Cascade

Top and Skirt: Thrifted --- Shoes: Payless --- Earrings: Handmade --- Belt: From my mother dearest :)

 I saw a girl walking today who was wearing tights under her skirt. Man, is that a depressing thought. Within a few weeks it's going to get really cold and the all the scarves, cowls, and tights that I stowed away so neatly and tightly on the top shelf of my closet are going to have to come out once again. Le sigh.

Anyhow, I kind of love this top even though it looks like I have a waterfall descending from my neck. Also, it's a touch too small, but I just have to be careful not to eat too many brownies while wearing it and everything will be fine.

This might get me in a bit of trouble, but I just have to say:

I do not like Goodwill. 

There, I said it. Please don't shoot me. 

Reason #1: The dressing rooms. They make you wait for someone to come unlock your door for you like it's some fancy department store. And then to make it even worse they only let you take 6 items in. SIX. Maybe that's fine for some people, but I'm more the sort that grabs anything and everything that I think has the remotest possibility of looking good and can end up with 20+ items to try on. Not so at the Goodwill, though.

Reason #2: They're expensive. I don't mind paying several dollars on a thrift store item if it's something cool and unique, but I don't want to be shelling out $10 for a used Old Navy top that probably only cost $10 to begin with. 

Reason #3: Speaking of Old Navy tops, I think they could just go ahead and change to name from Goodwill to the Old Navy Resale Shop. I'm sure it's different in each Goodwill, but seriously, I think think half the stuff I looked at in there was Old Navy. I go to thrift stores to find interesting, unique stuff, not last season's Old Navy styles.

So there you have it. 

Red Head

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Dress: Thrifted/Portland --- Belt: Thrifted/St. Vincent's --- Vintage Purse: Etsy/vintch --- Seychelles Flats: Amazon

My hair is back to a socially-acceptable color once again... I'm really quite in love with this dark red. I had been thinking for a while about doing something completely different (i.e. blond), but I've been thinking lately that my calling in life is to be a red head. Well, my true calling is to be a plain brown head, but that's no fun.

Really, though, I've never gotten so many compliments on a physical characteristic before as I have gotten on having red hair... I've had people walk up to me when I'm out shopping just to tell me they like my hair color. A few people have even asked if it's my natural color (one lady told me I was blessed to have such a naturally beautiful hair color - she was quite let down when I told her I dyed it.)

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I happened upon Lykke Li the other day in the same way that I happen upon basically all of my music nowadays... via my Florence + the Machine Pandora station. I downloaded her more recent CD, but I've been listening to the tracks from her debut album on YouTube and honestly I think I like those more. Also, she gets brownie points because I really like the covers she has for some of her singles.

Because album covers are the really important thing when it comes to music, you know.

Frilly

When I picked out outfits to wear this week, I ended up picking out a bunch of rather girly and frilly tops. Yesterday I wore pink, today I'm wearing lace and poofy sleeves, and the next two outfits I have planned are both pink and one has frilly shoulders. What's happening to me? Next thing you know I'm going to start wearing curly pig tails and pink lip stick. Beware.

Even though it's more frou-frou than I'm used to wearing, I really do love this top. It was $7 at the thrift store, but it was a white tag sale day so it was 50% off. I know I use this word a lot when referring to thrift store finds, but I'm going to say it again anyways: score.

Top, Belt, and Skirt: Thrifted --- Necklace: F21

Shoes: GoJane --- Purse: Etsy/58bluebirds

Thank you to everyone who gave me eyeshadow suggestions yesterday... I made a list of the ones that were recommended and will be doing a bit of online shopping/price comparing today to decide what I'm going to get.

Tomorrow I'm not working, so in the absence of an outfit post I'm going to be hosting a giveaway! So far on on my blog I've only given away jewelry from my shop, but this time around a dear Etsy friend of mine was sweet enough to offer a piece from her shop. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see who/what is, but I just wanted to let you know to keep an eye out for it (especially if you were getting bored of jewelry giveaways).

Little Red Couch

A few of you guys commented on my post yesterday wondering how I do indoor pictures without them looking 100% terrible (I'm paraphrasing). The answer is that I just happen to be super lucky and work in a shop that has awesome track lighting, so I can get great lighting as long as stand in the right spot. Obviously I don't use flash - an evil creation if there ever was one - and then I just do a bit of brightening and color fixing on my computer to make them a tad less dark and yellow.

I really do prefer outdoor pictures, though. It's just that my current situation doesn't allow for me to go running around outside, so I make do with what I have.

