Obnoxious

I made a big mistake wearing these amazingly absurd gold shoes. I've spent 97% of the summer season in either my Chacos or barefoot. Because I don't leave the house often enough and I have no shame walking the dog in my finest loungewear.

Anyway, I wore this a few weeks ago to lunch out with a very pregnant girlfriend (who has since had a tiny little boy!) and it was a lovely 1.5 km walk to the nearby restaurant street through the lakeside park near our place. However, I forgot that while the squishy foot bed is heaven, the shoe is enclosed. Like, a for-real shoe. Which made dime-sized blisters on both heels. Ouchy and Oops.

Also, how adorable is Violet in this obnoxious citron romper? I got so lucky that a shopaholic friend is having a boy for baby 2 and I got all of her daughter's hand-me-down goodness.

Adios to the Three Musketeers

Skirt, Cardigan, Belt, Necklace: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange

Well, it's happened. We had our first for-real adios. Our friend (Rob, his Bromance, and this buddy all three came into the doctoral program together) is getting ready to skip town for several summer festivals and conferences and he definitely won't be back before we leave. There have been a few friends that have left after the school year ended who we won't see again before we move, but this is the first major goodbye.

And I didn't cry. Don't know how I managed it, but I didn't cry. It may be because his wife is still in town and I know we'll spend time together, so it doesn't feel "real" yet.

Anyway, we did a BBQ, because there really isn't a better way to say farewell than with a potluck and burgers. We started a grease fire, let it burn off and roasted marshmallows a few hours later, sipped a hodgepodge of leftover beers from the graduation BBQ, nibbled on chips until the 90% humidity made them stale and disgusting, and did a lot of really good reminiscing.

Gosh, it's been a good four years here in Houston.

St. Patty's '13

Jeans: Gap...Tee: J Crew Factory...Shoes: Chacos...Headscarf: thrifted...Necklace: Etsy

This headscarf has become my St. Patrick's Day tradition. It has green cherry motif on it. No joke. And since I legit love dark dark dark beers all the time, Guinness isn't really a big deal for me, so I have to find another point of thrill for the "holiday." This silly little scarf is it.

I got to spend a lot of the weekend hanging out with Homer, our neighbors' basset hound (up in the first photo). He and Miles are besties, but they wear one another out FAST. They spent several hours of togetherness mouth breathing on each other rather than really wrestling because they ran around nonstop for the first 45 minutes. He's only about 6 months old, but he's getting darn big. I really wanted to bring both pups to meet up with the Beer Golf Tournament on campus, but Homer is a little too much of a hound dog: distracted on long walks by his nose and lazy as crap. I would have spent lots of the time on campus literally carrying him around. Nope. That's 50 pounds or more.

So, Miles got to go. And Rob's Bromance brought me back the following tee from his recent trip to Ireland. Onto which I fumbled/caught/paddleball tossed/caught again/fumbled a cupcake into my shirt. With the full palm of my hand. You better believe I ate the rest of the cupcake mush. Miles licked the whipped cream frosting part for me. Day: made for my chow-hound.

Oops.

Polka Dots and Crazed Colors

Skirt & Belt: H&M...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Pearls: Beijing vendor

Audrey, J's Fashion and Marion have, over the last month or so, each posted an outfit with a polka dot skirt that made me reeeeeally crave wearing my new acquisition (there is an H&M in Houston now, but the selection sucked, so I was able to find this goodie in Toledo when I went home at the end of July), but my timing was extremely poor. I bashed my knee up during my bike fall so soon after I got back, I've only just started wearing skirts again. Well, my appetite for this skirt has been whet and I'm preeeetty sure I'll have to slap my own hand away from it over the next week or so to avoid wearing it for days on end. I forgot it fit so well and is so comfortable. Best/worst discovery of the week.

