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Showing posts with label interwebs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interwebs. Show all posts

Pin Round-Up

Wednesday, September 28

It's finally autumn - my favorite season! That time of year when you can wear sweaters, scarves, boots, and jackets! (Well, if you live in the northeast...) Speaking of jackets, I bought myself a denim one months ago, back when the weather was waaaaay too warm to wear it. I never thought I'd be a denim jacket wearer, but it got sent to me in one of my trunks, and I fell in love. Shawn thinks it's super ridiculous 90's. I love that it instantly makes anything you wear with it casual, so I fully intend to wear it over all my dresses! I've also been looking at pins and patches like crazy since I got it. I haven't bought any yet, but I thought it would be fun to do a little round-up of my favorites. So, here ya go!


the future is naps | ugh | check out my whiskers | don't be a prick | green dinosaur | pizza cat | t-rex | mystical cat | yoga bunny | chicago dog | pastel planet | fox | squirrel | cat lady | moon phase | IPA

Are you currently re-living the 90's with a denim jacket of your own? What pins are you diggin' these days?

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Psst... I'm on Poshmark!

Saturday, September 5

I hate having stuff in my sidebar, and this didn't seem like the sort of thing to just add at the bottom of another post... so here's a quick post to say that I'm selling some of my clothes and jewelry on Poshmark. I don't necessarily like the whole social media and sharing aspect of it, but it seems to be the place to go if you're looking to sell gently used clothing online. So if you're the same size as me, yay for you! There's some Anthropologie and GAP stuff there, amongst other things - check it out!

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Flats, Belts, & Bracelets, Oh My!

Tuesday, August 4

I had so much fun making that Modcloth wishlist last week, so I made another one! Featuring Anthropologie this time, of course. Their latest catalog showed up in my mailbox over the weekend and a few things caught my eye, so obviously I had to check out all the new things available online! Surprisingly, what caught my eye wasn't the clothing this time around, but the accessories. In my quest to minmaximize my wardrobe, one of the things I'm looking for is a lovely pair of neutral flats. My current favorite ones are on their last leg, and the other two pairs I own just don't suit my style anymore. Two pairs caught my eye, along with with some other accessories.


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

One quick look at this list tells you I'm really into the wrap-style that has been coming back around lately. Shoes, belts, bracelets... it's all fair game. I love watches, but I'm just not a watch wearer. I can't get into it. Then I saw the wrap style watch and an alarm went off in my head... DING DING DING! It's the best of both worlds! I'm incredibly simplistic when it comes to jewelry. I'm a one, maybe two-piece wearer; usually a long necklace, or a leather wrap bracelet and that's it. I've been trying to throw more belts into my outfits too. If there's one thing that reading fashion blogs has taught me, it's that if you're wearing a dress, it never hurts to belt it! I still don't feel completely comfortable rocking the waist belts, but there's definitely something to be said for that hourglass figure they create.

But back to shoes.... can I ask you all a question? (FASHION TALK!) Is it okay to wear brown shoes with an all/mostly black outfit? Does that work? I'm always hesitant to because I feel as though the colors don't "go" together. Neutral colored shoes are my biggest struggle because I've always been all about wacky, patterned, or brightly colored shoes. (Hence the snakeskin pair...) But when it comes to neutrals, I just can't seem to figure out the right color to get. The Trask flats are actually available in grey too. Maybe that's the way to go? Come on! Let's talk neutrals!

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Closet Evolution

Wednesday, July 29

One of the best things about working in a kitchen is not having to think about what to wear every day - my uniform consists of black pants, a solid colored t-shirt, and non-slip shoes. I throw my hair up into a bun, and getting dressed for work takes me less than five minutes. But this also means that I have a closet full of clothes at home that are just sitting there, rarely being worn. When I worked at Anthropologie, I spent so much time thinking about what to wear; and between the outfit, the hair, and makeup, I would spend over an hour getting ready for work every day! Inevitably, I also bought a lot of clothing on a whim, just because I could and because I was around it all the time. I've since muddled down my closet and have been working towards building my staple wardrobe. I've been:

- Gradually downsizing my closet. When you rarely get to wear things, you realize which pieces you tend to gravitate towards. So I've been removing all the excess pieces that don't get worn, and taking stock of what kinds of pieces I do wear. I'm trying to keep only things that bring me joy, but I'm also trying to be realistic about each piece's role in my closet.

