Goodbye, 2009!

This year Hubs and I are staying in for New Years. Jimi is sick, so we have to stay home and make sure he doesn't puke on anything important. But just because I'm staying in doesn't mean I shouldn't dress up like I'm going out. Wait. Did that sentence make any sense?


date: 31 December 2009
occasion: New Years Eve and Target run
dress: thrifted (Buffalo Exchange)
sunnies: Walmart
lace blouse: thrifted (Savers, yesterday)
tights: Target
booties: thrifted (Savers, yesterday)
belt: vintage (Buffalo Exchange)
clutch: vintage (estate sale)

And look what I got at Target when I went to buy Bananagrams (at the suggestion of pretty much everyone who commented on my Scrabble post):

Isn't he the cutest? I can't believe he was only $7.99! I hope I can continue to find more outstanding animal jewelry for super reasonable prices. He may be my new favorite ring.

Happy New Year's, everyone! Here's to 2009: You were great, but I just know 2010 will be even better!

Vogue's Most Stylish Women of 2009

Vogue announced their list of 2009's Most Stylish Women. Do you agree with the rankings?

1. Alexa Chung, 2. Audrey Tautou, 3. Sarah Jessica Parker, 4. Cheryl Cole

5. Dannii Minogue, 6. Emma Watson, 7. Sienna Miller, 8. Diane Kruger,
9. Freida Pinto, 10. Kate Moss, 11. Lady GaGa, 12. Lily Donaldson

13. Leighton Meester, 14. Michelle Obama, 15. Angelina Jolie, 16. Georgia May Jagger,
17. Anna Friel, 18. Olivia Palermo, 19. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, 20. Beth Ditto.

For the most part, I agree. I love that Alexa Chung bested Vogue's perpetual darlings Kate Moss and Sienna Miller. Lady GaGa (love or hate her) should be way higher than #11. I also think that Vogue should separate actors from the characters they play. For instance, Blair Waldorf dresses way better than Leighton Meester. Carrie Bradshaw has way more style than SJP, and Chuck had a to die for wardrobe whereas Anna Friel's style differs quite a lot. One last thought: WHERE THE HECK IS ANNE HATHAWAY?!

Do y'all see any other glaring omissions?

Savers is making me spend!

When I picked up my car from the garage yesterday I realized that I was already halfway to Savers! Since The Year of the Man Makeover starts Monday, I wanted to grab a few more things for Hubs.

L-R: American Eagle ($5.99), Fink Clothing ($5.99) Banana Republic ($9.99), Banana Republic ($7.99)

I'm still on the hunt for a couple of blazers, a new winter coat, some cute jeans, a pair of dress pants, and a couple pairs of boots for him, but I think so far, we have a good start. I'm excited to be featuring some dude fashion!

Nonetheless, lady fashion will still remain my main focus. I did manage to snag a couple items for myself yesterday. Of course!

High necked, long sleeved lace shirt Wet Seal ($1.49), black early 90's Liz Claiborne ankle boots ($7.99)

I am doing this new thing where I make a master wish list for my clothing since lately I've been buying a lot of basics and cheap filler. Animal jewelry aside, if it's not on the list, I don't buy it. I passed up three really great basic frocks yesterday, but I'm pleased that I spent less than $10 on myself! A long sleeved lace shirt has been on my list for a while since Jane seems to use hers as a cornerstone piece in her wardrobe. Black ankle booties were on my list since I've been planning some kind of DIY with them in January.

Despite my thriftiness, here's what Hubs said last night that made me laugh for five minutes straight:

What can I say? The man speaks the TRUTH.

Euchre embarrassment no more!

Confession: I am from the Midwest and I do not know how to play euchre. Luckily my dear friend PQ is coming over tonight to give me a lesson to remedy that. Ha. Like I need another game to get addicted to?

Now to some, me not knowing how to play euchre may not seem to be a large matter, but to me, this is quite a tragedy. Many a college night was spent in my dorm room alone whilst my buddies reveled in their fun, euchre nights. Thus, my new euchre enabled self now allows me special social privileges when I go back home. I shall no longer be an embarrassment to the Midwest!

Oh, and here's what I'm wearing for such said lesson. Oh, yeah... fashion blog blah blah blah blah. Yep. This is the Dynasty blouse I got on my last Savers trip. I accidentally hung it in the guest room closet and forgot about it.

date: 30 December 2009
occasion: game night and euchre lesson!
blouse: vintage (Savers)
jeans: Built by Wendy (gift from Simplicity)
shoes: Payless
bee pin: The Good Shoppe (Christmas gift)

Heidi (yes, the same one who always beats me in Scrabble) is doing PQ's euchre lesson with me, too. I'm hoping that this is one game I can actually be victorious over her, though! MIDWEST POWER!

