An explanation.

I feel like one is owed to you, readers, for my absenteeism and generally bad attitude last week. It’s a long story, and frankly, I don’t blame any of you for skipping to the last couple of paragraphs and getting on to your life. But for anyone who’s wondering just what has me so freaked out lately, well, here it is.

First, you should know that I’m prone to anxiety/depression issues. I won’t go into the nitty gritty (because really, who wants to read about 10 years of mild-to-moderate mental issues?), but suffice to say that this history of being prone to depression and panic attacks is the root of my problems of late.

Fast-forward to this January. I interviewed for a new job and, within the same week, was verbally offered the position. It was such fantastic news; I was completely beside myself. I was told that it could be anywhere from four to six weeks before the hiring process was complete. I told my current boss right away, because I hated the thought of abandoning her without enough notice or time to find a replacement, particularly because this happens to be our busiest time of year and my leaving would make her job a lot harder.

Fast-forward again, to present day. To summarize a complicated series of events, I’m still waiting for the hiring process at the new job to be finalized. The higher-ups at my current job, thinking that time was limited, found my replacement. She starts soon. Obviously, there’s no need for two people in my position, so I won’t be staying at my current job after the new hire starts.

If you’ve been reading VM for some time, you’ll know that I’m on a pretty strict Financial Diet, which requires meticulous financial planning and smart spending. Faced with the prospect of possibly going a week or two or more without a job (until the hiring process at the new place is complete), I’ve been understandably stressed out. And when I get stressed, I have panic attacks. And when I need to suppress those (say, all day every day when I’m at work), I get exhausted. And depressed. Which causes more anxiety and becomes a loop of crazy. Hence, the past week.

So yesterday, I sat down and gave myself a stern talking-to. I told myself that I could sit here and wallow in self-pity and regret the fact that I mentioned leaving far earlier than I ever should have. I could let my old nemesis consume me. I could stay at home and cry and feel bad for myself. I could make multiple trips to the bathroom each day just to take deep breaths and wipe away tears.

Or.
I could do something about it. I could take measures to make sure my bills get paid (thanks, Kate, for getting me in touch with the temp agency!) during the interim period. I could realize that this is the way things are, and feeling sad or anxious won’t do a thing to change the situation. I could accept the consequences of my actions, learn from them, and move on.

The truth is, sinking into depression is easy. Letting go and allowing myself to be consumed by negativity is as simple as sitting on the couch and watching TV until my brain is mush and I go to bed before realizing that I forgot to eat dinner. But being positive? That takes a hell of a lot of work. But as they say, nothing worth having comes easily. I deserve happiness, even if I have to really work to get it.

And starting now, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to trust that things will work out. I’m going to accept that just because one thing isn’t going the way I thought it would, doesn’t mean that everything is turning to crap. I'm going to remember that I’m incredibly lucky. I have an amazing and supportive boyfriend. Helpful and caring friends. Parents who always have an ear for listening and kind words of encouragement. Siblings who can always, always make me smile. And a personal determination to rise above this muck and make the most of every situation I’m handed.

Starting now, I’m going to be positive. I’m going to be happy. I’m going to be fine.

Cheer up

Sometimes when I'm in a funk I can't get out of, I have to just take a step back from the big picture that's freaking me out, and focus instead on the little things that make me smile. If I had an iPhone (next year!), this would be an Instagram-heavy post. But I don't and it's not. Either way, here are some of the little things that helped me get through this week.


How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. I know I'm a little late to this bandwagon, but I finished the first season last night. This show really cracks me up.


Spazcat being spazzy. She's ridiculous.


New nail polish. I got this (I Only Wear Vintage from OPI's Sephora line) with a Sephora gift card that a bloggy friend sent me. Thanks, Ally :)


Bright red toes. Spring has (basically) sprung!


Flowers. Specifically the beautiful tulips that are blooming in our front yard. So pretty.
And things I don't have photos of:
- Hanging out with the girls who live upstairs. They're awesome and they can always cheer me up, no matter how down I'm feeling.
- Sunshine. Need I say more?
- Matt coming home from a business trip. I stayed up till nearly midnight last night waiting for him. So. Worth. It.
- Sending my little sister wedding magazines in the mail and knowing it will make her smile.

There. Feeling better already. I even got dressed this morning, instead of just throwing on slacks and a plain button-down (which is what I've been wearing all week). One day at a time.