- Realizing that my perfect closet is forever evolving. Just because a piece was right for me two years ago, doesn't mean it's still right for me this year. As I evolve as a person, my style evolves along with me. Trying to hold onto pieces just because I loved them once-upon-a-time serves no purpose, to me, or my closet. And I can't dwell on the pieces I get rid of.

- Filling in the gaps. Now that I've gotten rid of unnecessary items, I'm noticing holes in my wardrobe; basic pieces that were missing the entire time but I didn't realize it because my closet had so many other things in it. Now I have a mental list of what pieces I need and when I shop, I only look for those things specifically.


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

All of this to say, the closet gap I've been trying to fill lately is blouses. I have a lot of casual tops but I don't have any summer blouses. Thus, I end up not wearing any of my skirts because I want to wear them with something a little nicer than a t-shirt. I was browsing online the other day and stumbled upon Modcloth's Wear to Work collection. I love the vintage feel of a lot of the pieces, and it made me long for a job where I get to dress up again. Don't worry - I'm not quitting my kitchen job! (I love it far too much!) But I am considering adding one or two of those blouses to my closet, to fill that blouse gap. I'm also eyeing up that dress and those shoes, but those aren't on my mental list of pieces I need, so for now, they'll just live on in this wish list.

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I've Got 40 Trivial Problems

Thursday, June 11

A while ago, I stole this idea for a post from Diana at Unusually Lovely, who stole it from this guy. The idea of turning it into a writing exercise was just lovely, so I figured I would make it my own too. Sometimes it's nice to read something written by/about someone else that makes you think, "Yes! I'm not the only one!"... plus, what else is there to think about other than our own trivial problems that take up space in our heads? So, without further ado, here are fifty forty trivial things about me...


1. My nearing-empty-gas-tank-light always turns on when I'm just a few minutes away from home. I always think to myself "Oh, I'll leave earlier tomorrow and get gas on my way to work", but then I always forget and have to scramble to not be late for work.

2. When I do the laundry, I'm one of those people that folds everything immediately so clothes don't have time to wrinkle. But ever since we moved, it has been more convenient for Shawn to do the laundry on his day off, and he just leaves the clothes in a pile in the bedroom. By the time I get home the last thing I want to do is fold clothes, so they end up sitting around for days until I finally decide to go through them, and by that point, they're all wrinkled.

3. I pee a lot. I always make sure to pee before I go to bed, then I read for a bit, and then I always feel like I need to pee again, even though I know I just went. The same thing happens when I have to drive anywhere - I pee before I leave, and then inevitably have to pee again once I get to where I'm going.

4. Apparently I say the word fuck way too often in conversation. Hm, it's kitchen speak getting the best of me and I really need to watch myself in public.

5. Ever since I was young, everything I own has always had it's own place in my space. I would, and still do, get very annoyed whenever someone else would touch things and not put them back in their place. My family used to mess with me and move things around because they knew it annoyed me.

6. I really really dislike talking on the phone. I don't express myself well when I'm limited to just speech - I'm definitely a hand and body talker.

7. Thus, I also have a really hard time calling people back when they leave me voicemails. I always feel bad because when I eventually get back to people, at least a week or two have passed since they called.

8. I absolutely love baking, and feel incredibly grateful that I get paid to do it... but I don't know if that's what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. I don't think my body can handle it for another ten years.

9. When people ask me what my favorite thing to bake is, I feel as though I should have a 'better' answer than chocolate chip cookies. But they're my favorite thing to eat, so they're my favorite thing to bake.

