now. I’m pretty bummed about it, but hey, life is hard and we can’t have everything we want, right? THANK YOU to everyone who volunteered to have a look for me though, it was really kind.)

I am so excited to be able to wear this Alexander McQueen for Target jacket again.



Nathan loves it so much he has decided that the combination of this jacket and the black leather biker jacket are all the jackets I’ll ever need. He’s wrong of course, but not by much.



The place I stand to take my pics most days is right along the concrete ledge of my driveway. I stand with my feet right on the edge, and sometimes I miss and start to fall backwards...



or forwards…



I didn’t fall though!~ I totally righted myself both times. I just ruined the pics. Or not. I think they are kind of amusing, personally.

Pattern on the shirt…



Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Blouse, Target
Pants, Wal-Mart
Ankle boots, Target

Alexander McQueeeeeeeeeeen

I saw this jacket a few months ago in an online preview and made a note to myself that this was the thing I wanted from this collection (I allow myself one piece from each Go! Or designer collection, which is a LOT less than I used to buy). It is perfection. It’s great with jeans and rocks up a dress.

Or an office outfit.



Unfortunately the light was dying and I didn’t get a great pic of it.



So I borrowed these from Target.com





I ordered it the DAY it went up on the site, before lunch. I guessed on the size. I went to the store on my lunch (I’m lucky, the one in my area actually got the line) and they had a medium and an x-small and I tried those on. I felt like the medium (which was the size I ordered) was too big, but the x-small was too small. So I thought I needed a small. I went back to the office, logged back on…SOLD OUT. By 1 PM. And so I stuck with the medium. And you know what? I was wrong. It fits just fine. Lesson learned? Alexander McQueen is a popular man.

I’ve been wearing this chunky bracelet combo everywhere lately.





The gold beads are an old modified Old Navy necklace and the chains are self made bracelet using just cheap-o Michael’s base metal chains I got for pretty cheap.

It doesn’t get better than Payless booties that held up for a couple years.



The red is coming off the back of the heel a bit, so I can really only wear them with pants, but for throwaway shoes, I’m impressed with how well they’ve lasted. And the kitten heel is perfect for my old lady feet.

I got these earrings at Target, and they were fine, but I replaced the wire across the top and the hook, just to give it a more handmade feel. Because I’m crazy like that.




Jacket, Alexander McQueen for Target
Pants, Walmart
Boots, Payless
bracelets, self made
earrings, Target, modified by me