Where's Waldo dress, take two.

I am crazy about red and white stripes! I am wearing my Where's Waldo American Apparel Le Sac dress today, and I think I've found a flattering way to fashion this around my burgeoning midsection:

I need more convertible dresses.


The only bad part: all the extra "le string". I tied it in five bows to get it out of the way.


My magnificent horse bracelet on top of Henri, my concrete goose.


These ain't no TOMS!

date: 30 June 2010
occasion: Ladies Who Lunch, then shopping later
dress: courtesy of American Apparel SXSW flea market
sash: repurposed from a Laura Dahl dress (a gift for walking for her way back in 2007)
tank: Old Navy
bracelet: Fashioninque (since closed)
wedges: Victoria Spencer

Speaking of TOMS, sadly, mine are in transit back to the TOMS warehouse. My fear about having swollen pregnancy feet came true, and I think I'm now a half size larger. Luckily my Cynthia Vincent wedges still fit (for now), but my TOMS wedges became terribly uncomfortable. I requested a simple exchange for a larger size, so hopefully they'll be back to me super soon, and I can be giddy for them again!

A Tiny Haircut

Oh, dang! I can't believe I forgot to mention this. So the other day I was complaining about my hair, and then I realized that I hadn't had a trim since February! El grosso! So on Saturday, Hubs and I went to Birds and got impromptu haircuts. We saw Camille again, and on me, she cut off about six inches:

[music sampled: "American Tourist" by Hub's old college band Veterans Radio]

I told her to take it from my waist all the way up to my bra strap. I know, I know. It's not a lot of change (I have a lot of hair, so a six inch whack is inconsequential), but it's exactly what I wanted. I'm convinced that if I ever want to cut my hair much shorter I'm going to have to do increments of tiny haircuts! I'm a chicken!

Just in case you weren't sure...

Here's some more evidence that I am a completely ridiculous person. Hubs and I finally got around to getting a joint banking account and here's the debit card I picked out:
This card even out-ridiculizes my ironically blinged out phone.

Comment of the Day: hah! I have that card. Actually, since my husband and I have a joint account he has it too. lol. What a guy...he carries around a Hello Kitty card to make me happy. ;-) -Kristel

Linkola love

Since I haven't updated my links page in over six months, I thought today would be a great day to do that. If you have a self-style or a fashion blog and you'd like to exchange links, please email me or leave a comment saying where you're located (which state if you're in the U.S. or which country if you're outside the U.S.). I'll follow your site and get you listed asap!

Some quick little guidelines, first:
1. My links page is organized by geography.
I organized my blog roll by location so my readers can connect with others in their area and share shopping resources. Be sure to tell me where you're located.
2. I've only included blog links that are currently active.
I'm loosely defining "currently active" as a blog that averages at least three relevant posts per week (though my favorite blogs all do at least five posts per week!). I try my best to update often, and I love reading blogs that also update often, too.
3. In the fashion bloggers section, I've only listed blogs that have a strong focus on their own personal style or their town's street style.
Look, I love Polyvore sets, celebrity styles, and photos from fashion spreads as much as any other girl, but what I'm really interested in is you. Original content is usually always the most interesting content, and photographs (for a fashion blog) are a must.
4. All blogs are established.
Anyone can start a blog. Trust me. I have several now abandoned blogs! The true test is sticking with it. I only list blogs that have been consistently posting for at least three months and who have updated a few times in the last couple of weeks.
5. The blogs I link do not have music or videos that play automatically.
This is just a personal preference of mine. I hope you understand.

If you would like to be included on the Adored Austin links exchange page and/ or you feel that I accidentally left you off, please, please, please contact me via email or leave a comment here. I would absolutely love to include you, and I sincerely appreciate your links to Adored Austin, too.

Please note: in the lower left sidebar, I have a short, rotating section of blog links. These change constantly, so please bookmark your favorites, as these don't always stay the same.

Just another Manic Monday

One thing that I have learned is that Texans love their air conditioning! Even though it is nearing 100º outside, I always have to tote around a sweater or a blazer because most shops and theaters are kept at walk-in freezer temperatures. I got to try out one of the tunics I got at Savers last week today, and for my requisite top layer, I added my 80's studded cardigan from Buffalo Exchange:

I attempted to get all "Delightfully Tacky" with this photo, but I only did one snapshot over here. I was super concerned a snake was going to get me!