10. I'm actually not much of a sweets-person... I wouldn't eat most of the things that I make at work because they simply do not appeal to me. So when people rave about something I've made, I'm usually not very excited about it. However, give me a bar of chocolate after dinner and I'm all smiles.

11. Most weekdays I end up falling asleep on the couch sometime between 8:30pm and 9pm... I'll sleep for an hour and a half, wake up for half an hour, and then go to bed. I'm pretty sure that's not how naps are supposed to work.

12. I often wake up with my right arm completely numb. I think it's a combination of overusing it at work and then falling asleep on top of it. It can take up to ten minutes to get the feeling back in it.

13. Sometimes I forget to turn the oven off at home after I'm done baking things....

14. Remembering things is not my forte. Some days I'll be in the hallway outside the apartment and I'll remember something I forgot inside. So I'll go inside and grab it, lock the door behind me, and then remember something else inside. By that point I usually just say, "screw it", and walk downstairs.

15. I really hate waiting for things. It feels like such a waste of time, even though I know I most likely wouldn't be doing anything any more productive if I weren't waiting.

16. I always have grand ideas for DIY projects; I'll go out and buy the supplies I need... and then never do anything with them. I have drawers full of fabric, paper, and other assorted things that just sit there. Waiting.

17. My head gets really itchy when I release my hair after it has been tied back all day for work.

18. Being super sarcastic all the time means that whenever I meet new people I worry that they won't pick up on my sarcasm and they'll just think I'm being really mean.

19. I'm hungry all the time.

20. I make it a point to eat breakfast every single morning, but it never satisfies. Unless I eat a full diner breakfast (eggs, potatoes, sausage, and pancakes) my stomach wants more food within the hour.

21. Reading is something I do before falling asleep at night. This means I typically get two pages in and wake up ten minutes later with an open book in my lap.

22. I bit my nails until I was about 22 years old. Now that I no longer bite them, the process of keeping up with them completely eludes me and I end up with these super long nails that usually break before I realize I should trim them.

23. I'm not good at ending conversations. I just start walking away, slowly, and muttering things like "So, ummm, yeahhhh, well..." in hopes that the other person will get the point and end it themselves.

24. My feet are two different sizes. One fits 8 1/2 size shoes but the other one needs size 9.

25. When I'm out in public, I'm like a child. I touch everything and pick things up off the ground. Shawn has to keep track of me otherwise I'll get lost looking at something pretty or soft.

26. I often imagine the worst possible thing that could happen in any situation. I get lost in my head making up different scenarios that (thankfully) never end up happening.

27. I'm a sweaty mess when I sleep, regardless of what I'm wearing or how thick/thin a blanket I use.

28. Centipedes really creep me out. They have way too many legs!

29. I'll take the stairs over an escalator every time. I'm always afraid I'll trip and smash my face on the escalator.

30. My fingers are fat! They're really long, so you can't tell from looking at them, but I have the hardest time finding rings that fit, even midi rings, unless I order a size or two larger than "average". That's why I stick to necklaces and bracelets when it comes to jewelry...

31. My face turns bright red at the slightest hint of embarrassment.

32. Hi, I'm a girl and I fart. A lot. Shawn often asks himself why he married me.

33. I love both of my (cat) boys, but I think I'm slightly allergic to them and Sylvester doesn't help by sleeping right next to my face every single night.

34. I'm a storyteller. Unfortunately, I have not mastered the art of storytelling and often spend fifteen minutes telling a story that could be told in five.

35. I am a blogger who is still afraid to take photos out in public.

36. Just like my DIY projects, there are a bunch of half written posts that have been sitting in my drafts for months, some for years, even!

37. I may have a shopping problem. But it's ok, as long as I follow the one in, one out rule, right?

38. I want to travel! All the time! But traveling costs money, and to make money I need to work, and I can't travel all the time if I'm working.

