EBEW and another guest photo shoot

This photo shoot with my friend Chasity was taken at the park down at the end of our street. I know, I know. The scenery is gorgeous and it's a sin that I don't take photos here more often. But it was awkward enough being in a park full of people, letting my friend take snap pics like a crazy person (or maybe I was the crazy person). It would be even weirder for me to be taking pics of myself with a tripod in a park full of people. Still haven't quite worked up that nerve.

Anyway, there were so many great shots that I couldn't stick to my usual three or four shots. So here's a bunch, and if you want some more (including the outtakes and other tomfoolery like the second-to-last shot here), you can find them on my Facebook page. Because nothing says "modest" like an entire album of pictures of yourself, right?














sweater: thrifted
cami: Old Navy
jeans, boots: Target
necklace: Tiffany & Co

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.

Happy worst-holiday-ever-invented!

I'm not gonna lie, I've never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I always managed to get fewer cards in my box in elementary school, and I'm not even gonna start on the horrors of dating-age Valentine's Days. (Though I will say that in college alone, I drunkenly ran into my ex at a bar and made a fool of myself one year, then almost had to go to the hospital the next while making dinner for Matt. Suffice to say the holiday has not treated me well.)

This year, Matt is currently en route to Louisiana for work. We did celebrate last weekend, and I came home last night to a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting for me, so I suppose things could be worse :)



Still. I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the holiday, and I think I somehow channeled that into my outfit today. There's a good balance of cynical black and romantic pink and red, haha.






button-up and sweater: New York & Company
skirt: The Limited
tights: Target
pumps: thrifted
necklace: Tiffany & Co (gift from my aunt)
I have to say, I've never been a big fan of the pink and red combo that's so trendy right now. Not sure why, but it's always kind of bugged me. But when I woke up this morning, I decided to face the EBEW challenge head on, stretching myself ever so slightly out of my comfort zone. And you know what? I don't hate it.

Linked to:

I don't copy other bloggers, I channel them.

First off, welcome to my new followers! Noticed there are a couple more of you...thanks for reading about my randomness and the clothes I wear :)

Oh, what a weekend. Between the restaurant, freelancing and the hasn't-been-properly-cleaned-in-weeks state of my house, I practically didn't stop working on one thing or another. And in true procrastinator fashion, I reorganized my closet. I'll probably do a post on that at some point...but you all know how long it took me to doing that curtain tutorial, so we'll see, haha.

The restaurant wound up keeping me until nearly midnight—a full hour later than I am technically available to be there on Sunday nights—so I'm exhausted. But financially, Saturday and Sunday were great nights, so I guess I can't complain. Looks like Matt will get his Christmas present this year after all...and I won't even have to charge it! Hooray!






dress: Artifacts Gallery in Athens
turtleneck: no idea...Target, probably
tights and boots: Target
necklace: New York and Company
ring: Modcloth, giveaway win from Sydney
knot earrings: The Limited
For some reason, I feel very much like Tania in this outfit. I think it's the combination of top knot, colored tights, dress and boots. Either way, I loved channeling my inner nerd in this outfit, haha. By the way...best bun I've ever done. I don't think I could ever recreate this perfect knot. Oh well...at least I got it on camera!

Also, these boots? They're the exact same as the brown boots I recently bought, only in black. Am I going to eventually buy the cognac versions too? You bet! I got a little discount on these because they were the last pair in my size, and they were scuffed just a tiny bit. You really can't see it unless you look for it. Awesome!

This is the outfit I wore to the opening of The Limited's new store at Easton last week. You know, the one where they gave me two $50 gift cards? One of which I get to give away to one of you guys? Giveaway is still open, click here to enter!

Update: Linked this up to the Everybody, Everywear challenge!

Everybody, Everywear: DIY

I almost forgot about this month's EBEW! Well, I did forget about it until I was getting dressed this morning, at which point I hastily grabbed this dress I made a few months ago. It's one of those convertible/infinity dresses, with the five-foot-long straps that can be twisted to form almost any dress style imaginable. Only...well, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

The waistband is a complete disaster. The straps aren't sewed quite right. And the skirt is longer in the back than in the front. But it's a first attempt, and if you wrap it a certain way (i.e., this way) you can hardly tell. Bonus? This wrap style is office-appropriate.




For a first sewing challenge (first since I was about 15, anyway), this actually isn't too bad. But I won't be posting a tutorial until I make my second attempt. With stretchier fabric, better measurements and, hopefully, a few lessons learned from the last go-around.

EBEW: Colored Pants

I really, really wanted to call this post "One dolla holla". Because I found these pants at a thrift store (yesterday, in fact) for JUST ONE DOLLAR. I must have been thrifting at some crappy stores, because I have never purchased a pair of pants for a dollar before. IT'S BLOWING MY MIND!!

But it's Everybody, Everywear, and I just feel like I should give credit where credit is due. After all, if it weren't for EBEW, I wouldn't even own these awesome pink pants. Yeah, I bought them just for the challenge. I really wanted red pants, but there weren't any good ones in my size and I didn't have time to buy a white pair and dye them.






Tshirt: Old Navy
pants, cardi and shoes: thrifted
necklace: The Limited
So these pants do have one drawback: they're a bit short. Or rather, my legs are just kind of almost freakishly long. Whatevs. Either way, I think these look even better cropped...I'll probably hem them to capri length at some point, whenever I can make it over to my grandma's sewing machine house. Sadly, this may be the last time (or at least, one of the last times) I expose my bare legs this season. It's getting cooler...and I'm not ready for it :(

Oh well. At least with the discovery of this thrift store (thanks Chasity for telling me about it!), I can bulk up my fall wardrobe. And I can probably do it for under $30. Awesome.

EBEW: Thrift edition!

I'll admit I was a little nervous when I heard that Everybody, Everywear was doing a thrift edition. Yes, I love a good thrift store find as much as the next girl. But I never seem to have the time or the patience to really go out there, find the best ones in my area and dig through the racks for those hidden treasures.

But then I remembered this vest. It was the first thrifted item I ever bought. I got it from a Plato's Closet (technically a consignment store, but I won't split hairs) back when I was in my late teens. So this vest is pretty old, as clothes go, and I still love it. It's great for layering in the winter OR the summer, as you can see here.

vest: thrifted
shirt: Old Navy
capris: Target, maybe? They're new, but I forget already :(
shose: Target
necklace: no idea

This is probably my favorite thrifted piece for sentimental and practical reasons. I used to only wear it one way--with a cream-colored short-sleeve turtleneck sweater and khakis--but lately I've been mixing it up with other shirts, camis, jeans and Converses. (It's hard to tell in the photos, but it's a dark brown, so color matching isn't always easy.) But I always manage to make it work, I think.

Head over to EBEW to check out other peoples' thrifted treasures. Do you have a favorite thrifted item?