Blog spotlight: Little Tin Soldier

I haven't done one of these in a while! In the many months that I've been doing Adored Austin, I've been introduced to hundreds of amazing self-style blogs. My bookmarks are out of control, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

One of my new favorite style blogs is Little Tin Soldier. Linda, the stylish chic who owns it, lives just down I35 from me in San Antonio. She's an illustrator as well as a fashion maven and she started Little Tin Soldier as a way to challenge herself to do at least one drawing per day:

Regarding Little Tin Soldier, Linda says:

"Little Tin Soldier is a homage to my favorite fairy tale, "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" by Hans Christian Andersen. The story chronicles the life of a little tin soldier who falls in love with a paper doll. Unfortunately, he is thrown from a window but eventually ends up back at his house. But then one of the boys flings him into the fireplace. The paper doll blows into the fire, too. He melts into the shape of a heart.

I started the blog in January 2010 as a way to encourage myself to draw one picture everyday. As a little girl, I loved paper dolls. I thought it would be fun to feature a paper doll alongside my daily outfits."

I love it. If you're on Tumblr, make sure to follow Little Tin Soldier. If you're not, add it to your ever growing list of bookmarks!

images ©Linda Dearie

Mover + Shaker

I've been feeling like an Austin mover and shaker lately. Tonight was another local fashion event. Cheryl of Fashionably Austin held a fashion mixer at the fancy Aloft hotel at The Domain. The special guest was Louise Black of Project Runway infamy. Her season (season six) was the first season of Project Runway that I had ever watched, and I was a huge fan of her work. I was excited to meet her in person as she recently moved back to Austin and we've started following each other on Twitter. She is incredibly gracious and warm, and her skin is radiant! Check out her killer wedges on the right (Grechen and I show off our tame wedges for comparison).

(L-R) Grechen, me, and Louise Black. How is her hair so shiny?

I had a heck of a time trying to figure out what to wear. My first and second choice dresses wouldn't even zip up the back. Dang! That's what I get for gaining 15 pounds in one month! Ha!

The bow is back!


Undershirt definitely needed!

date: 26 May 2010
occasion: Fashionably Austin mixer
dress: thrifted Kate Moss for Top Shop- Buffalo Exchange
cami: Tara Jarmon for Target
clutch: thrifted- Texas Thrift Store
bow headband: Lulu
wedges: Victoria Spencer

Big thanks to Hubs for coming with me tonight, Grechen for the top two photos, and Cheryl for putting on such a great event! I had a nice time mingling!

Now.... I seriously need to figure out how Louise gets her hair so shiny! Yeah. I should probably start by brushing mine occasionally.

It's already Tuesday again?!

Has it already been an entire week? I swear, the older I get, the quicker time flies by! Today was Tuesday again which means it was time for Grechen's weekly Ladies who Lunch get together. This time we met up at Mandola's at the Triangle, one of my most favorite restaurants in Austin.

(L-R) Cathy from Slave to Fashion, Katie from Her Side Project, Tran from Tranish, some weirdo, Diya from In Her Stilettos, Sydney from Basic Cravings, and Grechen from Grechen's Closet.

[group photo ©NewtoAtx]

I had the gnocchi for lunch then contemplated a gelato from their famed gelato bar:

Instead I opted for a fruit tart. I have a serious weakness for fruit tarts. This one had the biggest strawberry in the world on top:

Sadly, I went and did the darnedest thing! I got my fruit tart to go then accidentally left it on the table! I hate when I do that! I was so sad when I got home and realized that I had left my beautiful and yummy treasure there! What a waste of $5!