39. People are supposed to brush their teeth twice a day, right? Yeah.... I usually forget to do that in the morning. I forget to put on deodorant more times than I'd like to admit too.

40. This post was started months ago, so I cut the list off at forty instead of fifty to avoid this being pushed back three more months...

Hey! You made it all the way through! You are awesome.

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#We'reTrending

Tuesday, December 2


Just thought I'd drop in real quick to say that photos from our elopement are still being featured on the internet. Yesterday we were featured on WellWed and last month we were on Buzzfeed! Shawn and I are both surprised at how much attention our elopement has garnered over the past year. I mean, of course we both love the photos, but we never expected other people to get so excited about them too. It really warms our hearts, and we hope that they help inspire other people planning an intimate / rustic / outdoor / winter wedding or elopement. The internet is such an amazing place for anyone planning a wedding these days; I certainly took advantage of pinterest and wedding websites when we were planning ours... and we're so excited to be able to give a little inspiration back to the wedding community with our own wedding photos and experience.

If you're new to the blog, or if you've never clicked on the link in the sidebar, I created a wedding page that links to my original post about our elopement, and all the places it has been featured online. Check it out!

Also, our one year anniversary is coming up in less than two weeks, and I have a really fun post planned! Stay tuned!

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Birthday Wish List

Saturday, October 4

My birthday is in two and a half weeks! I'll be turning 27. Seven is a good number in my book, so hopefully that means it'll be a spectacular year! I'm trying to get it off to a good start by making the most of the month of October. I have something fun planned for every weekend of the month, soooooo, so far so good! In the meantime, here's a little collage of things I wouldn't mind getting from any potential gift-givers this year...


Omerica Organic makes the prettiest plugs, and I'm definitely due for some new ones. Shawn got me two new pairs for my birthday two years ago (or was it last year? I can't remember...), but one of the plugs fell down the drain in the bathroom :'( and the other pair I've been wearing to death. So, time for some new ones. I've really been diggin' on those three designs up there.

The Catalina Bag from Lo & Sons looks like the perfect short-trip travel bag. I have one large travel bag that is great for longer trips (like when I go visit my parents and I have to bring a million winter coats with me), but when I took my weekend road trip to Miami, I had to borrow a bag from my sister. I've been looking for one to call my own ever since!

Birkenstocks are my jam. I've had my current pair for about three or five years now (man, I really suck at this time-memory thing...) and I wear them literally every day during the warmer months. I love them to death, but it may be time for a new pair. Those cheetah print ones speak to me in sweet sultry voices.

MyYogaPro is a brand new website devoted to online yoga lessons and videos. I've been gradually getting back into a regular practice recently with Erin Motz's 30 Day Yoga Challenge, and I love her teaching style. She helped create My Yoga Pro and I'd really love to get a subscription so that I can access more of her awesome classes, and in turn, practice yoga on the regular again, but from home! Also, it feels good to put a non-materialistic gift idea on this list.

Etsy is an amazing place, as I'm sure everyone already knows. My wish list on Etsy is dozens of pages long, but I just can't ever seem to pull the trigger on any particular purchase. (The poster, shirt, and necklace above are all Etsy finds.) I'm not usually a fan of gift cards, mainly because they're rarely for places that I want to shop at, but I would really appreciate a gift card to Etsy! It's like having a gift card to the entire mall, except it's an online mall, and the stores are awesome.

Trask's Keira Sandals are sooooo beautiful. I couldn't decide between them and the Birkenstocks, so they're both on this list. If we're being totally honest here, I can afford to buy the Birks myself, but I can't really afford the Keira sandals... so yeah, those would make a beautiful gift :) Just sayin'....


Jeez... when did I become such an adult? I mean, high quality shoes and travel bags? Helloooo practical. I guess your wants and needs change as you get older. I would have put underwear and socks on this list too, but I don't think you all need to know what kind of underwear I buy. Ok fine... if you must know, my favorites are the boybriefs from Aerie. Especially the ones with lace accents. Now you know. Go forth and shop! If not for me, then at least for yourself.

