New Year's Resolution

Everyone in the blogosphere is talking about their New Year's resolution and so I am going to be lame and be no different!  I have three resolutions but I am only going to talk about two (the third is irrelevant).

1. [LAME]I want to get in shape!  I have never had a major weight issue, per say but, I used to be a ballerina so to me, as I prepare to turn 27 years old this January, I feel out of shape and pudgy.  I guess i really don't care what the scale says but I just want to lose what shouldn't be there.  So, I have rejoined my yoga studio (that helped me SO much for my wedding!) and I am working on getting in a spin class at the gym and two a week at home.  And (prepare to gasp) I am going to try not eating meat.

2.  Due to my husband's unemployment (stupid building industry laying off all the architects), I am going to shop almost exclusively at thrift stores and resale shops and I am going to utilize what I ALREADY OWN.  This is hard for me because I love shopping and I work in an industry (the beauty industry) that is very trendy and full of shopping temptations. 

With that said, here is my before picture...  (j/k  its just an outfit pic!)

Cardigan: Thrifted

Sweater: Christmas Present

Jeans: Thrifted

T-Straps:Crown Vintage London

Necklace: Forever 21 

Click your heels three times...

Lately I have just been so crazy about shoes.  Slightly due to a recent purchase and also because of a recent post from Q's Daydream Vintage.  So I just thought that because I didnt wear anything past yoga clothes and PJs today, I would just post some shoe fun.

 

The Muir Woods booties from ModCloth (I actually bought these)

 

Morph Pumps from FLY London (my new shoe love thanks to Q's Daydream!)

Pink Studio Jona oxfords from Ruche

Seychelles Pedestal Pumps

 

Aldo Teigen Mary Janes

Various Holiday Fun

Just like many in our quaint little blog-o-sphere, I have been guilty of not posting during the last few days due to the holiday.  At first, I was going to have this massive post with full explanation of each day but when I pulled up the pictures on my camera, I decided to just give some various pictures with captions to show my holiday madness.

12/23/09

Each year, this fine group gathers on December 23rd to go sing carols at a local hospital.  Mostly friends in high school choir, most have kept the tradition going to Ingalls Memorial in a low income Illinois suburb for the last 11 years.  My costume (I am the one in the front with the mutli-colored corset and maroon skirt) was originally a jester's costume as that was the role I always played however all the bells have fallen off over the past 11 years.

Me, in the above said costume with Zahoya, the pocket puppet that is always mocking me when kids are around! :)

 

My outfit later that day, which was a lot less interesting

Cardigan: Francesca's Boutique

Necklace: Forever 21

Dress: (actually a nightgown) Thrifted

Leggings: Hue

Boots: Madden Girl

  12/24/09

 

We had an ice storm here on Christmas Eve and although it was icy and slightly dangerous outside, it was beautiful looking.

 

I had formal Christmas Eve dinner at my house.  We don't have much but my mother was nice enough to give me a Christmas table cloth for my dining room table!

12/25/09

 

Christmas Day for us was fairly small and quiet.  We spent the morning at my in-law's for breakfast and gift opening but I didn't have my camera.  This was taken at my mother's house for dinner.  My husband, me, my father and my grandmother (mom is taking the photo).

12/26/09

  Today it just snowed....all day.  Which traditionally means we throw the cat in it all.  She was less than enthusiastic. In fact, she just sat there....didn't move....and just shook from the cold.  Despite the fact that she has more fur than any cat I have ever seen.

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters

Tee: A gift from a friend

Skirt: I heart Ronson 

Leggings: Target

Booties: Target

Necklace: A gift from my Sister-in-Law (who also has fantastic style BTW) for Xmas.

And that was my holiday in short. :D

Owls (Again) and a Letterpress

My obsession with owls probably started when I was about 10 and my brother gave me an owl stuffed animal.  Well, I shouldn't so much say he gave me as he taunted me with it since he tended to do that to me.  And although the real version of the bird creeps me out just a bit, I love them in every other way.  Especially in a print.

Dre

Dress: She Said...

Necklace: ModCloth

Jeans: Thrifted

T-straps: Crown Vintage of London

Belt: Target

 

Speaking of birds, I have found the most brilliant Etsy shop for some very unique and beautiful letterpress decor!  Their name is dutch door press and I have gone on and purchased some of their lovely birds and blooms of the 50 states collection. You can also visit their website Here

Colorado

Debbie Downer and a WWD Day

I am going to apologize ahead of time for this post but, I have just been a Debbie Downer today!  I think it has to do with having a fat day.  I just had one of those days where all day I felt like I weighed 100 more than I do.  Not sure why.  Luckily, I am smart enough to photograph myself and always post the next day so even if my day sucks or I couldn't get around to taking a good pic, I can still post something.

Cardigan: Thakoon for Target

Blouse: I heart Ronson

Skirt: I heart Ronson

Leggings: Target

Boots: Madden Girl

Necklace: ModCloth

 

On the other hand, today's work day was a bit slower and I had a bit of time to go through some old WWD publications through December.  Typically I am pretty good about picking them up and scanning for some good fashion content but since we are retail and December is crazy season, I have been pretty far behind in my reading.  In doing so I fell across an article about one of my favorite sustainable clothing labels, Edun and their new spring collection and I fell in love!  (The ruffle skirt is what caught my attention!)