Lohan continues her dellusions that she is a fashion designer.

If you've been reading Adored Austin for a while, you'll know that I really, really don't like celebrity clothing lines (exceptions? Nicole Richie and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen... duh). I was bored by both of Lauren Conrad's collections, I was horrified by Heidi Montag's line, and I detest anything "made by" Lindsay Lohan. So imagine my horror this morning when I read on WWD that La Lohan is expanding her 6126 legging line to a full clothing collection. WHY?! LINDSAY, DID YOU NOT LEARN ANYTHING WITH UNGARO? Geez, Louise. She even tweeted that she needs more followers to get the word out about it.

Follow Lindsay! You read that right. She needs MORE followers! You know, because 250,538 just doesn't cut it!

It's your call. Here are the sketches. WWD reports that the average price point will be between $100- $150.

"Yes, I AM a designer. Picking buttons is hard work!"

I know, I know. I shouldn't judge until the line is out. But let's think objectively, shall we? Has Lohan done anything good since Mean Girls? Anything at all? Believe me. I'm rooting for her. I miss that spunky redhead who was in The Parent Trap and Freaky Friday. Anyone else?

This calls for a dinner party!

Oh my gosh, you guys! Look at the grown up furniture I'm getting!

Hubs and I got an Ansager table on Craigslist a couple weeks ago and we just ordered these chairs last night from Amazon and Overstock. I'm so excited that after three years in Austin our house is finally, finally, finally taking on an aesthetic and is starting to feel like home.

Gosh, it seems like only yesterday when Hubs and I were eating dinner on the floor of our crummy apartment using an upside down cardboard box as a table! I want to do a special little shout-out to Hubs' mom and her husband for the super sweet Christmas gift that allowed us to buy all this grown up furniture. Thank you!

Scrabble Babble

If I were to make a list of all the nerdy things I love, Scrabble would be in my top ten. My car had to go to the shop today for a little inspection action, so my friend Heidi picked me up from the garage. Instead of taking me right home, we went over to Quacks to play a round of Scrabble.

date: 29 December 2009
occasion: Scrabble at the coffee shop
dress: Maggie London
sweater: Rue 21
fingerless gloves: Target
cable knit thigh highs: American Apparel
spoon necklace: Oktoberfest street vendor
boots: vintage (Style Station)
bag: vintage (My Favorite Place)

I didn't fare well. In fact, this is the fifth time that I've lost to Heidi. I'm keeping track of it all at Scrabble 365. This is a nerd alert: if you click that link, I'll surly know which of you are true Scrabble nerds! Danger!

The Worst of 2009

Since it's the end of the year, a lot of us style bloggers are showing our favorite ensembles from 2009. I already did that, but honestly? It felt incomplete. Why? Well because for every 20 or so outfits that I love, I don something I end up not loving at all. Below are some of my least favorite outfits from this year:

Jellyfish tee & jeans, weird jumper thing, Hubs' wrinkled shirt.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the above outfits, but they are a little paugh. What is "paugh" you ask? Well I just learned this term from the unflappable Leon Fowler the third of Thomaston, Georgia fame.

paugh- adjective.
pronunciation: \ˈpɒ\ or \paw\. usually pronounced as a long, drawn out sigh.
definition: oppressively ordinary, causing physical exhaustion in the beholder.

For 2010, I vow to be less paugh or to only do paugh ironically, okay?

The following outfit isn't really paugh, per se, but it is ridiculous. C'mon, people! I'm wearing a denim vest OVER A LEATHER COAT and STIRRUP PANTS and you let me go out like that! I thought we were friends!

I was trying to do a DIY version of the new Alexander Wang coats that I can't afford, okay?!

This outfit, however, has absolutely no excuse or plausible explanation:

WTFWIT?! (meaning: What The F Was I Thinking)

Seriously. Just put some clown make-up on me and give me some balloon animals, and I'm ready to go. And by "go" I mean be paid $8 an hour to work as a clown at a kindergarten graduation. To prevent this from happening again in 2010, I'm going to print this photo out and tack it to my mirror as a reminder to ask myself "would a clown wear this?" If the answer is yes, I'll change immediately.

