Day to Night

With all the running around a day entails, it certainly helps to unwind with friends.  It also helps you feel less lame about sitting at home on evenings when you don't have to work, right?  I love being able to pick one outfit that works for everything on my day's agenda.  No, it doesn't always work, but its so nice when it does.

 Last week, I went shopping (again) with my friend Katie to prep my closet for Spring.  I may or may not have forgotten about all the brightly colored clothes I'd tucked away in the back of my closet and been paniced because I felt like everything in there was black or gray.  Needless to say, it isn't now.  This top was an H&M find.  I always gravitate towards buying bottoms, so I made Katie steer me towards the tops and get this one.  I really like that I'll be able to style it casually and more professionally.

What I'm Wearing:

Top: H&M

Bead Necklace: I forget...

Black Skinny Jeans: Forever 21

Patent Heels: Colin Stuart for Victoria's Secret

Clutch: New York & Co.

I also found these black skinnies on our trip.  They were $10.50! You CANNOT walk away from that!  Katie and I both bought a pair and ended up wearing them out together at the same time.  It was seriously hard to resist going completely crazy on all of the sales, but I tried. A little.

Colored Denim

How much am I in love with the colored denim trend?? So much.  I'm pretty sure I tried on a different pair of colored skinny jeans each time I went to Target for the last few months and was disappointed as many times because they fit funky.  It was as if they didn't get looser through the the thighs, no matter what size I tried on.

Thankfully, H&M was there to come to my trendy rescue.  I didn't even bother trying on Express', as cute and colorful as they were, because I couldn't justify their prices on something so trendy.  Even though February is over and new clothes are allowed, I'm still trying to be frugal.  H&M delivered on spring trends for me as I found a dotted peplum top, a pastel dress, and my green jeans for around $50. Can't beat that!  I want to go back immediately, though, because we just missed the Marni collection for H&M and some of those pieces look adorable.

What I'm Wearing:

Striped Tee: American Eagle

Scarf: a little shop off Dam Square in Amsterdam (2006)

Green Skinny Jeans: H&M

Studded Flats: American Eagle

One think I was surprised to love about these jeans is the rise.  For so many years I've been a low-slung, hiphugger girl which made me a little skeptical of how high on the hips these jeans sit.  In fact, I almost didn't try them on.  I'm so glad I did!  I found the slightly higher rise to be quite slimming, even though I paired the pants with horizontal stripes.  Reason #2 for going back to H&M immediately: more high-waisted skinny jeans!  Between jeans like this and my New Year's resolution of working out, I may beat the love handles in 2012!

Cobalt

Last Friday, my new friend Natalie and I went out for a girls day.  It was a great time! We had lunch at Panera then went over to get mani/pedis.  I got a great neutral tan color on my nails and dark purple on my toes because I'm a creature of habit.  I got a little crazy and let them put designs on my big toenail.  Flowers on my nails aren't "me" but it was worth a shot.

We had some time to kill before meeting The Writer and Natalie's husband for dinner, so we went over to the mall.  I had some gift cards from Christmas left and hadn't been to the mall forever.  Did you know that its semi-annual sale time?! I'd been trying to ignore it in favor of my 2012 budget resolution, but went a little weak in the knees when I saw this:

I'm completely in love with cobalt. I'm so glad that I think it might be hanging on for another season.  Aside from the color, this jacket fits in the most amazing way. Its a little shrunken, so it can pulled off with a casual look, but the tailoring allows it to be worn to work, which I did yesterday.  I wish I'd taken pictures, but I've been fighting a cold and have been staying in bed until the very last minute lately.  I also love that it has five buttons down the front.  Not only do they keep it nipped in at the waist and hips, they remind of the costumes from In Time.  I highly recommend seeing it if you haven't already.  The costumer did some appealing things with buttons to signify class differences.  Many of the suit jackets had long rows of buttons and I loved it.
I want to wear it every day! Its a good thing I found some other goodies at the sales that I can work into my wardrobe. Oh, yes, stay tuned.

Twiggy would be Jealous

Oh, how I wish I were allowed to wear open-toed shoes to work!  Corporate dress code be darned, I may just have to sneak these pretties in under their noses with some knee socks or opaque tights.  They remind me so much of sixties mod that I've been perusing Etsy for some Blair Waldorf-y tailored dresses.  I've worn them with bootcut jeans and a black boatneck sweater that reminds me of Audrey Hepburn and love them!

