Wednesday, August 18, 2010

new acquisition: canvas backpack

i never thought i'd be lusting after.... a backpack. especially since i've finally just now finished my schooling career. i should not be wanting corduroys, new clicky pens, pretty agendas, and backpacks! i'm getting too old for silly things like that.... ha :).

regardless, i still have been wanting one ever since i saw the one in the urban outfitters' summer catalog:


kimchi blue backpack, $68

but $68? for something as trendy as a backpack? definitely not. i usually don't spend more than $30 on anything, much less on something that may be totally dorky in a couple months. 

so what i ended up doing was typing in "canvas backpack" on ebay, and found this amazing bag!


you can wear it as a messenger bag, which is pretty darn cute:


or you can fasten the straps at different places and wear it as a backpack!


isn't that a perfect solution? so when the whole military thing gets passe, i can just wear it as a cute, functional messenger bag! or i can wear it to go hiking, camping, whatever! i'm so glad i bought this for right at $30 on ebay, instead of $68 from uo! yikes.

so when i get sick of the whole utilitarian look, i'm thinking about pinning on tons of sparkly brooches. fun, right?


Tuesday, August 17, 2010

inspiration: kenzo fall 2010

holy moly, this collection is definitely my favorite for fall. stunning.







all photos: style.com

suddenly i have a new wishlist for fall:

1. an indiana jones hat. won't my dad be proud. he loves both indiana jones and women in hats.

2. a floral maxi skirt. an elegant one, of course, at the risk of looking too little house on the prairie.... 

3. a classy silk scarf. what kind of grown woman am i? i don't even have a silk scarf. shame on me.

i would pair these new items with my cognac cross-body bag, and my structured brown blazer.


Saturday, August 14, 2010

outfit post: hot red

i should probably call this my "estate sale" look. i'm wearing the belt and shoes from my last post, and a crazy bright shirt that we all had to wear at the estate sale one weekend.


shirt: uhh, my cousin said, "wear this!"
white jeans: walmart (2009)
belt: estate sale
shoes: estate sale

silver coin necklace: the "pirates of the carribean ride" from tokyo disneyland :)
gold watch necklace: disney for walmart

why didn't i think to put these 2 necklaces together sooner? duh. they're perfect. i like mixing metals in an outfit, because then i can wear either gold or silver shoes. 

as for this crazy shirt, i'm not sure i've ever worn a color like this before.... i avoid hot pink like it's the devil, but this isn't exactly hot pink.... it's like those "red" florescent highlighters.... hot red, maybe? hot coral? i don't know, i've kind of warmed up to it a bit. i even wore it one day this week when i didn't have to for work!


Friday, August 13, 2010

estate sale finds

last weekend i worked at another estate sale and totally hit the jackpot. this 80-year-old lady had the most awesome collection of some 50+ pairs of shoes. these wrap sandals looked like they'd never been worn, with a price sticker still on the inside. My cousin called them fancy Jesus sandals, but I'm not sure that's entirely appropriate :P....


thrifted, via payless

western belt.... which is awesome because i don't have a non-skinny belt that i can actually wear with pants!

gold & ruby ring- $5!


Thursday, August 12, 2010

new acquisition: bright cobalt bag

oh, you thought those new york inspiration pics were colorless and drab? well i didn't mention the best part: my new awesome cross-body bag! (thanks, honey!)


forever 21, $34.80

my husband bought this for me for our 2nd anniversary! awwwww..... i think i'm gonna wait until our trip to bust it out, though, so it'll be even that much more exciting :). i'll always think of it as my new york bag. silly, i know.

so i wanted this bag sooo much because i thought it would be easy to wear neutral (but interesting) pieces in nyc and use the same bag every day for a pop of color. wanna know my inspiration for this color scheme?

roxy olin from "the city"

did you see that episode? i know there was a lot of drama going on (when is there not??), but all i could think about was her awesome blueness against her black clothes. and check it out, she's even in a very picturesque new york scene- in front of a yellow taxi cab! how appropriate.

oh, and did i mention that it's a cross-body bag? perfect for traipsing around town. and for keeping my junk from getting stolen :S....


Monday, August 9, 2010

new york outfit inspiration

my husband and i are going to nyc next month! i couldn't possibly be more excited. we're gonna do some sight-seeing, but most importantly see a broadway show! i had a fun (and pretty easy) time picking out a fancy outfit for "phantom of the opera", but packing all of the other outfits fills me with a frightening number of questions. for example, is it true that all new yorkers wear black all the time? i don't really wear a lot of black, so will i look silly wearing colored clothing? where do i find shoes that make a statement but will still hold up to trekking all over the city? will my sight-seeing outfits be too casual if daniel and i stop somewhere nice to eat for supper? will the weather in nyc be a lot different than in nashville? these are all of the important questions in life.

i've collected tons of pictures from various websites that might make it easier. street style pics have been the most inspirational.

for the plane ride:

white henley + dark jeans + flat riding boots + pretty scarf

this is perfect for a plane ride, because you wanna wear your bulkiest shoes while traveling so you don't have to pack them. the white shirt is clean but still comfy, and the scarf keeps you warm and keeps your outfit from being boring. 


crochet shirt + cargo shorts + tan sandals + cognac bag

looove this outfit! i would probably swap the heels for a flat version, but i love how it looks casual without looking schlumpy. i'm thinking it needs some hippie beaded earrings....


long tunic + shorts + gladiator sandals + hat + fringed bag

i'm not really into leopard print (or any animal print, for that matter), but i have other printed tunics that would work great. i like this outfit because i have all of these elements, i just have never worn them together!


long-sleeved T + khaki paper bag shorts

i've always loved the contrast of a long-sleeved shirt with shorts. i also really like mixing different colored neutrals these days (gray and khaki). although you can't see the shoes in this photo, i'm thinking either brown oxfords or gladiator sandals. it's also kind of plain, so i would layer on some eclectic rings and bangles.


plain T + maxi skirt + hat

this is my favorite! she's got the right idea with the random bangles and rings. plus it looks so comfy but still city-cool!


Thursday, June 17, 2010

nude dress + red lips= amazing

how do you keep a nude-colored dress from being boring? behold the awesome power of red lipstick. i think you could wear a members-only jacket and a permed side ponytail, and no one would notice if you had on red lipstick.



i bought a nude dress from goodwill last month... and i have red lipstick. too bad i don't have any where to wear these amazing things.... is that too much for church?


Friday, June 11, 2010

the happiest little bonsai tree (and friend)

on the way home from church last week, daniel and i saw a little old man selling various sizes of bonsai trees on the side of the road. um, awesome! why is it that anything miniature is cute? bonsai trees, babies, travel-size bottles of shampoo.... 


i acquired the bamboo plant yesterday at another estate sale i worked at. the irony is that this lady was selling all of her earthly possessions in order to rid herself of the threat of materialism. which of course transferred the materialism to me. i wanted everything in her house.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

new acquisition: floppy hat!!

ok, so i didn't end up buying the wine-colored floppy hat that i've had my eye on for weeks. i think i like mine much better though, because it's not wool, which means i can wear it whenever. summer or winter. maybe. i don't know about the winter part, but my hat has a much better chance since it's not straw. i'm not really feeling the straw.

cute, right? target, $14.99

the flower is my favorite part!

lucky me, my parents (and my friend eleni- thanks eleni!) got me a target gift card for my birthday, and there are just so many possibilities! clothes, jewelry, shoes, makeup, house goods, electronics..... ahhh! what to choose, what to choose. the first $14.99 was easy to spend, though.

oh, just for good measure, here's yet another inspiration picture of a girl in an awesome floppy hat. this is the last one, i promise.

 this hat makes me want to sing, "doe, a deer, a female deer...."

photo: luckymag.com

Friday, May 28, 2010

outfit post: ugly vintage shirt

shirt: vintage thrifted
skirt: thrifted
boots: tokyo circa 2006! still love them.
belt: thrifted (from little boys' section!)
mood ring: vintage from ebay

this is an outfit i wore a few weeks ago when it was still nice outside. now it's freakishly hot. sometimes i hate nashville. i like to call this shirt my "so ugly it's cute" shirt. i think you can see why:

see? the colors are kind of ugly, but the pattern is sweet.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

obsession: pastel flowy dresses

 dress: alberta ferretti





dress: donna karan

Friday, May 21, 2010

so many trends at once!

i saw this outfit on college fashion in a post about clothes from the movie "clueless." regardless of how i feel about the movie, this outfit i love. for one, you know i'm all about the nude/blush/pale pink color right now. never thought i'd say that, but i am. plus, for some strange reason, i'm insanely attracted the idea of a small fashionable backpack. who would've thought? haven't seen too many cute ones yet, but asos.com has a few. so does ebay. i think i might need one someday soon.

oh, lest i forget.... those earrings! they're like what a mermaid from the 80s would've worn. ha.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

ruche favorites


i love it all, especially the hats! they're just so elegant. ok, it's really time to quit pining over hats and actually buy one, dang it!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

obsession: green dresses

they're green and they're dresses. enough said.

 allure

 3.1 phillip lim- $595

on sale for $14.40 at gojane.com

Saturday, May 15, 2010

i hit the forever 21 jackpot

some things i purchased online recently.... who knew forever 21 had such posh pieces?

 i've been looking for these pieces forever. they're basically my dream clothes. isn't it uncanny that i found them all in one place at one time? weird.