Print Dress turned top + Outfit of the day!

Today, I was feeling this ethnic print dress that I purchased from Sugga's Thrift Boutique last summer and this Loft, by AnneTaylor, peter pan collared, translucent blouse. Originally, I wanted to pair the dress with a neon green or pink bandeau bra and some funky accessories. Obviously, being in an office setting (no matter how creative the space) I just wouldn't feel comfortable rockin' a bandeau bra out like that. Today was sort of gloomy anyway, overcast with spotted showers around the city, so this was the better choice.

I was kind of going for a twist on a retro, Carribean school uniform look, only less colorful. 

My friends and I are pretty good for wearing dresses as shirts, and shirts as tanks, and tanks as skirts, and so on....Here, I wore this dress as a top.

In only my blouse and dress I was well on my way to having one of those change 6 times and dash mornings when I decided to "work through it"-- aka figure out exactly what was bugging me about what I already had on. I turned my dress into a top. Then, I added jeans and the booties to balance out my hair. (Your hair has a color  like an accessory so you can use it as such.) Without the pants there isn't much balance in the look. Meaning, the dress is brown and so is my skin...It just blends ...which is why I don't wear much brown in that tone (accentuate the skin don't hide in it).

Eh...that was a brief trip on my train of thought. It was early guys, don't judge.
I will provide a more in-depth account of my "style techniques" and tips later.

Thrifted: Retro Western wear, outfit of the day

I've been neglecting my vests for quite some time now. For some odd reason they always come out the closet around springtime. I think I just prefer to wear them with tanks and shorts. Anway, I decided to switch things up on Tuesday and wear my favorite vintage western, khaki vest with a striped button down and wide-leg jeans.        
 ::Hmm...I like the retro shade of these photos::

 

My animals, Caliban and June, wanted to participate by laying nearby as close as possible.

 

 Back...(and Cali still trying to figure out what is happening.)

{Jeans-FODAC thrift store}

{Vintage vest Value Village}

{Striped button-down Goodwill}

{Stone ring-99Warehouse}

 

I was pleased with my arm party this day. lol. Go me! 

Thrifted Oufit of the Day: Rust Cardigan + Madden booties

Wednesday, I was so excited about my newly thrifted booties, that I had to wear them the next day.
First of all, I have to tell you guys,  I committed the biggest thrifter's sin. I left the shoes at Goodwill and then went back hoping that they were still there... yes, the next day! Surprisingly...they were!
Lucky me! This particular thrifting adventure was filled with lots of tresures and surprises with a good friend.

Here's the outfit I wore Thursday.

I had one of those change 5 times mornings, so the original outfit got diluted, but I really wanted to wear my new shoes anyway. You know how sometimes you just have to wear something anyway?

 

See what I mean about black and white linear-ish patterns? 

I also traded out the wide leather belt for a skinny reddish leather one I got from a yardsale years ago.

 Keepin' it fairly simple here. It was a pretty comfortable Thursday outfit.... complete with a cozy cardigan for an arctic breeze of an office air conditioner. Does everyone have to layer up at the office?

Peacock Blue Dining room!

Hi guys....

Much has happened since the last time we chatted. I've actually picked a paint color and painted a room....well a rather long accent wall actually. (Which is kind of a big deal-- considering how indecisive I can be with paint color.)

About 3 months ago I made a sketch of what I wanted the dining room to "do" color-wise. I wanted blue, oranges, reds, and browns. I think I finally made that happen! This still a work in progress though.

The new color on the walls is Behr: Peacock blue. 

Right now, I'm holding/borrowing this orange vintage shelving unit for a friend. Apparently, it used to have drawers, but I think this is a much cool way to use this unit. It may house my growing mug obsession collection for the time being. You may also see a few pieces that look familiar, like the recently thrifted Mid century modern valet chair and the wall ornament/tray.

Also not pictured are the new yellow curtains and curtain rod that I purchased from Goodwill. For those of you who don't know, cute curtain rods can be sooo expensive! Luckily, the one I found at Goodwill was $6 and had those curtain clips so you don't have to go through the whole "string-the-curtain activity," which is almost as fun as the "fold-the-fitted-sheet activity."

