Now that's a party I'd like to be at

I want to hang out with all the beautiful, unique, and well-dressed people in this post. Scroll down on that link to really see the folks at the party.

getaway

(From The Fashionist)

I want to be this woman. I need to get out of Richmond for awhile. Hopefully this weekend going to Deltaville. Then my cousin's graduation party in MD. I need a weekend away something bad.

Give me road trip ideas people. For 2-3 day trips away. What's driveable and back in that amount of time that I should visit? Where are cool/affordable places to stay?

hott on a Monday evening

 I am the girl you won't admit you adore

(My Daily Style)
Music by Esthero


I'm finally uploading to my Lookbook all the images I've been saving on my fashion Bloglines. Fashion spreads, streetstyle images, and real style bloggers. The images are all pretty hot, especially these few here. It's getting me a little hot and bothered, I must admit. Pair that with a quiet evening with cool breeze in my apartment, light rain, and loungey music, and woo-ha.

(A Glamorous Little Side Project)

Black is the colour of my true love's hair
His lips are like some roses fair
He has the sweetest smile and the gentlest hands
I love the ground, where on he stands

Black is the Colour--by The Corrs

What odd lyrics but the song is so sweet and bittersweet.

(Vogue Italia October 2007)

(A Glamorous Little Side Project)

Stepped off the train, I'm walking down your street again
I passed your door, but you don't live here anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeard somewhere
You got a space. You found some better place
And I miss you...

Missing--Everything But The Girl

handsome

(Photo: Go Fug Yourself)

Aren't we all excited at how well Pacey has grown into a man? He's a gorgeous specimen. And Diane is beautiful and classy too, though I often think her makeup is too severe.

Dress shopping

I went in search for a new outfit for my birthday, specifically a dress. I like dresses in warm weather because they can be dressed up or down. I have a lot of clothes, but I feel like I've worn all my dresses in various rotations and birthdays and parties already, and I needed something new.

I went to Ross first because I've found dress deals there before. I went into the dressing room with 9 dresses and only liked one. I am always duped by juniors sizing. I know that women with a real figure (ie, hips and a butt) shouldn't shop in juniors, but the "misses" (what a crappy, dated word) dresses are often so frumpy and not fashion-forward.

So of course all the juniors dresses, while looking cute on the hanger, were awkward on me. Also, after this weekend, my get fit program goes into full force. Nothing like a dressing room mirror to show how squishy I got this winter when I wasn't looking and this is NOT acceptable. AT ALL. I am trying to not let it get me down on my birthday. I will just be better about going to the gym and eating better and it will be ok.

But I did try on a beautiful, jewel-green dress by Calvin Klein which of course was the most expensive but it fit so well and looked so nice that I bought it. There's a big difference there in the quality of fabric and cut, imagine that! It has such nice pleat detailing at the neck, back, and skirt. I can't decide whether to wear it tonight or tomorrow now.

I then went to Old Navy, which is a favorite of mine, to see if they had anything better/cheaper, but there is absolutely nothing feminine or pretty or classic in there right now. Everything is tshirts and shorts and ribbbed tanks (I HATE RIBBING on clothes) and beachy/gauzey things that are mostly terrible and were not at all what I was looking for a dressy birthday.

I did, however, buy 2 new tees and some underwear, so the visit was not for naught, but still, disappoined in their selection right now.

Streetstyle blogs

I just posted a lot of new inspiration photos in my Winter Everyday People. Here a few teasers:

Deniz Baran

Found at Cafe Mode

Kendi Everyday

I'd wished I could have gotten an outfit photo of the student earlier in my office, but that probably would have seemed weird. She was dressed casually in jeans, but had an overall theme of sparkles. She had a embellished crystal beige top, with a glitter beige shrug over it. She had a fascinator with sparkly stones on it, and her thong sandals were crystallized too. She had 3 large crystal bangles on one arm, and another with thinner bangles. It was a lot of accessories, but it really worked on her. Oh, and she had red hair. I covet red hair, but I've never really seen it look good on someone who isn't naturally a red head, and I don't want purple hair. I think hers was dyed, but she was fair and freckly and it looked good on her. Sigh. Shear Genius (I never watch this show, but I caught it last night), had a Gorgeous natural redhead as a model for one of the challenges. She's here, click through to number 9. Other fav redheads of mine:

Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair (also a fav movie)

This was from an Etsy site I think, but I love both the color, style, and the hair fascinator.