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Could it be?!?!

Thursday, March 6

The kitten in this video looks uncannily how I imagine Lloyd must have looked as a kitten, minus a few spots. Too bad we will never know what Lloyd really looked like as a kitten! This will have to do.



You're welcome.

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Valentine's Day Cards

Thursday, February 13

Well, it's another snow day for all of us here on the east coast, and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking "Gee whiz, can winter just stop with all this snow already?!" I'm not tired of winter so much as I'm tired of all this snow that keeps piling on top of endless weeks worth of pre-existing snow. The sidewalks here have been a mess for weeks, which makes walking (our most common form of transportation) super difficult. I'm really just tired of sitting around the apartment because the thought of walking a half mile up the roads sounds too daunting. I want clear sidewalks and parking lots!

Since I wasn't expecting to have time to post today, I didn't have a post planned. But with Valentine's Day right around the corner tomorrow, I thought it'd be nice to post some last minute Valentine's Day cards. Shawn and I don't 'celebrate', but I still get a kick out of looking at cards this time of year.


The Indigo Bunting on Paperless Post



Happy Dappy Bits on Etsy



Fish + Cake on Etsy



....hm, it's pretty clear that food and love are in the same boat for me.

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Pinterest Collage

Saturday, February 8

I've been on Pinterest for about two years now, and some of my earliest folders were for food, DIY, and fashion inspiration... so there are a lot of images to go through in each of those. Yesterday I took a look back through my Style Inspired folder and tried to pick out any recurring themes that I noticed. While there's a lot of color inspiration in there and looks with blazers and/or stripes, I did notice two things that seemed to pop up pretty frequently - patterned pencil skirts & belted a-line skirts - both are trends that I've definitely embraced over the last year. (I should take a photo of my closet so you can see... no, seriously!) At the beginning of last year I made a goal (I guess you can call it that) to start wearing more dresses and skirts, and over the past year I've definitely bulked up my wardrobe with both of those things! In fact, I'm now at a point where wearing a skirt or a dress feels way more comfortable to me than wearing pants. So it was definitely interesting to see that my inspiration folder may have helped pave the way towards that. Looks like I should start paying more attention to the things I pin!


credit: Sidewalk Ready / Selective Potential / Alicia Fashionista / Little Tin Soldier / Delightfully Tacky



credit: By The Shore / Thirty-five Inch Inseam / Elegant Musings / Kendi Everyday / Little Tin Soldier

Here's another fun one - I recently posted about buying pink pants, and going back through the style folder I noticed a few early photos I had pinned with pink pants, the captions reading "I really want some pink pants; too bad most shades don't work well with my skin tone." Well, Pinterest, it looks like I was wrong.


credit: Sunday Crossbow / Kendi Everyday

Pinterest has always been a great resource for me, not in the sense of going through it and re-pinning things from other people (I actually hate to do that because a lot of the time the images don't bring you back to the source...), but more as a virtual cork board for things that inspire me or pages I'd like to bookmark. It's been a great place to store things that would otherwise be taking up space in my bookmarks bar or in folders on my desktop, with an added aesthetic too! But I'm also guilty of pinning things and then forgetting about them completely, so I'm going to go through my pins and sort them over the next few weeks. Two years worth of pinning has certainly accumulated a lot of things I've since forgotten about!

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Lloyd, or not?

Saturday, February 1



The other week, Jackson Galaxy (The Cat Daddy) posted this photo in his Facebook feed. Why am I reposting it here? Because the one cat in the second row looks uncannily like Lloyd! How he got there, we shall never know...

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We're Big on the Internet...

