cute as a cupcake

So the other day my awesome friends, J and A stopped by work to drop me off one of the special, limited time Easter cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes. Yeah, I do have the very best friends ever. They stuck around for a bit until I could go to lunch and we ate together outside by the river. Doesn't J look adorable? I love her super cute style.

on me: shirt - mom's, cardigain - uo, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - steve madden, sunglasses - topshop (london), purse - thrifted dooney & burke

on j: skirt and hairclip - h&m (new york), boots and necklace - yesstyle.com, tshirt - target, jean jacket - american eagle, tights - forever 21, tote - sanrio

choco cupcakes and cute puppies

Last week Emily and I made cupcakes for our sweet coworker's last day. She had been at the store for something like 25 years and she's just the nicest lady so we were really sad to see her go. We were at Emily's mom's house (she was housesitting) so we made it easy on ourselves and used a mix for the chocolate cupcakes. But since I can never just make a simple boxed cupcake, I made the cream cheese frosting from scratch and filled the cupcakes with strawberry jam. YUM. It was a good combo. And a perfect balance between easy and special.

We also got to play with her mom's adorable new puppy! I want to steal the little sweetheart, but I'll content myself with begging Emily to take Bella for walks and let me tag along. I snapped a bunch of pictures because she's just the sweetest little dog. So cute!

new bag

sweater - urban outfitters, shirt - target, skirt - thrifted, tights - sockdreams, boots - thrifted, leather backpack - thrifted, necklaces - talonalia

I was kind of exhausted today because I went out last night and then I had to work, even though I don't usually have to work on Saturdays. Oh well, Emily asked me to switch, so at least I got the later shift. I'll write about last night later, probably tomorrow, because it was pretty fun, and funny, although also completely ridiculous. Emily came with me, so I took her home and then just crashed at her apartment since I had to work in the morning. We totally binged on junkfood on the way home. 

Work was kind of mildly frustrating today. I was up at the registers, which I really don't mind too much but for some reason it bugged me a lot more than it did Thursday. Maybe I'm just sick of it and want to go back to my own department where I know how everything works. It wasn't bad exactly, in fact we were all pretty goofy and fun all day, but . . . I don't know, it tired me out.

I snapped these pictures this evening after work. I have to say, for all my complaining about our lousy weather  lately, I am loving the longer days. Just a month, or even a few weeks ago, there is no way I could have taken pictures outside after work, even if I got off at 5. I really wanted to get pictures because I wanted to show off this leather backpack I thrifted! I've been looking for something cute and neutral that I can use for short trips, hikes, picnics, whatever and I liked this one, especially in the cream color. But I really don't like faux-leather; there's something about the feel that bothers me and the way a lot of it is distressed so it's lighter on the edges ust looks so fake. Finding this backpack was kind of perfect! It appears to be handmade because there's a lot of flaws and some of the leather is weirdly stiff while some of it is lovely and supple. But that wonkiness only adds to its charm for me, so I'm really happy I found it.

I know I've shown off these Talonlia necklaces before, but I just love them. I bought the two of them at the same time and I always wear the two of them together. I picked up this shirt one day when I didn't go home to my house to sleep and didn't have a change of clothes. I like the southwestern motif and colors. (Can we please all try to stop saying "tribal" and "ethnic"? What tribe? What ethnicity? These are silly terms. I mean, even kilts could be called tribal, right?)

crafty girl

I think I've mentioned before that sometimes I get to bring projects home from work. This is one of our new lines Christy Tomlinson's "She" by Pink Paislee. It's really fun and mixed media-y, I guess because she designed it as stuff she would actually use in her own work. I made this wood plaque, which I think I'll buy when we're done displaying it at the store, a bunch of cards, and a scrapbook page I don't show here because I haven't added the photo yet. I think the plaque would be really fun displayed in a craft room, hence the phrase (I love those wood letters, by the way!) "crafty girl."