 

 

(all imgs are from WWD 12/10/2009)

Alice in Wonderland

One of my all time favorite children's book is Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.  I have an old 1930s edition of it that my mother bought for me at a book fair in our library when I was fairly young.  It was one of those books that matched my crazy imagination.

As many of you know, there is a Tim Burton adaptation/sequel coming out in early March which of course leads to a slew of movie related products.  Typically, I am not into buying movie paraphernalia however, I am most excited for two products that are (surprise) part of my industry!  And since the products now appear on other sites for publicity, I can FINALLY post them to my blog!

Urban Decay's Alice in Wonderland Shadow Box

(image from TeenVogue.com)

OPI Alice in Wonderland Nail Polish collection

(image via BeautyEditor.ca)

Oh!  I am so incredibly excited!  I am so excited that I have grown passionately in love with Alice-like headbands and full skirts.  This is evident in my outfit yesterday.  I had to dress up for a vendor meeting (that I later found out was on conference call.  Doh!) so I thought, why not in honor of Alice?

Tee: Thrifted (Express)

Skirt: My Mother's from the 1970s

Heels: Jessica Simpson

 

A little bird told me so

The last few days have just been a whirlwind.  Work has been super busy (holiday+retail=crazy) and I have just had some horridly thrown on jeans days definitely not worthy of pictures.  But yesterday was Sunday and I always dress nicely on Sundays.  It is the only day during the week that I take to cook a nice formal dinner for my husband and I.  We shut off the TV, open a bottle of wine and spend some good time together with no distractions.  We started doing this when we lived in the city and had no cable.  Instead of watching pointless TV we would have a nice dinner and do something fun in the evening.  Whether it was going to get ice cream at the local ice cream shoppe or take a drive to see Lake Michigan wave up onto the beaches or even just drive through downtown.  Its always nice to know that one day during the week is kept sacred.

Bird Cardigan: Gift from my friend Lauren

Tee: Thrifted (Express)

Skirt: Thrifted

Leggings: DKNY

Boots: Target 

I also spent a bit of time cutting my bangs.  I only get my hair cut about 3 times a year because I tend to take pretty good care of my hair (I don't use products and I protect from heating appliances with argan oil).  I had a nice enough stylist in the city to teach me how to dry cut my bangs and I have been the only one to cut them for 3 years.  It definitely saves me money and time to do them myself and since I know exactly how my hair lays, they always turn out better.

Somewhere in this room is a demon cat....

I just thought I would share this photo my husband took while we were setting up our Christmas tree.  I should have known from this photo that my kitty, Madeline, would be up to no good when it came to all my Christmas decorations.....  If only I had taken heed of the warnings from my camera......

Notre Sapin de Noël et son petit village de gnome.....

This weekend was extremely busy!  We got our first real Christmas Tree!  Now, clearly, we have had Christmas Trees before but, it was a fake 3 foot plastic tree we bought on super clearance at Target when we first moved to Chicago.  Our Bridgeport apartment was super teeny and the little tree was all it could fit.  Plus we were poor college students.  So this year, as it is our first in out own home, we bought a real tree!  We trekked out to rural Peotone, IL (which is basically down the street because we are the border of the corn and the suburbs) and cut one down ourselves.  So, I thought I would share!

Our tree all lit up.  The LED lights make a light show all over the room and on the ceiling!

Traditionally, we put villages under our tree.  It was something I got from my Meme (grandmother) and I always assumed it was a French tradition.  Turns out it is a Serbian one!  (She was half French and half Serbian).  My village is a Gnome Village....

 

Its you typical Gnome Village.....Gnomes playing music to the swans...

 

The neighbor saying a friendly hello through the snow....

 

Even the raccoons are friendly....

 

Ice Skating is very popular....

 

Even Santa checks his list twice ....

Aside from the Christmas Tree festivities of the day, it then snowed that evening and when I woke up it was all white outside.  So a comfy and warm outfit was needed....

 Dress: Target
Necklace: ModCloth
Jeans: Edun
Boots: Aldo
Headband: Karina

Take it from Napoleon Dynamite...Just Dance

So I have had just a couple days of feeling sorry for myself.  I passed up a beautiful high waist gunmetal grey skirt at Express in order to rather buy Christmas gifts for family.  I just knew God told me for once, quit buying clothes, and buy for others.  Considering my husband's job situation, it was the best.  Oddly, that night, a friend from work sent me a text message saying she was going to bring a bag of her old threads that no longer fit her anymore.  She knows my thrift store obsession and thought I might like them!  Needless to say, I will be featuring some "Gifts from Lauren" threads in my outfit posts.

So to make myself feel even better on days like today...I laced up my ballet shoes.  I was a ballerina for 11 years and every time my husband is out for the day or the evening with friends, I can not help to put them on and dance around on my carpeted living room (ankles cant take the hard wood anymore!)

 

Blouse: Thrifted

Vest: Gift from Lauren

Skirt: H&M

Slippers: Prima Soft