A self pep talk

Not much to say today, folks. I'm feeling kinda blah/anxious this week (thanks, hormones) and am having a hard time keeping positive. Still, I'm getting by all right, by reminding myself that freaking out when there's nothing I can do about a situation doesn't help anything and that my current low self-esteem is pretty much unfounded. I've gotten quite good at talking myself out of these funks. You know what helps? Looking at bright, cheery photos from last week when I was in a super good mood.




shirt: thrifted
cami: Marshall's
jeans: Guess via Macy's
flats: Target
necklace, brown bracelet: don't remember
beaded bracelet: gifted from my mom
You know what else will probably help my funk? Watching New Girl with the girls upstairs and a glass (or two) of wine tonight. It's all about appreciating the little things and making sure that the big things don't overwhelm you.

Hope I didn't bum anyone out with this post today. With any luck, we'll be back to our regular randomness and goofiness soon.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget. Thanks to those who linked up to Bloggers Take the Town yesterday! If you missed it, don't fret. We'll be back again on Monday, April 30. Mark your calendars!

Bloggers Take the Town: March

Here we go! Link up your fun going-out outfit posts to this month's Bloggers Take the Town! (Not sure what I'm talking about? Read more here.

A casual night out

I wore this on Thursday to see the Hunger Games with a bunch of friends. Perfect outfit for a casual night out, if you ask me. Really, I could have lived in this outfit all weekend. I laid around the house and napped for most of Friday, before going out to watch the valiant effort of the OU basketball team that night. Saturday was errands and chores, and a gathering at a friend's house to watch the OSU basketball team make an awesome win. Sunday was more laziness, and dinner at our friend's parents' house. In all, a lovely weekend.








shirt: Marshall's
nude cami, boots: Target
shorts: The Limited
necklace: gifted from Matt
Funny story. If you didn't know, I'm a major klutz. If it can spill, break or fall over, I'll be the one to do it. So naturally, when I left the movie theatre and discovered splatters of greasy popcorn butter all over the front of this shirt, I wasn't entirely surprise. (No, I don't eat like an animal. I think I just rested the bag against my chest too much, haha.)

Anyway, the shirt wasn't ruined, thanks to an awesome tip I learned recently. You can get any kind of food grease (butter, oil, etc) out of clothes with just some dish soap. The kind with degreasing power (like Dawn) is perfect. Just dab a little onto the stain, dribble a few drops of water on it, and rub it gently to create a little lather. Let sit for five or ten minutes, then throw in the wash like usual. That should get the stain out, but you should always check it before throwing it in the dryer. Because, you know, fire.

Also, I'm about to create the post for Bloggers Take the Town (and linking up, obvs). Don't forget to link up your fun night out outfits!

Update: I had a fail moment this Friday. Instead of linking to the guest post that I wrote for Whitney of Between the Lines, I slept most of the day. Oops :( But it's not too late for you to go check it out! Click here.

Reminder

I almost forgot! It's the end of the month, so that means it's time for Bloggers Take the Town yet again! This month, Sydney and I decided to bump the linkup from Sunday to Monday. So get your awesome outfit pics taken this weekend, if you haven't already, and don't forget to link up on Monday!


What's Bloggers Take the Town, you say? Click over here to find out!

News & Review

Well. I saw the Hunger Games premier last night with a bunch of friends. Don't worry, this is a spoiler-free review; I'm not one of those people who ruins the adventure :) So, without further ado, here's my brief recap/list of opinions.


Photo Credit: Murray Close {via}
Plot: Overall, it stayed fairly close to the novel. A lot of the dialogue was actually lifted directly from the book, which I really liked. There were a lot of details that had to be cut out, of course, because the novel is incredibly detailed and it would be nearly impossible to fit everything in the book into a two-and-a-half-hour movie. Some of the cuts were understandable, others left me feeling a little let down. The final scene in the arena was changed pretty significantly, and in my opinion the changes were not for the better. For an adaptation that otherwise stays pretty true to the original plot, switching up the climax of the storyline really doesn't make sense to me.

As for the typical Hollywood-style additions that movies love to throw in to perfectly good stories, Hunger Games largely lacks them. I was particularly concerned that the romance aspect would be way overdone, but if anything, it was downscored a bit. Which was great. They did add in a few scenes showing what was going on outside the arena during the games themselves, which was pretty interesting.

