FAQ you... hehe. See what I did there?

I'm updating my blog to include a FAQ's section.

Go ahead. Nothing is off limits: blogging, fashion, personal, whatever. I'll try to get to 'em all, but I can't promise that I'll publicize every single question. Formspring is probably easiest, but feel free to leave your questions in the comments section of this post or to email me your questions, too.

Gush fest

I once read that there are two types of people in the world: those who create and those who collect. While I would love to be able to be the former, I absolutely know that I have always had a penchant for collecting things. Evidence A: my animal jewelry. Evidence B: apples for home decor. Luckily, my dear friend Giselle has indulged both of these via gifts from her vintage Etsy The Good Shoppe:

Since launching this blog, I have been incredibly blessed that through it I have made some new friends. Some of you I have not yet had the pleasure to meet in person, but others of you I have. Giselle is someone that I got to know back in August at The All Austin Handmade Event. I even snapped her photo for a street style shot! It's so awesome to me that over the months our friendship has blossomed, and I now count her among my dearest friends.

Anyway, I say all this to let you know that I you adore and appreciate you. There are a million other fashion blogs out there- many with prettier pictures and more interesting things to say, but wow! You choose to come here! So, if you're reading this, thank you. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart and closet. Thank you for brightening my day every single day, and thank you for laughing at me and with me. I sincerely wish that I could meet each and every one of you in "real life". Something that I'll never tire of collecting? More friends.

Okay. Gush fest over. Um, here's something that will make you laugh.

Video: But can she tap?

So, according to my previous post, some of you think I can't dance. Well here's what I have to say about that:
These thrifted tap shoes may be one of my favorite things ever from Buffalo Exchange!

Tap it out

Okay, so you all know that I'm a huge fan of Claudia and The Babysitters Club, but did you know that I also appreciate Stephanie from The Sleepover Friends? Does anyone remember those books at all? Stephanie was the one who was fashion forward, but she always and only wore red, white, and black. If memory serves me right, she even had a black and white cat with a red collar.

date: 28 January 2010
occasion: dentist :0(
tunic (tucked in): Marshalls
skirt: Tommy Jeans
tights: Target
belt: Nautica (borrowed from Hubs)
bracelet: Fashionique
tap shoes: thrifted Capezio

Yes, I'm wearing tap shoes to the dentist office. I HATE the dentist, but these shoes make me happy, so I'm wearing 'em. Quick poll, though. I'm curious: do you think I can dance?

UPDATE: This video reveals the answer.

Comment of the Day: oh. my. god. you just gave me the answer to something i've been pondering for YEARS! i remembered in 3rd grade only letting my mom get my new school clothes in red, black, and white because of a character in a book i'd read. now i know. thanks, indiana, for solving a mystery of childhood. -Lauren

Quandary: Can this dress become modest?

I bought this Kate Moss Top Shop frock at Buffalo Exchange after doing a small sell there last week. I took the store credit and only had to pay $2.00 out of pocket for it. Yes! I had every intention of wearing it to Saturday's Rock 'n' Swap, but yowzers! I tried it on again today, and I realized it is waaaaaay too scandalous for me to wear in public! The cut and fit of the dress is fantastic, and I love that it's made of crispy organza (one of my favorite fabrics), so I'd like your opinions on what I can wear with the dress to make it, well... less slutty.

Y'all are really fashionable and have great opinions, so please leave your suggestions below! Capcoon-kah (that's how girls say "thank you" in Thai).

Now accepting February sponsors

Exciting things are happening over here at Adored Austin! I hope we can partner up!

leopard print + pizza

Huge thanks to my friend Dearing who is loaning me her point and shoot while my new battery charger is en route!

date: 26 January 2010
occasion: small group at Salvation Pizza
dress: thrifted F21 (Savers)
tank: Old Navy
blazer: Walmart circa 2005
boots: thrifted Minnetonka (Buffalo Exchange)
bag: thrifted- no tag (Buffalo Exchange)
necklace: courtesy of Accessorize.com

Also, I wanted to let y'all know that I am super, super excited because my life is about to change! Why? Well because in addition to my replacement DSLR battery charger, I ordered one of these:

A remote control for my camera! Now I don't have to push the shutter and then run to my place over and over again each day. Not of all of has a Kev in our lives, so for those of us who do not, a remote will make life much easier! I hope everything arrives by Saturday!