Wednesday, January 22


I don't normally post twice in one day, and I already have a post planned for today but I felt that this was worth mentioning too... our wedding was on the Huffington Post! What?! Apparently Lloyd's not the only one in this family who is popular on the internet. We never thought our elopement would turn into such a big thing! We're even on Pinterest! It's just surreal to me because a few months ago when I was scouring the internet for winter wedding inspiration I was pinning other people's photos in amazement, and now other people are pinning ours! The internet is really cool sometimes. We're so happy that our elopement turned into a sort of collaborative art project and now other people are feeling inspired by it. As artists, that's all you can ever hope for!

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Jammin' on Between Three Kitchens

Saturday, June 15

I posted my super simple recipe for strawberry rhubarb refrigerator jam over at Between Three Kitchens; you should definitely check it out if you're into that kinda thing.



Have I ever mentioned Between Three Kitchens on here before? It's a food blog that some friends and I share. I wanted a place where I could post recipes without people needing to see all the intimate details of my life too. But I knew I wouldn't have content frequently enough to post on my own, so I invited some friends to join in on the action, and Between Three Kitchens was born. We've been terrible about updating since our 'launch' over a year ago, but I'm hoping to flip that around this year and be more diligent in posting over there. My ultimate goal is to move all my recipes from here over to there, but first I'd like to make them all again to get some new photos and to see if anything needs tweaking. Well, that sounds like quite the project!

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Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

Tuesday, June 11

I've recently been reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto; in it he talks about the perils of the Western Diet and how we really need to make the shift back to eating real food, not the processed stuff that lines the majority of the shelves in our supermarkets. The book details the various processes that our 'food' goes through, from the way companies focus on supposed "nutrients" in products instead of the food item as a whole, to all the hormones and pesticides used in almost everything that we ingest. He also breaks down all the labels that are used on packaging (organic, grass-fed, free range, etc) and what they really mean. The second part of the book then focuses more on the shift back to eating real food. (His motto is eat food, not too much, mostly plants.) Because even things at the supermarket that are labeled organic could still be traveling all the way from China, you are much better off visiting farmer's markets or investing in a local CSA. Even if the farmers near you aren't necessarily growing organically, it's still better to buy and support local establishments; at least at a farm you can have a conversation with the people that are growing your food!

Most of this information isn't new to me; I've been buying from farmer's markets for the last three years (Philadelphia has an abundance of them, and here in NJ there are small farms all over the place.) and Shawn and I eat really well most of the time. Although we do eat a lot of grains (rice & pasta) and we indulge in various snacks from time to time (mostly chips and ice cream), when I'm shopping for food I've always focused more on the ingredients than the nutritional value. My motto is "If I can't pronounce it, it can't possibly be good for me." I've certainly never been one to count calories. And when it comes to things like labels on meat and eggs, I do my best to buy the least processed/most ethical options I can find. Michael Pollan's book has definitely helped confirm a lot of my suspicions about what's going on behind the scenes, and it has also opened my eyes to other sources and realities. I would definitely recommend picking up a copy if you have any interest at all in what you're feeding your body.

I also came across this TedX Talk, which pretty much sums up everything I just wrote. This kid is inspiring, and well educated. I only wish more people would take such an interest in changing the way we think about food! Especially kids! They really are our future.


I understand that not everyone has such easy access to farms, or even education about such things. That's the real default of the current food system; no one realizes that what they're eating is harming them, because no one is telling them what's really going on. Understandably, the people selling the processed food aren't going to be honest about what they're doing and what it's doing to you. The best we can do is count on each other to spread the word about reality; people like Michael Pollan and Birke Baehr are just telling others what they know, and hoping that most of us will choose to listen, and hopefully change our ways. It's only by changing our individual eating habits that we can succeed in making a national change.

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Wednesday Wish List

Wednesday, February 6


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Anthropologie's most recent catalogue arrived in our mailbox a few days ago and after flipping through it, I am smitten with every single item within its pages. I've always been a fan of Anthropologie (definitely more so than Urban Outfitters and Free People- they're all the same company, in case you didn't know); Anthro's styles are frequently vintage-inspired or adorned with unique designs and in my experience, many of the pieces are higher quality than things sold at its sister companies. But along with higher quality comes a higher price tag, and since I'm not really in need of any of these things currently, and thus trying not to spend money on new clothes after my January splurges, I thought I'd share my wish list here instead.