I grabbed this citron yellow shirt as a first impulse and asked my Guy, "Is this too 'bumblebee'?" No response. Grabbed a fuchsia belt and asked, "Too much?" No response. Swapped fucsia for mint and added a cheerful periwinkle cardigan and asked, "Too crazy?" This finally got a reaction- "Dude, all your color combinations have been super crazy, I don't know. Just wear it. I gotta go." Well, alrighty-Rooney. My mostly neutral color preferences make way for way-weird color combinations, I guess. Overcompensation. I'm cool with that.

Easy To Wear

Dress: Beijing seamstress...Belts: Target...Scarf: gifted from Katie...Bag: Furla, gifted from Katie...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bracelet: thrifted

Hokay, so this is how my at-home ombre turned out. Super different, huh? I'm very pleased with the results.

No, really, this is how my box-o-dye ombre turned out. I picked a permanent light warm blonde and it stripped/lifted/lightened about 5.25% of my natural medium brown. And that's it. And I'm nervous to dive in with bleach. Tips and tricks for at-home? Because I'm gonna give it a shot this week sometime.

We're still in the midst of on again/ off again rain... so it was overcast when I began these photos and got blasted in the face with sun by the end. I also really really love this dress, it was one I had made in Beijing while I was visiting my sister last year and this intersection of casual linen and a structured silhouette is just so easy to wear. And so easy to play with accessories. I've only worn it once (I think) on the blog, but it's been a goodie I grab for when we go to friends' houses for nice dinners, a concert on campus, blah blah blah. I wear the skirts I had made in China all the dang time, but it's nice to have a 1-piece easy option, too. Add some cheerful belts, a lightweight trippy-mod printed scarf, a simple gold charm on the wrist and call it done. Floral-print shoes are a bonus.

Happy Monday! I'm spacey enough to have only tales of dumb clothes rather than any good stories from the weekend. I'll do better tomorrow.

Cars: A Tale of Misuse

Dress: Target...Blazer: Banana Republic, thrifted...Belt & Necklace: Target...Shoes: Nine West

I've decided that this week will be all about story-telling from my childhood. And here's why.

Amazing images from Shybiker's day at the racetrack made my mind wander back to kid-dom and the time COSI had a Speed Racers' exhibit about the physics of racing. The theme song got totally stuck in your head and over and over again the narration would remind you to "tuuuuurn toward the apex and accellerate out of the turn." Fine advice for a 10 year old. Many golf carts after that time were tested at full speed. And, no, we did not flip any.

This also led to the thrill of what I can only describe as the strangest afternoon of fun times with my dad and sister. My first car (when I finally started driving at 17) was a '91 Honda Civic with no upgrades at all. Manual, no power locks or power steering, no clock, no cupholders, we didn't spring for the passenger side mirror. But that car was magical. And one afternoon on the ride home from the grocery store that was barely 1/2 mile away, I discovered that if you scoot the passenger seat up and then hold the lever while dad accellerated, you rocket back like you're on a roller coaster. I made him stop the car and my sister and I piled onto the front seat and rode the roller coaster together over and over again in 20 foor increments of pavement. It was the best 1/2 mile car ride of my life.

And one of the strangest stories I've ever divulged to the internets. You're welcome.

Rituals

We have a Sunday night ritual. There's a Grad Bar on Rice University's campus called Valhalla. It's grungy, totally a dive bar and sells 5 beers at a time on tap from $.95 to around $2.30 (which is awesome). And they're normally local, boutique or well-loved microbrews. My Guy and I started going every Sunday evening during Bromance's hour-long volunteer (that's how they keep it cheap!) bartending shift. The fun thing is each bartending shift is allowed to play whatever music they want, the vibe of the bar changes from hour to hour based on which volunteer is behind the counter.

Here's the rub- our Sunday ritual has become increasingly popular with the music nerd crew. And louder. And the songs aren't changing from week to week. And I am such an introvert that I can't handle the noise and don't enjoy the same music cycle over and over and don't like that I can't talk to people because the crew is too busy yelling song lyrics... the same as weeks before.