Dear Megan Nielson, I think I just drooled a little.

I'm sure you all saw the amazing new line from Megan Nielsen on What I Wore (my fellow displaced Hoosier!). I hope you were delighted by the whimsical, feminine shapes and put some of Ms. Nielsen's designs on your want list. I know I sure did! I'm practically salivating over these two things:

Lady dress and Sophia top

I can totally imagine Chuck from Pushing Daisies in the Lady Dress, and the Sophia top is one of those rare versatile things that I imagine that I'll still be able to sport once I get a bun in my oven!

I'm blue da da de da da dah...

You have got to be kidding me. Look what I got today:

Yes, this is another ticket, totally different than this one from last month that cost me $135. For you see, this one is for being a on cell phone in a school zone, and this one will be $275. The defensive driving course is not an option since today's citation was was issued less than 90 days from my previous (alleged) infraction.

Some people will say this serves me right for making fun of Nike shorts. Others will be like, "What the what? Driving while talking on your phone in a school zone is against the law?!" Yeah, that's what I said to the police man, but I got no sympathy (and really, who could blame him?). He still gave me a ticket. I cried afterward, but I probably should have cried before.

Hubs is going to be very, very disappointed, and this will, for sure, raise our insurance. That's a lot of the reason why I feel so bad: it stinks that he's stuck with a higher insurance bill because of the dumb things I do. Ah, one of the few pitfalls of marriage! This will also kill my shopping budget for the next two months. I'm going to have to get creative with recycling the clothes I already own. Or I'm going to have to get a part-time job to cover all this ticket madness! Is substitute teaching hard? Is working as a temp receptionist fun?

In other news, after debating a color since July, I finally finished painting one of the guest rooms today. This room will soon become Hubs' music room/ office and I hope that all my hard work will convince Hubs to not make me feel even worse than I already do about getting two tickets in less than six weeks time!

This color was color matched from Pratt and Lambert's Academy Blue. I saw it in this post on Apartment Therapy and was in love. Truly, it's lovely, and it's almost as blue as I'm feeling right now! Not that any of this is undeserved, though!

Comment of the Day: Just think, a kid's crossing the road and you're on the phone and don't see him. I'm surprised the fine isn't higher. Good luck! -Taylor B.

So, true, Taylor. So, so true. Admittedly, I absolutely could not handle a ticket any higher than this, so I'm quite glad the fee is as low as it is! Lesson learned. Painfully, painfully learned! -Indi

No Nike shorts! No Nike shorts!

People, we have a serious fashion emergency on our hands. As many of you are well aware, our fellow females are falling victim to the Great Style Annihilator: The Nike Tempo Shorts.

These shorts first appeared harmless. Their natural habitats are environments where athletics and cardiovascular activities are abound. We initially only saw them in or around gymnasiums, work out facilities, or clad around women who were running or biking.

This, however, is no longer the case. These Nike shorts have invaded nearly every crevasse of day-to-day society and have become extremely invasive and hostile in their take-over. They are now seen at the theater, in class, and even in nice restaurants where servers come to your table. We had hoped that they would not be able to survive the winter weather as they were biologically structured for temperatures in excess of 70º Fahrenheit, however, they have formed a symbiotic relationship with two other fashion anomalies known as The Ugg boot and the black, cotton, leggings to ensure their survival and proliferation.

Various blogs and Facebook groups have joined forces to fight off the Nike shorts invasion. I, myself- Mrs. Indiana E. Adams, have turned this very post into a petition for women everywhere to declare that we will stave off the mass popularity of these shorts outside of gyms. I hope these shorts become a thing of the past: much like the Umbro fad of 1993. Diaper butt and built-in underpants, we abolish you!