Happy Wednesday!

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Just a bit of online shopping...

Saturday, January 26

I usually don't shop for clothing online. It's hard for me to find things that fit well enough in stores, so buying anything over the internet is a big gamble. There's the pain of having to return it if it doesn't fit, and the extra cost of shipping in the first place. Lately I've really been appreciating clothing retailers with user reviews - it's like an insider's look at how the fit/quality of an item really is; even better if they have photos or list their own measurements. It wasn't even until recently that I started to actually pay attention to my measurements instead of just ordering my usual numbered sizes or corresponding S/M/L. It's no surprise then that when you buy clothing according to your actual measurements, clothing actually fits!

I've decided that this year, I'd really like to start wearing skirts and dresses for more than just 'fancy' occasions. Shawn and I aren't really fancy people, so there's no point in holding off on wearing my nicer clothing - why not make it a regular every-day affair? I already have quite the collection of skirts in my closet, so I thought it would be nice to fill it in with a few more dresses. My grandmother started me off nicely with a new dress for Christmas so, feeling inspired, I splurged a bit this month and bought a few things I'd had my eyes on.

(Click on the photos to enlarge)


New dress from When Decades Collide on Etsy


New dress from eShakti


New coat from Modcloth

Dresses from the 50's era really appeal to me, particularly because they are shaped perfectly for my figure. That first dress is vintage, and I'm in love with the adorable floral pattern. It fits a little snug in the bust, but otherwise it's the perfect spring/summer dress. And it arrived so quickly- no more than three days after I ordered it! The second dress fits like a dream, because of eShakti's custom sizing option. It's the perfect little-black-dress for the warmer months, and I'm looking forward to getting some wear of it. I'm going to be a bridesmaid at my friend's wedding in July, and after seeing this dress she's considering having all of her bridesmaids order from eShakti. It would be amazing if I get to wear this dress for her wedding, but I'm happy just to have it in my closet.

As for the coat, it's a great neutral color that pairs with pretty much everything. The fit is incredibly flattering, I love the stitching details, and the belt really pulls it together. I have two other wool coats already... but I had been on the lookout for a basic 'every-day' coat that wasn't too loud (bright red) or fancy (long, dark, & tailored) like my other two and this one fit the bill. The reviews are what really convinced me - everyone seemed to love this coat, and I'm no different! It's also worth mentioning that Modcloth was an awesome company to deal with. Shipping was fast and free, and the packaging was adorable. They even sent me a free gift!

Oh and you may have noticed the new hair cut and color I had done by my awesome hairdresser :) It's the first time I've dyed it in over eight years! Now that it has had some time to fade a bit (it was so intense the first week!), I'm really loving it, and looking forward to watching it grow out. Shawn is actually trying to convince me to go all blonde... and I can't say I haven't been considering it!


*** I thought I should note that I was not paid by any of these companies to talk about their products. I'm just really happy with each experience and I wanted to share my enthusiasm!

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Fit for a king

Saturday, January 5

Every year I always forget about the early-January French tradition to have a galette des rois (king's cake). I was reminded of it this year because of this post over at Manger. Hers looks absolument délicieux! My mother makes one every single year without fail; unfortunately I missed out on last year's, and the one from the year before. And this year, we're thousands of miles apart so I guess I'm missing out yet again!

Hm? What's that you say? I'm a baker? Why yes! Yes I am! Why, I suppose you're right. I suppose I could just make my own galette des rois this year... I hadn't really considered that option before. By golly, I think I just might! But I work on Sundays... yet I'm off on Mondays. So it's decided then. On Monday I will make my very first, very own, galette des rois. And since I have the whole day, why not make it entirely from scratch? That's right. I'm going to make puff pastry. From scratch. And it will be amazing! And I will, of course, use one of my mother's fève inside. I can't wait!