Snake free and with the cardigan...


cardigan detail: I'm going to have to replace the buttons soon. They're more brass instead of gold now.


Without the cardigan...


These hide pregnancy cankles well!


This frog used to be attached to a belt, but then he got stepped on and broken. I attached him to a hair-tie today for a make shift bracelet, but I hope I can eventually turn it into something a little more sturdy and permanent.date: 28 June 2010
occasion: waiting for the house appraiser, then thank-you card hunting.
tunic: Savers
cardigan: Buffalo Exchange
shorts: Liz Lange maternity from Target
boots: Rue 21
frog: Buffalo Exchange
sunglasses: Blue Blockers via a flea market

I love that I'm not really smiling or looking at the camera in any of these photos. These would be perfect for the Eighteenth contest that's going on right now. So far, I've had some great photo entries, but keep 'em coming! I can't wait to show 'em all off!

On an unrelated/ kind of related side note: can I just say that these shorts may be the most ridiculous things I own? PROOF. But ask me again in a couple months if I still think they're ridiculous. I may be singing a totally different tune by then.

Giveaway: innovative t-shirt from Eighteenth

EDIT 10 July 2010: Winner announced! Thanks to everyone who entered and voted!

When I first saw Alexa Galler's t-shirt line Eighteenth, I immediately wondered, "Am I cool enough to wear something that cool?" Her shirts are awesome, and I swear they look like something a girl on The Sartorialist would be wearing while crossing the street on her way to a modeling go-see (except the model would be wearing pants... hopefully!):


See! I told you they were cool! I love that they're also available locally at Kick Pleat as well as some other shops around the country. My favorite part? It's a twist on the basic t-shirt! Alexa had this to say about her line:

Exploring the design possibilities of the beloved tee, Eighteenth is a series of black and white shirts that combine unique detailing with a minimalist sensibility. The T-Shirts are innovative, yet never over the top, and present a fashion forward alternative to a basic style.

But the coolest part? You can win one of these. I can almost promise you that wearing this will land you on the front page of Lookbook or Chictopia if you add a couple of the elements from the "Anatomy of a Fashion Blogger" list!

In good humor, Alexa has agreed to the most fun contest we've had on Adored Austin, yet! There are two ways to enter:
The first way to enter is the standard way. It gets your name in the draw jar once. Here's how to do that:
1. Make sure you're following Adored Austin either on Google Reader, Blog Lovin', Networked Blogs (fb app), or simply like it on Facebook
2. By Thursday, July 8th, leave a comment here saying:

• Your first name and last initial,
• What is your "favorite" fashion blogger stereotype is,
  
• Your email address* (so I can contact you if you win), and
  
• Your webpage and/ or your Twitter address (optional)
  example:
  - Indiana A.
  - I love hats that no one would actually wear in public!
  - indiana at adoredaustin dot com
  - www.adoredaustin.com/ @adoredaustin

The second way to enter (and you can do both!) gets your name in the draw jar five more times!This works like this:
1. Email me a photo of you doing your best "Aloof Fashion Blogger Pose" by Wednesday, July 7th to indiana@adoredaustin.com (example). Links are okay, too!
2. In the email, make sure to include your first name and blog address so I can credit you accordingly.
3. On Thursday, July 8th, I'll post your photos and a poll where people can vote for the "best" pose.
4. The winner will get an additional five entries in the draw jar! This means, potentionally, you could dominate the draw jar with eleven entries (one for leaving a comment, five for submitting a photo, and five more for winning the pose-off).

Huge thanks to Alexa, the designer and owner of Eighteenth, for her generosity and sense of humor about my idea for the photo contest. I hope y'all are as excited about seeing the entries as I am! For now? Comment! Enter! Go!

*note: After the winner has been announced, the comment section will be deleted to ensure your privacy. I will never share your email address with others without your permission.

Am I getting too old for this?

I want to preface this post with this: I love the fashion blogging community, and I really hope you all know that. Gush, gush, gush! In the (almost) year I've been doing this, I've been so fortunate to make friends with other women who do this, too and so many of you who stop by Adored Austin. I really love doing this, and I hope that I do this for a long, long time.

But can we just take a moment to laugh at ourselves? Please? Just one moment? I'm getting older, and I'm finding that I just don't dress as "cool" as I did when I was in college. I mean, people used to call me on Halloween to borrow the clothes that I wore on a normal, daily basis!