Casting/acting: Rather hit-and-miss. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss was mostly incredible; I really felt her fear as she was in the launch room. Other times, her lines felt a little contrived. And the plot to blow up the Careers' food was not really executed well by anyone in the scene. Stanley Tucci was absolutely phenomenal as Caesar Flickerman, but I might be a little biased because he's one of my absolute favorite actors. Wes Bentley also did really well as Seneca Crane, who had a much more prominent role in the film than in the book. And Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket was just wonderful. I was a little underwhelmed by Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and Gale (Liam Helmsworth), but they weren't bad. Woody Harrelson was rather disappointing as Haymitch; I had really high hopes for him, and I think he fell a bit short. But then again, his character wasn't written very well in the screenplay, so perhaps it isn't his fault.

Costuming: Oh my goodness. They were so incredible. I was pretty excited to see the Capitol citizens, and they didn't disappoint in the slightest. So outrageous and over-the-top, but stayed just within the realm of reason. Katniss' interview costumes strayed a bit from their descriptions in the novel, but really, Suzanne Collins invented such incredible gowns on the page, it would be hard to translate them to reality.

Overall impression:If you haven't read the books, you'll probably love the film. It's well-written, compelling and a great story. If you did read the books, you may still quite enjoy the film, despite the plot deviations. But if you're a real purist, you'll probably walk away with a few let-downs, as I did.

Oh, and I did mention some news in my title, didn't I? Well, I got a call from my sister just before the movie started last night...Her boyfriend proposed!!! I am seriously beside myself with excitement. My lil sis is growing up. *tear* And her boyfriend fiancé is the greatest guy. I couldn't be happier for them. And now, I'm off to pin a million wedding things and live vicariously through her. I love the idea of weddings, and doing all the planning (wedding planner is legit one of my back-up career options), but I'm not really looking to get married myself yet. Let the obsessive pinning begin!

Blogging fail

Well, this week has turned out to be way busier than I thought. Between cookouts with friends, movie nights, working on our garden, and trying to get through the first Hunger Games book again before the midnight premier tonight (squee!!!), I've completely failed to have an outfit post ready for yesterday OR today. And since the thought of going two full weekdays without a post kind of makes me antsy, I'm going to the good old blogger standby: Pinterest.

Source: us.dorothyperkins.com via Emma on Pinterest

This dress would be so fabulous for summer!

Source: polyvore.com via Emma on Pinterest

If we ever get some actual spring temps this year, I'd want to rock something like this.

Source: worthpoint.com via Emma on Pinterest

How gorgeous are these suitcase shelves??

Source: classicnoise.blogspot.com via Emma on Pinterest

Totally diggin' this look from Sorren of Classic Noise.

Source: tinfoilstiaras.blogspot.com via Emma on Pinterest

Ditto this incredible dress, styled by Emily of Tinfoil Tiaras.

Source: etsy.com via Emma on Pinterest

This is gonna have to go in my kitchen, to match my melted record bowls.

And the obligatory funny meme pin:

Source: Uploaded by user via Emma on Pinterest

Come back tomorrow for a spoiler-free review of the Hunger Games movie! Complete with photos of anyone there who's dressed up. Can't wait to see people's costumes :)

Plan B

Sometimes, outfits just don't work out. Like yesterday, I wore a dress with a white Oxford layered under it and a belt. I was getting ready to take my outfit photos when I turned to Matt and asked, "Does this make me look pregnant?"

Naturally, he got pretty wary right away. I assured him it wasn't a test, and I just wanted to know if I should refrain from taking pictures. We agreed that I did, in fact, look a little preggers. So even though I wore that dang outfit all day, it'll never appear on the blog. The outfit I changed into, however, will likely show its face around here in the next few days.






lace shirt: Forever 21
cami, shoes: Target
short-sleeve Oxford: New York & Company
skirt: thrifted
necklace: The Limited
This outfit here is another great example. I was so excited to bust out this lace top again, as I haven't worn it on ages. But once I got it on, I noticed that there were little strings hanging off of it...everywhere. At first I just tried to trim them down, but then I realized that the shirt itself (which is made of this elastic-y, stretchy material) was unraveling. So, with a heavy heart, I took some photographic evidence and put the shirt in the trash. Sad.

The Plan B outfit wasn't bad, per se, but I spent the whole day thinking about the shirt I had to toss. I guess that's what happens when you pay eight bucks for a shirt at Forever 21. Rest in peace, lace shirt. You will be missed.