It should be fun because it's a ritual. But, yeesh. Must it be at the decibel level of a sonic jet? Do you have any rituals that that gone a little awry?

Late Night

I started grabbing, literally grabbing, at things to wear this morning and I have a few things to say:
1. My hair is a wreck, no judgement, please.
2. This citron tee got little drips of green dye on it a long time ago and it got relegated to weekend wear, which I forgot.
3. Good thing the drips are covered by this awesomely lightweight (slip definitely needed) high-waisted skirt I had made out of crazy fabric market fabric clippings in Beijing.
4. I thought bright on bright with the tee and belt would be fun.
5. It's surprisingly toned down with the maroon cardi.
6. For our late-to-get-up-and-go day, this was a shocking outfit win.

We each had an inadvertantly late night yesterday, My Guy spent late into the night chatting with our neighbors outside at the picnic table in the courtyard, I got sucked into the Spotify game- you know, type in a musician you like, click around on other related artists. Next thing you know, you've wasted  2 1/2 hours adding over 100 songs you've never heard to a playlist. Good use of my time over a good night's sleep.

Skirt: made in Beijing...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: thrifted...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Target...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Necklace: Target

Weekend Recap

I think I need to invest in a new sewing machine, which breaks my heart. A few weeks ago, I was tailoring a skirt and BAM! Something jammed and the wheel won't turn more than halfway. Nothing is visibly stuck in a gear. My machine is an early 80's gem that is built into a table, but the repair cost is too high to justify right now. So I might buy a little Singer for my alterations for now and cough up the cash for repairs when I get into projects of more substance (not likely to happen while my Guy is still in school and we're still living in 520 square feet. Alterations are all I have room for). So, that's on the docket for today: locate a new machine because...

My thrift finds this weekend are magic. And I want to wear them ASAP. Namely my ridiculous rodeo-print wrap skirt. And the fruit skirt from a few weeks ago.

Aaaaanyway, this weekend has been nice. Friday I got home super late, so we ate burgers from our favorite dive (It's called Lucky Burger- you can order a side of fries or fried rice. And the sweet Taiwanese owner lady knows my name). We watched PCU with a friend and zonked out early.
Saturday morning was lazy and wonderful and my Guy started on cover letters and CV revision for job applications. I left around lunch to thrift with a girlfriend who won a French Horn job at the San Antonio Symphony. It was my first time to this place called "The Guild Shop"- it. was. insane. I will spend the entire time it's open one day and just sift through the jewelry. I didn't even touch it yesterday, there was too much. And everything is in a case, so you have to take a number to go through it with a volunteer. We hit up the Salvation Army afterwards. HUGE, but the prices were awfully high. I found a leather skirt, but put it back. $19? I don't think so. I'll wait until green tag day. The evening was spent watching Halloween-y movies at Bromance's place. Taco dip and Chex Mix. I stuffed myself silly.
And today is chill. I'm taking another girlfriend up to the most 80's thrift store ever and we're hunting for costumes for her. This is the most social I've been in ages.

Saturday:

Jeans: Gap...Button down: Target...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: via Buffalo Exchange

Halloween-y Movie Night:

Seriously, how silly is this? Dress: Thrifted...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Belt: Gap...Shoes: Chacos

 Sunday:

Jeans: Gap...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: J Crew Outlet... Bag: via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Chacos

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Rest up and I'll see you tomorrow!

Repair Day!

After yesterday's Cat Tragedy, I choose to spitefully wear this top, the one I repaired, the one that caused a needle to be out for her to swallow. My little girl is fine, she's home and is active post needle-removal surgery. It was all totally my fault that she had access to the needle in the first place, but I'm glad to have her home and doing well.