I find myself still drawn to pieces that I would have worn when I was younger, but I don't usually pair them all up together. But what if I did?

All of these pieces are mine. It's just that I don't usually dress like this when I'm... you know... going grocery shopping or something like that.

Oh, irony: Heart this on Weardrobe. Hype this on Lookbook. Deem this Chic on Chictopia.

I am certainly guilty of everything on the "Anatomy of a Fashion Blogger" list (especially the pigeon toes!), but for the most part, I try my best to dress like the sensible, conservative, mom-to-be that I am. I read a ton of style blogs, and my favorites are the ones that are real women, with real bodies, who dress realistically while incorporating some of the outlandish or innovative.

All that to say this: we're all having fun, right? Fashion is fun. Keep all this in mind for later today, okay? This all has to do with this awesome giveaway/ contest that's now up and ready for you to enter!

Be my stylist, please.

I only have one maxi dress. I got it a couple summers ago from the Gap and I love it. I would really like to get another one. They're so effortless to wear. Plus if there ever comes a time that my belly gets in the way of me taking care of my leg hair, I can just throw on a long dress and pretend that problem doesn't exist.

More often than not my indecision has caused inaction. I can hem and haw about things forever and never come to a conclusion. I am determined that this will not be the case with my maxi dress acquisition. This is where you come in, friends. Help me decide which of these six dresses I should get from eShakti:

I just learned about eShakti a couple days ago, and I must say I'm excited about the concept. For the price (and look) of an Anthropologie dress, they will customize any of their clothing, sizes 0- 26, to fit your measurements. And they promise that it will be on your doorstep within seven days! A lot of the dresses come in several color options, and most dresses cost between $50- $100. When you get to the check out page, you simply input your bra size and height for the customization. You can even pay an additional $15/ garment to have the sleeves or neckline changed. I wish I would have known about this site when I was getting married. I would have loved to have my bridesmaid's dress done there! (Bee, I would have went for this one).

Anyway, I'm excited about trying out one of their dresses to see the workmanship up close. If worse comes to worse, they do have an excellent return policy. And just so y'all know, I'm not being paid for this post, by the way! This is just some good 'old information I'm sharing with you! I'm excited to get the dress you pick out for me!

"The Ladies who Lunch" sounds way better than "The Lunch Ladies"!

I don't wear a watch, but I'm starting to think that I should. I was on the great time sucker (i.e. Twitter) when I realized that it was 12:15 p.m. and I was still in my pajamas. I had 15 minutes to get my booty to Whole Foods downtown for Grechen's Ladies who Lunch thing. I grabbed the Mexican housedress that I had just procured from Savers, squeezed my swollen feet into my Cynthia Vincent wedges, grabbed a ponytail holder, and rushed out the door!

I really want to hack four inches off the hem, but I'm going to wait until after July 16th! Why? Well because I'm taking a crash course in sewing with The Stitch Lab, so hopefully after that I'll know how to hem things!


I didn't notice the darling little bow details on the sleeves when I bought this dress. Too cute!


I can't believe this bag is just now making it's debut!


Isn't he fantastic? Please ignore the fact that he's clutching a bone.

date: 24 June 2010
occasion: Ladies who Lunch (weekly female blogger meet-up), random errands
dress: Savers
belt: thrifted Delia*s (remember them?) via Buffalo Exchange
wedges: Cynthia Vincent for Target via Sydney
bag: courtesy of American Apparel SXSW flea market
sunnies: Buffalo Exchange (new merch)

People, it was hot outside, but we still chose to dine on the balcony! Nonetheless, my dear lunch companions managed to keep their cool though, and I even snapped some Austin street style photos of each of them:

This is Grechen, our fearless leader and weekly organizer. She has several blogs including Grechen's Closet and New to Austin. Fun fact: she is the queen of clogs and blogs! Her dress is from Anthropologie.


This is Maureen from The Inglenook Decor. Her online interior decor shop is famous. Also, she rocks a fedora way harder than Jason Mraz.


This is Ashley from Hello Hauteness and Out of Control Fatroll. For the record, I think her fatrolls are non-existent and totally under control.


This is Jennifer from Lala and Bitsy. I swear she could play my little sister in a movie. We even have sister-like shoes!


See? Oh, man. Now I really want the black pair, too...