Random and therefore untitled

I woke up this morning and all I could think was, "Hunger Games opens this week!" I'm a bit of a geek, I know. The worst part is, I should probably lower my expectations. Book adaptation movies usually disappoint me. But I can't help it...the book is just so fascinating (if you ignore the annoying, Twilight-esque love triangle, in my opinion). I'm going with a bunch of friends to see the midnight showing Thursday night/Friday morning. Can't wait!






sweater, skinnies: thrifted
boots, socks: Target
necklace: Forever 21 or H&M?
I wore this outfit just a few short weeks ago, when sweaters were seasonably appropriate. Now, they're calling for record-breaking highs this week (In the 80s!! That's July weather!!) and we've had a few summer-esque thunderstorms already. Like last night, when we saw torrential downpours, hail (!!!) and our window actually started leaking. Oh, not to mention the tornado sirens going off for like half an hour. Yuck.

But this isn't a weather blog, so abrupt subject change comin' atcha. See these pink pants? I got them for a dollar last fall for EBEW's colored pants challenge. But they were this weird stretchy material that was just a tad too short and strangely flared at the legs, bell-bottom style. So I took 'em to my grandma, who expertly turned them into skinny jeans. (We used this technique that I found via Pinterest.) It was so cute...she kept asking if I was sure I wanted them to be that tight. They're almost like leggings, because the material's so stretchy, so I said yes. And I'm sooooo in love with them! Expect to be seeing more of these babies, sans boots, as spring progresses.

And finally, you may have noticed a little tweak to the layout. (The first of many over the next few months, I think.) The new column on the left has various groupings of tags (a la Elaine, sort of) to help you (and me, hehe) find certain items or posts easier. What do you think? Convenient or just a waste of space? Be more specific, or less? Make a separate section for money stuff, decor stuff and DIY stuff instead of lumping them all together? Weigh in with your comments :)

Fiscal Fridays: Resources

I am a die-hard subscriber to Real Simple magazine. And when I got it in the mail this week, I was super excited about the cover: it featured a wad of cash and teasers about the money-saving tips within.


{source}
I'm not going to summarize or reprint the tips they covered in the issue (Because, you know, plagiarism. And copyright law.), but I will strongly reccommend that you go pick up a copy this weekend and give it a read. Some of the tips are no-brainers, and some didn't even apply to me (woohoo for no college loans!) but for the most part, the advice is really sound and really useful.

Flip through the rest of the magazine, too...there's a section with tips on how long you can keep goods refrigerated/frozen and how to best store them, which will probably cut down your grocery bill pretty significantly when all your food stops going bad. Just skip the fashion section, because helloooooo, $250 for a T-shirt? You must be insane.

And make sure you check out the money section of their website too, for articles from past issues and other tips.

Note: I was not paid, perked or otherwise compensated for this post. I just really, really like the magazine and the advice it has to offer.

Uninspired

Blech. I hate those mornings where I wake up and just feel like I have nothing to wear...even though my closet is practically bursting at the seams, thanks to a few recent thrift outings. Maybe it's because the weather is so gloomy and gray, and it's getting me down because we had such beautiful weather earlier in the week. Who knows.

Anyway. I feel like this outfit is kind of channeling the 50s (again), but only just a bit. Something about this skirt just tends to feel retro to me, I suppose.






chambray shirt: thrifted
skirt, pearls: H&M
shoes: Buckle
Also, this is technically my first true chambray shirt! I have a few others (in white and green) that are definitely too casual to be called Oxfords, but aren't true chambray because of their general style and material. So I'm kind of excited to start styling this shirt differently. (Now all I really need is a gingham button-up and I'll be a real style-blogger conformist, haha.)

Everybody, Everywear: Green

It's Everybody, Everywear time again! Which means my photos were taken and edited in a hurry this morning before work, and I probably definitely have goofy faces in some of them. Hooray! (Except for that last one. The last one is golden.)






green chambray: Banana Republic
t-shirt: Old Navy
skirt, belt, heels: thrifted
necklace: New York & Company
bracelet: street vendor in NYC
You may notice that I'm outside. For the first time in months, I was able to take my photos outside. And you know something? I'm not wearing a coat to work today. Not even my lightweight spring trench. Because it is B-E-A-YOOOTIFUL outside and it's gonna hit 70 degrees this afternoon and I COULD NOT BE MORE EXCITED!!!

Sorry.

That's what spring does to me.

Want to hear a funny story? Well, as some of you may know, I have ridiculously vivid and random dreams on a fairly regular basis. Last night, I dreamt that I was talking to Spazzy (my cat, to you EBEW newcomers). That's actually a fairly common occurrence in real life. But in the dream, she talked back. In Jane Lynch's voice. Jane-Lynch-Spazcat and I had a full conversation. And the weirdest part was, I thought to myself, Wow, this is the coolest thing ever. I'm definitely awake right now. Wait till I tell everyone!