On an entirely unrelated note, you should also take a minute to read over this post at Happy Yolks, which continues to amaze me with incredibly well-worded and heartfelt posts, each one more eloquent than the next. One of the things I love about blogging is that you can find people leading nearly-parallel lives to your own. This isn't the first time she's put into words my own thoughts and feelings about my world lately. Also, that shaved cauliflower salad looks quite delectable as well.


Well, all this talk of food and now I've gone and made myself hungry.
Sounds like it's time for dinner!
A bientôt!

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Currently

Wednesday, December 19

The last few weeks I've been kept busy with last minute gift shopping, long and busy work days, and trying to get enough sleep to get through it all. I did the majority of my gift buying online this year, because going out to stores once was enough to remind me that I don't want to be anywhere near people or retail establishments this time of year. I'd say I've been pretty successful in keeping my sanity, despite 9+ hour work days, not-quite healthy eating habits, and other peoples' insanity.


The highlight of this past weekend was getting to meet Deb Perelman of the food blog Smitten Kitchen. I've been following her blog for over five years! She recently put out her first cookbook, with all new recipes, and I saw that one of the stops on her book tour was our local Barnes & Noble. The signing was on a Sunday though, and I usually work Sundays so I didn't think I'd be able to make it. Imagine my surprise upon looking at my calendar and realizing that her book signing was on Sunday, and as luck would have it, I happened to have the day off! So I trekked on down to Barnes & Noble and waited in line with dozens of other people, all of us clutching our copies of her book. She was so nice and all smiles, and she actually wrote down the name of the bakery where I work and seemed genuinely interested in stopping in at some point. Now I only wish I could have made it to one of the Young House Love book signings when they were in the area... damn you, Hurricane Sandy!


I've seen a lot of these "Currently..." lists on blogs these past few months, and since I don't have much else to say, I figured I'd do my own. So here are some currents in my life lately:

Watching: We just finished the latest season of Psych and have also been working our way through the latest season of How I Met Your Mother. On my own time, I've been re-watching the many seasons of Malcolm in the Middle. I love Netflix.

Listening: Shawn switched up all of the CDs in the car so I've been hearing a lot of Don Henley, Bon Jovi, Santana, and Blues Traveler lately. And at home I've been turning on the Supertramp station on Pandora.

Reading: This category actually deserves its own post - I've read 16(!) books this year and I so want to talk about all of them. Right now though, I just started reading Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman. It's a memoir of her time in a woman's prison. Not what you'd expect!

Offline: I've mostly been wrapping gifts and sleeping. I can't seem to get enough sleep these days - I go to bed at 8:30/9pm lately! But, I do wake up at 5:30am most days, and don't sleep past 6:30am on my days off, so I guess it's only natural to be dozing off early. I can't wait until the holiday season is over... I love my job, but I could sure use a break after these past two months.

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I Made This! The Bracelet Edition.

Saturday, January 14

Like many others out there in Internet-Land, I'm a huge fan of Pinterest. Specifically, I'm a fan of pinning things like delicious food, snappy outfits, and things I can make myself.

A few weeks ago I came across these bracelets and thought to myself - they look so easy to make!, so why not make them? So I went to Michaels (which recently opened up about two miles down the road from us! yay!) and picked up some supplies: suede cord, small findings, and clasps.




I roughly used the tutorial here, opting to tie off my ends instead of gluing them. The whole thing is actually very simple, you make a braid and just slide a finding onto each of the outer strands as you go.

The grey bracelet was the first one I made and I found the findings I bought were too big, so I went back and bought smaller ones for the brown bracelet. The other two bracelets are just braided ribbon.




I wouldn't actually wear these all at the same time... it's a bit much, especially for a not-much-jewelry-wearing gal such as myself. But making them all is so incredibly easy - now go make your own!

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