p.s. One of the managers at work, Beth, just started a circle Smash. She got a Smash book (super cool mixed media journals) and is passing it around, letting different people do a page. She gave it to me to do the first page and I'm such a mix of nervous and excited! I also just took her art journaling class at the store, which was a blast.

on it like a bonnet

I had such a nice day today! Ems visited me at work (she was actually dropping off cupcakes for our favorite dude, who is sadly leaving the store tomorrow) and on my lunch we went out by the river and smoked while we chatted. It was a nice to have a break from being "on" like I am all day at customer service. It's nice to be able to scowl, and curse, and complain. And how cute is Emily's little embroidered cardigan? Darling!

After work, J came and picked me up (I let her use my car after she took me to work because hers broke down on Friday) and we had dinner with Amanada and Liam. We went to this rad Chinese restaurant I hadn't tried before. The decor is bonkers, with tons of fake plants, twinkle lights, and weird large, round, colored lights all over the restaurant. The food was damn good though. I had honey walnut crispy shrimp which was weird and delightful and Liam ordered this delicious tofu dish. It was cool to get something different at a Chinese restaurant, you know? So many places it's all orange chicken and mongolian beef.

sweater - icelandica (reykjavik), plaid shirt - thrifted, wool skirt - thrifted, tights - old, boots - thrifted, bag - thrifted dooney & burke

After dinner we were going to see a movie but when we got to the theater it turned out it wasn't playing when we thought it was. Apparently Fandango can't be trusted. We dicked around and argued about seeing another movie before we finally discovered it was playing twenty minutes later in the next town. So we dashed back to our cars and got there just in time. I saw a preview for this adorable chimp movie I want to see when it comes out. Apes get to me when they do things we do. It's cool when you see that they really are just like us. The baby chimp snuggling made my heart melt.

totally tutu

We created what is probably the coolest retail display ever at work recently. For our tutu section, which before has had kid sized tutus on dolls or hanging from the ceiling, we made paperdolls of ourselves and dressed them in little mini tutus. All the girls in our department, plus our best dude, got to be photographed doing silly ballet poses and then we printed them, glued them to foamcore, cut them out, and created mini tutus for each of us. I'm up top, wearing the purple and teal tutu, and Allison is right next to me, wearing a pink tutu. This was so fun and reminded me that I basically have the best job ever.

i'm kind of a big dill

Have you seen this cute illustration on Pinterest?* I've been obsessed with pickles lately, eating tons of them. I pickled a bunch of green tomatoes last summer and now when I eat a jar, I fill the jar with other veggies and reuse the leftover brine (you can do this with storebought pickles too). Obviously, they're not shelf stable, but after a week in the fridge they're delicious. Anyways, I told one of my managers that, and then she saw that illustration on Pinterest, so she recreated it for me. Isn't she sweet? Thanks Beth! I'm really sad I couldn't take her art journaling class yesterday because it seemed like a blast. Girl is talented!

*Are you on Pinterest? Follow me and tell me yours in the comments. I'm always looking for cool new people to follow!

mustard at last

sweater - american rag, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, bag - coach, shoes - target

I know I've shown this particular spot behind my work a billion times, but there's this heron that hangs out here. You can see it, although it blends in a bit, in the bottom picture, sitting on the second log. I like when I see this him, he sits so still on that log, it kind of relaxes me.

The sweater I'm wearing I bought a few years ago but I've never worn it much. It's kind of a difficult piece for me, with the big kimono sleeves and gathered waistband. I've worn it with jeans in the past but always thought it looked kind of funny that way. The proportions were off. Finally, the other day I decided to try it with my fav gray wool skirt, and um, I'm pretty sure everything goes with this skirt. Seriously, this is the first time I've been totally happy with this sweater, so...YAY.

