Its a Mad Mad World

Another lame title, but things are quite mad here. And busy as all get out.

We have returned from San Fran (working on getting the pix to share) but am now working on going down to Washington D.C. for the cherry blossom festival and meeting up with my dad and stepmom there.

I honestly do not travel around so much but now that I am, it makes me feel all chic and sophisticated, putting together my little suitcases and toiletries into bitty cases. Or ziploc bags.

I am also working towards a position where I get to work on the window displays for a thrift store, but since its New York City, anything you have an interest in trying to do, there are roughly 10,000 people that are also there and have way more experience doing it than you.

But I think it would be a really fun thing to do! And challenging! And not just challenging in the way that working in a thrift store will be an exercise in self-restraint and buying shiny things!

I know that shopping in stores for clothes is fun and its nice to get brand new things that no one else has worn before, but I really like the idea of getting something at a thrift store that someone else can no longer afford to keep and had to donate, but I can keep it and love it.

Its no longer just sitting in someone's closet, unloved and unused, taking up valuable space where loved clothing can be stored. Its like the perfect thing ever. Plus, I love the thrill of the hunt and never knowing what awesome things you can find!

Its perfect shorts with tights weather here in NYC. I am pacing restlessly between the pants and dresses, the sandals and closed toe shoes, champing at the bit. I WANT TO STOP NEEDING SWEATERS AND FABRIC ON MY FEET AND LEGS TO STAY WARM.

The story for this top is that I had this shirt from forever21 when I was obsessed with lace paneling on tops. But being me, I got a stain on one that just wouldn't go away. I finally cut the lace off to keep so that I could maybe sew it on to something else. But fondling the lovely jersey soft fabric, I didnt want to relinquish the shirt either. I decided to safety pin the front of the now free-dangling puff sleeves to the now lace-less front of the top, pulling up enough fabric to hide the tiny-everlasting stain and to make the front of the shirt higher than the back, which I think is cute.

I like the fact that you can see the safety pins and that there is a little gap between the sleeves and armpit, it feels somehow edgy to me.

I am afraid that this is, sadly, as edgy as I will ever come to get. Safety pins holding up my shirt sleeves.

A San Francisco Treat

Really bad title post, sorry. I am super awful at coming up with good titles. Maybe I should just use song lyrics. There are so many good ones.

Anyway, my love and I are heading to San Francisco super soon to see his sister and to be tourist dorks.
Mentally, I have been conjuring up outfits to wear there. For like weeks.
I was imagining wide brimmed hats, huge sunglasses-bigger than my whole face! Summery dresses, open-toed sandals, delicate strappy camisoles!

It will most likely be raining, but the fantasy lives on. *goes to check out weather report*
...I even drew a list of what I want to bring on the trip:

Scanner is not operational at the mo, sorry, so a pic will have to do.

I've got a to-do list on there and everything. Notice how I even had to draw 7 pairs of underwear? Sad.

To be an even bigger dork, I threw down on my floor what garments I wanted to bring, then arranged seven outfits out of them-could i wear each item with every other item? Then it could be packed.

I wish I had a polaroid camera, I totally would've taken a pic for each item, then shuffled them around into little polaroid outfits.

Actually, I really want to do that. FOR EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE.

Is this a future project? Except, I dun has an old polaroid camera. < -_->

hm...!!

I debated packing way less than this, so that I would HAVE to find a nice thrift store or goodwill of goodies to have enough clothing. But I shall also go to thrift stores anyway, hopefully.

Apologies for the sorry quality of the pix, I was in a rush.

Blue, yellow, and grey together with a kind of khaki/olive color...YUM!

Should yellow plus grey stripes plus brown plus maroon tights be paired together? WHY HECK YES.

Hmm...perhaps grey tights with this? I may be bringing red knees high socks....

May nix this sweater, its so thin...

Can I just say that I love this heels pictured here? I thrifted these recently, and it was such a surprise! The material that crisscrosses the front is a big ol piece of elastic, which makes me go eww.

But when I put them on, they are the most comfortable shoe (more comfy than, gasp, a flat shoe) and feel so light on my feet. I have to stop myself from sleeping in them, plus the new york cold crap weather = horror.

These are not even all the outfits I made. I have been narrowing this list down even more, but also throwing more stuff in....

....like running clothes! I figure if I schlep them across the country, I better gosh darn run in them, up the majestic sloping streets of San Francisco! Plus I told people I would run with them in this 4K at the end of the month in Central Park (never ran a race in my life), so yeah.

p.s.

Just checked the weather! Rainy our first weekend there, then sort cloudy and then kinda sunny at the time we leave.

But weather can change! It is gonna be AMAZ'N!

Gray Stripes Are Forever

Every person has their quirks...one of mine about clothing is that I am afraid of prints...no, not afraid. Just very...particular.
It can't be too abstract a print, it has to have the right color pallette, it has to be printed on the right kind of fabric...it can't be a huge print, but not microscopic.
But stripes....stripes are much easier! A smaller to medium stripe, with the colored stripe on white or cream is always classy. Dressed up or down. Black and white is too graphic, navy and black is too muddy. Therefore, I own many a striped...garment.


I don't remember what I was listening to while taking these pictures...I want to say it was a Killers' song...I think I was listening to Muse Radio on pandora.com....I was really into it...
Still look scary, though, so apologies.
Just focus on the clothes, please and not the scary girl in them.

I think I have a problem...I own too many stripes...even the shoes have little leather strips/stripes.... *forlorn*

BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP THE WHORLY SWEATER

I drooled over this sweater and then, lo, I was way downtown, found a hidden Anthropologie with an epic clearance section (oh you, recession, oh you)-I beheld this!

top: H&M

pants: gap

tie/belt: target

shoes: target

sweater: anthropologie

Hair Makeover!

Since moving to Manhattan (not that I live right IN manhattan), I haven't had a haircut. I wouldn't even get massages or facials had I not actually been employed at a spa, haha.

I have yet to get a mani/pedi.
I plan to remedy that soon.

So my hair is stupid long, in that its long enough to do stuff with...but I don't, so its stupid. When I really feel ambitious, I put it in a crooked, lopsided braid. Mostly ponytails. A 'bun'.
But the hair drives me crazy. Shampooing. Conditioning. Taking forever to dry. Lovely blowdryers that give me sunburn, it feels like.
So I turned to my friendly free section of craigslist, got a free haircut, with my love wailing and gnashing his teeth.
"It could be a crazy person trying to cut your hair with chopsticks in their living room salon!" he said, or something like that.
Psh, if he can have his hair be two inches long and not grow it long for ME, why should I have to keep my hair long for HIM?
Anyways, I always feel like a short hair kind of gal, even when my hair is not akshually.


BEHOLD!


The fiend of craigslist is actually a lovely woman working her way up the hair ladder at the Paul lebrecque (hope I spelled that right) salon, who took her careful and diligent time-over an hour-to make this baby. Hair.
I have since then mangled the style, but it looked way better than it does in this pic.
The salon, btw, on the upper east side of Manhattan, is pretty gorgeous, they have a sort of boutique and nail salon and drinks all up in there. It was pretty fancy and decadent, I never could be able to afford that. So it was nice to take a chance and be pleasantly surprised.
I haven't had my hair done in a salon in ages....I forgot how heavenly it feels to have someone shampoo your hair...
and the crazy thing is that the lady lives maybe a mile from where I live!
I had my best friend come with me for moral support and to take pix, but it just never happened. I guess it would seem silly to impose that way.
I do intend to take pix for my first manicure/pedicure, though!