I wanted to wear my black tulle skirt (because of it's comfortable elastic waistband), but I didn't want to look over dressed since Mandola's is an order at the counter establishment. Ash grey does a really good job at making things look casual. I rather like the juxtaposition of the girly skirt and the athletic shirt:

date: 25 May 2010
occasion: Ladies who Lunch
tee: Target
skirt: F21
belt: thrifted- Savers
wedges: thrifted Nine West- Buffalo Exchange
hat: Billabong courtesy of PacSun (on sale now for $20-- not bad!)
panda ring: recently thrifted- Buffalo Exchange
yoyo ring: gift from my friend Giselle

Next Thursday, June 3rd is the next Ladies who Lunch event. More info can be found on Grechen's New to Axt blog.

And oh my gosh! Next week is June already?!

The most elusive shoe, ever.

Okay, Cynthia Vincent for Target. I give up. I've gone to every single Target store in the greater Austin area to try to find your gladiator wedges.

I was willing to compromise. I'm a size 9.5 but was willing to squeeze into a 9 or slip slide in a 10. I pine for the cognac pair, but I would have been happy with the yellow or the black, too. Alas, I have not seen hide nor hair of these elusive shoes, except for on a woman at my church. And let me tell you, they were fabulous. It was all I could do to not tackle her and pry them off and run away like a banshee, never to return again! I had to pray for good behavior! Thou shalt not covet another woman's shoes!

I called my best friend in California and had her scour her Target stores there. I looked online every single day, crossing my fingers for a return. Every time I went to my Target, I did a beeline for the shoe section, hoping against all hope that the stock for the Cynthia Vincent for Target gladiator wedges had been replenished. Nada. Zip. Zero. Not one single yellow box signaling my victory.

So it is with humble defeat that I relinquish my shoe envy desire. I'm getting these laser cut, cognac "Come and Get Me Wedges" from the new, Austin based online shop Peacock Plume, instead:

At $30, they are exactly the same price. They aren't the wedges of my dreams, but at least my hunt for the perfect summer shoe won't end fruitlessly (unlike The Great Boot Hunt of 2009). Lately, I'm feeling a little like Kalteen Bar consuming Regina George. I'm gaining weight like crazy, so I find myself longing for new, cute shoes. Cute shoes are all that fits me right now! I'm a woman possessed! I must have cognac wedges! I'm beginning to think the Cynthia Vincent for Target ones are an urban shoe myth.

EXCITING UPDATE [1 June 2010]: My new Austin friend Sydney (who I met at the last Ladies who Lunch event) bought my dream shoes one size too big for her... in a 9.5. She thought she'd try to make them work, but they didn't, so she is graciously selling them to me at cost-- new in box, never been worn! I am the luckiest lady, ever! They may come home to me as soon as Thursday, June 3rd!

Blue: my summer of 2010 color

I am having a thing for blue lately. The color I picked out for the kid's room is a pale blue, and the tunic I bought yesterday with my Buffalo Exchange trade credit is blue plaid.



date: 22 March 2010
occasion: Trees of Lyres show
tunic: Be Cool (Buffalo Exchange, new merch)
skirt: American Apparel
sandals: Old Navy
bracelet: Fashionique (since closed)

Speaking of blue... OH MY GOSH. I watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy on Hulu today because I kept reading online how stinking good it was. Y'all, I don't even watch Grey's! I haven't ever even seen one single episode before, but nonetheless, I watched it and bawled my eyes out EVEN THOUGH I knew exactly what was going to happen because I read the episode recap! I was crying so hard that I went and cried over the kitchen sink! Uncool, internet. Uncool! How are you going to tell me that something is so good but in the end I feel like I was kicked several times in the part of my brain and heart that controls my emotions?

Ugh. The Lost finale better not do that to me tomorrow. Otherwise, I'm going to be in this blue phase longer than Picasso was in his.

Meet my new panda!

I really feel like I hit the thrifting jackpot today. I took a duffel bag of ill fitting clothes to Buffalo Exchange this afternoon, and they bought all but one dress from me! Score! With my trade credit I bought a summer plaid tunic (to be worn tomorrow) and found the newest member of my animal jewelry collection. World, meet Sparkly Panda Ring!