Yeah. Weird.

Gorgeous weekends and rainy Mondays

Ah, Monday. Thanks for being here to greet me with drizzly, dreary weather after such a beautiful weekend. No really. That made getting out of bed this morning sooo much easier!

Actually, I guess I really can't complain. I had such a lovely weekend, not even this rainy morning can really get me down. Friday night comedy shows, Saturday laziness, and a gorgeous Sunday spent sleeping in and playing outside makes for a fabulous weekend. And we capped it all off with a fun cookout Sunday evening with the girls upstairs and a few other friends.






cardi & skinnies: The Limited
shirt & belt: thrifted
boots: Target
The forecast for this week is calling for plenty of warm days, mostly in the 70s, and even a few sunny days thrown in for good measure. So I'm kind of sad to say that this may be one of the last time my Target boots (in any of the three colors I have, haha) appear on the blog. I think that's the only downside of spring...boots with skinnies kind of have to go on hiatus.

Boots with shorts, on the other hand, may still be an option.

What about you? Any styles you're sad to leave behind as winter begins to draw to a close?

Just a plain ol' Friday

So I was going to do a Food Friday post today, with the eggs Florentine I made for dinner last night. But I was just kind of winging it with the recipe, so it didn't exactly turn out delicious. Guess I'll just have to keep trying it until I get it right...something about the spinach was really off. I think I overcooked it. Ick.

And since I'm such a poor planner, I didn't have a Financial Friday post or anything like that backed up and ready to go. So here we are. Outfit post!






jacket, shirt: thrifted
slacks: New York & Company
flats: Target
ring: Modcloth (giveaway win)
necklace: gifted from my dad
Isn't it incredible what some good light will do for a photo? It was still too cold to venture outside for pics (I'm a complete wimp, unlike Kelly, who constantly blows my mind by braving the Canadian snow for the sake of good imagery), but we have south-facing windows in our living room, so the morning sun was just a-streamin' in for these shots.

This shirt is just about the comfiest thing ever. I've talked before about how I think thrifting is kind of frustrating sometimes, but when you find gems like this shirt or this blazer, it's pretty much 100% worth it.

Favorite things: Fall/winter edition

When I first started the ol' blog, I did a "favorite things" post that featured an outfit with all of my current faves. It was very springy, and I definitely still count all those items among my favorites. (So much so that I often rewear that exact outfit over...and over...good thing I don't make a point to post every single day, haha!)

I thought it'd be kind of fun to do another one, this time featuring items I've been wearing all fall and winter. Well, mostly winter, since these boots and the shirt are still relatively new. But still.






shirt: H&M
jeans: Guess via Macy's
boots: Target
necklace: Figleaf in Athens
bracelet: gifted from my momma
lipstick: Cover Girl in Rich
Yup, safe to say I love every piece of this outfit, on its own and as a whole. I've practically lived in this striped shirt since I got it at H&M with a gift card that Matt's sister gave me for Christmas. And these cognac boots are something I had been lusting after for months, if not a full year, before I bought them. Yes, this outfit might look better with skinny jeans, but honestly, the Guess ones are so comfortable, I can't not wear them sometimes. And they're long enough! And they don't sag on my butt! For the record, that absolutely never, ever happens.

Oh, and about the lipstick? It's this line that Cover Girl has that doesn't make your lips dry out the way other lipsticks tend to do. I'm in love. I have three or four shades already, and I'm itching for more. I wear this Rich color the most though; it's the perfect shade of everyday red. Not to vampy, but just bold enough to be noticed.

(P.S. Don't forget to enter my vintage T giveaway! Ends today at 5 pm!)

Do the Shamrock Shake!

You guys. It's back. It's finally back!!! The Shamrock Shake has returned to McDonald's!!



Okay, so maybe I'm a little too excited about this. But I'm kind of obsessed with this seasonal treat. It's sooo delicious, and I think the limited availability just makes it that much more special. So when I was contacted about doing a giveaway for this tasty treat, I was more than a little excited.

This year, McDonald's is partnering up with Skreened to sell some sweet vintage-style T-shirts celebrating the best shake ever created. Proceeds from the sales of these shirts (as well as 25 cents from each Shamrock Shake sold here in Central Ohio) will benefit the Ronald McDonald House charity. And you can win one of the unisex fitted T-shirts!