Another recent decorative purchase was this brand-new shower curtain (with hooks from GW). I love stripes and other linear patterns that are black and white, so I had to buy this $4 shower curtain from Value Village when I spotted it.

I'm looking forward to painting the bathroom soon.  I know you can't see the whole curtain but, It's kind of beachy, but also ethnic print-y. What colors (or patterns) do you think would complement the black and white design that I started with?

Wi$H List fashion + style....

Okay guys Pinterest is like the coolest thing ever. Some argue it's probably the biggest waste of time since Facebook, others may argue that it's an all around great life planning tool. Either way, no one can argue that it's not the best place to browse through thousands of products without spending the money. Lately I've found a few things that I have to add to my WI$H List....

First of all there's Style Pantry. Now this lady is soooo fashionable. She literally makes me want to go play dress up everytime I visit her "My Style" pages.

Not only does she have great style, and taste, but her garments, individually are all amazing. Lately I've been obsessed with checking out how she is styling her maxi skirts and dresses.

 

 She has so many different looks, you should check her out!

 I miss my iPhone. Is that wack to say? While I'm not really into all of that phone and laptop  technology accessory stuff, I am loving these phone cases that I've stumbled upon. 

I think these iMeshi phone cases are adorable, and so realistic looking. I showed my boyfriend, and he thought they looked "pretty disgusting". I know. You're shocked right? Me too. 

Anyway these are great... I'm vegetarian, but the bacon and egg one looks like it would be tons of fun to scare people with! Now they are pricier than I like for a phone case that is purely for fun... but you can buy them here. 

I love this little tasseled phone case. It's a great way to dress up your phone to match your outfit. My friend and I always joked about buying our phones new clothes aka accessories to match us. You can find many more of these cases in a few more colors here. Now these are pricey, but eye candy worth looking at.

What WI$H List would be complete without shoes!? 

 These Anthropologie booties are adorable aren't they?! And also out of stock. Sorry, guys.

These black and white wedges are killer! These would look cool with any bold color. I think I would do cropped pants in a bold chartreuse, blue, or coral color just to offset them.

* UPDATE June 2013--- Look what I found! Now these wedges aren't exactly the same, but they are quite similar. Hurry over to Gojane, these are probably already low in stock.

 I've always admired these rich colorful fabrics. This is Stella Jean Spring 2012. Her use of this print rich fabric is striking because of how she pairs it with other pieces. Though this seems to be a trend that many other designers are following, there's something about the way she does it that makes me look twice. I love how each of these looks are styled. Does any one know whether this is considered Ankara or Batik fabric? And what are some of the differences between the two?

This is my wax print skirt that I thrifted from Value Village....

One last thing.

I saw these words on Pinterest and knew that I needed to share.

You can follow me on Pinterest here

 Everyone should develop their own personal style. It's what makes fashion fun in the first place.

Missoni style skirt & Stripes (Outfit of the day)

Hey guys!
I am in the midst of picking an outfit for tomorrow. I usually like to do this kinda thing the night before to avoid being late and give myself time to change 8 (more) times before I leave the house.

It's been really warm lately...maybe even a lil' hot. Tomorrow this is what I'm thinking about wearing....

...

I really liked how the stripes look with this chevron pattern that is similar to the famous Missoni pattern. 

You might remember me mentioning that my mom actually thrifted this skirt, along with two others that are in different colors. 

• Tommy button down- thrifted, Goodwill
• Guess belt- thrifted, Goodwill
• Buckle wedges- Shoeland
• Missoni style skirt- gift

I recently purchased these shoes from Shoeland. If you aren't familiar with Shoeland basically, it's a store where you can buy hundreds of styles of shoes for waaaay less than you could anywhere else. In college this was the shoe SPOT! You could easily go in there with $8-10 and buy at least one pair of cute shoes. Most of the shoes are under $30. Now some of the shoes are cheaply made (and you can tell) but if you look thoroughly you will find some hidden gems. Definitely a great spot to buy super cute sandals. 

Believe it or not guys, I'm not a huge shoe person. I think I'd like to collect them, just as much as I'd like to wear them. They're like art to me.  Is that weird? Anyway...what's your favorite shoe-store/place to drool over shoes?