This photo does not adequately show how adorable he is!
At $8.50, he was a steal! Other comparable/ awesome panda rings are priced well above what I can comfortably spend right now:

1. Emitations, $280, 2.Eternal Sparkles, $277, 3. nOir, $165.

I love when I find something at a resale shop on the cheap! I know y'all think I have plenty of animal jewelry, but trust me. This guy needed to come home with me. I don't own one single bear and that needed to change-- pronto!

The eighth annual Austin Adult Spelling Bee

One of my favorite inventions is spell check. I love spell check. I spell check my casual emails, my text messages, and even my IM conversations. I am a horrible speller. Example: almost every day I have to correct "ocassion" when I do my style file photos (Adams, it's two c's, one s!).

Tonight I formed a new respect for the folks who competed in Austin's eighth annual adult spelling bee which was held outside at Threadgills. Hubs and I went to support my friend Heidi who was a part of the competition (she made it to round two!). I had never even heard of most of these words, so forget about trying to figure out how to spell them!


I was able to sport the new earrings and t-shirt that I got from Plain Ivey Jane on Tuesday:

Aren't these hilarious?

I think my love for animal jewelry is spilling over into t-shirts...

date: 20 May 2010
occasion: watching the Austin annual adult spelling bee
t-shirt: Home Town Heroes via Plain Ivey Jane
shorts: Liz Lange Maternity via Target
boots: thrifted Minnetonka (Buffalo Exchange)
earrings: Hobbit Town via Plain Ivey Jane

Here are some of the best words I learned tonight:
velocipede, sexagesimal, vaginismus (eeeeek!).

Jumpers and pregnant women...

Finally! I'm back to my busy, busy self! Today was a packed day... just how I like it!

Grechen from Grechen's Closet and New to Atx has started a "Ladies who Lunch" group: a weekly bloggers meet-up on Tuesday afternoons. Today I met up with her as well as Janette from Fashion Loves People, Diya from In Her Stilettos, and Maureen from The Inglenook Decor at Jo's for lunch. Afterward, Gretchen and I checked out Plain Ivey Jane, which may become one of my new favorite Austin boutiques (more about what I bought there tomorrow!). Then I hung out with my friend Heidi, went with my church's city group to hang out with some of the folks at a local nursing home, had dinner at Trudy's, then went to a birthday party at Central Market. Whew! Beats staying in bed all day, that's for sure!

Sadly, I did not make the wisest outfit choice. Discovery: pregnant women should not wear jumpers.

date: 18 May 2010
occasion: blogger lunch, shopping, dinner
jumper: thrifted (Savers)
elephant necklace: thrifted (Buffalo Exchange but identical to this one at Accessorize)
cloche hat: courtesy of Hats in the Belfry
shoes: courtesy of Lulus via a giftcard
bag: vintage Gucci (thanks, mom!)
raccoon tail (on bag): Austin's Renegade Craft Fair

Yes, this is a jumper, meaning it's all one piece. It also has an attached belt and a zipper down the back. This means when I have a sudden pee situation (as pregnant women often have) it is a hassle to get it off before I come thisclose to wetting myself!

The redeeming qualities of this outfit are my lucky hat and my new shoes from Lulus. I just love these! Ever since the UT Fashion Show, I've been dying to get my hands on a pair of chunky heeled Oxfords. Let's just hope my feet don't swell up too big so I can continue to wear these (despite the fact that my belly may get so round that I can't see my feet anymore)!

Comment of the Day: ... Maybe you can convert the jumper to have crotch-snaps for emergency peeing a la a onesie?- Chelsea

Disney World was just what we needed!

There's hardly anything worse than being forced to look at someone else's family vacation photos, right? So for this post, I apologize. Now, proceed to the torture!

Hubs and I were able to do all four parks at Disney World. We did Epcot our first day and Hollywood Studios the second. Then my family came down from Tampa and together we did the Magic Kingdom the third day and Animal Kingdom (my favorite!) on the last day.