This is Erica, whom I met for the first time today. She works in wellness and at Wheatsville. She's also in events planning, but I don't think she has a blog. Regardless, I love her Versace frames! She also has perfect bangs!


These are also new friends of mine as of today. This duo is jewelry designer Jillian (on the left) and fashion designer Anslee (on the right). Jillian sells her goodies on Etsy under Simmang Design and Anslee owns Savannah Red, an amazing plus sized fashion line that can be found both online and at Lovely Austin.

Lately I've been getting a crazy amount of email from people who are thinking about moving to Austin (and by crazy amount, I'm talking three to five emails per day!). I'm guessing since I focus a lot of my blog's attention on what's happening around town, that's why y'all think Austin is awesome. And truthfully? It is! It's a wonderful, thriving city filled with friendly people and brimming with creativity. I am happy to answer any questions you may have about Austin. I'm still learning about it, as I've only been here four years (this fall), but I've found that there is always something to do here and even though it's a big city, it still has a small town feel about it. I can't go anywhere without running into someone I know! Recently CNN named Austin as one of the most recession-proof cities in America. Joblessness is minimal. Apartments and houses are still affordable. And despite the brutal summers, people are still cute. I mean, seriously! It hit 95º outside and everyone still looked fabulous! Scroll up for proof, y'all!

It's business time (again).

I have been out of business cards since the SXSW New Media Fashion Brunch. I finally put in a new order two weeks ago, and Hubs got my morning started off right by announcing that I had mail (I love mail!). Yay! My new cards were here!

I ordered two different kinds from Overnightprints.com (not sure why they are called this. There is nothing "overnight" about their printing). The first set was a slightly modified version of my old set:

These are almost identical to my old cards. Modifications: I changed the fonts to match the website header, tweaked the tag line, and changed the card's background to match my Twitter page.

The second set of cards was purely experimental. I had found a coupon code on RetailMeNot.com that got me two sets of 100 cards with rounded corners and a glossy coating for only $12, total. I figured that if I messed up half of them, no big deal. They turned out okay:

I have my photo on my acting business cards, but I wasn't sure if putting my photo on my Adored Austin business cards would come off as narcissistic. A quick poll on Twitter assured me that this would be socially acceptable.

But the coolest part about this card? Take an x-acto knife to it and voilà!

A miniature me can hang out on your desk all day. Ha! That's just what you needed, right?

Five things you may not know about me

1. One of my legs is longer than the other. It's so bad that I'm supposed to wear a lift in my shoe, but I don't. You can kind of tell by the way I stand:

evidence: that right knee is lower and it's usually always bent to compensate!

2. Although I love gaudy and whimsical jewelry, I hardly ever wear dangly earrings. I usually just rotate between a pair of silver studs, pearls, or diamond studs (all gifts from Hubs).

I'm just crazy about Tiffany's!

3. I know that I am in desperate need of both a manicure and a pedicure but I rarely paint my nails. I don't like the upkeep. Also, from looking back at my senior portraits, I've decided that on me, French tip acrylic nails creep me out... but French tip toenails are worse!

You will never see a French tip toenail on this site. You may see toenails that need cutting or toenails that need polish, though! In this case, here's a broken toe (from last winter).

4. I own a pair of fake Uggs, and I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I do wear them in public in the winter. I got them at Texas Thrift, and I wore them on set when we filmed I Didn't Come Here to Die.

Don't judge me! At least I don't wear these with skirts or Nike shorts!

5. I strongly believe that this is the best video blog I have ever made:

bonus fact: I hum Molly Tomato's song when I'm thinking.

This wasn't a weird blog tag or anything like that. I just realized that it's been a while since I've revealed quirky things about myself. If you have anything you'd like to ask me, you can always do so via my Formspring!

Flickr, you are the vehicle for grossness!

UPDATE: 24 June 2010- "She" has become a "he" and has deleted all our photos from his Flickr. Hooray! He has also changed his focus from a leather skirt fan to a communist hero fan.

Just a big alert to my fellow fashion bloggers that someone on Flickr is using our photos for nefarious use. A super huge thanks to Suze for alerting me to this.

It's no secret that there are a bunch of skeezes on Flickr. I no longer do wardrobe_remix or tag my photos with descriptions anymore because of this. I've posted on this topic before and even gave instructions on how to block a Flickr user, which subsequently removes your photos from their favorites and prevents them from seeing your photos.