By leaving a comment on this post, you agree to the following:

We, the undersigned, agree that wearing Nike shorts in situations that do not involve working out or athletics is a fashion tyranny that must be stopped. We shall not wear Nike shorts with Uggs. We shall not wear Nike shorts with leggings and flip flops. We shall not wear Nike shorts to nice restaurants, and we shall encourage our female friends to do likewise. We endeavor to stop the insanity and to spread our credo of "Just DON'T do it".

The Wonder Love

Both of my cameras are still out of commission. Best Buy and Craigslist were of no help when it came to finding a new charger for my DSLR battery, so Amazon it is. I am hopeful that my new charger will be here by Friday. In the meantime, my super sweet friend Dearing loaned me her point and shoot, but alas, it has to charge today. But I feel bad with no new content on a Monday, so this morning I had the genius idea to turn my Macbook on its side and take photos using the Photobooth thingy. So, ta-da! Here's a sneak peak at what I wore today... which is incidentally what I also wore briefly on Saturday to my friends' birthday party and briefly yesterday to church. Yep. I'm keepin' it real up in here. I'm admitting it: I wore this dress three days in a row! Surely y'all do this kind of thing occasionally, too?

date: 25 January 2010 (and 24th and 23rd!)
occasion: birthday party (Saturday), church (Sunday) and post office run today
dress: thrifted (Buffalo Exchange)
sweater: Wet Seal
tights: Target
boots: vintage Hunt Club (Style Station)
necklace: City Wide Garage Sale

Two things:
First: The most incredible thing happened on Saturday: I was at my friends' joint birthday party, and I met Jamie, who courageously came up to me and asked me if I had a blog! And get this: Jamie isn't even from Austin nor is she a fashion blogger! HOLY COW. People from outside Austin who aren't entrentched in the fashion blogger community come here?! This. Is. Amazing! And terribly flattering and humbling!

I do want to say this, though: Every time I've met a reader in the wild, they always say they feel like a stalker or a creep coming up to me to say hi. I'd like to put these feelings of ill at ease. I LOVE meeting people who have happed upon Adored Austin, I love the comments, I love the emails, I love the cell phone pics, all of it. I hope anyone who contacts me either in person or via email never feels like a stalker, unless of course, you find yourself on my front porch in your pajamas at four in the morning or driving by my house a dozen times a day. Then you might be a stalker, and you should definitely talk about that to your therapist.

Secondly: I am not pregnant. This may be a little too much information for you, but we're all girls here, right? With that said, I am very late in my cycle, so yesterday I took a home preggo test, but it came out negative. I'm not disappointed, though. Yes, Hubs and I are hoping to start a family this year, but I know that it may take a while (I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which can sometimes complicate conception if my thyroid levels aren't spot on). To keep Adored Austin solely focused on fashion, shopping, DIY's, and Ausitn happenings, Hubs and I are getting ready to launch a really, really personal blog that details our faith, marriage, and our preparation for parenthood. It will still be funny (because I don't think either of us are capable of being 100% serious 100% of the time), but since it will have very little to do with what we wear, we thought it best to put it elsewhere. I'll let you know when it's up and running. Tentatively, it will be at TheWonderLove.com... ha. Like the Adamses need another blog! No fear though, Adored Austin is my priority and my main squeeze. This baby won't get abandoned, ever.

Comment of the Day: You definitely just killed my dreams of hunting you down in my pjs though... Now what will I do on my vacation?? -Ana

Video: Getting to know me, getting to know all about me

A couple weeks ago I got to do a Q&A with Kjrsten over at Have a Cute Day. This one was particularly fun, so if you have a moment, glide on over there to check it out. I do, indeed, talk about my love for Claudia Kishi and some other fashionably noteable 80's icons over there. Have a Cute Day is an adorable blog, so I recommend bookmarking it if you haven't already. Thanks for spotlighting zany 'ole me, Kjrsten!

I've been thinking a lot about being funny lately. I love being funny, and so I get thrown off when I can't make an otherwise boring situation funny at all. A while back, my buddy Mel from Ideé Geniale tagged me to do a video post. I kept putting it off and putting it off because I couldn't think of anything funny to say. After my frank and serious yearbook post, I'm starting to learn that yes, y'all appreciate me when I'm funny, but you also like it when I'm occasionally candid and sincere. Because my DSLR is still out of commission and because I got tagged one billion times for one of those blog award things where you're supposed to reveal things about you that your readers may not know, I thought I'd finally take a quick moment to open up and share some of my likes with y'all. I know it's hard to believe, but I do like things other than Claudia Kishi, animal jewelry, Scrabble, misappropriated neck wear, and blogging, so without further ado, here's a serious video post!