I have a deep, deep love for snow cones, and I was ecstatic to be able to find one in the Japan part of Epcot. They called it Kakigōri. I called it delicious!

[wearing a tube maxi dress from Old Navy and my grandma's owl necklace]

I used to work at Disney World (I did the Disney College Program in 2002), but a lot of new things have been built since then. My favorite new thing was the 3D Toy Story ride at Hollywood Studios. Hubs and I totally rocked the heck out of our 3D shades even though we didn't even come close to breaking that day's high score:

[Hubs is wearing his Trojan Seahorse shirt from Threadless. I'm in an untagged dress from Ross that is strikingly similar to Shabby Apple's Barefoot in the Park Dress...]

One of the silliest/ best things we did was have breakfast with the Winnie the Pooh characters at the Crystal Palace at the Magic Kingdom. I'm relatively certain that Tigger fell in love with me:

[Hubs is in his Ides of March t-shirt from the Threadless 12 month club. I'm wearing a tunic tank by Hazel]

On the morning of our last day, we rode a train to Rafiki's Planet Watch in the Animal Kingdom. Rafiki let us take a photo of his blue butt:

[I'm wearing an Old Navy cabana dress and Hubs is in his CMYKF5 tee from shirt.woot]

My goal was to pack light and to stay cool and I succeeded! I was happy that we went on vacation before my waddling started and before the summer crowds were out. All in all it was the perfect vacation, and I can't wait to go back one day when the kid is --you know-- on the outside of me.

[By the way, a barf inducing cutesy pregnancy photo is now up on my pregnancy blog: The Wonder Love].

M-i-c... [c you later!] k-e-y

In less than seven hours, I will be on a plane heading to Disney World!

Photos pilfered from Lookbook.nu

Hubs and I are taking a little Babymoon before I start waddling. I know it may seem a little strange that two adults would go to Disney World sans children, but there is a back story. When we were dating (a mind blowing nine years ago!) we celebrated our one year dating anniversary at Disney World because I was working there, doing the Disney College Program. We haven't had a vacation since our honeymoon, and we wanted to take one before I popped this kid out. Being as round as I am, I did not want to go to an exotic location where I'd be forced to have to wear a swimsuit. I also didn't want to go someplace where I'd have to be outdoorsy. So voíla! Disney World with its nostalgia factors won out. I'm taking my camera but not my laptop, and I don't expect to post until my return.

We return Saturday night. I always take Sundays off from writing, so I'll see y'all on Monday! Let me know if you have any Disney World recommendations. All your comments and emails go straight to my phone and my phone and I are likethis.

Housewifing!

I've worn an apron in an outfit posts before. Like last time, I was feeling particularly house-wifey today. Hubs bought us a new slow cooker, so I been testing out a vegetarian black bean chili recipe. I even made some Southwest cornbread and managed to keep my apron batter-splatter free:

I got this sweet little apron at an estate sale for less than ONE DOLLAR!

Hubs' incredibly thoughtful mom and her husband sent me this lovely bouquet of flowers today with a card saying "Happy Mother's Day. You're going to be a wonderful mother." Awwww...

Look! My bangs have grown out long enough to go back into my ponytail. Yay!

date: 6 May 2010
occasion: housewifing (if that's not a word, it should be!)
dress: second hand Jovovich-Hawk (clothing swap)
clogs: LEI (Walmart, on clearance for $3!)
wood bangle: Nordstrom Rack
pony pin: Fashionique (since closed)
apron: estate sale

Estate sales are still my most favorite place to get vintage items. I love walking through the rooms and examining the things that someone once loved. At the last one Hubs and I went to, I had an armload of items, and the sale organizers said I could have it all for a mere $20. This apron was among those goodies. It makes me happy to be able to give things new life. I try to imagine what kind of lady had a fancy blue apron like this, and I can't come up with anything. What are your guesses? Any ideas?