Mandatory steps to enter:
1. Follow @McDonaldsCMH_OH on Twitter.
2. Tweet this message: "Do the Shamrock Shake! Check out McDonald's vintage Shamrock Shake T-shirts: http://bit.ly/AlftPa"
3. Leave a comment saying you did the above. Make sure to INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL so I can contact you if you win!!

Extra entries (leave a separate comment for each):
1. Follow me on Twitter.
2. Tweet about this giveaway (make sure you mention me in the tweet so I'm sure to see it).

Giveaway closes Thursday, March 8 at 5pm. That way, the winner will get his/her shirt by St. Patty's Day :)

Giveaway winner announced!

Hi all! First, a huge thanks to Raych of Marriage by Design for hosting this amazing giveaway! I'm super jealous of the winner, who is...



Ashley P! Congrats girl. Check your email momentarily, we'll get you in touch with Raych so you can get your gorgeous new necklace!

(And if anyone's wondering why the random.org number only goes up to 20, even though the post says there were 37 comments...well, there were a lot of deleted comments, and a number of people who were ineligible because they entered after the giveaway closed on Friday.)

If you didn't win, check back here tomorrow (yep, tomorrow) for ANOTHER giveaway. Man, March is shaping up to be all about the goodies, no?

Fiscal Fridays: Progress (or, Shoes: A love story)

It's been a while since my last Fiscal Fridays post, but I haven't really had anything new that I could talk about in terms of finances. The Financial Diet has continued with very few slipups (though I'll admit, I do overspend a tad once in a while). But this week, something incredible happened, and I just wanted to share my progress, so to speak.

I'm not sure how the conversation started. I was watching the Academy Awards with my upstairs neighbors, and one of them mentioned that she had no idea who Christian Louboutin is. Now, I've been obsessed with his shoes since my friend introduced me to them a few years ago. (When we went to New York last summer, I even made a point to stand outside the store and drool for a bit.) So naturally, I did a Google image search and showed her several (gorgeous) pairs. And then I saw it.

A website selling overstock CL shoes. For cheap. Like, really cheap. And I saw the shoes I've been lusting after for ages: Simple black leather pumps. They'd go with anything. I could wear them anywhere. And they were beautiful.




Images via placeshoes.com
I prefer the non-platform ones, only because they're a little lower in the heel and I'm a complete klutz, but really, I wouldn't complain about either if I had them. Each pair was listed at only $89.00. I about died.

Since I transferred my credit card balance to a low-interest personal loan, my credit cards have carried very low balances. (I still use one sometimes for the points, but I pay it off as I go.) So putting a $90 pair of shoes on a credit card would definitely have been a possibility. I would just have to pay it off over the course of a few months is all. And then I stopped, cursor hovering over the "order" button. This was the exact kind of mentality that got me into huge credit card debt in the first place. And if I ever want to be debt-free, I have to change the way I think. Starting now. So I closed the browser window.

I've decided instead that those shoes will be my "reward" for becoming debt free, when I eventually do. And I'll buy them by saving up, not by charging them and paying later. And even though a little bit of me died inside when I thought about how long I'd have to wait for those shoes, another part of me started cheering. Because finally, I'm making the changes necessary to live a debt-free life.

(On a side note...has anyone used placeshoes.com before? Their "FAQs" page says that all their product is overstock and is invoiced as being authentic, but since they're not authorized dealers, they can't legally say the shoes are 100% authentic. Anyone have any opinions on that?)

Rediscovering old clothes

I've had these slacks in the back of my closet for, I don't know, years. I wore fairly often two summers ago, but kind of forgot about them for most of 2011. They're a weird kind of so-dark-navy-that-they're-almost-black, and it's hard to see in the photos but they have very thin, light blue pinstripes. "They don't go with anything I own," I thought. "They're too hard to match."

False. I just wasn't trying hard enough.






sweater: Aeropostale
polo: Target
slacks: New York & Company
necklace: Tiffany & Co (gifted)
shoes: Franco Sarto via Marshall's
If I think really hard about it, I can kind of remember buying these guys in a frantic shopping spree for "professional" clothes upon getting my first part-time office job. As it turns out, I didn't need to bother, because the office was so incredibly casual.

But the fit is so perfect at the waist and hips, and THEY'RE LONG ENOUGH. (For the record, this is one of only three or four pants I've ever worn in my life that fits both of those criteria. I'm dreaming of the day when I can buy some INDI jeans with my own custom measurements.) Anyway. What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry pants, for neglecting you. I promise to recognize your true worth from now on.

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Tomorrow's your last chance!