Geez. Emo, much? Okay. My next video post will be funny. I swear. What are some of the bizarre thing you like?

Comment of the Day: I have to say I thought you were kidding when you said you like talking and not talking, since that's almost straight out of Best in Show. "We both like talking and not talking. We could talk or not talk for hours and still find things to not talk about." -Cara

Iris Schieferstein must be a mad genius

Let it be known that I'm a fan of taxidermy probably more than the average person, but these. Are. Ridiculous!

Gaga is the only one who can sport these in all seriousness.

Comment of the Day: Reminds me of Mr. Tumus from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe! -That Chelsea Girl

Both my cameras are out of commission

Yesterday my point and shoot camera exploded, so now I'm totally without a camera at all! My phone takes super terrible pictures, so I'm really at a loss as to what I should do until the new DSLR battery charger gets here (I'm ordering one on Amazon). So today, in lieu of a picture post, here's the briefest of videos showing what I wore today!

date: 22 January 2010
occasion: date night!
dress: American Apparel Le Sac jumper style
tee: Costco (holla!)
belt: vintage (Buffalo Exchange)
shoes: thrifted Nine West (Buffalo Exchange)

That was perhaps the most boring video the internet has ever seen. Hopefully my new battery will be here by Tuesday.

Hey, it's that studded blazer again!

HI!!! I've missed you! I can't believe I missed a day of blogging. I usually do a couple posts per day, and I hardly ever miss a day during the week. Anyway, remember how I said I was going to clean out my closet? Well, I did, and while in there I go bit by a cleaning bug. I re-did my closet AND my bathroom closet AND my office (which is also a closet). It had to get done!

Get this: I now have four giant arm loads of clothes that I'm going to part ways with (two big laundry baskets full!). Some of that will be going to the Rock n' Swap next week, a little of that will go to Buffalo Exchange, but-- and here's the fun part-- I've decided to sell a few of my most adored pieces here on Adored Austin. As soon as I finish this post, I'm going on a mannequin hunt!

date: 21 January 2010
occasion: mannequin hunt!
jacket: DIY
pants and belt: Buffalo Exchange new merch
tank: Old Navy
shoes: recently repaired, thrifted Nine West (Savers)

I still haven't found my camera battery charger. I thought for sure it was in my closet or office, but alas, it's still missing in action. I may have to break down to buy a new one. In the meantime, I'm using our old Cannon Power shot. I was having a hard time squishing my whole body into the frame, but I'm actually pretty pleased with how well the photos turned out.

By the way, Hubs and I did not get our haircuts last night because our student stylist canceled. Grrrrr. This is the second time this has happened to me, and I've only been to Avenue Five three times! Luckily, the really sweet people over there have offered us 20% off our haircuts due to the inconvenience of canceling on us last minute. Hopefully we'll be able to get in next week some time! This is just another hilarious way that life is prolonging my hair cutting anxiety, right? I'm convinced that every girl just needs to make friends with someone who can cut their hair, so I am now accepting applications. Anyone? Anyone?

I love yesterday!

Last night Hubs and I went to the Music for the City Hope for Haiti benefit show. They raised over $12,000 to send to the Hope for Haiti orphanage (which existed before the earthquake, but now has even deeper, more pressing needs). When the earthquake happened, Austin musician Aaron Ivey's newly adopted son was still at the orphanage due to some political red tape, and now that the earthquake has happened, they aren't sure if he'll get to come home any time soon at all. I was moved to tears by his song "Amos Story", dedicated to his little boy. I hope y'all don't mind that I've posted the incredibly moving music video:

Before the show, Hubs and I went to my friend Carmen's house to celebrate her birthday again (I love how we girls always throw ourselves a party on our actual birthday date and another party on the weekend!). I gave Carmen Bananagrams because I loved mine so much after buying it based on y'all's recommendations. I even made her a Bananagrams birthday card:

Carmen, in turn, surprised us by ordering a THIRTY INCH PIZZA from Arpeggio's. It was a beast, but I helped tame it!