One of the many things I love about these shoes is the price. Seriously, I'm teased so much for my shoe collection, but when I pay <$10 for some of them, who can blame me for having so many? Haha.  I had my eyes on these for a while, but held out, knowing they'd go on sale the way everything at Kohl's goes on sale eventually.  They started out at almost $65.00, which is more than I'll usually pay for a pair of shoes that I don't have a specific purpose for in mind.  This is probably why I've been without brown flats for several months, I have a hard time investing in casual shoes.  Anyways, they are marked down on Kohl's website to $25.99, but they are cheaper in stores if you can find them.  Add one of Kohl's 30% off coupons and I got myself a pretty good deal, a happy resolution to months of drooling over unnecessary wedges.

Whoa, Big Deal

You know how they say you should splurge on timeless wardrobe staples and find deals on the trendier items?  I got a good one yesterday, thanks Target!

Mossimo Kienan Boot in Brown

I know Target's quality may not always be the best, but so often I find amazing deals on their shoes.  The glammed-up hiking boot trend may not be a lasting one and these boots may not be the most comfortable, but at $8.74, who cares?!

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

There's a section in Girl Code right under "Thou shalt not steal thy best friend's boyfriend" labeled "Thou shalt not copycat", right?

I've heard it said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I think someone must have made that up to soothe the tempers of the girls whose friends have broken Girl Code and stolen a look and called it their own.  I'm not talking about inspiration.  I love to check out what other bloggers are wearing and trying out with their outfits, but give credit where credit is due.  If I'm channeling someone else's look in my outfit, I like to think I'd do my best to cite my muse. I think its fair.

I saw The Roommate for the first time since returning home from my latest tri-state tour (PA, NY, NJ) yesterday.  Coming home to the apartment after she's been alone here is usually a bit of a shock to my system and it takes me a bit to readjust to living with her.  As I'm getting in my freshly scrubbed shower (the apartment doesn't get cleaned by anyone except me), she's telling me about her weekend. She brings up my orange dress.   You know, the orange dress that I love and rocked in NYC earlier this summer?  I am in love with that dress.  She knows how much I am in love with that dress, so I was surprised to hear, "You know that orange dress you have from Target? I found it in black this weekend." Oh. Umm... WHAAATTTTT?!?

Awkward moment number one of Wednesday.  Thank goodness I had the shower curtain to hide my face, because I'm sure it would've displayed pure shock.

Later on, after she got home from work at the grease trap, she excitedly hops into my doorway holding a pair of black shoes. "And, ooo, look what else I got! They're these cute little moccasin thingies! They're so soft and comfortable and are dressy enough to wear to work." Uh-huh. They are not, in fact, dressy enough for a professional work environment, but whatever.  I do know how comfortable they are. Do you want to know how I know? I know because they are already in my closet from last year!! I say something of to that extent to her, yet it doesn't phase her that I am or should be at all annoyed by the fact that, while I was away, she was apparently busy duplicating certain favorite elements of my closet.

What. The. Heck?  Commence hair pulling, Girl Code has been broken.

Thou Shalt Not Steal Thy Girl Friend's Boyfriend NOR Her Shoes/Clothes/Accessories.

Hell on a Sunday

Hell's Kitchen, that is.  I went down last Sunday to check out the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market while The Writer was at work.  That place made me wish I'd left more room in my luggage!  Along with the many booths of vintage clothing, antiques, and unique jewelry finds were several different yummy looking food vendors.  I grabbed a New York slice from a shop on a nearby street then chose some delicious dessert from a Je & Jo ice cream stand.  Their organic ice cream carried quite a price tag at $4 per small cup, but it was so rich and creamy that it was easy to savor every bite of my Fresh Mint with Lemon Lavender Shortbread Cookie Dough.

The Clutch & Sunnies

 Refreshed, I spent the next few hours sifting though some strange and wonderful goodies and came away with some great finds.  I found a envelope clutch with a tag that said it came from GAP.  I'm not sure how old it is, but the lady at the booth was only asking $5 for it, so I bit.  My other find was a pair of nearly vintage sunnies.  I've been needing a new brown pair and these were a new shape for me.  They're a little scratched, but I like them so much and was able to talk the seller down a bit from his original asking price, so I took them home.

Me with my new shades

I left Hell's Kitchen for the same reason I had to leave SoHo.  If I didn't, I would have kept buying which would have been very bad.  I'm broke nonetheless, but that's not the point. Ha!

I relaxed at Borders until The Writer was out of work.   We were both pretty wiped out, him from a long work week and me from the sun. Poor me, right? 

We took the subway down to Chelsea for a quick and easy dinner at Blossom du Jour.  I had an organic vegan eggplant parmesan sandwich and he had the Midtown Melt.  Both sandwiches were so good! It was hard to not want to order a second. I think we both ended up eating a significant portion of each other's meals as it was! 