Blazer: F21 --- Top and Belt: Thrifted --- Skirt: Handmade --- Purse: Target

Rings: Handmade --- Shoes: Payless

This is my favorite couch ever. We have it in the shoe section so wee little lads and lasses can have a proportionate place to sit while their mom's shove shoes on their feet. I kid of feel like a giant sitting on it, but I basically am I giant no matter what chair I sit in so that's nothing new.

Anyways, I hope you all had lovely weekends. Mine was pretty boring, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with a boring weekend every now and then. You would think with all the bored time I had, I would have done a mini wallet tutorial like I said I would, but yeah... I'm not even going to try and make an excuse for why I didn't. Are you still dusting your sewing machines? It's OK, you can probably stop that now.

And one quick question before I leave you....What is your favorite eyeshadow? I'm on the hunt for a neutral (nothing colorful, just some nice shimmery skin tones and browns) pallet, preferably a trio or quad, but a duo would be OK too if it was super awesome. I've tried most of the available options at Target and haven't found any that I like yet, so if you have a favorite that you really like, please let me know and I'll check it out!

Miss Independent

Top and Belt: Thrifted --- Skirt and Sandals: UO --- Necklace: F21 --- Purse: Target --- Rings: Handmade

I think I've been bitten with the hair bug. No, not lice. I mean the bug to always want to do something new with my hair. I adore my bangs and the color I got just 2 weeks ago, but I'm already planning the next big hair upheaval. It's kind of interesting that I got a comment from Tamara yesterday that I would look good as a blond, because I've actually been wanting to try that for a while. Don't worry, it would be a while before I did anything as drastic as that, but what do you think?

I applied for Independent Fashion Bloggers two days ago and I finally got approved last night. I doubt they actually turn anyone down, but I have to admit I got a little nervous after I hadn't be accepted after their stated 24 hour window. Mean! Anyways, if you are a fashion blogger and haven't checked it out yet, IFB is actually pretty neat and has lots of good articles and info. You can click on the IFB icon in my sidebar to see more.

And I just have to say I giant I'm sorry to anyone that was looking forward to a mini wallet tutorial today. I forgot to take the camera home from work with me yesterday. I will try to do it Sunday afternoon and get the tutorial up on Monday. So you still have plenty of time to dust off those sewing machines!

I Be Floral-y

Cardigan: Target --- Brooch: Etsy/Brydferth --- Top, Belt, And Skirt: Thrifted --- Pumps: Nordstroms/Seychelles --- Purse: Forever21 --- Rings: Handmade

Yesterday was such a nice day I decided to get off my lazy butt and do some shopping (which, you know, is such a burden). I did have to walk there since no one was around to give me a ride and I'm a turkey and don't drive, but it was positively lovely outside so I didn't mind at all. The only sad part about walking is that I can't wear as cute of shoes as I would like to, since generally speaking none of my cutesy heels are the type of shoes I'd feel comfortable walking a few miles in.

I only got a few things at the thrift shop, but they are pretty nice things so I was happy with the trip. My favorite find was probably this red tank top that I'm wearing today. It's Anne Taylor and has some cute pleating/tucking around the top. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the foolish, foolish woman in my town that bought it, left the tags on, never wore it, and then donated it to a thrift shop so little 'ol lucky me could score it for only $7. Brand new, people, brand new.

Anyways, I also went to the fabric store yesterday to get some fabric to make a mini wallet tutorial! I'm not sure how my time will go, but I'm hoping to do it tonight when I get home and put together the tutorial to post tomorrow or on Saturday. So dust off those old (or new) sewing machines of yours and get ready to make the cutest little wallet you'll ever own. Oh, and I'm going to give away the wallet I make for the tutorial, so be sure not to miss it! :)

The Case of the Missing Earring

Earring: Charlotte Russe --- Cardigan and Top: UO --- Belt: Forever21 --- Skirt: Thrifted --- Wedges: Kohls --- Clutch: Etsy/58BlueBirds

Man oh man, this skirt is like my #1 favorite thrift find ever. How much do I love it? I'm not sure exactly, but I loved it enough to buy it even though it was about 5 sizes too big for me and barely stayed up over my hips. I begged my mom to fix it for me, so she, being the genius she is, cut holes on the inside of the waistband and put some elastic through it. Now it fits perfectly around my waist. Y'all should be jealous she's my mom an not yours.

Did I mention it's Nicole Miller? It is was only $3? Because it's both! It's a thrifting score for the ages.