your weight gain is my clothing gain

I had the coolest thing happen last week! I was wearing my favorite blanket skirt at work, and I went to put something on hold at customer service for a customer. The customer my co-worker was ringing up noticed it and told me she really liked it. Then she looked a little puzzled and asked me where I got it. I told her Value Village of course, and she started laughing and told me she had donated that very skirt to Value Village. It was so weird to meet someone who had gotten rid of something I chose to pick up. It was cool because she still liked the skirt, it just didn't fit her anymore. So she was really happy to see that someone else wore and loved it, and she told me she thought it looked good on me.

tank - target, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, cardigan - uo, boots - thrifted

I could do better

tee - target, dress - thrifted, skirt - thrifted, tights - uo, boots - thrifted

Oh god, I love the stupid squinting face and weird-armed pose in this photo. Don't think I'm too vain to post unflattering pictures of myself on my blog. This (and most of my recent posts) is not super current since I've been awful about photographing my outfits lately. Which is a bummer because I've worn some cute stuff. But I've been so busy going to things and doing things that I haven't taken pictures. So we're stuck with stuff like this.

flesh and bone by the telephone

tee - target, hoodie - ae, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - aldo

Now that I've trimmed my bangs, I'm kind of missing the longer ones pinned back like this. Constant struggle to determine what the eff I want to do with my hair. What problems! Oh, and these tights are purple, which you can hardly see in this photo. Bleh.

someone tell me to shut up about the weather

shirt - thrifted, sweater - uo, cords - gap, pink moccasins - target, bag - liberty of london for target, strawberry popsicle - safeway

Seriously, don't I sound like a fucking broken record? Yay, it's hot! Now it's not, when will it be hot again? That's all I talk about. Am I old? This picture kind of is, like maybe the beginning of the month. It's a boring work outfit I wore on a nice day when I wanted to feel summery.

weather complaints

shirt - thrifted alternative apparel, pants - target, boots - thrifted

I would give anything for this sort of weather to be a bit more constant. I love love love summer weather and just want it to be hot and sunny for ever. I think I need to move! My friend and I were looking at houses for rent in Georgia and oh my god, there was a 4 bedroom house with a clawfoot tub (!) for about what we would pay for a shitty 2 bedroom apartment here. I just want to live somewhere hot! It's hot in Georgia, right?

sockless summer

shirt - urban outfitters, cardigan - urban outfitters, corduroys - gap, shoes - steve madden, bag - liberty of london for target

I'm trying to get back in the habit of regular blogging and not wait weeks to post pictures. So in the spirit of that goal, here is what I wore today. Finally the weather is nice! Yesterday was crazy hot and I went to a graduation party for one of my friends. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures but it was the perfect day for a barbecue. Today was also gorgeous but I had to work.

When I first got these shoes a couple months ago I wasn't so sure about them. They needed breaking in since they weren't too comfortable. Now they're super comfy even without socks and I think I'll wear them a ton this summer. I still want them to get a bit more beat up and dirty looking since they're too light and clean right now. But that'll happen, 'cause I'll wear the hell out of them.

elephant rides

shirt - thrifted, cords - gap, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, glasses - zenni optical

This is a total lazy work outfit. We got a new elephant for kids to ride outside the store and my coworker convinced me to pose on it. We're a bit of a goofy bunch.

boring times call for indifferent measures

jacket - cotton on (australia), cords - gap, scarf - old, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

This outfit is halfway in between not giving a fuck and making an effort. It's not an exciting outfit, but it is a combination I had not worn before. Yeah, I wear the boots and cords together ALL the time but the jacket and scarf I haven't worn in ages. This scarf is rather wonderful in how HUGE it is. I mean, it's seriously massive. And this little military jacket has always been a favorite because I bought it in Australia. I agonized over that decision for ages because it was back when I really didn't spend money on clothes. But I kept seeing it in this shop window and I tried it on twice and I'd been wanting one similar for ages, so finally I just bought it. It's really not anything that crazy-special, but when I bought it, it kind of was, at least to me.