L: Me & Heidi hold the 30 inches of awesomeness (Steve helps).
R: Most people would be okay with just one of these slices. I ate two.

Finally a face with a name, right? The girl in the left photo with me is Heidi-- yes the same one who annihilates me in Scrabble on a semi-daily basis. Heidi is an awesome artist, and she also makes really cool wallets out of her childhood drawings, notes, and current doodles. I've used one of her wallets for the last year (I bought it at a Christmas bazaar in 2008) , and every time I pull it out at a store, the clerks ooh and ahh over it.

She recently opened an Etsy shop called Bear Fox, so now you can have one of these whimsical wallets, too! Mine is very similar to the Light Blue Allison Wallet. Don't forget that Valentine's Day is coming up in less than a month. At just $15 a pop, you can get that special someone in your life an awesome, one of a kind money holder. The shop just went live today at Etsy.com/shop/shopbearfox.

In other news, I've lost my camera battery charger. No doubt it's in the black hole that is in my closet. If you don't hear from me for a couple days, please send Hubs to my closet to try and find me.

Comment of the Day: Random fact: On this day in 1955, the board game Scrabble was introduced. -Anonymous

Hubs and I get haircuts tomorrow!

Hubs and I each realized that we are both long overdue to have our tresses chopped:

I have spent the better half of the morning poring over celebrity hair styles, trying to find the perfect photographs to take with us tomorrow to Avenue Five. I think I finally settled on these two:

Chace Crawford : Camron Diaz

Hubs is going to have to get friendly with the pomade to keep his 'do Chace-like. As for me, I am not going short like Ms. Diaz, but I will part with at least six inches off the bottom. I'm just using this photo to show the stylist how I want my bangs redone. (My hair has to stay long to match my acting headshots).

Anyway, our appointments are for tomorrow night, and y'all know I get super nervous before haircuts! For me, in terms of anxiety, it's just a step below going to the dentist. Unlike teeth, though, my hair grows back super fast, and keeping that fact in mind comforts me just in case I hate it.

Comment of the Day: First, the coordinating prairie/western wear you both are donning is extremely adorable. Second, your bangs are gonna look so awesome! Don't fret... even if you don't like it we'll all love it! -Chelsea

Nothing is as it seems

Look, ma! No tights! I'm just kidding. My mom doesn't read this site!


date: 18 January 2010
occasion: Hope for Haiti benefit concert
dress (as skirt): thrifted (Buffalo Exchange)
leotard (as shirt): Danskin, estate sale
belt: thrifted (Savers)
boots: Steve Madden
bag: vintage (Buffalo Exchange)
sunglasses: Buffalo Exchange new merch
peacock necklace: courtesy of Clyde's Rebirth

I'm getting ready to run because I'm meeting up with some friends before the show, but I did want to tell you that for the next couple of weeks Clyde's Rebirth (my newest sponsor) is donating 20% of her sales to Doctors without Borders, an amazing organization that has stepped up in a powerful way to give medical aid to those in need in Haiti.

And to answer your question, yes, that is this dress folded down skirt style! That's how I roll. Like literally. I rolled it down and belted it! High five!

Clyde's Rebirth is an Adored Austin sponsor.

Save the date: Rock n' Swap, Saturday, January 30th

Y'all don't even know how excited I am about this! I think I was literally the first person to RSVP. I have been waiting for an amazing Austin clothing swap for ages! This one is being put on by some of my favorite people, and there will also be rum and dancing! Golly, I love this city.

Thanks for the invite, Magnolia Family Vintage! MFV's owner Jessica has some stellar tips over on her personal blog about how to get a good swap on. It was too awesome to not just copy and paste:

1. You show up at Beauty Bar on January 30th between 6 and 10pm.
2. You bring with you ten items of clean clothes (items such as shoes, belts, and purses will be counted) in good condition and with reasonable belief that someone else may want them. You don't have ten items of clothing to spare? No worries.
3. You can also swap with us a measly $5 at the door and we'll let you inside the fray.
4. Once you're in you get to treasure hunt through the clothes other people bring and take up to ten items home with you! For free! And if you just hate the idea of taking home free clothes... well, I won't address how many ways something could be wrong with you but I will say that you can also shop a little vintage from our own Magnolia Family Vintage or Laced With Romance, drink a little rum and hope a cat fight breaks out, do a little dance around the piles to the rock and roll part of the rock and swap... You know, lots of options.

Austinites, get your Rock n' Swap RSVPing done HERE. I will see you there. I hope you bring something awesome for me to take home. I'll be bringing some kick butt stuff, too... if I can bare to part with 'em!

Back in black

I am feeling much, much better today! It must have just been a 24 hour bug or something. Praises! I felt so good that I woke up early, got dressed, put on my thrifted tap shoes and did a little tappa tappa outside. I'm sure my neighbors loved that!



date: 16 January 2010
occasion: errands- paint store, Costco, Asian grocery store
velvet jacket: Wet Seal
tank: American Apparel
belt: vintage (Buffalo Exchange)
skirt: American Apparel
tights: Target
tap shoes: thrifted Capezio, Buffalo Exchange

Tonight is my friend Carmen's birthday party! We're going to play laser tag down south, which should be hilarious. We're all wearing head to toe black and Carm is providing us all with ninja masks! I swear, my friends have the best parties!

Speaking of parties, I'm in charge of organizing a little SXSW New Media Fashion brunch! If you're from out of town and you run an online fashion community or a high traffic personal style blog and you're planning to attend SXSW, please shoot me an email. I'd love to get you involved! Ninja masks are totally optional.

What do people post on their sick days?

I am feeling le terrible today! The flu has attacked me, and after a long, hard battle, my immune system finally surrendered. I am not about to take a photo of myself laying here in bed, but I will show you some photos of me that look even worse than photos of me sick. I have images from the horror/ thriller movie "I Didn't Come Here to Die" that I shot last November. We're hoping for a SXSW premier, so perhaps it will be at a film festival near you later this year. WARNING: These photos are not for the squeamish and may not be safe for work (due to your dignity being in tact and all). PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Pretty smile. Why is my character single?

Comment of the Day: As for your pictures, ummm. I like your everyday look! I'm such a wimp, I can't look at them. I tried to make my eyes glaze over really quick as I scanned down. -An Affair With Fashion

Ouch! My face!


Wearing twigs and a sweet gum seed pod on the back of your head is all the rage this year, ladies.


This is an accurate depiction of how much my head hurts today!

I hope to be feeling better after a nice, long nap, a cup of peppermint tea, and an evening with a Netflix (I have 500 Days of Summer to watch tonight). No more horror movie pics after today. I promise.

Photos by William Meyer, ©I Didn't Come Here to Die

A story about how I gave up trying and finally found my style aesthetic.

I remember my childhood as being magical and fun and full of wonderment and creativity. I didn't have a lot of friends because I dressed like a weirdo and I didn't shower very often, but I was oblivious to that. I read books all day, I made costumes, and I danced constantly. It was amazing. Middle School was a little less fun, but I finally met more people and made a few friends. I rode my bike all over town and had my first kiss, so I look back at those years with a lot of joy, too. But then there was high school. BLAH! High school!

Wrong, John Mellencamp. WRONG.

I hated high school. I always felt like a wallflower. No matter how hard I'd try to be noticed, I wound up feeling like I was an invisible ghost most days. I was super self-conscious about my clothes. I was tall, but skinny, so I bought things that were either too big or too short. I was always way behind the trends and unable to afford what all the well liked kids were wearing. Even though Seymour, Indiana was a small town (literally: hometown hero John Mellencamp wrote the song "Small Town" about Seymour), the kids really cared what you looked like. Here's some examples of high school journalism at its best, compliments of my sophomore year yearbook:

My senior year, I finally took Sophomore Angel Ho's enlightening advice to "wear what I feel". What I felt was a pull toward the old and the vintage, the desire to NOT blast brand names across my chest, and I finally started shopping at thrift stores because I wanted to, not because I had to. It took me 17 years to finally find my sense of style, but I don't think I've looked back or worried about fitting in ever since.