But this is getting out of hand. This user, who actually claims to be female, has stolen our photos, uploaded them to her own Flickr account, and then added them to various fetish groups. Because she's claiming these as her own, she's even allowed to license our images to Getty Images. Screenshot:

Her followers have been able to favorite these photos since they are out of our control (because they are on her account instead of ours). She has 124 photos uploaded, and I just looked through every page. At least 90 of them belong to fashion bloggers. I'm in there! So is Rebecca and Elizabeth and Krystal! If you've ever worn leather, you're probably in there, too!

So here's what you can do about it if you are a Flickr user.
1. Check out this icky person's Flickr account and see if you're on their photostream. Bookmark the URL's.
2. Leave a comment on your photo telling them that they are illegally using your photograph.
3. If possible, take a screenshot of your comment with the URL of the photo.

4. Save this photo for your records.
5. [MOST IMPORTANT] Go to the Flickr report abuse page.
6. Choose: "OTHER CONCERNS" at the very bottom.

7. Write a quick note with URL's of the photos that they've stolen. Mine said:

One of my blog readers alerted me that my photos (as well as several other well known fashion bloggers) have had photos stolen off our own, personal flickr pages and reuploaded to this person's account:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50741641@N03/page2/

This means we cannot simply block them since they are claiming rights to our images and using them for nefarious groups and blogs. I feel violated and I want this person's whole Flickr to be taken away.

I am a Flickr pro member and I have been on Flickr since its inception. I am sickened that I cannot contact this person directly to have them remove my photos from their fetish groups.

Images that are specifically mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50741641@N03/4721633351/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/50741641@N03/4721632923/

I literally see 93 (of 124 photos) that belong to my blogger friends. When a user uploads our photos as theirs we cannot prevent others from also adding it to their fetish groups. This makes me sick! Please let me know how this will be resolved ASAP.

Thank you.
-Indiana Adams

8. Spread this information on your own fashion blogs so we can make sure to get people like this shut down as soon as possible.
9. If you are not a Flickr user and/ or you would like to take an additional step, go to the Yahoo Copyright and Intellectual Property Page and follow their very specific instructions there.

Foreign concepts at Savers

I am so happy I was able to go to Savers today! I had a 20% off coupon, so I allowed myself to buy anything that fit and anything I loved. I ended up walking with items mostly from the ethnic wear section:

Today's finds: an Indian tunic, a Mexican housedress, a Liz Lange maternity blouse, a hand painted Asian tunic, and a jeweled robe from Pakistan.

I love the details on both of the tunics:

Before I left for today's thrifting adventure, I sifted through my most recent outfit posts and picked out what is working for me as I'm growing and what isn't. One of my favorite outfits has been the dashiki and shorts combo (recently linked on Stay Forever Sunday. Squee! Thanks, Melissa!), so although I may get stuck in a rut, I do expect to do some variations on this theme. I picked up a couple more pairs of maternity shorts from Target, and there's plenty of room to grow in my new-to-me tunics. I'm hopeful that I won't have to resort to sweat pants and that I can continue to figure out what works for my growing body. I really, really don't want to spend a lot more money on maternity wear!

Hairy situations

This morning I realized (and tweeted) that it's become clear to me that I'm running out of clothes that I can attractively squeeze into! This, of course, calls for a long overdue trip to Savers. In the meantime, I dug this babydoll tunic out of my Goodwill pile, threw on a vest I bought for Disney World and never wore, and shoe horned myself into my favorite cut-off shorts (which I've had to leave unbuttoned).



date: 22 June 2010
occasion: thrifting, then a taco outing with my City Group
vest: Old Navy
tunic: thrifted Wet Seal via Buffalo Exchange
shorts: Billabong via Pac Sun (seen here pre-pregnancy)
sandals: Old Navy
bow: F21

Something else that's become clear to me is that my hair is out of control! I offhandedly muttered "I need a hair cut" the other day and a shorter-haired friend of mine vehemently agreed. I think my fear of hair cuts has been well documented here, but my number one reason for not cutting too much off my hair has always been that my agent thinks that when I have superfluously long hair, I book more acting work. Now that I'm not taking acting work until December, for the first time in four years, I probably have full permission to hack away. But I don't want to get a mom haircut, you know what I mean?

Maybe I should just start by blow drying my hair after my showers. Or doing cuter stuff with it. Or (at the very least) brushing it occasionally.