Anyways, it's kind of interesting to wear something different even when you don't totally love it. This isn't going to become a staple like my boots/cords/giant sweater outfit or layering my pleated skirt under my black floral dress. It's also nothing crazy out there that I felt uncomfortable in, nor is it something I absolutely hated. It's just a kind of in-between-y, one wear's all it needs sort of outfit. But sometimes you need to do something a little different, even if it isn't as good as your tried and true staples. And you better be able to do that without buying anything new because you can't just go shopping every time you get bored.

That being said, I've been shopping a lot. ^_^ A lot of the things I've bought are for my trip but others are just amazing things that you'll see soon. I might just do a quick post of new purchases. They're pretty.

still haven't got that damn gold paint of my boots

striped tee - old, flannel - gap, skirt - thrifted, hat - gift, tights - target, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, lips - revlon really red

This is a work outfit from when my computer was out of commission. The hat was a present from my great-aunt, who my mom got to see at Thanksgiving and I did not. It's super cozy and surprisingly works really well over my hair pinned up. I wore it over braids a lot during our crazy snowing/flooding/super cold weather that we had way too early in the winter.

policeman in the clouds

sweater - step-dad's, 90s dress - thrifted, pleated skirt - thrifted, tights - old, clogs - jeffrey campbell, purse - thrifted coach, lip color - just bitten lipstain by revlon in gothic

Guys, I think this might be one of my favorite outfits in a really long time. I wore this to work, for no special reason, although everyone kept asking me if I had a date or something. Hehe. The heels were a little intense for a whole day of work, but I stuck it out. I had flats in my locker just in case but everyone was so doubtful that they would be comfortable that I just had to stick it out. They are mad comfortable, but 8 hours in heels is kinda too much for me. But SO cute, god I can't even handle how much I love these clogs.

This is such an example of how goth-y I've been feeling since I dyed my hair darker. So much grey and black. I mean, I loved a bit more color for awhile, but deep down, I'm a black kind of girl. And dudes, how great does that pleated skirt look under the floral dress? I'm rambling, and sadly don't have any exciting stories to go with this awesome outfit, but yeah, wearing rad shit makes me stoked.

ducksss

So I know it's been ages since my last real post. I've been busy with life, both good and bad. I've been alternating between extreme happiness--days filled with sun and friends, booze and good music; and sadness and lethargy. I'm trying to focus on the happy things, and there's a lot of that so it's not too hard, but I have been bummed a lot lately too. The combination of the two, and the lack of any sort of middle ground, has definitely contributed to my not posting. When things are going well, I'm too busy doing really great awesome fun rad things to even think about blogging. I'd always rather be swimming or drinking or going to shows than sitting at home writing a blog post, as much as I do enjoy blogging. I never ever would choose my computer over living my life. But lately the days I would usually blog, the ones where I'm sitting around at home doing nothing, or after work and I don't feel like going out, I've been in too lousy of a mood to want to write about clothes and junk.

But enough whining, and enough excuses. I'm back now! I just needed to hash that out, for myself, and it was good.

tee - pacsun, skirt - thrifted, necklaces - talonalia, boots - thrifted rockport, sunglasses - thrifted humphreys

This is one of the spots I like to eat lunch on nice days when I'm at work. It's by a river and a bike path and there's a little bench that's really nice to sit on. Sometimes there's ducks to watch and once I saw a heron. I sit on the bench and read and it's usually my favorite part of the day. Especially when there's ducks. Did I mention the ducks?

They're so cute!

work

shirt - urban outfitters, skirt - old, tights - dkny, shoes - converse, purse - thrifted coach, glasses - zenni optical

This outfit is kind of a combination of lazy and cute, with my glasses and pinned back bangs, and then the skirt and actually rather cute floral print tee. Also, I took a picture in the break room while wearing my apron. I'm starting to have a pretty good collection of pins on my apron. My favorites are the random band pins for my friends bands that no one has heard of. I always have to explain those.