Sugar High

Yesterday, I took a self-guided, judgement free tour of some of the sweetest places in New York.   I went a little further into Times Square to find M&M's World. Yes, it was a touristy thing to do, and I felt conspicuous with my bright yellow M&M's bag for the rest of the day, but how do you turn down an entire wall of multi-colored M&M's? I layered some brightly colored peanut M&M's into a bag and slipped down into the subway, like a little rat escaping the tourists and their cameras.

The Writer and I were planning on going to an outdoor movie in Brooklyn last night and I wanted to get some sweets that The Writer could enjoy, too.  I found Sockerbit pretty easily once I got down to the West Village.  Their bins of sweets make you smile instantly!  I filled up a bag of gummy treats for The Writer and I to share and decided to continue my search for sugars at Magnolia Bakery which was just around the corner and up a few blocks.  Tourists were lined up outside, to my disappointment, but I decided to wait anyways.  I wanted to try those cupcakes! I bought a box with one chocolate and one vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting and a lightly sweetened coffee. Something told me that the frosting had enough sugar to compensate for my extra Splenda.  I was glad for the park across the corner where I sat to eat my chocolate cupcake and drink some coffee.  The little birds there must be used to Magnolia's customers, because they were quite bold.  I shared some chocolatey crumbs with a few sparrows who hopped up onto my table.

It started to look like rain, so I headed back to Midtown to wait for The Writer to get out of work.  Even though it didn't end up raining, the forecast predicted a 60% chance of rain, so we decided to skip out on the outdoor movie.  We ate dinner at Totto Ramen, a Japanese noodle restaurant.  Yes, it was ramen noodles, but it was so much better than what you'd get for $.50 at the grocery store.

Tired, we headed back to his room to enjoy many of the sweets that I'd picked up throughout the day.  They were so yummy!

I'm sad that I'm not able to post pictures, since I discovered that my digital camera's screen had somehow gotten smashed in my travels a few days ago.  Hopefully, I'll be able to have a few picture posts once I'm back on my Mac (I've been using The Writer's) and can get the cell phone shots edited and whatnot.

Where I'm Going: NYC Part 1

I've been kind of quiet on the blog-front these last few days.  I've missed hitting "Publish Post" and oo-ing and ah-ing over my blog.  Things with work, and consequently, life, have been a little more than complicated lately and I've been really down.  I don't want my blog to be a place where I whine about things that aren't going my way, so I've kept my mouth shut.

If it hasn't become obvious yet, I'm super pumped about my trip to visit The Writer in NYC.  The trip is a bright spot amongst my grey circumstances.  He'll be working six out of the ten days I'll be there, so I'm going to have some time to explore the city on my own.  I've been making a list of places I want to go, many of which we may end up at together.  Planning has had me pouring over maps of Manhattan, so I feel pretty prepared to navigate alone.

1. Rita's Water Ice 

(source)

Water Ice is pretty much an east coast thing. A very good thing, to be exact. Growing up in New Jersey, I can't remember a summer that didn't involve walking to a water ice shop for my favorite flavor: usually mango or mint chocolate chip.  When I came to Ohio to go to college, no one had ever heard of water ice. In fact, they thought I was crazy. I think it's the name that's confusing.  I was beyond excited to find a NYC location for Rita's.  I can't wait to take The Writer there so he can see how it can be water and ice at the same time ;-)

2. Topshop

(source)

When my old roommate and The Writer ventured to London last spring, they came back with such goodies from Topshop that I knew I had to go there, first chance I could.   The Writer, being the sweetie that he is, sent me a text a couple weeks ago during his free week in New York that said, "Need anything from Topshop?" My reply was, "Probably!" I'm so glad he likes shopping!

3.  Mood Fabrics 

(source)

I'm excited to go here, and to many other fabric stores in the garment district, not only because I'm a slight fan of Project Runway, but because I am so tired of JoAnn Fabrics.  There is a world beyond quilting and prom dresses, people!  Why are there seven aisles of fleece?  I have a list of outfits that I want to create for myself, but finding the right fabric around here has been difficult.  I wonder if there's anywhere in NYC to rent a sewing booth, or something like that.  If there was, I wouldn't have to pack as many clothes, since I could just make new ones once I got there!

4. Magnolia Bakery

(source)

CUP. CAKES. I might not be able to eat them, they are so gorgeous!  The Writer told me that they had Magnolia cupcakes at his internship this weekend and they looked divine.  Even though I read someplace recently that Crumb cupcakes are better, I still have to go to Magnolia.  Who knows, maybe I'll go to Crumb, too.  Stay tuned for the post in which I mourn the return of my love handles because I spent days consuming only delicious cupcakes.