So, about this demon shirt: I snagged it at Buffalo Exchange a while back and, while I'm drawn to tribal prints and rustic motifs, I just can't seem to find a logical place in my wardrobe for them. They're bold, which is not my MO, as I'm finding. I prefer subdued colors, classic color pairings, mildly preppy inspired, borderline minimalist looks. Ikat doesn't really have a place in that. But at $4, I made room in my closet for a boxy tank with loud olive, turquoise and black striations. I wore it once as-is and decided I really ought to alter it a little. The sewing machine I've been gifted needs repairs still and so I quit stalling and just hand stitched it. With nearly 4" total taken in, it fits infinitely better and can now become a regular visitor in my lightweight fall transition wardrobe.

Poor Eddie cat with her IV bandage.

It's imperfect, but it'll do for now.

I did bind the seam at the armpit so it lies flat and I don't have to trim the fabric.

Blouse: Target via Buffalo...Skirt: China-made...Cardigan... Target...Belt: stolen...Shoes: MaxStudio via DSW

Miles, in front of my mirror, wondering who is rattling around in the hallway.

Black in the shirt with brown accents... I think it's chic.

Kindly pardon the eye puff and bed head. I thought I would try out sleeping on uncombed wet hair for less frizzy waves. I have some tweaking to do, but I think this could be a better looking no effort hairstyle if I incorporate a curling iron for a few corrections. I just need a curling iron.

What else in in your repair piles? I'm down to nipping in the armpits of a really lovely periwinkle tank with a high, ruffled neckline. I might need to enlist a friend with a sewing machine for that one.

Closet Orphans, 3 options

I began rooting through my closet looking for lonely, unused clothing and came to the realization that I really only keep what I know I'm going to wear. I did discover a treasure trove of items that I need to try to resell or donate for the upcoming fall season, so it's loaded in my car, awaiting an opportunity to do so! I hope some lunchtime this week allows me the opportunity, it would be so nice to get that stuff out of my hair.
Anyway, I did come across a few blouses and skirts that I feel less that fabulous in, so I tried styling them a different way. I wear them for only special reasons or a certain "type" of outfit, so they're Closet Typecasts. The Steve Buscemi characters of my wardrobe. The Keanu Reeves persona of my chest of drawers. Enough analogies? Well, then let's get to the break-down.

Late night try-on 1: The DVF thrifted blouse. It is so lovely and is a great silk crepe, I couldn't pass it up. AND IN MY SIZE! How many times does that happen while thrifting? Anyway, the silk, the gold detail, the ruffles, it's all so beautiful, but how does one wear it? I feel like if I tried to do a Fancy/ Casual thing with this blouse  and pair it with a pair of skinny jeans, the ruffles would make it look like a dressed up Rodeo. I don't really have a pencil skirt that would do it justice and match it's fabulousness. Thoughts? Opinions?

The white skirt was noooot right. Blouse: DVF, thrifted...Skirt: thrifted...Shoes: Kate Spade, thrifted

The detail sure is beautiful, though!

Late night try-on 2: the Target patterned skirt. I felt a little better in this outfit, but it was too casual for the work week. I'm also not convinced I got the shoes right when I styled it. Maybe oxfords. Or a wedge heel. Something with just a liiiittle more presence to give weight to my lower extremities. The tiny striped sweater is fun, though, huh?

Skirt: Target...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Sweater: J Crew Outlet...Shoes: Biviel, DSW...Belt & Bag: thrifted

That's a whole lot of texture!

What I really wore: Thrifted swing blouse. This blouse nearly made its way out of my closet several times. It is really really wide. It has never looked good in terms of fit, even though I took it in already so the swing silhouette wasn't comically large. It's just large now. I haven't been able to part with it yet for two reasons: The print is so frickin' cheerful and it will one day make cuuute maternity wear. Perhaps I should just choose not to wear it again until I'm at least 30 weeks along. Which may be a while.

Blouse: thrifted...Skirt: thrifted...Sweater: Gap...Shoes: Nine West, Buffalo Exchange

These are at the top end of my heel high tolerance.

Cloisonne cheapies from Beijing

What do you all think? Any good at all?


One last goodie: I can't keep baby hairs and clumps of loose stuff in my high buns, so I flipped my head over, began a french braid at the bottom and ended up with this: