It's like a jungle sometimes...

While going through my picture and video folders, I came across some pictures I snapped for a LOTD blog post that I forgot to write/post (fancy that). Just because I can, I'm going to post it now to give you lovely readers a good look at the things I normally wear. This is a very safe look (again) and I'm hoping you readers can give me some ideas on how to trick this dress out...so to speak, lol. Feel free to leave a comment with some tips :-)

Front and back view of dress

Khaki shirt dress & wooden bracelet (worn here) from Alloy
Gladiator sandals from Target (posted about here and worn here)
Brass earrings from Kohl's
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Yellow Kitty on the fingers (heads up: this nail polish will be a part of an upcoming give away)
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blue Streak on the toes


So what do you think? What can I do to make this dress more exciting the next time I wear it? I'm open to suggestion!

Ciao for now bellas!

XOXO

SugarStrings and Striped Things

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Saturday was like the best day ever this week hands down! The weather was absolutely perfect here in the Chi, it wasn't too hot and it wasn't too cool...it was juuuust right, lol.

One of the best things about Saturday was the fact that my Sun took time out of his oh so busy schedule to hang out with his dear mum. We attended a chamber music performance at the Evanston Public Library. SugarStrings, a trio of talented lovely first cousins, play the violin, cello and viola. These beautiful young ladies really blew my mind with their performance, I mean really.

I've always been of the opinion that classical music is really pure and because of such, you can have a spiritual experience while listening to it. I most certainly did. I was in tears damn near the entire performance. I captured some of the performance on video and will upload it to my Youtube channel soon.

Now onto my outfit. I played it relatively safe in this outfit because...well, because it's what I'm used to doing, but I'm going to continue working on stepping outside of the safe zone.

I added the brown cable shrug because I knew the library would feel like a meat locker and I'm easily chilled. It being such a beautiful day out, my Sun and I walked around a bit downtown Evanston. We stopped at Fountain Square and to his chagrin, did a little thrifting. He hated that part but I scored some cute stuff. I'll post about that another time though ;-)

Here are a couple of fountain pics though, including a loc shot. My how they're growing, I'm a proud momma!

So how'd I do this time around? Any style tips you readers would like to give are more than welcome :-)

DIY denim Bermuda shorts (jeans originally from Long Elegant Legs)

Brown cable knit sweater shrug from Boscov's 

Tan penny suede cuff sandals (I talked about them here and here) & necklace from Target 

Horizontal striped yellow/white tank & 2 finger sparrow ring (originally worn here) from F21 
Antiqued brass keyhole ring (originally worn here) from Crossroads Trading Company

Wooden earrings from Charlotte Russe

Wooden bracelet from street vendor

Thrifted clutch (Crossroads Trading Company)

Head scarf from my Great-Grandmother (R.I.P.)

Pictures by Kari

Ciao for now bellas!

XOXO

Tie it then dye it: Breaking out of the safe zone

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

Today was the most wonderfully perfect day! The weather in the Chi wasn't too hot nor was it too cool, the sun shone just right and I spent some QT with my daughter and one of her besties. Another special thing about today is the fact that my daughter and I collaborated (somewhat) on my outfit today and then she and her friend played photographer for me, lol. This is my first true outfit of the day blog and I'm kind of excited to share :-D


Before I get into what I wore, I'd like to point out that I am still trying to find my voice when it come to my personal style. Typically, I dress "safe". By that I mean, I stay away from bright colors and patterns, my style usually lacks any kind of flair and I prefer to keep under the radar. But I am so very tired of safe, I'm so tired of all neutral/black/white/primary colors everything. I want to add some boldness to my repertoire! I want to live out louder! And in the spirit of this desire, I totally went against my nature and wore something that is very not me: Tie  Dye. Yikes!


Tie dye is as loud, funky and chaotic as one can get and that's why I included it in today's outfit. So without further ado, I present me tied, dyed and everything BUT laid to the side!

DIY tie die shirt (made by my daughter, sleeves and neck hem removed by me, lol)

Black tulip mini skirt from Alloy

Brown gladiator sandals from Target (seen here) 

Thrifted studded black crossbody bag

DIY brass key necklace

Earrings from unremembered store

Antiqued brass keyhole ring from Crossroads

Brass sparrow two finger ring from F21

Wooden bracelet with "gold" & "silver" hammered discs from Alloy

Photographs by Courtney & Mattie :-)

Eye spy a shopportunity!

Good morning you dear and wonderful fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals!

It's Friiiiiday! It's the end of another week and I must say that I'm glad for it. How about you? This was a hectic week for me and it didn't help that I got very little sleep to go along with all the busy-ness. And because of all that busy-ness and too few hours of sleep, I'm happy to have a shopportunity.

All week I've been hearing about this "like" Black Friday sale at Target and how they were slashing prices and handing out smashing deals. Let me tell you that they did not disappoint! I've had my eyes on these cuff sandals (I called them sandal booties before) from this post since I saw them at Target a while back. Get this: they were originally $22 and some change and they're now $16.09! Now that may not sound like a big deal to you, but for me that is a come up, lol. This sale is only available online today (July 23, 2010) so make your way to Target's website. I so love that this is one click away and that I just happen to have a giftcard! Yes, I win in a big freaking way, lol. At any rate, click now for more deals and steals or forever hold your peace. By the way, when you spend $50 or more you receive free shipping and you can save 50% of towels, computer games, dvd's and more! Did I insert enough links or what, lol? Ciao for now bellas!


xoxo

Eye spy fall in July?

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals,

How are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

About two weeks ago I checked my mailbox and was stunned to see catalogs pushing pieces from their fall lines. I know that retailers rush summer to consumers during winter and so on, but still, I mean, it was pretty much the beginning of July! What gives? But who am I to complain, I'm looking forward to copping some of those cool copper colored boots and other fabulous fall frocks! Here's a preview of some of my fave picks:

Nothing says fall like cute boots and they just don't get any cuter than these lovelies! I have always and will always have a thing for motorcycle and moto inspired boots. I plan to pair these with frilly dresses and/or shorts with lace tights. Boo-yah!

Combat and combat inspired boots are another fave of mine. These would also look nice (IMO) with a floral dress, skirts or shorts with tights...or anything I want! I've had a thing for Doc Martens since the 90's. I rocked them with plaid shirts and holey jeans back in the day thanks to Nirvana and all my other fave grunge bands :-)

Moccasins and fringe, oh how eye love thee! These are going to be perfect for crisp, cool fall days here in Chicago. I'm picturing these with sweater dresses, jeans and leggings. Yippee!

These babies are going to look sooooo awesomely awesome with mini skirts and leggings!I have my eyes on these lovely black leggings with leather patches and these cutie booties will go along for the ride just perfectly.

I have no words for how hot these are to me. The teal will be a perfect pop of color for absolutely any kind of outfit I can dream up and the gray will make a great neutral statement shoe.

I already know how I'm going to rock these three pieces. Stripes, studs and moto jackets will forever be staples in my closet. I like these because although they're kind of trendy, they're subtle enough to be worn until they're worn out. I mean, I still have clothes from high school that I wear, lol. I wear what I want when I want and I don't care if it's on trend or not. Ha!

These babies will be perfect for layering under cardis, over and under dresses, jackets and all manner of combinations. Seeing lace all over runways, blogs and in stores has really gotten me addicted so I plan to feed the addiction, lol.

Ruffles are another new fave of mine. To tone down the utter girliness of the lace and ruffles, I plan to use lots of leather (real and faux), spikes, studs and chains. I love mixing edgy with ferociously feminine so I can represent my duality.

I'm not a huge fan of dresses in the winter (especially in frightfully frigid Chicago) but tights and boots will take these darling dresses from fall to winter in a (cold) snap. I'm also looking forward to styling these in different ways using other articles of clothing like jeans, leggings, sweaters, shawls, etc.

This post wouldn't be complete without some bodacious bags. I love bags and purses just as much as I love jewelry and nail polish. Bags can be used to pull a look together and give it some pop and pizazz. These bags are toned down as far as color, but I'm on the look out for fall leaf colored bags as well. I'm loving the chain accents and the reptile patter on that satchel and the zippers and chains on the black shoulder bag is a perfect mix of attitude and function.

Last, but certainly not least, one belt to rule them all! I'm seeing lots of skinny and wrap belts when I peruse the internets and shops, and I must say eye likey a lot! I won't be retiring my wide belts, but the skinnies and wraps will make nice additions and give me some cute and fashionable options.

And there you have some of my early fall picks. I'm sure there'll be more because the fall fashion stampede hasn't nearly begun yet. I know retailers and designers are just getting started and have plenty more to show and tell. As for me, I need some sleep. Ciao for now bellas!

xoxo

Ooh, eye'm hurt...but my nail polish is cute!

Dearest fair maidens, dashing divas and glamorous gals, how are you? Feeling fab I hope :-)

I've been away for a while (again) but it was not intentional nor fully under my control. I've been trying to edit video footage, jot down blog ideas, organize my loc journey clips/pics and just generally get things post ready (amongst other every day things). Unfortunately, I've run into major snags. My internet was down for a minute, my laptop was acting a monkey, I've been stressed and busy and then on May 21st, I was involved in a car accident...

A charming (dripping with sarcasm) old lady ran a stop sign and hit my passenger side shortly after I left work. The same charming old lady reversed her car, put it back in drive, gave it gas and crashed into me again just because she was angry and felt like it. I wound up in the ER being diagnosed with whiplash and strained/sprained back muscles. Nice right? Yeah. So since then, I've been in constant pain and taking pain killers and muscle relaxers. But it's all good. I'm alive and I still have use of all my limbs...though I can't over exert myself. Pain and discomfort are keeping me awake right now so I figured I'd write this blog...I'm a trooper ;-)

In other news, I scored the awesomest vintage dress on Etsy...

Don't you just love it? I bought it last month and wore it the week after it arrived. It fits like a dream and looks quite lovely with my Mossimo Cognac Pollyann Gladiators seen here. I added some brass jewelry and a golden elastic headband for a real throwback boho look. It worked wonderfully :-D All I have is this here head shot of the finished look:

 I'll take some full body shots the next time I wear the dress. If you're wondering where I got it, you can check out Lady80's Vintage Etsy Shop for cute, reasonable deals on vintage clothing, footwear and accessories.




Now for my current nail polish porn:

I'm wearing Secret Peri-Wink-Le by China Glaze. In this picture it looks like a tropical blue, but in person it really is periwinkle. Depending on the lighting, it either looks very lavender or very blue. I love the color though and the application was pretty smooth (despite the messiness seen here). It was opaque in two coats and I topped it off with a coat of Seche Vite. Well that's it for me dolls, I'm getting very stiff and sleepy. Hopefully I'll be back soon with good news, more nail polish porn and other treats. Until then, ciao bellas!

<3