Cold, drab, dreary

Especially in cold, dark winter, I have a lot of trouble dressing myself in the morning. Today I actually woke up on time and showered but when I had to put an outfit together, I just didn't want to. It was too much effort, too many choices. I get like this when it's cold or I feel rushed. I ended up just laying half under the covers and mini napping for 15 minutes, which made me late to work. Much as I love having a week and a half off, and spending most of those days being lazy, it makes the realization that you have to get up early and go to work for the rest of your life pretty daunting.

All of the twitterverse is complaining about how cold and dreadful it is outside, but I never get tired of complaining about the cold. If I didn't like Richmond so much, I'd think I'd have moved someplace more temperate by now.

I did end up putting a very cool and colorful outfit together with my new patterned Twenty By Twelve thrifted skirt. The NP at job 2 tonight said it looked like a Monet.

America's Funniest Videos has been on longer than Seinfeld, Friends, and many other TV shows, they declared this evening. It never gets old, even though people don't really videotape anything anymore, and they still show tapes from 1990. I'm amazed it's stayed on the air as long as it has. My favorite clip of all time is from years ago when Bob Saget did the show and he narrates "Billy said they had a man-eating bush at Mr. Wilson's" as a boy on his bike rides right into a bush that fully envelops him.

A coworker not in my department invited me to lunch today and it was really nice to catch up. I found out she plays in a newly-formed, all female, rock cover band. How cool! She was also very excited to hear about the newly-formed GSA I started and advise for.

odd combo

Having a full fridge after grocery shopping is very satisfying. My problem then is always, What to eat first? I was having a craving for a dark, frothy winter beer and lo, and behold, Kroger had my favorite Stout, Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Drunk out of my hometown brewery glass.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with her tree still up

And then I made these little tortillas with corn, black beans (though Kroger brand are more like brown beans, lime, pepper, and lettuce). I know these 2 things don't really go together, but I had a craving.


The Mexico episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (new episode, Jan 11--about time!) is on and I'm watching it for the 3rd or 4th time. I do love anything Latino and really want to go to Mexico again, and I want to do it right, with a native speaker. I've really got to stop letting my Spanish go by the wayside. Any time I have a student with a Spanish accent, I get all wistful. Had a Brazilian student today with a lovely Portuguese/Spanish accent.


Wore this to my first day of work after vacation. You can't see them, but I'm wearing my new thrifted tan/yellow wedges. They are def old, but they are leather and in great shape, and Nine West. It felt like a fun combination to do browns with greys. The outfit was comfy, until I wore it for 12 hours (work+rehearsal+grocery shopping).

Elle's shoes

This is very cool, a staffer at Elle took photos of what shoes the magazine's staff was wearing. So fun to see everything from Target to YSL. It appears they stopped in September. I hope they keep going, I want to see some hot fall shoes and boots.

Skanky

The Pretty Woman Collection, so you, too can look like a prostitute who happens upon a misogynistic, impossible reality.

Shoe porn

Christian Louboutin did a short video as advertisement. The beginning mirrors the movie, Psycho, but the end is lovely and sparkly. Here are my 2 favorite screen shots.

This would so be me, in heaven amongst a pile of sparkly, shiny Louboutins.

hot shoes

I have a shoe addiction. I suppose there are worse things. And I don't really think it's an addiction, so much as a strong penchant and great love of beautiful things. But I bought 2 pairs of shoes last night (they were MEGA on sale though). I know they are awfully similar, but if you know me, you know I can't pass up anything sparkly, even when I already have a faboo vintage pair of black sequin pumps (eek!).

The pictures do the shoes NO JUSTICE.

These are just stunning in person. I've always loved the colored back-of-the-heel look and don't have any shoes like that.






I'm not normally a fan of that exposed platform like that, but when wearing the shoe, it doesn't look all weird and you can't tell.

Meal Order

I had my meals backwards tonight (which I really never do, I am a firm believer in food order), but the Starbucks ice cream was calling my name, so I polished off 1/3 of the pint when I got home. I hate how some ice cream, after awhile, loses its taste as your mouth gets numb from the cold (perhaps a sign to stop eating it, eh?). I was still hungry for real food, so I put together a concoction I discovered by accident when I was at Rebecca's parents' house and we were scrounging for food: canned corn, cheese, peanuts, a tomato (or in this case, salsa), pepper and stir! It's surprisingly satisfying.