The Best of 2009

As the year comes to a close, it's time to do what every other blogger does: reflect and put up old content. Thank you so much to everyone who stops by and to those of you who have made Adored Austin a regular stop on your jaunt down the information super highway. 2009 was a banner year. I don't even really know what that saying means, but nonetheless, I liked 2009 a lot because it was the year that I launched Adored Austin. Below are some of my favorite 2009 acquisitions:

BB Dakota dress won from Fell4Fashion, DIY dyed lace jacket, thrifted leather skirt.

Beaded, vintage cocktail shorts, hen necklace, & estate sale military blazer.

And my favorite outfit of all? This recently rescued ensemble:

Vintage $5 fur coat and thrifted lace dress.

Again, thank you so much for making Adored Austin such a delight. Some of my goals for 2010 include upping the Adored Austin ante in the funny department and making a baby (or two!) with Hubs. I'm sure that 2010 is going to be a banner year, too... whatever that means!

Goodbye, Atlanta

Hubs and I head back to Texas tonight, but you know I couldn't go on vacation without partaking in a little local thrift store excursion! I stopped by a place that Hubs had been to as a child: a 10,000 square foot thrift store called "My Favorite Place" located just outside of Atlanta in Chamblee. I didn't find any awesome clothes or jewelry, but I did manage to get a couple things for my house and a vintage messenger bag.

Antique glass insulator ($4.50) & vintage leather messenger bag ($4.50)

This is now my second bird cage. This one is going to be turned into jewelry display ($10).

This may be one of the only times I've done an exact repeat of an outfit, but this is fast becoming my favorite dress. The button up underneath is a great way to winterize it:


date: 26 December 2009
occasion: breakfast with friends, shopping, dinner with family, then hitting the road
dress: thrifted (Buffalo Exchange)
shirt: Express
stirrup pants: Miley Cyrus/ Max Azzaria (Go ahead. Laugh. I deserve it!)
leggings under pants: Under Armour
ballet flats: Payless
bag: thrifted (My Favorite Place: Atlanta)

On very, very cold days, I layer a pair of Under Armour pants under my tights or cotton leggings. So far this winter, I've been able to successfully avoid wearing jeans all the time by doing this. Hooray! I feel weird in jeans.

By the way, I am surprised that I've gotten so much wear out of my Miley Cyrus stirrup pants. I bought them as a funny little $5 joke, but they've actually become a serious contender for my most worn pants of 2009. Oops. Nevermind. I keep forgetting that leggings ≠ pants.

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy Christmas, everyone! Don't worry about looking fabulous today, okay? Just worry about getting your year end's fill of Christmas cookies and desserts.

Stellar Seller: Charming Charlie

Yesterday I was on the prowl. My cousin Shelley (who I grew up with and is truly is more like a sister to me) has an affinity for owls because our grandma has collected owls since the 1960's. Shelley has the unfortunate problem of having a birthday the day after Christmas. I try not to snub her birthday by combining her Christmas and birthday present into one, so I was determined to find her a silver owl necklace that was unlike any non-vintage owl necklace I had seen before. On a whim, I ducked into Charming Charlie, an accessories store I had never heard of. It was absolutely filled with trendy, super affordable jewelry, bags, and shoes:

I don't usually spotlight national chain stores as "Stellar Sellers", but I had to give a shout-out to this one because it's based in Texas and according to their website they're about to open a Charming Charlie at the Domain in Austin. Woot! Imagine all the fun jewelry you see at Forever 21. Now quadruple the choices and BAM! That's Charming Charlie. They did, indeed, have Shelley's necklace:

This owl's eyes are sufficiently creepy, no?

But the crème de la crème of my north Atlanta Charming Charlie's experience was finally finding an affordable ENAMEL SNAKE BRACELET!

My inner Claudia Kishi is delighted. All I need is some fruit earrings and a vast array of Doc Martens, and I'm ready to channel Claudia and start up some sort of Babysitters Club tribute band.

[top photo © and courtesy of Charming Charlie]

Christmas Eve Eve

I absolutely do not recommend going to the mall on the eve before Christmas eve. Unfortunately Hubs and I had some last minute gifts to attend to, and we had to sacrifice a tiny piece of our sanity and soul for a Christmas Eve Eve mall excursion. While Hubs was taking my self-style photo, I realized that the combination of the purple gloves and the green coat made me feel a little like The Joker:

date: 23 December 2009
occasion: Christmas shopping in Atlanta
coat: J.Lo
tee: American Apparel
skirt: American Apparel
belt: Buffalo Exchange (new merch)
gloves: Target
tights: Target
bag: (no tag) Marshalls
boots: thrifted Chinese Laundry

Yep. I'm not going to pair up green and purple again. I feel ridiculous.