Austin spotlight: Parsimony

So I told my agents that I wouldn't be taking any acting or modeling work until January 2011, and I've just been relaxing, surprisingly happy to be out of the rat race for a while. Truth be told, I don't usually have a lot fun auditioning for and taking professional modeling work. My skin is not at all thick, and for the greater part of my life I've been involved in industries where very thick skin is needed.

Something that I do enjoy, however, is modeling for friends and acquaintances. Today I had the distinct pleasure of doing a mini-session for my good friend Robie who owns Parsimony. She was up for an Austin Fashion Week award last year, and she's up for one again this year. She's also frequently featured on Etsy where she exclusively sells her custom, made-to-order dresses. I dragged Hubs along to our photo shoot and had him snap some pictures with our new point and shoot (a Canon PowerShot S90) so you could get a sneak peak of our session and see what I've been up to today:

Robie and I in her paperbag waist skirts. I love these!


Amy shows off a ruffle front, 60's inspired, trapeze dress. Too cute! Jeana is behind the camera.


Amy dons Robie's bold print, strapless dress. Gorgeous!


Robie gets Laura ready for a wedding shot in the Princess Buttercup dress. Simple and beautiful!


Hubs grabbed this photo of me showing off the baby bump that seemed to just pop yesterday. Finally! I was so sick of just looking like I had a large lunch. I've been ready to look pregnant!

date: 5 May 2010
occasion: Parsimony fashion shoot
dress and belt: Parsimony
wellies: Costco

I love Robie's designs because they're simple and well made with loving attention to details. Nothing in her shop is over $82 which friggin' blows my mind considering that each and every dress is made custom to the buyer. That means you get to pick your fabric, your length, and then Robie makes the dress specifically to your measurements. Deal of the century, right?

Check out Parsimony here. If you're in Austin, Robie also teaches affordable sewing lessons. Her sewing blog is So Sew Something. She's a riot, and I truly hope Parsimony becomes a cornerstone in Austin fashion.

Video: High Voltage, UT's Apparel Design Senior Showcase

My new photographer friend Peter Tung took some really great photos from High Voltage, and he's been kind enough to let me post some so I can show you a few of my favorite looks:

The opening of the show: Molly White and Liz Wong hand dyed these fabrics then turned them into an evening gown homage to fire and ice. Stunning!


One of the few menswear looks in the show. Adorable! Steven Campos won one of the evening's awards.


This dress is perfection! Someone tell Brandy Courtney Williams that this should be in stores now so I can buy it.


I would buy each and every piece made by Jill Watson... but especially the tree printed jacket in the middle. Her tailoring is swoon worthy!


My side of the audience burst out in delighted applause for Audrey Young's collection. The color palette, the ruffles, the softness paired with the structured menswear inspired pieces, absolutely everything about these looks makes me happy!

I cannot believe these are student designers! The UT Apparel Design Program isn't messing around! Each of the 35 graduating seniors had to do a three piece collection as well as either a bridal gown or an evening gown. I was able to record some of the evening wear and bridal gowns, but I was so close and was sans tripod that the video is a little less than ideal. Nonetheless, you should be able to get a peak at the kind of work these amazingly talented, hardworking students put out [note: video footage was sped up so the video would remain under five minutes... the models were not amped up on Red Bull]. Keep an eye out for the show stopping green accordion pleated evening gown and the amazing mermaid champagne beaded wedding gown with the puffy train:

Be sure to check out the rest of Peter's photos and note some of these students' names. No doubt we'll be seeing some of them on Project Runway or shopping their designs in a store one day! Huge thanks to all the people who helped put on High Voltage and the University of Texas Division of Textiles and Apparel and college of Human Ecology. This was easily one of my most favorite fashion shows in Austin, and I'm excited to see what's next for these graduating seniors!

All photos ©Peter Tung. All rights reserved.