This is my ideal table spread. Lots of coffee and like beverages, sunshine, and bowls piled high with biscuits. (from My Funny Eye)


I'm finally feeling better and don't have any plans tonight, and for once am antsy and feel like socializing, which I haven't felt like doing in about a week. I'm trying to decide if I should go to my new favorite local bar. I wonder if they have wireless? I haven't tried to see if my dad's laptop works again.

(Lavender Lines)

The suddenly cooler temperatures has me all excited for fall and tall boots and jackets and the fall smell. I am always sad for one season to end (except for Winter-- Winter can die a horrible death). I love summer but I also love fall. Dressing for me is so much easier in summer because I can throw on clothes and go, and that's what bothers me about fall dressing, especially because I get cold so easily.


Unrelated, I LOVE this photo of Michelle Williams. I'm a sucker for sepia.

Polka dotted legs

Photo from Kate Spade (via MyStylePill)

I love those polka dot tights and the ladylike pea-coat. I will have to look for some new tights for fall. I don't take good care of my tights, mostly because I hate wrangling with them in the winter, and they inevitably get holes in them. Right now they're a tangled heap at the bottom of my laundry bc as soon as it got warm, I was like FU-tights, and didn't care anymore.

I don't tend to take as good care of my off season clothes as I should (like dry-cleaning my wool coats and sweaters--but I don't believe in dry cleaning-I don't understand how it possibly could work). I got a waaaay cheap super soft cashmere sweater ($10!) from Old Navy that's just stuffed in a drawer and I cannot somehow be bothered to wash or freeze it so the moths don't get at it, yet I"m heartbroken over thinking it will get holes and be ruined. Life is so much work sometimes. I am often frozen by inaction, and I HATE that about myself, yet I still do it.

Green and Black

I post my outfit photos on another site, but sometimes I like to show them here. I thrifted this green seersucker skirt recently, and love it for summer with a white blouse, but wanted to wear it differently today. I tried it with a purple since it is green's complement on the color wheel, but it was too strange. So then I tried another neutral, black. Black just seemed too harsh, but I think it worked out okay. I still like white better. I'm open to other suggestions.

Black swing jacket-Target
Black tee-Target
White beaded necklace-grandma's
Green/white skirt-Fantastic Thrift
Black pumps-grandma's

NOT

Riiiiight. Because THIS is what you wear for Back to School. NOT

Fabulous Fashion Bloggers

Just found Zoelulu. This romper is adorable. And it's thrifted. I'm always amazed at girls that can pull off hats. I look ridic in any hats. I like her sweet braid in the second photo. I wish I could be bothered to spend time doing different things to my hair in the mornings.

It's funny how all the fashion bloggers I follow, all follow the same ones too. It's a small world, even on the Internets. I added both these ladies to my bloglines.

Kansas Couture

She really makes it look like couture, when often her piece are from Old Navy, Forever 21, or Payless, which are totally things I'd wear. I'd NEVER have guessed any of what she's wearing was any of those brands. She's also a doppleganger for Mischa Barton.

This whole look cost $8! No way.

Sucker for Sequins

I know, I know, I've put myself on shoe-buying embargo for awhile now, but these look SO SPARKLY, and you know I can't say no to sequins. They are at Charlotte Russe, so I'm skeptical bc man, they make some cheap a$$ uncomfortable shoes. I may have to sneak by on my way home from work and see them up close.

lovely

The Clothes Horse is so lovely and down-to-earth, and I love how she manages to choose outfits that perfectly highlight her shoulder-blade tattoos.

Drinking my favorite wine, Norton Malbec, from Argentina, eating some fresh bakery bread, olive oil, and cheese, and about to head over to my neighbor's apt. I love city living!

What I Wore-Karaoke

Here's what I wore out to Karaoke this Tuesday. I love these skinny(well, as skinny as you get for a gal with hips and a butt!) jeans with these killer zipper heels--they make my legs look really long, and I'm a short girl!

Completely unrelated, how come Kroger brand lite yogurt has all kinds of cool and yummy flavors and the brand names don't? I'm officially a convert. I just had "french apple" and it was like dessert.