5. Central Park

(source)

This is one place that I've been before, but am excited to go back to.  I may spend an afternoon at the Central Park Zoo, or just lounge in the sun with a book.  I may borrow The Writer's bicycle and ride around the whole park for a day.  I'll probably need the extra exercise after indulging in too many Magnolia cupcakes!

There are many more places on my list, but I'm saving them for another day.  If anyone's going to be in the city July 6-10 and wants to join me on my solo adventures, shoot me an email and we can meet up!

The Redhead Shops: Dresses!

I couldn't stop thinking about that dress I mentioned yesterday, so I went back to the store today.  I told myself that it had to be long enough to wear to work and, obviously, had to come in my size.  I'd checked it out online and the only sizes left there were L and XL...not my cup of tea.  When I came to the rack, there were plenty in my size, even though I ended up buying a size smaller than usual--thank you, treadmill!  The dress was more of an orange-red, or "hot orange" according to the tag, than a true red.

I had to exercise restraint while strolling through the racks.  As much as I'd love, love, love to go on a spree, I'm saving for my adventures in NYC.  I just happened to need this particular dress to wear on said adventures.  I did find a slouchy sweater dress for less than $5 on the clearance rack.  It's thin, so I could wear it on a cool, late summer day or just save it for fall.  All in all, I made it out with only one extra item. Not bad!

I rushed right home, since I was due back at work.  To prove that my new orange dress was workplace appropriate, I threw it on, un-ironed save for some Downy Wrinkly-Releaser.  There will surely be an outfit post devoted to this dress, but I wanted to save it for later.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

It's official! At 6:55am on the Fourth of July, I will be flying to New York City and by 9:30am, hopefully, The Writer and I will be doing this:

I can't actually remember whether or not we were really kissing. We were being goofy, that's for sure. 9:30am is a little early for goofiness, but after being apart for over a month, I don't think it will matter much.

I have so many ideas and things I want to do.  I got an unexpected surprise when I went to purchase my tickets this morning: if I flew there on the Fourth of July, I could have an extra two days more than I'd planned for a lower price than the deal I'd originally found.

I'm so excited!  I had a dream a few nights ago that I became BFF's with Isaac Mizrahi at Starbucks and totally became his muse.  In my dream, he gave me a handbag that looked like a Marc Jacobs design from a few years ago.  Regardless, it was beautiful and we were fabulous. I think it's a good sign.

The Redhead Shops: Accessories on the Cheap

I have an near obsession with solids. There are very few prints in my closet, which usually means my outfits usually need a little "something" extra before they look like I put effort into them.  I've had most of my jewelry for a pretty long time and rarely buy new items, since I tend to favor buying more clothes over buying more accessories.  I have one shirt in particular, a favorite, that begs for accessories:

It could work by itself, if paired with a patterned skirt or other bottom but, like I said, I mostly stick to solids.  Otherwise, it needs a necklace.  

Since I don't buy jewelry often, I didn't own any of the long, layerable necklaces that have come into style.  I've been making my outfits work by borrowing my roommates'.  The trouble with this is, I don't really like them. I like the way they look with the outfit, but I'm not wild about the actual pieces.  I have a rule for myself that gets followed 98% of the time: if it's listed in the Lucky Charms song ("Hearts, stars, horseshoes, clovers and blue moons, pots of gold and rainbows, and me red balloons") I will not wear it.  The only exception that I can think of is the heart-shaped Pandora charm The Writer gave me for our first Valentine's day together, which I love and was super sweet and thoughtful on his part.

Anyhow,  my point is that I broke my shopping ban yesterday.  One of my Besties invited me to the mall with her so I made a deal with myself.  I desperately needed to get out of the house and was sick of having to wear The Roommate's jewelry, therefore, I was allowed to buy some long necklaces as long as they were inexpensive.  Thank goodness for Forever 21 when you're broke, right?!

 

I love the feathered jewelry trend, and was immediately drawn to the long gold necklace.  It looked a little sparse by itself, so I layered it with the shorter feather necklace.  Combined cost of this set? $6.60!

The next two are silver, though it's a little hard to tell due to the lighting in  the photos (I'm not a photographer, in the least).  The first one was only $5.80!  It's hooked on the longest link of the extender, so it can be worn about three inches shorter, as well.  I'm seeing a LBD in it's future! The second silver necklace was the most costly, at $6.80--still not bad!  The end of the tassel hangs about to my belly button.  I love that it's simple, yet still makes a statement.  I foresee it being very versatile.

Since I was experimenting with layering necklaces, I tried both silver pieces on at once.  Bestie liked the way they looked, but I'm not 100% convinced.  It would probably work with the right outfit, something a little more Bohemian than my green shirt.

All in all, I've very pleased with my new additions.  If I'd known I could get away with four pieces that I love for under $20, maybe I wouldn't have shied away from accessories for so long!