And the kids from high school? We're all friends now thanks to Facebook, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one with a fashion blog... but I'm also pretty sure they still think I dress like a weirdo!

Comment of the Day: those excerpts from your yearbook are PRICELESS. i was pretty awkward in high school, too (um, i had a PERM. and went to high school from 2000-2004! what was i THINKING?!) and even though i believe style is an always evolving thing, i'm much more secure in mine now and dress for myself rather than others. good advice, angel ho, good advice. - mariel

I'd buy any skirt that had a popcorn pouch.

I got to meet Hubs for lunch at Thai Spice today and afterward I met up with renowned Austin photographer Eric Doggett to discuss a shoot. The weather is warming up, so I busted out a skirt that I haven't worn since August. This skirt is a little weird. It has a kangaroo pouch in the front! No wonder it was on the 50% off rack at Buffalo Exchange!

date: 13 January 2010
occasion: lunch and meeting
skirt: thrifted Target Go International (Buffalo Exchange)
shirt: INC
jacket: Goodwill in Seymour, Indiana
tights: American Apparel
shoes: Shoe Carnival (what what!)

I spent the rest of the day snacking on some DILL PICKLE POPCORN that I picked up at Cornucopia on the Drag.

I know it sounds disgusting, but it's the yummiest thing EVER. I want to fill my kangaroo pouch with it and eat it non-stop. Good thing I didn't make a new year's resolution to eat healthier!

Comment of the Day: Dude, if I had that skirt I would carry my little hamster Bella around in the pouch like a little joey =) hahahaha, that's so weird of me! -Healthy and Homemade

Now THIS is how casual is done!

In my ideal world, Hubs would have enough new preppy/ urban cowboy clothes to never have to wear a super casual outfit, ever during The Year of the Man Makeover. When I pick out his clothes I often ask myself, "Would Alex P. Keaton wear this?" If the answer is no, I ask, "Would Greg Brady wear this?" If that answer is no, then I rethink the outfit.

However, I wanted to show him (and other dudes) that's it's possible to be super casual without having to resort to a sloppy, dingy, boring t-shirt, unfitted jeans, and running shoes. Since he had a department meeting today and still isn't feeling 100% comfortable in vests and ties, I put together a young, casual look for him that is a slight twist on his basic jeans/ t-shirt combo.

tee: Forward Collective, cardigan: Converse, jeans: Replay, shoes: Steve Madden.

My friend Kevin (who is an awesome artist and even used to work for Paul Frank) designed this t-shirt, and it may be my favorite thing in Hubs' new wardrobe. I saw Kevin's shirts for sale last December at the Hope Farmers Market, and I just had to buy one in preparation for the makeover. I think if a man is going to wear a t-shirt, he should wear one that is fitted, soft, and witty. The tees at Forward Collective are all those things. I'm even considering buying the Ali t-shirt for myself!

Hubs was shocked that I allowed him out of the house in a t-shirt!

I'm shocked that casual could look so dang good!

Like, y'all can, like, TOTALLY take me seriously now.

Freakin' sweet! I got nominated for the Texas Social Media Awards. This is, like, a real deal awards thing complete with a fancy dinner that I'll get to go to if I'm in the top 25. Does this mean I'm a legit internet weblog now? I sure hope so!

I'm excited! If you have a moment, I'd love it if you could scoot on over to my nominee page on The Austin American Statesmen website and leave a sweet little comment about little 'ole Adored Austin or Flash Mob Austin. Apparently "judges will take comments into consideration". I don't really know what that means, so say whatever you'd like. I think the funnier the better!

Blah. I feel pathetic to the max asking for your comments, but some nice people nominated me, so I'd like to do 'em (and you!) proud. If I get asked to go to the dinner, I promise to wear something over the top and maybe even let y'all pick out my dress (possibly from RenttheRunway.com!). I'll even do a video blog about how awkward I feel. Deal?

comment here: Indiana FTW