This morning when I got to work I noticed something weird. On one ear, I had an earring. On the other, I didn't. There are 3 possibilities of what happened to said missing earring.
1) I only put one on because I was thinking about unicorns or some other deeply interesting thing like that.
2) I did put the 2nd one off, but it fell off sometime between when I put it on (duh) and when I looked in the mirror at work (doubly duh).
3) The monster that lives in my ear ate it.

The world may never know.

Yesterday I made myself a new baby wallet. I've been getting tired of having to empty out my regular sized wallet every time I use a small clutch, so I finally got around to making myself a miniature one that will fit in any and all of my purses.

So I know several of you guys asked for a tutorial on the skirts I've been making, and I still want to do one of those in the future, but would you be interested in a mini-wallet tutorial? They're actually really simple and take only about 15-20 minutes to make once you get the hang of it. And they're super cheap, too, because they don't use much fabric. Anyways, let me know if you'd be interested, and based on your responses I may or may not do one.

Color Splash

Earrings: Handmade --- Top: Macy's --- Belt and Skirt: Thrifted --- Bracelets: Walmart --- Shoes: GoJane

I really love this top, but you'd never be able to tell by how often I've worn it in the past year. I wore it in France during my trip there last July, but not once since then. When I was doing a closet purge a few days ago, I saw it and gave myself the final ultimatum: Wear it or toss it. Since I couldn't bring myself to toss it, I'm wearing it and am quite happy I chose to do so.

Anyhow, I hope you all had lovely weekends! My weekend was probably the busiest (and most fun) that I've had in a good long while, and I barely spent any time blog reading and commenting and such so I'm looking forward to catching up on that this week. I'm actually going to have a good portion of this week off from work, but I've got a few goodies up my sleeve to keep you entertained in the absence of outfit posts.

(psstt... there might be a giveaway. just sayin')

Minty Fresh

Top: Anne Taylor Loft --- Belt and Skirt: Thrifted --- Shoes: Kohls --- Earrings and Ring: Handmade --- Bracelet: Charlotte Russe --- Purse: Etsy/58bluebirds

You know what I realized this morning? I have no blue or green shoes. It's a tragedy. I must resolve this situation as soon as possible.

I am feeling very optimistic about the weather today. It's forecast to be 67-freaking-degrees today, and though so far it's sitting comfortable around only 50, I am hopeful that I did not wear a nearly sleeveless top in vain.

This belt is seriously going in the "Favorite Thrift Finds Ever" category (don't ask me what else is in that category... I just made it up). The shade of mint is perfect, and it fits me perfectly. And for only $2? Yes pleaassse.

This morning I made the rookie mistake of forgetting to tell my new co-worker Sherri that I was going to work today and need tomorrow off. So I was sitting at the desk this morning around 9:45 when in walks Sherri, and I instantly start to feel stupid. Like really, really stupid. Hopefully I was just getting all of the stupid out early so now I'll do nothing dumb for the rest of the day. Not likely, but I can hope, right? Anyways, it turned out fine because (a) she didn't yell at me for making her come in to work for nothing and (b) she can work tomorrow. Crisis averted.

Maxi to the Max Part 2

Top and Necklace: Forever21 --- Skirt, Belt, and Purse: Thrifted --- Shoes: Target --- Rings: Handmade

Today I'm wearing 3 things I picked up on my birthday thrifting trip (I used my birthday as a good excuse to spend lots of money this year). Thankfully these items didn't cost much, though! The purse, which I did a little gasp for when I first saw it, was only $6, the maxi skirt was $3, and the belt was $2. Score, score, and score. *Curtsy*

I don't know how you guys feel about maxi skirts and dresses, but if you don't have any, go buy some ASAP because they're awesome. You can dress them up or down pretty easily, and they're just so comfortable to wear. Love.

Anyways, I had a fairly busy weekend, starting on Saturday night when the exchange student Gabe talked me into going and playing Capture the Flag at my old high school at 9pm. Long story short, he's probably never going to ask me to do that again, which may or may not have anything to do with the large amount of complaining I did the whole time we were there. Sorry, Gabe.

And of course, yesterday was Mother's Day, which meant family coming over for a steak lunch (including my cousin Stephanie, who is still hosting a giveaway on her blog to win 2 rings from my shop. Go enter!). A lot of you guys posted some really sweet blogs about your mom yesterday, which I enjoyed reading. I didn't do a whole post for it, but rest assured I think my mom is pretty fabulous. :)

Maxi to the Max

Blazer and Belt: Thrifted--- Dress and Purse: Forever21 --- Necklace: Target --- Heels: GoJane

Hey look, I have teeth! I was looking at my pics yesterday and was like, "Wow, I look so pissed in all of these". So then I looked at the previous day's pictures, and the pictures from the day before that, and from before that, and I look grumpy in all of them. So sorry about my grumpy face... I'm not a grumpy person, I swear! It's just a little difficult to give natural facial expressions to a camera when you're in a room all by yourself. Those of you who are blessed with someone to take your pics for you should go give that person a big hug (and possibly a kiss, unless that would be too awkward or something).