You know what isn't ridiculous? Friendships that spring from Adored Austin! I first met Giselle in line for The All Austin All Handmade Bash and took her photo for a street style feature here on Adored Austin. Since then we've become good friends. You can't see it in today's photos, but I'm sporting a charcoal American Apparel cardigan embellished with a vintage pewter birdie pin that Giselle just gave me for Christmas:

Giselle has a wonderful eye for vintage and even has her own Etsy shop (look for it again after the holidays). Hubs and I are huge fans of both hers and her husband Kevin, who is an artist over at Forward Collective. Watch for Kevin's famed laser wolf t-shirt next month as part of the Year of the Man-Makeover.

Christmas in Atlanta

Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday. Hubs and I did the 14 hour drive from Austin to Atlanta, and I thought for sure I'd want to do a post when we got to Atlanta. Wrong! All I wanted to do was stretch my legs and fall into a coma like sleep! When I have to sit in the car for ages and ages, the goal is to dress as comfortable as possible without wearing pajamas or sweat pants. The answer? Leggings and my favorite cardigan:
date: 21 December 2009
occasion: massive road trip
cardigan: thrifted Kimchi & Blue (Buffalo Exchange)
sweater (underneath): Wet Seal
leggings: DKNY
boots: thrifted Chinese Laundry (Buffalo Exchange)
tote: gift from the Stitch Fashion Show
sunnies: vintage (Buffalo Exchange)

We left Austin at 10 a.m. and got to Atlanta at 1:30 a.m. We crashed at this guy's house:

He was a very polite host. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the week here in Atlanta. I have to go to the dreaded mall tomorrow for last minute Christmas gifts, but if anyone has any shopping recommendations, let me know!

Winners: Accessorize surprise

It's finally time to announce the winners of the Accessorize surprise prize!

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you so much to everyone who entered! I am so happy to be able to share some of my lovely Accessorize gifts with you! I hope you love them as much as my long lost twin sister and I do. :0)

Oh, baby! Your patriotism is showing.

This conversation happened last night:

Hubs: I think for your giveaway video tomorrow you should let me march in place in the background while a patriotic song plays. [he starts marching and humming "You're a Grand 'ole Flag"].
Me: [singing] You're a grand 'ole flag, you're a high flyin' flag, and forever in peace may you wave- you're the emblem of, the land I love--
Hubs: You know the words?!
Me: Yeah, doesn't everybody?
Hubs: No.

Haha. I am oddly patriotic!

I know I said that I was going to wear my new Dynasty era peach blouse today, but the giveaway has got me in a red, white, and blue mood, too.



date: 18 December 2009
occasion: making the Accessorize surprise giveaway video
dress: thrifted (Savers)
vest: thrifted (Savers)
tights: Old Navy
vintage shoes: flea market find
American flag clutch, ring, and necklace: courtesy of Accessorize.com

I have several of these basic, empire waist dresses and consider them to be a staple in my wardrobe. I've learned from Melissa at Stay Forever Sunday that one day, when I get pregnant, I'll still be able to rock them. I'm not pregnant now, but big news: after five years of marriage, Hubs announced last night that he'd like us to be pregnant as soon as possible. I stopped taking my birth control pills last month and I'm trying to figure out how to track my fertility and all that jazz. I'm so excited about what next year holds for our little family!

Red, white, and blue you

Oh my gosh, you guys! Look how freaking adorable some of the entries to the Accessorize surprise giveaway are:

1. Emily from Le Quaintrelle, 2. Dani, 3. Nicole, 4. Lindy from Meep,
5. Elizabeth, 6. Lauren from This Little Piggy, 7. Amanda from Disheveled Stars, 8. Jen from Jennifhsieh,
9. Esti from Loopy Rocket, 10. JoAnn from Sidewalk Chalk, 11. Alex, and 12. Cassiday from Mix 94.7.

Honestly, there's no way I can pick the "best" red, white, and blue outfit because I'm no Heidi Klum this is not Project Runway I think they're all great, and it's unfair for me to play style dictator. I'll draw a winner on video later today, and if Vimeo doesn't hate my guts the video will be up later tonight. Happy Friday, everyone! Stay warm. Thank you to everyone who entered! I can't wait to see who wins!

Update: The winners were drawn, and Jen was the lucky girl who got the grand prize!

Photos ©Jennifer Hsieh