country christmas

Usually I wear something sort of dressy and "pretty" in a traditional way on Christmas. This year I kind of went a different way. I had just bought this shirt (I buy things for myself while Christmas shopping for presents for other people) and thought the colors were kind of holiday appropriate but it was also pretty western/cowboy-ish. I wanted a high-waisted skirt that wasn't black and wasn't very long to wear with it, which I didn't have. So I took this grey skirt which is NOT high-waisted, hiked it up a little and belted it, giving it a bit of a paperbag waist feel. I liked having a good half inch of the skirt showing at the top of the belt because it made the belt stand out more. When I tried it with the belt right at the line between skirt and shirt, it was way too busy and looked blah. To round out my country Christmas outfit, I threw on my clogs (seriously love these things) and pinned up my hair in milkmaid braids. I am loving the braids now more than ever because I can finally have them cross in the back before going around and meeting at the top of my head. It's a much smoother and understated look than the crown of braids I used to (and still sometimes) do.

This description is pretty indicative of the way I put together an outfit, at least the ones I blog. I certainly do still throw things on without much thought, but when I put a little effort into how I look it's kind of like fitting puzzle pieces together. You try two pieces together, they work or don't, you try something else, it doesn't work with what you started with but you like it more, so you scrap the first thing and build off what you have now. I rarely plan an outfit out fully before I get dressed unless it's something I've worn before because I never know exactly how things will work together. I like to have enough time to play with my clothes and enjoy the process. Usually I have some idea, a theme, inspiration, or single piece of clothing to build off of but that doesn't always end up in the finished outfit. What about you? How do you put together an outfit?

shirt - uo, skirt - thrifted, belt - thrifted, tights - garage sale, clogs - jeffrey campbell, purse - thrifted coach

christmas karaoke

sweatshirt - gap, skirt - urban outfitters, tights - dkny, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach, lipstick - revlon really red

This is such a comfy outfit but it still looks good. These days, I'm more comfortable in a short skirt and thick tights, especially with boots instead of heels. This outfit was loosely inspired by Rhiannon of Liebemarlene Vintage. I actually wanted to hem this plaid skirt to wear with this, but didn't get around to it. Instead, I wore this sweet smocked silk one instead. Which, as you probably have noticed, I wear with everything.

The night I wore this was just a few days before Christmas so all my friends from high school were back home. Of course that meant we all had to go to the local Tavern, and it turned out it was karaoke night. Justina, Amanda, and I sang "People Are People" and Shane and Shiloh sang "Ace Of Spades." Of course, when we signed up, we used the names JAR and the SS. The dj was confused, but also thought it was funny. He also definitely appreciated the Depeche Mode song selection. Shane's brother and his friend also came, which was funny. The brothers are pretty much the same person, they even laugh the same.

first flood

You guys, I am so damn behind in posting. I've stopped taking pictures even because I have such a backlog that I need to get through. I just need to post more often, right? For example, these are from...early December, when we had some pretty major flooding. Not enough to make me miss work though, to my disappointment.

peacoat - old navy, buffalo plaid flannel shirt - thrifted, skirt - thrifted, tights - urban outfitters, boots - thrifted, hat - gift

You should have seen my face after running around in the rain taking pictures all morning. I was paying no attention until I hopped back in my car to head to work and glanced in my rearview mirror. Mascara was streaked all down my face. It looked sooo funny but luckily I had a spare tshirt to clean my face off.

carnivorous accessories (my scarf is eating me)

So this is quite old but one of my favorite outfits. How freaking cool is that giant scarf?? This was towards the beginning of winter when I was all excited about winter-y accessories. Yeah, skinny cords and a pea coat aren't that exciting but things get interesting when you add the most gigantic red knit scarf ever made. Actually, looking at these pictures is making me think about getting out some hats and scarves and things again. Lately I've been depending on just a coat over a regular outfit, which is fine, but since I've been wearing the same coat over and over again, it's really boring.

coat - old navy, cords - gap, boots - thrifted, scarf - mom's

quick post

I'm working on some more substantial posts right now, but I thought I'd throw up this photobooth photo from New Year's Eve. The dude on the left with the beard is Shiloh, Shane is on the right with glasses, and Amanda is peeking her head in from the top on the last frame. And of course, I'm in the middle and back, with the red lipstick and topknot.

god I've missed this

Holy hell, it does not seem like I am meant to have a blog these days. my shitty internet went out near the beginning of the month and we only finally got it fixed just yesterday. So I'm awfully sorry and feel terribly bad that I haven't blogged in so long. It's weird, I really did miss it. I'd think about things I wanted to post and then get all sad when I realized I was probably much to lazy to go to the library and actually do that. I've also been pretty boring in what I've been wearing. Lots of cords or skinny jeans with big thrifted sweaters mainly. This picture was from before Christmas but I never got around to posting it. Pretty good example of what I've been wearing lately, since I haven't bothered to take many photos. There are a few good ones I have squirreled away so there's no great lack of blogging material.

sweater - thrifted, tee - pacsun, jeans - gap, shoes - thrifted, purse - thrifted coach

So, the one good thing about a lack of internet is the amount of reading I did. In the last couple weeks I've read at least six books, one of which was 600+ pages. I used to do stuff like that all the time, when I was a kid, and it feels really nice to just absolutely devour books again. The highlights of my book binge include The World According to Garp, Lolita, and a Nero Wolf book. There was also some Jane Austen, Ray Bradbury, and Kate Chopin in there, and I finally finished Les Miserables. 

I also started watching another Korean drama, this one my friend has on dvd and she lent me the first disk. It's called Boys Before Flowers and it is absolutely great. Even better than the last one I was watching, Playful Kiss. The girl, Jan Di, is so much more of a badass. Seriously, she regularly kicks dudes in the face and I love her for it. The asshole boy (because it seems like Koreans love jerky boys) is so ridiculously adorable it just makes me want to die. 

I guess since I'm talking about media consumption I ought to also mention that I've been going to see a lot of movies with my friend Amanda lately. We saw Black Swan quite awhile ago, and then The King's Speech and most recently Blue Valentine, which was incredibly sad but good. Usually we go to the theater right by her house but that one was only playing at the Egyptian on Capitol Hill and ended up making friends with this random stranger when we stopped for a slice of pizza after.

8 year old hooker with a heart of gold

ugh, you guys, last night was rough. I did a LOT of walking in those heels. It was also insanely fun. I drank a lot, at a lot of different bars, and even got cut of for the first time in my life. Some of my favorite people were around and I kissed three people at midnight. I called my best friend to tell her I loved her, and my dad to try to get him to come buy us drinks since we couldn't. I also got honked, cat-called, and whistled at, and decided I looked like an 8 year old hooker with a heart of gold. (The dress makes me look 8, the heels and tights look hooker-ish.) The night ended with drunkenly watching Arrested D in a big tangled pile of friends, while fending off advances from a boy who ought to know better. Unfortunately I forgot my camera at home, so I don't have pictures other than a ripped in half strip from a photobooth, which I can't show you because my scanner is broken. So...one more picture from last night before going out, this one just to show off how insanely sparkly my tights were. (So sparkly in fact, that when I was walking on a dark trail to meet my friend, she saw me WAY before I could see her.)