But anyways, I made a conscious effort to do a teeth-smile for you guys today. I doubt that'll happen often, but just know that I smile with my teeth quite often in real life. :)

This evening we're going to a baseball game, providing it doesn't rain. If my parents had to pay for the tickets I would have opted out because I pretty much hate baseball, but we got 4 tickets for free so I figured I could suffer through it since no one had to pay money for me. But seriously, I just don't get baseball. I watched a little bit of Gabe's JV game the other day and I almost fell asleep, and that's saying something because I was sitting on those uncomfortable bleacher seats. Last year we went and saw a Mariners game in Seattle, and while that was a little more interesting because of the huge stadium and atmosphere, it was still basically boring.

Sorry if I'm offending any baseball fans out there... I actually really love watching tennis, and I know a lot of people think that's super boring so I suppose it goes both way.

Setting Fire to the Rain on Cinco de Mayo

Earrings: Handmade --- Cardigan: Urban Outfitters --- Top: Anne Taylor Loft --- Belt and Skirt: Thrifted --- Shoes: Vera Wang for Kohls --- Vintage Clutch: Etsy/LookBackCloset

I am very much not in love with this look. Maybe it's just because I'm not used to seeing myself with bangs yet, but I think the most likely reason is that I picked out this outfit this morning. I rarely pick out clothing in the morning anymore... in fact I usually pick out outfits several days before I wear them.

Anyhow, I'll quit my complaining and wish you all a happy Cinco de Mayo! I'm not sure what people who celebrate this day usually to do celebrate it... do any of you guys celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Do you have a big party? Piñatas?

Thanks for all the kind words on the hair yesterday... when I woke up this morning and my bangs were pretty much sticking straight up in the air and looked ridiculous, I started panicking again that I made a mistake, but I read through the comments you all left yesterday and it calmed me down a bit. :)

This morning I bought myself Adele's 21. Her first album 19 was pretty incredible, but let me tell you, 21 is stunning. Just listen to these songs:



I could never get tired of listening to her voice... it's just so perfect.

I Will Remember a Cupcake Forever

Jewelry: Handmade --- Top, Belt, and Skirt: Thrifted --- Tights: Kohls --- Shoes: John Fluevog --- Purse: Forever21

I got this top at St. Vincent's a while back during a 50% off sale, so it was only $1.64. It's J. Jill, which I know is kind of an old lady brand, but I couldn't resist the awesome stripe detailing on the front, which is actually strips of fabric sewn on the front. Love.

Aquamarine Swarovski Ring, Teal Swarovski Ring

On a more serious note, I'm sure all of you have heard by now that Osama bin Laden was killed yesterday. I'm not a political person at all and like to avoid discussions about politics or watching about politics on the news at all costs. I did watch a live feed online for a while last night, though, because they kept on saying Obama was about to say something about it (I got bored of waiting and turned it off). One of the news anchors, though, said something I found highly amusing:

"American people will always remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard that Osama bin Laden was dead."

While I highly doubt that is true, I did find it funny because right when I turned on MSN and saw the headlines that bin Laden was dead, I was eating a cupcake. So I guess every time someone talks about bin Laden, an image of a cupcake is going to pop into my head. Sweet deal, if you ask me.

So what were you doing when you heard the news?

Plain Jane

Top: Target --- Necklace: Forever21 --- Belt and Skirt: Thrifted --- Tights: Kohls --- Oxfords: UrbanOg --- Vintage Purse: Etsy/58bluebirds

Well friends, I had to get my tights out again today. It's raining. Hard. On April 29th. I am near tears. The dull weather carried over to my outfit today, I think, because looking at this picture now I'm not sure why I thought this was an interesting outfit when I originally picked it out. But alas, I carry on.

I got this purse from 58bluebirds on Etsy. It's super cute and in nice condition. She's got a few other purses I'm eyeballing... if I make some sales soon I may just have to snap them up!

I'm going to be applying some changes to my blog today, so if you are here and everything looks funky, I promise it's only temporary! Well, at least I hope it will be temporary. I have a feeling I will probably screw something up, so keep your fingers crossed that that's not the case.